Where's Waldo?

Do you see my suitcase?  Me neither...  This is the scene at baggage claim at Seatac airport.
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Update on my Face

Just a quick update on my surgery: Results came back that all growths were benign. Phew! I got my stiches out last Friday and the doc says all is healing well. Swelling is down, feeling is slowly coming back. The worst part is that now it hurts more..but that's technically a good thing. I'm getting more strength back in my face too, still can't pull the corner of my mouth down, but when I smile it doesn't tug that corner up quite as high. And I can almost drink from a straw from the middle of my mouth!!

Thanks for everyone's well wishes, I appreciate the positive vibes!

Quick Update on Scar Face..I mean, Me!

So, for those that weren't aware, I had surgery last Friday. There was a reoccurance of a tumor in my parotid (aka salivary) gland below my right ear, sort of tucked behind my jaw. The surgeons found a series of small growths along my facial nerve, and had to carefully hack around my nerve for the better part of 4 hours. Not ideal. I'm doing pretty well all considered. The facial nerve is weak, put expected to recover over the next 2-3 weeks. Above you see me trying to smile. The right half of my mouth just doesn't want to cooperate. I can feel it, I just can't move it!! But the eye closes (thank God!!) and no one can tell that my right nostril won't flare with the same enthusiasm as my left... so overall I'm not complaining. I just wish I'd stop biting my lip while eating my toast!

Warning: Graphic image below, not for the weak of stomach.....

Here's what the sutures look like, and my drain. That bloody looking tube really is coming from inside my neck! it has a small plastic bulb on the other end that sucks out all the liquid my body is trying to throw at the site of the surgery. It's out now..only had that attractive accessory in over the weekend thankfully! The stitches get taken out tomorrow, and then it's back to the gym.. Well, I've already been back, but no one is supposed to know..

That's it for now..later skaters..

Ok, so what have I done in the last 2 months? Sit down, get comfortable, and let me catch you up. First, London. Clara & I spent our last evening dining with friends of Andrew & Katherine on a sail boat moored in a small marina next to Tower Bridge. Magical doesn't do it justice! It happened to also be a send-off for their friend Katherine...so there were 7 or 8 of us crowded in the boat (yes it was raining) drinking wine, eating great food, and sharing some laughs not always appropriate for children. Lucky Clara's a great sport!

Coming home from our trip was a shock to both of us. Clara spent several days sleeping in late...i just stumbled around at work in a fog, trying to get caught up, readjust to Seattle time, and get back in the groove of "normal" life.


So what's normal for me? I took a trip up to Bellingham to visit my parents. The kids LOVE my parents bathtub, so bathtime was an event in itself! I highly recommend a jetted tub to anyone that likes a lot of bubbles...the kids discovered how effective the jets are at frothing the suds!!

O - H - I - O!

This is the cheer my kids were taught by Makayla, and now will randomly start shouting when they're feeling fired up about Buckeye football. :) One of them will yell out "O-H!" and the others will respond "I-O!". It's hilarious! (I think I've actually seen Makayla tear up when they do this...) Saturdays have taken on a whole new meaning now.

Speaking of Buckeyes.... So, technically speaking a buckeye is a tree...the Ohio Buckeye, state tree of Ohio. According to wikipedia (buckeyes), it's also a chicken, an aircraft, a butterfly, and, oh yeah, a nationally ranked college football team. The last item that wikipedia calls out is the candy: "a peanut butter and chocolate candy made to resemble the nut of an Ohio Buckeye tree and enjoyed commonly in that state". Above is a picture of Clara, Bennet, and Makayla making said candy, and they are delicious! We stuffed ourselves with them..our friend Hannah had them on her birthday cake after sampling ours..and the kids still talk about them!

So there's the first chapter in the last 60 days of my life...England recovery, catching up with family, learning about college football, and generally having fun. Stay tuned for more...

I know..I know...

I've been getting it from all sides..my blog has become dusty. There are cobwebs in all the corners. People are tired of checking and seeing the damn London Eye..you don't even know what happened on my last day in London, let alone the other 60-odd days between now and my last post. So..this weekend is the weekend. No kids, no bike race (doctor's orders), no big plans, and crummy weather. I'll get the pics off my camera, think of some witty words, and do a post or three.

The very quick update on life: Kids are good, work is in-sane, Seattle is rainy, it will be snowing in the hills tomorrow, I've been doing quite well racing cyclocross, and have fun spending time with Makayla. Check back later for more details on all of the above..

Cheers..

Exploring London, Day 1

First stop Monday morning was the London Eye, a huge ferris wheel that, on a clear day, gives you panoramic views of the city. We lucked out! The skies cleared up 30 minutes before we boarded, and clouded over again about 30 minutes after we disembarked! Clara took lots of photos of the boats below, and the buildings around us.

The view from the Eye

From the Eye we walked back across the Thames, past Big Ben and through St. James Park.

At the other end of the park is Buckingham Palace. We were too late to watch the changing of the guard, but we still had the chance to spend a few minutes watching the guards march back and forth. From there we tubed up to Picadilly Circus for lunch and gift shopping, then to the British Museum.

Clara and I explored Greek and Roman sculptures, American modern art, and Egyptian relics. Above is the famous Rosetta Stone. We also saw several incredible mummies (below)!

We ended the evening recovering at home. Ate dinner with A&K & Midnight.

A Relaxing Day in London

Riding the double-decker! A real highlight of the day for Clara. :-) We were on our way to Oxford St for some shopping. We spent some quality time at Primark, a clothing store know for it's insane deals, like men's dress shirts for $4 GBP, shoes for $3 GBP. Clara spent some of her money and left with an outfit and 2 pairs of shoes.

After shopping, we all met up with Alison, another friend in London, for lunch, and then explored Hyde Park (after discovering the Natural History Museum was closed). Our first stop was a Frank Gehry temporary exhibit in the park. It definitely appealed to my architectural tastes...

From there we meandered along the Serpentine, Clara found some blackberries worth eating (on the wrong side of the fence of course), and we spent some time at the Princess Diana memorial.

In usual Temer fashion, we were not content to call it a day yet! We said goodbye to Alison, hailed a cab, and met up with Andrew, Katherine, and their good friend Catherine in the Marylebone neighborhood. We ate at a place called Giraffe, know for its family friendly dishes from around the world....
....and also know for it's crazy long-necked plastic colored giraffes that usually come in their cocktails, but were provided on request for Clara's entertainment. Which quickly became OUR entertainment as well!

So that was yesterday..today was a bit more relaxing yet..a visit out to Thorpe Bay (an hour outside of London by train) to visit Mum's other cousin, Mary, and her husband Nick. We had a nice time with them, having drinks, catching up, eating a great meal, and then training back home.
It was also Clara's first chance to ride the Tube! The Maida Vale stop is closest to A&K's place. By our return trip Clara was reading the Tube map and counting stops like a pro!
Mary, Clara, Nick, Katherine & Andrew gathered round the table for dinner. It's been 11 years since I'd visited them, and it was really nice to catch up!

More to come..Clara and I have the next two days on our own (alas, everyone else here has to work...) to explore London.

Cheers

Almost Made It!

Windsor Castle

So..the question burning on everyone's mind is, can you see Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and the Roman Baths all in a 12 hour day?? And the answer is, if you have a GPS you can! Sadly, Clara and I did NOT have a GPS, and we ended up getting lost on our way back through London...arriving at Andrew & Katherine's house at 8:07 pm, 7 minutes later than our bet!

Our first stop of the day was Windsor Castle. Located in the town of Windsor, it is an active, "working" castle. When the flag is flying it means that the Queen is at the residence. We toured the Queen's Doll's House, which was incredibly intricate, but, we learned, only for show, never actually for play. Then we walked through the state apartments, and finished up touring St. Georges Chapel, where new knights are formally welcomed into knighthood.

After a quick lunch in a cafe near the castle, we hopped back in the car and tried to find our way to the M3. We did..eventually...but it wasn't exactly the direct route!


Yes, we saw Stonehenge. It was very cool to see this famous stack of rocks in person! We spent about a half hour walking around the rocks (from a distance, visitors aren't allowed within a couple hundred feet of them). Then we fed Clara an ice cream and were off to Bath. The drive to Bath was beautiful: narrow windy roads around farmers fields, through small villages.


This is a shot of the Bath Abbey, taken from inside the Baths. The Bath's were fascinating, and we really enjoyed the tour through them. In fairness, there was so much more to see in the town itself than we had time for. It would definitely be worth a trip back!

We sat in the sun and relaxed for a few minutes down by the main bath. Then we climbed back into the car and made our way to the M4 for the 100 mile drive home. We made excellent time, there was very little traffic, and we were on track to be home easily by 730p. But then while trying to navigate the maze of streets from the M4 to Elgin Ave we took a wrong turn..or two.. We ended up having to call Uncle Andrew and getting guided in. The $45 that phone call will cost me would have more than paid for a satnav unit!!!

Today we're off to Oxford St for some shopping, and perhaps a museum or two in the afternoon..

Stonehenge!

First stop was Windsor Castle, which was absolutely brilliant! (Pictures to be posted tonight!).  Now we've driven to Stonehenge on our way to Bath.

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Two Days in Leeds

Clara and I left London Tuesday morning and drove up to Leeds. Leeds is the city that my Mom grew up in, and her cousin David still lives up there with his wife Kate. This picture might capture our experience the best: rainy, sunny, stormy, all wrapped up in one. The drive was mostly uneventful, only got lost a little bit in downtown Leeds!

We didn't let the rain stop us from getting out for a walk before dinner. David & Kate took us on a walk through the University grounds. It was a bit wet and muddy, but nothing we can't handle being from Seattle!

The next day Clara and I drove to York, about 25 miles west of Leeds. Our first stop was the Railway Museum, where we watched a fabulous play based on a well known and much loved English book called the Railway Children. It was very well done, and included a couple of appearances from a REAL restored steam engine (seen above). Clara liked the play so much she bought the book afterwards and is almost done with it a day and a half later!

From the Railway Museum we walked across the river and into the town centre of York, destined for the York Minster. You can see the famous church here in the background behind Clara. We toured the church, and climbed all 275 narrow, steep steps to the top of the tower. The view of the city was quite impressive, and Clara used the vantage to photograph the gargoyles affixed to each corner of the tower.

After a full day in York we drove back to Leeds and went out with Kate and David from some great Thai food at their local fav, Jino's. It was not fancy by any means, but the food was excellent!

Today Kate had the day off, so she joined us as we ventured out into Leeds. Our first stop was the Abbey House Museum, where you can find a fully authentic, restored Victorian-era street. They have relocated real victorian era shops from around Leeds and rebuilt them in the Abbey House. So you're indoors, but you can walk through the cobble stone streets and into all the shops you'd have found in Leeds during the Victorian era. Clara really enjoyed herself. You can see her here in dress up clothes, which she wore for the rest of our tour.

After the Abbey House Kate took us clothes shopping (well, took Clara anyways...) and then we stopped at a bakery for some cheese and onion pastys, sausage rolls, and custard tarts. Yum!

Stomachs full, we jumped in the car, found the M1, and high-tailed back to London, where we had 7:15p dinner plans with Andrew, Katherine and our friend Colleen, a fellow Amazonian and all-around good person. During dinner I shared our plans for tomorrow: to take advantage of having the car and visiting Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and Bath. Google maps says it's ~ 5 hrs of driving, so I thought we could manage it in a 10 hour day. Colleen has $500 on us not being able to make it back into London before 8pm. Stay tuned to find out if we can make it! (and no, Mom, I will not break any rules...)

Cheers

A New Temer in London!

Well, after a long night of travel Clara and I arrived in London this afternoon (local time). Clara got her first passport stamp!!! We took the train into Paddington Station (below)......

and caught a cab to Andrew & Katherine's flat in Maida Vale, where Andrew was waiting to welcome us. It was so great to see him (and Midnight!).

While we waited for Katherine to come home from work the three of us took Midnight for a walk around town, along the canal and around the local streets. The weather in London right now is very much like it has been in Seattle, cool, overcast, but dry. Possible rain in the forecast for tomorrow but then hopefully warming up through the rest of the week.



When Katherine came home we went out for a pint and some dinner. We stopped at a local pub that makes great pies, but they didn't allow minors after 7p. So we had our drinks then found a pizza place to finish off the meal. Clara was practically sleeping on her plate so we wrapped up, came home, got her to bed, and now I'm plotting out my route to Leeds. In the morning Clara and I pick up a rental car and head north to the town my Mom was born and raised in. Stay tuned for more updates on our adventure!

Rich

We're Off to England!

Clara and I are leaving today on a 10 day trip to England.  We'll be visiting Andrew and Katherine, and some of our other friends and family.  Should be a good time in jolly olde England!

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Crepes at the Farmers Market

Saturdays in the summer mean a trip to the Magnolia farmers market.  They have great fruits, veggies, and flowers, but our favorite destination is the crepe stand!

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Summer = Hiking

It's been a while since my last post (have I started all my posts lately with those words??), and while I wish I could say it's because I've been off hiking for the last 3 weeks, really my life has been mostly filled with work. I have managed to fit several great hikes (and a quick trip to Las Vegas) in on my weekends however. Here are a few shots to showcase the country I've been exploring this month:

This is a view from the Denny Creek trail, while enroute to Lake Melakwa . I did this hike with my friend Kristie, from NYC. We were headed for the lake, but turned back 2 miles from it after losing the trail in the snow several times. I had strange flashbacks of my attempt to summit Mt. Whitney 2 months earlier!

Makayla and I hiked Mt. Si, a small peak just outside of Seattle. It's so convenient, and so popular, that people will even hike it after work. It's a fairly brutal 4 miles and 3100' from parking lot to summit.

The next weekend we hiked in a slightly more exotic locale...the Red Rock Canyon outside of Las Vegas. We hiked a trail with similar distance and elevation to Mt. Si, but very different scenery. This is a picture of us at the top of Turtlehead Peak.

Our destination, Turtlehead Peak, in the background.

Just last weekend we hiked to Granite Mountain, part of the Alpine Lakes network of trails. The trail was fairly busy since it was a beautiful day, but the views were absolutely worth it! Above is our first view of Mt. Rainier in the distance.

Our goal is the lookout at the top of the peak. The last stretch of trail was in snow and rocks, and very steep. It was challenging!

...but totally worth it! Mt. Rainier again..

I can't walk through snow and pass up an opportunity to go sledding! Believe it or not, there is a technical term for the act of sliding down the snow on your butt: glissading! (Though wikipedia seems to think glissade is a ballet term...ridiculous!)

So those are the highlights of the last few weeks. Who says summers in Seattle aren't fun?!

Happy 4th of July!

Despite being half Brit I'm completely embracing Independance Day...its a paid day off, who wouldn't??!  :-)

The kids and I are down at the Sculpture Garden and Mrytle Edwards park, where the city is having a day of festivities, including live music.  Thunderstorms are forecast for later today, but its nice right now!

Cheers, Rich

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Summer in Seattle

It was 80F today, so the kids and I got ice cream and then decided to cool off in a local creek, called Wallace Swamp Creek. A perfect evening!
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