Summer Snapshots

Summer has been a wonderful time of relaxation and preparation. I've been hired as a seasonal employee for Cooperative Agricultural Producers and am waiting for harvest to start. I'm also gearing up for grad school at Gonzaga in the fall where (have I mentioned it in a blog post?) I'll be getting my MA in teaching English as a second language. Here's what I've been up to in the meantime.



I swore to myself that I would never take the natural beauty of the Northwest for granted again, and thus I have been trying to take advantage of the many great hikes in the area. Here's my friend Karen on a short hike near Couer d'Alene.



I've been hiking a lot with family too. Here's my sister and her fiance near Liberty Lake. My sister's engagement has been one of the big developments of the summer and we are all looking forward to her wedding in June.





My sister also went on a short visit to Mexico for the first time since her return to the States, leaving us to look after her cat. Here he is sharing the fruits of a hunting expedition with us in our kitchen. Blech. 

Our annual summer book club spent some great afternoons eating pastry at "Petit Chat" bakery in Spokane, as evidenced by my friend Elizabeth here. We read Mark Twain's "The Prince and the Pauper," and tackled Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice," but mostly we just talked about life.



I've also been able to go on a couple of family trips to the lake. Here my brother is initiating my nephew into the solemn rites of lake veneration.

 



It's been great to spend more time with my niece. She doesn't look to thrilled at her overly-affectionate auntie, but she'll just have to deal.