7/52

Maddie at the cookoff, petting this tree after I told her to (because I knew she would like it). Amanda was in town for the cookoff, which was nice, and she won with a delicious earl grey oatmeal & poached pear with lavender and candied almonds.
The previous Friday was Valentine's day, which has never been a big deal for me or Jeff. After work I went to buy a couple of pairs of leggings (and ended up also buying a new sweater and a fancy top but whatever), and I stopped by Cartem's, figuring when I was done shopping I'd go to the Mill and bring a donut to Jeff at work. I gave it to him and he sheepishly presented a box of salted caramels he'd picked up before his shift. It's funny that we both decided to get the other something sweet when we've never done so in the past and definitely didn't discuss doing it this year.

19 August 13

Maddie, freestyle drawing in Disneyland. She wasn't even posing; we found her like this.
Michael joined us for our two days in the park; I drove up in the morning with him and Maddie, listening to music and eating snacks. Disneyland is always so much more crowded than I remember it being, and even though Big Thunder Mountain was closed (one of my favourites) we still had a good time, followed up by an excellent dinner at Catal. Exhausted, we walked back to the Holiday Inn, where the shower was crappy but the beds were comfy.
Some more photos from this day here.

06 July 13

Jeff and I went out to Maple Ridge and had dinner at the Billy Miner with Mom & Jimm, and then picked up Maddie & Hayley to go to Alice's birthday party at Josh's. It's always a pretty fine time getting drunk with my sisters.

30 June 13

Dad and Sharon were having a barbecue at their new place (a basement suite with some friends of theirs who own the upstairs) which has a pool! Jeff & I arrived early so he could have a swim before leaving for work, and my siblings showed up not too long after. They also unfortunately didn't stay the whole evening, but I had a good time swimming and drinking beer and eating food and talking to people I may not have otherwise.

06 April 13

Maddie came out to go thrifting and borrow the Pentax, so I took some portraits of her to finish off my roll of film (more here). We both found some good things at the shop and afterwards we ate some vegan ice cream at the soda fountain across the street. In the evening Jeff and I went down to the Mill to taste-test beer cocktails and sangria for their summer drink menu, and got nicely sauced and ate soft pretzels.

16 December 12

After driving all day through a terrifying rainpocalypse, we finally arrived in Portland. Sarah met us at the hotel and happily chauffered us to a pizza place in her neighbourhood, Dolce Vivi. It was super tasty and they had vegan pizza so that Maddie's insides wouldn't die. Afterwards we popped into the hotel restaurant's lounge for a drink. I had some kind of pear sidecar thing.

26 May 12

Hayley and I went with Maddie to June's, where she got her first tattoo as a memorial for Alex. She told me that shortly after Alex died, she had a dream about getting an eagle feather tattoo. According to his grandmother, Alex's spirit guide was the eagle, which represents the messenger between the spirit world and the living world. She had never thought about getting a tattoo before, but she said, "It just seemed too important to ignore."
You can see a few more photos from the session here.

19 April 12

Alex died this Thursday afternoon. Jeff and I went out to see my family in the evening... Jeff made pasta dinner for those that felt hungry enough to eat it. We sat around in the living room, talking, crying, laughing... Maddie curled in front of the fire, underneath a blanket from the hospital, wearing one of his shirts.

Her friend Kayla showed up and didn't say a word, just laid down at Maddie's side. We were so thankful she was there to spend that night with Maddie so she wouldn't have to sleep alone in the bedroom she shared with Alex.

28 July 11

Jeff and I went to my mom's for dinner; we sat in the kitchen with the back door open and ate cold meats & cheeses and salad. And drank lots of rosé. As usual, someone (probably Travers) almost did a spit-take at the table from laughing. Mom sent me home with half a wheel of brie and a bunch of tapenade.

26 April 10

I'm not sure if I posted this before, but it is the Christmas gift Jeff and I got from Maddie. She based it on the album cover of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' Let Love In and it is amazing.

19 February 10

Maddie and Alice came over and they looked through the leftovers from the clothes swap. I made Maddie try on Jeff's old glasses; we could barely stop laughing long enough to take the picture.

02 June 09

Went for dinner at Mom and Jimm's, where Maddie gave me an AMAZING Tom Waits charcoal she did from a photo I sent her. It sat on Jeff's dashboard for the ride home/to get cheap gas in Silverdale.

24 January 09

Yesterday me and all my siblings went to my dad's for food and booze and belated Christmas gifts. I laughed until my face and stomach hurt, as I usually do when I hang out with my family.