Before the Month Closes

Let me show you how we ushered in the jolly month of January. We actually had 2 new year's celebrations, this year!! The first celebration involved a road trip on New Year's Eve with 2 of our favourite people, in which we visited another 2 of our favourite people and one of our favourite dogs in our second favourite country. En route to Seattle, we stopped at a diner in Bellingham for lunch.

Annie actually got carded when she ordered a beverage to go with her corned beef. We were all pretty impressed. Clearly Annie was too.

Before long, we were hanging out with Paul and Lisa, and Tessie the wonder dog. It was New Year's Eve and we were feeling fine.

We decided to head out to a local dog-friendly bar, so that Tessie could be by our side as we looked back on last year.

There was a pool table at the bar. And, well, one thing led to another, and before we knew it, we were all chalking up our tips. (Um. Clearly, I know NOTHING about pool. Unlike Miss Pants below.)

I was a bit afeared of her fierceness!

However, perhaps because of our guardian angel (aka the moose), I somehow managed to actually knock a few of those balls right into the pocket!!

All that athleticism worked up an appetite, which was a good thing, because our new year's feast came from the Northlake Tavern. I swear that each of these pizzas weighed about 8 pounds!!

And then, it was time for the games. It was Scattegories all the way. Here we are in the war room now. Lisa looks pretty serious.

But Mister Man is dressed for battle!

While Annie looks a bit flummoxed by it all!

We watched the ball drop in Times Square, and then we all went to bed out of it. (New Year's doesn't hold the same "stay up all night" thrill that it once did....) Early to bed, early to rise = waking up to a glorious sky.

And what better way to start the new year? The only thing that could top the sunrise, was breakfast at The Portage Bay Cafe, followed by a visit to Mister Man's fave location of ALL time - The Science Fiction Hall of Fame and Experience Music Project.

The entrance way to the Science Fiction Museum made Mister Man's electrician's heart go pitter pat.

Oh Mister Man, you are such an uber geek!!

On our way out, we stopped for a photo shoot. If we ever release an album, I think we all know what's going on the cover:

But what should we NAME our band??? All that looking around the exhibit halls made us thirsty, so we headed to what is quickly becoming a new year's day tradition - Ivar's, where we shared appetizers and beverages and a whole host o' laughs.

While we enjoyed our appies and beverages, the sun made a glorious departure.

On the way out of Ivar's, Lara picked up one of the traditional pacific northwest paper masks they had for the kids. The mask, coupled with the ties from her winter hat, made for a fabulous juxtaposition.

The next day included a visit to Bedrock Industries, one of my all-time favourite spots. I shot this image through a glass prism and the abstract quality of it really appeals to me.... it sort of functions as a metaphor for the year to come. I don't know what's going to happen, but the future is very enticing indeed....