back in the ole stompin' grounds

You know, we didn't end up going to Hatley Castle after all. We decided to make a slow start on the day and arrive back in Woodinville with time for Rob to finish up some lead sheet stuff before practive tonight. Here we are, 1/2 hour from practice, working at the library. I think he can do it. We're both pretty wiped though, from travel.

Playing tourist

Here's what we did downtown:
* Galloping Goose Trail
* Solstice Cafe
* Royal London Wax Museum
* Miniature World
* Oh Gelato!

And last night we ate Villages pizza; my first pizza with a whole wheat crust. Edgy!

Mac central

Robert got off work earlier so we're hanging out now before dinner. Yes, we are all in his living room, doing stuff on our respective Macs.

Victoria, BC

That's where we are right now, visiting my brother Robert. No pictures yet ... maybe later. Great time though. Going back to the States on Wednesday.

new photo album

Yes, I already had a flickr album. But I filled it to quota and my siblings are on ringo so I'm there now too. All new stuff will go there. Here are some cutey patootie pictures of my niece and nephews:
James





Liam












Toni

shoes

Trying to find something kind of dressy but flat. Which do you prefer?

Rob's car montage

Rob did his own version of the car montage. It can be found by clicking here or on the title of this post.

We're having our weekly meeting here in the library. I have my new Skypeing headset on in case someone calls while we're here. Jo should be calling later today so we can hook up.

Day with the Jo

She's back from Indonesia for the week and we get to spend the day with her today. We're at the library now, doing quick email and bloggy things, as you can see.

Jigg's!

Drove to B'ham yesterday and had dinner with a bunch of the Swigarts (Rob's mom's side of the family). Went to Anthony's. A great time was had by all. I also picked up a headset for making phonecalls with my laptop. It cancels noise outside of the headphones as well as things out of range of the mic, so I don't have to be invading the privacy of everyone in the room when I make a phonecall from my computer.

The beef is boiling. I don't think it's a salty as I wanted. Ah, well. At least the pease pudding is working out. I had some muslin left over from a craft project I did years ago (go ahead, ask me why I'm still dragging that around after moving 6 times in the last 2 years!) so I cut a square of that to use as an impromptu pudding bag. Of course, I could only find green dried peas so it won't look right. It should taste OK, though.

Car solution

Today, we're driving with Rob's folks to Bellingham to borrow one of their cars for until we leave the US. We'll be back tomorrow in time for me to whip up some Jigg's Dinner for an early St. Patrick's day, since we'll be in Olympia this weekend.

Approved!

As of Monday, we are approved to depart for Namibia ... Praise God! Now we wait for the visa to come through and get our possessions in order. Ah, possessions. Can't live with 'em ...

But work goes on

We worked from Whole Foods Grocery store yesterday morning. We've been doing weekly meetings with each other on Monday mornings. I know, we live together. But I could be sitting next to Rob on the couch all day and have no idea what he's doing and vice versa. This way, we start the week with lists of what needs to be done and delegate. Cool stuff.

Speaking of lists of things to do, should go work on mine. Have calls to make.

More car memories

On our anniversary trip in 2003.

Self-portrait in the car's window at the Harris' in Bellingham.

On the road to Texas in 2004.

On the road to South Carolina in 2006.

Remembering better car moments ...

A picture from our first married Christmas, on the way down to see the Rostens in CA.

Shots from the honeymoon.

After our first big accident together, Thanksgiving Day in Tacoma, WA.

Car update

Rob stopped by Gerber Auto in Woodinville to show me the damage to our car and I snapped this shot with the cellphone. Yes, that orangey liquid under the car is fluid from the car: coolant.

We've now heard from the insurance company (USAA): it's totalled. We don't have a figure yet. Gotta get replacement transportation sometime this week.

Happy B-day, Peter!

Peter is the recruiter at LBT. This is from our trip to Las Pacayas, in Guatemala, summer of 2003. We're in the back of a pick-up. Peter rawks.

Day off

We're taking it easy today since we're working long days tomorrow and Sunday. We're going to be speaking Seattle, driving 4 hours to our next spot, then speaking at 2 places on Sunday before driving back Sunday afternoon. So, today I'm working on non-pressing, quasi-fun things.

Some of today's tasks have included (and will include):
☞ printing a return label for some shoes that we bought but are returning
☞ buying material to make headphone covers for Rob
☞ researching Indian clothing patterns and shopping places
☞ adding a library to this blog so folks can see all the books that I have in my library (in the sidebar)
☞ finishing a load of laundry
☞ catching up on Survivor: Fiji and, if there's a new episode, Grey's Anatomy
☞ having a fun lunch

We're at the library in Redmond today, rather than the one that's just a few minutes from our place. Change of pace.

In other news

We were supposed to go to a church in Okanogan this past weekend but we didn't because the forecast for a section of our route was freezing rain from Friday to Sunday evening. Too scary. So we talked to the pastor and he's going to see if we can visit that church as well as his other church on the same day, this upcoming weekend. The weather has been a lot milder this week so I'm not anticipating any unpleasant surprises. Will check the weather later on though.

Our major task this morning was to work on our wills. Can't leave the country without doing so, not responsibly. We've got a fair handle on it. We just need to make some lists of the particulars (guitars, special personal items and the like) so people don't need to figure that out without us.

Tonight, Rob doesn't have a Vigilants band practice so we'll both be going to Cross of Christ's Lenten Wednesday night events. That includes supper, a service and an art experience with Cross of Christ's artist-in-residence.

We're also working on a new presentation for the church we're going to in a week and a half. It includes a rationale for missions in general along with our usual presentation materials.

And we're working from the library this afternoon, as you can see.

Departure approval ...

... should happen soon. The departure approval meeting is scheduled for March 12 at 9AM so we should know if we're cleared to go to Namibia by the end-of-day on March 12. We'll keep you posted!

Personality profile

Here's a place where you can check out my personality profile. I don't know how accurate it is, just fun to take tests. Just cuz; I'm into that kind of thing. ☺

Looking up

Rob got a rental car from insurance (USAA rox!); a silver PT Cruiser. So, we should have no problems getting to our gig in Okanogan this weekend, Lord willing and weather permitting. This is what the car we're driving looks like. Only, picture it with snow.

They said that we can keep the car until ours is fixed or $900, whatever comes first. That means that either our's gets fixed and we have no car problems or else we have no car problems for about 30 days. Then, we start lookin' for solutions. We have ideas. Basically, this appears to be merely a road bump at this point. Thank God ... and keep praying.

Fender ender

No, we weren't involved in this particular pileup on I-90, through Snoqualmie Pass. But that same troublesome snow made it as as far as our neck of the woods last night and Rob got caught out in it. Oh, and while he was driving (slowly) home, the car slid on a patch of snow/ice/something into another car. The other car (an SUV) sustained a broken bumper. From the report of the towtruck that came to drag our car to somewhere where it could be assessed for damage, our car is totalled. Of course, an actual assessor will be assessing that within the next couple of days. In the meantime, friends have offered us a car to borrow to get to our speaking thing this weekend, out in Okanogan, WA.

So, the story of Rob's accident is a long one, complicated by dead cellphones, chilly temps and shock. And today I'm too wiped to tell it. And I wasn't really there so I probably wouldn't tell it right. Long story short: there were many accidents last night in our area (60 in Everett alone) and Rob was in one of them. He walked away with just a broken nail and a gouge on his hand. He thinks the 2 are related but he doesn't remember for sure.

Prayer Points
➀ That God's will would be done with our car. Does He want us to not have our car at this point? Does He want it to be fixable and back to us soon? We don't know but He does.
➁ That everyone would be totally healthy (emotionally, physically, etc.), both in Rob's car and in the other car that was involved in the accident. The other car had a guy and his 2 teenage daughters in it.
➂ That we would have safe driving on our travels to churches. We are so close to actually moving to Namibia for full-time ministry!
➃ A big "Thanks be to God!" for Rob's walking away from this one.

The big hero of the night? Our friend Eric lives near the scene of the accident and drove all over to find Rob and provide him with the warmth of a car while dealing with accident things. He also let Rob hang out at his place while waiting for the tow.

What has 2 thumbs and rocks? This guy: