Not With a Bang But a Whimper

This is the way the world ends

Not with a bang but a whimper

-T.S. Eliot

I love this poem, and it seems a bit fitting for the end of 2017 for me. I am back from my trip but currently in the throes of a death plague that seems to be neverending (it seems patently unfair that I was sick two Christmases in a row, but I suppose that's par for the course with my immune system).

They don't mind when I'm sick cause it means extra couch time for them.

At least if I have to be laid up on the couch coughing up bits of my lungs, the weather is equally as disgusting outside so I don't feel like I'm missing quality time with the horses. Nobody wants to be outside when the real feel is consistently in the single digits -- brrrrr.

My second USDF award came while I was gone. Guess I need to figure out where to hang these? Since I'm apparently starting a collection...

I feel a little too dulled by the NyQuil to even attempt any kind of 2017 recap. And I achieved like none of my 2017 goals so I don't want to write about those either, haha.

I guess I could write about some of the fun Christmas swag I acquired :)

Here's to 2018 starting better than 2017 is ending -- if I get my whimper out of the way, maybe the bang will follow ;)

Snapshots from Seattle (Photo Dump)

Hello, all -- long time no talk! I've been fully absorbed in my trip to the Pacific Northwest and while I have scanned most of the blogs posted in my absence, I haven't been commenting -- sorry about that! I don't have much to write about my trip -- while we've done some tourist-y things, the purpose of coming here was to spend time with my last remaining living grandparent, so that has taken priority over seeing some of the sights. The weather has been incredibly dreary most of the trip, with cloudy, rainy days and cool temperatures. By contrast, we missed quite a few 50 degree days at home, which bums me out a little. DH flew home yesterday, and I'll be heading that way this weekend, but in the quiet that comes with being here alone, I figured I could dump some of the bagillion cell phone shots of the trip. The formatting is a bit wonky since I'm not on a computer I'm comfortable with, but whatever. Photo dump here we come!

On the plane! Our departure came after a rough morning and a very real fear of missing our flight.... haha. 

I made an emergency trip to Best Buy the day before we left to snag a new Kindle Fire to keep DH entertained on the flight -- since Amazon apparently decided to stop allowing the original generation of Fires to download content, with no notice (thanks Amazon). 

My aunt and uncle's cat was not thrilled about housesitters. 

The moment we realized we weren't in the Midwest any more ;) hahaha

Navy Museum in Bremerton. 

DH is a little too tall to sleep comfortably on a ship. 

Or sit comfortably in a fighter pilot seat!

The ferry to Seattle. 

Funny fish lights in a seafood restaurant. 

DH was so excited for crab toast and then annoyed by the one tiny piece of crab on his plate -- a real bait and switch ;) 

Making an attempt at drinking some "local" wines (although one was from Idaho, whoops). 

In an edition of #textsfrommyhousesitter, my teeny dog was quite lonely without me. 

DH bought me a lovely opal and sapphire ring he saw me eyeballing at an antique store <3

So. Much. Traffic. IDK how people live here. 

I did drag him up to two tack stores near Seattle, but just window shopped. 

Met up with an old college friend for coffee! :)

Beach time! (it was all of 35 degrees, haha)

Point No Point Lighthouse

Cool driftwood horse. 

Brunch in Port Gamble at the Scratch Kitchen. Very hipster. Our water glasses were mason jars ;)

I was deep in dog withdrawal at this point so I had to pet all the "shop dogs" in the quaint little stores. 

We ventured over to Seattle via ferry for a day!

Not only was it stupid cloudy, but part of the Space Needle was closed for construction.... so this was basically a giant waste of $50. Ugh. 

DH enjoyed the Pike Street Market (or whatever it's called) and bought $$$$ of fresh seafood (his kryptonite).

He also enjoyed a seafood lunch at the Crab Pot (while I had yet another burger, lol). 

After 6 days of rain, we FINALLY saw the sun. Briefly. 

The other cat is even LESS impressed with housesitters. But apparently he hates everyone?

Now that DH is gone, I doubt I'll do much sightseeing by myself, so these are probably the only interesting photos that will come out of my trip! :) I'm having a wonderful time spending time with my grandmother, but I'll admit to being a bit homesick and ready to get back to the farm. 

DH home snuggling my teeny dog without me.... *sob*