Last Saturday, Climb For Kids hosted its first climbing event of 2009. Ruth Mountain is supposed to be a easy beginner climb, but when we had to park our car a mile away from the trailhead due to avalanche debris, we knew we were in for something interesting. A leisurely 4 mile approach to Hannegan Pass became a 5.5 mile ankle twisting trek through debris fields as large as city blocks, with downed old growth trees dotting the landscape. A trip to the pass that usually takes 2 or 3 hours, now took us 4.5 hours.
Accompanying us on the trip, were Kevin MacDonald, Brenda Rodgers, Peter Wall, Rhianne Josie, and yours truly. It was cloudy and overcast most of the day, unfortunately; however, a certain someone decided it would be appropriate to say hi to us. Knowing she was along for the trip really lifted my spirits.
Anyway, the long, difficult approach took its toll on the team. Both Brenda and Rhianne are new to mountaineering, so this exaggerated trip was especially challenging. We were all pretty tired as left Hannegan Pass and headed up the base of Ruth Mountain. Brenda decided that this wasn't the right time for her to summit, so she and I stayed behind to work on climbing techniques. Rhianne stole my camera and headed up to the summit behind Kevin and Peter.
After a uneventful summit, they headed back down the mountain to face the dreaded debris fields again. 12 hours after we left the campsite, we had returned to our car extremely tired. We all had fun on the climb and we learned a great deal about mountaineering. On top of all that, we raised over $5,000 for Climb For Kids and had fun doing it.
I am looking forward to the next event, Mt. Daniel (?) to be held on July 11. You see, the road to Ruth Mountain will be closed from June 22nd thru the end of August to repair the destruction caused by all the avalanches - thus, the July 11th event will need to be modified. So, we were pretty much the last people able to climb the mountain this summer. Yeehaw! You should join Michelle and crew on their quest to conquer another fun mountain.
You can see all the photos from the trip up on Flickr.
Thursday, yes this Thursday at 4-6pm 5:30-9pm at Cafe Lulu's in Green Lake, Karen (the owner and Climb For Kids participant) is hosting a fundraising event for this year's Climb For Kids' Mt. Rainier climb. Here's a copy of the email she sent to everyone:
Hi all,
I've been inviting people left and right to the Happiest
Happy hour of the summer and figured I should extend the invite to my
faithful Facebook Cafe Lulu group. If I were savvy enough, I may have
firgured how to add you all to the facebook event, but since I'm not,
here are the details.
When: Thursday June 18th
Time: 5:30 - 9pm
Where: Cafe Lulu - 6417 Latona Ave NE
Host: Karen Laurie
Five great reasons for coming to Café Lulu’s first ever Happy Hour:
1. See your lulu friends after work with a cocktail rather than rushing to work pre-caffeinated.
2. Karen is climbing Mt. Rainier this summer and you want to give her a few tips.*
3. Invest in a great Benefit without taking a trip to HR.
4. Come toast Karen’s 6 happy years of business ownership.
5. The only time your 1st, 2nd and 3rd drinks are free instead of just your 11th!
*
It’s true…I’ve signed up to climb Rainier on Aug 8 with Climb For Kids,
an outstanding non-profit founded by fellow Lulu regulars Matt and
Ellen Kowalczyk. Evening drinks and nibbles are by donation only and
the ‘Rainier Summit’ shirts will be available for $20. All profits from
the evening will go toward my $5,000 fundraising goal. Although it
would be nice to see all of you there, if you can’t make it and would
like to donate…you can sponsor my climb at www.climbforkids.org.
Hope to see you there,
Karen
Rumor has it that I may bring a few special bottles of wine to the event, just like last time. Look at it this way, you can drink some good wine, talk with locals that you usually only give a quick glance to, and buy a T-Shirt to help a great cause. All proceeds go to Climb For Kids. Should be a lot of fun!
See you Thursday. I hope you can join us!
Good news, just got word that Karen was located!
UPDATE June 9 from Aaron Hendrickson:
Hi everyone, I just wanted to let you all know that Karen was found last night in Everett and she is ok. She is currently staying in a secure shelter for teens in Snohomish County but will be coming home in a day or two.
Thank you all so much for your help and support! I really appreciate all the efforts that everyone made to help us locate her…whether it was hanging up flyers, emailing flyers, driving around town looking for her, or just giving us encouragement during this incredibly hard time.
I cannot thank you all enough. If you sent the flyer out to your email contacts would you please forward an email to them and let them all know she is ok. I didn't receive copies of all the emails that went out so I don’t know everyone that was included. I know there were many people helping and looking as a result of your emails so please tell them all thank you from us.
Thank you all so much!
Aaron Hendrickson
Folks, there are a set of burner parents missing their daughter. You've probably seen the post on BCWA, well one of my good friends is close to the Hendrickson family. Being a parent of a daughter, I know this must be heart breaking to the parents. This would be devastating to me.
Anyway, keep an eye out for Karen. She's 16, and was last seen with a girlfriend of hers on Monday of last week.
Karen Hendrickson
16 years old
Blue eyes
5’9”
Has a scar under left eye
Blonde curly hair
Medium build
Last seen in Burien early morning on 6/1/2009
If you have any information about Karen’s whereabouts please call
(206) 396-7471 or (206) 715-1649
The authorities have been notified.
Please feel free to forward as appropriate.
Tomorrow at our house, we are hosting a fundraising event to benefit the charity Climb For Kids. We have a bunch of folks coming, and I am going to open a bunch of fantastic wines from my personal cellar. Here is the current list of wines that will be opened, however we may open a bunch more depending on how many people show up.
2006 Vincent Arroyo Petite Sirah Greenwood Ranch
2005 Grand Reve Vintners Cabernet Sauvignon Collaboration Series I Ciel du Cheval Red Mountain
2006 Leonetti Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley
2005 L'Ecole No. 41 Apogée Pepper Bridge Vineyard
2005 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate
2006 Rubicon Estate / Niebaum-Coppola Cabernet Sauvignon Cask
We will also have some light food, and perhaps a few things off the BBQ. Feel free to bring additional food or wine. The event starts at 1pm and will be held on our back patio.
This is a fundraiser, so we are asking folks to pitch in at least $10 for the event. A lot of companies will match your donation if you donate $25 or more, so I would encourage you to either bunch your donations together or give more if possible.
I was going to write a long heart wrenching post about how this has personally effected me, but you know the story by now. Anyway, it should be a lot of fun and you'll have an opportunity to help those in need. You can donate with your credit card online, via the Climb For Kids website. We hope to see you tomorrow!
Thanks again to all of you who showed up for the swing set dedication at Lowman Beach Park on Sunday. It really meant a lot to me and my family that our community has showed continued support for us. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. We love you all.
A few of you showed up after we had left. Reports are that the swing set had kids playing on it all day long.
A few blogs covered the event.
A bunch of you were nice enough to post photos.
If you want access to the any of the protected photos, please let me know. Also, if you have other photos you like to share, feel free to add those links to the comments section below.
Today marks one year since Emma passed away. Over the last few days I've been rereading my blog posts about Em and wondering what this all means. I'm still not sure I understand it, but I know that my heart still yearns for the daughter that left us after only 4.5 months. I feel extremely fortunate that our other daughter, Ella, is still with us to share all that she has to offer. She fills my heart every day with incredible joy, but I will always have this empty feeling for Emma. I go through each day wondering what it would be like if she were still around. How much more difficult it would be. How much more fun it would be. How much more joy I would have in my life. It hurts each time I think about it, and in between those tears I see my darling Ella which instantly returns a smile to my face.
Still, the loss I feel is indescribable. I don't think that pain will ever subside. That is both a curse and a blessing, as it will never let me forget what is really important in my life.
As I go through today, I will continue to remember Emma for who she was. She brought people together in a way I have never experienced. She fought so hard, it would make Chuck Norris look pale in comparison. She taught us about ourselves and touched others in ways I will never understand.
I know she is still with us today. I can feel her each and every time the sun warms me. I hear her each time the Beatles are played. I see her image in the face of her sister. It's eerie, but I love it.
Em, honey, I love you and will be thinking about you again today.
I don't know if its the rain, the crappy economy or simply because the dreaded date draws near. I don't feel like doing much of anything lately, so I figured I might as well write a blog post. It's been too long since I actually wrote something worthwhile.
As Ella becomes amazingly cuter with each passing day, I can't help the fact that I see two people when I look at her. As the rain lingers into dreary April, more events, people and scenes are reminding me of last year. Just yesterday, I took a quick glance at Ella and I laughed. Not because she did something cute or funny, but because I saw someone else looking back at me. That is happening so much lately that it is becoming comical. I'm not sure how to explain it but its definitely happening. A great example is the photo at the top of this post. I clearly see Emma's image before Ella's. It's eerie. Maybe it is just a parent's view of things... What do you see?
I expect more and more things will remind me of Emma as the anniversary of her passing gets closer. I'll try to share those experiences when I can.
I want to thank everyone who responded to our invitation to Emma's Swingset Dedication. It is an open invitation, so if you are just hearing about it now, please feel free to join us that day. If you'd much rather go on your own, that's cool too.
Lastly, most of you know that I established a non-profit last year to honor Emma. This year, Climb For Kids is expanding. We've gone out of our way to create something for almost every outdoor enthusiast! We are also sponsored again by Patagonia, so participants will get huge discounts Patagonia gear. We also have an unnamed beverage company helping us out again, too! If you can't participate, please consider donating. OK, I'll try not to bombard you all with yet more CFK pleas. :-)
Anyway, I forgot how cathartic blogging can be. I'm starting to feel much better already, but I can guarantee that it is going to be a very tough 3 weeks. I'll probably post more often for the next month or so.
Ella had a blast with Daddy today! She got to help me string the Armenian cheese he bought over the weekend. I love that Seattle has enough ethnic places that I can buy pretty much anything type of food I want at Pike Place Market.
Rest of the photos are on Flickr.
4 generations of women from Ellen's family are on a cruise through central America. They sent us a photo from Panama.
Six-Burgh!
That is all.
Our iPhone app made it on an Apple commercial (well at least our icon did). This was on during the Simpson's tonight. (h/t Peaboy for sending this to me)
Created at Obamicon.me
DRY RUB
2 tsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. savory or oregano
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. paprika
2 TBS. sea salt –ground
2 tsp. dry yellow mustard
2 TBS cinnamon
4 TBS chili powder
BASTING SPRAY
1 cup apple cider
2 TBS. olive oil
2 TBS. balsamic vinegar
6 oz. warm beer
1 large shallot - diced
This recipe is loosely based upon a beer butt chicken recipe, and was sent to me from a good friend of mine.
Preparation Time: 30 mins
Time in fridge: 5 hours
Cooking Time: 90 mins to 2 hrs
To cook beer can cornish game hen, you obviously need to start with 2 cornish game hens, roughly two pounds each. Then prepare the rub in a mixing bowl. Once the rub has been prepared, wash the game hens in the rub. Really work the rub under the skin and into every nook of the hen. Put the prepared hens in a bowl or pan, dump the remaining rub on top of the hens and place in the refrigerator. They should really sit in the fridge for 4-6 hours.
As you are waiting for the hens, go find 2 cans of cheap beer. I chose PBR. Consume the beer (this is my favorite part), but not too quickly. You'll understand why later. When you have finished consuming the beer, grab a pair of scissors and cut the tops off the beer cans.
Now in another mixing bowl, prepare the basting mixture. Combine all the ingredients and mix thoroughly. Make sure you use a good dark beer for the basting mixture. Now fill the empty beer cans 3/4ths of the way with the basting mixture. I mistakenly filled them all the way. Save the left over basting mixture, you'll need it later.
Go make sure the grill is turned on. You want it to be hot when you place the birds on it.
Now take the prepared hens out of the fridge and shove the beer cans up the center cavity of the birds. Yes, it looks weird, but the legs will be used as a pedestal. Now here's the important part. Earlier, I should have taken my good ole time to consume the beer. Instead, I waited until the last moment and chugged the two cans of PBR. I had no lunch, and so the beer went straight to my head. This was not good, as I took the birds out to the grill, they fell over on the plate I had. The basting mixture spilled all over the wall and floor. :-)
Place the birds vertically on the grill. DO NOT PLACE ON DIRECT HEAT. The whole point is to slow cook the birds. I placed the birds over the middle burner of my grill, which was off. I had the first and third burners on at medium heat. Now let the birds cook for 30-40 mins on medium heat.
After 40 mins, take your remaining basting mixture out to the grill and baste the hens. Do this every 10 minutes until the hens are finished cooking. After 90 minutes on the grill, my cornish game hens came out perfect. They were so good...
I was in total food coma after eating these birds and I believe it was contagious. Good luck. This is yummy!
We have 6 Christmas presents that are sitting on just the other side of town. UPS won't deliver them due to the weather, so I figured I'd just go pick them up myself. WRONG. I just got off the phone with UPS, which in itself was an ordeal. It's Christmas Eve, so if you try to call UPS via the normal routine, you will get a message that says "Sorry, we are experiencing high call volumes and can not take your call. Please call back later. Good Bye!". Sweet. You have to cheat the system to get through to an actual person. When you call, don't select any menu item, just keep saying the word "agent" till a real person picks up the phone. Took me a while to figure that one out.
Finally, I talked to a real person. He was exceptionally nice, but not at all helpful. I gave him the tracking numbers for each of our presents. 3 were sent via 2nd day air, 3 were sent ground. All have been in Seattle (actually the Redmond distribution center) since Dec 19th. After talking to the man on the phone, he mentioned that none of these items would be delivered today due to the bad weather. I reminded him of a few things. 1) FedEx has been driving up and down my street all day, so what's UPS's issue? 2) These were Christmas gifts for my daughter, who is going to be very disappointed and 3) no worries, I am a very good snow driver, I'll just go pick them up myself. If I didn't pick them up, he told me they would not be delivered until MONDAY - 4 FULL DAYS after Christmas. Great, I guess I'll drive to Redmond. Not a problem for me.
As I gave him each of the tracking numbers, he informed me that unfortunately all of the packages are in a secure holding facility which is inaccessible. What? Are you kidding me? So, here we have all the packages are just sitting there in the same city as me and I can't get them. It gets better, 3 of the packages are now officially marked "missing" and I need to call Amazon to run a trace on them.
Well, we did call Amazon. They told us not to worry that all our money, shipping costs, everything would be refunded. They told us UPS would pay to ship the items back, if and when they do get delivered. They are super nice people at Amazon and super helpful. Anyway, so off to the store Ellen went to repurchase everything.
This is so ridiculous. To make matter's worse, I just saw a UPS truck 3 blocks away from my house, yet they still won't come down our street (which has no hills and is pretty accessible).
UPS you are the new definition of FAIL. Thanks for making our Christmas a pain in the ass.
Ella and Ella's boyfriend, Zachary, having fun, plotting against Frosty.
This is from Zachary's cute little blog, BabyHill.
More Posts
Next page »