In between there, life has been busy. Crazy busy. I love it. The busier I get the more I get accomplished and the more alive I feel. Don't get me wrong, I love a good lazy day in the sun, but to me that is part of the balance of life!
So much has happened!
Let's start with school/internship because, as we know, this is my priority and what takes up most of my time! I completed 4 classes this summer (16 credits) and managed a 4.0...all A's! Yay! I have 12 more hours this week on my internship and then I will be done with that. It has been an interesting experience to say the least. I have learned very little about HR, but a lot about the behind-the-scenes at the University. I'm not really going to say much more here about that for a variety of reasons, but overall it was a good way to get my feet wet with working in another field than insurance, which I did for 15+ years.
August was super intense with school as I wrapped up three of the four classes, took a 6 day class that was emotionally exhausting, had house guests, and wrote a research paper. Add to that all the regular life stuff and that is why I haven't been here
As soon as I finished school I had one day and then my friends Kelsey and Oshanna came for a quick visit. They arrived Saturday of Labor Day weekend and headed home mid-morning Monday.
Of course, we went to Kaleidoscope pizza, and then we headed off to Roxy Ann winery for some wine tasting. We bought a bottle of their Pinot Gris and sat outside enjoying the wine, sun and visiting. A lovely Saturday afternoon.
Sunday we took the ladies out on the boat to Lost Creek Lake. It was a beautiful, hot and sunny day. We spent all day out relaxing, listening to music, laughing and having a good time.
I wanted to get a nice picture of Chris with Kelsey and Oshanna on the boat...but he was having none of it. At the last second he would do something silly!
While we were out on the lake we saw another jet boat with a rooster tail...that never happens! We took a few pictures. The other boat is in the background and our rooster tail is to the right. FUN!!
It was a great weekend that went by too fast, as always.
Before Kelsey and Oshanna even left I was at the airport picking up my mom and brother who had flown in for a visit.
We had a great week with them! I didn't take a lot of pictures, but one of the highlights was the amazing food. My brother, as I have mentioned, is an excellent cook. I think he likes to come to my house just to poke around in my fridge and cabinets to see what I have so he can create amazing meals! Highlights of our meals included a salmon-ceaser-esque salad, dinner on night one was in-shell Dungeness crab, in-shell oysters and grilled prawns. Amazing. The next night my brother made portobello mushroom caps stuffed with feta, chicken, sun dried tomatoes and basil. Chris made delicious sliced, barbecued potatoes. An amazing dinner. Another night we had perfectly grilled fillet Mignon. No we don't eat like this all time, but when my brother and I (who are both total foodies) get together the food fare definitely steps up a notch or two. So fun!
Mom was only staying for a few days but her one request was a picnic. We headed up to Lake of the Woods resort (where Chris and I went snowmobiling and ice fishing in the spring) to have a picnic on the lake shore. It was beautiful! Perfect weather. Just a slight breeze to keep it from being too hot.
Chris was working but managed to stop by and join us at then end of his day before we all headed back home. My brother did a little fishing (no catching) and we just relaxed and enjoyed the beauty around us. A perfect picnic!
After mom headed home, my brother, Chris and I got busy. Mom is still recovering her stamina from her hospitalization, so we keep it pretty low-key with her.
Chris had to work Thursday, so my brother, Ken, and I went for a hike up around Roxy Ann peak. He had never been up there, and it was a gorgeous day. Afterward we hit up The Downtown Market Co. for lunch. A delicious little hole in the wall restaurant and grocery in downtown Medford. I had the caprese pannino (amazing!) and a basil infused lemonade. So refreshing after our hike!
Their menu changes weekly, and is small, consisting of just a couple sandwiches, salads, soups and whatever their other couple "mains" are.
Later that afternoon Chris, Ken and I hit up the local links for a round of (very bad) golf. We had a great time, but our play was, ahem, not so good. Oh well!
Friday Chris took the day off and we took a little road trip to the south. Lake Shasta!!
Silly boys.
The water was perfect. Warmish, not cold at all. The weather was amazing. The company was fantastic. Our best boating trip of the year for sure! We hung out on the lake from about noon to just after six. Lots of sunscreen and shade were required and no one got crispy. Chris even got to wake board! I didn't get any pictures but he looked great and the water was awesome for it.
After, since we were so close, we headed to Redding for some In n Out. My brother had never been so we figured why not? In n Out doesn't have the worlds best burgers, and their fries are not good, in my opinion, but it is a fun thing to say we did.
We didn't get home till late and we were all exhausted so went right to bed. Saturday we had another busy day.
We started out with a hike in the Applegate area. Remember last year when Chris and I went to find the Bigfoot trap and didn't? Well, we thought we would try again.
It was a short hike in to the Bigfoot trap so we decided to keep going.
We hiked for about an hour and then stopped for a rest before heading back. It only took us 40 minutes to get back down. Down is always faster than up!
After our hike we decided to hit up a few of the many, many wineries in the Applegate. The first two were total busts. Cowhorn and Valley View. Neither had what we were looking for and their wines tasted "green." But then. Then....we found heaven.
If you are a fan of full bodied reds, with amazing bouquets and unexpected flavor and are even in the Applegate area of Southern Oregon you MUST go visit the Fiasco winery tasting room. The tasting room itself is amazingly well done with lots of seating and a feeling of comfort immediately upon entering. The wines are superb. I became a wine club member because I am that in love with their wines. Yes, better than Roxy Ann. (gasp!)
Yes, we bought a few bottles. I can't wait to take people here!
We decided to call it quits on the tasting after Fiasco because we didn't want to ruin our experience with bad wines somewhere else. We went to, what Chris and I are beginning to think is the best restaurant in Medford, for lunch Cicily's Casual Italian. Their food is amazing, fresh and flavorful. Their waitstaff is top notch and they are not overpriced.
After stuffing ourselves with wine and food we went back to the house to rest and cool off. Then it was time for our second round of golf. We played both better and worse, depending. But we had fun, which is the critical component! We had a really great few days with my brother and were glad to finally be able to get him out and about to show him what Southern Oregon has to offer!
And...that was a week! Whew!
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