Everybody needs a little time away

The summer weekends slip away, lost to yard work and errands, so much so that I deliberately schedule in fun or we'd never leave our yard. This past weekend Alex and I got away for a bit--our first time away from Ole in who-knows-how-long. We didn't travel far, just two hours north to Olympia, where Grandma and Grandpa whisked Ole away for a fun night of spoilage and lavish attention.
So we hit the town, bar-hopping and browsing shops, foregoing schedules and meals, surviving on hors d'oeuvres and desserts. It was great.



Olympia's a very mural-friendly town!

Washington's beautiful state capital

The nighttime view from our hotel. Capitol Lake is in the distance.

We went out for breakfast, wandered through the farmers' market, and browsed antique shops. 

The only photo of us. I'm not sure what's going on with my shirt there.

The capitol building looms in every scenic view.

Back at home I tackled a tasty problem...too many cherries! The neighbors graciously offered to let us pick our fill of sweet cherries from their bountiful tree and we did. I spent the next two days pitting with the awesome Oxo cherry pitter and froze several quarts. I also dried two full trays in the food dehydrator. Then I got creative and made Bourbon-soaked cherries and canned the rest in a yummy syrup with vanilla and lemon. Sweet!