This is a test of our new theme. We’ll see how we like it.

The garden is producing full force now. We’ve dehydrated cayane peppers and tomatoes, made tomato sauce, and more. Garden fresh tomatoes are hard to beat.

[svgallery name="Summer_Harvest"]

Mother celebrated her birthday on September 14. Typically she does not want people to know how old she is turning, but she sure didn’t mind people knowing how old she was turning this year. In fact she was quite happy that evening. Dad threw a surprise party for her and invited several of her closest friends and family to celebrate this special occasion.

In Chinese culture, the 60th birthday is regarded as a very important point in life. They traditionally believed that 60 years makes a full cycle of life; 61 years marks the beginning of a new life cycle. Typically, on the 60th birthday, a big celebration is held. Thereafter, big celebrations are held every ten years with increasing grandeur as the person matures. Traditionally, certain foods are eaten during the 60th birthday, specifically noodles, eggs, and peaches because they symbolize long life. [svgallery name="Annie_60th_Birthday"]

We spent labor day weekend at Cape Perpetua with Sandy’s Cousin Lily and her husband Andy. This was Lily’s first car camping experience. We hope they had a good experience, especially since it rained every evening. For the most part, the weather was pretty nice. There was sunshine during the day which worked out for our daily excursions.

On Saturday, had ventured into Newport and had lunch at the Rouge brewery. Conveniently the Rogue brewery was having a sale, so the guys stocked up on some beer. Later in the day, we met up with Charley and Rosanne and hiked the Cape Perpetua trail. We went down to the blow horn, but never ended up seeing it spout off. The tides were high and majestic. It was a beautiful site on the rocky beach.

After several nights in the rain, we decided to end our camping trip a little earlier. We decided to drive up the coast and stop at various locations. Lily introduced us to a glass blowing shop. We spent some time watching the artist blow glass into a lamp shade and a vase. He had some pretty amazing art work. We then ventured up to Pacific City and had lunch/dinner at the Pelican. According to David and Andy, the beer was pretty good. After lunch/dinner we headed to the Tillamook Cheese Factory for some cheese samples and ice cream.

Here are some pictures of our weekend escapade.
[svgallery name="Camping Labor Day 2009"]

We visited BC once again at the end of July. This trip was to the town of Revelstoke. Our friend, Mardel, loaned us the use of his hotel room while he was away. While hiking we enjoyed many streams, waterfalls, and snow covered peaks. [svgallery name="BC_Pictures2"]

We’re spending the weekend in Victoria, so I decided to visit the Lonely Planet website and see what activities are available. Two of the “Fast Facts about Canada” caught my attention. First, the life expectancy of women is 83.7 years, men 76.9 years. Secondly the annual beer consumption is 77 L per person over age 15.

It’s amazing how quickly time has passed. We’ve been married for over 3 months! We’re finally getting settled in to our home and gradually adjusting to married life. So far married life has been great! It’s a nice change from seeing each other only once or twice a week. We now get to see each other everyday! We’re just starting to upload pictures from our wedding. You’re welcome to view them in our gallery. We will be posting pictures as we get them in from family and friends. If you have any pictures you would like to share with us, please email them to us.