CHANGING WHEATHER

Wow, Autumn in Seattle and going into winter, yes, the season of perpetual rain has arrived!  At least the temperature rarely stays below freezing for long.  When I was going to school at Indiana University (IUPUI) as part of my education, I learned what true winter really is.  The experience of -27F with the campus flag at a constant 90 degrees bringing the wind-chill to an official -80F to -100F was crazy!!!  OK, that was the actual worst I ever experienced, however, stoking the BBQ mid-winter in any part of the northern mid-west will get you the dumb looks are still free experience real fast!  For many of us here in the Pacific North West, stoking the BBQ during any part of our winter cheers the spirit on!  Just imagine, a Saturday evening dark gray overcast sky with a light drizzle that originated from a depression that was formed somewhere out in the pristine north pacific.  Although the deciduous trees have all lost their leaves we are the Evergreen State.  From cedars to rhododendrons, azaleas and more, a wonderful spectrum of green blankets this incredible land.  Now imagine a tasty bottle of wine.  Our choice might be a beautiful syrah or a butt-kick'n Italian red!  Additionally, we make a variety of true world class beers that would also be a great choice.  If one has an outside covered fire-pit, bonus!!  Actually, I can only fantasize about the fire-pit.(maybe one day).  OK, now imagine our fresh caught salmon on the grill with alder chips smoking away.  Add some wonderful greens, some delicious bread, and wow!!  This is a small glimpse of how we make it through our winters.  All in all, we actually love it.  Last week we actually had our first wind storm and I knew there would be fewer people in the dojo.  I asked our girl Amanda if she wanted to put on her gi and do some class time with us.  She was super stoked!  In fact, it was as exciting as getting some princess toy option!  (she is four)  During our warm-up, I laughed hard from the sheer joy of seeing our girl have so much fun.  She did a great job.  Her brother Evan also got in on a small part of the action.  Needless to say, during the cold winter months, a dojo is another great place to be!  Until next time be safe and God Bless.  Cheers!

                                                                                                                         Mitch