September

Well, I can't believe September is almost over. It has been a fun month for Patrick and I. We decided that we don't take advantage of where we live enough. So, in the last month we went to see Fred Armisen (guy who plays President Obama on SNL), Ed Helms (from The Office and the new movie The Hangover), a one-man-show in Beverly Hills and the beach for some boogie boarding. Oh, and in the middle of all that Patrick severely sprained his ankle and we had to take him to Urgent Care. It's been an exciting month.

Both the Fred Armisen and Ed Helms shows were held at the Largo in LA. It's a really intimate venue that seats about 60 people. So, for both shows we were really close to the stage. The exciting thing about the Largo is that you always know who the headliner is but you never know who else will be there to perform or just be in the audience. At the Armisen show we saw Margaret Cho in the lobby (I'm surprised I recognized her. We're not really huge Cho followers, but it was definitely her). Patrick and I both loved the Ed Helms show. No one in the audience wanted it to end. Two more cast members from The Office came that night to perform, along with Patrick's absolute favorite comedian Demetri Martin. We had no idea any of these other performers were going to be there and when Ed introduced Demetri Martin, I thought Patrick was going to pee himself from excitement. It was a really great night.

The one-man-show we went to was written and acted by a teacher that has worked in an urban LA school for the last 13 years. It was really excellent and got you thinking about the school system and how communities need to get involved (also a little depressing when you realize the magnatitude of issues schools face). Again, it was in a really small theater; I think it sat 20. On the website for the show it said you can dress casual. So, Patrick and I dressed casual: Patrick wore jeans and a nice shirt, I wore a dress and cowboy boots. Waiting in line to get into the show, however, we realized casual in Beverly Hills was on a whole other level. Oh, well...

This last weekend we decided to go to the beach because our A/C broke and the repair guy wouldn't be able to come out until the next morning. Well, it was going to be over 100 degrees that day and there was no way we were going to survive in our hot apartment. So, we thought it would be good to go to the beach where it is usually about 20 degrees cooler. When we got to the beach, it was still warm but there was also such a heavy marine layer (fog) that you couldn't even see the water or the end of the pier, even when you were standing on it. Once in a while the fog would lift and you could see a ton of surfers out in the water. Regardless of the fog, we swam in the waves and Patrick went boogie boarding. It was a weird day at the beach weather wise but lots of fun.

Oh, yeah, we also celebrated our 2 year anniversary this month. Patrick baked me cookies (which was really cute because I'm always the one that bakes) and I made us a picinic to take to the park. It was nice and relaxing and some good quality time together. It was great to have such a low-key anniversary since the rest of the month has been so hectic. Happy 2 years to us!

Grandma

Since I was in Oregon for girl's weekend, I made it an extended stay so I could visit with my family. My mom, sister and I took 4 days to go to Canada and visit my grandma. My grandma lives on Salt Spring Island in British Columbia and growing up, my family would drive up to the island once or twice a year to see Grandma and Grandpa.

Our main goal was to spend time with Grandma, but I was also really looking forward to being on the island. It had been 5 years since I was last on the island, which is way too long when you are used to visiting at least once a year. Salt Spring is an incredible place. Too many wonderful things to list, but some of my favorite memories of the island are swimming in the lakes on warm summer days, walking down to the wharf (which I always called the dwarf) to see starfish clinging to the pillars and the clams spitting, playing in the snow one Christmas out front of my grandparent's house, driving around the island to look for deer early in the morning, picking ripe berries out of the neighbor's garden... Once again, too many wonderful memories to list them all.

My grandpa's been gone for 10 years and my grandma now lives in a apartment complex for senior citizens. A couple of years after my grandpa died, my grandma sold the house that my grandpa had built and moved into the apartment. It was a good decision because the house and yard were just too much work, but it definitely feels different to not stay at the house. I have so many memories of that house and when you drive by it now it doesn't even seem like the same place. There used to be a driftwood sign out front announcing the Armstrong residence and a beautifully manicured lawn to greet you. I remember there always being homemade chocolate chip cookies, the freezer filled with homemade jam and my grandpa's amazing pancakes that were only complete once spread with grandma's homemade tayberry jam. I remember the crystal bowl that was unfailingly filled with mint chocolates (still has that at the apartment, thank goodness). I remember sleeping on the cot and snuggling down into Grandpa's WWII sleeping bag, inevitably waking up with feathers all over me. I remember watching for families of quail and deer that would roam through my grandparent's backyard. I remember sitting on the sunroom floor, looking through the slides from when my mom was a kid. I remember laying on the shag carpet, playing cards with my sister or having my grandma teach me a new card game or sitting at the yellow kitchen table putting a puzzle together with my grandma.

A lot of these things have gone by the wayside, but spending time with my grandma is still so special. She is one of the funniest people I know and extremely stubborn too. Whenever my mom would look at us and roll her eyes because Grandma was being obstinate, we would just tell my mom to remember this when she was Grandma's age and being stubborn!

While visiting, we just spent some great quality time together. Grandma is 85 years old and is still doing her logic puzzles and reading. She also puts together jigsaw puzzles with some of the other residents, plays ping-pong every week, and has wine and crackers with her neighbor every evening. The apartment complex has a gardener, but my grandma loves to go out and pull weeds and this year she planted a tomato plant among the flowers. Her hearing is not good, her hand did not heal properly from when she broke it playing ping-pong and she has troubles using her opposite arm but her mind is still really sharp and when she laughs she looks so young. I'm so thankful for the time I got to spend with her this summer and I hope I can go up to the island again next summer to spend some more time with Grandma!

My sister and I on the ferry. Her hair blowing over my forehead looks hilarious.

The Armstrong/MacInnis girls

My sister teaching my grandma about technology

View from the inter-island ferry

Grandma is the one who taught me all the card games I know, how to shuffle and how to back shuffle. At 85, she got down on the floor and played cards with me. I was so proud of her. She hasn't played cards in a long time because she has a hard time with her hands, but she shuffled and dealt her own cards. This was the highlight of my time with Grandma.