Signs, signs!

Signs encountered in the month of July traveling and taking company sight seeing in Seattle!

From the Bill and Melinda Gates visitor center in Seattle.

Tourist happenings in downtown Seattle.

A classic car wash in downtown Seattle!

And then outside of Seattle to the very northwestern edge of the contiguous United States, Dear and I had a little getaway to the Olympic Peninsula.

At the Cape Flattery Trail head.

Later this week or early next week I’ll share the beautiful views of Cape Flattery and the lighthouse.

While on the Olympic Peninsula we also stopped at some beautiful lavender farms in Sequim, Washington. This Grosso lavender is a full fluffy variety. I’ll be sharing a post of the lavender farms we visited later, too.

Not a real clear photo through our windshield but this bumper sticker made me smile on our way back to the ferry that would bring us home from our adventure. Homer Alaska A Quaint little drinking village with a fishing problem.!

I’m adding this post to signs, signs by Lesley! Thanks Lesley!

Cooling Off Blessings!

The timing of our son’s wedding and leftover company happened to be during a heat wave that we aren’t used to here in the Pacific Northwest! Our dear friends graciously invited us and our company over to cool off in their pool and enjoy a meal!

Such a beautiful setting on the Puget Sound.

We have finally cooled down to some bearable temperatures for me. I cringe when I see the heat and humidity in other parts of the country. Hope you are finding good ways to keep cool in your neck of the woods.

Canoeing on Lake Washington

I need to catch up with my posts on some of the fun things we did with our leftover wedding company the first week in July!

We headed to the Waterfront Activities Center at the University of Washington to rent some canoes. Thankfully the adults outnumbered the kiddos!

Here’s my crew, Jackson and Hope!

A warm day on the lake.

My niece Michelle and my sister-in-law Mandy with Avery in the 2nd canoe.

The third canoe had my brother Leonard, sister Kathy and nephew Andrew.

My crew had to work hard since we were the crew with only one adult on board!

Duck and Ducks!

At this point we were all headed back to the dock to turn in our canoes and life vests.

It was a great experience to canoe on Lake Washington amidst the water lilies, ducks, turtles and blue heron. We were ready for a cool down and some refreshments when we were done but had to take one last shot to prove we were on the University of Washington campus! We have two graduates from the University of Washington in our family and soon we’ll have another one when our son-in-law Andrew finishes his course of studies after his service with the Marines!

B & B

Since we are on the letter B for ABC Wednesday I’ll share the photos from our latest B & B experience (last Wednesday night) in Port Angeles on the Olympic Peninsula in the state of Washington. B is for Bed and Breakfast!

The Five SeaSuns Bed and Breakfast…

The gardens on the property were lush and pretty.

Breakfast was delicious with some good conversations with the other guests.

Do you prefer to stay in a hotel or a bed and breakfast establishment when you travel?

We cooled down somewhat today and for that I am thankful. I’m a heat wimp!

Chewelah Barns

Linking up with Tom for the Barn Collective!

We are hot today at this old house. Don’t feel like doing much of anything but sitting in front of the fan. How are things in your neck of the woods?

Twixt Gleams of Joy and Clouds of Doubt ~ Hymn

‘Twixt Gleams of Joy and Clouds of Doubt

‘Twixt gleams of joy and clouds of doubt our feelings come and go;
Our daily state is tossed about in ceaseless ebb and flow.
No mood of feeling, form of thought, is constant for a day;
But Thou, O Lord, Thou changest not, the same Thou art alway.

Out of the weak, unquiet drift that comes but to depart,
To that pure heaven my spirit lift where Thou unchanging art.
Lay hold of me with Thy strong grasp, let Thine almighty arm
In its embrace my weakness clasp, and I shall fear no harm.

Thy purpose of eternal good let me but surely know,
On this I’ll lean—let changing mood and feeling come or go
Glad when Thy sunshine fills my soul, nor sad when clouds overcast,
Since Thou within Thy sure control of love dost hold me fast.

Words: John C. Shairp, 1871.

Photo-a-day (11-18)

Joining Kati at Kati’s Little Corner of the World for the July photo challenge. These photos are for days 11-18.

11. fruit/vegetable

12. Soft

13. Shadow

14. On the floor

15. Sign

16. Indoors

17. On the Shelf

18. Animal/Insect

Hope you are having a good weekend. We are in for some heat again. Thank you to everyone who gave me suggestions on what to do with the apples from our apple tree. I’m waiting for a cool down around here to turn on my oven and get creative!

Still Feasting…

…instead of fasting. Soon I will have to resume my de-fluffing but Dear and I went on a quick getaway to the Olympic Peninsula this week on a whim. Spent the night in Port Angeles after driving to the northwestern most point in the contiguous U.S.A. I have a few posts to show you of the beautiful things we saw but today I’m just going to fess up on all the good eats we enjoyed in just one day!

To go on this adventure we had to take a ferry from Edmonds to Kingston on the Kitsap Peninsula.

Our first food stop after disembarking the ferry and driving to the Olympic Peninsula was the Oak Table Cafe in Sequim. You cross the Hood Canal Bridge from the Kitsap Peninsula to get to the Olympic Peninsula.

Their specialty is an Apple pancake that you see above. It’s kind of like a souffle and it’s really enough sweetness for 4 people. I didn’t eat the whole thing. It was delicious and for me a once in a lifetime experience. So that started our eating experience for this day.

After driving out to and coming back from land’s end we checked into our B & B and got a recommendation for dinner.

Happy to report Dear now has another drink to copy for my pleasure called Old Mexico.

After my very sweet start to the day I was happy to end with a delicious savory surf and turf choice for dinner. We had a salad and a Dungeness Crab cake for our starters. I’ll show our B & B breakfast in another post…

I hope you aren’t hungry or dieting while reading this post! We are back home and back to cleaning and sorting and tucking away and throwing things out at this old house. We are in for another hot weekend here in the Seattle area. How are you doing?

I’m avoiding talking about the news because it is so troubling to me and I know many of you share my feelings. My heart and prayers go out to the families who lost their brave Marines yesterday and to those who were injured…may God comfort them and help us all.