ABC Wednesday starts up again at the beginning of the Alphabet for it’s 21st round this week. Melody is the new hostess and the new ABC site is found by clicking here.
We stopped in traffic by this building with it’s unique sign on our way to Interstate 90 on one of our trips home from Eastern Washington.
Our little Addy May is the youngest in our family and her mama’s family. We were in eastern Washington visiting our kids from Friday afternoon until early Tuesday morning. The photo above is of Addy with mommy and granny (great grandmother). We went out to lunch on Saturday while Daddy was working.
This young-un loves to be up on her feet and not laying down. Gramps got a good workout holding her up.
Daddy got a good arm workout after he got home from work.
Addy was expressive with him and let him know all the ups and downs of the day.
Mostly it was good news. Good thing her parents are young, too, because of all there is to do in bringing up a baby safely is hard on the arms, legs, back, shoulders not to mention emotions. Young ones in our care are worth all the effort. We were happy to arrive for the weekend to help out in any way we could. Mostly we had Addy time while mommy and daddy had free arms to accomplish other things around the house. It was so good to get caught up with the development going on with the youngest amongst us. She’s already turning over and it’s no easy prospect for her.
As I watched all her antics and movements I kept thinking if I moved this much and was this active I would lose some weight for sure. All these photos and activities happened on Saturday June 23rd. Addy is 3 months old.
Today is also Dan and Jamie’s 2 year anniversary! Happy Anniversary Dan and Jamie! So many changes in just two years!
We just arrived home. The travel time by car to our eastern Washington kids is close to 6 hours. We cross the Cascade Mountain range, the Columbia River and several farmlands on our journey there and back. The largest city we go through after leaving Western Washington is Spokane where we turn north and drive about 20 miles south of the Canadian border before reaching our kids home. We have learned the best way for us to travel these roads is listening to a book on cd. This time around we listened to a new to us author, Barbara Cleverly and her book called Not My Blood, A Joe Sandilands Investigation. The narrator makes or breaks a book on cd for us and Simon Prebble was real easy on our ears.
Linking to ABC Wednesday for the letter Y. Thank you to Mrs. Nesbitt and the great team of administrators keeping things going!
On my recent trip (May 24, 2017) flying from Seattle to Southern California I had a window seat with some nice views of the Cascades Volcanoes of the Pacific Northwest. This first one is of Mount St. Helens which erupted in 1980. This is visible shortly after taking off from Seattle and heading south. If you want to read more information on these volcanoes you can click over to the USGS here.
This might be Mount Hood in Oregon just across the border from Washington State. “The familiar snow-clad peaks of the Cascade Range are part of a 1,300 km (800 mi) chain of volcanoes, which extends from northern California to southern British Columbia. The volcanoes are the result of the slow slide of dense oceanic crust as it sinks beneath North America (subduction), which releases water and melts overlying rock. This rich volcanic zone contains the well-known landmark volcanoes and approximately 2,900 other known volcanic features ranging from small cinder cones to substantial shield volcanoes.”
Over Oregon I saw these that I believe are the Three Sisters. “As population increases in the Pacific Northwest, areas near the volcanoes are becoming developed and more people and property are at risk. The principal hazards to people in the Pacific Northwest are from lahars and ash fall. Lahars (volcanic mudflows) can destroy buildings and infrastructure. Eruptions that include volcanic ash can be especially dangerous for aircraft, even at long distances from the volcano, because volcanic ash can clog and shut down their engines.” Not a cheery thought while flying over these volcanoes.
This is a zoom in on Crater Lake in Southern Oregon.
This last one is over Northern California and I think it’s Mount Shasta.
I’m linking up to ABC Wednesday which was started by Mrs. Nesbitt and is now administered by a few great bloggers.
I’m slowly catching up after my travels with viewing and commenting on blogs. Doesn’t take much to throw me off my game these days. We are promised some nice warmer temps today and tomorrow in the Seattle area and then we get another bout of rain and cooler temps just in time for the weekend. Dear comes home from Chicago tonight and I’m looking forward to that. I usually don’t have to brew my own coffee in the morning. That’s not the only reason I enjoy having him home. Have a good Tuesday!
The most vibrant of our azaleas has bloomed.
The fern fronds are unfurling.
Everything is green. Our large rhododendron plants are just starting to open their buds. This is the back side of our home.
This smaller rhododendron is in full bloom.
The rosebud azaleas are close to their prime.
This is view of our side yard looking to the front of our property. Our house is on the left and garage/shop on the right.
Yellow Rhododendrons
I’m real excited about all the peony buds this year!
This is one of our Top Hat Blueberry plants on our deck. Fresh blueberries are in our future.
We are in another rainy pattern. They are talking about some sunshine in the near future.
Addyson is 2 months old today. We were texted some photos the last couple of days.
They’ve been storing breast milk and daddy was able to successfully feed her for the first time on Mother’s Day.
2 months old with Rayna keeping a watchful eye on her! Isn’t she lovely…So happy for the easy way we have these days to share photos. It makes being far away so much easier. Are you near or far from your grandkids?
Linking up to ABC Wednesday for the letter S. Thanks to Mrs. Nesbitt and her loyal team.
…and because of our rain things seem so right and restored in Spring.
The Seattle Japanese Garden has been open to the public since 1960. It is one of the finest Japanese-style gardens outside of Japan.
This 3.5 acre garden features a style developed in the late 16th to early 17th centuries, known as stroll gardens.
Following a winding path around a central pond, stroll gardens invite visitors to journey through varied landscapes of Japan. Along the journey, varied landscapes are hidden and then revealed.
Renowned landscape designer Juki Iida planned the Seattle Japanese Garden faithful to the principle of shinzensa, the essence of nature.
Because the sun was shining and we were promised a few hours of it we picked up our daughter who lives close to the University of Washington and the Japanese Gardens just south of the University for a little stroll about the gardens.
We enjoyed our stroll through the garden last Thursday, the 4th of May.
Some of the reflections reminded me of Monet.
After the gardens we stopped for lunch at Saint Helens Cafe and then had a second walk at Magnuson Park before we dropped Katie off. This week we’ve had two sunshine days in a row so far. We are basking in it.
I’m linking up to ABC Wednesday for R is for Rain, Right, Restored, Reflections, Revealed, Renowned. Speaking of renowned, thank you to Roger and the team and Mrs. Nesbitt for keeping this meme alive for many years now.
I’m also linking up to Tom’s Tuesday’s Treasures.
Seattle has soaked up 44.67 inches of rain since October 1. That makes this October-through-April the wettest such period since record-keeping began in 1895 — and there’s still another week of April left to go. The normal amount of rainfall for the October-through-April period in Seattle is 30.9 inches, according to the service.
When the sun finally shines we race outside to soak it up and if we are bloggers we grab our cameras. Our plants and trees are blooming and blossoming a little later this year than last.
Our apple tree and pear tree are full of blossoms. We don’t have our patio covers up yet. We usually put them up mid-May and then we bring out our patio furniture.
Apple blossoms above and Pear blossoms below.
Our pear tree is in the middle of treatments for Pear Trellis Rust. It’s a great old pear tree and we do not want to let it stop growing healthy.
We left our most precious little flower in Eastern Washington and are planning our next trip back across the mountains to see in person how she has grown.
Precious bundle of cuddles.
I’m linking to ABC Wednesday started by Mrs. Nesbitt and carried on by a great team of administrators with Roger at the helm.
We had a day with lots of sunshine on Monday. Such a nice change. I’m headed across the line on Tuesday and will be late in visiting blogs. Hope Spring is going well in your neck of the woods.
Magnuson Park is a 350 acres park on Sand Point at Pontiac Bay, Lake Washington, in the Sand Point neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. The park is the second largest in Seattle, after 534 acres Discovery Park in Magnolia.
Established in 1900 (military use 1922-1975)
On Tuesday March 28th our daughter Katie and I had a stroll in the park.
Katie and Andrew live on the edge of Magnuson Park while Andrew is attending the University of Washington. He is working very hard on an Aeronautical Engineering degree.
We had an umbrella in hand on this day that sprinkled on us off and on.
Hooded Merganser
I think this is a white breasted nuthatch.
Sun steps…
I think this is a ring necked duck.
Katie and I are headed for another walk at Magnuson tomorrow and this time we’re hoping for a sunshiny day.
Linking up to ABC Wednesday created by Mrs. Nesbitt and administered by Roger and his mighty team!
Daddy and Gramps looking lovingly at Addy May on Thursday March 23rd. She’s 3 days old in these photos.
Addy and her mom.
Isn’t She Lovely
L is for the love we have for our first grandchild Addy May who is lovely and has stolen our hearts.
Linking up to ABC Wednesday with Mrs. Nesbitt, Roger and the lovely team of administrators.
…today marks my sixty sixth year on this earth, I reflect.
I was the fifth child born to my Russian immigrant parents.
I arrived on the scene just four years after my parents settled in East Los Angeles from Tehran, Iran.
Our first sister died before she turned two in Iran and that’s why you only see four of the five of us born to my parents here.
Our mom always made sure we had new clothes for going to church on Easter and Christmas.
After 7 years of being the baby of the family my brother Tim arrived. We were still in the black and white photograph era. In the fourth grade I memorized these verses from the Bible in the King James Version and these verses are still among my favorite from God’s Word. I was on a journey that would lead me to a significant event in my life when I was twelve. I’ll share that in a later post.
John 14: 1-3 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
After Tim and moving on to the color film era three more siblings were added to our family, the last two being twins. Oops, my older brother Fred is absent from the photo above. These reflections are from my first eighteen years.
I will add more reflections on my sixty six years in the days to come. For now the most significant change that will come to me in my sixty sixth year is that I will be able to hold my first grand baby, Addy, for the first time.
That will be a very nice gift for my sixty sixth year as I move on to the Baba/Grandmother stage of my life. More to come. I’m headed out on a little birthday adventure with Dear today. I am blessed. I’ll check in later to see your posts.
Linking up to ABC Wednesday for J is for Just because…thank you jubilant hosts.
On a recent walk Dear saw this Guard Dog on the porch of a house and alerted me so I could take a photo. Now this is a great guard dog that never needs feeding or walking. I think the chain is a good touch!
We are busy at this old house getting all our records together for our yearly gutting by the IRS. I might be slow in getting around because my left hand and wrist are giving me gnawing pain. I’ve lost my grip. I hope I don’t have to go under the knife to get things repaired. I’m visiting my General Practitioner today to get some good advice on how I should go forward.
I’m linking up to ABC Wednesday started by Mrs. Nesbitt and carried on by a GREAT team of bloggers!
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 