Category Archives: Seattle

Market Day

On Tuesday some of the crew had a shopping day in Woodinville and then we re-grouped with a couple carloads going downtown on the way to deliver Melissa to the airport. She had to fly home on Tuesday for work responsibilities.

My sister Kathy and I stayed behind. We picked up Katie who was done with her workday and enjoyed lunch together at La Corona our favorite Mexican joint on the west side of the Cascades. Sadly because of COVID our favorite waitress only gets 3 days of work and Tuesday was not her day. After lunch we shopped for some dinner items and headed back to Josh and Laura’s to relax before we started cooking dinner. Taco night with pies for dessert.

A very random shot of the clean up after dinner.

On Tuesday night I was feeling under the weather so I made the decision to stay away from the rest of the family gatherings on Wednesday and planned to drive back home on Thursday morning instead of Friday. Even though I didn’t get the chance to see Liliana at La Corona on Tuesday I was able to see her on Wednesday and it was good to get caught up with her and the owner of La Corona. It’s not an easy time for restaurant owners and their waitstaff.

It was good to see Lily!

Wednesday was pumpkin patch day for the rest of the crew.

Are you going to a Pumpkin Patch this year and do you have a Corn Maze near you?

Back in Colville we had our first good frost and this week is bringing more freezing temps so we’ve disconnected all our hoses, closed the crawl space vents, and rolled up the patio cover cloth. On a dry day I’ll be clearing out all the beds and our burn pile will be stacked and ready for the burn ban to be lifted.

Happy Thanksgiving Day to our Canadian neighbors and Happy Columbus Day here in the USA!

A Decade Ago…

Since I’m in that part of the month when our broadband isn’t strong enough to upload photos, I found these photos I took at the Seattle Japanese Garden in 2010. A decade ago when it was safe to travel all about the Seattle area. The area of Seattle on Capitol Hill that has been taken over by Antifa is a short distance from the Arboretum and the Japanese Gardens. I’m praying that there will be law and order again. In the meantime we wait and pray.

These quotes popped up in my Facebook Feed from years past…

Salvation is not a reward for the righteous but a gift to the guilty. -Steven Lawson (7 years ago)

Convicting thought from Jonathan Alexander during Sunday’s sermon...Am I educated in God’s Word beyond my obedience? Be a doer, not a poser! (6 years ago)

“You don’t have to be dead to move toward the light!”
I’ll add this verse to go with it…Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (3 years ago)

“You can get glad in the same shoes you get mad in.” (3 years ago)

And 1 year ago…
A little of this world will satisfy one who is strong in grace,
much will not satisfy one who is weak in grace,
nothing will satisfy one who is void of grace.
~Thomas Brooks

Have a great weekend everyone!

Seattle and the Shop

Tomorrow I’m flying with our DIL and our two grandbabes to Seattle.

I’ll be giving my full 90 on Sunday at the Major League Soccer Cup game between our team, the Seattle Sounders FC, and Toronto FC. I found this old ticket from 2012 when we played Toronto for our opening game of that season. Seattle is all a buzz with the excitement of hosting this game on our home turf.

I’ll be seeing all our kids this weekend. This is an early anniversary gift our kids had made for us. The photo was taken in Seattle on September 8th. Brought me to tears when I opened it. The best of gifts for sure.

I’m not taking my computer with me because I’ll have a 2 year old in tow and I need both hands without an extra carry-on. I’ll be scarce until next Wednesday.

Dear will be staying home and continuing work on the shop roof.

He’s a hard working guy! Our son chain sawed out the notches on the top of the posts. That was a huge help to Dear.

We’re still hoping the roof will be on by the first big snow. Time will tell.

Hope you all have a great weekend. I’ll check in with y’all next Wednesday or Thursday.

Spokane to Seattle

On our trip to Southern California on October 15th the first leg was a short flight (under one hour) from Spokane to Seattle. It takes us about an hour and a half to get to the airport from Colville. This time our plane was a Bombardier. I took one photo as we left Spokane and when we got to Seattle I tried to get some photos without the propellers.

This is the first time I’ve seen Green Lake so clearly from a plane.

Green Lake is one of Seattle’s most beloved parks. Its expanse of water and green space in the center of a dense urban neighborhood draws thousands of people daily from all over the city. The park serves as a natural preserve for hundreds of species of trees and plants, as well as numerous birds and waterfowl. The 2.8-mile path around the lake provides a perfect recreational spot for runners, bikers, skaters and walkers. Many others use the athletic fields or visit the park for boating, picnics and swimming.

I think this is a view of Lake Union and the larger green area next to the water is Gas Works Park. You can see the Space Needle to the left. The larger bridge might be the Aurora Bridge.

I’ve spent many hours at this field watching the Seattle Sounders Soccer team. I’ve missed being able to go to games since we’ve moved. Tuesday night the Sounders play a game in Los Angeles for the Western Conference Title. If they win they’ll play in the final against the Eastern Conference Title winner for the MLS Cup.

We landed shortly after flying over these fields and made it to the gate to board a much larger plane to fly to Bubank, California. Hollywood Burbank Airport, legally and formerly marketed as Bob Hope Airport, is a public airport 3 miles northwest of downtown Burbank, in Los Angeles County, California, United States.

We are having very cold overnight temperatures the next several days. Monday and Tuesday’s predictions are lows of 15 and 17 degrees and then in the twenties the rest of the week. The highs range from 37 to 48 degrees F. Thankfully no precipitation is predicted because that would mean snow! Time to pull out our winter wear.

Before She Hides…

When our daughter-in-law and I arrived at the University of Washington a couple of weeks ago to see the cherry blossoms we first looked towards the Drumheller Fountain and the Rainier Vista beyond it. We were very excited to see that Mount Rainier was not shrouded in clouds as is the case on many days.

I’m glad we stopped to take photos before we continued to the Quad to see the blossoms.

When we were done with the blossoms and headed back to the parking garage, Rainier was hiding but all the students were out in full force! I took a couple more photos on the way to the parking garage.

It was a photo fun day at the University of Washington.

It’s time for me to admit that the days are getting away from me in this Easter season and with the short amount of days until our wee grandson makes his appearance. We’ve had a few more babysitting times so Mommy can get all her doctor visits in and mommy and daddy need to go out for a special date before they have a toddler and a newborn. Our Coast kids are arriving soon to be here for BBB’s delivery. And then there’s Spring cleaning, especially on our property. So if you don’t see much from me or you don’t see comments on your blogs from me you will know why. The times they are a changing and it seems changes are something we can depend on more and more at this stage of life.

Some things don’t change and the one thing I depend on a lot and one of my favorite verses in the Bible is this one:

Hebrews 13:8 (ESV) ~Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

And then speaking of changes…

Daniel 2:20-22 English Standard Version (ESV)

20 Daniel answered and said:

“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
    to whom belong wisdom and might.
21 He changes times and seasons;
    he removes kings and sets up kings;
he gives wisdom to the wise
    and knowledge to those who have understanding;
22 he reveals deep and hidden things;
    he knows what is in the darkness,
    and the light dwells with him.

Who is Flat Stanley?

And what is the Flat Stanley Project? Many of you are unaware of who Flat Stanley is and why he visits different parts of the world. Click on this link to get more information Flat Stanley. Some elementary school teachers have their students color and cut out a flat figure of Stanley. They then choose victims willing participants to send him to and ask for the willing participants to take Stanley around with them and document interesting sights in their locale. When it’s time to send him back you include information, history, photos of where Stanley has been. Laura and I had a lot of fun with Flat Stanley. He will have a few more adventures with Josh and Laura before he gets sent back to Skylar, our Grandniece in New York.

We took Flat Stanley to see the beautiful blooming cherry blossoms on these great trees in the Quad at the University of Washington.

Many more photos from the Cherry Blossoms at the University of Washington’s Quad will be in my next post.

We are home again and getting ready to attack our Spring clean up on our acreage. All the snow has melted off our property revealing all the work that needs to be done. I hope to catch up on visits to your blogs in the next several days.

Fly Me to the Moon…

The Museum of Flight in Seattle was the venue for Andrew’s graduation with a B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from William E. Boeing Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics from the University of Washington. The ceremony was held on Friday evening.

We arrived early enough to greet other graduates and take some photos with aircraft above us.

There were some unique things about this graduation ceremony. Before the graduates arrived to their seats, I noticed paper airplanes under each of their chairs. As the graduates walked in to take their seats “Fly Me to the Moon” played which got a chuckle from the crowd. At the end of the ceremony after they turned their tassels the paper airplanes took flight.

We had front row seats.

Each graduate had the chance to write out comments to be read by the presenter. Most thanked their spouse, parents, friends and loved ones. One thanked God and one thanked his Savior, Jesus, which got a cheer. Some had “no comment”.

I liked the ending to the ceremony.

The proud graduate…as he should be.

Proud wife of her hard working husband.

Proud parents, too.

Outside the museum we met up with Andrew’s sister. Andrew’s mother and sister traveled from Utah to be at graduation.

On Saturday late afternoon and evening we had a small graduation party at our home. Josh and Laura brought a pinata filled with candy. After we had dinner and some yummy cupcakes that Laura made we headed out to the backyard to set up the pinata. It was fun to smash it and see the candy fly in our back yard.

“Wait a minute, Andrew!” You need a blindfold before you swing away.”

Andrew connected a couple times and let some candy fly. Katie had a turn and released some more candy.

Josh had a turn and that was all she wrote. The rest of us enjoyed watching and documenting the fun. The candy was gathered and we went back inside before more rain fell. Lots of conversation and catching up. Katie and Andrew just met Andrew’s father’s fiance this weekend.

Make sure you read Andrew’s shirt. Andrew’s father teared up when he received a gift from Andrew from his time in the Marines. Andrew’s father and his fiance were happy they made the road trip all the way from North Carolina to be at graduation.

Before everyone went their merry way, we sang “Great is Thy Faithfulness” and “I Love You Lord”.

Our hearts were full but our bodies were a bit overwhelmed from a week of hard work priming and painting our kitchen cabinets inside and out. That of course involved taking everything out of the cupboards and taking all the doors off and cupboards out and then putting everything back again when things dried enough. Our real estate agent had a photographer come in at 11:00 on Saturday morning to re-take photos with the new wall color and kitchen cabinets all painted white.  Then we prepped for our party for Andrew. Thankfully we had help from Josh, Laura, and my sister Lana. Sunday has been a low key day for us so that our bodies can recover. Looking forward to a new week with no major painting or projects ahead!

 

Weekend Roundup “S”

1. Starts with “S.”
2. A Favorite.
3. Silver.

Starts with S…

Sisters and siblings with our dear old Pop in Southern California. He turns 95 on May 25th. Left to right, youngest to oldest, Lana, Ellen b., Vera and Kathy.

2. A favorite…

Spring in my yard.

3. Silver…

A table set with my sterling silver flatware and other silver touches.

And my parting shot…

Sailboats sailing on Lake Union in Seattle last summer.

Linking up with Tom The Backroads Traveller for Weekend Roundup.

Hope all of you enjoy Mother’s Day weekend and if your mom is still alive that you have the chance to honor her in some way.

Cherry Blossoms

Personal blogging update at the bottom of this post.

The quad at the University of Washington offers late winter cherry blossom delights.

Laura had never been to the campus while the blossoms were in full bloom so we made a date to meet up and enjoy the blossoms together. Laura and I met up and drove to pick up Katie who lives 3 miles from the University.

The university is a jewel for the city of Seattle.

After we walked under all the trees we made a stop at Suzzalo Library specifically to climb up to the Reading room. I’ll share those photos on another day. We walked to the “Ave” for a bite to eat and then reversed our journey and parted company with separate to-do lists for the rest of the afternoon.

We are finding ourselves in a huge crunch time at this Old House and beyond. Between getting our house ready for the market and traveling to the northeast corner of our state to look at houses we might be interested in, purchasing and packing and sorting and trying to sell some items, I am finding less and less time for blogging. We are now looking at putting our house on the market in April instead of May. Yikes. If you don’t see posts or see comments from me you will know why. I’m hoping to post occasionally but I can’t link to memes because I can’t guarantee properly visiting other blogs that link up, too. Blessings…

Pie on Pi Day

To celebrate the beginning of my 67th year on this earth Dear and I drove to downtown Seattle for an early dinner. We found a parking garage close to the restaurant we’d be having dinner at and then walked down the 5 blocks to the waterfront by Pike Place Market. We were headed for Cutter’s Crabhouse to enjoy some oysters and drinks at their happy hour. Although the day started out gloomy and wet the afternoon shaped up and was sunny and glorious. When we walked into Cutters trying to decide where to sit a man at the bar suggested that sitting at the bar would be more fun than sitting at a table by ourselves. We smiled, thanked him and took his advice. We were able to engage in conversation with the bartender and the two gentlemen sitting close to us at the bar. One of the men was a Sounders Soccer fan so he and I exchanged some thoughts about “our team”. When we were done with our first round of oysters and drinks I ordered my second drink and when the bartender set it down in front of me he let me know my new soccer buddy had paid for it. What a nice gesture and our three new acquaintances wished me a happy birthday.

We settled our bill at Cutters with a gift card Katie and Andrew had given us for a Christmas gift. Then we enjoyed the views of the waterfront before trekking up the 5 blocks to Lola’s Restaurant on 4th and Virginia. We chose this Tom Douglas restaurant over his other establishments because of the variety of lamb dishes they offer. I had the Lamb Shoulder Tangine and it was delicious. Dear got the Lamb kebabs. The red you see on my dish are a generous topping of saffron threads. Our beet starter and the rice dish loaded with pistachios and Greek olives were delicious, too.

Since it was Pi day we ordered the Coconut Cream Pie for dessert to share.

When our bill came our waitress informed us the pie was on the house. Sweet! We paid for my birthday dinner with another gift card we had from Josh and Laura from Christmas.

All in all it was the most lovely celebration and on the way home I enjoyed several phone calls from our kids and my brother from Texas. His kids serenaded me with their rendition of Happy Birthday Aunt Ellen.  Fun times. Thank you Lord for showering me with beauty, good food and loved ones.