D is for Dale Chihuly

“I want People to be overwhelmed with light and color in a way they have never experienced.”~ Dale Chihuly

Chihuly Garden and Glass is located in the shadow of the Space Needle at the Seattle Center. On Friday the 27th of January I picked up my sister Vera from the airport and we headed straight to the Seattle Center to enjoy the art of Dale Chihuly. This was something my sister wanted to see.

The Glasshouse, a 40-foot tall glass and steel structure, was inspired by Chihuly’s appreciation for conservatories and includes a 100-foot long sculpture.

There are several rooms with themes and Chandeliers was one of them.

Ikebana and Float Boat. Dale Chihuly has always loved the water. As a child in Tacoma, Washington, he would beach-comb to find Japanese fishing floats.

The Mille Fiori from the Italian for a “thousand flowers,” this unique series is comprised of a variety of works.

The Persian Ceiling, an immersive experience in color and shape.

The Sealife room.

Linking up to ABC Wednesday for D is for Dale Chihuly. Thanks to Mrs. Nesbitt and the great team of ABC’ers.

Chihuly Garden and Glass

While we were enjoying the art of Dale Chihuly my Dear was home smoking a couple Pork Shoulders for our Carnitas Street Taco dinner on Friday night. We invited our Western Washington kids over to enjoy the meal and to visit with their Aunt Vera. We added guacamole, pico de gallo, beans and other goodies to our meal. D is also for a delicious dinner and for Dear who is a great chef!

Sky of Blue, Sea of Green…

This is another one of those posts that is all about the history of my soccer enjoyment. For a Seattle Sounders Soccer fan and season ticket holder our 2016 season ended with our boys capturing the Gold Cup. The thing that makes it amazing is that we were in last place in the middle of the season with any hope of making the playoffs questionable. Then from the bottom we had a turn around, a new coach, a new player, a new inspiration. Injured players recuperated and came back strong. The team had a strong determination and new vision. On Tuesday December 13th Josh, Laura and I drove downtown to be a part of this history and enjoy the parade and rally. Josh and Laura just got back from Toronto on Sunday and were able to be at the final game and cheer on the Sounders with 2000 or so fans. It was now time for the Washington State Fans to come out and give the team the thunderous appreciation we wished they could hear in Toronto!

15492219_10154179358653589_437076264013511389_n This photo above is from their victory celebration in Toronto, Canada.

We found our spot close to Seattle Center and waited for the parade to come to us. Josh bought this flag to take to Toronto with him and Laura since it has a likeness to the U.S.A. flag.

I turned around at one point and saw some of our friends from Northshore Community Church.

This little guy was so cute. By the way Stefan Frei, our goalie, was the MVP of the game with his save of year that will go down in soccer history, too.

Finally the trolleys with the players approached with all the fans along the route joining in the procession.

Nicolas Lodeiro holding the MLS Cup out the window for all of us to see. The added flag is from his home country of Uruguay. Lodeiro is a player who came to our team at our lowest point and with his playing ethic and spirit helped our team make a turn around.

Some past players that the Sounders fans always enjoy seeing, Kasey Keller (former goalie) and Roger Levesque, a fan favorite for many years who is now retired from soccer.

We met up with more friends and joined the throng headed to the Seattle Center for the rally.

Look at that green beard! This is part of the Sounders band.

Walking under the monorail tracks to the center.

The Trolleys stopped and our team captain Osvoldo Alonso raised the MLS Cup Champions flag next to the statue of Chief Sealth (Chief Seattle), whom the city of Seattle is named after with historical controversy. Alonso is a Cuban born soccer player who defected to the U.S.A. and is now a citizen of the United States.

Our group selfie amongst the sea of green! You might be wondering how all these people were able to get off work to attend this parade and rally in the middle of a work day. Brad Evans issued this for all the Sounders fans…

Our daughter in law actually submitted this to her boss to fly to Toronto last Friday. He said it was a very compelling reason to miss work. This excuse form was used by some for the parade and rally, too.

This is Zach Scott, another fan favorite who has been with the team from the beginning. He led the crowd in the Jingle Bells Song the team has always sung in the locker room after an away victory. This was Zach’s last season with the Sounders. He will be missed.

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way, Oh what fun it is to see Seattle win away, hey! It was fun to hear a crowd of thousands sing along.

15401060_1200744436629254_9196882971506577376_n 2016 Seattle Sounders MLS Cup Champions! Look at that sea of supporters behind them!

15390679_10154194292473589_572307301539503003_n The following day the Sounders flag was raised by Coach Schmetzer and Governor Inslee at the capitol building in Olympia, Washington.

It was a fun event to attend and we were happy to brave the crowds and the cold to be a part of history. For the record and in case anyone out there is concerned, I do not worship soccer or soccer players but I enjoy soccer and have an appreciation for the skill and stamina it takes to play this sport. Since watching our sons and daughter play soccer in the 90’s I’ve grown in the understanding of the game and have learned to appreciate the development of play between the players on the field.

Now I’m headed to the kitchen table to finish my Christmas cards so I can get them in the mail tomorrow! We are below freezing in temps here on our hill in the Seattle suburbs. Brrr. Good day to stay inside and work on our Christmas greetings. Hope you all are cozy and warm.

Seattle Sounders F.C. ~The Champions!

There was a lot of cheering going on at this old house on Saturday evening when our Seattle Sounders won in penalty kicks against the Toronto Football Club. This was our first ever win of the championship cup and Seattle is buzzing. There is a victory march and rally planned for Tuesday. It looks like the weather for the march and rally will be as cold as it was in Toronto for the game.

It’s no secret our family are huge Seattle Sounders Soccer fans and that we’ve been season ticket holders since the beginning in 2009. We’ve waited for 8 years to see our team win the MLS Cup Final! We are so happy for our boys and #thismoment in their franchise history.

Our Josh and Laura were able to travel to Toronto, Canada for the game. Their trip there got very complicated when their plane experienced mechanical issues. It ended up being a 24 hour trip to get to Toronto with delays and re-scheduled flights for them. They arrived in Toronto, checked into their hotel and took a nap before the Saturday evening game.

Brrr…it was cold. All the Sounders fans were tucked up in an upper tier in the corner of the stadium.

And at the end of 120 minutes they were able to take this happy photo having been able to experience the first ever MLS Championship Cup win!

Here are some photos from over the years of us enjoying games or representing with our Sounders gear in other parts of the world.

On the river Thames in England.

Dear with his Sounders jersey in a garden~ Cotswolds, England.

Dear outside Gloucester Cathedral in England.

Outside Old Trafford in Manchester, England.

… the Sounders simply willed themselves to the crown, and when Torres’ match-winner hit the back of the net it almost felt like a sort of destiny. For all the fire the Sounders came through to get here, what are a few more licks of flame?

Drink this in, Sounders fans. It gets no better than sitting atop the league. After the wildest season in MLS history, the trophy is coming home.

We are drinking it in here at this old house.

Discovery Park Seattle

We woke up to a beautiful day on Friday November 6th and decided to explore a part of Seattle we had never been to before. Discovery Park is located in Seattle’s Magnolia neighborhood, and is the largest park in the city. Entry is free. The Discovery Park Loop Trail is a designated National Recreation Trail, 2.8 miles long with an elevation change of just 140 feet. It passes through both forest and open meadows, offers extensive views, good prospects for bird watchers, and can be hiked or jogged year-round.

We walked to the highest point on the Loop Trail. A sign points right toward a viewpoint near the old chapel that looks out over the South Meadow. What you see from this viewpoint is the Puget Sound, The Olympic Mountain Range and Bainbridge Island.

The little white World War II chapel perched on the hill at Discovery Park has been given historic landmark status and given a second chance to remain standing on a spot that overlooks Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains. Before there was a park here, this area was Fort Lawton and it is thanks to the fort that this large park is available to Seattlites who wish to explore an urban trail.

While Fort Lawton was a quiet outpost prior to World War II, it became the second largest port of embarkation of soldiers and materials to the Pacific Theater during the war. The fort was included in the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure list. Fort Lawton officially closed on September 14, 2011.

One of our goals while at Discovery Park was to see the light house on West Point. We stopped at the visitor center and asked about driving to the lighthouse and we were happy to learn that since we were 62 or over we could get one of 8 special parking permits to park at South Beach close to the West Point, otherwise we would have had to hike there. If we were prepared it would have been easy enough for us to take the South Beach Trail and walk/hike but on this day we were happy to drive.

The West Point Lighthouse has a Victorian-era Beacon. It was built in 1881.

North Beach on Shilshole Bay.

South Beach on the Puget Sound looking towards the West Seattle Bridge with Mt. Rainier barely visible. Squint and you can see it.

This last mosaic is a photo of South Beach with a couple navigating the rocks on the left of the photo. I zoomed in on my photo to get a closer look at them. When I took this photo I didn’t realize we’d have a nice encounter with this couple. They had hiked down to the beach. When we made it to our car and started back to the visitor center to hand in our parking pass we saw them starting their walk back and we decided to roll our window down and ask them if they wanted a ride back. They were happy to accept and we learned they had just arrived the day before to the Seattle area from Milan, Italy. They were here for a very short time to see their daughter who was attending a special course at the University of Washington. We were happy to share our experiences in Milan with them. They were navigating our city by bus and other public transportation.

We would like to visit Discovery Park again in the future to see more of the park in a different season.

I’m linking up to Mosaic Monday with Maggie at Normandy Life. Click over to see more mosaics from around the world.

We have enjoyed a quiet weekend with a mix of rain, high winds and a little sunshine. We were home mostly except for church this morning and have eaten all of our meals in. Why do I feel like I need a pat on the back for that or that you even need to know that? Hope you had a good weekend in or out!

Summer Ends in Seattle…

We had an errand in West Seattle and on our way we enjoyed this view of the Space Needle.

On the way back from West Seattle we traveled on the viaduct and had views we don’t usually have when we head to Seattle. We thought we’d have lunch downtown but the parking proved to be impossible and there was more traffic than usual because of an afternoon baseball game.

I’m sure some of you recognize this logo.

The skies were so beautiful on this last day of summer over the skyline of Seattle.

We stopped outside of the downtown area at a Mexican Restaurant we’ve wanted to eat at for a while with simple and free parking. We are happy to have this beautiful and vibrant downtown to enjoy when we are in the mood and happy to be able to escape the hubbub of Seattle to our northeast burb in quieter environs. We enjoy a little of the city and a little of the country while living in between!

Seattle Treasures…

All these shots of the Seattle waterfront and other views of quintessential Seattle were taken from two Bainbridge Ferry Runs across the Puget Sound on August 28th.

The rounded tops are of Century Link Stadium where the Seahawks and the Sounders play and the further one is Safeco Field where the Seattle Mariners play.

Mount Rainier is always a treat to see even though it’s a dormant volcano and if she blows we’ll all be toast!

Linking up for Tuesday’s Treasures with Tom at The Backroads Traveler.

We are wrapping up our Labor Day with some relaxation. Dear trouble shot an electrical problem in our basement and all is well again. A handy man is a treasure to have around the house!

“When in Doubt, Go to the Library”

For my last tourist guide event with my lovingly labeled left over from the wedding company we went to my favorite library in all of the state of Washington and beyond! The Suzzallo library on the campus of the University of Washington is a treasure!

As we stepped out of the parking garage I said to Steve and Kelly, “welcome to Oxford”. We stepped inside and I was on a quest to get them up to the reading room and to see their reaction.

Kelly is a fan of Harry Potter as are several others of us! On our way up the stairs I saw the sign about the Harry Potter Exhibit.

Photos capture some of the beauty of this room but nothing makes up for seeing it yourself. My brother was ready to go back to school at the University of Washington just to be able to study in this inspiring space. Rooms like these with the architecture that takes your eyes upward point to the glory of God.

The last of my Seattle tourism photos were taken on the campus of the University of Washington.

My brother Steve, and Kelly my sister in law.

This post is the last of my extended family posts from the beginning of July. Next week I’ll show you some beautiful sights that Dear and I saw on the Olympic Peninsula.

We continue to have more bearable temperatures here in our little corner of the world. I still have to water regularly. Today I was brave enough to turn on the oven and I used the first of our apples from our tree to make an apple crisp. I used this recipe. What’s new in your corner of the world?

Riding the Ducks!

During our heat wave we decided to Ride the Ducks in Seattle with our Dallas family.

Our driver was entertaining.

The ride takes you by some highlights of Seattle like the Seattle Wheel and the Hammering Man at the Seattle Art Museum.

For me the best part of the tour was rolling onto South Lake Union and motoring in the water.

The floating house from Sleepless in Seattle was pointed out to us.

I was more interested in the building right behind this boat garage. It’s where our daughter Katie was married a few years ago.

The heat and the stop and go movement of the duck bus got the best of dear little Andrew.

After having lunch we walked through the Seattle Center to get back to our parking garage.

It was great to have our Dallas crew here for the wedding and afterwards. So nice to spend time with Hope and Andrew and get to know little Andrew better.

I’m going to just do tours with my company on my own in the future instead of spending money on the Ducks! I can’t take them out on the water but I can get them to the hot spots in town in more comfort.

We Survived!

Dear has been off of work for one week and we have survived nicely.

On Wednesday of last week we went downtown for Dear to drop off some donuts to his former workmates and I took care of some business. We decided since we were downtown and paying for parking we’d enjoy a meal at one of the Seattle iconic steak houses, Metropolitan Grill. Our lunch was delicious!

We have been working hard outdoors with some real nice weather. Dear re-stained the shingles on the patio side of our house and when he was done we were able to finally put the patio covers up!

We hauled out all the patio furniture. We are going to enjoy the shade those covers offer for the hot weekend we are promised. Soon I’ll share some of the details I’ve been adding to our patio deck!

How are things shaping up at your place?

All Aboard!

Judy and I decided to pull together a trip to the Seattle area for the Mennonite Girls Can Cook who live in British Columbia. Judy came up with a plan for the 7 B.C. girls to drive to Bellingham, Washington and hop on Amtrak south. It’s hard to corral that many girls and come up with a good date for everyone but we finally did and Wednesday June 25th would be the day. When the day was finally here one of the 7 had to stay home. Life happens…

I made a sign so they couldn’t miss their tour guide and limousine driver for the day. The car the rental agency gave me seemed as big as a limousine. This photo that Bev took catches the big white ~~limousine~~ SUV in the background. Thanks Bev for the photos I’m stealing from you for this post.

Our first stop was the Queen Mary Tea Room near the University of Washington.

We each had a different china pattern on our tea cups.

The food was delicious and presented nicely. We finished up at the tea room and after checking out the Tea Emporium we drove to our 2nd stop of the day, University Village.

“University Village is an open-air lifestyle shopping center which offers a unique formula of locally-owned boutiques and signature national retailers. U Village is a regional destination for home furnishings, popular fashions and unique gift items with a distinct collection of restaurants and eateries.”

We all enjoyed the beautiful flowers that were blooming in hanging planters and large planters throughout the center. We gave ourselves a time limit and we managed not to lose anyone while we were here.

Next stop before our dinner reservations would be my humble home. A couple of the girls had been to my house before but it was new to the rest.

It was fun to have everyone in my home for a quick refreshment and tour.

We stole Dear away from his bathroom renovation work to take a photo of all of us together on our deck steps.

We made dinner reservations at the Beach Cafe on the Edmonds waterfront which was just a hop skip and jump away from the railway station. The girls wouldn’t want to miss the train.

Several of us chose the different fish tacos for our meal while others had shrimp and scampi dishes. We shared a couple desserts just to top everything off with. By this time in our day we were rather beat and forgot to take some photos of our dishes and desserts.

On to the station and our goodbye hugs.

A lovely day from beginning to end.

I’m already making plans for an Island getaway for the next MGCC girls day out.

Here’s our day through Anneliese’s lens.

Tonight Dear and I are meeting up with Josh and Laura to celebrate a late Mother’s Day/Father’s Day meal together. We will also celebrate the U.S.A. advancing to the round of 16 with our 2nd place finish in group G.

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Category Archives: Seattle