Seattle Japanese Garden

This is my second post about our stroll through the Japanese Garden. If you click here you can see my previous post with some history about the garden.

Our lovely stretch of sunshiny days has come to an end and we have a wet forecast for the next several days. Because of the forecast we went out and did the yard work yesterday. I mow and Dear whacks the edges. When I mow I get 10,000 steps in before I know it. I took some photos of the yard in the Spring sunshine. Here’s one shot of our yard from yesterday. The apple blossoms and pear blossoms are gone and the trees are leafing up nicely. I’ll share more tomorrow.

A Rare Sunny Morning…

My new header photo was taken at the Roozengaarde Gardens in Mt. Vernon in the state of Washington. When we heard we might have a few hours of sunshine on Tuesday, Dear and I zoomed up north about an hour from our home to see the very end of the tulip festival offerings. I’m first sharing the photos I took out in the few remaining fields of tulips.

The well planned garden and the borders of tulips in alphabetical order to help you know what you might want to order were still lovely to enjoy. I’ll be sharing photos from those areas next.

We had a warming up today which is much appreciated. We even were able to throw open a few windows to enjoy the fresh air.

First Hodgepodge of May

1. Can you tell I’m embracing a Cinco de Mayo theme here this week? Do you like Mexican food? What’s your favorite dish? How about on the side-black beans, pinto beans, refried beans, rice? What about heat-mild, medium, hot? Will you celebrate with Mexican food and drink on May 5th aka Cinco de Mayo?

We embrace Mexican food every week. Most Tuesdays you’ll find us at La Corona sitting at a table served by our favorite waitress, Liliana. When she sees us drive up she heads to the bar to make us our Cadillac Margaritas. We’ve become good friends sharing life experiences together with her. We enjoy medium hot. No plans so far for Cinco de Mayo as we already had our Tequila Tuesday this week. We enjoy Mexican food at home, too. Photo is from a couple years ago before I embraced a new hairdo and my grey. Growing up in Montebello, California in my elementary school days we would have special assemblies and dance the Mexican Hat Dance on Cinco de Mayo.

2. Ever been to Mexico? For work or holiday? Love it or no? If you haven’t been is this a place you’d like to visit? Can you speak Spanish?

Surprising that even though we grew up in Southern California Dear and I have only been to Mexico once to pick up Saltillo floor tiles (a type of terracotta tile) with my cousin and his wife who were building a home. It’s referred to as the perfectly imperfect tile. This was not a vacation in any stretch of the imagination. We are happy to have made it to Tecate and back alive to talk about it. Part of the story involves us getting a ride by the Tijuana police back to the border.

3. What’s one thing you may accomplish this month?

I know that this month I’ll be getting a large part of my quota in of visiting family. We will head east to visit Addy and her folks again and then I will fly south to see my dear old pop for his 94th birthday and see as many siblings and nieces and nephews that I can fit in and who have the time to visit with me.

4. If you were mayor of your village, city, or town, what’s one thing you’d like to see changed, done away with, revamped, or accomplished? Is serving in public office something you’ve ever seriously considered?

If I was mayor of my village I’d space out city projects so that every major street in town wasn’t torn up at the same time. No interest whatsoever in serving in public office, thank you.

5. What’s something that may be popular, but that you just don’t get?

Green “healthy” smoothies.

6. Can’t let this week slip by without mentioning Thursday May 4th is Star Wars Day. As in ‘May the 4th be with you’ ahem. Are you a fan of the Star Wars series? Exactly how much of a fan are you? On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being ‘I’ve seen every film, own the action figures, might have dressed as Darth Vader for Halloween one year’, and 1 being, ‘what’s a Vader?’ -where do you land?

Well we embraced the series back in the day. Our middle son always had little figurines of Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker in his pocket. I still have those in one of my china cabinets to give back to him. On the scale, I’ll say 3. And…just to name drop, we were in a small group with George Lucas’ sister in the late 70’s and early 80’s.

7. Scroll back through your blog posts and in three sentences or less tell us the general theme of your fourth blog post. Does it still ring true today? Is it a topic you re-visit on your blog from time to time?

My blog is about all the things I enjoy and wonder about. What I see in the world around me and who I see it with. It’s always been heavy with photos because I’m visual. My fourth post dated March 5, 2007 was a devotional about Trusting and Obeying. Yes, it still rings true and I post devotionals occasionally and Sunday Hymns every week. Jesus will always be a part of my blog since He has saved me and leads me on in my life.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Today Dear and I enjoyed some time at Roozengaarde Gardens in Mt. Vernon enjoying the end of Tulip season there. My photo at the top of the post and this one above was taken at the gardens. I’ll be publishing a few posts of all the beautiful tulips we enjoyed soon.

Linking up with Joyce at From This Side of the Pond for Wednesday Hodgepodge.

Farewell to April ’17

A view from my kitchen window on Saturday April 29th.

The apple tree is in full blossom and several other plants are greening up nicely and pushing forth their buds.

It’s a very green time of the year here. This is a view from the back of our home looking towards our old pear tree in the distance beyond the chain link fence.

The steps into our home from the deck.

Some of the apple blossoms close-up.

The Pink Dogwood is just now getting ready for it’s full glory with it’s pink blooms unfurling.

We’ve had a quiet weekend except for me going to a Sounders game with our daughter and son-in-law on Saturday evening. We went down early in the game and in the 2nd half at the 74th minute we were down by 3 goals to none. In the last fifteen minutes of the game we scored 3 goals to tie the game. The last few minutes were amazing. Too bad about the folks that left early thinking we would lose. Weather wise we had some dry stretches in the morning and into the afternoon the rain began as we headed to the game and after the game it was pouring as we drove home. Sunday has been a mix. The weather people are talking about the possibility of us getting up to 70 degrees this next week. We hope so!!

Linking up for Mosaic Monday with Maggie at Normandy Life.

Tea at Lovella’s

To get to this lovely setting and presentation it takes lots of planning ahead and sometimes it takes many hands.

All the Mennonite Girls from British Columbia and me, the U.S.A. cousin, hadn’t been together since December. It was high tea time for us to get together again and Lovella graciously offered her home knowing that it is easier for me to get there from the U.S.A.

Can you take enough photos to document all the planning, baking and creating of these beautiful delicacies?

Anneliese baked, mixed and put together this tiered platter of gluten free tea bites for Julie and all of us. They were so tasty and she’ll share the recipe sometime in the future on our blog.

There were eight of us around the table on this day and we sorely missed our two Mennonite Girls from Manitoba. Lovella made these beautiful cookies for each of us and they served as place cards letting us know where to sit.

Some close ups of what we enjoyed.

Kathy made this fruit salad with a nice dressing that she will share soon.

And here is a little glimpse in how it all came together just before we sat down at Lovella’s table.

Lovella worked ahead of time to make the tea come together making pastry puff cones to stuff with an egg salad mixture and other tea treats.

Judy put together a lovely Earl Grey punch that she’ll be sharing soon on the blog.

Bev made some wonderful tarts with basil and other yummy ingredients, bottom right. Lovella also made mini croissants from scratch, rhubarb scones, and plain scones. Lovella provided lemon curd, blackberry preserves and creme fraiche to go with the scones.

When we ate enough of the savory treats Lovella brought out these delicacies that she had also prepared ahead of time for us. Melt in your mouth pavlova goodness!

We had a great time of catching up and taking care of some business for some upcoming events.

I’m very thankful for my Mennonite Girl friends and all I’ve learned and enjoyed since God plopped me into this community. Thank you Lovella for such a lovely time that you thought out and brought together for all of us. Thanks to all the other girls for their contributions to our wonderful time of feasting and of fellowship. It was a sacred time.

Rain, Rain, Go Away Hodgepodge

1. April showers bring May flowers or so the saying goes. Has your April been filled with showers? Do you carry an umbrella, wear a slicker, or make a run for it? Besides rain, what else has filled your April?

We are breaking rainfall records here in the Pacific Northwest. Oye. No, I do not bother with an umbrella. I do have a good waterproof jacket. Mostly, I run for it!

Our 5 week old granddaughter has filled our April with lots of love, cuddles and smiles. This is one of the latest photos we’ve gotten via text. Oh how I love this little gift from above.

2. What’s something you could give a 30-minute presentation on at a moment’s notice and with zero preparation?

How to wing it making a meal with whatever you find in your fridge and cupboards.

3. Share with us a favorite food memory from childhood.

Pishky! Russian Fry Bread.

4. What’s a song you thought you knew the lyrics to, but later discovered you were wrong?

When I learned lyrics to a song I listened to them over and over and over again to get them right. In junior high we would listen to Leslie Gore songs on a record player pulling up the arm of the record player and setting down the needle carefully again and again until we knew the words by heart. I was in choirs and Christian singing groups and enjoyed music enough to get the words right. When our minds went blank and we forgot words in the middle of a concert we kept our mouths moving and never missed a beat.

The thing I get wrong very often are well known sayings…

5. According to one travel website, the most overrated tourist attractions in America are-
Niagara Falls (NY), Hollywood Walk of Fame (California), Times Square (NYC), Epcot (FL), Seattle Space Needle (WA), and Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market (Boston). How many of these have you seen in person? Did you feel like a tourist? Did you care? Tell us about a place (not on the list) you’ve visited that might be considered a tourist trap, but you love it anyway.

I’ve been to Niagara Falls (both sides), Times Square, Hollywood Walk of Fame, and the Seattle Space Needle. Pike Place Market in Seattle is a tourist trap that I enjoy taking people to.

6. Your signature clothing item?

Blue jeans in public. My pink chenille robe in the privacy of my home! Sometimes you might see me in the yard early in the morning with my robe on. My Dear cringes when I head outside in my robe.

7. What’s an experience you’ve had you think everyone should experience at least once? Why?

Being the one in need of help. This is when you learn that it’s better to give than to receive. It’s hard to be the one who needs help. It’s a lot easier to be able to give…

8. Insert your own random thought here.

A little sunshine in a song from my teen years…

I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day
When it’s cold outside I’ve got the month of May
I guess you’d say
What can make me feel this way?
My girl (my girl, my girl)
Talkin’ ’bout my girl (my girl)

Linking up with Joyce From This Side of the Pond for Hodgepodge Wednesday.

I drove to Canada and back on Tuesday and spent some time with my Mennonite Girls and will be sharing about our time soon. I am happy to report I had very little rain on my windshield going and coming back home, woohoo! Hope to get around and meet some new Hodgepodge friends.

All the Pretty Petals

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.

April Showers…

We took a different route home from Eastern Washington to I-90 taking us through small towns on highway 231. All along the way we saw excess water on properties and water very close to spilling over the roadway.

We had breakfast in Springdale at the Kozy Korner. We knew it was a good choice when all the locals kept coming in while we enjoyed our meal. Instead of heading back to Highway 395 we continued on 231 south to I-90.

This steeple on this church caught our eye in the little town of Edwall. The steeple was the best feature of this church.

And earlier in March on our trip to Colville for our granddaughter’s birth I took a photo of this church in town without a steeple but with an interesting exterior.

Speaking of our granddaughter I will add a photo of her, too, just to show her later in her live what was happening in the towns around her at her birth and shortly after.

This is me saying goodbye to our little Addy before we headed home on April 18, 2017.

April showers and March showers and snow melt have caused a lot of headaches for everyday travel in the tri-counties in Northeastern Washington. This next photo is just one example of a travel nightmare for lots of folks. This is part of highway 395 north of Colville and north of Kettle Falls.

We enjoyed our “off the beaten path” route to get to Interstate 90 and were happy that the roads had held up on this route.

I’m linking up to InSPIREd Sunday with Beth and Sally and

to The Barn Collective with Tom the Backroads Traveler.

On this Saturday I mowed the lawn while Dear weed wacked and we got the job done before another rain shower came through. We had glorious sunshine on Friday and in between rain showers today we have had some welcome sunshine.

We enjoy every minute of sunshine we get after so much rain and grey days! Hope you are enjoying sunshine in your neck of the woods.

She’s Our First…

…so there might be an overload of photos for awhile.

Her mommy and daddy both did great during labor and delivery.

Her daddy impressed the nursing staff with his attentiveness and care.

She came in at a healthy weight and length.

She was born on the first day of Spring 2017.

We knew her first name and now we know her middle name, May.

She makes the cutest little noises while she sleeps.

We are enjoying all the cuddle time we can get.

Mommy and Daddy are adjusting to her schedule. Sleep comes in about 2 hour intervals.

Rayna the dog is adjusting well to her and feels the need to alert Jamie when Addy cries in distress. When Rayna comes in from outside her first stop is at the baby cradle to see if she’s still there.

We prayed to God during her time in the womb, for her development and safe delivery and we are thanking God for those answers to our prayers. Now we pray for other things as well.

She will have lots of historical photos to look at when she is older as she was born during the Steven’s County floods of March 2017!

I will have many posts to document these days for Addy to enjoy later in her life. Thank you to all of you who prayed and shared good things about being a grandparent. I appreciate all your kind wishes and thoughts.

Five Smiles…

Here are Five things from this last week that made and make me smile. I’m sharing at Five on Friday with Amy and Friday’s Fave Five with Susanne.

On Saturday Dear and I worked for several hours in our yard with chores that needed to be done. Things like pressure washing, cleaning out gutters, weeding, and washing my car.

Smile #1 is our very clean deck after being pressure washed that is ready for the covers to go up on our patio structures soon.

Smile #2 Our pear tree in full blossom with a closeup of it’s blossoms.

Smile #3 Beautiful apple blossoms on our apple tree.

Apple Blossoms

Of all the months that fill the year,
Give April’s month to me,
For earth and sky are then so filled
With sweet variety.

The apple-blossoms’ shower of pearl
Though bent with rosier hue,
As beautiful as woman’s blush,
As evanescent too.

On every bough there is a bud,
In every bud a flower;
But scarcely bud or flower will last
Beyond the present hour.

Now comes a shower-cloud o’er the sky,
Then all again sunshine;
Then clouds again, but brightened with
The rainbow’s coloured line.

Ay, this, this is the month for me:
I could not love a scene
Where the blue sky was always blue,
The green earth always green.

(Letitia E. Landon, 1802-1838)

Smile #4 Lilac Bush getting ready to show all it’s glory.

Smile #5 Camellia’s blooming away with Azaleas getting ready.

I love Spring and I’m always renewed in my attitude and outlook during this beautiful season. More plants in the yard are waiting to show their color and I’ll share those after they are in full form.

I have to say that our hard work on Saturday gave Dear and me the groans and moans every time we had to get up or sit down or climb the stairs. Thankfully our muscles aren’t screaming at us anymore but we still know they weren’t happy with our efforts. Never the less I’ve finally been able to get back to walking most every day this week. It’s time for me to shed some of my fluff!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Category Archives: Spring