Spring Hodgepodge

The Cherry Blossom Quad at the University of Washington. Katie, Laura and I enjoyed a couple hours at the University with lunch on the “Ave” on Monday.

1. On this first official day of spring tell us something (besides the weather) you’re looking forward to in this season of the year.

Well that’s a great question. This Saturday we are celebrating Addy’s first birthday with family and friends. She was born on the first day of Spring last year and she turned 1 on the first day of Spring this year. She’s our very special Spring gift. We are also looking forward to finding our new home somewhere close to our kids in Colville.

2. When it comes to spring cleaning would you rather wash windows or wash baseboards? Clean out closets or clean out the garage? Dust ceiling fans or dust bookcases? Wipe down the patio furniture outside or wipe down the light fixtures inside? Any of these tasks recently completed?

I’d rather wash baseboards.

I’d rather clean out the garage because Dear will do that and not me.

Dust ceiling fans since I only have one but I have a ton of bookcases.

Wipe down the patio furniture outside because that means the sun is shining.

I’m trying to pack a box a day so my closets are getting cleaned in a manner of speaking.

3. Your favorite thing to make/eat that calls for cream cheese? Sour cream? Whipped cream?

Cream Cheese = Cheesecake

Sour cream = Beef Stroganoff

Whipped Cream = Parfaits

4. I read here a list of commonly mispronounced words. What is a word that gives you trouble when it comes to pronunciation?

Arborvitae

5. What’s a song you love with the word ‘rain’ in the title or lyrics?

Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head

6. Insert your own random thought here.

We are headed east again for a very special birthday celebration and to look at some more houses that are for sale. Tuesday I clocked more than 20,000 steps…a first for me this year. We did some major yard work. Hello Spring and so it begins, weeds and the grass growing before our eyes. That’s a spring cleaning job that I don’t mind, mowing the lawn. Crazy but true. Happy Spring dear bloggy friends. Hope you find renewed energy and new things every day to thank God for.

Hop over to From This Side of the Pond for Wednesday Hodgepodge. Thank you Joyce!

Reaching Back…

…for The Barn Collective

This was taken back in the middle of December on our trip to La Conner. We arrived to Skagit County early so we took a detour along the farm roads close to Mt. Vernon before we continued on to La Conner.

Linking up to The Barn Collective with Tom The Backroads Traveller. Click over to see more barns.

Our Sunday has started out cold with beautiful sun breaks and then some popcorn snow. Not enough snow here to cover anything. Some areas of Washington state are getting a lot. Our daughter-in-law sent us this photo of our son and son-in-law in the front yard of our middle son’s home in Northeastern Washington. They had a nice walk in the snow. All of our children are spending a weekend together in this winter wonderland. Praying for safe travels for them tomorrow.

Do you do anything special on our long President’s Weekend here in the USA?

Purple Haze Hodgepodge

1. ‘Hurry less, worry less’…what’s your strategy for making that happen this holiday season? How’s it going so far?

Well, we threw in an overnight getaway to La Conner to celebrate our 43rd anniversary and that included lots of country roads less traveled instead of the interstates. It was good to take the time away from our renovations and decorations. Our leisurely walk along the waterway in La Conner was relaxing. So far so good.

2. Do you have a list of to-dos that need accomplishing in order to prepare your home and/or property for the winter season? What are some of the jobs on your list? Are you a do-it-yourselfer or do you hire someone to accomplish these tasks?

Winter is not that harsh in the Puget Sound area. Generally all we need to do is lock the windows so they are shut tight and disconnect the water hoses so they don’t freeze. Sometime after Christmas and before Spring we need to prune the apple and pear tree. We do all these things ourselves. I still need to cut back my lavender plants!

This is what the apple tree looks like before pruning and all the branches that are growing straight up need to be cut. After pruning it looks more like this with still a few more branches to cut. Ignore the evergreen in the background.

3. According to dietitians surveyed, the most popular health foods for 2018 will be -turmeric, sprouted foods (bean sprouts, breads with sprouted grains, etc), veggies in place of grains, dairy free milk, and pulses (lentils, chickpeas, etc). What’s the first thought that ran through your head when you read this list? Of the foods listed which one might you add to your regular diet? Also, can milk really be dairy free? Is it still milk?

The first thought I had was healthy trends aren’t my thing. Maybe I’ll add more veggies.

4. The Pantone Color of the Year for 2018 is Ultra Violet. According to the Pantone site ‘Ultra Violet communicates originality, ingenuity, and visionary thinking pointing us to the future.’ What say you? Do you like the color purple? Did you see the movie or read the book-ha!? Is purple a color you wear often? Describe for us one purple item in your home without using the word purple. If you were in charge of such things what color would you select for 2018?

I don’t mind the color purple. I did see the movie. We have three University of Washington alums in our family and we live in Husky country where slogans like “let purple reign again” are alive and well.

Purple evokes passionate pride. It’s the color that stands out as most quintessentially to our University and is therefore the dominant color in our communications. Gold symbolizes excellence. It’s a sophisticated hue that speaks to our extraordinary standards and immense quality. And when you combine the two? That’s the UW.

Sometimes I wear purple. The little girl with the W on her shirt is now an alumnus of Udub and her husband will soon be a graduate of the Udub, too. I helped put my Dear through the UW school of Pharmacy so I wear my purple with pride.

We do have some walls at this old house that remind me of lavender sprigs . Not the vibrant variety.

You can see that color in what used to be my master bathroom?

If I was in charge of such things the color of the year would be China Blue.

5. Favorite book read this year?

Glass Houses by Louise Penny

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Today I’ll be mailing our Christmas cards. We’ve received a few already and I always enjoy being brought up to date on what is happening with friends from far and wide. We still do not have our tree and that’s the last purchase we need to make for Christmas. Once the tree is up I’ll start thinking about wrapping the presents that will be going under it.

Thank you to Joyce From This Side of the Pond for asking the questions for Wednesday Hodgepodge. Thank you to whoever takes the time to read the answers.

Family Divided…

…but not in a bad way! Guys enjoying their time and the gals enjoying their time.

On Saturday the guys were headed to a local shooting range to sight in their rifles for a family hunting trip in October so Katie and I decided to try out a hike close to us, the Redmond Watershed, that you can link to here. Since we didn’t have bear repellent we did a lot of talking and singing along the paths we walked on.

I wouldn’t mind having a bench like this.

There were trails that were open to horses, bicycles and walkers and then some that were only open to walkers.

We marveled that we could have a hike/walk like this in the middle of a city. It was a very pleasant area with level paths and a few elevations that were very easy to navigate. We put in over 10,000 steps and could have gone farther if my lower back wasn’t fussing at me from all the vacuuming and cleaning Dear and I had accomplished the days previous. We enjoyed lunch together and a trip to a Farmer’s Market in Redmond before coming to the hungry aid of our guys with a drive through order from Chick Fil-A.

Saturday was another smokey day here after several clear days. Today Sunday, we are promised rain and more rain and we are happy for this forecast for all the fires that are still raging. After church we did a quick mowing of the lawn to pick up all the pear and apple tree leaves that have fallen. We wanted a clean lawn for the rain. As I look out the window now I’m now seeing the rain fall and for that I am thankful.

Hope you all had a good weekend.

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.

A Peaceful Walk

Rayna ran out ahead of us excited for a walk down the drive. We took advantage to the sunshine on this day.

Our walk photos were all taken from our son and dil’s driveway.

A different view without snow.

Horses were having a walk, too.

After the fresh air Addy had a peaceful sleep, too.

I drove Katie to the Spokane airport today (Monday April 10th) and we had snow, rain, and hail on our way. She got home to Seattle before I made it back to Colville. The flight from Spokane to Seattle is about 50 minutes! I’m sure her hubby appreciates having her back home.

While They Are Still Blooming

We and many other people who live in the greater Puget Sound region of Washington have been enjoying the Cherry Blossoms at the University of Washington.

So thankful of the beauty in our region.

Katie and I met up with Andrew who is studying at the U at the end of his day and then I drove them both home. It started raining on us as we headed to the parking garage.

Twenty Nine Years in Washington State and this is the first time I made a special trip to the University to enjoy the Cherry Blossoms. I hope to make it a yearly event while we are on this side of the mountains.

We have had two dry days here this week. Hoping for more to come. Is it dry, wet, hot or cold where you are?

Interrupting My Reflecting…

…because of the glorious sunshine!

Dear and I headed out in the sunshine for a walk on the Burke Gilman Trail. This trail runs along Lake Washington.

The seagulls and ducks were excited because someone had thrown some bread on the end of the dock.

This bird is not a seagull or a duck and a lot larger. Couldn’t identify what it is. It didn’t have a white head like a bald eagle.

We walked off the trail to check out this small preserve.

I believe Lake Washington is the 2nd largest lake in the state of Washington.

It was windy enough to make waves on the lake.

Our walk and this day was just ducky! Everyone we encountered was smiling and expressing jubilation over the wonderful sunshine.

Hope your week has been just ducky, too.

Walking the Dog…

…is not my usual vocation.

Both Dan and Jamie were at work on Thursday and when the temperature got above 20 degrees Rayna and I went for a walk so I could see the lay of the land.

Looking back at our kids new home on 20 acres.

If you look down through the trees you can just see the main road below with the stand of mailboxes.

Here’s a zooming in shot of the mailboxes on the opposite side of the road. From the house to the mailboxes is about 1 mile taking the drive. If you want to slide down the hill I suppose you could shave off some distance.

Looking back at the second switchback.

Continuing on to the first switchback. Getting closer to the mailboxes.

We stopped at the first switchback instead of going all the way to the street and headed back uphill for home.

Uphill all the way back home.

Coming back up to the second switchback.

Looking back before we head into the trees.

Almost there. We can see the house up through the trees.

Welcome home. The thing about walking a dog on gravelly roads that were covered in snow and ice but are now muddy in the melt is their paws and fur get real dirty. I had to do a little coaxing to get Rayna to lay down so I could wash off her paws and fur before coming into the house. A little paw bath contraption in a mud room would be a nice addition to a home in these parts.

On Thursday I had no problems getting my steps in. Today is a busy day at this new to our kids house. Later today I’m invited to go for the ultrasound to see how Addy is growing in the womb. That will be a first for me. The painting of the nursery is almost done. Today Dear is painting a stripe. Yesterday he painted the upper color and different color on the lower part of the wall. Today is the stripe in between those two colors which is a third color. Yes, once it’s all done I’ll show you. The dresser drawer fronts got painted and the little toy truck that Dan’s Dzeda built for him when he was one is getting a fresh coat of paint (3 colors).

I’m going to be scarce on the internet for the rest of our time here. Tomorrow is an open house here and there will be a nice flood of friends and family in and out so my computer will be packed away. Thanks for visiting. I’ll get caught up when I’m back in my corner of the world.

Walking Mosaics

The Sammamish River trail is an easy river walk on a mostly level surface. We had a few obstacles because of recent weather.

Our Juanita Bay walk was clear and easy as was our next walk on the Centennial Trail.

Our walk at St. Edward State Park was more of a hike and one where you needed to watch your step.

On this winter day walk we had to dodge mud from recent rains and you always have to watch out for roots.

Linking up with Maggie at Normandy Life for Mosaic Monday.

Here in the U.S.A. Monday is President’s Day, a federal holiday. Banks and Post Offices and schools are closed. This is a busy week coming up for us with a visit to the Tax Man, the hair dresser and we are facing a winter drive across the Cascade Mountain range. Here’s hoping and praying that our travels will be safe with no swerving or slipping and sliding! Also hoping the IRS is kind to our pocket book. I have full confidence in my hairdresser so no worries with that appointment. What are you facing this week?

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Category Archives: Washington