Tag Archives: Bainbridge Island

Quirky-

-strikingly unconventional.

When Dear and I were on Bainbridge Island in March we came across these quirky structures.

Q is for Quirky and I’m adding this post to ABC Wednesday started by Denise Nesbitt and continued by the great ABC Team!

Here’s my Bible Verse for the letter Q!

Speaking of the letter Q, I’m on a quest for the next couple months to drop some of my “fluff” before our son’s wedding the end of June. I feel like I deserve a medal only after two weeks of de-fluffing. I am way more fond of feasting than fasting. In reading Shauna Niequist’s book, Bread and Wine (a love letter to life around the table with recipes), her chapter on feasting and fasting resonated with me and helped me finally get on with a “fasting” time in my life. She uses the term fasting loosely meaning the opposite of feasting not the traditional fasting where for spiritual reasons you have set aside a time where you only have broth and juice. There are times in my life where it’s appropriate to feast and times when it’s appropriate to fast. My fasting consists of only having a certain amount of calories per day. Even in this short two month quest there are events where it’s not appropriate for me to fast, like when my kids take me out for Mother’s day this coming Saturday. Life goes on. I know at the end of this quest I’ll feel more like a Queen for the day in my mother of the groom dress.

Happy Cinco de Mayo! I’m saving my calories for Tequila Tuesday at our local Mexican restaurant tonight.

Signs and Fences…

We are in wedding mode counting down the days to our son’s wedding in June. This sign is hanging in our son’s home. Linking up with Lesley for Signs, signs!

While Dear and I were on Bainbridge Island we saw these fences. Of course I thought of Good Fences and Tex Wis Girl!

We are looking forward to a special event coming up on Saturday. We had to chuckle when Dear’s fortune cookie said “Traveling to the north will bring you unexpected happiness.”

What are your plans for the first weekend in May?

Bloedel Reserve

When Dear and I were on our little weekend getaway a few weeks ago we visited Bloedel Reserve.

It really is a special public garden and forest preserve. The grounds make for a lovely walk. This post will have lots of photos.

We pulled up a little early and waited for opening time.

We were fortunate to get good weather for our visit despite a lousy forecast for this day. This probably afforded us a very private walk throughout the grounds!

Bloedel 069

Into the moss garden…

After dealing with tree roots on our walkway project we were intrigued with this uprooted tree.

We were so impressed with the grounds at Bloedel that we became members so if anyone wants to head to the gardens I am able to take one guest for free along with me.

We are starting a special four days of activity and fun so I’ll be away from the computer for large periods of time. I won’t be participating in some of my favorite memes but hope to visit your blogs at the end of the day during my down time.

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods.

InSPIREd on Bainbridge Island

While on Bainbridge Island last Friday and Saturday we spotted a couple churches to share for InSPIREd Sunday hosted by Beth and Sally.

We also spotted one more spire on our travel up the island, Seabold United Methodist Church.

We are getting ready for Easter Week at this old house. Tomorrow is Palm Sunday and through the week we’ll pause on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and the amazing climax and grand celebration of the week, Easter Sunday or Resurrection Sunday! I love all the history of this coming week and what it means for us…

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
    Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
    righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
    on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Zachariah 9:9 (ESV)

God Loves Me…

It’s good for me to look at all the ways God loves me and blesses me week in and week out. This past week my cup overflowed. Here are five things that filled my cup this week…

Living in the Seattle area with all it has to offer including a wonderful ferry system to take us away to new places to explore.

Comfortable spaces to stay that I don’t take for granted.

Good food and drink plopped in front of me is always a treat!

God’s creation in a beautiful setting to explore and marvel at. I will share a post from the Bloedel Reserve soon.

My cup was full from a wonderful weekend getaway with Dear and then on Monday I met up with 6 of the Mennonite Girls Can Cook at the Tulip fields with a nice lunch afterwards. Now my cup was overflowing. I will share more photos from the tulip fields later.

I said I had my Friday’s Fave Five that I’m linking up with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story with but I’d like to add one more blessing from afar.

My father, Moisi or Moses has re-discovered his love for jig-saw puzzles and it’s nice for him to be able to enjoy this activity. For those of you that have been following my updates on my pop, he is now living with my oldest sister and her husband. They are taking very good care of him and his loneliness has lessened. He is eating a whole lot better, too, thanks to my wonderful sister.

As you look back over this past week what do you count as blessings?

The Inn on the Island

The room had one of my favorite color combinations and was very well appointed.

There is no front desk or humans to show you the way at this lovely Inn. You come with your access code in hand and are greeted by this big chicken! We were happy with the no fuss process.

Room #7 had the best views, especially when you stepped out on the little deck.

The village below the Inn had everything we’d want if we hadn’t already stopped on the way in for dinner. There was a bakery that we did stop in at on our way out on Saturday. Delicious fresh choices! I wish I would have taken a picture. Restaurants, Farm Market, Wine Bar, A Small Grocers, The Market Place is a coffee house, Bakery, and Delicatessen that offers a wide variety of quality food and drink—all with an emphasis on local. Open Now: The Marketplace Tap Room—enjoy microbrews on tap. Everything you would need if you want to stay put for the whole weekend.

We would enjoy going back now that we are more familiar with the island. On Friday when we arrived we were still in a rainy pattern through the early morning hours of Saturday. As we got to mid morning on Saturday the sun was shining and the rain was gone and we enjoyed a wonderful stroll through Bloedel Reserve. I will give that property a post of it’s own.

Sunlit Spires

Dear and I were able to get away on an overnight trip to Bainbridge Island and we decided to drive up to the Kitsap Peninsula through the Nordic town of Poulsbo on our way home. We were pleasantly surprised by a very nice and sunny mid-morning to evening on this Saturday after being soaked by rain Friday night and early Saturday morning. I have lots to share from our wonderful getaway.

We had a wonderful Sunday morning at our own church, not this church I pictured. We were able to witness 15 or 43 total Baptisms. We have 3 services so the Baptisms were spaced out between the services. From elementary age children, high school, college, and older adults including a married couple we witnessed obedience to the Word of God to believe and be baptized.

I’m linking to InSPIREd Sunday with Beth and Sally and Sunlit Sunday at My Little Home and Garden.