The Hills Are Alive…

…with mist and clouds and barns! When we left Colville on December 18th for our 6 hour drive home we stopped at the top of the kids’ driveway to take our favorite view from this spot.

Here’s a close up of the barn in the previous view. It’s crumbling slowly.

It was a misty moisty morning with low lying clouds or fog which made for interesting backdrops for the barns and farms we flew by.

We were happy to have chosen this day to return home instead of Tuesday since there was a snowfall of 14 inches after we left!

On this past Saturday my Western Washington girls and my sister had a fun day in downtown Seattle. We met up for brunch/lunch and then walked to the 5th Avenue Theater for the Sing-A-Long Sound of Music. This explains the name for my combination post for the Barn Collective and life as it happened this weekend.

It really was a blast. We were given props and prompts to interact throughout the movie and it really was fun singing our hearts out. We hissed, we booed, we cheered, we bowed and of course we sang along on every song. Among our props we were given a popper that we were instructed to pop when the Captain and Maria kissed in the gazebo. So much fun especially since there was a young girl in front of us who kept us entertained with her spot on interaction throughout the show!

Linking up to The Barn Collective with Tom The Backroads Traveller.

Summer Ends in Seattle…

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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.

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I’m sure some of you recognize this logo.

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

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seattle-w-071We 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…

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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.

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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.

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

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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!

A Full Weekend…

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So much to share from the weekend and I need some time to put my thoughts and photos together. Our kids from the east of the state have been with us this weekend and are leaving sometime today so I won’t be joining in memes since I don’t have time to visit.

We’ve had a change in our hot weather pattern and I’m enjoying cooler days. I’m a heat wimp. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods.

eXceptional Views

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On Father’s Day after brunch in downtown Seattle we headed to Kerry Park atop Queen Anne Hill to take in these eXcellent views.

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It’s great to capture both the Space Needle and Mt. Rainier together on a clear day. Both are iconic symbols in Seattle and Washington State.

Mount Rainier, Mount Tacoma, or Mount Tahoma is the highest mountain of the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest, and the highest mountain in the state of Washington. It is a large active stratovolcano located 54 miles south-southeast of Seattle.

Ascending to 14,410 feet above sea level, Mount Rainier stands as an icon in the Washington landscape. An active volcano, Mount Rainier is the most glaciated peak in the contiguous U.S.A., spawning six major rivers.

And on a more personal note…hope she never blows her top and annihilates all of us Seattleites!

The Space Needle and Mt. Rainier are treasures in Washington State.

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Speaking of personal here is my eXcellent and treasure of a husband and the father of our children enjoying the iconic views from Kerry Park on Father’s day!

Linking up with ABC Wednesday and Tuesday’s Treasures. Thank you Mrs. Nesbitt, Roger, ABC Team, and Tom at The Backroads Traveler for hosting these fine memes.

Dear and I are eXiting the familiar and heading to roads we’ve never traveled to enjoy one of our Nation’s treasures, Yellowstone National Park. I hope to share some postcards along the way but if you don’t hear from me it’s because wifi might not be available to us. Our wonderful basement dwellers will take care of the safety of our home and water our plants while we are away.

Happy summer everyone!

Father’s Day 2016

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Our Western Washington kids planned brunch out for their dad in downtown Seattle at The Carlile Room, a Tom Douglas restaurant.

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Dear chose the biscuits and gravy. Such a pretty presentation.

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We all enjoyed our choices of Meaty breakfast, Eggs Benedict, Deep Fried French Toast and we were happy that Andrew went with the Hunter’s breakfast served on this silver platter…

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Conversations revolved around new Traeger Grills and the grill related gifts the kids got their dad. We might or might not have solved many world problems, too. It’s always good to gather round a table filled with good food to enjoy some communication with each other.

It was a beautiful day in Seattle with blue skies and a few wispy clouds. We decided to head to Kerry Park on Queen Anne Hill and see what we could see.

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The views were amazing and the crowds were out with the same idea we had!

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Things are a bit busy today in Southern California for my Pop and other related dads so I called him yesterday to wish him a Happy Father’s Day. Good thing I did cuz I just got this text photo of my tired out Pop with my siblings enjoying the moment.

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Hope your Sunday is going well and that you can get a little nap in. He woke up for this next one…

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Happy Father’s Day Pop!

After the Storm…

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Friday morning we had quite a deluge of rain in our area. Dear and I had reservations for an early Valentine’s lunch in Bellevue at Daniel’s Broiler. We decided because of the weather not to go to downtown Seattle to our favorite Steak house. When it was time to leave for our lunch the rain had stopped and the skies had puffy clouds with lovely blue. The views out the 21st floor were spectacular. You can see downtown Seattle across Lake Washington.

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We decided on Filet Mignon sandwiches and a Coconut Fudge Sundae. Both recommended by our waitress. We chatted with her about Valentine’s day and she said that the restaurant opens at 4:00 and they already had 600 reservations for dinner on Sunday! Yikes. We were happy for the quiet relaxed atmosphere around our lunch celebration. On our way home from the restaurant we drove through Kirkland with more beautiful views of the lake that was glistening and then we got to see how the iconic cow and dog sculpture were decorated for Valentine’s day!

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Hope you have a relaxing Saturday y’all!

Signs, signs!

Signs encountered in the month of July traveling and taking company sight seeing in Seattle!

From the Bill and Melinda Gates visitor center in Seattle.

Tourist happenings in downtown Seattle.

A classic car wash in downtown Seattle!

And then outside of Seattle to the very northwestern edge of the contiguous United States, Dear and I had a little getaway to the Olympic Peninsula.

At the Cape Flattery Trail head.

Later this week or early next week I’ll share the beautiful views of Cape Flattery and the lighthouse.

While on the Olympic Peninsula we also stopped at some beautiful lavender farms in Sequim, Washington. This Grosso lavender is a full fluffy variety. I’ll be sharing a post of the lavender farms we visited later, too.

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Not a real clear photo through our windshield but this bumper sticker made me smile on our way back to the ferry that would bring us home from our adventure. Homer Alaska A Quaint little drinking village with a fishing problem.!

I’m adding this post to signs, signs by Lesley! Thanks Lesley!

 

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?

 

Kingston to Edmonds Ferry…

Dear and I enjoyed an overnight trip to Bainbridge Island last Friday to Saturday. On Friday we took the Seattle to Bainbridge Ferry to get to the island and on Saturday after visiting the Bloedel Reserve we drove from Bainbridge across the Agate Pass Bridge to the Kitsap Penninsula and took the Kingston Ferry across the Puget Sound home. Have I confused you yet? Here are some photos from our Kingston to Edmonds voyage…

If you look closely in the window you can see Dear smiling at me in his shades!

That’s downtown Seattle in the distance with the Space Needle to the right…

It’s nice to have a good ferry system so we can enjoy easy trips to the beautiful islands and peninsulas in our area.

I’m linking up to ABC Wednesday with thanks to Mrs. Nesbitt and her ABC team! K is for Kingston to Edmonds Ferry and KNOW!

Here’s my Bible Verse card for the letter M! Know…