Father’s Day 2016

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

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

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…

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.

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

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.

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

Happy Father’s Day Pop!

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.

U is for Undulate…

…to move with a sinuous or wavelike motion; display a smooth rising-and-falling or side-to-side alternation of movement:

The flag undulates in the breeze.

This is our flagpole in our yard with our favorite flags undulating.

And here’s the U.S. Flag, Old Glory, undulating on top of the Space Needle in Seattle.

And from our favorite country to visit here’s the Union Jack undulating in the breeze!

I’m linking to ABC Wednesday started by Mrs. Nesbitt and carried on by Roger and a great team!

Hope all is well in your corner of the world.

Night at the Museum

On Wednesday night we drove downtown in the rain and wind to Dear’s company Christmas Party which of course they call a Holiday Event. For the next couple months Dear’s company is Dendreon Corporation. They are currently in Chapter 11 proceedings and the company will be auctioned off to the highest bidder on February 4th. In the meantime there are speculations flying around as to what large company might be interested in purchasing Dendreon. Dendreon has a treatment for Prostate Cancer. A very simple explanation about the treatment is that the patient’s own cells are treated to be able to fight the cancer.

We were treated well with good food and drink. There were two signature drinks. Orange for Dendreon and Blue for Provenge, the name of the cancer treatment.

The party was at the MOHAI in Seattle, Museum of History and Industry. It was a great setting for a private event. Some of my favorite displays at the museum were the following.

“It is fitting that the Toe Truck will be included in the museum’s eclectic collection of local memorabilia. Built nearly 25 years ago, the Toe Truck became a local landmark for millions of motorists during the more than two decades it was displayed outside the Lincoln Towing yard at Fairview Avenue North and Mercer Street.”

The Rainier Beer R was a landmark for years just off the Interstate in Seattle. The original 12-foot-high Rainier sign graced the top of the Rainier Brewery from the 1950s until 2000, and now rests restored at MOHAI.

I was happy to see items from my favorite team amongst the museum sport team memorabilia.

When we left and were waiting for our car I snapped some photos of the Space Needle. By this time the rain had stopped. We were very happy the company provided free valet parking for the event, too.

We are choosing joy as we continue to make preparations for the most wonderful time of the year and for all the unknowns of next year!

Closer to Home

…and what’s been going on here at this old house. I’ll start with the latest and work back.

We switched out our old fireplace insert for a new one with no brass and a larger window, quieter fan and more efficiency. We are happy with our choice. While the installers were at my house on Wednesday I scrubbed down all my kitchen cabinets and scrubbed my hardwood floors.

No I don’t have my Christmas Tree yet, but can you believe all the Christmas merchandise in the stores already? I digress…

I posted this photo to show you the 3 bookshelves full of books that on Thursday while I waited for the Inspector to sign off on the fireplace insert I dusted. Yep, each and every book and all the shelves. My wrists and arms and knees are calling for a couple days off now! And speaking of Christmas our mystery tree this year is going in a new spot and I’ll show you that in December!

I received a package from bj (Sweet Nothings) in Texas because my name was drawn on her giveaway. She has such a good sense of humor and I enjoy visiting her blog.

A few Saturdays ago Katie and I met some friends at the Seattle Center for the Northwest Tea Festival. We enjoyed sipping tea samples and then we all went out for lunch at a Thai Restaurant close to the center.

These girls have been friends since elementary school.

My new getting out and exercising plan is continuing nicely. Some views from my walking trail…

On a overcast morning I thought this boat and it’s reflection was very cool and look at these great looking mushrooms!

The following week these same mushrooms had spread out to a huge flat top and I didn’t have my camera with me. Epic fail…

After exercise class this morning Katie and I are headed to University Village for W Day in honor of the University of Washington homecoming. We’ll be wearing some vintage sweatshirts from when Dear was in Pharmacy School at the University of Washington. There are special offers and discounts available from merchants if you are wearing purple or UW-licensed apparel.

Katie and I look a little different now but we’ll both be wearing a sweatshirt like the one I’m wearing here at Disneyland back when the University of Washington went to the Rose Bowl and played Michigan on January 1, 1992. Dear was able to get tickets for the Rose Bowl game and we decided to take a family trip to California and enjoy a day at Disneyland with the kids and time with family for Christmas. Fun memories…

Hope you all have a good weekend!

L is for Lofty!

Time for ABC Wednesday and we are on the letter L.

Thank you to the founder of this meme, Mrs. Nesbitt and her now trusty crew that keep the meme going.

A few weeks ago I was on an airplane flying out of Seattle and I was treated to some lofty views of downtown Seattle, Mount Rainier and the Columbia River.

The Columbia river where it divides the State of Washington from Oregon.

This Saturday flight on September 13th was a nice flight and time to have a window seat. I most always choose an aisle seat.

Maybe…just maybe…

…I’ve missed my calling. I could have been a tour guide.

The Fremont Troll who lives under the Aurora Bridge is a must see when you visit our area. You can read all about it’s origins here.

My new nephew by marriage, Lenny, had never been to Seattle so we had to show him the top picks in our area.

Sorry, couldn’t resist the “top picks” reference!

The Troll could use a little cleaning up because it’s hard to see the full size red Volkswagon bug that is under his left hand without straining.

You really get great views of downtown Seattle from Kerry Park on Queen Anne Hill. We never miss this photo opportunity with our out of town company. I never resist photo opportunities of our “in town” kids, either.

My niece Debbee is in the bright blue coat nestled in amongst Auntie Lana, Cousin Laura and Auntie Ellen. I missed the shot of her and Lenny here but made sure to get plenty of the two of them at some other favorite tourist spots in our area.

And of course we didn’t miss out on some great local food, either…

We started with some delicious sustenance that carried us through all our adventures of the afternoon at the Portage Bay Cafe in the South Lake Union area of Seattle. All seven of us would recommend this restaurant. They had lots of great Gluten Free choices for my niece, too. Before we met up for brunch Josh, Laura, Debbee and Lenny had visited Pike Place Market, the original Starbucks and the Gum wall. After the troll we headed to the Ballard Locks but that’s another post coming soon…

I have several days off before my next tour guiding gig. I’m looking forward to a week from today when I get to show some VIP’s a different part of our city. Of course you’ll hear all about it and it could be that you’ll hear about it from a few more sources than me since several of my VIP visitors are bloggers, too. Stay tuned! Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!

Remiss…

That’s an adjective that would be pinned on me if I didn’t mention the Sunday that was in Seattle!

Everywhere you looked in the the Puget Sound area you would see evidence of the 12th man Seahawk fans.

The city willed the Seahawks to a torturous victory over the San Francisco Forty Niners on Sunday. That means that the Seattle Seahawks are the NFC Champions and will be going to the Super Bowl.

This is the building that Dear works in downtown. It’s the Russell Investment Center.

Looks like we won’t be able to ignore the Super Bowl game this year. There are many years that we do. This year we might even have to host a party.

The game and after game shows and all the news about all the excitement in Seattle ended just before Downton Abbey aired last night. The hilarious thing that happened next during the opening to Downton Abbey was that they photo shopped a 12th man flag on the top of Highclere Castle and gave a shout out to Seattle fans being loud, louder, loudest! How fun is that…

The city of Seattle and all the out lying areas really come together in support of their teams like the Seahawks, the Sounders, the former Sonics.

We will go with the flow and enjoy all the hoopla that having our home team in the Super Bowl brings. Do you watch the Super Bowl? I was happy that the episode of Downton last night wasn’t as dramatic as the previous one. I’m starting to write down some of the lines from the show, too, like “We don’t all have to live off battered fish and meat pies!”

August Notecards

For Vee’s August Notecard Party

I’m sharing some shots in the Seattle area from summers past…

August 2011 ~ Josh and Laura at a Sounders Soccer game with Seattle in the background.

2010 Kayaking in Anacortes, Washington with Dear, Josh, Laura, Andrew and Katie.

July 2009 on Lake Washington with Seattle across the lake. Laura and Katie with my niece Debbee between them.

Summer 2008 ~ Canoeing on Lake Washington with Katie. You can rent canoes and rowboats at the University of Washington Waterfront to mess around the lake. “Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing-absolutely nothing- half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats” ~ Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

The State of Washington is filled with Lakes and Sounds and other water ways to enjoy. It’s no wonder people invest in boats in this area. We live within 2 miles of Lake Washington and one of my favorite walks is along the Sammamish River/Burke Gilman Trails a short drive away. When I’m on the water, I prefer to be able to see the shore. I’m not fond of being out in the middle of the ocean surrounded by water with no land in sight.

Hope you are still enjoying some lazy summer days. I’m hoping to get some lazy days in before summer is over! To see what we’ve been doing this summer that has been anything but lazy, you can scroll down to the post before this one to see our floor project with before and after shots (or just click here).

FFF ~ The Needle & The Dress…

Time to look back and find 5 favorites from the past week. If you want to join in visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story and sign in with your link.

The Space Needle, Wedding Dress and the family time around them were my favorites from this past week.

1. On Saturday Katie and I traveled to the Seattle Center for a wedding show. The most famous landmark in the Northwest is located at the Seattle Center. It was a beautiful day to walk around and get some good shots of the Space Needle.

2. On Wednesday Dear, Katie and I went to Katie’s first wedding dress fitting. There were needles and pins involved here, too. This was Dear’s first time to see the dress on Katie and he wholeheartedly approved of the gown. Good thing since it’s his hard earned cash that payed for it.

3. After the fitting we went to Z Tejas for a bite to eat before we headed across Lake Washington to a Wedding Open House at the Space Needle. This time we got to see it up close and personal in the evening.

4. We got some great VIP attention and enjoyed appetizers and drinks on the house while we considered the space for a possible wedding venue.

There wasn’t a bad view in the house.

5. This was my very first time up in the Space Needle. It also is on my 60 things to do in my 60th year. So I’m on my way in completing my 60. I’m still working on the list and as soon as I complete it I’ll share it. We completed the evening by going up to the observation deck and checking out the 360 degree view of Seattle.

What were the favorites from your past week?

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Tag Archives: Seattle Space Needle