Winter Sunshine and Celebrations…

We had two beautiful sunshine filled days last week and one of them landed on Katie and Andrew’s Anniversary. Dear was in Orlando for a conference so Katie and I decided on a waterfront restaurant to have her anniversary dinner.

Anthony'sWe ended up at Anthony’s Home Port in Kirkland on Lake Washington.

P1040926We got a very good dose of Vitamin D sitting with the sunshine streaming through.

 

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Can you feel the heat?

So many people were out and about enjoying the weather that it was impossible to get out of the restaurant parking lot. We had to find a different route home because of the stream of traffic traveling along the Lake road.

On Friday we traveled east across the Cascade Mountain range to spend the weekend with our son in Eastern Washington. I’ll share our interesting travel experience in a day or two.

St. Patrick’s Day Crawl

Cuisine Kathleen is having a sharing of the green party. If you’ve never visited her blog you should because she always has such yummy goodies to share and pretty tables to show. She knows what to put on a plate! For the 6th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Crawl I’m putting some goodies from the past together.  Thank you, Kathleen.

This little Belleek bowl is about the only thing I have that is Irish and worthy of St. Patrick’s Day. I found it at a thrift store for under $5.00 and thought it was a steal!

The Dear Little Shamrock

by Andrew Cherry

There’s a dear little plant that grows in Ireland.
‘Twas Saint Patrick himself sure that set it.
And the sun on his labor with pleasure did smile.
And a tear from his eyes oft-times wet it.
It grows thro’ the bog, thro’ the brake, and the mireland,
And it’s called the dear little Shamrock of Ireland.

That dear little plant still grows in our land,
Fresh and fair as the daughters of Erin,
Whose smiles can bewitch, and whose eyes can command,
In each climate they ever appear in:
For they shine thro’ the bog, thro’ the brake, and the mireland,
Just like their own dear little Shamrock of Ireland.

That dear little plant that springs from our soil,
When its three little leaves are extended,
Denotes from the stalk we together should toil,
And ourselves by ourselves be befriended.
And still thro’ the bog, thro’ the brake, and the mireland,
From one root should branch, like the Shamrock of Ireland.

shamrock ~ In the irish language, this tiny three-leaved -and, with luck, four-leaved – plant is called seamrac or semrach, the diminutive of the word for clover, seamar. Thus shamrock means, literally, “little clover,” which is just what it is.

The Dear Little Shamrock

There’s a dear little plant that grows in our Isle,
Twas Saint Patrick himself sure that set it;
And the sun on his labour with pleasure did smile,
And the dew from his eye often wet it.
It shines thro’ the bog, thro’ the brake, thro’ the mireland,
And he called it the dear little Shamrock of Ireland.

Chorus:

The dear little Samrock, the sweet little shamrock,
the dear little, sweet little Shamrock of Ireland.
That dear Ireland.

That dear little plant still grows in our land,
Fresh and fair as the daughters of Erin,
Whose smiles can bewitch, and whose eyes can command,
In each climate they ever appear in.
For they shine thro’ the bog, thro’ the brake, thro’ the mireland,
Just like their own dear little Shamrock of Ireland.

CHORUS

That dear little plant that springs from our soil,
When its three little leaves are extended,
Denotes from the stalk we togethr should toil,
And ourselves by ourselves be befriended.
And still thro’ the bog, thro’ the brake, thro’ the mireland,
From one root should branch, like the Shamrock of Ireland.

CHORUS

From 2008 at Fado an Irish Pub in downtown Seattle…

An Old Celtic Blessing

May the blessing of light be on you –
light without and light within.
May the blessed sunlight shine on you
and warm your heart
till it glows like a great peat fire.

IMGP7563I love Celtic Crosses. This one is from Graceland Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois.

 I will be making Corned Beef and Cabbage this weekend at our son’s place in Eastern Washington. Do you make it this time of year?

Farewell February!

To send you off I’ll share some favorites from your last week. It was a nice mix of busy and quiet. Thank you Susanne for keeping us thinking about things we should be grateful for.

Bok Home Show

1. Last Friday Katie and I met Dear downtown and enjoyed a Happy Hour meal together and then a short drive to the Seattle Home Show. We had a good time talking to different vendors and seeing some new home products at the show.

P10408652. On Saturday morning we met Judy and Elmer for breakfast at a restaurant close to their travel route. We had a good time enjoying some good food and carefree conversation. We sent them on their way in some sloppy snow.

crows 0063. We’ve had some nice dry sunny days in a row this week and I was able to get out and do a little trimming and cleaning up of some beds. I’m always grateful for some extra light in the day!

P10407344. Although this photo isn’t from this past Sunday, this group was together with us for brunch here at our home and we had such a wonderful time getting caught up with each other and sharing the latest greatest. The food was good, too. Dear made his Swedish Pancakes and we had fresh strawberries and bacon to go with the fresh off the griddle pancakes.

panels 0015. A new look for our living room windows. Little changes are good every once in a while.

My bonus favorite this week is that our son Dan is arriving on Friday with his girlfriend to spend a couple nights and several meals with us. It’s been fun stocking the refrigerator and making one of Dan’s favorites for his time here this weekend.

What are your plans for the weekend?

February Note Card Party!

I’m scrambling to find the photos for Vee’s February Note Card Party. Thank you Vee for hosting. My theme this month is all about visiting Seattle and getting your photograph with the iconic Space Needle in view!

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If you have never visited our beautiful city surrounded by evergreens and water you need to put it on your list of places to visit. No one has paid me to entice you to visit!

Happy to report the sun is shining right now in the Seattle area. We have had some very blustery winds and lots of rainfall over the last few days. I’m listening with interest on the storms that are predicted to hit areas in the midwest and east again and hope you all fair well. My hair has fared well today and all the grey is covered…

“Fare thee well! and if for ever,
Still for ever, fare thee well:
Even though unforgiving, never
‘Gainst thee shall my heart rebel…”

Lord Byron

Out with the Old…

February 006Our dishwasher was over 10 years old and it started making noises and wasn’t pumping out all the water so we knew it was time to investigate something new. We ordered a new dishwasher and the service man came on Tuesday to take the old one out and replace it with our new one.

February 007Out with the Maytag and in with the Miele.

February 008I think we’ll be happy with our choice.

So much excitement around our town. Katie and I did not make it down to Seattle on Wednesday because my throat was acting up and it was cold. Traffic was gridlocked and they are saying that over 700,000 fans gathered downtown to welcome home the Seattle Seahawks and their Lombardy trophy. Here’s what our outdoor thermometer registered…

February 009That’s cold for the Seattle area! We sat and watched all the T.V. coverage of the parade and the welcome home rally at Century Link Field in our warm family room. Dear went into Seattle before the sun was up and came home with his work computer before the parade road closures started. That was a smart move as he made it home smoothly instead of being stuck in a traffic nightmare with 700,000 people trying to get out of Seattle after the parade.

I found a few more fun photos from our Super Bowl Sunday celebration.

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February 003February 001So much fun!

Needless to say my Wednesday was a wash. I did manage to feed the three of us two meals. I also used my time sitting in front of the T.V. scanning more old photos. I’m glad I have something to show for Wednesday. How did your Wednesday go?

Super Sunday!

Super Sunday 011We had our photo op picked up our skittles and headed home to get ready for the big game.

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We’ve got the 12th man drinks going and the 12th man chair all ready.

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This is what we are eating during the commercials! Football is not our life but we are having fun today enjoying all the hype and cheering loud for our team.

Are you watching or are you happily avoiding the game?

Update: We are so glad that our Seahawks will bring their first Super Bowl trophy home!

2014-02-02 Gameday!

C is for Cemeteries

Some of the places that I like to visit when we travel are cemeteries. I only enjoy very old cemeteries. Here is a sampling from several of the cemeteries I’ve visited.

Alton to Cotswolds 199St. James Church in Chipping Campden (Cotswolds) U.K. September 2013

IMGP9396Monumentale Cemetery in Milan, Italy March of 2013

IMGP7563Graceland Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois May of 2012

IMGP7117IMGP7115Riverside National Cemetery California May 2012. My Father in law is buried at this cemetery.

Arlington National Cemetery May 2011

Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, Georgia October 2012

Ivy Lawn Cemetery in Ventura, California

Calvary Cemetery ~ Seattle June 2008

Crosses could have been an added theme for the letter C. I wouldn’t mind re-visiting some of these cemeteries. I have a goal in my head to visit a very old cemetery covered in snow…

Hope your week is going well.

I’m joining in the fun at ABC Wednesday click over to see more Letter C posts!

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.

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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.

unnamedG5X1S3YFThis 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…

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12th man downton 003The 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!”

Our Second Adventure…

…on Katie’s birthday was a trip to the Seattle Center where the Space Needle happens to be and other attractions as well.

Katie's Day 068Our reason for braving the holiday crowds was to see Chihuly Garden and Glass. It was worth weaving about “all the humanity” to enjoy this extraordinary exhibit.

Katie's Day 020We first saw this wall of blankets that gave Chihuly inspiration for some of his creations.

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Katie's Day 022 This amazing piece was in the Sea inspired room.

Katie's Day 025It was impossible for me to get the full ceiling but I enjoyed capturing some sections of the ceiling.

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2013-12-27 Katie's Day7This was a great room. “Chihuly has said that memories of his mother’s garden serve as inspiration for these “gardens of glass.” Of course I thought of our bloggy friend Pat at Mille Fiori.

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I would like to come back on a day when it’s not raining to get some clearer shots of the needle above this beautiful glass flower conservatory.

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Katie's Day 062We decided to go out to the glass outdoor garden in the rain. I was happy to get several shots without getting my lens wet.

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Katie's Day 081We enjoyed our time here and we hurried in the rain to the parking garage to drive to our third adventure which was a stop at Massage Envy to get our hour relaxation massage along with a sugar foot scrub. Bliss!

I’m joining in with Mary for her Mosaic Monday Meme. If you click over you will see some beautiful images in Mosaic form.

Tick, tick, tick …2013 is winding down. What are your New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day plans? I’ll admit we don’t have any. Maybe I’ll come up with some inspiration on Monday…

Queen Mary Tea Room

Our first stop for our Celebrating Katie day was at the Queen Mary Tea Room in Seattle which is located close to the University of Washington.

Katie's Day 007The waiter popped by our table and asked if we were celebrating anything special and we said, “Why yes, today is Katie’s birthday”. He asked if she’d like to wear a crown…

Katie's Day 008We said yes!

A long time friend of ours lives in the neighborhood and was able to join us for breakfast.

Katie's Day 009Queen Katie and Bridget

Bridget’s sister Jamie was Katie’s Maid of Honor. Jamie has been gone for over a year now on a trip around the world. We talked about Jamie and wondered if she’d be back home by next Christmas. Bridget is going to meet Jamie in New Zealand for several days in February before Jamie heads to South America.

Katie's Day 012Back to the Queen Mary…

Katie's Day 016The traditional tea sipping shot!

Katie's Day 017We said farewell to Santa and our breakfast buddy and headed to Destination #2. I’ll share that next week.

Hope everyone’s weekend is going well. So is your tree still up? Are you keeping the decorations up for a few more days or are you putting it all away this weekend?