Skagit Valley Tulip Festival



TulipFest 2011 Poster



Lots of Old Barns in the Area



Dahlia Bulbs &  Fuschias From Christiansons

Diana - Birthday Gal

Bringing Home Bunches





Tabletop Tulips

One of the great perks of living in the NW is being able to enjoy the world reknown annual Tulip Festival in Skagit Valley.  Located about an hour away, the Tulip Fest is a showcase of thousands of acres of blooming daffodils, tulips and irises set in scenic Mt. Vernon, WA.  Weather plays the biggest role in what you will see when visiting the fields, however, there area offers much more than the incredible scenery.

Last week, after a three years hiatus on the annual Tulip trek, we gathered a group and set out for the day. The day was planned with pot luck lunch items, rain boots and lots of layers. It was so much fun to leave town for the day, have a change of pace and a change of scenery.

Here are a couple of must stops in my opinion:

Roozen Gaarde - Gorgeous specialty display garden with picnic benches for lunch and relaxing
Christiansons Nursery - Rustic Nursery with wonderful plant and gift selections
Snow Goose Produce - Giant, homemade waffle cones with your choice of specialty ice cream (HUGE)

I hope you enjoy some of the photos from our outing!

SUP

I finally checked off an activity on my summer list a few weeks ago,Stand Up Paddle Boarding, or SUP. Using large, lightweight and very stable boards, you can readily paddle through the water enjoying an full body workout with ease. At the NW Outdoor Center on Lake Union, rentals are $13.00/hour.

With my nephew in town, this was a great adventure on a hot, sunny day. An added bonus was close up views of the famous house boats on Lake Union. We were also able to remove our life jackets, dive into the lake from the paddle board and reboard easily. I was so sure of our stability on the boards, I paddled back in and grabbed my camera to document our day including the downtown backdrop.

Hope you have the opportunity to try this popular new sport.

Long Time No Post

It's been ages since I have blogged. We've been a house of transition, dropping this guy off:



For his first year here (WSU Dorm room):



In this beautiful part of Washington state:



I'm not sure when I will get used to him being away, but we have fallen back into routine, thus blogging resumption will ensue. Thanks for understanding!

For more photos of the beautiful Palouse region of Washington State, please visit this incredible photographers' website, David Bostock Photography:

Happy Mother's Day

Bucket after Bucket of Incredible Tulips
Market Truck
Vendor Making Judy's Bouquet
Hailey & Judy
Gorgeous Bouquet and Flower Girl
Double Blossom Peony Tulips
My Funky Pink, Orange and Chartreuse Bouquet
Mack & Bouquets Taking the Bus
I am hoping this becomes our new Mother's Day tradition: yesterday I spent the afternoon in downtown Seattle with my son, his girlfriend and her mom (my good friend, coincidentally), walking through Pike Place Market. We have been to Pike Place on many occasions, eating at our favorite gyro or Chinese dumpling stand, always following up with cookies from 3 Sisters Bakery, but yesterday was the annual flower festival at the market. All of the flower vendors set up their tents on the cobblestone streets. Traffic was blocked off and visitors were free to wander the flower stalls, trying to decide which beautiful bouquet they would take home. Judy and I came upon a vendor that was making bouquets by request. We were thrilled with our Mother's Day bounty, gorgeous bouquets of tulips and irises and time spent with our kids. Thanks for a wonderful start to Mother's Day!

Salvage Yard Finds

In a previous post: Salvage Scavenger, I discussed my favorite salvage yard. As a follow up on that post, I decided to share some of the many items I have found and used throughout my home, all salvage yard items from 2nd Use in Seattle.


Additional front door that has a screen or storm insert to change with the seasons. This was my husbands pick. While the storm door option doesn't offer much draft protection the look and sound of a good old screen door nods to his Kentucky upbringing.


This purple locker isn't pretty but it sure is useful. Housed in the garage it holds lots of running shoes. I remember buying this 14 years ago for $30! They currently charge up to $150 for lockers as they have become a popular item.


I love this cute little mailbox. I spray painted it and hung it in the entry way. There isn't anything in it and I don't use it at all, but couldn't resist the scalloped edges!



The yellow magazine rack was found just when the kids were going to elementary school. It has always been the perfect spot to place all of those school forms and projects for safekeeping. I didn't even paint the rack, just cleaned it and added the metal hardware.


For $10, metal gym baskets are endlessly useful and usually available. I keep gym supplies, cleaning supplies, towels or reusable grocery bags in some of my baskets.

Hope you enjoyed viewing some items I have saved from the salvage yard. I hope to have more to post about 2nd use soon.

Thanks again for taking a look!

Community Supported Agriculture

Photo Courtesy of Seattle Farmers Market Examiner

Today, my sister-in-law, Wendy, blogged about volunteering: SimplyBrookes.blogspot.com. Her post had me thinking about the volunteer time I spend each summer at Root Connection in Redmond.

Root Connection is a 14 acre CSA farm located near the Sammamish river, just a few miles from my home. CSA members purchase "shares" in the farm's bounty from June to October, and get the satisfaction of reconnecting to the land by eating local, chemical-free food. Members are also able to harvest herbs, greens and flowers on their pick up days.

On my first visit to Root Connection, I was drawn to volunteer. Beautiful produce growing in a river valley so close to home with flowers, herbs and greens (swiss chard, mustard and collard greens) to harvest, meshed with my homesteading nature.

Field work at Root Connection isn't easy, you are harvesting, hauling, weeding, and cleaning, all while trying to keep up with experienced employees. My goals in volunteering were to learn about organic farming, be introduced to different seasonal produce and of course, meet new people.

Look for the opportunity to volunteer or become a member of a CSA in your area. You will be helping to protect farmlands from development, supporting small farms and providing your family with delicious fresh produce. And, as I have, you will come away with a bounty of knowledge, discovery and new found appreciation for real food.

Salvage Scavenger

Today the kids have a track meet way over in West Seattle. I am happy to head out on that long journey because we will drive right by one of my favorite salvage yards along the way: Second Use.

I have been scavenging my way through 2nd Use for close to 15 years now, we are so lucky to have this salvage yard in Seattle. They salvage materials from construction sites throughout the area and place them for sale in their giant warehouse. In the past, it was necessary to show up and hunt through their thousands of items to find a gem. A couple of years ago some genius employed by Second Use, has revamped their website and you can now search for items prior to leaving your home. It's so useful to view items online as photos and measurements are included in the description. Also the warehouse is cold, damp and filled to the rafters with materials...overwhelming. Entering with a list in mind makes the experience more enjoyable.

I am redoing a guest/office bedroom and thought the finds in the photos might make great additions to the room:

• A giant chalkboard above the computer desk - I would probably repaint with magnetic chalkboard paint for multi-use. It is only $55!
  
• As a closet cubby, the $10 yellow shelf might be a steal (I am pondering a gray, yellow, white color theme).
• There are a lot of useful looking school cabinets inventoried, this one stood out because of the perfectly sized drawers for storing photos, paper, kids art, etc.
• And finally, the bamboo cafe table looks promising, a small side table is always in need in any room. It may need a fresh coat of stain, but I love the proportions. ($45)

Off to the salvage yard and then the races, I will bring my camera and let you know what I find!

Happy Spring Break

I am off for the whole week visiting Sunriver Oregon with friends. This will be my sons' last high school spring break and I am so glad to spend the extra time with him and friends. I have never been to Sunriver,OR but have heard so much about it. See you next week with photos and information on this great field trip.

Seabrook - Pacific Beach WA

In Pacific Beach, WA a new beautiful beach town has been emerging over the past several years. Over President's weekend, my family and I, drove the 2 1/2 hours from Seattle out to the WA coast to check out Seabrook. While we didn't stay at any of the Seabrook cottage rentals, we drove through the master planned community and also viewed a model home.

This idyllic community is a true coastal town just beyond the Olympic National Park, albeit, the rough Washington coast. In early February, it was 45 degrees, pouring rain and so windy you had to lean into it to walk. However, this little community oozes charm and an east coast summer living sensibility (if you could envision a warm, sunny day). There are different floor plans and ocean view or ocean front options. Also, 90% of the homes are 2nd vacation homes, while 10% live year round. The vacation home owners usually place their homes in the care of Seabrook Cottage rental management as rental homes. While they plan on continuing to add to their town center, there is currently a market, cafe and deli, post office and bike rental.

These are just a few tidbits of information. The website: www.seabrookwa.com is full of information. Check out this community and see if a visit there is in your future.

Snowshoe Adventure

I am lucky to have great friends that are always up for an adventure. And yes, a snowshoe walk is an adventure in my book. A few weeks ago, a swim friend planned this outing through the Snoqualmie Pass forest service. Six of us drove 45 min. to the pass,(Cascade Mountain Range), on a beautiful, sunny day. The forest service provided the snowshoes and the ranger for a suggested donation of $20/person.

The walk was incredible as we passed through sunlit old growth forest, over melting creek beds and into clearings where we could feel the sun warming us. Ranger Pat was the perfect guide, teaching us the wonders of a winter forest throughout the hike. Did you know that snow worms existed? Live trees emit heat due to sap production? We hiked for a couple of hours stopping for lunch in an open meadow. The snow shoe hike was the perfect combination of working out, experiencing something new, discovering nature in winter and enjoying friends.

If you live in the NW and would like more information, visit: Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest-Recreational Activities.

Our next adventure: The Alcrataz Invitational Swim.

glassybaby

My New Babies


Latte Collection
Madrona Studio

Has anyone heard of glassybaby? I can't say enough about this Seattle based company and their product. Cancer survivor Lee Rhodes, developed glassybabies as a diversion from the loneliness she felt during her illness. She describes them as "a small, colored, glass cup, candleholder, or vase. But the light of a candle coming through a generates more; it gives warmth to a cold day, a calm token of peace in the busy world."

We all know that having a great home is to keep only what is beautiful, useful or meaningful,a glassybaby fulfills each of those requirements. To read more or order online, visit glassybaby.com.

I really want to let you all know about their 2nd sales. Twice a year, their Madrona Hotshop sells over 5,000 unique glassybaby seconds in need of good homes to cherish and light them. Though these glassybabies may be slightly flawed, they still possess all the charm of the originals, for a $14.00 discount. I am lucky enough to live within 10 miles of Madrona. With a cup of hot coffee and my trusted bargain betty side kick, Ann, we left the house at the crack of dawn. After 2 hours in line with several hundred others (we were towards the front of the line though), we entered the studio and marveled at the tables filled with "misfit" glassybabies. Hearts racing, we gathered, tested, held to the light, oohed, aahed, conferred and finally skipped out with 3 babies each.

For the total experience without being there, this video highlights the sale:
Glassybaby 2nds Sale
Trusty bargain betty side kick Ann is the one in the cool fedora!

Next 2nd Sale is in June.