43 Is Also a Prime Number

Son Jake is preparing for the celebration of his 37th birthday in April with a Facebook invite to a gathering he has titled "37 Is A Prime Number".  He's getting lots of interesting responses.


But before his big day, we have one of our own.  March 29th is our wedding anniversary, and 43 is also a prime number.  And our 43rd year was prime indeed!

Yes, we've changed a little since March 29, 1969, but we still like to hang out together.

Our kids are getting older too, but we still love being together, especially in the summer at Rockaway Beach.

 This year the summer visit turned into a permanent stay, as Jill and the kids moved to Seattle and the grand kids started school here in our school district.

 We still love to explore and took several great trips.

While this gathering was for a sad reason, to bid farewell to Mother, Grandmother, Great Grandmother Violet, we were all there together.

 After Christmas, son-in-law Corey got a job here and has now reunited with his family.  Jake survived a ruptured kidney and it's removal.  We're all in great health.


When Jake moved in with a friend, Josy came to live with us.  It's nice to have a kitty again.

And we're still having lots of fun.  

Easter Decorations

Last Friday, between breakfast with friends and the evening Sounders game, which we won, I cleaned house and got out the rest of the Easter decorations.


This first photo isn't really Easter.  It's violets picked from my garden.  They remind me of my mother.  Her name was Violet.  Since her passing last November, we are still in that year of firsts without her, hence the first Easter without Mother Violet.

 On the kitchen table, daffodils and eggs in some of my McCoy pottery collection.

 In the family room.  The baskets on the hearth are from my childhood.

 Bunnies and eggs are scattered here and there in my pottery collection.

Jill and I have been making plans for Easter dinner, which we will host together at my house.  It will be just ten of us.


It has been a long time since we had an Easter egg hunt here in our yard.  We'll all get into the act, big and little kids together.  Hope for dry weather!

A Weekend For Gardening

Finally we had a dry, warmer weekend, a great opportunity to get outside and get the final clean up done.


That means clipping off all of the sword ferns.  We have a lot of them!  I also got pretty ruthless with the Oregon Grape that was encroaching on the pathways.

 All of this green stuff was then put through the chipper/shredder and put back down as mulch.

 Last Thursday we had an arborist tree service come in and take down the madrona trees that had been ruined by the ice storm and were hanging over the back fence.  Tom still has some splitting to do and then we'll stack the fire wood.

 Tom also got the juniper hedge trimmed along the driveway.  The yard waste bags were picked up this morning.

 The tree service also cleaned up a few limbs in the fir trees, including the "widow maker" that was hanging up here.

One of the joys of working in the garden in early spring, is the chance to get up close and personal with the lovely little ephemerals emerging from the soil.  This is a corydalis.

 All of the trillium clumps are now up and blooming.  Also known as "Wake Robin", they herald the arrival of spring.

 The last thing I did yesterday was crawl around, picking up the fir cones and small debris.  More time to enjoy the beauty close up.

We're stiff and sore this morning, but we feel great about all we got done.  Spring?  Bring it on, even in the rain.

I Went Shopping And Had Fun!

I'm not a recreational shopper.  When I shop it's usually very purposeful and done as quickly as I can.


But today I just needed a change.  I finished Irene's peacock dress and the matching America Girl Doll dress yesterday, a major undertaking done. Sorry, no pictures yet.  It must remain a surprise until I give it to her just before Easter. 


I had been collecting a few things for Easter, as I found them, but I needed to look for a few more things.  I declared today a day off and set out about 9:45 with a few gift shops in mind.  No hurry, no pressure, just enjoying the fact that the sun was shining, sort of, the streets were dry, and the plum trees and forsythia were blooming in lovely shades of pink and yellow in the neighborhoods.


I love Easter/Spring decorations. After the dark of winter, the colors are so lovely.  


I bought cards for the grand kids and to send to my sisters.  I found a few more decorations to add to my collection.

 See that bag above?  That's how this little shop in Olde Burien wrapped my little treasures.  So cool.  A gift for me!  The door hanger came from Fred Meyer.


The bag contained a candle wreath to match the other three I had found at a botanical garden gift shop.  It was just what I was looking for.  I also bought the carrots to go with the chicks and bunnies I had purchased earlier.

 The little egg shaped bowls I found for half price at Safeway the other day!

 While it's still cold enough that some areas had snow this morning, the sun has been shining enough to raise spirits and make it feel more like spring.  The front porch proclaims that spring is here.

 I stopped by Costco to get some more fresh blueberries, which I have with my yogurt for lunch every day.  A few other fresh goodies jumped into my cart.  I do love asparagus in the springtime.

I got home about 1:00, put stuff away, had lunch and read the paper, and then went for a four mile walk in the sunshine.  I feel renewed.


Josy spent a lot of time going in and out, since it wasn't raining, and finally settled on the couch in a sunbeam.

It was a good day.

Um, Spring?

Last evening marked the Vernal Equinox here in the Pacific Daylight time zone.  That makes today the first day of spring.


It was hard to notice.


I did my exercising indoors this afternoon, and when I finished my 11 miles on the stationary bike, I grabbed a jacket and my camera for a record of the day and a quick cool down.


At 4:30 a wan sun struggled to be seen in a leaden sky.

 The high temp today was 44, but now it's back to 40.


But spring is coming nonetheless.  The grass is green, but thankfully not growing very fast, since it's hard to find a day dry enough to mow.

 There are a few primroses and mini-daffodils for spots of color.

                            Violets!

 The native red currant is emerging very slowly.

 Bright new green on shrubs glows even with no sun.

 The first trillium is opening.

 There is a bit of color in the front garden.

 Spring has come.  The time for renewal has arrived.  It just might not be warm and sunny, like we would wish for.  But at least we won't be worrying about a water shortage this summer.


Look for the silver lining.

A Good Result!

It didn't rain,

It didn't snow.

We won the game,

Way to go!

SOUNDERS!

I hope my soccer family will excuse my self indulgence on this one.  But we had fun!

Tom was scheduled to participate in the opening ceremonies of the Sounders home opener.  We went in early, arriving at the stadium about 4:00.  We met up with our North End Faithful (NEF) supporter team, and then the other representatives from the other supporter groups. 

 Eventually we were on the field, ready for practice.  Our third member didn't arrive in time, so, guess what!  I was drafted!

 We spent about an hour doing walk-throughs, and I tested out if I really could jog out onto the center field.  Yep, I made it, several times!


Then we walked up to Occidental Park, where we met Jill, serving as banner carrier for the Emerald City Supporters (ECS), the really big and very active supporter group that leads the March to the Match.

 Scarves are covering faces because flares are involved.


We joined the March.

 Back at the stadium, we grabbed a quick snack, and then it was time to meet up for the opening ceremonies.


As the music started, that was our cue, and here we come!  Too bad the 38,400 in attendance were mostly late to their seats.

 I left my camera with a fellow supporter in the stands so she could record this for posterity.

 Yep, that's Tom and me, or our posteriors anyway.

 There were flags for every team in MLS.  And then there were fireworks!

 And then it was time to go.  Exit stage left.

 We stowed our flags and got back to our seats in time for "Oh Canada" and The National Anthem.  I do love singing "Oh Canada".

 And then ESC unfurled their latest amazing tifo creation!

 Deployment went very smoothly.  Good job, Jake and ECS Tifo Team.  Jill says she helped paint the red parts.

E Pluribus Sounders, from many nations, one team.

Of course, that was just the beginning.  

It stayed dry, not bitterly cold, and we won the match over Toronto, 3 to 1!

We're back to cold rain again this morning, but for now, I'm good.  We got the break we needed when we needed it most!  St Patrick brought us good luck!