Fun Phone Photos

Since my iPhone goes with me everywhere now, it is also my go-to camera these days.

There was a respite from the rain as we exited FX McRory's Restaurant near the stadium a little after 6:00 to pick up the March to the Match as it swung around the corner on Occidental.  I was excited to be able to participate in the songs and chants again.

We stayed with the Emerald City Supporters on past the stadium for a while, and then returned to the north end, where the band, Sound Wave, was entertaining the arriving fans. 

In the background you can see the brand new condominium building now situated in what used to be the north parking lot. It is encased in mirror glass and reflects the sky and the stadium.

We went in through the security gates and began the climb to the third tier up the ramp.  I can do that now and it's good exercise. And the band played on.

 Up at the top, we looked out over the area where Bertha is stuck underground in our own version of the Big Dig, out beyond that to the freight docks, and beyond that to the squall that was coming in over the sound.

 There are good views up here.

 Rain was eminent. 

 But we did have time to walk around a bit and take in the perspective from the platform where the 12th Man flag is raised for the Seahawks.  The Sounders flag flies without ceremony.

The rain hit just before first kick.  We were happy to be under cover, but with swirling winds we did get some rain blowing in.  I was happy to be dressed in my rain pants and jacket.

It turned out to be a tough loss for the Sounders and us supporters, with a tie breaking goal by Columbus in extra time in the final 94th minute.  When we did that to Kansas City a few weeks ago it was great, but when it happens to your team, it hurts.

But I had a great day and I had fun and I didn't let the loss spoil my mood.

And now today I see a little sun shine! Is it time for walkies?

45 Years Together

Today we will stand in the rain watching our grandson Isaac play lacrosse.  He told me some of the rules yesterday so I hope to understand this game that is new to Tom and me.

Jill and the kids were over at our house yesterday and I fed them homemade mac and cheese. The kids sort of helped me make lemon meringue pie while they were here for early release Friday.
After dinner Tom helped Jill change a  SURPRISE! flat tire in a down pour of rain.  Jill reports there was a rainbow sighting on the way home.

Later today we will head into town on the light rail, in our rain gear, since thunder storms are forecast, to go out for an early dinner before we go to the stadium for a Sounders Soccer match where we now sit side by side in dry seats.

It's a day like many early spring days, and yet it is for us a special day too.  It's our 45th Anniversary.

Last Monday while we were garden shop touring, I bought this latest Carruth sculpted plaque to add to our collection.

I saw us in it.  We're not that cute young couple we were on a Saturday 45 years ago.

We're part of a much bigger bunch now, and we've carried our weight.  But we are still hanging around together enjoying the sweet life.

Decorating

I have a lot of time on my hands, and yet, that time seems to fly by!

Today I did a little decorating for Easter. 

 The robin is new.  It's made of papier mache and I bought it in a little shop next to where I get my hair cut in Olde Burien.  It's a wonderful little shop that I love to stop at after my haircut, and I often buy some little thing because I want to keep it in business.  That was Tuesday, my big outing for the day.

 At Easter time I spread out my pottery pals that are usually crowded together in a cabinet.  It's fun to decorate with my old McCoy and Shawnee collectables.

 We'll be having Easter dinner at Jill's house this year, so my dining table will remain like this, unless Irene wants to borrow some of the decorations.

So if I have put out Easter decorations, does that mean I can start eating chocolate?

Oh, wait.  I eat chocolate every day already! It's a basic food group.

Time For A Little Beauty

It's a dreary day here today, although the light rain didn't keep me from an afternoon walk.

But the news is all the time about mud, bodies in mud, and now who's fault is it that people died in mud.

Monday was a warn, sunny day and Tom and I spent it with my sister Laurie and my brother-in-law, Arnold, touring some lovely nurseries north of Seattle.  I didn't take many photos.  I just enjoyed looking and visiting, but here is a bit of color from Molbak's and Swanson's Nurseries.

 This magnolia flower was as big as my head!

 I loved this pot arrangement with Swiss Chard.

 On my walk this afternoon I stopped to admire the cherry trees in the park, and a forsythia in a neighborhood yard.

Some days we just have to make our own sunshine.  I hope you found yours. 

That Saturday Morning

Where were you Saturday morning? What were you doing about 11:00? 

As you know, I was enjoying a stroll in a beautiful garden on a lovely spring morning. It wasn't until much later in the day that I began to realize the tragedy that was unfolding just about 75 mile north.

I spent a lot of time yesterday evening and this morning trying to find exactly where the slide occurred and just what the community looked like.  If you use Google Maps you can actually zoom in for close ups of the homes that were there just east of Oso, Washington. It looks like a beautiful place to live. 

I captured this view off of Google Maps showing the community before Saturday morning. The white area in the upper right quadrant is the scar from a previous slide.

This drawing was on the front page of the Seattle times this morning. The top of the new slide, as shown in the upper left here, is much higher. And in both photos you can see what is in the path of the mud slide. There were 59 vacant lots in the slide area, 49 more with some kind of structure, and 25 which were most likely occupied full time.  They are buried under up to 20 feet of mud.

Highway 530, the main access to this somewhat remote area, was also buried. 

If you lived here and you were in your home or working in your yard, as many of us are on a Saturday morning, you are probably gone.  If you were kids watching TV with your dad, you are gone. If you are parents just returning from grocery shopping or heading out to your kid's sporting event, or going fishing on a sunny morning and you were on that section of highway, you are gone. If you were one of three workmen called out by a young woman, a nurse, who just bought her dream house that needed a plumber,  an electrician, and a technician from Dish Network, you are gone, along with her.

So far 7 people were rescued alive, 14 dead have been recovered, and up to 176 have been reported missing. The missing number will go down some as duplicate reports are discovered or people are located somewhere else, but with the mud now settling like concrete where it isn't still like quicksand, it will be a long time before recovery is complete.

The dammed up river caused flooding upstream, but is now releasing the pressure by cutting a new channel through the mud. The new channel is about where an old one was before a previous slide. 

Yes, there were warnings that another cataclysmic slide could occur here.  But we live in the here and now, and we trust our luck that it won't happen to us.

Sometimes it does.

Come Saturday Morning

Come Saturday morning, I'm going away with my friend, 
We'll Saturday-spend to the end of the day, just I and my friend. We'll travel for miles in our Saturday smiles, and then we'll move on,
But we will remember long after Saturday's gone.
The Sandpipers, 1969

It was time for a change of pace and place.  I get that way, and then I announce to my friend, my husband Tom, that I need a get-away. 

To celebrate the first weekend in spring, I chose the not too distant, and very domesticated Bellevue Botanical Garden. Contrary to the song lyrics, we spent to the end of the morning, not the day, but it was a wonderful respite, and a great photo opportunity.

Because the complex is under construction, we enter through the Yao garden back entrance.

 Yes, I've taken you here before, so there will be few words and you can go at your own speed.

                      Corylopsis

 Fern fronds getting ready to unfurl.

 Sun shining through peeling paper bark.

 Checking a plant label - Beesia.

 It's hellebore time and the garden has them in every color.

Under construction.  There will be a new visitor's center with meeting rooms.

                  Crown Imperial fritillaria

Do your hyacinths match your hellebores? 

There will be new garden areas too.

                       Checkerboard fritillaria

                                 Oregon grape

Native red flowering currant.  there was a hummer enjoying the nectar on the back side of the bush.

                                                Erythroniums

                                 Skunk cabbage.

And back where we started.

It's the middle  of the afternoon now.  I have done this, and had lunch.  Tom has mowed the lawn and is spraying the fruit trees and raspberries.  I guess I should get out a do a few things too, before guilt replaces the good feelings of my Saturday morning get away.