Monday, April 15, 2019

A Change of Pace/Place Weekend

It has been unusually rainy here in the Pacific Northwest. We are counting our blessings that we are not experiencing the floods happening in some parts of our region, or the blizzards or violent storms and tornadoes in others. We are fortunate, and we needed the rain, but after 12 days of rain, coupled with much colder temperatures, it gets wearying. We gardeners couldn't go out and play in the dirt. We needed to get out of the house. 

Saturday, we were happy to get dressed up in rain gear and head out for a 1:00 Sounders match at the stadium. 
Our opponent was Toronto, a match up of two good, unbeaten teams. I do love singing along to "Oh, Canada!"
It was a great game, very entertaining, the rain held off except for a few fits and spits, and our Sounders won! We went home, rested, and then went out to Red Robin for dinner. 

Sunday morning had us on the light rail again, and back at the stadium. Jill needed us to do some shopping for her for a birthday coming up this week, and to do that shopping we needed to hit the sports team shops in the stadium and across the street. 

I would send photos of various samples and Jill would critique. This hoodie was not acceptable, but I liked it a lot, and so I bought it for myself! Hey. It was on sale.
Checking all four shops, we did find another hoodie that was acceptable. We also had fun watching all of the Mariners fans arriving for a 1:00 baseball game in the adjoining stadium. 

Since there is a Starbucks right at the light rail station, we decided to have lunch there. 

Here's mine.
Tom had a sandwich.

Then I got my free latte, earned with accumulated points, to drink with a bit of chocolate.  
We got the train home, made a quick pit stop, and we on our way again, this time by car, south to Branches Garden Center. 
Branches has a good little nursery, but the real attraction is the gift shop. Everything is so pretty there, and of course there were Easter/Spring decorations. 












 Outside, but under cover, the annuals and perennials are just as pretty. 








 Again the rain held off, so we thoroughly searched the shrubs too, and found a hydrangea that was on our list. 



 I bought some hardy sedums to replant a patio pot. We were happy to stay home today. Monday is house work and laundry day. We got that done, got in our walk on a sunny morning, and then spent some time working in the yard. 
I got the sedums planted today in this old birdbath. That golden plant on the left is a fancy corydalis. I got it planted too, and did some weeding. 
Tom didn't get the hydrangea planted yet. He says he ran out of energy. He did take care of his greenhouse, move his tomato plants out of the greenhouse and under a cloche in the garden, finish a construction project, and mow the lawn. 
 I ran out of energy long before he did. It did feel good to get outside and get some work done. The clouds have moved back in, but it's looking like the rain will hold off now until Thursday. 

We'll be able to get back outside. Yay!






11 comments:

  1. I'm not surprised that the two of you ran out of energy! You are a busy couple, no doubt about it.
    Wasn't it nice to have a relatively decent day today? Rain is moving in here at some point tomorrow then the rest of the week is forecast to be wet.
    Nice new hoodie you bought for yourself!

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  2. I still can't get over how people use their phone to get somebody else to do their shopping. I see this in grocery stores. People are on the phone and the person not in the store can see the products.

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  3. You have put me in a spring/Easter mood with the shop pictures.

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  4. That is a nice hoodie, I'm glad you bought it for yourself. And we have a couple of dry days and then... just in time for our hike on Thursday, the rain returns. Our garden is now soggy. :-(

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  5. Glad that you found a hoodie for yourself as well as an acceptable one for the upcoming birthday. Branches is such a fun place!

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  6. Wow, that is a lovely shop! I think I could spend a fortune there. And the plants...I'm so eager to get outdoors but it will be a few weeks yet. I have some clean up to do this week though, pine cones and needles, branches and what have you. The weather has been lovely, 10-15C (50-68F) so it's definitely time.

    Funny that you enjoy singing along to O Canada, I feel the same way about the Star Spangled Banner. :)

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  7. Congrats on the win. I thought you had a retractable roof there but I guess not. Loved the hoodie and you look smart in it. Clever way to shop by using your phone and your self as a model.

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    1. We do have a retractable roof on the baseball stadium, but not on the football/soccer stadium. Our stadium seats are undercover so we don’t need to worry about getting wet while watching the match but walking to and from it to the train is another matter. Fortunately our rain gear was only needed as wind protection.

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  8. I love that shop - especially those pots! I am currently fixing up old wood boxes to use as planters with silicone caulking on all the joints because they tend to warp and split at the seams. Your post makes me really want to get out and garden.

    We need the rain here - too bad we can't share the sunshine and rain with each other.

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  9. Such pretty plants! That Hydrangea looks interesting...is it Pinky Winky? It should be lovely in some of your bouquets! I saw a whole bunch of these at the trail gardens ...you won't be disappointed:)

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  10. A nursery is a dangerous place for me to visit this time of year. Your outing looked like fun. Enjoy your time at home.

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