Field Trip

 Along with our friend Jan we continued the annual tradition of our Christmas field trip, now only to special places in Ballard. 

As you can see, the sun was shining and the sky was blue.

First stop was the Scandinavian Specialty Shop, where we shopped for special stuff. With our Nordic heritage we enjoy looking at all of the goods and goodies from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. Jan buys a lot, we buy a little, and we all have fun looking. 

Gnomes are everywhere these days. 

The next stop was Larsen's Bakery, where you come to get your Kringle, don't ya know. We shopped for some goodies for our friend Dede, who at 96 has ended her field tripping days, and then bought pastry and coffee for us to have there. The Almond croissants are huge and amazing. I brought part of mine home. 

I felt like a true Scandinavian as I sat outside soaking up the sun while I waited for the others. 

Our final stop was Swanson's Nursery. The pots and plants and the greens in the wreaths and swags are always so pretty and so Northwest. 

Indoors and outdoors, there is plant beauty all around. 

I found a bench by the Koi pond, and then this little fellow found them too. Too bad we can't all experience the wonder that a small child does.  

We went inside to shop the Christmas decor and I forgot to take any more photos. We found a few treasures. 

It was already 2:00 by the time we finished here and since we still had bakery goodies in our tummies, we decided to postpone lunch and get out of town before the traffic heated up. When we got out to our neighborhood we stopped at a Subway shop and picked up sandwiches to take to our house for a late lunch and more visiting. 

It was a fun day, just what I needed.