It's Sounders Soccer Season Again!

Major League Soccer must have the longest season of any professional sport in the country.

Last year we opened on March 8th, and the playoff final, for the MLS cup, was held the first week in December.

Fortunately, Tom and I were ready to go again.  

Selfie on the light rail.

Our season opener was Sunday evening, March 8th.  It was a beautiful day, sunny and 60, and the first day of Daylight Saving Time, so we marched to the match at 5:30 in plenty of daylight.

We "dined" on the upper terrace.

There was pageantry and tifo.

 The view from our new seats on the third level rail was great.

At halftime the sun was just going down.

 We got the result we wanted, a 3-o win over the New England Revolution!

 All in all, a great opener and a great evening. 

Working on Whidbey

Tom and I went to Whidbey Island for an overnight to meet up with his sister Jan, who wanted help with a project at the cabin.  It was also a good opportunity to get up there and get the front garden cleaned up before the weeds took over.  With our mild winter and early spring, everything is growing, especially the weeds. 

I walked about as we waited for our ferry to come in at Mukilteo. 

 I had ferry coffee and shared we our favorite ferry food, a trail mix cookie, on the ride over to the island. 

We arrived at the cabin about 10:30, and after moving in, I got right to work on the garden. Tom joined me later in the afternoon, and finally it was all cleaned up.

 Jan started a fire in the fire pit and we added to it with yard debris. 

The hazy sky made for subtle sunset colors over Useless Bay. 

 In the center of the photo below you can just see Mt. Rainier, and to the right on the horizon, a few skyscrapers of downtown Seattle. 

 I got up early to peak at the pink sunrise Friday morning.

 As the sun rose in the east, the moon was setting in the west.

Then I went back to bed.  After crawling around and bending and stooping for five hours the day before, I was tired.  

When everyone was up and moving, Tom and Jan finished the tile back splash project in the kitchen. 

I went for a long walk.  Eagles were sitting in their tree right over the roadway.  A large mature baldy just flew off before I got my phone camera out of my pocket. 

 Looking back from the top of the hill.

The Olympic Mountains.  There's not much snow on any of our mountains this year. 

 I walked several miles before coming back down on the trail through the wetlands.  

 Old Baldy was back as I returned down the beach road. 

 And tTom was flying the Sounder flag!  Our season starts tomorrow!

I rested a bit, and then I went for a walk on the dike, this time taking my Nikon and my Canon cameras, instead of just my iPhone. 

Up we go. 

 I suppose for some folks the dike trail always looks much the same, but I always see the subtle color changes.

 Wild cherry trees, I think, were in bloom. 

Bird song abounded, especially from this chorus line of red winged blackbirds. 

 There were ducks, like these green winged teal. 

And chick-a-dees on the cattail fluff. 

 I was thrilled to see this beautiful pin tail duck. 

After lunch we packed up and went our separate ways, Jan to see if she could find a long eared owl, and us to poke around Langley.  We like the new beautification along Second Street. 

We watched some glass blowing at the old fire station glass studio. 

 It was getting dark as we finally made our way back through Seattle, avoiding the jammed I-5 freeway and using the viaduct instead.  

It's another beautiful Saturday, but all I've accomplished so far is some grocery shopping and this blog post.

Maybe I'll get outside for a bit this afternoon.  It's time to clip all the sword ferns here in this garden.

March Forth

I've always thought March fourth was a great day to march forth.

It's our daughter Jill's birthday, the day she marched forth into this world. She was born on a Sunday evening in 1973.  That makes her older than she wants to be, but she has made good use of those years.  As I like to say about myself, and my age, she has earned those years. 

After graduation from high school, Jill completed her BA in Education in three years, going summers, straight through.  She began her teaching career with fits and starts, doing a lot of long term substituting.  At the same time she began her Masters Degree program and completed it a few years later. She taught steadily, in primary grades and elementary PE.

In her 27th year she relocated to Colorado, where she taught first grade, married, and gave birth to our two wonderful grandchildren. 

Three years ago she brought her family back to Seattle, where she began teaching first grade in the Highline School District, near where she grew up.  Unfortunately her marriage did not survive the move, and she became a single mother. She bought a house which she has made into a great home for her family. 

Jill has taught for about 20 years now.  She is a teacher, a soccer playing soccer mom, a hiker and mountain climber, an instructor with the Mountaineers, a sports fan, and an amazing mother.  She is one very busy person.

She is a daughter who makes us proud.

Happy Birthday, Jill!

March, and Another Scrap Box Sewing Project

I have done much more sewing for other people than for myself. So after a hiatus from any sewing, I am having some fun just making stuff from my scrap box.  

My granddaughter Irene informed me two years ago that she would not be needing any more cute, fancy dresses. She's almost 10 and is into "accessorizing her jeans". 

Before I sewed for her, I made a series of holiday vests for my teacher daughter, Jill.  Way before that, I used to sew clothing for my kids when they were little.  So I have scraps. 

Here's my latest table topper, for March. 

It contains fabric from a dress for Jill, long ago, a teacher vest for Jill some years ago, and a dress for Irene, not so long ago. 

It's time to switch over from Heart Month to Green Month. 

 And you may remember that little mosaic plaque I bought from an artisan in Rome. I have it hanging in the kitchen, near the table, and I'm using it to decorate for the seasons.  I just replaced the hearts with shamrocks. 

March on!