Happiness is . . . .

When I started this blog, it was more as a personal journal for me than anything else.  I had so much happening in my life, I needed to write it down for posterity.  I never dreamed how many dear friends I would make from all over the world, just by penning my daily accomplishments and foibles.

It's been quite some time since I've written here, mainly because I have been so engrossed with my new life.  Anyone who has followed me here knows of the changes I've gone through, and some days, you just don't have the energy to sit down and write.

Well, so here I am.  I said I was looking for a new direction for my life, but I never expected it to be marriage to a wonderful man.  And after returning home from a 10 day vacation, I realize how happy I am to be home.  A year ago I insisted I would never live in this little house in this area just south of Seattle.  Of course, at that time I was looking for all the reasons I could find not to get married again.

Yesterday, the sight of our little piece of heaven was a delight to return to.  Before we even went indoors, we had to take a tour of the yard to see how our gardens had survived our absence.

 

So to catch you up on what we have done since we got married on June 4, 2013, I thought I would show a few before and after pictures.

 

This picture is the living room BEFORE.  Terry had been single for about 6 years, and this is the bachelor pad.  Then I came in and we tried our best to combine his with mine.  We still don't have everything put away, but are making great progress.

 

 

I loved my red couches.  We tried to make them work here, but they just didn't fit.  I got quite emotional about it, but had to admit they were a reflection of my life as an independent woman and a statement of such, so I had to sell them.  Too much clutter drives me insane.

We had a two day yard sale and sold a ton of stuff, especially the big items.

 

 

It's a good thing we have both worked at Farmer's Markets.  We had the tents and tables we needed to pull this off.

Then, two weeks later, we threw a big party for our friends to help celebrate our marriage.  Our dear friend, April, is a personal chef, and she helped us in a big way.  I came up with the menu, she added a few things, and we were off.  I prepared Ruben Spring Rolls, a succotash salad served in small canning jars, a watermelon, basil and feta salad, a molded rice and vege salad, and the biscuits for the pulled pork sliders.  April brined the pork, smoked it for 5 hours, cooked it low and slow overnight, and it was a taste sensation!  She also made salmon skewers, caprese skewers, strawberries with Devonshire cream (oh, to die for) and a wedding cake, the first she has ever done!!!

 

Above is the succotash salad.  Made with fresh corn and beans, it is so delicious.

Terry and I with our wedding cake.

Isn't this cake beautiful?  It's carrot with a cream cheese frosting.

In the back of the picture, you can see the strawberries, then the Ruben Spring Rolls with thousand Island dipping sauce, and in the forefront is my rice salad.

 

Two days later, I started painting the living room.  This treatment on the wall was put there 14 years ago.  It had to go

 

While I started painting, Terry started assembling the greenhouse.

 

And the night before we left on vacation, I made Victorian Plum Conserve.  Our neighbor's plum trees hang over our property, and we get way more than we need from them.  This conserve is just yummy.  I can hardly wait to use it on some chicken or pork.

 

I think I will end this for today.  I might come back and edit, but for now, it is pretty long.  I may have exceeded my picture allotment.  We shall see.

To be continued.

.



The Cascade Foothills

After a busy weekend of high temperatures and two days of yard sale, Terry took me on an outing into the Cascade Foothills.  We drove through cities I haven't been to in years, and in no time, we were in the woods.

 

If you click on this picture, you can see the gorge that this stream has cut in the rocks.  You can also see the log that spans the gorge.  I didn't know where we were going, and didn't have the appropriate shoes or pants for a hike, but we will be going back.  This day, we just enjoyed the beauty of it all.

 

 

I'm in my glory, harvesting lots of moss to try out in my dying efforts.

A look at one of the holes the river and rock have carved out of the banks.

Above the rock is this lush greenery.

Well, now my pictures are out of order, and I can't seem to move this one.

We finished the day with grilled chicken thighs, pineapple macadamia nut coleslaw, and peaches grilled and topped with vanilla greek yogurt

 

I forgot to rotate this one, but it shows the heavy moss in the trees.



 

Lest you think I have forgotten my favorite pastime, I had lots of time to spin the past few days during the yard sales.



On our way home from the mountains, we stopped at the Renton Farmer's Market, where I bought this gorgeous bouquet for $5.

Here we are out of order again.  We made a stop at an Antique store in Duvall and I bought this container.  It just called to me.

And this planter that I will put succulents in.

 

What a wonderful day.  It has been so hot and humid here for the past week, I felt as if I were in Washington D.C. in August.  It was such a nice break to get away to the beauty and coolness of the mountains for part of a day.

Bindweed

Isn't this flower just lovely?

NOT!

I grew up knowing this as Morning Glory.  You never found it growing in people's gardens.  You would find it in alleys and in over run properties.  I know the wheat farmers judge each other by how clear their fields are of Morning Glory.  But, this is not the lovely blue flower that climbs on peoples porches.  This is Bindweed, a very noxious weed.

 

Unfortunately, our yard is crawling with it.  A couple of weeks ago, we went to  an outdoor festival at the Tukwila Community Center.  There we learned that the bindweed's seeds can lie dormant in the ground for 20 years!!!  I've tried all the safe methods on them, such as vinegar, but it seems to act like a fertilizer to them.



Here it is climbing all over the fence in the back where our raspberries grow.

We just have to be vigilant and pull on them whenever we see them.  It's a huge job.  They send out runners that go for yards under the ground.

To clear this 10 x 10 foot patch, we had to go through and dig out all of the bindweed and the spreading buttercups.  It was a big job, but we did it.  The Fletcher Urban Farm is on it's way.

 

 

When I left the farm, I gave my Muckboots to my friend, Cynthia.  I said I would never wear them ever again.  Well, here I am, wearing Terry's Muckboots that I gave him for Christmas two years ago.  He has tiny feet, so these are just a little too big for me, but when planting the garden, I really needed them.

We covered the soil with wet newspaper, and the pathways with cardboard.  Then covered it all with straw.  This should cut down on weeds and keep moisture in the ground.

Here is our first picking of the raspberries and blueberries.  I put them on a cookie sheet in the freezer to get them frozen, then put them in bags and seal them with my Foodsaver.  This combo of raspberries and blueberries is fantastic in a Smoothie, or a sauce for German Pancakes.

 

 

I found the idea for these mini German Pancakes on Facebook.  You make them in a muffin tin, and they are just delicious.

Wedding in Las Vegas

Last week, Terry, now my DH, and I went to Las Vegas to get married.  When we first decided to wed, everyone was wanting to come to the wedding.  Jeesh, we did that years ago.  We wanted it to be just between the two of us.  So, we decided to elope to Las Vegas.  From all the shows and movies I've seen, it appeared as if you just walked into a chapel and did the deed, but we had to put a bit more effort into it to get what we wanted.  Simple, traditional, inexpensive, and not tacky.  Sorry, but that is a hard combination to find there.  We finally found the Graceland and Storybook Chapel.  They were wonderful!  For the price we paid, we had a choice of Elvis singing Viva Las Vegas, or $60 worth of pictures.  We opted for the pictures.  We got to hear Elvis sing in the two weddings before us, since we arrived early.  He was a gorgeous Elvis, about 6'5'' and very handsome.  His costume was amazing!!!  If you ever want an Elvis wedding, this is the place to go.

Our ceremony was precious, and our Minister was Jean Claude.  He gave a beautiful message, Terry and I exchanged vows and rings, and we were done.  We asked about getting a cab, and the limo driver offered to drive us home for the same price.  It was our second limo ride of the day, since we had gone on a Timeshare presentation earlier, and were driven to the site in a black limo with another couple from our hotel.

 

Below is a picture we had taken in one of the bars where we cooled our jets before leaving for the Chapel.  I asked a woman at the bar to take it for us.  She was waiting to meet up with an old sweetheart from 35 years ago who was on his way to join her there.  I was checking out every single man who came in the door and was disappointed that he hadn't yet arrived when we finally had to leave.  I hope she found happiness in her reunion .  She was so nervous!

 

 

Here we are getting into the limo for our ride back to the Casino.

 

After the wedding, we walked around on Fremont street, enjoying all of the people and crazies.

The next morning, friends of ours who live in Las Vegas met us for breakfast, and we walked Fremont once again with them.  Downtown Las Vegas is the place to be during the hot summer days.  It was in the 100's every day we were there, but the large canopy that spans several blocks on Fremont shades you from the direct sun, and many of the establishments have misters outside to help you stay comfortable (and buy more drinks from them).

The last morning there, I got up at 5:30am, unable to sleep.  I went down to the Casino which was almost deserted and started playing the Michael Jackson slot machine.  It is so much fun, very loud, with speakers by your ears.  The chair vibrates with his music, and Michael comes on the screen dancing, and kicking wild cards onto the slots.  I wound up with $713.00.  Now I know the best time to play the slots.  It's nice to come home from there with money in your pocket.

 

So, we are back at work here at home, trying to combine the two households and getting the "Urban Garden" established.

 

 



More Magic from Lopez Island

I'm sorry it has taken me so long to get to this next chapter on my trip to Lopez Island.  Terry and I have been cleaning up his place and re-arranging so that I can move in.  Yesterday was the big day. 

The storage unit is not large enough, and we now have a small house crammed full of furniture and boxes.  We will get this all arranged, it's just going to take time.

 

So, below is the last hike of the day.  This is the trail leading to Shark Reef.

 

 

 

Have you ever been somewhere that just grabs you?  It's like you have come home, you have found the place you came from.  Mystical and spiritual, Shark Reek affected me in this way.  I did not want to leave.

If you click on the picture below, you will see the sea lions.  They were mostly sleeping in the sun, but a few were being playful in the water.

I've never seen sedum growing in the wild before.  The rocks here were covered with it.

When we returned to the house, we had a beer and sat there, planning on digging some more clams, but our bodies just did not want to move another inch.  I finally commented that it was not a requirement that we get more clams.  We had plenty for now.  Terry breathed a big sigh of relief, and we went off to a local restaurant for dinner.  Below you can see sunset from that restaurant.

All good things must come to an end, and Sunday morning found us at the ferry dock, ready to travel back to the mainland.

That night, we enjoyed the fruits of our labor, steamed clams.

 

We froze enough to make clam chowder on another day.



THE MAGIC OF LOPEZ

A month ago, Terry took me on a very romantic and magical trip to Lopez Island in the San Juan Islands.  His friend has a house there, and he graciously let us use it for the weekend.  The first day was the ferry ride, a brief ride around part of the island, and digging clams.

On Saturday, it was exploration time.

I was amazed to see this farmer plowing his fields with horses!  And believe me, the fields he had finished looked as good as any plowed with a tractor.  Take it from the farmer here.

 

 

 

Then we took a walk down this beautiful trail.

It took us to Spencer Spit.  Oh, would I love to take that enormous piece of driftwood home with me!

I love the beach and walking on logs.

 Then, we took this nice trail down to Watmaugh

 

Watmaugh Bay is one of the most serene places I have been.  We sat on the beach a good while, just enjoying the peace of it all, and sun in our faces.

And the bottom picture shows how clean and clear the water is.

I will have more to show you tomorrow.  I don't want to overload the system with pictures, but the best is yet to come.



A Happy Mother's Day

 

It was another beautiful and warm day in Seattle on Mother's Day.  The flowers above are the bouquet I received from one of my sons.  Do love my flowers.  Terry and I worked in the yard until it was time to get ready to go to brunch with the kids.  The day before, the Community Center up the street had held a Backyard Festival.  They had booths from the Master Gardeners, the Audubon Society, and vendors of plants native to the Northwest.  We purchased a black huckleberry bush, a red huckleberry, and a flowering red currant, and they all needed to get settled in the ground.

We also attended a lecture on companion gardening, which was very enlightening.

 

Cadel provided much entertainment at the brunch, as usual.  He is so good, and has quite a sense of humor at this young age.  He keeps us laughing, that's for sure.

Our waitress was really superb, and she took this picture of us all after we had stuffed ourselves.

 

Terry and I decided to go for a bike ride to burn off some of those calories later in the day.  We live right by the Green River Trail that runs for miles along the river.  It is easy riding or walking, and very scenic.

After a bit, we stopped for a rest and observed an Osprey perched by her nest on the other side of the river.  Soon, we noticed movement in the nest.  We could hear alot of noise coming from there, and finally the mother bird flew off to hunt for some food.  Or maybe just to get some peace and quiet.

It really is amazing how they have been restoring the river to it's natural habitat.  This neighborhood is surrounded by airports.  We have Sea Tac to the West, Boeing Field to the North, and Renton Municipal to the South.  Even so, we have a healthy eagle and osprey population.

 

Friends have been posting some of the most amazing recipes to Facebook lately, and I have been saving them all.  It is so nice to have someone to cook for again.  Last week I made these mini German pancakes, made in a muffin tin.  I made the filling out of frozen raspberries from Terry's crop left over from last year.  They were delicious.

 

Last night, I tackled Fig Pizza.  Our favorite restaurant features some really unique pizzas, such as butternut squash and fig.  We haven't had a chance to try the fig pizza yet, so I just decided to make my own.  I had some dried figs on hand and made them into a sauce.  That goes down first.

Then you pile on the mozarella cheese, proscuitto and arugula.  MMMMmm....mmm.

A terrific meal if I do say so myself.