Springtime in Victoria

Spring Break often means a family trip to Victoria where my parent live. We left late Thursday night to avoid a wind storm forecast for Friday afternoon. We stayed at a motel near the Tsawwassen Ferry.

First thing in the morning we caught the ferry (above is the view from the back of the ferry) and arrived in time to WATCH the storm along Dallas Road in Victoria - the best place for seeing waves. The ferries were cancelled that afternoon due to the high winds.

Here is C being buffeted by the wind.

We stayed in the beautiful hotel we stayed at last time - Oak Bay Beach hotel. This is the view from the dining room. We enjoy the outdoor pool and hot tub that are open late.

Friday night we had dinner at Swiss Chalet. Later the boys and Grandpa played crockinole. Don't know what crockinole is? Here's my explanation. My mom was sufffering with bronchitis so we didn't do many outings.  We did make sure to get some photos taken.

On Saturday afternoon, just the boys, my hubby, and I travelled to the Sooke Regional Potholes park.

The most interesting part of the park was the ruins with elaborate stone work.

At the nearby visitor centre we asked and found out that there was a lodge planned for the area. Construction started but the mortgage fell through and the resort wasn't completed. I think it is a shame that it hasn't been replaced or at least completely demolished. The graffiti isn't very appealing. There is a large fence surrounding the ruins with barbed wire at the top and many signs that say "No Trespassing." We were surprised by how many adults were inside since we only found a small hole that a child could climb through.

Here's a link to some great photos of the ruins. I found this great video (taken by a drone) which gives a fantastic view.



There is a lighthouse at the nearby Sooke Museum and Visitor Centre. It was originally located at Triangle Island which is 29 miles north of the tip of Vancouver Island.

On Sunday morning we had breakast at the Village Restaurant (in Estevan Village) which has become a tradition. We attended my parents' church and were blessed by a fantastic sermon. We caught the 1 pm ferry back to the mainland. There was a killer whale sighting during the ferry ride.

At our customary stop at Tim Horton's (in White Rock) before we cross the border, we ran into an old, old friend of mine (ha ha!) who recently moved to Vancouver - Stephen Robb. He's like a brother to me. His sister was my best friend for many years.

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Spring Blossoms

The cherry blossoms at the University of Washington campus are something that I had long wanted to take in. We hoped to go there on my birthday but that day was rainy and the blossoms weren't completely out. We found some time on Saturday April 1st.

We weren't the only ones there. That's an understatement. The place was packed! The funny thing was that the majority of the people were Indian or Asian.

With so many people there it had the atmosphere of a festival. Lots of people dressed up to take family photos. My son climbed up a tree. Later we saw a sign that said "don't climb the trees." Oops.

We found this beautiful magnolia tree at UW with HUGE blossoms -  the largest I've ever seen.

I took this photo of a tree outside the public library.

Spring is definitely here, at last.

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Spring Mantle 2017

I did a bird theme for this year's mantle. Can you tell? The only new item that I used is the poster in the middle. Everthing else I found in my stash of decor items.

Here's a close up view of the right side:

Left side:

Close up of the poster:

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A Celebration of the big 5 oh.

Please note the tiara I am wearing!

Yes, I celebrated a big milestone birthday last weekend. It is a bit hard to believe. I don't feel 50, that's for sure.

To kick off the celebrating last Friday I went to do one of my favourite things:  antique shopping in Snohomish. On Saturday I got a mani pedi. That evening my hubby and I went out on a double date with some good friends to Chandlers Crabhouse. I had Dungeness Crab.

On Sunday (my actual birthday) the boys, my hubby and I went out for afternoon tea (a birthday tradition) to The Secret Garden Tea Room in Sumner. It is a lovely spot. I had the full spread.

The house is on the National Register of Historic Places. They had lots of fun garden art which I would've photographed but it was pouring rain that day.

Birthday cake!

I received a new camera as my gift. It is mirror less so it is much lighter than my Canon.  I used it today to take photos of cherry blossoms. I'll share those photos later.

My hubby made me a giant birthday card. He wants to put some finishing touches on it before I photograph it.

I'm grateful for the 50 years God has given me so far and I hope to live 50 more!


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Succulent Wreath

I made this clay pot wreath a few years ago. I knew what I wanted to add to it eventually. I found a lot of realistic looking faux succulents at Michael's so I added them to my wreath.

I hot glued small pieces of styrofoam at the bottom of the pots. They I glued the stems of succulents inside.



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NW Flower and Garden Show 2017

Vintage glass garden art

The Garden Show is one of my favourite events. I looked up in my diary and this is my 7th time attending the Garden show! Wow! The night before I had trouble sleeping because I was so excited.
You can read about other years here:
2016
2014

2011

The theme this year was A Taste of Spring. As you enter the show there is a floral arranging competition. This one was my favourite:

There were twenty one display gardens. I love whimsy like this croquet game using tea cups.

This wall/hedge made of succulents was amazing. 

Wooden spoons were used as plant markers here:

Lots of fun garden art in this display garden which was titled "Bugs Abode."

Old springs are mixed in within the plants.

Trumpet plant? I'm not sure what is called but I like it.

This display garden was fun. Its title is "Be Prepared to Camp" - Old Scouts Don't Stop, they Glamp.

Check out these old crock pots used to grow herbs.

I love clever plant containers. Here baby/toddler shoes are used:

Egg shells with succulents:

There was a cake display as well. This one was truly amazing since everything is edible.

There are so many things to look at and maybe buy. :) I took this photo for my friends Mary and Elizabeth who like mushrooms.

Here is what I brought home with me:

- Limelight Sedum
- a pruner designed for women
- "Dig It" tool that Cisco recommends
- an old muffin tin that I will put succulents into
- sweet pea seeds
- a dahlia tuber.

I also found a vintage Boy Scout plaque that I plan to put in my son's room.

If you'd like to see professional photos of the show - go here.


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Winter mini vacation

The boys had Presidents Day plus an additional day off from school. We stayed at Suncadia Lodge (near Cle Elum) for two nights. Since Snoqualmie Pass was wet and not snow-covered, we were able to take the minivan. Sunday night the boys made s'mores by the outside fire pit. We didn't linger long, though.

The first thing we did on Monday morning was drive out to a farm near the resort where we were told that there was elk feeding. We didn't get to do the actual feeding since the elk are wild. We watched from a safe distance as the largest herd I've ever seen happily munched on hay. This happens twice a day in the winter.

We didn't venture into the driveway to the farm. We parked on the road since we weren't driving our four wheel-equipped Jeep. That was a wise choice. The snow was deep and quite icy. J and the boys tried to help another visitor get his large truck unstuck. They carried hay to put under the wheels, tried using a piece of wood, and also tried pushing. All to no avail. The man had to wait for a tow truck to rescue him.

Next, J and A went tubing on a hill that was equipped with a rope tow.

C wasn't feeling well with a cough and sore throat so after I took some photos we went back to the lodge. J and A went to the top of this coal hill.

To get to the hill they had to cross a snow field where they would sink in up to their hips all the way through. We have climbed this hill in the spring many times. A calls this "his" hill.

In the afternoon we went to the indoor pool. J and A went on the water slides for a while. There were excess levels of chlorine in the hot tub (even after they cleared everyone out to adjust the levels) so that ruined that experience for me. I did try the steam room and enjoyed that very much. I had never been in one before. Much better than a sauna.

Monday night's activity was playing in the temporary games room. J and I found that we could play a pretty even game of ping pong so that was a pleasant surprise.

Tuesday morning I wanted to try out cross country skiing. There is a golf course on the resort so there are plenty of trails to use. Since we didn't want to leave C alone and A was interested in the trying it, A and I skied together for just over an hour.

After a bumpy start (a steep hill that led from rental shop to the golf course) of me falling hard a few times,  I enjoyed it. It is fantastic exercise. The little hills are can be fun once you get some practice.

The best part was hearing A say that he was proud of me. Not bad for a middle aged lady. :)
This was the view from where J and C waited for us.

We ate at the lower priced (compared to the main restaurant in the Lodge) Gas Lamp Grille (at the Inn) for two meals. They serve burgers, wings, chili, fish, salads, hot dogs. We ate Swiftwater Cellars for dinner one night. J and I split leg of lamb and that was delicious. Breakfast was usually purchased from the small store in the Lodge. On Tuesday (after we left Suncadia) we had sandwiches for lunch at Maggie's Pantry in Roslyn - a small town nearby. We headed back home and stopped at Krispy Kreme in Issaquah for a donut before we arrived home.

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