a bonding experience...

Today Alan and I went to Group Health together to get our whooping cough vaccines...we are both soooo chicken! We did it and were amazed we didn't even feel it! Little Wyatt will be my 10th grandchild! This is the first time anyone has asked me to get a whooping cough shot.

It was my pleasure though, my mom said she and her two siblings got whooping cough when they were little and it was horrible!

Our ordeal turned into a pleasant event and later we compared notes about our stiff shoulders.

I don't think it will be long now...

Brighter days are right around the corner!

Yesterday was a pretty nice day, mostly sunny and pretty warm... But today, we have a fire in the woodstove, and we are feeling like it is November again!

But these pretty blossoms remind me that Spring is here, and Summer is on its way, no matter what!

I looked at some of my posts from this time last year, and I think we were a little ahead of where we are this year, as far as the flowers and temperatures.

I hope you enjoy my little splashes of color!

Mother's Day

A semi-spontaneous hug from/for my mom! We had a very nice brunch at her house today. It was supposed to be dreary rainy, but the sun did shine on us after all! Mom and her three girls.

I won't tell you exactly why we are all laughing, but it has something to do with my brother in law John taking this picture of us!

...

We had a nice time, and I heard from all my kids today in their various ways. (phone, facebook, e-mail, text message...).

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"If I had known how great my kids would turn out, I would have had lots more!" me

Hummus anyone?

I like to make hummus once in a while. Walker and I like it, especially with salty tortilla chips! Phil recently gobbled a good share of some I made, even though he had recently scorned it.

My basic Hummus recipe:

1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas). Drain, but reserve liquid

2 tsp minced fresh garlic

4 tsp olive oil

4 tsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp salt

Puree, adding reserved liquid as desired. You want it thin enough to puree, but thick enough to sit on a chip without dripping.

Let flavors blend for a while.

Serve with pita bread, fresh vegetables, or tortilla chips.

I served it recently with Trader Joe's vegetable chips - delicious!

optional ingredients:

I like to add red pepper flakes.

I have also added Trader Joe's sesame oil (a teaspoon).

I sprinkled mint leaves on top too.

Some people add tahini.

Its very delicious and a great appetizer.

If you try it, let me know what you think.

Sunglasses required!

We had a very nice day today again. I was able to take advantage somewhat, driving around with my windows open and my sunglasses on! Tomorrow it will be windshield wipers again I'm told. There seems to be quite a bit of snow in the Olympics for this time of year. Makes for wonderful pictures! Here is a little friend I adopted from Goodwill. I always look at the dolls to see if there is something good, and yesterday I got lucky! This is an older American Girl Doll. Can you see the price tag on her foot? The guy that checked me out thought she was very scary, but that just goes to show. . .

. . . All she needed was her hair brushed and her face washed - almost as good as new. She will be my newest "model" for doll clothes I'm making for my granddaughters!

We put out some new bird feeders, and Phil swabbed the deck with anti-fungus material. We even ate our dinner outside for the first time this year. Rhododendrons are beginning to bloom all around, and the blossoms on my apple tree are just about to burst into flower.

Drizzle and gray outside, but cheery on the inside.

It seems like after a vacation day yesterday, both Phil and myself were extra energized to get stuff done today! I have totally put together the quilt I am making for baby Wyatt, due in 2-3 weeks now. I just need to sew on the binding, and start hand quilting.

I ran a few errands and made it into a couple of bookstores and Value Village today.

I have an artsy idea to do with this interesting bottle (perfume?) having to do with ribbons and vintage jewelry and maybe sparkly stuff inside...It was .99

And these candleholders are glass, and they so appealed to me when I saw them! I believe they are vintage, and they were .99 each.

And I bought these Readers Digest Condensed books. Aren't the covers beautiful? Don't tell the book police, but I'm going to cut the covers off and make them into sketchbooks or journals. They don't make book covers like this anymore!

I have about ten other projects going at the same time, but I am actually finishing things too. Our gorgeous weather is gone and its drizzle and gray for a while again.

The flip of a coin.

Today we flipped a coin - ocean or mountain? Ocean won. We drove to Ocean Shores, WA. About 1 hour 40 minutes away.

You never know if it's going to be sunny-warm inland and foggy cold at the ocean.

We were not disappointed.

It was warm enough for flip-flops, and long sleeved t-shirts.

The sound of the ocean waves was sweet music to our ears.

A little greenery here and there...

Kites of course! Notice the "kite" in the upper right corner, is a bird.

A few shells and stones...

Strawberry flowers blooming in the dunes...

We really enjoyed our day.

I don't think it reached 70 degrees, but it got pretty close.

Very fine after days and days of rain and cold.

We found a yummy place for fish & chips,

and had a nice day of being together with not much to do

except have a good time.