clam chowder, anyone?

My irises this Spring are just gorgeous! The colors are so vivid. I have tons of them! Today was supposed to be a sunny-day, but it turned out more like sun-less Sunday. It still reached 65, and didn't rain, but I am looooonging for hot sunny weather.

We went to Tolmie State Park today for a short hike. There were quite a few wildflowers and berries visible. First we walked along the beach, then....

...we took a "shortcut" to the main trail. Our shortcut was straight up a hillside, and I think it was a deer trail! We finally made it to the top, and found ourselves in a strange neighborhood!

I did like this "Very Private" sign on one gate! We were out in the county, on a road we thought would lead back to the park, but it NEVER did! We finally had to back-track, go back into the woods, and find a trail back to the park!

I'm sorry to say I whined and complained about being lost and threatened to phone Walker or my dad to come and find us. The whole ordeal lasted 30 minutes. (But it seemed longer!). We did see this mother duck and her four ducklings while lost though. They were very sweet.

We did eventually make it back to the park, to our picnic lunch, and finally home again. It was an adventure. But not one I want to repeat. There was a low tide and people were digging clams today. hmmm, now I'm hungry for home-made clam chowder!

Did you have an adventure today?

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

Wednesday afternoon, a trip to my sister's house, with mom along. We wanted to check out her garden... Huge gorgeous poppies! Many many flowers.

We were really interested in her vegetable gardens.

I took some arugula and lettuce home with me.

Her lilacs were beautiful...purple with white edges. The fragrance was indescribable.

Driving away from home I saw this sweet scene at the bottom of my driveway...Our last blooming Rhododendrons, and our "pet" deer eating the neighbor's Vinca.

I met Vicki for lunch at the Farmer's Market. We got these Roma Tomato, basil, Mozzarella and pesto paninis. Outrageous! Vicki laughed at me for taking a photo of my lunch.

We always enjoy looking at the vegetables and the flowers blooming in the garden area at the end of the market.

This is my load of fresh vegetables for the week: carrots, Easter egg radishes, mint, two heads of lettuce, a bunch of spinach, and a big bag of arugula. Oh and some Joi Choy.

We have already had some salad, and today I made a nice smoothie with Greek yogurt, lettuce, blueberries. I'll be making some more of those to use up these great green leafy vegetables.

Its finally Friday, and I'm looking forward to a nice weekend with nothing big planned.

Vegetables

What do I do with all those vegetables in my CSA box? I know this looks slimy and unappealing, but really, it's crispy and salty. Very delicious! I found this recipe for Crispy Kale on the Food Network site. I removed the ribs from the kale, then snipped the greens into 1 1/2 inch pieces. I put them on a foil covered cookie sheet and drizzled 2 T of olive oil over it, tossed it a bit, and added sea salt. Then I put it in a 275 degree oven for 10 minutes, stirred it around a bit, and put it back in the oven for another 15 minutes. W's reaction: "hmm pretty good, this is how kale should be eaten...is there more?" and Phil's reaction was yuck! He ate a little but was not very happy about expanding his taste buds...

To top it off, we had baby bok choy with dinner. I washed them, sliced them in half, and put them in a skillet with some oil and garlic and ginger. Sizzled each side a bit and served with our dinner. I thought they were delicious - crunchy, juicy, tasty, and so interesting looking! Walker liked them too. Phil . . . well, I suppose every family has one vegetable grouch.

Otherwise, I used up the baby lettuce in salads, along with the carrots and radishes. I can't wait to see what we get tomorrow. I still have a bunch of mint I am trying to figure out what to do with. Maybe just dry it. I'll have to do something soon! Any suggestions?

Treasures...

Today was not as beautiful as yesterday, but still a seventy degree day.

My darling hubby... Washed the outside windows of the house!

What a treasure! I will do the inside ones (soon, really).

Then, I went to another dance recital. Yesterday Tori wore a beautiful tulle tutu type costume, with her hair in a bun with decorations...today she was THIS hip-hop character.

We gave her another chance to show "attitude" and shake her hair like she did in her dance...

A huge crowd of dancers and audience outside of the theater.

"Real Men" are willing to carry dance bags for their daughters!

Blue Skies!

Yesterday was THE most beautiful day so far this year! I spent a lot of the day sitting in the sun, being like a lazy cat. Dear retired husband thought it was a perfect day for yard work and accomplishments, and I did a little weeding and prettying-up around our entry, but mostly I wallowed in the sunshine and outdoor sounds. All the white lilacs are at the TOP of the tree, so its hard to get a good picture. I found just the right angle and lighting for this one. Love them!

Snowball trees have a special place in our hearts, just because our grandma had a snowball tree and as children my sisters and I must have been fascinated with the idea of snowballs in June! I believe we each have one in our gardens. My friend Autumn gave me mine, and it has thrived!

Love these Irises! They are HUGE and plentiful! So pretty, planted near the snowballs. My sister Claudia gave me these bulbs. I am not much of a gardener (I forget they need things like WATER), so when something actually blooms and is beautiful - it feels like a miracle!

Yesterday we spent a fun two hours at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts, watching Granddaughter Tori's ballet recital. The dance school she goes to really puts on a wonderful event. Tori looked right at home, on stage, smiling, with her hair pulled up in a ballet bun, wearing a frilly tulle outfit. The older girls were very accomplished, but everyone loves seeing the littlest ones on stage in their costumes, doing their very best!

Another performance today, different program. Can't wait! Unfortunately, recording devices are NOT allowed!

Thrift Store finds...

I haven't been to any garage sales, but I have been to a couple of thrift stores. I got this bag of goodies at the Sharin Memories UPS (used product sale), at garage sale prices - I paid $1 for this whole bag of foam stamps, perfect for my art journaling class!

I already had the dish in front, but today I found the dish in the back. I love these for holding supplies, and for corralling scissors and other tools. I have about 8 pair of scissors, can I find even one when I want it? I also like to store my stickles upside down so they are "ready to go" when I want to use them.

I got this cute cup rubber stamp and matching "sending you a cup of love" at Sharin Memories for only .75! I'll be making some cards with these.

In my on-line art journaling class, the instructor suggested looking at cheap flip-flops, for textures you can make into your own "rubber stamps". I found these green flip flops for .50, and look at the neat textures! a brick-work pattern, and a cool bumpy one. It is easy to cut out designs with scissors. And, they are a large size, so lots of area to use!

I bought this cute box, once a chocolate box. They have cleverly wound ribbon through it so it looks closed, but you can reach in and get a chocolate without untying the ribbon! I just had to have it.

I did get rid of a bag of my own stuff at the Sharin Memories sale. I think this weekend I should try to pack up some more stuff to Goodwill too. Keep all this stuff circulating!

Farmer's Market

Today starts my weekly visits to the Farmer's market to pick up a box full of organic locally grown vegetables... I can't really seem to grow my own.

My thumb is orange, and red and green - but that is just from paint in my craft room.

I might try some home-grown basil.

These are the vegetables I got today:

radishes, carrots, a big bag of mixed greens, kale, a bunch of mint, and baby bok choy.

They are displayed in the sunshine on my deck after I got home.

I am amazed these have grown locally. Its been so cold and everything is late.

This photo doesn't adequately show how hard it was raining!

The only benefit was it wasn't so crowded and it was easy to find a close parking space!

Kind of pretty though, all green and wet.

And some exotic blooms to enjoy.

My Irises are about to open up, but these are from the market area.

And I had to share this visitor that kept looking at me

with his beady eye while I was eating my lunch.