Broad-Leaved Beauties

October 24, 2020

What a splendid day to venture out. 

We had no specific plans other than spend the day outside enjoying the beautiful and captivating season. Notice the thickness of the clouds. It reminds me of buttercream on cake. 

The sky above proclaims His handiwork.

Weather like this has become part of the pattern of my life. 

For me, moody cloudy weather is quite majestic. Nature's grayscale beauty gives me such a thrill of almost youthful enjoyment. I can be in the presence of the ocean or the Puget Sound and be idle and enjoy myself for quite a while.

I remember going to U-Village to get ice cream at Hello Robin. On our drive there the fall foliage was bursting with such vibrant colors.

Driving back across the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge and headed to Issaquah. We take the backway home sometimes especially during this time of the year because I know there's a lot of deciduous trees in this area to behold. 

Only the Lord can create such glory that it stops your breath. 

We drove down a street where the leaves were burning in scarlet and gold. It is breathtaking to see such bright colored leaves. 

One way to find joy is to look intently for moments where God reveals Himself. I am so very thankful He created such gorgeous trees. He knew nature would be therapeutic for humanity.

The details of our days do make a difference in our lives. I definitely notice it in mine when I'm intentional about living in the moment. I acknowledge the beauty around me. I can't help but to talk about it and it fills me with so much joy.

One of the ways I like to re-energize, recoup, and refresh is to spend time outside, preferably surrounded by nature. I love trees. I love the way wet earth smells. I love the way decomposing leaves smell on a hot day (smells like sweet strawberries). I love to breathe the fresh cool air. I love cloudy cold windy days. Once I get my fill of nature for the day I am at peace. I feel rested and refreshed.

We live better if we're surrounded by beautiful things. 

Exploring and Enjoying Washington State

 June 14, 2020

On this Sunday we walked across the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge that crosses Lake Washington from Seattle's Montlake neighborhood to Evergreen Point in the East side community of Medina (or to be specific this bridge connects Seattle to Bellevue). It was built in April 2016. At 7,708.6 feet long, end to end, this structure is the world's longest floating (the middle part of the bridge is on pontoons) bridge. 

It was somewhat of a warm partially cloudy day.

This is such a nice area. 

It must be so nice having this view from your backyard.

There were some people walking and a few cycling but not overly crowded which was nice. 

 

I got these next two pictures off the internet. 

As we walked across the bridge there was a sign that identified all the sea life in Lake Washington. One of the creatures is the Pacific Sea lamprey which is an anadromous parasitic lamprey. They are very gross looking and are carnivorous. 

Well, the reason I bring it up is because at the time Riley and I watched a Sea Monsters episode where the host Jeremy Wade went in search for this very gross fish and when we were reading the sign of all the living sea life in Lake WA, we noticed the lamprey and I was horrified. These things attach themselves to their prey and begins to feed with its sucker like disc and three cuspid teeth used to cling to other animals. It's just very disgusting to me. Can't help but get chills.

Another fact I learned back in 2020 was that the Pacific lamprey provided an important source of food for the tribes of the Columbia River Basin, who prized them for their rich, fatty meat. The tribes also use(d) lampreys for medicine and ceremonies. 

Pretty gross right!

I loved it when dark grey clouds came rolling in. The water makes it seem like it was sprinkling right? It wasn't. It was the wind causing these pinprick ripples. 

We didn't walk all the way to the other end of the bridge. It was much too long, so we decided to turn back at this point. Once back in the car Jacob calculated that we walked close to three miles.

After our long walk we were all so hungry, so we grabbed some Pagliacci pizza. It was delicious!

June 19, 2020, Friday

Friday's are always fun days. Time to take it easy and enjoy the evening. On this Friday we ate out. We had very delicious carne asada tacos. This taco shop knows how to season their meat well. Afterwards we stopped by the Metropolitan Market in Tacoma to pick up dessert then we hung out on Ruston Way.

The weather felt so nice, 83 degrees and cloudy. Walks along the water are simply wonderful. I always looked forward to them. Walking by a body of water and pretty scenery makes me happy.

Here I am with my husband.

Riley constantly making his dad nervous by standing on the railing. I'm pretty sure Jacob was holding his arm while I took this picture, lol. 

This is a very poor quality picture but I wanted to zoom in to show you the dog. Looks like he's a pro. Totally loving being out on the water.       

June 20, 2020

One of our favorite restaurants to eat breakfast at is The Original Pancake House. There's one in Maple Valley and that was the one we would frequent. Their coffee is so good. We both like it a lot. 

After breakfast we headed over to Snoqualmie. I love when I see low clouds amongst the pine trees. This type of weather is my favorite.

If I remember correctly these were elk (Roosevelt Elk to be exact). There were so many of them.

I love nature. Thank You God for creating it!

Snoqualmie Falls is always a cool place to visit. 

Riley was so small here. Now, he's slightly taller than me and comes up to Jacob's nose. I like the way he's looking up at his dad. His dad is his hero.

If you can, have fun and enjoy your life constantly. 

Having fun loosens the mind. A flexible mind

works differently from a rigid mind.

- Patricia Ryan Madson

Father, thank You for the blessings You have poured out on my family. Remind me to continue to be ever grateful for so many gifts. Thank You for Your provision in our lives. Help me to always have a thankful heart.

Weekends are for Outings

Once the weekend arrived, I was ready to venture out into the city.

I did get to sleep in a bit which was lovely. I only get to sleep in every other Saturday so I make sure to really take advantage of it. I like to get a slow start to my day. No rushing ... just doing things at my own pace.

Once ready we headed out to Bellevue and got Pagliacci to go and ate it at a school parking lot under a shady tree. 

Afterwards we drove to Pike Place Market. The streets looked empty of cars and pedestrians. Such an unusual sight.

There were a few people out at the market.

Unfortunately, there were no vendors. It was completely deserted. So sad. 

Only about a handful of businesses did open.

The following day we made the drive North to Mukilteo since the church building was closed.

We boarded the ferry headed to Whidbey Island. I'm sure I've said this before, but I love ferry rides. It is such a pleasant and calming experience. Also, it's simply beautiful being out on the Puget Sound.

During the summer months when the water is not as cold you can sometimes spot jellyfish swimming about. They are neat to see.

Whidbey Island

Stopped at Rocket Taco for Mexican food. It was deserted at first but shortly after we ordered our food people began arriving. It was a cute place. They had patio seating in the back and pretty bushes in bloom.

I got carnitas tacos. The meat was tender, but it lacked flavor.

I believe this is a Chinese snowball bush. I planted one at our house in Washington. This bush can grow quite tall. As tall as some trees. The pompoms are so pretty.

Of course, these two must have their dessert after their meal. I can't remember if I got one too.

To walk off our food we continued driving North on the Island to Fort Casey. We've been here before. We liked it so decided to visit again. There was definitely quite a bit of people here. So much fresh clean sea air. It's so good for you too.

A bit blurry. We walked through passageways and tunnels and also climbed a steep ladder up to where the cannons are. 

It's pretty darn exciting envisioning the past. I like learning about military history and seeing Forts in real life is pretty awesome!

Scenery is very pretty. I like how the blue of the water and overcast sky looks against the green grassy field.

This ferry will take you to Port Townsend.

The Fort is pretty cool looking right?

So, we boarded the ferry that took us to Port Townsend. There is an abundance of deer out here. We saw several homes with deer copping a squat on people's front lawns. It's cool to see but out of the ordinary for me. Just not used to seeing deer so relaxed in plain view. 

Drove around the town. Made it to Silverdale where we had lunch then headed home. 

The weekend was fun. It sure felt good to get out of the house and go sightseeing. Our brains need stimulation and what better way to get it than being out in nature and smelling fresh clean air. I'm always in the mood to go sightseeing, hiking, or kayaking ... of course, only on a cloudy day.

So I recommend having fun, because there is nothing better for people in this 

world than to eat, drink, and enjoy life. That way they will experience some happiness 

along with all the hard work God gives them under the sun. 

-Ecclesiastes 8:15 NLT