A Midsummer Night Bonfire

Our friends and neighbors gathered for a Midsummer's Night bonfire to celebrate the longest day of the year.  The firepit was lighted just as the sun was setting.

We had a couple of hours of stories, laughter, and roasting marshmallows before we all called it a night.  We're now ready to enjoy the most wonderful season of the year!

 

 

 

Dining Al Fresco

I love eating outside in the summertime!  We celebrated the end of the week by dining at Mi Tierra in Woodinville on Friday night.  It was warm and sunny, and we found a perfect table under a green umbrella.

 

 

Visiting the Saturday Farmer's Market in Woodinville

Woodinville has a nice little Farmer's Market, and I stopped by last Saturday afternoon to pick up some flowers and listen to the musicians.  It was a lovely sunny Summer day, and I got caught up in all of the wonderful colors, sights and sounds.

 

 

 

Taking Polly the Dog to the Park

Polly loves going to the park more than anything on earth, so we try very hard to take her almost every day.  We have a growing assortment of local parks or other grassy places that we take her, so there's always a new adventure just around the corner.

Here's me and Polly and our first 'selfie' picture, and a more formal portrait I took of her at Maltby Park.  She is a lovely little dog.

 

 

A Day With Alex

Last Wednesday, I picked up Alex at 11 a.m. and we took off for a big adventure!  She just finished 9th grade, and will begin her second year of high school in the fall.  And big news--she got her braces off (finally!).  She looks beautiful.

We stopped at Starbucks for blended fruit drinks, and then drove to Bellevue Square.  Alex had never been there before.  We had a lovely weather day for walking, and we had so much fun shopping and eating lunch at a restaurant called Cactus. We got caught up on our personal lives, and planned out the rest of our summer outings (fun things like cooking classes and the Seattle Underground Tour).

We stopped at Snoqualmie Gourmet Ice Cream on the way back to Alex's house, had our favorite ice creams (Lavender and Mountain Blackberry), and talked more about her summer plans in Montana.  It was a great day!

 

 

 

A Visit to the Oregon Coast

A friend sent these lovely pictures to me from her trip down the Oregon Coast last week--Cannon Beach, Haystack Rock, and some lovely Barn Quilt art.  Now I'm ready for a trip there myself!

 

 

A Walk in the Park

Polly needed a new park to visit today, so we took her to the retired Wellington Golf Course close to home.  She approved of this vast, grassy expanse!

Father's Day Celebration

Since Dave and Kaila were going to be on a plane early Sunday morning on their way to Disneyland, we met them at Mill Creek Towne Center on Saturday to have lunch and celebrate Father's Day. They were both excited about the week-long trip to Southern California, and it was fun hearing about all their plans.

Here's Kaila enjoying her fried ice cream!

Edmonds Art Fair

Last Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the Edmonds Art Fair was happening!  It's our favorite art fair of the spring and summer, and we always find something we like to take home.  The weather was wet and rainy on Friday, so we waited until Saturday afternoon to drive over to Edmonds.

The wet weather never seems to deter the crowds, and we had such a good time looking at every artist there.  There was food and live music (I managed to get my Vietnamese noodles and chicken satay, and of course, some Thai Iced Tea!).  There were lots of places to sit and enjoy the day, the people, and of course, the wonderful art of every type.

We got T-shirts, garden stakes, and a lovely metal fish with gold and blue hues.  We had time to really relax, bask in the creativity of all these artists, and enjoy a day away from home.

 

 

Pea Shoot Salad

Have you ever heard of pea shoots?  They arrived in our organic vegetable and fruit delivery last week.  They are the young shoots of pea plants before they bloom and produce the peas in their pods.  They are a popular salad ingredient, so I made the following recipe to try out some of my vegetables.

Pea Shoot Salad

Pea Shoots
Garlic Greens
Rainbow Organic Carrots, Sliced
Fresh Radishes, Sliced
Fresh Asparagus

Raspberry Viniagrette Dressing (homemade)

Wash and break pea shoots into 6 inch segments.  Rinse and chop garlic greens.  Peel and slice carrots into 4 inch lengths, and cut in half.  Remove woody ends of asparagus stalks.

Put carrots and asparagus in a bowl, and lightly toss with two tablespoons olive oil.  Heat BBQ grill to medium-high heat, and place carrots and asparagus in a grill basket on the BBQ.  Cook for 4-5 minutes, turning asparagus and carrots once.

Place pea shoots, radishes, and garlic greens in a large salad bowl.  Add grilled carrots and asparagus, and drizzle all with Raspberry Viniagrette Dressing, and serve immediately.  The pea shoots are rich in Vitamin C.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Painting the Deck

Our deck off the dining room has not been stained or painted for over five years, and it was getting very shabby-looking.  So, last week, I cleared all of the deck furniture and plants off and transferred them into the back yard for a brief hiatus.

The first step in deck re-finishing is to thoroughly clean and dry the deck.  I got a good eco-friendly wood cleaner at Home Depot, and spread it on the deck, let it sit for 10 minutes, and then scrubbed it off with a deck brush.  Repeating this process twice worked beautifully, and the wood was clean and ready for the deck cover stain after 24 hours in the 75-degree weather.

The deck paint went on smoothly with a roller, and a second coat was applied after 24 hours.  We also painted the deck rails Cape Code Gray to go with the house and deck paint.

We re-positioned the deck furniture, and moved all other items previously on the deck to new locations.  Now, it looks clean and uncluttered, and ready for summer fun!

 

 

 

Lettuces

Here are three varieties of lettuce that will make a great organic salad with my homemade raspberry vinaigrette dressing.

Petunias

The early warm weather and abundance of rain has allowed the petunias to flourish. 

 

 

Huge Fuschias

This  year, I bought two fuschias that have turned out to be the largest plants of their kind that I've ever owned.  They are attracting a huge number of hummingbirds, which is something new for our yard.

I can't imagine how large they will be by the end of summer, but they are really putting on a show for us!

Garden Progress

Here is the vegetable garden and the raspberry patch at the end of May.

 

 

 

The Maltby Market

This wonderful local market on the property of Flower World serves this community almost every month of the year.  All produce is locally grown, enabling Maltby residents to eat organic fruits and vegetables that are in season.  It's a great supplement to our own family gardens.

 

 

Maltby Strawberries are Here!

It's time to taste the best strawberries in earth, grown right here in Maltby.  The Maltby Market picks them daily, and I drive down the street and buy as many as we can eat and use in cooking.  It's true "Farm To Table" living.