Weigela, Flowering Crabapple, and Lilacs

Here are more pictures of these lovely flowering trees and shrubs.  You can smell the fragrance of the blooms when you step outside.

Flowering Crabapple

Close up of crabapple

Lilacs

Weigela

Rhodies and Cherry Trees

Our yard is literally bursting with blooms and color these days!  We've lived her for fifteen years, yet we've never had such an extravagant showing of rhodies, weigela, lilacs and apple and cherry blossoms.  Is it the climate change or the Mason Orchard bees?

We spend a lot of time in the yard now, enjoying the health and profusion of all things green and growing.  What a wonderful life we have here in Maltby.

Flowering Cherry Tree

Roger and Jackie's Rhody

Checking In with Henry and Gracie

The dogs next door are our friends, and they keep a constant vigil over the neighborhood.  They run around their fenced kennel area many times during the day, and when their owners are gone, they set up surveillance on the back of the couches that are under their front window.

They get very excited when I take Polly for a walk down the private road that runs in front of their house.  Aren't they cute?

Checking out the Campgrounds

Last weekend, we drove out to Carnation and visited the Tolt-McDonald campground to check out the camp sites.  We found three sites we liked, and then came home and reserved one for our first camping trip in May.

It's 575 acres of river and forest, and we always love the time we spend there.  We are very excited about the upcoming camping season!

Don on the Tolt River

Campsites for RV's

Path along the Tolt River

Apple Pie Time

We baked a lot of pies over the winter months, and now we are using the last of the previous year's apple crop to make our current pies.  Soon apples will be forming on the trees, and we will have a whole new crop of the many apple varieties we use for our pie business.

We made this Caramel Apple pie last week for ourselves, and enjoyed every bite of it.  Soon the rhubarb will be ready, and we'll go to the Maltby Market to get our organic strawberries to make the second best pie in the world.

Our 21st Wedding Anniversary

Twenty-one years ago today, Don and I got married at my apartment in Kirkland.  Don had a Jewish Rabbi officiate at our nuptials, and Dave and Joanna drove over the bridge from their classes at the University of Washington to be our witnesses.

It was a beautiful and intimate exchange of vows, and we went out to our favorite pizza place in downtown Kirkland to celebrate before the kids went back to college for afternoon classes.  Since Don wanted a small service and I wanted a church wedding, we both got what we wanted!

April 3, 1995--Joanna, Dave, Don and Me

Don and Me Today!

Shamiana Restaurant

Chutney Sampler

Coriander Ginger Chicken

Major Gray Chicken Curry

Tulip Time in Skagit County

On the day after Easter (Monday), we loaded Polly into the truck and headed for LaConner and the Tulip Festival.  Due to the warm weather, the tulips are early bloomers this year.  We always have a nice drive up to the tulip fields, and we stopped at the Snow Good Produce Stand to buy salad dressing and snacks, and to take pictures.  Then, on to Tulip Town!

We had never been to Tulip Town before, and we really enjoyed it!  The tulips that I bought were huge, and the sun came out as we were walking outside to photograph the rows and rows of brilliantly-colored tulips.  It was a wonderful trip.

Easter Weekend

I had a busy teaching day on Saturday, the day before Easter.  Our Spring Piano Recital is coming up in five weeks!

We rested and worked in the yard Saturday afternoon.  On Sunday, we had a relaxing morning, and then got dressed up and drove out to Easter dinner.  We found a nice, intimate little place, and had a lavish dinner (cooked by someone else!).  I enjoyed the day so much, and Don and I have so much fun together.  Trees were in bloom everywhere, and it was a good day.

Tulip Tree