Father's Day

This Father's Day, like every past FD, my parents played (and won!) a golf tournament at their club.  For me, that meant a free 1/2 day of exploring around my hometown.  I decided to take the opportunity to do one of my favorite drives, out to Steamboat Island and Mud Bay for some reminiscing.  It was beautiful!

 My first stop on the trip was to the beach cabin our family owned in the 80's.  It was a little cabin on Eld Inlet on the Puget Sound and I'll tell you, it hasn't changed (except for that new ugly red railing) since we owned it.  I always fantasize what it would have been like if we still owned it.  Just imagine the 4th of July parties, the New Years Eves, or just the random summer weekends spent tanning on that deck, fishing off the bulkhead and waterskiing in the inlet.  However, I think I can thank my parents as the sale of this cabin probably ensured my lack of MIPs in my youth...

 Sunset Beach Road is an absolutely beautiful ride into the cabin.  When we were kidlets my we used to yell "Faster, daddy!" and he'd drive really fast down the road.  I can't believe he obliged, or maybe I just remember it as going really fast when we were really only going like 25...

 Along the road I happened upon this sign, so, I had to take advantage!  I came home with a 3 pound crab which I cracked for lump crab meat which we enjoyed as an appetizer.  So fresh and so great.  I don't even regret having bought crab from a guy in a van...

And, to finish, I made homemade fried chicken, the most amazing mac and cheese ever, and green beans with tomatoes and bacon (a request from dear old dad). 

All in all, I think Father's Day was a success.  Happy Dad's Day, Dad!

Look What I Grew!

 I tend to think that peony season is The Most Wonderful Time of the Year....

But, I've never had much luck growing them myself.  But...

 Behold my magnificent Sarah Bernhardt peony I grew this year!

 What's crazy is that a few days later it turned completely white.

I mean, sure these photos were taken in the evening, rather than daytime, but look at the change!

This made me laugh really hard

Nina Conti live at the Apollo - the art of ventriloquism at its best from artFido - fetching art on Vimeo.

Sail Camping

 For our friend Barry's birthday this weekend, Liz had a great idea; sailing out to Port Madison for the weekend!

 Liz, Barry, Leif and I headed out in the morning and I had my very first trip through the locks.  It was so cool!  Liz brought us a breakfast of bagels and lox to go through the locks.  Pretty cute, huh?

 Luckily I had some experts to show me the way, including Leif here, who I inadvertently took a somewhat glorifying photo of.  You're welcome, Leif.

 After a lovely sail over, we were all very excited to arrive at our adorable destination; Port Madison.

 Once there, we took a look around the grounds.  Beautiful landscaping, a nice outstation, and our favorite:

  A PLAYGROUND!

 Some of us were just a little bit too big for the toys, though...

 We were blessed with some fairly good, weather, too.  What more could we ask for?

 A few hours later Autumn and Ryan joined us with their HOME, the Velella.  Neighbors!

 And that's when the party really started.

 We played 2 on 1 pickle ball with incredible victory dances required for each point scored (not that we kept score).

 And we took in the scenery of Bainbridge.  

 Lovely, right?

 We even had a chance meeting with some other friends who happened to park their boat right next to the Velella.  The three boats did some BBQing, cocktail drinking and rehashing of old sailing stories.  

I brought some pies for the birthday boy for his cake, so we lit some candles and sang him a song as the sun set.  It wasn't long before we retired to the outstation for some games, beer drinking, and eventually a game of truth or dare before snuggling into our sleeping bags on the boats for the night.  Such a memorable weekend.  I hope for many more of these this summer!

The Patch

 It's that time of year again!  I've brought my garden out of it's winter hibernation, gave it some compost and fertilizer and got some new seeds in the ground.  I can't wait for things to start popping up!

Here's a little look at what's to come:

In the far back I have planted leeks and beets

Along the trellis I have runner beans and lemon cucumbers

On the left I'm planning to have my UPP tomato plants again with radishes up front

On the right I have planted butter lettuce, romaine and some spinach

I can't wait to see them poke their little heads out!

Tea

 When I first got back from Japan, I felt like I hadn't seen anyone in weeks, if not months.  I felt totally different coming back, and I was excited to catch up with some of my favorite people.  So, that Sunday I hosted tea at my house with some treats from my trip!

 I put together some treats and tea that I bought in Japan just for the occasion.  I was really excited to share the Sakura (cherry blossom) tea that I found in Kyoto.  

 I also brought back some Japanese tea sweets.  They were called yatsuhashi, which is mochi wrapped around a sweet paste.  I brought back the chocolate kind and the girls all thought they looked like little sting rays.  I forgot to take a photo, but here's a link!

 I also brought back some Kit-Kat's which are very popular there.  They make them in different flavors.  I shared the green tea version and the strawberry version.  I think they're delicious!

 Although the tea ended up a little too salty, and the treats were a little unusual, I still had a great time catching up with my girls and sharing some special treats from my trip.

 And, it gave me an excuse to use my antique tea cup from Kyoto as a vase.  Pretty, right?

Sloop

Last night was my first night sailing since last summer and it was absolutely wonderful.  I joined the Voodoo Child for the Monday Night Sloop race, and it was great to have the wind in my hair again.  I forget how nice it is to get out on the water on a nice day.  You truly don't get a view like that from anywhere else in the city.  Sometimes I think I was meant to be a sea creature, or something.