Dinosaur love

Took this cutie, added a hole, some paint and a succulent....

And turned him into this cutie.  Need to find more dinosaurs!

To freely bloom - that is my definition of success. ~ Gerry Spence

The saddest sight

The second saddest sight in the world for me:

The saddest:

When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion.  ~ Dale Carnegie

Blessings

Today was one of those textbook idyllic spring days that make you remember you ARE blessed. 

Beautiful weather. 

Lovely friends.

This evening my friend Jayme and I hung out with my neighbor and her family...one of the last times we can do so as they are leaving on Tuesday.  Walking home, Jayme tells me, "I understand now why you're so sad they're leaving."

Yeah. 

Hahaha.  Definately not my most flattering shot ever. 

Let all thy joys be as the month of May,
And all thy days be as a marriage day.
~Francis Quarles

Hanging with the nerds

My trains are the red ones.

Hung out with my board gamers group  last night for about 5 hours.  It was fun. 

Found out at the group yet another one of my good friends here is moving far away.  That's three now I'm losing by August.  My heart is heavy and sad.  All are moving on to bigger and better things, so I'm happy for them, but still can't help feeling down that they're leaving. 

Some people go to priests; others to poetry; I to my friends. ~ Virginia Woolf

A pictoral look into my life

Fort Worden!  Previously a strategic military spot...

Now a state park.

And the location of several military movies.

Oh, and I taught a room full of park rangers here.

Atticus. 

Its mojito season!  Out with my friend, Erin, who is also leaving me this summer.

Viking fest.

Went to my neighbor's baby shower.  It was pretty insufferable.  90 minutes of strange mothers story-topping each other's kids stories..

The only thing that made said baby shower do-able:  sangria!

Atticus is shedding so much I started to vacuum him.  He actually doesn't mind it.

A kitchen experiment with eggplant and sweet potatoes.  Oh, and stuffed mushrooms.  Best experiment:  the mushrooms.  Second prize goes to the sweet potatoes with cheese and whole garlic cloves on top.  Third prize goes to the eggplant pizza slices:  covered in barbecue sauce, garlic, and cheese.  MMMM...

Took 4 classes at the Y today.  These were the instruments of torture in my first class...

My dinner tonight: mac and yease.  aka: vegan mac and cheese.  Way more wonderful than it sounds.  Plus it has pickles!!!!  No, I didn't make this...I ate over at a friend's house tonight.

Super tired after a long day.  Just about time for bed.

Smile, breathe and go slowly. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

My bizarre love of edamame

A bowl full of goodness....add some magic...and use this recipe...

You will end up with this.  Looks a little gross...but, its delicious.

Even better on a cracker while my dog drools in the background.

I ate so much edamame while cooking tonight I only had room for a snack.  Bainbridge Island goat cheese and wine.  Darn my luck...

One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it provides.  ~ W.E. Johns

....

Busy weekend.  Trying hard to not take a nap before bedtime...

Why do we love the sea? It is because it has some potent power to make us think things we like to think.
~ Robert Henri

Relax

Finally my weekend.  Eight days in a row was too much.

Started a Game of Thrones marathon yesterday with my neighbor.  Gotta finish season 1 before she leaves.  I'm pretty much hooked.

Took 4 classes at the gym today. 

Then went to the farmer's market and got some starts (to replace the dead plants in my garden). 

In between all that I started making myself a pair of shoes.  The pattern needs to be tweaked a bit, otherwise I'd have an entirely different picture to show you.

Farmers market

Tired.

Man has made many machines, complex and cunning, but which of them indeed rivals the workings of his heart? ~ Pablo Casals

Quiet

Its kind of nice to reflect in the quiet of the evening, with my front and back doors wide open (its been hot here!), watching Atticus chase a bee through the house, and finishing up my organic apple cider.  No, its not that good, otherwise I'd give you a recommendation.  This is what I get for trusting the UK. 

Yes mom, sad news was delivered today.

I was able to catch up with my neighbor tonight.  It was just a nice lovely evening.

I decided to catch her in time-out and then romanticize it with my new special effects camera.

Tomorrow I'm teaching a room full of park rangers how to use the radio.  Oi!

May flowers always line your path and sunshine light your day.
May songbirds serenade you every step along the way.
May a rainbow run beside you in a sky that's always blue.
And may happiness fill your heart each day your whole life through.
~Irish Blessing

Perhaps more culinary genius

Last night, my culinary genius extended to...

More Vegan Carrot Cake cookies

Zucchini fritters

And super delicious fried red potatoes - in a dijon mustard/honey combo, and some fresh varigated oregano (from my garden!) tossed in.  YUM.

Tonight my culinary genius extends to....

PB & J.

Happy Mothers Day!

There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want.  ~ Bill Watterson

Every day I'm...

Strangely happy.  Despite many reasons to be the opposite.

I'm trying not to question it.

Woohoo!!!  Got it yesterday!!!!

Is this a freaking carob chip?  What, are you trying to buy our love with hippie chocolate?  You idiot.
~ Schmidt, New Girl

TEXAS

I just got back early this morning from the great land of Texas, where I visited my good friend Sarah (college roommate) and just took a couple days to relax.  It was marvelous.

Sarah and me

I also got to meet her three children....

Jayden, the oldest, is 5.  He never stops talking. 

Abran, the middle child at 4, is the one who I could identify with most.  He's a sensitive kid.

And the baby, Gabriel, who is 2 (almost 3), and gets into everything. 

The boys did nothing but talk, get into everything possible, wrestle...

And throw rocks whenever possible.

 I didn't have too many things on my agenda, so I basically just hung out with Sarah and her family, and did fun things with them...

Jayden and Abran's soccer game.  I think the end score was like 47-0. 

Abran

We went to an airshow.  Pretty cool.

With fireworks!  I don't know why I love fireworks so much.  Simple pleasures.

We ate Texas food.  Barbecued turkey and brisket.  Mmmmm....

Oh yes, we drove to Austin so I could get a tattoo. 

We talked about the differences between WA, TX, and IL (where Sarah used to live).  One thing is the tremendous amount of political signs EVERYWHERE.

We went to Pedernales Falls State Park.  Beautiful.  Oppressively hot.

In fact, it was in the 90's every day. 

It was nice.  Yes, I sweated profusely every day, but I enjoyed the change in weather.  I needed sun and heat.

A lizard!  Simple pleasures, right?

Abran picked me a wildflower. 

Sarah and I went to Goodwill to pick up some plaid tshirts for "going out"....

We went to Denim & Diamonds, which hilariously to me is right next to Harvest Church in the stripmall.  The bar was everything I expected about Texas.  Oh, and in order to get in I had to "join" the membership club.  I expect I'll get a certificate in the mail this week.  *shakes head*

On the last day we went to a lake to cool down.  This is the last 20 seconds of Gabriel and Abran completely dry.  Soon after they both tripped and spent the rest of the afternoon in wet clothing.

All in all, a good relaxing weekend!  I have one day to adjust my body back to dayshift though....my 8 day workweek starts early tomorrow morning at 4am. 

Oi.

"Jayden, go get Aunt Alicia a beer." ~ Sarah