Pumpkin Bliss

By Liz

Pumpkins! Pumpkins! Pumpkins!  Is it just me or has pumpkin fever hit extra hard this fall?   It feels as though the pumpkin flavored/infused initiative has grown, well bigger than a certain pumpkin that turns into a carriage.  I find this interesting and also self annoying that I've totally jumped on board with this new fall love.  

The easiest and most widely known pumpkin treat has to be the PSL (pumpkin spiced latte). This yummy treat can be found at almost any coffee shop, so it seems.  The months of September and October have me trading in my usual treat of a Carmel Macchiato to the limited PSL.  Super yummers!  

In addition to the latte, a major increase of pumpkin themed/flavored items are hitting the markets.   Trader Joes alone has over a dozen new items this year.  Pumpkin Biscotti, tea, pop tarts, ravioli, ice cream, and muffins just to name a few.  It's so interesting that this squash like veggie is getting such huge revamp and are more than pies and things you carve a scary face into at Halloween.  

Do you have a favorite Pumpkin flavored item? Oh and btw, totally sipping on a PSL as I write;0).  

Thunderstorms

In the past few weeks Seattle has expereinced a number of thunderstorms.  Which for those of you that do not live in the Seattle area may not understand how odd this is.  I’ve been here for almost five years and we’ve had more thunderstorms in the past few weeks than in the past five years combined.  The past two days alone we’ve had a high volume of rain and storm activity.  Relatively mild in comparison to other parts of the country, but odd for the Puget Sound area.  Also, rain here is usually a drizzle… not accumilating tons of inches in a day.  So that is how it rains all the time in the fall, winter and spring, but other parts of the country actually have much higher rain accumilation. 

 

Now, the thunderstorms here are not the ones I know and love.  Growing up in the Mid-West, spending my college days in Charleston, SC, and Summers in Mountain Rest, SC I know what a good thunderstorm is all about.  The ones where you can smell the change in the air.  The feeling that the air is super charged with electricity and you get goosebumps or the hair on your arms start to stand up.  The loud clapping of thunder that shakes you to the bone and resinate in your chest.  Those are the thunderstorms I love.

 

As a child I have fond memories of sitting on our front porch swing… Either by myself or with a family member.  Watching from the safety of cover as the heavens open up and dump buckets of water onto the earth.  The streets would start to fill with heaps of water as the drains try to keep up.  There would be the day or two where the rain would stick around, but the best thing would be when an afternoon storm rolled in and out in a matter of minutes to an hour.   The heat would boil the clouds and mother nature would give us a show. 

 

Did I mention that I love thunderstorms?  Thor the god of thunder, weilding his hammer… :O)  My friend Jeremy and once poster to the Rider Chronicles captured a night strorm over the city a few weeks ago.  With his permission I wanted to share this amazing pic.  Here you go!

 

Picture by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren 

 

 

 

Skipping Stones

By Liz

This past weekend I spent some time camping with some dear lady friends at Beckler River.  This lovely girls only (sorry, no boys in our clubhouse!) time was rejuvenation with each other and good old nature.  Now, what happened on girls weekend, stays at girls weekend.  However, I will share a few things...

One is never to old to enjoy skipping stones across water.  Our lovely camp site was located next to mild flowing river.  Taking a few trips to the water we enjoyed to sights and joys of playing along a riverside.  Walking along the rocky bed shore and discovering many perfect flat rocks of all sizes.  I've never been all that great at skipping stones, but I can usually get one or two hops each time.  Little pleasures to be found all the time. 

Exploring mountain service roads leads to high and spectacular views.  Winding dirt one track roads gets you to the top or pretty close. One of my favorite pictures was taken from this exploration part of our weekend.  

This is my second camping weekend of the summer and likely my last.  I do love nature, but find two or three trips a summer last me until the next.  With Labor Day approaching and as summer is coming to a close, I am pretty happy with summer 2013.  A very fulfilling, relaxing, and all together lovely one.  

Off to Jetty Island

By Liz

The summer of 2013 has been a lovely one.  I’ve been lucky enough to go on a few camping trips, a couple of picnics, plenty of backyard love, and now the enjoyment of softball.  Seattle weather has been a dream!  Seriously,  I know I’m talking about the weather here, but it’s been fantastic. 

 

This past weekend I was able to experence another charming picnic with some darling friends.  Our local: Jetty Island… Located just 40 minutes North of Seattle off of Everett.  A first come first serve foot ferry takes groups of beach goers with their picnic baskets, floaties, beach blankets, and shovles & pails (for sand castles, duh!).  My friends and I were able to catch one of the first Ferries and ended up snaching a lovely spot. 

 

This was our first trip to the basically large sand bar that is a free service from the city of Everett (Thank you by the way!).  Upon our early arrival to the island, we were able to catch low tide and walk far out into the sound.  The amazing view and tons of holes showed signs of hiding crabs. 

 

Spending the day at the beach is never a bad thing in my books… Almost always living in someway or another not to far away from a sandy shore I’ve grown accustomed to a large bodies of water at my disposal.  This my second beach picnic of the summer reminded me that I need to do this so much more!  It’s a cheap, fun, and refreshing way to spend some time with friends and under the warming sun.  Also, who does not want to make a giant turtle in the sand with a three year old? 

 

 

 

Mr. Blue Vespa Man

By Liz

 

Over the last few weeks during my commute into work I’ve noticed an interesting fella.  It only happens about once a week that I spot this man on his shinny blue Vespa ready to merge with traffic.  Folks on Vespa’s usually stand out to me because I find Vespa’s super cute.  I also instantly think of Audrey Hepburn’s Princess Ann learing to ride a Vespa while on a Roman Holiday.   She speeds off and Gregory Peck’s Joe has to run and jump on the back so they can tour the lovely city while playing hookie for a day from her Roayal life.  Love this movie!  I too hope that one day I’ll get to tour Rome while riding a Vespa.

 

Well, Mr. Blue Vespa Man stands out on his own for another reason.  You see, Mr. Blue Vespa Man is sporting a super duper long soup catcher of a beard.  A young man of late twenties early thirty’s has a rather thin beard that flows all the way down to his lap.  To top off this awesome picture of a Blue Vespa Man with a brilliantly long beard, he actually pulled out in front of me.  What happens with long flowing hair when it’s on a vespa speeding up a hill?  You guess it, the beard flows around over his shoulder billowing in the wind.  Classic!  Love it!  I applaud you Mr. Blue Vespa Man!  You’ve truly made the start of my day pretty bright!

Little Book House

By Liz

It seems to be a new trend popping up, the little house shaped boxes on the side of the street with books to share. Super cute, no frills, and a simple library for the neighborhood walker.  I have seen these pop up around city and a few in my beloved Ballard/Whittier Heights.  Just last week I spotted one a mere block away from the homestead. Of course, I just had to check it out.  

So, my roommate and I took a evening stroll to see what gems the little box holds. Gems indeed!  Well, the box seemed fairly new and was not brimming with Classics or compelling must takes to read.  I did contemplate over borrowing the Consumers Report: 1993 Buying Guide. Yup, that's correct.  I could have dialed back two decades to see what cordless phone to buy or the best 20" $544 Sony TV and VHS player!  Important stuff!!! I managed to just thumb through the great guide and put it back for another consumer to enjoy.  

As it happened the roommate Kelli borrowed a magazine and little fiction to tempt her reading mind.  I however did not bring home any of the gems located in the little box house library.  I did donate a book that I hope would be enjoyable for some other readers in the hood.  

I love this concept!  Small little pockets of library for the community.  Thank you random book lovers for making or buying these book houses and placing them in your yards for all to have access. No hours, no check out and no fuss.  Some around the city and Globe may be a bit more darling than this one.  Maybe it's not the Library of Congress and maybe it is not oozing with the great literature of our past and present... But, I still love it!!!  

Finding a Happy Place

By Liz

This past weekend I was treated to a little nature rejuvenation. Turning last year's day of tubing excursion into a bonafide camping trip and tubing weekend with friends was a prefect call.   By camping near Leavenworth at Upper Johnny Creek, my pals and I were able to have a nice relaxing morning followed by a nice relaxing couple of hours tubing in the Wenatchee River... Then we proceeded to have a equally relaxing night around the campfire.  

All in all, a perfectly lovely weekend away and great quality time with dear ones.  Sunday morning proved or be even more superb as I awoke to move my car so my roommate Kelli could head back into Seattle for work.  After her departure at 6:15am and feeling rested enough with the already rising sun... I opted to make a pot of coffee on the camp stove and read for about an hour.  Then after pouring another cup and enjoying the peaceful nature I decided to go for a walk down to the river.  

The campground just started to see movement with some risers at the 7 o'clock hour.  However, I found it to still be rather serene.   Finding a sweet spot next to the river and sipping my coffee I enabled myself to reset.  Just listening to the river flow over the rocks.  The speed was fast enough to warrant a steady rustle, bumbling sound.   Sitting on a boulder like rock and watching as the sun's casting shadow slowly light up the trees heading up the mountain on the other bank.  I truly was so happy and in peace at that moment.  I now crave to go back and or experience more like it that seem to be hard to come by in the hustle and bustle of city life (that I too love, in a different fashion). 

Here are some pics of me Sunday Morning, truly in one of my 'happy' places!