Winter's Coming!

How do I know?  For starters, it is only 4:40 PM and it's pitch dark. Sunset is at 4:18 PM today, and the sun doesn't rise until 7:48 AM tomorrow! And our days will keep getting shorter for at least another week.....

Many mornings are very foggy. Sometimes the fog burns off, and the temperature drops. Today's fog stuck around all day long.

All of the leaves are pretty much gone; the big leaf maples and the ginkos are among the first to fall.

Rabbits are seldom seen, but there are lots more places to hide.

Last minute road projects are everywhere. This mess is just around the corner; they are doing something to the cell towner that has required tearing up these folks' frontyard.

The two-colored Christmas Cactus is blooming right on schedule. And I have projects everywhere! Which one first? Oh my! How's your week going?

Scary Octopus or What To Do in the RAIN!

If you've noticed, it's been RAINY here. In fact this has probably been one of the coolest, wettest Memorial Day weekends that we can recall. Fortunately this area has lots of indoor activities for just such moments. On Saturday we went with friends to the Glass Museum and spent several hours mesmerized in the Hot Shop watching a team of glass artists create a truck made entirely of glass. The said truck will be used as the stem of a larger than life goblet, one of 24 such items to be displayed in 2011. (You can watch the Hot Shop live if you click on the correct link and the museum is open.) When our Grandkids were here last month, we had lots of rain also. The Seattle Aquarium is one of the "must see" sights and mostly sheltered from raindrops. Michael took a video of one of the resident critters, but Flickr turned it into a photo. Oh well. We were very glad it was behind glass!

Scary Octopus, originally uploaded by jatshaw1941.

We love to visit the Seattle Aquarium, a perfect rainy day activity....fun in the sun, too!

Out in the garden our golden chain tree is providing a bit of "sunshine" of its own. And the weeds and moss are doing just fine! Happy Memorial Day! Our choir honored the military yesterday with a stirring rendition of "Battle Hymn of the Republic," just a small thank you to the men and women who keep our country free and safe.

Christmas Memories

On Sunday when I was putting away the Christmas ornaments, I stopped a while to look at this little handmade stocking. It's only about 4 inches long, made of felt, and embellished with stitching and beads. Sadly I have no recollection where we got it, probably a local craft fair, but it sure is cute, and someone put a lot of time into making it.

And then on Monday, just when I thought everything had been put away, I found another ornament I made a long time ago from a pattern my friend Jane gave me. It was fun to make, and next year perhaps I'll make some more.

Here's the back view:


It seems as if each little ornament has a story to tell, including the little glass apricot that hung on our tree years and years ago back in Wisconsin. Hopefully it will survive after we're gone, and someone will hang it up, wishing it could talk, too.