tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26808853983099766782011-08-20T04:30:28.312-07:00A (mostly photo) blog about birds, nature, and some other stuff too.Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.comBlogger821100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-79662041487921479662010-11-22T11:40:00.000-08:002010-11-22T11:40:29.468-08:00

 Cosmo braves the cold to play in the snow  It's snowing in Seattle! I'm excited because this is the first winter I've had an all-wheel-drive car.

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-5159884406123422682010-11-06T12:10:00.000-07:002010-11-06T12:10:24.125-07:00

Most of the leaves are on the ground now, but here is a couple of pictures from earlier in the week. Looking down 62nd Avenue from my desk at home Trees at the Kirkland International School in the morning

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-86097234834908513332010-10-24T16:45:00.000-07:002010-10-24T16:47:31.865-07:00

 From a morning walk on a lovely October day before the rains came.

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-54113199138058120762010-10-16T13:45:00.000-07:002010-10-16T13:45:44.531-07:00

Noe and his guys came out to mow and do a general clean-up of our yard today. It is a beautiful fall day so I took some photos. East fence Back of house Kaffir Lilies South fence with new heather and thyme and freshly compost-covered

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-33629585936392509442010-10-03T22:39:00.000-07:002010-10-03T22:39:16.560-07:00

A belated pic of Dan and his roasted peach-and-blueberry vanilla layer cake on his birthday.

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-73195067633181103962010-08-14T17:03:00.000-07:002010-08-14T17:06:53.850-07:00

Mary and I drove out to Carnation to catch some action at the Evergreen Classic today. This is a picture from the $10,000 hunter derby. We got to visit with some of the show horses in their stalls, too.

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-336914619364473442010-07-25T20:27:00.000-07:002010-07-25T20:32:24.917-07:00

The latest in our attempts to save our garden from the dog - a cedar split rail fence. It smells so good! The gate is temporary and we will eventually extend the fence all the way over to the rock wall on the right.

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-45797455637199239482010-07-05T14:16:00.001-07:002010-07-05T14:19:10.168-07:00

A pretty morning at the school field in late June - Cosmo's favourite place!

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-5734109961776337772010-06-17T22:30:00.000-07:002010-06-17T22:37:41.901-07:00

...make cherry pie. My 3.0 team was eliminated from USTA playoffs today. To compensate, I made fresh cherry pie with cherries purchased right off the trees in Wenatchee last weekend. The recipe is here.

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-58734019360680346352010-05-19T07:50:00.000-07:002010-05-19T08:00:25.063-07:00

Our friends Deborah and Derek keep a website of all their favorite recipes, along with pictures of the food they cook. They are the inspiration for this first "cooking" themed post - a spinach souffle I whipped (literally) up last night to use up some farm eggs from my parents' visit. The recipe is from the Illustrated Kitchen Bible.

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-304957499231040192010-05-17T09:03:00.000-07:002010-05-19T07:50:33.647-07:00

It's Iris bloom time in Seattle. My favs are the smaller, dark purple ones, but these in our neighbour's yard are really pretty too. Especially in the lovely evening sunshine.

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-959535900918196732010-05-09T22:20:00.000-07:002010-05-19T07:58:58.519-07:00

So much colour in our garden right now. The rhodie on the right (the one just to the left of Cosmo) is especially beautiful.

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-43390147132444061132010-05-02T16:22:00.001-07:002010-05-19T07:59:38.103-07:00

While moving one of our Rockroses this morning, I noticed a neat view of our back garden from this spot in the corner. You can see the Woolly Thyme sprouting up nicely in our new path here, and the Rhodies in full bloom too.

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-86419488373788171852010-04-19T09:05:00.000-07:002010-04-19T09:11:55.366-07:00

We had beautiful, warm and sunny spring weather on Sunday. Our brilliant red tulips were opened up to soak it in, and Cosmo was loving it too!

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-64481315064370865892010-04-13T12:32:00.000-07:002010-05-19T07:59:38.104-07:00

Nifty planter box outside the tax accountant's office. I recognize Bergenia and Azalea and perhaps Blue Fescue, but not sure what the lovely ground cover in the foreground is.

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-72437443940876705072010-03-09T21:55:00.000-08:002010-03-09T22:01:59.575-08:00

Photography enthusiasm stoked by last weekend's workshop with Ron Niebrugge in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park! One of the many things I learnt from Ron is that the only filters he uses are circular polarizers and graduated neutral density filters. I.e. he does NOT use UV/haze filters. I had a haze filter on my lens in the first picture below (complete with raindrop on the left side of the pic).

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-41889669246538041302009-12-13T09:45:00.000-08:002009-12-13T09:47:35.426-08:00

It's been bitterly cold lately so I haven't been spending much time outdoors, nor has there been much to photograph outdoors. But I haven't posted in two months now, so here's a new picture of Cosmo to keep things rolling.

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-15898362984607469812009-10-17T21:48:00.000-07:002009-10-17T21:55:14.542-07:00

A picture taken just after the massive rain storm we had today. With this type of hard rain, the leaves which have just peaked will not last long.

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-56757920290429022772009-10-15T09:36:00.000-07:002010-05-19T08:08:05.424-07:00

As I arrived back from my run this morning, I noticed a flock of birds in the neighbours' crabapple trees. On closer inspection they proved to be Cedar Waxwings, one of my favorite birds and only the second time I've seen them! They would eat a few crabapples and then fly back across the street to rest and digest on the power lines. They have yellow "wax" at the tips of their tails and red "wax"

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-61175950652348131472009-10-12T09:20:00.000-07:002010-05-19T07:59:38.104-07:00

This picture commemorates another weekend spent digging holes, mixing soil with compost, and planting new plants. On the far left is a blue Spanish Fir (slow growing) and to the right of it a Weeping Alaska Cedar, likely of the Strict Weeping variety (stays very narrow). Behind them is an arrangement of 'Glamour' azaleas that were on special at Lowe's for $2.76 a piece. What a bargain!

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-30480260224994401572009-09-19T14:34:00.000-07:002009-09-19T14:38:24.456-07:00

A year after moving in, we have finally found a piece of art to go above the fireplace. Thanks for the help Mom!

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-50485197444926494122009-09-19T14:25:00.001-07:002009-09-19T14:29:24.127-07:00

He managed to get everything but his ear to fit...

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-1333285152641447552009-08-17T08:22:00.001-07:002010-05-19T08:00:56.278-07:00

This weekend we hired our yard guys to help us move a couple of trees around, including a beautiful new green-leafed Japanese Maple we appropriated from someone else's yard (they didn't want it any more). Here is the before and after.Before:After:

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-21804537510329232192009-07-30T22:25:00.001-07:002009-07-30T22:28:28.897-07:00

...so y'all that wanted to move here because it's so cool (no pun intended), take a close look at our weather this week. Here's my car's reading from 5 pm today...

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-50808084762979490522009-07-24T09:21:00.001-07:002010-05-19T08:00:56.279-07:00

When we bought our lone corn plant in spring, many a concerned person told us that we wouldn't actually get any cobs because the plant needed fertilization from another plant. We thought it was fun to watch the plant grow though, so we left it in the ground. A little while ago we noticed a cob starting to grow - and now we have four! Last night we ate the first one, and boy was it divine. The

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-66329917797249640172009-06-27T22:26:00.001-07:002010-05-19T08:00:56.280-07:00

I've been spending most of my free weekend time fixing up our garden. It's a time consuming, but rewarding, affair, especially when the plants turn so green and healthy at this time of year. (Or is it because Dan went round with the Miracle Gro?)One of the big things we did recently was to replace the Portuguese Laurel and Japanese Holly hedges alongside our front porch with the more desirable

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-31867772807404235172009-06-19T17:04:00.000-07:002009-06-19T17:06:11.386-07:00

Cosmo poses so I can catch the beautiful summer evening light on "film".

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-6892923071411009662009-06-09T10:43:00.000-07:002009-06-09T10:45:11.356-07:00

Scene at our back door this morning. June is a lovely month this year!

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-24036881691140157532009-06-01T21:22:00.000-07:002010-05-19T08:00:56.281-07:00

Beautiful spring flowers at a neighbourhood park. Does anyone know what they are?

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-73605251819707745612009-05-20T21:32:00.000-07:002010-05-19T08:00:56.282-07:00

Pardon me if I do say so myself, but isn't our front garden looking gorgeous - now that the azaleas are in full bloom? Please do note our brand new real boxwood hedge on the right, too (and compare it with the fake boxwood, which is actually ilex, on the left).

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-7836679862031459742009-05-20T21:29:00.001-07:002009-05-20T21:30:04.024-07:00

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-89238858384933767902009-04-23T08:10:00.000-07:002009-04-23T08:15:44.474-07:00

Yesterday we drove through the Hayden Bridge, just off the Alsea Highway near Corvallis. Oregon currently has 50 covered bridges, the largest collection in the West. From ODOT:"The covered-bridge-building tradition in Oregon dates from the 1850’s. Out of necessity, pioneers built with the materials at hand. Douglas fir was abundant in western Oregon and well-suited to bridge construction. To

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-41581599424217330982009-04-22T21:06:00.001-07:002009-04-22T21:11:26.850-07:00

My mom turns 60 today! Happy Birthday Mom! To celebrate, we drove down to Yachats with Cosmo, fetching Samantha and Jesse en route. After we arrived, we went for a very windy beach walk. We let Cosmo loose on the beach. He ran, and ran, and ran...And he met a friendly dalmation that looked quite a lot like him...

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-42054889776967803642009-04-17T09:27:00.000-07:002010-05-19T08:00:56.283-07:00

Last weekend I set up, on the sunny southern side of our house, one of two 4x4 vegetable garden kits I got from costco.com. The planks are made of a trex-like material so they don't rot. I'm planning to put some copper stripping around the sides too, to keep the nasty SLUGS out! So far our modest box contains: 1 corn plant (back left), 1 mint plant (back right). Mint will be used for summertime

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-71194055550638683342009-04-12T09:37:00.000-07:002009-04-12T09:40:37.281-07:00

Cosmo seems to be a recurring subject on this blog of late, and he doesn't deserve all the fame, but I couldn't resist this picture of him in my townhouse that I'm fixing to sell (pardon the pun). As you can see, the carpet and pad has been torn out in the living room.

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-39072263522986384882009-03-23T20:26:00.000-07:002010-05-19T08:02:44.080-07:00

Costco was selling crabapple trees this week, and I couldn't resist getting a couple of them. Not only are the blossoms both beautiful and fragrant, and not only can you harvest crabapples for jelly in the fall, but they attract the local birds too. One of them's gone up on the NW corner of our property, and looks quite smashing if I do say so myself. (Btw, it's taken the spot of a beautiful

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-77674833223803657602009-03-23T20:16:00.000-07:002009-03-23T20:25:01.573-07:00

This really made my morning last week. Dan had bought this helium balloon for his nephew back in January, but it was finally getting a bit 'pap', so I took it down and tied it around Cosmo's neck :)Then on Saturday we gave him special free range privileges in our front yard while we were milling about out there. I turned my back for 5 seconds and Cosmo was gone - no hide nor hair in sight. We did

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-2176959329969736912009-03-15T22:04:00.001-07:002009-03-15T22:17:25.716-07:00

He had a long day so give him a break. Poor thing. He woke up in his crate, tail all a-wag as we came downstairs to let him out, pounding the end of it on the bars. He re-opened a wound on the tip, it started bleeding, and he ended up with bloody whip-marks on his haunches from where his tail smacks himself as it vigorously wags. So we cleaned him all up and bandaged it till it looked like some

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-54642801952185562992009-03-06T20:57:00.000-08:002009-03-06T21:26:33.464-08:00

It was a beautiful Friday morning and I couldn't resist documenting my morning run with some snaps.First - the college campus I run throughThen, the neighbourhood park and woodsThe empty lot with a beautiful viewThe marinaBeautiful boatsFunky art at the waterfrontCosmo is a good subject and adds some scaleCosmo and familyThe waterfront park - Cosmo's favorite part of the run, where he gets to

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-66597507163627808872009-02-15T22:42:00.000-08:002009-02-15T22:51:45.875-08:00

We woke up Sunday morning to bright sunshine streaming into the room. Out the bathroom window I could see the snow-frosted Olympic mountains crystal clear. So I scrapped my yoga plans and instead we headed to Rattlesnake Ledge for a 2 hour hike, dog in tow. Today was also my Great Backyard Bird Count day, so I pledged to identify birds for at least 15 minutes at the top. This turned out to be

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-58221933498965252652009-01-13T21:48:00.000-08:002009-01-13T21:54:32.485-08:00

This is what I came home to last night in the garage. The wiley coyote had escaped the confines of the garage by eating copious amounts of wood and drywall, gobbing up the door handle, and eventually making his way into the warm house (where he tracked drywall paw prints all over the rugs) :(

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-37210775318919092172008-12-27T21:27:00.000-08:002008-12-27T21:29:37.904-08:00

The downtown Bellevue shopping district is so pretty and festive right now with all the Christmas lighting. It's a shame they don't leave it like this year round.

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-4454289079632380252008-12-23T16:28:00.001-08:002008-12-23T16:37:48.648-08:00

In my experience, Seattle usually gets a dusting of snow once a year. That dusting often melts as soon as it touches down. So the fact that we've had about 8 inches of snow on the ground for the past week or so is quite something! It has taken a toll on my running, but we are still getting out for dog walks and shopping (the essentials). I'm hoping it sticks around another couple of days to

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-21998051229813189972008-12-18T09:27:00.001-08:002008-12-18T09:31:34.777-08:00

The snow might have been one day late in our neck of the woods, but now that it's here, there's a ton of it! Most Seattle school districts were closed yesterday, and many people on my team, including me, chose to "WFH" (work from home). The weatherman made suckers of all of us because the snow never came. But today it is beautiful. Here's Cosmo enjoying the fluffy stuff in our backyard.

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-44828922375126404552008-12-14T20:10:00.000-08:002008-12-14T20:18:31.165-08:00

I've been meaning to take this picture of our house in its Christmas outfit just after sunset, but alas it gets dark so early these days that I'm never home in time. A layer of fresh-ish snow ought to brighten the picture up a bit though? Notice the icy road too. I became quite intimate with it just prior to snapping this picture. My camera took a bit of a jolt too, but after a bit of TLC seems

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-8702519380262495072008-12-06T15:14:00.000-08:002008-12-06T15:16:22.483-08:00

A beautifully sunny day that ended in a beautiful winter sunset - as seen from our upstairs bedroom. (Note that a plethora of power lines have been "erased" from this image.)

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-78647958846229380242008-11-22T15:20:00.000-08:002008-11-22T15:24:31.473-08:00

This week saw our beautiful, and more importantly mud-free, flagstone path get installed, connecting our driveway with our side gate. No more muddy shoes, yay!

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-32908302104160978052008-11-16T15:21:00.000-08:002008-11-16T15:38:05.354-08:00

We took Coz-Woz to the off-leash dog park at Magnuson Park yesterday. It was our first time at an OL park, and we were a bit hesitant about taking him, but the enticement of a fully-fenced area for him to run free in proved too much for us. We didn't actually see Cosmo most of the time we were there, but there was one shining moment where we called his name from across the field and he distinctly

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-68432720726551982152008-10-26T22:06:00.001-07:002008-10-26T22:09:12.772-07:00

They just won't leave! Actually this pic is from last weekend, but the leaves are still around this weekend too.

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-41258313405870169632008-10-20T19:41:00.000-07:002010-05-19T08:02:44.081-07:00

We splurged on these two Japanese Maple beauties that will be delivered to our house on Wednesday. We'll install them one on either side of the walkway leading to our front door, where our Katsura trees used to stand. Their scarlet autumn colouring is quite spectacular.

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-64683522349016196872008-10-17T09:49:00.000-07:002008-10-17T09:52:31.129-07:00

I was out sweeping the lawn fertilizer off the pavement this morning when I looked up and the sun was sort-of-out! So I ran to grab my camera to capture this fleeting moment, looking down our street.

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-52752080252830156302008-10-07T17:21:00.000-07:002008-10-07T17:27:43.081-07:00

This is the week of progress on our house projects! (Not that we're having to lift any fingers ourselves, other than to write cheques for large sums of money.) Earthscapes finished our fencing today (although they will return to stain it) - which means we can bring doggy home tomorrow! I think they did a great job. There are several customizations to this fence: 6x6 posts instead of 4x4, custom

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-70435650581553199282008-10-04T10:31:00.000-07:002010-05-19T08:02:44.081-07:00

Laurie and her crew from Cedarmist Gardens have completed phase one of our backyard landscaping project. She was an absolute pleasure to work with and we can't believe how quickly she got the job done, with no hassle whatsoever. But above all, she has great taste and did a fantastic job, really taking matters into her own hands and planning the garden (including not so green things like shed and

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-26348078934496299542008-10-01T20:02:00.001-07:002010-05-19T08:02:44.082-07:00

Our garden is almost ready! I will post before and after pictures when it's all finished. But for now, don't you think this is a beautiful plant? My best guess is that it's some type of New Zealand Flax, but I'm not sure.

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-3726373305799256022008-09-27T18:57:00.000-07:002010-05-19T08:02:44.082-07:00

Our back yard is getting a makeover this week! We found a wonderful woman named Laurie who's helping us design and implement our new landscaping. Part of the plan is to move two of the Katsura trees from our front yard to the back. Katsuras are especially beautiful in autumn - here's our third Katsura tree which will be staying put in the front to punctuate the edge of our property.

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-68660713147058675892008-09-15T21:29:00.001-07:002008-09-15T21:36:53.065-07:00

Dan and I just got back from a 5-day road trip from Oakland, up through Napa Valley to the California coast and the Redwood forests, then up the Oregon coast and back home. It was a great break from work and the stresses of daily life. Some of our favorite places, and recommendations if you're ever in the Napa Valley area, dear reader, are: Alexis Baking Company for breakfast in Napa, the Heitz

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-31709846276706875422008-09-08T07:58:00.001-07:002010-05-19T08:02:44.083-07:00

We have admired our neighbour's beautiful and mature tree ever since we moved into our new home. It seems like the bright red berries have been around that long too, adding nice colour to our back yard view. The other day I found out what this lovely tree is - an Ash. Our garden is probably too small for one of these beauties, but at least we can admire our neighbour's.

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-78420185888893585382008-09-05T19:38:00.000-07:002010-05-19T08:02:44.083-07:00

We have plants on our minds because in the next couple of weeks the landscapers are coming to decorate our back yard with something more interesting than just lawn. One plant that grows very well in the Northwest, but hails all the way from South Africa, is Crocosmia. Here's a bunch of it in full bloom at Lowe's.

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-29021965026233179022008-08-28T21:54:00.000-07:002008-09-08T08:10:41.823-07:00

It was Dan's birthday last Saturday, so I treated him to a lavish seafood dinner at the Third Floor Fish Cafe. It was fantastic! Best food I've had since Abacus in Dallas. There's also a wonderful view of Lake Washington and the Seattle high-rises. For our dessert of passionfruit cheesecake, they brought it out with a sparkler to celebrate Dan's big day.

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-77683595559453958582008-08-08T10:06:00.000-07:002008-08-08T10:09:23.131-07:00

Dan and I got married last Sunday! The last of the family has just left for the airport and we have the house to ourselves again. We appropriated lots of flowers of various sorts after the big day. Here they are in our new kitchen: disas, irises, roses, and a lovely bouquet from the Pike Place Market.

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-29488044801261019202008-07-26T21:41:00.000-07:002008-07-26T21:50:24.309-07:00

We headed out to gorgeous Mountain Meadows Farm in North Bend for the annual Microsoft company picnic today. We had a blast; there was some new "adult" entertainment this year, the best of which was the hypnosis show. Hilarious! Also, one could sing karaoke to a real live band which was a hit. And as part of the tradition of scaling the climbing wall, we climbed it again this year. Here's Dan on

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-8185083336037166942008-07-20T17:16:00.000-07:002008-07-20T17:21:41.620-07:00

We've moved! L'il Bit has quickly situated himself as king of the castle in our brand new home. He is also having a blast exploring all the new nooks and crannies, and of course all the boxes and packing paper that comes with a move. Here he keeps watch from one of the dining room windows.

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-71565430431785728822008-07-02T22:10:00.000-07:002008-07-03T08:22:21.374-07:00

Remember Screech and Pretty Girl, our neighbour kitties, from a previous post? Well this past weekend, when we had 90 degree weather, we noticed two sorry looking fluffy things coming through our garden. On closer inspection they proved to be cats, in facts, the cats we know and love so well as L'il Bits door visitors. These poor kitties have apparently had a little haircut, a rather degrading

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-86951127813934582952008-06-26T22:49:00.000-07:002008-06-26T22:58:14.506-07:00

This year for my birthday we may not have gone somewhere tropically lovely like Fiji or Hawaii. But we did take a fun day trip "in our own back yard". The weather was glorious but, as always, I dressed optimistically and ended up being cold. Remember this: it's ALWAYS cold on a boat deck! Because I certainly didn't when it came time to dress. Anyway, we had a lovely time touring the various

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-51596986483124668452008-06-15T18:58:00.000-07:002008-06-15T19:04:37.766-07:00

Today we enjoyed one of the few "fine" days we've had all spring by hiking up Mt. Si with our friends Jill and Jason. It's a trek at 4-miles to the top and about 3000 feet elevation gain, but the views from there are stunning. You can see Mt. Rainier, downtown Seattle, and of course the growing town of North Bend at the base of the mountain. We shared some of our lunch at the top with Gray Jays

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-4975529704824347922008-06-11T22:55:00.000-07:002008-06-11T23:25:19.972-07:00

The regeneration of nature brought about by spring is remarkable, especially with the ever increasing burden of man. What popped out of the bushes and started tumbling across our lawn a few days ago? None other than three fuzzy little raccoon kittens. We clambered outside, cameras in hand, to witness their incessant calling as they made their way from one garden to the next. In the end we decided

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-50550884570538340742008-06-08T19:19:00.000-07:002008-06-08T19:28:50.751-07:00

They lay dormant all winter, their existence completely unbeknownst to us. Just recently, these beautiful wildflowers sprang up to decorate the hillside next to Lakemont Boulevard, the main road leading up to our house. I've made a few attempts to get a decent picture while driving, and finally have come up with something worth posting. We will miss this beautiful drive when we move to our new

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-67408271311127535572008-05-31T16:47:00.000-07:002008-05-31T16:55:42.811-07:00

I'm actually not a biker chick, but now that Dan has a motorcycle, I must admit that I check them out a lot more. These are two I've seen in the area recently that I thought were really attractive. According to Dan, the first is a custom bike and the second is a V-rod "Screaming Eagle Special Edition".

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-50790512313667248512008-05-26T22:21:00.000-07:002008-05-26T22:27:40.511-07:00

We got to witness some excitement in our quiet neighbourhood the other day when a City of Bellevue "bakkie" (truck) went up in flames. We saw the black smoke from a couple blocks away and made our way over for a closer look. The driver was out of the vehicle and dousing the blaze with a relatively feeble looking trickle from a garden hose (you can see the trickle if you look at the picture

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-12731401020061786072008-05-22T22:42:00.000-07:002008-05-22T22:51:34.586-07:00

My cousin Garrick was in Seattle! So I picked him up from his swish IEEE conference do at the Space Needle and we headed to a bar in Belltown to catch up. G bought us each a pint of Manny's Pale Ale (made in Seattle) and then filled me in on his fortuitous position at Johns Hopkins. He's studying for his PhD in some sort of mechanical-electrical engineering field, all expenses paid. Along the way

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-59148063875997840982008-05-17T22:33:00.001-07:002008-05-17T22:45:58.757-07:00

One of my all-time favourite books is Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, a memoir of Alexandra Fuller's childhood in Zimbabwe. This is the only book I can recall reading where I really didn't want it to end; each night I wanted to keep reading and reading, but at the same time I also wanted to put it away so that I wouldn't reach the end so quickly. On May 14, Alexandra Fuller was at the Seattle

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-32121176568176245622008-05-12T22:00:00.001-07:002008-05-12T22:13:12.985-07:00

I had to fetch my camera the other night as we sat down to a dinner of microwaved leftovers. Sophisticated Dan arrived at the table with his ziploc container of chicken. Instead of getting a plate, he transferred the warm fowl from the receptacle to the lid and proceeded to carve it up with a steak knife! To top it off, he had the almost-empty ranch dressing bottle positioned upside-down in the

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-89467489355572842202008-05-06T20:57:00.000-07:002010-05-19T08:05:18.486-07:00

It's Dogwood blooming time in Seattle, and I'm in love. Will definitely have to put one of these in our yard when we get a house of our own.

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-51285444965359552172008-04-08T23:03:00.000-07:002008-04-08T23:11:41.411-07:00

Excuse me, can I check for my keys?Dan snapped this shot surreptitiously as we dined on some fabulous food at the Salish Lodge on Monday night. Amazing that an otherwise ordinary looking person can shamelessly show herself in public like that!

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-46931164882882663322008-03-31T11:51:00.000-07:002008-03-31T12:09:27.830-07:00

When Dan bought his diesel Touareg last February, the price of biodiesel was a mere 3bucks a gallon. It held steady for a while as gas prices skyrocketed, and Dan was smiling. But as biofuel popularity and the price of regular diesel have increased, so has the price of biodiesel. Check out the final tally he paid at the pump yesterday!

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-58426342288022679312008-03-24T20:15:00.000-07:002008-03-24T20:28:41.469-07:00

The photo subject of this week's blog post was spotted at an intersection in Issaquah yesterday. The first thing that caught my eye about the RV was a Bichon Frise dog up on the dashboard, king of the castle. Next to it were numerous stuffed and porcelain Bichon Frises. But the kicker was that, even in these days of $3.70/gallon petrol and a climate in crisis, the RV towed not only a full-size

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-8187463087411626392008-03-16T22:00:00.000-07:002010-05-19T08:07:55.383-07:00

Dan I and just got back from a fantastic weekend on San Juan Island. We are now officialy spoilt. We can no longer transfer to the island with the hordes (i.e. via ferry) or stay anywhere other than a 180 degree waterfront view property. Hugh very kindly flew us up on his private plane, which was a blast as I even got to fly it for a bit. He also provided us with a waterfront bedroom, our own 4x4

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-16713987464316533892008-03-09T17:19:00.001-07:002010-05-19T08:07:55.384-07:00

We just got back from a fabulous first day of nordic skiing. We started off with a lesson from a very warm guy, then hopped on the ski lift to access the upper trail system. Up there we found a whole different, stress free world of cross-country ski trails, quietude, pine trees, ravens, and some very friendly people.We stopped for lunch in a warming hut at one of the big trail junctions; inside,

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-3974320619270195742008-03-02T21:43:00.000-08:002010-05-19T08:06:52.835-07:00

Yesterday morning, Dan and I drove an hour north to see the Snow Geese in the Skagit valley. The geese winter here, and will return in early April to Wrangel Island in Siberia. We met up with some members of the Skagit Audubon Society at the Hayton-Fir Island Snow Goose Reserve, one of whom told us that this year's goose count, between the Skagit valley and lower British Columbia, is a whopping

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-23681125930470980532008-02-24T10:20:00.000-08:002008-02-24T10:34:49.666-08:00

Part of my contribution to our homecooked Valentine's Day dinner was red velvet cupcakes with velvet icing, from the recipe book Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. The icing entailed making a "custard" from soy milk and flour and then beating it in to the shortening and sugar until it was quite smooth and, well, velvety.

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-59845849018373016772008-02-18T20:59:00.000-08:002008-02-18T21:53:48.227-08:00

When I moved in with Dan, I also moved in with L'il Bit, Dan's fat, furry friend reknowned for his love of being spanked on the staircase. L'il Bit loved the new digs from day one as the living room has windows down at cat level through which he can gaze at the birds in the bushes all day.Two weeks after we moved in, Bruiser (at least that's what we call him) appeared at the back door (which also

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2680885398309976678.post-90292126644836444612008-02-13T21:55:00.000-08:002010-05-19T08:06:40.253-07:00

It's actually a sunset picture, but you can't start a blog with a post titled 'sunset', now can you? I was working away in my office yesterday evening when I turned around at just the right moment to witness these spectacular colours in the sky.

Genevievehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952078854178289967noreply@blogger.com0