A Weekend Getaway

It was our anniversary. After much deliberation we decided to make a short trip somewhere we'd never been, outside the good old USA. Our adventure took us to Sooke, BC on Vancouver Island. We live close enough that we've made several trips to Victoria, but never ventured beyond. It turns out Vancouver Island is a big, wild, outdoorsy place. Victoria is lovely, very touristy and fun for it's British vibe. It's a great place for urban hiking. The ferry runs from Victoria, so we spent some of our time there as well. Here's our weekend in pictures!

DAY ONE

Catching the ferry at Port Angeles

A mostly gray ride over

Waiting for the best fish and chips ever at Red Fish Blue Fish
 with my friend Jonathon Livingston

An afternoon walk on Whiffin Spit

DAY TWO

At a scenic view on our drive up the coast to the beaches

We hiked to several beaches along the Juan De Fuca Marine Trail for a day's total of a hilly 11 miles. An over-sized soaking bath tub was perfect at the end.

View from the trail at Botanical Beach

On the trail

A view on Botanical Beach

Tide pool life

Tide pools abound on Botanical Beach

I caught some waves, with the camera

Crane at the beach

Trail to our second beach, Sombrio Beach

This beach is popular with surfers

China Beach was mostly just us and the seagulls 

Mystic Beach was the last stop on our trek

To get there and back I had to overcome my fear of suspension bridges
(and heights)

Yikes!

DAY THREE

This was our actual anniversary, 34 years! The day found us trail weary and limited by time. We had to get in line for the ferry in Victoria by 1:30 PM, so we got going (slowly) and spent a short day of urban hiking in Victoria. We ate brunch at an old favorite, in the garden room of Swans Brewpub. No photos, as we left the card in the tablet the night before and didn't realize it. 

We had a lovely ride back to the U.S. Then we began our search for someplace open to eat one last celebratory meal. Somehow we ended up in the quaint town of Sequim (pronounced "skwim") at Blondie's Plate.

Yummy local steamer clams

One of my all time favorites, Moscow Mule

The entire meal was truly delightful and was topped off with complimentary truffles for our special day! 

Honeymoon 1980

34 years ago if you had said I would be eating tapas in Sequim and photographing the food and Moscow mule on my phone before blogging and facebooking it for everyone to see I would have said you were mad!

Original Browning quote by Suzi Scribbles on etsy

On the other hand, if you had told me I'd be doing that or anything for that matter, with my best friend, the guy I married 34 years ago, that, my friend, I knew.

Linda <><

In The Garden

When I was growing up in the little town of Scottsbluff in western Nebraska we didn't have Christian radio stations as we've come to know them, or even contemporary Christian music. However, ever Sunday morning the local radio station played hymns and that's what we listened to, without fail, as we got ready for church. This song reminds me of those days gone by. It was Jim Reeves, not Alan Jackson, but I hear my mom's voice singing along regardless.

 She loved to garden.

As a teacher she had summers to garden, can, pickle and freeze. Her garden was a big sunny spot in the backyard filled with tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, carrots, peas, cucumbers and much more. 

Here in the Pacific Northwest it's harder to find a sunny spot and my backyard isn't a big as hers, but I do love to garden and I love to eat from the garden.

Please, take a walk through my garden with me!

This bed is mostly kale (a few beets in the back).

L to R: cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and sweet peas (this is where we
battled some sort of vermin wanting to eat the broccoli leaves).

Hopefully we'll be eating Brussels sprouts sometime in the near future.and
next to it was radishes. Now it's carrots. I put sticks in between the rows
and sprinkle it with hot pepper flakes to keep bad cat from using it 
as a litter box.

One of several peppermint plants meant to
deter mice. Seems to be working so far!

Growing tomatoes is an art in the Puget Sound region where the climate
is temperate and summer is short. I plant the basil with it because it is
supposed to help keep the insects away. Caprese salad is also my all
time favorite, especially straight from the garden. 
The owl, by the way, does not deter anything.

Radishes are easy to grow and tasty fresh from the garden.

Juliet grape tomatoes and snapdragons

Can you spy my first two little grape tomatoes?

The three planter boxes on the deck are usually filled with some
sort of greens. This red lettuce has already provided several
salads. The nasturtium is said to draw aphids away from
other plants and the blossoms (when it blooms) are edible.

The herb garden (L to R):  sage, marjoram, parsley, oregano,
rosemary mint, chives and assorted weeds. 

I just added the teacup bird feeders, they were a fun, quick craft.
My daughter made the house bird feeder in high school shop class. 

And look, they really like it!
I think this is a chickadee. 

I pot my peppers so they can get the greatest sun
exposure possible. The half barrel is thyme and
the trellis is rose vines and clematis.
Jack, the cat who loves birds, photo bombing:-)

Clematis

Jack posing with some Shasta daisies.

The hanging baskets make it feel like summer even though they
are hard  to keep alive. My sweet hubby built the window
planter and I fill it with red geraniums every year as my
 grandmother planted red geraniums in the kitchen window of the sod house
where she raised six children.

We don't have (and rarely need) air conditioning, so these help
keep the kitchen cooler in the summer.

One of my favorite fresh from the garden meals is sauteing veggies with
kale and topping with an egg. I like to add a little Chipotle Tabasco!

This beautiful hydrangea is in my front yard. One summer afternoon
 a few years ago a young couple stopped by and asked if they could buy 
some of the blooms to use for their wedding. I told them to take
 whatever they wanted and I felt like the lucky one to be a part
of their special day.

My friend gave me this hosta when my mom passed away
 two years ago. It's a lovely reminder.

I transplanted the calla lilies from our family cabin on the sound. 

Columbine

Some sort of lily:-)

Just for fun we sprayed this pot
 with glow in the dark paint.

When we moved to this home sixteen years ago there was no backyard, no lawn, no trees, no patio or deck. We had to haul in top soil. It has all been a labor of love that we enjoy sharing. My thumb is not green, even so I try my best and it continues to be a learning experience. 

Thanks for taking this walk through my garden with me. I'd love to have shown you a garden with no weeds and fresh beauty bark, but 

My advice for you today: play in your garden, or find one to walk through and listen!

Linda <><

Praying the Alphabet

As waxing moon

Slips listlessly across

The night sky

Playing hide and seek

With cirrus

I smile

From my wide eyed

Restless cradle

I pray for you

{Linda O'Rourke, 2014}

Waxing Gibbous by photosbynicolelynn on etsy

Some nights I just can't sleep. I know full well how important it is to my health, but occasionally it simply eludes me. I'm certain worry and anxiety have come into play, but I like to consider worry a reminder to pray. So last night as I watched the moon cross the sky through my open window I talked to my Abba Father. 

In a recent devotional the writer suggested that on those sleepless nights they pray the alphabet. From A to Z bringing to God all their loved ones, all the concerns and praises. As I myself have learned to do this it has brought me great comfort.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,

and I will give you rest. -- Matthew 11:28

Here in the Pacific Northwest summer doesn't really start until after July fourth, so any night or day without full cloud cover in June is a special bonus. I've enjoyed many of both this year.

May your nights be sweet and rest filled and may your days be sunny and fruitful.

Linda <><

Cool Stuff -- Snack Time!

What's your guilty pleasure? I've got a t.v. show or two, like Revenge and Mad Men, that I'm hooked on. And when it comes to treats there's one I can't keep in the house. If I do, it's okay until it's opened, then in a flash, it's gone. For that reason I like to make my treats from scratch most of the time. We like to make baked sweet potato chips and popcorn on the stove with coconut oil. When it comes to store bought snacks I can pass up the chips and Doritos! But we recently discovered Cosmos Creations and I fell in love. My favorite is Sea Salt and Butter with Cinnamon Crunch and Salted Caramel both a close second. We are not able to just keep these around. For us they are a special snack time treat!

Sea Salt and Butter Cosmos Creations

We have thrown a bag in the car for after hiking. It was gone in minutes! When we hike we usually bring some trail mix, jerky and fresh fruit along with our water. Then we treat ourselves to a meal we might not normally eat when we're finished.

 That's exactly what we did Sunday.

Wallace Falls was a beautiful five and a half mile hike starting under some major power lines complete with the crackling, continuing along a rapid filled river with three waterfalls. 

Lower Falls

Middle Falls

One of my favorite things about hiking through an old growth forest like this is the tree stumps with their own mini bio systems. 

The vastness and varieties of moss here was also fascinating.

Like many woody hikes here in Washington much of the hike reminded us of the  forest moon of Endor or the Hobbit's Mirkwood. 

Emma thought it was a much better hike than the grueling eight miles of Mount Si we did for Mothers Day. Every other hike we do this summer will be a piece of cake!

Micah 6:8 by MySweetCoconut on esty

This is but one way I like to walk humbly with God. I am awed and humbled my His vast, yet deeply intricate creation. As I finished this hike I as completely exhausted and trail grungy, but my soul was refreshed! 

What do you find refreshing on a Sunday afternoon? What's your favorite 'guilty pleasure' snack?

Linda <><