A Walk in the Park

This week, hubby and I decided to take advantage of our beautiful spring weather and spent a day in Vancouver with our daughter who lives there. If you watched the Olympics, this will be a familiar sight. Almost everything else related to the Olympics has been taken down. We viewed the rings when walking the seawall in Stanley Park.
Several years ago, during a much colder winter, Stanley Park was hit with an ice storm, which damaged and destroyed many of the beautiful old trees.

At first glance, we couldn't tell what this was. Can you guess?

It's a "stump cozy" created by a local artist. She cut small disks from fallen trees, had people burn messages into them, tied them all together with rope, and covered the stump with it. Isn't that a great idea? Here's a close-up of some of the disks.

I liked this one that says, "Hope".I couldn't help but feel hopeful when we saw these beautiful cherry trees in blossom, a bit further into the park.

Happy spring, everyone!

Girlfriend Getaway Part 2

Continuing our mini-roadtrip, we woke up the following morning at the Blue Gull B&B in Port Townsend, to be greeted by this amazing breakfast--scones with jam, quiche, potatoes, sausages, and fruit.
We lingered over breakfast, visiting with the other guests--a young couple from our hometown of Abbotsford, BC, and another couple from Victoria, BC. Maybe next time, it will be warm enough to enjoy the Blue Gull's cozy front porch.

Port Townsend is full of historic homes. I think this one is for sale!

The deer were making themselves at home on this yard.

Some of the buildings on Port Townsend's Water Street.

After spending the morning in the shops, we headed to Poulsbo, a town with Scandinavian origins. This magnolia tree was in full bloom.

Then, we took the ferry across to the mainland, north of Seattle to Snohomish, with its country stores.
I'll be doing a book-signing at "The Speckled Hen" in September.

We spent our second night at the Cadyville Carriage House, where we had a little self-contained suite, all to ourselves.

The next morning, it was time to head home. I took this picture at a rest stop to give you an idea of the size of trees that used to grow in the Pacific Northwest. This western red cedar was over 1000 years old, when it was destroyed by fire.

A great getaway, but as always, it's good to come home!

Girlfriend Getaway Part 1

Last week, my teacher friend Meg and I decided to take advantage of her spring break and hit the road for a little R&R. We headed south across the border into Washington state, and then drove west to La Conner, a wonderful little town, where we stopped for lunch. This beautiful quilt was on display in the restaurant, so of course, we had to get the picture.

We drove past fields of daffodils in bloom--a sure sign of spring.

La Conner's picturesque main street is filled with wonderful shops.

We discovered this hidden garden behind the Hotel Planter.

Complete with a raven sculpture.

Look at how walls of this building surround the tree.

And isn't this a great idea for a flower display?

From La Conner, we drove south and caught the ferry to Port Townsend, a beautifully preserved historic town on the northeast tip of the Olympic peninsula.

There, we spent the night at the quaint Blue Gull B&B.

And woke the next day ready to resume our travels.

(To be continued).

Dianne's Star

I think my favourite emails to receive are the ones from those of you who have made one of my patterns and send me a picture of your version of it. This was in my In Box today--my "Wish Upon a Star" pattern made by Dianne Bondaroff of BC. Didn't she do an amazing job? Thanks, Dianne!