Scrapbooking my life...one page at a time

Day One ...

CHOCOLATE ...

For the past 16 days I have either been away from home or had house guests. 

It is always a bit of an adjustment when they first get here and then, just as I start to relax and enjoy myself, they all leave ...

Today I face an empty house.  

Jessica & Aidan were here visiting the first week (they drove down the same day as Mike & I came back home after our short visit to Canada. 

We were so busy having fun the entire week they were here.

 

Jess & Aidan

If Aidan doesn't look real happy it's probably because he wasn't.

It was early, cold & he was the only little kid on the tour. 

Once we got him pumped full of chocolate he started enjoying himself ...

First we went on a 'Chocolate Indulgence Tour' of Seattle.  Jessica found this company, Savor Seattle Food Tours on line  and they were great.  

Jessica, Aidan & I went on the tour and here is some of what we saw and sampled along the way ...

First stop: A Chocolate Cocktail ...

At Oliver's Lounge, located in the Mayflower Hotel, we were treated to a yummy combination of coffee liquor, dark chocolate liquor, and rum. 

Although Prohibition was abolished in 1933, some states enforced “Blue Laws” that prohibited certain aspects of alcohol sale and distribution. Until 1976, Seattle enforced a Blue Law that stated that lounges could not be viewed from the outside to avoid tempting passers by with the sight of bartenders mixing drinks. Oliver’s Lounge in the Seattle Mayflower Hotel became the first “Daylight Bar” and featured floor-to-ceiling windows that displayed the lounge activities to the street.

We were definitely warmed up & ready to go…

Dark Hot Chocolate

Aidan was treated to a thick & creamy dark hot chocolate to warm him up ...

 

Yum!

Next, Triple Chocolate Coconut Cream Pie from the Dahlia Bakery.   

 

Then, Chocolate Crinkle Cookies -  Chewy, gooey, Chocolaty goodness ...

The Dahlia Lounge, Dahlia Bakery, Lola and the Serious Pie are all Eateries own by Tom Douglas, a famous Seattle Chef & Restaurateur.

I have seen both Serious Pie (Pizzeria) and Lola (Mediterranean / African Food) featured on the Food Network.

 

Aidan & Nana

The morning of the tour was sunny but COLD & breezy.

I ended up going to Old Navy and buy the long sleeved blue t-shirt that you in this picture. 

Aidan wore his hat up most of the walking tour.

Tour Group

We then wandered over to the Chocolate Box. 

There were about 16 people on our tour. 

You can see Aidan & I up at the front in the corner. 

Thankfully, even though it was cold - it did not rain.

The Chocolate Box

The Chocolate Box: Where all things Chocolate converge ...

And, I.mean.all.things.chocolate!!

Chocolate Bacon Bar

I bought Mike a Mo's Chocolate Bacon Bar.  It consisted of dark, dark chocolate and real bacon bits!

It tasted surprising good proving the old adage that 'EVERYTHING TASTES BETTER WITH BACON ON IT"

Like a kid in a candy store ...

The Chocolate Box had just about anything & everything chocolate.

Next, we visited '106 Pine' which is a very, very wine shop owned & run by the folks who run the Chocolate Box right next door.

They fed us yummy chocolate cupcakey concoctions and ...

 

U' mm ....

Dark Chocolate & Lime Gelato. 

So good.

Beyond description ...

 

Our Tour guide was very funny & informative. 

She carried around this bright pink umbrella so we could spot her easily when we went down to the Pike Place Market.

 

Good idea because it was crowded.

At the market we stopped off at The Confectional for some incredible Chocolate  Raspberry Cheesecake following the

'Worlds Best Spiced Hot Chocolate ...

The cup may appear small but I tell you, they sure knew how to cram a WHOLE LOTTA taste and WOW into that couple of sips ...

KuKuRuZa

Then it was off to the Kukuruza, Gourmet Popcorn shop.

 

They had many, many different kinds of 'gourmet' popcorn but in the end - I think I still like regular old movie theater popcorn the best.

Next we visited Frans Chocolates. 

Very upscale, Very Chic chocolates.

A'salted' Caramel Chocolates

By the time we hit Fran's we were all on Chocolate Overload (yes, it's possible) and so we each carted home a bag of yummy chocolates for later.

The tour cost $44.95/person (including Aidan). 

Was it worth it?  

Absolutely!!!

We had fun, ate some incredible chocolate, and had a great time!  Well worth the money.

Tomorrow ...  Day Two, Painting!

Now go Eat Your Chocolate!

N

Two Loves ...

I Love Canada & I Love the USA

And after living in both
(one by birth, one through marriage)
This much I know for sure  ...

Canada is Amazing & most Canadians are Great
The USA is Great & most Americans are Amazing

Happy Weekend / Happy Sunshine

Thanks for sharing Uncle Frank!

Woopdidoo ...

'The best way to appreciate your job is to imagine yourself without one.'
  - Oscar Wilde -

and speaking of work ...

 

Woopdidoo - I am finally back at work.  I started working on October 12th and it has been a mighty long week!  Not only am I not used to working & paying attention all day but I am missing my naps, and I have had to be at work extra hours this week.   Talk about a Shock to the system - it's all good though and I am excited to be out of the house and busy doing something again. 

I began my 3 weeks of training at a very large call center for a utility company and will wrap up Week One tomorrow and for the 1st time in almost 4 years I am looking forward to the weekend!  I haven't had a weekend in F.O.R.E.V.E.R!   

I have to go now and iron my clothes for work tomorrow and then hit the hay because I must confess that I am very, very tired by the end of each day - I am certainly sleeping better this week !!!  

Woopdidoo ~ A paycheck and some sleep too ....

Until the weekend ...

Happy Fall-idays!
Love N

Sunny Days & Sun Burnt ....

This weekend Mike & I headed over for some R&R with Doug & Kathryn on Vancouver Island.  We have been meaning to get over there for a visit and check out their apartment in Victoria.  So back  in early June we made the commitment, set the date and made the reservations and headed down to Pier 69 to catch a ride over on the Victoria Clipper last Saturday.

The Victoria Clipper is a passenger only ferry that leaves from downtown Seattle and goes non-stop over to Victoria.  It takes just under 3 hours to get there if the weather is good but, as we found out on Saturday, if the winds are rough it can take up to 4 hours to complete the journey.  

I always forget how much I love being out on the water.  It is so beautiful & refreshing - to smell the clean air, taste the salty spray on your lips and just soak up the miracle of being out upon the ocean  ...

It is easy to take for granted what an incredible & diverse area we live in -  the ride over left me breathless ...

 

At times during the ride over the water was as smooth as glass ...

and at times - rough and choppy ...

at times there wasn't a cloud in the sky ....

and at other times that cloud cover & mist seemed to engulf the islands ....

Because of the rough waters of the open Sound on Saturday we were diverted up through Deception Pass and along the San Juan Islands.  It afforded us the opportunity to go under the Deception Pass Bridge.  Although it added almost an hour to the trip it was spectacular ...

Doug picked us up at the ferry dock and we went over to drop off our luggage and check out their apartment.  They have a really nice one bedroom place in James Bay which is just a short walk from the Empress, the Parliament Buildings and the water front. 

Their building has a very nice little guest suite which you can rent for $25.00/night so we dropped off our luggage at the suite, went up to check out their place, pick-up Kathryn and then went off to do some sight seeing downtown. 

 

The crowds downtown were not too large so we just wandered around for a couple of hours (we didn't dock until around 1) and we saw ...

The magnificent Empress Hotel  ...

If you've never been inside this place ... WOW.  It is truly a wonder!

The entrance columns into the grounds at the Empress ...

On our travels we found a great costume shop and decided to check it out.  It was called Nightmare Entertainment and it had a fun 'Haunted House' set up inside the costume shop which we went through.... fun

Mike & the Nightmare Man ....

 

The hanging baskets around Victoria are amazing ...

 

BC Parliament Buildings ...

 

There must be hundreds of horse & carriages and rickshaws in Victoria ...

 

The first night we went to Chinatown and had sushi for dinner.  It was very good and after dinner we strolled home along the waterfront.  By the time my head hit the pillow later that night I was exhausted.

The next morning we had cereal out on the deck and then decided to tour a few of the many local gardens.  The first one we hit was the Abkhazi Gardens (click on name for more information) which are very beautiful and have a very interesting history. 

 

 

We also toured the gardens at the Government House  which were also well worth the time.  If you are every in Victoria I would recommend visiting both of these gardens in addition to or in lieu of the better known Butchart Gardens.

 

It was a whirlwind mini vacation but we had a great time.  On the boat ride home we were lucky enough to be gifted this incredible view of Mount Rainer. The only bad thing about our trip was the vicious Sun Burns that both of us brought home ...

    Hope everyone had a great weekend

- N -

Happy 142nd Birthday Canada!!!!!

I am proud to be a
 CANADIAN!
 
Look who else  is ... eh?
This is too funny not to watch!

Happy Dad's Day ...

Saturday was the day Jessica moved her remaining stuff from storage to her new house.  Dad, Mike, Dale (J's Dad), Wayne and Jay were all on hand to help with the moving and furniture building.  It went very smoothly ...

Jessica's new backyard BTA (before toys arrive) ...

It was a whirlwind of a weekend ... Mike & I drove up to Canada on Friday night and got to J's house about 10pm.  Saturday was Jessica's final moving day (she moved in stages) and so we were all up early and work began about 8am. 

Jessica & her Dad, Dale, went to pick-up the truck and Mike went over and picked up Dad then met them at the storage unit.  Sandy, Brad, Wayne & a mover she had hired to assist all met them there and once they were all assembled and the truck arrived they began loading.  They had the storage unit loaded up by about 10:30 and were back over at the new place by 11am! 

WOW - this was the fastest move I have ever participated in (not that I did much - Aidan & I just waited at the new house for them to return).  It went like clockwork and they had the truck unloaded by lunchtime.  We had pizza for lunch and then Jenny, Jay and the kids joined us for a 'putting furniture together' party!  We got her new futon, bookcase, kitchen table, 4 chairs and Aidan's bed all put together. 

Backyard ATA (After Toys Arrive) ...
Home Sweet Home Aidan

Bella found a piece of bubble wrap ...

and fashioned herself a very elegant cape out of it ...

Jenny's Mom always told her, 'if you make that ugly face too often  - it will stay that way.'
humm, it appears Cathy was right!

Once all the boxes were moved in & the furniture was put together  ...

everyone sat down on it and enjoyed a good laugh (not sure at what though) ...
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Then we all wandered over to Sandra's new place for a
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY BBQ ...

Sandra & Brent hosted the BBQ at their new house.  It got a little chilly out later in the day but that didn't seem to put a damper on the fun.  The kids ran around and had a great time, the food was great, the company even better and all the Dad's who were able to be there had a great Day!
.

Here is a glimpse into our Dad's Day Celebration ...

The Cheezies were a hit with the younger crowd ...

As evidenced by the all the orange fingers & faces ...

As were the juice boxes ....




Oops - that's Mike & Jay's juice bottle  ...

Everyone had a nice time visiting, relaxing & eating some great BBQ ...




Sandra & Brent's new backyard is so nice and it is the perfect spot for a family gathering and despite the cold wind that blew around for a while - everyone had a great time ...




Yum ...

Back to play time ...

In the front yard there is a fairly large Japanese maple tree and all of the kids just seemed to gravitate towards it.  It was very weepy and so they could hide under it and climb into it, and, as always, age holds certain privilege - only the 3 older kids (John, Aidan & Livy) were allowed to go outside of the fenced backyard and play in the tree out front - unattended.  This created a certain amount of 'tension' among the kids and the smaller ones were constantly looking for someone out to the front yard.

everyone loves a secret hidy hole ... 

right Max ....

- Here we see Jimmy has sweet talked Mike into taking him outside the back-fence into the forbidden zone

Oh no! It looks like Mike is getting ambushed  ....

by a band of marauding kids (each with a twinkle in their eye) ...

Poor Mike - he doesn't stand a chance - he is out numbered & possibly outwitted  ...

Yet,  he is still smiling - he is such a great guy!
Oh oh, Check out that devilish grin on Jimmy's face ...
I think he's up to something ...

Oh my!
What are they all looking at in the garden -  the lush, dense garden  ....

Tee Hee Hee ...

Humm, it seems Jimmy may have tossed Mike's wallet into the garden ....

 Yup, he sure did.  Looks like we'll need a search party ....

Very quickly the younger part of the search party  is retired  ...

And another Dad is recruited & after a 10 minute search the wallet was at last found ...

 And play resumed ... 
 


but, as with all good things, it was soon time to say good-bye  ....  





Some had to be picked up ...
 
and carried to the car ...

I didn't really get any good shots of Sandra, Brent, Jay or Sarah (or me) so in lieu of ugly old us - here are some of the gorgeous photos of some of the flowers from Sandra's garden (click on the photo's to blow them up) ...

 



 

 

This was our first family celebration without Mom and I cried for many days before driving up to Canada.  I knew it would be a fractured gathering but also, in a very big way, a healing one.  Mom, we are still a family and I believe with all of my heart & soul that you were watching us and felt a great peace at knowing we were all together and doing okay!  We are strong & still bonded together and that is what mattered the very most to you ...

Also missing from the festivities were Cathy, Hannah & Todd.  Cathy is away this week enjoying some peace & quiet and recharging her batteries.  Hannah was busy at a baseball tournament and Todd was putting out fires and saving families. 

Sandra & Brent gave us a wonderful Father's Day celebration and I thank them both from the bottom of my heart.  It was a lovely day ...

- N -

Friday's Smile ...

Happy Graduation Sarah

Jenny H.'s daughter, Sarah graduated from high school this year, this photo was taken when she was on her way to her Prom! 

What a gorgeous photo of a smart & beautiful young woman, Congratulations Sarah!!  You looks amazing and I wish you the greatest success at college next fall. 

What a beautiful dress!

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You’re on your own.  And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.
You’ll look up and down streets. Look ‘em over with care.
About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.”
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you’re too smart to go down any not-so-good street.
And you may not find any
you’ll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you’ll head straight out of town.
It’s opener there
in the wide open air.
Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.
And when things start to happen,
don’t worry.  Don’t stew.
Just go right along.
You’ll  start happening too.
OH!
THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!
You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.
You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed.
You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you’ll be the best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

- Dr. Seuss -
Oh, The Places You'll Go


We are heading up to Canada tonight
Have a great Dad's Day everyone
- N -

My Mom Lives Here ...

It was one year ago today that my Mom got the news that her cancer had returned.  Kate & I had driven up to Canada to be with Mom & Dad when they got her biopsy results.  I remember we all stood around the kitchen, crying and struggling to come to grips with this ... next ... newest reality  ...

Today, as I continue to struggle but now with the loss of my beloved Mother I now take solace by looking around my home and seeing evidence of her everywhere ... I placed these things that remind me some much of her and how much I loved her throughout every room in my house so that no matter where I go ~ there she is ....

This is now where my Mom now lives for me  ...

In My Living Room

A Bowling Ball ...

I honestly don't know how long my Mom bowled for but I do know she loved to bowl and that this bowling ball meant a great deal to her ... she kept it her whole life, tucked away in a closet inside it's dirty old bag.  She must have owned it for many, many years because her initials A.J. are carved into it so I know she had it before she was married.  This is now one of my most prized possessions because it will always bring to mind that while I knew Mom very well ... I never really knew everything about her ...

The Dining Room

Two Ladies Dancing ...

These two fine ladies are now displayed in my dining room.  Safely tucked away in my cabinet but visible to everyone who enters.  I just catch a glimpse of these two Ladies swirling & twirling and I am reminded of my Mom in the nicest way .... delicate, fragile and full of beauty & grace

The Kitchen

 

A single Cup ...

High upon a shelf above my kitchen sink - near the window sits a single tea cup full of the silver spoons she spent years collecting on her travels through life ...  but it reminds me of her every morning when I'm making my coffee because like her - it is simple, beautiful and filled with precious treasures ...

My Office

 

Books Read & Pages Unturned ...

My Mom loved to read and so sitting on a shelf right in front of my computer where I sit everyday is a stack of her books - some read she has read, some she did not get time to read.  My Mom loved Maeve Binchy and - well, lets just say that Maeve couldn't write them fast enough for my Mom.  While my Mom's taste in books was very different than mine we did share a love of reading.  It is my goal to read one of her beloved Mauve Binchy book's - to share it in a way and then one day read the others - some of those which she never had the time to finish.  I would like to finish them for her ...

My Scraproom

 

Mashed Potatoes

I can not look at this bowl and NOT think Christmas, Family Birthdays & Mashed Potatoes!  This bowl just brings a smile to my face and that is why it sits in my scraproom - it's like she is smiling back at me every time I see it ... it brings me joy and reminds me not only of her but her sitting at the table smiling & laughing with the entire family  but of how she was framework upon which this family was built ...

My Mom taught me that a  treasure does not have to be the biggest, the best, the oldest, the shiniest or the most valuable of things ... the greatest treasures are the things that you love because they make you smile when you glance upon them or hold them near , in other words, the simple things that hold all your greatest memories ...

    My Bedroom

 

A Card & A Book

I saved this one old Christmas Card that inside says .. ' Best Wishes Andy - Love Annie Johnston'.  I love this card, I love that my parents saved it for over 50 years .... It reminds me of how strong, true and unconditional their love was, it reminds me that this ability to love without hesitation has been passed down from one generation to the next and it reminds me that this is their legacy, their greatest gift which I have hopefully passed down to my children. I have framed the card so it will be with me, my children and their children for many years to come.  A compass of who we are and what matters most in life. 

It sits beside my dearest reminder of MOM, her 'The New England, Butt'ry Shelf Almanac'.  She loved this book so and because she so loved it I once asked her once if I could borrow it and read it.  She said, "no" because she didn't want anything to happen to it.  She liked to pick it up and browse through it whenever the notion struck her - it is really such a simple book - just a collection of stories about gardening, cooking, recipes and illustrations by Tasha Tudor but I {heart} this book because she loved it so ...

So as you can see ...

I now feel like my Mom has come to live with me, amidst me, within me, along side me -  in such a sweet & gentle way

I miss you terribly Mom

Love n

Happy 232nd Flag Day ...

Love Us or Hate Us,  this much is true ...

America is much more than a geographical fact.  It is a political and moral fact - the first community in which men set out in principle to institutionalize freedom, responsible government, and human equality.
- Adlai Stevenson -

I was born a Canadian and became an American by choice.  I love of both countries and that love, pride and patriotism has straddled the border for many years now. 

What I love about these two countries is the freedoms they each afford me - the freedom to chose either / or!  I am free to come and go to either at will, I am free to call either home and free to love them both and free to celebrate them both - free to proudly fly both their flags ... side by side.

- N -  

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

Well done Hannah - we are all so proud of you!
 
 

Congratulations Hannah
 Win or lose you are always a Superstar!

love Great Aunty N