SUMMER ARRIVES EARLY

Here in the Pacific Northwest we've been having a heatwave. Well, for us it's a heatwave. While this is standard fare for much of the United States, we in our little NW corner of our country are not used to (or prepared for) temperatures in the high 70's in early June. Our average high summer temperature in July and August, our hottest months, are a humorously low 67°F, yep you read that right!

We do not have air conditioned houses, outdoor pools, and many of us do not have basements (although we do) so many lack a sanctuary in which to "cool off". Thankfully, temperatures do lower at night and it never lasts for more than a few days. After being in Kansas for the last 2 summers, I'm not complaining though. At least I can open every window of my house for some cool ocean breezes (our version of AC) and feel somewhat of a respite.

I thought I'd share a few photos of "Signs of Summer" in a collage. From left to right starting at the top:

1. Shorts and sandals

2. Fans are our AC

3. Planted pots

4. Backyard squirrels

5. Ahh, pink lemonade

6. Short sleeves

7. Rockrose

8. Sunshine

9. Beaded jewelry of course!

Are you seeing signs of summer in your part of the world or are you in the dog days already? Our kids aren't even out of school until the middle of June!

COLORFUL SEATTLE

I'm being a little flip with my title because our last weekend excursion there seemed to be anything but colorful. Recently, we bid on and won tickets at a local charity auction, to the Seattle Symphony and a nights stay at the downtown Seattle Sheraton Hotel. I can't remember the last time I've spent an extended time in Seattle even though we live only an hour and a half north of the city. The traffic congestion usually scares us away. Well, we went a couple of weekends ago and it pretty much rained the whole time and the wind blew. The weather did exactly what everyone says it does in Seattle! Our course we are used to it, having lived in this area for years and we know when the sun shines it is a glorious day!

Being from such a small town, I was amazed at all the crowds of people that were outside despite the icky weather. Northwesterners are a hardy lot! If we stayed inside and waited for the sun to shine we would never get out. As we went about and visited the local tourist areas I sought out to find some color. By the way, the symphony was outstanding!

My most colorful photo. Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, a feast for the eyes on a dreary day.

They still throw the fish up to be wrapped and the guys sing a song at this fresh seafood stand.

Oh, this isn't very clear, but it was great to see Nemo, Dory and Marlin together... but I thought they rescued Nemo from the fish tank?!

Just as we were leaving the aquarium to go home, the sun did make a quick appearance as this state ferry cruised into the harbor.

How, I wish I had taken pictures of the fresh flowers, so many of those. We'll have to go back in July or August when we can take our time and enjoy the summer sun!

FINGERPRINT FRIDAY

Is today really the first day of Spring? I guess it must be because I can hear the birds singing in the woods behind me. Oh thank you Lord for the promise of warmer days ahead.

I wasn't sure what to write about today, but right on my MSN home page, there is a picture of the tulip fields in Mount Vernon, Washington, in a picture essay called "12 Scenic Spots to Ring in Spring". The link is here. The Skagit tulip fields are even listed as "1000 places you should see before you die". I am 10 minutes away from them, wow! So if you ever in this area in the month of April make sure to go see this spectacular site of God's beauty and see His fingerprints all over His creation.

I went through my old scrapbooks and then scanned this 10 year old picture of me and my son in the tulip fields. I will definitely be going this year, as I was in Kansas last Spring (their best season I might add), and I think I need to take an updated photo since my son is now twelve! Yes, I've been back since this was taken but I love the way the human element gives it a sense of scale and shows the wide extent of the fields. This is only one of many tulip farms in the area.

So look around you and see where YOU can see God's fingerprints. Is it in nature? Kids? Animals? Where do you see them? Thank you to Pampering Beki for hosting this each week! Everyone is welcome to join. To see how to join, as well as find links to other Fingerprint Friday posts, visit Pampering Beki's blog.

FINGERPRINT FRIDAY

Our small town. Not only did God go into overtime creating natural beauty here in Anacortes WA, but yesterday I experienced anew why I love to live here and thank God for bringing us back.

Yesterday was a rare occasion when I picked up my son from school. After turning off my car to wait for him, I attempted to start it again and there was just NOTHING. Do you know that sinking feeling that you get when you know something is really wrong and you're really stuck? That's what I felt, and being in the back of the school there was no one around to help me.

The first thing I did was call my husband, but he works an hour away and was in a meeting. The only thing I could think to do was call the guys at Anacortes Automotive where I regularly take my car. And bless his heart, this man drove to the school within 5 minutes and gave my car a jumpstart. I wanted to give him a giant hug right there! The rest of the afternoon was spent dealing with the car and experiencing help from some guys at Napa Auto Parts who went way beyond "the call of duty". I couldn't stop thinking about how, if I was in big Kansas city where I didn't know anyone, I would not have had this kind of service or special treatment.

Thank you Lord for the "angels" you sent to help me yesterday and for allowing us to return to this special community! The way in which God allowed us to come back is a whole other Fingerprint for another day.

By the way, the first photo is Mount Baker. I drove up to a place called Cap Sante and took these this pictures this morning. If I turn about 180 degrees I see the view that's in the second photo of the marina, the city and the San Juan Islands in the background. Just breathtaking! My son sees Mount Baker from his classroom everyday. Talk about temptation to daydream in class!

So look around you and see where YOU can see God's fingerprints. Is it in nature? Kids? Animals? Where do you see them?Thank you to Pampering Beki for hosting this each week! Everyone is welcome to join. To see how to join, as well as find links to other Fingerprint Friday posts, visit Pampering Beki's blog.

AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER

Yup, that's me. I attempted to take a photo of the full moon last night with my little point and shoot camera. We had a rare clear sky and I could see it poking through an opening in the trees. This photo really doesn't do it justice, because well, I'm an amateur. The funnier picture may have been me in my PJ's and slippers standing out on the snow covered deck at 10:30 PM in below freezing weather! Brrr...

IS THAT THE SUN?

I guess it must be... I think I forgot what it looked like! On the way to the mailbox, I just had to snap this picture. I'm sorry I got the corner of my neighbor's rooftop, but this photo actually showed the sun's rays. I was excited to see my shadow and I almost took a picture of that too!

I know this is a silly post but if you live in the Pacific Northwest you can probably relate to my musings. There are times that I miss living in Kansas (where there is so much more sunshine) and when I am sun-deprived this is one of those times. Now if we could just do something about those freezing cold temperatures in the midwest winters. On second thought, I better stick with the rain!

I hope you had some sunshine in your day!

SNOWED IN!

We woke up to a winter wonderland this morning with about 4 inches of snow and more on its way! Schools were cancelled, so it looks like we'll be housebound today. These photos were taken in our backyard which is a greenbelt of huge cedars and pine trees. Just beautiful and majestic with their covering of white!

Our little town of Anacortes, WA doesn't have any snow equipment, so life pretty much comes to a screeching halt when we get a winter storm. We already have ice packed roads from unusually low temperatures and snow from earlier this week, so road conditions are particularly treacherous.

I thought we had left all of this weather behind when we left Kansas! Oh, well, it's beginning to look alot like Christmas!

SAME TIME, LAST YEAR

I'm in the mood to "muse" this morning. Would you like to "take a walk" with me and my thoughts?

Do you ever stop to think about what you were doing the same time last year? Or two years ago? I think we tend to do this more when we've had significant changes in our lives. As a family, our lives have gone through a few twists and turns the last few years!

It occurred to me yesterday as I was making a new necklace to add to my Etsy shop. Someone suggested to me on the forums that I name it "Hawaiian Sunset" because of the tropical flower pendant I had made, combined with the colors of pink, peach and tangerine orange. I realized that this very day last year we were on our way to the beautiful island of Kauai for a much needed vacation. But that's not all! Last year at this time we had just lost our beloved little kitty named Cleo. We had moved from Washington State to Kansas in March and were just settling into a new house. Well where does that lead to now?

...A total turnaround! It sounds crazy, but we have sold our house and are moving again in a few weeks. Yikes! Talk about twists and turns! There are a lot of things we love about Kansas, but we miss our little town in Northwest Washington more. I will miss the Midwest thunderstorms, the fabulous shopping in Kansas City, the bright sunshine, the many varieties of colorful birds, wide open spaces, the beautiful manicured golf course neighborhood I live in, and mostly being a little closer to my husbands side of the family! I have to say I will not miss the summer heat and humidity, the thunderstorms (I know I said I like them too), the gigantic bugs, the busy traffic, freezing cold winters and a few other things I won't mention, but all in all it has been a great experience for me. I have always lived on the West Coast, either in British Columbia or Washington.

Take a moment and think about where you've been, where you are now and where you'd like to be a year from now. A whole lot can happen in a year. Just ask me, I really, really know!