A May Day.

May has come. While Seattle celebrated a beautiful, warm weekend, Osama bin Laden was living his final moments. This is one of those events where we tend to always remember "what we were doing when..."  This is what we were doing; just living our lives.  I am very grateful to those Navy Seals who risked their lives while I was gardening.


One of the things I like about our yard is that many of our plants came from the gardens of friends, or by other means...Three years ago Kim and I were out for a neighborhood walk when we saw this uprooted beauty lying on its side in an alley.  I was aghast and as we continued our walk I kept wondering who would do such a thing??  That night, I literally couldn't sleep and the plant began calling out to me..."help me, help me..."   The next morning, I happened to have the day off.  We have big recycling bins on wheels and with our bin, I rolled it the 4 or 5 blocks to the plant's rejection site.  I was able to maneuver the bin on its side and push the plant root down-- and off rolling down the street we went...back to our house, to the garden, to it's new home.  Since then, it has rewarded us with these glorious red flowers each year....Perhaps that was a little more story than you wanted to know....

Our yard is in all of its glory....

Everyone is happy and smiles abound between all of the flowers.

This little beauty is about five years old...When Kim and I bought it, it was about 12 inches tall...

Veggies are growing (tomatoes arrive in late May) and Hostas begin to emerge...

The pear tree shows off its blooms. 

The flowers are a precursor to succulent, 

overly abundant pears.

While I slaved away in the garden, Kim and her friend Ellen took a weekend trip to the Washington Coast.  Ellen is now living in Honduras and has come for a two week visit.

They saw a cow.

And some boats 

and a very big octopus.

Meanwhile, Toni was working away creating straight shelves 

in a crooked little house.

Doors are also being hung.

Books are getting a bit anxious...

Inspections continue

On all fronts (or rears).

What were you doing? 

Be safe.

(I cannot undo this little green feature)

Springtime in Seattle....

Perhaps, you may have wondered, what are those two up to these days?  Enough time has passed that it is now Spring time in Seattle.  The days remain cool and wet; weather is a major topic.  Either you're for it or against it; no in between.  The real winner is the moss...

Buds are popping, flowers are blooming and 
we find 

hope in a new season.

Already our garden is beginning to look beautiful.....

Here in Seattle, we have mandatory recycling of just about everything, including yard and food waste.  Each year we are rewarded with the bounty of our efforts--very beautiful compost...Kim and I loaded up.

While beauty abounds outside, this year we have also decided to do some long overdue inside work.  We have gotten rid of our standing book cases and are having new built in shelves added.

Most of you know that we live in a small house.  We have a bedroom and our new, soon to be, new library....We have had to do lots of emptying to get the room ready.

The built in aspect begins....

Tools of the trade....

Well!  Where did you think we would put all the "items" from the old room to prepare for the new??  We are all working hard to maintain our sense of humor...

Parts are coming together...

the wood is simple, beautiful fir...

Each day when we come home, there's more progress 

being made...

Here is Toni, our carpenter extraordinaire!  Talk about a good sport....look at her working conditions.  The cedar gives her coverage from our damp weather.  Have I ever mentioned that the trees name is Goliath? (For obvious reasons.)

Tell me again...

just WHO is the good sport???

If things do not change soon, I may have 

to use my super powers....

YIKES, more to follow.  Stay tuned.

Time to Say Goodbye....

Fremont Place Book Company is/was an small independently owned book store in the Fremont area of Seattle, WA. It was a successful business for 22 years.

Kim owned the store for 12 1/2 years; Henry has owned it for the past 6+ years.

Gabrielle, Henry's partner has been an integral part of the store.

This last week, Henry made the painful decision that the store 

is no longer viable and must close.  

On its last day, Kim joined Henry behind the counter, ringing up the throng of patrons....

Hmmmmm.  Where have these folks been in the last months??

 

Henry takes it all in...it's a painful goodbye and ending.

Children's Section

The painful truth.

Emptying shelves...

Good bye customer service--where they really did care.

This little rocker has been here almost 20 years!

We Can't Turn Back....

 

While wandering the store and waiting for Kim, I looked

in the employees only section and this is what I saw.

 

More customer service just waiting to serve...

 

While Kim owned the store, I can't tell you how many hours I sat in this chair, waiting for her to finish whatever tasks so that we could head home.

 

In Seattle, Fremont is a very popular destination.

 

A local landmark.

 

The clock was ticking.

 

This curtain hides the sink area.  Seeing it brought forth many memories.

 

Kim and one of her managers, Ann.

 

It's a huge loss to many people...

 

The wrapping paper keeps a strong upper lip.....

 

This store will be greatly missed. 

Technology, the pursuit of the cheapest price, corporate profits...

Makes me want to go home and curl up with a Kindle.

 

I know. I know.

All things change and time does march forth. 

Change happens. 

Life goes on. 

Out with the old, in with the new. 

Adapt or get out of the way...

Yet, I still can't help but be a bit sad

for the passage of time

and 

some of the inevitable changes.

It was a great run!

Thanks!!