What a scorching hot weekend! but I shouldn't complain. In Edmonds, we were about 10 degrees cooler them mom and dad's in Seattle plus we have all that shade so it wasn't too bad.. This weekend mom , cheng goo and I went blueberry picking in North Bend.. what a blast! who knew it was so much fun..aside from getting slightly turned around plus the heat..next time we will go earlier and on a day where its not going to hit 90 with no wind whatsoever..either way, 1 hour later we each picked about 6lbs of berries.. it was awesome. I probably ate about a pound while picking:-).. the farm is just gorgeous..no bugs, no mud.. trees my height so no bending..and good berries to boot.. we might go again this weekend when its cooler so we can do more picking!

Farm at the base of Mt. Si... berry trees right of the entrance

HUGE berries.. love the hats:-)

Look at what one week of sunshine will do for me veggies!! Sugar peas should be ready to pick by this weekend..same with the tomatoes..exciting...Its such a good feeling to be able to "grow" your dinner! veggies, fruit trees.. love them. I've learned a lot this year and next year I hope the garden will even be better:-).. year 3 and maybe I'll finally have it right.. Oh and the firepit is here!! Its awesome, nicer then the pictures. We love it and goes so well with the yard. Can't wait to fire it up and roast some marshmallows!

pretty firepit.. and big!

sugar peas! These were so easy to grow I think I'll do it again next y ear..
Cherry tomatoes almost ready to pick

Zucchinni!

bush beans
Strawberries! I thought they were done for the season but maybe I will get to one afterall..the last time this plant had a strawberry, the birds or squirrel ate it before i got to it:-(
Pretty hydrangeas..this one is about the size of my head!

Is it really August already? Geez.. summer is flying by..well we are starting on the siding again.. and once again maybe a tad too late but we're hoping for the best so we can wrap it up and get it painted before fall is here. Markane is in town and we did the usual BBQ at our house . it was great..ate so much food and helped Markane celebrate his Bday..I think we have some blackmail worthy photos:-). And this weekend I decided to do the camping thing while Brian does the Uncle Tom's cabin thing.. Yesterday was my American bday.. not one I celebrate..in fact I dont' really like to celebrate my bday at all but Brian was very nice and got me flowers and dinner at Lolas which was "amazing".. best dish I've had in awhile - off their "meze" menu - red wine braised octopus with peas, caramelized onions and crispy pork belly.. sounds weird but OMG.. it came on this bed of lemony creamy white sauce.. I couldn't stop eating it and probably not something Brian would usually eat but he even called it awesome.. we also had skordalia, some trout and lamb.. all really really good..we will be back.. Oh and to top it off we finally got a firepit!! yay, thanks to Dan and Judy:-). We just got an email that this was coming in the mail.. can't wait to use it this summer..Need to stock up on mashmallows and invite Kelley over..haha.. this one is so much nicer then what we've seen in the stores becuase its nice and deep so less embers and you can burn more wood at once.. Yippee!! Oh and we're going to Maui! yes, finally.. booked the trip last week and I can't wait..we're going back to the Maui Prince for 6 nights.. should be fun..just sit back and relax..

The weekend is almost over..so sad..It was very relaxing.. had dimsum Sat then shopping with mom, googooo then dinner at Chef Liaos.. Brian's parents were also in town for about 2 weeks and it was busy as usual. They left on Tuesday..We did a lot of shopping, eating, and worked in the yard. The weather was perfect. We also had a nice 4th celebration at J&Js.. Brian finished building the planter boxes plus the trellises for the clematis. Turned out a lot better then I thought:-)..as usual. Also finished the yearend review stuff at work so just some followups and we're through. This Thursday, I'm headed to Suncadia resort in Cle Elum for a leadership retreat..should be nice. I've never been to Cle Elum. Markane comes into town this Wed and we have a BBQ the following weekend then Uncle Tom's cabin after that.. the Family is going camping but we wont' be going this year so we can go to the cabin.. boohoo.. not enough weekends during the summer.. anyhow, some pictures. I still haven't done anything to the bedroom.. thats next;-) still getting ideas. Now I"m thinking of an upholstered headboard...hmmm some progress on the plants..

boxes with trellises and the clematis

Hanging plant Judy/Dan bought for us

pretty flowers I got at the Edmond's farmers market

sugar snap peas growing finally

Tomatoes!

Another busy weekend in the yard.. and it was "scorching" hot! 85 and 90 I believe for the weekend.. that is a little too much but we or I should say Brian managed to stay outside and do quite a bit.. Started off with a trip to Sky Nursery on Saturday for 3 truckloads full of mulch..while we were there we picked up 2 clematis plants and another strawberry plant.. alot of their plants were on sale for 40% off..woohoo..thats unusal for Sky... Sunday, went back to Sky and got John and Jessica a pretty good sized hydrangea for their anniversary since John keeps commenting on how we have too many hydrangeas..hehe.. now he has his own.. Mom came over on Sunday and we went to see John's new retaining wall..looks really good.. so professional!.. We also took a trip to Lowes and got more plants..came home, planted those then Brian built me a flower box.. finally,..putting that tablesaw to good use..lets see, we saved about 20bucks on this 1.. if he builds about 20 more of those we might have broken even on that saw..haha.. j/k.. looks good.. we just need 1 more...and the veggie garden is doing good.. peas are out and the chinese veggies are getting bigger..maybe in a month we'll have homegrown veggies.. if the squirrels dont' get to them first..

Mulch! what a difference it makes and hoping they'll keep the weeds out..for now at least

Boxes in progress..
Tada!

This weekend was all about the garden and yard... I am so sore I had to take painkillers last night after spending all day Saturday outside in the hot sun pulling weeds! and there were a lot of weeds.. we filled 2 yard waste bins..insane!..but man did it need it.. then we went out and had happy hour at Scotts with John and Jessica to wind down the night.. Today it was more of the same. Brian brought home a truck load of soil from John's and put it up on the ledge next to the new fence.. planted a bunch of hostas there.. unlike last year we actually got them in the ground before they died! haha.. also finished up my veggie garden.. its so pretty now.. it was neglected and I wasn't really into it last year but I have to the say the last 2 days have been very rewarding.. and also reconfirmed how out of shape I am:-)..but nevertheless it was great and I am so excited to see the fruits of our labor (literally:-)..hehe..

Brian -finishing up the boxes he built for me inside the garden.. I'm so lucky..he built the entire veggie garden from the fencing to the latching door and of course tilling up all the soil.. its so pretty, gets good sun and hidden behind the garage..
Ta da! all done
strawberry plant.. notice the 1 small white berry which should turn red shortly.. hoping for more
2 cantoulope plants.. we'll see how these go.. needs rich soil and I have no idea if mine is.. :-(
First signs of some baby bok choy I put down last weekend

and of course the obligatory tomatoe plant.. I was told this is a bad year for tomatoes since its been so cold ..we'll see how this one does.

and the finished fence! All stained and some hostas.. you can't see them very well because they're small and we could have probably used some more soil up there but they'll get bigger..

Dinner! I think I might try to start posting pictures of some meals I've been cooking lately..trying out some new recipes - well only the ones that turn out of course:-).. but seriously I've found many food blogs online and they're really fun to read if you like to cook so thought I'd try to keep a little journal as well.. need to do better with the photos but here is what I think is a pretty good interpretation of oyako donburi and some miso soup.. I found the recipe online and modified a bit -but it turned out really good.. almost exactly like we get at the Japanese restaurant:-).. the miso soup was good too..made with real miso - no instant stuff;-)..well other then the dashi...

and what do you do when its really hot out and you're too lazy to cook?? antipasto! some salami, proscuitto, cheeses, bread, olives.. easy and good

and finally pictures of the new fence...

before with the fence posts all set..we can see the parking lot of the office building after Brian tore down the existing bushes... :-( not so good..

"stringers are up

boards going up

almost there.. John came just in time to help set the final boards which needed trimming and cutting

tada!.. done.. just needs stain.. all done within 1 weekend.. pretty darn good for a 90foot fence:-) well definitely better then the 2 to 3 years if we're lucky for a 6ft laurel hedge.. maybe someday but for now we have privacy again..woohoo!

I made my first successful Japanese meal at home today! so proud..hehe.. We had oyako donburi which is chicken and egg over rice with a lot of sweet onions..served with miso soup.. from real miso not that instant stuff:-). I was going to take a picture of it but the camera died. Oh well.. There'll definitely be a next time - made its way into my recipe box:-)
This last memorial day weekend was nice and relaxing. We had 3 days off and did nothing all Saturday, ran errands Sunday including a trip to Ikea for some sheer curtains and some new brackets for the windows. Oh and picked up some Popeye's chicken while we were down south..soo dang good..thank goodness we dont' live closer or we'd be in trouble. Anyhow, I have "plans" to turn the single rods to doubles so we can get a little more privacy

Memorial Day we worked in the yard and got the garden ready..this year we actually added potting soil and some fertilizers to the ground..we'll see if that yields better results.. we found 2 radishes out there from last year..they were literally the size of peas..haha.. hiliarous.. miniatures! then we had a cookout/hotpot at Goo Goos.. I made tiramisu but I didn't taste any since I can't have dairy.. I think I can do better..the ladyfingers weren't soaked enough.. oh well, next time although everyone is requesting cheesecake so maybe I"ll do that again. Brian's parents are coming to town in July so we're excited for that.. and work is busy as usual with review season here.. seems like we're always in review season..hmm.. guess its a good thing..review season means raises:-)..although with such a bad year in terms of the economy we should all feel lucky to even have jobs..so I'm thankful..hehe.. oh and we're moving in January - not homes but offices.. going to lose that beautiful waterfront view from my office.. boohooohooo..enjoy it while I can I guess.. oh and Brian got himself a Sunbeam Alpine..the shell at least..he plans to restore it.. haha.. says it can take years.. maybe by the time we both retire we'll have a nice Alpine to cruise around in;-).. he started a blog for it..link to the right..

Okay so its been decided..no laurel plants..instead...a new 6 foot cedar fence!! Why you say? Well, its the same price as doing the laurels and instant gratification! Brian ripped down the 7 plants that were there today and now we know why they only planted 7.. apparently there are plants on the other side of the fence and where they planted the 7 were where there werent plants if that makes sense.. so he ripped it down while I took a nap and ummm.. there is no more privacy and we can see through the fence..ugh.. so we can wait 4 years for the laurels to grow up and hide it..well I'm exaggerating..maybe 2 to 3.. but me.. no patience..haha.. well that and we're not sure we have very green thumbs.. my guess is out of the 30 laurels we buy and plant.. some..or quite a few will die and that means more money and no privacy..sigh..so cedar fence it is then we'll plant so flowers, etc to give it some green.. and so there you go..we priced out the wood, etc and we're set to do this next weekend.. because this is a brand new fence unlike the last one where we replaced, Brian will have to set in posts with concrete and "stringers".. then the cedar boards..then stain..fun fun..but in 3 weeks we will have privacy and again instead of 2 years.. I like that alot better I think:-).. pictures to come next week... wish us luck...whoever told us home improvement was neverending was right..we're very lucky that Brian can do this stuff..i can't even fathom the thought of paying for labor on all we've done..ugh..

and too funny not to post:-).. Stanley and his turtlehead turning in for the night- its so wrong I know..but it was a turtle at one point.. Stanley decided to rip it apart so I sewed the head together and he loves it..hehe..

k, Jenny says I need to blog more often so here I am...haha.. actually I've been meaning to post but work has been a little hectic.. Anyhow, so we did get some projects done around the house..namely the backsplash. We ended up taking the granite back off afterall becuse it was alot easier then we expected and came off with no issues.. so here are the photos. I love it..looks great, very clean and functional. Since then Brian has tiled my mom's kitchen and John's fireplace.. he's liking the tiling thing I think. Lets see what else has been going on.. not much I guess... like I said work has been busy and I finally filled the role on the team so that was good.. and going well:-). We're also hoping to go clamming next weekend..hoping.. if the weather is good..should be fun. I've never been.. Seattle has had some very odd weather.. see photos below of April snow!.. we got 3 inches and John and Jessica got 7 at their home in Mill Creek! insane. just waiting for the weather to get better so we can finish the siding and also do some landscaping. We've decided to go ahead and plant laurels in the backyard as a hedge.. all 90 feet! yikes..didn't realize that we had that much space .. which means more plants which means more moola..sigh.. never ends..then the roof.. boohoohoo...

Tiling in progress...see where the granite was taken off.. held up by big dabs of silicone
Brian - master subway tiler guy...
tada! not great photos.. I'm challenged..need that new camera..
and the crazy April snowshowers



oh and a picture of Stanley just for fun.. he's patiently waiting for his "B"-"A"-"T"-"H":-)

Ahhh, back to the rain:-(.. Brian and I just got back from a quick trip to Port Charlotte Florida to visit Brian's parents and we had a great time. It was so nice to get some sun after all this rain and snow, and cold weather. We really didn't do much...ate lots and lots of food, shopped, went to the beach, and caught up on some reading..very relaxing. I am so looking forward to summer now. While we were there, did a little house hunting with Brian's parents and while doing that, got some ideas for our home too.. 2 things we'll probably try out in the next month - adding subtiles to the kitchen ontop of the granite backsplash. Originally I only wnated to do subtiles if we took the granite backsplash off but we saw some new homes with both and it actually looked real nice so we'll try that.. and also adding beadboard to our bedroom instead of doing a new headboard..this was a great idea especially for our small bedroom. I just hope the ceiling height wont be an issue.. I'm worried it'll make the room look even shorter then what it is but we'll see.. If we hate it, we can always take it down.. I hope:-)
Aside from that, not much else going on...still waiting for the weather to improve so we can finish the siding..and move onto the roof.. then i think we're done..hahaha

View from Brian's parent's condo

Beach! I still have my tan lines..I'm so proud:-)

And the Christmas tree is up!! Actually we put it up last weekend but it has just been super crazy around here..We were going to do it the weekend after Thanskgiving but we got snow! Yep, about 4 inches.. and more snow the next day. I was so excited but it all melted before Monday..hope more snow to comet his year.. We've also been trying to to wrap up last minute gifts..thought we were ahead and had no idea where the time went.. so today we finally got our last gift.. I hope.. and also put together theChristmas cards.. the list gets longer every year..and what I thought was an easy card ended up to be very time consuming but thats alright.. its worth it.. This Friday we went to my company's yearly holiday party - Pacific Science Center...very kid friendly and its been 10+ years since I've been to the Science Center and they had all the exhibits open for us to play with.. my favorite were Estrella and Estella the snakes:-). very cool.. oh and the naked mole rats..hmm..they were "interesting".. Today, we met up with John and Jessica for breakfast at the Brown Bag Cafe ..HUGE portions.. I ordered a short stack of blueberry pancakes and they came out to be about an inch thick each and exactly the size of my plate..ugh, I had about 1/4 of it..insane.. then we went shopping for furniture at the Costco home.. they close on their new home in about 2 weeks...how exciting.. got home, had some leftover chicken and sliders and then wrapped some more gifts..Ah, can't wait. I work 4 days this week then I'm off for an 11 day stretch! I need it and I need to use up my 4 plus weeks of vacation I've now accumulated..

Not the prettiest tree we've picked but it'll do:-).. and no tree topper..still can't find one I love...oh well.

snow! I still can't figure out my camera after all these years so didn't really capture it but there were some humungous flakes!

and the cards

Its cold out and started to feel a little icky so what better to make then chicken noodles but not chicken and noodle soup..this is called chicken and sliders.. its a very thick soup with shredded chicken, homemade broth and handmade noodles.. lots of work but so worth it. Not something I'd do often but it was yummy.. and of course cookies! Brian's famous chocolate chips:-). We ended up giving most of it away ..thank goodness or I think Brian would have eaten them all for breakfast the next day

Bubbling in the pot a good 3 hours later:-)

Ready to eat! Yummy gravy made of homemade chicken broth with handmade noodles

Cookies!