Butter Fingers

Oh My Gosh! Have you ever experience those weeks when you tend to drop everything you pick up? A few days ago, I dropped Susan's ceramic crockpot onto the cement garage floor and it broke into a zillion pieces. I felt really bad because she has had the crockpot for many, many years and it worked really well. Then last night I was carrying one of those small plastic cups of pudding and, you guessed it, I dropped it and chocolate pudding when all over the front of my recliner and all over the carpet. I'm amazed it missed Toby because where there's food he is never far away. Now, you might think this is the worst of this story, but oh no. Today Susan and I went to the The Majestic to watch the new Disney movie Up. I went in to use the restroom before we went into the theatre. When I was in the stall, I looked down at my hand and my ticket wasn't there. I thought I must have dropped it on the floor because I know it was in my hand when I entered. I dropped it alright, but it went into the toilet. Of course I had to rescue the ticket, but when I tried to dry it off, it broke apart. Now I am thinking that it is going to be a miracle if these guys let me into the theatre, but they did! Of course, I didn't tell them exactly how the ticket got wet. I am not going to pick up anything important for a couple of days and hopefully this phase shall pass. No drink for me tonight!

Randall Park

One of the things I really like about Yakima is the number of paved walkways around town where I can go with my chair. Yesterday Susan and I took Toby to Randall Park. The paved pathway around the park is .5 mile long and well maintained.

The pond at the park is a popular place to feed the ducks.

These babies were just adorable. There were so many of them, I wasn't able to get them all in the same picture with their mamma. When people threw bread into the water, I thought the little guys were going to get squished by all the adults scrambling for food.



There is also a nature trail at the park, play equipment, a basketball court, picnic shelter, tables, grills, restrooms and parking. It is also very close to our house. What more could you ask for?

Time for Cherries!

Since I am new to the valley, I like learning about all the different crops grown here. Yakima is called "The Fruit Bowl of the Nation" for a good reason. Apples, cherries, pears, grapes and other fruits, plus a wide variety of vegetables, seeds, field crops and cereal grains are produced here. I was surprised to learn that there are also over 250 manufacturing firms in Yakima that produce farm implements, wood products, packaging, plastic products, clothing, aircraft parts and recreational vehicles.
Yakima is a leader among all counties in the nation in the production of apples, hops, sweet cherries and mint, and ranks 16 nationally in the value of total agricultural products sold.
Cherry harvest began on June 15 in the valley. Cherries are one of the first crops of the season and are famous world-wide.
Dark Cherries

Northwest dark cherries are the leading commercial sweet cherry in North America. Dark cherries are firm, juicy and deep mahogany red when ripe. Exceptionally large, these cherries are vibrant in flavor with 16-20% natural fruit sugar.
Rainier Cherries

These cherries are large and yellow with a bright red blush. Rainier cherries have high sugar levels ranging from 18-23% natural fruit sugar.

YUM!

Exciting News!

My camera arrived last Friday evening, just in time for our trip! Susan took Monday off so we had an extended weekend. I'm saving the most exciting news for last, so be sure and read all the way down. We drove to Port Susan to celebrate my birthday, Dad's birthday and Father's Day with Mom and Dad. Even though it wasn't his birthday, Toby made sure he got into the mix of things when it came time to open presents. He is so funny. He poked his head into all the bags, scratched at the paper to "help" unwrap presents and destroyed the paper afterwards. We left Toby at Mom and Dad's to rest and went to Mt. Vernon for lunch.

This is the outside of the Calico Cupboard, a very cute restaurant in Mt. Vernon. Their food is delicious and they sell a variety of pastry's, pies and breads made on site. From the restaurant, we walked over to the Food Co-op. I didn't know that there were places that sell bulk vanilla, olive oil, cooking oils, etc., but they do at this co-op. It is a very interesting place.

From the restaurant, we went geo-caching and ended up in Hillcrest Park where we found the cache easily. It was a beautiful day to be outside and this is a very pretty park. On the way back to our hotel on Sunday, Susan and I decided to go geo-caching again, this time in Marysville.

We also found this cache, hidden on the outskirts of a ball field, hence the name Hey, Batter Batter.

On Monday morning, we picked up Toby at Mom and Dad's and left Port Susan to drive to Edmonds and take a ferry ride.

This is a view from the ferry heading over to Kingston. When we got off the ferry, we drove into Poulsbo to visit Trudy at Cedar Creek Cavaliers.

The gardens all around the house are just beautiful. It was so peaceful here, with all the wonderful noises of the country in the background. Originally, Trudy had told Susan that all 3 (1 male, 2 females) puppies in the current litter were taken. Since then, people changed their minds and decided to wait for a puppy which means that Susan gets one of these females! She is so excited.

A gentleman from Alaska has first pick from the litter, but he wants a male. Even if he changes his mind and takes one the females, Susan will get one of these females. If he chooses a male, Susan will have to decide which female she wants. They are so adorable, I'm glad that I don't have to make that decision. You can watch the puppies on the Cedar Creek webcam: http://cedarcreekcavaliers.com/webcam.php

We left Cedar Creek Cavaliers and drove back to the Kingston Ferry. The tide was out and people were all over the beach. Kids were screaming in delight with all the "treasures" they were finding in the sand.

This is the Walla Walla, the ferry we took on the return trip back to Edmonds.

It was a long day, but a very exciting trip. Susan can take her puppy home the first week of August. YEA!

Baking Days!

It is hot outside, but of course everyone has air conditioning in Yakima. We are taking advantage of that cool air this week to bake some homemade goodies. So far we have made Nutty Granola, Zucchini Bread, Cherry Popsicles and Apricot and Nut cookies with Amaretto frosting. YUM!

Another Geocache Success

Susan found another cache this weekend at Chesterly Park. This one didn't require hiking over difficult terrain or getting eaten alive by mosquitos while searching. We were in a protected area of the park so I let Toby run off-leash for a few minutes. He was very happy indeed.

This was a big sports weekend. We watched and cheered while Roger Federer won the French Open but were disappointed that the Pittsburgh Penguins lost game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals. Maybe they can regroup and win game 6 on Tuesday when they are back home. The Mariners made us happy by winning both of their games and Jeff Gordon finished fourth at Pocono Raceway. Mom and Dad are still on their cruise so they didn't get to watch Tiger Woods win at Memorial but they will be happy for him.

Out of Order

I mentioned in my last post that we went to the Farmer's Market on Sunday. One of the vendors at the market sells a variety of products made out of tree branches. There are archways, small pots, several planters. etc. I went and got flowers this morning for the chair planter I purchased at the market and after I planted them they looked so bright and pretty that I decided to take a picture and post it. Unfortunately, my camera isn't working! I promise to take a picture of the chair as soon as the camera is repaired. When they first came out, I didn't really see a need for a digital camera and now I wish I had a back-up camera. I guess I am turning into a tech geek; I wouldn't want to be without high speed Internet either.

Yakima Greenway

Susan, Toby and I had a wonderful time on Sunday. We went to the Yakima Greenway and spent over three hours on the trails. Susan and Toby walked and I rode around in my Jazzy.

The Greenway consists of over ten miles of paved pathways that connect parks, river access landings, nature trails, fishing lakes and protected natural areas.

The Greenway stretches from Selah Gap to Union Gap and west along the Naches River.

Susan went geocaching while we were at the Greenway, but she ran out of time before locating the cache. She is going to try again soon. Toby and I sat in the shade and enjoyed talking
to people along the path while Susan was looking for the cache.

After leaving the Greenway, we went to the Farmer's Market and bought some herb plants, fresh honey made from plants at Mt. Saint Helens and some fresh bread from a local bakery. Toby was tired, so he rode around in my chair with me. He got a lot of attention and got to rub noses with a Bichon. A good time was had by all!