Our Wacky April Weather

The weather in Seattle has gone through quite the gamut this month. On Saturday, April 12 the high temperature was 79 degrees fahrenheit! That was a record breaker for the date here. We all felt it was summer and many people ran to the store for warm weather annuals and spent the weekend planting in their yards.

Then came Friday, April 18th. A few days before the weather forecasters had said we could get snow, but few people wanted to believe it. This time they were right! Sure enough, in the late afternoon of the 18th the snow started to fall and people scurried home in it. Those who had put in new flowers started looking for something to cover the tender plants.

I grabbed my camera and turned on the date stamp functionality. I figured if I see these photos years later I might not believe how late it was in the year without the date stamp for proof. I went for a short walk and took a few pictures.



After my walk Walter and I went out to dinner in Shoreline. We were not in the restaurant too long, but when we came out the car was covered in snow. Good thing I still had my snow brush in the back seat!

We needed to stop at the grocery store for a few things. The snow was coming down hard and fast now. We were only in the store 10-15 minutes but when we came back out the car was covered again! And this time the wind was blowing it sideways. I once again wielded my snow brush and we headed home before it could get too deep.

It's a good thing I took these pictures when I did because the next morning the snow was all gone - or at least it was in my neighborhood. People to the north in Everett, to the east in the foothills, and to the south in Olympia and Centralia got even more snow the next day. Some up to 5 or 6 inches! But it left quickly.

Before this year the latest we had received snowfall at SeaTac (our official snowfall measuring place) was April 17. We had surpassed two records in the space of less than a week - for opposite types of weather no less.

This last weekend (26th and 27th) it was warm and sunny again with temperatures in the upper 60's. Today we had everything from warm sun to cold and hail.

I actually love having some variety in the weather, especially if it's not so extreme as to cause hardship. It's kind of interesting and the surprise makes me laugh. But I sure hear a lot of people complaining that they don't know how to dress. The answer? Layers!! And don't put away those winter woolens until May 1. :)

Congratulations Todd and Wendy

My friends Todd and Wendy are the proud new parents of a daughter, Elizabeth Anne. Lilli Anne (as her parents will call her) was born yesterday at 5:48 p.m. She weighed in at 8 pounds 15 ounces and is 21-1/2 inches long. She came with a full head of black hair. It's hard to tell in the photos because she's swaddled so snugly, but she's a real beauty!

Lilli Anne, who is Todd and Wendy's first little one was much anticipated. Her arrival took a while but Mom and Dad proclaim her to be worth the wait. Lilli Anne is a lucky little girl to have such great people as Todd and Wendy for parents.

While I was visiting them in the hospital Todd's family arrived and I got to meet them as well - what a wonderful surprise! I took 11 photos while there. If you would like to see the rest simply click on the photo above to see a slide show.

Congratulations Todd and Wendy. You are going to be great parents!

Mom's Flower Beds

We've had some gardeners over to work on my mother's yard a few times in the last month. The first couple times they pruned some fruit trees for her. On Monday they came and dug out all the weeds in her flower beds.

I didn't think to take "before" photos but trust me, it was looking pretty bad. Three workers spent all day out there. They got everything cleaned out pretty well and created a nice edge on the beds. There's even room to put in some new bushes and shrubs if she wants them. Here are a few pics:


Next time we will have her rhodies pruned up. She has about seven or eight of them on her property.

Susan and Pierre

My hairdresser Susan runs her business from her home in Kirkland. I went up there about a week ago for a haircut. Susan is the owner of three dogs. She has two big dogs - a big black lab and I've forgotten the breed of the other one named Chili. The newest addition to the family is a tiny little guy - a Mini Dachshund puppy named Pierre.

Pierre is so cute! He looks so funny running around the place with the other dogs who are many times his size. He is still a puppy and Susan tells me he will get to be about twice his current size but no taller. His legs don't grow, his body just gets longer and his head gets bigger. He will be about 10-11 pounds when fully grown. If I had a little dog like Pierre I would be afraid I might step on him.

Here is a picture of Susan with Pierre. It has only been in the last month or so that he has grown those funny whiskers on his face.

Here is a close-up.

It's hard to tell from those photos how little and cute he is, so I had the bright idea to take a picture of Pierre with his larger pal Cosmo. I think I took about seven photos and every one of them turned out fuzzy because they are dogs and they wouldn't stop moving! Oh well, I'm going to share this one anyway.

Too cute!

Bill the Artist - Now Carving Rocks

You might remember that my brother-in-law Bill has quite the talent for creating works of art from pieces of wood. Earlier this year Bill branched out into carving rocks. He does not have the fancy rock cutting tools that are intended for use on rocks so he only carves the softer types of rock and his carving progress is slow and painstaking.

I had been hearing about Bill's rock carvings for a while but it wasn't until about a month ago that I got to see some of his work. He brought a few pieces over to my mom's house when we were there on a Monday.


The group photo doesn't do them justice though so I had to take close-ups of each one. This first piece is interesting to me because it looks so different from every angle. Here are 3 photos of the same rock taken from different sides. The carvings on this one remind me of something ancient - perhaps Egyptian? I love how this rock is so smooth.





This one is cool because the face seems to have some personality to it. Not something you would see every day.

And here is another one with a face carving. Again, I think rather ancient looking. I suppose I should let you form your own interpretation rather than my telling you what I think!


Bill approaches the rocks in the same way he does his wood carvings. He looks at each rock before any carving and forms an idea of what it reminds him of and how he could embellish on that theme. As each rock is unique each finished piece of art is unique.

Last but not least I must show you this special piece. I think this was one of the first ones Bill did and he told me about her when she was just about finished. When he first found this rock he saw the veining in a circular pattern which is now around her face. It reminded him of hair so he decided to make a face to go along with it. Do you remember City Girl, the wood carving Bill made for me? Bill calls this one "City Girl's Sister." Notice she has the same red lips and blue mole on her face as City Girl.

When Bill gathered up his rock art to return home after our show and tell he handed City Girl's Sister to me. He gave her to me to go with City Girl! How cool is that. I haven't yet decided whether she will live at home next to City Girl or if she will be part of a small rock collection at the office. In any case I will have to make sure she is prominently displayed.

Thanks Bill!

Mom's Violets

Spring is the time of year that little blue violets pop up in my Mom's yard under the large evergreen trees. She loves them and they are a sure sign of Spring to her.

We recently had some gardeners over to do a little work in her yard and we had them leave that side of the yard alone because she didn't want the violets disturbed.

Mom believes that the more these violets grow in her lawn the fewer dandelions there will be. As she puts it she would much rather have the violets than the dandelions. Well who wouldn't!

These photos were actually taken about a month ago but the violets are still blooming there today. It wasn't enough for Mom to look out her window and enjoy the violets from afar. She wasn't able to get out in her yard by herself when they first appeared and she's not supposed to bend over. So as soon as she had visitors from family she insisted that someone pick her a bouquet for her window. I thought I would share it with you here.