Tap Your Toe, It's a Bluegrass Concert!

Walter and I traveled to Greensboro, North Carolina last month to visit his mother and her husband Lee. Walter's brother Rusty and his wife Cathy drove up from Florida too, and we had a great time visiting. It was just so good to see everyone.

I will write a little more about the trip and share some family photos soon. In the meantime, I wanted to share one special evening of our visit.

Lee has played with a bluegrass band for several years. One evening while we were there the band came over and played music around the dining room table. We had the pleasure of meeting a couple of really fun neighbor ladies - Angie and Patsy - who live on either side of Walter's mother and Lee. They came over to enjoy the music.

The band is called Crabgrass (like "bluegrass", get it?). It was impossible not to at least tap your toe while they played. Of course I had to take some video so I could share with all of you.

What you see below is a YouTube player. I recorded 6 songs. When you click Play it will play them one after the other (with credits in between), you don't have to tell it to move on to the next video. Of course if you don't want to see more just press the Pause button.

I think I did a pretty good job of keeping the camera still - I didn't have a tripod and it's not easy to shoot video while tapping your toe! You will see Lee on the far right of the video. He's wearing the dark cap. I hope you will enjoy this "bluegrass concert" half as much as we did in North Carolina.

I want to say a special thanks to Lee, Henry, Bob, Jimmy and Jerry for the toe-tapping fun.




I will be away from the computer for about a week, so the next new posts will come after I return.

Anniversary of Meeting in Person

In addition to our wedding anniversary the end of August also brings the anniversary of the first time Walter and I met in person. Why do we celebrate meeting "in person"? Because we met online while Walter was living in Kentucky and I was here in Seattle. We developed our relationship first online then over the phone lines. Finally we decided that what we had was more than friendship and we decided to meet in person.

Walter came here to Seattle for the first time on August 31, 1986. It is no coincidence that our wedding anniversary is so close to our meeting anniversary. We planned our wedding date for the closest Saturday to a year after Walter's first arrival in Seattle.

During Walter's first visit I played tour guide and showed him a lot of Seattle's fun tourist sites. On our very first day we visited the Ballard Locks and then had dinner at the Totem House fish and chowder place across the street. In celebration of our anniversary we went back to the Locks and had dinner (as we do each year on this anniversary) at Totem House. We don't usually go there the rest of the year because really their fish is pretty greasy. But it's a fun thing to do in commemoration of our first meeting. It's too bad we can't repeat the rest of that week which included a visit to Expo 86 in Vancouver. That was fun!

I was taking a picture of Walter at the locks and a friendly stranger offered to take our photo together. We love tourists!


The official name of what we refer to as the Ballard Locks is "Hiram M. Chittenden Locks and Carl S. English, Jr. Gardens." The locks which are run by the US Army Corps of Engineers were built in 1911 so that coal and timber could be easily transported by boat. They serve to allow boats to pass between the saltwater of Puget Sound and the fresh water of the Ship Canal connecting to Lake Washington and Lake Union. Just like the locks in the Great Lakes and the Panama Canal, our locks help the boats move from one water level to another. Surprisingly there were not a lot of boats going through the locks this time otherwise I would have some video for you. Usually the locks are very busy with boats coming and going, especially on a summer day.

I liked this photo of the locks showing moss growing on the sides and reflecting in the water.

There is a fish ladder at the locks which simulates a salmon's natural return from salt water to freshwater where they will lay eggs and die. There are windows to the locks where you can watch the salmon as they rest between each step of their journey. We saw a few fish in the ladders during this visit and I got this photo through the glass.

I noticed some new art on the premises too. Here is one of several new mosaics in the fish ladder area (this one is above the fish ladder windows).


Of course in addition to the locks we also enjoyed the beautiful botanical gardens on the premises.

It's hard to believe that 22 years have passed since Walter first came to Seattle. I'm so glad he decided to stay and make Seattle his home and me his wife!

If you would like to see more photos from the day you can get to them here.

Our Own Anniversary

Last Friday the 29th Walter and I celebrated our 21st wedding anniversary. I had to work that day but I took off a little early so we could head down to our favorite restaurant, Bahama Breeze, for a celebratory dinner. Bahama Breeze serves Caribbean food and we always love whatever we order there. Of course we have some favorites (too many!)


Walter loves the Cuban Black Bean Soup and I love to order the Roasted Cuban Bread appetizer. The food was pretty as well as tasty so I took some pictures. But not before digging in, so most of these photos have some pieces missing from the food.


For our entrees Walter ordered the Pan-Seared Salmon with creamy mango butter sauce which came served with yummy cinammon mashed sweet potatoes and green beans. I went for the Seafood Paella. Mmm mmm!


For dessert we shared this incredible Key Lime Pie. Walter is from the South and he loves his key lime pie. He insists this is the best you can get in Seattle. I don't know if you can tell from this photo but this is one HUGE hunk of pie.


Fortunately for our tummies we brought home some leftovers. The portions are not skimpy there and certainly there was more than we could eat in one sitting.

Not only does Bahama Breeze serve delicious Caribbean food but their decor and landscaping serve a tropical feast for the eyes. As we headed back to our car I took a few photos of the landscape plantings. If you would like to see them you can check out a slideshow here.

In addition to the dinner out as our celebration we also plan a day or two visit to the coast a little later this month.

Thirty Years of Marriage - Wow!

Walter and I would like to send a big congratulations out to Walter's brother Rusty and his wife Cathy. Yesterday they celebrated 30 years of marriage. Way to go!! Here is a photo of the happy couple taken on our recent trip to North Carolina.



Anniversary Toast

Here's a toast to the two of you
As you celebrate together;
You're the poster kids for happiness,
In sunny or stormy weather.

Your love continues, warm and bright;
May it shine throughout the years;
You’re an example for the rest of us,
So here’s to you: Three cheers!

By Joanna Fuchs

Happy Anniversary Rusty and Cathy! And best wishes for many more wonderful years together.

Sisters

Sisters are a good thing. And I count myself fortunate to have several! I know I've mentioned my sisters Diega and Jozi here several times. And I've spoken of Pitas (we call her Petra). But did you know I have a fourth sister? Her name is Susan.

Pitas and Susan grew up in the Philippines. They have the same father, but a different mother than Diega, Jozi and me.

Until recently I had never met my sister Susan as she had not been to the U.S. before and I have never been to the Philippines. I remember as a young girl hearing about my two sisters in the Philippines. I always wanted to meet them but so far they were a mystery to me.

One day as a teenager I was walking home from the school bus stop and a taxicab passed me heading to our home. Taxicabs are extremely rare in Nisqually Valley so I was very excited to see that one was heading to my house. I had heard rumors that perhaps my two sisters might come to the United States. I envisioned that perhaps that taxicab contained my sisters coming to visit. Excited, I ran all the way home. The taxicab contained a sister, all right. It was my sister Diega who had missed the school bus. My Dad was at work and my mother doesn't drive so the taxi was the only way for her to get home. Diega was in a bit of trouble!

In 1980, a few years after the taxicab incident, Pitas and her husband Obet moved here and made their home in Renton - close enough that we could see her fairly often. Their children soon followed and eventually Pitas' mother came over too. Although we didn't grow up together it has been a real joy to get to know Pitas and her family over the years. They are great people!

Fast forward to a couple months ago, the day before my great-nephew Niko's first birthday party. Pitas called me on the phone. We had not spoken in a while and she was apologizing for not having called me earlier. Well no need to apologize, I too had been busy and had meant to call her. At first I didn't realize she was saying that because she had something to tell me. You see, Susan and her husband Freddie have moved here and are now living with Pitas, Obet and Pitas and Susan's mother! She was calling to tell me because I would get to meet Susan for the first time the very next day. Wow!!

And indeed I met Susan at Niko's birthday party for the first time. It was really great to finally meet her after so many years. I liked her immediately, and as many in the family had told us, we share a family resemblance. (We both look like Dad.) Our meeting was a bit emotional for both of us as I'm sure you can understand.

We got to see Susan (and Pitas and the whole family) again on Saturday when we attended niece Pam's wedding. (Pam is Pitas' daughter.)

Here is a photo taken at Niko's birthday party. From left to right that's Pitas, me, Walter, Pitas and Susan's mother, and Susan.


And here's a beautiful photo of Susan and Pitas all dressed up for Pam's wedding.


Welcome to the States, Susan. I am looking forward to getting to know you better!

(By the way, Pam's wedding and reception were wonderful and I will share pictures as soon as I have a chance.)