Swing Music Saturday

 Susan and I used to live a few minutes driving time apart and our lives were too busy to get together.  Now that she lives in Olalla we make special effort to get together and it is great fun each time.   She brought me eggs direct from her own chickens now that  her home is in the country - Olalla and she is living  the buccolic ideal with goats, chickens, gardens and all her family.

             Susan  aka Heidi

When Susan visited the  city, we had a beautiful dinner at Cafe Revo just up the street a few blocks.  I've been waiting for a chance to sample this restaurant.  The food was delicious and they managed to make a little butter and olive oil look  like a work of art. 

Then on to Benaroya for some swing jazz music with the Glen Miller orchestra.  Yes - that Glen Miller.  When Glen Miller went down in the plane all those years ago, his civilian orchestra continued to play.  So Susan and I listened to  the greatest music of the greatest generation sounding as fabulous as ever.    There was a sea of gray heads from that era sitting in the audience.  There was a smattering of all ages though and the swing goes on hopefully for many years. 

Spring flowers and showers

  Seattle Parks Department owes a debt to the toddlers.  Bianca has picked at least a bushel of dandelions since the start of spring.  She still has a ways to go but her interest is not diminishing.  We met a neighbor toddler who was busy doing the same thing at the Dragonfly pavilion grass field.  But drats, I didn't have my camera and missed little Shore who is 18 months old cutely offering  his picked flowers to Bianca.

A little wet but happy to have finally got to use the umbrella

Another day in the park

 The park again! We did branch out a bit and found new things to do. Watching a toddler discover the world brings the pleasure of little things back in to focus.  

A bouquet in the making

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Erika has drawn hopscotch squares on the walkway to their front door.  When Bianca saw something similar at the park she knew just what to do.    This child's play has an ancient history.  Check here for the history of this game.  http://www.streetplay.com/thegames/hopscotch.htm .

 A favorite vantage point for watching others on the play equipment.  Soothing back and forth, gentle breeze on the face, and the joys of people watching.  Bianca could do this for hours. 

Bianca insisted that I join her this time. "Nana sit swing".  And so I did.

Play day

Another Monday at the park and this time a little more adventurous

The kid's paintings are so creative and we discovered that this outdoor art show adds new works over time.                    

Bianca finds another "Joo Joo" - her name for the family cat "Jewel"

There was another 19 month old girl at the park and they really looked at each other with such curiosity.  Another little person like me!

A beautiful March day with mild winds, sweeping clouds, bright sunshine and spring flowers on our walk along the way

In the Pink

I haven't captured all the pink glory of this February.  We have pink trees up and down many streets, pink flowers and pink bushes.  Is this still really winter?  It just makes me feel "in the pink"

Monday in the Park

The Delridge community center playground is a very friendly children's space.  Designed with community and kid input and erected by local volunteers.  Whimsical signs and children's artwork surround the play area. It has the kind of colorful, chunky and safe playground equipment that little kids love and allows a  nana to relax and not have to worry about imminent disaster.  The 50's era playground where I played was marvelous but in those days softness of landing wasn't part of the plan.
I remember episodes of falls from slides, slips from 'monkey bars and  accidental  flying leaps from swings that ended on the concrete of good old Miller Park.   I'm looking forward to many happy hours with Bianca in this space and also secretly feeling lucky that I have an excuse to crawl on things and go down slides again!!

Book Love

I have always loved books and reading was a favorite past time of my childhood.  My mother made me feel very grown up by telling me to just pick something up for her too while I was at the library because she would like whatever I brought home. So after my gradeschool day was over I would walk the 3 or 4 blocks from school to the Yakima library (I loved walking too) and spend a happy time perusing the shelves for intriguing titles. I don't remember the many books that were brought home but I remember my mother liked to read the Jack London books and we both read Laura Ingalls Wilder's.  Then came reading to Matthew and Mark - little boy's books about steamshovels, engines that could and such :) -   and now reading with Bianca.           Generations of reading - I must be getting older!  Somehow I missed reading Winnie the Pooh along the way.  I can't imagine how that happened.  I discovered Pooh by reading the Tao of Pooh as an adult.  Bianca loves the Pooh - and all bears are Pooh to her.