Lucky Grandma - I spent the week with Anne and Colin while he attended a Digital Media Camp at the University of Washington. I'll share Colin's experience in another blog post. The week proved to be an amazing time with generous family members hosting and visiting with us.
My nephew, Jeremy, and his wife, Amanda, offered their lovely home in West Seattle for our home base. They've recently redecorated the living room. I loved it, not only for its great style, but also for the comfortable chairs and easy way to visit and watch ball games, especially the World Cup Soccer match on Wednesday.
Spending time with Carter made every day enjoyable - who doesn't love a toddler? He's working on his vocabulary and one day the new word was butter, said after Amanda offered him a piece of toast.
Colin and Carter became best buddies outdoors playing basketball and kicking a ball for Hank, the dog. I'm sorry I took 100 pictures of the Space Needle and Mt. Rainier, but so few of the kids playing together outside. Carter wakes up every morning and his first word is "ball." And then he points to the TV set and wants to watch a ball game. H even noticed the round shapes on Colin's camp shirt and pointed to all the balls on the shirt.
Jeremy took this picture of Carter after they'd spent the weekend in Spokane during Hoopfest. The new ball is Carter's favorite and he knows it's for basketball, the soccer ball for kicking. What a smart boy! At the rate he's going he'll be in the NBA when he's 10 years old!
My sister-in-law, Dena, invited me to spend some time with her and we drank coffee on her deck, enjoying the view of Alki Beach. She says, "I'm able to relax and recover here." I love the way they've decorated the condo - the colors are soft and soothing. She says Don gets concerned that she'll never leave and come back to Spokane... Can't blame her one bit.
Don made the coffee table and will add a matching end table soon. We walked along the beach, had a great lunch at Duke's and shared family stories, some about health concerns, but others about the upcoming wedding! The joys and sorrows and ups and downs of life just present lots of opportunities for concern and celebration. We both come from large families so just catching up on all that news takes hours of time.
We passed the "flower house" on our way to lunch.
A short walk from their condo gives them this lovely view of the City of Seattle! The view from their deck reminds me of the ocean - the waves soothe the spirit.
My cousin, Miriam, lives in Ballard, and she invited us for lunch after our Tuesday morning bike ride. She and Mike have lived in the house on 52nd for over 40 years. Newer town homes have taken over their neighborhood. Mike said they get a knock on the door every week asking if they'd be willing to sell their house. No way and not now. Daughter, Lena, and grandkids, Johnnie and Bernie, live right next door.
Mike and Miriam (red house) ripped out all their lawn grass and put pavers and plants in the space. Lena and Greg have a nice yard for the kids and raised beds for their garden. I took lots of pictures of the yard, and none of the kids.
They plant cucumbers in metal horse watering troughs. Last year they canned 105 quarts of pickles! She's canned three already this year and made sliced cucumbers for lunch, just the way our Mom's did for us.
Mike snagged the L.Reed sign that used to welcome guests as they climbed the stairs to Aunt Mary and Uncle Les' front yard.
They've decorated their home with original art work, some painted by Aunt Mary, the ships and water craft by Mike's Dad. I love the red pay phone - it's their land line and still works!
Had to have a picture with Aunt Mary's "Road to Emmaus" in the background.
Greg and Lena both work at Boeing, but because they have energy leftover, they opened a beer tasking room on Thursday night - Ballard Beer Company or BBC.
Ballard Beer Company Opens Thursday (In, Uh, Ballard)
A bar dedicated purely to breweries in one neighborhood? In Seattle, that only makes perfect sense.
Once the Ballard-brewed beers start flowing on Thursday, BBC won't ever be this empty again.
In most cities, having a bar that will pour beers brewed within the greater urban area is a real accomplishment. In Seattle, however, the beer flows with such volume and variety that more specialized offerings have become a niche desperately seeking an occupant. And in Ballard, where
breweries seem to pop up more frequently with each passing month, that niche will be filled as of tomorrow.
Ballard Beer Company (Seattle’s BBC is, obviously, about beer rather than British broadcasting) will have 15 taps pouring a rotating crop of the neighborhood's craft beers alongside two ciders and an extensive bottle selection for those somehow unsatisfied with the draft offerings.
Sorry we couldn't attend the grand opening, but we'll for sure seek it out the next time we are in Seattle. Congratulations, Greg and Lena.
Miriam and Mike are great storytellers and I heard stories about my Dad... Mike called it an "Uncle Stan story." I loved our visit - thank you so much for the respite before we headed back to UW.
Thanks for the Memories!!
Kopczynski memories every - the famous Sullivan chain saw dog to remind us of Mom and Dad.
Walking up the wide staircase reminded me of my own elementary school. An original chalkboard decorates the wall of the bedroom called "The Principal's Office."
Ruth prepared a wonderful breakfast for us and even shared the recipe for her Huckleberry Stuffed French Toast. I particularly liked her homemade Huckleberry Sauce and smothered my french toast with it. 
