Mini Eggs

What's your favorite Easter treat? Mine? The Cadbury Mini Egg. Not the chocolate egg filled with corny syrupy fake yolk? No, not those eggs.

I'm speaking of the small, pastel candy coated, be-speckled eggs that are crunchy candy perfection. I was reminded that a few years ago I read an article about Cadbury being M&A-ed and there were rumors that the Mini Egg was going to go away. I believe half of my freezer was full of bags of Mini Eggs. My first attempt at food storage, I believe.

This may have been near the time Steven was living with me, which may explain his addiction to them. I try to send Steven and Karley a bag every year, Julia too. Sometimes they are difficult or impossible to find. It's like luck when you happen upon them. This year, Target got the mother lode. Happy Day! I have purchased MANY bags.

Tyson called while eating from a bag of Mini Eggs to remind me that I had introduced him to the Mini Eggs that he now craves. Just one of the services I provide: introducing new food addictions. Try them, if you dare.

Crazy Quilts

While driving around La Conner we saw a sign for a quilt museum. We pulled over, handed the nice lady our $5, donned the cheap plastic gloves (so we could touch the quilts) and explored the quaint old house filled with crazy quilts and textiles.

They had several exhibits. Crazy quilts - which I have to admit I am not a fan of. This one, however, was clever. Turns out in the late 19th century/early 20th century cigars were sold in bundles held together by silk ribbons bearing the name of the seller/manufacturer. Making quilts out of these ribbons was their equivalent to blogs today or scrapbooking 10 years ago - it looks like. I thought it was a clever little quilt top.

One of the other exhibits was commemorating the burning down of the house and the restoration of it. (It burned down, was purchased by the quilt museum folks and restored - or something like that.) When I saw this quilt I just KNEW a guy made it. It totally looked like something Desi would create.

The final exhibit was a textile exhibit. This was my favorite. The picture makes the fabric blocks look MUCH larger than they actually are. They are so tiny and delicate. It amazed me how much work and patience went into these. Wow!

I think my Aunt Nancy would have really enjoyed the museum and the tulips.

To Dream of Caramel

One of my favorite Seattle things to do is catch the ferry to Bainbridge Island on a Saturday, take a short stroll along Winslow Way and have some delicious brunch at Cafe Nola.

Caramel French Toast is always ordered (split, of course). The challah bread is what makes the dish, I think. Well, the creamy caramel doesn't hurt.

More often than not some version of Eggs Benedict is ordered, however this time we ordered some sort of eggs with potatoes, spinach and polenta croutons. They were ever so yummy. We wished for more croutons.

A host of golden daffodils

It's about the time for the Tulip Festival in La Conner, Washington.     

I wanted to stop by again, because the sea of colors in the valley is a sight to behold.

When Debbie and I were there last year we didn't see any daffodils and I was hoping to see some this year. 

Turns out that the tulips are not in bloom yet this year, but we arrived just in time to experience the sea of golden daffodils around every corner.  

Peace

We were at Peace Arch Park just as the sun began to set over Semiahmoo/Boundary Bay. The Washington part of the park has featured different sculptures each time I visited. This time there were no sculptures. I was a bit disappointed, as I enjoy seeing the art, but as the sun set and we had an unobstructed view of what I think is Point Roberts or the BC Southern Gulf Islands. Gorgeous.

Here's another house in Canada, as seen from Peace Arch Park. I love a yellow house and a porch. It was all I could do not to walk across the park and the street to further check out the house and the neighboring house that is painted barn red. I would LOVE to have a yellow house with a large porch and a big red barn in the back. What I would have in the barn besides books, I have no idea.

Low tide on Drayton Harbor. Between the park, the sunset and the ocean, it was quite a peaceful night.

Border Patrol

One of my favorite things is the US/Canada border. I'm standing in Washington and just behind that sign is a road that is in Canada. And the house? That's in Canada too. I COULD just walk across the border. Not that I would, cause if I did 20 border guards would descend on me and I'd be arrested. I'm not sure what I expected at the border...a boundary of some sort, I think. Not just people's fear of being arrested keeping them from crossing. So cool.

We went to Birch Bay and apparently it's low tide because we were able to walk pretty far out into the bay. There were a bunch of people...and seagulls...clamming. So my question is...if it's low tide here, where has the water gone? What is it doing? I'm guessing it has something to do with the moon, right?

Just as we settled into the room to watch a movie, the fire alarm went off. We had to evacuate the building. We took our laptops and a blanket and hung out in the car while the firemen determined that...someone had burned some toast. Classic!

Louboutins they're not

Not that any of my other shoes are Louboutins - or even close. But these certainly are not a shoe I want to wear all day every day for the next 3 weeks.

Turns out I have plantar faciitis. Which causes severe heel and lower arch pain for me. I noticed it the last time I was at Disneyland. And it was quite bothersome in NYC and Italy. With another trip to Disneyland just around the corner, I thought it best to get it checked out. I ended up getting x-rays, a shot and a perscription for some stability running shoes.

And I have to wear them ALL DAY, EVERY DAY for the next 3 weeks at least. I never thought I was much into shoes. A bit difficult to be into shoes when you have as much difficulty finding shoes as I do. But these shoes or any other stabilizing running shoes are really going to limit my wardrobe options. Obviously no skirts - unless I want to bring the 80s back entirely. And did I mention I can never go barefoot? Not even at home? Guh!

The doctor says it will go away. It had better...or I'm going to have to take to spray painting.