Happy Friday…
Diary of a Weekend
and few fascinating links
There aren’t enough days in the weekend. ~ Rod Schmidt
Our weekend started Friday night having a bar-b-que with a few of our neighbors. We brought out our grill, marinated shrimp, andouille sausage, chorizo and our neighbors brought more food from burgers to a few sides. We gathered for a few hours cracking jokes and sharing stores then the three of us headed inside for our Friday film night. After staying up late watching Captain Marvel and Always Be My Maybe we actually woke up naturally at 8 a.m. ready to prepare for our day with friends. By the way if you have not seen either I think they are a must see. I am a huge fan of Ali Wong and Randall Park and the hilarious surprise of Keanu Reeves, it was AMAZING!
Although we woke up perfect that did not last too long. I was several blocks away from our house before I realized I left my cell phone behind. So of course I had to turn around which was frustrating because we ordered two dozen tamales from this amazing spot in White Center and I was worried they would not hold the order if we were late. After trying to refrain from speeding and being too fast and too furious we made it only 15 minutes later that our expected time.
It was a beginning of summer party with our friends at their home just two blocks down from Alki beach. I miss living by the beach hearing the rolling water and waves reaching the shore. It was calming listening to the waves and even the smell of the seaside took any stress I felt earlier that day away.
We continued our weekend with friends meeting them at Round1 for bowling celebrating JB’s (son of our friend) 12th birthday. The kids did pretty well leaving the adults in the dust. I had never been to Round1 and did not know what to expect. It had karaoke and arcade games. It was a bit pricey. We bowled for several hours before letting the kids loose in the arcade while us parents hung around to discuss all the things our kids are doing and the people they currently are. Although sometimes we miss those toddler days it’s so wonderful to see them become these beautiful preteens, with attitude. Ha!
Here are a few links I found interesting this weekend. Enjoy!
How to shoot better interior photography
Advice for composing mountain landscape photographs
The land where the internet ends
Happy Friday
Have a wonderful weekend. And happy first day of Summer.
Diary of a Weekend
“It’s not that we spend five days looking forward to just two. It’s that most people do what they enjoy most on those two days. Imagine living a life where everyday are your Saturdays and Sundays. Make everyday your weekend. Make everyday a play-day…”⠀James A. Murphy
Saturday I was able to sleep in. By sleep in I mean I woke up at 8 a.m. It is one of my favourite things to be the first one up on the weekend especially when the sun is out. I started my morning with freshly made coffee and two episodes of the Starz original series The Spanish Princess. It is third in a series based on books by Philipa Gregory. Once everyone slowing followed we made our way out the door for some thrift shopping and car show. Our first stop is usually Value Village. At first glance through those magical doors I found a framed poster of the Café DuMonde in New Orleans. It was a must buy for the kitchen. I was excited to find sterling silver flatware. I have been over the years starting to collect silver flatware finding similar pieces to what my great-grandmother had.
At the car show if felt so much like a neighborhood block party. Old school music played, families out enjoying the sun stopping for flavored shaved ice and the many classic car owners taking the time to talk to the many admirers. There were a few that of course caught our eye. One being this 1964 Chevy Impala with etchings on the mirror to the door handles to around the lights. It was jewelry for the car. There were quite a few Impalas, one that still in its pristine original paint. You can tell the amount of care that goes into everyone. The car show sparked enthusiasm in my not so little I fear we may be in trouble. This may have lead to a new hobby for mi Viejo and our daughter.
We are now into our new week with the last few days of school coming up this weekend was I hope a glimpse to what the summer weather will be. Sunday was perfect bar-b-que weather, Father’s Day where the dads (father and son) showed one another how they grill. My not so little and I took a walk around the neighborhood stumbling on an open house that we brought my mother-in-law and grandmother back to. It was a nice five bedroom home with a pretty decent sized yard. Making our way back to the in-law’s to feast everything was grilled to perfection. Shrimp wrapped in maple brown sugar bacon, honey bbq chicken, corn, potatoes and steak. Lastly, copper river salmon that melted in your mouth. I think we’re going to put this feast on repeat. Looking forward to the summer days ahead for they’re anything like this past weekend.
Happy Friday
Beauty with age. Dreaming of this rustic farmhouse.
Have a magical weekend 💫
The Pleasure of Ruins
“The ascendancy over men’s minds of the ruins of the stupendous past, the past of history, legend and myth, at once factual and fantastic, stretching back and back into ages that can but be surmised, is half-mystical in basis. The intoxication, at once so heady and so devout, is not the romantic melancholy engendered by broken towers and mouldered stones; it is the soaring of the imagination into the high empyrean where huge episodes are tangled with myths and dreams; it is the stunning impact of world history on its amazed heirs.” ~ Rose Macaulay
New Mexico of Mine
Land Of Enchantment
“When I got to New Mexico that was mine. As soon as I saw it that was my country. I’d never seen anything like it before, but it fitted to me exactly. It’s something that’s in the air–it’s different. The sky is different, the wind is different. I shouldn’t say too much about it because other people may be interested and I don’t want them interested.” ~ Georgia O’Keefe
Wide open spaces capture your attention sinking you into its vastness. One can feel so small but yet so large with life soaking in the fresh air. Not a soul for miles. Just you, the wind whispering the richness of this soil, the fresh hint of rain, gentle kisses from the sun. And in the evening the closeness of stars. I can only agree with her sentiment, New Mexico is different and not like anywhere you’ve seen before and it’s mine.
I fell in love with New Mexico nine years ago when I came with my husband and our daughter to his family’s ranch. Forty miles outside of Taos and a few miles before entering one of the oldest cities in Colorado, a recently paved road leads up toward the mountains to a humbling place called Amalia. His grandparents 14 1/2 acres leading up to a river and expanding toward the mountains is part of a land grant. There is not much to do here as you are forty miles from the nearest stop light and the “corner” store is at least 15 minutes down road. Family and friends stop by on their way to wherever they are going, a short visit turning into lunch then dinner. It is the perfect place to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life. A place to recharge. Not a street lamp in sight, only the stars.
Although with time comes changes this little area remains slightly untouched. There are still viejitas who live down dirt roads with minimal modern “luxuries” and/ or electricity cooking to perfection empanadas and tortillas on wood burning stoves that melt in your mouth you can’t wait to dip them in red or green chili. If you are looking for the best place to hunt antiques ask no one else. My favorite viejita is one of my husband’s cousin. She is a feisty hip-hop loving viejita in her mid 70s never leaving home without her hita (her 38 special) and she’s never to shy to share her opinion. Each visit we are to never leave empty handed.
Our first stop in Taos was Michael’s Kitchen for their red chili. My breakfast of choice was a Christmas style Martin’s Breakfast Burrito made with scrambled eggs, bacon, cheese, diced green chile and hash browns wrapped in a flour tortilla. The Christmas style comes into play in the way of the burrito being covered (or smothered) in both red and green chili sauce. Let me tell you 1. I had to split the burrito and 2. I made sure to get extra red chili. As a Seattlite we are big on our Starbucks coffee but Michael’s had excellent coffee. You can buy it here at their online shop.
Carry Me Away
“A week ago it was the mountains I thought the most wonderful, and today it’s the plains. I guess it’s the feeling of bigness in both that carries me away.”
~ Georgia O’Keeffe
Wyoming
The Long Way Round
a road trip west
With maybe two hours of sleep my husband and I rose to his mother singing at the top of her lungs “it’s time to get on the road!” We both turned our heads looking at each other as if reading the other’s mind “what the heck did we get ourselves into?” A road trip that’s what. A road trip with his parents. Phones fully charged, camera at the ready, truck packed to the hills and the cooler in arms reach of the rear window; we’re set. In the cover of darkness we packed ourselves in their Honda Ridgeline me at the wheel, my mother-in-law as my co-pilot we headed east.
Our first stop of the morning was breakfast and of course there is not much open at 6 a.m. We landed in Yakima as the sun rose and stopped at Mel’s Diner. The coffee was amazing and much needed and so was my omelette.
Our waitress gave us a tour of the diner showing us the artwork on the walls.
We drove until we couldn’t settling on staying the night in Provo, Utah. A beautiful “old town” set against the backdrop of mountains.
Provo, Utah 
Rockwell Ice Cream
Two things were going against us when finding a restaurant on Saturday night. 1) it was prom weekend so the hotel we stayed in was host to a few prom goers getting ready and staying the night as well as a wedding. 2) It was also Easter weekend which made it harder to find open restaurants on Sunday in the small towns we traveled to. Planning on my next drive around to be able to take more time to see the sights in each small town we visited.
We opted for the longer routes which gave us faster highways. This decision actually ended us with taking a longer way around then planned. After we stopped in one of the cutest small towns in Colorado for lunch we mistakenly missed our turn which added about an hour or so to our trip. We went through a few more smaller towns, plains, two lane roads with few chances to pass slow vehicles then winding through a mountain pass where our truck stopped working 5 miles before Antonito, Colorado (one hour away from our destination). It didn’t take long for a tow truck to reach us. Several family members who were near by came to our rescue to help us divide our truck load into two cars. Tired but wound up we made it to the family ranch late in the evening. Again, I can’t wait to do this drive again.
Another View
Othello Forty Eight 