La Pasta!

 

This month brought more delightful neighborhood finds! I enjoyed my recent purchase of carrot cake granola from a nearby farmers’ market, but couldn’t get to the market to pick up more the following week. Happily, I discovered that not only is it available at a store just 1.5 miles from my home, but the store also carries many other locally made products I enjoy. 

That store, a tiny little place called La Pasta, makes various pastas (it’s in the name 😀) from scratch right there on site. My husband brought home smoked salmon ravioli, and it cooked up beautifully. A lot of ravioli will split open on the sides as it boils, but not La Pasta’s!

Back to the granola that I love, I picked up some locally made cherry apricot along with hazelnut espresso and peanut butter chocolate chip from the Camano Crunch Company. All of them are so delicious with Greek yogurt. The current seasonal special is winter spiced apple, which I'll be sure to try.

I was also delighted to find the elderberry tea that I’ve been looking for since I got it at another farmers’ market several months ago. Shrub vinegars are another beverage that I enjoy, and at La Pasta I found some new shrub flavors that are made locally.

 

How wonderful to have locally made and grown nutritious food so close to home!

Can breakfast get any better? Yes, those are full-size chocolate chips in the peanut butter chocolate chip granola!

Farmers' Market

 

Seattle has a great number of neighborhood farmers’ markets, and I’m fortunate to have one just a mile from my house. I'd never been to this  one, so one sunny afternoon I walked over to see what was available that week.

My favorite purchase was carrot cake granola, made locally in a nearby city. It is absolutely delicious and true to a carrot cake flavor with a light crunch. I’m enjoying it with yogurt in the morning and afternoon.

 

 

There were also plenty of fruit and vegetable stands, and a couple vendors offering pastries. The French Guys had many delicious breads and dessert rolls. My husband wasn’t able to go with me, but I brought home a blueberry cheesecake roll that he enjoyed for breakfast the next morning.

Farmers’ markets often feature various mushrooms either harvested or grown on farms. This stand even offered mushroom-growing kits to produce your own at home. 

 

Jams, vinegars, and flavored oils are also common at farmers’ markets and were in supply here. I love flavored vinegars, especially balsamics, for salads.

 

 

 

I always enjoy the fresh produce and locally made treasures I find at farmers’ markets and are glad there are so many markets available to us.

Tourist in My Own City

https://visitseattle.org/

Early this month my niece visited Seattle from the other Washington for the first time. Though she only had two full days in Seattle, my husband and I gave her a whirlwind tour of the popular sights in Seattle—some that I had never seen despite living here for 48 years.

Red Hall Link

The first day she was here gave us just a few hours to see the “red hall” at the downtown Seattle Public Library. I’d never heard of this floor of the library. A librarian told us it contained no books but housed library meeting rooms. Despite FIFA, we were able to get a dinner table right away, then it was time for her to get some rest before her first full day here.

 

 

 

Friday morning we had breakfast crumpets at the Crumpet Shop and then explored Seattle’s famous Pike Place Market. My husband and I make an annual trip here to shop for treats and Christmas gifts.
 

 

 

After an hour or so at the market, we headed to the Nordic Museum, which was the first time I’ve been there. Seattle has a significant Nordic population in the part of Seattle known as Ballard, named for Captain William Rankin Ballard.

Following that, we toured the Ballard Locks and fish ladder. The locks raise and lower water levels between Puget Sound and Lake Union and Lake Washington to allow ships and boats access each way.

The Falls

The final day of her visit was July 4th and we started off with a trip to Snoqualmie Falls and a stop in the historic town of Snoqualmie. Arriving back in Seattle, we then took an underground tour with Beneath the Streets. Seattle was originally built on tide flats, but following an historic fire that destroyed the entire town, it was rebuilt above the original stores and sidewalks. Many blocks of the old city still exist underground.



 

It was a busy two days of sightseeing that found aunt and uncle happy to skip fireworks and fall asleep on the couch shortly after 9pm. 😀

Romance Reader Event

 

 

For the past three years, a writing group I belong to has organized an event for romance readers and writers. Every year I’ve volunteered as a table runner, making sure authors have what they need at their tables.

The creativity that goes into not only the authors’ writing but also their tables is amazing. I love wandering through the event hall admiring the tables and swag as much as getting signed copies of books and talking with the authors.

Leah's table

Romance books I look for are known as sweet romances—nothing beyond hand-holding and kissing. I also enjoy cozy mysteries, stories that feature amateur sleuths, and I even picked up a cozy paranormal. It’s not just romance at this fair, though this author, Leah R Cutter, writes romance and many other genres. 
 

 

Lynne's table

I was able to pick up a sweet romance from a local author I know, Lynne Hancock Pearson. Like most of Lynne’s books, Grand Gestures takes place in the Pacific Northwest.

 

 

Image from FB

Among the 57 vendors were authors and other creatives selling jewelry, candles, bookmarks, stickers, and even a tattoo shop at the reader event. To my surprise, Sailor Moon Tattoo was completely booked for the day. Maybe it shouldn’t have been such a surprise since they were featuring book-related designs.

 

The event was a huge success this year with all 250 tickets sold out. I'm enjoying my new books and looking forward to next year!

 

It's HIP!

  

I often walk around my neighborhood admiring flowers and fruiting plants as I get some exercise and fresh air. One recent Friday a delicious aroma coming from a church along my path had me very interested in what they were doing. In their parking lot I saw two vans for HIP, Hunger Intervention Program. 

A shelter meal packed for delivery

Once home, I searched for the HIP website and learned they have many volunteer opportunities from cooking meals for shelters and seniors to serving and delivering meals. I filled out a volunteer interest form right away. 

 

The next week I was volunteering as a dish washing assistant. Hey, it’s a necessary part of making meals! Two days later I was preparing meals for delivery and serving at HIP’s free lunch for seniors.

Senior meal

The food is indeed as good as it smells and the next week I was helping to prepare the seniors’ lunch by slicing green peppers, cilantro,and red onions. The latter was a tear-filled experience. 😂 All meals include a main dish such as orzo with sausage and vegetables, a fresh salad, fruit, and often a freshly baked cookie for dessert.

With the daily volunteer opportunities available and being less than a mile from my home, I’m ready, willing, and able to help several days a week! 

I enjoyed these beautiful tulips along my walk and was inspired to plant bulbs in our yard for blooms next spring.

 

Take a Hike!

 

Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

 

Over hill, over dale, we have hit the, ah, muddy trail. The weather on Easter Sunday was very pleasant, and after some yard work, my husband and I went on a short hike in a nearby forested park. Our main purpose was to practice using our new Rattler thermal imaging scope.

My husband bought this for us as a Christmas present after I mentioned I could be a more confident hiker if I were aware of bears or cougars around us on the trail. We were able to practice sighting and photographing birds on our short hike, while also discovering features of the scope that we need to learn more about.

Owl nesting box

Heated objects show up as yellow and orange. In the nesting box here,you can see what is probably a sleeping owl. The photo at the bottom of this page reveals a junco bird on a tree branch.

 

Besides using the scope, I looked around for flora and fungi. These purple flowers are Erythronium revolutum, commonly known as the Pink Fawn Lily, Mahogany Fawn Lily, or Coast Fawn Lily. 

 

 

Witch's butter fungus

On several dead logs I found jelly fungus, commonly known as witch's butter. They aren't toxic, but neither are they considered delectable as the link indicates.

 

 

 

  

I also found some unusual mushrooms nestled among a pile of rocks. 😀

 

We got a lot better at capturing wildlife with the scope. Surely we won't miss a puma or bear...or Bigfoot when we visit the Olympics at the end of May!  😮

Junco sitting on a branch

Community

 

https://northhelpline.org/

 

About a year ago I switched to volunteering at the food bank in the above photo which is just a mile from my home. It’s a pleasant walk (except during an atmospheric river) and it gives me a closer view of my neighbors and community.

Through coworkers at the food bank, I learned of a local community group and was able to join a Zoom presentation on the construction of a new community center. Six stories of the new community center will be for low income housing. The new housing is about a half mile away from the food bank where many low income customers come to pick up food weekly. 

https://www.lovestruckinseattle.com/

I've been discovering other places in my neighborhood, all within 2.5 miles (walking distance in good weather and when I’m up to a big hill challenge). A new romance bookstore, Lovestruck in Seattle, opened a few months ago and they host multiple book clubs monthly. The first book clubs sold out within hours and my hesitation cost me the opportunity to give it a try—next month I’ll jump right on it!

The 8 limbs of yoga

I tried a Hatha yoga studio two miles away and loved it. Though I found the gentle class much more to my liking than the challenging yoga flow class.

 

This month's blanket drop off

In another community Zoom presentation I learned of more opportunities for senior volunteers. The group "Knit It Alls" definitely appealed to me since I already knit so many cat blankets, I'm embarrassed every time I drop off a big armload of blankets. Now I can knit some hats for donations.

Finally, my husband and I tried a bakery 2.5 miles down the street from us and we now make it our Saturday morning breakfast stop. The bakery, Grateful Bread, uses organic local flour and makes wonderful bagels, muffins, soups and sandwiches. Even better, a neighbor just two houses down from us owns and operates the bakery!

 

Chai Time

 

Chai supplies

I love a warm, spicy beverage on cold, wet winter nights, and chai is my favorite. Because I’m sensitive to caffeine, I make my own chai. While Stash has a decaf vanilla chai which is handy when I’m short on time, making my own chai lets me adjust the spices to my preference. I’ll share a couple of recipes and the ingredients I keep on hand.

The first recipe I use is here. I make a double-strength batch so I have enough for a few days. When I want a mug, I add milk or milk and water when re-heating. Cloves, vanilla beans, cinnamon sticks, star anise and the other ingredients also make my spice cabinet smell wonderful.

I'll share two other recipes. One can be made with black tea or rooibos for a decaf version, and the other with carob and coconut. Both linked in this paragraph are from the site GrowForageCookFerment.

Chaga. It's not the prettiest fungus.

Another chai that I love which is also caffeine free incorporates a medicinal fungus, chaga. Chaga is reported to be a nutrient-dense,
antioxidant-rich, and adaptogenic fungus. This Masala chai blend from Euphoria Botanica is delicious, but does need to simmer for 20 minutes in order to gain the benefits of chaga.

Since Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow earlier this month, it looks like there will be plenty more time to enjoy some hot chai.

Source: https://www.groundhog.org/

 

 

 

 

What's New?

Photo by Esther Verdú on Unsplash

 I hope 2026 has been good to everyone so far. Instead of making resolutions in January, I set intentions. This year I want to be more internally and externally aware, listening to my inner voice and exploring new topics.

To start this awareness, I first had my chakras balanced. Yes, this may be a little woo-woo for many, but I’d never had this experience and it was very affordable. To my great surprise, I learned that my root (first) chakra needed the most work. This surprised me as I garden a lot, nurturing plants from the root up. That my creative (third) chakra was weak didn't surprise me as my creativity has been dull since late November.

Just before New Year’s Eve, I then had a chakra massage which was divine. The massage therapist used a different oil for each chakra and gave me a mantra to focus on while she worked. The mantras, in order from the first chakra (sacral area) to the crown (top of head) chakra are:

I am.  I am creative. I am powerful. I am loved. I am heard. I am connected. I am divine.

The massage was extremely relaxing and I hope to be able to do this

Photo by Uday Mittal on Unsplash

on each solstice and equinox. How about exploring new topics? Well—and I won’t go far on this one—early this year I read about an experiment scientists did where they measured 37 dimensions! What? How? Curiosity led me to watch a few videos on quantum mechanics. There is so much at least theoretically possible, but our human brains aren’t able to contemplate these dimensions. Thank goodness. 

There’s so much out there we don’t understand, don’t even know how to comprehend or measure. I have plenty to explore and learn this year. Here’s a dimensional brain-twister that I’ll close with: the tesseract. Wild!!

 

 

Another tesseract resource for those wanting to know more:  

https://www.scienceabc.com/pure-sciences/what-exactly-is-a-tesseract-real-life-geometry-4-dimensional.html