Richmond Beach

This weekend we took Sydney to Richmond Beach in Shoreline. This is a park I’ve been to several times to kiteboard, but it looks like there are some improvements underway that will make it an even better place to host a picnic with friends.

There isn’t a lot of room to roam around, so if your goal is to get in some sort of a hike before enjoying the beach then this probably isn’t the place for you. However, there is a nice little trail to a lookout above the beach that I have always been curious about. There’s a little grassy area up there for picnicing or perhaps a nice game of bochee ball.

After checking out the lookout, we cruised down to the beach and let Sydney run around off leash. I don’t think this is officially allowed, but there weren’t really too many people around. Sydney did find a couple of new lab friends and promptly forgot she was with us. Luckily, the lab owners thought it was funny that pug wanted to play with their dogs.

All in all, I’d recommend checking Richmond Beach out of you’re in the area. Especially during the summer time. I picture this beach making a perfect evening BBQ spot as the sun sets.

Quilts….

I am a blanket/quilt type of girl. I reChicky Blanketly on them to keep me cozy and warm during these winter months. My history with special blankets and quilts goes way back into the year 1980 when some of the best people I know were born.

I was gifted with a beautiful blanket with puffy chickens on it, I believe my grandma Lowman made it.  It soon was named The Chicky Blanket. I loved my Chicky and still do. Of course, I no longer sleep with the Chicky Blanket, but when I was younger I used it to sleep with but also as a place for my index finger to flick when I was thinking or nervous. The cool crisp fabric just made this so easy.

quiltJump to 1992 when big tank tops and jorts were in. I was gifted my first real quilt.  My grandma Lowman made quilts for each of her marvelous  grandchildren. My cousin Megan loved the Seattle Seahawks (and still does) and of course her quilt reflected that with Seahawk blues and greens. My quilt was like a grown up version of The Chicky Blanket…so fancy that I had to wait a while for it because G.Low wanted to put in it in a quilt show.

ChickyIn 2003,  Peggy Wilbur, who had fixed The Chicky Blanket on many occasions, gave me a True Chicky Quilt for college graduation. She had just gotten into quilting and put me on her list of people to give one to! It was a very sweet, sentimental gift mostly because I had no idea she was doing it for me and I know all the time and effort it takes to make a quilt.

There is a quilting club at Hilltop that I have a not-so-secret desire toHilltop Quilt join. When somebody moves, get married, has a baby or does something super special, the quilting club gifts them with a quilt. Welp, HB decided to tie the knot in 2008 and the quilters at Hilltop gave me a beautiful quilt!

With all the wedding planning going on in the Spring & Summer of ’08, one of my super-great-I’m-not-sure-if -I’ll-follow-through-on-it-ideas fabricwas to incorporate fabric into the wedding (maybe napkins, table center pieces, bread basket covers, or whatever suited my fancy) and eventually turn it into a quilt with Peggy’s help. So, my mom and I went hog-wild and bought some fabric – before we knew what it’d get used for. (Life’s more fun that way…try it some time). In the end, the fabric got used for many of the things listed above, most importantly on the tables.

About that wedding quilt, I haven’t quite made it yet. I finally pulled the cowgirlfabric out of the closet and discovered that some of it is….moldy. Turns out there was a wet tablecloth that got put in the bag with the fabric.  Most of it is salvagable, I think.  I’m looking foward to making this quilt with Peggy, and even if I can’t use all the wedding fabric, I’ve got some other ideas. I’ve always wanted a cowboy/cowgirl quilt, anyhow.

Rest Your Head Here

Syd's Resting Spot

As I sat down on the couch today my favorite pug decided to join me. Sydney loves the back of our couch and spends hours gazing out the window. Apparently, my head and shoulder only made her job a bit easier. What a strange dog we have.