Oh my goodness. In the 13 years that I have lived here, I have never been to Port Townsend. Now I wonder why? It is such a cute quaint little town that was built in the 1800s and the buildings have great character. It reminds me a little of Red Lodge Montana. Although Red Lodge has more of a cowboy feel compared to the Victorian feel of Port Townsend.  We started off the day grabbing a Starbucks coffee on our way down to Whidbey Island where we caught the ferry.  We parked the van at Fort Ebey and walked onto the ferry.  On the crossing over we were blessed to be able to view whales which made the $6.30 roundtrip fare a screaming deal.  Once at Port Townsend, it was a two block walk to these stunning buildings.  Some of them were painted, some looked like they still needed some repair work, some were available for lease.  I keep thinking of Isaac's The Three Essentials, a wine, bread and cheese bistro that would fit in here.  We window shopped, we oohed, and ahhed at the buildings.  I almost choked on "robust" olive oil.  When they said robust they meant it.  I think I'm a mild olive oil gal or maybe that I need smaller sips of olive oil.  I was enthralled by the architecture and I had ideas brewing in my head of all the places for a photo shoot.  I snapped photos of alleys and buildings to use as backdrops, I started planning waredrops and props.  I just couldn't help it.  Then there was lunch and hot drinks and chocolates to slowly eat as the rest of the day went on.  An amazing smelling pizza place that looked like a dive but inviting anyway.  A steampunk and pirate shop was the last stop and I texted Lona a picture of boots I thought she would like and I was right but not ready to shop.  To see other photos from a different perspective check out Marie's blog of our day.  Knitting the Moment

A potential secret garden; ivy on the brick, trees shading the lot.

Every year spring is like a life ring to me, it reaches out wraps me in its hold.
I eagerly await the sunshine and blue skies, the warmth so I can sit in my chair.
The smiling faces of the flowers before they wilt and drop their heads and the fruit I can reach.
Spring is rain that promises rainbows and grass that brings the lawnmower to a start.
It's the signs of life in the asparagus patch as each new shoot emerges from it's sleep.
Spring is a time of expectations, hopes and dreams of the summer to come.
I plan of pictures taken of chalk drawings on sidewalks, of lemonade stands,
slumber parties in a tent, and the splish, splash of water from the pool.

Sometimes things happen that cause us to stop and think "What if this" or "What if that." Last night we had one of those events happen. It was a rare and unusual night that all of our kids were other places and John and I were watching TV. We hardly ever watch TV. However there was about an hour before he left to go play soccer and so we cuddled up together to watch a TV show on Netflix.  Within about 30 minutes we heard a large crash and our house shock. We jumped up and looked outside. There was a white Ford Van that hit our tree in the boulevard. I ran out and John called me to call 911 and he went outside. The man was still in his van when John approached him. I had the phone and was walking outside calling the dispatcher. The man got out of the van and started apologizing.  I quickly told the dispatcher my address and what happened. I went back inside to turn off the TV and was still answering questions to the dispatcher. Our neighbors came out to see what was going on as well. One of them suggested my cell phone to take photos and I took a video of the man and then started to snap pictures of the van, the driver's area, the license plate. Within 10 minutes the Sheriff department showed up and while one was busy talking to the guy another took our statements. I showed him the video I took and the pictures. We chatted a little and then watched as they had the guy walk a straight line (or attempt) and blow in the breathalyzer. Pretty soon I heard the deputy say the man was being arrested for DUI.  It all happened before John had to leave to play soccer.  The "what ifs" came later. What if the kids had been playing out by that tree, which is totally possible? What if he hadn't hit the tree but our cars or our house?  What if the neighbor kids had ridden down the street 2 minutes later? What if the man was seriously injured? What if he had decided to leave or get angry? What if he had hit another driver? The what ifs are on going and new ones pop in head as I ponder the event. I think back to that event and am thankful that none of those "what ifs" happened. Thankful so thankful for how it turned out.

Ok, I know that it's not like a university acceptance letter but Isaac has been accepted into our local community college.  He has the chance as a junior in high school to attend our local community college and earn both high school and college credits at the same time.  He needed to pass the entrance exam which he did.  In this way he can work on completing his core classes that he'll take at the university but at the community college instead.  What is great is that with the exceptions of fees and books, his classes are paid for.  This is a huge advantage for us.  However what I see as advantageous is the fact that he will be introduced to the college atmosphere while still living at home.  In this way we can help him monitor his time and help with developing study habits here rather than sending him off and have him figure it out with out guidance.  I know that I did that and was fairly capable and John did that too.  I do think though that there is an advantage to having someone help make decisions that isn't part of that college culture.  I've talked to so many students and adults that did the Running Start (that's the program name) and really enjoyed it.  They love the flexibility of the schedules, the atmosphere, and the teachers.  I am really hoping that Isaac enjoys it.  He took a look at the school calendar for next year and decided that he wants a ski pass since he basically would have the month of December off.  He has a friend who has a cabin near the ski slope and they figured that they could go there on the week days and ski all week.  Why not.  We are putting the stipulation that he would have to cover all those costs plus get good grades to do that otherwise he would have to return to the high school for classes.