Heading out on Saturday morning seems to have become my new ritual. Back in the day when I worked outside of the home on week days, all I wanted to do on weekends was STAY HOME. I am a home-body, after all, and a home-body needs home time.
Now, though, work and play happen mostly right here. So I look forward to my Saturday morning outings. This past week was especially challenging. Work deadlines required very long hours, and some computer malfunctions made it all annoying and challenging. (I found myself chanting with gritted teeth: "I GET to work at home. I GET to stay here and work in my pajamas. I am SO LUCKY to work at my desk with my view of Deer Lake in the background.) It helped, kind of. I got the work done, ordered a new laptop which is on its way, and I survived.
So I figured I DESERVED a lovely outing.
First stop was, as usual, the recycling center to drop off another load of cardboard. Lest you think this might be an unpleasant way to start the weekend, think again! It is weirdly fun. Living on an island means that shopping options are limited unless I want to take the ferry to the mainland. I order more online now than I ever did. Pet food, office supplies, even shoes this week. (Oh, and I ordered a really great room divider that looks liked 3 hinged shabby chic shutters to block off some of the mess that is my future sewing/long arm space, and that came in a massive box.) I am getting to be friends with the UPS and FedEx drivers.
By the way, I have learned that stomping boxes flat is a very good way to relieve frustration and get a bit of a workout. Wear sturdy shoes! I have a hidden space on the side of the house where I can put boxes as I empty them. Some times I flatten them right then and there. Sometimes I save a few for when I'm feeling cranky and then I can go work some of that crankiness off. And sometimes it's the workout before the Saturday morning outing.
So I find I really enjoy going to this recycling center. It's a busy place on the weekends. And everyone seems to be friendly and in a good mood. There are dogs watching from cars, kids happily throwing aluminum cans into the bin... there is fun for everyone. Maybe it's the feeling of being virtuous and productive, not to mention getting the stuff out of the house.
From there, I went to the farmer's market. I am getting to know some of the vendors and I enjoy seeing what is new. First stop is always the Acorn bakery booth. You might remember them from the charming seahorse sourdough baguette I bought on my first visit. This week's purchase was a slab of sourdough focaccia for enjoying with soup or stew later this week, and 2 pains au chocolat. I don't think I've ever stopped at this booth when there was not a line, and I enjoy chatting about the market, the pastry selections, etc. I hear that Acorn's browned butter chocolate cookies are to die for, and the cardamom knots are also delish. I am saving those adventures for another visit.
The next "must stop" is the Foxtail Farm booth, for tomatoes. And to see what else catches my fancy.
I decided we needed carrots.
And flowers! So many to choose from. I could not resist dahlias again. I chose a bouquet of pinky-red-orange flowers.
This picture does not do justice to the magical glow of these beauties.
After the market, I went into Langley in search of the business center where I could return a FedEx box that had been mistakenly delivered to my house. I had gotten a box addressed to the former owners of my house, which amused me because when I first got here I ordered something that ended up being delivered to Healdsburg. When changing addresses, I discovered, one needs to go to all of the online stores one frequents to make sure that those addresses are updated too. All I know about my house's former owners is that they are somewhere in Alaska. I hope they are safe from this weekend's massive storm up there.
On the way from the FedEx place, I came across this quirky little garden
spot at the far end of the parking lot. It turned out to be the back
side of the Flying Bear floral shop. Oh my! It was like a corner of a fairy garden.
As I got closer, I saw this window box, decorated with book spines (real or faux, hard to tell). I need this at my house. I'm adding it my list.
While I was in Langley, the cloud cover had lightened and it was lovely and sunny. I discovered a new-to-me coffee spot, Langley Kitchen, where I had a fun poke around. My plan was to buy a coffee and enjoy one of the pastries from the farmers market. But they had scones that looked amazing. I could not resist a Strawberry-Lime scone. It was heaven and I have already been online looking at recipes to see if I could duplicate them at home. (Ranch friends, it was like a corn-lime cookie but with strawberry chunks and in scone form. Heaven, I tell you.)
The main street in Langley runs right alongside the water, and there are various spots where you can sit and enjoy the view. My current favorite -- of the ones I have discovered so far, anyway, is a little wooden deck a flight of stairs down from a bigger deck. You can sit hidden by a bramble of berry bushes on the hill above you, with another tangle of shrubs between you and the water's edge another flight of stairs down.
This was my view, looking across Puget Sound toward Bainbridge Island, while I enjoyed my coffee and scone. Can there be a better Saturday morning break? I read my current kindle library book (Out of the Clear Blue Sky by Kristan Higgans, which is fun reading) and watched for whales. None spotted. Maybe next time.
I went home happy, played a fun bout of fetch with Rosie and Starlie, had a surprise facetime visit with a dear friend, and then unpacked a few more boxes. Yes, there is already more cardboard in the recycling pile for next week.
Another Whidbey Island discovery this week was Ultra House, a little ramen restaurant in Langley. Miss C and I like Japanese food and decided to give this a try. We sat outside and enjoyed a tonkotsu ramen bowl (Miss C) and a chicken rice bowl (me) while watching people stroll past. Turns out there is video online about the restaurant, the chef, and the motivation for their opening the restaurant. We were really glad to make this discovery.
This week my evening tv watching has included Season 3 of Making the Cut. Have you seen it? It is much like the original Project Runway, and is maybe what Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn decided to do after Project Runway got sold elsewhere. But it is another show that features talented designers and the evolution of their creative process. Enjoyable and little thinking involved from me. I see that Season 7 of Shetland has been released in the US now, so I will turn to that tonight, probably.
By the way, I am finding that I binge-watch shows now more than I ever have... I mean watch one show episode after episode, night after night, to the season's end -- I don't mean watching a whole season's worth in one or two sittings. I find it's like reading a novel, starting and going straight through instead of reading five novels at the same time. Do you do this too? Or are you a "hop around" tv viewer?
Come tell me about your week! Your Saturday rituals! Your reading or viewing adventures!
