Haven't been doing much other than walking and grocery shopping lately.  It has been raining a lot again but it sure is fun to watch.  It's usually just a fine rain but occasionally it pours hard enough you can hear it on the roof. We have a low spot right over our balcony so when it rains, all the rain from the whole building comes down onto our balcony.  It's supposed to get fixed soon but until it does, we have a waterfall right outside our sliding doors. When it stops raining, it continues to fall until the puddle is low enough to stay on the roof.  The Crows and Seagulls love to drink out of it and occasionally I can hear them taking a bath.

You don't get the full effect taking the picture through the sliding glass door.  From this point down, the door is covered with rain.

I stuck my camera out the door to get this shot.  It still doesn't do the waterfall justice.

We (Dad) got a new toy.  He wanted to be able to look out at the ships and boats in the Bay and also look at the moon on a clear night so we found a good deal on a Celestron Telescope that you can use for both terrestrial and celestial gazing.  It's still way powerful and we haven't quite figured out how to best work it.  It looks good though and gives the impression we know what we're doing so I guess that counts for something.

While on one of our walks, Mimi and I walked down by the construction site and noticed a change we hadn't noticed before.  I have a before and after picture so if you like to "find the difference" you can see if you can tell what has changed.  It's just one thing as far as I'm aware.  I'll tell you what changed at the end of this post.

On our excursion to Costco and Walmart on Wednesday, we got dad a couple of stocking caps or as he likes to call them "Do-Rags."  He walked out of the bedroom yesterday looking like this.  I asked him if he slept it in but he said he just put it on.  He's so silly sometimes.

Were you able to see the difference in the two pictures?  Here they are again:

This picture was taken in August of last year and isn't as close up as the next one.  Right in the middle you will see a taller red brick building, a smaller one with an open front and two brown silo-looking things to the right of that.  That's where the focus should be.

This is a much closer view of the same area.  The tall red brick building on the left and the two brown silo-looking things on the right.  The building that was in the middle of the two is pretty much gone.  Did you guess right?

Yesterday after I got back from walking and got cooled down a bit, Dad asked if I wanted to go get a Hamburger or something.  That didn't sound good after all the good food we've had here so we decided to go downtown and try a little Italian Restaurant called D'anne's.  I totally forgot it was Valentine's Day and everywhere would be crowded.  We went a little early but still had to wait about 45 minutes.  It was well worth the wait, though.  We both forgot our glasses so we couldn't read the menu very well but the waitress gave us some clues and we ended up getting Chicken and Mushroom Linguini.  It was really delicious!  Didn't take any pictures though.  It was too crowded.

Today I went walking about 9:00 am.  We walked down to downtown Bellingham along Holly Street, up and down Railroad Avenue, around a couple of blocks to look at some interesting stores and then headed back up to the condos.  It is so nice to be so close to everything.  Of course, the big box stores aren't close but it's nice and fun to visit a small, old-fashioned place like Bellingham.  In the spring and summer they have a Farmer's Market downtown which is very close to where we live.  I've been told it is a little pricey but everything is local and fresh.  I can't wait to see that.  Mimi recommended a small bakery/deli that has good sandwiches so we went in and I picked up a menu to see if Bob might like to try it sometime.  I guess it got his juices flowing because he wanted to go right then.  So, he skipped breakfast and we headed down to Avenue Bread and Deli on Railroad Avenue.  Dad had the Mamma Mia special and I had my usual Turkey on Sourdough Bread. I only took two pictures and neither were of the food.  Take a look...

How about a magazine dedicated solely to Marajuana?  Really?

Dad reading the new Whatcom Community College Spring Class Schedule.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!!  Our dinner at the Cliff House last night was our Valentine's gift.  After spending $150.00 for the four of us, it was enough.  It's been raining on and off this morning so my walking friend and I are going to wait a bit to see if it stops or if we'll wait until another day.  I've ordered a rain/wind breaker but it hasn't arrived yet.  I have a dressier rain coat but it won't be good for walking and I want to have a hoodie which it doesn't have.

Here are the pictures from our dinner last night.  Our reservations were for 5:00 pm so the sun was just setting.  All the finer dining places in Bellingham serve local, fresh fish and fruits and vegetables.

The restaurant is obviously perched on a cliff overlooking Bellingham Bay.  It is in a residential neighborhood and easy to miss if you don't look carefully.  I couldn't get a picture of the full building for fear of getting run over.  Parking is on both sides of the street.  All the streets in the city we have been on so far are very narrow.

The sun was just getting ready to set so it was hard to get a good picture from the outside of the restaurant.

Inside looking back towards the view we have from the Condo.  The large tanker "The Horizon" moved forward a bit today.  Don't know why.  People say they haven't seen it move in three years.

Those tiny looking specks are sailboats.

 

Our realtor, Maryann and her husband Russ Angus.  Such nice, nice people!

I can't get the hang of taking a picture without seeing it on the screen with my cell phone so I reversed it so I could see it better.  Obviously I can't see it any better.  Bad, bad picture!   Is this really the way other people see me?  I shall now wear a sack over my head when I go out.

Whiskey Crab Soup.  It was creamy and slightly tangy with a little spice to it but it was delicious!  I could make a meal of it and a salad bar easily.  Dad had it too and loved it also.

Salmon Cakes -  King Salmon with garlic, red bell pepper, Jalapeno, curry, fresh herbs, and panko bread crumbs oven baked and served with fresh tropical salsa and lemon-caper yogurt.  Also served with a loaded baked potato.   Yum!  I loved it! 

Bob's Seafood Medley - Fresh fish, Scallops, Prawns, Clams and Calamari sauteed with butter, Vermouth, onions, garlic, bell peppers, mushrooms and fresh herbs served with a loaded baked potato.  It wasn't his favorite.  He did like the potato though.

I got an email from my sister this morning telling me she is having shoulder surgery on the 21st.  She will call when she can.  Keep her in your prayers, please.

Around 1:00 pm the weather started to clear up so Mimi and I went for a walk.  We walked straight down the street from our condos to the trail that goes along the shore.  What a beautiful walk!  Walking along there is much nicer than walking along the streets because it is fairly level all the way.  The only trouble is you have to walk back up to the condo which is a steep climb and about did me in.  We walked about an hour and a half.  Great exercise and beautiful scenery.

Mimi and me.

A partial look at the views along this walking trail.

Being up here in Bellingham has brought back so many memories that have long since been pushed to the back of my mind.  It has also reminded me again of how fast time goes and how easy it is to lose track of people who mean a lot to us.  I had a reawakening to the times we spent up here years ago with Bob and Sandy Scott.  They introduced us to the San Juans.  I lost touch with them when we moved back to Salt Lake so I decided to check Facebook to see if they or their sons were on there.  I couldn't find Sandy but I remembered that Doug was friends with some of my kids so I emailed him to find out what Sandy's email address is and I emailed her.  So many things have changed in both our families and us.  It was so great hearing from them again.  Sandy called last night and we had a good long chat.  They want to come to Salt Lake to see us and also come to Bellingham sometime.  What fun that will be!

This morning I woke up and checked my email and found an email from Bob with some pictures attached from the first trip we made up to the San Juan Islands together.  Jeff and Wendy were also there on one of our trips and there is a couple of pictures of us with Wendy's brother, Jeff on the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier.  I have somehow lost all the pictures I took when we traveled up here and Bob so graciously scanned some of his and sent them to me.  When we moved back to Salt Lake I lost a bunch of pictures I had.  I can't imagine where I would have put them.  Anyway, below are the pictures he sent me this morning. It shouldn't be hard to imagine why we fell in love with the San Juans and Bellingham.

Dad was so scared of the whales!  He was afraid they were going to capsize the boat.  Me?  I was having a blast talking to them.

I was so excited about the whales, I didn't take any pictures!  Thank goodness, Bob and Sandy had the sense to take pictures and share them with us.  This is the trip that convinced Bob we needed a bigger boat.

Chatterbox Falls, B.C. Canada

Who are these two young, skinny people?

The USS Carl Vinson where Jeff McNees was stationed.

From left to right:  Sandy Scott, Me, Wendy, Jeff, his girlfriend, and Dad

This evening we are taking our Realtor and her husband to a new place they recommended to us just up the street.  It's called "The Cliff House."  It is supposed to be delicious with a fantastic view of the bay.  I hope I don't forget to take pictures.  It's a habit that is hard to get into even though I have a camera on my phone and it goes with everywhere.  Shame on me!

I was going a little stir crazy yesterday so I asked Dad if he would mind if I went down to Fred Meyer and walked around for a bit.  At first he wanted to go but then told me to go ahead.  I walked up and down all the aisles and did find a few things I had missed from my grocery list and some other items.  I definitely can see why people shop there.  The deli is really nice and has a nice area to order, sit, and eat.  The meat department had lots of offerings and it was well presented.  I don't remember if I mentioned that Walmart had almost no fresh vegetables and fruits or not but I was so disappointed in them.  Fred Meyer, on the other hand has a beautiful fresh fruit and vegetable section.  I'm thinking I'll have to get what I can at Costco and Walmart and then finish off at Fred Meyers.

We attended our first annual HOA meeting last night.  The attendance was good but I'm a little disappointed that there are four rental units in our building.  (There are a total of nine units).  I guess you can get a loan if there are no more than 51% of the units rented but it would be nicer if it were more like 30%.  The owners agree but, of course, those who rent don't agree.  It was nice to meet all the owners who were able to attend.

Mimi Roelof is the President and she lives two door down from us.  A very nice and friendly lady who knows what she is doing and is perfect as the President.  She and I decided a couple of days ago that we would walk whenever she is free in the morning.  We did our first walk this morning.  I couldn't believe how much easier it is to walk at sea level!  There are mostly hills around us but we made it and walked for about an hour.  We walked south just beyond the Washington State University campus into a neighborhood that is quite upscale.  They are still older homes but they have been improved.  There are so many beautiful homes! The yards are so beautiful because of all the rain and the coolness of the air.  Absolutely gorgeous!

Dad and I are going to the mall this afternoon.  I bought a magnifying mirror that is so magnified I can see every pore and hair growing on my face.  I swear!  If people can see that in real life, I'm mortified!  I can only see a little tiny section of my face at a time in the mirror and it is ruining my eyesight (more than it already is) and giving me headaches.  Trying to put on makeup with it is a joke and I can't see well enough with a regular mirror.  I love the one I have at home so I'm going to try to find one like it.

Today was beautiful and sunny!  After I fed Dad his breakfast, we headed out to go grocery shopping to get the rest of the items we couldn't get last week because the shelves were all empty.  We also needed to pick up Dad's prescriptions at Costco.  We went there first and got several items while we were there.  I can't get too much from Costco because of the lack of storage space, especially in the freezer.  Walmart is just across the street from Costco so that was our next stop.  The shelves were stocked up this time.  We stopped in at McDonald's to have a bite to eat.  Dad loves the Big Mac.  I don't mind the Chicken McNuggets but it's not my most favorite place to eat.

Yesterday, we were a little bored.  It was cloudy but didn't seem like it was that cold so we decided to go down to the marina and walk around and then have lunch at the Bay Side Cafe.  We we arrived down there and got out, the wind was blowing and it was a bit too nippy to walk very much so we just went to the cafe and enjoyed their lunch offering.  Bob had a salad and a Reuben Sandwich.  I had a yummy bowl of Clam Chowder with Oyster Crackers and a Patty Melt.  The pictures don't do the sandwiches justice.  They were delicious and the soup was my favorite.  The picture of Bob with his sandwich didn't turn out for some reason.

Green with envy!

There are some huge boats out there.  

Bay Side Cafe's yummy Clam Chowder with Oyster Crackers.

My Patty Melt.  The meals were also served with Pumpernickel Bread.