PORT ORCHARD, WASHINGTON

I love this area when I visit my son in Oalla which is on my mind today because if masks are required on flights - I won't be able to go there in the foreseeable future.  I can hardly keep a mask on for 10 minutes in a store before I have to get out to breathe fresh air. 

Anyway, a couple photos of the area that I've never posted before.

Port Orchard is where we go to get on the ferry to go to Seattle which is a beautiful ride in itself, much better than the freeway.  I love what I've seen of the state of Washington and would so love to have about a month there to see it all. 

When the tide goes out like the photo below, is when the grandkids go look for small crabs.

A NEW CATEGORY - FRIDAY FRONT PORCH DAY

I know there are so many different categories for different days of the week in Blogworld and social media platforms.

I think I'll create my own for each day of the week.  Since I love front porches and use to post them here quite a bit , I will choose Friday for Front Porch Day. 

i like the look of an enclosed front porch so I like this one however, I would have more trees around the house. 

i love the side view -

Saturday  -  I'm figuring out still how to categorize it for a post.    Suburban, Saturday, Sacred, Savory, Sinister - ...and then there is Sunday  ..

Weekend is upon us again...any plans?

TODAY ITS ABOUT FAMILY TIME

Okay - well it was a long time ago and I'm missing these kids when they were little.  Three of them we had at the house quite often  - because we babysat them several times a week.  The little girl in the pink dress, my niece, it was always fun when she got to visit which wasn't that often but the kids all got along together. 

I came across these photos and figured I'd put them up again so when I look back at my 2020 blog posts I'll be reminded again of this particular day.

The girls were sitting alone on the futon which we had on the front porch while doing renovations inside.  Pretty soon their boy cousins came.   The little guy in the red shirt, Cayden,  looked more like he was ready for a nap not dancing.   I don't know how it all evolved but I guess I had music playing inside in the living room and they got up and danced. 

BIG BEAR LAKE

ON THE WAY BACK HOME YESTERDAY

We were off mountain to do some shopping and hang out in some areas we like, such as Redlands, Beaumont,, etc.  The sky was amazing.

The Spanish Broom  .. the yellow blooming plants are looking beautiful this May.  The will be in bloom until probably end of June or so but it makes for a beautiful drive coming back up the mountains on hwy 330.  We usually take the 18 to come up but during Spanish broom blooming season I have to take this route at least once or twice a year. 

SO MY "CHEF" (HUSBAND) ASKED ME WHEN I WANTED FRIED RICE AGAIN.

I thought about it so I figured this is a good way to let him know that I would like it SOON.  (he checks my blog).    

 He makes the best fried rice and other than some kind of fruit to go with it all I need is a big bowl of it, one breadstick and either applesauce or peaches.  Red grapes will do also.   I'll have some wine along with it, thank you very much.

I DON'T NEED MUCH IN LIFE ANYMORE

So true that the older you get the desire is less.  What I do still want some day is a house that sits on a level street, where I can walk out and go either right or left and not have to walk down a hill or walk back up to come home.  I'm so over hill walking.   Where I live now it's up and down a hill just to go to the store or the lake.  If I'm out hiking or taking a walk around the lake I don't' mind hills but I really don't want to live on one. 

So in this area if I was to choose a different house to move to  (I've probably posted these pics before but I can't find them on my blog),..... it wouldn't be overlooking a lake or close to town.  It would be a level street with at least three to four miles or more one way or the other to walk before coming to an uphill street. 

I also want the outside to look neat and clean but still have a feeling of nature around.  A front porch like this would be nice - covered, shaded from the sun.  This house (I looked it up) is about 1400 square feet, 3 bd 1 bath .  I definitely would want at least 1 1/2 baths but I guess I could learn to live with one bathroom.   Heck I had to do that when we were first married and lived in apartments.   We've owned 3 houses in our past - the first two where in neighborhoods with level streets and the third one where we lived almost 30 years was up a long hill and it was just our road itself that was level otherwise we always had that up and down walk.  I got use to it though and we often on purpose found walks we could go  into the hills for exercise. (we lived in foothills).

Now, I want level.  So of all the houses I've seen in our town this is the house and street I would choose to live on.  I like that it has a "little" yard and mostly cement which in this case doesn't look bad.  The yard would be so easy to maintain. 

Where I am now we have the forest on all sides and that means a yard that requires a lot of clean up especially since in June, the county comes around with notices of what has to be done for clearing space and pine needle pick up to make the house more defensible from fires.   The amount of bags and barrels we put out every trash day during the one month or more  before this is quite a bit.  It's almost done though and I'm happy for that. 

The more I look at this house - the more I would love to live here.  But, it's not for sale (which I wouldn't buy a house any more) and it's not for rent.

A TRIP TO BIG BEAR LOOKING FOR SPRING COLORS

Our mountains here always seem to be behind in blooming so when it starts I'm always out looking for color.

We went up to Big Bear the other day and the weather was perfect for walking and just enjoying being outside.  It felt so strange that on such a beautiful day there were very few people  out and about.   Our county has now made it voluntary that we wear masks but stores have the right to require them.