pictures and more pictures

We got a place!! We were starting to worry. We had signed up at several property management companies and still never managed to be first. We went and looked at an adorable 1920's bungalow that was offered to us. It was pretty big - 2100 sq feet but our headboard still wouldn't fit in the bedroom which means we would have needed storage and that would bring the rent to $2300. It had no AC and no garage. We really had a hard time letting it go - we were afraid that it was the only one we would ever get offered but I just couldn't bring myself to say yes to that much money and no AC for sure. It was 100 degrees here Saturday - 100!! yikes!! The next morning I started my daily house search and there was a new one posted - good square footage, AC, a garage but only one picture. We decided to just go for it. I called the company and had them run our application - filled out the extra paperwork and put down the deposit. We got it - it was only listed for about an hour! We still haven't seen the inside but we drove by it - looks good. I looked up the house across the street - they are all the same - and saw the layout. I think we got lucky. We have had two people tell us it took them a year to find an apartment and the people who have lived here since January - just got an apartment. It's unbelievable!
We had family come visit!!

My Uncle Joel and Aunt Carol have recently retired and are traveling the country in an RV - they love it!!  They stopped by Saturday. We went out to eat and went to Voodoo Doughnuts. We don't know many fun things to do here yet and it was 100 degrees so they just came to our hotel and we sat in the common area. It was great to see them!! They will be camp hosts at the coast for a few months - 3 hours away - so we will see them again soon!
Sunday we went to Seattle. I've always wanted to visit the Pike Market there - what a neat place!!

tons of tea!!

see the row of colored sugar? So cool!!

an entire alley of gum - pretty gross

looks like an emergency haaa

We got there early and stood in line at the first Starbucks - I bought a cup!  We also visited the Fremont Troll. It is much neater in person - I don't know why.

We ate near the Market - I wish we would have just sampled stuff from different vendors instead of going to a restaurant. The menus were odd - which is a weird thing for me to say considering the places I've eaten and really OVERPRICED!!! I'm sure you've heard about the naked Trump statues - one of them was in Seattle. It had been removed - I think they all have. The article that said it had been moved also had the address of the new location so we went to see it. I'm not posting the picture - there are several online if you wanted to see it. I mostly wanted to see it because there were only a few and they won't be around long. My husband says that while it's an interesting art installation, it is inappropriate. That kind of bullying is the kind of thing Trump does. I think he may be right. It is shaming and if it had been done to the other candidate we would have felt that it was over the line. We had a good time and the weather was great!
I almost have another finish.

You know how when you get so close to the end of a big project you start to get antsy to finish? Well, it's all I want to do and I am so close!!! AHHHHH then there is beading AHHHHH Scott had ordered some patterns for my birthday but it was going to be past my birthday so he cancelled it and ordered something else - well, the order was not cancelled so I got a post birthday gift - lucky me!!YAY

There are a bunch of people in Vancouver that paint rocks and hide them. They have a Facebook page. I accidentally found one but didn't look it up right away. When I did look it up I saw that there were sugar skulls hidden in a cemetery so we went and found them.

Cute idea - not as cool as letterboxing but some of the art is very pretty! I kept one - you can keep them, rehide them or leave them where you found them.
Portland has an international test rose garden - where they test new varieties. It is a fabulous park!!

There is always some bridal party having pictures done there. There are also Rhododendrons - gorgeous!!
I bought a new toy - an Instant Pot. They are all the rage right now - pressure cooker. I have made roast, rice and oatmeal in mine. Tonight I am making Kalua pork from Nomnompaleo. Skinnytaste also has recipes for the Instant Pot.

Perfect for tiny kitchen cooking - and doesn't put off much heat! The kitchen at the hotel is smaller than my walk in closet at my old house haa haa
I think that is all we've been up to. I hope you are having a good August. Thanks for stopping by - I gotta go stitch!!!