Pursuing her options at the optometrist’s clinic Top picks for eyewearA healthy shopper
The Seattle Children’s Museum is an understated yet fun place for Lady Kitty to explore and feel confident. It’s seemingly designed especially for preschool children and especially appreciated on a rainy or cold and dark afternoon. There’s furthermore a little secret we’ve stumbled upon. The Children’s Museum allows free entrance 30 minutes prior to closing. This timetable happily corresponds with Lake’s pre-ballet dance class. So it keeps Lady Kitty and myself economically engaged and dry for part of our time whilst footloose and fancy-free at Seattle Center. She’s a lot of fun. Sometimes we even help them tidy up a bit before they close.
After arriving home from a big weekend trip to Portland mama was anxious to get outside and stretch her legs before it got dark. It was a long car ride, but worth it for the adventure.
Party in the backseat!
Thinking there was a break jn the weather we rallied and all trundled down to Green Lake for what turned out to be a cold and rainy walk. We made the best of it. It felt good to fill our lungs with fresh air and the lighting was gorgeous.
We even had a bit of fun running, and stomping in the puddles!
At one point I asked, “Lady Kitty, do you want to rinse your boots off in this mud puddle? The water looks pretty clean…”
“It’s not a mud puddle it’s a leaf puddle,” she said as she happily splashed away.
Leaf Puddle
There you have it friends, it’s not a mud puddle it’s a leaf puddle! A perfect end to a perfect day, I’m glad I spent it with you!
Excited for the showThis was Lake’s second viewing Someone was a little cheeky
We braved the remains of the snow and ice storm of last week, and successfully made the weekend car trip down to Portland for the occasion of the Lion King at Keller Auditorium. Nana had treated us to the Lion King when it was in Seattle before Lady Kitty was born so she hadn’t seen it yet and Lake said he didn’t remember it (fair enough he was two years old at the time). It was time for a rewatch and a wonderful opportunity and treat to refresh for me, too.
The last time we turned out for the Lion King compliments of Nana can be found Here… you’re welcome to review for a flashback.
We sat down near the stage this time, so we could really see the amazing costumes and the actors’ and actresses’ acting, dancing acrobatics. It is an incredible show with the fullness of the music (thank you Elton John) and the puppet-like costumes that the actors wear and exhaustively animate throughout the musical. We hadn’t been able to get seats together, so Lake was a few rows in front of Lady Kitty and I was in the row behind Lady Kitty. Lake is absolutely absorbed in any type of show or production, and sits quietly with rapt attention. He did great sitting by himself and made friends with the parties sitting on either side of him. Lady Kitty is an entirely different creature. She could be found at different points during the performance climbing over the seats, rolling under the seats, and lying on the ground. 🫣
Sitting next to Pippa she was thrilled
I would say overall Lady Kitty was incredibly excited and gleeful and enjoyed the production, but she may have been a bit more active than some of the patrons near us would’ve preferred. For the second half I sat in her chair with her on my lap and that way at least she wasn’t climbing back-and-forth over the top of her chair. 😅
Keller Auditorium
We all had a wonderful time. A perfect day, I’m glad I spent it with you.
This winter Lake and Lady Kitty were blessed to spend all the school holidays together with NanaBaba. Baba is loving and kind and chief of the cozy fires and morning toast parties. Nana is creative and energetic and up for all the kinds of fun Lake and Lady Kitty are up for.
One day at the end of last year as I was working back at home, Baba emailed me to say he was holding down the fort with Lady Kitty:
“The big kids (Nana and Lake) went to the South Shore Mall to look for excitement. Kitty was asleep in her stroller in the basement when they left. When she wakes she comes up the stairs by herself. We have a nice fire going and have read two books so far. Love you very much, Lady Kitty and Baba”
The excitement the Big Kids found was the all electric Kart Racing track at the Extreme Fun Center. What could be more fun for a 7.5 year old and a 75 year old than the Extreme Fun Center? Lake loved it! When he discovered we were going back for MLKJ Day holiday weekend, he immediately inquired if he could go back to the race track. Now, he was an experienced race car driver and proudly raced 16 laps without any trouble or crashing !! Nana said after one race that she had had enough extreme fun for one lifetime and was content to henceforth watch Lake gleefully race in his Kart.
Christmas morning Lady Kitty woke up when it was still dark and went in to Lake’s room to wake him up. Together they went downstairs to discover what the night had brought.
“I think Santa has been here,” Lady Kitty said to Lake. I was eavesdropping from under my downy covers, still in bed, but I imagined I could hear her eyes widen as she and Lake took in the bulging stockings and the replenishment of gifts “from Santa.”
The Christmas magic is alive and well with our skeptical and pragmatic children, helped a bit this year by a rewatch of The Polar Express and Nana’s late night energy. Lake had already decided that in our house, in our family, Santa only fills the stockings, because as he explained he observed the gifts are from friends that drop by and family we visit so they can’t be from Santa. But this year, after opening gifts on Christmas Eve as is the European tradition, more presents appeared Christmas morning!
What delightful magic and the reindeer’s bells’ twinkling could be heard by all— loud and clear this year!
Nana and Baba graciously invited us out to their cozy home near the coast for a lovely feast and convivial time with family Thanksgiving this year. Meanwhile Michael held down the urban fort with the cats, the Airbnb guests and the first-line work at the inpatient hospital. Whilst he worked, we played.
We played hard! We visited Bowerman, Westport Lighthouse, Kalaloch, Olympic National Park, admired the resident wild deer, and spent loads of time by Nana’s bountiful table and Baba’s warm hearth. The weather was crisp and cold with sunny blue skies during the day and thick frost during the night, magically transforming our surroundings into a sparkling white world.
Thursday was a lovely Thanksgiving prepared by Nana including a handsome organic free-range turkey. All was delicious! We were joyous to be able to share the American tradition with Theresa from Innsbruck, Austria. We bowed our heads in thanks and reflected on our lives full of blessings and challenges. Much discussion turned toward climate change, climate action, and what we could contribute towards steering our planet in the direction of the healthiest, most stable present and future.
On Friday, we all abstained from shopping, instead heading out to the ocean. During the drive out to Kalaloch and the wild Pacific coast my dad and I were able to have a long and meandering conversation. He was so kind to ask me about my favorite hikes, which inspired me to finalize the edits on my next post, the bulk of which had been written in 2020 or earlier. In return, I got to hear the stories of him hiking alone, which included once hiking solo out to Hoh Head, hearing a critter rustling with his backpack in the night, which resulted in him impulsively throwing his hiking boot in that direction only to discover it was unfortunately a skunk. The resulting stench was unbearable, and he had to move camp for the next night.
Baba’s favorite event was Lady Kitty waking up at 5 am on Saturday and coming downstairs to be with him.
The kids have a longstanding morning tradition they share with Baba whenever they visit— whilst Nana famously sleeps later— whereby they join him in eating toast and call it a toast party. During this particular Thanksgiving visit Lake remarked, “Baba is the gem— diamond— at the center of the toast party. Without Baba it’s not a party it’s just eating toast.”
Later on Saturday I took the kids out to Westport so NanaBaba could have a small reprieve, and we could take some photographs and have a roll in the sand. I just love the grass-tufted dunes there near the edge of the sea.
As a holdover from the days when Lake was three and four, and immersed in marmots, where he was The Marmot General, and had a marmot army, he and Nana Baba would migrate on these dunes. So we went migrating and even rolled, crawled and played a bit in the sand. The kids say jubilantly, “it’s not a trip to the beach if we don’t roll in the sand!”
Sunday included some time in Nana Baba‘s wheelbarrow. Some of us had a giggle and a trip to the Christmas tree farm. We brought home a Nordman tree that Lake had proudly selected.
Timber! On our beautiful Nordmann Nana gifted us.
What a wonderful Thanksgiving 2023, with much gratitude to Nana Baba for hosting us!
A perfect holiday. I’m glad I spent it with you.
We are so thankful for our wonderful friends and readers as well, and hope you all truly enjoyed your holiday.
A Perfect Day . . . 