6/5 Weekend Condo: Busier than ever, Fun RULES! Happy Weekend L&LL!

Good Morning LL!! (YUM! Vanessa outdid herself this morning: PRIMO!) HAPPY SUNDAY to everyone!

LL! It's is I, Vanessa, president and CEO of The Coffee Cat! Life is GOOD! Bug and Lola, Co-CEO's of Paw Prints Pizza are open, and ready for business! They are running a almost summer Weekend Special: BBQ Pizzas! Lots of kitteh treats in them pies, tuna, chicken and shrimps! All on their signature catnip crust. It is mega good. They also have a dessert berry pie, lots of whip cream to holds it all together. So.... order early, and party hearty! I have been very busy this weekend too! My special for today is a coffee infused 4 berry frappe. It is mega good, I swear! So..... Coffee time! For today, I proudly offer Vanessa's special 10 hour energy coffee, and triple shot espressos, with beans from Starbucks Pike Place Market, their original blend, AND.... for all my Mocha fans: a VENTI Quad orange and vanilla mocha, laced with orange swirls, topped with chocolate whip, garnished with orange zest, slivered vanilla beans and chocolate swirls....... and orange drizzle! SWEET OH! No worries, a dollop of orange and vanilla and chocolate and caramel swirl ice cream, on top of a dollop of fudge, and a chocolate caramel drizzle.......SWEET! Vanessa's bakery is all stocked for today too: baguettes and croissants and donut holes, including my signature berry jams. They too is mega goods. I made them myself!





I hope everyone has had a great week. We have been.... well, busy again! As I say every week: I just can't imagine not being on the go. It keeps us out of trouble, and makes for great times! I often think back on the weeks happenings, and wonder how in the world did we do all that! I know I write this every week, but it really was the same this past week. We have had a week of adventure, and fun, and crazy as we all deal with pending summer, and somewhat warmer days. And some wet days. We have been swimming, and to parks, and to the Science center and Seattle Center grounds, as well as a spray park. Thursday was sleepover night here for both Nicholas and William. It has been a good week...



Normalcy in Three MusketeerVille (new photos!) The kitties are all doing well. The weekend has been sunny, and warm, and they have spent alot of it with noses plastered to the screens of open windows. Catching outdoor sniffs and an occasional breeze no doubt. Our escape artist has been hard at work too. It is a daily occurrence now, three times yesterday, at least two a day on most days. We are all getting very good, once again, at making sure she doesn't. Haha, we try, we failed more often than not. Ah Lola... what will we do with you? Yes, I know.... make you a catio! I will, I swear! Bug and Vanessa hissing growling spat from two weeks seems to be over and done with now, and we hope that it doesn't return. So far they are back to being good friends. Other than that: Normalcy rules in Three MusketeerVille!
BUG: Mannie's sunbeam catcher wannabe...



Vanessa


Bug


Lola



Our adventures continue. It has indeed been a busy week. Weather has been ok, little rains, and somewhat on the warm side, with temps in the high 60's. We were outside when we could, indoors when we couldn't. We did get a few nice sunny days too. We made trips to the pools, parks and playgrounds, and were able to return on Thursday to one of the boys favorite places, the Pacific Science Center. We even caught, again, an IMAX movie while there, on the Galapagos Islands and the animals that live there. That was great, boys really enjoyed it. They ave an exhibit there on the Art of Legos, life sculptures made by a man, as his hobby, all out of Legos. That was phenomenal, boys really liked it. We may have to go back and see it again. Weather was so so when we started out to the Science Center, but by noon on that day we had sunshine, and were able to spend time after science exploring the Center Grounds. Thursday was also sleepover night, as my DD had surgery, minor in nature, for a small hernia repair, of which she is recovering well and quickly. Having all that extra tie enabled up to spend the late afternoon at Meadowdale Play Park. That was fun. William has graduated to the big kids swings, and even rode the zip line that they have there. WAY COOL! Wednesday afternoon we were able to spend what ended up being a somewhat sunny afternoon at Wilcox Park, before Nicholas was due for swim class. It was great to be outdoors, let the boys play on some great playground equipment and then go exploring at the park Salmonberry season is back here, and we found a patch there that was on overload, a good 100 yards long patch. YaHOO! Nicholas and William went armed with berry collecting containers and picked what had to be a hundred berries. They ate some, and decided to take the rest home to mom and dad. YUM! Fun days! Friday Afternoon found us at Edmonds City Park, to play on a very nice playground set up and to Get wet at their new Spray park. The boys just love that park! Both of them are rather fond of the water bucket dump they have. I could not keep William out of it. What a great week it was. It has been so fun! It has indeed been a good week for the boys, and their grammie!

William, and the Green Bucket Dump!



Nicholas & William: Civil Engineering, hard at work ~~ Wilcox Park


Nicholas & William, Legos Exhibit, Pacific Science Center


Nicholas and William, and the inevitable Sticks... ~~ Meadowdale Play Park



AWESOME WEEK in the pool! Nicholas and William continue to swim on the same designated days, with swim lessons for Nicholas on Mondays and Wednesdays. Lessons continue to go well for Nicholas. They continue to focus on having the kids swim the length of the pool, working on stroke development all while having fun. They both still love going, so we do. We still plan on having William start lessons in the fall, once the chaos of the summer is over. Nicholas continues to be out underwater energizer fishie, and I often think he spends as much down below the surface as he does on top. William the past month has really taken off with his efforts in the pool. He is now jumping in on his own, and can swim the width of the pool. He has such fun with it, says that he loves being under water No surprise! He has Nicholas's example to follow. Now I have two energizer fishies! They still both swim together on Wednesdays, this week that was in the morning instead of the afternoon, and again on Friday night. A month ago Nicholas asked William to join him on our Friday Night Swim Adventure, and of course William was all for it. That is ever so much fun! I had held off on that for sometime for William, as it is a very challenging pool for those that are not strong swimmers, and after all, that has always been Nicholas's special night, and his alone. With his permission, and with William's new confidence we decided to give it a try, WOW! He has done wonderfully, and kept up with his brother! We have also been able to continue those post swim, before lessons pool picnics on Monday and Wednesday afternoons, often going berry picking on the nearby trail when time allows. Weather has been good then, so why not? It was fun: grilled cheese sandwiches and chicken with fries on the menu. YUM! Friday night, the traditional Burger Feast was on! Nicholas and I have been doing that for the longest time. It was awesome that William was there to join us. Even better that it was a warm sunny day, and we could truly have a picnic, on the grass, on blankets, under blue skies. Way cool! SWIMMING RULES!!! As always, we are grateful for our time in the pool. It has all enabled to boys to explore another aspect of growing up, one they really enjoy. It has just become the norm for us, we go each week, and just never tire of it. It proves to be such fun for both boys, and their excitement with it all has not wavered.
GO NICHOLAS! GO WILLIAM !!


William, energizer fishie, #2!


Nicholas, off he goes, swimming the length, underwater!





For my own personal time, I continue to hike the local trails here when I can: Meadowdale, Picnic Point, Big Gulch, Mesika, and wherever else I can find nearby. It is great to have such good places to go to when time permits. I cannot be more grateful fore that! Tuesday was a "free day", after a couple of Appts and breakfast with my son. I didn't have time for a travel trip, but did have time for a trip to hike at Snoqualmie Pass. So off I went to do Gold Creek Pond, Franklin Falls, and the Snoqualmie River near Twin Falls. They are also spots that the boys and I will go to during the summer, so it also gave me an opportunity to see how conditions are, and an estimate on when we can return. That turned out to be now. SWEET! The weather was great for my adventure, loved every minute of it. Gold Creek is gorgeous, and Franklin Falls is one of those that you can stand at the base of the waterfall, and see it fall literally at your feet. I hope to go back over "them thar hills", aka the mountain passes, again next week, and hike again in Eastern Washington , before things start to get hot, like 100 degree days hot, over there.


Gold Creek Pond


Franklin Falls


Have a great Sunday everyone! It is rather low-key here... I made it outside on a local hike today, to the beaches of Picnic Point, while it is still quiet, no people! It should be a sunny afternoon here. I hope they are right on that one,, we shall see! This evening some son's band has a show in Everett, and I hope to be able to make that. YAY on it being at a place that is more or less, close to the house!

KITTIES!! Remember: BLUE, think GREEN

 

Nice that you were able to have some inside and outside time with the boys this week. Sending prayers for your DD to recover quickly from her surgery. I'm glad the kitties are doing well. I hope your DH is still doing well with his PT. Enjoy your son's band show.

 

Wow, crazy busy as usual. Love the kitty pics, and the scenic ones are incredible - that waterfall!!! What is it with boys and sticks? I swear the things have some kind of magnetic attraction for them!

You didn't mention DH. I hope all is going well with his recovery? He continues to be in our prayers.

 

Howdy everyone. Finally had a minute to get back to the Board. I hope everyone is having a good start to their week!

@carfurby - thx I am elated too on the week. We did manage to get inside and outside covered. It was a nice mix this week. THX too on the well wishes for my DD. She has had a good recovery and is back at it, modified a little until all has had a chance to heal. She says she feels great. THX too on DH, he is doing ok. Still in recovery mode, but that is expected, and as the surgeon said it would be. THX too on the band's show. It was awesome. I love to hear him play.

@Tricia Cinco(GA) & Harvey - hi Tricia, lol, and yes, crazy busy says it well. many thanks on the pics. Kitties are great.i have to agree with you in that waterfall. It is fun, as you can walk right up to it. I wish I knew on boys and sticks! It is the first thing they look for. and they are very particular. Not any stick will do... sorry for the DH omission. There just isn't anything new to report, my bad for not saying that, I should have. He is doing ok, continuing with the PT. Recovery is there, though it is very slow. We were told it would be and could take several months. All in all, things are good for him, and we believe that the cancer part of this is history.

 

Hi Michelle,
Better late than never! Actually I read your condo early in the week but got side-tracked. I love the video of Bug. What a neat cat he is! And the portraits of Vanessa and Lola are beautiful.

Very glad to hear that your DD is recovering quickly from her hernia repair. I recovered quickly last fall, too, but not completely until months later. It's amazing what they can do these days with minimal disturbance. DH is doing well, too. So well that you forgot to comment at first!

The boys are really enjoying their outings with you and the swimming is looking great. Amazing that Nicholas can swim the length of the pool under water.

Lovely pic of Franklin Falls. We have a Franklin Falls here, too, but it's nothing like yours.

I hope this has been a good week with the boys, that your DH is continuing to make progress, and that all the kitties are thriving. The escape artist needs her catio!

Enjoy the weekend,

Hugs and scritches,

Ella & Rusty

Thank you Vanessa, Kitteh Barista! It was sure cold here this week and the hot coffee was much appreciated.

 

What a great report sending more vines for DH's continuing recovery

That little Bug, he's already got me wrapped around his little paw without even knowing who I am!

 

I wanted to scritch Bug's tummy - not sure if he'd allow that. Adorable kitty in that video.

Vines for DD and DH, hope all are healing.

Thought of you yesterday - I picked small bowl of huckleberries for DF and a handful of the first ground blackberries of the season. Love this weather. You have such wonderful hiking pictures too.

 

Morning Everyone! Happy Sunday! I finally have a moment to get to condos. it has more than busy here.... New condo today, soon!

@Ella & Rusty & Stu(GA) @Vyktors Mum , @Wendy&Neko ~~ THX all on the wishes for DD, and DH. DD is pretty much healed up, but as Ella says, it takes a while to be back to 100%. Her procedure was minimally invasive, so healing is going well, and quickly. DH is plodding long well. Recovery will take sometime for him, alot of kitten steps, and we hope for continues good things. Back to the oncologist in little over a month, for another scan to make sure all is well. PT continues for him and I do believe that helps too. THX too on the Bug video, and Bug. He s such a sweetie, alot like Mannie in many ways. Wendy - depends on his "mood" and whether or not he'll allow those tummy scritches. more often the not though! Serryn - he's good at that, and has us all wrapped around his paw too!

@Wendy&Neko ~ Hooray for huckleberries! Ours are just now starting to come into fruit. We still have some salmonberrries, though those are almost done now. The boys are really looking forward to the huckleberries. I also have a small bush in my yard.
THX on the hike pics. It was a good time out this week.

@Ella & Rusty & Stu(GA) ~~ DD is About half was through her 4 week minimal lifting restrictions etc. She says all feels well there, but will be good and follow the rules. DH is coming along too. I know on the no comment thing... It was status quo, and just didn't think to fill all in. Many thanks on the Bug video. it is very typical of his temperament. Such a great kitty he is. I agree on Lola and Vanessa, they really are very pretty kitties. LOL, no bias here. HAHA. THX to on the boys. They both are now energizer fishes, and love being under water. I surprised me on Nicholas, and how far he can swim while down under. William is starting to try and do that too. They both so love the pool. Yupp, Franklin Falls is really cool. A very easy hike to get to it, only a mile, and I love the fact that you can go right up to it. That in itself is fun! It has been a god week for the boys, lots to do, we have been busy once again. LOL on Lola and the catio. I have made myself a promise that she will get her catio. now to follow through with it. I so hope to this summer.
Auntie Ella! You are so welcomes! I am on my way with today's delivery! See ya son. ~~ Vanessa, kitteh barista