Received My Giveaway and Flying Fish!

Woohoo! I was so excited when my son came walking in with a long brown box. I knew EXACTLY what it was and couldn't wait to dive in! I won my first giveaway from Janice over at Amy Lynn's Creations! It probably arrived on Monday, but we didn't get to check our mail until yesterday and I'm just now able to get on to post a pic. We have family visiting this week and we've been out and about. But more on that in just a bit. ANYWAY...just look at the goodies I won! And Janice surprised me with an added bonus. That heart and homespun garland was also in the box and I just LOVE it! That is SO me, as are the crows! Just LOVE it ALL!! Right now I just have them on my antique deacon's bench, but when I get a breather here, I'll find the perfect place for them. Head over to Janice's blog and check out the wonderful goodies she has to offer. You won't be disappointed! Thank you SO much, Janice! You made my day!

As I said, we have family from Illinois visiting us this week and yesterday I took them to our beautiful city of Seattle.

Of course, no trip to Seattle would be complete without visiting the Pike Place Public Market. This is such a neat place, with its brick street, street musicians and European feel. It's home to the original Starbucks. The market, itself, is filled with lots of wonderful produce, flowers, fresh seafood, pastries, as well as lots of local artists selling their goods.

But of course, what Pike Place Market is MOST famous for is its flying fish! The guys that work in this fresh seafood booth are SO entertaining. Whenever anyone places an order for fish...or anything else for that matter, one guy yells what is ordered, all the others will yell it back in a "singing" voice, and then the guy on the outside will throw it to one of a guys behind the booth, who will HOPEFULLY catch it and then package it up. They will even allow the tourist to go behind the counter to try to catch a fish...if they are willing! It's fun to watch and listen to them.

I wonder if this big guy made it to someone's table last night! LOL!

I just LOVED this booth, filled with so many of these colorful hanging bouquets of various peppers!

We then walked down and down and down....many, many steps....down to the waterfront. Seattle is similar to San Francisco in that the city sits up higher than the water, and the streets can be pretty steep heading down to the water. So is the walk!! This area of Puget Sound is called Elliot Bay. Lot's of shops and eating places along here, as well as the Seattle Aquarium.

This is a pic of one of the ferries coming in, either from Bainbridge Island or Bremerton. We also have the cruise lines that leave from Seattle. Lots of water around here!

It's been a cloudy week and I hope it clears up soon. Our guests have headed down to Mount St. Helen's and Portland today on their own. Will give me a chance to do a few things around here. My daughter is coming in tonight and they are going up in a hot air balloon tomorrow. I will be sitting here on pins and needles. I think they are going up as the sun rises. Should be beautiful. Then they are going to head over to Mt. Rainier.

Hope to get by and visit all your blogs. I haven't had a chance lately and feel so behind on everything. Hope everyone is having a great summer. Take care! ~~Annie