Tropea, Tropea, Tropea

This past weekend, we also celebrated our eight year wedding anniversary. We got out for a late dinner at a favourite Italian spot in Redmond, Tropea. The food tasted INCREDIBLE! INCREDIBLE! INCREDIBLE! Perhaps it was because we hadn't been out for dinner in a REALLY long time, the wine or the occasion... or all of the above. But it was amazing. Rich and i discovered this place back in Feb 2000 when Microsoft flew us out for a house hunting trip. We were staying at the nearby hotel and ended up walking by, and thankfully going in...

For our anniversary, we got a couple of cool chairs for camping and life...REI Comfort chair I just can't wait to take the chairs (and the family) camping!

Anchor Hocking Glassware

I've been searching for glass storage containers that are truly all glass, i.e. including the lid. I fell in love with these ones from an old American glassmaker, Anchor Hocking. The size is great, the lids aren't plastic, no worry in the dishwashers and I love opening the fridge to see them!

Dan Zanes/Owl Birthday Party!

The month of celebration continues! Our family from Vancouver came down for a party full of dancing to Dan Zanes and acting like owls!

Making a train for to "CHOO CHOO BOOGIE" (Catch That Train album).

Rhythm sticks!!! These were a hit.

I always love when we have enough kids for the parachute!

Cousin Simon trying on the owl toss game. :)

Keeping with the owl half of the theme, we ate mice instead of cake!


Dan Zanes/Owl Party Play List! songs/game selected by Mina and Mamma

1- JUMP UP – jumping, jumping, jumping
2- THE HOKEY POKEY
3- WEST INDIAN COUNTING SONG – hot potato
4- MANGO WALK – freeze dance
5- NIGHT OWL- flying like an owl
6- ALL AROUND THE KITCHEN- like a chicken and recommended actions
7- CHOO CHOO BOOGIE – hands on shoulders, train walking
8- LET’S SHAKE – follow song actions
9- SKIP TO MY LOU - skipping
10- QUE FORTUNIDAD- rhythm sticks
11- WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD -bubbles
12- SMILE, SMILE, SMILE – parachute slow
13- MALTI- parachute fast
14- SURROUNDED BY FRIENDSHIP – hanging...

Hoot! Hoot! Mr Miles is TWO!

Some cute pictures of my boy on his owl-y birthday...

Dan Zanes

Our family loves Dan Zanes, and we felt lucky that his concert matched our birthday season! As a family present we went to see his show! This was a first concert for Miles. A friend took this family picture at the concert. It was an awesome concert with great music, dancing and an opportunity to watch the musicians up at the edge of the stage. Afterwards, Mina came running in the house and grabbed her ukulele!

Dan Zanes has a new album focusing on music from Latin America. You can sample a couple of these songs on his myspace page. At the concert, he mentioned that this is his pro-immigration album. :)

Mina is having a Dan Zanes themed party for her upcoming birthday. She even wants him on the cake!

Bioplastics: friend or foe?

Here is a rather interesting article from the Guardian,
'Sustainable' bio-plastic can damage the environment.

Looks like we still need to find ways around plastic in general! Not to mention, relying less on foods that feed our world.

On a side note, there was an Earth Day exhibit hanging around the bookstore the other day and Mina picked out these,

Recycle, A Handbook for Kids by Gail Gibbons

Where Does the Garbage Go? (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2)

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

The tulip festival is one of those experiences that makes my hearts sing. This year the tulips were off to a slow start but we finally got a chance to go see their spring beauty. This year marks 25 years for the tulip festival!

Update: Tulip Fest extended,
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/travel/2004378826_webtulips28.html

Miles turns two tomorrow!

Where does the time go?

Living on Earth

Living on Earth with Steve Curwood is the weekly environmental news and information program distributed by Public Radio International.

I've gotten out of habit of listening to these shows and Rich turned my ears back here tonight. It is good to hear from an old friend.

John's New Lists

JITM Top Releases of 2008
1. Helio Sequence - Keep Your Eyes Ahead (Sub Pop)
2. These New Puritans - Beat Pyramid (Domino)
3. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! (Mute)
4. Magnetic Fields - Distortion (Nonesuch)
5. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend (XL)
6. The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely (Third Man/Warner Bros)
7. R.E.M. - Accelerate (Warner Bros)
8. The Black Keys - Attack & Release (Nonesuch)
9. Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple (Downtown/Atlantic)
10. The Kills - Midnight Boom (Domino)
11. DeVotchKa - A Mad & Faithful Telling (Anti-)
12. The Shackeltons - The Shackeltons (Loveless)
13. Cloud Cult - Feel Good Ghosts (Tea-Partying Through Tornadoes) (Earthology)
14. Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid (Polydor UK)
15. Foals - Antidotes (Sub Pop)
16. Moby - Last Night (Mute)
17. Fleet Foxes - Sun Giant (Sub Pop)
18. Sera Cahoone - Only as the Day is Long (Sub Pop)
19..Sons & Daughters - This Gift (Domino)
20. The Raveonettes - Lust Lust Lust (Vice)
21. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles (Last Gang)
22. Drive-By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark (New West)
23. Hot Chip - Made in the Dark (Astralwerks)
24. The Heavy - Great Vengeance and Furious Fire (Counter/+1)
25. Los Campesinos! - Hold On Now, Youngster (Arts & Crafts)
26. Ghostland Observatory - Robotique Majestique (Trashy Moped)
27. Future of the Left - Curses (Too Pure)
28. British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music? (Rough Trade)
29. The Whigs - Mission Control (ATO)
30. The Teenagers - Reality Check (XL)
31. Thao with the Get Down Stay Down - We Brave Bee Stings and All (Kill Rock Stars)
32. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago (Jagjaguwar)
33. The Duke Spirit - Neptune (Shangri-La)

JITM Top Northwest Releases of 2008
1. The Helio Sequence - Keep Your Eyes Ahead (Sub Pop)
2. Fleet Foxes - Sun Giant (Sub Pop)
3. Sera Cahoone - Only as the Day is Long (Sub Pop)
4. Joshua Morrison - Home (Expanding Brooklyn)
5. Voyager One - Afterhours in the Afterlife (Loveless)
6. Man Plus - The Hungarian Suicide Songbook (self-released)
7. Say Hi - The Wishes and the Glitch (Euphobia)
8. Throw Me the Statue - Moonbeams (Secretly Canadian)
9. Shawn Smith - The Diamond Hand (Gator/Sound vs Silence)
10. Mark Pickerel and His Praying Hands - Cody's Dream (Bloodshot)
11. Thee Emergency - Solid (self-released)
12. Skullbot - Titan (self-released)
13. Black Whales - Black Whales (demo)
14. The Transmissionary Six - Cosmonautical (Tarnished)
15. Grand Archives - The Grand Archives (Sub Pop)