Salmon Days in Issaquah Washington

It was the perfect Fall day to celebrate salmon in the Pacific Northwest. Oh yes, I said salmon. And that is probably why we look especially happy in this picture, the whole town is crazy for fish. The stranger we enlisted to take our picture insisted we say "Salmon Days!" to get a good smile. Looks like she knew what she was doing - the photo is great.

Salmon Days is a family friendly weekend in Issaquah, Washington that celebrates the return of the salmon to the river. There is a fair, art show and parade for 3 days each year. The mayor also changes the name of Issaquah to Fish-aquah for the occasion. Now that is town spirit.

Look at the crowds lining up along the river to see the salmon swimming upstream and jumping up Issaquah Creek. I trace the whole path and process in an earlier post. If you'd like to know more, click here. 

It was the perfect Fall day and I loved seeing the admirers from this angle, leaning over the bridge to watch the salmon activity. This photo was taken near the Salmon Hatchery.

Salmon Days docents are on hand along the river (above) to answer questions about salmon, science and to explain what is happening this time of year. They are a treasure. When my cousin Carol and I came to see if any salmon were jumping last year, one of these docents gave us a real ecology lesson as we leaned over this same bridge to watch the salmon return. 

I was happy to see our mascot, Sammy the Salmon, cruising through the crowd. I love a town that celebrates and I encourage you to join the fun and visit Issaquah for Salmon Days next year. In the meantime, click the links and explore the educational videos on the Salmon Hatchery website.

Hot Stove Society: Junior League Sustainers Connect and Enjoy

I really enjoy spending time in the kitchen and that's why I think a cooking class is a wonderful way for a group to connect and get to know one another.

As a member of the Junior League of Seattle (I'm a sustainer, which is like an alumnae), I enjoy attending social events that help me connect and establish relationships with other members. The more connected we are, the easier it is to volunteer together and take  action for great causes. Women get things done and I am very impressed with the women I've meet so far.

The 5 o'clock class was designed to let our group of 25 make assemble, cook and eat 4 different appetizers. Instructors made their way around to the cooking tables and gave up tips and tricks to follow the recipes. My table had shrimp wontons and we learned how to fold, pinch and seal the ingredients inside to prepare the wontons for cooking. 

It was a fun and light-hearted evening. I really appreciated the women who volunteered to man the stove, for their contribution was far more important and quite a bit warmer. The food was delicious (shrimp wontons, empanadas, cheese puffs, chicken skewers AND mini Tom Douglas Coconut Cream Pies) and we loved it. I took lots of pictures of us commanding the kitchen, but I didn't want to post people's photos without their permission, so please imagine a lot of happy faces threading chicken on a skewer and holding up whisked bowls of whip cream.

Thank you, Junior League Sustainers and Hot Stove Society, for a fun night.

#seattle #hotstovesociety #tomdouglas #cookingclass #juniorleague #girlsnight #foodie

Connecting: Making Signs & Friends

I'm leading this post with my finished project, a stenciled sign I made at a Coffee Convo Craft event held at the Church on the Ridge. One of my new neighbors invited a bunch of us to come to this event and meet more people in the area. I think this type of evening is a terrific way to reach women in the community and based on the turnout, I'm sure they counted this as a success.

 

When we arrived, we checked in, received name tags and our table assignment and were encouraged to make a plate of snacks. Yes, please.

My favorite part of the beautiful snack table was that they had floral print straws to go into the beautiful cans of LaCroix sparkling water.

We had pre-selected and pre-paid for the sign we wanted to make. The choices ranged anywhere from custom signs with your last name, to bible quotes and fun slogans about coffee. I chose a sign with arrows.

The first step is to chose a stain, don your plastic gloves and rub the stain onto your wood sign using paper towel. I had always wanted to try staining wood, so this step alone was great (and easy). After the stain drys (20 min?), a coffee convo craft representative helps you to adhere your stencil onto the wood. I chose to tape off the silhouette of Washington state on my sign. I wanted to add stripes of colored "thread" to my arrows and I wanted to display my arrows flying horizontally. The Washington silhouette required it to be shown vertically. So I changed it. Always feel free to change a design to suit you.

I used painters tape to help delineate the lines for the colored thread. I dabbed on khaki paint to form the arrows first. Then I added color and filled things in. I love it! And look how many people were happily entranced with their project! There were at lease 60 women there. I was thoroughly impressed.

I met some women that live in my area; I explored a new craft; I started to feel at home. Thank you to Church on the Ridge, CoffeeConvoCraft and especially Valerie for asking me to join in on this fun night. I loved it.

#community #craft #girlsnightout #coffeeconvocraft #wotr

P Patch: Community Garden Plots

We have a P Patch! Have you ever heard of it? It is an organic urban garden plan. Our apartment complex offered a beautiful fenced garden area with soil-filled raised bed available for rent. Isn't she a beauty? 

The photo (above; taken April 3) shows our tiny new plants tucked into our garden bed. In the back we have a tomato and a cherry tomato plant. Next is a row with lettuce, rainbow kale, lettuce. Then you see our 2 snow pea plants, set inside homemade bamboo supports. Then comes a row of rainbow carrots. We planted a row of mixed color zinnia seeds and planted nasturtiums all around the edges, so that we'll have plenty of blossoms to pick.

This photo was taken May 26 and you can now see snow pea pods hanging on our plant! We have since added a row of brussel sprout plants and a row of broccoli, along with a few peppers and a yellow squash. At the height of summer, it is going to get crowded! But we're having fun and harvesting pea pods every day!

I really enjoy the quiet walk to the garden with Dan after dinner. We check on our plants, water when needed and pick nasturtiums and pea pods every time.

It is beautiful over in the garden in the evening and we often run into neighbors tending their plot. It is a nice time to chat and talk about what we're growing. I am so thankful that our apartment offered this very civilized perk to the amenities. Swimming pools are nice, but I think gardens are everything.

World Record: Most People Participating in a Paint-By-Numbers Project

We did it! 2,852 people painted a fish at the Issaquah, Washington Salmon Days festival and by doing so, set the new Guinness Book record for people participating in a Paint-by-Number project. 

I believe the town is still waiting for the of(fish)al declaration by Guinness, but the Issaquah Press has made the announcement.

A few of the 2,852 artists at work.

You can see a portion of the "Great Migration" masterpiece, above. My work was in blue. Ha! If you ever get a chance to have a little fun and set a world record, do it! My new friend and I had a great time chatting in line and being a part of the master plan for the festival.

Eating Festival Food: check

Shopping for Arts and Crafts: check

Enjoying the Fall Weather while Walking the Streets of Issaquah: check

Setting a World Record: check

I declare the 2015 Salmon Days in FISH-aquah, Washington to be a success!