New Fred Meyer - Alderwood

It opened September 25, 2009, about a month ago.  I've been driving by the construction area for well over a year.  I thought it would stall like so many other development projects around the area.  Key Bank financed the project.  It's a perfect location for me, right on the way home from work for a milk stop and it even has a gas station.  The gas prices are competive with Costco, and I even get a 3 cent/gallon discount with the Fred Meyer Rewards program.

From the Enterprise:  "Upscale service and amenities included in the 177,000-square-foot store a wine steward, a 16,000-square-foot Garden Center, a drive-through pharmacy and a Starbucks coffee bar. A fuel station, with five pumps to serve 10 cars, is another amenity of the new location. Additionally, the unit was designed and built with multiple “green” features such as skylights to utilize natural light, energy-efficient lighting and concrete floors that do not require the use of chemicals for cleaning and maintenance. The new store will be open daily from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m."  Location:  2902 164th St SW, Lynnwood WA 98037

I hope that the Fred Meyer Garden Center doesn't hurt business for Emery's Garden Center, right across the street.  I hardly ever buy anything from Emery's anyway, too expensive.  But it's a nice local business.

Fall Containers

The obligatory chrysanthemum and a coleus not liking the fall dew.

Re-Landscaping in Front of the Fence - Part I

I'm working on re-landscaping the front of the fence, a start on getting our entire yard back in shape. I picked up a few plants at the annual Northwest Horticultural Society fall sale. I started small at the western side by the gate. I dug out an old scraggly azalea and the stump of another. Leslie had bought a Japanese maple (Acer palmatum dissectum ‘Crimson Queen’) at Costco about three years ago. It sat for that time happily in its gallon nursery pot. From the plant sale, I also planted a Hosta ‘Krossa Regal’ towards the back and up front Japanese Forest Grass (Hakonechloa macra). The maple may eventually overwhelm this corner, we’ll see. In the meantime, I will flesh this corner out with one or two smaller Hostas, a fern or two. We’ll see. I have to work my way down the line yet along the fence.

Day in Black Diamond

Work took me down to Black Diamond for a walk in the woods.

Common Centaury (Centaurium erythraea) - a native of Europe that grows in disturbed places such as where I found it here on an overgrown logging road.

The Common Puffball (Lycoperdon perlatum) - fall is mushroom time.

Sunset Bar - Coeur d'Alene

Cole Slaw

I went to the Yakima Fruit Market today.  One of my purchases was a head of white cabbage, grown right in the Kent Valley.  I scrounged a few things from the fridge and pantry and came up with a cole slaw recipe.  Goes like this:

1/2 head white cabbage - thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper - thinly sliced
1/2 yellow bell pepper - thinly sliced
1/2 cup sweet onion - thinly sliced
1 carrot - grated
1 green onion - thinly sliced
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tsp green Tabasco sauce
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper

Slice up the veggies and put them in a big bowl.  In a smaller bowl whisk the oil, vinegar, Tabasco, salt, and  pepper then dump into the big bowl of sliced veggies and mix in all up.  Refrigerate until ready to eat.

Silverwood

Our family made a spontaneous decision to drive out to Silverwood Theme Park way up in the Idaho Panhandle.  We headed Thursday night, stayed in Moses Lake, then continued on Friday for the park.  It was the Friday before Labor Day weekend and the place was unusually uncrowded.  We hit the rides first the Boulder Beach, the water park.  It was nice floating on the lazy river with a margarita.  The weather could have been ten degrees warmer.  Boulder Beach has great music.  The bluegrass-ragtime music in the amusement park wore me out.  Silverwood is a lot like Knott's Berry Farm but located in a beautiful mountain setting.  We stayed overnight in Coeur d'Alene then headed home with a stop in Spokane to check out the falls.

Pink Salmon

The bounty of the Pacific Northwest is unsurpassed anywhere.  Walking five minutes down to the shore of Puget Sound and landing a pink salmon epitomizes this bounty.  He was cleaned, filleted, and on the grill within an hour.  Pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) run on a two year life cycle and here in our area it's odd years only.  This was an abundant year for "humpies" as they are known because of the distinct hump the males get upon entering freshwater.
Pink Salmon - Life History