Sorry To Be Leaving Blaine (Silver Creek, WA)

Since my last post, we have moved several times.  I hope to have another post soon of our other stops.  We settled in Silver Creek, WA on Saturday and have not had time to visit the surrounding area...yet.

In the meantime, I wanted to share more photos of the area around Blaine, WA.  We visited Lynden, WA several times.  It is a small town with Dutch influence showing up in the downtown area.

The buildings were quite interesting and this bakery....the best little pies ever!  I had a small blackberry pie that was overflowing with sweet berries.  Usually, the single helping pies have so much crust, I feel like I am playing hide-and-seek with the fruit.  No hunting for the fruit in this little pie!  I had to go back for another one before we left.

Below is a photo of a restaurant and hotel.  Just gorgeous!  And the hanging baskets of flowers were all along the street.  They were hugh!  They were so big that I (the vertically challenged) had to be careful not to walk into one and end up with a face full of flowers.

Love the welcome sign.  I should have got a better photo of that one.

I wish I had taken a photo of the Tangled Threads Quilt Shop.  Of course, the more interesting things to show were inside.  The displays were wonderful.  I ended up buying fabric I did not need, but I could not live without.  Hmm, I might have to make another "The Witch is in" wall hanging.

I found out that I missed another quilt shop called "Folktales".  You know what that means, right?  I'll have to go back!

Blackberries are in season and seem to be everywhere.  In the campgrounds, in the downtown areas, and even in a Blaine's city park which is where we were picking the ones below.  I was having a little bit of cereal with my blackberries every morning.  Yum!

We drove to Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.  So many breath-taking views!  Wouldn't some rocking chairs be perfect for this porch?  I could sit here for hours rocking and watching the clouds float by.  

I can see why they called this area Heather Meadows.  The Heathers were blooming all over the valley in pinks and whites.

If I understood the information ranger, we were not seeing Mt. Baker from Heather Meadows, we were seeing Mt. Shuksan.  I'm not sure this is the right peak in the photo.

We were expecting it to be a little cooler since we were at a higher elevation.  It turned out to be a very warm day.  People were sledding in shorts and t-shirts.  Wandering around the snow with flip-flops.  Definitely a warm day.

One more place we visited before leaving Blaine was Fairhaven's downtown historical district in Bellingham.  Wednesday is Farmer's Market day in Fairhaven's Village Green, so the downtown area was very busy.  It was worth it to find a parking spot and to be able to walk around viewing the old, not to mention, very interesting architect.

We had lunch at the Colophon Cafe which is in the building on the left side in the photo below.  We sat close to this door and were able to watch people come and go.  More good food!  I had a vegetarian Greek salad and Dan had the Mexi Black Bean burger.  Such good flavors.  I have to confess that I have put on quite a few pounds with all the good food we keep finding in this area.

Fantastic murals!  They really blend in with their surroundings.  The first time I walked by the mural above, I only caught the guy standing at the window from the corner of my eye making me think he was really standing there until I turned my head.

It's too bad we were full from our lunch.  Next time, maybe we can stop here for a drink and people watch.

I would not mind living in this building with its outdoor roof garden.  I bet they have a great view of sunsets and the Bellingham Bay nearby.

Speaking of water, we took a short trail through blackberry bushes to the Taylor Dock.  A very unusual dock as it has seats and what looks like parking spots for bikes/strollers as you walk down towards the water.  But wait!  The dock doesn't end there....

..it curves around and ends in another area near a park.  We did not walk the full length.  We were getting very hungry by then and decided to turn back.  I probably should have done the walk to burn a few more calories before eating!  Next time I will know better. 

Okay, I better stop.  This is turning into quite a long post.

On The Cutting Board
Just a quick look before you go of what I have been working on the last few weeks.

I finally finished binding my Asian Sand Crane quilt.  I need to come up with a better title for it.  I got the photos prepped for Etsy, but I have not listed the quilt just yet.

I started hand quilting the True Lover's Knot. 

I'm keeping the quilting simple with in-the-ditch and echoing stitching.

As fast as this stitching is going, I might have this quilt done before the other one gets listed.

Happy Quilting!