Rain, Rain Go Away....

 I distinctly remember that song from my childhood here in Spokane.  Drizzle, showers, sprinkling, downpour...as the Eskimo's have a 100 words for snow, the Northwesterner has 15 for rain.  With good reason.  Looking outside the window today there is a gray gloom hanging over our beautiful view.

But the fire is going, classical music is softening the shades of gray that keep seeping into the house. And so I write.

June has found us with many visitors, including my nephew Alex who attends Washington State University in Pullman.  He and his girlfriend came to spend the night with us and go out and play in the boat for a bit.  We had a great visit and were able to meet Grandma for breakfast in Spokane before Alex headed back to Seattle for summer.  He's planning to return with my nephew Peter for the 4th of July.

School for the kids finished up June 13th and boy were the kids excited.  Unfortunately the weather has turned wet, but Sam didn't care as he was headed to Southern Oregon to stay with Balin's parents for a week.  The week before school got out Susie, Balin's mom, came to pick Sam up and enjoy a few days in Spokane.  We had a lovely time hiking, touring the South Hill, and heading up to GreenBluff. (The following photos are from images off Google)

 Greenbluff didn't have much going on as it was still cold, but the forecast was in 2 weeks the raspberries & strawberries would be ready for picking followed by cherries and then every conceivable fruit and vegetable.  Not only is the food amazing, but often the farms are picture worthy in and of themselves.  Oh it does temp me to leave the life at the lake and become a farmer....

The South Hill and Manito Park

 The South Hill is where I grew up until I was 10.  It was a magical place with grocery stores tucked into neighborhoods, parks within walking distance, swimming pools a bike ride away and parents hollering out at 6:00pm for dinner.  The pictures here are of the Duncan Gardens, the formal section of Manito Park Gardens.  The conservatory is perhaps one of my favorite places in the world - so warm and cozy, especially on a cold, gray day.  The color of the gardens come from annuals that are designed and planted fresh each spring.  So much work, but such a delight for so many.

The Interior of the Conservatory.  The difference between a conservatory and a greenhouse is a greenhouse is a place where plants are produced and a conservatory is more of a place for them to be showcased or "grown" permanently.  It's on my "Dreaming" list.



   

  

The other gardens I adore are the Japanese gardens, which are located in the same Manito Park.  They are the epitome of restraint, using texture and form to create beauty.  As you can imagine, growing up near these gardens and Manito Park created a yearning for beautiful spaces.  I was so blessed!  I can remember riding my bike with my sister through the park, playing tag in Duncan Gardens with friends and generally living in the parks as a kid.  What a beautiful life!  

For those who have never been to Spokane here are some photos I found on Google that represent the downtown area.  We live 20 minutes East of Downtown, 5 minutes from the Idaho border.  I'm in awe that we live in such a gorgeous place - and of course it wouldn't be so beautiful if it wasn't for the rain.  Sigh.  

Grandma left Sunday and Faith DeVito came in her stead.  She flew up by herself to be Perrin's play mate for the week and it's paying off in spades.  I haven't heard a peep out of those girls as they have entertained themselves with the kittens, made forts, gone shopping at the mall, gone paddle boating...all in the first day.  They're currently snuggled up watching a horse movie - can't think of a better way to spend a rainy day.

With that, let me show you what I've been doing to make the rainy days a little more than tolerable.

The Before.

The living room when we bought the house was nice.  It had a great vaulted ceiling and amazing trim detail.  But it was just a little cold and formal for my taste.  Growing up my mom always said that gray in the house would depress you and I think she was right.  We have enough gray with the clouds, lake, snow when it comes...so we don't need it in the floor.  The wall color wasn't bad - kind of a greenish-gray, but it was still depressing.  I wanted a look that was relaxed, warm - beachy maybe?  

Not the best of photos as I took it last night, but I think it shows the finished product.  We changed the floors to a tumbled travertine, took out the built-in bookshelf to the right of the room, installed tongue and groove in the ceiling, added some large lanterns to the fireplace (searching for the perfect something to go in between the lanterns), hung a large lighting fixture where a formal ceiling fan once hung, and put my beautiful bookcase up.  On that note, the bookcase was the impetus for changing the room.  I had purchased the black piece in Prescott figuring if we didn't move I had found the perfect piece to go in my dining room.  If we did move to this house, it could become the foundational piece in the living room.  I love that bookshelf.  I did the moment I saw it 4 years ago in a shop in downtown Prescott.  I waited until the store closed and then snatched it up!  Love it.

Best go and get the house picked up.  The dogs have perched themselves next to the door hoping against hope to go for a walk.  I'm not really excited about the idea as I just gave Yogi a bath yesterday and he's sure to get smelly and wet. (I used to have a Bischon Frise that I gave baths to somewhat regularly.  I would bemoan the fact that it would take an hour to blow dry him while brushing out his fur.  Well, Yogi is 5 times the size of Buddy and as you can imagine take a very looooong time to blow dry and brush out!)  Hopefully there'll be a break in the rain and I can take them out. 

Otherwise...April showers bring May flowers...wait a minute.  June rains bring July sun?  Let's hope so.