Change of Focus

There is this Russian bard song by Oleg Mityaev which has such words, "Summer is a little life." I think what it means is, Summer is like a separate life, life within life, when whatever happened before it, as well as whatever comes after it, won't affect anything that happens now. And I find it so easy to fall under the summer charm, and I even think that it is necessary for us people to disconnect from the past and to not cling to the future, just take a summer as its own little life, separate from our memories or dreams.  

High On Life

Did you know that the artichoke is a thistle (чертополох)? 

Well I didn't! Until Justin pointed out how similar they look. 

I think I am a bit of a thistle artichoke myself. 

Not just a flower. Not only a vegetable. 

Big, bright and bold. 

Surprising. Unexpected. Unusual. 

With a myriad of tiny flowers

and a big heart.

Bluegrass Rediscovered

I am all about ease and comfort these days - and my style reflects it. Justin and I went to various cultural events in the past week or so - we watched Evita, a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber performed by Ovation, a local musical theater, and Twelfe Night, or What You Will in the beautiful Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island which we enjoyed a lot, though I will admit it is difficult for me to understand the language of Shakespeare. That was all in one short weekend, and I dressed up for both occasions, though we forgot our camera, and I don't have photos to share. This weekend, we attended another fun event in a park - Bluegrass Festival held 8th year on Bainbridge where I discovered that I loved bluegrass music all along, not even knowing what exactly it was.

1940s, Here I Come!

There is magic in life, isn't there? I started thinking polka dot thoughts a little while ago, and out of the blue found this loveliest polka dot dress in a consignment shop. The condition was excellent. The fit was great. The color was navy (not black as I thought at first). And the price was $9.50.

Magic!

Hot

What do you guys consider hot temperatures - meaning, when you start feeling uncomfortable being outside for a long time? I know it varies from person to person a lot. I like it up to about 80 F (or 27 C), anything above that starts feeling too hot for me very quickly. 90 F (32 C) is definitely hot - and that is our temperature today (a bit cooler by the sea, a bit hotter in the valleys). Since Western Washington State has usually very mild weather (Eastern Washington is whole different story!), many houses don't install air conditioners - there are only a few days per year when you'll get to use it (unlike the long, hot and sticky summers of the Midwest where I spent my first few years in America). So what do we usually do when it gets uncomfortably hot, too hot to stay in the house or walk very much outside?

A Bit of Americana

Denim is surely the most American of all American things style-wise, and has become a wardrobe staple for millions worldwide. Yet I somehow managed to get my very first dark blue jeans when I was in my mid-30s, and my very first denim jacket in my 40s. This is another quite unique jean jacket from my growing denim family which I wore for certainly the most American of all American holidays - 4th of July.

Kubota Garden & The Real Adventure Man

One rainy June weekend, Justin and I took off to one of the Japanese gardens up in Seattle - the Kubota Garden which was founded by one (!) self-taught gardener and Japanese garden enthusiast, Fujitaro Kubota, in 1927. The long story short, as this visionary dreamt, his 20 acre garden eventually became a public garden, free for visitors and open every day, as a city park, till dusk.