Monthly Archives: May 2016

Purple Geranium Greenhouse

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When I went on the University Place Garden Tour one of the volunteers gave me a list of some of the local gardening centers. One of these centers was the Purple Geranium Greenhouse at 12615 47th Ave E, Tacoma, proximate to Canyon Road and 120th Street. Although it is close to my house (about 20 minutes away) it felt like a drive in the country. I was pleased to see that it was a well stocked professionally run gardening center on a lovely site. Their prices were righteous and my IMG_7391questions were answered right away.  Of course it is less extensive than the big centers (Watson’s, Molbak’s, etc.) and there is almost none of the decorative items, but really that just makes it easier. I toured the place, took some photos, got some advice and purchased some plants in about 30 minutes. When I stopped for an iced coffee afterward the cashier asked me what I was up to today and I told her I went to the Purple Geranium. She gushed that it was the best place around to buy plants!

Do be aware that they have a limited season (April 1st to August 1st) and limited hours, so check out their Facebook Page before going.

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Elemental Wood Fired Pizza, University Village

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Dear daughter wanted to see the Amazon Bookstore and I needed somethings up in the north land also so we went to University Village yesterday. Although I love Delfino’s Chicago Style Pizza, we decided to branch out and try Elemental Wood Fired Pizza this time. It wasn’t until I was seated that it occurred to me that I had been in an Elemental Pizza before, the one in Tacoma. It was a good experience with friendly service and tasty individual pizzas (really they could have been shared). Mine was the Truffled Mushroom pizza and hers was the Green Goddess. We each a drink (ice tea for me and raspberry lemonade for her). With the tax and tip it came to just under $50, so this isn’t going to become our everyday pizza place. But it was fun to watch them make the pizza with quality ingredients, so we will consider it as a special treat. I see there is one more location that opened in April 2016 in the Columbia Tower in downtown Seattle.

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I learned something at Election Center for Pierce County

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Dear daughter happily sent off her vote a couple of weeks ago, but soon afterwards she received a letter back politely saying her signatures didn’t match. So on Friday, we popped into the Pierce County Election Center to remedy the problem. The man behind the counter was very efficient and pleasant. He showed her the original signature and her current one. College has really made a difference in how she signs her name!

Anyway while we were there, we picked up a copy of the unofficial results to date. Below is a slightly more recent version from the auditor’s office website (which is full of interesting information!) There are also things to be learned on their Facebook Page.

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Things I thought were interesting:

  • Only about 30% of the eligible voter’s have voted. Maybe because we keep hearing that this vote isn’t particularly important?
  • Hillary is way ahead of Bernie.
  • When comparing the two parties, about 10,000 more Democrats have voted
  • The ballot was created prior to Trump being the only real Republican candidate so there are other Republican candidates listed on the ballot, By the time we received the ballots in the mail, only Trump was a viable candidate. But still about 25% of the vote went elsewhere.
  • The Democrats had 193 write in votes and the Republicans had 904. I’d like to know what some of those were!
  • There is a new “Civic Pierce County” mobile app, which works on my phone. It let’s me know my elected officials, voting history, deadlines, a sample ballot and more. Pretty cool.

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The University Place Garden Tour 2016

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Most years I manage to go to the University Place Garden Tour which is spearheaded by The University Place Historical Society (UPHS). This year the theme was “Spring into Summer,” and there were five gardens and the Curran House. Each garden had several docents that were amiable and  knowledgeable. The gardens varied significantly. One was a farm like setting, one was packed with flowers, one had hidden art and a stunning view, one had 100+ rhododendrons and one was a reclaimed barren lot. It was really a delight to visit each one with my friends and daughter. Lunch was an unexpected bonus.

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Perkins House, Colfax, WA

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The drive out to Pullman, WA from Tacoma is a long one and I especially don’t like doing it over a weekend (one day there and one day back). But it was time for dear daughter to come home and off we went. I mentioned that I wanted to stop at Colfax on the way home to see a log cabin. The website I found said “Perkins House, Colfax, built in 1886, an original log cabin.” So I figured the Perkins House was a log cabin. I imagined it would take five minutes to walk around a small cabin, snap a couple of pictures and be on our way.

But when we got there it turned out to be an amazing house and a log cabin, and it was open to the public. Dear daughter happily agreed to a tour (muttering that it was my mother’s day present) and our guide took us through the entire property, sharing the history. Really, it was fascinating, well worth the stop. The property was placed on the national historic register in 1972.

We learned that Mr. Perkins founded Colfax and the local saw mill. He, his wife and their four children lived in the log cabin (built in 1870, the oldest standing building in the county) for a while, but in 1880s moved into the lovely Victorian house. We also got to hear an early record player and listen to the honey bees that live in the wall. We especially loved the wallpaper, which was mostly reproduced based on the original. Oh, did I mention, there is an outhouse with the traditional moon on the door? Our volunteer guide was terrific, so pleasant and knowledgeable. He was also patient with our many questions.

 

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