Three Things Thursday

Three Things Thursday: Festival of Sail

Thanks to Natalie for hosting Three Things Thursday, “three things big or small, that have made you happy this week.”

Last weekend the Festival of Sail, commonly known as the Tall Ships, brought quite a few seagoing sailing vessels to Tacoma, WA. Although we missed the parade of ships on Thursday afternoon, when the ships arrived with sails unfurled in all their glory, we did get a chance to tour some of the ships at anchor on Friday.

One of the most important elements on these ships is their ropes. Here are some illustrations.

(Click on any photo to see a larger version.)

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Because ships played such a large role in the development of the city of Tacoma, our revitalized waterfront area features an educational museum that explains the naval importance of ropes:

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A ship’s rigging contains a conglomeration of ropes that come together at the bottom of the mast:

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There are more ropes along the sides of the ships:

The rounded thing that the ropes are wound around is called a belaying pin, from the verb belay:

to secure (as a rope) by turns around a clean, pin, or bitt

—from _Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed.

Three Things Thursday: I’m Back

I have been away for two months now, mostly because of a good thing: travel. While I was gone, Three Things Thursday, which I’ve always enjoyed a lot, changed homes.

I’m happy to get reacquainted with Three Things Thursday, “three things big or small, that have made you happy this week,” at its new home.

(Click on any photo to see a larger version.)

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After three Fitbits and two Jawbones, I am now the proud owner of an Apple Watch:

If I had realized how easily those other devices would fail or break, I would have saved money by simply springing for the watch in the first place. Now I just have to get back in the habit of doing something serious about my exercise (or lack thereof).

Two

It’s baby season here, where we entertain many of the deer who inhabit the neighboring park. Here’s this year’s fawn, still young enough to sport her fawn spots, with mother:

Thanks to my husband for getting this great photo.

Three

On a recent Lunch Bunch outing to a nearby Mexican restaurant, I had fried ice cream for the first time:

It was delicious, but then, I’m a fool for ice cream.

Thanks for checking in. I hope everyone has a good week. Until next Thursday… .

Three Things Thursday: Travel Gear!

Once again it’s time for [Three Things Thursday](http://www.nerdinthebrain.com):

three things that make me smile: an exercise in gratitude – feel free to steal this idea with wild abandon and fill your blog with the happy

My husband and I are preparing for a trip that will take us walking over slippery, uneven cobblestones throughout Europe. I need new hiking boots, so off we went to the REI store to look for some. And while we were there, we found a couple of other travel goodies as well.

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These are my new hiking boots:

Since I have weak ankles, I wanted boots with a high top to provide extra support. The fact that they are also a pretty color is an added bonus.

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Travel ponchos, which my husband is displaying in the feature photo at the top of this post. They fold into a small carrying pouch:

Here’s the pouch, with a regular small post card next to it to give you an idea of the size. These won’t take up much space in the suitcase but may come in handy.

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This is my new sun/rain hat:

It has a wide brim in front to shade the eyes and an even wider brim in back to prevent sunburn on the neck. The hat will pack easily because the head covering will lie flat in the suitcase.

I hope everyone will have a good week!

Once again it’s time for Three Things Thursday:

three things that make me smile: an exercise in gratitude – feel free to steal this idea with wild abandon and fill your blog with the happy

One: How Many Do You Need?

how many studs do you need — how many studs

Two: Attagirl!

I have lost 9 pounds! And since my goal is to lose 40 pounds, I’m almost 1/4 of the way there.

I have done this by switching to low-carb eating and by just plain eating less food.

Three: History Lesson

On this site in 1897 nothing happened — history lesson

I hope you all have a great week!

Three Things Thursday

Once again it’s time for Three Things Thursday:

three things that make me smile: an exercise in gratitude – feel free to steal this idea with wild abandon and fill your blog with the happy

One: Civic Pride

I’ve been in Tacoma, WA, for almost four years now, and I still love learning new things about my new home town. And I’ve always loved being able to see Mount Rainier on clear days. So I was thrilled this morning to discover the article ‘Live like the mountain is out’ street stencils part of community branding campaign in the local newspaper, The News Tribune.

Our area is called the South Sound because, on a map, we are toward the bottom of Puget Sound. The news app from KIRO7, the Seattle CBS affiliate TV channel, offers sections dedicated to both South Sound news and North Sound news, but I’ve never heard the phrase North Sound used in any other context. It seems that the folks around here differentiate between the South Sound and Seattle, which includes that city and points north.

Two: Signs of Spring

It’s been raining so steadily that I haven’t been able to get out to take photos, but in the last few days I’ve noticed daffodils in bloom, forsythia bushes covered in yellow flowers, and the early-flowering ornamental trees and bushes beginning to display flashes of pink or white. The rhododendron bushes, the Washington state flower, that line the roads in our retirement community have big fat buds all over, but none have broken open yet.

But pretty soon they’ll be in bloom, along with the ornamental pear trees that also line our streets. I promise some photos when the weather lets me get out and walk around.

Three: What I’ve Been Watching: Beck

Our daughter got us a subscription to streaming service Hulu for Christmas. Lately my husband and I have taken to watching foreign TV series. We’re currently about 2/3 of the way through season 2 of the three seasons of Beck, a Swedish police drama. Shows like this offer glimpses into not only the legal systems but also the culture and local customs of other countries.

I hope everyone has a great week. See you next Thursday!

Three Things Thursday

Once again it’s time for Three Things Thursday:

three things that make me smile: an exercise in gratitude – feel free to steal this idea with wild abandon and fill your blog with the happy

Here Comes the Sun!

Here in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S., we’re accustomed to a lot of rain this time of year. But look at the view from my front porch this morning:

That’s sunshine, folks! And look at that blue sky! Oh happy day!

Happy Belated Birthday, Ruth Bader Ginsburg!

Her birthday was yesterday, but I figure that anything in the same week is fair game for Three Things Thursday. We need her now more than ever.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Having decreed above that anything in the same week is fair game for Three Things Thursday, I can’t help but send my greetings for St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow.

I’m Irish on both sides, don’t you know.

Have a good week, everybody!

Three Things Thursday

Once again it’s time for Three Things Thursday:

three things that make me smile: an exercise in gratitude – feel free to steal this idea with wild abandon and fill your blog with the happy

One

On a recent day driving out and about, my husband and I came across this miniature water wheel in someone’s front yard:

I guess if you’re going to have a small river in your yard, you might as well make artistic use of it. I give these homeowners two thumbs up!

Two

Just yesterday we received an invitation to our niece’s wedding. I just love weddings, even if they do always make me cry.

I once started weeping when, on a road trip, we drove past a church from which the bride and groom were exiting. And I had no idea who these people even were. Just call me sentimental.

Three

This is the most delightful book I’ve read in a long time!

My review is here

I look forward to reading your posts. See you next week!

Three Things Thursday: Lawn Art

Once again it’s time for Three Things Thursday:

three things that make me smile: an exercise in gratitude – feel free to steal this idea with wild abandon and fill your blog with the happy

This week I have a gallery of three photos to offer you. Recently as my husband and I were out and about, we drove past this house, where, apparently, an artist lives. We were so intrigued that we drove to the end of the road, turned around, and stopped to take photographs. We’re assuming that the artist doesn’t mind if people take pictures. If he or she did, he or she wouldn’t have put all these creations out there in plain sight, right?

I hope you enjoy seeing these works of homespun art as much as we did. (Click on any photo to see a larger version.)

Until next week …

Three Things Thursday

Once again it’s time for Three Things Thursday:

three things that make me smile: an exercise in gratitude – feel free to steal this idea with wild abandon and fill your blog with the happy

One: First Flowers of Spring

Daffodil plants have been pushing up their green shoots for some time now. But the red flowers on this rhododendron bush are the first floral blooms I’ve seen.

The rhododendron is the official flower of Washington State. It won’t be long now before we’ll be seeing these gorgeous flowers in their full array of bright, vivid colors.

Two: Margarita Day Dinner

Tuesday was Margarita Day! Four times a year our retirement community provides a dinner for all residents of the various independent-living units. Our Tuesday evening dinner celebrated the occasion of the day with Mexican food: tacos, cheese enchiladas, rice, and refried beans. And Margaritas, of course, lots of Margaritas.

But some diners chose an alternate beverage.

Three: Amazon Locker

A couple of days ago I spotted this outside my local supermarket:

I’d heard that Amazon was offering locker delivery, but I’d never seen one of their lockers before. This one’s name is Theo, and I was able to add it as an alternate delivery address to my Amazon account.

But then I deleted it. Why would I want my stuff put into a locker when I can have it delivered directly to my door? I know this is probably a convenience for some Amazon customers, but I’ll stick with direct delivery.

Until next Thursday …

Three Things Thursday

It’s Thursday again! Time for Three Things Thursday.

(Click on photos to see a larger version.)

Welcome, Shorts Weather!

On Sunday the temperature got all the way up to 46 degrees F. As my husband and I were driving to a local restaurant for an early Valtentine’s Day dinner, we say two young boys (probably 10 or 12) run across the road from a local drug store with a soda fountain. They were carrying their soda cups, and both were wearing shorts and T-shirts.

It always amuses me that kids are so eager for summer to begin that just about any temperature above freezing provides an excuse to break out the summer clothes. I was comfortable in a wool sweater.

An Early Valentine’s Day Dinner

We usually avoid the holiday rush by going out for our Valentine’s Day dinner a day or two ahead of time. This year we took advantage of a special from one of our favorite restaurants that expired on Sunday, February 12. We feel we got a good deal on salad, sirloin steak with prawns, vegetables, and cheesecake for dessert. We also got window seats looking out on the marina, and it was even a nice sunny day!

And finally, this:

Baseball’s back! A look at Mariners Spring Training: Day 1

Welcome to Safeco Field — Safeco Field, Seattle, WA

See you next week!

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One: How Many Do You Need?

Two: Attagirl!

Three: History Lesson

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One: Civic Pride

Two: Signs of Spring

Three: What I’ve Been Watching: Beck

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Here Comes the Sun!

Happy Belated Birthday, Ruth Bader Ginsburg!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

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One: First Flowers of Spring

Two: Margarita Day Dinner

Three: Amazon Locker

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