Heat Wave

It makes me happy when the weather is like this - the sun is blazing down and warming up the usually temperate Seattle to upwards of 90 degrees. I can handle heat as long as it's not humid. There is flesh everywhere: tank tops and shorts, mini-skirts and bare torsos. I even saw a girl pumping gas in a bikini top at a local Shell station. It's like Miami beach...not really.

I'm pleased to report that I've gotten over the woe-is-me phase of all this wedding hoo-hah and am feeling rather zen about the whole thing.

Speaking of zen, today I ventured out to the Washington Park Arboretum Japanese Garden. It's one of those places I've been meaning to check out for a long time, especially since it's only a short, 15-minute bus ride from downtown. The garden is immaculately landscaped and absolutely gorgeous. Apparently it is one of the top 10 gardens outside of Japan. The other gardens are nestled in California, Boston, Canada and Australia, which isn't surprising. But did you know that there are Japanese gardens in Illinois and Missouri? The Washington garden has a quaint teahouse and winding paths around a large pond. There were a number of couples and surprisingly few tourists for a summer weekend.

I take crappy pictures, but here's a peek at the Washington Park Japanese Garden:

My favorite was a pretty leaf that looked like a butterfly:

I also loved the waterlilies and the koi fish added an authentic touch:

Lovely and so very peaceful.