Sequim Daily Photo

A newspaper article announced the opening of “That Takes the Cake.” It sounded like a bakery I could resist and I thought I’d dodged the bullet: they specialize in wedding cakes. But I knew I was a goner when I read on. They also sell cupcakes. Oh, no! Cupcakes! The carb-lover’s excuse to go shopping. . .and the Sequim Daily Photo’s opportunity to show you a new business in town.

Here’s the impulse showcase for walk-ins: cupcake heaven. Flavors change daily and the menu is posted on their Facebook page. The shot at the top of this post is the frosting on the cupcake that went home with me. It was real (and delicious) buttercream on a red velvet cupcake. It wasn’t an easy decision. While I weighed my choices I also took photos of some of the sample wedding cakes stationed around the two rooms where guests can sample goodies or bring friends for a party.

The wedding cakes were beautiful. I’ll post some pictures of them tomorrow.

I hadn’t encountered too many round-abouts before I moved to Sequim. We have three here, two on Washington Street and one on Sequim-Dungeness Way.

Traffic engineers euphemistically call this sort of installation “traffic calming,” in that they slow down through traffic. Not being terribly familiar with them, I initially found them anything but calming. Traffic enters and leaves the round-about in eight directions and a well-signed version can present a library full of symbols to absorb.

Other drivers occasionally are vexed. One stopped in the round-about when she saw another car waiting to enter (a no-no — you’re supposed to go, go). My chief worry is drivers who enter the round-about without waiting to see that it’s clear going. But I suppose that could happen at any sort of intersection.

Do you have round-abouts where you live? Do you have a “favorite” traffic challenge?

Our local knitting shop, A Dropped Stitch, is the go-to place for knitters and weavers. It’s a sweet little store located on Bell Street, filled with beautiful supplies and plenty of good cheer.

They offer classes and tech support. And there’s even a spot toward the back of the store where yarnheads can hang out, knit, and spin woolly tales.

This post reminds me of the cable scarf I’ve been working on for months. It sits in a semi-neglected basket, growing so slowly you’d think perhaps it was ignored in lieu of blog posts.

The Red Ranch Inn on West Washington abruptly closed last year. I was pleased to see it open again when I drove by last Thursday. I take that as a hopeful economic indicator.

There are a handful of places in Sequim where it’s as much fun to just browse as it is to shop. Over the Fence, for me, is one of them. They offer a little bit of everything for the home and garden.

I was drawn to their colorful displays on a gloomy winter day. And, based on the roar of laughter, other shoppers enjoyed their selection of humorous greeting cards.

Among many other things, the teapots were hard to resist. But the very sweet and friendly store dog, George, a little dachshund, helped soothe my regrets.

Here are two examples of everyone’s favorite heavy equipment last week. These two were parked off Seventh Street in Sequim and are probably private contractors who cleared local parking lots.

The City of Sequim reports that it used 100 cubic yards of sand and 15 tons of salt clearing public roads during three days of storms last week. Plowers worked 12-hour shifts, putting in 324 hours. Many of us live on or near county roads which are the responsibility of Clallam County Public Works which dispatches its own army of plows. Gotta love ‘em.

Les Schwab Tire franchises are located in both Port Angeles and Sequim and were named “Best Tire” in the Best of the Peninsula poll by the Peninsula Daily News. Since they were listed in the phone book under “Tire and Brake” we took our car there in November when the brake light started winking at us. They fit us in during the busy Thanksgiving week, checked our brakes, rotated the tires, and sent us on our way at no charge. And the brakes are working fine. That earned our loyalty! It’s usually busier than in this shot, taken late on a Sunday afternoon.