Hey, I've been busy!

Road trip to Montana- My friend Nancy retired from Metro in April. I invited her along on my planned road trip to see my friend Linda who just retired to her mountain retreat in Montana. July is possibly the only month we could expect to be free of snow. So I picked Nancy up on July 16th and we headed out along Hwy 18 to I-90, stopping to see my niece April in Ellensburg. We cut over to Hwy 2 and got to my brother Joe's place outside of Kettle Falls in time for dinner.

The next day, Joe and his wife Cheryl took us on a history tour of the region. This pix is of Joe explaining the accomplishments of a pioneer named Rickey. We had a great dinner of local food that night http://www.lovittrestaurant.com/ and later heard the "Planetary Refugees" play reggae in the produce section of the Meyers Falls market. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLumsg9FZco

The trip across Idaho and Montana took a lot longer than we figured and we had to stay in Butte the next night. But early on Sunday we found our way to Linda's in the Bridger Range of the Rockies, near Livingston. Here are pictures of Linda's valley, Linda and Nancy on Linda's porch, Linda and Suzie in a nearby meadow (did I mention I brought my dog Suzie on this trip?) For more on this part of the trip, check out Linda's blog "Sweet Home Montana" posting. http://clemoyer.blogspot.com/2009/07/visiting-season-is-upon-us-and-murphys.html

We then had a nice return trip on Hwy 12 in Idaho inspite of the ever-present road construction, stopping for the night in Orofino and the next night at my brother John's place in Richland, WA. He gave us apricots fresh from his tree which he needed to pick immediately before the resident skunk got them all. It was 100 degrees in Richland. But that just prepared us for the weather waiting for us at once we got home.

The encampment at English Camp was just a little more special this year because this summer marks the 150th anniversary of the Pig War on San Juan Island. That is why the Lady Washington and the Hawaiian Chieftan graced us with their presence in Garrison Bay and nearby Wescott Bay. Roger and I went on a "three-hour tour" last Sunday. We needed to take the longboat to the Hawaiian Chieftan as the water was too shallow at the English Camp dock. It was a glorious day!

Earlier that day, Suzie took part in a "Doodle Romp" to celebrate her labradoodle friend Emma's 2nd birthday. There were over a dozen goldendoodles and labradoodles and one standard poodle--Suzie! Look at all the doodles retrieving from the water. Suzie is still watching from shore.

Yesterday we hosted Roger's brother Guy and his wife Brenda from Sacramento. We plan to visit them in October. Here ends our very busy month of July.

Pictures from trip to Sicily

 

 

 

I’ve finally got my pictures on Flicker.  Here’s the link:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/myake/collections/72157620982491023/

 

If you look around this sight, you will find the collections for my sister Jeannette, her husband Bill Yake, and son Matthew Yake.  And yes, there are stories behind many of these photos.  If one piques your interest, let me know!

 

Ciao,

 

Anita

 

June 2009

June 2009 was quite a month for me. I spent the first couple days in Rome, coming back to Thornbush on the 3rd. The next week or so I touched up the artcar. Here is picture of my friend Karen and myself at its debut at the Fremont Solstice Artcar Blowout.
Meanwhile, my mother, who had been under hospice care for 20 months, “flew away” on June 17th. We gathered the family together and buried her on June 27th. We are glad she is finally at peace. Thanks to all of you who sent your condolences.

The weather for June was the sunniest it’s been for something like 25 years. Now we are already talking about drought. Our stream is merely a trickle in places. The ocean spray is in bloom and the garden is bursting. Another sign of summer is the beginning of a stream of Thornbush guests. My high school pal Mary visited me for a few days at the end of the month. Here is a picture of our visit to the Lavender Farm about a mile up the road from us.

The Lumni Nation were honored guests at Friday Harbor’s Fourth of July parade. They paddled into the harbor on July 3rd. My sister and I shared hosting of several members of our family for the holiday with dinner at each of our houses along with the parade, some sing-a-longs, a pancake feed or two, and the fireworks over Friday Harbor.