Summing Up 2011

Instead of a long Christmas letter this year, I've decided to sum up the year via the blog and then post the link on Facebook.  I am still sending out paper Christmas (or Winter Holiday) cards.  Coming up with a design for the card and then executing it are a big part of our holiday tradition.  Here is an early prototype of this year's card.  I had to show off the fact that I did a lot of exterior trim painting this summer:  

To sum up the year, I first have to say that it wasn't as momentous as 2010 or 2009.  There were no trips abroad, our surviving parents are still surviving.  It was more of a hunkering down kind of year.  I took up more weaving and basketry and yoga.  Roger brought in more firewood and concentrated on the Grange and the Agricultural Resource Committee for the County.  He believes fervently that the Grange is an optimum venue for community involvement, a place where people with diverse views can come together over common issues of survival in desperate times.  It should be a place where a human secularist can feel at home.  The jury is till out on that one.

Al and Roger relaxing in Al's new digs

Another major theme for 2011 is the settling of Alfred Ellison, Roger's father, in an Assisted Living Facility up here on the Island.  Many of our friends can relate to this scenario.  It involved countless trips to Auburn over the last ten months or so.  It also involves the dismantling and disbursement of the family heirlooms and goods.  And the selling of assets to pay for the new lifestyle.  Does anyone want to buy a practically never driven 2010 Chevy HHR or a Kodiak RV?  The home in Auburn is also up for sale.  On the plus side, Al is spending a lot of quality time with two of his sons.  He comes here for dinner at least once a week.  Roger can accompany him to all of his doctor appointments.  It has brought us a lot of peace of mind.

It should be noted that the weather this past year was weird.  The Spring/early summer was horrible, cold and rainy.  Many crops failed due to the poor, freezing bees not venturing out to pollinate at the proper time.  But from August through late Fall, it has been pretty nice, and dry.  Today, for instance, 32 degrees with sun and blue sky.  There have been a couple wind storms, but the rain has not come, the pond still way below spillway levels.  They say another La Nina this winter, we shall see.

So, to hit some of the highlights:  Trip to Maui in March, Granddaughters getting pony rides for their fifth birthday: 
And in July, the Tribal Canoes landed here first on their way to the their meeting at Swinomish:

And in August we spent a few days on Lake Roosevelt in Eastern Washington with some very close friends.

In September, I reconnected with the Class of '71 at my friend Mary's house in Maple Valley:



Me and Mike Schmitt



In October, Roger organized the first Harvest Parade for farmers and I went to the Barreca Thankstween celebration on the same weekend., 

And so there were lots of fun activities all year long, and plenty of visitors, too many to list.  But I think, most of all, 2011 might become known as the year of the carport--or as we like to call it--Temple of the Subaru.

It is not quite done, but a heck of a lot further than we were last December.  Feel free to wander back to past posts to see the progress we've made throughout this past year.

Maybe it wasn't the most exciting year that ever was for us, but it was a full and satisfying year.

Next year holds plenty of promise.  Our first grandson is due in the Spring.  A family reunion, centered around my Dad's 90th birthday will be here on San Juan Island in June.  And a few interesting road trips are planned, as well.  Stay tuned.

The Very Rich Hours of Anita Barreca

Roger was in charge of the Parade.  First Annual FH Farm Parade    Check out all the photos on the underlined link, including one of Eric driving a rototiller and towing a cart with two black labs inside. 

On that same day, Barrecas were celebrating their personal Thanksgiving at Jeff's place in Seattle.  Bina presented Nala to the family.

Nala was a big hit with Audrey and the step-grandmas.

Barreca jam session 2011

We also had the now infamous jam session sans Roger but with Matthew's friend Liza on violin. 

Other Colorful Events

The weather cooperated this month, perhaps sheepishly asking forgiveness for such a crappy summer.  The Fall Foliage has been great.  On the week following the Farm Parade I organized the SJC Textile Guild's General Meeting and our guest speaker Gail Harker, gave a speech entitled "Immersed in Color".  And ever since the slide show I've appreciated the color combinations just that much more.

Speaking of color, a big event for Roger and me this month was the arrival of a colorful triptych painted for us by Peggy Sue McRae.  She has named it "The Very Rich Hours of Anita Barreca" which is probably what I should rename this blog. An inspiration for this project was the medieval illuminated manuscript, called "Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry", where a blue arc divides the sky, suggesting the passage of time.



The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry



The Very Rich Hours of Anita Barreca

There were other influences in the work as well and we like it very much.  I am working on a coiled basket which will repeat the colors and pattern.

I started volunteering two days a month at the Island's Food Coop.  I painted the bathroom. We took Roger's Dad down to Auburn--first trip home in six months.  We took my friend Karen to The Cask and Schooner, our latest favorite restaurant.  We attended the Ag Guild's Harvest Dinner under the tents at the new Brickworks Farmers Market venue.

And today, Thornbush Farm hosted an orchard walk.  So I thought I'd add a picture of what the orchard looked like today. 

It actually stopped raining for most of the tour.  But the wind came up and . . . you guessed it, Jay. . . took down more of that willow tree you bucked up last month.  When are you coming up again?



Rolling into Fall

Relaxing at Thornbush

Jay spent the first week of September with us and we worked him so hard he had to take naps any way he could.  Thanks, Jay, for all the hard work bringing in the firewood.  We will be appreciating it all winter long.

Cheryl, Cathy, Antoinette at HS Reunion

I took Jay home on the 9th and continued on to my friend Mary's house to help put on our 40th High School Reunion.  The weather was fabulous, the food scrumptious, and a good time was had by all.  Here are three of my best friends from high school catching up on the last decade or so. 

I thought things would kind of quiet down after the reunion--but no, they've gotten busier instead.  The weather has been great (trying to make up for July).  So I've been re-staining all the window trim, doors, and the new carport posts whenever I have a minute between guests. 

Also, all the clubs/organizations I belong to have reignited their activities now that Labor Day is over.  I have many duties associated with the Textile Guild, the Soroptimists, even the Grange.  I attended a day long symposium on prairie restoration that my cousin Rose helped put together last week.  Rose flew in from Boise for the event and practiced her speech on stewardship in our cottage into the wee hours.  It was a very informative symposium.  American Camp Prairie Restoration



Miles explores Thornbush

Then a rare treat--a visit to Al from his great-grandsons--all three of them.  Clare brought her three-month old Rafael, and Niki and James brought Miles and Austin.  Miles just turned two and Austin is not yet a year.  The last time niece and nephew saw Thornbush they were eight and ten (?)  and James' wife Niki had never seen the place.  The weather cooperated and the day was only marred by the yellow jackets who would not let us sit outside.

Austin, Miles, Great Grandpa Al, and little Rafa

Today it was back to work on the carport.  We brought a big chunk of the tree we cut down last month to the mill and carved out the boards we will need for the rafters, plus a few extra 2x6's.  We got caught in a downpour.  The sign of things to come now that it is officially Fall.

Late Summer 2011

Canoers greeted by Lummi Nation in Friday Harbor Marina

Oh Wow, it is already September and I haven't updated since mid-July.  Don't you love late Summer?  The hot days, the cool nights, all the ripe fruit!  It feels like I was racing from one event to another over these last six weeks.  But now I can see a break just ahead as summer winds down.

Summer 2011 included the usual Shakespeare (Winters Tale) and live music (Abbie Road Live) and visits from friends.  This year the Canoe Journey brought 12 tribal canoes from around the Salish Sea to our island before they joined scores of other canoes landing at Swinomish on the Skagit.



Karen Haas of Hudson Bay, Fort Nisqually



Hair and Clothing Styles of 1859 demonstrated

We squeezed in an afternoon at the Encampment at English Camp.  I wandered around in 1850's garb and had my picture taken by Japanese tourists.

 Bjorn's family visited in early August.  Always a pleasure to have the grandchildren around.  Audrey has to do everything her big sisters are doing.

Soil Fertility - Four Approaches

Lunnette resplendent in Drug Store packaging

Roger and I got very busy the following week getting ready for the fair.  The garlic was picked and sorted, I had some textile projects to finish, Roger had to buy a brand new chainsaw to take down the tree we will need to mill for carport rafters.  The tree is down and cut up but we still haven't dragged it to the mill yet.

And then the week of the Fair.  Surprisingly, no guests this year, but we were still mighty busy with our various booth duties.   The Trashion Fashion show was a highlight, as well as Roger's panel discussion on agricultural techniques for the Ag Resource Committee.  Oh yes, we earned some red and blue ribbons as well.  And ate more than our share of elephant ears.

Lynn kayaks with Don as an escort

We had to rush off-island on the early ferry Fair Saturday to our next adventure.  Across the state on Highway 20 to Kettle Falls where we joined five good friends on a houseboat on Lake Roosevelt. Four days on the boat.  We had a hot tub, ukuleles, good food, kayaks and floaties, waterfalls and a little trouble with the battery.  Bookending the trip we got to stay with my brother Joe and his wife Cheryl, play more music and see the Colville Fair.  Stayed overnight in Seattle area to help celebrate my brother Jeff's 60th birthday/10th anniversary in Woodland Park.

Summer was late coming, but we're managing to pack as much into it as one of any regular length.  School started for island kids on August 31st and now it is Labor Day Weekend.  I'm skipping a lot of details, about captured foxes and feral kittens.  Crops that succeeded and crops that failed.  Potlucks and visitors, books we've read and plays we've seen.  And an admission--I didn't get one project started that wasn't already started before summer began.  The mosaics didn't get made but the waterlilies did bloom.  No sewing got started but I did organize the craft room.  And the beach gate is finished but I haven't spent much time at the pond.  I guess I've got a few more things to cram into the last three weeks of summer.

July 2011



The out of town guests begin arriving:



Tom and Roger play croquette on July 4th



Dad and Rosalie at The Downrigger

My Dad, at age 89, took a bus to downtown Seattle, got off at the Convention Center, found his way to the BelAire Shuttle bus stop, rode the bus to Anacortes Ferry Terminal, waited for two hours for the ferry and walked on for me to pick him up in Friday Harbor to visit with my sister and myself for five days over the Fourth of July holiday.  I was so proud of him!

The date has been set and the invitations have been sent for my Dad's 90th birthday party here on San Juan Island.  June 9 & 10, 2012.  This will be a Barreca family reunion as well.  That means the countdown has begun.  I have 11 months to get this place in shape.  I started last Sunday by sending Roger up a ladder with a chainsaw.  He limbed up or cut half a dozen trees.  Amazing how much more light comes through!

preparing for Soroptimist entry in Fourth of July parade

I participated in the Fourth of July parade as a clown.  The theme was: Life Is a Laugh in a Costume.



My brother Joe's blog  always has something relevant in it.  This time he talks about (among other things) the 50th reunion of his 8th grade class.  This Fall we are celebrating the 40th reunion of my high school class and I have been helping my best friend from High School who has volunteered to host a barbecue in September.  We have been trying to use Facebook and Classmates.com and other websites to find and invite our former classmates.  Roger heard a news story about Facebook making reunions irrelevant--no need to meet in person when you can catch up with each other's lives in the cloud.  

It is amazing the memories that one can resurrect just by leafing through the yearbook.  We had a relatively small graduation class and add to that the fact that I was the editor of the yearbook . . .  I'm feeling a lot more connected than I thought I would be to these OLD classmates.  More on this subject after the reunion in September.



We hosted a potluck at our house last Friday.   It's good to get the social obligations out of the way early in the summer.  That way, the place is looking good (the lawn is mowed, the fire pit carved out from the overgrown brush) much earlier than it otherwise would have been.  Along with weekly potlucks, July brings Shakespeare on the lawn, the arrival of 100 tribal canoes, an arts festival, the Lavender Festival, among other events.  Summer is in Full Swing!





Happy Solstice!

Attended the Fremont Solstice parade with a bunch of my best buddies.  This was one of those packed Seattle weekends which included a spa day (including facial and pedicure) for me and a plant-run for Roger.  The evening finished up with a Greek meal in Wallingford and a concert by our friend Jay Hamilton at the Good Shepherd Center: Honor.  We also visited Dad for Father's Day.  And managed to squeeze in a trip to Costco, of course.

Progress on the Carport!  See these three beautifully tapered columns?  Notice the very attractive cement bases?  Can you picture the size and shape of the carport to come?  Setting these poles up was a big milestone.  The next step, placing the rafters, will involve not just milling the lumber, we will actually have to go out and cut down two or more trees to harvest logs long enough to span the roof. 

Before we do that, we are going to take out the lower branches from the nearby doug firs to get some more light coming through on the west side of our house.  It is amazing how much vegetation is closing in on us and its time to hack it all back!

Here's a picture of Suzie teaching a five month old pup, Millie, how to drink out of the fountain.  One of my many projects planned for this summer includes a mosaic bowl addition to the fountain.  I've also got some waterlilies coming up.  I've had to place a net around them to protect them from predator poodles.

Sorry for the flash at the bottom of the photo.  This is my new art piece.  I bought it from Mary McCulluch Art Walk Studio Tour.  The colors match my kitchen cabinets perfectly.  



approx 2 lbs of strawberries

And finally, strawberries!  Here's a picture of one day's harvest.  With about 50 plants in the main garden and another 25 or more in the kitchen garden we should have plenty of shortcake this summer.

May Daize

So many events this month, I'll have to get my calendar out to remember them all.  I guess the first would be another basket class--this time we used willow bark and wove with an obvious vertical twill so the baskets could be twisted into an interesting shape.  My friend Monique joined me again and it was a very fun class. 

Immediately following the class we went to Seattle to celebrate my friend Jay's 60th birthday at a restaurant in Madison Valley called Harvest Vine http://www.harvestvine.com/menus/default.php  I believe the meal consisted of everything on the menu.  It was a great celebration.

My birthday was the following week.  Rosalie "snapped" this shot of us before we went downtown to celebrate.  Although the month has been unseasonably cold and wet, Friday the 13th was warm and pleasant.

Roger's Dad, Al, was able to move from Auburn Regional Hospital to our local nursing home and on May 23rd, he moved into Village at the Harbour, an assisted living facility just six minutes away from our house.  We are so pleased to have him so close by (where we can keep an eye on him).  Here's a picture of his new room.  Roger and I brought a truck load of his things back from Auburn to make him feel at home.

I must also mention that throughout the month we have met good friends for lunches and dinners.  And we are celebrating the arrival of two new family members, our nieces Clare and Bina have new babies born in the last week (in California).  Welcome to the world, Rafael and Nala!

Then my cousins, Chris from Oregon and his sister Jan from Hawaii, took a road trip to see the Washington cousins.  Rosalie and I took them sightseeing and prepared a nice dinner with our local fare including venison meatballs  and our own homegrown veggies.

The month culminated in a visit by my twin granddaughters.  We had promised them pony rides in honor of their fifth birthday last month.  Fortunately, the day was fair and mild.  Lenora started out on Cowboy, and Iliana got Allie.  They learned to lead, turn, and rein in their mounts. 







Oh yes, we also went home with twelve new chicks:





12 out of 100 went home with us

And last but not least, we finally put the rebuilt scow into the pond.  The girls took a ride on its maiden voyage.

Bluebirds and Books

Today I spent five hours hauling fir branches and digging out thistles with my hori-hori.  But this time the work was not on my own property.  I was with a bunch of Soroptimists doing community service for the Land Bank on Cady Mountain.  The project is a restoration of Garry Oaks which is where the bluebirds come in.  I must admit, part of the reason I signed up for this activity was that I had never been up Cady Mountain before and I was curious.  So I was delighted to see all the wildflowers in bloom:  avalance lily, fritallarias, camas, shooting star all over the place.  And a fabulous view across San Juan Valley to the Salish Sea.

Another plus was a guest lecturer who came to describe the ongoing bluebird project here on the island.  A few hundred feet away from our worksite sat an aviary with a nesting pair of bluebirds due to be released tonight.  It turns out that bluebirds LOVE Garry Oaks.  But as many of you know, the oak population has been overshadowed (literally) by Douglas Fir.  Bluebirds like wide open spaces and hollow trees to nest in.  They like places that are burned frequently.  That used to be the situation here before white men came and the Indians stopped burning the camas fields.  But even as late as 1960's, bluebirds were much more prevalent on the island.  So--restore the Garry Oak, restore the bluebird as well.blue bird project

Speaking of fires, and especially, wilderness fires, I read a great book a while ago by Timothy Egan called The Big Burn.  It is about a huge forest fire in 1910 that burned Northern Idaho and parts of Washington and Montana.  But it is also about Teddy Roosevelt, Gifford Pinchot, and the beginnings of the National Forest Service.  It could be considered the beginning of conservancy movement here in the United States.  I recommend it.

Another good book I am reading currently is Winter Brothers A Season at the Edge of America by Ivan Doig.  It was written 30 years ago about a pioneer by the name of James Gilchrist Swan who settle with the Makaw Indians for a few years in the 1850's and later moved to Port Townsend.  But it is so much more than that.  It is history/anthropology/philosopy all rolled into one.  People familiar with the area around Cape Flattery and Lake Ozette will be fascinated.

And coincidentally, the book I read just prior to the Doig book was a memoir written by a friend and neighbor who starts his story off with a misadventure canoeing down the Ozette River.  This would have been in the early 70's just about the time my brothers and I rafted down the Ozette.  I'm feeling all wrapped up in this Pacific Northwest History, from Missoula to Neah Bay.  My friend Jim Lawrence's book is called Callous Hands, Hungry Heart.  He was raised on Mercer Island and came to San Juan Island as a back to the lander.  But he had so many adventures and problems to overcome, I'd use up all the space in this blog just listing them. 

The last book I'd like to review here was set in Upper Wisconsin, not the Northwest.  It is the The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: a novel by David Wroblewski.  It is a fabulous retelling of Hamlet, only the hero is a 14 year old mute dog trainer and Ophelia is his companion dog Almandine.  Oh, it makes me weepy, just thinking of poor Almandine. video discussing Almandine  This was a very good read.

So now you know what I've been doing this wet, cold April, although much of this reading was done in late March on planes coming and going from Hawaii.  It is just me and my companion dog, Suzie, here at Thornbush for the next few days as Roger is at a "Food Forest Workshop" at  Wild Thyme Farm near Olympia.  Tomorrow is MayDay and I plan on celebrating at the bonfire/potluck of friends down the road aways.  I made a pie using the first of this season's rhubarb yesterday.  Goodbye to April, the cruelest month and on to the merry month of May!

Feb, March and April Foolishness

I went to Hawaii, specifically Kihei on Maui, with my friend Lynn for a week.  It was very nice.  It was 83 degrees every day.  I got to snorkel and see humpback whales.  I ate a half of a papaya everyday for breakfast.  Lynn and her parents were excellent hosts. 



Anita and Lynn on a Dinner Cruise near Lahaina



Then I came home and it was still cold here.  But there were a few more daffodils and all of the grape hyacinths are in bloom.  Roger hung the bamboo gate and he repaired the pond boat (scow?) while I was gone.



Lenora showing off the Plumeria hairclip she got from Hawaii

The twins turned five on April 1st.  Roger, his dad, and I met up with the family at a Red Robin in Everett to celebrate.  We bid on and won pony rides for the twins at the Soroptimists' St Pat's Day Fundraising Dinner.  We anticipate a vist in May when they will be able to redeem their prize.



Audrey has two little plumeria clips in her hair.



Four days after my last blog entry in which I was pointing out all the evidence of Spring, it snowed four inches.  HaHa on me.  It seemed like nature was held in suspended animation after that.  There are signs of Spring, the peepers are peeping.  But it just feels way behind schedule.

On a rare unrainy day, I took a walk and watched the eagles.  Our own nesting pair had one fledgling this year.  I think I witnessed its maiden flight one afternoon when it took several slow circles around our pond, supervised by its very vocal mother

One nice adventure between snowfall and Maui was a trip to Orcas to celebrate Peggy Sue's birthday.  Four of us visited the spa at Rosario Resort, lunched in Olga, and went sightseeing at Moran State Park.  We tried to drive up to Mt. Constitution, but the road was still closed due to snow.

I usually organize chronologically, but this month's entry is a melange of events.  One last event to note is that Roger's father Al came to stay with us this past week.  Although the visit was planned, two days prior he had fallen from his bed and was not able to get himself up for many hours.  Therefore, we were very concerned and have had him under close observation these past few days.  For the time being, we will be subscribing to an emergency response system with a medical alert necklace.  But more hard decisions will be forthcoming.