Life is Good and Missouri Loves Company

Trashion Fashion entry-Tin Woman

Today is the last day of Summer.  I am at my computer recovering from yesterday's oral surgery placing a titanium toggle bolt in my upper jaw to get ready for a new crown.  Right now there are at least a dozen sparrows taking a bath in my new fountain bowl.  (see last post).  Looks like there are some juncos and a redheaded finch of some kind mixed in with them.  The tyranny of the harvest has begun.  Roger is picking the last of the fava plants that I will need to shell.  We haven't planted the overwintering garlic yet but it hasn't rained for a long, long time so there's no hurry on that.

 

 

But I should start where I left off mid-August.  The picture above shows my entry in the Trashion Fashion show for the first year.  I won a prize for best use of recycled materials, namely, deer fencing, an aluminum air duct, dog and horse feed bags among other things.  Note my beautiful silver slippers courtesy of my neighbor Lunnette.

 

That was the first night of the San Juan County Fair.  Later that week, our friends joined us.

 

The "Conundrum" vs. "George Simpson Memorial Truck"

They took part in the Zucchini 500, picnicked at Jacksons Beach and other wise enjoyed themselves.



Life is Good



The week after the Fair, my brother Marc and his friend Nancy visited.  Then it was off to Missouri with my friend Liz to visit family and see the sights.  We started off in Kansas City, staying with Liz’s cousin Fred.  I was able to visit my Aunt Ruth who turns 96 this Fall.  I hadn’t seen my cousins Donald or Dannie since childhood and I got to meet their children and grandchildren for the first time.

 

 

After Kansas City we drove to St. Louis and stayed with my Aunt Sallie.  Ann and Melanie drove us all over and introduced us to St. Louis neighborhoods such as “The Hill” and “The Loop”.  We saw the Missouri Botanical Gardens and spent a day at The City Museum (a must see).  Leaving St. Louis we dropped down on old Route 66 to visit my cousin Steve and his family.  Then we hit a hellacious storm outside of Springfield but the next day temperatures dropped from the mid 90’s to a comfortable 75 degrees. 

 

 

We stopped in Branson long enough to see the Shanghai Circus and then dropped into Arkansas at Eureka Springs, (the little Switzerland of the Ozarks).  The next day we visited Chrystal Bridges, a fabulous museum of American Art in Bentonville, AR.  Finishing our loop of the state back in Kansas City we flew back to Seattle on September 10^th.

 

I thought I would miss all the good weather the N.W. was having while we were gone, but the last ten days have been very pleasant and a relaxing wrap up to the summer.  Life is indeed, Good.

 

I'm Living in a Postcard!

The Garden in July

Fourth of July Parade


Community Marching Band

All the Ellisons took part this year.  Roger and Eric marched with the National Park and their dad rode in a shiny red convertible. 

Riding the Train Great Western Island Railroad



Find out more about it at:  Riding the Train Great Western Island Railroad  Roger's is not the only railroad on San Juan Island.  We took a ride on Wayne and Barbara Zimmerman's 7 1/2" guage train and visited the model village.

Encampment

Practicing for the Candlelight Ball at English Camp

Yes, once again we dressed in the period garb of 1859 and visited with similarly dressed folks camping down on the parade ground at English Camp.  San Juan Island National Park

Weaving Weekend

Roger makes a Trellis

We planted ourselves under a huge maple tree at English Camp on the hottest weekend of the year.  Probably the best place on the island as the breeze was wafting from Garrison Bay.  We'd spent the week cutting a pick-up truck full of willow withees, alder and ocean spray sticks to use in making wattle fences, plant teepees and trellises.  We were part of a much bigger group of basketmakers, spinners, weavers and other crafting people creating some living history for the National Park each summer.

Art Project - concrete and pebble mosaic addition to the Fountain

I spent a week making this pebble mosaic bowl and building a tiled tower for the water feature in
our courtyard.  I'm quite proud of it and it didn't occur to me until I started writing this blog that it looks a little like a toilet bowl.  Even has a nice tinkling sound.

Blogs are good because one can take a step back, review the recent past, and come to the conclusion that something was accomplished as the summer whizzed by.  Next winter I'll look back at this post and maybe appreciate these events even more.  Because when they were happening, I was always feeling rushed and anxious about the next event around the corner.  Even now as I type this, I am worried about all I have to do to get ready for the Fair this coming week.

Every once in awhile though, I do pause, look around, and wonder how I  lucked out to live in such a fabulous place.