November Rain

Lindsay marries Greg
 

Let's see, the first weekend of the month--oh yes--Lindsay's wedding.  What a wonderful time we had--witnessing Lindsay's big day.  We also stopped in to see the kids.

I volunteered to host the Friday Walkers at Thornbush on the 9th.  It rained each and every day that week, and then on Friday, sky was blue, sun was out, and more than twice the usual number of walkers showed up (this is a club that's been walking for twenty years or more).  I made a little map of the place, had them walk the perimeter trails, down Christmas Tree Row, over the ridge by the Eagle's nest, down through the nut orchard and Alder Pond, past the garden, then over to Eric's, up Alaska Place to Barbara's border trail, ending at the pond.  Then I gave them a farm tour.  It was well received but I really think they should come back in the Spring when things really look nice.

The week after that--Roger and I drove to Boise!  For the National Grange Convention.  This involved crossing the Cascades and the Blue Mountains twice in the middle of November.  We had a friend Suzie-sit, and we stayed overnight at my brother and sister-in-law's place in Richland.  Which seems to be roughly half-way between Anacortes and Boise.  Add a stop in Ellensburg to have lunch with an old friend and a stop in Baker City at the Sumpter Valley Cafe, and you've got yourself a pretty decent road trip.


Jane, Anita, and Roger's shadow in Ellensburg--not raining
 

At the convention, Roger and I took the "7th degree" which is the highest level for Grange members.  Cannot tell you about it as we are pledged to secrecy.  We met up with people we met last June at the State Convention, and met some nice new people from California, and met up with our friends Shann and Steve who were on their way to the Southwest for an adventure through the Grand Staircase.

Snoqualmie Pass on the way home
 

Of course, the following week we celebrated Thanksgiving.  Because the Barrecas took care of that holiday back in October, we had a small Ellison gathering at the Village at the Harbour, with an added visit from Roger's brother Guy earlier in the week.  I didn't have to cook!  But then, I didn't have any lovely leftovers, either.  The whole day would have ended quietly, but we had a phone call in the evening letting us know that Al had fallen and hit his head on a table leg.  Roger met with the EMT's at Al's bedside.  The hospital wasn't due to open for four more days.  The staff, after consultation with the on-call doctor, decided to wake Al up every hour to make sure he wasn't suffering from a concusion.  Fortunately, everything seems to be okay at this date.

Ellison boys laughing it up at the Cask with Al

I started a basket--biggest I've ever attempted.  We'll see if I get through it or not.  I'm learning a lot.  I worked on the even bigger living basket-- that is the grandchildren's "eagle nest".  This was fun because I was inside of the basket to work on it.  Felt like a Lilliputian.

Inside a basket
 

Then came Roger's 57th birthday.  I'd already given him the 3 new c.d.'s for our trip to Boise (I know--old school)  So, just a cake to bake, a couple other little things to wrap, and a trip to his favorite Mexican place for dinner.  That should round out the month.

The Very Rich Hours in October 2012

Looking back now it is doesn’t look like much of a list, but as it was happening it felt like I couldn’t cram one more thing into this busy month.  Both Roger and I had a lot of projects coming to fruition this month--Things that we’d been working on all year.

 

It began gently enough, the weather unseasonably fine, no rain for many weeks, records being broken.  I joined the island’s walking group on a walk to Cattle Point Lighthouse.

 

 And of course, Roger was again involved in the second annual Farm Parade.  This year, I got to ride in the truck with him, pumpkin man riding with us in the back.

 

 

Midmonth, the weather turned to its normal, rainy conditions, and is still trying to make up for lost time.  But I managed to drive to Olympia and then Rockaway Beach, Oregon in beautiful weather, stopping to have lunch overlooking Canon Beach.

 The reason for this trip South by myself was my attendance at the Columbia Basin Basketry Guild’s Fall Retreat.  I’d been wanting to go for several years, conflicts had always arisen.  This year I was determined to go despite the fact that the Barreca’s were meeting the very weekend of the retreat in Olympia at my sister’s for our annual early Thanksgiving celebration (Thankstween)

 

So I decided to go for just two days and three nights and signed up for one giant two day basketry class—making my own cedar hat.  I would leave Saturday morning and be back in Olympia in time for the big dinner party with 28 other family members.  Unfortunately, the weather going back up to Washington was unruly, I passed through several squalls (or did they pass through me?)  The roads were dicey, but I made it to my sister’s and had a nice visit with the family.  My husband, however, had gotten sick in the meantime and was unable to join us. L

 

 

 As soon as I got back home, it was all about the all-Island Textile Guild Meeting, that I, as SJ Island rep, was in charge of hosting.  We had a new venue, and a great speaker from Whidbey Island.  Also, I had decided to run the first ever “bag raffle” which meant collecting articles to raffle from the members, sorting, and bringing in the infrastructure to show off the items.  Thanks to the hard work of a core group of guild members, the meeting worked out great.

 Having no time to rest, the very next day, Thornbush was spotlighted for a “Farm Tour” as part of the “Savor the San Juans” festival, the festival that had started so many weeks earlier with the Farm parade.  Roger had been working all month to get the place ready, but the big push to make everything beautiful came in this last week.  It rained and poured all week and we weren’t expecting much of a turnout, but on Sunday, it stopped raining and the sun even peaked out for a minute or two.  There wasn’t a big rush of people touring, but a steady little dribble all day long.

 

Of course, out in the real world, the Presidential debates are changing the course of history, the Giants sweep the Tigers in the World Series, and the biggest damn storm ever hits the east coast.  Meanwhile . . .

 Monday, good friends from Seattle visited and left yesterday and today I got into costume and was able to show off my newly-made cowboy hat.  And so October comes to a close.

Retreat

Sometimes you just have to get away from it all.  Do something entirely different from your usual routine.  Take time out for yourself.  This is the theme that resonated with me this month.
About a week after Corbin was born and the twins were returned to their parents, my yoga teacher held a day-long retreat here on the island, including lunch, a trip to the Sculpture garden, a lovely dinner at her restaurant, and of course, lots of yoga.  By the end of the day, I swear, it felt like I'd had five massages in a row.  The effects lasted several days. 

The very next week, a different kind of retreat--this one a basket making class held on Shaw Island for 2 and a half days.  So the nine people in our class stayed at the guest house of one of our members.  A big, three day slumber party on one of the quietest locales in the San Juan Archipelago.  The Tahitian Market Basket was difficult, but satisfying.

Anita and Monique make bling to decorate our baskets

The very next weekend, we went farther afield for our R&R.  This time to Seaside, Oregon, to join friends in a big house a stone's throw from the boardwalk.  This was the first time since August, that Roger has ventured off-island for anything other than business.  Roger got to hold his grandson for the first time.

We got to stay one night with our friends in Raymond and take in an interesting exhibit at the museum in Astoria called "Envisioning the World"  The First Printed Maps, 1472-1700.  Columbia River Maritime Museum  Check it out if you have the chance.

The Mighty Columbia



My last example of retreats from the past month is a little more obscure. Burying myself in a book for a few days is a way of retreating from my day to day cares. My new book club (that I will now refer to as the Rock Island Readers) just read the first book in the Maisie Dobbs series.  This mystery set in post World War I London dealt with shell-shocked veterans who were mysteriously disappearing from their place of refuge called "The Retreat".  The book was surprisingly relevant as we hear more and more of Afghanistan and Iraq veterans returning to their lives with their own battle scars.  

Now the retreats are in the past and its back to the hustle and bustle of Springtime in the San Juans.  I feel like I've jumped on the merry-go-round which is accelerating toward the June reunion.  I'm already looking forward to a "Spa Day" in May--and perhaps another yoga retreat.

Arcade ride at Seaside

What I've been up to

Gosh it's late February already.  I'm sure you're all wondering what I've been doing in the dead of winter.  As last we left it, we were pretty much snowed in for a week.  Lovely, lovely time.  But then the events that were postponed bumped up against other events and I feel like I've been double-booked ever since.

Karen Z, Carol C, and Victor O at Janey's Retirement Party

I've been on a couple whirlwind trips to the Mainland, one fun (Janey's retirement), one not so fun (dental work).  I've been weaving at a workshop on Orcas for a few days.  I've been to several parties, the playwrights festival, and a lot of meetings.

Susan M working on Doubleweave Pattern

And in between all of these things, I've been painting my upstairs bath and bedroom.  Bright colors. 

Outside, the weather improved quite a bit and has actually been quite mild since last month.  That all came to an end this weekend when it started snowing again.  Roger and I have been chipping up all the tree branches and shrubs we put into piles last July (sometimes it takes us awhile).

Note snow on lens of camera

We also started a tree house for our grandkids!  First, cut off a Willow Tree a few feet off the ground.  Then let the willow sprouts encircle a floor attached to the stump.  Place gangplank from higher level across chasm to "crow's nest".  Begin weaving basket using willow sprouts as stakes.  In a couple years, ya got yourself a treehouse!

This month also marked the beginning of my first book club since retirement.  Five of us met at my house for a dinner of West African cuisine as we discussed Little Bee by Chris Cleave.  It'll be a great success if its only half as good as the ones I've belonged to in Seattle.

Looking forward to March we planned more home improvements, another retirement to celebrate,  more meetings and parties to attend, and the best of all, helping take care of the twins when our grandson arrives in the world.

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.

Thornbush in Winter



It's busy.  No lie.  Whoever said this was the slow time of year had no idea.  It's not just sitting around watching American Idol and Glee on tv in the evening.  First there's the regular, the mundane that still must go on:  finding firewood and building fires, feeding the chickens, grooming the dog.  Add to that the on-going projects:  working on the carport (forever), building a new gate for the nut grove, and getting ready for another year in the garden.

Greenhouse veggie starts

bamboo and willow gate



where gate will go (after deer trashed the last one)



There are the regular meetings at the Ag Resource Committee for Roger, yoga for me, plus the burgeoning community and volunteer involvement:  helping to move the co-op into the larger building, rejoining the Grange (I'm now the "Grace" Pomona), Winter Farmers Market, Soroptimist Fundraisers, and on and on.  Now that I'm the SJ Island rep for the Textile Guild I have board meetings on the ferry, monthly meetings at the library, and quarterly meetings on the different islands-last month on Shaw- to attend.



Then there are the classes. Right now, Roger is attending a two day class called Holistic Management for Farming. holistic management link Last weekend I took a two day willow class from Katherine Lewis of Dunbar Gardens of Skagit County.Dunbar Garden Website  My friend Monique from Seattle joined us and did a great job with her very first basket. 



That's Monique in front row on the far right



And I attended an amazing class on double weave in January from an expert from Santa Fe, Jennifer Moore.  Here is her website: http://www.doubleweaver.com/workshops.html  This class involved going to Shaw to borrow a loom, going to Orcas to warp the loom, then three days of ferry riding to attend the class on Orcas, then returning the loom to Shaw.

And then there is the ever present looking for signs that winter will end soon and Spring will begin.  It is 34 degrees outside and sunny.  A walk around the place finds that the daffodils are about six inches high, the hellebores and heather are blooming, the Indian Plum is leafing out, and I am "forcing" two vases of red flowering currants to bloom in the house.  Four more weeks until the Spring Equinox. 

Hay! It's July!

Here's my latest basket, it is made of cedar, ash, and copper wire.  I took a class from world-renowned basket maker Polly Sutton http://pollyclasses.blogspot.com/  And yes, it is supposed to be asymmetric.

Also since my last posting we've had several visitors including my in-laws for a week and then my father for ten days.  While my dad was here we visited Lopez Island to see "Native Plants, Textiles, Baskets:  Inspired by Traditions of the Salish Sea" at Chimera Gallery.  Here is a photo of a cedar bark doll made from a Tulalip weaver.  You will see my father talking with George Simpson in the background.

Of course, my dad was up visiting to help celebrate Independence Day.  The highlight of that day was the parade, this year the theme was all about local farmers--like this one. My sister Rosalie and her husband also marched.  Here is Rosalie celebrating the 150th birthday of her church along with fellow Presbyterians.

But now my father is back home and Roger is in Montana at a family reunion in Anaconda.  He drove his parents' r.v. for them and should be gone about a week.  So that leaves me and Suzie to hold down the farm.  This includes mowing, feed and care of chickens, watering plants in greenhouse and garden.

As I was mowing the nut orchard today, I had time to contemplate the large amount of work it takes to maintain 15 acres.  And even though we reduced our mowing to the areas around the driveway, garden, orchard, courtyard, and paths connecting all these areas, that still comes down to a lot of mowing.  And I'm using gasoline power for this chore.  What about my carbon footprint?

One thing I've realized from this exercise is that after a long afternoon of mowing, nothing feels as good as a long shower and a cold beer.

Birthdays, Anniversaries, and other things

On the Sunday of our anniversary weekend, we took the boat to Orcas Island.  Close in miles but  neither of us have been there in years.  We visited the Bullock Brothers farm, where we took our first permaculture classes maybe sixteen years ago.  They have a standing Sunday potluck lunch invitation to the whole island which we crashed and got a tour of the place to boot.  Came home with a truckload full of plants from their nursery.  http://www.permacultureportal.com/

After that we cruised the island and drove up Mt Constitution for the view.The very next week I went to Orcas again, this time with members of the San Juan Textile Guild for our quarterly meeting.  Orcas was having a Sustainable Living Fair that weekend as well.  Orcas has it going on!

Suzie and I have been walking quite a bit.  One trip up Mt. Young, we came upon a fox who was very surprised to see us.  What's that in its mouth?We went up Mt. Young to look for wildflowers and saw lots of avalanche lilies and shooting stars and some camas.My birthday week was great.  I met friends Lynn and Diane in Anacortes for lunch one day, my friend Linda (from Montana) visited another day, and then I got to go to Henry and Pearl Island with my friend Kathy on her monthly rounds to check the meters.  Here is a picture of the lovely meter reader near a teepee on Henry Island.

 I walked to my sister Rosalie's place on my birthday.  The weather was perfect.  And that night Roger took me to dinner and "My Fair Lady" at San Juan Community Theatre.  The next day, two basketry friends came over and learned to make willow baskets with me.   I showed them my living bench which is coming along nicely near the r.v.

 All and all, it has been a pleasant and eventful Spring.  Tomorrow, we are opening our place up for a tour of our chicken coop operation.  It is part of a "Islands Farm and Feast" weekend.  http://www.sjcarc.org/  Good excuse to get the place shipshape!

Think Spring!

When I last posted, I was on my way to a Basketry Retreat in Port Orchard.  Here is a picture of one of the baskets I wove.  It is made of reed and I've filled it with Easter knickknacks;  it is supposed to be a market basket.  It's a little different from the willow with which I usually work. 

Now it is April and everything is green, green, green.  We went down to Seattle one weekend and brought back a pick-up truck load of plants for Roger's clients.  But I got some of the leftovers (privilege of being a landscaper's wife).  So besides weeding, I've planted ajuga, daylilies, cala lily, asters, etc, etc.  Roger is planting seeds in the greenhouses, but we've yet to plant vegetables outside--even the potatoes beds are prepped but not planted.  I got to try out the riding mower Roger bought from our neighbor Ron.  So the pasture be the pond is newly mown.

We went to see a friend's concert in Seattle--the real reason for our trip.  http://waywardmusic.blogspot.com/2010/04/jay-hamilton-fred.html

And since we were there we were able to help celebrate some friends' April birthdays.  Suzie loved riding in the pick-up truck, like a grownup dog.

This past weekend, Bjorn and his family came to visit.  April is a very big month in their family as the First was the twins' Fourth birthday! 

 And Ethel's birthday was the 12th, and Bjorn's is the 30th.  Little Audrey will be 3 months old tomorrow!  http://www.flickr.com/photos/8374500@N06/4536476464/  The weather was great and we got to play on the beach at Eagle Cove, the girls visited Uncle Eric's ducks and bunnies.  And the grandparents babysat one night so Bjorn and Ethel could go out for the evening! 

This Friday is our 22nd wedding anniversary.  I'd like to go to Orcas for the day.  More on that in my next post.