I absolutely love summer!

This is what happens when you wait 8 weeks between posts: 
A.  4th of July parade - No Coal!
B.  Jury Duty in Seattle
C.  Harry visits from Colorado
D.  Leif's memorial in Federal Way/family gathering
E.  Encampment/Dan Hicks
F.  Ken and Lisa visit after 25 years
G.  Weaving Weekend/Darby and Jennifer
H.  Granddaughter Lenora comes for a week
I.  County Fair/gang visits

Throw in a terrible cold and sewing up two quilts for the twins and is it any wonder I haven't had time to post anything?

So people not into reading blogs can stop here.  My Table of Contents lists it all.  Maybe a few photos:
A.
Fourth of July--No More Coal - click on this link to see Roger and I parade down Spring Street with 80 of our closest friends to protest the possibility of Coal shipments through our pristine Salish Sea.

C.  Roger's cousin Harry is a retired elementary school principal from Grand Junction, Colorado.  He travels on his bike around the country each summer and is something of a troubadour.   Roger's dad Al invited him to play at the Retirement Home and he put on a nice concert.

D.  Celebration of Life for Roger's brother Leif who passed away last month.  Spent the weekend with family and had two nice get-togethers at Lil's and at Guy and Brenda's.

Lenora, Ethel, Corbin, Audrey, Bjorn, Iliana
 

E.  Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks played town the same weekend as Encampment.  We went to both.  I Scare Myself
F.  Ken and Lisa visit Thornbush for first time.  Good friends in college, have not seen Ken since Roger and my wedding twenty-five years ago.  Great visit, long overdue.  Here's a pix at the Lavender Farm.

G.  Weaving Weekend was the first weekend in August.  Roger and I did our usual shtick with sticks.  I was already feeling poorly then, but managed to get through it and join Peggy Sue at a lovely dinner with our sailing friends Gene and Jennifer as well.

Note cedar hat that won a blue ribbon at the Fair a month later

H.  I Absolutely Loved the week I spent with my granddaughter, Lenora.  I think she had a pretty good time, too, reading, coloring, watching movies, and play dates with other seven-year olds.  It's your turn next year, Iliana!

Lenora in the corn with the sun in her eyes
 

Also, I gave the twins their birthday presents four months late.  The quilts and a major cold were two of several reasons I didn't get my Fair Challenge "Sheep Happens" finished in time.

 

 

 

I.  Everyone loves the County Fair and the gang participates in the Zucchini 500 races.  At first I was going to enter one of my cardoons.  They are pretty impressive this year.  But then I thought, been there, done that.

Barry measures Cardoon height
 

Another highlight was when Diane won the Throne of Games at the art raffle.

 

 

But the biggest thrill came at the end of the Zucchini 500 when The Romney Bus and Flower Power joined in a mass suicide on the Ramp of Death:

  You are probably used to me adding a bit of sad news at the end of my posts.  Unfortunately, this post is no exception.  Last Saturday, the Downrigger restaurant burned down.  At least no one was hurt.  We all have memories of the Downrigger and before that "The Mariner".  No telling at this point if it will be rebuilt or not.

The end

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.

 

It's a Blizzard!

Christmas 2011

Bjorn's family joined us for the Christmas weekend.  It was a wild and fun time as holiday weekends are meant to be.  Roger's dad Al and brother Eric as well as my sister Rosalie and her husband Tom joined us for Christmas dinner.  Next year, we will be enjoying the company of our new grandson as well.  He'll be nine months old and ready to tear into that wrapping paper.

The following weekend we hosted our long time friends from Seattle for a New Year's celebration.  As usual, we had plenty of great food and conviviality. 

Then, at the first Grange meeting of the new year, Roger was elected Master in what might be considered a landslide.  He has been busy creating committees and taking stock of building maintenance needs ever since.  Being elected Master means that many people believe in his leadership abilities.  He is very committed to proving his constituents correct.  2012 is setting up to be a noteworthy year.

Every January I join my friend Liz, sister Jeannette and other friends for Spa Day at the Olympus Spa in Lynnwood.  This is a tradition that goes back more than ten years.

tour of Olympus Spa

The following week, I spilled hot tea on my HP Laptop and ZAP! no more computer.  A week and several hundreds of dollars later, you are now witnessing my first blog on my new Acer laptop.  Thanks goodness for Rockisland support and their ability to save all my files, pictures, contacts.  Let this be a lesson to all of us about backing up our files and not drinking tea around valuable electronic equipment.

This week it is all about the weather.  After teasing us for several days with light little flurries, the weather gods gave us a bit of a blizzard this morning.  Temperatures in the mid- twenties (stop smirking, Linda)  I must have passed some sort of threshold nearing the fourth anniversary of my retirement from Metro, because I'm not even interested in following the news about how many artics are jack-knifed all around Seattle.

I



view from bathroom of 2008 snowfall

Yes, it has been four years since my retirement from Metro.  Four years full of craft, home-improvement, socializing, communing with nature, doting on my dog.  I'm living the life I've dreamed about for over thirty years.  Wouldn't trade it for nothin'.

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.

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.

December 2010 in Pictures

ready, set, open!



Nikki and Austin



moon over Baker

Shann turns 60!

Red Dawn over Thornbush



Moving rail for new carport



Craig on uke, Roger on guitar