Colleen and I plan to leave for Phoenix either Thursday evening or Friday morning, depending on whether or not she buys a car before we go. Her little old Toyota does NOT have air conditioning, so if it is the mode of travel, we will be traveling at night. She and her dad are out at the moment looking at cars, so we will see what she decides to do.
I will come home within just a day or two of getting to Phoenix - if no other reason than it is cooler here. Colleen will start work the first part of next week, depending on when we get there.
It has been getting rather toasty around here, mid 80's, and that is warm for us although it gets plenty cool at night. I think tomorrow is supposed to be the hottest day of the week. According to the news, there are places all across the country that are sweltering.
It is down to one month before Sarah is off to college. There is a freshman orientation coming up that is an overnight stay plus a few hours for the parents on the second day. I still can't believe she is going off to college. Both girls had their wisdom teeth removed two weeks ago, and they seem to have recovered. The entire family went to Niagara Falls last week, and they had a room on a thirty something floor with floor to ceiling windows that looked out on the falls.
Keith's reporting date for the Army has now been extended out to August 27. So they haven't let him go, but they haven't told him to show up for duty either. We continue to keep our fingers crossed.
We had a short afternoon visit from niece Cinda last week. She was on her way back to Bellevue from Aberdeen, so left the freeway to come to Steilacoom for a bit of lunch and a visit. And of course we were delighted to see her. She, Curt, and Linea are busy, busy, busy. Linea is recovering from three hours of sinus, tonsil, adenoid surgery, and is wanting to recover quickly to get back to work at Seattle Center before having to return to school in Chicago. Cinda completed her first year as a professor at Seattle University, and Curt continues his rehab work at the University of Washington. He works in the assistive technology clinic to help
in finding solutions for folks who have been the victims of stroke or accident resulting in physical impairment. I know it gets to be a heavy burden at times, but I can't think of anyone who is more caring or more compassionate then he. I know he is an asset to the UW.
We have the motor home washed and cleaned and ready for our next outing which is the first week end in August for the family reunion in Hopewell, OR. Jerry and Lois plan to attend, and if all is calm, so will Curt and Cinda. Jeff and Bev Schuler will be in Vancouver, WA that week end for a wedding, and plan to visit us for the following week, so we will drop the Jetta at their hotel in Vancouver on Saturday and they can drive down and join us on Sunday.
I can't think anything else of interest at the moment.............
Ciao
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Lovely Lavender
We thoroughly enjoyed our lavender weekend. We met Gary and Carolyn at the ferry about noon on Friday and spent the afternoon and evening at the motor home catching up on our comings and goings. On Saturday we walked the street fair and took the shuttle bus out to two of the lavender farms. And visited two more farms on Sunday. All the participating farms had entertainment, food that could be purchased, and of course every conceivable lavender product.
I love the soaps and lotions and fragrances, but I have yet to find any redeeming quality to cooking with lavender. It is simply too mild to make a statement in anything from what I can tell. I've tasted lavender pound cake, lavender cookies and lavender ice cream, and I couldn't taste it in anything.
But it is lovely to look at, and the fragrance is heavenly. We have a huge plant by the back door that has just finished blooming as well as several in the garden. Now Ken is going to plant lavender along the pathway leading up to the front door.
We ate and drank well while with Gary and Carolyn and spent a bit of time talking about our travel plans for the coming fall and winter. We are thinking of leaving sooner (October?) rather than later for our southern sojourn. But we have to negotiate with Craig because we are losing our dog/house sitter since Colleen starts a new job in Phoenix the first of August. It is another Fuller campus which is where she worked in Colorado, but it is a higher level (and higher pay).
I have been spending a fair bit of time at Madigan Hospital for all the annual routine appointments, and I think I am about finished. I wanted to get everything finished before fall arrived. Contrary to my concerns that health care would become more difficult at Madigan because of the addition of troops and families to the Fort Lewis community, it seems it is running more smoothly than ever!
We have blue skies and sunshine; almost too much blue and sun, but we will enjoy it while it is here, because I'm sure there is rain in the forecast sometime in the near future.
Ciao
I love the soaps and lotions and fragrances, but I have yet to find any redeeming quality to cooking with lavender. It is simply too mild to make a statement in anything from what I can tell. I've tasted lavender pound cake, lavender cookies and lavender ice cream, and I couldn't taste it in anything.
But it is lovely to look at, and the fragrance is heavenly. We have a huge plant by the back door that has just finished blooming as well as several in the garden. Now Ken is going to plant lavender along the pathway leading up to the front door.
We ate and drank well while with Gary and Carolyn and spent a bit of time talking about our travel plans for the coming fall and winter. We are thinking of leaving sooner (October?) rather than later for our southern sojourn. But we have to negotiate with Craig because we are losing our dog/house sitter since Colleen starts a new job in Phoenix the first of August. It is another Fuller campus which is where she worked in Colorado, but it is a higher level (and higher pay).
I have been spending a fair bit of time at Madigan Hospital for all the annual routine appointments, and I think I am about finished. I wanted to get everything finished before fall arrived. Contrary to my concerns that health care would become more difficult at Madigan because of the addition of troops and families to the Fort Lewis community, it seems it is running more smoothly than ever!
We have blue skies and sunshine; almost too much blue and sun, but we will enjoy it while it is here, because I'm sure there is rain in the forecast sometime in the near future.
Ciao
Sunday, July 10, 2005
Hurricane Dennis where we used to be
Watching the news of the hurricane takes me back to the months we spent in Pensacola while Ken went through pre-flight. We were there from March to September, and as we were traveling on to Corpus Christi we were being closely followed by a hurricane which did not catch us. I don't remember much news, if any, about hurricanes for the time we were in Florida. We lived in Pensacola, and I aspired to live in Gulf Breeze, where the 'senior' officers lived. I wouldn't want to be there today.
We have been invited to the 50th wedding anniversary mass and reception for Jerry and Mary Ellen McKain this afternoon. The mass is also celebrating their granddaughter's quinceanero - fifteen years of Christian living. Molly and her family live in Texas and her father is of an hispanic culture which I believe is much more focused on the quinceanero. We are looking forward to it. When Ken first went to work at Western State Hospital, he worked for Jerry. Coincidentally, they live on Walnut Lane just a few hundred yards up the hill from us, so we count them as friends and neighbors as well as a former coworker.
Colleen and Cooper are out for their daily walk. She has made it a habit to walk him, and he doesn't let her forget it. He is in her face every waking moment until they are on their way. For a ten-year-old ill-behaved dog, she has made great strides in getting him to walk like a gentleman. They walk from here to Sunnyside Beach which is three miles round trip.
We watched a Rick Steves show on Friday evening which found him in Croatia. We want to go!!! In fact, we have posed that scenario to the Schulers, and the email response (within 15 minutes of my sending the message) was yes, yes, yes. It looks beautiful, and seems to be the bargain for Europe at the moment. This will not happen until next year, but we are going to talk about it when we are together next month.
Next week will be preparation for our Lavender Festival week end. For some reason, Winnebago chose not to install seatbelts in the dinette in our MH - so it is designed to sleep six, but can only transport five safely. We are taking it to a van conversion shop in Puyallup next week to see about two more seat belts. I have talked to them, and they see no reason why it can't be done. Me neither since the 2004s and 2006s have dinette seatbelts!
There must be some bad karma in this house. The treadmill gave up the ghost this week, and last night while preparing dinner, the microwave oven died. This on the heels of a new lawnmower just two weeks ago. Maybe it is just time to move!!
Cool and cloudy today, but sunshine is on the way, and is predicted to stay for the next week or so.
Ciao
We have been invited to the 50th wedding anniversary mass and reception for Jerry and Mary Ellen McKain this afternoon. The mass is also celebrating their granddaughter's quinceanero - fifteen years of Christian living. Molly and her family live in Texas and her father is of an hispanic culture which I believe is much more focused on the quinceanero. We are looking forward to it. When Ken first went to work at Western State Hospital, he worked for Jerry. Coincidentally, they live on Walnut Lane just a few hundred yards up the hill from us, so we count them as friends and neighbors as well as a former coworker.
Colleen and Cooper are out for their daily walk. She has made it a habit to walk him, and he doesn't let her forget it. He is in her face every waking moment until they are on their way. For a ten-year-old ill-behaved dog, she has made great strides in getting him to walk like a gentleman. They walk from here to Sunnyside Beach which is three miles round trip.
We watched a Rick Steves show on Friday evening which found him in Croatia. We want to go!!! In fact, we have posed that scenario to the Schulers, and the email response (within 15 minutes of my sending the message) was yes, yes, yes. It looks beautiful, and seems to be the bargain for Europe at the moment. This will not happen until next year, but we are going to talk about it when we are together next month.
Next week will be preparation for our Lavender Festival week end. For some reason, Winnebago chose not to install seatbelts in the dinette in our MH - so it is designed to sleep six, but can only transport five safely. We are taking it to a van conversion shop in Puyallup next week to see about two more seat belts. I have talked to them, and they see no reason why it can't be done. Me neither since the 2004s and 2006s have dinette seatbelts!
There must be some bad karma in this house. The treadmill gave up the ghost this week, and last night while preparing dinner, the microwave oven died. This on the heels of a new lawnmower just two weeks ago. Maybe it is just time to move!!
Cool and cloudy today, but sunshine is on the way, and is predicted to stay for the next week or so.
Ciao
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Post Fourth of July
After a rather subdued holiday week end, we are seeming to continue in that mode - subdued, not holiday.
We did not even walk downtown on the Fourth. We were invited to friends for a barbeque early in the afternoon, and by the time I finished preparing some food to take, it was time to go. We came home and watched the fireworks from our upstairs window. The weather did cooperate; it was a beauiful day.
Next week is the Lavender Festival in Sequim, and the Ouseys are going to come over on the ferry from Victoria and join us. The festival runs for three full days, so we should have plenty to keep us busy. Eight of the farms are open during the festival and offer everything from demonstrations, to crafts, to food. That in addition to a street fair, and two dances. I am looking forward to it, and it will be fun to share it with Gary and Carolyn. We have reservations at an RV park that is actually a marina in Port Townsend. From the looks of the website it looks like a great place with good views of the water.
Here is a recipe I made last night. It is from my current favorite food maven: Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa. Note it has no oil or fat in the marinade!
Indonesian Ginger Chicken
1 cup honey
3/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup minced garlic (8 to 12 cloves)
1/2 cup peeled and grated fresh ginger root
2 (3 1/2#) chickens, quartered, with backs removed
Cook the honey, soy sauce, garlic, and ginger on low heat in a small pan until the honey is melted.
Arrange the chicken in one layer in a shallow baking dish, skin side down, and pour the sauce over. Cover tightly with foil and marinate overnight in the refrigerator. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, bake for 30 minutes, turn skin side up, increase heat to 375 and bake another 30 minutes.
Note: I used chicken breasts, and I just poured on the marinade and baked it. I needed dinner in an hour, not 24 hours. And it tasted just fine!
Ciao
We did not even walk downtown on the Fourth. We were invited to friends for a barbeque early in the afternoon, and by the time I finished preparing some food to take, it was time to go. We came home and watched the fireworks from our upstairs window. The weather did cooperate; it was a beauiful day.
Next week is the Lavender Festival in Sequim, and the Ouseys are going to come over on the ferry from Victoria and join us. The festival runs for three full days, so we should have plenty to keep us busy. Eight of the farms are open during the festival and offer everything from demonstrations, to crafts, to food. That in addition to a street fair, and two dances. I am looking forward to it, and it will be fun to share it with Gary and Carolyn. We have reservations at an RV park that is actually a marina in Port Townsend. From the looks of the website it looks like a great place with good views of the water.
Here is a recipe I made last night. It is from my current favorite food maven: Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa. Note it has no oil or fat in the marinade!
Indonesian Ginger Chicken
1 cup honey
3/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup minced garlic (8 to 12 cloves)
1/2 cup peeled and grated fresh ginger root
2 (3 1/2#) chickens, quartered, with backs removed
Cook the honey, soy sauce, garlic, and ginger on low heat in a small pan until the honey is melted.
Arrange the chicken in one layer in a shallow baking dish, skin side down, and pour the sauce over. Cover tightly with foil and marinate overnight in the refrigerator. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, bake for 30 minutes, turn skin side up, increase heat to 375 and bake another 30 minutes.
Note: I used chicken breasts, and I just poured on the marinade and baked it. I needed dinner in an hour, not 24 hours. And it tasted just fine!
Ciao
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