Shop Hopping and Boat Stopping

We three had a glorious time on our three-day shop hop odyssey. We headed north on Wednesday morning with Lynden as our goal - and we did get there by mid afternoon after a stop or two on the way. After Lynden we had to head back to Mt. Vernon where I had managed to score a reservation on a little houseboat on the Skagit River.

It was little, and it was cozy for three, but it was quite fun. The bathroom left a lot to be desired - it was a working bathroom with restrictions not unlike those we have with the motor home, but it was very little and inconvenient. We made up for it by sitting outside on a little deck at the front while we drank our wine. There was one little houseboat moored a few feet down from us, and that was all we could see except the river. I would do it again!! The owner came at 8:30 in the morning with a basket laden with wonderful warm muffins, and fresh raspberries and currents.

By the next night, we were ready for something more ordinary with a big bathroom so we stayed in Monroe at a Holiday Inn Express. All of our lunches and dinners were great and they ran the gamut from a deli in an upscale grocery store, to a little country tavern and an Italian/Greek restaurant. I think we covered almost 500 miles in the three days and visited about 20 shops. Some were fabulous, and one or two do not deserve to be in business. I suspect we will consider doing it again next year, or perhaps trying one in western Oregon.

Ken and Jeff whiled away the time with the computer and watching and discussing woodworking tactics. They seemed to survive just fine. Jeff and Bev went home yesterday afternoon and now we are working on getting ready for the Fourth.

Two little robins survived, and they disappeared from the nest about three days ago, so I am hoping they made it okay. Perhaps we will have someone else come and occupy the nest next spring. It is such a great location because we can watch from the kitchen window.

Bassim arrived in Phoenix last Saturday, and he and Colleen have visited the Grand Canyon and are now in San Diego until Tuesday. She called yesterday to find out where there was a Starbucks in Yuma! She was impressed with the new mall, and I assured her that that was the highlight of Yuma.

Mike and Mary should be in South Dakota so I'm going to call this afternoon to find out how their trip has gone so far. Mary said they were going to blast off last Thursday.

Have a good week. Todays word: evanescent - tending to vanish like vapor.

Ciao

Big Sky Country, wine, shopping and thaumaturgy

I had a great week in eastern Washington along with a jaunt through the panhandle of Idaho to Kalispell, south to St. Regis and back to I-90. The drive through Montana just made we want to move there even more……and gas was twenty five cents less per gallon. I drove two-lane highways with little traffic; so little that I could drive with the cruise control set on sixty. Of course most everywhere looks glorious this time of year because of all the new spring growth.

But to back up. I spent two nights with Jerry and Lois, and Lois and I treated ourselves to lunch and martinis for her birthday that was in April. The birthday I had done nothing about. We had a good visit and caught up on what has been going on in our lives.

Then on to Big Meadows to stay with Rod and Karen for a few days. She and I spent a fair amount of time (and money) shopping for fabrics for the class we are going to take in November. It is so wonderful to have her holding my hand while I am making all of these decisions. We also did quite a bit of prep work for the class – cutting templates and pattern pieces.

Their yard is beautiful, and we frequently took our coffee or wine out to the pond where we could sit and listen to the bubbling water and look at the green hillsides. They have been hard at work getting ready for their grandson’s graduation party this week end, and it shows. Rod was busy pouring concrete for curbing. He was quite happy with his project.

I spent last Saturday afternoon with Mike and Mary. Mike had been off work all week because of bronchitis, but he seemed to be mending well. Mary looks fabulous. I think she is as slim or slimmer than when she got married. I admire her tenacity. They are getting ready to drive Pat’s pickup back to Indiana to Steven and Sandy. They will stop in South Dakota to visit Martha’s daughter and son-in-law, Rachel and Assad. And not to be left out, Martha plans to hop in her car and zip up from Iowa to see them. Wish I were going to be there.

I came home via the wine country so I could pick up a few bottles to have on hand. I visited with Kathleen Montez who was the bookkeeper for Al when I worked there. She is like a fish out of water having just moved to Benton City to help care for her mother who has cancer. Kathleen has always lived on this side of the state and always had access to a boat and saltwater. It is quite an adjustment since she lives out in the country perched atop a hill surrounded by rock and sagebrush soon to be turned into vineyards.

There are two baby robins in the nest outside the kitchen window. One egg disappeared, and the other didn’t hatch. I suspect it will soon only be one baby bird because there is quite a difference in the size of the two. Mother Nature at work.

We are looking forward to the end of the month and the first part of July when we will get to see Brian and family, and then Keith and family. Brian, Sheila and the boys will be here for several days around the Fourth, and then we will drive to Montana to park the motor home for the Baltimore Kirkwoods to use for a few days on their property at the lake. We will trade them the motor home for their motel reservation in Kalispell.

We are in shock after having received our new tax assessment – the house only increased by about 10%, but the land increased by 60%!!!!!!!!! Talk about following the real estate market. I plan to contest it since there has been nothing done to either the house or the land, and in fact, the view is slowly being eroded by the growth of trees on down the hill. I feel like we are fast approaching the time when we will have to sell to get out from under taxes. Washington is bad enough about taxes upon taxes, and it is even worse in this part of the state.

Word of the day: thaumaturgy – magic.

Ciao

A New Neighbor

We have a mother robin who has taken up residence right outside our kitchen window. With a bit of judicious pruning, we can see her when she is on the nest and can see the four little blue eggs when she is away. We figure they should hatch in about a week. She seems to be pretty secure where she is, although she is pretty low to the ground. We no longer have a cat, so the only threat would be a raccoon or marauding cat.

Craig, Cassie, and her daughter, Greta, came for dinner yesterday. We met Cassie briefly before we went south last December but this was the first time to meet 5 ½ year old Greta. She is quite precocious, was well-behaved and has a penchant for horses. She arrived with her backpack stuffed with them. She was quite taken with our little robin outside the window.

I am going to Spokane tomorrow for a few days of visiting friends, family, and quilt shops. There are several (quilt shops) that I haven’t seen, or haven’t seen for many years. I will spend a day or two with Jerry and Lois, track down Mike and Mary, and spend some time with Karen. She and Rod are hosting a graduation party for their oldest grandson, so I’m going to lend a hand with some food preparation so Karen and I will have some time for quilting.

Ken has the yard looking quite nice. Although the rhodies are at the end of their bloom, we have some iris and peonies to lend some color. The back patio has always been inundated with grass and weeds coming up between the bricks and blocks so I convinced Ken to take the easy way out this year – Roundup. It worked like a charm and the patio is quite fit looking. I am rather hesitant about pesticides and such, but this one seems to the lesser of what’s out there. The label claims they have even FED it to dogs with no ill effects.

Bassim is going to visit Colleen later this month. He continued to call her even after she said, “The end.” And now he is going to tear himself away from his desk in Sydney where he looks after Australian ex-patriots around the world to spend some time in Phoenix. Now Colleen has added a dog to the mix!! What next?

Word of the Day: objet trouve (ob-zha-tru-va). I love the lyrical sound of it!
A found or discarded object (as a piece of driftwood or an old bathtub) held to have aesthetic value. Hmmm, I have a houseful of those!

Ciao