Alex, a Strawberry Field, and Freezer Jam

Saturday morning was bright, sunny, and warm.  A perfect day to pick strawberries!  We invited our grand-nephew Alex, and his parents, to come along.

Yes, I'm still alive!

September has really been a whirlwind -- I can't believe it's almost gone. Paul and I took a vacation smack dab in the middle of the month, and it seemed like we were gone for ages. We were actually only gone for eight days, but that's a long time away for us.

Anyway, first we went to Washington DC (well Fairfax, Virginia actually) to visit Paul's daughter Anne. She's moved there to pursue her nursing and to be closer to her boyfriend, John. It was a walking vacation, let me tell you. They have a great transit system, so we just hopped on a bus or a train, and then just walked, walked, walked. Paul's got the pictures on his computer. I'll add them eventually.

Next we were off to Minneapolis for a tile conference I was attending. The conference was fabulous, and I was surprised to see how well represented Washington State was. One of our instructors, Carol Rose Dean, lives on Vashon, and there were five other students from Western Washington. While I was in class Paul spent time with his brother Tom and family. Tom is the environmental writer for The Star Tribune, and had just returned from an assignment on the Isle Royal. Tom's wife Anne Landreman is an artist who also teaches art at Diamond Path Elementary, a school of international studies. They were great hosts, and we had lots of fun.

So we're happy to be home. I'm working on a project for the City of Tacoma, tile inserts for a concrete bulb-out on 6th Avenue. The project has been on hold for two years, but hopefully will go through this time. The construction portion is going out to bid this week so fingers crossed!

Day Trip Number One

Recently we took a road trip to McMinnville and Walla Walla which begged the question: why don't we do this more often? We figured we don't have to take a week-long vacation in order to see all sorts of wonderful things in the Pacific Northwest. We could take mini-vacations or day trips. So we asked some of our friends if you had a free day and felt the road calling your name where would you go? Yesterday Paul and I picked two of the suggestions (Paul added a twist by including the new Central Link from Tukwila to downtown Seattle), and we headed off for Day Trip Number One.

My brother Jim suggested: Seattle Waterfront. Aquarium, ice cream, see the mummy dude, do the arcade, lunch at Ivar's Chowder bar, dinner at Spaghetti Factory, maybe a run up to the Seattle Center or Westlake Mall. My friend Charan agreed saying: Recently I have been thinking about doing the whole Seattle thing. Downtown, water front, aquarium, pike place market. Paul's son Ben said: come visit the Ben's...see their beautiful new apt together and go out for lunch or dinner! Paul and I have been talking about the new link from Tukwila to Seattle, and thought why not combine them all and spend a day in Seattle?

The Link was so much fun. We drove to Tukwila, parked our car and headed for the train. It was a smooth ride, a little over a half hour and we had fun peeking out the windows -- especially at the cars that were stopped on I-5 in traffic jams. Sound Transit did a good job with all the stations, and I loved looking at all the public art. (I hope they do as good of a job with their extension from Tacoma to Lakewood.) We traveled all the way to Westlake Center (a round trip ticket from Tukwila to Westlake per person is $5 and good on buses outside of the downtown free zone). It was wonderful not to have to battle downtown traffic or deal with the parking headache. We made our way up and out of the bus tunnel and shopping areas to meet up with Pat. Benagain (Ben's boyfriend is also named Benjamin. To keep them straight when we're talking everyone else calls him Little Ben, but I call him Benagain) soon joined us and we were off to Le Pichet to see Ben and have some lunch. Lunch was amazing. You can see pictures on the link above (Day Trip Number One). After lunch Benagain, Pat, Paul and I went to Pikes Place to look around their rummage sale, and then we split up. Pat had a shift at the Can Can, and Benagain was off to the Brasa for work.

Paul and I strolled around, did a little shopping, sat in the park, and waited for Ben to get off work. Then we were off to see his new apartment (he moved in with Benagain at the beginning of the month) where we relaxed for a bit and visited. Soon we were off on another bus to go to see Benagain at the Brasa. Some luscious cocktails, delicious small plates, and some great conversation had us wondering why don't we do this more often? It was getting late, and we had to get home to our puppies, so it was goodbye hugs all around and off we went to Westlake Center to catch our train home. It was around 9:30 when we pulled into the driveway, and the girls finally forgave our abandonment after some pets, and a very late dinner.

We managed to do most of the things on the list. Westlake Center, Pikes Place, ice cream, lunch and dinner, but never made it to the waterfront. Another time absolutely. Pat wants us to move to Seattle, but we both agreed -- Seattle is a great place to visit but we love living in Tacoma. What a great day!

Idaho Day Trip

I've been coming to the cabin at Pend Orielle for about 12 years now. It's nine miles from Schweitzer Ski Resort, and while others have taken advantage of the spectacular views, hiking, berry picking, and the cool air for some reason I never have. That is until yesterday. I was feeling pretty lazy when I woke up, and thought maybe we could lounge around town to stroll around Sandpoint's historic downtown shopping area (all two blocks of it) instead of packing the car, and driving to the cabin. Not sure why I thought that would be fun, it really hasn't changed that much since I starting coming to Idaho. Paul suggested maybe we could go to Schweitzer Ski Resort, and look around there. Hmm, why not? The mountain was pretty, and had wonderful views of the lake, which unfortunately was shrouded in a haze. It was fun to walk around the lodge grounds, and watch the children attending their summer camp climb rock walls, bungee cord jump and gleefully shrieking as kids do. Paul very bravely agreed to accompany me on a ride up the chair lift (I've never ridden on one -- they're fun!) even though he detests heights. I'm afraid he missed the ride down (his eyes were closed most of the way) so I took lots of pictures for him to look at later. Speaking of which, instead of spending hours transferring photos today, I'll leave you this link instead. You can view yesterdays pics, and the rest of Paul's facebook photo album.

A Day at the Lake

Monday morning, and most of the crew have arrived: Tom, Anne, Sam, Laura, Jason, Maryann, Emma, Paul and myself. Terry and Nico arrived just in time to relax a bit before dinner. Carmen won't get here until Thursday, but unfortunately we're leaving the day before. What's that? Where's the pictures? Well, here you go!

Going to Sandpoint

So my friend Jennevieve said I need to blog more. Keep it short, and often. I said I'd try partially because I know she's right, and partially because she's become very handy with scary equipment like saws all and jack hammers.

It's the first week in August and that means the Meersmans congregate at the lake. They've been doing it for 50 some years now. Paul grew up in Spokane, and one of their family friends, the Sperrys, were settlers in Sandpoint area (honest! look them up, especially Alice Sperry -- she was an amazing person). Anyway the Sperrys have a lovely piece of land at the mouth of the Pend Orielle River right around the corner from the Long Bridge into Sandpoint, and they've been wonderful hosts of the Meersmans all this time. Don't worry -- pictures are coming soon.

This will be the second gathering for the Meersmans here without Rose, Paul's mother. The Sperrys are mourning the loss of their Uncle Alan who passed away this last winter from brain cancer. It was strange to pull into the gates, and not be greeted by him as he wandered the property watering the lawn. He made a warm welcome with his big smile and wave, and I'll miss visiting with him during our lazy afternoons on the covered porch.

Okay, I'm off now to do...well nothing. And that's the point of the lake. You come here all wound up from your job and, spend a few days or a week amidst all this beauty chatting with relatives who come from as far as Minneapolis to catch up and reminence. I best be getting to it!

Our Anniversary

10 years? Already? I can't believe Paul and I have been married for 10 years. Usually we just enjoy a quiet dinner to celebrate our anniversary, but since this is our 10th we're taking a trip through the wine country as our gift to each other (we're leaving the first week of July).

Last night we stopped at Tacoma Wine Merchant to pick up our wine club selection and purchase a few additional bottles. Afterwards we headed next door to Enoteca for a glass or two and a cheese plate before dinner. Bill gave us a glass of champagne (on the house) to start the evening off right. Such a sweet gesture.

Next we were off to Europa for dinner. The tables outside were open so we snagged one. I love sidewalk dining -- reminds me of Europe (and Seattle for that matter). Paul and I changed seats halfway through the meal so our faces would roast evenly as the sun went down. I have to say the food was a bit disappointing, but not the company. It was a lovely meal.

We stopped at home long enough to let the dogs out, put away the leftovers, and then we went for a short bike ride. We rode to the middle of Skyline Bridge to watch the sun as it set over the Narrows. It was a bit cloudy, but we could still enjoy the lovely pink and gold sky.

It was a perfect end to a lovely day that celebrates a wonderful marriage. I can't say it enough Paul -- I love you. Thanks for marrying me.

My Mom the Enviromentalist

This weekend Paul and I drove with my mom to Sequim to visit my brother and his family. Long story short some one needed a drink of water and my mom whipped out her water bottle -- a metal water bottle. I congratulated her on it, she said well of course I'm not using a plastic bottle, and then she proceeded to lecture me about the evils of plastic bottles, overflowing landfills, and such.

My mom has always reused, renewed, and recycled way before it was hip -- it was just a way of life for her. When she was growing up there was no curbside trash collection in Japan (or electricity, or running water). Trash had to be burned, buried or turned into compost. I remember splitting the raw and cooked food into two containers, raw for the compost heap, and cooked to be disposed of as trash. The cooked food was drained and then whirled in the blender with some water. Then mom would strain the mixture and the liquid went down the sink. Whatever was collected in the sieve was then dumped in the trashcan. No packaging escaped compaction . Pop cans were smashed and saved in bags to take back to the plant for whatever pittance they were offering then. Milk cartons (paper or plastic) squished, and metal cans smashed flat (with the tops and bottoms inside) before they were thrown out. Newspaper was rolled into "logs", tied off with string and burned in our fireplace to help stretch out our supply of Duraflame logs.

It was all very tedious and time consuming, and instead of continuing to practise them I turned them into examples of how far we'd come in our world of convenience. Now that I'm (finally) starting a compost pile I have a lovely ceramic piece in the shape of a trashcan that sits on my counter top, with a charcoal filter in the lid to keep the smells at bay (my mom used an old coffee can with the plastic lid, or an old mixing bowl). My scraps are patiently waiting in the freezer to be dumped into the fancy two compartment compost box with a shared platform that my husband is building for me (my mom just dumped things in a pile in the backyard and staked chicken wire to keep it at bay). All this renewed interest in recycling, gardening, and urban chickens amuses my mom. Metal water containers, rain barrels, composting aren't new she reminds me, and laughs that she's lived long enough to see practices she once thought of as old-fashioned being introduced as new ideas today.

A Visit to Sequim

My brother and his family live in Sequim and we don't get over there as often as we'd like or should. Last Saturday we drove with mom to see Stephanie's perform in a dance recital (she's taking lessons in jazz and tap).

On the way to the recital we stopped at the middle school to see some art. Brandon graduated from the 5th grade this year, and his school has a tradition that I think is awesome. The graduating class gets to leave their mark on the school by painting a "tile". Then on the last day the entire school lines up around the corridors, and the 5th graders march around the corridors receiving high fives from the whole school. How cool is that?

Going Home

Today Paul and I went to mom's house to check out her old compost tumbler. I saw it last somewhere in the early '90s in the back yard. Mom wasn't sure what condition it was in, but it was ours if we wanted it. I hadn't been in the back yard since my son was little. After dad died we didn't barbecue much, the grandkids were too old for Easter egg hunts, and there just wasn't much reason to go out the back door anymore. Mom warned us that it was a mess. She hasn't been able to keep up like she used to, and everything was overgrown. I know her kids have tried for years to offer help, but she's a stubborn one -- wants to do it all herself. The shed is falling down, the trees need to be cut back, the ivy is slowly overtaking the spot where her cherry tree used to be but we know better than to insist too much. When mom says no, she means no.

As we walked down the deck steps I noticed she was right -- everything was overgrown, and it was beautiful, magical even. The overgrown trees with their unchecked canopy shaded the yard, plants and bushes sent their scraggly branches in a desperate search for the the sun, and the lawn reduced to a mowed path that encircled the garden. Even the weeds were luscious and green. We stood in the garden for a good while pointing out trees, bushes and plants to Paul telling stories of where and when, and remembering.

I wouldn't change one thing.

Memorial Day Weekend

Some people like to get away for the holiday. Others plan gatherings and barbecues in the comfort of their decks and yards. Paul's plan was to bring home the laptop to prepare for the financial meeting he has tomorrow. Luckily I was able to steal him away for a few side trips.

Saturday was busy, tiring and fun. We rode our bikes down to the Proctor Farmers Market, about a five mile ride. We could have bought one of everything there, but luckily we remembered we didn't bring the car and settled on some cheese, asparagus, and baby bok choy. After we dropped off the groceries we headed to Tacoma Wine Merchant to pick up our wine club selections (and a few other bottles too). The weather was so glorious we didn't want to go back home so we headed off to Dukes for a late lunch and some water gazing. For dinner Paul barbecued a couple steaks along with the baby bok choy we purchased that morning. Then Heather and Rick surprised us with dessert which we enjoyed after a game of Scrabble (Rick won). They brought a growler of Oatmeal Stout (please correct me Heather, I know I didn't get the name right) which we had over vanilla ice cream -- a grown up (root)beer float. It was yummy!
Sunday we met Lynn for breakfast, and then did a "photo shoot" around the Bostwick Building. You'll hear about that later. Then we stopped at the Swiss to leave a card and some flowers in memory of Gayl Bertagni. When we returned home we set to weeding the front bed and building a small retaining wall on the side of our porch. Later that afternoon Kevin, Laura, and Jessica came over for a barbecue. We had shish-kabobs. It was a lovely day, but believe me I was ready for bed!

Monday started off slowly as we relaxed over coffee and pancakes. Paul decided to continue with the weeding while I started knitting some washcloths for Kevin. Then Paul set out to Salmon Beach to visit with the kids at their mom's house. I did some shopping, and we met up in time to throw together some dinner. We spread the last bag of mulch over the front bed and called it a day. Now all we need a vacation to recover from the three day holiday.

Summer Checklist

Doesn't matter what the calendar date is. If it's a sunny day I review my checklist to verify if summer (in our opinion) has officially started:


Warm day filled with sunshine: a
First dinner on deck: a
Bottle of water to spray dogs if they bark: a
Phone handy in case the kids calls: a
Pandora.com blaring on computer speakers: a
Wine bottle ready to pour: a
Scrabble game started: a

Yup -- summer is here!

A Date with my Mom

My mom and I went out to lunch and then snagged a movie at the Grand. Our plan was to eat at Galanga, but who could find a parking spot? We ended up at Seven Oh One (formerly Capers) and our lunch was very tasty. When we arrived at the Grand it was still too early so we forced ourselves (oh, so hard) to go around the corner to Corina Bakery for a slice of Red Velvet cake which we shared -- yum! We saw Is Anybody There? and we both thought the movie was...well it was a good excuse to spend some time together. Now don't get me wrong -- we enjoyed the movie, but it was a little too slow for me, and too "English" for my mom.

My mom was a good sport about me snapping all the pictures of her. I'm going to assume the, uh, finger situation on one of the pics was accidental.

Today was a lot of fun -- thanks for the date mom!