THe FINAL part...

I just thought that you all would like to see the stove that weighs 260 lbs, and fit in the back of my car, so we decided to save shipping fees of 157.oo by driving to Montana and picking it up ourselves.

Stove...1500.00
Shipping...157.00
car repairs...300.00
lodging...250.00
food...150.00
gas...400.00
rental car...159.00

Three days in a hot state with Bob...priceless. Sheesh!!

The REST of the story...

We started our trip at5:00 AM on Thursday hoping to make it over the top before it got really hot. We went up highway 20 then because I was brain dead, we cut over to hiway 9 and then over US 2. Us 2 goes right into Libby Montana, which was our destination.




Things are going along great until hiway 9. It is as wide as a cow path, crooked, and very bad! It took us about an hour out of our way. We should have continued over Hiway 20 until we reached Pateros, then picked up Hiway 2 in Wenatchee. We made it in to Wenatchee around 2:00 PM. (We stopped in Leavenworth for Breakfast/Lunch) The place was just starting to heat up pretty good as we climbed up onto the plateau and away from the Columbia.

As I said yesterday or the day before, the land in Eastern Washington is very diverse. High desert, Wheat Fields, and then it switches into the foothills of the Selkirk Mtns and trees.




We followed along the Pend Oreille River into Idaho, and then followed the Priest River until We got to Montana and then we were following the Kootenai River. There is so much history in that place that very few people read about, or remember. The Indians call that place sacred, and even today they have ceremonies on the Kootenai. The Libby Dam which opened in 1974 or so, flooded the Kootenai valley 43 miles into Canada! The River starts in Canada, winds its way into Montana then back again into Canada where it dumps its water into the Columbia river in British Columbia. A truly international Water source.




As we checked into the cute little motel, with carved baby bears and baby moose in front of the office, we noticed that there were not very many cars in the lot, and it was almost 800 PM. Not very many tourists stopped in Libby. It is a really quaint little town, with a horrible past.

The Grace mining company knew that there was asbestos in the mines but they kept it quiet and hundreds of miners got sick with either cancer of the lungs or emphazema. The case went to trial and it is still in progress even today. While we were there the court refused to allow the sick people to testify because that might prejudice the jury. DUH!!!
Big companies just can not continue to get away with crap like this. Mining is such a lucrative business in Montana, and even in Nevada and Idaho. But it needs to be done safely and with the future of their employees in mind. There is a 120 min movie in B and W on the incident, called Libby, Montana. (go figure)




We went on to the Antler restaurant and had dinner, then went on to bed. Had to get up really early to meet the people at the wood stove place at 10:00. SO we were up 530!! (Don’t even ask, it is a Bob thing) Once Up we packed our gear and then sat in the room and looked at each other for the next 3 hours.

We got the stove loaded into the back of the car and headed home. I was really looking forward to the drive back across Highway 20, as that is part of the state I have never seen. But the fuel filter had other plans, as noted in the post on Saturday!




I will say that the North Eastern tier of this state and The panhandle of Idaho and the North Western Part of Montana is absolutely gorgeous! We were reading the demographics in a little brochure, and there are a whole 79 days of frost free weather every year! (cough cough!) Not much snow, and very little wind. Or so they say.

The priest River is slow moving and wide, and runs into the Pend Oreille River which is wide and flat also. The scenery is to die for. But HOT!! It was 107 while we were there.
I plan on going back some day, as the fishing on the Kootenai sounded like it would be wonderful! Not to mention the camping possibilities.

Uh wait…don’t the Selkirk Mountains have GRIZZLIES?….

BAD SADIE!!!

Today my sweet little Sadie became a Killer! Or almost anyway. I am waiting for Bob to bring my car back so I can take her catch to the vet, and see how badly it is hurt.

My grey squirrel Suzie, had babies this spring, and for the past week, one of them has been frequenting the bird feeder. It can run and jump and climb, and stays out of Sadies way.



baby


Today, She didn’t. I went out because Sadie was yapping like she does when she has Lola treed. She had the baby in her mouth and was flipping it around and shaking it. I finally got it away from her and it’s little rear leg is broken I think.

I put it on a branch to see if it would resuscitate, and it kinda did. I then got the cat carrier and have it in there with some food and water to see if she survives. She may have a broken back, as she fell off the table trying to escape, and could not get up. Her front half works fine. So maybe there is hope. Maybe not. Anyway, If the vet is still open when Bob gets back, I am gonna take it in and see what if anything can be done.


suzie

I am all for letting nature take it’s course, and if it had run away I would just let it be. But I am not gonna let Sadie get the pleasure of finishing it off. She knows I am really pissed at her! And if it is ok in the morning, I will take it into the woods and turn it loose, so Momma can do what can be done.

I am such a sucker!! I should live on a farm and work for a Vet. No I shouldn’t either. I’d have to bring home every hurt critter there was!

Bad Sadie!! BAD!!! L

Trip part 2

So…Saturday afternoon Bob comes over and says we need to go back to Spokane and turn in the rental car. So back over the mountains we go on Sunday, still not knowing what is wrong with the car. At first he wanted to take both vehicles, but Sunday Morning I talked him out of that! Cooler heads do prevail! He would get heat stroke in that truck, and why pay for TWO cars full of gas when We could always send him back on amtrac if there was something really really wrong with the car.

We piled Sadie and the luggage back into the Jeep Laredo rental car and headed back over the top. This time on I-90. The scenery going over was wall to wall traffic! I could not believe that there were that many vehicles on the road on a Sunday evening in July! It was in the 90’s in Seattle, and since there was a thermometer in the car, we watched the heat go up higher and higher. As we dropped down into the Columbia River Gorge, the temperature was reading 113 degrees, and then right after I snapped this picture, it read 114!!! WHOA!! This is Washington State fer Chris sake! This is a very fuzzy picture, but you can see the temps!


hot

This is the Columbia River. Cut into solid basalt millions of years ago. It is so Impressive driving along through high desert, looking out at rolling hills of rock and sage brush, then coming down off Rye Grass Summit into this gorge!


columbia

As you climb back up the other side there is this sculpture way up on the ridge!

“Grandfather Cuts Loose the Ponies.” The horses are made of 1-inch thick tempered steel by sculptor David Govedare and placed on the Wanapum Vista Overlook in 1989 for the Washington State Centennial Celebration. The monument overlooks the Columbia River and can be seen for many miles from the highway in any direction. Access to the monument is located off the Eastbound lanes of I-90. I found out the monument is not yet complete. The sculptor, Govedare, wants to add three more horses and a 13-ton, 36-foot diameter metal basket adorned with symbols of “land, water, sky and human spirit.” The horses would appear to be running out of the tilted basket. The sculpture depicts the Indian legend of The Great Spirit’s gift of horses to Earth and man.


horses


horses


horses


It is so awesome to see that and then let your mind wander back into the era when the Indians were the only people populating this part of the country. The Indians here were hunter gatherers and a very peaceful group.

We climbed back up on to the plateau, where there were miles and miles of wheat fields growing.


fields

These pictures just do not do the vastness of this state justice. It goes on for Hundreds of miles. This is the part of the state called the Paloose.

Soon we go from wheat fields into the foothills of the Selkirk Mountains, and trees start appearing.


trees

And then Spokane.

We got a room at the Super eight in Four Lakes, and Monday morning at 8:00 we called and told Eli that we were back in Spokane. He said he would call when he had an answer for me. Eventually he did call, and we were told that it would be three days for parts…So Bob said, we are going down there and do a face to face. Which we did, and the service person told us that it was several things. 1. a fuel filter full of water.. 2. a fuel pump that needed a new sock.. 3. A gas tank with a broken baffle up against the fuel pump.

We talked some more and decided that we would have them change the fuel filter, and we would keep the tank topped off, turn in the rental, and head back over.

We did that and it felt so good to be back home. We came back over the top and dropped back into the Puget Sound area right at rush hour. We got on the ferry with no waiting, and let out a BIG sigh of relief


home!

A very cool layer of Marine Air blew in last night and cooled the place down to a really comfortable 58 degrees AHHHHHHHHHHH!

I’m home…my babies all slept with me, and life is good once again.

Fun with Bob and Mary Lou...

Well! as you can tell, this is taken through the windshild of my car while we were sitting on the top of a flatbed tow truck. Motor running, A/C going full blast, and our seat belts on, While being towed 74 miles from TIger, Wa to Spokane. My car quit on us. SO Now I am home with a rental at 79.99 a day! (that was the quote, mine was really way cheaper) and my car is sitting inside the garage of Appleway Subaru Maxda waiting until Monday when the service dept re-opens. I am hoping it is something simple. It acted like it was running out of gas, and the tank was just under 1/2 full. Only when it turned left, or an incline, the rest of the time it ran great. until we started up this state highway with NO services for 75 miles! and then it coughed and spuittered and I said oh no you dont! I turned around and went 1/10 of a mile back to the junction, old museum/store, and called AAA. 107 degrees, and a broken car! WItha woodstove in the back! so this trip to save us 160.00 shipping fees is costing well into the triple digits now...600 and counting.

So we rolled up the windows, turned on the engine cranked up the air conditioning, and blasted the radio, while the tow truck driver sat in an un A/C'd cab and drove us on this newly oiled road with heat waves coming up from the new hot oil. We waved at everyone we passed, and acted like we were on parade. Not as romantic as Leslie's trip with HER man. but hey!

So tomorrow We head back over to Spokane and get ANOTHER hotel Room and wait until Monday Morning and see what they say. I say wait until they call, but Bob wants to turn the car back in so we dont get charged another day for it. (SO why didnt we just STAY in SPOKANE?)

Ah well, ANOTHER road trip!! Whee fun!

See you on Wednesday I hope.

on Hiatus....

I will be gone for a few days...

going to Montana, to pick up a woodstove for Bob. To save delivery costs, I suggested we go pick it up. Then I found out the stove is really small, and only weighs 200 pounds, and would have only cost 125.00 to have it delivered to Seattle.

But Bob's logic is, it is an adventure. I guess. We are taking my car, because it gets HOT east of the Cascade Mountains, and his truck has no A/C. I can not imagine anyone now days buying a car with no A/C!! It will be a 485 mile trip over, and it is to Troy, Montana, right under the Canadian Border and just over the Idaho border. It really is just a jaunt across Washington, as Idaho up that high is really narrow.

I will be taking lots of pictures to post to, so I will see you back here on Sunday! We will be back really late on Friday. Phyllis, please dont forget to pick up Tim's stuff for me please? I am afraid they will toss it. Donna, write to your brother!

See ya!

news on Kim and Dennis!

I sent an email to Kim asking if she was still at this address:  and I also asked if I could post her email so everybody will know they are fine.  She said ok!

Hi, Mary Lou!

Yes, still me!  I check email at kim@gopraise.net more often, though.  I'm checking email at work on my lunch break right now, thank goodness I can do that.  Can't do any blogwalking, though.  I don't think, anyway.  I don't really have a desk, so I'm just using someone else's computer.  Maybe when I get my own desk and my own computer, I might be able to do some visiting during lunch break. 
 
The house is still is the midst of unpacking.  I can't find my pots and pans!  I unpacked the boxes that were marked "POTS AND PANS", but there weren't any in them.  Then, when I was unpacking some things in our bedroom, I found a box marked "K&D'S BEDROOM" and found the food processor and other kitchen items in it!!  See what happens when a man packs the house! ;)
 
Dennis started doing Tattered Cloth again, at http://www.tattered-cloth.blogspot.com, but so far he's only had time to get online at the library on Wednesdays.  He's working his butt off, and pretty much gets home, eats, showers and goes to bed so he can get about 6 hours of sleep before he has to get up for work again. 
 
I am in a sharp learning curve here.  There's A LOT to learn, and I hope I can do it.  I thought it would just be looking at stuff on a paper and putting it in the computer.  NOPE.  My head is spinning from all I'm having to learn.
 
So far, the only time I've been able to get on the computer I've had to check on our bank balance and pay bills and maybe do a quick run through to check on you all to make sure you're all alive.  I haven't had time to comment or anything, and I hate it.  I really miss my friends, and life just sucks right now.  But I know it will get better, so I just have to get through the crap.
 
Good to hear from you.  I did read that Tim didn't get to do the lesser sentence that you were hoping for, and I was really sad to hear about that.  Maybe some of your blog friends can write letters of encouragement to him while he's serving his time.  That way he'll know people out here do care! Until later, Mary Lou!  Miss you!
 
Kim
Mary Lou,
 
Not a problem, go ahead and post!  We went out to eat because we found an Applebee's gift certificate left over from Christmas, so we brought along the laptop so we could check email. 
 
I think when we know that Dennis has a route, we'll see about getting internet.  Right now things are just too iffy. 
 
Yep, it's hot this way!  My glasses steam up when I go outside!
 
Kim

So all of you go and say hi at her email at Dennis’ blog !  I am sure they will be glad to hear that there are still people out there that care very much for them and wish them all the best!!  I know that I would not be able to handle it the way they have.  They are very special people!!

School Days...

In late August when I was in School, was the time for much excitement.  School was a few weeks away from starting, and it was time to start stockpiling school supplies.  We were a Navy Family, and did not have much money, but we always found enough for the school supplies we needed.  

Mom and Phyllis and I would head to the dime store, where there was table after table of brand new school supplies.  I was in heaven!  I Loved that section of the store.  All the new pencils, and paper, and notebooks!  I drooled over the pencil boxes, and the bottles of ink.  All different colors of ink! They had blue, and black and peacock green!! In BOTTLES!!  I was so excited.  

No glue sticks back then, we had pots of rubber cement!  And then later when I was older, they had Elmer’s glue!!  We also had bottles of mucilage, with a red rubber top on it, with a slit on the top, so when you pressed down, the glue would come out, and you did not lose the lid!  WOW.  And PASTE!!!  White paste, that tasted good!! (ok, you guys may have sniffed glue, I ate paste!)

Three holed paper with wide lines on it was fairly new then, and it was really cool!  You could put it in your 3 ring notebook, and would not tear it taking it off the tablet, like we used to.  The notebooks were called binders, and some came with zippers around them to hold in your pens and pencils and loose papers.

We did not have backpacks back then.  At least not the kind kids take to school.  NO, we had to carry all of our supplies around with us.  We had lockers that we would run to between classes, and grab the books that we needed for the next class.  (After we were in 7th grade that is, until then we all sat in the same desk, in the same class room, all year.  All our supplies were kept in our desks!)

Our pencil boxes were really only glorified cigar boxes, but we had to have a new one every year.  no plastic fancy ones like now days, these were balsa wood with a top that was attached on one side.  Usually they had some kind of school theme on them. All the same.  We had little tiny hand held pencil sharpeners for emergency use during a test, but usually we used the one on the wall in the back of the class.

We had ball point pens, but they were expensive.  Parker T-Ball Jotter was the first one I can remember that I had, it was a blue green bottom with a silver top, and you pushed a button on the top to get the point down.  COOL MAN!!  When we got in to Junior High, we were required to have a fountain pen.  And a bottle of Scripts ink.  (yes, kids, and that is what the hole in the edge of the desk was for )  

My first fountain pen was an Eberhardt pen.  It had a silver nib, and a little lever on the side, that you would pull down when you needed to fill the bladder of the pen with more ink.  The ink bottle had a little well on the side, and you would tip the bottle over to fill the well, then take the top off, and stick the nib of your pin into the well with the lever down, and then slowly let the lever come back up to draw the ink into the pen.  The real trick was to fill your pen and finish your paper without getting ink all over your middle finger.  I used peacock blue ink.  I liked it, and it matched my pen!  I had that pen for years, I don’t know what happened to it, Phyllis probably broke it, she was a bratty little sister! ;)

I am still enchanted with office supplies!  I love back to school sales, with all of their neat new pens and pencils and notebooks, and gadgets!  Office Max is my favorite store!  A whole aisle full of just pens and pencils!!  WOW!!  Times have gotten so much better now, back packs, and glue sticks, and post it notes (Oh don’t get me started on THOSE!!!) (  and colored paper, and binder clips and colored paper clips and rulers, and protractors, and templates of all kinds.  OH I am quivering right now.  

My favorite pencil at the moment is the papermate mechanical pencil with a big huge eraser in it, that you can roll up when it gets worn down!!  And you just click the button on the side to get the lead down.  It is really cool!!  I have about ten of them in various places around the house.  

My favorite pen is the Pentel RSVP ball point pen, in all different colors.  It is not a gel pen, but it writes like one.  (Gels are really my favorites!!)  and my favorite sticky notes are the post it flags that pop up so you can mark a page!  I like the Cambridge Legal pad in white please, with a spiral top edge.  You can rip the paper off clean.  SEE, already I am frothing at the mouth to get into a store and window shop!  Must be getting close to School time.  I must need SOMETHING…

YUMMMY STUFF...

My daughter in her never ending battle to get me to eat ORGANIC foods, bought some Mountain Organic Yogurt. It was good. It was healthy and it was ORGANIC.

She moved out, and with her, she took her yogurt maker. Boo-hiss!

The other week at Albertson's I noticed that they had MOuntain High original style natural Organic yogurt in VANILLA. Had not had that before, but since I needed to buy some yogurt anyway, (usually those little bitty boxes, with flavoring) I decided I would try the Vanilla flavored stuff.

I also bought a box of Kellogs fruit and flakes cereal. THe kind with peaches and strawberries all dried up into teeny tiny little hard bits of "stuff".

I poured a bowl of cereal, and instead of milk, I put two heaping spoons of vanilla flavored yogurt in it, and since my strawberry jam didnt jam like jam should jam, I put a big teaspoon of that on top of the yogurt. I stirred that all together, and MAN OH MAN!! Is it ever good!!! I doubt I will ever eat milk on my cereal again.

See Donna, I listened!

(only she says it should be a TEASPOON of cereal in the 1/2 cup of yogurt.) Phhhffftttt!!!! A person could STARVE eating like that! :)

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On other notes: The floors still are not done. Waiting for the next moisture check which is next week. THe plumber came and raised the hot water and put it up on blocks so the floor would dry under that. And then dropped the bomb that it was not gonna last more than another 6 months. SWELL!
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UPDATE:

And those of you that pray, please keep Jim SIggens and Cori in your thoughts, Jim was in a terrible accident yesterday along with COri's step-dad, and Jim is in ICU with bleeding in his chest and multiple broken bones. COri-s 91 yr old Dad was driving, and missed a red light, and was broad sided. Her Dad died last night with multiple broken bones and internal injuries. Jim is one of our Character actors, and was scheduled to be in OUR TOWN in October. Jim was also in many TV commercials, and in some episodes of Twin Peaks, and Northern Exposure. He is well liked and seriously needs all your prayers, thoughts, and good vibes.

All kinds of Critters...

Tim got his full 36 months sentence yesterday.  He was denied the DOSA (drug offender sentencing alternative) because he had a prior conviction.  So the prosecutor said NO!  I want to hammer this young man.  SO…..Right now Tim is off to Shelton Correctional Center, for processing, and evaluation and then hopefully he will get into the DNR program.  We shall see.  He is still very concerned about being as addict.  He is not an addict in that he cant stand to go without the drug of choice, but he knows if he does not get treatment, he will start in again as soon as he gets out.  He wants a 12 –step program for Drug and alcohol abuse.  Well I know who can send him some literature, and I am sure that there are programs in prison.  I woke up at 430 this morning, because he said that was when they would be waking him up to load him onto the bus and take him down there.  Lord, let this be a good thing for him!!

As I was lying there in bed this morning, waiting for the birds to start singing, I felt like I was being watched, so I looked out, and sure enough there were two big eyes staring right in the window at me.  Chitters jumped up on the window sill and growled, and jumped back down.  I just stared right back.  E.T. (the barred owl) was on the feeder again, waiting for the rats or mice or squirrels to pop their heads out of the grass.    I noticed that the wind last night had blown all the sunflower hulls away and there was nothing left in the feeder, so at 445 I was traipsing through the wet dewy grass filling the feeders.  The goldfinch are making their appearance more and more now, and the hummingbirds seem to be on their way back to Costa Rica.

The Plumber was supposed to be here at 10:00 this morning to move the hot water heater so they could remove the 18” square piece of wood that was left under it.  (they think somehow that is the cause of all the water…but it was not.)  Then they put it back and up on blocks until the floor is totally dry and the underlayment can go back down.  Then they will remover the heater and replace it right.  OH! By the way, just in passing he told me that the water heater was ready to go to.  And that if I replaced it now they could charge it all to the insurance.  (the labor only)  well I don’t have that kind of money.  And I had just told Bob that I was afraid it would go just as soon as I had the floors replaced.  I went on line and Sears has a 50gallon electric one for 249.99 plus tax and shipping, and if I can put it on my SEARS card, I will go ahead and get it.  I sure don’t want to have to go through this again!!  They did not get here until 330 this afternoon, timely huh!  

As soon as they left, I drove on in to town to get groceries, and Bunny food.  Just as I turned on to Wanamaker Rd, right by the town water cisterns, I saw a small herd of deer.  One buck one doe and a fawn.  The Buck was in velvet and had two points on each side, (so depending on if you are from the EAST and count ALL the points, or from the WEST and only count one SIDE of his rack he was either a two point or a four point Buck)  So he was just a little more than a baby himself.  He did not appear to be afraid, as I stopped the car and rolled down the window to talk to him.  He was very watchful of his family though.  

This morning about 530 I saw something move just over my fence in Lea’s yard, and I looked again and saw two tall ears, so I thought it was a deer,  And I went out on the deck just in time to see a large Coyote with a very full coat and big bushy tail try to peek over the top of the fence.  I am so glad Sadie was not awake yet, she would have been breakfast!  He/she was really close to the house, so I shooed it away.  That troubles me.  I have a 6’ fence on three sides of my yard, but Lea only has a 5’ one on her side, and in the back it is broken down, so they can walk right in from the woods.

On my way back from town it started to rain, and it poured for about an hour.  Now it is cold and wet and windy,   Even the weatherman says it is colder than normal for July.  IT figures, I planted three tomato plants.  They have 3 blooms on them, but no tomatoes!  Too cold!  Ah well…

Sunday evening...

If I did not know better, I would SWEAR it is late Autumn right now. THe sky is cloudy, and smells like rain, and the wind is coming from the west in heavy gusts.
Seattle was hot today in the middle 80's, but We have been cold. THere are leaves falling off the alders already, and the Hummingbirds are gone! It is still dark at 415, and just yesterday it was light at 345! I think this might be the year that summer forgot.

WEIRD!

I know that we will probably get hot real soon, and I will be complaining about the heat, I know it. But the weather has been very different this year.

Bob is buying a woodstove, for his house, and we are going to drive over and pick it up. It is a wood stove/cookstove, able to accept a wok, and it even has an oven on the bottom of it so he can bake biscuits. (yeah right!) He bought a gas stove and never ever used the oven, in fact he sold it to my daughter, and it still had the tape on the racks inside! all he cooks is one pot dinners, and when he gets tired of those, he either goes out for dinner or comes over here. But now he has decided that he wants this Bakers Choice Stove, and the outlet is in Troy, Montana. Waaay up there right next to Canada, and just over the Idaho border. SHould be a two day trip...1 day over, and one day back. We are thinking about taking my car, as his does not have A/C, and the eastern part of the state is fire cracker hot! I am gonna have to write about his house some day...you won't believe it.

I am looking forward to getting off this island! I need a fix of Mountain scenery!

I had a nice surprise this morning when I read my comments...Dorothy is back!! I would link to her, but I remember what happened last time some one did that, so I wont unless she says I can!! ;) She is a really neat lady who has been through two years of Hell, and is coming out the otherside just fine! She is a tough lady, just like I knew she would be! I am soo glad she is back blogging again. Now if only we can get Kris and Kim back! Soon...

OH YEAH!!! I got a new show!!! I will be Producing an off season show for Dottie in October, Thornton WIlder's OUR TOWN. AN easy no scenery play that everyone remembers from high school. Oughta be fun. ANd Rusty contacted me yesterday and asked me to Produce FOREVER PLAID for her in June! It seems one of our season shows DIrectors has dropped out, and Rusty had said she would do FOrever Plaid, so VOILA!! It is a really funny show. So I feel so much better about being turned down as a DIrector for this year. At least I still have my hand in it. WHEW!!

Off to the Hot soaky bath and then to bed...

San Juan Islands

Tucked up in the upper left hand corner of the United States, off shore, but still within the land mass of the North American continent, lies a group of Islands called the San Juan Islands.

In reality they are tops of underwater mountains, as the water there is very deep. During High tide most of the islands are covered with water except for the largest ones, the smaller ones being basically large rocks, that only appear during low tides. I am not sure exactly how many islands there really are, but they number in the hundreds!

The only way you can get to them is either to fly in, or take the ferry or private boat. The larger islands are quite large, and have become a major place to hide out. Either from the Papparazzi or the Law! Orcas Island has the highest property values in the whole state of Washington. THere are more millionaires there than people want to admit. San Juan Island is the County seat, and is the most populated island, and the 2nd largest. It is where the San Juan Island Pig War took place, and the border between Cananda and the United States was finally settled. Didnt know that did you?

My Son lived on Orcas Island, and the Jail was on San Juan Island. SO he has to go to trial there. Since there is no long tern holding facility there, they rent out the prisoners to Island COunty here in Coupeville, and that is where Tim has been staying. It worked out good for me because then I could see him three times a week.

On Sunday night, TIm will be flown from Whidbey Island, to San Juan Island for his sentencing on Monday morning. Then he will be flown back to Coupeville, and prepare for his transfer to the State Prison in Shelton, on the Olympic Penninsula. There he will be checked in and evaluated, for several weeks and then placed in a permanent facility. As I said yesterday he is hoping to get on with the DNR.

The San Juans are a beautiful place to visit, and are very expensive, lots of movie stars, and hollywood directors live there, and they hire the TIm's of the world to work for them. SO you have the haves, who have a LOT, and you have the have nots who have NOTHING! Why they insist on staying there I will never know. I am hoping that he will choose to NOT go back there when he gets out. Say a prayer folks...he needs one.

Odds, and ends...

This Spring was so cold and wet, that It hardly felt like we had any at all. Now it is almost 3 weeks into summer, and it is still cool! We had a week there of HOT and dry, and a spurt of 16 days no rain, but once again, we had a wet and cold and windy 4th of July. I go to bed everynight with 2 afghans a quilt and fuzzy socks on, just to keep warm. Bob even says he has been building a fire the past few days. This is JULY! BRRRRR!!! Maybe the poles are shifting? We had just gotten through saying that this fourth we might actually have warm and sunny! but that NEVER happens here for the 4th! And it didn't!

It has been gray and cloudy for three days now, and Thunderstorms! We had a huge one go over during the fireworks, and several people got pictures of lightning strikes and fireworks at the same time. Awesome pictures. Not me. I was in bed!

I go see Tim for the last time tomorrow. He will get his official sentence on Monday, and they will fly him to San Juan Island for that. THen fly him back here for the night, and then on to Skagit COunty early Tuesday morning, and there he will join others going on to Shelton to be processed. At Shelton, They will evaluate him and determine if he is elligible for the non-violent prison, and hopefully he will be put to work with the Department of Natural Resources. They take them up into the National Forest and they will plant trees, and do road work, and fight fires. He is really hoping for that. He is a qualified firefighter/EMT and really wants to get back into that line of work. It is so hard sitting here knowing that I can see him for the last time before he goes, but I can not hug him and wish him safe travel, like I always do. He may be 35, but he is still my little boy. It hurts so very much to see him go through this, but he brought it on himself, and he needs to pay the price.

The floors are still status Quo! I think it is all a plot to drive me totally bonkers! When I asked why they could not tear up the offending subfloor and replace it, they said, nope. Cant touch structural stuff. HUH? it is a 2'X6" piece right in front of the bathtub! and that is holding up the WHOLE HOUSE! scary huh?

Now they are talking about having a plumber come and remove the hot water heater, so the floors guy can remove the floor under it, and replace it, and then put the water heater back! Egads! I just think that somewhere along the line here someone is padding the books, and I was really concerned about that, but State Farm says no, I am a typical flood victim. My GOD can you imagine what those poor souls in LA and Mississippi have to deal with? Guess I ought to quit complaining and get back to bed.

I give up on this stupid spider solitare for the evening!!

Independence Day!

I am usually one to be right in the middle of all the celebration, and fireworks, and parades, but today I am not. I have been very depressed, trying to cope with my Son, my house, my health and my relationship. I did grill Baby back ribs and invited the family over.

Before I get into the rest of my day I want to send you over to Brian's house, and read what he has to say. He is a Educator, and has just moved, and taken over the position of Principal in a new school, He is a single father, and he is a very special man. Some of you know him already, and I have been reading him since waay befor his divorce and move from Washington. He wrote a post on The Declaration of Independence that should be read by every single American old enough to read. It should be ingrained in our minds from the time we are able to hear. We should all be as cognizant of what it means and what it took to get to that point. We should also never forget the cost of lives to gain our independence.

Every American older than 18 should be registered to vote, and exercise that right to vote in every single election. A friend of mine says that we get the Government that we deserve. i took exception to that until I realized that he meant it in a way that says...HEY GET OFF YOUR UNEDUCATED ASS AND VOTE INSTEAD OF BITCHING ABOUT IT! He is right. We all need to educate ourselves on the issues affecting us and our lives, and vote for the ones we want. If our side does not win this time, then we need to get out there and try to change it for the next time.

My Son In Law never voted, but boy he sure complained until he was told that unless he DID vote, he had no right to critisize as he might be the reason the one he wanted in did not make it. He votes in every election now! I have voted in every election since I turned 21. I could not wait to vote! (ok It was Nixon, and I screwed up!)

It is so cold tonight that I am laying here in bed, with two afghans, a comforter and fuzzy socks on! I did not even go down to the beach like I usually do, because there were thunderstorms and lightning, and I was just too down to go. Bob left early, and I jumped into a hot bath and just laid there listening to the fireworks, and Sadie.

I hope all you Americans had a great 4th, and were all safe and secure. I hope all of you Canadians had a great Canada Day and were also safe and secure. The rest of you out there, I hope you had a great weekend, and Thanks for putting up with my ranting lately.

16 days of no rain...

16 days of no rain!  This is unheard of for June!  Sposed to be wet until August!  But everything is firecracker dry!  A storm front brushed by us last night and a nice COLD breeze blew in.  I was laying there about 2:00 AM and I heard a ship in the strait tooting it’s fog horn.  It was waaaay off probably just making the turn from the Sound into the Inlet , and then on to the Strait and then the Pacific Ocean.  I listened and it was tooting and getting closer, I assumed it was foggy out.  It wasn’t here, it was just cool wind.  But down low on the water it was pea soup.  The horn got louder and louder and I though it was right in the driveway!  BOOOOOOP!!!!  Got really loud!!  Then suddenly silence.  
I guess it was foggy until they turned from Admiralty Inlet into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, just West of Port Townsend and then it was clear sailing.  It was so neat listening to it.  

Tonight the cove is alive with firecracker sounds, and Sadie is freaking out! I have her in the house, because I know if she could get out she would attack those fireworks in a heartbeat, Not the People shooting them off, She would go right after the Roman candles themselves!!    Remember New Years Eve Folks?  I am not going through that again!

I am about to go in and try rescuing my flat of strawberries, I found a site on the U of Ga. That tells how to salvage un gelled jam!  So wish me luck.  Might have to bottle it anyway.  I can borrow Bob’s extra beer bottles with the snap on caps.   Hey!! I might be on to something here.  HMMMMMMMMM

A Prairie Home Companion...

OH GO SEE IT!!! We went tonight, and it is a hoot!! one of the fastest two hours I ever spent. We were heading into Mt. Vernon/Burlington to go see DaVInci Code, but we got stuck in traffic and missed the start, so we decided to go see this one. FUNNY!! Merle Streep, Lindsay Lohan, Garrison Keillor, Lily Tomlin, Woody Harrelson and tons of others. And they all did their own singing. GOOD MOVIE!!

I am so saddened to see that our very good friend and her husband are leaving the PC world. They were still getting hassled by those ugly nasty vicious people. I just hope that someday they will get their just rewards, and that they will not be allowed to enter the pearly gates without a LOT of heat first. Assholes!

I made a flat of strawberry preserves on Tuesday, but it did not gel correctly, so I re-cooked it, added sugar and a pkg of pectin and tried again yesterday. It STILL did not Gel, so this morning I got up and added another pkg of pectin and boiled the hell out of it and it STILL has not gelled. Anybody out there have any ideas on how to salvage this batch? I thought about adding more sugar and lemon juice and MORE Pectin and try cooking it for 5 minutes like the old way, but I am not sure even that will work. I would appreciate any tips you may have, 'cause I am out of ideas! It tastes really good, but it is just strawberry syrup right now.

Guess I could bottle it and use it for waffles for breakfast though huh?

My friend Barbara is bringing her grandkids over tomorrow morning so she can get an idea of how much painting we have to do. She is going to be painting the trim as I cant cut in with my shaky hands. I will prime the wood, and she can finish it. I have never met her grandkids, and the last time I saw her Children they were even younger than the grandkids are now! GEEZ that had to be over 30 years ago I think...My Donna was 8 or 9 and her Donna was 6 or 7 I think. GAWD!! I am getting old!!!

Another week, for the floor! and who knows maybe even another one after that. I dont think there is such a thing as new flooring. I think it is all a scam to drive me nuts....and it is working!

ARRGGGHHH!!!!....Serious Whining ahead...AGAIN!!

I want to run away!!! Floors Plus came out again today to take readings on the floor. It is going on 7 weeks now since the flood, and they are saying at LEAST another week!! I am sooo sick of this shit!! I have things out of closets sitting on the floor in the livingroom, the office is all torn up, the library is a mess, and the kitchen has no floor. THe Hall bathroom has no floor and no toilet!!

Do yourselves a favor right now and go double check your hoses from your washer, and make sure they are connected and connected tightly!! I would not wish this on my worst enemy!! What is worse is I am imagining I smell mold. We have fans going so it really cant be mold, but I swear I smell it. I want my house put back together again. I want to get on with finishing my scrapbooks for the kids and SIL! I dont have to worry about Tims, as he cant have it until he gets out of Prison, and I may not even have Donnas ready this year. I want to get them done!!!

I am getting so depressed with not having things done!! I need a vacation. I want to crawl into a hole and cry! I think I have cabin fever. HELP!!!!!!! ARRGGHHHH!!!!!! I want my floors done!!!!!

Ok, Im done for tonight!!

hot weather wimp!

We have just gone through three days of record breaking temperatures.  Yeah Yeah, I know, I’m a wimp!!  Ok I admit it.  I can’t function in the heat.  I really really can’t!  That is why I chose to make the Pacific Northwest my home.  In fact if I had a way to make a living, I would move to an even Colder region than here.  It never really breached the 100 degree F mark, but it came close.  I lay there under the fan, with all the windows open, wishing I had central air!  I sweat a LOT! Always have.  Even when I was really thin, I just pore water out of my pores.  It weakens me tremendously.  I cant move, cant breathe, My muscles get really weak, and when I stand up I feel like my legs are going to collapse.  It actually scares me.

Last night as the tow guy was unloading errant Son’s crappy red van from the back of the tow truck, the wind started in.  A cold brisk fast wind!  It was like someone turned the energy beam on me and I gulped big gulps of fresh cool air into my lungs.  I stayed out there in the driveway for the whole hour it took to unload the ugly red thing from his truck.  When I went back into the house all of the animals were laying right  in front of the storm door all splayed out and soaking up the cooling air.

I came in and turned off all the fans except for the one in the bathroom which needs to dry out the room, and just let the air fill the house.  We had gale force winds coming off the Strait, and with the low coming in off the Pacific, the wind was quite cool.  We call this nature’s air conditioner.  Trust me, I had it on full blast too.  AHHHHHHH felt so goood!!!

I took a hot shower and lay down on the bed to dry off, and actually got a good chill.  I crawled under the covers, and snuggled in for the night.  I was in heaven.

I went in to see Tim this afternoon, and told him that all of his wordly possessions are now sitting in my driveway.  He gave a big sigh of releif.  He was afraid he was gonna lose everything again.  You would think that because this happened to him before, that he would LEARN wouldn’t you?  No he is a man, no sense at all.  Hopefully this time he will not go back to Orcas Island, and when He gets out of Prison, he can start his life over, and make something of himself.  

I went to the Dr. for my yearly visit last Thursday, and my Blood pressure was 172/102!  The Dr. asked if I had any stress in my life right now?  Uh. Yeah!!  Flood, son in Prison, wet floors, still not dry floors, walking on subfloor….You could say that.  SO I have to try and get my life in order so I can live a few more years longer.  Im back on BP meds, which should drop it.  I go back in 5 weeks, to recheck.  My Cholesteral is wonderful!  My Hg1C was 7.5 which is wonderful, and I did not gain any weight this year.  WHOOT>  (did not lose any either! DRAT)

I put up a flat of strawberries using a new recipe, and I have to redo them because they did not set right!  GRRR!!  So Tonight when it cools off a bit, I will be sitting over a very hot stove, making jam again!  Wish I could find some really cheap tomatoes to can!!

Monday Funny

God was missing for six days. Eventually, Michael, the
archangel, found Him, resting on the seventh day.

He inquired of God, "Where have you been?"

God sighed a deep sigh of satisfaction, and proudly pointed
downwards through the clouds, "Look, Michael. Look what I've made."

Archangel Michael looked puzzled, and said, "What is it?"

"It's a planet," replied God, "and I've put Life on it. I'm
going to call it Earth and it's going to be a great place of
balance."

"Balance?" inquired Michael, still confused.

God explained, pointing to different parts of earth, "For example,
over there I've placed a continent of white people, and over there is a
continent of black people. Balance in all things,"

God continued pointing to different countries. "This one will
be extremely hot, while this one will be very cold and covered in
ice."

The Archangel, impressed by God's work, then pointed to a
land area and said, "What's that one?"

"Ah," said God, "That's Washington State, the most glorious place on
earth. There are beautiful mountains, rivers and streams, lakes,
forests, hills, plains and valleys. The people from Washington State
are going to be handsome, modest, intelligent and humorous, and they
are going to be found traveling the world. They will be extremely
sociable, hardworking, high achieving, and they will be known
throughout the world as diplomats, and carriers of peace."

Michael gasped in wonder and admiration, but then proclaimed,
"What about balance, God? You said there would be balance."
God smiled, "There is another Washington...wait until you see the
idiots I put there."

2nd day of summer...

Yesterday I woke up at 415, and rested my chin on the window sill and watched the new season be born. It was a WONDERFUL morning. There is a swainsons Thrush in the woods behind the house, and it is the first bird to be heard in the morning, and the last bird to be heard at night. The robins were the next ones to wake up and Mr. Robin Red Breast sat way high up on the top of the hemlock trees and sang his little heart out. Wake up, wake up, Cherrio, Cherrio, wake up now, wake up now...

Lola was sleeping in, and so was everyone else except for me and Chitters, who was keeping me company watching the sun rise higher in the sky. Soon Tyler was awake, and he jumped up and started kneading my fantastically fleshy parts and purring and drooling all over me.




At noon I had to corral Tyler and Tippy in their carriers and take them back to their mommie who got back in town on Thursday. They serenaded me all the way in to Oak Harbor.

Going through San de Fuca, I noticed that the farmers were cutting and baling the first cutting of hay. We have gone from the traditional square bales that are easily stacked in the barn to the round bales, which are easily rolled. I snapped the above picture while going around a curve at 50 MPH and my arm hanging out the window.




I thought then that I would try to get some pictures of the turn out area on Sherman Hill, but all of the flowers were gone except for the wild daisies and dandelions. So I headed down Sherman Road to the Sunnyside Cemetery where I knew there were some California Poppies blooming wild along the ditches there. Bright orange and yellow flowers lending a festive atmosphere to a normally bleak place.





Looking to my right, I noticed how diversified the Prairie looked with it's differing crops growing. Hay already cut, alfalfa growing all bright green, Summer wheat ready to harvest, and corn already popping up. The Sky was a beautiful blue looking south, not a cloud in the sky. Nowhere!




When I came down the hill into Oak Harbor, I noticed that the Truck from Bell Brothers Farms was at 7-11 and selling their wonderful Strawberries, and right next to her was a canopy and a pick up truck selling fresh cherries. The Eastern Washington Cherries were devastated by the late spring hail storms, so the price of cherries are sky high. This group was from Quilcene, on highway 101 on the Olympic peninsula, and they had Rainier Cherries, and either Queen Annes or Bing cherries, not sure which.

I pulled in and bought the 2nd to the last flat of the strawberries, and then bought 4 2lb boxes of assorted cherries. Don't ever buy fruit and then place it on the front seat right next to you. Someone eats most of it before you get it home. Sadie was not with me, and I had already dropped the cats off, so evidently I must have left my car unlocked when I got gas. ;)

I got the remaining fruit home and pitted the rainier cherries, and made cherry jam, and was going to make the Others too but I was out of lids and Pectin, so I had to stop. Bob came over and I sent him to the store for some hamburger so I could make spaghetti, and while he was gone, I made homemade shortcakes for the strawberries. I then sliced 2 boxes of the fresh juicy sweet fruits and only had to put just a tad bit of sugar into it to get the juice out.

Spaghetti garlic bread and fresh strawberry shortcake out on the deck. Ah was a wonderful day in the Pacific Northwest.

We are sposed to hit mid 90'sF today and even hotter tomorrow. There is still not a cloud in the sky, and you can see all the mountains all the way around the sound. These days are the jewels that sustain us through the rest of the bleary year. When they say Seattle and Rain, they are right! But don't tell anyone, but North Whidbey and the San Juan islands and the North side of the Olympic peninsula are in the rain shadow of the mountains, so where Seattle gets 35+ inches of rain a year, we get 17! SHHHHHH It is a secret. We don't want a lot of people finding out about it.

I had better get off my lazy butt and get busy, As I have a flat of strawberries to put up, and a yard to mow, and the tack strips to pry up so the new carpets can get installed. This next week should see things move right along. I hope so. It has been 6 weeks now!!! Sheesh...