Harbor entrance

Just me, messing with another picture. This is the harbor entrance from the outside looking in.

Donkey Creek Chum Festival

Today is the annual Donkey Creek Chum Festival. The festival will be celebrating its 6<sup>th year, at a new location (Skansie Brothers Park). The Chum Fest celebrates the salmon, our fishing heritage, and the environment.There is always a lot of action on the water as well as on the street. Be sure and stop for a delicious BBQ'd fish burger. Oh, and the hours are 10:00 to 4:00.

The current distribution of chum salmon spans most of western Washington, including Puget Sound, the coast, and several lower Columbia River streams. The chum stocks of these three regions represent genetically distinct population groupings and are managed separately. Along with sockeye and pink salmon, chum salmon have traditionally been considered a commercial fishing species. In the nineteen-nineties, chum salmon have been the most valuable of Washington produced salmon to state and tribal commercial fishers, in terms of total state-wide annual value. In recent years, however, there has been growing sport fishing interest in chum salmon, both in marine and freshwater fisheries. As sport fishing opportunities have been restricted for other species, the abundant chum salmon runs have been "discovered" by many salmon anglers, and new fishing locations and techniques are helping to make chum salmon an important sport fish.</sup>

Friends

My friend Arlene and I have known each other since we were freshmen in high school which, if I can do my math,  makes it 57 years. You'll not find a more faithful friend nor one with a kinder heart. She went to nursing school and one of my special memories was having her the nurse when I had one of my children. She certainly went into the right profession. I hope, with all the changes in our lives recently,  we can stay as close as we've been.  Love ya, Arlene :o)

More messin

Ribbon cutting

Well..it's official...the new Maritime Pier is finished and ready for action. Those of us who have hoped for this moment for most of our lives were thrilled to see if finally come to fruition. Once the speeches were spoken and the ribbon cut by our city mayor, Chuck Hunter, we all took a long anticipated walk onto  the dock and wondered out loud, who will be the first to use it.
After the ribbon cutting, the community was  invited over to the terrace of the Russell Building for a light lunch. Most of us had never set foot into that hidden jewel and were pleasantly surprised to see what was on the other side of those frosted windows.  I think it's a shame they didn't have an open house for the community when they built the building..or as most of us call it, the bomb shelter :o)

House warming

 

 

We 4 musketeers went to a fun house warming party today and after lots of food and drink, we posed for a picture, then  said goodbye until tomorrow when we will all meet again for the ribbon cutting at the new Maritime Pier. Life is good :o) Oh...and the strange picture is thanks to my messing with picassa...my youngest sister scolded me into  downloading it so I'd  stop bothering her when I need a picture leveled or rotated . :o)

Ribbon Cutting

September 24th, 2012 is going to be a big day for our fishermen. Years ago there used to be a public dock that they could drive out on to load and unload their boats, but it eventually became unsafe and was taken down. Come Monday, everyone needing that kind of facility will again have one.  Of course there's going to be a party and a chance to check out part of the building next door too, which many of us have wanted to do, but not been able. So come on down and join the fun :)

Friendly birds

They say the dog is man's best friend, but the fellas fishing off the Oregon coast think differently. I don't know what the name of this particular bird is, but they love hanging out with the crew, be it in the tophouse sitting on the computer keyboard staring at the brightly colored monitor, or plunking down on Jack's bright blue glove for a little TLC.  Isn't nature incredible.

Sisters

Bergen is taking riding lessons and loving every minute of it and I"m thinkin that Ingy might just want to do the same as she giggles herself silly while riding with her sister. What lucky little girls.

From sea to sky

 

It was a beautiful evening as we spread Len's ashes in the place he loved so much and I know it gave his daughter as much peace as it did me. Rest in peace my friend.

Today is goodbye

I love this view and today is the day we will say goodbye to a father and friend.

Northwest Furniture Bank

One of the gals I play flutes with is standing in the orange shirt in the picture. She volunteers many hours at the Northwest Furniture Bank and does a gazillion other things, plus plays flutes with us in our orchestra and in our flute quartet. She is a delightful gal and a total high energy person. It was nice to see the article about the furniture bank and all the good they do. I had some furniture that I no longer needed and the best part was they they sent out a truck to pick it up.
Another thing they do that is a total hoot is The Chair Affair. Every year they auction off used chairs of every shape and size that are painted by local artists to benefit the Bank’s mission of providing home furnishings for Pierce County families in need.

Read more here: http://blog.thenewstribune.com/arts/2012/03/14/chair-affair-at-tacomas-museum-of-glass-benefits-nw-furniture-bank/#storylink=cpy

Heh

Disgusting

I am sick of our president. When I watched him and Mitt Romney yesterday, only one stood out as presidential and it wasn't Obama.  I hope people come to their senses in November and vote him out.
I have to say, my heart aches for Israel.
The reason for my anger.
And other.

Lest we forget

 

Pier update

This is what the new dock looked like about 15 minutes ago. I took a quick walk down to see how it's coming and was amazed at how much has been done since I last was there.. The last pictures I took, I walked down in my shirt sleeves, but tonight I had to wear my winter jacket and still I was cold.  Oh how I hate to see summer end.

Reunion number ten

Last night was the tenth mega reunion and as usual, those of us from the class of 58 made sure we got  a picture. It was a fun evening!!!!

Fair time

It's that time of year again...and this is my favorite part of the the Puyallup Fair.   Our orchestra will be  performing there  at 7:00 pm on September 20th and for sure I will be having scones for my dinner. Isn't that the only reason to go to the fair??? 

Rosedale roses

I ran out to Len's last evening and as I was leaving, these roses caught my eye. I had no clippers, but managed to break enough off, without losing too much blood, to make a beautiful bouquet. He loved his garden and would have been more than happy to share..

Three 3 year olds

What a fun day we had yesterday....BBQ on son's boat with  sunshine...and family...and friends...what more could a person wish for. But, by the time I walked up the hill to home, I was soooooo tired and these three 3 year olds are the reason. They were so good, but so full of energy and  there's no place more exhausting to keep little ones safe than on a boat....especially when they all finally took off their life jackets. As you can see they were the official greeters to all the paddle boarders, kayakers, and boats of all sizes that passed by, with offers of Bubble Pops to all. What a lucky bunch of littles ones and let's hope they all made it home safe and sound. Boy did I sleep good last night.

National Empty Chair Day

In the spirit of the coming election and in honor of Clint Eastwood's delightful speech/performance at the GOP convention, I too placed  an empty chair on my lawn early this morning for all to enjoy :o) Those who watched  Clint speak thought it was either done in poor taste and unkind, or was absolute artistic perfection. I agree with the latter  and so did my least favorite, but very talented "comedian" Bill Maher.

New Dock

Jacob and I took a walk in the sunshine today to check out the waterfront. We spent quite a bit of time on Jerisich dock watching folks come and go and then we were off to see how the new Maritime Pier next to the Tides Tavern is coming along. As you can see...it's coming along quite nicely. How wonderful it will be for everyone who needs to load or unload a boat. They will be able to drive their trucks and trailors right out on the dock with their boats tied up alongside.  They have waited over 60 years for this and believe me, they are really going to appreciate it.