Concert watchers

Tonights concert is going on right now, and I am home already with a few pictures. There was a good sized crowd, but nothing like last weeks Beatnik's concert. There was plenty of room for all this evening and most came by car, but there were a few who came by water with their own places to sit.

The World reappears

We found The World again...or at least those living in Petersburg, Alaska did. My daughter in law's nephew is all smiles as he poses for this picture and it's so nice to know that I am not the only boat nut in the world :o)

Peek a boo

The flowers on my porch, which faces west, are in full bloom and huge. Jacob looked so cute hiding behind them the other day that I had to get a pix. He's pretty cooperative and kids now days are so used to having their pictures taken, thanks to everyone having a camera within reach most of the time, that he patiently put up with me.

Snow's gone

Wow...the snow is gone and it's so green at Paradise this morning...totally different than it looked in March.

Flowers by Ingrid

I have been induntated with flowers...beautiful flowers, from friends sending me their condolances, but I think the most beautiful and special arrangement was done by Ingrid. I found it on the bathroom counter after we had finished a delicious dinner of Kinza chicken terryaki and everyone had gone home. She must have spent a good hour gathering just the right blossoms and placing them ever so gently in the small glass dish. I know it wont last forever, but this one I wont forget :o)

The World in Ketchikan

I have been watching the World since I noticed it headed up the Washington coast to Seattle. It spent quite a bit of time there and then headed to Friday Harbor, Victoria, the canadian gulf islands, and finally Vancouver, BC before it headed north to Alaska. Today my son spotted it  anchored off Ketchikan. I have been talking about it like a loon since I first noticed it and realized it was home to a whole bunch of rich folks. Maybe in my next life I can travel the world from the comfort of my own home and I don't mean on terra firma.

Best Friend

Today I lost my best friend . 

Len's Deer

As I picked up Len's son to take him to the airporter, we were greeted by this beautiful buck. He was eating apples right off the tree and our being nearby didn't concern him in the least. Len's son lives in LA and to be able to watch the deer right outside his door really made his day :o)

Deer

It must be because the apples are getting big enough to eat that two deer came to visit the other afternoon. The doe meandered through my yard, nibbling on the small, yet to ripen, apples that had dropped from the tree in the wind and as she headed toward the trail, I slunk into the house to grab a camera. When I returned, she was gone so I walked as quietly as I could to where I figured she would be. When I looked down the trail, instead of the doe, there stood a young buck. I tried to get a decent shot before he moved on, and this is the best I could do. It amazes me that we get so many deer right down in the heart of town and I'm more than willing to share my apples with them :o)

Parker

Len's grandson, Parker, has become an instant star :o)  Here he is modeling clothing for the children's clothing line,  Gymboree. You'll  get a better look at him if you check out their website, or visit one of their stores, as his pictures are on the wall showing off the baby preppy look :o) He is 19 months old and lives in the LA with his mommy and daddy. Oh, and his big sister also does modeling and is also the voice in the app, Hiding Hannah.  Oh..and their daddy does editing for spot ads for the "Office" and other TV shows. They live in the heart of the commercial world and it looks llike they are making the most of it.

Waitin for the plane

Ing is home...she came by plane...from Petersburg, Alaska...and there it is... headed straight for her...  to  pick her up and take her home.  The Petersburg airport is a tad bit different than SeaTac don't ya think :o)
The girls had a great two weeks with their Alaska grandmother and they told her they would like to live there.  She said...you haven't seen winter !!!!!

Horsey hotel

My nephew's daughter is headed to Kentucky to compete in a riding competition. Her mom is a horse nut and that love of horses rubbed off  on her.  They are towing her horse behind them  and between them, there are three drivers, and a 4 year old....all women. 
In the picture, Kaylan is leading her horse to a "horse hotel" in Bozeman, Montana and from what I hear, there are places all along the way that will put up a horse for the night. Whodda thunk.
They had a fund raiser a few weeks ago because this jouney will cost around $7,000.00. Gosh...I'm glad my kids were just dog and cat lovers.

Stump

Len and I went for a drive today..all over the place...me driving his shiny new car....with him just enjoyin the ride. As we drove along Ray Nash Drive, we came to the stump where, 63 years ago,  our school bus turned around twice a day as it picked up and dropped off  kids along the way. Kathy Early lived at the bottom of the driveway and we figured they  must have been very rich because they had a beautiful house,  smack dab on the water.
I was so enthralled with the stump that I just had to stop and take a picture. There was an older gentleman trimming bushes and I am sure he wasn't thrilled to have someone come charging in to end his tranquility and when I  told him why I had stopped,  he wasn't interested. No sooner did I get the pix, a giant SUV drove in and made the poor man move his wheelbarrow...and then I heard a honk honk and the mailman arrived with our car sitting in front of the mailboxes.   Lordy..what started out as a spiritual moment turned into total bedlam :o)

Remote control

This was Jacob's first adventure with a remote control car and the worst that happened was a scraped knee. That usually  happens when you push forward, run with the car, then push reverse and have to stop mid step to avoid crushing it under foot, which for him resulted in a painful blacktop landing.. He loved it and granny was thankful that the batteries don't last long :o)

Twins

These two boats are the same, both built at Delta in Seattle, but one is a dark blue and the other white. Kinda like our president :o) They don't often fish around each other, not because they're father in law and son in law, but because they have their own ideas on things and that's the way it is, but for some reason they were both in the Ketchikan area and ended up tied up together. I'm thinkin the Signe Lynn does look mighty nice in that dark skin and maybe the Ocean Dream could use a little sprucing up.

The World

The World is headed to Seattle. I spotted her off the Washington coast thanks to the Marine Traffic site and thanks to the Cruise Ship Calendar site, it told us where she's headed. The World is a cruise ship serving as a residential community owned by its residents^. The residents, from about 40 different countries, live on board as the ship travels the globe—staying in most ports from 2 to 5 days. Some residents live on board full time while others visit periodically throughout the year. It is operated by ResidenSea, headquartered in Miramar, Florida.
The ship has 110 apartments where owners live and 88 "guest suites" rented out on short-term basis, as in a traditional cruise ship.

If you'd like to take a tour..here ya go.

Father and daughter

There’s a soldier who regularly reads to a child via the Internet from the Lakewood Barnes & Noble cafe.
Hannah Pancho wants to know his story.
The 16-year-old took an iPhone photo of his ritual June 28 while perusing the store with her sister and friends. The picture since has received exposure on Facebook, been posted at MSN.com and garnered more than 2,000 comments on the social networking website Reddit.
“I saw that he had a book and he was reading, and then I could hear the child’s voice,” said Pancho, who comes from a military family. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, guys, this is so sweet,’ and I started to cry.”
Read the rest of the story.  http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/07/04/2204760/teens-shot-of-soldier-reading.html

Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/07/04/2204760/teens-shot-of-soldier-reading.html#storylink=cpy

Flounder

Here you see the prize winning catch, caught off the pier in Petersburg, Alaska, with a line wrapped around a chunk of wood.   Way to go Bergen :O)
Oh...and happy Independence Day !!!
And...this is a good read.

Room with a view

Dinner at Arlene's was delicious as was the view. She grew up next door and when her folks passed away, her sis took the family home and Arlene got this spot. Not many of us end up right where we started. Oh...and those are Jeanne's shoes :o)

Missing fingers

Okay...one more mention of Harold Griffith and that will be it. If you take a good look at his left hand, you'll see a short thumb and missing index finger. Last night while having dinner with friends, one of the guests grew up next door to Harold so I asked him is he knew how he'd lost his fingers. Yup...he did....and it was fireworks !!!  He said Harold dumped the powder of a bunch of  pieces of fireworks into a metal can and as he was  tapping the lid on, kaboom.  It took his fingers and his sisters eyebrows with it.

Harold

I have enjoyed watching the grand opening of Seattle's Great Wheel. It's owner is Hal...we knew him as Harold when were were kids...Griffith. We all went to school in a little two room school in Rosedale and he didn't live far from the school, but far enough that he had to  take the school bus.
When we were in high school, he was the one selling hot dogs at the football games and he and Len were the ones cutting and selling Christmas trees. They both worked at Pooles Nursery on 6th avenue for a bit, but Hal went off to make it big in the restaurant business...The Crab Pot restaurant in Bellevue and of course Fisherman's on pier 57. I am tickled for him that he managed to pull off this latest fete....lord knows, it must have been years in the making with all the permitting etc. I am looking forward to riding on the Great Wheel and hope it's a huge success. Oh..and he's the top right person in the picture...other than older and greyer...he looks the same. And, don't try to find me cause I didn't get transferred to that school until the second grade.