To grandma's house we go

Jacob packed his back pack and headed to grandma's house a couple nights ago. Mama thought the new baby was headed our way, but alas...it was not to be and after a good sleep at grannie's, Jacob packed up and went home to wait til the next time "o) As you can imagine..we are all on pins and needles. 

With the angels

My dear friend, Jeanne, lost her hubby this morning....it was a blessing as he suffered from dementia and diabetes. He's with the angels now :)

Winter Solstice

Happy Winter Solstice...we are headed toward the light :o) 

Morning snowfall

We had a little snow early this morning and just for fun I drug out my video camera....even hummed along with the song, Harvest Moon.

Winter shadows

With the winter sun approaching it's lowest angle of the year, I couldn't help but notice the shadows of the trees on our net shed the other afternoon. Only 12 more days til Winter Solstice...my favorite day of the year...and we will be on our way to the light :o)

Christmas Concert

Just a reminder of our concert on Dec. 14th. You can see the program here. I can hardly believe that this is our 10th season. We have seen many of our musicians come and go for many reasons, including death, but those of us who were there the first night we began this wonderful adventure and there are a few of us,  are still  there because we dearly love making music.  Hope to see you at the concert :o)

Log house

I took this pix yesterday in Rosedale.  It's just down the road from Len's place and I have enjoyed watching the builders pile one log on top of the other, figuring they had a plan and by golly, they did. I am not into log homes, but I think this one turned out quite nice.

Pacific Knight

This bench is a new addition to the Eddon Boat Park project. It sits on the sidewalk above the park and is a great place for  folks to watch boats come and go on the bay. I see a small plaque on the bench and if I were to guess what it might say, I'd say it's a memorial to Nick Jerkovich, one of the many Jerkovich brothers, and who passed away a few years ago.The Pacific Knight was his boat and it was a beauty. His son lives just across the street in the background so I'd be willing to bet either he or his wife is the donor. 

Tree for Thanksgiving

Alright already, I know we haven't even celebrated Thanksgiving yet, but because Jacob spent most of the day with me yesterday, we had to find things to keep ourselves busy, so we opened the box that held the new Christmas tree,  one thing lead to another and before we collapsed in total exhaustion, the lights were on along with all the trimmings. Jacob did most of the work, as you can see, and is now looking forward to helping mom and dad do theirs. 
Because mom and dad had decided to leave Seattle at going home from work time, they found themselves stuck in a parking garage. After a 20 minute wait, with no forward movement, they decided to stay put, go out to dinner and  try again later. By the time they finally came to pick him up, he was tucked in my bed, fast alseep.

Visitors

It's always a treat to see the deer wander by and  this morning mama and her two younguns sauntered past looking for good things to eat. Jacob and I saw them yesterday at the end of our road and I kinda think they hang out in the woods behind me. Even with the leaves mostly gone from the trees, there are  enough evergreen bushes  to give them a place to feel safe.

Fishin

Yesterday was Bergy's first time fishing with her dad. They have been "fall fishing" just outside the harbor and it was a beautiful day, a  holiday and no school, so it was easy for her to go along. In the old days there were no iPads to ease the bordom, and it can get boring with all the waiting around, but she's pretty good at finding things to do when the hours are long, so I bet she was a nice addition to the "crew" :o)
This video gives you a peek at where they fish and how they fish.

My veteran

Today is Veteran's Day...and this is a pix of my husband who was a Korean War Veteran.  Luckily he was sent to Alaska to serve and not to the korean peninsula.

SigneLynn

The Signe Lynn is just completing her trip from Fishermen's Wharf in Seattle to her new home in Gig Harbor. Her  owners made the move to their new home in the harbor recently and now that the boat is here...they are at last, all in one place. The owner is the father in law of one of my son's and the reason they moved here is, of course, because of grandkids. They are a fun couple and a nice addition to the harbor. Welcome home Bob and Signe.

Dr. Cobbs

Last night was orchestra....and because our conductor and wife were off on some  adventure...he arranged to have a good friend of his, Dr. Paul Elliot Cobbs, work with us for two magical hours. My  heart and flute are still singing :o) 

Jacob

Okay....time for a new pix....how bout this one of Jacob....it's much better than his halloween pix. My friend Kerry. who lives in Canada, and who I met on the internet, sent  the stuffed animal to Jacob when he was little. It used to have a red jacket, which I know is around here somewhere, but to be honest, it's much nicer to cuddle without the jacket.  Occasionally we dig through all the toys and find all the animals...mostly Beanie Babies, and as of now...they are all snuggled together on the love seat in the living room  resting because they were used in a huge animal fight the other day with Jacob's daddy, his uncle Nick, Nick's friend Jill who is recovering from shoulder surgery and of course granny, who has a mean right arm. When granny threw the frog and it hit her crystal glasses, the fight was over. It took me back to the days of raising just boys...things were always flying and nothing was sacred. 

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween, a day late :o)  The kids stopped by to trick or treat yesterday and then headed downtown to the businesses who hand out candy to the kids. The rain held off during their treck and they came home loaded down with goodies. Bergy was a gymnast, Jacob was a blue dragon and Ingy was Cleopatra for the second year in a row...though last year she had all her front teeth :o) Again, another fun day for the kids and mom and dad were  ready to call it a day when they left because they had also helped at school with daddy in one room and mommy in the other. I just counted my blessings as they all left, thankful that my days of doing those things are over :o)

First frost

There's frost on the rooftops for the first time this fall and this is what it looks like from the long lense of my camera.

Skinny House

I picked up a friend and we took a drive down the canal yesterday. As we drove along, over and under the beautiful fall leaves, we passed this darling house not far from Twanoh State Park. It was built on a very narrow lot with nowhere to go but up. so that is what they did. It was tall and skinny, with enough land to build a nice area in front for lots of summer living. My mother would have loved it because she was very into small is beautiful :o)
Our destination was lunch in Lilliwaup, but we ended up eating at the new skykomish indian casino, after first watching the many indians gil netting along the shore near Hoodsport. All I can say is...I feel sorry for the workers inside the casino....the smoke is awful.....thank God they have a separate area for diners. ...gasp, cough, choke !!!!!!!!

Harbor Winds

Last night my son took this pix with his cell phone of  the first official indoor concert of our new community band..... Harbor Winds. We had a great audience and, I think, a great performance.....and the best part....was having my 4 year old grandson join me on stage at intermission :o) I was seated next to the stairs and he climbed right up to say hello ....who'd a thunk I'd be doing this at my age and be sharing it with such a great bunch of people. If I died tomorrow...................

Trains trains

The three little ones were here the other day so we drug out Len's train set. As you can see, Jacob, who loves trains, was mesmerized as he watched it go round the track. I set Bergen loose with my camera and told her to get some pix....she was most happy to oblige and this was one of her shots. I found a bunch of old 35mm cams in the cupboard the other day while cleaning, and thought, wow...I'd never have let her take pictues to her hearts content with film cameras.  I think this digital age is great !!

Harbor Winds

Just a little reminder that our concert is Friday...this week...yes...in two more days. Our name is Harbor Winds because we are just winds...no strings......and lots of percussion, drums, chimes, bells, you name it...but no strings....and we can put out quite a sound. We are a new community band and have quite a few very talented local musicians who love makin music more than anything else. I hope to see you there :o)

Sunny day

Blue skies means a walk to the dock. We took along some old bread to feed the seagulls and  Jacob was nice enough to share with another little girl so the two of them had a grand time watching all the commotion as the gulls fought for the scraps. We decided that gulls have no manners and that we would love to be able to glide in the wind the way they do.
Oh...and notice the leaves across the bay as they are slowly turning from green to gold.

Red and blue and rusty

This boat was in this position when I pulled into the shipyard to pick up my son the other day. Luckily son was hauled out just before this one, because as the weight of this boat shifted from the water to the straps, there was a crunching sound, and the rusty bottom became a seive, leaking oily bilge water, which had to be meticulously cleaned from sea and land. There was no going back so they had to carry on. The boat belongs to an indian who just purchased the vessel, and he said he got a really good deal!!!! I'm sure he did, but now will be the proof of the pudding. Will the boat have enough solid structure under her thin skin  to be saved or will she have to go the way of a razor blade.

Muck and mud

I had to take a drive to Port Townsend yesterday to pick up one of my sons who took his boat up for a few repairs. As we wound our way through the labyrinth of vessels, we came upon this poor boat, sitting safely on shore after having rested on the  bottom of some bay long enough to cover itself inside and out with layers of muck and mud. I will probably never know the story of how, when, where, why  and what happened, but it would be fun to see her when she's been cleaned up and back where she belongs.

 

Okay...I found the scoop on the sad looking boat.

Rock climbing

Jacob and I went for a walk down town today and hung a right instead of a left which took us to the Russel building.  We walked on the cement tiles, making sure not to step on the cracks cause that would have been our demise. At first he thought I was serious when I said if you stepped on them  you'd fall in between, never to be seen again...but once he saw the smile on my face, he knew there was nothing to worry about, but he did make sure he didn't step on a crack. We also climbed the huge rocks that have been stuck in the cement, never to move again....in fact...he is standing on one in the picture. It's the biggest and that's the reason for the smile. King of the mountain :o)
He loves to come to grandma DeeDee's house after school and hang out...but by the time mom or dad come to get him, he's ready to go home. That is the best thing about grandkids...they go home :o)

Donkey Creek

This is what Donkey Creek looked like from the new bridge this afternoon. The little building is the old Midway School, which was taken apart, piece by piece,  moved to the museum location and put together again like one giant jig saw puzzle.  There are old desks inside  like the ones we used as kids and the building is now used for all things...including weddings. It will be fun to see how things look when finished.

Contrails

Entrails, contrails...whatever....I was headed to the Hub restaurant at our local airport on Friday and spotted a great big X in the sky, so of course I had to pull over and take a picture. I could have taken all the time in the world because when I pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant, I noticed there were no familiars cars.  I waited just a bit, and realized that I had the wrong Friday. Oh well...

Tree fall

Thanks to oodles of red delicious apples and heavy rain...my poor apple tree fell over.  There is a gravenstein tree nearby and I'm thinking I'd rather lose the red delicious than the gravenstein so it could have been worse :o)

Munchkins

According to Len's son, there are only two munchkins left who were in the movie, The Wizard of Oz, and Mike and his family ran into one of the last survivors, Jerry Maren, at a restaurant in LA this week.  He was thrilled that they took the time to ask, if by chance, he had been in the movie and he even consented to having his picture taken with them. I love the old movie, which was filmed in 1939, a year before I made my grand entrance and  I don't care how many times they remake the movie or do it on stage...there can only be one Wizard of Oz :o)

Home port

I attended a family gathering at the Olalla Valley Winery on Sunday, and as I drove across the bridge by Al's grocery, there, back in her home port, was the raft that spent most of the summer in Henderson Bay. I still think it would be fun to give that lifestyle a try...but not this time of year.

Fishermen

This old picture was put on facebook by one of my relatives. The fellow on the top left is Spiro Babich and  the one second from the right on top  is his brother, Nick Babich, my father in law, whom I never met because he died the same month and year I was born. Spiro was the first to come to this country from the island of Brac in  what is now Croatia, and his brothers came after. How long after I don't know, but in all, 7 siblings left their home and came to the United States, leaving one brother behind in the family home  where his  children and grandchildren still live.
Spiro was a very successful fisherman as was his brother Nick, but Nick died at age 45 leaving a young widow with two young children to raise and the fishing vessel, Sonia. Because Maria had the boat to lease out to other fishermen, she was able to make enough money to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. Spiro was very successful and probably the wealthiest person in town and I would imagine he helped out too.

Quartet to trio

Our flute quartet is down to three so I guess that makes us a trio. Our fearless leader moved with his family to Arizona and hopefully he'll find a group to play in. He will be 90 in  November and I'm thinking a warmer climate might be nice for him instead of having to put up with another winter here. I'm not so sure about the summer though as this is God's country that time of year.

Destination Kamchatka

Glad I wasn't on board the Hanseatic yesterday as she headed toward Kamchatka, Russia.

Sail away

Just a week ago we had beautiful weather and now it's feeling like fall. I love the color of this sailboat and I happened to walk past one day as her owners were taking her out for a sail. From what I hear, they live on board. In the summer I'd like that, but come winter, give me terra firma and a furnace.

Donkey Creek project

This afternoon I walked to the other side of the harbor and managed to take all the shortcuts....even across the new  bridge. One worker said go...so we did....and halfway across, the worker on the other side said to stop....we told him the other worker gave up permission to cross....he himmed and hawed and said..."just don't fall or I am dead. "  I doubt we're the first nonworkers to cross but we'd all like to think so :o)   Once I made it to Anthony's restaurant, I decided to hop on the trolly and ride it home. If only it ran all year.  Of course while riding I managed to have a nice visit with a woman from Snoqualmie and her friend who was visiting from Florida. I gave them the scoop on riding the trolley and once back on my side of the harbor, rang the bell and hopped off. I looooooooooooove the trolley.

Fuzzy friends

It's not your eyes it's the picture....very very fuzzy....and that is how my brain feels this morning after partying with old classmates at our annual reunion. There were 12 from our class and I think we won again for attendance. Len's class definately is the winner for the most who have passed away. We always have a great time and plan on doing it again next year...at least those of us who are still among the living.
I think the highlight of the evening was talking to a 1953 graduate I had never met, but had played flute next to his brother in the high school band when I was still in middle school.  I was somewhat petrified being with all the older kids, but the brother managed to put me at ease and I never forgot him or his name. When I  noticed a name tag with the same name last night, I struck up a conversation and was I ever glad I did. I caught up on his brother, and gave him a message to deliver from me. But, the best part of our conversation lead us to Alaska and how I remembered that there had been a Morford working on one of the ships that came into Valdez. How I knew that, I don't know, but I asked  if it had been his brother or him...as it turns out...it was him. He was absolutely delighted to hear that story. Oh..and he was a steward on the Tonsina. 

Bean's home

My sis found this picture of the apartment that my friend Bean lived in when the San Francisco quake struck.  She lived on the top floor and rode the building down...stepping out onto the sidewalk once it was over and she realized she was still alive. I think it was a 4 story building and she lived on the top floor which no doubt is the reason she is still alive and able to attend our annual reunion each year at Benson Lake.  She taught school in San Francisco, but took a year off to  decide if she ever wanted to return to that city. She did and retired from teaching and lives happily in Sausalito.

School days

Yesterday was the first day of school in our area, at least for the public school kids. The little gal on the right in the picture lives across the street from me and I enjoyed watching her visit with her friends after they came home. She was a little girl when she moved in and I have enjoyed watching her grow into a very pretty young woman.  And it all seems to be happening so fast :o)

Cora Marie

Son took the picture of this old fantail yacht  when he had his boat in Port Townsend,  doing the annual cleaning and painting of the hull. The guys had heard this boat was going to be shipped to Miami once her bottom was restored and that there was a Housewives of Miami connection. I did a google search and finally found more info on her.

Daddy's helper

Daddy's home and Ing is helping run the hydraulics.  Woman's work is never done.

August ends

This is what it looked like yesterday, looking back toward the house Len used to own, on the last day of August, from the middle of the Raft Island bridge. Once in a while I feel the need for a Rosedale fix. Len and I had such a grand time floating on those beautiful waters in his Tiderunner,  his brothers old aluminum canoe, assorted blowup floating devices and finally our last outing in the kayak his neighbors gave us. We met at such a carefree time in our lives...families were  raised, we were still young...heh..in our 50's...and loved being together....for what more could you ask  :o)

Honk honk

How can such beautiful birds be such pests. The apples are ripe and the geese are back in my sister in law's yard and she's on her yearly rampage. It's not so much that they eat the apples....it's the mess they leave behind. Now if they would stay in the bay where they belong and where I  snapped this pix as they swam by, all would be well, but they love to stop by with all their many friends and have one big poop party :o)

Inside look

Jacob and I were at Jericich Park yesterday when the kids showed up with their kayaks and canoes for their daily training session. I thought it would be fun to show you the inside of a canoe, which is not much  wider than their hips and getting in and out takes real skill or gravity will take over instantly. They were very adept at doing both and the one question I asked the little gal was.....how do you steer. She said with the paddle.  Hmmmmm.

Kayak kids

We had more fun yesterday watching the kayak team do their daily training. We were sitting on the end of a houseboat opposite Jericich dock as they took turns competing, usually two at a time, right smack in front of us, with some  sitting in  long, narrow kayaks using double ended paddles, and others kneeling in  long, narrow canoes, paddling on just one side.
They were  very successful in their latest competiton in Oklahoma, coming in first. We had lots of questions for the young people, one of which was how old are you...the boy we asked was 13....how much does your canoe cost...the one he was in cost $2,600.00. 
It was fun seeing the kids up close instead of from a distance out the window of my house....and if I were young again...what a fun sport to be involved with. I think of the young people living in the inner cities and how sad that they don't have the opportunities we have here in this beautiful part of the country.

Success

Jacob is wearing a happy face because grandma said "SMILE"....after a bunch of goofy poses, I finally managed to get him to stop being silly. He is four and such fun. Oh...and the reason for the picture is because he is getting really good at putting together puzzles...and did this one in record time.
After he finished,  we had lunch, then it was off to ride the trolley, which lead to all kinds of adventures. How lucky we are to have these wonderful times together.

 

Paddle fun

I spotted this group  as they headed away from the kayak rental place yesterday. Every time I see the "kayak rental,  $20.00 for two hours" sign, I wonder why I don't spring for a couple of hours and  get out there with all the other folks on a a beautiful August afternoon. It couldn't be easier for me since the place is just a short walk down the hill.

Eighteenth Century Drawing Room

Just for fun, here is a recording I made of the solo I used to play in high school. I found the exact verson on youtube the other day and played along, recording it with my trusty digital recorder. Mr. Cozart, our music director, gave a few of us band members music to work on and then off we went to one of the schools to play and be graded. I don't remember if I did well or not, but any excuse to get out of school was always fun.   One of the girls in my class was the designated accompaniest. Her name now is  Jeanine Jacobson and she went on to become quite an accomplished pianist and professor. Me, I am still trying to play that darn song :o)

And...a must read for anyone not happy with the way things are going in our country...maybe there is a way to turn things around.

Purdy bridge

It was such a beautiful evening while we dined a couple days ago. In one direction were the indians fishing and in the other direction were the cars moving slowly across the very  narrow and somewhat frightening Purdy bridge. My hope is that sooner rather than later there is a new road built at the end of the lagoon, eliminating the need to cross that dangerous and very old bridge and it can become a playground for all....especially the kids who jump off even though they aren't supposed to :o)

Henderson Bay

We went to dinner last night at the restaurant in Purdy. As we dined, we watched the indians set their net off the beach and haul in salmon. It was an incredibly beautiful evening, but it was hard watching the indians take over someone elses beach and make themselves at home, knowing they could do whatever they wanted and no one could say a word. Not far from them was a man trying to fish off the beach with his pole. Fish were jumping everywhere, but I didn't see the lone fisherman catch anything. The food was great but the rest left a bad taste in my mouth :o(

Faceplant

This very handsome and dignified lookiing young man is Len's son in law....and when he's not being mature and dignified.....he does this.  I haven't talked to the wife as to whether he sustained any lasting injuries, like say, to the shoulder, face or assorted bones in the arms or legs. I sure hope not.
And...something altogether different....what a mess...and ya can't blame it on Bush.