Flutes and friends

Our flute quartet played here today...for no one special, other than for the boats coming in and out of the harbor and for a couple of friends of the owner of the home. Almost 50 years ago I lived on this exact spot with my hubby and our oldest child. Our house was very very old, but we loved being so close to the water. It was such an incredible feeling to be sitting here again, and it seemed like just yesterday that we came and went from this exact spot.  I was truly amazed that the wood stairway going down to the beach is the same stairway that we used.

Harbor Winds

Just a reminder to join us on July 3rd at Sehmel Park, 6:00pm, for a lively Independence Day concert. We are the new Gig Harbor community band and we make a great sound. Come see and hear for yourself, and...bring a blanket, a bottle of wine and things to nibble on..and sunshine too if that is at all possible :o)

Seattle U girls

We got together for our annual Seattle U girls reunion yesterday at Benson Lake. It was a fun day even though it rained and the wind howled,  which meant that we didn't get to float around the lake as we usually do. Instead we stayed inside, played silly word games and gabbed the day away with things really  livenimg up  once toddy time arrived. There were endless bottles of wine from one of the gals 50th anniversary party the previous weekend, and a delicious potluck so, a good time was had by all. Oh..and the gal on the right was my roomy during my freshman year.  For a  bunch of 73 years olds, I think they look darn good.

Surfin girl

Sometimes Bergy plays with caterpillars...sometime she goes surfin.  Summer is definately here and the fun has just begun.

First rose.

Before Len's house sold, I pulled out a rose bush that he had put in a pot on his back patio...the pot was too heavy to carry so I gave the plant a tug and took home what I hoped would be enough to replant. By golly it survived and today, on the first day of summer, this is what the first rose looked like.  Len had a row of the pink roses in the garden below his house and one day when they were all in bloom he brought me the most beautiful bouquet. I am hoping the new owners love them as much as we did :o)

Beautiful day

It was a beautiful day on the beach and on the water and I would love to have been out there with that bunch.

GHACA

A bunch of folks turned out last evening at the Babich-Pond dock and the reason was to show the world that there is a huge interest in having a place for all the arts... painting, theatre, dance, writing, poetry, and best of all, music. We definately need a place to perform other than our schools and a performing arts center could bring folks from the surrounding areas here to show their stuff. It was a fun evening and when I spotted the gal on the right in the picture...I said are you the....and she said Yes :o0   The the is....she loves to plug in a wild and crazy song, then go for walk, movin and groovin as she goes...I always wave to her when I pass and she always waves back.  Ya gotta love that girl :o)
What I can't figure out is where did the fronts of their dresses go :o)
Oh...and something altogether different, but so very sweet. My friend Len with his kids when they were little. His son put together this video in memory of him for Father's Day.

Strangers In The Night

Just for fun..here is one of the songs we played at our last concert...Strangers In The Night...You have to remember that we flutes sit smack dab in front of the trumpets and french horns, and alongside the percussion so what you hear is what you hear. We do have a grand time and have to occasionally pinch ourselves to make sure it's not all a dream :o)
Here is another song I love..I remember when the Beattles took the world by storm......I was busy with little ones then, but loved their music then and still do. My generation was crazy about Elvis.

Store keepers

What a fun day the little ones had yesterday. Somehow their parents managed to send them all to my place at the same time for a much needed break and what great time was had by all. In the picture they have their store all set up on the deck and are ready for business. We even used my dad's old cash box from when he ran the store in Purdy many years ago. We had a lesson about coins and their value...and...why there were two empty slots...the half dollar and dollar coins that we no longer, or rarely use.  After that it was off the play frisbee, climb trees, walk as far down the trail without getting eaten by tigers and lions and bears. Oh My !!! I am not sure who had the most fun..ganny or the kids, but I do know I slept well  as I'm sure they all did. Life is good :o)

Loading net

It's that time of year again and the guys were busy loading their net at the new city dock yesterday.
I watched my youngest string the corks on the new cork line, with Jacob collecting all the broken ones and doing garbage duty, and I watched out my window while they sewed and pullied and tied and tugged. Some years they just go through the net and mend....this year he took it completely apart and added new where new was needed.  All that was done while they shared the net shed with a mama raccoon and her babies in the rafters above. Well...until the dog of one of the crew members finally, with the help of the guys, climbed into the rafters and sent mama scurrying out the window. During the night she must have taken her babies to another location after coming to the conclusion that there would be no peace at that place.
The photo was taken by Ken Malich and I saw it on facebook because I am his friend :o)  It's a crazy world we live in..heck I bet even our president's men can see  it.

Thanksgiving at Seabrook

Quite a few years ago, when I was in a poetic period of my life, I wrote this poem after the Goodnough clan got together for a family Thanksgiving in the old clubhouse in Purdy, right across the street from our house. It sat alongside Goodnough Creek which ran past our house and past my grandparents house which was near the beach. When my grandmother moved there, they lived in a little house which they later tore down and built the brick house that is still there. She named the place Seabrook. That was probably some time in the 1930's. 
Here is the poem...don't laugh :o)

Thanksgiving at Seabrook

We're gathered here today to celebrate

The family that we are.

We've come from many places.

Some near and some quite far.

There are moms and dads and little ones.

Aunts and uncles too.

Grandmas and grandpas and all the rest.

This place is like a zoo.

The Goodnough clan began right here.

Beside this little stream.

Closer to the sea of course,

When it flowed so pure and clean.

Seabrook was the early name

Dawn gave this lovely site.

She and Bob worked side by side.

Yes, they worked with all their might,

To build a home beside the stream

To house their precious girls.

Jean the eldest daughter

And Gertrude with her curls.

From them have come a remarkable bunch

Of truly bright young folk.

Nurses, teachers, fishermen too,

And doctors. That's no joke!

Our souls have all been nourished

By the woods, sea, wind and rain.

May we all come once more to this place by the stream

And feast together again.

Rrrrrrrr

The Maritine Festival parade this year  had over 100 entries and of all of them, this pirate was my favorite. I'm not sure why, but it's probably because of all the detail in his costume or possibly the expression on his face...he truly did look like what I would imagine a pirate looked like. Rrrrrrrrrr

Conductor

Gig Harbor has a new community band and Eric Swanson is doing a great job of conducting. He is the band teacher at Gig Harbor High and something tells me he runs a tight ship.
The name given the group is Harbor Winds and we played our first  gig at the Maritime Gig this weekend. The weather was perfect and the crowd definately loved our music. Our next concert will be on July 3rd at Sehmel Park.

Blessing 2013

After waking up to rain...we were afraid the day might be ruined, but the rain stopped and the day turned out great for the blessing of the fleet. The neighbors of one of my son's always come out for the day and this year, there was a special treat. The gal on the right in the picture is from Australia. She and her husband teach dancing on cruise ships, and they got to know my sons neighbors on a cruise across the Atlantic. Once they worked their way across the country and after they finished their Alaska cruise, they were invited to stay with my son's neighbors for a few days....and those days happened to be when we have the blessing of the fleet, so of course they came along. They were an absolute delight and I have to say...this was one of the most delightful blessings in a long time. Thanks Emanuel and Joy...doesn't that sound like Christmas...it should, because Emanuel was born on Christmas day.
Just for fun..here is a little of the noise as our boats were blessed :o)