A Blessing --and Lunch With Friends

When we arrived at Menno (Menno Mennonite Church) this morning, Pastor Matthew took me aside and said he'd give me a few minutes before church to think about it, but he wanted to offer a blessing for me this morning.  A few weeks ago in Pittsburgh, I had been re-elected to a second four-year term as a member of Mennonite Church USA's Executive Board.  Pastor Matthew asked me to reflect for a few minutes on what it was like to be a member of the Board to the congregation and then offered a blessing and prayer for my continued service.  Nice!

After church, we headed for Moses Lake followed by our friends, Colleen and Dennis.  We went to Michael's By The Lake and sat out on their patio and had a delicious lunch.  We hadn't seen the two of them since we had left for the south last fall.  In the meantime, Dennis had had a stroke AND they had traveled to Europe to spend time with their family.  So, we had lots to talk about!  With the help of some speech therapy, thankfully, Dennis has been recovering quite well.  It was a beautiful afternoon to sit outside and visit.  The patio overlooks Moses Lake and we watched the boat traffic as we ate.

Thursday's Trip Home

As we drove home from Wenatchee along Highway 28 last Thursday, all of a sudden we found traffic backed up for a couple of miles along the Wenatchee River. We had just passed Rock Island Dam and with traffic slowed to a stop and crawl, I was able to get some pictures of the outflow below the dam.

 I don't know that I have ever seen such a large volume of water below the dam, nor have we ever seen it this high.

We finally got close enough to see the long string of vehicles going up the hill.  We were passed by an ambulance heading back to Wenatchee and then by several highway department vehicles heading up.

As we got closer, we saw this vehicle upside down on the left side of the road.  There was another vehicle in the ditch on the right side.  All of that stuff on the ground appeared to be paper.

We never heard what had happened or how the drivers and passengers of the two vehicles were....

Today the last few days caught up with us. I had shut off the alarm last night, so we were able to sleep in.  I think it was almost noon before we were showered and somewhat organized. It was in the mid-nineties this afternoon.  We finally broke down and turned on the AC about four PM.  It's nine o'clock now and the temperature has already dropped thirty degrees. One thing about this coulee, it's almost always cool enough for good sleeping.

Forry took apart our old wifi antenna system and installed the new components.  They seem to be working beautifully!

Another Day in Spokane!

I am shelled! I am not used to so many days in a row in the car.  Forry had a ten AM appointment at his dermatologist's office this morning. After that, it was just a series of errands. 

Since everyone has been giving Forry such a bad time about his old cell phone and the way it cuts out after about a ten minute conversation, we went over to the AT&T store out at the Valley Mall (we really like the guys there) to talk with them about it. They seemed to think a new SIM card might fix the problem.  We shall see.  While we were there, we inquired into getting the new cheaper service plan they have been advertising for their air card wifi service.  Turns out the only way we could change ours would be to upgrade which would cancel our old plan and put us on the new plan.  It's $50 per month for 5MGs (Verizon is $80 for 10), but then $10 each for every MG over.  It's still not as good as the Verizon Hot Spot, but since we can only get AT&T at the ranch, it's a good deal.

While we were out at the Mall, we went over to Penny's and found Forry some new inserts for the cards in his wallet.  Of course, since we were so close, we just had to stop by Krispy Kreme...

Our next stop was at Spokane Wireless for hug from our friend Scott.  We got a new plug-in for the new air card that will connect it to our trucker antenna in Auntie Violet.

We had some time left in the afternoon, so spent a while just relaxing in the park until it was time to go over to my Nephew Jared's (had to wait for them to get home from work).  We followed them over to Twiggs at Wandermere where we had dinner with Jared, his wife Becky and their darling little girl Ellie out on the patio.

Once again, we are heading home in the dark.  The good thing is that I am typing this in the car using the new AT&T aircard!

A Day in Moses Lake -- and in Wenatchee...

It was another early morning for us as we had to be at the dentist in Moses Lake at 8:00 AM this morning!  The only saving grace to this is that our dental hygienist is my delightful niece Becky!  I got caught up on the goings-on of my two young great-nephews, Carter and Case. It sounds like they are enjoying summer and  playing in the water almost as much as they love playing in the dirt in my brother's garden.

The bad news from the dental appointment is that the inlay that I had come out -- and Forry re-glued -- when we were in Pittsburgh came out because it was starting to decay along the edge.  It eroded the tooth along the side, so instead of just replacing it, I'm going to need another crown!  The worst part is that it takes two weeks to get the crown from the lab, so it will be the latter part of August before it is done and we can leave... ;-(

After Forry had his "no problems" cleaning, we headed for Wenatchee to visit our dear friend Vic who had a knee replacement on Tuesday.  Vic is 91 and seems to have come through the surgery just fine.  Now the hard work of physical therapy starts.  They will be sending him to a rehab facility in Moses Lake where he lives with Daughter Pam, probably tomorrow.

As long as we were already in Wenatchee, we went over to East Wenatchee and had a short visit with Forry's sister Grace and her husband Les. They had grand-children to pick up from practice, so it was a very short visit, but it was good to see them.  There was a VERY nasty two vehicle wreck along the cliffs of the river as we left Wenatchee. Traffic was backed up for several miles as they let traffic through one lane at a time.

A stop at a fruit stand finished off a busy day.  I brought fresh beans, Bing and Lambert cherries and apricots.  They were making fresh fruit milkshakes with hard ice cream, so we just had to get a nectarine and a blackberry shake to stave off hunger pangs.

A Day In Spokane

Breakfast and showers, then time to go.  Forry had an appointment at eleven o'clock at Group Health with Dr. Brennen.  It's a good thing we left a bit early (we had to go back once for Forry's cell phone) as the streets in Spokane are really torn up! We did quite a bit of maneuvering to get across the river to the Group Health building. After his appointment we stopped by Burger King for Forry's favorite fish sandwich and then went up to Manito Park to watch the ducks and geese while we ate.


That may have been a mistake as we had to once again go through the torn-up downtown area to get back to Group Health for my appointment at two.  Dr. Brennen wanted some more lab work (the doctor who ordered the labs while she was on vacation missed a couple) and I was very glad to find out that the lab could use the specimen they had drawn on Saturday and I didn't have to give them another.

Forry had his glasses adjusted while we were at Group Health, then we went to Costco for him to have his hearing aides adjusted.  We picked up some more blueberries and white peaches while we were there.

Next stop was at Son Sean's apartment to pick him up for dinner.  We did not want to deal with the downtown road construction again, so went up on the South Hill to eat at Applebees. We've not eaten there for a long time and it wasn't half bad.  We finished up and dropped Sean off just in time to drive home fighting the setting sun all the way!

Darn AT&T!

AT&T frustrates the heck out of me!  Down in our coulee at the ranch, it's the only wi-fi that really works.  I'm sitting in the car up on top of the hill using my Verizon HotSpot as I have run out of time for this month on my AT&T aircard.  Things were just great when we bought the aircard as we bought an "unlimited" plan.  After a couple of years -- and the increase in iPhone sales and usage -- they invoked the "small print" on their contract and limited our usage.  AND they charge a fortune if you go over! (Those T-Mobile ads on TV are no joke!) And they won't let you buy more usage!


My Verizon HotSpot on the other hand allows for twice as much data AND allows you to purchase additional MB is you go over for only $10.  The only problem is, Verizon doesn't work very well -- if at all -- down in the coulee!


So here I sit with my mini HP balanced on the steering wheel thankful that I can get coverage up here.

HARVEST! -- Well Sort of...

Our tenant farmer Jeff was all set to harvest today.  They had tried on Friday, but the wheat still had too much moisture. He stopped by this morning saying they had checked a load and it was ready to go.  He and his youngest son, Tyler, headed out to the field.  They cut for an hour or so, then the slightly overcast skies really clouded up and the wind became extremely gusty.  The next thing you know we had thunder and lightening -- and RAIN!

You really can't see the rain in this picture I took out of Auntie Violet's window, but you can see how dark it had gotten.

It is beautiful this evening.  The sky is clear and the temperature is in the low seventies without a breath of wind.  You'd never know there was a storm this afternoon that brought the already late harvest to a screeching halt.

When I stopped at Safeway the other day when I was in Moses Lake, I bought six of the new crop of Walla Walla sweet onions.  We always wait for the WW sweets to be ready every year. We think they are much more flavorful then the Vidalia Sweets you can get in the winter-time.  Walla Wallas are very good, but don't keep very well.  So we usually have about a month of enjoyment while they are on.  Tonight I made an onion pie for supper.  I try to make a couple of these every year.  They are one of our favorite meals!

AHEC!

AHEC stands for Area Health Education Center, a part of Washington State University Extension Service, and is where I spent the last nineteen years of my professional career.  I did end up as the Director of the agency the last couple of years I was there.  I worked with some great people.  We have been getting together every summer since I retired -- sort of a mini-reunion.  The first couple of years we met a a restaurant for lunch and talked the afternoon away.  The last two years, we have been invited to homes, primarily to enable both spouses and the delightful children of AHECers to attend.


In the picture below are the two littlest charmers, Elly on the left with her mom Kaarin and Addy on the right with her mom Bonnie.  Both of them have been born since I retired.  They are wearing the tutu skirts I found for them to go along with their new books...

The bashful one on the right is the delightful Tessa with her sister and Mom and Dad.  I was lucky enough to still be in Spokane when she arrived.  She is a bright little girl, whose comments (repeated by Mom on Facebook) bring many chuckles to my day.

I realized last evening when I was looking at my pictures that I had not gotten pictures of any of the grown-ups at the gathering!  We were meeting at Helen and Jerry's home for a delicious BBQ.  Along with Bonnie, Helen and Kaarin, Steven and Cathi and their spouses were also able to join us. A few of the other AHECers were traveling over the weekend and we missed seeing them, but the rest of us had a delightful time.  Such fun to catch up on everyone's new grand-babies, aging parents, retirement joys, and career advancements!  We talked the afternoon and evening away!

The Toad Gets a Bath --

We went to Spokane today for an AHEC get-together (more about that tomorrow) and went to one of our favorite lunch places, Maggie's South Hill Grill.  On the way, we passed an energetic group of youngsters having a car wash in a parking lot.  Since the Toad was still carrying around Arizona mud, we decided to stop on the way back. 

There were some of the cutest ever young people working very hard --

Along with their elders, they were raising money for a homeless shelter.

And did they ever do a good job!  The Toad had his windshield scrubbed three times as they made sure all of the bugs were gone.

I've stopped at some of these volunteer car-washing groups before and have generally gotten a fair job -- often the kids were more interested in flirting with each other or getting everyone wet then in cleaning cars.  Not this group!  I don't know when I've seen a group that worked so hard and so cheerfully!

Sunsets at the Ranch

One of the things I really missed during the nineteen years we lived in Spokane was the sunsets.  We lived on the South Hill in a very treed area -- you might get a glimpse of color through the trees, but that was it.  Not so on the ranch.  These are some pictures Forrest took last evening --

This evening there were no clouds, so the sunset was pretty bland. 


We are going to head for Spokane tomorrow morning.  I ran into Moses Lake this afternoon to pick up supplies to make a green salad to take along for the barbecue we are having tomorrow afternoon at Helen and Jerry's.  They have invited the folks from the Area Health Education Center where Helen and I used to work.  This will be the fourth summer we have gotten together.  I am really looking forward to seeing everyone!

Strange Weather

When you watch the television news, all they talk about on the weather reports is the 'heat dome' that is over the biggest share of the country.  Temperatures are triple digits almost everywhere except for the Northwest coastal areas and eastern Washington.  Yesterday I don't think it got to be much more than 70  degrees and we even had a brief rain shower.  Today it might have gotten into the low eighties, but that's about all.  We've had a series of low clouds scooting over all day --

Just about the time I thought the sun was going to finally come out, another series of clouds would come over --

I went outside to sit and read for a while, but it got so windy, I got chilled and had to come inside.  You can see how much the trees are blowing --



It seems a bit strange to be having such cool weather when the rest of the country is sweltering, but I certainly am NOT complaining.  We are a bit concerned, however, that the wheat is still not ready to harvest.  It really does need some hot, dry days at this point to ripen it.  And it doesn't need wind that might shatter the ripe heads!

Another Quiet Day

Other than a trip to the top of the hill to make phone calls to make appointments for doctor and dentist appointments, we spent a quiet day at home today.  We've still been cleaning up and putting things away from our two weeks in Pennsylvania.  We had left a couple of small windows open in an attempt to keep Auntie Violet from getting too hot while we were gone.  So of course, there was a thin layer of dust on everything when we got home.  Forry vacuumed this afternoon while I washed the rugs in the bathroom.


I did go outside and put down the outdoor rug and set up the lawn chairs.  And I went over to the neighbors and retrieved our pot of purple petunias that they had kept watered for us.  We have had some really nice weather for sitting outside to read.  It only got into the mid-80s today.  That's so much nicer then the heat wave the rest of the country has been experiencing.


We've been enjoying some of the fruits of summer.  We had gotten a box of white peaches and some bing cherries at Costco the day we returned along with blueberries, strawberries and a papaya.  I think fresh fruit is one of the best things about our Washington State summers.

Friendships

Friends are funny things.  The ones you feel the closest to are often the ones you don't see very often.  But when you do see them, the conversation picks up as if you had seen them yesterday. There don't seem to be any nervous pauses in the chatter -- like you've run out of things to talk about. You need to not only catch up with what each other has been doing, but you need to find out about their families as well.  After all, these are people you really care about!


We spent last week with our RVing friends, Leslie and Bill.  We had last seen them in Arizona at Christmas time.  We had had Christmas dinner with them and our friends from Albuquerque, Juni and Tom.  When they heard that we were going to be in Pittsburgh in July, Bill and Leslie rearranged their plans in order to be there at the same time.  When I suggested that we might stay on another week after the Mennonite convention, we discovered that they had already been looking for RV parks in the area! 


This coming Saturday, we are looking forward to meeting up with friends from my time at the Area Health Education Center.  Helen and Jerry are hosting a barbecue at their home in Spokane.  Helen and I retired close to the same time and Bettie has recently retired.  Steven and Cathi have gone on to work at different places while Bonnie, Kaarin and Judy are still holding down the AHEC fort.  I cannot say how excited I am about getting to see them all again -- and how delighted I am that everyone wants to get together.  This will be the fourth summer gathering we've had!


The thing we've heard from other full-timers is that the one thing they miss the most is their family and friends.  Our wandering life enables us to make new friends, but it's important for us to keep in touch with the old ones.  I started writing this blog as a private way for my family to keep track of what we were up to (and to make sure we were okay), but quickly made it public so that friends could follow along as well.  I also count on Facebook to keep me up-to-date with what's happening on a day-to-day basis with many of our friends.

Busy!

Let's see now:

12 hours of sleep -- check
Laundry load one -- check
Yogurt, blueberries and granola for breakfast -- check
Laundry load two -- check
Empty suitcase one -- check
Re-hang  shade curtains -- check
Laundry load three -- check
Empty suitcase two -- check
Cut up cantalope for lunch -- check
Empty little suitcase -- check
Put away toiletries -- check
Fold underwear from load one -- check
Laundry load four -- check
Find hangers for load four -- check
Pull onions and pick peas in neighbor's garden (with permission, of course!) -- check
Bring home rosemary pot and water -- check
Laundry load five -- check
Take short nap -- check
Clean and sort underwear drawer -- check
Take garbage out -- check
Finally, laundry load six -- check
Make salad, fix corn and pork chop for supper -- check
Sit down to write blog -- check

Isn't it time for bed yet?

Home to Auntie Violet!

I was up at 5 AM (EDT) this morning unable to go back to sleep (that's 2 AM Pacific Daylight Time).  By six everyone else was up and going and by seven Bill and Leslie were taking us to the airport.  We flew Delta Airlines from  Pittsburgh to Minneapolis; had about an hour lay-over; then flew from Minneapolis to Spokane, Washington.  We made a stop at Costco for gas, fruit and a Polish dog, then headed for the ranch.  We arrived at dear Auntie Violet a little before six, unloaded -- but didn't unpack -- suitcases and put the groceries away. 


It's now eight PM. I've been up for eighteen plus hours.  It's  definitely time for bed!

Our Last Day in Pennsylvania...

After a late breakfast/lunch at Eat and Park, we went out to Raccoon Creek State Park and spent the afternoon at Serenity, Bill and Leslie's motorhome.  As long as you stayed in the shade, it was a lovely afternoon.  The only one that showed much ambition was Bill, who spent most of the afternoon measuring and cutting glass for pendants.  Tomorrow he'll fire up his kiln and fuse the layers of glass together.

Forry and Leslie took life a bit easier, he worked on his sudoku and Leslie played with Zombies on her computer.  I helped Bill sort his rings for a while, then read my Kindle.



We had stopped at the new Giant Eagle grocery store on the way and picked up some fresh corn and steaks to barbecue for supper.  Leslie toasted one last batch of marshmallows while we played a game of Hand and Foot (Leslie and I WOMPED the guys!). 


Bill and Leslie will be taking us to the airport in the morning.  We figure we'll have to leave here about seven for our 9 AM flight.  We've had a good couple of weeks here in Pennsylvania!

A Harry Potter Day

We were planning to go to see the last Harry Potter movie, The Deathly Hallows, Part 2, this evening, so decided that it would be a good idea to see Part 1 once more to refresh our memories. Leslie had fixed a delicious lunch of baked brie with peaches, apples, blueberries, strawberries and golden raspberries which was waiting for us after Bill picked us up at the motel.  We spent the afternoon eating and watching Leslie's DVD, then went to Cineplex to see the last one.  I really enjoyed it!  I think Forry has not been as fascinated by the movies as he hasn't read the books.  The theatre was full, but it was a very orderly crowd -- no loud-mouths to spoil the movie!


Following are a couple of pictures I took yesterday of some of the Pennsylvania countryside we saw yesterday on our way to Fallingwater.

Forry took this picture this evening of the beautiful sunset and rather strange clouds we saw this evening as we left the theatre --

We found a great new place to eat this evening -- Quaker Steak and Lube.  It's fixed up like an old service station with lots of vehicles and motorcycles hanging from the ceiling.  Bill and Leslie really enjoyed their chicken wings and I had some of the best baby back ribs I've had all summer.  We got a nice surprise.  When I "checked in" on Facebook, I got a message that I got a free entree, so Forry's cheesesteak ended up being free!  They had really good deep-fried dill pickles too...

Fallingwater

Today we took the long drive (almost two hours) to see Fallingwater, the house built by Frank Lloyd Wright for the Kaufman Family who owned the store in Pittsburgh that is now Macy's.  From the exhibit at the Visitor's Center, Kaufman's store was the same sort of the store that the Crescent Department Store was in Spokane when we were growing up. The house was built over a thirty foot waterfall and is now a National Historic Landmark.

We were quite surprised to see all of the rhodedendrons in bloom in the grounds around the house --

 One of the volunteers told us that their wild rhodies bloom in July rather then in the spring like the ones we are used to in Washington State.

You have to make reservations ahead of time to tour the house -- at $20 per person.  No pictures are allowed to be taken inside the house (although you can purchase a $65 tour which allows you to take photographs for your personal use...).

Wright's idea for the house was to make it part of nature in a style he called 'organic architecture'.  It is actually built over the waterfall of Bear Creek and the sound of the water permeates the building. Built between 1936 and 1939, the house has cantilevered decks made of concrete.  Even now, seventy-some years later, it has a very modern look.

Time magazine has called Fallingwater Wright's "most beautiful job" and it is listed on the Smithsonian's "List of Things to Visit Before You Die."  You are taken through the house in groups of about 16.  At 1:30, we were already Group #39 today.  The house was a vacation home for the Kaufman's and their bachelor son Edgar, who gave it to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy in 1963.

S'Mores & Glass

Today was a very nice lazy day.  Bill and Leslie picked us up early this afternoon from our motel and took us to lunch at Panera, then we came back out to Raccoon State Park.  No hikes today!  Just a quiet afternoon of working on jewelry (Bill), doing suduko (Forry), watching an inch-worm crawl across her lawn chair (Leslie), or reading my Kindle.  Tonight Forry built a fire and we eventually had perfect coals for S'Mores.  

I think Forry likes them -- he actually ate two!

The best part was that Leslie has the patience to TOAST marshmallows --not burn them!  She did the extra-large marshmallows for all of us.

The last two days, I have had a chance to shatter the glass to finish the set of coasters that Bill is making for me (to replace the set Daughter Dawn talked me out of...).  You take a piece of colored glass;place it between two pieces of paper; then hit it with a hammer.  Then you CAREFULLY slide the broken pieces -- without disturbing the pattern -- onto a piece of clear glass which is already sitting in the kiln.  The top is replaced on the kiln and then it is fired to 1525 degrees.  This melts and fuses the colored glass into the clear glass, making these beautiful coasters.

Nine hours later, this is what you have! They get little clear feet on the bottom and you end up with something gorgeous.

A Walk in the Woods

After our last two days of playing in the big city of Pittsburgh, we decided that today would be a good day to hang around Raccoon State Park where Bill and Leslie and Serenity are parked.  I don't know how hot it was, but it was like being in a sauna when we were out in the woods.  I have lots of pictures of flowers, BUT I do not have a flower book with me -- let alone one from the Eastern part of the US! 


This log had some really neat fungi --

I do know what this flower is -- it's Hoary Skullcap (Scutellaria incana):

I guess if you have a VERY vivid imagination, the flowers look like little skulls?

The Wildflower Reserve is part of the State Park --

The ranger at Visitor's Center assured me that I would see Indian Pipe, which I have been looking for.  He even marked areas on the trails where he said he had seen it.  But, we never did find any! We hiked a good three miles and saw a lot of other things, but no pipes...



My special thanks tonight to Jim Guld of Geeks on Tour who figured out the problem I was having with posting to Blogger!  And my thanks to Leslie, who has been kind enough to post my draft blogs for me the last week while we have been in Pittsburgh.

The DUCK!

Here's a picture of the duck we rode on yesterday during our tour of Pittsburgh.  Thank you, Bill!

A "Just Ducky" Tour

Today we toured Pittsburgh -- both on land and water. Bill and Leslie have taken Just Ducky tours in both Seattle and San Francisco and were anxious to check out the franchise in Pittsburgh. They use World War II era landing craft boats that can also drive on land.

I cannot believe I did not get a picture of the duck itself! Bill says he got some pictures of it that he is going to email me that I can put in tomorrow's blog. The craft was full of people, we had to sit in the very back where there was no shade. They did give us umbrellas, but there was just enough breeze when we were moving to make them impractical.

We drove over the bridge we walked over yesterday and got a different view of the ball park --

This is the front side --

The girders of one of the 415 bridges in the City of Pittsburgh -- and they only count the ones that can carry vehicular traffic...

The downtown cathedral spire--

Another one of the bridges; this is one of three matching ones --

The headquarters of Pittsburgh Plate Glass, showcasing their wares --

An all-aluminum clad building with an exo-skeleton --

A statue along the river of Mr. Rogers in his knitted sweater, putting on his sneakers --

A very popular place on a hot day like today, this park stair-steps down to the river --

After the tour, we checked out some of the shopping areas. I've never seen so much Steelers and Pirates gear in one place! While we were inside, a huge thunderstorm went through. We waited until it slacked off to a gentle warm shower and then made a dash for the yellow Jeep. Bill and Leslie took us to Bahama Breeze for dinner. I think I've found a new favorite dining place! It was wonderful food (scallops, coconut shrimp and salmon) with delicious Key Lime pie for dessert (and this time the fellows only ordered one piece -- which they had to share with Leslie and me).

A Fun Day in Pittsburgh

When we were listing things we wanted to do while we were in Pittsburgh, one of them was to go to a Pittsburgh Pirates baseball game. Luckily, the Pirates had one last game after the convention before the break for the All-Star game and Bill was able to get us tickets. Parking for the game was on the other side of the Allegheny River from the ball park. The City of Pittsburgh actually closes one of the bridges so that the crowds can walk across to the game! Here's Bill and Leslie and Forry as we start across --

PNC Park is gorgeous! You look across the ball park to the skyscrapers of downtown. Bill got us great seats right behind home plate --

It was a good game for the home fans. The Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs 9-1. I spent the game at my usual pastime during baseball games -- keeping score.

After the game, we weren't real hungry, so decided to go to a Japanese restaurant. But as we turned on the street leading to it, we spotted a Joe's Crab Shack and immediately changed our minds! Maria, our waitress, quickly fixed us all up with bibs that she had autographed:

Forry looks VERY ready for the delicious lobster, snow crab and Dungeness crab that we shared amongst the four of us. We finished a great meal off with hot apple crunch and cinnamon ice cream that Leslie and I shared while the guys -- each -- had Key Lime Pie (the pieces were so big, they ended up with doggy bags).