From Hops to Happy

Starting out this morning from Yakima, WA, along the highway we saw a field where hops are grown.  It is recognizable from the poles used to support the plants vertically from 15 to 25 feet to expose them to more sunlight.  Hops prefer to grow in well drained soil in a temperate climate following a winter dormancy period, and are used by brewers of beer to achieve a desired bitterness, aroma, and the preservation qualities of beer.

The terrain for much of the morning consisted of flat high desert amid rolling hills and cultivated fields.  Occasionaly we spotted a sparsely situated home, farm. or business sprinkled amid vast stretches of land reaching out to the distant horizon.

We crossed the Columbia River into Oregon and the rain began in earnest.  Near Pendleton we saw a sign that read "Beware of Solar Glare" which seemed like a strange warning until we spotted solar panels spread across a hill.  Less explained was the name "Deadman Pass" that we traveled through which I researched to learn had acquired its name because of violent incidents that occured during the 1870s as travelers along the Oregon Trail were killed by Bannock or Paiute warriors. 

We stopped in Boise, Idaho, tonight as we felt weary from the rainy driving.  Plus today we crossed a time zone.  Perhaps it's psychological, but it seems the new later time made stopping a good idea, too!  The motel had TV dinners AND ice cream available in the lobby, so we didn't have to hunt down a supermarket nor a restaurant with our room having both a refrigerator and microwave.  Snoopy has settled into traveling quite nicely and he gave this latest room a decided vote of approval.  Jimmy's asleep and I am going to say good night to all.  We'll see what adventures tomorrow brings and hopefully we'll slip far enough south to escape the rainy weather.

 

Packing Up-Headed East

Moving 3,333 miles from Washington State to Florida is no easy task at this elder stage of our lives.  After almost five years in the same home and ten years in Washington we had accumulated a lot of things in addition to the possessions we always thought we could never part with for decades.  

Possessions are a funny thing as they accumulate because every acquisition becomes either attached to you via heartstrings or because you just might “need it” some day or because it previously belonged to someone whom you held dear.  Nevertheless, we managed over the course of a few weeks to either give away, donate or sell probably 75% of everything we own.  It was a freeing experience as if the weight of all those items was physically lifted from our shoulders.  The more we parted with the better we felt.

Now we are reduced to three U-Pack pods whose combined area is the size of a small bedroom.  A truck will deliver them to Florida and we have started a cross country trip with Snoopy who is also an elder at this point.  He traveled all day like the seasoned traveler he was in his youth.  We headed south on I-5 in a slight drizzle and made our way around Seattle on Hwy 405.  The rain was light on Interstate 90 and cleared by the time we reached Snoqualmie Pass with its scattered patches of snow.  We reached Ellensburg by lunchtime and ended today’s journey in Yakima.  Ready to rest, we found a Best Western just off Interstate 84.  A good day and a very nice spot to relax.

Saving Seeds

As fall approaches, it is evident that all things have preservation on their minds.  My cosmos flowers are producing mature seeds within the drying remains of the last of their blooms.  These flowers have produced an abundance of blossoms from the packet of seeds I procured at Butchart Gardens.  Now my goal is to claim enough seeds to repeat the pleasure of their presence again next year in my garden.

I collected the dried flowers with their pods of fat black seeds, and then gently persuaded the pods to release their bounty.  The remainder went to the back yard for my mother squirrel to peruse.  She too is bent on preservation, with evidence of the feeding of her young visible in two rows of nipples along her light gray belly.  She is thin from the effort and the dry, hot summer we are experiencing.

Whenever I connect with this world around my home, the pleasure it brings is immeasurable.  And for me, this is preservation.

A Job Well Done

This is a tale of two jobs accomplished in the short course of an hour with one miraculous machine and a very competent operator.  The completion of both jobs probably saved Jim and me from an early grave.

The first was the trimming of cedar tree branches growing over our roof.  The glorious cedars living behind our home have gotten too zealous in their reach toward the east to greet the rising sun. Extending their boughs at least six feet into the area above our roof, while the branches were not touching our house, they did have the potential for causing damage during a windy winter storm. What to do?

Reaching from the roof to trim them was definitely not an option.  We don't go up on the roof under any circumstance at our age.  No ladder could safely reach sixty feet into the air.  Trimming from the ground with a pole trimmer posed the danger of one of us being impaled by a branch.  It seemed like an impossible task!

Luckily, there are companies that have both the equipment and talent to do this with the help of a lift. That, and a couple of different types of chain saws, made this a twenty minute job that was accomplished safely.  Plus the limbs were quickly disposed of by a team of workers feeding a chipper.

After a few additional moments, the lift was repositioned to the front of our house when the crew learned of our additional dilemma-the need to reach the top of a thirty foot flag pole to restring it in order to fly a flag.  In quick order, the young man operating the lift was able to determine the empty pulley at the top of the flag pole was still functional.  He sprayed the pulley with some oil to make it work better, before treading a loop of cord through it that we provided.  Securing this cord safely at the bottom, we now had the ability to install a proper flag rope with hooks for a flag.

The tree trimming company did not have to do this, but they did while the equipment was on site.  A team of young men helped two old people with a task they had worried over for eighteen months, and without asking for an additional dime.  Nevertheless, a tip was in order.  We were very happy with the entire experience.

A couple of days later, we pulled the flag rope through the pulley using the cord, fastened the flag on its hooks, and proudly raised our stars and strips.  With a light positioned to illuminate the flag at night, we had completed our quest to utilize the massive thirty foot pole in front of our house for what it was intended to be used for-a flag pole.

In the process, we gained the pleasure of meeting a very nice team of young men who did both jobs superbly.  We are grateful for both jobs, and for them.

   

White-crowned Sparrow

Sometimes a moment of pleasure arrives in the most unexpected way.  Occasionally, it is even a shared pleasure.

After mowing the grass, weeding, trimming shrubs and watering my plants today for a rather lengthy time, I was finishing up with a rinse of the sidewalk and driveway in the front of our house.  Washing away the scattered dirt that had accumulated from my labor with this final act was a sort of mindless task, and I was feeling tired.

A small puddle of water formed at the end of our driveway during the process.  I was musing over the amount of water I was using for this cleanup, and tossing around the idea of about a gallon of water being somewhat frivolously put into the ditch to just dribble away, when a white-crowned sparrow landed in my puddle.

First he seemed to merely want a drink of water.  We've had no rain for about a month of any measureable amount.  I felt instantly better.  One of my favorite birds, and the most vocal of those who visit our birdfeeder, was happy with this excess water.  Then to my amazement, he decided a bird bath was in order.  He spent several minutes sloshing around in the water while fluffing his wings and tail feathers.  What satisfaction I now owned while watching his moment of pure pleasure in utilizing my no longer "wasted" water. 

Sometimes I think God sends little messengers like these to thank us for our efforts.  "Well done," rang in my imagination.  Suddenly, fatigue was replaced with gratefulness on a Sunday afternoon.

I believe the universe sings to us, if only we listen.    

The Doll House

Building any house is an experience.  Such an endeavor requires planning, decisions and perseverance.  A doll house is no exception.  After our last visit to Victoria's Miniature World, we have become fascinated with the idea of building one of our own miniature Victorian houses.  The scale is one inch of the doll house is equivalent to one foot of its counterpart in real life.  This provides some interesting sizes for everything from doorknobs and nails to wiring and furniture.  Because of our affinity for San Francisco in general, and the "Painted Ladies" in particular, we chose a kit that reflected the Victorian time frame and design.  It will stand about 42 inches tall.  The bottom is about 32 inches deep by 42 inches wide.  There are over a thousand pieces.  Hobby Lobby was the purveyor of this marvel on June 1st.

Jim started by reading the instructions.  Page after page of them.  It seems that the order of construction is one of the most important tasks to get right.  Just like in any construction (think  "recent kitchen remodel" here) we had to figure out what step would impact the next.  Overwhelming almost.  So we started slow.  Jim sorted the pieces and we began the job of painting the exterior walls.  This was a safe start because nothing at this point was being glued together.  BUT, we learned that even this step was not simple.  Each exterior wall had to be painted three times with a careful sanding in between.  This accomplished two things.  The paint adhered better and the finish feels silky smooth.

I started painting the exterior doors (in four colors) and stained a table from one of the furniture kits while the exterior paint dried.  Fun, but very precise, detailed painting to get it right.

By now (June 17th) we were so enthralled, we stacked up some of the walls on top of the foundation to visualize some progress.  The base was painted a grey color with texture added to mimic cement.  The whole project is located in the area just off our new kitchen that we call the "keeping room" after some British series we've seen on television.  There was not enough room in either of our hobby rooms in the house nor the shed for a project of this size.

By July 1st, we had first floor wood and tile flooring installed.  A neighbor, who stopped by and saw our creation, kindly donated a round rug to the mix.  Wow!  It really felt like progress.  Again we had to hold up some walls to get a feel for what was evolving.

Between then now on July 14th, Jim has completed the first floor electrical wiring and wall paper.  The floors are permanently fastened down with glue.  We also found a doll house store in Vancouver, B.C. that yielded more goodies.  We now have Victorian living room furniture, an antique camera, more carpet and wall paper, along with a dining room ensemble in hand.  (Not to mention a long list of other possibilities now added to our list of desired future acquisitions for the house along that line.)

We'll keep you posted as we make progress on this intriguing new hobby.

The Demise of a View

 

Last year on my birthday, and again this year, it seemed like we dined at the top of the world overlooking the breadth of Vancouver in a full 360-degree circle from atop the Empire Landmark Hotel in its revolving Cloud 9 Restaurant.  Next year, it will not exist.  At the end of September-the hotel, the restaurant, and the view will be gone.  The building is being demolished.  It will be replaced with condominiums.  Then, only a few will enjoy the spectacular vista this site afforded.

In just a year since our first visit, it seems that much of older Vancouver is being demolished for high-rise, high-priced buildings.  At $500 per square foot (as best as we can determine the going rate to be currently)-only the well endowed will enjoy the pleasure of downtown living in Vancouver.

Nevertheless,  is a lovely place.  The city streets are pleasant to walk.  The restaurants are plentiful and varied.  The cultural options, like museums and plays, are enticing.  As I said earlier, the trees and parks, such as Stanley Park, are divine.  If I won the lottery, I'd be first in line for the next new condominium.

In spite of the restaurant's impending final curtain, dinner was delicious.  Resigned to their ultimate fate, the staff were attentive.  Some will retire.  Others said they plan to move elsewhere.  Night after night, some have been there enjoying their clientele and the view for more than twenty years.  Like them, I will miss what I have enjoyed, if only for two.

There is another revolving restaurant in Vancouver.  This may prove to be yet another adventure if we continue the tradition of traveling to Vancouver in July.  It may be even dreamier than this and with the same magnificent sunset.  Only time will tell.

If it is, I'll share the experience with you.