BDIMTRG

Boy Did I Marry The Right Guy!
I figured I'd be the one scaling the ladder into the skylight and grumblinging until I had finished the painting job. Not only did Jack paint the skylight shaft, but the next thing I knew, he was rolling the walls as well for me! All I had to do was the trim work. Piece of cake.

Well, this is short as we are headed down I-5 once again. This time to deliver the van to Josh and visit with our girls. Yay!
(I don't have time to figure why this came out sideways......ciao!)

Time for a New Bra

I know, I know....talking about a new bra isn't what one would expect to see on a blog. Nor would one expect to see a photo of a bra cut up into pieces....but I'm not what people expect either. I hate buying new bras. (No, I don't buy old bras either even though the Good Will is my favorite store to shop at!)

I wish I had a dollar for every time I have gone bra shopping and turned up empty handed. They just don't make them to fit my body shape. Once again, I need to buy a bra. Grrrrrrrr. I decided that in order to get a new bra, I had to cut my old one up. This way, I cannot leave the store without one. I can't escape when the piped-in music drives me crazy. I cannot escape when the price tag sends me through the roof. I will chain myself to the display rack until I find something. I am so NOT looking forward to this shopping trip.

Sansevieria Blooms

I said I'd give an update on my sansavieria blooming, which has never bloomed before that I know of.

The asparagus-like spears more than doubled in size then formed dew drop looking droplets of stickiness. Yesterday, I saw one blossom. Throughout the day, I noticed I was sneezing and blowing my nose. Last night it got really crazy. I could smell a perfume odor in the air and figured something outdoors must be in bloom. All I knew was my allergies were in high gear.

As I was on the phone with my sister, I noticed the blossoms. Wow! That's where the perfume was coming from. They are beautiful, but the sweet odor was overpowering for me. They must shoot out their perfume more at night because they don't smell so much this morning.

Next Home Project

I decided it's time to paint the Guest/Main bathroom. I figured I didn't have to paint the skylight enclosure because it is already white. WRONG! Jack said I can't paint unless I do it right and "right" means to get up into the light shaft and paint it. Check out the angle the ladder has to be on just to climb up. And even with this, I have to suck it all in just to get past the opening.

If I didn't already have the paint, I'd shine on this paint job.

Straight up and not much room to move. Gulp.

Wenatchee, WA

I realize that I have posted photos from trips to Wenatchee before, but somehow, this city just keeps calling me. Eastern Washington tugs on my heartstrings in a way that no other countryside has ever done.

This is Castle Rock. Unless you are looking at it from a certain viewpoint, the castle blends into the hills.

A high school teacher, students, the City of Wenatchee and some businesses teamed up to enhance this area of town with a mural painted by the students. Each panel shows a different activity that the locals can enjoy in and around Wenatchee.

The electric company has built up a gorgeous park along both sides of the Columbia River. Not only are the trails great for walking, jogging, riding bikes, etc.; but the artwork along the way was to me a special bonus.

This was one big cat.

Tall poles were set with plywood on top so the osprey could make their nests. This one was busy hauling yet more sticks into this already huge nest.

There were lovely flower gardens along the way too. If anyone knows the name of this flower, please let me know.

This was looking up river towards where we stayed in Entiat.

It's windy along the river but it felt good to both of us.

This amazed me: at the County (or State) Park, they have these life jackets near the boat launch for people to borrow and put back when they are done using them! Free of charge; it was the Honor System. One more reason to want to live in Wenatchee.

As we were leaving, a pretty double rainbow graced the sky. It actually got brighter as time passed.

If anyone needs directions, just let me know. I may just want to hitch a ride with you!

Surprise Attack

My BFF, Sandy, just accepted a position as minister in Cashmere. Within 30 days time, she had to pack her lifelong belongings, clean her house to sell, organize the move of about 1200 miles and relocate her two dogs and two cats. Moving with her and helping with the details was her 30 year old daughter, Alyssa.

Their journey took three days and about ten times that number worth of stories to tell along the way. Settling in has been less than pleasant with horror stories to tell about their house! I'll spare you all the details, but one week later, they were both questioning their decision to move.

Enter me and my family and my friends to change Sandy's and Alyssa's outlook! The story in photos:

Before leaving home, I had to scramble to pick the boysenberries from our neighbors' bushes since they were on vacation and left the berries to us. MMmmmmm....

 Then to Washington where we stayed at Mom's one night then took her to Ina and Warren's lovely home in the San Juan Islands.

 It was really tough staying there two nights.

Did I mention that I had taught Ina to quilt not too very long ago? Check out the fabrics in her stash; whereas she had NO stash a few years ago.

She even made this lovely quilt to donate to Friends of Zanika to raffle off. The proceeds go to help rennovate Camp Fire's Camp Zanika Lache. Want to buy some tickets?... just let me know! 

Then over the Cascades to get ready for our surprise.

Mom, Ina and me along the Wenatchee River. It smells so good there. 

Through Leavenworth, which is a Bavarian style town which draws tourists from all over the place. It had grown a lot since I had been through there last.

 We drove through Cashmere and I waved, (just for Sandy and Alyssa!)

Then to the Columbia River headed to Entiat. Notice the trees are gone. It's as if they all fell off the hills and into the river, the change was so drastic.

The view from our house was absolutely gorgeous. The smells here were so different from up the highway by the Wenatchee River. Different and yet so amazingly wonderful.

Mom and Ina enjoying the HEAT!

Jack and Warren enjoying the view and the brew.

Here we all are at the only Mexican restaurant in town.

The food was delicious so we really lucked out.

Heading close to Cashere. This photo is so Sandy's SoCal friends can see the lay of the land where she is now living!

I was so excited, I could hardly contain myself. I was ready to jump out of the car and start jogging. Me, the NON-jogger! "Hurry up, Jack, drive faster!" (I can't believe I actually said those words. I'm usually yelling at him to slow down!)

We got there so early, we had to hide outside the church so Sandy wouldn't see our Oregon plates and figure out why I wasn't answering my home phone!

We all snuck in the back door until Sandy spotted Mom. It confused her at first, then she saw my curly gray hair and knew we were in not only her new town, but her new church as well!

(She would be the short one in green and white.)

From church, we went to Jan and Blake's home. They graciously offered their home for a bbq and our get-together so everyone could meet Sandy & Alyssa and spend time together.

Here the ladies are. Although we didn't post any "Men Not Allowed" signs, it was certainly a segregated group!

This is of the Maringo Road bunch. (Notice our hostess is the only one drinking. I think the stress of me having a party at her house must have forced her to tip the bottle!)

Here we are with three of my BFFs. I've known Sandy 40 years, Carmen 60 years and Jan 58 years.

Sadly, the gathering had to end and we headed back to Entiat. I loved this sign. I couldn't take my eyes off of the hills searching for the wild sheep but didn't see any.

The next day was saying good-bye to family, having lunch with Sandy and spending the rest of the day and evening with Jan and Blake. I'll report on that in my next blog. Wenatchee is such a cool city to visit that it deserves a posting of its own!

In the car on the way home, I discovered loose change at the bottom of my bag. Imagine my surprise to discover they were British pounds! Ina must have planted them in my bag as a hint that we need to plan a trip to England! Hmmmmm, Cornwall? Stonehenge? Doc Martin's village? Soggibottom? Big Ben? Sherwood Forest? Oh dear, this might take some fun sort of planning!, Thanks, Ina.

Outside of Ellensburg, the fields were ablaze with shades of green.

Over the hills towards Yakima and the hills started turning a rosy color behind the sage.

Leaving you with one photo of close to our home. Such diverse landscapes and all are equally beautiful. Dry or wet, brown or green or water blue.... we do live in a beautiful world.

Thanks Ina, Warren, Mom, Janice, Blake, Carmen, Jay, Sandy and Alyssa for a great time. I think I'll just leave my bags packed as we are headed for California in 10 days! Oh my!!

Scrappy Tablecloth

Some quilting friends and I got together a few years back to trade 6" squares we had all cut out from our green fabrics. We were all to go home and sew a tablecloth. I have been using mine at quilt shows in Jack's booth. Since he isn't doing shows any longer, I actually get to use it as a tablecloth! It washed up beautifully. I think I'll just make myself another one with more scraps. I have smaller leftover squares from all the market bags I've made. Hmmmm....

Introducing Hoppy

Those little tree frogs became great pets for the week.

They caught this one so many times they named him Hoppy.

 He didn't wiggle when they turned him upside down. (It didn't work for little boys, I tried it!)