Deer On The Beach!

In all of the years we've been going to the cabin at Rockaway Beach, this was a first.  


I was out on the porch doing some exercises when I looked up and saw deer on the beach!

I grabbed my camera for proof, and took these photos from the porch.

They were a bit skittish, and moseyed on down the sand and out of sight.  Then as were getting ready to leave they were back.

I don't know if the locals see this often or not, but it was new for me.


It's always good to experience something new.

Back Home Again

We left for the cabin at Rockaway Beach, Oregon, last Monday, and while we got home last night (Friday), today has been a busy day, so it will take me a while to catch you up on our adventures.


After a week of sun and heat in Seattle, the cool weather arrived, but I didn't mind the clouds and morning fog.  It was somehow soothing.  Our little old cabin endures.

 And the Twin Rocks still grace our beach and demand to have their picture taken.

Tides were just right for morning and evening walks.  We also ventured into the woods at Oswald West State Park, where the trees grow big in this temperate rain forest.

The old and decaying provide nourishment for the new and thriving.

 This way to the beach.

 Beach stones.

 And big trees.  These are Sitka spruce.

 Oh, fun!  A suspension bridge!

 And another path to the beach.

 Wildlife!

This evening Tom and I are drying out after attending a wet soccer    match at the stadium.  The rain held off for the first half, but then got serious and stuck around.  But with a 3-0 win over DC United, our spirits weren't dampened, just the rest of us.


Earlier today we attended Isaac's first soccer match.  But I'll have to get back to you on that.  It's getting late, and we have a family brunch to get to tomorrow morning.  I'll also try to catch up with what all of you have been doing, that is when I'm not going out to lunch or attending another soccer match.  Busy times, and I'm lovin' it!

Life Goes On, and So Does Summer

Summer may be winding down, but you can't tell around here.


Friday afternoons are early release days for school kids here in our district, meaning the kids get out an hour and a half early so the teachers can meet and plan and learn.  My dreams of grandmotherhood are coming true now, as we picked up the kids from school and they spent the afternoon with us.


We finally got to use that kiddie pool we have had stored in the garage for a long time now.  With temps in the mid eighties, it was the perfect way to have fun in the sun.

Yep, I got wet too.

Tad, our tech guy, has scrubbed our computer, and installed Windows 7.  Currently Carbonite is re-installing all of our saved documents.  It says it has three days to go.  So I am using Suzie, my little Acer net book, to publish this post.  It's not so efficient, but I think we're communicating now, after she quit on me once. This is a big job for her.


Today Tom and I were off to another Sounders match at the stadium.  We ate our hot dogs in the shade on the north entrance steps.  Not a bad view for dining.

With the anniversary of 9/11 tomorrow, the flag ceremony has special meaning, and all branches of the armed services were represented in the presentation of the colors.

At the 9th minute, until the eleventh minute, the crowd waved little American flags in commemoration of the anniversary.

The action on the field was fierce, and the 1-2 loss was disappointing, but we stayed to thank our players before heading for the shade, and iced lattes at Starbucks before coming home on the light rail.


Tomorrow we'll be doing laundry and packing up.  We're heading for the Oregon Coast Monday for a stay at the little red cabin at Rockaway Beach, and a stop in the valley to see my mom.


Hopefully tomorrow will be another peaceful late summer day, when we can all go about our business of enjoying our freedom.

Paying For Services

At the end of summer, in early September, when the days are hopefully still warm, we steam clean the carpets. It was that time again. When I mentioned it to Tom the other day, he sort of groaned, so I asked, "Would you like to pay to have it done this year?"  


"I would LOVE it!" he answered.  And so I assigned him to research a company and set it up.  Yesterday he used the online Yellow Pages and found several companies.  He called Coit first, a big company, and they were expensive and couldn't do it until the end of the month.  So he called Affordable Joe.  His price was better, his customer reviews were very good, and he could come tomorrow.


So this morning we cleared out the family room.

Joe, or his employee, arrived about 2:00 this afternoon and got right to work.  He cleaned the family room, the stairs and the up stairs hallway, and was done in about an hour.

It was 84 here today, and will be warm again tomorrow, so we'll soon have dry, clean carpets.


We had to pay more than when we rent a rug machine, but Tom is very happy to have had that job taken off his shoulders.  We've reached that stage when we will be paying for more and more services.  Good for us and good for the economy.

Summer Lingers

Here in the Pacific Northwest we waited for summer for a long time.  Finally, in August, it arrived. Now we've just had the most glorious Labor Day weekend.


That means back to school for kids and teachers and school staff all over the country.  Summer is over.


Tom and I had a quiet day yesterday.  I went for my walk early, before it heated up.  We read and napped and puttered. In the evening I needed to do something to mark this day as a turning point for so many, so we decided to drive over to Seahurst Park for a stroll and to watch the sun go down.

Picnickers lingered in the warm glow of the departing day.  Others were getting their kids home and to bed. I was experiencing a sense of melancholy, another summer over.  They do go too fast.

And yet for me, summer can linger.  I'm not going back to school and work.  I can enjoy these September days as the summer that came so late to us now seems in no hurry to leave us.

The 2011 Phosie-Gertie Picnic

Preparations began early for the big family gathering .  Thirty-two cousins and aunts and uncles and grandmas and grandpas are expected.  Gotta' get the corn shucked.

Time out for the annual cabin meeting for the Foster/Reeder part of the clan, descendants of Gramma Gertie. We had some missing members this year, but we welcomed Jill and family as new dues paying members of the owners and users group of the cabin. We voted to maintain status quo, feeling good to have met expenses for another year.

And about 2:00 our numbers swelled as the descendants of Phosie and guests arrived from up the hill and across the bay.


It was time for the raising of the Phosie-Gertie flag, embellished this year by a new tradition,

 ...the singing of the Phosie-Gertie anthem.

And then we corralled all the kids for the taking of the "formal" group portrait.

Next there was a water balloon toss, but since my partner and I were third last to go out, I didn't get photos of this traditional event.


Then on to the sand castle contest.  No tools allowed, use only what you find on the beach, and the theme this year is 'The Shipping Channel'.  So what do we see out in the main channel?

 Cruise ships, cargo ships, air craft carriers, whales!

 Time is up.  tell us about your creation.

 My co-judges, two fine young lads, awarded first prize the the whale team and their 'whale of a tale', 

 but they liked the air craft carrier too, and named them runners-up.

Quickly we grabbed the attention of the young set so Jill could send them off to the candy scramble, each equipped with their own name bag for holding the goodies she had scattered in the shade around the two cabins.

Tom, like his father before him, manned the grill.  Hot dogs, brats and hamburgers, corn on the cob, salads and fruit were served up.

 And of course there was dessert!

 The Awards section of the program came next.  There was only one presentation this year, the Annual Saddle shoe Award.  Why it's called that is a family secret, sorry.  But Jake, last year's recipient, presented it this year to his sister Jill, and her family, for moving back to the Pacific Northwest.

While Jill has been to many Phosie-Gertie Picnics, this was a first for Isaac and Irene.  They loved it.  Now we just have to get Corey out here.  Got a job to offer, anyone?

Good News and Bad

Let's start with some of the good news.

I had a bone density scan this morning at Group Health Central Clinic.  I have the report back already, via email:  Normal.  No sign of osteoporosis.

More good news - I have already taken off the two pounds I regained during the three week moving process.  The bad news is that I celebrated by having an ice cream sundae this evening.

Continuing good news - Tom repaired a small  wooden picnic table that Jill brought with her from Colorado.  We took that and a few other things we found around the house over to them this evening.  We collected hugs from the grand kids, visited a bit, and then came home.  So ordinary, so easy, so lovely.  I like this new normal!


And the bad news - During the dinner hour today someone took out our new, expensive, locking mail box, the one Isaac loves to go get the mail out of.  Our neighbor in front of us came and told us, having heard the crash.  He didn't see who did it, but there was our mail box, knocked over into the ditch and smashed.  It will have to be replaced.


Thanks, neighborhood driver, whoever you are.  I hope your vehicle is equally smashed.

Good School Report!

I just got the following report from Jill on e-mail:
Isaac and Irene found each other and then me at morning recess. They were happy and excited! Irene thinks everything is the best ever! 


And we also received this phone photo of them ready to go this morning.

Smiles all around!