August!

August has been a mixed month...perfect weather and extreme heat, health and painful teeth, beauty and ashes, unhurried days and eager anticipation. 

PNW is the rose capitol of the world!

Gram G's everblooming rosebush! 

Not roses, but lovely!

Recently I went to work outside, to enjoy a quiet Saturday morning pulling weeds out of my front lawn while the clouds shaded the sun and the temperature was mild.  

In the quiet I saw and heard a few service  trucks rumble by, a fufu dog yapping because its owner was gone, a baby crying, a chain saw sawing,  someone running a leaf blower, and the sound of a cosmic drill shattering a tooth for about 10 minutes. Truthfully, I was gratified for the sound of surrounding life!

  The rabbits have discovered that if they time it just right (the red pepper treatment has worn off)  Gram G's lawn is an endless free buffet, outhouse  and all night orgy. One late evening I looked out my window to see 2 on the lawn and another in the street. The result is a lawn blemished with brown patches.  They are even too scrawny  to make hasenpfeffer. Where are the resident coyotes
 when you need them? 

(photo from a Creekside resident)

Off on a rabbit trail...speaking of coyotes... there is a pack that live behind the park in a "wet land".  Sometimes one can hear them howling.  It is a spooky, unearthly sound.   Shortly after I moved in here I saw one standing in a driveway in the daylight.  A few years ago some of us were Christmas caroling, walking through the park.  Soon about 3-4 coyotes starting "singing" with us!

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I don't normally post other folks adventures but this one is unique .  My Indiana niece and her husband have finished Day 25 of The Camino de Santiago in northern Spain. 

Susan is the daughter of my oldest sister, Joan, who passed away almost 2 years ago.   

(I love the cow!)

The Camino de Santiago, or the Way of St. James, is an ancient pilgrimage trail originating in medieval times. Made up of a vast network of roads and paths, pilgrims travel these to arrive at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela

For a prepared and experienced hiker, this route takes about 30 days start to finish, covering nearly

500 miles.

Burgos, Spain

I believe Eric and Susan plan to walk the entire 500 miles. They walk approximately 10 miles per day. I'm eager to follow them through their postings on Facebook. And keep updates here on the blog.

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Vancouver recently experienced a 3 digit heatwave.  I had to feel the 106 degrees, the highest in my life. One minute or less was plenty before scurrying back into AC!

So what does one do when inside bound for 4 days.

How about gnome spa time?

So nice to have the family together again!

In case you need to cool off you can buy your Thanksgiving cards at Freddy's before they are gone!

There are local signs that there is a change in the air and weather!

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This is TROG, the tree frog!  You may see more of him as time goes on!  He has BIG plans!

Though he is quite small!

Where's Trog?

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Friday, August 18, I endured a 2 hour traumatic torturous dental procedure to remove an old permanent bridge and prep teeth for a new one. 😬  It involved the tooth that had the root canal 2 weeks before.  The decay went deeper than the dentist thought.  The past week has been one of recovering from physical, emotional and financial trauma...which means pain meds, home cooked chicken soup, naps, movies, naps, movies and anticipating fun family activities to come.  I think recovery is on the horizon!  

What is the fun family anticipation?  

Well, it's still anticipation.  Check back soon to find out what!

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My heart goes out to Kahana, her family and all the people of Maui.

 West Maui is her home and she has lots of family there.  They were protected and blessed for all the family is accounted for.

I am grateful I was able to visit there last March and experience all the beauty.  

Lahaina is where we boarded our whale watching excursion.  We ate in one of the tourist restaurants, took pictures of the Banyan tree and I bought a shirt in one of the small stores on Front Street.

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A Late Summer  Burger Outing...

Hidden Bay Cafe on the Columbia River

Owner's little girl liking the music! 

Summer work for Micaela and Angie...

REFLECTIONS   

It's probably been 5-6 weeks dealing with this infected tooth and its consequences. It still isn't completely resolved.  It drags me down and makes it difficult to accomplish anything. 

So much is "in between".  But life is more than teeth problems and accomplishments.  This has made me slow down and simply live; to have time to consider what is important to me...what is the legacy I want to leave behind. (One starts pondering that when one is in her last quarter of life here on earth.) I know I already have a marvelous legacy of our "Magnificent Seven", their mates and progeny.  But who am I as an individual?  I have a few accomplishments in mind.  I'm excited to see which one/ones come to reality!

      This has been a good 4 weeks in the life of Gram G.

"Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. Our God is a God who saves."  (Psalm 68:19)

Summer Surprises..!

Our Family enjoys visiting Cannon Beach on the Oregon coast with Haystack Rock.  

A couple years ago Debbie, Angie and I spent a ladies' weekend there.

Low Tide

High Tide

Not Your Everyday News...

The thing of Legends!!

(Facebook photo)

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What does one do when it is too hot to be outside, there are no immediate airplane trips to plan for, social dinners are completed, no one coming to visit and one is on antibiotic for an infected tooth? 

PROJECT TIME!!!

Working on Maui album!  Oops, suppose to be a surprise...

Well, Indy folks will be surprised when they actually get it!!!

Fun to relive all the Maui adventures!

 

How to use lots of eggs and misc. food stuff that need using...

Egg bake for One!!

I was going to make a half recipe but decided to go for the dozen eggs.  With all the fussing I'm glad I did. Refrigerated half...4-6 servings...and froze the other half in single servings

(It froze well and stayed juicy)

I have enjoyed several fancy brunches on the back deck of my Vancouver summer vacation home! 

The past few weeks I've worked with a 92 year old lady to format a  musical skit she made up....all the info residing in her head. It has been a challenging, fun project.  She has been eager to get it all on paper so she can do what she wants with it. We got it finished, not totally professional, but enough to make her happy. Over the winter months we worked out a more complicated song she composed and had me figure out how to put it to the rhythm she heard in her head. Double challenging! This work has actually be quite rewarding.

Saw these at a local store.  I remember how much fun it was for the young'uns to play in and for me to watch!

Did Gram G finally make it to the summer spa??

NOPE!!!

Root canal time.  Healing has been slower than I hoped.  Probably need another procedure.

Sure cure for whatever ails you...homemade rotisserie chicken dumpling soup!  Very tasty!

Beware!!  Those unseen Pokémon critters are still randomly around!! 

August 1st featured the first of  two super moons for the month.

Around 11PM I sat out on the front porch for a few minutes, gazing at the rising moon.  The temperature was mild, a gentile breeze rocked the flowers in the  hanging basket, a cricket serenaded nearby, no mosquitos or skinny rabbits in the yard.  The echo of the Interstate mimicked the ocean waves.  A perfect late evening, only missing a lake to reflect the golden moon!  And perhaps a sweetie to share it with!

REFLECTIONS

I am astounded that August is already here! They say time goes faster as we get older, but I don't remember getting older.  Maybe that is not good! It has been good, though, to have a slower, relaxed pace this summer.  I'm starting to appreciate not being stressed because of "hurry". I guess it's a necessity and perk of being a senior. 

  

This has been a good 3 Geogram weeks in the life of Gram G.

"Yours is the day, yours also the night; you have established the heavenly lights and the sun. You have fixed all the boundaries of the earth; you have made summer and winter."  (Psalm 74:16-17)