Flotsam & Paperboats

I am Heartbroken

2009-08-27T01:53:00.000-07:00

Senator Edward M Kennedy speaks to the Alaska Democratic Party Convention in Sitka on April 7, 1968, right after the assassination of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr.

Rest in Peace Dear Lion... You will be missed.

Chasing the Sun to Wenatchee

2009-08-23T19:19:00.001-07:00

After being on the road for three July weeks, to Minnesota and back, we arrived home in northwest Washington state to drenching rains. Not yet ready for that, I headed right back across the Cascade Mountains and into Eastern Washington.

Stevens Pass takes one through "Harry & the Hendersons" country, into Leavenworth,

and at this summer date, past Cashmere's pear orchards.

Early the next morning, I drove into Picture Canyon. I kind of have a thing for Forest Service and dirt roads... .Whitetail deer were about,

as were plenty of quail... .

Picture canyon is just that... picturesque... .

The lunch hour and a grumbling tummy led me back to Wenatchee and into Lemolo http://takeoutnetwork.com/lemolo/index.htm for apple-onion soup & secret tuna salad on toasted rye... yum!

I headed home along, first, the Wenatchee River

followed by the Skykomish.

And all is well with the sun and the rain.

Fences Along My Way

2009-08-22T16:42:00.001-07:00

I drove from Wenatchee early one August morning to Mission Ridge
and into Picture Canyon.

There, rows of sunflowers formed fences along the dirt road,

as did barbed wire in various forms... .

I thought birds were perched on each post... faucet handles!

Here's looking at you too, Dude :)

This reminded me of a great book I once read - Stones for Ibarra by Harriet Doerr.

Do people today know that places like Monitor Washington exist?

I bought Limata and listened to Salsa here.

For the Love of Gooseberries!

2009-08-09T18:38:00.000-07:00

I came to love gooseberries as a small child toddling along at my grandmother's side on western Puget Sound. She only had two small bushes and so the wee bit of jam they produced was a real treat for us. Sigh... I've rarely seen or even heard these tart, but divine, berries mentioned since those long ago days.

On our recent road trip to Minnesota, my sister happened upon - yes! - two small gooseberry bushes growing in the cemetery at the church where grandma had been baptised in 1889. Gooseberries have been on my mind ever since, I found some at a produce stand in the Skagit Valley today, and now I shall go make a tart!

But first... curious as to why gooseberries are seemingly uncommon, I was excited to find this article at Saveur.com http://www.saveur.com/article/Kitchen/The-Lemons-of-the-North. I'm not sure how much applies to Northwest Washington, but I enjoyed the reading. I also looked at recipes and this one at Diana'sDesserts.com appeals to me most. I'll let you know!http://www.dianasdesserts.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/recipes.recipeListing/filter/dianas/recipeID/1314/Recipe.cfm

A Parsonage in Rural Minnesota

2009-08-08T12:21:00.000-07:00

I love that this turn-of-the-century parsonage has lovingly been left intact. It whispers to me of early life in America's Heartland, of simplicity and hardships, of values and people gone by.

Raymond Carver

2009-08-07T23:40:00.000-07:00

View from Raymond Carver's grave/ Port Angeles Washington
~~~
"At Least" by Raymond Carver

I want to get up early one morning,

before sunrise. Before the birds, even.

I want to throw cold water on my face

and be at my work table

when the sky lightens and smoke

begins to rise from the chimneys

of the other houses.

I want to see the waves break

on this rocky beach, not just hear them

break as I did all night in my sleep.

I want to see again the ships

that pass through the strait from every

seafaring country in the world -

old, dirty freighters just barely moving along,

and the swift new cargo vessels

painted every color under the sun

that cut the water as they pass.

I want to keep an eye out for them.

And for the little boat the plies

the water betwen the ships

and the pilot station near the lighthouse.

I want to see them taking a man off the ship

and put another up on board.

I want to spend the day watching this happen

and reach my own conclusions.

I hate to seem greedy - I have so much

to be thankful for already.

But I want to get up early one morning, at least.

And go to my place with some coffee and wait.

Just wait, to see what's going to happen.