Amy Trotter finds her "happy"

Here's the moment we've been waiting for all summer.  Amy Trotter's big screen debut, starring in a promotional video for the Central Washington State Fair.

Amy makes it look easy, but this short film required months of practice and rehearsal. I had some Access Hollywood insider information about the challenge of adapting canine training techniques to the porcine personality.  For piggies, sweet treats are much more effective than pats and praise (doggies.)

Actually, to say Amy is "food-motivated" is a bit of an understatement.  It sounds like she will do just about anything for a single gum drop, the ultimate incentive held in careful reserve for training emergencies by Lori, her owner.

Lori said Amy Trotter did not care for that plain old pile of corn they tried to tempt her with during filming. No wonder! That's food for farm animals, not movie stars.  But like any good professional, Amy made a show of eating it.  She also pretended to have fun on the twirly ride with Lori, although that wasn't quite her thing.

Well, we knew her when she was just an upstart piglet at a dog show.
And what's next for Miss Amy Trotter, actress?

Bring it on

Yesterday was the last warm and sunny day in Seattle for the foreseeable future.  We woke up this morning to the sweet and unfamiliar sound of rain.  I'm propped up in bed listening to raccoons rummaging and wrestling around on the wet ground.  They are happy.  Today's rain is just an appetizer for the weekend.  We're supposed to be hit with a November-type storm that should bring large amounts of rain to the dry mountains and help the firefighters in central Washington. We are happy.

Ironically, we had a excursion planned this weekend to get out of Seattle. I'd been looking forward to it for a long time.  Our friends Betsy and Paul had invited us over to spend the day at their Hood Canal cabin, but with 5 inches of rain falling on the Olympic peninsula tomorrow, we took a genuine rain check. 

I have plenty to keep me busy inside this weekend, starting with a basket of pears waiting to be transformed into the magic of pear-walnut chutney.  Enjoy these last days of summer.

Smoke

Unfortunately, it doesn't take long for new bad news to supplant old bad news, and the wildfires have fallen by the wayside in the national media.  But they're still growing, and the Okanagan complex fire is now the largest in state history. 

As far as daily life in Twisp goes, the story is smoke.  Amanda and Tom are working and the kids have to stay mostly indoors. But Amanda said everyone is doing OK, despite this pathetic little picture that "Opa" (Grandpa Jerry) took today. 

We are praying for rain across the state. It looks like we'll get some by the weekend.   Our air is much better than it was over the weekend. I ran across this startling video of the "smoke front" that moved into Seattle on Saturday. 

Apologies to T.S. Eliot

A clever parody of Eliot's famous poem, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, was written by Stanley Bing for Fortune Magazine in April 2008.  I ripped it out and stuck it in my Collected Works of T.S. Eliot, where I found it by accident last night.

Just in case there's any doubt left that history repeats itself.


The Love Song of A. Banker Foostock

-- Let us go then, you and me,
As all our liquid funds float out to sea
Like stale bread crumbs cast upon the water;
Let us go, through certain downtown streets,
Littered with dead spreadsheets
That lent an air of reason to stupidity,
The shine of fiscal prudence to cupidity;
Streets that bend and wind like a rationale
Offered by our mercantile cabal
That lead you to an overwhelming question...
Oh, come on and quit your pouting!
Let us go and make our outing.
In the room the brokers come and go
Talking of my portfolio.

Click this link to read on...

Two ways to salvage a bad day

"Spanky" and "Belle" making us happy

 Dolly and I had a nice trail ride in North Bend yesterday...

And warm fresh plum cobbler for dessert...which seemed to make John pretty happy, too. 

Stock market?  Huh? What's that?

Season of plenty?

I'm glad I drank my coffee for a few minutes in the dark before I fired up the home media to unrelenting bad news: the stock market in a nose dive, fires still raging in central Washington, the air quality here worse than Bejing.  I turned off the TV.

Well, at least the smoke is clearing out of western Washington today, but not for our dear ones on the other side of the mountains, who are still in the very thick of things.  Amanda and Tom are home and working this week, but it will be a long time until things return to normal in Twisp.

But consider our blessings and small pleasures. Everyone is safe and healthy, there will be something good for dinner tonight and good wine to drink. Hey, what else is there?  And this hot summer has served up an abundance of shared produce.  Our neighbors pear tree is dripping with gorgeous fruit and I lugged a bucket home yesterday. There are zucchinis galore on this block. 

The plum tree surprised and delivered enough fruit for three big batches of chutney with plenty of fruit left to share with friends.  What a treasure that tree is, despite all the abuse it gets.

I've been canning like crazy this week, the best cure ever invented for stress. And what prettier sight than all these sparking jars lined up in the basement?

Don't worry, be happy

Maya and new friend "Cuddles"

Nothing like a mustache party to keep your spirits up!

Amanda and the girls are still in Leavenworth staying with friends. They plan to go home Sunday if conditions keep improving in Twisp (cross your fingers.) Tom went back to the house yesterday. As you can see everyone is doing fine.  Thanks for the pictures, Amanda!

Guess who?

Twisp River

The Red River Twisp

The Twisp River Fire grew overnight from 1,500 to 16,000 acres and is now a part of the Okanogan Complex. It is about 38 percent contained, but new fires overnight are stretching resources thin.  It sounds like many buildings have burned in the Twisp-Winthrop area.  Unfortunately, it will be another dry, windy day.   From the look of the Twisp River, they've dumped plenty of red fire retardant in the area to keep the fire from reaching town.  Today will be critical until the winds finally die down.

Amanda and family are still camping in Leavenworth, and she says thanks for all your good wishes.  I'll post any new news as it comes along...

The best mood lifter?

Nothing beats ice cream! 
(Photo sent from Amanda's phone in Leavenworth. )

Family update

Thanks everyone for your calls, emails and text messages.  Sorry I don't have any real news about the fire. The situation is so unpredictable no one can even guess what might happen. It's frustrating trying to get new information, even here in Seattle.  But we know the fire-fighters are doing everything possible to save Twisp.  The fire is still on the outskirts, but the winds are potentially a big problem this afternoon and tomorrow.

I've been in touch with Amanda (the blessing of text messing!) and they're OK.  They went back to their house briefly this morning to pick up some essentials and are driving now to the town of Leavenworth pulling their little travel trailer. They plan to camp at someone's home with a group of other displaced friends. Misery loves company!

This is a sobering Google "fly-through" of the Washington fire situation.

Fire news

Near Twisp last night

Tom, Amanda and the girls left Twisp yesterday afternoon on short notice.  Amanda sent me a text this morning saying they are tired but safe, camping in their trailer near the town of Pateros.   The fire (not related to the Chelan fire) suddenly exploded yesterday along the Twisp River Road outside town, triggering mandatory evacuations in Twisp and Winthrop.  The firefighters who were killed yesterday were local. It is very tragic.  There was a tremendous loss of property in the Methow Valley last summer, but no loss of life, so this is especially sad for the community. Unfortunately, strong dry winds are predicted for the next two days. This morning they are trying to keep the fire from reaching town. I'll keep you posted as more news comes in.

Grandmother's garden

Grandmother's Garden

Lydia Field Emmet 

Since we have somewhat of a clean slate (also called a mess) in the backyard,  I asked a garage building contractor to come out and make suggestions.   Ed was a nice guy from reputable company and he seemed to know his stuff, especially regarding pushing the Seattle building codes to the legal limit.  He suggested (surprise!) a two-car garage with extra parking spaces in front.  He gave us an estimate.

Well, you really can't shock us anymore on what home improvements cost in Seattle, but I was a pretty overwhelmed by the scope of the project: the demolition, excavation of the backyard with heavy machinery and then concrete pours, plus construction of a new cement wall along the alley.  Of course the plum tree would go, the climbing hydrangea, the fig tree and other things like the brick patio.  I guess who cares, if your heart's desire is a 2-car garage?

It would take up most of the backyard real estate. I could already anticipate the fine irony of stepping off the deck into a building as big as our living room, kitchen and dining room combined.  Maybe I could cook Thanksgiving dinners out there, instead of on my 2-square feet of kitchen counter?

It would also open up a Pandora's box of outdoor projects like landscaping, new patio building, fences and deck repair. As I say, overwhelming, and the final cost kept ticking up, up, up.   Ed pointed out that a large garage would raise the property value.  But how about the architectural integrity of a little century-old bungalow? 

Does wabi-sabi even have a place in a Urban Village, where every inch of real estate must be maximized?

But we can't turn back the clock to this again, so it's back to the drawing board...

Our girls

Maya (almost 3) and Nova, 6 years old.
Proof that time is indeed flying by...

Weekend highlights

Little visitors outside our motel room yesterday.

The chocolate coconut pecan cake weighing in at 15 pounds (no kidding) from the 5B's gluten-free bakery in the town of Concrete.  It was amazing!!

A morning walk and picnic at the Mazama Suspension Bridge along the Methow River.

Checking out the salmon below.  A couple of giant Chinook cruised by underneath and headed up a tiny tributary.  An honor really to witness the very end of their long journey up the Columbia River.

Family portrait...

Maya and the much too-low river...

And an ominous sight on the drive home.  An enormous fire plume flared up about 30 miles south of Twisp.  We lost power last night for about 5 hours. Hopefully no repeat of that tonight-- headed home tomorrow over the North Cascades Highway. 

Keep on the sunny side

These girls are the sight I'm craving.  We have some August birthdays to celebrate and are headed across the mountains tomorrow to visit the family.  Is this possible?  We haven't left Seattle since the reunion back in June.  No wonder I've been in a slump. A change of scene (and our girls) sounds like just the ticket.

As far as unwelcome sights go, this curtain cheered me up yesterday.  It does a great job of blocking the view of the alley and construction zone when I sit at the kitchen table.  Or walk around in my nightgown.  It's pretty simple really. If you don't want to look at something-- don't.

I went to that rather awful Bed, Bath and Beyond store yesterday. It's filled to the rafters with useless things but I was pleasantly surprised you could still buy old-fashioned spring curtain rods and cafe curtain tiers.  And a nice old-fashioned saleslady helped me pick some out.  I guess there's nothing more important in life than finding the little things that make you happy. 

Dark side of the moon

This little cosmic treat on YouTube shows the dark side of the moon sailing across the Earth.
 


NASA made the video from a compilation of images taken by the Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera on the DSCOVR satellite, designed to observe Earth's climate from a million miles away. It gives a unique, big picture view of our solar system.  In 1959 the Soviet spacecraft Luna 3 transmitted the first images of the dark side of the moon back to Earth.  It was called the dark side because it was unknown.

Speaking of climate, we had some unusual thunderstorms in Seattle yesterday and a bit of rain. Only enough to wet down the dust, but still the most rain we've seen since April.  Unbelievable.

I've lost motivation with outside watering. It looks like a roadside bomb went off in the back yard and I'm having a hard time coping with this new exposed feeling. I just don't want to be out there.  It's silly because most people live like this, but I miss my garden sanctuary.  Even the birds are quiet in the morning now.

So I've spent a lot of energy this week trying to find a "handyman" who is not above doing some rough repair work on the garage.  Seattle is in the middle of an "unprecedented building boom," and no one in the construction trade is hungry for work. They can be as snotty and dismissive as they want to women on the phone.  The fence company guy did come out yesterday and will gave us a bid, but he said they are at least 5 weeks out on work. It's going to be a long time till things feel somewhat normal again.

Cherry tomatoes

Cherry Tomatoes

Suddenly it is August again, so hot,
breathless heat.
I sit on the ground
in the garden of Carmel,
picking ripe cherry tomatoes
and eating them.
They are so ripe that the skin is split,
so warm and sweet
from the attentions of the sun,
the juice bursts in my mouth,
an ecstatic taste,
and I feel that I am in the mouth of summer,
sloshing in the saliva of August.
Hummingbirds halo me there,
in the great green silence,
and my own bursting heart
splits me with life.

By Anne Higgins

Happy Birthday, Amanda

 

And the seasons, they go round and round...