Cake

 

I'm a not much of a baker, except when I get on a roll with Christmas cookies. But I found this super easy chocolate bundt cake recipe on the Internet. My kind of scratch baking-- everything dumped and mixed in the same big bowl all at once-- no creaming oil and sugar or sifting the dry ingredients. 

I used Hershey's extra dark cocoa powder and buttermilk makes cake moist. Anyway, it's a big cake so I froze half for "later." Which may come sooner rather that later. There is something comforting about plain chocolate cake.

3 cups flour, 2 cups sugar, 2/3 cup cocoa powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tbs. baking soda, 2 eggs, 1 cup buttermilk, 1 cup vegetable oil, 1 tbs. vanilla, 1 cup boiling hot water. Greased bundt or tube pan, 350 degrees for about an hour. That's it. Whipped cream would be perfect. 

Well, summer was fun while it lasted. We're suddenly 30 degrees cooler after Monday's mini heat wave.

 

Carry their weight

 

Maya and Nova last week on the family backpacking trip at the Olympic coast.  Carrying 6 days worth of food, clothing, camping equipment etc. Memories are made of this. 

 

So we dropped from 90 degrees yesterday afternoon to 50 this morning with a brisk, chilly breeze. So long heat wave.

It was fun (not) while it lasted.   

Some like it hot

 

And most don't. The mini heat wave ends tomorrow when we go right back to the cool 60's. But the roses have been waiting for this moment to finally get some warmth on their faces. 

The stems on this old white plant are freakishly long-- over a yard. What a wedding arrangement that would make. The rampant stem growth from weeks of rain, then a burst of heat to force the bloom. The garden looks glorious and for once the "good" plants have forced out most of the weeds. Of course, getting the "good" plants cut back in the fall is another massive job.

Anyway, we love the warm weather in this house. Instead of heading downstairs after dinner with a fleece blanket, I actually sat outside after dinner in the warm sunlight. It doesn't get dark until 10 o'clock and people must be out carousing all night. In the morning we wake up to more news of multiple shootings. Even in once quiet West Seattle we hear sirens all around us. Makes a person just want to stay home.

June 27th already. Where has the month gone?

Myths and facts

 

A relic from the past. That's a bit of knob and tube wiring from our basement, looking like something from Roman times. On the bright side, it's been doing its job for over a century. Although now that I've educated myself, I'm glad I lived in ignorance for 40 years.

If you're interested click HERE for "myths and facts" regarding knob and tube. In our case, you can check off all the reasons why it could be "harmful." Time for an upgrade to the 21st century. 

Oh what a beautiful morning in Seattle! Wild horses couldn't get us out of west Seattle this weekend with I-5 south bound closed for construction. I went to the grocery store early and having my tires rotated at 11. Even the most mundane errand a pleasure on a bight summer morning. Temperature today in the perfect mid-70's. Up to 80 tomorrow for the first time since September 2021.

See you Monday.

Who can blame us?

 

It's been such a cold, wet spring, who can blame us for getting excited about the first heat of the summer.  Of course heat, like time, is relative. What would be a refreshing day in Las Vegas brings out the warnings in Seattle on how to protect yourself from the heat. 

Truth be told, people do stupid things here when it gets in the 80's, like drown in ice cold rivers and lakes. Fortunately this "heat wave" will be short-lived and nothing like the triple digits we had exactly a year ago.

There's a construction project on I-5 and other big events going on in Seattle, so a good weekend to stay on the island. We have friends coming over for dinner Saturday. Other than a few small family gatherings, we haven't entertained here for over two years. Between the pandemic and the detour, which seemed like cruel and unusual punishment inviting friends from across town. Speaking of The Bridge, the latest estimate for reopening is September, but we'll believe it when we see it. 

In other news, we decided to go with the local electrical company that gave us a bid yesterday. They estimate it will take a full week to replace all the old wiring, every single outlet, etc. etc. 

At least on the surface, he said there's nothing unusual about rewiring this old house, but having gone through multiple construction projects I can tell you there will be some surprises. One unknown is how much they'll cut into the ceiling and walls to string the new wire. (There's a different company for fixing the wall damage left behind. Thank you very much.) 

We're also responsible for pulling furniture and beds away from the walls. That’s a huge hassle because we have some heavy, bulky stuff that hasn't been moved in decades. And all the stuff is full of stuff. Anyway, at this point the project is scheduled for mid-July.

Time flies

 

 

Time is relative, which might be why the month of June flies by and January drags on forever in the Northwest. Our tomato plants look bushy and healthy despite the cold weather. We have the best place to grow tomatoes against the hot, dry south wall. But they need to be watered almost every day. 

I used the Mater Magic fertilizer again which I swear by, even though the granules are like gold-- $6 for a little plastic bottle. Last year, when it was so hot, we had an amazing bounty from just two potted plants.

Speaking of "what things cost" which is on everyone's mind these days, an electrical contractor is coming today to give us a estimate (gulp) on rewiring and updating this old house. 

Built in about 1918, our house has a mish-mash of wiring, including some original knob and tube. When John hands down the Christmas boxes, I see the exposed wires strung out in the attic crawl space over our heads. To a person who knows zero about house wiring (me) it looks terrifying. But as he says, it's been working for over 100 years and knob and tube is not necessarily unsafe. Still, if we ever wanted to sell the house or do a major remodel, it needs to be upgraded. There's no way that mess would pass even the sloppiest home inspection.

Drizzle this morning, but high eighties by next week. Summer finally arrives. Woo-hoo. 

 

 

Summer travel

 

 

It's unusual for us not having a single trip on the books until Palm Springs in early 2023. On the other hand, summer travel looks more nightmarish than fun this year. All those last minute flight cancellations along with crazy expensive hotels and restaurants. You get to an age when you start to wonder, is it worth the money and effort? 

 

We've had so many wonderful vacations and I'm glad we went to those places when we did. Napa Valley was a regular trip for years and fairly easy with cheap flights to Oakland.  We always stayed at funky, friendly Dr. Wilkerson's Motel in Calistoga. During the pandemic, it was converted into a boutique spa $$$ hotel. 

 

This is one of the fancied up king rooms where we often stayed for about $80. Fresh paint on the cinder block walls, but basically the same motel room. If we ever went back to the Napa Valley, we'd probably spend most of the time talking about how things have changed since the 90's. Which is kind of boring. And certainly dates us.

 

Anyway. Now we have a vacation house in luxurious Twisp! Not exactly the Napa Valley and not exactly a bargain either, but at least a place to get away without an airplane. Summers in the Northwest (when they finally arrive) tend to be beautiful-- not too hot, never humid, few bugs. Speaking of that, we're looking forward to the first really warm day of the year.  Possibly reaching 80 degrees on Saturday!

 

Drooping in the rain

 

The saying goes that "roses like hot heads and cool feet." Look at our neighbor's prize roses this rainy June. A sad, soggy sight and perfect weather for black spot. Not to brag, but ours look amazingly healthy, the clusters of unopened flowers so heavy I need to somehow stake the stalks before they break right off at the base.

By the weekend we finally turn the corner to dry and warm weather, with highs possibly reaching the 80's. This green jungle will really take off then.

Hope you had a nice Father's Day. We went to the Symphony and heard Verdi's Requiem Mass: 90 minutes long, double choir and full orchestra, four soloists. The score is a sizable hardcover book, but the conductor conducted the entire thing without anything in front of him. Imagine holding that much complex music in your head?  John always says "that's his job" but it's still incredible. I can barely remember the chords to "Oh, Susanna."

Not exactly light entertainment, but certainly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It was like a long religious opera with no intermission. Verdi is perhaps the most famous opera composer, and a requiem is a musical setting of the Catholic funeral mass. 

Combine operatic drama with the traditional ritual Latin words and you have something quite remarkable. It's performed as a concert now and considered too operatic for a religious service. Not to mention, too long for modern attention spans in church.

Well, today I tackle some overdue housecleaning. When that cruel sun comes out, it sure highlights the dust and grimy windows.

Happy Father's Day

 

 

I hope you have a wonderful day, Dad. No card in the world can express our love and gratitude on Father's Day, but our sister Marji, a talented writer, wrote this lovely remembrance story as a homage to you, mom and our childhood on the farm. 

Love you!

AN HOMAGE TO THE FAIRIES
AND MOM AND DAD, TOO


For a few magical years when they were little, Bunny, Suzy, and baby Davey Crockett lived with their parents on a family farm in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.  Their Mommy and Daddy worked constantly, with only Sundays off for church and a big family dinner at Grammy’s.  There was no time for parental hovering, or anything like ‘structured play’.   But without fail, every night while their father was in the barn milking the cows, their mother would read to them.  Before any of them could read for themselves they knew Bible stories, fables, and mythology.  They heard classical stories and fairy tales, adventures of all kinds, cowboys and pirates and clever detectives.  And after about an hour, when their father came in from the cows, they said their prayers, were tucked into bed, and left alone with their imaginations.  

There were some dangerous times and places on the farm.  The heavy tractors, farming equipment, and the huge dairy cows were constantly coming and going from the big barn.  There was a pig pen and a chicken coop, the cool milk house, the aged wooden smoke house, and the dark stone spring house.  The children knew to avoid these places, as well as the cellar bugs and the attic bats in the farmhouse.

Their realm was the swing set and the sand box next to the kitchen garden in the back yard.  They were allowed to roam in the garden and whenever they were hungry for a snack they could eat any vegetable they wanted.

In the spring they had hiding places in their “daffodil land” along the giant lilac hedge that bordered the front yard.  In summer they could take a path through the pasture and down to the creek, where they built dams of stones and sailed boats made from leaves and pieces of bark.   They could mound the fallen leaves to make autumn forts, and scoop the winter snow into castles and snowmen.

So in this environment you might understand how it was that the children came to interact with the fairies.  

These were not the ‘high elves’ of J.R.R. Tolkein, nor the malicious tricksters of the old Grimm fairy tales.  These tiny, quiet creatures were their neighbors and friends.  They too avoided the dangerous places on the farm, visited the garden, and inhabited the places where the children played.

When you look carefully, and with a child’s eyes, you really can see the difference between a swarm of fire flies – they called them lightning bugs - and the flickering of tiny lanterns on the twilight lawn.  In their world the little inconsistencies around them soon added up to evidence.  That ripe cherry tomato that Bunny knew would be perfect tomorrow did not disappear overnight by itself.  No indeed, it was carried away for tomato soup in a sling on the back of a hungry fairy!  And a good many of the green pea pods were carried off as well.  

They had much in common.  They kept each other safe.  Both the children and the fairies were respectful of the bees and afraid of the wasps.   A painful sting to a child would be a fatal blow to a fairy.  Wasp nests were quickly reported so they could be sprayed with DDT, and the fairies were grateful for this assistance.

There was a flock of geese that guarded the lane and the barn.  If anyone dared approach them they would raise a cacophony of noise, lower their heads, hold out their wings, and run towards you.  Their hissing sounds were terrifying and they would bite, too.  Nobody, child or fairy, messed with the geese.  

The fairies kept their distance from both the barn and the house cats, too. They mounted their own defenses against any rodents who dared venture into the  garden.  Sometimes a great battle would occur in there, and tracks and loose fur could be seen the following morning.

Most of their fairy friends lived in small caves under the lilac hedge, but some fairy cousins lived at the edges of the fields and along the creek, too.  They were, of course, very shy, but could be glimpsed from time to time, just “out of the corner of your eye”.  And as you know, you need only recognize something once, and then the reality of it stays with you.   When they left the farm and moved to Colorado it was not difficult for them to see where the woodland fairies lived in the mountains.  

We’re told that the ancient peoples acknowledged spirits in their environment; and their shamans were closely attuned to nature.  Folklore is full of references to protective creatures.  Even today, when so much of our natural world is obscured, there are still magical places in nature, from the most spectacular parks to the smallest corner gardens.   
 
Now that they’re adults their appreciation of the natural world is just part of their character, their need for contact with the outdoors is subconscious.   Each has a home of their own with yard and garden, and each space is well groomed:  lawns mowed, planting beds weeded, and shrubbery trimmed – except …   

Sue’s blog spot frequently features photos of her flower garden.  In her ‘Welcome June’ post she writes, “The garden is green and purple right now, very soothing to the eye with only the alliums and Japanese iris blooming.  Soon it will be a chaos of bright, clashing primary colors.  The roses and other annuals were planted hodgepodge over many years, without a thought to color coordination.  We like it that way.”

Dave’s back yard is bordered by a huge laurel hedge, and the sides filled with lilac bushes that he says “grow relentlessly”.

No one calls her Bunny anymore, and her yard is manicured by a professional landscape service.  Except for the two back corners where no pruning is allowed;  those spaces are for the birds and the lizards.

You’d have to know their history to understand why they still have it – but they do.  Somewhere deep in their hearts there is always a need for something wild and beautiful and magical.  An homage to the fairies.  

A short season

 

It's going to be a short summer in the Pacific Northwest. We are still struggling to reach 70 degrees. On my drive home yesterday, it rained along the Columbia River outside Wenatchee. But mid-June, it should be hot and dry in this part of the state. 

The Washington fruit crops are late after the cold spring. Some were frost damaged. We always see cherries in the highway fruit stands by now. Last year this time, most of the cherries were destroyed by the excessive heat. A finicky, delicate crop if there ever was one.  It must take nerves of steel to grow cherries.

In my mind, this will go down as the summer of weeds. After battling them in the gravel driveway last week (a labor of Hercules) now I get to tackle the garden beds here. The plant growth is rampant, although the flowers, like the fruit, are about a month late. Anyway, despite all the complaining, I'll take this over the heat dome and wildfire smoke last summer.

Well, back to the usual chores and routines of Seattle. Amanda, Tom and the girls are backpacking on the Olympic coast wilderness for 10 days, so things are quiet in Twisp. Should give the driveway weeds time to recover before our next visit in July. Ha.

 

Back to the city

 

Adios, peaceful little morning view. I'm headed back to Seattle today.

On the trail

 

No sun at Sun Mountain Lodge this morning for our long-awaited trail ride. A brisk north wind blowing off the snow-covered mountains, grey skies and a chilly 45 degrees. They handed out gloves and extra clothing in the tack room. In mid June! 

We've done this ride several times on dusty, hot days, so this was kind of exciting, especially riding along the high ridge. We rode past some burn areas from last summer, when the fire came within a quarter mile of the lodge. It was saved though a heroic effort, but the entire facility had to be renovated from smoke and ash damage, and was closed for many months after the fire.

Maya rode "White Leg," Nova had "Elk" and I got "Dan." All the Sun Mountain horses are excellent. Even though it's just a nose-to-tail, walk-only ride, there are beautiful views and interesting steep terrain in places. And of course, now that we're back in Twisp, the sun comes out. No matter-- the interesting weather made for a memorable ride.

BTW our river is much lower today. We have falling snow instead of melting snow in the high mountains. What a strange contradiction of weather across the country.

Sunshine and clouds

 

We went on a 4-mile hike yesterday at Golden Doe Wildlife Area just outside of Twisp. It's an incredibly scenic area with long views of the valley and North Cascade mountains. The wildflowers looked like a garden blooming after this wet, wet spring.

OK, I was told the hike was "only 3 miles" so thankful to keep up with these athletes. At least, not holding them up. We had a gourmet picnic lunch along the way. By the time the day was done, I'd clocked over 12,000 steps. A hot bath and early to bed. 

It rained all night and I woke to a loud roaring noise. Yikes, the river? No, just a strong wind whipping the trees in front of the house. What weather. We're a good 20 degrees below the seasonal average today. And the girls have swim team this morning at the Twisp City Park outdoor pool. Burr.

Over the past few days, the Methow has stayed at pretty much the same high level, give or take 1,000 cfs. Fortunately, the intense storms didn't stall over central Washington and moved east into Idaho and Montana. On the bright side, this year is a real bonanza for the dry land farmers.

Water, water everywhere

 

 

There's a total of 16 major dams on the Columbia River. When I drove by Wells Dam yesterday, the spillway looked like Niagara Falls as they try to relieve pressure from the Methow, Okanagan and other upstream tributaries. 

Dam hydrology is tricky business, since too much of a release results in flooding downstream. In fact, they're talking about minor flooding closer to the Columbia River Pacific outlet. If only we could divert some of this liquid gold down to Lake Mead.

We've been coming to the valley for years, and I can't remember ever seeing it so green and lush. Especially compared to the heat and fires of last summer, right after we bought the house. Horrible timing, that.

Our little beach and some of the tree trunks are covered, but the river channel seems to handle this 9,000 cfs flow no problem. It would take something quite drastic to bring it up to the lawn. Or maybe that's just wishful thinking. This flow is higher than normal, but not that unusual for Twisp, where some spring run-offs top 15,000 cfs. Now that would be something to see. Or not.

The sheer energy of all that water is mesmerizing to watch. I sit in my comfortable chair staring out the window, and suddenly an hour has passed. I've been watching for the guided raft trips to zip by, but maybe the river is too dangerous even for the experts right now. 

Saturday market this morning and it looks like a nice day. Fortunately, most of the rain is in Idaho and northern Oregon this weekend which won't affect the central Washington rivers. Most of what we're getting now is from rapid snow melt in the high mountains.

Juneuary

 

A gloomy June morning with yet another drenching storm headed our way.  Record rain, actually, for this time of year. What they wouldn't give for some of this water in the parched southwest. Over 110 today in Las Vegas.

The plant growth is incredible, but the flowers are late and way too cold for vegetables. It's like living in a green, murky aquarium. On my walks, I notice a few houses on each block that have given up the fight. Who can blame them, we're hanging on by our fingertips here trying to keep up. But after a certain point, hard to reclaim your yard from waist high weeds and grass.

I've had this weird sniffle for the past couple of days. No other symptoms and Covid test negative. It's better this morning now that's is raining. Maybe it just some weird pollen allergy I developed in my old age. 

I'm driving to Twisp tomorrow. No flood warnings yet in central Washington, but rivers all running higher than usual.

Turn around

 

The last week of school for Nova and Maya. On to 8th and 4th grade in the fall. Makes me think of a that favorite old tune "Turn Around" by the Kingston Trio.

Benign neglect

 

I walked by this neglected yard and glorious rosebush yesterday-- it probably hasn't been pruned or fertilized in years. Go figure.

Our neighbor grows such beautiful roses along her sidewalk it stops people in their tracks. But she's always fussing and spraying. I take a tough love approach-- a no-nonsense pruning in February, some slow release fertilizer and they're on their own.  And ours look amazing this year from all the rain. If only it would warm up.

Speaking of which, we have a single day of sunshine before the next atmospheric river drenches us again on Thursday. Enough already. The Cascade mountains will get hit hard, and with the snow melting they're talking about river flooding in central and eastern Washington. It's pointless to worry, but how can I not?

The Methow Rive in Twisp has been running at about 9,000 cfs this week, which is quite a bit above the seasonal average. I sent Amanda down to take a picture in front of the house. So far, so good. Fingers crossed.

Last June we were being roasted alive under the heat dome.

Returning home

 

 

If any women are to be present, and the interment is to be in the ground, someone should order the grave lined with boughs and green branches, to lessen the impression of bare earth."

From Etiquette, by Emily Post, 1922

Sooner or later, all living things return to earth. Become earth. Above is a special container designed to compost human remains. 

That top layer of fresh alfalfa hay reminded me happy, fragrant horse barns. Not so different from green boughs lining a dark grave.

At Return Home, a composting funeral home, some people decorate the composting vessel with photographs, and then cover the deceased with plants or biodegradable keepsakes. Perhaps even a final bottle of Chardonnay, sans the bottle.

My hospice organization, Virginia Mason Franciscan, has monthly in-service sessions for volunteers on topics relating to (big surprise!) death.  This month, they arranged a tour at Return Home in Auburn. There was extra space, so John also went. 

Terramation is a green alternative to cremation that transforms the body into soil with much less energy and pollution. It takes about 2 months from start to finish. Washington was the first state to legalize terramation. It's received quite a bit of attention and who knows, might be the next thing in funerals. It certainly makes sense from an environmental standpoint.

Return Home CLICK HERE has a excellent website. They are transparent about their prices, process and services. You can also watch YouTube videos on technical aspects of human composting. 

It's actually pretty simple: air, water, heat, organic materials, time. That's John checking out the ventilation machinery. Yes, this area of the industrial park smelled like nursery compost. No better, no worse.

These biodegradable, soft garments clothe the corpse before terramation. No Sunday best polyester suits and dresses here. No prior embalming, of course. All ages, diseases and causes of death, with the exception of Mad Cow or Ebola. Well, maybe that's too much information. Anyway, the final product is tested for safety-- heavy metals, bacteria, that sort of thing.

Family members often wash and prepare their loved ones in a small private room before a "laying in" ceremony. People have been doing this since the start of time, but the practice was lost with modern funeral conventions in our country. Everything is personalized at this professional but very casual funeral home.

Then the box lid is sealed and the transformation to soil begins. I wonder if this might be a gentler way to grieve than a quick cremation or burial?

There's nothing to see during the 60 day terramation process, but family and friends often visit the facility to pray, meditate, listen to music or even celebrate a life with food and drink.

The end result is about 600 pounds (1 cubic yard) of compost. It can be spread on a greenbelt, garden or used to plant a new tree. And sometimes, divided up and given to friends and family members at memorial services. The funeral director above is holding a small bag. However you feel about this personally, must admit it's very interesting.

My new hobby

 

Watching the Methow River level rise and fall daily on the SNOFLO website. The river is measured real time in "cubic feet per second." This morning in Twisp, the gauge recorded 7,660 cfs, a 39% increase over yesterday, about 109% of normal for this time of year. 

Day over day, it can vary over a 1000 cfs. Right now, the Methow is at the highest level so far this spring.  Just FYI, over 9,000 cfs in Twisp is considered flood stage.

What can you do with this information? Absolutely nothing. It's pointless to worry. But I find it fascinating how "our" river and hundreds of other across the nation are tracked so accurately by the USGS. Who knew?

To say the Northwest weather is weird this spring is a real understatement. We just had a brief but torrential thunderstorm, rare in Seattle any time, almost unheard of at 6 am. Eastern and Central Washington seeing the same unsettled weather, with flash flooding in the mountains. Along with the snow melt, this of course affects the river levels. 

Here it is Friday again, with another soggy weekend ahead of us. They say we might get an entire June's worth of rain in the next 3 days.  

See you Monday.

 

American Hero Quilts

 

I have a new hospice patient who lives in a nursing home. He's an Air Force veteran, and the hospice volunteer coordinator asked if I would present him with a flag pin and this beautiful quilt in recognition of his service.

That's a big honor. I'm a little nervous about it. The quilts are typically given in a somewhat formal ceremony, led by the hospice social worker with family members and staff present. Apparently, the social workers are so overworked they've reluctantly turned this over to the volunteers. So I'll reach out to the patient's family and try to coordinate the gift with one of their visits to the nursing home.

American Hero Quilts is a volunteer organization established 17 years ago. Hundreds of volunteers have made over 30,000 patriotic quilts for service members and their families. I know the creative effort that goes into fine quilting, and these are truly a labor of love.

The color purple

 

The garden is green and purple right now, very soothing to the eye with only the alliums and Japanese iris blooming. Everything is bigger and taller than usual from all the rain. Soon it will be a chaos of bright, clashing primary colors. The roses and other annuals were planted hodgepodge over many years, without a thought to color coordination. We like it that way. 

Welcome, June.

“What is one to say about June, the time of perfect young summer, the fulfillment of the promise of the earlier months, and with as yet no sign to remind one that its fresh young beauty will ever fade.” –  

Gertrude Jekyll