Yesterday's mashed potatoes

 

Life is pretty dull in Seattle right now (compared to trekking in the Alps) and it doesn't help that we've been under a cold blanket of grey clouds all week. 

While rest of the country is sweltering, we're the contrarians as usual. Seattle might finally get back to a toasty 70 degrees in time for the 4th of July. Food has been on the heavy side, to match the weather. 

Who eats corned beef in June? Well, there was one languishing in the freezer, along with a container of mashed potatoes, so I mixed up batch of potato pancakes to go with. They soak up the butter and olive oil like a sponge. 

Last night I made homemade fried chips to go with the tortilla soup. Good grief. You would think it was February.

The girls would hate this picture so good thing they don't read the blog. The trekkers have now crossed the Switzerland border. Amanda said it is still very hot, just like when we were there a few weeks ago. 

Temperatures in the Alps are rising at twice the global average, melting glaciers and changing the ecosystem before your eyes. It will be a different place if Nova and Maya ever bring their children here. 

The families are staying tonight at a Refugio near a tiny town without even a general store. Amanda said the kids have an amazing yurt to themselves, but the adults have "mattresses on the floor in a massive communal situation." Her words. 

 

 

Now that's my idea of a restful night after a long day of hiking!

They have excellent cellular service (Europe is ahead of us in many ways) so we look forward to the pictures and messages she sends every morning. 

There is WiFi at the Refugios, although tonight is an exception, so the kids are bummed. They are roughing it because the parents didn't get them expensive international plans for their phones. 

Very cute, unless you're a teenager stuck in an isolated yurt on a mountain. Well, memories are made of this. 

 

Postcards from the French Alps

 

It looks incredibly beautiful (and civilized.)

Au revoir sizzling Paris

And hello, hot Alps. We are enjoying their trip second hand through Amanda’s photos. Family and friends above waiting to board the high speed train in Paris, headed to Chamonix (near Mt. Blanc) via Geneva. 

Arriving after a long day of travel, with the final hours standing room only on the smaller trains.  

A pretty French town, but still unseasonably hot-- the loaded kids making their way to the hostel. 
 

The week long "hut-to-hut" trek started today. Although hut is a misnomer, because these are like rustic hotels or hostels (called Refuges) with communal meals and sleeping areas. 
 

Enjoying the view at Refuge de La Flegre, where they stay tonight. I’d just take that gondola up haha. 

If you are interested in details, here's the itinerary: 

Monday: Le Tours

Tuesday: Trient

Wednesday: Champex-Lac

Thursday: La Fouly

Friday: Val Ferret

Saturday: Bonatti Hut

The distance and terrain between these stops varies, but I think most are about 10 miles a day.  

After that, an Italian adventure begins. They collect their luggage that was (hopefully) transported to Bonatti, and find a way down to Turin for a flight to Brindisi. Then several days relaxing in southern Italy (with a rental car?) and finally a stay in Rome before returning home. The fun is just getting started.

The heat goes on

The Paris heat wave is finally easing today, with rain and thunderstorms moving across France. Tonight the families are taking a Seine and Eiffel Tower tour (from the ground) then off to Mt. Blanc by train in the morning, where a different adventure begins.

 

Here on the other side of the world, we woke up to a drizzly, cool morning. After that little taste of summer, we won't get back to 70 degrees until next weekend. There is an old saying in Seattle that “summer doesn’t start until the 5th of July." 

Nothing exciting for us, just a quiet weekend at home.  Have a good one. 

Bragging rights

 

We have geraniums in pots every summer, but this year they are really exceptional. It's been so warm and dry, but now a big change with rain in the forecast (welcome) and in the 60's for the next week or so. 

This cool weather will make the locals happy again. When it gets a few degrees above 80 we have those "severe heat warnings" on the news. 

Speaking of severe heat, this a tough week to be in Paris. Some of the major tourist attractions abruptly closed today (Eiffel Tower, Louvre, etc.) which is disappointing because reservations were made months in advance. 

But the families are staying in a small hotel in the heart of Montmartre, which has great street ambience. For teenagers, enough just to be in Paris, isn't it? And the girls look like they fit right in.

 

 

Off to the (hopefully) cooler Alps on Saturday. 

 

The quality of air

 

 

It is such a pleasure to hold and read a beautifully bound book. Especially while breathing in the scent of lavender. John found me this classic illustrated copy of "The Magic Mountain" by Thomas Mann on Ebay. 

Published in 1924, the setting is a sanatorium in Davos, Switzerland, and the story of a young engineer who comes for 3 weeks and stays for 7 years on the "magic mountain." 

Switzerland was famous for tuberculosis sanatoriums in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Before antibiotics, fresh air and rest were the primary cure, if you could afford it. Alpine air was considered medicine.  

These historic sanatoriums have mostly been converted to luxury hotels, but you can still go to Switzerland and take expensive cures for modern aliments. 

When we were in Switzerland, I thought about "The Magic Mountain." It was unusually hot, and after a long day of train and bus travel, we finally arrived at Hotel Reine Victoria in St. Moritz. There was no air conditioning, but I opened the waist high, screen free windows letting in birdsong and the coolest, cleanest, sweetest, high altitude air. (Such are the small memories you retain from a jam-packed trip.)

OK. Speaking of trips and hot weather. Amanda, Tom and the girls flew out last night should be arriving about now in sizzling Paris. Over one hundred degrees in France today? Unbelievable. 

Here are the travelers yesterday morning in Carlton, just starting out on their epic long journey.  

16 hours

 

 

Happy summer solstice. We have sixteen hours of daylight in the Northwest and true darkness lasts for only about 4 hours. The birds wake up with me about 3:45. 

We heard good old Beethoven's 9th at the Symphony yesterday for the season finale. Seattle audiences love Beethoven! Not to mention, big choral music productions. 

Frankly, the 60+ minute work is kind of a slog (apologies to a musical masterpiece of Western civilization) until the final "Ode to Joy" catchy movement. Then chorus finally gets to stand up. And then the audience goes crazy with a standing O. 

A lighter take from Mr. Bean:

 

 

 

Big!

 

Everything looks so big this year. The hydranges are enormous and lilies and roses over my head-- is it my imagination, or maybe I'm just shrinking. At this rate, I'll soon be an old crone pottering around under the vegetation. 

The busy gardener's mind cannot help but jump ahead to when all this rampant annual growth must be cut back and hauled from the yard. It makes a person tired just thinking about it (so don't.) 

Anyway, it feels good to be back after an easy drive home. The trick is to leave as early as possible this time of year. Most of the traffic was headed the other direction. 

Back to normal routines after much travel. We have a symphony on Sunday-- the last of this season. 

Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful dads in our family. 

 

Twisp Ponds

 

The Twisp Ponds is an excellent place for a quiet nature walk close to town. It was established in 2002 when the Methow Salmon Recovery Foundation purchased the 37-acre property to prevent development and restore salmon. 

My friend Karen's husband, Bruce Morrison, is a local sculptor who created some of the art installations (above) along the trail. 

 

Anyway, we had the place to ourselves on a hot morning, and found a comfortable log to sit and yak by the river. Life is good. 

Today is Amanda's bittersweet last day at Family Health Center, where she began her nursing career over 10 years ago, working her way up from Medical Assistant to Registered Nurse to Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner. 

When they return from Europe, she starts a new position with Confluence Health, a larger organization based in Wenatchee offering much more in the way of benefits and professional support. A big step up and a new phase of her career begins. Congratulations!

I've been invited to a party tonight with her friends and coworkers. Fun. Tomorrow, back to big city life.

 

Chamber music

 

We stopped by the Community Center this morning and listened to a dress rehearsal for the annual Chamber Music Festival. 

This is the 30th anniversary of the highly celebrated summer event that brings top musical talent to the Methow Valley. Most of the concerts are already sold out.

Karen said in the old days concerts were held in barns and far-flung outdoor locations around the county, none of them ideal for chamber music or large audiences.

 

The Twisp Community Center is in the final stages of a major renovation, including the old gym with a stage. 

Echoey, cold in winter and hot in summer, it was the venue for countless local plays and pageants over the decades. We have sat on folding chairs through some long productions there. 

Well, I don't know how they accomplished it, but the old gym sounded like a concert hall this morning the acoustics were so excellent. Funky old Twisp is becoming quite posh. 

Girls shopping date

 

 

Omak, population of 4,800, is the largest city in Okanogan County. Omak is about 40 miles from Twisp, over the Loup Loup Pass, elevation 4,000 feet.  

There's never much traffic and you can tootle along the winding road at your own pace. Amanda commutes to Omak at least once a week. It's an 90 mile round trip from Carlton, but a low stress drive, at least in the summer. 

Anyway, Omak has most of the big stores which spares a 100 mile drive down to Wenatchee: Walmart, Home Depot, Safeway, North 40 and the all-important Marshalls.  

Maya and I went shopping this morning to pick up a few things for their trip, then went out to lunch at The Bread Line Restaurant, a local favorite. That is not a burger. Maya is a dedicated vegetarian good for her. We had a great time. 

 

Red flag warning

 

We're headed into a hot, dry and windy weather pattern, so red flag warnings are up. Central Washington is no slacker when it comes to natural disasters-- just take your pick. 

The Methow freeze of 1968 wiped out the orchards and killed livestock when winter temperatures dipped below -50 degrees Fahrenheit. The great Methow River flood, in spring of 1948, was the valley’s contribution to some of the worst flooding in state history, taking out entire towns and bridges.  

While historic flooding and extreme cold are occasional, recurring events, fire is a constant and ever-present threat these days, and always on the mind of locals, especially after the disastrous 2014 Carlton Complex Fire.  
 

 

Summer has transformed Amanda and Tom's farm into a Garden of Eden, bursting with life, both plant and animal.  
 

Tom irrigates almost constantly now, getting the property as wet and green as possible before they leave on vacation. Just beyond the orchard, the hills are already dry and brown, shimmering in the heat. 

In Twisp, our city water is metered and quite expensive, but those lucky ones pump all they want from the two irrigation wells on the property. 

In Central Washington, water rights are complicated, and free water has always been the great divide between the haves and have nots. 
 

 This is a season of wonder and discovery and they are loving their new home. The homestead is dotted with legacy plants, not just mature blooming trees and shrubs, but gifts like asparagus coming up through the weeds in a former vegetable patch, tough old species roses and iris, rows of currant bushes gone wild but still covered with fruit. 

As for the pear orchard? Well, not good news there for a potential harvest, as a late hard freeze destroyed the blooms at a critical time. Farming here (at least for income) is not for the faint of heart. The lack of a harvest might actually be a blessing in disguise their first busy year. 

John hit the road back to Seattle this morning. We had an excellent time. I'm staying a few more days, as I probably won't come back until they return from Europe in mid-July. 

Always the same, never the same

 

 

That would be a river...

It is a pleasure after the long drive to find our little sanctuary unchanged, which gives the illusion that time stands still in Twisp. Of course it doesn't, not here or anywhere else. 

Town is hopping with construction and tourists, but it's peaceful tucked away by the river. We watched a doe yesterday afternoon with her wobbly twin fawns. They must have been born a few hours earlier and just finding their legs, looking around in amazement. 

To the north of our house, the river has a man-made, high rock bank (called rip rap) that is not great for nature. But on the other side of our property, the dense trees and natural vegetation make an excellent wildlife habitat. It is a wonderful mess that hasn't been touched for years. Deer love it and we love looking at all that green. 

That property is owed by a quiet old man who lived there forever. I know this because he put in a high water stake marking the last big flood in the 1970's. That stake is below the level of our house for what it's worth (not much.)

Anyway, now his house is now for sale-- perhaps he is moving to a retirement home. So we will eventually have new neighbors who might have ideas for developing the property. All we can do is wait and see.

(I had a sudden impulse to buy the place but common sense prevailed. The last thing we need is a third house.) 

 

 

In other news. Downtown Twisp is undergoing a major makeover-- new sidewalks and awnings for the commercial buildings and replacing the 100 year old water lines. It's currently a mess but we can hardly wait to see our new tarted up town. 

 

Summer's lease

 

Check out this fine young horsewoman. Dressage riding is difficult and we're proud of Nova sticking with the practice, not to mention, tough instruction over the years.  

Along with horse chores this summer, she's a lifeguard at the Twisp pool and store clerk at Pinetooth in Winthrop. In the fall, Nova is a senior and Maya starts 8th grade. Wow. 

In other Methow Valley news, their big European trip is coming up, something that's been in planning for at least a year. They are going with another local family, best friends since their kids were born, so that makes 4 adults and 4 teenagers. Imagine the logistics? Wow, again.

Along with sightseeing in France and Italy, they're doing the demanding, high altitude Mount Blanc hut-to-hut, backpacking tour in the Alps. And I thought Viking cruising was tiring!

We're off and running again tomorrow, headed over to Twisp where a more laid back river awaits. John will stay the weekend, but I'll probably linger a little longer and relax. 

"Summer's lease hath all too short a date."

Shakespeare Sonnet 18

  

 

Madame

 

 

At the Verizon store yesterday, the twenty something employee said, "Can I help you Miss?" '

He was just being polite, American style, but I remembered how nice it felt, being addressed as "Madame" everywhere in Europe. From waiters to shopkeepers. 

We were in Cologne, in a cologne store, where I was buying (what else?) souvenir size 4711 cologne. An American man stepped in front of me at the counter and slapped down his purchase. The shopkeeper said, in no uncertain terms, "MADAME is next in line." The guy retreated with his tail between his legs. I don't think "Miss" would have had the same effect.

It is true that we have Americanized the world, bringing bad manners with us. Incredible, isn't it, they must remind men now to remove their hats in a Cathedral.

I was hoping to practice the few German words I know, but on the Viking tourist trail, everyone in the shops and restaurants immediately spoke English. Well, the red Viking lanyard was a dead give away. Not to mention our clothing. I think most people just emptied a drawer of t-shirts and shorts into their suitcase. 

Europeans learn English from an early age, and they're rightly proud of being multi lingual and certainly not resentful speaking it in Germany, especially when accepting your money. Ha ha.

Viking does an especially good job contracting local English speaking guides for the tours. Many were born and raised in the area, and there was always a sense of pride and deep knowledge of history. 

History is an important subject in German schools. WWII is ancient history for our kids, but that dark time of fascism, reconstruction, and "never again" is taught in schools and ingrained in German society. 

Well, "Madame" needs to get going today. 

Return to the jungle

 

 

 

It's overwhelming how the yard has exploded in just two weeks. We're never away for this long in June so it's kind of shocking.  

 

It rained hard yesterday and next week will be hot in Seattle-- the recipe for more rampant growth.  

Like inside housework, I do something outisde almost every day-- deadheading, weeding, staking, etc. so it really shows. Oh well, I have all summer to whip things in shape. 

But what to do with this sprawling tomato plant? 

 

Speaking of growth. Over on the Carlton farm, remember those balls of fluff a few weeks ago? They've turned into ravenous teenager ducks and chickens. Good job, Amanda. 

Soon the family will take off on their own 3 week European adventure, with a much more ambitious itinerary than ours. They're busy now getting the farm ready for house sitters.  

 

Last but not least

 

The windmills got short-changed on the blog. Our final tour was late afternoon on our last night on the ship. Honestly, windmills and wooden shoes sounded like a cliche, along the lines of the cuckoo clocks in the Black Forest. Expectations were low. We were tired. 

 

But a pleasant surprise was ahead when the ship docked adjacent to Kinderdijk, a UNESCO World Heritage site. A charming local college student studying cultural history led the tour.

 

This is the place to see real working windmills and discover the history of windmills. For 700 years the people of the Netherlands have used windmills to claim their land from the sea.

 

We all know this, but seeing them up close and personal was exciting. Some of us climbed the steep ladders to watch the giant wooden gears and sails at work. 

 

People still live in these old windmills, paying a small amount of rent. The guide said most commute to other jobs, and there's a ten year waiting list to live at Kinderdijk. 

 

Generation after generation of millers worked these machines. They had big families in the old days, like this photo showing a rather unhappy looking bunch. Why are those young children bald? 

The windmill base had a room for eating, sleeping and a stove for heat. The cook house was outside, as was the outhouse. They grew their own food. 

The main room had a single cupboard type bed, maybe 4 feet by 3 feet, where the parents slept in a semi-reclined position. The kids got the floor. You wonder how they managed to have so many?

It all looked horribly uncomfortable, but in medieval cultures, lying perfectly flat was considered deeply unhealthy. People associated the horizontal position with death and believed it could cause the soul to leave the body or allow bodily humors to pool. 

OK, then. Kind of like sitting on a plane for 9 hours. 

Speaking of sleep, east to west is the tough jet lag. We boarded the plane mid afternoon, and landed in Seattle at about the same time of day. The sunlight never changed outside the window. By then, we had been up about 24 hours. 

The last two nights I fell into an exhausted sleep early, then wide awake up at midnight, my body positive it was morning.  

But all is well. We are well. And happy to be relaxing at home in cool and rainy Seattle.