SATURDAY — Fall things, winter approaches

Guess we will start with Halloween Sunday because we sent the last one out on Saturday night before the scary day.

Today we had a blast going to a friend’s house on the other side of the valley.  He and John talked wood, picked apples, and watched deer while I visited with his wife, inside the house.  We have never had a sit down talk for such a long time.  I found out all sorts of things I did not know about her, her family, and her job here at CWU.  She retired 1994.  Wow.. so long ago, and I did not realize that.  Before we left, they gave us a box of beautiful tomatoes, a bag of magnum-size onions, half of a huge squash, and about a hundred pounds of apples.
Then we went by Rhu’s house and enjoyed seeing the kids dressed up for Halloween.  We had chili and cornbread with them and left before they left to take the kids trick or treating.  We took Ritz crackers and grated cheddar cheese to put on the chili.  Yum.   Rhu greeted us as long lost buddies, but he is settling fine in his new home.  He has been going running with each of the parents separately, and going off lead, but staying around.  That is good.  I’m surprised because I would not trust his mom or dad to stick around.
Monday was exercise class for me, and cutting wood (while the sun shined) for John.  Then the rest of the day was miserable for outside work.

Tuesday, John got up early to get to the dentist’s office for a teeth cleaning, and then he went shopping and to get tires put on his Subaru.  The stock tires did not last long – about 27,000 miles – but the new ones are supposed to last 70K.  We’ll see.  Now he is out doing something with a chain saw and the sun is still shining.  I’m inside on the computer, but ready to stop and write some more thank you notes for the retirement celebration.

I had to change our Kittitas Valley Fiddlers & Friends performance at Hearthstone this month, because it would be on Thanksgiving Day.  We will go instead the day before, and then to the community dinner (free) at the Moose Lounge.  It used to be at the Adult Activity Center, but they have moved it and they run buses every half hour from there, if people want to get a ride over from the Senior Center.  There is also a potluck with hamburgers and hotdogs at the Sr. Ctr. this Friday to celebrate Veterans’ Day.

Wednesday – busy day.  John worked in the yard all day on various chores besides the normal ones.  I left and went to town mid-day to shop and go to my exercise class and the post office.  Then home and John was still out.  He came in and helped me with something on his computer & printer, and then took a very short nap.  We went back to town for the WA Geology lecture, tonight on Mt. Rainier, titled, ”Mt. Rainier: Past, Present, & Future.”  As usual, it was an excellent presentation.  If we owned property in Orting, Puyallup, Enumclaw, or some other places over near Puget Sound, built on ancient mud flows from Mt. Rainier, we would be selling our property before the mountain starts rumbling.  A mud flow would wipe out a lot of people and built-up area.  It will happen.

Thursday was a day of music and lecture in the afternoon.  Morning was rather short, because I slept in, after a restless night.  I did finish all my notes of thanks to my colleagues to take in to the lecture today.  John stayed home to move sections of tree trunk to under a large cottonwood (for shade) where he can cut it and split it later.  We have a free-standing wood stove but we prefer not to have the smoke, ash, and mess in the house.  But it is there if we need it.  Most of the trees come from the neighbor’s property and they get most of it.  They like having the fire.  We don’t.  John has a heavy splitting maul [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splitting_maul ] and gets lots of exercise in the making of fire wood.  He sometimes sells some of the dried wood to pay for the gas, oil, and wear and tear on saw and truck.

Before music, I stopped by an old gentleman’s house who is in the trail riders club, to pick up an article about poisonous plants he wanted John to have for the newsletter he is constructing to mail out this Saturday.  Then on to Royal Vista nursing home.  Seven of us showed up to play for the residents of the nursing home, but we had to compete with noise on the roof, from a re-roofing project.  That brought back memories of our own re-roofing “noise” this spring.  We are very happy with our new roof for the winter season and fall rains.

After that, we visited a bit with the residents and then I took off for the university to hear a visiting professor, who has moved into my old office, give a talk on Mt. Rainier, Perceptions of Climbers to the peak.  It was very interesting, and had beautiful photography, along with the report of his research findings.  He interviewed climbers on the top of the mountain, before and after their climb, about their perceptions of risks and hazards associated with the visit.  He classified them into groups of novice, intermediate, and advanced climbers.  His results and stories were enlightening.

Here we are already–Friday, and I’m not even working, but still have the “TGIF” feeling. Is that odd, or what?  Today was a cool day.  It started out slowly, but I was out of here headed to town at 11:00 a.m. for a music play session for a Veterans’ Day Picnic Potluck.  Actually the potluck, I joined before the music started.  The Senior Center provided the grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, and people brought side dishes.  The Veterans there (including one nurse, female) were given a nice card with a little HERO badge to wear.  It was quite nicely done and we applauded them all.  There were several ladies from my exercise class (which followed, at 1:30), and we sat together and visited and ate.  At noon a lady from the community came in with her accordion, and music & words for all the people there, and we sang patriotic songs.  I dressed up in my white blouse, white shoes, blue pants, and a neat red and blue vest.  I played my violin with the accordionist, and we sang the songs together, and all the audience sang along really well.  I did not know all of the songs, but most of them, and I played along a background on those I didn’t really know.

John spent the end of the week, and finally tonight, finishing his newsletter for the trail riders club.  It’s a nice one, although shorter than usual.  He has come down with another sneezy cold.  I don’t know where we are catching these bugs, but he says he read that you are more likely to get cold viruses from shaking hands with someone than being in their sneeze.  Interesting.  I hope I don’t catch it this time, as I did last.  My nose has been runny, but I don’t think I have a cold, yet.  I just got over the last one.

Saturday.. morning early I dressed and got to the music building on campus for a free workshop by Geoffrey Castle, an incredible musician and technician.  He gave a concert last night at the Univ., and sadly I did not go.  Next time he is in town I will be there.  He gave a two-hour workshop today to explain what it is he does, how he composes and improvises and how he plays an electric 6-string fiddle (violin).  He was trained as a classical musician, but he has immersed himself in all types of music including Celtic, country, blues, jazz, rock, pop, middle eastern music, and just about anything you can imagine.

You can find more about him on his web site: www.geoffreycastle.com Go visit it and be sure to listen to his rendition on video of Orange Blossom Special.

OH, one last message.  I received a phone call tonight from a fellow who farms and hunts here in the valley.  He has a pup (liver and white female) from our recent litter.  Quail season opened Oct 5th, and before that he had started running her in his fields.  Now he has been hunting with her and he is thrilled to report that she is birdy, showed hunting instincts very early, and is pointing and retrieving to him.  He has shot 33 quail over her this season.  She is just 5 months old.  It was very nice to get his phone call tonight and hear about how happy he and she are.  He had had a dog from us 14 years ago, who died early this year.  So this makes it even more special.

I think I will end here this week, and pick up with Sunday in next week’s blog.  Have a nice week, and we’ll see you back soon.

Nancy