Sunday, July 14
Finally, published right after midnight.
Monday, July 15
I was up at 4:30 a.m. to feed Czar and put him out, take my Acetaminophen and crash again for a little while. Not enough sleep still when I got up to get ready to leave.
We went for our early 8:30 a.m. appointment at the foot doctor and they had moved locations closer to the hospital but we had not received the notice. Saw the sign on the door, and went to the correct building (Suite C in the Medical Complex south of the KVH hospital). Once there, we checked in, and paid our $9.19 owed from a previous appointment in April. I made a comment that we should have been forewarned about the move, and they said we were, but the phone call we received hung up before leaving a message. I figured it was just calling to remind me, so I did not call back, but when I answered I answered as, “Hi there – we will be there Monday morning!” But no one was on the other end. Strange mystery we will never know what happened. Now we know the rest of the story. Good we got to the old office early and they had an instructive note on the door.
We did a few more errands in town—by the AAC to deliver a form for Katrina and give her some Dahlias and Raspberries John picked this morning. On to Anne Engels to get some Chocolate Morsel chips from her (via Costco) we needed to make our Crockpot candy. It turned out to be perfect. We made 7 dozen pieces to carry in our cooler. It’s made with almond bark, chocolate chips, baking chocolate bars, and peanuts. About 50 people are expected, so everyone will have at least one piece.
We picked up some drinks for us both from Fred Meyer on sale, and then went by the Law office to pick up a large bucket of apricots from Jen to give to Kenny for making Apricot preserves. I need to keep a few for our enjoyment and then get these to him. Also I need to return some of his canning jars.
Going to bed after 10, before 10:30, and getting up at 5:30 to finish getting dressed and out of the house.
I’m taking my computer, cell phone, charger, and trying to dress in layers.
Tuesday, July 16
WTA Pete Dewell’s Celebration of 2000 + work days
For the location of the celebration (on the other side of Snoqualmie Pass), check this out:
We left home about 6:10 a.m. John driving, and got to trailhead at 7:30 a.m. We met and talked to people. John also took 3 sets of folks to the first part of the trail in view of the foot bridge over the bubbling creek, and we went on the old trail to view close-up from along side, a rock wall which supports the new trail higher on the hill. This was done 5 years ago with many folks over 18 days total. Tons of rock and gravel were moved.
I videotaped the introduction of Pete’s work party in honor of his 2000 + days on the trail for WTA. It includes a unique presentation of the tool safety talk.
July 16, 2019, Intro Pete Dewell’s 2000+ Party
The crew didn’t start the trail work until 9:40 a.m. and were due back by noon to have their picture taken with their hardhats and work clothes on.
Trail Work Crew off to the Work party with Pete Dewell
I planned to stay back at the parking lot with my computer and work on editing photos I’d taken the Friday before and never finished. I was also there to monitor any activity in the parking lot at the trail head. And, I kept the car keys for friends parked next to us whose alarm (honking horn) started on its own, before they left. The only way to stop it was to open the car and put the key in the ignition. Simply pushing the button that usually starts and stops it wasn’t working. So, if it should have happened while they were up on the trail, I couldn’t have done anything but be irritated and not able to concentrate.
Two WTA folks Janée and Zach also stayed back, to set up the canopies and tables, food, coolers for beverages and other, set up the composting, recycling, and garbage containers. They invited me to join them but I had my own set of needs to do at the other end of the parking lot, and I was also sitting at a card table with my computer and camera next to a porta potty with no toilet paper. We always carry a roll or two with us. So as hikers came over when the Forest Service outhouse was in use and wanted to use the porta potty, I could give them a roll of TP to use.
When the crew returned, we first took photographs of all with orange and green hard hats. There were 3 folks that should have had Blue hats but refused. Questions were directed to them, in any case.
I then filmed the awards to Pete and thanks at the end.
Pete reached his 1000 days with WTA in 2011 when he was 81. He retired from being a Litigation Attorney for a Law Firm in Everett, WA in 2000.
ZachMcBride has Karen Daubert start Pete Dewell’s Honors
Zach Gives Pete his 2000+ Sticker Award for his WTA Orange Hat
Pete Dewell’s Party Potluck Food Buffet (only 29 secs)
You can see a lot more of the food and people in the Google Photos link (which I won’t have done in time for this to be published), or I may have to put in next week’s edition. I took a lot of photos. I hope I can add the videos to that as well. I suspect I will revise it here as well as post in next week’s blog.
We had a nice potluck lunch, and I photographed as much and many folks enjoying as I could, and still ate a little myself.
I plan to put all the photos and the videos on Google Photos to share with Zach McBride at WTA for them to combine with all other photos taken today. It was a special celebration. I have a few email addresses to send information to, about this blog.
Details of links to my photography. I make YouTubes of the Exilim camera videos (old technology back to 2001), with lower resolution. The slides were taken on our new camera and are larger than necessary.
We enjoyed our time with WTA folks today; good for me to make new friends, and see others I haven’t seen since last November’s WTA Volunteer Recognition dinner in Seattle.
Wednesday, July 17
This morning I finished putting the 43 photos I took on 7-12-19 at the Senior Center at the party saying goodbye to the AmeriCorps gals, and stored on a jump drive to take with me to transfer to their hard drive. I was the only one taking pictures that day. They will filter through and some put on their Facebook page. I still need to send them out to Google Photos to send to the AAC members for which I have email address. I will just send the link to YouTube for the one video I took for them.
I packed two white garbage bags with 2-liter bottles, 32 oz. ones, and two kinds of ice cream containers to give to a fellow I met on Facebook. He came to eat and hear our music, and to visit with us as we ate, and we had a fascinating conversation among 7 of us about geology, rocks, and a number of other topics. After I was done eating and our visiting was over, he and I walked to my car to unload the bags. He had a gift for me – tiny containers of Ellensburg Blues he has found within Section 18 off Reecer Creek Rd, on BLM-owned land. That’s my first to have of the agates found that originated in the Teanaway formation. I have seen the huge one at the Kittitas County Historical Museum that they have in their safe. Only are a few places in our valley where they can be found.
Ellensburg Blues Agates from web; with the top middle being a faceted 8.6 ct blue. The bottom pix of a woman’s hand holding a blue, and rings, she brought to Wenatchee to show Nick Zentner when he presented his lecture there.
Below is my favorite lecturer, Nick Zentner’s presentation in 2013, on Ellensburg Blues. This was part of his annual downtown lecture series, that started at Raw Space in 2010, and John and I attended every lecture. Then the venue moved to the Hal Holmes Center (beside the City of Ellensburg Library), and now this year over to Morgan Middle School Performing Arts Theater (always the 4 weeks of April).
When you open this link below, move the button back to the left to start at the beginning.
Ellensburg Blue Agates Lecture by Nick Zentner, CWU Geologist
From there I went to SAIL exercise class at the AAC. First, I had to set up taking my Amoxicillin at 2:00 p.m. so Deborah helped me by setting an alarm on her computer. I participated in SAIL.
Deborah asked me to take the evaluation assessment test for SAIL, but I have missed several weeks of classes with all the stuff affecting my feet after June 1 hiking boots disaster. I went ahead and took it, and I did reasonably well, but wore myself out on the effort and being back in class. My right foot was hurting badly after a heavy metal chair with a large cloth seat, fell on it this morning about 11:30 during setup for lunch music at the FISH Food Bank. This afternoon when I got home I looked at the right foot, right above my toes, and it was badly bruised.
Also had to clean my teeth after lunch and prior to going to the dentist for cleaning by Tracy, the dental hygienist.
Notify Anne about Thursdays; bring Costco stuff to trade for $ to cover it, and to give her a bag of clothes to take to the ECCC.
Then rush home for a haircut a mile from my house, at Celia’s.
Thursday, July 18
Work on the Sirius XM – don’t take the automatic renewal for $232.94.
We had a good bunch at Pacifica this afternoon in the audience and players for music: Gerald, Nancy & Charlie (mics), Dean, Sharon, Charlotte, Evie, Manord, Minerva, Anne. Sandy was in the audience happily singing.
I picked a day for my next haircut as Sept 6 Friday (nothing I need to attend the first Friday at the AAC, just a welcome back).
Today, my email brought an interesting report from the New York Times, which I thought I would share here, about the fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, France.
Interesting Follow-up Report on the Fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral
Friday, July 19
John left for Iron Goat trail head WTA work party at 6:00 a.m.
You need to go to John’s Not So Nasty News (Friday column) below this to get the interesting history of this trail, and that will explain his photo there, and mine here from the set sent from Nate Schmidt, their Blue Hat Crew Leader today.
Iron Goat Trail beside wall of old snow shed – left is in the distance of the right photo.
Gas powered brushers with a steel blade wrought the green chaos on the left. After the noisy beast moved on, others cleaned up. The tri-blade cutter works great on green vegetation.
My morning and afternoon was spent at the Ellensburg Adult Activity Center (our Senior Center). Below are the videos I filmed.
Intro to Katrina’s Surprise 10th anniv & HopeSource Talk
Katrina Kell Douglas Arrives Surprised ! by the Welcoming Crowd
More Accolades of Praise & Thanks to Katrina
Here is the link to the stills from today
Saturday, July 20
We didn’t sleep in very late, and I started with setting up the dishwasher and cleaning up days of dishes to put into it. I won’t get it started until I return this afternoon.
John stayed home to water onions and do all sorts of other chores around the place (and rest), especially while the temperatures are not sky high, as predicted over the next few days.
I had to run extra copies of a song for the audience and players that is not in our current music book for July – “I’ll Fly Away” because we decided to start the program today with a tribute to two residents who passed over the rainbow bridge this week. They were always present and participating (bringing food) to our 3rd Saturday music program each month, at Briarwood.
I was out of here by 12:50 to set up because I wanted to set up a tripod and camera to videotape the program. Sadly, I missed getting in Amy on the far right, but it was as far back in the room as I could get. Kelly, a resident, was kind enough to start and stop the camera recording the video. The video is below.
This may not yet be ready at publishing time because I got this message Sunday afternoon – This is taking longer than expected. Your video has been queued and will be processed as soon as possible. That never came, so I resent it and it went up this evening, in short order.
Briarwood Tribute and Patriotic Music
Here are a few photos taken on my other camera for the day.
Joe saluting my Flag vest, and Haley enjoying it.
Top with residents & two of fiddlers plus a few more fiddlers below enjoying the pies and patriotic sugar cookies. One had to leave to see his mother-in-law in the hospital with 3 screws repairing her broken hip, and another couple joined us at this table for more pie.
Thanks to Pennie Hammer for today’s donation of two more books to add music to our repertoire. She has given us much music in the past, including a huge hardback book from Reader’s Digest – Treasury of Best Loved Songs – 114 All-time Family Favorites. Below are those she brought today. 
Pennie is an artist who participates in the Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame project to paint special rodeo art on various items. I have featured her work in our blog before, and you’ll see more this year. She has painted on a drum (skin), a cow hide, lampshade, and this year for the theme Boxes of Fame, hers will be an antique family metal lunch basket. The paintings are auctioned off at a fundraiser for the Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame.
Here are two of her past projects, in 2015 and 2017. 
“It’s an all-rodeo theme and the artists donate their time. This particular fundraiser has been raising $20,000 to $35,000 a year. We’re now part of an alliance with the Western Culture Arts Center and are doing displays in their building throughout the year.”
Sunday, July 21
We slept in until 8:00 or longer in my case. I stayed up later than John, working on photographs. I was up to take care of the cats early.
I began working on transferring images of yesterday’s activities at Briarwood Commons with our Kittitas Valley Fiddlers & Friends.
John went out with the dog. Thinking he might hike to a mountain lake on Monday, he watered some things today. The airport temp went to 90 degrees for a few minutes today, but our front porch barely reached 87° with full sun. For the non-growers – that is excellent weather for most garden crops.
By 5 PM the house was a bit stuffy and 77 to 80 degrees in places. We turned the AC on for about ½ an hour, then shut it down and opened windows as the outside cooled. Monday and Tuesday will be equally hot.
Breakfast, late: We had sausage patties, eggs, peaches, and toast. Now we are inside where it is cool, both working on projects. It’s taking a while to upload the videos and to crop and organize pictures from two different cameras last week, in preparation for this blog.
Costco provided Cordon Bleu for supper. Butternut squash (with pecans, brown sugar, and toasted marshmallow top) from the 2018 garden accompanied.
Hope your week was fine.
Nancy and John
Still on the Naneum Fan