Maybe you can tell by the title of this one that I’ve spent entirely too much time lately with people who have yet to achieve puberty. You know it’s bad when the sight of back-to-school sales makes you positively giddy.
So what’s snoo with me? It’s been a busy summer, but all the busyness has been trips out of town and outdoor activities, which hasn’t left much any time for creativity. I did get another book edited, which should be out in the next month or so. It’s another fun story, and I promise I will blog about it (and the first book in the series) soon.
We’ve spent some great time in the islands so far this summer, with glorious weather and lots of flat water. We’re building a summer house on a piece of land in the Canadian gulf islands, so we went to the site and walked it with our architect. I’m so glad we’re using an architect for this project, because we’ve got a rather nice view and he knows how to take advantage of the site to give us the best of it. That reminds me though, I owe him a check (or a cheque, if you prefer the Canadian spelling)!
My husband on our lot. This faces the harbor and is about 200' straight up from the water.
Last weekend we went to the Anacortes Arts Festival, which was lovely. We spent far too much money — I really didn’t expect we would, but we found a photographer named Raquel Edwards whose work we really loved. It’s not that often that my husband and I like the same artwork, so when we do we usually buy. I think at least two of the photos will go up to the summer house when it’s finished sometime late next year. (Knock on wood.)
Raquel Edwards' Boulders and Waves, one of four prints we bought at the Anacortes Arts Festival
Her website is www.raqueledwards.com if you’d like to see more of her beautiful work. I love how she uses film and processes all her work in a darkroom. The quality of an original photo is so worth it.
My husband and son tried out our new tandem bicycle in Anacortes too! We biked from the marina to the festival. I got a pic of the tandem boys before we set out, then put the camera in my pocket.
The boys on the tandem. We are learning new lingo, like "stoker" (rear rider) and "captain" (front rider).
But the camera came back out as I rode behind my little sweetie! It’s hard to take pictures while biking, I don’t recommend it.
Love those little white sneakers and billowing skirt!
We also enjoyed a bumper crop of Rainier cherries, which are some of the sweetest (and most delicate) cherries out there. My son and his grandpa went to eastern Washington and brought back 58 boxes of cherries! 20 boxes went into the back of my truck; five for us and 15 for the food bank. The rest went to another food bank and to my in-laws and their friends. We spent hours sorting them (they bruise easily, so not all were in perfect shape) and gave tons away to neighbors, then took the last two boxes with us on a camping trip with two other families. It took 12 people three days to finish them all. I did freeze some for future use and I also made three jars of preserved cherries with amaretto, brandy, and Cointreau. I’m thinking by Christmas they’ll be perfect.
Rainier cherries - quite possibly the world's sweetest!
The kids go back to school next week, and I’m looking forward to having more time (and mental space!) to focus on jewelry and other creative pursuits! Like maybe some….blogging?