SUMMER???

“Winter is over,” opined a son yesterday. “Now we’ll have two weeks of spring and it will be summer and hot.” With his next message he said, “Correction: It’s already hot.”

And he’s right. It’s hot. Too hot. Unseasonably hot! We’ve moved quickly from lows in the 30s and highs in the 60s to lows at 50 and highs at or above 90. The forecast shows a warm weekend into the first few days of the week, and then it will be a little cooler, but the mountain snow is melting quickly now, and flood watches are in effect.

Suddenly we have to shift to summer mode. We no longer want hot tea. We’re draining our supply of ice cubes. We wear t-shirts and shorts instead of sweats and jackets. Yard work beckons. We think twice about turning on the oven. Winter bedding is too much (but I know better than to put it away). Bess is shedding and uncomfortable. We feel pressed to plant the garden.

Mike “summer-ized” our wood stove this morning, removing the wood box and vacuuming the area. “You might be a bit previous with that,” I called, but he said he can always make a fire if we need it.

We feel summer coming and we welcome the warmth if not the heat. However, summer brings challenges to the Pacific Northwest. We enjoyed a relatively quiet and safe winter while much of the rest of the country was hammered by violent storms. Some folks predict this is the new norm. Now we wonder what the summer months will bring. Draught and wildfires? Will our gardens be successful? Will the crops develop satisfactorily? Some neighborhoods here are already required to ration water due to the failure of a reservoir. As always, we can only wait and see what the future will bring. KW

SEEING SILAS IN SEATTLE

We’re back from a 3-day trip to Seattle to visit Grandson Silas and his parents. From our home in the rural east side of Washington state, we traveled over the river, beside still waters and rushing streams, beside cow pastures and greening fields, over the forested mountain pass to the city with its rushing traffic.

 

Silas was a delight. Perhaps you have grandchildren and know what they’re like at 18 months. He has enough words to get his ideas across, and soon he’ll speak in whole sentences. We had so much fun.

We ate good food. “Mm-mmm,” said Silas as he sampled Grandma’s lasagna soup. Silas likes nutritious food, like oatmeal and pumpkin puree straight from the can. And maybe you can tell that he doesn’t miss meals. "Puleez," he says as he begs for more.

 

Reading with Grandpa

We shopped, and Silas insisted on moving along with the cart.

At the nursery where Hallie bought strawberry plants, Silas loved following the wagon.

 

 

As always, saying “good-bye” was a tug at the heartstrings, but this time it was unbearable as Silas reached out to give me a good cuddle hug. I cried as Mike and I drove away, and I will cry again as I think of it. Some things are just poignant, and this expression of love from a little guy that I won’t see again for several months was just too much.

But life goes on. We can’t live with them, you know. No one would like that. They have things to do and so do we. In fact, Hallie planted strawberries and marigolds in her garden that afternoon. We were home just after 1:00, and Mike made a 20-mile bike ride. KW

NOTHING HAPPENING

 

Murray with Vitus

Nothing interesting happening here. We’d like to begin our visits to the farm, but we’re waiting for our plumber to schedule us in. (We are lucky to have an ongoing relationship with a plumber.) And besides, here in town we had frost three mornings last week. It’s still cold and even colder at the farm. I’m concerned that we won’t have fruit on the trees again this year. 

Mike with Vitus

Mike and son Murray refurbished an old bicycle, a “Vitus,” and I think they both enjoyed the project. Then they decided another type of bike would be better for Murray’s everyday exercise and bought a Kent from a pawn shop. Yay! Another bike to fix up!

And we have plenty of yard work here in town. Mike pruned the lavender and sprayed the weeds, and I’ve been cutting back the silver sage (wormwood). The first daffodils are beginning to pass while the mid-season varieties are coming into bloom. The imitation cherry is in full bloom now. Lots of its petals danced in last night’s wind and rain storm, but the tree is still beautiful.

A while back, Mike suggested that I make protectors for the backs and arms of the recliners. It would be nicer than towels, he said. So, when I noticed a “quilt as you go” project with hexagons, I decided to give it a try. I used 5-inch charm squares from my stash in a fabric line titled “Tell the Bees.” I worked right along and finished in a few days. I had so much fun doing it that I want to keep right on making those hexies. I’ll probably do a set for the recliners at the farm, but maybe it would be best to wait until I can measure. Or not. We’ll see.

Mike wondered if we should somehow protect the protectors. “Oh no you don’t,” I said. If/when they wear out, I’ll simply make more. KW

SENIORS COPING WITH LIFE – THEN AND NOW

Warm weather last week brought our budding imitation cherry tree quickly into bloom. Now it’s chilly again – highs in the 50s, lows in the 30s.

As a late-life child, I was in my 20s and 30s as my parents grew older while living in the family home. To my dismay, I observed some things about the aging process.

Technology was difficult for them. In the 1980s, the most advanced technology in the home was the VCR. They had one, but they struggled to use it, and in fact, those first units weren’t user-friendly. Today, as Mike and I sit in front of a TV that’s smarter than we are, I can relate to my parents’ struggle. Sometimes we don’t even realize that the remote is upside down! But we do try to keep up with technology because we know it’s fundamental to independent living.

So often things went wrong in my parents’ world. The new oven didn’t work right and the furnace was a lemon, and they couldn’t solve these problems. Of course, if you can’t get satisfaction from the retailer / manufacturer, sooner or later you have to junk it and replace, but their frugality just wouldn’t allow it. I thought of this as I limped along with that Kenmore dishwasher for five years before we finally replaced it, and we still have that strange refrigerator. If it keeps the milk cold, the produce freezes. The thing is, though, you just don’t know these days. You can trade in your working unit for one that doesn’t work at all.

My parents had other difficulties as well. Often, they would drive to my house with a dilemma in hand, and before my children were in school, I would move car seats from my car to theirs and drive them wherever they needed to go. (My dad called me “efficient” – high praise!) I did the driving and sometimes I even did the talking. And sometimes I would say, “Hey, we can do this with a phone call,” whereupon I would make the call while they sat by in awe of my abilities.

Fortunately, Mike handles our business, or we support each other through what we need to do. Everyone has these things, and staying on top of it is part of staying among the living.

And it wasn’t just that my parents found it difficult to keep up with technology and solve problems. They continued to be interested in politics and world affairs. They watched the news followed by Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune, but they didn't follow current movies and celebrities, AND they simply didn’t care. It made me sad, but today, I can relate. I don’t know today’s celebrities, and I don’t care. KW

A JOYOUS EASTERTIDE TO YOU

 

Daughter Hallie sent photos of Silas’ first Easter basket decked out with the eggs and bunnies I crocheted. I wonder what he will think about that basket of goodies. Note the absence of candy. I think Hallie said she would have some healthy treats for him.

The weather promises to be sunny and warm this weekend. Mike looks forward to a bike ride and then grilling a roast for our Easter dinner.

Brother Chuck has opined that when it stays cold late into the season, it suddenly becomes hot rather than gradually warming. The result is that the mountain snowpack melts quickly, causing flooding. All we can do is wait and see. After a few hot days, the forecast is for highs in the 50s and rain. KW

DISCOURAGEMENT

Home, home on the range,

Where the deer and the antelope play,

Where seldom is heard a discouraging word . . .

. . . unless, of course, your "home on the range" has plumbing.

“More disappointing than surprising,” Mike said as we drove out of the farm yard Wednesday afternoon.

We had driven back to the farm that morning to turn the water on, taking son Murray with us as an extra set of eyes and ears. Unfortunately, we have plumbing problems again due to the cold winter in this isolated place. Fortunately, we were careful as we turned the water on, and any damage to the house is minimal. Mike has already contacted our plumber. We are also fortunate to have a relationship with a plumber who is willing to schedule us in when we need him.

But – we are discouraged. I always dream of a cozy farm Christmas, but we have to winterize so early that it just isn’t possible. Our plan is to have the plumber winterize the house, probably between Halloween and Thanksgiving. As much as I hate to let go of my dream, it’s better and a lot less stressful to have a firm plan. And after all, Grandma Ina and my menagerie of imaginary characters goes with me everywhere.

It was 45 on the farm and about that in the house, too. We were chilled, and the sun-warmed Jeep felt so good. We were back in town before 3:00, and then Mike commenced to spray weeds here and wash the Jeep in a balmy 60 degrees.

Meanwhile, I’ve started some covers for the arms and backs of our recliners using a pattern for a hexagon quilt. “What!?? Another project?!! What happened to all those other quilts and that afghan you’re crocheting and the doll dresses,” I hear you asking. And you’re right. I’m off on another tangent, but I’m hopeful that I will finish this project. They will look so much better on the recliners than the towels from the rag bin. I also took a break and crocheted eggs and bunnies for grandson Silas’ first Easter basket, but I forgot to take a picture of them. KW

MEMORY LAPSES

Cherry tree begins to bud

“I’m going to spray the weeds after lunch,” said Mike.

“Are you sure you should,” I asked. “The wind has come up.”

And so, he settled on another activity.

And that’s the way it goes in early spring. The weather is so changeable. The sun shines one minute and it clouds up the next. And it’s quite breezy. Nothing much is happening yet. Our summer projects are still in the planning stage.

Mike and I tried to stream a movie the other night. Mike had one in mind, but we couldn’t find it, so we began to surf through the menu for something to watch. I hate that! It’s a waste of time. But eventually we agreed upon a certain documentary.

Same tree, different direction

“Hmmm,” I thought to myself. “How long should I sit here before I mention that I think we’ve seen this?” It’s not unusual for either one of us to select programs we’ve already seen, and it can be a while before we realize it. Ten minutes in, I gently ventured, “Do you think we’ve seen this?” Mike laughingly agreed, and we went back to the menu.

“That looks interesting,” I said of the documentary on Calamity Jane.

“But we’ve seen it,” said Mike.

“We have?” I questioned.

“I think so,” said Mike.

Two minutes in, I realized he was right.

Finally, we settled on some lackluster biography, but the next day I couldn’t remember the subject. “What did we watch last night?” I asked Mike.

He paused. “It will come to me,” he said. And it came to him first – a biography on Gary Cooper. I’m not sure, but I think we had seen it. KW