27-31 Dec: end of year outings

Saturday, 27 December 2014

Allan made a breakfast of fresh egg from Garden Tour Nancy’s flock of hens.

subtle and lovely hues

Nancy had acquired a new chicken for Christmas!  (Nancy’s photo enhanced by Waterlogue)

Scrambled, the eggs were rich in colour.

In the kitchen window, the paperwhites had grown so tall that they were hidden behind the lacy valance.  I moved them down to sink level.

I spent the day blogging about Lisa’s party.  One more event was scheduled for the month: music at the Sou’wester Lodge on Saturday evening.

We drove up to the lodge past vintage trailers with holiday lights.

in the living room of the lodge

Allan’s photo. The room filled till every seat was taken.

Allan’s photo: We were offered (and accepted) tasty little chocolate tarts.

Sean Ogilvie

Allan’s photo of a CD by Sean and friends

Sean quietly sang maritime stories of fog, rivers, sails, waves, lighthouses, mariners.  He spoke of how he has been writing songs with his best friend since age 14 and he now has a fifteen year old daughter.  It’s too bad, I thought, that Montana Mary and I did not continue our 14-year-old musical collaboration.

Laura Gibson (right)  listens to a song about Sean’s childhood.  To the left sat Sean’s daughter and a friend.

Laura Gibson

Laura sang more gentle folk songs.  She said, “I don’t have very many upbeat songs so I have to strategically place them”.  She referred several times to The Gambler as being one of her favourite songs, one she might sing later that evening at the karaoke bar just down the block.  I was grateful she did not sing it at the Sou’wester as it is possibly my least favourite song.  She spoke of playing Cards Against Humanity with some young “whippersnappers” and how that had segued into a serious talk about senility (because part of the game was a joke about senility, to go along with jokes about rape, racism, and the Holocaust).  I wondered if she Laura felt the sense of despair about humans that I feel every time I hear that someone likes that game.  My sense of humour, and I do have one, so does not work that way. The usual wave of baffled disheartenment about the game’s popularity distracted me from the next song.  Even though I heard a couple of enthusiastic audience murmurings of “I LOVE that game”, I comforted myself with the realization that most of the gentle readers of this blog (all twenty of you!) would likely share my reaction.

I was glad we had stirred ourselves out of the house to sit in the comfortable old lodge, and we intend to go back for more shows in 2015.

Sunday, 28 December 2014

A Facebook message reminded me that an imaginary friend was visiting the Peninsula, about to make the transition to being a “met in real life” friend.  Thus another social outing presented itself, having dinner at the Depot with Sonya and her friend Paul.  I had met Sonya online in gardening forums and email lists, probably including the old Rainyside Gardeners forum.  We now knew each other through Facebook and would finally meet over dinner at the Depot Restaurant.

First, I decided it was time for Christmas at home to be over.  Allan heartily agreed, saying “I’m ready to move on.”

Ed Strange dropped by for a visit and said he was on his way home to also put away Christmas.

It was a relief to have the tree and ornaments and wreaths stored away and access to my gardening books restored.

The only hint of Christmas left indoors was Garden Tour Nancy’s chicken Christmas card (too cute to put away yet) and the beautifully decorated Joy Cup candy that was sent to us by Allan’s Aunt Dorothy and Uncle Hal.

Allan took some sunset photos from the back garden.

Allan’s photo

I Waterlogued it.

With the house restored to cozy everyday life, we departed for the Depot.

Sonya and Paul

Over 30 years ago, Sonya and I frequented many of the same places such as the old Monastery all ages dance club in Seattle.  We conversed about the present day, having gone over the old days when we first met online.

Among our selections of delicious dinner fare:

Allan and Paul had the salmon special.

I had a whole delicious bowl of Udon prawns to myself.

Allan’s espresso chocolate pot de creme. (The rest of us had eggnog flan.)

Over appetizers (oysters, crab mac, and carne asada), Sonya showed me the photos she had taken today whilst she and Paul took a long bike ride on the Discovery Trail through the dunes from Long Beach all the way to a walk up to the North Head Lighthouse.  She says I can share them with you.  Here’s a breath of fresh air, much needed since I’ve been mostly staying home reading.

photo by Sonya Reasor

North Head Lighthouse, photo by Sonya Reasor

photo by Sonya Reasor

photo by Sonya Reasor

photo by Sonya Reasor

“Fantastic sunset – we spent the day riding bikes along the Discovery Trail. Some of the most beautiful ocean views I’ve ever seen. ” photo by Sonya Reasor

photo by Sonya Reasor

Monday, 29 December 2014

Cold weather and a good book kept me indoors again.

bright cold sun cast strong shadows on the porch across the street

I’ve been turning into such a night person, and have had increasing insomnia, with reading till 4 AM and not being able to sleep till 6 AM, so I am not seeing much daylight.

rustia shadows

This schedule simply must change in January, as I have garden clean up to do at home before work begins anew in February.  Meanwhile, I have stacks of books to read and the wee morning hours are the most peaceful time.  In the last few days and nights, I’ve read these excellent books:

Despite it being so well written, I don’t think I loved this one as much as friends hoped I would.

Tuesday, 30 December 2014

While I read The Signature of All Things, Allan took down the most Christmasy of the exterior lights (icicles and strings of multi coloured bulbs).  We will leave some plain white and some purple lights up for special occasions all year.  It was so cold out (just below freezing, which is cold by our standards) that he had to take several breaks.  He did notice with interest that I had a clematis in bloom on the west side of the garage.  It is ‘Freckles’, and it is normal for it to bloom in winter.

Freckles

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Wednesday, 31 December 2014

Once again, as the year closes, and as I have done many times this year, I wrote a long thing (dirge? sludge? mortification? revelation?) about emotions, friendship, the changing of the year, and more and then deleted it because, well, I suppose this is a gardening blog, after all.  This time, I saved it all to a draft while I consider publishing it or not.  Instead, here is an excellent post by a friend of mine on her own revelations about having to give up the dream of a perfect white picket fence family.  This paragraph, about friends lost through divorce, especially spoke to me:  “Some people are lifelong friends and some are not AND THAT is OK. … Maybe I should add on my to-do list: lift less weight.  Or drop the bars, turn the page and start writing a new story. Change the characters, develop a better plot, think through the hero’s crux with more purpose, and seek positive resolution. Good writers abandon dead end plots and sequences to invent newer, more bold and brave context to draw in the audience. I am officially discarding the text with no purpose and intentionally interacting with my tale with nothing but LOVE and LIGHT.”  

Meanwhile, the rest of today will consist of this:

I thank Kathleen for recommending it as the first 50 pages are utterly gripping . 500 to go, and it’s due on Friday!

My plan is to next share a garden visit that is planned for New Year’s Day, as our big plans for New Year’s evening involve watching a movie (Baraka: A World Beyond Words), followed by the Seattle fireworks on telly.  As the New Year begins, I hope to share some of my favourite passages from the books I’ve been reading.  Wishing you the best possible 2015.

 

 

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26 December: boxing day party

Friday, 26 December 2014

When our friend Lisa of the Hydrangea House (and previously from Crank’s Roost, a longtime job of ours back when she owned that little Seaview cottage) invited us to her Boxing Day open house, I went back and forth a dizzying number of times. On Christmas Day, I made what I thought was a final decision to let social anxiety rule and not go.  And then, on Boxing Day itself, I changed my mind again and Lisa was kind enough to not let the backing and forthing bother her.

She assured me that the open house hosted by her and her spouse Buzz could be blog fodder, so here we go.

The house has now been named, in Japanese letters, after our dear friend Bill Clearman.

The house is of special interest to me not only because we used to prune the hydrangeas but because Bill Clearman, working with a Japanese architect, was the builder.

corner of garage, approaching the walkway

One of the house’s significant features is the blue tile roof on the garage, the walkway, and the house itself.  Here are daylight photos from an earlier visit.

The approach to the house that we walked tonight after dark.

a small part of the field of 275 blue hydrangeas

walkway to guest house

Bill painstakingly fit together the posts and beams using Japanese tools.

The left side of the walkway is planted with noxious and firmly entrenched English Ivy.  It would be hell to remove, but I’d replace it with a collection of hellebores and, say, epimidiums.

to the front door

to the right of the steps, the sand garden had Maddy’s footprints and a rubber dog toy. (Allan’s photo)

Allan’s photo with Maddy’s “kong” chew toy.

a waterlogue of the sand garden from a gardening day of the past

by the front door (Allan’s photo, for Garden Tour Nancy)

Inside:  the massive fireplace in the living room

and the obligatory Waterlogue

detail

There is an art theme shared by the two parties we attended this season, as there is also a photo or painting of a water tower in Debbie’s house, and I meant to ask her the significance but I forgot.

A new mahogany floor was recently laid by Bill, replacing carpeting from the previous homeowners.

To the right, I parked myself in the cozy seating spot for much of the party….

after taking a plate of snacks from the first wave of food in the dining room.

the tree, which was purchased from the Ilwaco High School Music Boosters annual Christmas tree sale

My good friend Maddy, living in hope of someone dropping good food.

I made an excursion onto the east side deck to have a look at the hydrangeas.

the hydrangeas with old papery flowers hanging on

The vast hydrangea field extends all along the front of the guest house.  I was pleased to see that pavers have now been set into the river rock for better access.  I used to find that so hard to walk on.

from the deck, Allan’s photo; in the daytime, you would be able to view Willapa Bay’s changing tides.

Allan’s photo

Allan checked on the fairy door.

Patti J was there and sat with us.

our Patti

Maddy settled down with us for awhile.

my sit spot haven

the view from my seat

and another view from my sit spot

I looked up and marveled at Bill’s work on the high ceiling. (Note the high windows that bring in much daylight)

If I am not mistaken the beams are all fitted together with the use of Japanese woodworking tools and with no nails or screws.

The main course of food appeared, with brioches made by Pink Poppy Bakery.

note the blue calico plates; I love them (and have a few myself)

Desserts included Pink Poppy cookies and some of the Pink Poppy pecan pie that I had read of and was pleased to get to sample.

desserts, with Ray from Astoria in a festive tie

another of the desserts

One of Buzz’s sons kept the fire going; the fireplace is large enough to take a big log.  From where I sat, I admired the built in storage for firewood.

 

Buzz was a consummate host, circulating and making sure everyone was well supplied with food and drink.

Having read Buzz’s book, Father’s Day, I was especially pleased to meet his son Zach.  Zach asked me what day Allan and I had been married.  I told him the date ten years ago and he immediately told me what day of the week that date had fallen on.  I had read of this, but hearing it in person boggles the mind.

Zach in red

Sometimes I am nostalgic about gardening here. When I looked out the window in the dark and saw the stems of the hydrangeas they called to me but not loudly enough to really want to prune them again.  It’s a job for younger gardeners with good knees.

stems, through the window, telephoto from where I sat

Later in the party, Allan had a long schmooze with Buzz on the topic of motorcycling.

Allan and Buzz discussing a fascinating subject

I met Cynthia from Astoria and I was surprised, as always, to learn that she reads this blog.  While suffering at times from the usual social anxiety, I practiced asking questions.  It’s an easy solution at times, as I am interested in the answers.  The sometimes impossible part is making the approach or sitting down in a group, especially a group of elegant looking people while feeling like a peasant (and like someone with a very, very small life).  I wandered around a bit taking photos of objects, which behavior might have looked a little weird, and then Waterlogued some in order to look serenely occupied.

I well remember typing on an LC Smith typewriter like that.

 

As we departed, the evergreen smell from the small grove of redwoods by driveway filled the air with the essence of winter.  I was glad we had rousted ourselves out of the lazy comforts of home.  Thanks, Lisa and Buzz.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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21-25 December: celebratory

I celebrated four days at home, mostly reading with some puttering thrown in.  Allan made it out to take some photos of the very high tides:

Sunday, 21 December 2014

9.2 “King tide” has the marinas ramped laid out straight.

double triangle flag calls for another gale

We did not have any fierce rain or wind during the three “king tide” days so he did not get to see the water all the way over the Jessie’s dock.

the bench at the south end of the boat yard

In the boatyard garden, Allan found some narcissi bulbs atop the soil, and planted them.  I hope they were just missed during planting time and not dug up by critters….  If missed, though, one would think I’d have seen them before now while walking by.

Only a few stray bulbs were evident.

The garden had been blown and broken by the wind.

bulb mystery

Monday, 22 December 2014

Allan took another set of 9.2 king tide photos:

the edge of the marina (the lawn where Saturday Market booths are set up in summer)

The storm was over for part of the day; then more rain arrived.

Allan totally fooled me when he sent me this one upside down.

Tuesday, 23 December 2014

I believe that Tuesday was the day when Allan emailed me an article about the top phone apps of the year, inspiring me to acquire Waterlogue.  While I had intended to read for four days straight, I instead spent a whole lot of time altering photos with its one click instant joy.

crab boats in fog, Allan’s photo

bringing in the catch

Don Nisbett Art Gallery in snow, Dec 2009, Allan’s photo

Waterlogued Jessie’s, Allan’s photo

King tide with blue sky, Allan’s photo

Meanwhile, a Christmas package had arrived from Montana Mary.  She advised, via email, that I open the box as some items were perishable.

delectable little pie cookies from Mary

At dusk, Allan noticed an interesting, rain inspired fungus on our gate.  I’ll get a better photo in brighter daylight:

Many Christmas cards had begun to accrue on our kitchen shelves.  Here are some of our favourites of this year.

A star from Gwyneth in Texas, next to a Christmas horse from Montana Mary. I love that beautiful horse.

The star card opened up into a burst of beauty:

a fuzzy critter from Minnesota Marilyn, whom I met many years ago at Mediawestcon, a midwest science fiction convention.

From Maggie and Susan, Seattleites whom I also met via the SF convention rounds.

from Allan’s friend Joyce, a manager from way back when he worked as an assembler of bikes and toys at Fred Meyers all around the NW.

and from our local friends Artist Don Nisbett and Queen La De Da

I’m pleased to have about twenty friends who still send cards the old fashioned way.

this year’s card display (with the year round clothes-pinned card display above)

During the evenings, we were watching the final and not very holiday-ish season of True Blood.  No Christmas movies were part of our viewing fare this year.

Wednesday, 24 December 2014

Around midday, Garden Tour Nancy’s husband, Phil, appeared with a bag of Christmas gifts.  He knocked so quietly that I did not hear but I caught him at his Santa rounds when I heard the front gate click as he was leaving.

Phil, playing Santa

The next day, Nancy informed me that Phil liked our sun porch decorations (which are many).  At this time of year, the best is our wreath, made by Jenna (Queen La De Da).

Nancy texted me that I should open the perishable part of the present.  I was delighted to find eggs from her flock.

Waterlogue: eggs from the girls

All day, torrential rain fell, which made me happy as it saved me from the urge to weed.

north window view

We would open presents in the evening.  As soon as staycation begins, our night owl tendencies completely take over so we pretty much do not have mornings at all.

the tree

The cards and the sight of presents under the tree was a warm reminder of true friends old and new.

Allan and I began the gift extravaganza by opening our Christmas crackers. and putting on our paper crowns.  You can read all about Christmas crackers here, where I learned that the wearing of hats at parties “dates back to the Roman Saturnalia”.

Allan, having already opened his, demonstrates the pulling apart of the Christmas cracker.

I had done an ace job of camouflaging Allan’s present’s distinctive flat, hard shape by enclosing it in two pillows.  He was mystified and thought it must be something like a puffy down jacket.

It was large and soft.

“The pillows aren’t part of the present, are they?” he said.

I had commissioned a painting by our friend, local painter Don Nisbett, of Allan in his kayak.

I’d sent Don photos of the boat from the boat manufacturer website, and photos that Allan had taken on one of his river boating trips.  Here are the photos he had for reference:

and the painting that he came up with:

 We went on then to the rest of the prezzies.

some of the books that came from Allan to me, and from Garden Tour Nancy and from Kathleen.

I was happily carried back to childhood memories when the best Christmas presents were the books piled under the tree (usually horse stories back then!)  In the lower right, above, you can see a hint of a bag of comfy white socks, which is something I always ask Allan for.  He also surprised me with a new pair of SAS shoes as a year of constant wear had worn a small hole in mine.

My friend Montana Mary knows me well after almost fifty years of friendship.

a beautiful book from Kathleen, along with Robert Pyle’s Wintergreen for Allan.

books and preserves from Garden Tour Nancy

and you can guess whose card had a chicken theme!

garden tool ornaments from Don and Jenna

flowered kitchen bottles from Lisa and Buzz

We got warm down vests from KBC Mary and Denny and a wealth of chocolates, cocoa, tea, and other treats mixed in with all the assorted presents.  (We’d already been snacking all week on a crackers and cheese gift from Allan’s Seattle-based brother and a selection of “Joy Cups”, organic peanut butter cup style candies from his aunt and uncle.)

Allan made a Christmas eve dinner with savoury chicken, mashed garden potatoes, salad and veg and jellied cranberry sauce from a can (the best kind, in my opinion!)

Thursday, 25 December 2014

Before I was even awake, Allan set off on an excursion to satisfy his curiosity about what the big pile of dredge spoils on the south side of marina actually looks like close up.

Here’s what the pile looked like from the south end of Elizabeth Avenue in Sept. 2012

the dredge working to keep the channel open, taken in November

from our local paper, showing how the dredge places the mud

looking back toward the marina from atop the dredge pile

Nothing beautiful can be done with this as dredging spoils keep getting added to it over the years.

panorama made in camera

He noticed that the house on Yellow Bluff on the east end of town is getting disconcertingly close to the edge; I have heard that it has lost part of its lawn slowly over years of winter storms.  At low tide, you can walk a rocky beach along the base of the bluff.

This telephoto may show the house looking closer to the edge than it actually is. What a view!

It was a muddy rather than a white Christmas morning for Allan.

When he got home, I was in the middle of my coffee and a light breakfast.  We would be having an early Christmas dinner at the Depot.

I had a look at the windblown and weedy front garden…

and was saved from a couple of hours of gardening by several squalls of drenching rain.

I wanted to get a better photo of the fungus on the front arbour:

There’s a reason why I call my Canon camera “Spot”.

Allan’s photo, taken with “Spot”

and given the Waterlogue treatment

I was surprised when the photos revealed the fungus to be a trio of upside down mushrooms.  It has been wet around here.

During the day, a local friend took a photo of the beach version of a white Christmas:

guest photo by Wendy Murry of Avery cavorting in sea foam on Christmas day

We met J9 at the Depot for the traditional Christmas Dickens dinner (which is usually held on Christmas eve).  I was glad it had been changed to Christmas day this year, because last night J9 was doing a show on KMUN radio in Astoria.  She is a woman of many hats:  occupational therapy, restaurant service, party helper, and community radio programmer.

The Depot Restaurant

the Depot culinary-themed tree

view from our table with Server of the Year Don gliding swiftly

wreath hung on the original door to the train depot

diners at the bar

We pulled three Christmas crackers and put on our gold paper crowns.

Each Christmas cracker has a little gift inside along with the crown and a riddle.  Because the crackers were part of J9’s Christmas present, it was particularly cosmic that one gift was a wine stopper with a star on top, as she collects moon and star motifs.  Even more cosmically, another tiny gift was a small heart necklace which fit perfectly with her Christmas gift.

J9 opening her present

On a bedside table during last fall’s Cannon Beach Cottage Tour, I’d seen a little picture book called Heart Stones and knew that it would be perfect for J9.  Her daddy collected stones with heart shapes, and when she gardened with me for a few months, she would often find them and say “There’s a daddy rock.”  Now whenever I find a daddy rock, I snag it for her.

We had ordered her the book, and added a daddy rock we recently found; the heart pendant was the perfect addition.

She and I ordered the Dickens dinner: beef and Yorkshire pudding and brussel sprouts with bacon. J9 asked for an end piece and got enough to make tonight’s dinner, and tomorrow’s and the next day’s.

J9’s dinner(s)

Allan chose the filet mignon.

Allan and I had delicate eggnog flan for dessert.

and J9 had blackberry bread pudding, which cried out to be “painted in Waterlogue”

As we departed, I examined the window box annuals which will not die and which are now joined by emerging bulb foliage.

Depot window box from inside

We drove home through light rain past one especially well lit house in mostly dark Seaview.

only one half of the house, the other half being washed out by a bright security light

We’ve bowed out (at least semi-gracefully, we hope) of a big party tomorrow evening in order to recuperate from our holiday extravaganza.

Today on Facebook, I read a Christmas greeting that says it all to me, from Beth in the upriver town of Skamakowa:

Wishing everyone a looong weekend of peace or noise; family, friends, or solitude; religious and/or cultural celebrations, or none at all; abundant, good food and whatever else brings you joy.

Be patient with the Stupid.
Be careful on the roads.
Be gentle with people who have to work while the rest of us relax.

Happy (awkwardMashUpOfHolidayNames) everyone!

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18-20 Dec: art and music

It certainly is a difficult time of year to find time to just read!  There is so much to do in our beachy towns over the holidays.

Thursday, 18 December 2014

I seemed to find all sorts of little chores to do (and presents to wrap) over the afternoon of Thursday.  I even took a short walk as I have not been getting any gardening exercise due to rainy and windy weather.

When I turned the corner on Pearl Avenue, half a block away, the wind from the south was so strong that my walk became a brief one.

at the meander line, looking west

and east toward our bogsy woods

The same photo, with painted photo effect by Waterlogue.

I hope this winter to do a post on my other blog about the meander line, the irregular imaginary line that runs east-west between the town and the port.

I made it as far as Don Nisbett’s Art Gallery on Waterfront Way (because I knew there would be cookies).

Don was talking enthusiastically to some high school students who wanted internships.

marina view from the gallery windows

I returned home to snoozing cats, who continued to lack a lap to sit on as Allan and I were off out to a watercolor art show just round the block at Grays Harbor Community College’s local annex.

Miss Mary, snoozing

Calvin

We found the block long trip, at dusk, to be so wet and wild that we got thoroughly drenched.

Looking west on Lake Street…with Allan just leaving our gate.

Allan’s photo, looking east

The watercolours by instructor and students were displayed in the hallway of the college.

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo:  mingling, with art instructor Carol Couch on left

We were pleased that our friend from Seaview, Patti, was at the event, as well.  You might recall that Carol Couch’s studio was one of the venues on the recent studio tour, where we had bought a couple of her prints.  I am hoping to take a class from her, perhaps this winter.  She assured me that she takes rank beginners. Even though I have been enjoying creating, well, fake watercolours from photos with the Waterlogue app, I still would like to learn to create the real thing.

Patti wisely had her high water pants on.

Some cookies, crackers and cheese had been laid out in the student lounge of the small college building.

The outdoor seating area, shieded from wind, shows how damp the weather was at dusk…looking southwest across the port parking lots.

Since it was Thursday, we went out again later to the Cove Restaurant’s fish taco night (where Allan actually got a tasty $2 fish taco to go with the rest of his meal; I’ve been sidetracked every time  by the ahi tuna dish).  The roads were like lakes, with sheets of rain water driven sideways by the wind.

Allan’s photo: looking in the front window of the Cove.

The restaurant had a musician playing and was so busy that we sat at the counter, an excellent spot for watching the kitchen and getting to have quick chats with Wendy and Sondra when they get a moment to rest.

at the counter, with restaurateur Sondra and her sister Wendy at work

view from our counter seats into the busy dining room

George Coleman skillfully entertained with seasonal tunes.

I’d been craving Chef Jason Lancaster’s food as we had not been in for three weeks.  (Last Thursday’s storm had closed the restaurant down, and the previous Thursday it had been full to overflowing.)

We shared Prawns Solo and Allan had a fish taco and the udon noodle bowl.

Chef Jason says that the sauce in a noodle bowl is better absorbed and enhanced by udon noodles than by yakisoba noodles.

I was thrilled that his delectably prepared ahi tuna was on tonight’s menu.

schmoozing with Jason about food (Allan’s photo)

the dining room, still aglow as we were among the last diners to depart.

After the evening of Thursday, January 1st, the restaurant will be closed for the rest of January.  We hear they will be open for feasting on New Year’s Eve (but won’t be staying open till midnight!)

Friday, 19 December 2014

Friday was a much needed reading day…

I read this and China Bayles mystery.

One Perfect Day was written in the droll style of the New Yorker, and made me glad that the wedding I attended last summer was a true home made garden wedding, untouched by the wedding industry.

excerpt

Saturday, 20 December 2014

After a Friday of just reading (pure delight), we devoted Saturday to holiday errands.

We had had a pineapple express of rain overnight, as the view of our back garden shows.

When we went down to the Saturday Market, we heard that the water had been up over the Jessie’s Fish Co loading docks.

We came just after high tide.

It would have looked like this photo from a 2011 edition of the Chinook Observer:

Inside the Saturday Christmas Market, our mission was to buy a few gifts and to stock up on some frosted cookies from Pink Poppy Bakery.

Pink Poppy owner Madeline Moore

lemony frosted cookies

Local potter Karen Brownlee had a booth today.

shopping at Lisa Gillespie’s booth (Allan’s photo)

double storm flag (Allan’s photo)

a delivery to and a present from Don Nisbett (Allan’s photo)

Allan’s photo by Don’s gallery

On the way north on a present-delivery run, we popped into NIVA green for reasons we cannot specify here (as our reason had to do with Christmas shopping).

inside NIVA green

Heather asked me if I would help out with the NIVA green Facebook page.  She actually asked “How much do you charge?” which is a novel question indeed and one that I much appreciated!  I told her that I had just read that book about the wedding industry in which one wedding planner would not name a price but would wait till the immediate afterglow of a perfectly beautiful wedding and then ask the mother of the bride “How much was it worth to you?”  Anyway, I look forward to being able to add some photo content to the page, as Heather herself is busy creating and acquiring objects of art.

Heather Ramsay sets the world on fire.

Heather Ramsay table lamps and faux heater (Oh how I love them, especially the “heater”)

all sorts of charming little gifties

We left NIVA green to deliver presents to the hydrangea house, Andersen’s RV Park, and Klipsan Beach Cottages.

a mossy wall at the hydrangea house

the footprints of homeowner Lisa and Buzz’s dog, Maddie (Allan’s photo)

I am pretty sure that the owner of Andersen’s doesn’t read this blog; if she does, she is going to see just one day early what her Christmas present is: a delightful history book about trailer life.

Onward we drove to Klipsan Beach Cottages, where the garden was well decorated for the season by owners Mary and Denny.

the view west from Mary and Denny’s house showing the road to the cottages on the ridge.

KBC

view in the east gate of the fenced garden

photo enhancement by Waterlogue

in the garden

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

by the office door

inside the office

Mary and Denny’s tree

 

Allan’s photo: Bella, me, Mary

some pets for Bella

We did not linger long as three of Mary’s sisters were there and bustling preparations were underway for more family to arrive.

As we arrived back in Ilwaco, we saw that a large Santa had arrived two blocks west.

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

In the evening, our friend J9 joined us at the Sou’wester for a musical play performed by Nick Jaina.  We had been quite taken with him when we saw him on another stormy weekend over a year ago.

Sou’wester Lodge, Allan’s photo

I always love the glow of the vintage trailer court at night.

Sou’wester sunporch, Allan’s photo

tonight’s event

Innkeepers and guests were just finishing their dinner in the lodge kitchen. (Allan’s photo)

We were offered clam chowder; Allan accepted and said it was delicious.

Allan noticed the “how it works” sign on the living room turntable.

With J9, we sat on a couch and waited for a few minutes.

photo courtesy Sou’wester

From the Sou’wester event description:  With Nick Jaina “recently back from New Orleans, we have a rare opportunity to witness this thought-provoking performance from one of our favorite artists-in-residence and performers. Please be in your seats by 8 pm.

The Hole in the Coffin is a 50-minute story told through words and music by Nick Jaina about a strange experience he had in New Orleans of going to the funeral of his hero and ending up inside the coffin with a gun and a bible. He tries to unravel the information he is given, reconnect with his former love, and piece together the perfect love song.”

Nick Jaina sang and spoke of mysterious happenings on a visit to New Orleans.

While I am not big on New Year’s resolutions, after this riveting performance I resolved to further my efforts to get out to more Sou’wester events in the future, even though it is so hard to leave the house in the evening once one gets settled in.

The performance inspired a thoughtful mood that distracted me from purchasing a copy of Nick’s book.  I must find out if the Sou’wester has it for sale or else order it online.

Since I was so impressed last year with a song he wrote about lost love, I am particularly interested in his survey on “the ability of love songs to woo anyone, featuring interviews with people [he’s] written love songs about.”

At home, we added some one more photo to our collection of Ilwaco’s homes for the holidays.

our house (Allan’s photo)

We would now have four days to relax before the next round of holiday events.

 

 

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17 Dec: holiday buffet lunch

Wednesday, 17 December 2014

I met Garden Tour Nancy at her house to go with her to today’s event, and noticed something interesting about her front door wreath.

It’s a Santa Chicken!

That reminds to to share with you a photo of the pale blue egg, the first egg from one of Nancy’s young hens:

Nancy’s photo

…and of a stunning “wreath salad” that she made to take to the Water Music Festival Christmas party:

Nancy’s Christmas wreath salad

We had a good natter while we drove partway up the bay side of the Peninsula for…

Debbie’s Holiday Buffet Lunch

While I am not much of a lady, I was most pleased to be invited to blog reader and gardener Debbie’s ladies’ holiday buffet lunch.  I had been wanting to see her bayside house AND greenhouse.

My friend Ralph and his beautiful bayside house

Inside, I was smitten with the light, the tall ceilings, the view, and the holiday decor.  The house was built by Debbie’s contractor husband, Dave (who was puttering in his workshop during the party).

in the guest room where we put our coats

The closet doors made me want to hire Dave to do some sort of door like this, on a smaller “double wide” scale, for our flimsily-doored closets.

How gorgeous this is!

in the hallway, the bird art that I also got for Allan last Christmas (from Peninsula Landscape Supply)

living room with bay facing windows

the view to Willapa Bay

in the living room

under the tree, an homage to Ralph the dog

Debbie says the curtain-like lights are called Strala Lights. I am now on a quest for some. Or hoping to put Allan on a quest.

The front porch arches enhance the view of trees.

over the sink, tiles of paintings.

One of the flower tiles is of a painting by Klimt.  I thought of him as only doing the gold-draped human figures, not flower-scapes.

Long ago, Bryan had this poster…

Little did I know that Klimt also made art like this.

Debbie had laid on a beautiful luncheon with two salads, pulled pork sliders and lots of finger food.

to the right, local potter extraordinaire Karen Brownlee

salads

and cookies from Pink Poppy Bakery!

You can how the kitchen just flows into the living room (called the great room, I believe).

Ralph was ready and willing to hoover up any crumbs.

We settled and ate from one end of the common space to the other. I started out at the table by the west windows…

and had dessert with Nancy (in black) by the east windows.

view from the east table

Ralph got plenty of attention from the dog lovers in the group.

Debbie (left) and her lovely friend and co-host…whose name I forget because I’m bad that way.

A couple of hours later, some of us went out to see the enormous greenhouse, where Debbie is growing on some plants for the Master Gardeners’ spring seminar plant sale.

a dream of a greenhouse

a mingling of gardeners

A grand time was had by all.  Thank you, Debbie, for letting your home be blog fodder!

 

 

 

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14 Dec: B&B tour—Boreas Inn

Sunday, 14 December 2014

We continued our B&B tour at the Boreas Inn where we take care of the gardens and whose owners, Susie and Bill, are treasured friends of ours.  Let me remind you that the inn is for sale, so as you peruse the photos you might ponder whether this might be the perfect dream for you.  You would have your own house, the one to the left; the inn is set back to the right.  You would be able to walk to the beach on your own path over the rolling dunes.  We would turn the gardens over to you or would recommend some wonderful local gardeners to take over…because, like Bill and Susie, we are trying to cut back.  You’d be doing us a good turn if you buy the inn because then our dear friends could move to Ilwaco and be our nearby neighbours!

approaching the Boreas

Allan’s photo

Boreas, god of the north wind

We get the north wind in summer, and mostly south and west wind (and occasionally a cold wind from the east) in the winter.

beautiful job on the windowbox, Susie!  (Allan’s photo)

Allan’s photo

The stairs to the innkeepers’ house are to the left.

flower lights on the porch

entrance to the inn

 

The Boreas gets consistently rave reviews from all the weary travelers who check in here.

entering the inn. To the right are the stairs to the second floor guest rooms. To the left is the kitchen and dining room.

When you enter the inn, you walk past the kitchen and dining area and into the first of two living room spaces, passing a sideboard loaded with an assortment of tea and coffee always available for guests.

a lavish assortment of beverages

Susie and Bill laid out a wonderful spread of treats for the open house.  (The breakfasts they serve their guests are renowned, and the Boreas always places near the top of the annual KING 5 best of the northwest contest, which says a lot for a place that is so far from the urban centers.)

Allan’s photo

Every year, Bill and Susie harvest a “chanukah bush” from the dunes, and on Thanksgiving weekend a group of longtime guests comes to stay and participate in an inn decorating extravaganza.

the Boreas Inn Chanukah bush

the inner living room; to the right is the door to the Garden Suite

the fireplace in the cozy first living room

in the first living room; the Garden Suite is to the right.

While we wandered around taking pictures (and eating snacks), J9 had already settled herself in the beautiful, light filled sun room.

The piano belonged to Susie’s father.

Windows on north, west, and south sides make for great storm watching.

looking east toward the dining room and kitchen

Susie’s jade plant. To the right, outside, you can see the hot tub enclosure.

living room view. We could see the crests of the ocean waves and an occasional crabbing boat or cargo ship on the horizon.

Let’s take a tour of the five guest rooms.  My favourite is the Garden Suite on the north side of the downstairs.

The Garden Suite

Allan’s photo

 

Allan’s photo

The Garden Suite’s west doors open to a small deck.

Allan’s photo

I love the lighthouse shower curtain in the Garden Suite bathroom.  Each guest gets a selection of bath luxuries.

Dunes Suite

The Dunes Suite is on the ground floor with west and south facing windows.

Dunes Suite with a door to a west facing deck

wall mural with North Head Lighthouse

Dunes Suite bathroom

Now let’s go up the stairs to the three second floor guest rooms, all of which have en suite bathrooms.

upstairs landing. Pacifica is to the right and Stargazer is to the left.

 

The Pacifica

The Pacifica guest room is in the northwest corner of the upstairs.

Allan’s photo

Pacifica view

The Pacifica view (slightly telephoto)

Allan’s telephoto of a cargo ship passing by

Pacifica….Allan’s photo

a cosy desk in the corner

Stargazer

The ocean view Stargazer is the room at the southwest corner of the upstairs.

Allan’s photo

The Hideaway

The Hideaway, on the east end of the upstairs, is my favourite because even though it does not have an ocean view, it’s delightfully quiet and secluded.

down a narrow passage to the Hideaway  (Allan’s photo)

The Hideaway daybed

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

 

The Hideaway has a tiny balcony on the north side. (Allan’s photo)

Each room has room journals.  Even though I doubt the guests write angsty private thoughts like they do at the Sylvia Beach Hotel.  I do want to find time to read them this winter.

room journal in the Hideaway

leaving the Hideaway

We went back downstairs and spent the next couple of hours just schmoozing with J9, Susie, Bill, and with Jim and Chi.  The latter two own Serious Pizza at the Cape Disappointment State Park and are planning to soon open a gourmet sandwich shop in downtown Ilwaco.  We’re thrilled as we rarely make the drive down to the park to get their most excellent pizza.

Susie, Chi, and Jim

our J9 (Allan’s photo)

Innkeeper Bill and J9  (Allan’s photo)

We stayed so long that the outdoor holiday lights were on when we left….

….and we then drove about ten blocks to join Susie, Bill, Jim and Chi at the

 [pickled fish] restaurant

entering [pickled fish]

looking back at the bar from our table

Allan’s photo…fennel and sausage pizza, burgers, and for Susie some delicious trout

fennel and sausage pizza

Chi, Jim, Bill, Susie, me, Allan’s photo

Now I would return to staycation reading for two days till the next holiday event.

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14 Dec: B&B tour: Campbell House at Klipsan Beach

Sunday, 14 December 2014

J9 and Allan and I had planned to visit three B&Bs on the tour.  Unfortunately, the first one was closed as the innkeeper was under the weather.  We will share photos of that one sometime after staycation, as we are planning to help out a bit with the garden.  So on we went to the second B&B, a new-ish one that we can see from the decks of Klipsan Beach Cottages.

the long view

You can see the little row of the Klipsan Beach Cottages where we garden.

Allan’s photo

entrance, north side of house

beach trail

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

 

Allan’s photo. The owners have separate quarters, so this may be their cat.

front porch, with a box of clam guns

porch ocean view

in the entry hallway, a world map

with pins to mark the hometowns of guests

I wish we had gotten a photograph of the pile of canned food for the food bank; a can of food per person was the entry fee to each B&B.

 

Allan’s photo of the innkeepers Peter and Jo and our friend J9 (center). The innkeepers are witty people.

J9 said something amusing…to me. (Allan’s photo)

Who should appear but our dear friend Mary from Klipsan Beach Cottages! (Allan’s photo)

holiday cheer

cookies for B&B tour guests

main floor living room

a wall of books, many of them mysteries. (Of course, I had to recommend the Seaside Knitters series.)

over the telly

We pleaded for the house dog to be brought out from the innkeepers’ quarters.

stairs going up to the second floor

upstairs landing

 

view from upstairs landing (Allan’s photo)

view from north window

The house was a family home until the children grew up and moved away, and the upstairs rooms are still named after them.

south east  bedroom

 

northeast bedroom

northwest bedroom

Allan’s photo

the view

all awash in ocean light

back out onto the landing

I so much like to see books everywhere.

doors to the east bedrooms with built in bookcase

 

The two east bedrooms share a bath, and the west bedrooms are en suite.

from the upstairs looking down

 

southwest bedroom

a garden poem in SW bedroom

art by our client Eric Wiegardt

SW bedroom

 

upstairs bedroom view (Allan’s photo)

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo: beach trail marker (so guests can find their way back)

crabbing boats, Allan’s photo

the SW bedroom’s amazing bath

The innkeepers must like the blues.

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Back downstairs in the hallway bathroom, I found a surprise.

charming little shelves….

and another shelf…

I got a little teary-eyed because that outhouse art was on the door of my own grandmother’s bathroom (and I used to put the arrow to “I’m readin'”.  The innkeeper told me that she had gotten it from her own grandma!

You can read more about the Campbell House and make a booking on their website.

As we drove out of the lane, we marveled that every house on the way in exudes adorability.

purple!

It must be a real treat for B&B guests to view all of these cute cottages on their way in.  The best thing of all was this poem arranged to be seen through the gap in a fence:

Next:  The Boreas Inn on the B&B open house.

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7-13 December: staycation weather report

I am trying to just read, and read, and read on staycation this year.  December, however, is not the most read-alicious month as there are so many colourful events going on here on the Long Beach Peninsula.  I think January will be more the solid reading month.

Sunday, 7 December 2014

I so much wanted to spend the day reading, but the warm and sunny weather required me to spend the day weeding and clipping instead.

before and after in the back garden

Allan went boating on Black Lake with his friend Chris in beautiful, summer-like weather.

Allan: “A portion of a used boat collector’s garage. Two boats visible with assorted sails. The source of my last summer’s fun green/white sailboat at the Black Lake Yacht Club” (which consisted of Chris and Allan and two small boats).

Chris decided not to take this boat.

through the windshield: driving to the Black Lake dock

Launching at the dock.  The red boat is Allan’s.

Chris trying out Allan’s boat under sail

 

After that photo, the day went pear-shaped as Allan, while trying out Chris’s boat, went partway into the water, drowning a camera and his old iPhone.  The result was that we hurried across the river on…

Monday, 8 December

…to buy a new iPhone 6 for me while Allan upgraded to my iPhone 4S.   He generously offered me the new phone as I use it more.  I was not thrilled to go across the bridge because of the weather forecast:

dire warnings!

No photos were taken as it was a rush around to three stores to find the phone in stock and because, until I got my lovely new phone in hand, I was disgruntled to lose a quiet reading day to phone and grocery shopping  We encountered a friend over there who told us her husband had made her feel guilty for over two weeks for dropping her phone in the water, so I guess Allan got off easy with just two hours of kvetching.

We barely got back before the first storm of the week hit, and went to dinner with Marla, who had decided to spend a couple more days here.  (She and I were both afraid that if we took the elevator to [pickled fish] restaurant, the power would go out in the 50 mph wind and we’d be stuck, and I am too decrepit to easily go down three flights of stairs.  We both loved that we had both thought of the most horribilizing possibility and happily went off to a first floor restaurant, Castaways, downtown.)  

Castaways: We had the dining room to ourselves while a minor windstorm raged outside.

our Marla and my margarita

The “loaded” baked potato soup was quite good.

I ordered a Caesar wrap and got a Caesar salad; it was tasty.

Allan’s burger met with his approval.

We walked Marla back to her hotel around the corner and could barely stay on our feet in the wind.  On the way back, we got some photos of a beautiful Ilwaco window:

Griffin Gallery window on First Avenue

window detail

Wednesday, 10 December 2014

At last I had a reading day on Tuesday.  (Eventually I will write an entry about staycation reading.)  On Wednesday, the entire Peninsula began hunkering down because the forecast called for 90 mph winds, and reputable meteorologists warned us that the Peninsula would take the brunt of a hurricane force storm.  Based on my memories of the 2007 storm, I expected to perhaps be out of power for a couple of days.  We had our lantern batteries and plenty of books.  I decided to sacrifice some reading time to decorating our first ever artificial Christmas tree while we still had electricity.

more dire warnings

The tree: next year, I want to add more multicoloured lights.

Just like last year, I had pondered skipping the tree ritual, and am glad I did not.  I am particularly enjoying not having to remember to water it every day and expect to find in the future that having an artificial tree on hand will make the decision to decorate it very easy..

The tree comes complete with berries, pine cones, and frosted tips.

the peach ornament that dates back to my grandma’s childhood

Nancy from the Basket Case sent me a message asking us to join them for burger night at the Depot.  Who could resist?  Thus Wednesday became a tree decorating, Depot dining, Survivor watching non-reading day.

At the Depot on Wednesday nights, one checks off the ingredients desired on one’s burger.

a happy time with Basket Case Fred & Nancy

Thursday, 11 December 2014

  The local museum closed for the day and the public schools also closed so that children would not be traveling home in the wind, which was expected to arrive at 2 PM and blow till 10 PM.  At one o’ clock, we drove to the port to get photos of the unusual sight of the hurricane-force warning flags flying over the Port Office.

Allan’s photo

We had not had the chance to see both these ominous flags together before.

photo courtesy Nisbett Gallery; Don was prepared for the storm.

We visited with Don for awhile and marveled that there was still very little wind….

peaceful view from inside the gallery door

And then came a heavy rainstorm, and then a rainbow.

rainbow over the gear shed

When the wind finally began to roar at about 3 PM, we had a five hour storm.  The gusts were just over 80 mph at the Coast Guard station not far from us.  Delightfully for us, we never did lose power as it seemed the storm chose to hit much harder on the Olympic and Kitsap Peninsulas, where thousands had to do without electricity for the night.

The next day we checked around for damage and the only thing we found was one roof tile in neighbour Mary’s driveway!

the extent of our neighbourhood storm debris

Some were disappointed with the lack of excitement from the storm.  I was relieved because the excitement is all very well until a tree falls on someone’s house or car, which did indeed happen tragically in the city of Portland, Oregon.

Friday, 12 December 2014

I continued to crave days of just reading, of which I had only one in a seven day stretch.    Instead, errands beckoned, beginning with picking up the last check of the season at Long Beach City Hall.

City Hall was decorated with extra care this year.

Long Beach City Hall Christmas tree

hellebore in the city hall garden

and another city hall hellebore

We clipped the last two chrysanthemums in the city planters, at last.

still showing colour but it had to go!

While Allan shopped for some paint for a project, I dropped off a monetary donation at Shoeboxes of Joy.

Inside the Long Beach Depot

Shoeboxes are packed and wrapped with gifts for the impoverished or lonely elderly.

On the way home, we picked up considerable storm-blown trash in the boatyard and portside gardens.  Back home again, I saw in our wheelbarrows the story of how much rain had fallen in Thursday’s storm.

Saturday, 13 December 2014

Because I needed some photos of the Saturday Christmas Market for the Discover Ilwaco Facebook page, and because we had afternoon and dinner plans, Saturday would not be a perfect reading day.  You see, the perfect reading day involves nothing BUT reading, a hard thing to achieve in the season of holiday events and good times with friends.

I walked to the market while Allan worked on a project.

blue skies over the port

and Blue Eyes in the water

walking past Time Enough Books…

I popped in for a little Christmas shopping.

holiday decorations in the bookstore

Next, a bit more shopping was accomplished at the Saturday Christmas market.

painted sand dollar ornaments by Lisa Gillespie

Lisa’s decorated hats

I indulged myself in not one, not two, but three of these charming and inexpensive hats to fancify my gardening attire next summer.

my new hats, a mere $12 each

I very much like the felt pillows and ornaments by another of the vendors.

In the next room, beachy signs

I made myself unpopular with one vendor by announcing in a moderate tone that one sign, a carved out image of a gun with the slogan “We don’t call 911” (which would be 999 in the UK) was a shock to my happy and peaceable holiday market mood.  I’ll spare you a photo of the ugly shooting sentiment. After that I thought I had better just go home…not without a few iced Christmas cookies from Pink Poppy Bakery.

Pink Poppy Bakery

On the way home, I shook off the disappointment of the gun-threatening sign with the sight of the cheerful garden boat on the north side of Time Enough Books.

outside Time Enough Books and Purly Shell

At home, Mary had made herself comfortable without a reading lap to sleep on.

While I did not really want to be indoors on such a sunny day, the garden took second place to an afternoon concert by the Astoria Tuba Quartet.  It’s a yearly tradition to attend this event with my friend J9.  (Allan stayed home and worked on his project.)  The quartet emerges to the audience chant of “TuBA, tuBA, tuBA, tuBA!”

left to right: two euphoniums and an F tuba and a double B flat tuba

one of the euphoniums

The audience claps for the whipcrack sound in the sleighride song. (Lovely weather for a sleighride together with you.)

It’s J9’s tradition to have her Christmas card include the tuba players.

It was a most enjoyable time even though it did not include my very favourite Christmas song, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”, a song that I love because of its emphasis on the simplicity of “little”.

On our walk back to my house, J9 and I admired a lighted arch.

I ended my social time with J9 who went off to to company of her two new kittens and was met at our house by Kathleen, with whom I solved a few of the world’s problems before we all trooped out to dinner at the Depot.  We were joined by Patti, owner of the most beautiful garden in Seaview.

Kathleen, me, Patti, Allan

Patti and I had the seafood special with fish, clams, sausage, prawns.

Kathleen had Udon Prawns, which I had intended to have till I saw the seafood special. ” Peanut, Coconut, Tomato and Yam Spicy Broth with Prawns and Udon Noodles Topped with Chopped Green Beans and Cilantro “

Allan’s choice: Cinghiale Brasato: “House made Potato Gnocchi sautéed in a Ragout of Braised Wild Boar, Tomatoes, Red Wine and Seasonings topped with shaved Parmesan Cheese”

enjoying a delicious dinner

Patti about to delve into dessert.

a perfect flan

while the rest of us each had chocolate Guinness cake

at the end of the bar, the Depot culinary theme Christmas tree

We’d had a delightful evening and I was so glad I had thought of taking Patti to dinner to thank her for the several times she has invited us over for one of her great home cooked meals.

flashback to Patti’s Christmas tree when she’d had us over for dinner on December 5th.

It would be another day before a couple of reading days would come along, as next up is the Peninsula Bed and Breakfast tour on Sunday.

 

 

 

 

 

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6 Dec: Crab Pot Christmas tree

Saturday, 6 December 2014

This Saturday was the biggest winter holiday event in Ilwaco, surpassed in attendance only by the July fireworks and the Slow Drag.

We began the day with a visit to the Saturday market, with a little trash picking along the way.

pouring rain while trash picking in the boatyard garden (Allan’s photo)

a sudden break between squalls

boatyard garden…Some weeds are creeping in but…NO, it is staycation, not going to weed!

The trash picking felt necessary as I knew that just before dusk, folks would be walking along this garden to get to the tree lighting.

stormy light and a rainbow, Howerton Way at the Port

Allan’s photo, looking north

Allan’s photo, looking north over Myrtle Avenue and the old Kola boathouses (left)

Market, Howerton Way entrance

Saturday Christmas Market, Waterfront Way entrance

We were pleased that the market had many more vendors than last Saturday and had many delightful offerings.

wooden word flowers

blank books

beachy decorations

enhanced hats

It occurs to me I should buy one of these; hope the vendor is there next week.

seashore wreath

Best of all, Pink Poppy Bakery was there!

Pink Poppy Bakery gingerbread house kits

and my favourite iced sugar cookies

At 4:30, we walked back down to the port to be there for the crab pot tree lighting that happens on the dot of 5 o clock, always the first Saturday of December.

outside Don Nisbett Art Gallery on Waterfront Way

I popped in to compliment Jenna (Queen La De Da) on her decorating skills.

I failed to get a good pic of the lions in front of Time Enough Books…

Peeked into Purly Shell Fiber Arts, where the scene of children making knitted ornaments reminded me of the Seaside Knitters mystery series.

Looked in on Time Enough Books.

At the west end of Waterfront Way, the star shone over Jessie’s Ilwaco Fish Company.

wreaths outside the Saturday market, which was still in session

Holiday lights on Englund Marine

In the dusk, I failed to get a good telephoto of these active St Bernards heading for the crab pot tree.

4:50 PM as the crowd gathers…

waiting…

view from the crab pot tree to the southwest and Ilwaco Landing

5 PM sharp:  The crowd cheers!

The suspenseful moment:  Would I get a photo with a tree AND the fireworks, working with the time delay click of a little pocket cam?  Success!

After a slight and inintended delay, we were treated to “the world’s shortest fireworks display”…

Our friend Marla had sped down from Seattle and arrived JUST in time for the tree lighting.  She had driven by while I took my first (unlit) tree photos and called out a greeting; I had hoped she would find parking in time, and she did.

Photo by Marla Blazer

Marla’s photos

Bruce Peterson leads some crabby Christmas carols.

Our friend Lisa Smith wrote some excellent crabby carol lyrics:

 

a joyous gathering

Allan’s newish Canon camera had been very uncooperative and he was most disgusted with a $300 camera behaving so badly.  He got many photos that turned out like this:

…and he sorely wished that he had brought his $80 Olympus camera as a back up.

We found Marla in the crowd and walked down along Waterfront Way.  Marla (whom I knew as the glamourous young LaBlaze in my early 30s) and I had recently reunited via Facebook and I found that she has been a frequent visitor to the Long Beach Peninsula and a fan of the Adrift Hotel and the [pickled fish] restaurant.  Before we walked, I helped her fetch her two schnauzers, Weezer and Herkie, from her car.  In the thrill of having a couple of dogs to dote on (especially when I carried the puppy, Herkie!), I sort of forgot to take photos of Santa in Time Enough Books and of diners at OleBob’s Café.  Sometimes life intervenes.  I do wish more volunteers provided photos for Discover Ilwaco.  Allan forgot, too, because he went down on the docks with Marla and the dogs (all four of them braver and more agile than me).

Speaking of brave and agile:

Allan’s photo of Marla taking a photo….

and the photo Marla took.

on the docks (Allan’s photo)

Weezer makes a friend (Allan’s photo)

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

lighted boats and Jessie’s star

The very low tide did not make for good reflections.

Allan’s photo

On shore, the Ilwaco High School Jazz Band regaled passersby in the foyer of Purly Shell.

holiday jazz

Allan did go into Time Enough books and found the bookstore so crowded that he did not make it far enough back to see Santa.

inside Time Enough Books

Meanwhile, I was wandering and gabbing with Marla and the dogs and still forgetting to take photos…

me, Marla, and the dogs, Allan’s photo

…until Allan took Weezer’s leash and I guided Marla into Don Nisbett’s Art Gallery so she could meet Cosmic Blondie, one of the Cosmic Bombshell duo that livens up local events.  Marla herself was a Las Vegas showgirl so I knew that the two would like to meet.

Cosmic Blondie

Blondie and Herkie fell in love.

Don himself was making customers happy, as always.

So, completely forgetting to take more photos, I suggested to Marla that we all go to the Depot Restaurant for dinner.  (On crab pot night, we certainly missed the late lamented Pelicano Restaurant and its view of the port, but then, it would have been full of dinners with no room for spontaneous arrivals).  We were fortunate to get a table at the bustling Depot.

At the Depot, to the right, you can see the window box annuals that still refuse to die, and inside, the lights of the Christmas tree.  That’s the historic Clamshell Railroad sign in the middle.

Oysters ‘Scargo for Allan and Marla

I have figured out why the famous Depot oyster dish is called Oysters ‘Scargo.    The dish in which it is served must be especially made for escargot (which I could never, ever eat!):

a special dish: “Six fresh wild local Willapa Petite Oysters broiled in Garlic Lime Butter Served with a Fresh Baguette. “

Marla’s photo

Peruvian mango sea scallops: “Three giant pan seared wild Atlantic Sea Scallops on a spicy Mango Salsa topped with Pickled Red Onions “

Marla had Udon Prawns: “Udon Prawns: Peanut, Coconut, Tomato and Yam Spicy Broth with Prawns and Udon Noodles Topped with Chopped Green Beans and Cilantro”

Marla donned the proffered bib for her prawn dish but turned out to not need it. (Allan’s photo)

I had the delicious Cinghiale Brasato: “House made Potato Gnocchi sautéed in a Ragout of Braised Wild Boar, Tomatoes, Red Wine and Seasonings topped with shaved Parmesan Cheese” and Allan had the Parmesan Chicken: “Crispy Parmesan Crusted boneless naturally raised Chicken Breast on Yukon Gold Smashed Potatoes topped with house Pomodoro Sauce”.

Allan took a photo of two friends reunited after 20 years.

It’s pleasant to find a friend from the past who has turned out to be politically sympatico, and an environmentalist,  with lots of shared memories to amuse ourselves with, and she likes to garden.

Now back to quiet staycation for a few days until the next round of holiday social events.

 

 

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4 December: holiday village

Thursday, 4 December 2014

So far I’ve managed to have one day of just reading out of this whole week. We went out in the very late afternoon today on an excursion to buy, for the first time, an artificial Christmas tree. I had seen, at Dennis Co. Hardware, the only one I’ve ever (sort of) liked. It is pricey but might solve my dilemma every year of to tree or not to tree. We found that we had mistakenly thought that THURSDAY was senior discount day. It’s Tuesday….sigh. (Yes, Allan is that old, even though he looks 35.)

We cheered ourselves up from this little setback with dinner at the Hungry Harbor Grille’s Mexican Fiesta night (Thursdays, off tourist season) and our annual visit to their delightful holiday village.

Perhaps you would like to take a walk with us through its snowy wonders.

Hungry Harbor Holiday Village

313 Pacific Avenue South, Long Beach WA

Allan’s photo

new lighthouse (found at a garage sale, in an unopened box!)

 

new this year: a working carousel

new: tree with white lights

Allan’s photo

Restaurateur Lois came to chat with us, and I hope she was impressed at how well we know her village as I think we picked out every item that was new.

new this year: a working trolley

the train tunnel

whale watching tours

ferry

ghost ship

Seacoast Martiime Museum

I love the vignettes in many of the windows.

Whale Tale Pub and Inn

delicious details

new this year: vintage truck and trailer

barnyard

Whale Point B&B

Knit Shoppe

The Knit Shoppe puts me in mind of the fictional town of Sea Harbor, Mass., in which I am immersed while trying to find time to read the Seaside Knitters mystery series. (Sea Harbor also offers whale watching tour boats.)

Here’s where I buy plants.

Here’s where we buy books.

covered bridge

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo: our local newspaper, the Chinook Observer

new this year: (magnetized) swimming swans (Allan’s photo)

Jessie’s Fish Market (Allan’s photo)

For some reason, instead of imagining that I live in a grand home like this:

…I always imagine that my residence in this village is the top two floors of this apartment building with a roof garden. (The photo is from a previous village visit, as this year the building was set too far back to get a good photo.) Maybe I think if I lived up there, I’d have more time to just sit and read.

As we were about to depart, I took another good look at the new lighthouse.

There, I saw something evocative of the Tootlepedal blog: a flying bird (or several!) of the day.

another flying bird for Mr. T.

We had tasty meals to go with our village walk:

carne asada tacos and chicken enchiladas

You can check out last year’s holiday village here.

Long Beach

After dinner, we took a little drizzly stroll through the real holiday village of Long Beach.

puddles rather than snow: Marsh’s Free Museum, home of Jake the Alligator Man

police station

Allan’s photo

Cottage Bakery

Allan’s photo: The Long Beach tree in Veterans Field

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Ilwaco

We checked out some of the holiday lights in Ilwaco on our way home. I was not very successful with photos as I had my Lumix pocket cam. The Canon Power Shot pocket cam does better at night photos. Allan had his little Canon so had better luck.

Queen La De Da’s underwater window, Spruce Street

I remember helping to paint the grassy fronds a couple of years back.

Ilwaco Volunteer Fire Department

Spruce Street house

Allan’s photo; This home always has the scariest Halloween decor.

Spruce Street: Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo, Spruce and Elizabeth

Allan’s photo: Spruce Street

Allan’s photo: School Hill

Elizabeth Avenue

The newly paved section of Elizabeth, the road to the port, has new streetlights and with these clad in holiday lighting, there’s now a lighted lamp-post route all the way around the port.

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo: new this year, crab lights at the top of each lamp post.

At CoHo Charters, blow up decorations sway in the wind while soft Christmas music plays. I like to hear it in the distance, from my window, while I work on a holiday blog post such as this.

CoHo Charters

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

I’m worried that there aren’t many lighted boats this year for the crab pot Christmas tree lighting event that takes place Saturday night. I hope some more get decorated by then. Allan took one photo of one boat with what he says is a mermaid; he did not have time to get close.

better photo to come, we hope

We have the Jessie’s star and a sailboat mast! (Allan’s photo)

No matter how many or few lighted boats we have to gaze upon, the Crab Pot Tree Lighting is always a delight and will probably be the next blog post.

P.S. Later, looking out our south window, I think I saw more boat masts decorated with holiday lights. (I can just see glimpses between the port buildings.)

 

 

 

 

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