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.
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).
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.
We found the block long trip, at dusk, to be so wet and wild that we got thoroughly drenched.
The watercolours by instructor and students were displayed in the hallway of the college.
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.
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.
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.
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.)
Chef Jason says that the sauce in a noodle bowl is better absorbed and enhanced by udon noodles than by yakisoba noodles.
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…
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.
Saturday, 20 December 2014
After a Friday of just reading (pure delight), we devoted Saturday to holiday errands.
When we went down to the Saturday Market, we heard that the water had been up over the Jessie’s Fish Co loading docks.
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.
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).
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.
We left NIVA green to deliver presents to the hydrangea house, Andersen’s RV Park, and Klipsan Beach Cottages.
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.
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.
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.
We were offered clam chowder; Allan accepted and said it was delicious.
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.”
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.
We would now have four days to relax before the next round of holiday events.
What setting on waterlouge are you using in these two photis
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“Vibrant”
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Merry Christmas to you
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Thank you, and to you.
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OK….I started out trying to remember a few things that I wanted to comment on and ended up with a head so full, I can’t retrieve a ONE of them! I’m completely lost in the wonder of Ilwaco at Christmas. ALL of it. Merry Christmas.
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Aw thanks!!! I often have that happen when i go to comment on the tootlepedal blog.
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That’s crazy mine doesn’t have vibrant
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I do so love those wall lights that are little ships’ wheels (like in the office at KBC)! There’s one in Cottage 3 at the Anchorage, and I’d love to get one for my cottage.
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Yes!!
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You certainly had some miserable weather to put up with.
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Merry Christmas to you and Allan xoxoxox stay safe and warm and cuddle those kitties for me whilst you read a library worth of books 😄
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Thanks so much for all your cheering comments and Merry Christmas to you. This month: books. January: blog reading catch up!
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