Then: July 2009 Now: July 5, 2011



Building the garbage/recycle shed, July 2009



"Flatlanders" side of outhouse



Then: July 2009


What a busy month this is going to be. The tipi poles may not be completely dry, but we have to get the skin on for the 4^th. Our nephew and his wife will be up with their one year old son, Adam, and we are letting them sleep in our bed. We will sleep in the tipi. There will be 10 of us plus Adam for two nights and three days. The weather is perfect, the food is delicious, and a good time is had by all.

Now to get ready for our trip to Baltimore. Our son and his family live in Mobile, AL, but as an officer in the Naval Reserve, he is doing two years active service at Fort Meade near Baltimore. The dogs go to the kennel. (Poor Jesse, he just got out of one.) And we drive to Seattle to catch our flight. We spend a fantastic week exploring the Washington D.C. and Baltimore areas with our grandchildren (oh, yes, and their parents). I take LOTS of pictures to capture our memories, and will nearly wear out the album in the following years. Too soon our time with them ends, and we have to leave for our mountain home.

Back up on the mountain we take a day to recuperate. Talk about sensory overload! But we have lots to do, and more company arriving the first of August. So on the 16^th, it's back to work. We work on finishing the garbage/recycle shed, but it is really too hot to do much. We do manage to get it finished by the end of the month though. (I know, I implied that we finished it in June, but I misread my notes.)

A couple days after we get home, we go down to visit Larry and Elsie. I take them some Amish Friendship bread and she gives us some squash from their garden and homemade jam. Vegetables from their garden always taste so much better than from the store. Our dogs get to meet theirs and, in typical canine way, get their statements made.

Besides finishing the garbage/recycle shed, we are also finishing the inside of the north side of the outhouse. Using leftover tongue-in-groove pine, we are putting up inside walls. When finished, I decorate it, then we put names on the doors: "Flatlanders" and "Mountain Folk."

RJ is up a few times during the month. We go down to visit and he comes up. Then one day the dogs decide to go visit on their own. I have to drive down to bring them home. This better not get to be a habit.

On the 30^th, I go to town for supplies for our weekend. My aunt, uncle and cousins are coming up August 1 for the weekend. My aunt is my Dad's sister and grew up on the ranch in Spokane Valley. She is really looking forward to the trip, being one of the family who was so concerned about us building Up Here. Especially worried about us and the bears and snakes! Her daughter is Ann, who was Up Here last summer when I shot my first snake.

In the Back Woods Home magazine I had read an article that mentioned getting five gallon, food grade buckets for free at grocery stores. They are actually icing buckets that are simply discarded when they are empty. I asked at the Costco bakery, and, sure enough, they had one to give to me! So cool! These buckets are expensive to buy.

On my way home, I notice that our weekend neighbors, who have property next to us, are up for a few days. Larry had told us that a cougar has been seen in the area, so JB and I go down to warn them about it. We usually do not visit weekenders as we know what it's like to only have a few days Up Here to relax and enjoy. When we meet them, we tell them that they are always welcome to come visit us if they have the time and inclination.

It's the end of the month and our guests will be here tomorrow. And what a month it has been.

Now: July 5, 2011

"And a good time was had by all" pretty much describes our 4^th of July this year also. But so quickly it is over, and today JB is leaving for two weeks in Seattle. I may just sit and read a book all day.

There seems to be twice as many wild roses this year, and most of them haven't even bloomed yet. We can smell their fragrance as we step outside. Maybe I'll just walk around looking at the flowers all day. And nap.

I plan to go to town on Friday for a few supplies as another cousin of mine and his wife will be here on Monday for four days. I probably mentioned that previously, but you know how us old people are. . .

I took a short walk with the dogs after my recuperation nap yesterday while RJ, Mike and JB were playing Magic Cards. Just 100 feet down the driveway I noticed movement on the east slope. Too small for a deer, it turned out to be a coyote. We rarely see or hear them this close Up Here, although we sometimes hear them howling down in the canyon. I hope that was just a fluke.  Not going to worry about it.  Just part of life Up Here.