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Then: Our May 2010 Guests May was just a cold, wet and generally depressing month weatherwise. Spring is breaking records for the rain, and the temperature has been 10 to 15 degrees cooler than normal every day. Not a great month for guests. But my BFF, Sandy, and her friend, Donna, were due Up Here the week before Memorial Day. I drove over to Seattle to meet them and spend the night. On that side of the mountains, it was one of those seldom seen, beautiful and cloudless couple of days. We went downtown Seattle to the Pike Place Market. Drove by the house boats on Lake Washington and over the bridge to Kirkland. Got ice cream cones at the Kirkland Park on the lake, and just had a great day with scenery that only the Pacific Northwest can offer. After breakfast the second day, they followed me over Snoqualamie Pass and then Blewett Pass, and on up to Rose Camp. It was overcast and still damp and cool from all the rain. As planned, Donna and I slept in the tipi and Sandy crashed on our couch. It started raining that evening and didn't stop for the three days and two nights they were Up Here. We couldn't even see the mountains! Not even Mission Ridge. Unbelievable. We had a nice visit and played games inside, but they actually left a day early to be sure we could get them down the road. Sandy had parked her car by the gate and I had taken them both up in my Jeep. When we left, JB drove down in front of us. We slipped and slid most of the way, but our Jeeps did their jobs very well. It was probably the most "exciting" part of the visit for Sandy & Donna! I was in tears about the weather and their inability to see our incredible vistas. Driving back up to Rose Camp after saying goodbye, I was unable to get my Jeep up the steep beginning of our drive way. JB walked down the next day and brought it up. JB's son, Chris, is due up the first week in June and we can only hope that the weather improves by then. The only positive note is that there are a lot of wild flowers blooming. Now: July 24, 2011 Yesterday was another warm, cloudless day. More typical weather for July, but still cooler than normal. JB mowed the loop on the south ridge, while I cut the last of the branch wood. My pile of wood has disappeared, while JB's pile by the chipper has grown larger with all the small sticks and branchlets I have thrown over there. After lunch he dug the little trenches in which the steel sides of the shop will sit. I cut down two large branches on trees in the grove. (See photos above) A good day for such work - not too hot, with a cool breeze. Today looks to be the same but since it is Sunday JB, with his good Catholic upbringing, likes to take at least half the day off. He is going Down There tomorrow with the trailer for deck/shop building supplies, so sometime today we are going to load all the recycle cardboard on to the trailer for him to take. It is eight months worth and there is quite a bit. So, don't worry, Aunt Nene, we won't work too hard today. A post script on the Celiac's disease situation: JB's niece was the only person who tested positive for it. She had been diagnosed as bipolar for years and has had a terrible time dealing with it. Celiac's can have the same symptoms as bipolar disorder. Since going on a gluten-free diet, she has been able to go off all her medications that treat bipolar problems, and for the first time, she really happy, well-adjusted and enjoying life. I think that to this day, Sandy doesn't believe we can see the mountains and river from Rose Camp. She is sure that the photographs I show her were not taken from Up Here. I can only hope that some day she will brave our road once again during our typical, beautiful summer weather. See photo of RJ's fireplace and stone floor below. |
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| RJ's fireplace and stone floor |
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