August 28, 2011



Typical load for woodshed



Dinga blending into the grass



There is nothing like a day off even if you're doing what you like. Going to the fair reminded me that no matter how wonderful the scenery is that you are in, it is always good to have a change. The drive up to Waterville was worth the whole trip. It has probably been 50 years since I have been on that stretch of Highway 2. My mother drove my brother and I on that route from Bellingham to Spokane every Christmas from 1960 til 1963 or so, until Interstate 90 opened as a four lane highway between Seattle and Spokane. Highway 2 crosses the Columbia River just north of Wenatchee and follows the river north a few miles to Orondo where it turns east and starts climbing. The road starts at an elevation of about 750 feet and, through a six-mile, steep canyon, climbs to more than 2800 feet, then comes out on top of the Columbia Plateau. Wheat country. And Waterville is right on the edge of it. After the steep climb, I realized that we would have to climb another 1000 feet to be as high as Rose Camp at 3800 feet.


The North Central Washington Fair is certainly the smallest fair I have ever been to, but very interesting nevertheless. I always enjoy the exhibits of sewing, flowers, art, photography, canning, and of course the animals. The goats were just being taken out to show and it was comical to see some of the little 4H'ers with animals as big as they were. In the commercial section, there was a man from Waterville who makes fascinating baskets, mirrors, canisters and many other items out of used rope by winding and melting the rope together. Wish I'd had the money to spend on one of his creations. There was less of a variety of fair food than I am used to, but I managed with a large BBQ pulled pork sandwich, cole slaw, and a huge plate of peach short cake with whipping cream and caramel sauce. I planned to have a waffle cone after that, but my stomach said, "No way!"

It was starting to get hot at the fair when we left after lunch, and it was uncomfortably hot Down There was we ran a couple errands. Back at Rose Camp it was a bit cooler and we were glad to be home. We spent the rest of the afternoon reading the mail and newspapers.

My Aunt Nene had called last Monday to let me know she had mailed a package for me and Elsie. I wasn't supposed to open it without Elsie there and inside were two items, both the same. Now, my Aunt is a wonderful person and a real character. I honestly didn't know what to expect. The package was there when we picked up the mail on Friday, so I called Elsie to be sure she would be home after dinner. Then I drove down to their place so we could open our surprise. And sure enough, Nene came through. We each got a little sack of "Port Orchard Chicken Poop"! (Nene lives in Port Orchard and the "poop" was actually wild huckleberry jelly beans.) Nene reads my blog every day and knows how Elsie loves her chickens and brings us fresh eggs all the time. She also knows that I often take care of those chickens when Larry and Elsie go away for a few days. Thank you, Aunt Nene!

A day or so ago I wrote about wanting to find a recipe for canning peaches without a lot of sugar. Well, ask and ye shall receive. In the new AARP magazine, there is an article, "Canning Lite", in which they give a recipe for canned peaches made with unsweetened apple or white grape juice. I am definitely going to try that.

And speaking of magazines, in the September/October issue of "Countryside & Small Stock Journal", there is an excellent article on essential oils called "Using peppermint essential oil and Building your natural home medicine cabinet" by Millie Troth. Peppermint is amazing. I always drink peppermint tea for an upset stomach, often combining one bag of peppermint and one bag of chamomile. It's good just before bedtime to help in falling asleep, too. And, as usual, in that issue, there are a lot of delicious sounding recipes. And, speaking of recipes, JB is making his scrumptious pizza for dinner tonight with homemade, gluten free crust.

Yesterday it was back to work. Didn't get quite as early a start as we would have liked, but it was so nice to sleep in a bit. JB worked in his shop and I moved all our "junk" into one pile: junk wood, all the metal poles from our two carports, etc. Then I cut two wheel barrow loads of branch wood and stacked them in the wood shed. Even though the chain on my chain saw is getting dull, I didn't want to waste a day by not cutting any wood. I will probably go Down There on Tuesday to drop off two chains for sharpening and buy another one for my saw.

After lunch, JB sat out on the porch while I gave him a hair cut. I have cut my own hair for the past 30 years or so, and even cut JB's quite often when we lived Down There. Why pay someone else to screw up our hair, when I can do it myself?!