Happy Birthday, Jean!

Today is a special day in my family...it's my sister Jean's birthday.

So, I wanted to share some of my favorite photos of her, like this one.

That's Jean on the far left...the one with the uncombed hair. If you knew Jean now, you'd know that just doesn't happen often. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen her when her hair wasn't perfect. The others in the picture are my brother Ray, Grandma Berg, brother Dennis and Grandpa Berg. It seems like Grandma is looking at Jean's hair, too, wondering what in the world happened.

Then there's this picture from her school days.

Another thing about Jean...she smiles a lot. And she's got a great smile. When she smiles, it makes everyone around her smile. She's just like that. Again, not sure about the hair.

This is a picture of the three of us taken about 10 year back...that's me on the left, Jean in the middle and Janis on the right. Jean had gotten us "sister" shirts to wear at the beach.

Jean's always happiest when she's surrounded by family and friends. Now, if she could get her kids to move back home, she'd be in heaven.

Happy Birthday, Jean! I hope it's a good one!

The Shaw Classic

Each year on the second Saturday of August, the San Juan Yacht Club hosts the much-anticipated Shaw Classic...it's a sailboat race that starts at the mouth of Friday Harbor, continues across the San Juan Channel, then around Shaw Island. Skippers have their choice of going clockwise or counter-clockwise around Shaw. Most skippers and crew, I told, begin planning their strategy days, even weeks ahead with the skippers checking the tide tables and reviewing which way the wind was blowing (if it was blowing at all!) on previous years.

Here in Cedar Cove, the bay started filling with big sailboats on Thursday. It was a beautiful site.

By Saturday morning, there were eight boats. Some were ready to participate in the Classic; others were just here for the party afterwards! Our buddy Ray was here with his 42-ft Tayana - a blue water cruiser weighing in at about 37,000 pounds. Cabiri is a big boat...and she's a beauty. Ray's crew for the race included Randy (of course), Brad, Barry, Maleah (Brad's daughter), and Linda (Ray's wife and self-named Galley Wench).

The race started at noon. Charli and I held down the fort here at the house and watched as the sailboats came through the channel from both directions.

The first boats came through about 2pm. It was pretty fun to see all the different shapes, sizes and colors.

And there were the kayakers. Oh, I bet I forgot to mention the paddle? Well, that day is also designated as the Paddle around Shaw, and it's very well known, too. Just ask anyone who tried to get on the ferry later that day or all day Sunday. It seemed like every car had a kayak or canoe loaded on top.

Some of the kayakers/canoers are just out for the fun of the paddle. They poked in and out of bays as they made their way around the island.

Others, however, were in serious race mode, like these guys.

It seems they have a similar outlook as sailors: if there's another boat in the area (and for sailboats, if the sails are up), it's a race...no matter what!

Cabiri came into view around Crane Island about 3.

I watched from the deck as she sailed past the house and out into the Strait of San Juan.

Here's a little video I made.

Because we're working remotely, I don't have a set of speakers with my computer so don't know what I said...I think I did a bit of a narrative about the crew and the race...at least that's what I hope!

Randy called about 5 and said they'd finished the race - yippee! - and were headed home. (They checked online later for the race results - Cabiri finished 9th in her class out of 14 boats. A pretty good showing considering she weighs 37,000 pounds and it was her first race.) Oh, and would I clean the 8 crab they'd left sitting in water that morning.

Barry wanted me to leave 2 alive so he could take them home with him the next day. I left him the most vicious two...mainly because I didn't want to get maimed by them. Really, they were mean! I know they don't look it here but these guys ... well, they weren't going to go easily!

Here are the other eight...cleaned and ready for cooking!

I have a picture of their shell backs and guts but I'm not going to post it...it's a bit gruesome.

For Jean

My Mother-in-Law loves taking pictures of birds. She's very good and has had a number of her pictures published. Last year, she kept asking when I was going to post bird pictures on the blog. This is what I gave her:

And I have to admit that I didn't take that picture of Stanley Seagull landing in the mint; Randy did.

This year, however, I have taken a couple of pictures...they're not as good as hers are. I don't have her patience...and neither, obviously, do the birds because they flew away after I'd only gotten off a few shots!

Carol's visit...and another island convert!

It's always fun to introduce people to the San Juan's. So when I had the chance to get my friend Carol here for a few days, I prodded her big-time. Carol works hard in her day job with Hospice. Those of us who have the privilege of working with/for her, understand how difficult her job is...and that she is exactly the type of person who needs to be in that job. She's compassionate, warm, friendly, understanding and can instantly pick up on your mood if you drop by her office.

I met Carol back in 2001...a short year after my brother Dennis died from a brain tumor. After his death, I was left with a need to help. I was torn between working with hospice or working in the cancer center at the hospital. And what it came down to was this: far fewer people volunteer for hospice because, let's face it, the people you're there to help are going to die...and soon. Sure, some people from the cancer center are going to die, too, but a majority are going to live - and the spirit there is a bit more upbeat. That's just not the case with hospice; hospice families are going to lose their loved one so the mood is pretty somber.

Those who knew me then, understand just how difficult Dennis' death was for me...and for everyone in my family. When I walked in the hospice office to sign up as a volunteer, Carol took me into her office and we visited. Everything went well until she asked what had brought me to hospice; then the tears started. I know now that it was too soon; I was still in the early stages of grief and the pain was terrible. An hour and many tears later, I knew I wanted to volunteer with her and signed up for training.

During that training, I met some great people. People who I consider dear friends. People who understand my need to help through hospice because it's also their need. I don't see these people often but the feeling I get when I do see them is unexplainable. We share loss. We share the grief of losing someone we loved. But we also share the joy of hospice. Carol gave us that.

And so, I really wanted to share the San Juan's with Carol. More than just about anyone I know, she deserves a vacation. She texted me from Anacortes after boarding the ferry to let me know she was on her way.

Charli and I were at the ferry terminal to meet her when the ferry docked. All the walk-on passengers came off, then the cars. Strange, but there was no Carol. I was about to ask the operator if he could page her when I saw her. Seems she was busy taking pictures and visiting and ... wasn't paying much attention to the announcement that the ferry was arriving at Shaw.

During her stay, we walked, we talked, we drank many glasses of wine and of course, I took the obligatory picture of her on the deck.

Then I took another picture...this time Bear and Hondo joined in on the fun.And another...One day we hopped the inter-island ferry and did a bit of shopping in Friday Harbor. One of the things I love about the inter-island ferry is that there are jigsaw puzzles scattered on some of the tables. We found one and started in. Here's Carol working away! Please notice that we didn't have a box cover to work from...

Compared to Shaw, Friday Harbor is very busy.

I showed Carol some of my favorite shops and we had lunch at a restaurant deck that overlooked the bay - it was a beautiful day that ended too quickly.

Her stay here ended too quickly, too. But I can tell you that I have another convert to the San Juan way of life.

Christening a new boat

I've never participated in a boat christening. I've seen them on TV, of course, when the Navy launches a new carrier but that's the extent of my experience.

So, when a fellow islander purchased a new boat and invited us to be there as it slid into the water for the first time, we wanted to be there to celebrate.

Of course, it wasn't a carrier or even a large boat, but for him, she was a sight to behold.

She arrived on a truck and was lifted down by those attending the christening. And no one cracked a bottle across her bow; that might have left a mark or cracked the wood...and that wouldn't have been good!

Instead, bottles of beer were opened and a toast was made...then, she was off, carrying her owner into the open waters of the bay.

No explanation needed

Of friends and pincushions

Good friends from Idaho visited us last week. Randy and Dan were best friends in college, best men at each other's wedding and their friendship remains the kind you always read about; they don't see each other for 4 years and 2 minutes after getting together, it's like they were never apart. Here's a picture of the family...Dan in the back, Diana (his wife), Tanner (15) and Jenna (just turned 13). Diana and I have the same tastes when it comes to hobbies - we both love to knit, quilt, read and cross-stitch. So, while the guys spent their time re-living college days, we spent our time catching up on our latest projects. We did venture into Friday Harbor on day and while there, I took Diana to one of my favorite little shops - Pelindaba Lavender. We spent a bit of time smelling and sampling and breathing in the lavender. I buy the lotion every year - it's the best lavender lotion I've ever used. When we got home, Diana took 2 lovely little tins out her bag and gave one to me... Isn't it cute? It's a felted lavender moisturizing soap..and it smells so wonderful! The fun thing is, it can also be used a pincushion! She said she got one for each of us so we used them, we'll remember our time together in the islands... She's the kind of friend you always hope to have...and be. I'm very lucky.

Welcome to the World, Parker!

This morning at about 6:30 (North Dakota time), my great-nephew Parker was born. My niece Lauren called her parents about 1:30 to let them know "it was time!" They hopped in the car, made the 2.5-hour trip from Bottineau and were in Bismarck with time to spare. The new Grandma (my sister Janis) was in the delivery room with her daughter as Parker make his appearance. And naturally, they're both quite smitten with the little guy! He weighed in at 8lb, 10oz, is 21 inches long and has dark hair like his ... Mom. Wow, that's sounds strange...Lauren is a mother. And okay, it's now official...I'm old.

On the menu tonight...

I haven't been good about posting ... again! And I haven't mentioned much about our crabbing season. Partly that's because we haven't had much luck. We've caught enough to satisfy our cravings and we've sent crab home with visitors but we haven't had many extras for making crab dip or crab pasta or crap tac.

Also, part of the fun of crabbing is the competition between the two crabbers - Randy and Bill. And this is the first week that they've both been here at the same time, and therefore, the official competition has finally begun!

We started out slow...and didn't get any keepers yesterday. And those we caught...well, they weren't the best looking crab - not like we're really picky because we aren't. So, Bill took the early lead with 3 keepers to Randy's 0.

We hoped for better results with the overnight set.

And I'm happy to report that we were rewarded! This was our catch: 5 dungie keepers and 2 rock. Rock crab are harder to crack (and thus the name!) but they taste great. Here's a look:

I won't include any pictures of the killing ... it's just not nice. Randy cringes. This little guy just wants out...it's really better if you don't look them in the eyes ... really, it is. This guy has rolled over and is ready to accept the inevitable:

Here's the pot...

Let's peek inside, shall we? Hey, it's steaming - is anyone timing these?

And finally, here's the finished product...

Pass the butter, please!