Roche Harbor

While we end up in Friday Harbor pretty much every week while we're staying on Shaw, we always get in one trip to Roche Harbor. It's where the money people hang out - we just go to gawk and stare. We waited for a warm, sunny day for our annual Roche Harbor trek for lunch this year. It takes about a half-hour in the RIB so we like it to be fairly warm and it was a beauty of a day this year. Coming into the harbor there is always amazing. The new houses are huge and have a "look at me!" style of architecture that, to me, is so not-the-rest-of-the-islands. And the boats...well, let's just say there are a lot of really big boats kept there. Many of them never leave their slips, let alone leave Roche Harbor. Their owners fly in, spend the week or weekend aboard, then fly out again. The only way they see the rest of the area is by looking out the window of the plane. This year was no different. It's a busy harbor; partly because it's Roche, partly because it's also a US Customs port-of-entry from Canada. You can be sure there's always a line of boats waiting to clear customs. We managed to find a little spot to tie up. Those three larger boats are for sale. I could get the information if you're interested. Really, I could. We had lunch at the Fluffy Duck.

Also having lunch there was Paul Watson of the Animal Planet's Whale Wars television series. I didn't get a very good picture of him...I was trying to take it on the sly. I wanted Randy to start singing "The World is a Vampire" but said no.

It's where the rich and famous dine while in the Islands. Truely, these people are not going out in a boat. They had on long black dresses and pant-suits, lots of gold lame' on the women and (unfortunately,) lots of gold chains on the men. These people aren't from WA state; these people had dark tans. We don't have dark tans in WA state...we have rain with a few days of sun sprinkled in.

Roche does a great job on landscaping - it has probably the best-looking grounds in the islands. It's beautiful there...no doubt about it! I love the way this little chapel is situated overlooking the harbor. It's called the Chapel of Our Lady of Good Voyage. In fact, I bought a bookmark at the Island Artist's Studio that has a watercolor painting of the Chapel. I like it a lot. The other fun thing to do at Roche is read the names on the yachts. This year's winner was an obvious choice. We both knew it the minute we spotted it. Can't read it? Here, let me pull in a bit. Must be Seinfeld fans! Finally, here's a link to a walking tour of Roche Harbor. It's a great place to visit, even if you're not rich and famous! http://www.rocheharbor.com/walkingtour.html

Meet Patsy...she's a Party Pig

I'd like you to meet Patsy. I got Patsy from a couple of Shaw friends who make and give felted and knitted pigs to their friends and also to people who are going through a rough stretch in their lives. The story of how the gifting began is great.

Ditti, while waiting for a plane, was reading a knitting magazine and came across an article about a woman who knit pigs. The pigs, according to the woman, made her laugh. Whenever she looked at them, she felt better - they were happy and they made her happy. So she started making them to give away...to spread the laughter.

Ditti said she laughed when she looked at the pigs, too, and decided she needed to start making pigs to give.

Before I continue, I need to back up a bit and tell you how the whole felted pig story came into my life.

Early on during our stay on Shaw this summer, Ruth and Ross invited us to join some other Shaw Island friends for dinner. The invitation was intriguing..."Jan would be bringing her pig Big Red and might also be bringing her granddaughter Shauna. Ditti was bringing her new pig who was nice but certainly not the party animal Bubbles was."

Hmmm. Randy and I went back and forth. Were these miniature pigs...pot-bellied pigs...or something else?

When we got there, we found out. There was a row of felted/knitted pigs sitting on the counter, as well as Big Red sitting on the dining room table. It was a wonderful night with great friends...and their knitted pigs!

Later in the summer, Jan invited me to join she and Ditti for dinner. At Jan's house, I got to see the range of pigs she's knitted. In case you didn't guess, that's Big Red on the left.

Wow.

And Wow again. They are just precious. I fell in love with knitted pigs. Just before Ditti left, we had she and Jan over for dinner. Imagine my pleasure when Jan pulled Patsy out of her bag and handed her to me. Her name, Jan said, was Patsy. Patsy, the Party Pig. And I love her...she makes me laugh every time I look at her, and she brings back memories of good friends who happen to live on an island I love. We also had Ruth and Ross over for dinner at the end of our Shaw summer. They are absolutely delightful people who we saw on our walks around the Ben Nevis loop. Ruth brought a beautiful bouquet of lilies from her garden...the fragrance was magnificent! If you could only smell how wonderful they were.

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A lesson in exterior paint colors

We need to paint the exterior of the house. We made that decision earlier this year and contacted a number of painters for bids and settled on a father/son combo who had painted the new house next door. They did a great job and came in as the low bid. We were happy.

But then it started.

Picking the painters, it turned out, was the easy part. Now we had to pick a color; actually two colors - one for the body and one for the trim.

At first, we just said we were going to paint it the same color as it was. Then, well, then we started thinking that if we wanted to mix it up a bit, this was the time to do that. Neither of us is planning to be in this house when it needs painting the next time so this was our chance to put our mark...our design...our color choice...on the house. Sheesh.

Well, June passed and it was time to go to Shaw for two months. Randy emailed the contractor and said the paint job would have to wait until September. Whew - that was a close one. We almost had to decide on paint!

But then September came and we couldn't put it off any longer. And we still didn't have a paint color. So, we jumped in with both (well, all four) feet.

But do you know how many shades of tan there are? You might not be able to tell but there are at least 6 different paint colors on this wall.

Or how many shades of taupe? Oh, I bet I didn't mention that we have shakes on the roof and are concerned that it go with the weathered look of the shakes, did I?

Or how many shades of tan-y taupe and taupe-y-tan? There are five different colors on this wall...not counting the original house paint!

There are thousands, I tell you, thousands. And the names...who comes up with these names? Rocky Ridge...Cottage Walk...Sand Castle...Monteray Bay...Dry Creek...Ethiopia...Driftwood. I need that job.

And while most people wouldn't get bogged down between shades of tan and taupe, we can't seem to get out from under it. We worry that if we pick taupe, it'll be too gray and it's already pretty gray here in the winter so having a gray-toned house might be too much.

But if we pick a dark tan like Mocha Latte, will the house look like a giant Hershey bar? Hmmm...Ethiopia's not bad; not bad at all. Of course, next to Sand Castle, it's pretty dark...and pretty taupe.

We drove around some of the newer Felida/Lakeshore neighborhoods Sunday afternoon looking at the newest paint colors. That's also a requirement...we'd like the color to be something that's in style for a while. Everyone paints their house taupe or tan, Randy says. And we'd like something a bit bolder...well, maybe bold isn't the right word. Slightly different from everyone else would be a better way to phrase it.

The other thing is that the color on the printed paint chip isn't necessarily the color the paint turns out to be when it's brushed on the wall. And don't even get me started about the lightness and darkness issues between shaded walls and sunny walls. I could write a book!

The painters are starting a week from today. And we still don't have a paint color. So, we did what we should have done in the first place.

We hired a decorator to pick the colors for us. But we didn't hire just any decorator. Oh no, not us. We hired the daughter of the people who built and lived in this house until we bought it from them. We had issues before when we hired her to help us pick interior colors but we're putting that aside.

Since she lives close, she knows this neighborhood and we walk past her house everyday. I like her colors - Randy, not so much. He thinks it's too taupe. Hmmm. She's coming over tomorrow at 10. This should be interesting.

Baby Quilts for Parker's Mom & Grandma

My great-nephew Parker was born the first part of August. He's a cutie and looks a lot like his Mama did when she was a baby. Of course, I knew I'd be making his Mom (my niece Lauren) a baby quilt for him and decided to make one for my sister Janis (the new Grandma) to use when Parker visited their house. I was a bit late getting started on the quilts...then summer came and well, I was a bit later getting them finished. But, since they have flannel backings, I figured Parker wouldn't be using them for a few months anyway. I sent both quilts off on this last Tuesday and Janis called Friday to say they'd arrived...and she loved them both. I'd left it to her to decide which one she wanted to keep and which Lauren would get.

I'd originally started out making the Sleeping Baby/Crying Baby one for her...

But once I found the seashore panel and finished the top, it became my favorite.

I still really like the bright colors of the other Crying/Sleeping Baby quilt and love the babies but there was something about the blocks on that seashore one that really did me in. And I figured since I lived on the coast (well, close to the coast), it was a perfect quilt from me. I also found a ocean-themed background that fit perfectly...unfortunately, I didn't buy quite enough fabric. I hadn't made the quilt yet when I found the backing, so I guessed at how much I would need. I was slightly off. I simply added a plaid strip in the same bright colors to each side.

I hope both quilts are loved and used for years to come.

Only this...

a day late...

Of Sails, Sailors and Sunsets

I love taking pictures. Everyone who knows me, know that. I have my preferences, of course, for what my photographic subjects will be. There's nothing that can beat a macro of a flower, or a beautiful sunset, or sailboat rigging. Unless of course, it's of people enjoying one of those three things. This post gives you all of them. It was a beautiful day when Ray pulled into the Cedar Cove with his 42" Tayana. Ann and Larry were ready for a sail and the wind was cooperating, too. What a day! And what a sunset!

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Island Artists Studio

One of my favorite spots in Friday Harbor is the Island Studio gallery (http://www.islandstudios.com/). The artwork is amazing. I could browse through the paintings, photos, jewelry, books and other art for hours. But what I really love to do is head into the garden that is accessed through the back door. What a wonderful treat for the eyes!

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The Jones Family

Back in July, some very good friends from Idaho came up to Shaw to visit. We haven't seen them in quite a few years but like all good friendships, it seemed like it had only been a few months.

One of the fun things we get to do on Shaw, is share in the sailing experience with others who haven't ever sailed before or who don't get to sail often.

Such is the case with the Jones' kids. They were born and raised inland. Their experiences on the water have been in their dad's motor boat. Granted, it's a nice boat and for young Jenna who loves speed, it's the perfect boat. But when Ed and Cheryl stopped by with their 38" Tartan, well, it was too tempting and we gladly headed out to the water with them. As you know from earlier posts, Ed is all too happy to turn over the helm once the sails are up. We had nice wind and clear skies - it was a beautiful day to be on the water. Tanner took the helm first. Between Ed, Randy and Dan, Tanner got all kinds of advice. He took it all with a grain of salt, and good kid that he is, just kept smiling. When he turned the helm over to Jenna, he moved to the side where he took over the jib.

Jenna was a bit hesitant at first but quickly got the hang of it - she simply held on to the wheel and gave orders!

And of course, the guys quickly found another sailboat to race. After all, if the sails are up, it's automatically a race...even if the other boat doesn't know it! All too soon, though, our afternoon was gone and we headed back to the Shaw and dinner. It was another great day spent with lifelong friends and followed by a spectacular sunset...again!