Steve Wincek. – August. 13th – 21st

I may have mentioned that Steve Wincek has been a great friend of mine for over 45 years!!! Steve’s wife Patty, who you have seen before on this blog, spent some time with their daughter Tiffany on a cruise, so Steve had some time and came out on his own. We had a blast. Steve had not seen the house for over a year when he and Patty were out last. He said he was blown away! Oh we love hearing that!

A few of our activities were without Deb, who “still has to work for a living….lol” But, Deb and I took Steve out on the boat for a picnic and some crabbing. Great time. Steve loved the boat, the scenery and the wildlife. We also went on two other hikes to Lake Ann and a hike to Ptarmigan Ridge near Mt. Baker. Killer weather. Steve and I went on an overnight trip with the boat and did some fishing too. Had an “interesting” evening sleeping out on the boat as a bit of wind picked up and generated some excitement so to speak… Steve can comment here about it if he wishes….lol Can’t say enough how much fun we had overall. Made pizza and ate Deb’s famous crab cakes too.

Thought I would check out a hike for Steve and I. First time out with my new hiking boots…Hiked about 9 miles “in a very short period of time…” Jesus… sometimes I wonder why I do the things I do. But, fantastic hike. Quite “vertical” so to speak!

Nancy, Bill and Aunt Della- July 30 to Aug. 10

Debbie’s parents came out along with her Aunt Della. We all had a great time. Boat rides, fresh crab, site seeing, home cooking, and great sunsets made the visit very memorable. The pics tell it all. It was Aunt Della’s first visit to our house. She loved it and spent a fair amount of time giving us ideas on landscaping. She is a master gardener! Aunt Della, Bill and Nancy really enjoyed the boat rides and the scenery. We went on a number of rides in to the Cascades and out and about the Bow area. Debbie took them on the ferry to Victoria, BC to visit Buchart Gardens...a very spectacular place! I still say they will move out here from Michigan one day…… we shall see. Heh?

Short visit for Mr. Dieckman – July 25 – July 30.

Dick said he needed a break from Colorado life and came out for a short visit. He knew about our plans to buy a boat but had not seen it till this visit. We went on a “marathon” boat ride for the day…circumnavigating around the entire “San Juan Island Group.” About 11 hours on the water!!!! Hey, what the hell, it is light out till 10 PM so might as well enjoy it heh? Dick loved the boat. He grew up in New York and went out on a sailboat his Dad built. So, he was no stranger to boats. Our weather was perfect that day and we had a great time. We also did a short hike near Mt. Baker but there was still a ton of snow.... scenery was second to none.

Sandra and Fred – July 12 to July 25 (I think)

Sandra and Fred came out and overlapped nephew Jon’s visit. It was great to see them and we had a great time. It was the first time Sandra and Fred had came out since my/our Mom had passed away. Actually Sandra was out about a year ago when Mom had broken her hip….so, she (nor Fred) had seen the house since we moved in. They loved it and were oh so complimentary….we love that. But, honestly it was great just having them out. It was a major surprise when they saw the boat in the barn! We did a couple trips on the boat, caught crab (as you can see!), and did a bit of site seeing. We even went to a “fly-in” where private pilots fly their planes in for the weekend. It was cool. Fred is building his second airplane so he really enjoyed seeing the planes. Of course he would… he is a pilot.

And, Sandra and Debbie planned a major surprise retirement party for me, inviting all the neighbors and some local co-workers of mine. It was fantastic! Jon and Fred had the pleasure of distracting me so they could get the house ready.... oh those clever guys!

Sandra is a magnet for deer. She kept asking us where are the deer and we had not seen any in quite awhile. Then, sure enough, the next day, she sees a doe and her fawn right outside our front door!!! Fantastic.

Maybe the biggest surprise of all was a retirement gift from my Debbie! She got me a top of the line digital camera and an extra telephoto lens!! I love it. I have been wanting a new camera for years and this is THE ONE! I have taken nearly 4000 photos since. Expect to see some much higher quality photos from now on.... it's not me, it's the camera..:)

Nephew Jon – July 10 – July 17

We thought we would never see the day but it finally happened. Nephew Jon came to Bow. He loved the house. He loved the boat. He loved relaxing…. for some of the time….LOL. Jon, as you may recall, was the one who told us how to wire the house for sound in every room. Recall too that it took us three solid days to wire the house, and another day to install all the speakers, leaving us with a pile of spaghetti of endless wires in the basement. But, it all was worth it….every second of work, every drilled hole, all the dust in our eyes from looking at the ceiling, and every drop of sweat. Why? Because Jon took all of our pre-work and after quite a bit of work on his part, we now have this fantastic stereo system where we can select and play ALL of our music from every room in the house with the push of a button. It is like having n iPod and every room and all we need to do is select what we want to hear and voila, there it is. As time goes by we appreciate it more and more. What a great asset to the house, especially when we love and listen to so much music.

And, not only is Jon an expert stereo system programmer, he also started a new embroidery business... www.needleworksllc.com and to show some of his handy work, he made Deb and I custom aprons!!!! We love them!!! See the photo... they say "Bowpeep Inn" with our name below ... we wear them a lot! Close up to come...

Next time out, we plan to have more fun and less work!!! Right Jon?

A Test

I'm Back.... we're back. Been so long I forgot how to do this... hang tight.

LY

D2

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a .....

Sorry for the delayed blog post. My, things just do not slow down. Overall updates include a trip to Leavenworth, WA. Ironically, Deb had a meeting there and I had to meet with our friend Dan for work… The photo of the motorbike and the bicycle is Dan’s baby. He almost causes car accidents from folks looking at him. Needless to say he is a bike fanatic….. rides the motorbike to work, and then bicycles at lunch …. Gotta love it heh?
No question you will notice we decided to have this year’s firewood delivered…. We realized this was the only way we were going to get firewood done, so we ordered it…. The amount of time it would have taken for us to get it out of our woods, buck it up, split and stack by mid July so it can dry out was unrealistic. No worries though, we had 5 ½ cords which may be enough for two years…. But, we sure worked like hell to stack it in one evening… about 5 hours straight. Deb was the workhorse again…. Man, is she tough.
Next was the finishing touch for our screened porch. We decided to use a slate tile, the same as our downstairs hallway. So, sure enough, hauled it all upstairs, mixed the thin set, rented a tile cutter, laid the tile, and put on the sealer…. Done deal. We love the look. Now we can sit out on the porch and enjoy it!
Oh yeah, I am about retired!!! I say about because there are still some details to sort out…. But I have started my recreation…. Hiked to Cascade Pass the other day. Loved it! Oh my is it gorgeous. Much more to come. Even saw deer on the road….Mom and Kids. And, notice Charlie Chipmonk on our snag in front of our deck….adorable.
Fourth of July was spent with our friends Matt and Rachel…. As a second option but we won’t go there. Firework display was provided by Debbie and Rachel… (chicks with wicks!) gotta love that…..
Other photos are self-explanatory….
OK all for now. Nephew Jon, and sister Sandra and bro-in-law Fred are on the visitor list for the remainder of July. Can’t wait. Jon is going to finish our stereo system….OH BOY!
LY D2