Thursday morning we locked the birds away in one of the bedrooms, gave each of the kitties an extra pat on their heads to go with their lifetime supply of cat food then loaded up and drove to my parents’ house. Creep and beep traffic heading up I-5 had everyone’s nerves frazzled and sanity was in short supply by the time we arrived. Even the girls were stressed from the trip.
Once again my mom completely out did herself with the baking and cooking. The official Thanksgiving dinner hadn’t even been served before the gluttony (lots of food set out to graze upon) started. Grandpa Porgy and Great Auntie Ruth arrived about an hour after we did. In addition to the traditional turkey dinner and all of the trimmings we also feasted on ham, cake, many varieties of cranberries, etc., etc. My sister and her family did not make it.
After a wonderful visit, that went way too quickly, it was time for Ruth to leave and for us to drive Grandpa back to where he’s living. The girls stayed with my mom while my DH, Dad and I took Grandpa “home”. The assisted living facility he’s living at is very nice and reminiscent of college dorms. I’ve a sneaking suspicion that Grandpa hosts the party room.
On Friday morning we woke up and resumed eating. Breakfast included, pancakes, fried potatoes, ham, fresh eggs and homemade rolls and toast. We digested leisurely by the wood stove then bundled up for a walk on the beach under sunny skies. In the short time it took us to drive the car down and park the clouds had started rolling in. Here are some pictures from our trek.

skeletal tree left at Washaway Beach

Dungeness crab my dad found in a tidal pool, but we had to leave because nobody had their licenses

Old wooden cribbing unearthed during recent storms. Many farms, and even a cemetery used to exist where the channel cuts through. We weren’t sure what this had been used for.

My dad, A1 and my mom (in the background in the white) while beach combing.

erosion

A fishing float, two Japanese bottles, assorted shells and a bait box were found during the walk.

The sun fighting a losing battle with the ubiquitous cloud cover.

Footprints left by an earlier visitor. Perhaps a coyote?

Looking south, towards Willapa Bay.

A piece of net next to a barnacle-covered tree branch.
A disgusting amount of plastic was mixed into the driftwood and seaweed at the tide line. Most of the offending waste consisted of drink bottles. Sadly, this stuff will probably outlast the land itself here. People can be so thoughtless and lazy. The walk was lots of fun though and everyone was ready for a rest and something hot to drink when it was over.
During our visit my dad helped A3 with her Pinewood Derby car that she’s doing for Girl Scouts. Her Brownie troop was invited to participate with the Cub Scouts who meet at their school.

Grandpa even took it up to the local hardware store to have it weighed so he could add weights to it and not exceed the limit for her. We’ve packed the car away now to prevent it from breaking before the race. Once it’s over she can play with it, but if something happens to it before then we have no way of helping her make a new one.
My mom and dad gave us a camera! (hence the above pictures) I’m very excited. I’ve missed taking pictures of the girls, cats, knitting, etc.
While not eating, sleeping or beach walking I worked on Christmas presents. Here is a piece of what I’ve been doing.

There are six applique squares on each throw/wall hanging. Each square has the pictures outlined with quilting. After the sashing is completed then I may go back and quilt a grid behind each of the appliques. The quilting is not fine because I simply don’t have time to turn out 10 to 12 stitches per inch between now and Christmas. Even so, I hope that the recipients will like them.
We returned home to find all of the birds, cats and fish intact. We came back loaded down with salmon and other delights from my parents. I miss the beach, but it’s always good to be home. Thank you Mom and Dad for a lovely Thanksgiving and for everything else too.