Coastal Visit

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Friday was an in-service school day, which meant that the girls and I had the day off.  So we packed up and drove out to my parents’ home for several days.  While preparing to leave I noticed that Bonny was sporting a new look.

Solving “The Mystery of The Vanishing Whiskers” took about 3 seconds.  A3 now understands that kitties, especially fat little sausage kitties, need to have whiskers and she promised to leave them alone in the future.

Rain pummeled us for most of the three hour drive. After arriving we were able to take advantage of periodic breaks in the weather to dart outside.  Sadie thoroughly enjoyed playing with the girls. 

 

Visiting Grandma’s dog is about as close as we’re going to come to getting one of our own for a really, really long time.  Dogs are wonderful creatures and Sadie is exceptionally smart and well-behaved, but I always end up taking care of anything that eats and/or poops.  No more mouths or butts!  I’m maxed out.

There are lots of old buildings, cars, boats and other large, abandoned things to explore should the woods, sumps, ditches  and local animals lose their interest. As a result the girls remained mostly entertained.  Here are some random pictures taken during our visit. Some brief descriptions follow.

1. All but three of my parents’ chickens have been killed by coyotes, weasels and other creatures. 2. My mom has a green thumb and there are plants, flowers and herbs everywhere in pots, etc. 3.Their cranberry bogs sit in the midst of approximately 40 acres of land and there are trails and patches of wilderness, etc. all over. 4. Frog catching was a bust, but obviously they’re out and about, hence the eggs.  5. Cattails & an irrigation sump. 6.This time of year the bogs take on a purplish, reddish hue. 7. Daffodils next to Mom and Dad’s house. 8. Track cart tracks (like train-tracks, but smaller in scale) crisscross the cranberry bogs and wind to the warehouses where berries are sorted and cleaned before pick up.  9.Some of the flotsam and jetsam picked up during beach walks adorns the woodshed.  10. It rains on the Washington coast.  A lot. About 30 miles due north of my parents’ is the Hoh Rain Forest. From the mosses, lichen, etc. it obviously is quite damp where they are too. 11. I asked for some pussy willows to take home for my living room. I just love these! My dad went overboard, as usual, and filled the back of his little truck with branches. 12. & 13.If you squint really hard in two of these pictures you can see one of the old houses I used to live in.  It’s used for storage now. 14.The salmon berry bushes have started blooming. 15. My mom made some bunny cakes so we topped off Friday’s seafood feast with bunny arse and heads. 16.During WWII there were soldiers stationed along the coast. My dad can remember bits and pieces of stories from this time (he was very, very young).  Anyway, in an old, now demolished, storage shed on their farm were piles of old signs, etc. Some of these now hang in their sorting warehouse. The military dim-out signs were used to remind people to use the covers provided on their headlights while driving.

We went to the beach both on Friday night and Saturday morning, but it was too cold and wet (raining) to walk far without the girls feeling miserable. On Saturday evening they colored Easter eggs for a Sunday morning mini-hunt.  Grandma hides the eggs better than that dumb rabbit.  Hopefully Sadie will find any leftovers before they become toxic stink bombs.

Great Grandpa Porgy joined us for dinner on Friday and Saturday.  Note to self, don’t play cards for money with Grandpa.  We dealt a hand of Gin Rummy and he acted befuddled and confused for most of the game only to skunk me unexpectedly at the end.

A3 built a birdhouse on Saturday evening too!

Grandpa Dave helped a little though. She graciously let him measure the wood, cut out the pieces, drill the nail holes and hold it for her while she hammered in the nails.  She still needs to paint it and then they’ll put in up the next time he’s down visiting.

So where was my DH during this outing?  He had to work on Friday so he stayed home and enjoyed a quiet, estrogen-free weekend.  We know he played video games, but my guess is that he stayed up late, drank milk straight from the carton, belched, farted and indiscriminately scratched himself during our absence as well.

When we came home today there was a package waiting from Cindy!  This was a prize from a contest she held last week.  Inside were these lovelies

They include an adorable tin of mini-Tootsie Rolls, a travel loofah and bath kit and some gorgeous  yarn from A Piece of Vermont!  Thank you Cindy!

I finished knitting a sock, cast on its mate and completed several sweater rows while there too.  Mom and Dad sent us home with lots of yummy seafood, including salmon, cod and razor clams.  It was a wonderful weekend, but now I want a nap!

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