We spent Thanksgiving with Eric's family on the coast which gave me a chance to go to Ikea for velvet curtains in a deep turquoise color. The price can't be beat for the great expanse of fabric. They are particularly long but the window in the front is tall. By raising the rod of the side window to match the height of the front one the effect becomes dramatic. Now it is more evident that a rug is missing so it's time to start looking. Also the quarter round molding at the floor needs to be reinstalled. It never ends but the process is what I adore anyway.

It was nice to have a weekend to cook, eat and entertain. A quick visit by family and a couple days of lounging in front of the pellet stove. There was wind, rain and fog....good time to snuggle in with books and movies. This winter will be a piece of cake.

My job takes me out into some spectacular country side. The next project is at the confluence of the Palouse and Snake Rivers. It's very remote (it always is, I guess) and private land so to stand on that ground and look at the views is truly a gift.

What looks to be a nice riparian zone along the banks of the Palouse River is actually a buildup of silt lost by dryland farming practices and loss of native grasses.  Keeping the cattle out of the river is our main priority but soil conservation is right up there as a goal.

It's beautiful country, though, and I'm happy to be able to go out amid the snakes and the ticks to work.

My life is scored by music and hearing a song can instantly take me back to a time and place. This song is my summer anthem. It's time to find one for what is starting out to be a perfect autumn.

Oh sure it's hot outside...102 degrees now with a prediction of 103 tomorrow. I don't mind the heat and I worked on the pantry/WC project this morning when it was much cooler. It's the cold of winter that I don't like. I've already started getting prepared by purchasing a pellet stove. The price for these right now is good as not many people are rushing out to procure heating devices. I did say 102 degrees today, didn't I? Monday I go pick up four tons of pellets which are at last year's price and expected to be three times as much this winter.

I have an old oil furnace that I used sparingly last year. I had a miserable time of it. I don't do well being cold. Every two weeks I filled a 55 gallon drum with diesel and pumped it into the tank to save money. It was a reminder that I wasn't in Arizona or Mexico or Hawaii for the season. The whole time I was trying desperately to recover from the spleen surgery and sort out life with celiac sprue without knowing that's what I had. It was a bad winter.

This year is going to be warm and rosy. I have a happy faced and helpful house mate who just loves hauling heavy stuff into and out of the house...pellets should be just the ticket for him, a big marvelous pellet stove and a body that isn't in excruciating pain. I'm actually looking forward to the change of seasons this year. I'm prepared.

A benefit of having a house mate is the ability to get away from animals, feedings and the ever present call of unfinished projects. I took off for Chelan to visit family and partake in the winery dinners prepared by my future son-in-law, Chef Erik. It was also his birthday to celebrate and my daughter's turn to cook (gluten free) for a couple dozen people. Excellent food and wonderful dinner companions.

The weekend was all about food, wine and family. Glorious. I returned refreshed and carting a big box of apricots from my mother's tree to put up in quart jars. Next it will be peaches and then cucumbers to pickle, picked from the garden. I just love summer.

The wind was slight, the temperatures perfect and I felt great. A perfect morning for a ride with Moon and Shrek. He's probably going home to Olympia soon so we need to get in as many rides together as possible. I'm beginning to think "horse" instead of "mule" as this was such a pleasant way to start the day. I may not want to wait for Dinah to be finished and safe.

This video of Matt Harding dancing around the world makes me laugh and cry at the same time. With all the strife and anger in the world it's always good to see it as a happy and friendly place to be.

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo

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Hint: Touch Pause and let it load entirely before playing.  It's more fun to watch without all that buffering.

This man's Thursday night is his Friday night. After a hard week of work, his idea of relaxation is to shoot a few rounds at plastic liquor bottles. I joined in for a bit then went into the kitchen to cook dinner. He still had a few guns to warm up.

I don't have cats to take care of the mouse population but I do have a bull snake. Quite a large one at that to do the job. Now if I could just get it to move into the garden. I'm NOT a fan of snakes and it's a little disconcerting to have one climbing up in the rafters of the shop but I've named it Gabby and appreciate its help with the mice. Searching for a tool or part now takes on a whole new dynamic. Ick.