My teaching partner, Don, and wife Julie made some major upgrades to their Fox Island home this summer. The deck is the last major project, so I helped Don for a little while this weekend putting down his trex decking. They had a new roof, siding, windows and doors installed. Don put in all new pine flooring himself, as well as the new deck. The kitchen has new appliances and countertops, and new paint inside and out. It looks great! Funny how it's often the empty nest that gets the spiffing up. We have a few years before we get to spif up our empty nest.
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Thursday, September 21, 2006
a new chapter in life
Today Esther and I took Markus to Seattle Pacific University to begin his college adventure. It was an emotional day with a lot of apprehension about what the future holds. We got to meet his roomate and parents who are also from Port Orchard. His roomate is a junior and can help Markus with all the initial details of life at SPU. One of Bjorn's friends, Boone, who works in financial services helped us clear up some paperwork. After getting Markus settled and going to the invocation ceremony and courtyard barbecue, we left him to tackle the orientation weekend by himself. While it is rewarding to see Markus step out into adulthood, it is sad to say goodbye to his childhood and feel the vacancy of his absence.
Sunday, September 17, 2006
29 years and counting
Today was our anniversary and this evening we went to Anthony's Homeport at Pt. Defiance. We hope to take a getaway weekend within the next couple of weeks. When you're twenty, it's hard to even vaguely imagine what life will bring. We are very thankful for the life God has given us together and the wonderful family He has blessed us with. We look forward to more exciting things in the future.
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Chillin' on Mt. Townsend
Today Don and I took our classroom leaders on a hike to the summit of Mt. Townsend. On a clear day you can see from Victoria, BC to Mt. Rainier. On a cloudy day, you can't see twenty yards. We did get short glimpses of the valley, but we froze on the ridge. There was evidence of snow last night, and ice pellets would occasionally bombard us. The students did great, hiking the 3000 ft. in four miles to the 6200 ft. summit. These student leaders help us with the classroom management of our fifty plus students. They are each responsible for three or four other students, keeping them focused and on task. It's fun to honor them by taking them on a special event.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
A bear in Southworth?
Looks like we didn't need to drive a thousand miles and hike four miles in the Tetons to see bear this summer. Ursus americanus made a showing last week on our street. A neighbor shared this photo that he took from the safety? of his fenced-in yard. I wonder how Bowser would enjoy a sniffing party with this guy! My guess is that he wandered up the beach trail picking blackberries and found himself in the friendly Southworth neighborhood.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
september sunday sailing in southworth
The 2006 Southworth sailing season will soon be over, so I grabbed the opportunity this lovely afternoon to hoist the sails. It was sort of a consolation for not going to Pt. Townsend today for the annual Wooden Boat Festival. I was a little more cautious today as we witnessed two capsizes yesterday evening: a sailboat and a kayak, within thiry minutes of eachother. I called 911 on the sailboat. He eventually drifted to shore where the paramedics met him. The kayaker never did get back in her boat, but was escorted to shore by another kayaker. This afternoon was not nearly as windy as yesterday, but I was still a little spooked. The wind did pick up for a time and I became a little nervous when I discovered that my outboard died (first time in ten years of faithful service from the old secondhand Merc) I dropped some sail and had to rely on my sailing prowess to inch up and grab the mooring bouy. I'll leave her in for another month, before hauling her out to the winter berth.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Back to School
The first week of school is often a positive experience. Kids are on their best behavior. New curriculum ideas are ready to be explored. The weather is nice. This year was no exception, as we are off to a good start with what looks like a great bunch of kids in our class. Calvin started high school this fall and Esther gets to adjust to a new administration team. It is a tradition in our family to go out to eat at a Teriyaki restaurant the first day of school and debrief everyone's day. Markus joined us for the meal of course, but his first first day will be later this month.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
seafood weekend with the Eides
If it wasn't for salmon, I think that I would have gone hungry this past weekend. The Eide family pride themselves on their love of the culinary bounty of the sea. Labor Day weekend was a seafood indulgence extravaganza: oysters, crab, mussels, clams, shrimp and salmon. For a couple of old Norwegian siblings, it was oysters for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Now, I love the sea as a setting for recreation (sailing), but my tastes for it's produce ends with salmon and maybe a little crab and clam. We spent the weekend at the Cain Lake cabin. Saturday night we got grimey at the Skagit Speedway; a different experience for an old salt like me. It was a lot of fun, especially the final race which went through several restarts because of endless crashes. Bjorn and Jenny joined us for much of the weekend, and Anna and the girls came by on Sunday. We wrapped up our weekend with a visit with my mom and a trip to the outlet mall for back to school shopping.
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