Peter Menzel features fifteen families throughout the world in the book "Hungry Planet" - what they ate and how much it cost. Photo gallery here...
(this book raises a lot of questions - locally grown, cost of packaging and transport, and nutritional value.)
(Thanks to Child of Africa for the link.)
It is dusk, the sun is almost down over the canyon. We have two lakes to ourselves in the Seep Lakes area near the Columbia Wildlife Preserve. It is so remote here that camping is free. No services, no water, no outhouses. No neighbors. Nothing except the sounds of hawks, an occasional wren, and the wind.
We arrived at the bluffs overlooking Katy and Janet Lakes after exploring the surrounding areas, many of which are wildlife refuges. A number of these sites either weren't picturesque, were littered with shotgun shells and broken beer-bottles, or didn't have good hiking nearby. 
We turned down six campsites before we found the remote Katy Lake. I'd told George I just wanted something with a great view - canoe access wasn't necessary as we could always drive to a nearby lake. The bluffs overlooking Katy Lake were perfect.While George set up the tent, I got my cooking station going - propane burner, dry food containers, drinking water, and my coolers. 
I do all my cooking sitting down, swiveling around in a tight little area. At this location I had to block the wind with containers, so the propane wouldn't go out. 
We had ravioli with fresh parmesan cheese, buttered French bread and a salad. This salad contains spinach, onion, carrots, cucumber, broccoli, tomatoes, mushrooms, apples, cherries, dried cranberries and crushed nuts. We took a hike after this 'early dinner', at 4:30, and walked almost completely around Katy Lake in the lower valley.
This area is quite sublime, very peaceful, and has an easy trail. There are trails all around these lakes, and the bluffs offer many delightful vantage-points. (Our car is that slight bump on the bluff over George's head!)
One thing about pitching a tent on the top of a bluff - you'll get wind. George had to anchor our tent down with ropes. He brought along some reading material for a training session that he has next week at Harborview Medical Center, the PCIT: Parent-Child Interaction Training. 
While he was reading, I explored some of the nearby bluffs, the rock formations, sage and flowers. This is an extremely dry area - no campfires are allowed from May until October.
I fixed fried potatoes, bacon and sausage, mushrooms and eggs for breakfast. Then we packed up camp and drove to Sage Lake for a canoe paddle. This little lake extends into another one at the end, with a narrow shallow area between the two. 
Sage Lake is down in a low basin, so was not affected by the wind. We paddled for about an hour then portaged the canoe up the bank to our van.
We arrived back in Tacoma about 5:30 on Sunday - the weather there had been in the mid-50's, and it had been in the high 70's in eastern Washington, with clear sunny skies. What a difference 20 degrees can make - we had two days of sunshine, and a chance to view the beauty of the Milky Way.
We spent the weekend camping at Quincy Lakes in the Columbia Basin Reclamation Area. It is about a two and a half hour drive over Snoqualmie Pass, across the great Columbia River, and deep into the vast scab-lands of eastern Washington.
This desert region is my favorite part of Washington state - dry, vast, and remote.This time of year it is starting to heat up - temps were around 80 degrees compared to the 57 degrees in Tacoma. When the weatherman predicted showers and overcast skies for the weekend in western Washington, we headed east. 
No doubt this will be our last trip over to eastern Washington until next fall, when the temperatures go down. Otherwise, we are looking at camping in 90 degree weather.
I had hoped that we'd get a pretty little site on a lake with easy canoe access, and we found the perfect spot. George pitched the tent in a vast expanse of wild baby's breath, and the fresh sweet scent was heavenly! I made coffee and headed up the cliffs directly behind our tent. 
The view was nice - if you love vista. Sagebrush, dry balsam root, volcanic rock. 
We had a weekend of adventure ahead of us - two canoe paddles and three hikes. We were here to explore country, and to possibly find a camping site large enough to accommodate another family gathering in the fall. We hiked along the Dusty Lake Trail and then down into a lush moraine, where rocky mountain-sides had been ground down by water thousands of years ago. We hiked throughout this valley for about an hour.
I took the lead on the way back to the trail-head, really pushing it, because 4:30 in this country can mean that the sun goes down over the canyon and the temps plummet fast. It may feel like 80 degrees during the day, but come evening, you'll be looking for a warm jacket.
The bird-life was abundant - meadowlarks, coots, and other shorebirds. Because we'd camped so close to the shoreline, we were on top of a bird that calls out at night - and, all his friends would answer. It sounded like a bunch of bawling cattle in a feedlot. (I thought for sure it was a bullfrog, but George says it is a bird that nests deep in the reeds, perhaps the American Bittern.)
We awoke at dawn and I made coffee. 
We headed out onto the lake, and I spent the early morning video-taping our glide. The water was absolutely peaceful, not like the day before when both of us had to paddle to steady the canoe. The best time for filming bird-sounds is very early morning, and my video is rich with them. At one point, George burst out into the song, "Oh What A Beautiful Morning!". There were other campers way across the lake, and I'm sure his melody accompanied their morning coffee around the campfire.
While George built the fire, I made a Father's Day breakfast - pineapple-buttermilk pancakes and egg-Swiss cheese-bacon on a sourdough muffin. 
These pancakes are sweet and flavorful: The pineapple is sliced thin, cooked over the skillet, then the batter is added on top. To make the egg-on-a-muffin, slice the muffins, fry the tops, then place the cheese on top. Remove them to a hot tin, covered, and place over the fire. Fry up the bacon and mix up the egg batter with finely chopped green onion and seasoned pepper. Make little omelets. After everything is cooked, assemble into little sandwiches.
We went back onto the Dusty Lake Trail for several hours of exploring on Sunday. 
This is really dramatic country, isolated, yet with trails that have been used by hikers exploring the region. 
We found this old volcanic vent deep in the hillside. People had hauled a plastic tarp down into it, and probably used it as a camping shelter. The volcanic pumice was so crumbly and porous that it could be peeled from the surface of the cave. You sure couldn't get me to go down in there!
We hiked down to this spectacular overlook, following a stream. This hike was about two hours, an easy climb back up, with the sounds of meadowlarks the entire way.
There were nettles when we bush-whacked through some of these glades. George was wearing shorts, so he was stung on the legs. 
This little glade was in a sinkhole, and had a profusion of little plants along the stream. Someone had placed a sturdy wooden plank across the stream, so we didn't get our boots wet.
I've spent several hours today going through the comments in my archives. When I reformatted my blog, I lost my Haloscan comments. Blogger only had a few comments per month, and these remained on my blog. I noticed that spammers had found my blog and flooded the posts with highly objectionable spam. So, I've installed the word verification gadget, with the hope of discouraging spam. I really hesitated to install this initially, as I can hardly figure out the letters myself, and didn't want to pose a nuisance to visitors. As I was deleting spam, I came across a May 2006 post about Darfur, to which my son left a comment. Time must have gone by, maybe days, and so I missed seeing the comment. What a surprise and delight to see this appreciative comment by my son Rue:
" Hi Mom, Today I had my speech class at Toastmasters. One of the functions of Toastmasters is a part where they do Table Topics. During Table Topics a person is called on randomly with a speech topic and is asked to give a speech on that topic without any warning. This forces a person to think quickly on their feet, and organize their thoughts.The topic today was a Mothers Day theme and I was called on. An earlier topic had been gardening, so the first thing that came to mind was:
“After our family moved here to Washington from Kalispell, Montana, money was tight. 
My mom signed up and got a community garden plot that was about 4 blocks from our house." 
"Everyday my mom would walk down to her plot with her wagon of tools and she grew tons and tons of vegetables." 
"We didn’t have a lot back then, but we always had healthy fruits and vegetables and home-cooked prepared food was always available." 
"My mom gardened at that plot for a few years when our family needed it the most."
"She still uses those gardening skills in her backyard, where the next generation, my daughter, has gotten to taste the fruits of her labors as well." 
"Now as child, I didn’t understand everything that was going on, but as an adult now and having been through similar circumstances, I appreciate what was done.”Thanks Momma!
Our weekend guest, Wintergreen, is a New Zealand blogger that George met online many months ago upon her return from Pakistan. She had been teaching 'The Pink Kit for Positive Birth', a resource that teaches the skills for positive birthing experiences. Wintergreen collaborated with a Baha'i Social Economic Development (SED) project in Pakistan. Her own non-profit organization is called Common Knowledge Trust. Wintergreen wrote on her blog: "All the visits I am making now are organized through the Baha’i community in Sindh Province in the South of Pakistan. I have discovered many Baha’i do ‘pioneering’ work in villages.
Unlike Christianity or Islam, Baha’i can not convert or proselytize their religion. They may discuss the Baha’i Faith when people ask them ‘what religion are you?’ So, discussing Baha’i must come from a conversation brought about by the other person. Baha’i has other values:"
- Service
- Respect for all religions and Prophets.
- Living within the political system of the country where you reside.
- World Peace
- Equality of women and men
- Oneness of Mankind
- Independent investigation of Truth
- Harmony of Religion and Science
- Relinquishing of Prejudice
- Universal Education
- Spiritual solution to economic problems
- World Commonwealth
. . . . .
Through their e-mails, George and Wintergreen arranged a 3 day visit, primarily to discuss the Faith, of which she knows only a little. She wanted to know more, and possibly attend any Baha'i community events.
So, we picked her up at the train station Friday afternoon, had dinner, then went to our delegate's report from the 2007 Baha'i National Convention. 
Dr. Christopher Gilbert, Executive Director of the Northwest Center for Ethics Training and Development and a business professor at Tacoma Community College, was our delegate. (Second from right in photo). As with most Convention Reports, there was a table filled with information, and I pulled out a presentation on Health for Humanity, which partners with local institutions around the world, providing health development assistance to communities in need. This was exactly the type of networking that Wintergreen was looking for.
The Baha'is of Gig Harbor hosted Wintergreen at one of their monthly firesides. She gave a presentation on the basic child-birth skills that she teaches in developing countries. Here, Wintergreen is teaching a young woman some of those skills.
We also had the opportunity to meet Leila and Shaun, and members of their families. Leila and Shaun have recently moved to Seattle from Haifa, Israel, where they spent 3 years serving at the World Center of the Baha'i Faith. 
I came to know Leila (Bottom right corner, next to Shaun) about a year ago, when I started reading her blog, Love From Leila. Never in my wildest imagination did I ever imagine meeting another blogger - and here I was meeting two of our internet friends in one weekend! And both of them spent time in New Zealand.... I thought the world was surely shrinking, bringing such wonderful people to my little corner of the world.
Sunday morning, the Olsen's hosted a Devotional Meeting, and Wintergreen got a chance to hear Baha'i prayers and a story from the life of Baha'u'llah. Here, Mauricio is singing a prayer.
The Olsen's served a waffle and sausage brunch following the devotions, and then we took Wintergreen for a canoe paddle on Square Lake. She had done some canoing before, so didn't feel a bit of panic when large gusts of wind started pushing us across the lake. 
She just hunkered down and followed George's directions. All three of us got that canoe to head in the right direction.
We took a long hike through theTheler Wetlands after the paddle. It too was windy, but many parts of the wetlands were sheltered. This trail went through a bit of forest, then through the wide open marshland draining out of Puget Sound. The wind blew, the sunshine was warm, and George and Wintergreen fine-tuned their conversation about religion, service to humanity, and the musings of what lay ahead. We headed home, and Taraz and Rahmat came for dinner. We played family videos that Taraz has recently made of our camping trip.
From here, Wintergreen heads up to Vancouver, then eventually to Vienna, Austria. She is a woman who has made herself at home in every corner of the world - Asia, Africa, South America. I couldn't help but wonder, how she felt about our small corner of it. We were especially glad that we had an opportunity to share it. During the visit, she said that one of our cats came up to her room every night. From time to time the cat would touch Wintergreen's cheek with her little nose, then press her paw on Wintergreen's shoulder. They became quick friends.
We managed to do a long paddle on the Black River on the weekend, and it couldn't have been more gorgeous. About 80 degrees out, very little wind, and brilliant sunshine and color.
Portions of this river are protected by the Nature Conservancy. It has a lowland lake as its main source of fresh water, rather than snowmelt. As it widens it meanders through a vast swamp before becoming free-flowing, eventually emptying into the Chehalis River southwest of Olympia. 
The swaying aquatic plants here are about 25 feet long, with just the tips out of the water. I think it is some kind of wild lobelia, very fragrant.
The dense shoreline represents one of the most extensive riparian environments in Western Washington. There are mixed stands of red alder, Oregon ash , Pacific ninebark, and dogwood and willow. The shoreline was vibrant with the sounds of birds. These nesting houses were hung on trees near the water.
Lily pads line the river in many places. We noticed that most of the blooms were yellow, but found groups of orange ones like these.
We paddled for several hours - or, I should say that George did. The warmth of the sun, the songs of birds, and the gentle flow of the water made me feel so sleepy that I scooted off my seat and layed down. While George paddled, I watched the trees overhead glide by. It was so peaceful and heavenly.
As we returned to our 'put-in point' there were kids, dogs, and kayakers. Everyone was getting into the water.
Taraz made this video , taken on our Sun Lakes camping trip. Now you can see why we purchased a propane insert for our fireplace.....
When George isn't using the seats to his van, he stores them here, on the patio. I cover them with a soft comforter and place a few pillows around. Mornings, I sit with my coffee, and address my 'to do' list. This week it was to plant shrubs along the south-facing fence. It took 3 days to do it - to prepare the soil, visit the nursery, and put them into the ground. I finished the project on Saturday.My hope is to attract more birds into the yard, but so far all I have are a few bees visiting a hive under the patio floor. They really aren't a nuisance - yet - and the cats and I have gotten acquainted with them, watching their flight patterns and their little dances. They talk to one another that way, with fanciful steps and twirls, and have proven to be most industrious, never sleeping like Mordred and me. I know I should get rid of them, as their hive will most certainly become a nuisance when we hold Ruhi classes out on the patio this summer. I'm afraid someone will get stung. But, I'm stalling. It is a horror to contemplate. I can't imagine dusting their front entrance. They'd track that in to the queen. I don't want to vacuum them up as they zoom in from the honeysuckle. Not only would that look strange to my neighbors, but I can just imagine them all buzzing inside my vacuum, waiting to get me when I'm sleeping.
When we were camping at Lake Wenatchee my sister asked me if I'd like to travel to Italy with her and our cousin next summer. I thought of all the tourists, the lines, the congestion, and replied that the best that life could give me is right here, camping with all my kids at Lake Wenatchee: Cooking good food, sleeping under the stars, hiking mountain trails, and canoeing still water.
When we arrived home and started preparations for George's birthday party, our neighbor Beth brought over Blood Orange Soda. I think this is about as close to Italy as I will be getting. However, I've spent years drawing little French and Italian villages and the courtyards on the Adriatic coastline. It is the old way of life that enchants me about this part of the world. I think it is swiftly vanishing.
This has been a busy week, with several more birthday gatherings. Taraz, Megan, and Rahmat came over last night to show their video of the trip. It is a collaboration of images edited by Rahmat, and put to music by Taraz. They made a copy for me, and I will add mine to the mix tomorrow. Annie, Taraz, and Ruhiyyih have their posts up now, savoring what they particularly enjoyed. Annie has a video up on her blog, Earthen Vessel - my favorite part is Annie's giggling while she is filming!
I'll finish out my post with just a few left-over images that I want to include here for 'memory purposes' so they don't get over-looked. 
This is an image of Ruhiyyih as we sat out in my backyard having coffee, just moments before she left Tacoma. I was fascinated by all the little dots on her cheeks, from the holes in her straw hat.
We celebrated George's birthday by watching videos. He set up his DJ equip- ment in the livingroom - huge (ugly) speakers pounded the house and Ruhiyyih and Daisy danced. Annie joined in, and they tried to pull me into it, but I only cheered them on. I'll provide Kathy Hall's Flicker album for this set, as Ruhiyyih was too animated to pick out just one photo!
Our friend Jamie and his brother Mike came over for an early breakfast. George did the cooking, and just I let the guys visit. I was tired, still in my robe and PJ's with morning coffee...I still needed time to 'wake up'. But, I have to laugh. Jamie comes over every Wednesday evening to visit, and I'm always in my robe and PJ's then, too. I think he's seen me only once wearing street clothes, and that was when we bumped into each other shopping at Fred Meyers. He's a big guy, with a long ponytail down his back, and he can have an opinion about everything!
Both these fellas are profes- sional photo- graphers. Mike does landscapes and Jamie does social commen- tary and trends.
This shot of me was taken in the late afternoon, right before dinner by Annie. Buddy, my daughter Laurel's dog, had been playing basketball with the kids. They'd tormented him for so long that when he finally got a chance to bounce the ball up in the air he tore it to shreds instead. Then, there was a hand-combat contest by Taraz and Rahmat on this log, to see who would fall into the water. Annie has a video of these antics on her blog, as well as portions of an early morning canoe glide. It perfectly captures the sounds of birds in the early morning.
Megan took this last one, of George and I canoeing through the reeds, which were just a few inches high. Come July, they will be several feet high, and the red-winged blackbirds will be singing through them. (Megan has used a filter on this shot.) That is sure 'my kind of water'!
Peter Menzel features fifteen families throughout the world in the book "Hungry Planet" - what they ate and how much it cost. Photo gallery here...
(this book raises a lot of questions - locally grown, cost of packaging and transport, and nutritional value.)
It is dusk, the sun is almost down over the canyon. We have two lakes to ourselves in the Seep Lakes area near the Columbia Wildlife Preserve. It is so remote here that camping is free. No services, no water, no outhouses. No neighbors. Nothing except the sounds of hawks, an occasional wren, and the wind.
We arrived at the bluffs overlooking Katy and Janet Lakes after exploring the surrounding areas, many of which are wildlife refuges. A number of these sites either weren't picturesque, were littered with shotgun shells and broken beer-bottles, or didn't have good hiking nearby. 
We turned down six campsites before we found the remote Katy Lake. I'd told George I just wanted something with a great view - canoe access wasn't necessary as we could always drive to a nearby lake. The bluffs overlooking Katy Lake were perfect.
I do all my cooking sitting down, swiveling around in a tight little area. At this location I had to block the wind with containers, so the propane wouldn't go out. 
We had ravioli with fresh parmesan cheese, buttered French bread and a salad. This salad contains spinach, onion, carrots, cucumber, broccoli, tomatoes, mushrooms, apples, cherries, dried cranberries and crushed nuts. We took a hike after this 'early dinner', at 4:30, and walked almost completely around Katy Lake in the lower valley.
This area is quite sublime, very peaceful, and has an easy trail. There are trails all around these lakes, and the bluffs offer many delightful vantage-points. (Our car is that slight bump on the bluff over George's head!)
One thing about pitching a tent on the top of a bluff - you'll get wind. George had to anchor our tent down with ropes. He brought along some reading material for a training session that he has next week at Harborview Medical Center, the PCIT: Parent-Child Interaction Training. 
While he was reading, I explored some of the nearby bluffs, the rock formations, sage and flowers. This is an extremely dry area - no campfires are allowed from May until October.
I fixed fried potatoes, bacon and sausage, mushrooms and eggs for breakfast. Then we packed up camp and drove to Sage Lake for a canoe paddle. This little lake extends into another one at the end, with a narrow shallow area between the two. 
Sage Lake is down in a low basin, so was not affected by the wind. We paddled for about an hour then portaged the canoe up the bank to our van.
We spent the weekend camping at Quincy Lakes in the Columbia Basin Reclamation Area. It is about a two and a half hour drive over Snoqualmie Pass, across the great Columbia River, and deep into the vast scab-lands of eastern Washington.
No doubt this will be our last trip over to eastern Washington until next fall, when the temperatures go down. Otherwise, we are looking at camping in 90 degree weather.
The view was nice - if you love vista. Sagebrush, dry balsam root, volcanic rock. 
We had a weekend of adventure ahead of us - two canoe paddles and three hikes. We were here to explore country, and to possibly find a camping site large enough to accommodate another family gathering in the fall. We hiked along the Dusty Lake Trail and then down into a lush moraine, where rocky mountain-sides had been ground down by water thousands of years ago. We hiked throughout this valley for about an hour. 
We headed out onto the lake, and I spent the early morning video-taping our glide. The water was absolutely peaceful, not like the day before when both of us had to paddle to steady the canoe. The best time for filming bird-sounds is very early morning, and my video is rich with them. At one point, George burst out into the song, "Oh What A Beautiful Morning!". There were other campers way across the lake, and I'm sure his melody accompanied their morning coffee around the campfire.
These pancakes are sweet and flavorful: The pineapple is sliced thin, cooked over the skillet, then the batter is added on top. To make the egg-on-a-muffin, slice the muffins, fry the tops, then place the cheese on top. Remove them to a hot tin, covered, and place over the fire. Fry up the bacon and mix up the egg batter with finely chopped green onion and seasoned pepper. Make little omelets. After everything is cooked, assemble into little sandwiches.
This is really dramatic country, isolated, yet with trails that have been used by hikers exploring the region. 
We found this old volcanic vent deep in the hillside. People had hauled a plastic tarp down into it, and probably used it as a camping shelter. The volcanic pumice was so crumbly and porous that it could be peeled from the surface of the cave. You sure couldn't get me to go down in there! 
We hiked down to this spectacular overlook, following a stream. This hike was about two hours, an easy climb back up, with the sounds of meadowlarks the entire way.
There were nettles when we bush-whacked through some of these glades. George was wearing shorts, so he was stung on the legs. 
This little glade was in a sinkhole, and had a profusion of little plants along the stream. Someone had placed a sturdy wooden plank across the stream, so we didn't get our boots wet.
My mom signed up and got a community garden plot that was about 4 blocks from our house." 
"Everyday my mom would walk down to her plot with her wagon of tools and she grew tons and tons of vegetables." 
"We didn’t have a lot back then, but we always had healthy fruits and vegetables and home-cooked prepared food was always available." 
"My mom gardened at that plot for a few years when our family needed it the most."
"She still uses those gardening skills in her backyard, where the next generation, my daughter, has gotten to taste the fruits of her labors as well." 
"Now as child, I didn’t understand everything that was going on, but as an adult now and having been through similar circumstances, I appreciate what was done.”
Our weekend guest, Wintergreen, is a New Zealand blogger that George met online many months ago upon her return from Pakistan. She had been teaching 'The Pink Kit for Positive Birth', a resource that teaches the skills for positive birthing experiences. Wintergreen collaborated with a Baha'i Social Economic Development (SED) project in Pakistan. Her own non-profit organization is called Common Knowledge Trust. 
Unlike Christianity or Islam, Baha’i can not convert or proselytize their religion. They may discuss the Baha’i Faith when people ask them ‘what religion are you?’ So, discussing Baha’i must come from a conversation brought about by the other person. Baha’i has other values:"
Sunday morning, the Olsen's hosted a Devotional Meeting, and Wintergreen got a chance to hear Baha'i prayers and a story from the life of Baha'u'llah. Here, Mauricio is singing a prayer.
She just hunkered down and followed George's directions. All three of us got that canoe to head in the right direction.
We took a long hike through theTheler Wetlands after the paddle. It too was windy, but many parts of the wetlands were sheltered. This trail went through a bit of forest, then through the wide open marshland draining out of Puget Sound. The wind blew, the sunshine was warm, and George and Wintergreen fine-tuned their conversation about religion, service to humanity, and the musings of what lay ahead. We headed home, and Taraz and Rahmat came for dinner. We played family videos that Taraz has recently made of our camping trip.
We managed to do a long paddle on the Black River on the weekend, and it couldn't have been more gorgeous. About 80 degrees out, very little wind, and brilliant sunshine and color.
Portions of this river are protected by the Nature Conservancy. It has a lowland lake as its main source of fresh water, rather than snowmelt. As it widens it meanders through a vast swamp before becoming free-flowing, eventually emptying into the Chehalis River southwest of Olympia. 
The swaying aquatic plants here are about 25 feet long, with just the tips out of the water. I think it is some kind of wild lobelia, very fragrant.
The dense shoreline represents one of the most extensive riparian environments in Western Washington. There are mixed stands of red alder, Oregon ash , Pacific ninebark, and dogwood and willow. The shoreline was vibrant with the sounds of birds. These nesting houses were hung on trees near the water.
Lily pads line the river in many places. We noticed that most of the blooms were yellow, but found groups of orange ones like these.
We paddled for several hours - or, I should say that George did. The warmth of the sun, the songs of birds, and the gentle flow of the water made me feel so sleepy that I scooted off my seat and layed down. While George paddled, I watched the trees overhead glide by. It was so peaceful and heavenly.
As we returned to our 'put-in point' there were kids, dogs, and kayakers. Everyone was getting into the water.
When George isn't using the seats to his van, he stores them here, on the patio. I cover them with a soft comforter and place a few pillows around. Mornings, I sit with my coffee, and address my 'to do' list. This week it was to plant shrubs along the south-facing fence. It took 3 days to do it - to prepare the soil, visit the nursery, and put them into the ground. I finished the project on Saturday.
When we were camping at Lake Wenatchee my sister asked me if I'd like to travel to Italy with her and our cousin next summer. I thought of all the tourists, the lines, the congestion, and replied that the best that life could give me is right here, camping with all my kids at Lake Wenatchee: Cooking good food, sleeping under the stars, hiking mountain trails, and canoeing still water.
This is an image of Ruhiyyih as we sat out in my backyard having coffee, just moments before she left Tacoma. I was fascinated by all the little dots on her cheeks, from the holes in her straw hat.
We celebrated George's birthday by watching videos. He set up his DJ equip- ment in the livingroom - huge (ugly) speakers pounded the house and Ruhiyyih and Daisy danced. Annie joined in, and they tried to pull me into it, but I only cheered them on. I'll provide Kathy Hall's Flicker album for this set, as Ruhiyyih was too animated to pick out just one photo!
Our friend Jamie and his brother Mike came over for an early breakfast. George did the cooking, and just I let the guys visit. I was tired, still in my robe and PJ's with morning coffee...I still needed time to 'wake up'. But, I have to laugh. Jamie comes over every Wednesday evening to visit, and I'm always in my robe and PJ's then, too. I think he's seen me only once wearing street clothes, and that was when we bumped into each other shopping at Fred Meyers. He's a big guy, with a long ponytail down his back, and he can have an opinion about everything!
Both these fellas are profes- sional photo- graphers. Mike does landscapes and Jamie does social commen- tary and trends.
This shot of me was taken in the late afternoon, right before dinner by Annie. Buddy, my daughter Laurel's dog, had been playing basketball with the kids. They'd tormented him for so long that when he finally got a chance to bounce the ball up in the air he tore it to shreds instead. Then, there was a hand-combat contest by Taraz and Rahmat on this log, to see who would fall into the water. Annie has a video of these antics on her blog, as well as portions of an early morning canoe glide. It perfectly captures the sounds of birds in the early morning.