Adventure 868: A View from the Perch/7

A couple of good days to be alive just passed: Father's Day and grand daughter Sarah's birthday. We spent most of the afternoon on Father's Day at my longtime friend, Pat's house. Quite a few folks we have known the past fifty-some years and their families showed up. Judy, Steve, and I handled the BBQ, sizzling some sausage and shrimp. The families brought side dishes and desserts. The weather was a bit flighty, but the hearts were warm. Tonight, we had burgers and ice cream cake over at Steve and Bonnie's for Sarah's birthday. She's fourteen. Both she and her sixteen year old sister, Emily, brighten our world. They're smart, hard working, and creative: Most certainly the product of good parenting. Like many other families, we're proud as punch, and certainly adding more good humans to the planet makes life good, especially today.

My friend, Pat, our Father's Day host. We've known each other for 58 years.

He owns sixty acres along Hangman Creek. This is his orchard, full of Asian pear trees,, cherry trees, and various apples trees. He''s hoping for a good crop this year.

There they go! Up to the park.

Most of the acres are natural, but Pat has an area he keeps park like for events like this and bigger.

Pat and Judy are checking out the BBQ pit I helped Pat finish two years ago. It's a smoker, a BBQ, and he's just about to add an electric griddle. Pretty cool.

My favorite grand daughters enjoying themselves at the Father's Day BBQ.

From one party to the next. Steve and Leticia jibber-jabbering while the burgers cook.

Yum!

After dinner, before ice cream cake, Sarah, Falc, and I went over to the park.

And for sure there are remote control cars to be driven.

Birthday girl made my night. Sarah restored that red cabinet to house her art supplies. It used to be in my father's garage and was originally a very rusty yet sturdy slate grey steel cabinet. It's been in my garage for the past decade or so.  She customized it to fit the color palette of her side of the room. Love it.

Emily, our other super young woman, has rented a Viola for the summer just for fun. She already plays the violin, but decided she needed the challenge of a new instrument. Very cool.

Just fourteen, but grabbing life by the tail.  "There art thou happy, Romeo."

Adventure 867: A View from the Perch/6

We're a month and a day into our life here at the "Perch". We've met several folks, all of whom have interesting stories. We're amazed at how quickly each day passes as we continue to adjust to our new surroundings. Our move reminds me of how I felt when I retired from teaching. My comment then: "When you pull your hand out of the bucket, you're simply out of the bucket." The water barely ripples, and so soon no one remembers you were even there. I feel a little like that now. Shortly, after the sale, we had the urge to drive by our old house. Our reactions were different. Judy felt happy that the new owners really loved the house, and that it was a perfect fit for their needs. I scowled and thought as we drove by, "What are those people doing in my house?" But now I've moved past that feeling. I feel good each time I walk into our new home. It feels more comfortable each day. The food continues to be good, the service is better, the construction workers are diligently "punching" out the finishing touches on the building, and the general feeling of the place is warm and welcoming. By this time next year, the gardens will be ready, the pickle ball court will be finished, the wood shop will be operating, the population will be at full occupancy, and life in general will move apace. In the meantime, I've built a couple of custom furniture pieces for the space, and our only angst is the "rug". It's all about the rug, and until it arrives we'll not be able to finish the decorating. Everyone should have such problems, and it makes me realize that life is good, especially today.

One of our air plants bloomed. Amazing!

Our sandhill crane is visiting Liz Ulmen's garden until the landscaping is done. We'll stick it into the water feature after it's completed.

For now the TV sits on top of the dining room table. After the rug arrives, the TV will be mounted on the wall. In the meantime, I'm trying to watch less news, but when I do, I live mostly in my MSNBC silo; However, I still sometimes ruffle my feathers listening to the disingenuous blather spewing from the right, all the while trying to keep my own self-righteousness in check. After all, as the song says, "It's hard to be humble when you're perfect in every way." HA!

I customized this shelf to keep for our keys just inside the front door.

I also made this side table to go between our chairs. Both pieces offer some satisfaction.

Adventure 866: A View from the Perch/5

Almost a month in to this new paradigm, our main chagrins (First World Problems) are that we're still waiting for the "rug", and we're struggling to use our monthly meal money. Poor little birdies! The arrival of the rug will allow us to finish our living room decor. More guests will help us use the meal money (Come on over).  We have discovered that we're driving more, especially against the grain north to south. As we become more accustomed to the northland, that will diminish. It's certain that every conceivable American amenity is available very nearby, so our connection with the Southland will lessen over time. On a pleasant note, we're still in love with the light that enters our space. We have late morning sun followed by soft afternoon shade. The landscaping proceeds apace, and soon our view will overlook a very well designed common space on the ground floor. Workers continue to "punch" finishing touches on the complex. Mostly, those efforts don't affect us. In reality it's no small thing to wrench a 36 year tap root from the ground, but every day we feel more secure in our decision. We've already met quite a few interesting people. "Everyone is Someone" as they say in Luchenbach, Texas. Judy has availed herself of some of the class offerings, and I've developed a routine for my Tai Chi studies in the aerobic room, which I call the dance hall. In addition, I've been walking the trails behind Whitworth on a fairly regular basis. So, all in all life is good, especially today.

There are quite a few trails behind Whitworth University. I found this idyllic place; I plan a lunch date with my Bunny very soon.

We've revived our Sunday family dinners to help use the food money.

Our kitchen space is quite nice, but over time we'll use it less and less.

Art shot: Perch mates in the lobby.

Our cardinals like their perch.

I have managed to get in a bike ride, too. 

We're pleasantly surprised at how much room we have in our main room. This is where I do battle with the "Wiley Cager" who is currently ahead by  $.28.

Adventure 865: A View from the Perch/4

Nineteen days in Judy and I are flitting about the perch basically pooping all over stuff claiming territory. Fortunately, we share well, except when I eat all of the jelly beans, but that's a story for another time. The look of our final decor is still hamstrung by the absence of the rug. We have managed to discard the paid storage unit we had rented. We're one Goodwill trip away from being box free, and we're managing a nice dance in the kitchen (We like to dance). The only problem we've had so far is that we can't spend our food allowance fast enough, so we're inviting everyone we even walked by once to come up for dinner. Call us up. We're desperate for company. Not really. Basically, life is good, especially today.

Art shot of the day.

Fabulous first perch batch (Say that five times) of sour dough.

Chicken Caesar Wrap/Salad.

Quite candid.

OK, more surveillance than candid.

I'm just smiling like a slippery, sea seal.

Judy broke out the puzzle. Great light; great spot.
  

Adventure 864: A View from the Perch/3

After eight days some semblance of routine is surfacing. I've not missed a morning of Tai Chi  starting at 6 A.M. I finish my routine in about 75 minutes. By the time I climb the stairs, my Bunny has the coffee and breakfast ready during which we play a game of crib. I'm currently ahead by a whopping total of $2.62. Without much strain, the Wiley Cager's bemoaning howl can be heard across several states. Reports of banshee like sounds have come from as far as Archbold, Ohio. One such refrain is, "Why do you get such good hands when all I get is this crappity dew?" My reply, "Maybe I'm just a superior player." To which the Cager retorts, "I could be superior too, if I was dealt three fives and two tens." What could I say to that? Maybe that's why I'm the luckiest guy on the planet. We spent the rest of our morning consolidating a life time of memories in the form of old photos. We managed to condense three boxes into one fair sized tub, which is good because we have literally taken this down sizing thing to heart. 1100 square feet as it were. In the afternoon, for fun and propinquity we went down to the "Drink and Think" session in the Pub where we met Craig and Karen Barsuhn who moved here from an 80 acre horse farm in the countryside around Kalamazoo, Michigan. They're both retired research chemists who also raised and trained horses to compete in dressage, cross country jumping, and other English style jumping events.. Just fascinating talking to them. They're also avid skiers, who having no children, decided they could move to a place with ski hills, very little humidity, and a chance at community living after working the farm for so many years. We went from the trivia game to dinner and enjoyed much "background" sharing. The whole afternoon and evening confirmed one of my life theories: People are more alike than they are different, and as they say in Luchenbach, Texas, "Everybody is Somebody." Suffice to say, life is good, especially today.

Some days we play cribbage at lunch, too.!

This ceramic sculpture was just installed in the lobby. Pretty impressive actually.

The view from our "perch". The landscaping proceeds apace.

Karen and Craig Barsuhn at the trivia game. Karen knew quite a few of the answers.

Sallie, our moderator, handed out candy to all of the participants, so even 'one answer' Tim got a piece.

Adventure 863: A View from the Perch/2

Let's scrape some of that moss off that's been growing under our feet. We moved into the Perch on May 16. We celebrated my birthday and Mother's day on Sunday, May 14 at Steve and  Bonnie's house. Steve manned the grill admirably. Great fun had by all. The following weekend, Lilac weekend, our friends from Filer, Idaho, Tom and Patty Losser,  finally made it up to Spokane. Tom's son-in-law, Sam Snow, is this year's Lilac President. Tom and Patty had planned on staying with us. Unfortunately, we had no house for them. So they added themselves to the weekend's pinnacle of chaos since Sam and his wife, Christy, were understandably tied up with events. Along with Tom and Patty, we attended two: the planting of the President's rose, and the annual Armed Services Torchlight parade. The planting of the rose was quite something, and I hadn't attended the Torchlight Parade since high school when I spent the whole evening chasing short skirts and hot pants. It was all fun. We also had our friend, Liz Ulmen for dinner one night and Leticia another. Meanwhile back at the Perch, after consulting with Liz, we hung another piece of art, but are still waiting for the living room rug so we can install the TV and the rest of the art. Eventually our little nest will feel like home. All in good time. It's been just seven days, and as I said once or twice before, Life is good, especially today.

Tom and Patty at the Moontime in Coeurd'Alene after a Gilligan's Island adventure on the lake (A story for another time).

Too cool. Every year the Portland Rosarians come up to plant the president's rose. The whole ceremony is replete with festive garb, and several well oiled speeches.

Judy and Patty roaming Manito Park looking at the flowers. 

Sam and his crew were in the first car out.

This year's royal court on the choo-choo train.

Perfect night to view nearly two hundred paraders: bands, floats, horses, cars, and more of the same.

Leticia enjoying dinner with us.

My Bunny setting up her balcony flower garden.

Liz enjoying dinner tonight with us. We have a lot of point to use this month. Come on over.

Hugs make life better.

Adventure 862: A View from the Perch/1

We made it home from wintering in Tucson on April 6. By then, our house was being made ready for the market by yeoman work from Angela and Leticia who cleaned, scrubbed, and staged. It is now May 21. The house is sold. We're five days in to living in our new digs which we're calling "The Perch". We're just a couple of old birds living up on the fourth floor. The people who bought our home of thirty-six years are a young family with three boys. The father is a civil engineer; the mother is a Pediatric ICU nurse, and the three boys are budding geniuses who've been on award winning robotic teams. The parents love to cook, so they were impressed with our kitchen (As they should be). They also loved the pizza oven, the garden area, and the shop. Most of all they loved that the boys could attend the same school they've been attending. The family has been living with grandma (Who lives ten blocks away) for the past three years while Rebecca, the mom, finished nursing school. Meanwhile, Ty, the dad, commuted from Redmond, Oregon on weekends. It's easy to see why they were eager to find a house. We're glad to say to them, "This house has been great for us; it's your turn." Meanwhile, we've been downsizing, packing, moving, reminiscing, lamenting, feeling a little wistful, shedding a few tears, and mostly enjoying the thrill of "jumping off the cliff" into our new life paradigm. Life has been such a flip book. It seems the pages flip by faster all the time. On the ride, we're trying our best to realize that life is good, especially today.

We spent nearly half of our lives and all of our married life (to date) in this home.

The new adventure begins.

On move in weekend, Libby came home to organize the kitchen. She's quite good.

Our kitchen space is proving to be quite easy to operate.

We were pleasantly surprised to find that the great room has more space than we anticipated.

We'll miss this guy.

This is the main entrance. Our perch is up and behind, opposite this view. We look down on the courtyard and out into the Southeast from our balcony.

We still have to hang our art, hook up the TV, lay down a new rug, and get the internet started. All in good time.

Our bedroom is spacious as well. We have a walk through closet that's large enough for our clothes plus some storage, and we can actually do a pirouette in the shower! In addition, there is a half bath off the kitchen that holds the washer/dryer. Plenty of room for us. Fric was 180 square feet. The "Perch" is more than six times the space.