Update and a new challenge

 Hello Family!

Autumn has arrived in the Pacific Northwest. It’s cool and we’ve had a bit of rain.  Great time to hunker down - Oh wait - that’s what we’ve been doing for the last 8 months!  We’re enjoying the beautiful colors, but they won’t last much longer.  It soon will be leaf raking time!

Our first season of gardening here was a bit of a mixed bag, but very much a learning experience.  We had a bountiful harvest of potatoes, kale, chard, parsnips, beets, onions, carrots, snow peas and green beans.  Less successful were the tomatoes and peppers - although we did get some.  Also got a couple of good sized pumpkins.

I did not know that peas could get this tall or that parsnips grew this big!

The fruit trees we had planted a couple years before we moved in grew like crazy this year.  Most didn’t fruit, but we did get a few dozen apples.  Our one apple tree is grafted with 5 different varieties - one of which is Honeycrisp.  We got exactly one of these, but it was huge!  

We checked it regularly as it was ripening, but it fell off in a windstorm and the birds got to it before we did.  We were pretty bummed.  This apple was a little smaller than the honeycrisp, but still pretty good sized and quite tasty!

We also participated in the local gleaning program.   Fruit tree owners contact the program when they have more fruit than they can harvest or use.  We ended up doing 3 gleans at the same house as the owners had multiple trees. We’re allowed to keep some of the fruit and share with friends and neighbors, but are expected to give a sizable portion to local food banks or other charitable organizations.  This year the rules were a bit different because many of the usual places weren’t taking donations because of Covid.  However, the tribal food bank in Sequim was - so we gave them plums and 2  different kinds of apples. After my first glean, two of the neighbors who took some of the fruit offered to help me with the other gleans.  It was a good opportunity to get to know the neighbors a little better as we’ve obviously not been able to socialize with them.

My leg is completely healed, but I’ve started a little physical therapy to regain some strength and flexibility.  Hopefully I’ll be able to get back on the bike next year.

We’ve gone on several hikes recently as we continue to familiarize ourselves with our new surroundings. We want to make sure we know the best places to take people once when folks feel comfortable coming to visit.

Speaking of visiting - what are your thoughts about rescheduling the reunion?  I don’t feel confident about next summer but maybe in the fall?  I know Laurel and Sage have a Fall break - Julie do you have one?  Anyone else who would have trouble getting away in the fall?  I know it’s a long shot, but if we could put it our there tentatively, it would be something to look forward to and I could really use that. Let me know what you think.

Okay, time for today’s challenge. Even though I got only one response to my last challenge, I’m going to try again - mostly because posting these pictures makes me laugh.  So, it’s time for the worst school picture!  Sure, I’m okay with your best school picture, but since the picture I posted last time was my best, I decided to go for worst.  For those of you with adorable small children, be aware that they will not always be so cute - especially if you (like Marge) have poor bang cutting skills.  I have so many traumatic memories of having my bangs cut (oh, that’s not even, snip, snip) that the first time I ever trimmed my own bangs was this year.  

A second option for the challenge is worst holiday picture.  Here’s my contribution to that category.  Have you seen a sadder group of people?   I’m assuming this is a Christmas picture - I’m hoping it wasn’t a photo  Christmas card!

I guess that’s enough of my rambling for now.  I miss and love you all and look forward to seeing your posts (hint, hint), and sometime in the near future giving you each a big hug!

Memory Lane

 Ok, challenge accepted, but I need a little time.  Got back to West Hills and was going through old photo albums.   Several things...

1.  I changed my hair color and style often.  I had bangs, which I don’t, currently.  I wore it pulled back a lot, too.

2.  I took many of the photos, so there aren’t many singles of me.

3.  (Maybe this should be number 1)..I was much thinner.

4.  My albums have lots of photos of:

       a)fish...😛

        b) silly photos of Tom.  He was taking selfies way before it was a thing.(always a trailblazer).

5. I did find a single of me that I could re-create but it’s going to take a little doing, so bear with me.  (Let’s say near my bday)   I’ll post it then. 

xoxo

Molly

Challenge Accepted

 58 years ago I had more hair on my head and less on my shoulders...couldn't find a youthful baldie pic since I was born with more hair than I have now.

The little dude with the toothless, gummy smile had a premonition of how happy he'd be once he retired...

An update and a challenge

Hello Family,

It’s time for your monthly update from Sequim.  No exciting news here (we are not moving) just a quick update and a fun challenge.

I have been diligently exercising my hip and leg and am seeing improvement.  However, as I found out yesterday, I still need to work on my flexibility.  While - with a little maneuvering - I can get on my bike, I cannot yet lift my leg high enough to get off.  So, that’s my new exercise goal.

We have been doing some hiking and that presents no problems with my leg - although my endurance isn’t quite back.  Last week we went for a walk on the Dungeness Spit.  No issues with social distancing here...

Actually, the parking lot was completely full, but once we got down to the beach, there was plenty of room to spread out.

Today we went for another hike close by, this one through the forest.  Over 5 miles we saw 3 People and two dogs.  It was great.

Weather here has been sunny and beautiful.  We’re right about 70 degrees most days (although that might seem a little chilly to some of you).  The nights are cool and the sunsets are earlier, but they can still be spectacular (ok, not as spectacular as at MoJo).

Ok, now for the fun part...While I’m not on Twitter, I am aware of #throwbackthursdays.  This is where celebs post old pics of themselves.  It gave me an idea...

As I have not had my hair cut since February, it’s much longer than it has been in many years.  I have joked that if the pandemic goes on much longer, I might soon be rocking the Marcia Brady look I had in high school...and that was a good look, don’t you think?

However, I realized that my current look is much closer to 6th grade Sue.   I’m sure Molly and Carol remember this dress as it was my favorite and I wore it to church nearly every Sunday.  What you can’t see in the pic are the white fishnets and apple green patent leather shoes that really made the outfit. 😀😂 I especially like the size of the bow.  If there had been a pandemic in 1968, I could have made a mask out of it!

 

So, here’s my challenge.  Post a 2020 pandemic picture and an old picture that most closely resembles it.  Or, maybe an old picture that reflects how you’re feeling during these pandemic days.  Or, just post any old picture that will give us a smile.  I know there are some classic pics we haven’t seen in a while.

Looking forward to your posts!  Love to all.  ❤️❤️❤️

A Day in the Mostly Mobile Life of Cody Fischer

Now that I am walking, I have even less time to dictate blog posts to my transcriptionist. Being a one-year old is a lot of work. I have to do a least one dozen reps of stair climbing every day and run from one end of the house to the other with whatever interesting objects have been placed in the recycle bin. And now that I have shoes, my exercise routine includes carrying sticks up and down the block. This is an important job as many lazy dogs in the neighborhood leave sticks in the middle of the sidewalk. Where is their sense of civic responsibility? 

 

 

 

 

 

In addition to my more rigorous strength and exercise schedule, I am also engaged in more activities to develop my mental acuity. I have realized that to truly understand any book, it must be read at least six times a day for three months. Occasionally one or two of my books – the ones that mom says have no plot – mysteriously get lost under the sofa. Good thing I’ve discovered this and check regularly to retrieve any missing titles. 

 

 

 

 

In part because I’m such a curious and active toddler, my parents have decided that we need a lifestyle change. So next month we are leaving the crowded, humid, city behind and moving to Bozeman! I’m looking forward to being an outdoor boy with easy access to skiing, hiking, fishing, and mountains! Hopefully you can all visit us out there sometime soon!

 

An addendum from the transcriptionist and editor:

 

Yes, it’s true! We are moving to Bozeman, Montana at the end of September. This was actually a pre-covid decision, but the day after we returned from a trip to out there and decided to move, Washington, DC shut down…. The pandemic and recession put our initial idea for a summer move on hold, but with both our jobs staying remote through at least the end of the year, we figured we may as well move now.

 

Why Bozeman? It ticked all the boxes. It’s not too big, or too small – we think we’ll be able to find a good community and jobs and every outdoor activity we enjoy is only about five minutes away. We have family in the area and it doesn’t hurt that the average humidity is about 30 percent. White precipitation is also known to fall from the sky on a regular basis between December and April.

 

It was a tough decision, as we’ve loved our time here in DC and being close to Don and Theresa, which has been particularly special for this first year of Cody’s life. But it isn’t really the lifestyle we’re looking for (some of you may be shocked to learn that preventing nuclear apocalypse is a little bit stressful), especially now that we have a child. We’re hoping to find a better work/life balance that is rumored to exist outside of DC! Having a larger yard for the next pandemic (and being on mountain time so we won’t have to stay up past bedtime to play Codenames via Zoom) will be nice as well.

 

Wohoo! West we go!

so.....this happened

Hi Family!

I hope everyone is well.  We are fine and wanted to share some up to the minute news.

What started as COVID quarantine boredom manifested into day trips to different local cities, way too much screen time and some re thinking of future plans.

Honestly we can't believe it ourselves...we're selling our house!

We know, We know...

We just made all the changes!

We love Gilbert!

This is where we raised the girls!

AND

We don't fit the demographic of the Islands anymore (young families)

We wanted to have a house with a LOT of space and a LOT of land

This is a first step in our retirement plan.

SO,

We found a perfect place in Mesa that checks all the boxes!

We have made an offer on and it has been accepted just today at 6460 E. Trailridge Cir. Unit 10.

Our inspection is Monday night.

We are set up to close Friday September 11th.

IN ADDITION

Our Sea Shell house has now been listed approximately 2 hours and we have 8 showings set up for tomorrow!

ALSO,

When this pandemic is over we are going to have one heck of a housewarming!!!!

FINALLY,

We are overwhelmed, excited, and in a state of disbelief.  This all started with a drive to just get out of the house!

Love you all

Kathleen and Charlie

July update

Today I had my final surgical follow up.  I think most of you have seen my xrays, but in case you haven’t, I’m attaching the after picture.  Doug thinks the screws look like lag bolts you would use to attach a deck to the house.

Doug compares my doc to the surgeon in the ATT commercial (Guess who just got reinstated?).  If you haven’t seen the commercial, here’s a link.

https://www.ispot.tv/ad/IZ6U/at-and-t-wireless-ok-surgeon

The good news is that the fracture has healed and i have no activity restrictions.  The less good news is that the pinching sensation I’m feeling is possibly a torn labrum (which seems to be another name for cartilage in the hip joint).   Anyway, he just kinda blew it off - saying he has one too, and you just learn to work around it.  That because I’m over 50, they wouldn’t do arthroscopic surgery on it.

Not really satisfied with basically being told to live with it,  I did a Google search.  Evidently an MRI is required to diagnose, and they don’t do surgery for folks over 50, because it doesn’t seem to provide any benefit. The articles did all recommend PT.  I’m going to give it a few weeks, do some exercises and see how it feels.  If it isn’t better, or gets worse, I’ll ask for a PT referral.  In the meantime, I’m excited to get back to walking and hiking and working in the yard.  Golf and biking I hope to get back to in the not too distant future.

We finally have summer in the Pacific Northwest.  It’s only been the last few days where our temps have been over 70 degrees.  Today we got up over 80, which is sure to generate news stories about dealing with heat stroke 🥵.  Folks are not much used to temps over 70 degrees up here.

Now that the weather is good and I’m mobile again, we’re going to start getting out a bit more.  Today we took a short walk on a rocky beach in Sequim bay.  Later in the week we plan to pack a lunch and head out for a drive and a hike.  After 7 weeks of being housebound, I’m anxious to be out and about a bit more (while practicing social distancing, of course)

The Covid numbers in our county are pretty low.  Seems like the most recent cases were related to July 4th parties.  The state has a mask mandate and people here are pretty good about it. Then again, the average age in Sequim is over 50, so that might have something to do with it.😀

The yard and garden are looking great.  We’ve been eating home grown lettuce, peas, carrots, chard and potatoes.  Blueberries are just about ready - although, there aren’t enough for a pie.    Now that the weather has warmed a bit, I’m hoping to see some growth with the beans, tomatoes, cukes and squash.  Our fruit trees are looking good, thanks to Doug’s hard work, but it looks like the only fruit we’ll be getting this year is a few apples.  Not too surprising as the trees are only 3 years old - but i’m hoping for a big harvest next year of pears, plums, pluots and cherries.

This is Doug harvesting our peas.  We have never had plants this tall before!  Next picture is of our orchard.

During my convalescence - since i was basically chair bound - I did a lot of reading.    I just finished “The Warmth of Other Suns”.  It’s about the migration of blacks from the south to the north and west from WWI through the ‘60s. Really interesting and (in light of recent events), a reminder of the desperate circumstances they endured and how many obstacles they had to overcome.  I highly recommend it.  I’m currently reading Ella Minnow Pea (say it out loud), which I mainly picked because of the title.   I’m not that far into it, but I’m liking it.

Speaking of books - is anyone interested in a family book group?  We could have a zoom meeting once a month to discuss a specific book.  Just another option for keeping in touch since it doesn’t look like we’ll be seeing each other anytime soon.  If you’re interested, let me know and we can decide how to proceed.  I’m not envisioning anything particularly structured,  just the opportunity to share our thoughts.

Hope you all are doing well and staying safe.  Love to you all!