For an example of the rural nature of our surroundings, last night we went to "the theatah" with Glenn and Beverly, friends of the Baders ours hosts, who live nearby. We drove an hour plus to Aberdeen where we ate a a crummy restaurant and then to the local college for a community production of Cabaret. From the opening notes, we were holding our ears thinking that even a reputable junior high school would not put on a production like this, but it didn't get any better. They tried, especially the emcee and Sally Bowles characters and the all-girl onstage band, but there was no enthusiasm, no talent, and no musicality in the troupe. Sadly, it was also a long 3 hour show, so by the end all we wanted to do was drink ourselves into oblivion, but we still had a long drive home.
For fun, Eva gets out the riding lawnmower (now that her knee is somewhat improved) to have some homemade entertainment. And often we sit outside and read, assuming the sun is shining which is not a regular occurrence, until the sun passes over the house and we are too cold to be outside any more. We found out the time that she mowed that she actually took work away from a nice local man who was not happy to find his job already done.Last weekend our pals, Bern and Aidar came
down from Seattle. Aidar, being from Russia (a location in eastern Russia so it's almost like Europe instead of western Russia and the steppes), had never in his life has s'mores so we made a bonfire and remedied that lapse in his education. It was fun after many years to try not to burn black a marshmellow, but we have found that graham crackers have changed over time and that these would taste better with ginger cookies. Here is the end of the bonfire, which we were quite careful to put out entirely since this region is prone to wildfires. Bern pointed out the three types of blackberries that are abundant on the property and in the area, and that one of them may be ready to eat before we leave, the others won't be ripe until later in the season.Sandy has been playing (or really trying to remember how to play is more like it) duplicate bridge. There is a game in Ilwaco, of course it's about a 45 minute drive as is everything, and Beverly, who used to teach the game, has been nice enough to play with her. First week, we were at the bottom, but had climbed halfway to the top by our second venture out. Like riding a bike apparently!!
We have been quite taken with the farmers' market in Astoria with its beautiful plants for sale, cut flowers to die for (some yellow daylillies had been salted with chili powder to make a wonderful contrast of colors), handmade jewelry and other crafts, and fabulous veggies and fruits. The cherries are finally sweet enough to devour and so we are enjoying both the bing and the Rainier varieties at $3.50 per pound (in Merida, we can get these at Costco but the prices are more like $17 for 3 pound containers).
The hydrangea are blooming blue and there are still some azaelas hanging on to round out the pink side. The peonies have come and gone as have many wildflowers, but now after the Queen Anne's laces and Scotch broom have faded, we have volunteer red poppies, fields of digitalis (foxglove in white and purple) with some blue bachelor buttons and giant, yellow dandelions lining some of the roadways. Very nice.
