Welcome to the   Aug 2006 BLOG. Didn't see the end of last month?
Click here: July 06 BLOG

Aug 30, 2006 Wed

Visiting at Dick and Laura's last evening - John and Linda are in town.

Also in attendance, Crissan (Holly's sister) and husband Bob, Barb, Paul and Heidi

One of Linda's pictures from their boat travels to Alaska -

And finally, a copy of a portrait taken last year, that turned up somewhere

Aug 29, 2006 Tue

Back in town after a quick trip to Lincoln City, OR, where we visited with Ann's high school chums. The girls try to do this once or twice a year. This is the third time at Lincoln City, where we stay in a rented house on Devil's Lake.
Here's the van packed and ready for an early departure the next morning. Can you recall being excited at times like this?

Here's the Van being towed off - you can probably remember some of these times, too?

A trip to the Ford dealer solved the problem, after some wait time

And more waiting

and more. . .

Until finally we were on our way - here are the core group members  in attendance this year; Caroline, Ann, Holly and Barb.

All the husbands made it, too - except Caroline's. And lotsa' the kids.

There was some hamming it up. . .

Lewis afloat

Lewis and Holly gave us a duet - they are so GOOD!

A few brave (adult) souls actually got in the water. ALL the kids swam, some in the ocean.

The rest of us sat in the sun and held down the fort.

This motor never seems to be in use?

Early morning on the lake - before the fog burns off.

the balance of the trip photos are on the flickr site - click below

Balance of pictures

Aug 24, 2006 Thu

Tom and John, our contractors, showed up and hauled off the scaffolding. They had kindly left it in place until we finished painting upstairs, which made that particular job much easier. After looking at the house for so many months with it in place, it seems strangely bare without it.

Now to clean up the sidewalk. This will make getting things (wheelbarrow, lawnmower) out of the back yard much easier. They go out the other gate ok, but it means going over a lot of rocks.

And just to refresh your memory, here's the house last September when the foundation work was underway -

And in January 2006 when the scaffolding was earning its weight. Carrying its weight?

Aug 23, 2006 Wed

What's this on the first page of the Business Section of the Seattle paper?

Why, it's Ann and the girls - caught shopping at the mall. Laura (not pictured, alas) was along on this trip, too. Anna and Evelyn were school clothes shopping when they were asked to be interviewed and photographed by the Post. Little did they expect to see themselves in today's news!

From MI come these shots of the fellows at the annual Dream Cruise.  That's Jim the V's younger brother Jeffrey standing next to the Ford GT-40 he drove for the occasion. Jeff writes for AutoWeek magazine. Also, Dave and Keith - my friends from highschool - when we LIVED the Dream Cruise, back in the sixties.

Keith drove his Ford Cobra - which sure looks like a lotta' fun. Thanks to Dave for these pictures.

Todays walk revealed the Response is back in town.

Aug 22, 2006 Tue

Staying with the program - walk somewhere everyday - we happened upon this statue sitting on a pallet in a boat junkyard, of all places.

Couldn't help but wonder what it'd look like in the backyard?

Also in evidence was this old wreck of a car. Any of the local residents would recognize it immediately - it's been sitting in the same spot rotting for five years that I know of. Some parts of it remind me of the surface of the moon.

It sure has a famous nameplate - think; R. Petty!

There are more pictures taken this day on the Flickr site - click below.

Aug 21, 2006 Mon

Been meaning to stick this picture in here - Ann's 'Charm's Frame', of which she made the frame, and placed the charms. (Perhaps called Malagras?) She'd been collecting them for a time, as you can see. Should have stuck something alongside to give a size perspective, but - it's about the size of a piece of computer paper - or as shown below it's 2/3's of its full size.

Besides giving up sweets until I lose that ten pounds, we've been walking more. Maybe ride the bike there, and then walk - but walking. While out by the water today we noticed the difference in construction between these two Motor Yachts -
This first one favors an enclosed style - all the deck areas are covered, and no 'back porch' to speak of. Maybe this boat goes in a lot of rough water? It seems almost 'ferry like' in appearance - too tall for it's width and size. This might be an illusion.

Now here's the other extreme - everything wide open, curved stairways, huge rear swim deck. All open. It probably doesn't hurt matters that this boat is a good twenty feet longer than the first one. I'd like to have just what it costs in fuel to use them for a year.

Aug 20, 2006 Sun

Here is the shelf we mentioned, that Ann made for photo albums -

This tool (electric staple gun) is making the recovering of chairs, etc go much easier. Ann's comment - 'Shoulda' got this years ago. . .'

Here's the house in the morning a couple years ago -

And again this morning

Evelyn and Anna have posted their movie - it is awesome! See it HERE 
The DOGZ!

Aug 18, 2006 Fri

What great, lazy (for me) summer days. Ann built a shelf, painted the shed, refinished the piano - yeah. Recovered the piano bench and started on the dining room chairs. She's supposed to be taking it easy, too. To each their own. . .

I am content to watch others work - like these guys getting all the old paint off the Elwha. They've been at it for weeks, now and still a ways to go. They need Ann to help them!

While riding the scooter back through the Parkside subdivision where we were doing some computer repair - two deer casually walked across the street.

Aug 15, 2006 Tue

Coming home through the alley from our walk the other night we spied a rear view of the house that we don't often see. In this view, all the additions are readily ascertainable - the master bath sticking out the west side, the (now guest, formally Evie's) bath in the rear of the house, which addition also includes the furnace/laundry room and mud room - and the upstairs dormers. The oldest addition is the one in the rear of the house - we guess about fifty years ago. The west addition less than eight years ago.

We love this series - Ann and her sister Barbara holding their children - starting with Cass and Eric, in 1981

Then holding Fae and Heidi in 1985

And finally, with Evelyn and Anna, in 1993.

The other era that came to a close was owning a piano. We bought it several years ago when Evelyn was interested in taking lessons. That interest peaked and waned, much as the violin lessons have atrophied. I was the only one still banging away on it, and not too often at that. Linda used it the few times a year she was local. We sold it to the new neighbors.

Well, one door closes, another door opens - a piano that was in Ann's family in days of yore has returned to the fold. We're back in the ivory tickling business.
It needs a bit of touching up, but has a great sound.

Aug 13, 2006 Sun

An era has come to a close - or at least a pause. The remains of the chicken coop lie here in the alley.

It was originally (as seen below, behind Fae) in the far southwest corner of the backyard - or in plain sight, back in 2002.

In 2003 we moved the fence, tidied up the shed and stuck the coop out of sight behind it in the far south east corner, where it has remained 'til now. About this time I was finishing the inside of the shed, and added the 'egg door'  to allow easy access to fresh eggs by reaching from inside the shed, through the wall and into the chicken's laying box - all without stepping in guano.

But the hens were aging, laying infrequently, and we found them a good home - leaving us with an empty coop. It didn't take us long to realize that if we ever get back into the chicken/egg business, it will be with a new and improved chicken coop. Ann and friend Niomi built the old one themselves and it served well for over five years, even surviving the move across the yard.
Here's Ann dealing with the accumulated chicken dung of many years.

Aug 12, 2006 Sat

Fae and friend Marty in town for another Hair Day with Fae. Sundee and daughter Natalie, Barb and Paul and daughter Anna, (with a swell new digital camera!), Ann and daughter Evie, Laura and Dick, Cassady, Thomas and friend Matt - almost all got haircuts and coloring. Well, Dick didn't get his hair dyed, and nor did Cass. This was also a birthday party for all the August folks - Laura, Ann, Fae, (Heidi, but she couldn't make it), Thomas and Barbara.

Here are Dick Laura and Paul

Cass, Fae, Evelyn and Thomas. Thomas and Evie are step brother/sister.


Dick in a Lumi native sun shade

Fae with Dick

Evelyn before -

And after


One of Ann's fisherman friends gave us two Sockeye Salmon, which we filleted and cooked on the grill. It'd been so long since I'd filleted a fish I had to go out and buy the knife. As well as do a quick internet study on technique. I'd never filleted anything bigger than a Rock Bass (relatively small freshwater fish) until today.

I managed not to fillet myself, and Dick caught the only bone I missed before he ate it.

Aug 11, 2006 Fri

Pretty quiet with no Evelyn around.

Still thinking about 'old' things. . .

This boat is being loaded with what appears to be crushed stone, or what we used to call 'ballast' on the railroad.

But what caught my eye was this - which is a lifeboat? Or, what?

Aug 10, 2006 Thu

Hillbilly Willie! Get it?

geez.

The movie blog has got me a fan! In other words, somebody outside the immediate group watched the video.

Video? You ask?

Yah. Movies and pictures, all on their own pages - yup.

All accessible from the links at the top of the page. Yup.

Aug 09, 2006 Wed

We forget - this is a very small BLOG, with just you few regulars, that already know everything.

However, we will point out - that typing 'Arts and Crafts' into the website search engine on the davesmock.com  page, would reveal the answer to: WHO IS THAT? A question we posed a couple days ago. Of course, it was Hill Billy Willie, an entertainer we've been following since 2003. With no new props this year, he still knocked 'em dead with his routine, which includes juggling, fiddle playing, and riding a unicycle. What draws 'em in and keeps 'em coming is his 'patter'. A very mellow and funny guy. That's Bill Larson talking with Hillbilly Willie. Nice scooter!

Aug 08, 2006 Tue

This is all Mardi's fault.

She got me to thinking about things that have been in my everyday life for long periods of time. We already mentioned the mailbox - (below). Mardi was referring to living entities, if I'm not mistaken, and I'm working up to that.

Meanwhile - as work continues (albeit slowly) on the phase three wall removal program - I couldn't help but recall that my hammer has been hanging from my belt for 38 years. Dan Gendron gave it to me, when I hired on at George P. Johnson, where he worked. I was married to my first wife at the time (his daughter) and we thought she was pregnant. In other words, I might need a job. She miscarried (one of seven) and I soon went back to being a bum. I've always been thankful for my woodworking skills, none the less.

Likewise, he had me build this toolbox the same year, so I've had it awhile.

In a related matter, this hammer head came from Dad's basement, where it probably belonged to Fran's Dad, himself a woodworking sort. Dick says it's a semi claw, where mine is a full, or maybe the other way twixt. We're afixing a new handle.

The hole in the wall is growing. The cats and dogs now jump through it, and we can, too.

This page has been viewed close to fifty times in two days and no one has hazarded a guess as to whom is pictured at the Arts n' Crafts Fair?! (see below)

Aug 07, 2006 Mon

Happy Birthday Laura!

Aug 06, 2006 Sun

Who can tell me the identity of anyone in this picture? Clue - it was taken at the Arts and Crafts Fair.

Hey, pictures from Robert - enjoying the waves on the coast for a few days - picture by Michelle.

Ah, sunset - Thanks for the pictures, Robert!

Tracey and Ann with their feet in the Skagit River, near Stanwood. It was Tom's birthday, and his folks BBQ'd ribs.

Lenee, Ann and Tracey

Tom serves up some birthday cake~

Not kids, spouses, parents or pets.

Not living under the same roof for eighteen years.

However - after much thought I realized that I'd had the same mailbox for nearly thirty years. I punched the letters 'SMOCK' in it the day I bought it, rubbed some white paint into the dots - and moved it with me around MI, out to Indiana and then Chicago, back to MI, and finally out here.

Aug 05, 2006 Sat

Hey! It's Saturday, already. The Arts and Crafts Show is in town until tomorrow. Ann and I walked around a bit yesterday - this is even bigger than the 'world's largest garage sale', Shipwreck Days, which was a couple weeks ago. We'll get downtown again later today or tomorrow. Where I'd really like to be; is down on Lake Washington watching the Thunder Boats! Bad timing, for that excursion.

As we went to mount up yesterday, we noticed a spider web on the back of the Saab - it's just barely visible in the first picture, though. . .

This web had just survived a fast trip out to Barb's - but the web spinner was no longer local.

Aug 02, 2006 Wed

Ann's Birthday slideshow

The speed of the slideshow is adjustable - and so are the picture sizes, when looked at non slideshow.

Part of the poster announcing that Cass' Band was playing locally -
We heard that they were very loud, but not as if to hide shoddy playing - they were actually quite good. Just loud.

Aug 02, 2006 Tue

Happy birthday to my Darling wife - another year more beautiful this day.

We celebrated by boating to Friday Harbor for lunch and a bit of shopping. It was a fast boat ride in the tribe's new police/fire boat.

I'm too lazy this evening to load these pictures onto the site - maybe tomorrow ~~



The cursor in this picture shows about where the boat was parked at Friday Harbor - in the local Sheriff's spot making for a short walk to the shops and mainland.

World famous Ann by the world famous Deception Pass Bridge ~

Aug 01, 2006 Tue

A fringe benefit of getting to know Tom, is that we now have a new home for our chickens, in that he has lots of room, and hens of his own. Also, a rooster. This will be a new thing for our three old girls.
Here they meet him, for the first time. They still must deal with the existing four hens, as well.

It doesn't take the rooster long to gather them up. . .

Like ducks in a row -

Why I love my shoes -
They are only about ten years old. Painting on the roof was sure hard on them -

A little paint remover, scrubbing and polish - and they're good to go! these are Rockports, and I'm looking forward to a new pair. These will become the 'back up' shoes.

It's a standing joke - women buy shoes like men buy newspapers. Except the price might be a tad different?

The following Creation pictures are courtesy of: Evelyn
It was a four day event - lots of good music, night and day. Big fun.

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