Summing up the last Week.

Hi, everyone! We've been so busy being on vacation I haven't had time to blog, let alone try to figure out how to do it! (Stacey, you & Pat were so good in Europe; don't know how you found time.)

So, we left our little PG cottage (left) June 3rd (today is the 9th), drove to Berkeley and had birthday lunch with son Ben, who turned 37 (!) that day (right), and then on up to Redding, CA where we spent that night.

On the road next day we crossed the border into Oregon, and stopped in Ashland to have lunch. (Had THE best veggie tamale I've ever had at this little hole in the wall).

Those of you who've been there know Ashland is a cutsie little town noted for its Shakespeare Festival; all Shakespeare all the time. Fun to stop for lunch but, wouldn't want to spend protracted time there; too much like Carmel which Dave refers to as "automobile by the sea"; you get the picture. I DID, of course, find a spectacular yarn shop. We spent that night in Eugene.

Finally crossed over into Washington June 5th. Had a yummy lunch in Olympia where Dave's boat building guru lives and builds boats. Avoided going through busy Seattle by catching

the ferry to Whidbey at Port Townsend. The day couldn't have been more sunny and spectacular. Not a cloud to be seen, so we had an almost 360 degree view of the snow-capped Olympia mountains from the ferry. We arrived at our destination on the island late afternoon.

We're staying at the home of the parents of a young woman who's about to become a mother and who is the partner of the son of a long long-time friend of mine. (That

clear?) The house is one of the most beautiful I've been in....small, but attention to every single detail, and wood everywhere. The appliances, all stainless steele, are even spectacular; dishwasher is running now; I can barely hear it.

Yesterday (June 8th) we saw the rental property we had seen on line and were interested in. It's a beautiful piece of property, but the house is just too too large for us. We DO want something bigger than our cottages in PG

where we can barely turn around in the kitchens and bathrooms, but this one was just way too big for us though it's difficult to get the idea from the photo at left.

So far we're most interested in a home in Langley designed by Ross Chapin, http://www.langleyhighlands.com/, (when you get to the site, click on Ross Chapin tours a cottage at the right; that is OUR potential house!) pioneer in the small house movement, and, we're told, who lives in a very small house himself with his family on the island despite his fame and probable ability to own something large and grand. He's very committed, like everyone here on the island, seems to be to "the green way of life" which, of course, we love. We promised ourselves to rent for a year, but I think may go back on that. We're talking to EVERYONE we can corner about weather, cost, depressing (or not) darkness and rain, boat docks, yarn stores (I'm going to a knitting group tonight in Langley). We have chosen the one we'd like to buy if we do. It has a HUGE garage that we could get the car into, AND, that Dave could continue building his boat in. The "tour" doesn't include the garage because Chapin doesn't believe in garages; he and his builder, we understand, have had arguments about including them.

Here's a slide show of the garden where we're staying.

More later..........xoxo Di