2012 Port Townsend Kitchen Tour

Yesterday, Kelley and I and three new friends toured eight homes on the 15th Annual Kitchen Tour.  All of the homes were fabulous.  Not only were the kitchens interesting, but the homes were spectacular—every one included a stunning view of either the water (Oak Bay, Discovery Bay) or the Olympic Mountains, sometimes both. 

While in one of the homes, the Tour Publicity photographer asked to snap our picture.  We’re famous!  May be seeing the photo below in the Peninsula Daily News.  HaHa! 

All eight homes were spread out in the country side and it took a good six hours to see them all.  Great way to explore the Peninsula and laugh with new friends.

Caption (written by the Publicity report for the PDN): Sequim's Kelley Jensen (left) and Terry Main consult the tour passport description of Milt and Kathleen Taylor's kitchen on the 15th Annual AAUW Kitchen Tour sponsored by AAUW Port Townsend and its University Women's Foundation on April 28. Jensen and Main joked they were making a list of projects for their husbands, and, as reported by other tour attendees, stated they attended the self-guided tour of 8 kitchens in order to get decorating ideas, explore the Chimacum area, and support a community project. Proceeds from the popular annual kitchen tour support scholarships and education projects in East Jefferson County, including literacy and phonics programs for kindergartners, math programs for 3rd graders, and Career Days for 8th graders. For more information, see www.aauwpt.org.

Time In A Bottle

Thirty-eight years ago on April 20, 1974 at 2 p.m. we married.  And it seems like yesterday.  It was a big wedding held at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church with the traditional vows and a special song sang by a nun with a beautiful voice and her guitar.  She sang from the balcony and music filled the church.  It was a beautiful day.

And we are looking forward to many new adventures, fun times and endless beautiful days.  Life is good when you live with your best friend and soul mate.  How did we get so lucky?

Time In A Bottle lyrics
Songwriter: Jim Croce

If I could save time in a bottle
The first thing that I'd like to do
Is to save every day 'til eternity passes away
Just to spend them with you

If I could make days last forever
If words could make wishes come true
I'd save every day like a treasure and then
Again, I would spend them with you

But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do once you find them
I've looked around enough to know
That you're the one I want to go through time with

If I had a box just for wishes
And dreams that had never come true
The box would be empty except for the memory
Of how they were answered by you

But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do once you find them
I've looked around enough to know
That you're the one I want to go through time with

Fort Worden

Day trip with some girlfriends to Port Townsend for breakfast at Salal Café (good food, but be forewarned—they are slow), nearby Fort Worden for a short 4-mile hike, and then a little thrifty shopping back in Port Townsend.  

Fort Worden along with the heavy batteries of Fort Flagler and Fort Casey, once guarded the entrance to Puget Sound.  These posts, established in the late 1890s, became the first line of a fortification system designed to prevent a hostile fleet from reaching the Bremerton Naval Yard and the cities of Seattle, Tacoma and Everett. Construction began in 1897 and continued in one form or another until the fort was closed in 1953.

Besides a brilliant blue sky and spring flowers (red rhododendrons and flowering cherry are spectacular right now) to enjoy on our walk along the cliffs of Artillery Hill, we stopped along the way to poke into the battery stations (see picture on the right) built along the bluff.  It is apparent that big guns and many soldiers once manned these areas around the turn of the century.  Fort Worden remains intact with the old barracks, common buildings and officer housing—now used for small businesses and gatherings. 

As for the shopping, take note that Port Townsend’s Habitat for Humanity store is more like a great antique shop rather than a true thrift shop.  Lots of local artists sell their work here, too.  There was a vintage headboard made into a bench that would be an interesting conversation piece for some one.  Not really my style, but very cool with ornate carvings.  Creative re-purposing idea.  Will be back to browse through the store again—so much to take in.

Travel with Rick Steves

As host and writer of the popular public television series Rick Steves' Europe, and best-selling author of over 50 European travel books, Rick Steves encourages Americans to travel as "temporary locals." He helps American travelers connect much more intimately with Europe — and Europeans — for a fraction of what mainstream tourists pay. Mike and I have watched these shows for years and love Rick’s humor and practical approach to traveling.  We hope to visit a few of the highlighted European locations someday.

Rick grew up in Edmonds, Washington about 50 miles from our home (via a ferry ride from Kingston to Edmonds) and this is where we get our SUV serviced.  Our vehicle had an appointment for servicing yesterday and we made plans to combine little work with a little pleasure by visiting the Rick Steves’ Travel Center in the old downtown district.

In 1976, Rick Steves started Europe Through the Back Door (ETBD), a Edmonds-based business which has grown from a one-man operation to a company with a well-traveled staff of 80 full-time employees. ETBD offers free travel information through its travel center, website (www.ricksteves.com), European Railpass Guide, and free travel newsletters. ETBD also runs a successful European tour program with more than 450 departures — attracting around 11,000 travelers — annually.

The Center is very understated and not really a tourist destination.  But, it was fun to see Rick’s hometown of Edmonds, Washington, pick up some travel information and view Rick’s office which overlooks his old junior high school. 

Project 333

It is the end of the first quarter of 2012 and time for an assessment of my New Year’s resolution (see January 1, 2012 post).  My goal was to avoid any purchases of clothing (one exception—see below) and be satisfied with 33 items of clothing/jewelry for 3 months. (And if you recall the guidelines, the count does not include sport and event specific wear like hiking gear or dress clothing.    www.theproject333.com)   I am excited to report this was very eye opening, and it was a successful first quarter!

What I learned:

 

1. Most jewelry and watches are no longer part of my life.  With the exception of a few earrings and my wedding ring, the rest were not being used.  Watches and bracelets were irritating to wear and in the way, especially when I was golfing or painting.  I just was not ‘fessing up to the truth about this before.  Necklaces, too.  They are slowly getting sold or given away. 
2. Paring down to two basic colors for pants and reducing the count was truly liberating.  Black and denim—one black and two denim.  The exception may be my white jeans this summer. 
3. No more prints means a lot more flexibility.  Layer up your T’s and  button-up shirts, wear with a multi-color scarf or top it off with a jacket, if you need color and creativity.
4. The clothes that did not fit well were jettisoned and I never looked back.  Much easier to dress with clothing that fits and I enjoy. 
5. Shoes and items that were not multi-functional did not make the cut.  The red Teva water shoes only worn on the beach, although very cute, were not worth the time and space they occupied.  Out! Out!

With the jewelry and clothing sold (over $200, so far), I did purchase a classy, short trench rain jacket on sale at Nordstroms.  Can be worn with jeans or dress pants.  The style has been in fashion for decades and should last a good long while.   I made a promise that I would not buy clothing unless I sold enough to pay for a new purchase.  I kept my promise.

Well, this is fun and dressing in the morning is so much easier.  The closet has loads of room now and looks like a photo shoot from J.Crew (you know, lots of space in-between).  I plan to fine-tune the 33 and adjust for summer.  There are still a few shirts I am not totally in love with and they will be replaced at some point.

Whether you live in a 200 square foot RV or a large home, this is a worthwhile and thoughtful approach to dressing.  Living in the land of “enough”. 

Fresh

While in Disney World two months ago, we took time to hang out one evening at the rustic bar in the Fort Wilderness RV Park.  It was early in the evening and no other customers, so we were able to chat with the bartender as she was pressing out fresh lime juice for the nightly margaritas.  The juice press was industrial strength and manual operation.  Very easy to use and fast.  We were loving the fresh orange, lime and lemon juice from both Florida and California when we were visiting and decided we had to have one to continue the experience.

After finding a good deal on eBay, we ordered the Alpine citrus juice press and love it!  Fresh orange juice in the morning, lime juice for the mojitos and scratch salsa, and the best lemonade for the afternoon. 

Love it!  We save and dry all the rinds for potpourri or make a concoction for warding off ants (works!).  This is one of the reasons we love traveling--the exposure to new ideas and talking with people who can show you a “fresh” perspective.

Ordinary Days

I read several blogs each day including one about kayaking around the Olympic Peninsula and Puget Sound.  Called “The Last Wilderness” and besides fantastic photography and great writing, the author describes places I want to kayak in the near future.  “The Last Wilderness” blog post from yesterday included a quote by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe that got me thinking.

"A man can stand almost anything except a succession of ordinary days."

Except in our case, we have been enjoying a week of ordinary days since returning from Florida.  After four months of almost daily “going”, it is nice to do the mundane like cleaning, catching up on errands and stocking up the empty refrigerator.  But, I can see soon we will want to start exploring the Olympic Peninsula again.  We are putting our plans together for those local trips, and maybe purchase kayaks this summer.  Time to break away from our “succession of ordinary days”.