Pennyfarthing

 Several months ago one of Jennifer's friends said that she would like a "Pennyfarthing" for her home. That's the English name for this bike that is made of 2 very different size wheels similar to the size difference between an English Penny and Farthing. Jennie thought about telling her friend that she should be careful what she wishes for, as she just might get it. Sure enough, it wasn't long and Ron had one made for her. I think he had a great time making it and has since made another that he donated to a local charity auction.

Baby Reed

I'm a Great Auntie for the second time. This is my Great Niece Rylie and her new brother Reed. Needless to say there is a lot of excitement at their house!

 Reed is home. They change so quickly and that just newborn look is already gone. Not only is he a really cute baby, but he is soooooo good. He only wakes up once during the night, so his mommy and daddy are at least getting some sleep.

 I always hope to get a yawn picture and Reed didn't let his Great Auntie down.

" Family Resemblance"

Rylie and Reed

Clam Shells

Ron has been having trouble with a fungus growing in our driveway. He has tried many things to try and kill it including bleach and several weed killers. Nothing has worked. He has also been told that the roots go down in the gravel and that he needs to rake it up and get to them. Nope, didn't work either. When the sun shines it dries up, but when it rains our upper driveway has this brown slimy stuff growing in it that looks very much like kelp. One day Ron came home and found clams and fish all over. They fit right in with the kelp. Hmmm, wonder who was behind this crazy trick?. Ron had two guesses, my sister Julie and our friend Bruce. I wonder why he picked those two out so quickly? He guessed right, it was silly, funny, Bruce!

The Special Dress

Here's a little family history for you.  These are my great grandparents Lyman Kinnie Raymond I and his wife Ellen. Their children were Matilda Jane, Frank Benjamin and Lyman Kinnie II. My grandfather served in the Civil War in Company 1, 3rd Illinois Cavalry. My Great Uncle Frank was a front man for the Barnum and Bailey Circus and was in San Francisco during the great earthquake on April 18, 1906. However, this story is really about Matilda, who they called Jennie, and Lyman II. Jennie was born in 1872 and Lyman was born in 1884. They both had  beautiful handmade pieces of clothing that have been handed down through the generations. Jennie had a dress and Lyman II a coat. I don't know anything more about the clothing. I wish I knew if they were made by their mother Ellen, but that was never discussed. I do know that many pictures have been taken.

 I had my picture taken in the dress when I was around 7. That would have been in 1953. We didn't have the coat at that time. Not sure where it was.

 Twenty-nine years later my girls had their pictures taken in what is now their Great-Great Aunt Jennie's dress and their Great Grandfather's coat.

Now it is time for the next generation. Hmmm, let me see if I can get this right. This is Rylie, my great niece, and she is wearing her Great, Great, Great Aunt Jennie's dress. Wow, so many greats in this story. The dress is also great as it is now about 135 years old.

This is my favorite picture and Rylie is wearing her Great, Great Grandfather's coat.

Labor Day Weekend

What a beautiful Labor Day weekend! Bruce and Cindy stopped by on Saturday for what they thought was  going to be a short visit. They ended up spending the day and having dinner with us. So much fun! Bruce, Cindy and I took the ferry to Port Townsend. Bruce wanted to visit a few of the boat yards and Cindy and I went shopping - of course! It was a perfect day for a ferry ride. Today we rode the Salish, which is one of the new ferries on the Coupeville/Port Townsend run.

Cindy on the ferry to Port Townsend.

Port Townsend ferry landing.

 This street band was playing is Port Townsend. They were so good that we stood and listened for quite awhile. Their rhythm and sound was quite entertaining. Notice their instruments. Quite fun!

 The cruise ships are still coming by almost every evening. We see at least 3 a night when we are there. It's almost unreal to think that many people are leaving Seattle on cruises.

 It's summer, well  the weather still feels like summer, so I am working on my summer stitchery project. It's getting close to being finished, but after this weekend I'll put it away until next year and bring out another project to work on.

We had amazing weather this weekend, but Monday morning we woke up to fog. We could hear the fog horns, but could not see any of the ships. Here's the ferry just coming out of the fog to the ferry landing at Keystone/Coupeville.

Looking across at another fog bank rolling in. Looks like our sun will be gone shortly.