Failure To Communicate

There is no excuse for telling people you have a blog and then never posting to it. Most days I check out my favorite bloggers, and I'm disappointed when they fail to check in regularly. I am guilty of doing just that.

Good excuses:

I was off to Ashland in June with friend Debbie Miller from Portland. We had a wonderful four days indulging in great plays and great food and great shopping. We saw a great Romeo and Juliet from balcony seats in the Elizabethan theater, and loved On The Razzle, a Tom Stoppard play that kept us laughing. I took the train to Portland again and enjoyed my ride both ways, getting some knitting and books on tape time in as we traveled along.

In early July I was off with a friend, Sandy Taylor, to a Liturgy and the Arts Institute at Seattle University. Seattle had a heat wave, not the most memorable event of the week, but it was significant. But, in the midst of the heat, we had a renewal of our understanding of all parts of the liturgy and how it works for each of us to develop and enhance our faith experience. We came home to work, work, work in the church with three funerals and a confirmation in a month. There is evidence of burnout for some of us!

We have been very involved in our boating activities this summer. Since we purchased the "Karen Marie, Too" last September, we have worked to make her everything we want in a cruising boat. That took buying a new sail, adding a cockpit cover, along with repairs to the bimini cover, and installing more electronics, especially Auto, the automatic helm. Jim did most of that work, but I supervised and added comments about addional needs. We were finally ready for a real cruise and left home on July 24. Our cruise was from our home port of Oak Harbor to local San Juan islands and then into Canadian waters to visit two ports. We were sailing with a boat just like ours, Carpe Diem, and another boat, a San Juan 34, Cygnus. Along the way we were anchored in Reid Harbor and the Lady Washington and The Hawaiian Chieftan came in for a night. Up close they are sooo big! After 10 days we were ready to get home, but we know we love our new boat, and we loved cruising in our great northwest region. Our next trip will be from Sept 4 to Sept 17, again into Canadian waters after we stop off in a few local resorts-Rosario and Deer Harbor. We rough it at anchor now and then, but a night in a harbor with hot showers, a great restaurant and local color makes it fun,too. As part of our boating experience, we joined the Deception Pass Sail and Power Sqd which offers classes to boaters for safety, etc. We are both active in that group, too; Jim is the Membership chair, and I am the Secretary. We just had our annual picnic and meetings start the beginning of September.

We have had lots of visitors and activities this summer, too. Early in June, our friends, Don and Barb Vasconcellos,(from California) came for a week. We toured around locally, went whale watching, and got in a two day trip to Victoria. (Photos are of Ruffles, the oldest female in our resident orca pod and Bouchart Gardens)Missy's mother-in-law, Peggy Bader (from Riverside, CA) and her brother from Seattle, stopped in for lunch one day. We had a great visit. The July 4th picnic didn't happen because all the kids from Liebman's and our group were absent, so Jill and Bruce came for a July 4th sail and lunch on the boat. Libby came over for a night's visit with a friend, MariElena, from London, England. Of course, we had our great Dungeness crab for dinner. And, we got in two short cruises on the boat, one to Sucia Island for 4 days and one to Coronet Bay for an overnight, just outside Deception Pass.

It seems every week is filled with things to do. The church takes up lots of time. As Junior Warden, Jim is responsible for the physical plant and helping with other events at church. I am on the altar guild and help out with the liturgy committee. We are both on the Vestry and I am the Webmaster, so we are involved in all activities, events and services held at the church or elsewhere. From revivals to funerals, we have had it all this year, and we have done it in a 19x19 box of a room. We finally went to two services on Sunday to fit everyone in. Some times we have used the larger church building, but that has been after requests and always seems so strained. We have not reconciled with the Anglicans across the parking lot and they have not offered any hand in peace, so we are in a holding pattern until our new bishop arrives on Sept 15. Looks like we'll miss the consecration, but we will be praying for him and for our church as we move into this transition time.

This sort of catches us up. I am knitting. I finished a sweater for Missy, short sleeved cotton, and a sweater for Libby. I also finished a prayer shawl for someone, and I have four mohair and ribbon shawls knitted. I gave one to Kendra Liebman, but the others are waiting to be blocked and then kept for gifts or ??? I have three felted bags to knit as gifts, and Missy's bag is finished and only needs felting. That will get done this month!! I started a baby blanket for Noel's baby and another scarf, an unusual bias knitting pattern. Of course, I have the yarn ready for 6 other prayer shawls. I did make wall hangings for the church for the confirmation; and I took a sewing class(sort of) this spring and had my machine overhauled. That was a very good thing. Now I am finished sewing, and I am going to be hard core knitting to finish some of my projects and get them out of the way for good! Oh! I bought the yarn to make a kimono for myself-will wonders ever cease! Two friends and I are starting a group in the fall; I'm going to learn to hand quilt!! Another great project is coming.

May you have fair winds and following seas. Good cheer to all. The Whidbey Wagners