My day in Port Townsend

Man! It sure got hot this afternoon.  By the time I got home at 5 pm, my ankles were quite swollen. Knew they would be as I was out and about in the heat walking more than I usually would.  But I'm home now -- and happy to be here. First thing I did was  close the curtains and turn on 3 fans. Then I took off my clothes and put on comfy shorts. Have I bored you yet? Ha Ha  Well, it only gets worse....

I'm sitting in my recliner now so I can have my feet up. Not that easy to type in this position but I'm sure my swollen ankles are appreciative.  I'm going to make something quick and easy for supper and keep my butt in this chair until bedtime.  I've got some cross stitch to work on, and hopefully I'll find something halfway decent on Netflix or Hulu.  I'm not counting on it, though. They've been pretty unremarkable lately.

I left home around 11:20 this morning and had traffic all the way to Port Townsend. Didn't surprise me, though. That's been the usual norm all summer long.  State patrol was handing out tickets through the Sequim corridor but I was on cruise control and intended to take my sweet time. I stopped at Rose Johnson's house but she wasn't home so I drove up the street around the corner to Lee & Elaine Arey's place where a family picnic was planned.  I'll post the pictures I took below. You can click on them to enlarge.

Elaine's back yard is so beautiful with her garden and flowers.  The food layout was especially wonderful. Crab, salmon, potato salad, beans, garlic bread, fruit salad, deviled eggs, and while I didn't stay for dessert, they had some great looking pies displayed.

I hadn't seen Dub Dubberly for several years. At 87, he still looks very handsome. I met his wife, Charlene, and she was very nice.  They live in Jacksonville, FL.  Also visiting was Dub's son, Brian, and his wife, Laura from Douglas, Georgia.  Really friendly and outgoing folks.  Lee's daughters Kim and Michelle were there with their husbands and Bill's daughters Karen and Tami were there with their hubbies too.  I'm still trying to organize in my head who belongs to who.  I met one cousin who has about 600 head of dairy cows up in Sumas.  I've already forgot who he was married to. Just love my memory; it's getting worse all the time. I "think" he was the husband of Tami but I probably have it wrong.  Elaine's neighbor, Norma Owsley, was there to visit too. Nice to see her again.

I only stayed a couple of hours as I wanted to get out to North Beach before my feet gave up altogether. More on that in a bit.  Here's some pictures I took at Lee and Elaine's ....

                                                  in the backyard

                                             Brian cooking the crabs

                                Kim's granddaughter just got up from her nap

  Karen & Tami,(Bill's girls)with their cousin, Brian, Joan Dubberly's 2nd son

Laura Dubberly visiting with Norma in the kitchen

After I left the picnic, I made a quick run  out to  North Beach. I was hoping to find some large flat rocks for painting but I wasn't successful.  I had my walking stick but it was still hard going in the heat.  I did accumulate a few pieces of twig like driftwood for another project I want to try using beach glass. I'm going to buy a drill and make a hanging mobile with driftwood and beach glass.  At least I hope I can do it.

I was quite surprised at the parking lot out there.  Cars parked all the way up the street.  North Beach is no secret place anymore. I was lucky to find a spot. That's my car 3rd from left with the large white tire cover on the back.

Here's some other shots I took. The mountain as especially spectacular.

I took this picture of the woman on the beach only because I thought it was weird to be sitting in that hot sun on a log to read a book. Just didn't look comfortable to me.

On the way home, traffic was heavy again. I decided to stop at the casino and play a $20 bill.  I only wanted to play this one particular machine that my son-in-law always wins on.  It took my money so I took another four ones to the other side of the room to the same machine (that he also plays and wins big on) and much to my delight, I hit $98.  I played a few more hits and got it down to $90 and decided it was time to go on home.  $70 ahead made me very happy.

Saw my granddaughter's graduation picture on Facebook so I wanted to share it too.
She's so pretty.  Reminds me of how I looked at that age.  Ha!  I wish.

Well, I guess that's about it for now. Here's a picture of my cousin Bill Arey when he was really cute. I made a copy to give him today.

Sure have noticed that it's getting darker quicker these days.  Always notice the seasons changing.