Summer Occupations
Even thought he start of school is still a month away I feel as if my summer is culminating and coming to the end. It's been a lovely, though largely unproductive summer full of good conversations and fellowship with friends and family. The summer started off with an un-photographed retreat to the beach with church friends. The time was spent taking a late night walk across the sand dunes which to our chagrin were much smaller in the morning light than they had seemed the night before. A visit to Ripley's Believe it or Not was on the calender for Saturday, it was an 'interesting' display, probably not one that I would go to again, but now I can say that I've been there. And Sunday included more beach wandering, a bible study and some worship.
The beach trip was followed by the much anticipated return of my Sister from Tubingen Germany and my Brother from the wilds of northern Idaho. After a weekend spent readjusting to life as a whole family the company started to come. First a visit from a childhood friend who was doing a self directed tour of Oregon and stopped in for the evening/morning which was lovely.
The next week one of my Iowa cousins treated us with her pleasant company for a week before the family reunion. There was a lovely picnic in the park, and a visit to our favorite cake ship in Salem, a little bit of reading aloud and lots of sipping tea in the living room, dining room, bonus room, bedroom, etc. It had been a whole year since I'd seen her so we had lots to catch up on, her work and plans for the coming year, my school, school, and more school, and everything else that two barely adult girls can find to talk about.
We celebrated the Jabberwok's 16th birthday with the family and a few of Jaberwok's closest friends. The evening was a quiet one, we enjoyed some superb watermelon and hamburgers, and afterwards a luscious german chocolate cake, the only thing that might have made the cake better would have been if the chocolate had been brought home from Germany, but it wasn't and the cake was still incomparably yummy.
The family reunion as always was filled with good company, good food, and good recreation. There was the trek down the driveway with the ancient dog who decided to swim in the river and then due to arthritic joints could not get out again. It was commented that the poor dogs wheezing breath as he attempted to get back up the driveway sounded like a death rattle following us.
There were a few late night and mid afternoon swims in the river which were quite pleasant and a nice reprieve from the warm weather outside. There was a nice picnic on the bank of the river, girls only as always, and some singing and dancing which all the family participated in. The smallest members of the family hitched rides on older brother's shoulders for most of the dancing.
The reunion was a short one for me this year. After a quick two days of intense family time the three of us older children headed home to work, (the joys of growing older!) Shortly after our return, we celebrated Daddy's birthday and Jabberwoky, Autumn Rain, Daddy, and I went on the a biking bridge tour of Portland. In between the weekend events I've worked at the library, now that we've sent the bindery shipment off, I feel like I'm eking out my hours, I do believe I've worked myself out of a job for the summer.
Then came my birthday, to answer the oft asked question, I didn't feel any older on Saturday morning than I did the morning before. Nineteen feels very similar, in fact identical to eighteen and three-hundred and sixty-four days. We spent the hiking at Mary's Peak, one of the mountains you can see from our hilltop home. It was really beautiful and a lovely day to be out hiking.
What's next on the list of summer plans? Well, practicing piano would be good, working at the job that seems to be disappearing is a fine idea, some good bike rides and runs are ideal given the autumnal weather we are having (and it's only the end of August), and there are all sorts of crafty projects that sound fun. Since we are just in the middle of what's called birthday season around here it would be good to do some gift shopping, and before you know it this last month of break is going to be eaten up by all the little things that life brings my way.
The beach trip was followed by the much anticipated return of my Sister from Tubingen Germany and my Brother from the wilds of northern Idaho. After a weekend spent readjusting to life as a whole family the company started to come. First a visit from a childhood friend who was doing a self directed tour of Oregon and stopped in for the evening/morning which was lovely.
The next week one of my Iowa cousins treated us with her pleasant company for a week before the family reunion. There was a lovely picnic in the park, and a visit to our favorite cake ship in Salem, a little bit of reading aloud and lots of sipping tea in the living room, dining room, bonus room, bedroom, etc. It had been a whole year since I'd seen her so we had lots to catch up on, her work and plans for the coming year, my school, school, and more school, and everything else that two barely adult girls can find to talk about.
We celebrated the Jabberwok's 16th birthday with the family and a few of Jaberwok's closest friends. The evening was a quiet one, we enjoyed some superb watermelon and hamburgers, and afterwards a luscious german chocolate cake, the only thing that might have made the cake better would have been if the chocolate had been brought home from Germany, but it wasn't and the cake was still incomparably yummy.
The family reunion as always was filled with good company, good food, and good recreation. There was the trek down the driveway with the ancient dog who decided to swim in the river and then due to arthritic joints could not get out again. It was commented that the poor dogs wheezing breath as he attempted to get back up the driveway sounded like a death rattle following us.
There were a few late night and mid afternoon swims in the river which were quite pleasant and a nice reprieve from the warm weather outside. There was a nice picnic on the bank of the river, girls only as always, and some singing and dancing which all the family participated in. The smallest members of the family hitched rides on older brother's shoulders for most of the dancing.
The reunion was a short one for me this year. After a quick two days of intense family time the three of us older children headed home to work, (the joys of growing older!) Shortly after our return, we celebrated Daddy's birthday and Jabberwoky, Autumn Rain, Daddy, and I went on the a biking bridge tour of Portland. In between the weekend events I've worked at the library, now that we've sent the bindery shipment off, I feel like I'm eking out my hours, I do believe I've worked myself out of a job for the summer.
Then came my birthday, to answer the oft asked question, I didn't feel any older on Saturday morning than I did the morning before. Nineteen feels very similar, in fact identical to eighteen and three-hundred and sixty-four days. We spent the hiking at Mary's Peak, one of the mountains you can see from our hilltop home. It was really beautiful and a lovely day to be out hiking.
What's next on the list of summer plans? Well, practicing piano would be good, working at the job that seems to be disappearing is a fine idea, some good bike rides and runs are ideal given the autumnal weather we are having (and it's only the end of August), and there are all sorts of crafty projects that sound fun. Since we are just in the middle of what's called birthday season around here it would be good to do some gift shopping, and before you know it this last month of break is going to be eaten up by all the little things that life brings my way.
posted by Bethany | 5:39 PM
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