This weeked was the Pacific Northwast Highland Games at the fairgrounds in Enumclaw, Washington. We try to get up there every year, and each time we go we have a blast and get sunburned. This year we were especially careful about using sunblock, staying in the shade and my husband even bought me a hat, but we’re just not used to 95+ degrees and we both managed to get crispy again this year. No worries though, we had so much fun, it was definitely worth it.
Shortly after our wedding, my husband decided he wanted to learn how to play the bagpipes. He had a set of pipes he had once bought on a whim at a swap meet and then allowed to collect dust for years.
These pipes were old, made in Pakistan – which by most everybody’s account means they are of poor quality. But all that didn’t matter to Mr. H, he wasn’t about to let anyone tell him his pipes were crap, he was going to learn to play them no matter what.
Teacher? We don’t need no stinking teacher. This is Mr. Do-It-Yourself we’re talking about here.
So he set about learning to play the pipes. He spent quite a bit of time online, researching bagpipes, discussing them in bagpipe forums exploring how-to manuals, and practicing. He spent endless hours on the practice chanter (thank heavens for the practice chanter, much less noisy than the pipes), and after several months of trying to go it alone, he met another bagpipe player in one of his classes at school.
Owen is a 19 year old from Alaska who has been playing the bagpipes for years. He offered to teach Aaron for $10 a lesson. You just can’t beat that. From that point, Mr. H’s improvement has been phenomenal.
Well until about a month ago. You see, all this time he has been using these pipes that really are garbage. His bag is full of holes. He spends most of his time online researching seasoning and other options for plugging the holes in his sieve of a bag. The bag is so leaky the seasoning leaks out, so he has a garbage bag and duct tape wrapped around it to keep from staining his clothes. His handle online is ghettopipes. It’s a pretty good name for him.
The pipes have gotten so bad that at this point they no longer hold air at all, they are unplayable. At some point we’re going to have to break down and get him a really good set, but at this point even a replacement bag is out of our price range.
I never thought I would say this, but the one thing I want more than anything right now is to be able to buy my husband a new set of pipes.
I’ve been battling the same sinus infection for the past 4 years. Finally, one day in a conversation with my physician, I had to come to terms with the fact that I just have not outgrown my childhood pet allergies.
After 4 years with Rufus, through thick and thin, I was going to have to find him a new home. That was 6 months ago. We’ve been looking for a new home for him, but not willing to settle for just anyone. He’s a sweet dog, and deserves to go to a home where he will be appreciated.
One of the individuals who expressed some interest in him had other dogs. I suggested we set up a meet & grreet for the dogs at a neutral place like a dog park. He saw no reason to do that and just wanted to come and pick him up. Just didn’t sit right with me.
So here we are, six months later, with a dog I can’t live with, but to whom I don’t know how I will be able to say goodbye.
Enter Kristianne.
Kristianne has been looking for a dog since she moved into her new house. She works for the same company I do, knows many of the same people I know, and met Rufus at the dog park on Sunday and just seemed to love him.
The big question now is – how will he get along with her cats. We agreed to set up a time to meet the cats and see how that goes. Hopefully she wont lose interest in him in the meantime. She seems like a very nice lady and the house with a yard would be a big upgrade from the little apartment he’s living in now.
I’m so torn. I’m delighted that Kristianne is interested in taking him, I think he will be happier there anyways, but he’s been my companion for 4 years, and I’m just going to miss him so much.
For Mr. H’s 30th Birthday, I took him out whale watching… well that was the idea anyways, but apparently the whales didn’t get that memo.
The tour went out of Friday Harbor, so we had an adventure just getting there. We drove to Anacortes, two hours north of home, and then took a ferry across to San Juan Island where Friday Harbor is located.
We tried to have dinner at Front Street Ale House, but the service was so slow – not so much the kitchen, but getting the attention of the waiter (the one with the flat brim baseball hat cocked askew) – so we asked for the food to go and ate in on the boat as it was pulling out of port. The food was a bit greasy, but not bad.
The tour company we used was San Juan Safaris, and I would definitely use this service again. Our Captian was an old sea dog that looked like he’d spent more of his life on water than land, and the naturalist was a young college student who had been born and raised on the islands. They were both very skilled at keeping their guest happy and engaged (there were 20 of us on board) especially after it became apparent that the whales were not going to make an appearance.
We saw lots of eagles and eagles’ nests, rhinocerous oclets (horned diving birds), harbor porpoise, seals, sea otters, and beautiful scenery. The most fascinating sighting was also the most grotesque, we came across a tiny island, maybe 20 feet in diameter, with two young bald eagles on it. In the water below were a seal and her newborn pup. By newborn, I mean minutes old. We came up right after ther birth. The eagles on the rock were displaying their pecking order, the older eagle was eating the placenta, while the younger eagle stood by patiently waiting his turn.
We got back to Friday Harbor in time to catch the last ferry back to the mainland. The 9:55 is the milk run stopping at every island on the way, so we got back to Anacortes by midnight. That 2 hour drive back to Auburn was exhausting.
Max, Ilona, Grandma, and Grandma Candy…
We had a great visit with Max and Ilona and Grandma, and made sure we got to spend some quality time with Grandma Candy as well.
The kids were great, and we had such a good time with them. We had so much fun. But WOW, what a lot of work. We were both bone-tired exhausted after they left. I can’t wait till we get to see them again.
