THUNDERBIRD RESORT

Located on a country road, set on the Snohomish River, seven miles from the town of Monroe, is Thunderbird Thousand Trails Resort. Foreboding clouds, spritzer rain, and cold, in contrast to our last stay here in July of 2009 when I couldn’t get enough of the beauty of this river. I must have snapped 30 pictures of melting sunsets. Where went summer?

We managed to get the exact same spot we had in 2009, near the laundry, on the river side of the resort.  We spent the morning doing household chores and didn’t get out to walk  until after dinner walk. The weather cleared, some, but summer still seems far away. Jim always comes to Monroe to catch up with friends, Mike and Vicki Coleman.  Mike is a mechanic and looks after the Bronco. Jim sold his old Bronco from this spot and had the “new” out fitted  as his “toad” that  July.  Jim’s  grammar/high school pal, Al Penta,  lives in Monroe. An avid cyclist, Al  bikes about 20 miles every morning and speeds right by the resort. Too early for us, however, and we get up at five a.m.

Across the road from us is the Family Lodge for the resort.

Someone painted a decent rendition of it on the TV dish at the Adult Lodge.

The grounds are beautifully landscaped, hilly, and cover about ten acres. This poppy is the size of a small cabbage.

Rhododendrons resemble balloons.

I’ll be making good use of the pool and hot tub here, before I leave for California on Monday.  I know the weather will clear and be sweet and sunny when I leave.  It’s Murphy’s law!

THE THREE M’S DISCOVER FURNITURE JEWELRY

Mary, Madalaine and Michal, the Three M’s did Camps.  We M’s are long time friends and since Michal and I do a good deal of traveling, we don’t have much time together.  We celebrated at Camps last year where they have good food and drinks.  So now, its a tradition. The bartender here is known  for her delicious Bloody Marys.

Her Bloody Marys may require a chemistry degree, but we didn’t ask. Yum!

Every year Camps has a quilt show of local quilters at Greenhorn Creek. Quilts are normally built on straight lines, but this quilt declares it has NO straight lines. It makes an interesting interpretation of Christmas trees in the snow. Its based on the Dr. Seuss story How The Grinch Stole Christmas with Cindy Lou Who. An original by Tamara Leberer.

A touch of beading and the inventive circular quilting give it cache.

A Geometric Wonder, designed and quilted by Donna Coll caught everyone’s eye draped over the fireplace mantle.

Cutie Cats have colorful buttons, catty footprints, catty materials and was a fun subject made by Shera Winter.

Beautifully embroidered with dragonflies, humming birds, flowers and butterflies by Kathy Jayne.

We M’s liked the Hawaiian print wall hanging above, all hand done by Karen Beeding.

Maddie and Michal don’t quilt, but they appreciate them. I understand the work that goes into a cathedral window pattern above, but we all chose as our favorite, the Poppy Wall hanging by Tamara Leberer.

The picture doesn’t begin to show what work and creative shading is involved in this piece made from very small, some less than a quarter inch wide square and oblong pieces. Lovely.

Sheryl greeted us at the door and later modeled the shoulder wrap or “furniture jewelry” by Tamara Leberer. I had never heard that term before but realized how apt it is. I do the same thing, drape something pretty over a chair or table.
Tamara is a professional. She does machine quilting for others and many of the quilts in this exhibit were machine worked by Tamara. Quilting is an art and an obsession for some people. Beauty is the result.

REMEMBERING

From Mary’s desk:

Memorial Day, Wendy Jaillet and daughter Jaime marched 3 miles in the Essex Memorial Day Parade, near Ivoryton. Wendy is a girl scout trip leader. I bought a poppy, forgetting that they still do that. I hadn’t seen a vet selling poppies since moving to Murphys.
This county put their flags at half staff for a local man who recently died in Afghanistan.
I’m conflicted because I’m against wars as a way of solving problems because it causes so much pain and sacrifice. The cost is not only human carnage. Right now, the trillions spent on our current conflict could more productively be used to assist nation building and lower our national debt.
Remembering those who served and sacrificed? On this trip since January,  I’ve visited Fort Bowie in Arizona, The huge Pacific War Museum at Fredericksburg, Texas, Chalmette Battlefield, the Cabildo, Port Hudson and the LaFitte National Parks of Louisiana, covering the Revolutionary War of 1776, The War of 1812,  The Spanish American War and the Civil War. More Civil War battlefields in Gettysburg, PA, and Harpers Ferry in W.Virginia. War is a vivid culture of countries, men and politics like no other.
In short, Memorial Day reminds me of the service and sacrifice made by our armed services and many civilians as well, but it also reminds me of the killing machine going on right now. I despise that it is deemed  necessary. I sometimes think my friends believe people who are anti-war are unpatriotic. Not true. Patriotism is as much about keeping the peace as it means fighting for our country’s values. Defining those values is not a straight street, and I take it very personally.

My partner Jim Jaillet in 1961.