Monthly Archives: August 2017

Aug22

A Museum, A River Baptism, An Outdoor Movie, Village Voices, Bavarian Brass and Bye Bye Birdie

Posted on August 22, 2017 by iamkaren23

A Museum, A River Baptism, An Outdoor Movie, Village Voices, Bavarian Brass and Bye Bye Birdie

Wow! There is just so much to do around here! Choices, choices, choices……….

A priority was to explore The Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center. This friendly statue greeted me near the entrance.

On the main floor I came upon this vintage auto, as well as a display indicating that in 1997 the museum made the Guiness Book of World Records for the largest apple pie weighing 34, 438 pounds. Volunteers put in almost 3000 hours creating this pie.

I headed up the stairs and found myself in a vintage train station. A display featured a model train that traversed through tunnels and over bridges for a full six minutes at a time.

I then wandered through an area depicting Native People of the Columbia Plateau. Another section featured Beringia Migration and an extensive array of items was found in the Fossil Collection. There was also a room dedicated to flight and an extremely interesting section which unfortunately prohibited photos and had a history of Pangborn as well as a variety of other vintage items on display.

The Museum hosts a number of children’s programs over the summer and also offers lectures and field trips for adults. The main floor also features a gift shop.

On Sunday afternoon we ventured up the hills in Peshastin into an orchard where Leavenworth Church of the Nazarene was holding a River Baptism. This was very different from the traditional hot tub found at Church of the Rock in Winnipeg. How amazing to have a beautiful park-like setting complete with a river to celebrate a baptism! Talk about God’s country…………

Around here everything revolves around the outdoors. On the weekend we were up in the hills again, this time near Cashmere. Rotary Club was showing an outdoor movie. Yep, they hang screens from trees around here.

And then I was off to another production by Leavenworth Summer Theater. This time the venue was The Fish Hatchery and the musical was Bye Bye Birdie.

And I can’t possibly forget the kick-off potluck dinner for Village Voices. The Bavarian Brass serenaded us with Christmas music while we ate and then the ladies enchanted us with their musical selection.

And a new week begins…………………

Aug18

My Newest Hobby

Posted on August 18, 2017 by iamkaren23

My Newest Hobby

The other day I was talking to my daughter in Ontario and telling her all about how I spend my time here in Leavenworth. She groaned when she heard me talking about the senior center here, and accused me of being like her late Bobba. She said it made HER feel old. I told her that I was indeed at that age, and that she should be happy that I was staying active. I informed her that she should be reading my blogs regularly to find out what I’ve been up to. Let’s see if she took my advice. I haven’t yet told her about my newest hobby. I had shocked her enough for one phone call.

I was at the senior center for lunch one day when I first heard about this hobby. Dee was excited as in September the craft afternoons would resume for the season. I shook my head and explained to her that I don’t knit, crochet or quilt. Count me out. Dee was determined and asked me if I colored. I gave her a funny look. Colored? Colored what?

And that was when I first heard of adult coloring books. No, they’re not adult rated with anatomically correct body parts, at least not the ones I’ve seen. These are coloring books with fanciful flowers and beautiful birds, with the intent of relaxation as well as maintaining co-ordination in older adults.

The following day Fran brought in a book, along with a package of the brush pens she uses. And I colored one of the fish you can see in the background. What fun! And it would have been even more fun if I had my reading glasses with me.

Off I went to Walmart the following week when I was in Wenatchee. My choice was birds, flowers, birds and flowers…..or zombies. I decided on birds and flowers. There were no brush pens so I settled for a pack of colored pencils.

Of course finding the time to just sit and color is the real challenge. I really lead a busy and full life here in Leavenworth. My plan is to set aside a few minutes every day to color. Here is a photo of my first masterpiece, albeit a work in progress.

I was in Lake Chelan a couple of weeks ago and found a bookstore. I checked out their coloring books but the prices were astronomically high. I was intrigued by the box of brush pens until I saw the price………$29! I’ll have to check out Hobby Lobby in Wenatchee. At least I have a coupon that I can use for 40% off.

Kimmy, if you’re reading this you’re probably rolling your eyes by now. But I assure you that I haven’t lost ALL my marbles just yet. And I can hardly wait for the craft afternoons to start next month. I’m ready!!!!!!

Aug11

And August Begins

Posted on August 11, 2017 by iamkaren23

And August Begins

It’s August already? What happened to July? Since I returned from Springdale, the days have been a blur of activity. Aside from the usual exercise classes, bridge games and lunches with friends at the senior center, there have been other things on the agenda.

Along with my friend Becky, we volunteered one night at the concession stand for Leavenworth Summer Theater’s production of The Sound of Music. The venue is atop a hill, albeit a considerable amount of smokey haze somewhat obscured the spectacular view of the mountains. The audience numbered approximately 500 people, and it was well worth the climb uphill to reach their seats. In the opening scene, Maria sauntered through the woods singing as she made her entrance onstage. What an ideal setting for this musical!

The Rotary Club held a barbecue at a park in Wenatchee. Clubs from Leavenworth, Cashmere and Wenatchee were represented. The park had a swimming pool, a playground and tennis courts. About 100 people attended this event.

Last Friday I braved the smokey skies and headed for Lake Chelan. I was delighted with the museum and enjoyed viewing the variety of items on displayed. I sauntered through the churchyard and headed down to the water, but it was far too smokey to stay very long. I then had a lovely lunch at BC McDonalds before returning to Leavenworth.

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Guess what some of us did last Saturday morning at 8 am? Nope, we didn’t sleep in. We attended a four hour CPR/First Aid class held at Leavenworth Church of the Nazarene. And we now have a two year certification by the American Red Cross. I hope we never have to use these skills but it’s good to have reviewed basic first aid, CPR and the use of AEDs. It’s also interesting to note how the laws vary from state to state, quite different from the classes I took back in Canada where lawsuits were only lightly mentioned.

Earlier in the week on the internet I obtained my Washington food handlers certification. I want to volunteer in the kitchen at the Senior Center where this course is required. And this week I began a new course online entitled Rethinking Ageing offered by The University of Melbourne. I also had my home group online from Church of the Rock in Winnipeg.

Earlier this week I also went out to Plain with my friends Dee and Karen. The first stop was Plain Hardware.

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Karen then gave us a spectacular tour of Grunewald Guild. She used to live here and we spent hours touring the buildings and the grounds. Once again, I took far too many photos, but here is a sampling.

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We then took a short drive through Lake Wenatchee State Park, where despite the smokey haze, surprisingly quite a few people were swimming and boating.

I am heading to the golf course shortly to have lunch with Charlene. Wild Huckleberry is one of my favorite restaurants in Leavenworth. Not only is the food amazing, but the view is also spectacular. Perhaps the deer will be out today. A lovely start to the weekend!

Aug6

Roadtrip To Springdale

Posted on August 6, 2017 by iamkaren23

Roadtrip To Springdale

Last weekend my friend Ann and I ventured east to visit her brother in Springdale, Washington, a community close to Spokane. Her brother Robert lives on a farm there on a primitive road. Primitive Road? That’s what the sign said. I’d never seen a sign like that before. Basically it means it’s an unpaved road with lots of curves and no guardrails, just steep drops along the side of the road. And of course there are no warning signs to indicate just where any of this is. But we arrived there safe and sound, and navigating the primitive road over the next few days became old hat.

On our way to Springdale, we took Interstate 90 and coming back to Leavenworth we took Highway 2. Therefore we saw different sights along the way. Of course the breathtaking view of hills and mountains always surrounded us.

In Crescent Bar we came across an old antique shop. At first glance it appeared abandoned. But in actuality it has some extremely limited hours and wasn’t open when we were there.

We drove both on the upper and lower roads in Crescent Bar and admired the gorgeous homes embedded in the rock at various heights. Beautiful in the summer, but in the winter I’m not so sure.

Another quaint town we drove through was Reardan. We found a park and sat in the shade sipping water. Nearby a daycare was doing crafts and across the street was a small church with a familiar VBS sign.

We arrived at the farm and these murals greeted us on the building near the gate.

We stayed in a delightful guest cottage on the property. The inside was as quaint and charming as the outside. Although you see a dish mounted in the photo, there was no TV.

I was enchanted with the goats. They are very shy, but Vicky persuaded them to pose for a picture when she attracted their attention with food.

I forget how much acreage Vicky and Robert own, but it is substantial. Here are a few miscellaneous pics, including a photo of the front of the rambling seven bedroom main farmhouse.

We also took a drive to Loon Lake one day where we found a restored vintage schoolhouse and an interesting thrift shop.

We spent some time in Chewelah and found interesting antiques and a farmer’s market as well as a casino.

The weekend flew by quickly and we were soon on our way back to Leavenworth. We stopped in Douglas for a quick lunch at a drive-through where I took some photos of a rustic western hotel.

I look forward to exploring more of Washington state this summer. It is certainly different from the flat prairies where I grew up in Manitoba. The majestic mountains have more than captured my heart.