At 4:30 this morning, there was a large thump and I jumped out of bed, woke up Vince and proclaimed, “Andre fell out of bed”. Vince sat up and replied, “No, the boys camped out on the floor in the playroom (in the basement) last night.” Oh yeah, I forgot. What was that thump? Our 14-year-old black lab, Dale, got up and fell over as the result of his old man hip dysplasia. Poor Dale. He’s fine, just old. I went back to bed and fell fast asleep. Vince, not thanks to me waking him up, couldn’t go back to sleep and got an early start on his projects.
I slept until 9:30. That never, ever happens. Ok, occasionally, but I can’t remember the last time I slept that late. The kids slept even later which gave me the luxurious time to enjoy my coffee and read my first Sunday edition of The Spokesman Review, Spokane’s daily newspaper before making a fabulous Sunday brunch of buttermilk waffles, bacon, poached eggs, cantaloupe, blueberries and strawberries.
What a fabulous morning. I did not think my day could get any better. Then around 2 PM, Vince announced he was taking the boys fishing. The boys. I wasn’t even invited. Can I get a hallelujah? Not only were they going fishing, Vince heard of some sweet fishing spot an hour away that he wanted to check out. With simple math, I knew I had at least a four-hour window of uninterrupted me time. Happily, I packed a cooler with drinks and snacks for their trip. They headed off to fish off the dock at Bunker’s Resort at Lake Williams, near Cheney. Buh-Bye.
Now what? I didn’t have a “free time” plan. This is my first no kid, no husband, alone at hime time in over a month.
I sat down at my new-to-me desk in my new-nobody-else-is-in-it office and researched something that has been weighing heavily on my mind. When is Spokane’s County Fair? Though I only attended the Orange County Fair once in our six years there and never competed, it should be known that I am a blue ribbon and best of show baker at the Coconino County Fair in Flagstaff, AZ. I grew up attending and participating in the Erie County Fair, including 4-H. I love county fairs. No offense OC, your fair is on steroids and lacks the down home country feel of a true county fair.
The “Ridin’, Rockin’ & Livestockin’ Spokane County Interstate Fair * 2013*” is scheduled for September 6-15. How can the fair not be awesome with such an awesome theme? Baking entry deadlines are August 6. Fist pump, YES!! Now I just need to decide what I’m going to enter into the fair competition. In addition to the fair, Fleischmann’s Yeast has a Best Baking Contest too. Multiple contests, multiple entries. Wooo! I can’t wait!
Pumped with visions of baked good in my head, Dale and I traipsed outside to remove a rogue lilac bush that has sprouted up from old roots next to my Japanese maple, causing distress. It really isn’t a bush, more like four sucker branches, none bigger than a half an inch in diameter, sprouting out of the ground. I first trimmed the branches down with pruning shears, then attacked the dirt by digging around the root ball. Coming from California, I anticipated hard as hell clay to limit my progress. Another reason to love Washington, the ground is easy to dig! Within minutes, I had the roots dug out and the yard waste bin loaded.
Dale and I were then joined by Bear, the two-year old golden retriever that lives next door who easily hurdled the property dividing low rock wall to visit us. If you met Dale, Bear is easily 6 inches taller than Dale and Bear’s head is gigantic! Not many dogs make Dale look small and manageable, Bear is one of those dogs. Bear and Dale are buddies and they play as long as Dale can tolerate. They are funny together and the neighbor and I share a good laugh.
What a day for me! Rest, relaxation, the fair, the dogs, gardening, chores and progress toward getting settled.
The boys returned around 7:30 with one trout. One. Trace caught the only fish of the day. They left a crowded Lake Williams with the one fish and went to Medical Lake on their way home in hopes of increasing their catch without luck. They had fun, saw some deer, and had “guy time”. They planned their next fishing trip over dinner. Must have been a good day for them too.
multi-hyphenated-me 