Thanks for visiting our page! If you didn't stumble here by accident, then you are a wonderful
friend and faithful reader to visit after so many months with no updates. We humbly apologize, and thank you.
There is much to report, of course, so maybe we can make it up to you.
For example, in July we visited Toronto
for a week. Besides exploring a city we had not visited for years, we rendezvoused with Dan and Tomoko, and
with our friend Philip Shea.
Tomoko, Dan, Philip Shea and J
D & T came north to escape Georgia's intense summer heat. We had a corner condo on the 44th floor allowing us to follow the action both day and night. We didn't send epostcards of this trip, but there are more pictures below.
News & Notes
We are sorry to report the deaths of two friends, fathers to some of our extended family.
Rob Harden Larry first met Rob, father of Brendan Healy, as the two fathers tried to scrunch into tiny school desks at Parent Back To School Night in 1989. Rob was a man of good humor and a warm, welcoming personality, who always greeted everyone with a smile. Passionate about theater, he loved Thornton Wilder's masterpiece Our Town. Over the years Rob worked hard to make sure that the necessary services were provided for students with special needs in Washington universities.
Rob Harden 1940-2013
Imura Wataru We first met Wataru, father of Junko Kamimura, at her home in Nara in 2001. A distinguished scholar of Japan's Buddhist treasures, Wataru devoted days to showing us Nara's temples and World Heritage sites (such as Horu-ji), each explained in context and complete detail. He was an accomplished woodblock printer whose New Year's cards we always anticipated. Recently he published his tanka poems (like haiku but with 31 syllables). To us he was a wonderful, generous friend who shared his love for the great treasures of Japan.
Imura Wataru 1936-2013
In April, we visited Chile. Autumn is a wonderful time to see this amazing country of mountains, and water, and grapes and wine. And, yes, we even saw the one legged man and his lady with the wheelbarrow of crabs.
Our eCards of the trip give a more extensive visual picture of our visit, but they skip a lot. As always, we're happy to chat about the wonders of Chile ... perhaps over a glass of Carménère?For Mother's Day weekend, we again helped Jim and Julie Shadle support the Scenic Tour of Kootenai River (STOKR) bicycle ride, a fund-raiser for Habitat for Humanity. Our Seattle friends Judy Watson -- L's admin for a couple of decades -- and her husband Larry Bunn rode in STOKR this year. Larry B cycled a second day, so we showed Judy Kootenai Falls.
In June L's colleague from Purdue days, Fran Berman, stopped by for a rare visit.
The Toronto visit was a chance to see friends and family in a vibrant, exciting city. We dined with Frank Tompa and his son Dave and hung out with Dan and Tomo. Philip Shea, who J first met in a cooking class in Istanbul, gave us a food tour through the many ethnic neighborhoods in this amazingly diverse city.
Philip also took us to the McMichael Art Museum , and we checked out the Redpath Sugar Museum, the Toronto islands, and the Ontario Natural History Museum.
Most of all we loved Toronto's art scene. Canadian art was once strongly influenced by snow,
but today much of the art is in the street, and spectacular.
Torontonians not only carry art in their hearts, they lug it all over town.
Our wonderful neighbors Charles and Rose Marie Brown moved downtown after 50+ years in the 'hood. They have been pillars of the community. We will miss them.
At Labor Day we again visited Shelley and Ken Burr on Lopez Island in the San Juans. In addition to the usual food and fun -- including the Lopez Art Studio Tour -- we crabbed, landing eight one day and five the next.
Dungeness Crab Metacarcinus magister
Next stop, Chicago, to see Dave and his girlfriend Megan Baumann.
Megan and Dave
One highlight was to tour their side garden in the vacant lot next to his apartment. They are both "urban farmers," who work in gardens all day. So when they relax in their own, the focus is on novelty. Megan is holding the morning's harvest of various heirloom tomatoes. Dave is inspecting his Physalis (ground cherries).
Harvesting Heirloom Tomatoes ... Checking The Ground Cherries
And for your viewing pleasure, courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago ...
Equestrienne Tang Dynasty (A.D. 618-907)
In September we scored another visit to Libby MT. We spent an enjoyable time with Jim and Julie Shadle and their friends. We fished for kokanee, and hunted for elderberries. Here's J in Jim's garden showing our elderberries to the zinnias in hopes they bear fruit one day.
Elder and Berries
And now it's fall -- our second for the year. We choose the elegant Euonymus latifolia to celebrate the change of season.
Euonymus latifolia
