It has been nearly seven months since we last updated JL Coordinates, the longest stretch since we began recording
our location. Our coordinates have changed little during that time thanks to the Covid-19 Pandemic's travel
restrictions. Despite having little out of the ordinary to report, there has been some 'ordinary' to mark down.
We should do that. And, it has been an extraordinary year in many ways. So, join us in saying 'Goodbye' to
2020 with our year-end wrap up.
Among the high points for the year was a bouquet given to us by our neighbor Karlla, which, when J got it arranged
in a vase and on the bookshelf, looked like a still life painting by Dutch artist
Rachel Ruysch. For two weeks it added much needed beauty to November.
Bouquet Pretending to be a Dutch Masterpiece
News & Notes
Ticking through the last seven months ...
June kept to its usual form. Traditionally, it is a frustrating month in Seattle because it's still cold and wet while the rest of the US is enjoying summer. It looked dramatic, but it was just wet. Between the raindrops, we gardened, focusing obsessively on detail.
June Clouds over Kingston WA
July brought beautiful weather and a few breaks in the hum-drum:
Dave, center, and his partners Anna and Tim opened their Left Bank Ciders business. A Pandemic is not the optimum time to start a business, but they attracted many partiers to their outdoor patio over the summer. Now they're busy fermenting next year's cider.
We isolated for 2 weeks to visit Jim and Julie for a week in Libby MT. We hiked, carried our picnic to a meadow below the summit of Flagstaff Mountain, visited Judy and Ed to see their 'fainting goats', which didn't faint for us, and generally enjoyed the long summer days.
L finished replacing the cedar steps in the NE corner of the garden with new stone steps.
On the last day of the month we put the top down on the red sports car and took our picnic to Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Park. Beautiful!
The Olympics from Hurricane Ridge ONP
August continued the relaxed, easy livin' mode of life.
Day trips in the red MX-5 continued. One stop was Index WA, site of many family picnics along the Skykomish River.
The patio in summer served as the perfect place for 'socially distant' entertaining. The bookclub came by for a brunch-time meeting. California friends Carl and Lynn stopped by for another brunch. And we hosted many of the friends we regularly socialize with.
Spending so much time entertaining on the patio kept reminding us how out-of-control our ivy 'wall' is. So, we literally peeled it off the masonry like it was a massive patch of green adhesive tape.
We isolated again to weekend with friends Shelley and Ken at their Lopez Island home.
And, the spectacular summer sunsets continued, undeterred by the Pandemic
Sunset over Puget Sound With Elk Mountain (Hurricane Ridge) Beyond
September completed the Northwest Wonderful Weather trifecta.
Epic wild fires raged out of control along the entire West Coast. Washington's fires burned more area this year than in the last decade combined. Satellite photos showed smoke covering the entire coast and extending out into the Pacific. Air quality could be summarized as terrible and the sky was eerily orange all day, especially at sunset.
Jim and Julie again hosted us for a visit to Libby MT. It was another delightful week of morning walks around town, fishing and poking along the forest roads enjoying the wild country.
Conifers are so named because of the cones they produce, but they could have been named for their shape.
Mountainside Above Weigel Creek, Kootenai National Forest
As October passed we continued our patio parties, but eventually they were too cool, so they ended.
Canning has always been a mid-year activity for us, and this year we made apricot jam, our favorite tomato-basil soup, and the always enigmatic spicy pumpkin-ginger jam. Last but not least was this year's batch of limoncello.
Our last weeklong trip to Libby MT to visit Jim and Julie included the standard morning walks, forays into the mountains, jigsaw puzzles and cribbage. Tom and Alvira invited us to their tree farm to set fires. Throughout the year debris from logging, thinning, trimming and maintenance creates piles of dry timber which can be safely set on fire following fall rains. Lighting burn-piles is childhood-grade [1968] fun!
We voted, and thereby joined 100,000,000 pre-election day voters.
Brendan, our favorite playwright, had a reading of his play Mangrove Park over Zoom.
The Evergreen State has little fall color, except for landscaping trees on UDub's campus.
Biochemistry Happening Next to UW's Chemistry Building
With November came the thanksgiving, when the election was called for Joe Biden.
Later in the month came the traditional Thanksgiving holiday. As many Americans debated if they'd roast a turkey, considering the advice against large family gatherings, we opted for Turkish.
On the last day before closing for winter, we enjoyed a final tour of Seattle's Japanese Garden.
J's overly-eager Christmas Cactus showed its first bloom of the year on the day after Halloween!
Eager and Gorgeous Christmas Cactus
December, 2020's last gasp, was highlighted by sharing Christmas with Dan.
With the fall's alarming spread of the Novel Coronavirus as well as the poorer weather, we didn't cut a Christmas tree in Montana. So, L built one. It had two important differences from the usual conifer: This one could be decorated in the warmth of our Study, and its design and construction filled a lot of time.
After completing classes, quarantining for two weeks and receiving a negative Covid-19 test, Dan drove from Craig CO to Seattle for the holiday break. We were thrilled to have our first guest in 10 months. Dave remained in Catskill, so he sent us a large sampling of Left Bank Ciders, as well as tees.
For Christmas dinner we celebrated with a leg of lamb and Yorkshire puddings.
With the end in sight, we socially distanced with our friends Shelley and Ken to say 'good riddance' to 2020.
Celebrating Our Survival of 2020, The Year Best Forgotten
