Life with Andrea

Summer Break 2012. 

What do I do on my summers?  Mostly, I work.  By the time I get off work, it’s the end of August, and while I have a 3 week break, no one else does, and the “summer vacation” season is gone. 

On the other hand, by the time I got off work this year, the weather was finally good!  We had 3 weeks of decent weather, and I had them off to enjoy!  Hurrah! 

I really do like being a librarian.  But I also like having time off.  In my time off, I can, I pick fruit, I go for walks, I poke around in my garden, sometimes I read or paint or sew.  Or not. 

First, I finished the project I was painting, the willow ware pattern on the birdbath soren gave me for my birthday. 

Then, I went adventuring.  I found a new park near Centralia, called Rainbow Falls – and thought I would use my Discover Pass there.  It was pretty enough – but right on the highway, and the falls were NOT as exciting as Douglas Falls.  But on the way home, just outside Chehelis, I found ANOTHER park with a really cool rail-trail, and LOTS of blackberries.  Which I jammed.  Of course.  

Then, I went to see Cait at Finney Farm.  That was an adventure.  Limited electricity, limited water, no heat, no toilet, no bath, no hot water, a partial outhouse. 

The main house – the “community house” is very cool.  Big, old, wood floors, pine paneling, a wood stove.  Cold water from a hose to the kitchen sink.  Cait was canning when I was there – cold water only, 3 burner propane stove – and doing it very successfully.  Cold in the morning, warm in the evening, because there were LOTS of south facing windows.  A very friendly cat.  A vegan household, lots of veggies.  Their goal is to produce enough food off the property to not need to purchase any over the winter/over the year.  Cait put up about 35 jars of jam in one morning. 

There is no bath or shower or toilet.  There is an outhouse for SOLID waste only – liquid waste, go find a tree.  To bathe, there is a creek.  To get clean in the winter, there is a sauna.  I offered to take cait out for a shower, but she declined.  I can do it for a short period, but a week would kill me.  The creek is beautiful, though. 

I looked up their web site:  they’re looking for more people, who are interested in living as a community, who would like to build their own houses, who don’t need running water or electricity but who believe in helping each other, hard work, and doing things the old fashioned way.  If I were 40 years younger, perhaps.  Not any more. 

The place is beautiful, though. 

And after I got back, I was sick for several days.  By the time I recovered, much of the great weather had gone, but not all.  So I put up a batches of salsa, antipasto sauce, tomato sauce,  jam.  And then, Bob and I had ANOTHER adventure.  We went to Washougal. 

Now, Washougal is so close it doesn’t count as an adventure, but Bob was taking apart and remaking a fence, so a mini-adventure was required.  I found that there was a place to use the discover pass on the Washougal River, so we did.  And found great cliffs to jump off, into deep pools.  And I SAW a CRAYFISH.  (Almost caught).  And we walked along, and saw lots of water and pools, and people fishing, and it was clean and cold and wet and fast moving.  Bob stayed dry, but I didn’t. 

Today, I got about 30 pounds of windfall apples and put up 13 jars of applesauce.   I still need to paint the bathroom, and make tomato sauce.  I start work tomorrow.  Oh well – what are weekends for?