Twofer:

I'm so far behind in my blogs, this will be a twofer. The Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival and the home project update.

The weather here in the San Juans is relatively nicer than The Mainland. Seems it's always raining in Seattle and we look out the window to blue sky. Chilly, compared to what we've been accustomed to the past five years in the tropics: Endless summer.

Since the last entry, we blew paint on the outside, tacked up fascia board all around, installed new low-e windows throughout, painted the kitchen and bedroom under remodel, bought a new refrigerator, gas fireplace insert, insulated the crawl space, built a stair/pathway to the beach, and Liz has done a lot of digging in the dirt... hacking planting beds from the weeds, leveling and sowing grass while I hack back the jungle of Ocean Spray, Devil's Club, and Himalayan Blackberries overrunning the place.

Still to do: New kitchen floor, cabinets and counter tops, put a closet/bookcase (back to back) where the old oil furnace lived, window coverings (neighbors can't look in anyway!) and.... and... maybe we're done for the winter! No, seriously.

We took a September break to go to the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival. This year featured over three hundred boats, the same number of exhibitors, plus seminars, food booths and music. The crowd was estimated at thirty thousand over the three days and I believe it.

We never plan far enough in advance to get accommodations in the immediate area so we always end up at the Sequim Bay State Park - 25 miles away. No big deal. It's a scenic drive in an especially scenic part of a very scenic state! Sit back and enjoy the ride.

As for the show, I love wood boats but I'd never buy another one. I've had two over the years and loved them but... like my British cars, the TR4 and MG, only wealthy, masochistic, dreamers and fools own one. Life is too short; rather, my attention span is too short and there are too many other things to do in this life other than work on endless projects. Still, they're works of art. I love to look at them and dream that I'm a wealthy, masochistic dreamer.

I'll have pics in the gallery soon. Enjoy.