Ahhhhhhh, Quiet Time (or maybe not)

Isn't retirement supposed to be restful, quiet, tranquil and serene?  HA!  It's supposed to be an adventure, full of new vistas (even if they're in your own backyard), turning new corners, some you never even thought of in your paid working years.

Ron and I have both been lucky enough to have had jobs that filled our thirst for knowledge and adventure, now in our retirement years we are filling our thirst for art, music, writing/reading, getting to know other folks who just might be different than us, yet so much the same.  Life is oh, so interesting, just like a treasure hunt, you have to usually dig below the surface to find that rare gem.

We had a very successful "Blaine Studio Tour" this past weekend, people loved our art and the photographs that our wonderful friend and neighbor Christine was showcasing (her photo of salmon spawning in the Canadian Adams River looks just like a Monet painting.  Of course it's always successful when you sell your art at a show, which we did, but the true success for me was seeing that glint of a gem and digging just a little to find such amazing treasures in the people who passed through our show.  One couple just completed a sailing trip to and from New Zealand, now they needed artwork for the bare walls in the first house they've lived in and owned in over twenty years, for some reason you can't fit much art on the walls of the sailboat you've lived in.

Another couple were thinking of moving into this area, but wanted to rent first to see if they liked it.  Their criteria for a rental landlord was "you have to like animals."  They have three dogs, three cats, three children, and a nine month old spider monkey named Trixie.  (Christine decided maybe they weren't for her rental house)  They informed me that Trixie the monkey had her own web-site.  Of course I went home later to check it out, never found Trixie, but found there are lots of off color sites with the words Trixie and monkey.  Oh well, I can have fun imagining that family.

The sun is shining today, we've had rain every other day for months.  Sunshine, rain, sunshine, rain, I don't think we'll have had a real Spring at all this year.  Of course the grass, trees, and flowers are flourishing with this mixture.

Hope you are all as blessed as we are, from Nancy of the Boat House in Birch Bay

Tulips at the Boat House

Ron took these amazing photos of a couple of our tulips:

Then we spent the rest of the day getting ready to set up for this weekend's Blaine Studio Tour.  I made homemade spiced biscotti with chocolate chips and Ron made home made caramel glaze to put on top of them, then I put on a very slight sprinkle of herbed sea salt.  YUMMY!!  Come by and see our art and taste some goodies.  

Best wishes from Nancy at the Boat House in Birch Bay