Our Time in Wenatchee

 Our nearly two months in Wenatchee are drawing to a close much too quickly. We didn't get to visit everyone we had hoped to see and we didn't take any sight-seeing drives, but we managed to stay incredibly busy somehow. Our most rewarding times were when we got to see our family and friends, and our volunteer hours at the Lighthouse where we worked in the kitchen serving meals. I'll save that for another blog! We enjoyed a few walks. Wenatchee has a wonderful trail all around the two cities. Mr. Keith is sauntering along part of the trail in East Wenatchee.

 Here is a gorgeous view of Wenatchee across the Columbia River.

 The Wenatchee Valley is famous for fruit trees. We were so fortunate to be parked right next to an orchard. These blossoms are cherries, I believe.

 What a sight greets us every time we open our door! Beautiful, pink apple blossoms. We won't be here for the Valley's long standing and well attended Apple Blossom Festival, but we know from our years here how much fun that is. We have so many memories of this great event from years past.

 Each time we come back to Wenatchee between our job assignments we like to drive by the old 'homestead' on Gellatly Street. When I lived here the house was painted white. A couple of years ago we found it to be painted a grey color, and this time it is a pretty tan. I wonder if the current owners are experimenting? I thought about the mailbox out front. It originally graced our driveway near the town of Mossyrock in 1968. It moved with us to Vancouver where it stood along the street next to our house for 11 years, then it came with us to Wenatchee in 1983. It still seems to be in fairly good shape for a 46 year old mailbox!

 Much to our dismay, Mr. Keith was hospitalized by a cat bite which became infected. It wasn't Montie's fault! We had some company who came with a little dog. The dog sneaked some cat food and Montie attacked, causing much shrieking by the dog, thus causing Mr. Keith to grab Montie's tail to get him away from the pup. Montie, in his distress over the cat food thief and the pain in his tail, turned and bit Keith. This kind of infection is very serious for someone with a low immune system, so the hospital stay was in order till it's resolved. This is the beautiful view from Keith's room on the 5th floor.

The view from another window, of Saddle Rock. I looked at this Wenatchee Valley landmark for 22 years from the back deck of the house on Gellatly Street. I miss it, and I always watch for the first sighting of this magnificent rock formation as we're driving into town after being away for months. We'll leave it once again next week when we hitch up and head out down the highway for our next job in Missoula, Montana.

Orchards and Pianos

 Our days here in East Wenatchee and Wenatchee are passing pleasantly. On a walk down to the river I snapped this photo and was thinking about how it will look in a few more weeks when the fruit trees burst into bloom. The buds are beginning to swell already. I think these are apple trees. The apricots are the first to bloom, so beautiful in their pink and lavender dress!

There are apple trees next to our rig. I always wondered who wrote the old song, "It's cherry pink and apple blossom white..."  He must not have known that cherry trees sport purely white blossoms, while the apple flowerets are pinkish white. I can't wait for these to bloom, but we may be gone by then.

A wonderful fact about the Wenatchee Valley is that there is a paved walking trail completely around the cities along the riverbanks, up one side, across the river, and down the other side, depending on where you begin. There are probably close to 12 miles of trail. Just up the road from where we are is the beginning of the trail on the East Wenatchee side. Or maybe it's the ending. Hmmm! We picked the wrong day to walk. The wind was fierce, raindrops began to pelt us, not to mention tumbleweeds zooming about. I caught this one with my cane as it tumbled by.

When we began full time RVing I knew I had to have a piano in our rig. I researched and found this Yamaha digital piano and I have been very happy with it. One slideout is my music room, complete with 3 file boxes of the music I also couldn't dispense with. Selling, giving away, donating almost all our possessions in order to move into our 5th wheel was not easy. The one thing I couldn't part with and also couldn't take with me was the Yamaha upright that I used to teach my students for many, many years in my home studio.

So... my solution was to ask the pastors of our home church if my piano could come live in the fellowship hall. They, both musicians themselves, gladly agreed, and I believe it does some service for recitals. Knowing we would be in the area for a couple of months, I obtained a key to the church so I can come practice whenever I have a chance. The other day, I let myself in, found the light switches, walked up to my beautiful instrument, lifted the lid, and got  teary and emotional as I sat down and tenderly began to press the keys. I've missed this lovely and very important part of my past life. I hope someday I might have my big Yamaha with me again. In the meantime, I will be happy with my little digital. It serves me faithfully and well and I am grateful to have it.