Post Christmas 2009 Doings After Christmas in Seattle, James came back with us for a few days on Crane. Then back to Seattle for a day with NNM&O, Kiri up from Portland for New Year's Eve. Uncle Ron in Seattle too, art, movies (Avatar 3D), food, walking, shopping, and MORE! We had a great time in the NW's big city
Christmas 2009  Jeni hosted Yvonne and John, James, and Ron at her new apartment just up from the Seattle waterfront. We walked to the Public Market, shopped for Christmas Eve dinner, saw a movie, Jen cooked a great roast chicken dinner, and we did lots of visiting. A memorable Christmas.
	Thanksgiving 2009 Margaret joined us from next door, Noah, Natasha, Morgan, and Opal came up from Harstine Island, Ron, came over from the Simrishamn in Deer Harbor, and Jeni and her friend, Roy, came up with Roy's mother, Anita, visiting from New Dehli. The weather was cold but the company warm and the food delicious.
October in Los Osos We spent a week with EKJ&M making ourselves useful by taking care of the kids, cooking, shopping, and cleaning up. Lots of time outside in the CA sun - with walks, soccer, pumkin carving, Halloween, wine tasting, craft projects, and more.
	October on Harstine On our way to CA we stopped for two nights with NNM&O and on Saturday took the kids to the zoo. What a pleasure! Back home we all watched Mama Mia! and sang along using the karoke option on the DVD.
Fall Color Tour Yvonne's leaf cast project and fall color tour of her garden. The leaf orginals were rubarb. The cement casting were painted and are striking. After the garden pictures were taken and while we were in California, deer broke into the garden and munched.
	Dave and Kathy's Wedding Reception We saw lots of Dave in Boulder in the late 70's and 80's and then he moved to Iowa. It was good to see him, with his lovely wife Kathy, in Seattle at a reception celebrating their recent nuptuals.
Ron comes to Deer Harbor After getting his Doctor of Oriental Medicine degree, Yvonne's brother, Ron, has moved to Orcas to build a practice in the San Juan Islands and acquire the Simrishamn to explore the San Juans, the Gulf Islands, and beyond. We're happy to have him close by and part of our island life.
	The Simrishamn John spent a good bit of August and September working on the Simrishamn - completing some projects planned three years ago. The boat looks good and is ready for Ron and the rainy winter to come.
San Juan Island Beaches We took a sunny October Sunday off and headed to San Juan Island to look at beaches we hadn't much seen before. We spent time at Cattle Point, at the south end pass between San Juan and Lopez entering the Straight of Juan de Fuca, at Soth Beach, Fourth of July Beach and San Juan Island Marine Park. Very nice time.
	Burnt Ridge Road Trip The plan is to celebrate Yvonne's 60th at a portable Borgfest next July, tying it to Burnt Ridge, near Troy, where Opal was born and raised and now rests. Looking for venues we visited Walla Walla, Moscow, and Coeur d'Alene - and saw Charmaine in Spokane.
Harstine September We stopped to visit NNM&O on our way to Burnt Ridge. We got acquainted with Sugar, their new puppy, and had time to admire and hug Morgan and Opal (and Noah and Natasha for that matter) and we had a chance to catch up. What fun!
	Kelly & Tim, Janne & Peter Tim's parents, Janne and Peter, were visiting Seattle, so the four (including Kelly) stopped by for a couple days on their way to Victoria. We had a great time visiting and learning more about Perth and Australia, where Janne and Peter have their home.
Kate and Ken to Stuart Island On a September Sunday we cruised over to Reid Harbor on Stuart Island with Kate and Ken, found space at the dock, had a picnic lunch, and then hiked out to Turn Point, with cocktails and snacks on the return trip to Deer Harbor. Pretty day.
Tessa and Alan, Ann and Dave, and Barb and Dean flew to Seattle and then to Deer Harbor from Lake Union.	Boulder Friends on Crane  We had a slow walk around the island looking at and talking about everything. Liz and Stu K. came for dinner and we talked about The Sacred. We had a cruise to Lopez Island and dinner in Deer Harbor and on Wednesday morning Ann and Dave and Tessa and Alan kayaked around Crane. Lots and lots of conversation and laughter and caring. Wonderful! (Note: Ann and Alan's pictures added 8/24)
Sidney and Ganges We took a couple days and cruised up to Sidney and then Ganges. In Sidney John could use all the water he wanted to wash the Simrishamn. Good weather, slow pace, and we had to stop working for a few days.
	Soap Lake and Ellensburg Yvonne took Gina her things and had a chance to visit with Gina, Chantelle, Maria, and Cresi. Then she had a chance to visit with Julie, Josh and Bevin, and Jesse.
Borgfest 2009 Corrina came from Harrisburg, James and Keith from LA, Eric, Kristin, Jackson, and Maddie from Los Osos, Noah, Natasha, Morgan, and Opal from Harstine Island, and Jeni from Seattle - there were 14 of us in all. We had a wonderful time being together - on the deck, at the table, on the water - food, conversation, projects, games, play, sailing, cruising, kayaking, swimming, building, art, admiring, remembering.
	Deck Project Much of the decking and many of the joists for the southwest section of the house deck needed to be replaced. That offered an opportunity to use stairs to integrate the house deck with the studio deck and to replace the ramp from kitchen door to studio door. And it was an occasion to clean and stain all the house deck and add "deer gates" to the stairs.
NNM&O visit Crane Noah, Natasha, Morgan, and Opal came for a June visit. The weather was great and we walked, sailed, talked, ate, and planned. Yvonne and Natasha did a pre-garden tour and Morgan and Opal spent time in the hot tub. Borgfest coming up!
	Maddie's First Birthday Yvonne, Jeni, and James converged on Los Osos to celebrate the big day. Bob, Diane, and Lauren also joined in the fun. Maddie enjoyed herself immensely - with much cuteness. John stayed home to finish the new bathroom and work on joining house and studio decks in preparation for Borgfest in July. Jeni got to see Los Osos for the first time and get acquainted with her young niece. Party, wine tasting, touring - and a memorable karaoke night. Yvonne took almost all the pictures and some very cute ones of the birthday girl.
Bathroom Project The house came with a hot tub shower room off the back deck so we decided to convert it into a third bathroom. It was pretty small so we knocked down the wall separating it from the freezer closet and moved the wall four inches to allow room for the back of the toilet. John had to bring the supply and waste water lines out from the crawl space to this new bathroom outside the house foundation under covered deck. Now we have more facilities for hosting big groups.
	Jen and Friends Cruise to Stuart In mid June, Jeni and her friends Adrienna and Irada came up to Crane for a weekend visit. We took the Simrishamn over to Stuart Island, had a picnic and then hiked out to Turn Point. A glorious day in good company.
Discovery Comes Home to Crane In 1978, Discovery, a 20' Ranger sailboat, made its home at the dock on Crane but eventually it changed hands and moved to Orcas. In early June John saw it for sale sitting on a trailer off Deer Harbor Road. Discovery is now back home on Crane and is a wonderful day daysailer.
	Tea Party A former Crane resident wanted her ashes scattered in the nature preserve. Yvonne is preserve president so she hosted the group - from Friday Harbor and Orcas and served her first deck tea.
Arts and Crafts on Crane Yvonne hosted friends for a craft project - using grass, leaves, and such to create decorative book covers. It was warm and sunny on the patio and a perfect day for outdoor projects.
	UU "Retirement" For the last six years John has acted as the "responsible adult" for the Orcas UU Fellowship and this spring decided it was time for someone else to have the opportunity to plan and conduct Sunday services. It was a satisfying and instructive tenure.
Evening at Pole Pass We don't work all the time. Once in a while we stop to smell the salt sea air. One late may evening we strolled to the point on Pole Pass and bathed in the golden light of the setting sun.
	Yvonne's spring projects This spring Yvonne added a path east of the new pond and replaced the south gate with a wonderful new model.
Rummage Sale Two years ago Yvonne organized a yard and garden sale as a fundraising for the Deer Harbor Community Club. She did it again this year and raised more than a ton of dollars.
	Yvonne's Garden - May and June This year Yvonne's garden is really beginning to fill in. The daffodils start early and last a month, followed by tulips and all kinds of other pretty things that John doesn't know the names of. Maybe Yvonne will help write a better introduction to this album.
Jackson's birthday - and Maddie May We stopped in Ventura on the drive north then had non-stop fun in Los Osos and environs. We got to take care of Jackson and Maddie a bit and catch up with Eric and Kristin. We went to a California one-year birthday party on Morro Bay and the local natural history museum. James came up for Jackson's 4th birthday party and we enjoyed meeting E & K's friends. Maddie hadn't seen us since January and wasn't quite sure who we were but we got to know one another again. She's a girl who just wants to have fun.
	Seeing James in LA in April We stopped in Portland on the way to LA, saw a ballet and walked the waterfront. In LA we stayed with James at his new apartment. James made John a birthday dinner, we went to the Book Faire and saw Michael J. Fox, visited the Page Museum at La Brea Tar Pits,ambled on Olvira Street in Old Town, hiked in the hills above Pacific Palisades, checked out Venice, and toured the Sony/Columbia studios. James was very hospitable and we got to know more about his life in LA.
Chimayo - Number 17 Our 17th walk; Ann and Dave couldn't make it but Page and Teri could - and Mike and Louise, Barb and Dean's neighbors also came along. A special time in a special place with special people.
	Before and After Chimayo In April we went to Boulder to celebrate the vernal equinox and Dave's birthday and saw Loren and Janelle with Casey and Jodi and then Kevin. In the Springs we saw Marcy, Aelias, Alena, Julie, Cooper, Phoebe, and Alan. After Chimayo we spent a day at Albuquerque's Old Town.
A March Harstine Visit We hadn't seem NNM&O for a while so we headed to Harstine. Opal and Natasha were recovering from the flu. Saturday we took Morgan to a big local rummage sale, to his school for a science fair, to lunch, shopping, and to a movie. We had a great time. By Sunday morning Natasha & Opal felt much better.  We had plenty of time to talk and got pretty well caught up on this and that.
Yvonne had been thinking about a little pond south of the house. Once	A New Pond we moved the historic privy and cut down some trees, it seemed the appropriate time to make it. John dug the hole and Yvonne sculpted the area, laid down pond liner, transplanted some moss, planted heather and some grasses, and installed a snow lantern. It looks great. So far no otter, mink, racoons, or 'Mantha Moo Moos have gone wading. But just wait....
A March Garden Cooler temperatures slowed our spring. The crocus arrived in January and were still flowering in April. Yvonne was busy implementing her planting plan.  John didn't quite understand what she was doing but he thought it looked nice.
In early March our 17 year old refrigerator quit cooling and John couldn't fix it. Trying to service it required pulling up some of the	A New Floor kicthen floor - that we weren't happy with - and the next thing you know we got a new refrigerator and enough new flooring to cover the kitchen, dining room, and hall. Not in the plan! The refrigerator had to come over by barge so we brought along garden supplies. The flooring project, all in all, took about a week and it looks good. We like the new Electrolux and it uses much less power. Now the kitchen cabinets look a bit shabby. Oh no!
February on Crane December and January were very cold but February had milder days. The daffodils showed themselves, though late. We cut down ten trees and John split firewood. Yvonne has become an expert knitter and is doing lots of socks. February sunrises were especially beautiful, if chilly. We moved the historic outhouse away from the house and use it to keep the raccoons out of the trash. We're looking forward to lengthening days and warming sun.
	Julie's January Visit Baby Gramps was scheduled to perform on Orcas so Julie hot-footed it over from Ellensburg for the excitement. And John got to enjoy a warm-up concert at home as well. There's a story with Baby Gramps but it's too long to tell here.
Morgan 8, Opal 4 Morgan and Opal celebrated their birthdays with a joint party. Loren and Toby, Nana Jan and neighbor Terri, Justin, Katherine, Hope, and Hunter, Popa Gene and LaRonge, Jeni, and John and Yvonne, converged on Noah and Natasha's house for nice party with just the right amount of rumpus.
After weeks of snow, very cold weather, and darkness we were happy to be on the Central Coast	Los Osos in January with Eric, Kristin, Jackson, and Maddie - who in a few months had beome more little girl than baby. We had walks, good meals, wine tasting, kid hugging, and visting - and viewed the Europe 1989 video James had put together. We all went to Santa Barbara and then John drove James down to Westwood.
Vacaville Brunch New Year's Day we stopped in Vacaville to have brunch with Heathyr, Krystal, and Ray. We hadn't visited for more than a year so it was a good time to catch up.
	Year End on Harstine On our way to California we stopped to see Noah, Natasha, Morgan, and Opal. Morgan, especially, had been enjoying all the snow. We went to see Marley&Me, did some drawing, had great meals, lots of visiting, and kid hugging
Christmas 2008 James came home from LA by way of NYC and Princeton and then Jeni, Gina, and her youngest daughter, Cresie came up to Crane the 23rd. Beginning the 18th it was very cold and snowy all over the Pacific Northwest so we stayed indoors most of the time. Two neighbors joined us Christmas day.