Showtime in August   Nate's
second musical this summer was The Music Man. He played Mayor
Shinn.The lead was played by Caleb Moore (in red). He played a slave in the main stage production Big River. I especially enjoyed Nate's singing in the opening scene as Salesman #1(on the train) and later in the song Wells Fargo Wagon. Jeannie Beth had the option of switching from Shakespeare to a musical but she chose to stay with Macbeth. The Taproot Theatre Summer Acting Studio staged "The Scottish Play" as a western. Jean played the lead for scenes 1 through 9. Then she played minor parts. Macbeth has many more lines to memorize but the musicals have more dance.   Nathanael finished up the summer playing Georg von Trapp in The Sound of Music. He made a handsome love interest for Maria. He also provided a baritone voice for the songs. |
 Nancy Turns 53 Jeannie baked a cake and the Rutherfords joined us for Nancy's party. I took the day off. Officially, her big present was the radial arm saw she'd been using on the oak flooring in the living room. But I also got her clear storage bowls for the frig (so we don't forget which leftovers are which) and a repair kit for glasses. This month she picked up her first pair of real glasses. She'd often worn reading glasses. |
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 August on the Iberian Peninsula Annie left August 1st with SPU Spanish students and History professor Dr. Alberto Ferreiro for a month in Spain an Portugal. She didn't seem so distant as she did during British Isles Quarter in the spring because we were able to use Gmail Chat and even Gmail Talk. She also sent many postcards and email with photos like this one. Her pictures of a lunar eclipse passing behind a cathedral should be shown her -- but it was her miracle. She was sketching the cathedral from her window, when she spotted the Moon with what at first she thought was a cloud across it. But the cloud didn't move and she realized she'd caught the perfect moment to draw. She'll be back September 1st and will have many tales to tell. |
Time for a First Colonoscopy Sorry about the anatomical photos -- but this is my portrait this month. Dr. Peter Justus of Eastside Gastroenterology took these shots of my colon on August 26th. He also removed the 9mm polyp pictured. I'll learn more about it next week. The procedure itself was no trouble at all. The two liters of MoviPrep (yuck) I had to drink at 5:00PM and 3:45AM did their job exceedingly well. But needing four tries to insert the IV was by far the worst part of that day. Nathanael was my designated driver and did a great job.   |
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 Nate is a Falcon RunnerI dropped Nate off at 7:00AM on August 30th at SPU. His team ran that day in a relay race in Bellingham. Coach Erika is standing next to Nate. He was not allowed to run in an SPU uniform because the NCAA has yet to evaluate his BCS transcript. BCS had to send a second one on August 6th because the NCAA deemed the July copy as "unofficial." He's been training with the team three days a week since mid-month. Jeannie Runs for BCS On August 25th, Jean started Cross Country practice with BCS. Both the boys and girls teams look strong again this year. But Jean will need to find some self-discipline if she is going to have a successful season. She did not do the needed (or promised) summer running and is paying the price. She finished last of the girls in the annual two-mile time trial on the team retreat to Cle Elum. She retuned this last day of August. Earlier this week I took her to the Bellevue FootZone store and got her two pairs of shoes for over $210. And that was after the 10% team discount. Her first race will be the annual Turtle Soup Relay on September 11th. |
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My Quote from July
George Will
A Hamilton When Nathanael was very young, we went for a hike south from Snoqualmie pass. He was in the carrier on my back. I saw that my graduation watch, a gold Seiko dad had bought me, had gotten some moisture under the glass. Somewhere on that hike, in the parking lot at its end I believe, I lost that watch. Since then I've looked for a replacement. I wore a Fossil watch for a number of years and liked it -- until it broke. Recently I've been wearing an $8 Casio that I bought on eBay. But perhaps ten years ago or so I saw a Hamilton watch in a store at Bellevue Square. I loved the watch but not its price, over $600. Later I read advertisements for Hamilton watches in our old editions of National Geographic. I still wanted one. Then by chance I saw a single model at COSTCO. It had the color and features I wanted. But its price -- a bit over $250 -- was still in the luxury range for me. Yet at COSTCO it was about $100 lower than that same watch was selling for online. I made it mine. I will begin wearing it on Labor Day -- as a timely reminder to diet and exercise. I like to reward my successes in advance. Check back next month.
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My weight at the end of August was 201.5.
