The Week in Review

Still we seem to be plagued with a summer that can't quite pull itself up onto the level it's supposed to be residing at.  Time and time again we get a nice day or two followed by more weather that it unseasonably closer to April than August.  During this month I should be getting up in the morning and walking around the house shutting windows before the heat of the day gets a chance to wipe away the coolness that came into the house with nighttime.  Not so.  It was 59.6 degrees outside at 7:30 in the morning on August 7th.

That's just not right.

I did get to blow the dust off the Harley this week--figuratively and literally.  It's been neglected.  I've already explained that my heart just wasn't in it way back in my April 18th post.  I still kind of feel that way.  Anyway, I rode it to work twice this week and it's apparent that it needs some work.  The starter is the main thing.  It's been acting up for a long time in one form or another.  I've suspected for some time that it's the culprit for the times that it just doesn't seem to want to turn over as well as it should instead of the battery.  The last several years have brought more and more times when it will "kick out" while it's turning over whenever the engine almost starts.  Now it's to the point where I have to keep clicking the start button over and over just to get it to hopefully engage.  It wants to just spin without engaging.  Like a lot of motorcycles, they're not easy to replace.  Also expensive.  I also had an episode with it gushing gas when I tried to start it because I left the fuel tank petcock on all day while at work.  That was a mess.  I've had the repair parts for that in my toolbox for a few years now but have procrastinated like I usually do.  You know how it is--It starts?  Ride it!  It did feel good to ride it both days I rode it this week though.

Yesterday was interesting.  We got to play dress-up.  It's time for the annual Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire, this time held on a sprawling farm in Bonney Lake.  Many of you may remember our wedding had a medieval theme to it.  Well, my parents surprised us with the level of their costumes for that event, and it occurred to me this last week that they might like to dress up and go with us to the Renaissance Faire this year.  I stopped by and invited them one day this week and they seemed okay with the idea.  Dad, of course, is never excited about anything, but mom seemed genuinely interested in going.  I told them how they had such awesome costumes that it would be a shame to not get out and wear them again.  Well, mom called yesterday morning as we were getting ready and said that dad wouldn't be going.  "He doesn't do well with walking very much and he's afraid he wouldn't be able to do it." she explained.  That opened up a seat in the car so we took Keith along.  He has some great stuff he puts together when he does a Renaissance event!  We invited Sarah to go too, but she opted instead to attend an art event in Auburn.

It was a great day for the Renaissance Faire.  Although I bitch (and so does everyone else) about our lack of August weather, that lack worked out well for us yesterday.  It was plenty warm but not hot.  It was probably about mid-70's and cloudy, so even the lack of sun was in our favor because it made for less eye-squinting at everything because it wasn't as brightly lit.  We did a lot of walking around of course, because that's essentially what you do.  You go to see and be seen.  It's full of pirates, knights, fairies, musicians, peasants, and all manner of dress.  There lots of activities to watch too.  You might find a group of pirates singing pub songs, someone playing bagpipes, cannons being shot, mock battles, and all sorts of things.  There are also lots of kid-safe things to take part in as well.  Mom was having a great time people-watching.  She said she got complimented twice by people for something she was wearing.  We sat and watched a horsemanship show put on by Cavallo Equestrian Arts.  They apparently do several shows, but the one we watched was called Ma'Ceo.  I didn't get as many pictures as I probably should have.  I was just getting into my groove as we were leaving I think.  This was the first year they had it at that location and it was much better than the previous one.  Sue and Keith both remember the place they used to have it several years ago--back before I ever went.  It had forested land and a babbling brook and all kinds of stuff.  Because they loved that location so much they can't help but compare all the others with it.  I have a different view.  To me they have went from good to better.

We dropped mom off and dad was sitting on his front porch where he was when we picked her up.  He has a tremendous amount of separation anxiety when she's away from him.  He gets all nervous and fidgety and acts mad that she was away for so long.  I guess that's understandable because he has depended on her to be with him every moment of every day.  For that very reason it was good--she needed to get away.