it is not summer here.
it is 52 degrees this afternoon.
that is awfully warm and balmy
compared to what the weather has been like.
oh yeah, and the sun doesn't like to shine here.
that may seem like a no-brainer,
being that we are off the coast of seattle,
however, there is something called a rain shadow
that Mt. Rainer is supposed to produce
that apparently shields the islands from
most of the gross, grey weather in seattle.
I think Mt. Rainer and it's rain shadow might be
on a vacation.

they probably went somewhere sunny.
i don't know, like, maybe, denver.

here are some other random facts:
* we are currently line-drying our clothes in the living room
and kitchen because it is too cold outside to dry them.
* we may need to build a fire to get this job done.
* craig & renee's apartment has a long hallway
* we know this because we went to seattle last weekend
* there is not a stop light on orcas island
* last year, the brakes on the ferry boat went out
and the captain was not able to stop the boat before it
crashed into the dock.
* nobody was hurt, but
nobody left the island with their car for 3 months
while the dock was being repaired.
* this story alone was enough to confirm that we are
not going to move to an island.
* the library smelled like incense today.
* there was a teenage boy playing the guitar
in the lobby of the library.
* there is a man on this island who drives
a red beat-up volvo wagon.
* he has a long red beard and slicks back his hair
* when he wears his black & white striped shirt
and his black leather vest,
he looks like a pirate.
* except on the days that he rides his weird bike
with an enormous front tire
* it is called a a Penny-Farthing.
* then he just looks like a guy with a long beard
on a really big bicycle.
* there is a community garden here.
* all three women who work at the coffee shop are sisters
* their mother died a few weeks ago
* she had been sick for a little while.
* one of the sisters is saving money to go visit her
grandchildren.
* the sister who owns the shop just had cataract surgery
* her daughter comes by and fills in sometimes when
they are short staffed.
* she has two little girls.
* they are playing soccer this summer.
* sometimes i wear my headphones but don't play music
* it is much easier to eavesdrop on people's
conversations that way.
* i have been eating gluten-free
* well, trying
* there is gluten in everything.
* after a little research, it turns out I probably have not
gone gluten free one single day!
* did you know that rice milk contains gluten?
* so do jr. mints
* modified food starch is a form of gluten
* jr. mints contain modified food starch
* i enjoyed some jr. mints last weekend at
craig and renee's house.
* natural flavoring can mean gluten
* the FDA requires that manufacturers list every
ingrediant found in the food
* it does not, however, require that manufactueres list
ingrediants found ON the food
* so a lot of foods are dusted with flour
before they are packaged
in order to prevent the pieces sticking together.
* it is a crazy world out there when a girl
can't figure out if she is eating gluten or not.
* looks like someone is going to be cooking
a lot more when she gets home!
* i did perfect a gluten free fruit crisp
and i am working on getting the
flourless chocolate cake recipe just right.
* the coffee shop doesn't have a bathroom
(or trash cans or accessible outlets for plugging in computers)
* herb and cara are doing well, enjoying each other and their
modified honeymoon
* after all, we all need second chances from time to time