WITH FRIENDS & FAMILY

Lorelie & I didn’t meet Stan on  the deck of a sail boat. We met Mary & Stan  in Beaver Valley, located on the eastern slopes of the Cascades where each of us owned a vacation cabin.  Didn’t take long before we discovered each had a history with sailboats and had experienced sailing adventures that filled hours of conversation. Was it written in the stars that eventually Stan and I would find ourselves hoisting the sails on Freyja for a “ONCE IN A LIFETIME SAIL”?

Social activities, short trips to Ponderosa, celebrations with family, and several musical experiences filled Lorelie’s & Tim’s lives with memorable experiences! The spring’s three months flew by and included  time for watching the birds winging north for the summer. 

Ken’s birthday is March 11 and every year the NESTER includes a post reminding us all of the significance of Ken’s life to our lives.  Last year, Jerry & Keith contributed a post that chronicled a family cruise on the Christian in 1994. In prior years, Nancy shared a post highlighting her years with Ken on the CHRISTIAN.  Last year, The NESTER published Ken’s poem CALL ME ADVENA KEN.

In Jerry’s humorous post this year we don’t meet the Ken writing poetry, theology and skippering the CHRISTIAN in Southeastern Alaska waters.  We find Ken in his early twenties fishing for salmon off Cape Addington on his 33 foot troller, Lady Fay, with a seasick teenager for crew.  You will enjoy every sentence! You will find yourself telling others  . . . “Don’t miss this post!”

After the holiday events are over, January arrives with its cold weather, icy streets and sidewalks. We are ready for a “quiet” time snuggled close to the fireplace with a shawl keeping us warm. A perfect time to reflect on our joyful memories!
We invite you to share these highlights of ours and remember your own as we begin the new year.

These winter days are heavy with thick grey clouds, squalls and chilly temperatures. How cozy it would be to have a cat in my lap at this time of year, especially when I can’t sleep and stretch out on a couch in the living room. I pull out Lorelie’s scrapbook featuring cats, dogs rabbits and horses. As I turn the pages of the scrapbook, numerous pictures focus on our animal friends interacting with our human friends. Before returning to bed I have an idea about creating a post about “SOCIAL CATS.” I invite you to enjoy the results!

During the Christmas season, I’m not sure which is more ubiquitous: “What did you get for Christmas?”or “What did you give for Christmas?” Now, those of us who are into poo-pooing the commercialization of Christmas are apt to downplay the first and take note of the latter. Most of us have anxieties about either how little or how much we have spent on others and generally soothe ourselves that having a “Merry Christmas” is dependent on our generous attitude rather than whatever we gave or got for Christmas. This post is a different take on the significance of the presents we received when we were children. You are invited to dip into your memory and think about those early presents.

We left home shortly before 6:00PM for a family birthday party at the new harbor side restaurant, FISHERMAN JACK’S. Karl, Michelle, and Tanner joined us for a festive and elegant dining experience! the drinks and Chinese food were delicious, the tableware was elegant, and the decor was visually stunning!

Lorelie and I together with our many contributors welcome you to our first post notification in well over 4 months.  The current posts follow Lorelie’s July post, CELEBRATING SUMMER to  Lorelie’s  REMEMBERING SUMMER, to Lee’s SUMMER SAMPLER.

We did not plan this summer snooze. I’m an “oldie” 84 and just like our 85  “oldie” sail boat needing to be lifted out of the water twice this past summer. Freyja needed to have some leaks repaired and I required maintenance for two consecutive health issues that put the NESTER to sleep for many weeks. 

So, here we are in November with posts for me to boot up the computer, open the Word Press program, and offer delightful photographs taken by several talented and skilled photographers for you to enjoy and, perhaps, reflect on the good times from a summer filled with sunshine, daisies and blue skies.  Tim

Do join Lorelie and celebrate with her this perfect summer weather! Enjoy Lee’s patriotic photo themes and the examples of outdoor activities highlighted on cameras of all the contributing photographers reminding us of the wonders of summer!

Adventures in Alaska are often featured in the NESTER. Several of the Olson family have worked there, lived there, vacationed there or cruised the waters of Southeastern Alaska. Jerry and Keith share their memories of a “once in a lifetime cruise” on the MV Christian skippered by Jerry’s brother Ken. Read it and enjoy the trip!