Today, we lost another loved member of the family. Brother-in-law Pete DeSanto passed away unexpectedly from an apparent heart attack. He will be greatly missed, and our love goes out to Katie, Peter, Carrie and their families.
Beach trip
We just finished a great trip to Long Beach (WA) with Janie, Leslie and our 3 granddaughters, Sarah, Emma and Kathryn. You can look at the photos here. We arrived in the late afternoon and unloaded the car at our beautiful house, and then went to the beach to get sand in our toes and play in a tide pool. Later, we had pizza, the girls all hit the hot tub and we played a game.
The next day, we went shopping for new kites for the girls, and visited the North Head Light, which was open for tours. The weather was actually too windy to fly kites, so we postponed that activity. Instead, we barbecued steaks and the girls hit the hot tub again. (I had forgotten my swimsuit.) Leslie came after work and arrived about 11 PM.
T
he weather was beautiful on Friday, so we flew kites early before it became too windy. Then we headed for town and played laser tag, had ice cream cones and the kids (including Leslie) went go-carting. Another evening of games together.
Saturday, Kathryn and I went on a photo-shooting trip to practice with our new cameras–mine acquired recently in anticipation of our travels, and I was able to hand my previous camera down to Kathryn, who is very interested in photography. Among other destinations, we took a little hike to the National Wildlife Refuge at the north end of the peninsula, where we encountered the most mosquitoes either of had ever seen! 
(Kathryn is originally from Minnesota, and she reported that they have plenty of them there.) For about 3/4 of a mile through the woods we were covered with mosquitoes, but surprisingly, we didn’t really get bitten. After the photo trip, we met the rest of the family for a highly-competitive game of miniature golf before heading back to the house. On our last night we went out to dinner at Nanci & Jimela’s Market Cafe, the owners of the previously world-famous Ark Restaurant.
We had to get Kathryn and Emma back early so the 2 girls and I left early Sunday, while Janie, Leslie and Sarah got to sleep in to a reasonable hour and then cleaned up and packed up for a later trip home.
Bread
Thanks to brother Jerry for giving me encouragement and guidance in trying my hand at baking bread. It may not have come out as good as his excellent stuff,even my first loaf was really good, and I have made it a regular habit since first trying it in April. Jerry has been bringing bread to our annual “Brothers Four” gathering for years. We have always loved it, and he kept telling us it was really easy. Well, it is! After retirement, he sent me instructions for the basic recipe, and then I got a book and some basic equipment. I now have the confidence to try variations, and the best part of it is that I can whip up a 4-loaf batch of dough in about 10 min., and then prepare a loaf to back with about 5 min. of hands-on work. (The rest is waiting for the oven to heat up and for the bread to bake.)
If you want to try it, here is where to start: Bread Making
Graduation
Today, I had the thrill and the privilege to attend the graduation ceremony of a woman who I first met in my courtroom. She had truly hit bottom, was in jail and had her child removed. Five years later, she is parenting her daughter, she has received her bachelor’s degree and is applying to graduate school. She graduated with honors with one of the highest GPA’s in her class. What a thrill, and one more example of why we can never give up on people! Although successes like hers may not be frequent, I saw it happen more than once, and it easily sustained me while doing child abuse and neglect court.
San Francisco
We traveled to San Francisco to visit Jess from May 26 to June 3 and had a great time! Click on the photo below to see the whole album:
Amazingly, this was the first time we actually spent any quality time in SF itself. We have visited friends and relatives in the area, and during those times, we’ve made day trips to SF, but we’ve never had an extended stay or stayed in the city overnight. For this trip we stayed in an AirBnB rental, about 3 blocks from Jess. (He lives in a studio apartment 3 flights up with no elevator, so we got separate lodgings.)
A partial list of things we did while in SF included:
- A city tour
- Alcatraz
- Dinner at some amazing restaurants
- A dinner party at private home (through AirBnB)
- A play
- A drag show at the Starlight Room
- Driving to Monterey and dinner on the pier
This was our first experience with AirBnB and the setup worked out great! It was comfortable for us, convenient to get together with Jess and it allowed him to do his regular routines without entertaining us 24/7. We were able to spend a lot of time with him, but we were able to do things independently, too. We plan to make trips to SF a regular thing.
UW Opera
Last night I went to the UW opera performance of Handel’s Semele with Leslie. It was wonderful! I don’t believe this baroque opera is performed often although the Seattle Opera is also doing it next year. It should be interesting to compare them. The singer who performed the dual role of Ino and Juno was particularly good!
The Light Bulb Finally Came On
I have had a light out in my track light system in the kitchen for months. This was the same fixture I had repaired once before because it had a short, so I assumed that the fixture was acting up again. I did not take the time to take it down and troubleshoot it, although it was on my retirement project list. The other day, we had an electrician come to the house for another project. He jiggled the bulb and it came on. Months of no light solved by a loose bulb (we thought)! Almost as soon as he left, the light stopped working again. I jiggled it and it came on again. I finally realized that the filament in the bulb was broken and it worked when we jiggled it because sometimes if the broken ends touched each other. Problem solved! Months of no light solved by replacing the bulb!
Don’t assume problems are more complicated than they are. Sometimes the solutions are simple.
My Nap Quilt
Spring Training
One of the things I have really enjoyed being able to do since retirement is go to Spring Training. I went to Phoenix and visited cousin Bill Donovan and his wife Sue. Sue was working for the first couple of days, so we saw very little of her, but both she and Bill were gracious hosts to me and to my brother, Ed and sister-in-law, Janet. We also enjoyed getting to know their dogs! I was able to go to two games. I also went to a wedding with Bill right after he picked me up from the airport, and then to a really good St. Patrick’s Day party. Ed and Janet stayed longer and went to one or two more games. It was nice being in the warm weather and watching baseball!
Helping Leslie Move
I was in Fremont (CA) from 2/13-19 to help Leslie move back to Washington. She has decided it’s time (especially considering her landlord’s notice of a 20% increase in rent). Having just retired, I flew down, helped her pack and we did a 3-day road trip with a U-Haul to move her stuff back to Washington. She will be living with us for the time being.
While in California, I got to see Jess a couple of times, and we went to dinner at Leslie’s boss’. Dr. J’s wife, Sunita, is a wonderful cook, and we enjoyed the Indian food immensely.
The trip home went smoothly, with no snow in the mountains, although we did hit some heavy rains in Oregon.
Buel Sever 10/21/1918-2/4/2014
The Big ‘R’
On January 31, I retired. I had been counting the days for months. (Sarah made me a paper chain with the number of work days to retirement, and I took one link off each day.)
Although I had the privilege of engaging in a meaningful career, both as a deputy prosecutor and as a court commissioner, the demands of the latter job, combined with a 2 to 2-1/2 hour round trip commute and several hours of at-home preparation each night wore me down! I was ready, especially after the loss of Jason and Uncle Bob, and the knowledge of several colleagues who battled cancer, I want to ensure that I will have time to “play.” I want to spend time with Janie, my kids and my grandchildren. We plan to do some traveling, including a trip to the Bay area to help Leslie move back, to Phoenix for Spring Training, a trip to SF to visit Jess, and a trip to Sweden this summer. I also want to do some road trips when time permits.
I also want to do some woodworking and photography. My shop will be going away since Katie will be moving to a new house, so eventually, I will figure out where to relocate it. I might try to set up a sharing arrangement.
I do plan to do some legal work as well. I can serve as a substitute commissioner, without the day-in and day-out pressure. I also expect to do some volunteer work, especially centered around child welfare.
Adoption
On August 15, 2013, we formalized our relationship with our son, Jess Williams (b. 8/12/1975). Jess has been a long-time member of our family, since he came to live with us for a time in high school, and then again later. We finally talked to him about making it official, and he accepted. (For those of you who get our Christmas letter, you may have wondered why he was always mentioned. He has lived in California for many years, and now lives in San Francisco.)
The adoption was officiated by my friend Judge Lori Kay Smith, and was attended by many of my friends from court, as well as by Jess’ natural sister, Sandy. Leslie participated by conference call because she was unable to attend from California in person.
Bob Donovan 2/19/33 – 7/11/13
My uncle, Bob Donovan, left us today after years of struggle with Alzheimer’s. After the death of my father in 1985, Bob was sort of the patriarch of the family. Since he was only 15 years older than me, he could have almost been an older brother, and he was my good friend and a faithful balloon crew member. We used to enjoy traveling together, including Yellowstone, the Oregon coast and Eastern Washington. I worked for him as a teenager, and he was the only one to ever fire me! (I was soon reinstated.) He was a kind, funny and generous man.
Marriage
Our daughter-in-law Katie met someone last year with whom she felt a connection and a relationship blossomed. She married Jeff Goldsmith, a State Police officer from Minnesota, on February 17,2013. We were happy to get to know Jeff and are pleased for Katie that she has been able to start a new relationship.
Jeff has a daughter, Kathryn, 16, a charming young lady. Jeff, Katie and their girls traveled to Hawaii for the wedding. Jeff was retiring from the police department, and planned to move to Washington, but they wanted to allow Kathryn to finish her school year. It was a long-distance marriage until June, when Jeff and Kathryn moved here.
Sue Gallaher, 11/28/56 – 1/30/13
Luana Sever 6/30/1918-6/5/2012
We lost this very special lady on June 5. She was a mentor to many–especially me. I am sure she mentored many people in the fabric arts, and she mentored me and many others in ballooning. Luana created a balloon repair station in Tacoma. She designed her own balloon, and then as the fabric became worn, she redesigned it with a beautiful Heron design. I was privileged to be able to take over that balloon when she retired from ballooning. I won’t go into a full description of her life here, but she was one of the most influential women in my life (and there are many). Luana mentored me not only in how to fly a balloon and how to do it safely, but she also mentored me in how to be a good person with an even disposition, that has served me well for the the rest of my life.
Ireland Again
Back from a great trip to Ireland with Janie and daughter Leslie. Lots of old ruined churches, interesting scenery, a couple of castles and a wonderful trip to the Aran Island of Innishmor. Pictures and stories to follow.
I managed to stay awake for almost the full flight back, so after about 24 hours of nearly no sleep, I went to bed at my normal time and managed to sleep until 6 am.
Hope Chest Completed
Check out the Workshop Projects section for a pictorial progress report of the building of Leslie’s hope chest. It either took 6 months or 20 years, depending when you start counting. But it is done! My first major woodworking project in the shop.
Final Touches to the Shop
Cooking Class
Katie Painted the Workshop
I got home from vacation on July 27 and discovered that Katie had painted the trim on the shop. The shop looks sharp! (The picture is on the Workshop page.) By the way, the shop is now in use for a wood working project to build Leslie a hope chest. It turns out however that the “hope” is that I hope I can pull it off!
Reconnecting
A gift from my sweetie
Jason Patrick Gallaher 11/3/1970-1/19/2011
After 10 years of living with liver disease, our beloved son Jason lost his battle for life, leaving his wife and two daughters. The final month was one of great ups and downs, at times with hope and at other times with fear and despair. When it was over, it felt like someone had reached into my chest with a burning hand and ripped out my heart. While we were very thankful for the love and support of our friends, those of you who said “I can’t imagine what it would be like to lose a child.” were right. Neither could I until it happened. We will miss him every day.
More Workshop Progress!
We slowed down some on our progress because of my travels and waiting for the right weather to paint, but last weekend we got the weather we needed and got the shop painted inside and out. Looks pretty good if I do say so myself, although we still need to paint the outside trim. I’ve added another 1/2 dozen photos showing our progress. Jason, Katie, Emma and Sarah got me a sign for my birthday, shown in the last photo.
Next step–literally–is to build a step for the small door and then work on the workbench and pegboard so that we can start putting stuff away.