The Wind beneath my wings.....Bette Mittler

Sunday, a rough start, but by noon, things had settled down with Bob. Then  the wind kicked up. They predicted gusts up to 60 mph.  We spent a good part of the day watching golf on TV and watching a very good Windsurfer sailing upwind and downwind, in front of our condo jumping waves and getting 5-6 feet  of air.  Still, in spite of the rain and wind joggers, walkers, bikers and dog walkers parade on the sidewalk in front of our condo. 

The son of a son of a sailor.......Jimmy Buffet

What a concert! But, this is about Bob, not Jimmy; although there are a lot of similarities. Bob built his first boat at 13 yrs of age. It was a 14 ft. mini-racer (a small hydro). Consequently several of his neighbors, old and young, built one after seeing his. They would get together and race their boats off of Three Tree Point or off the beach at Vashon.  Bob's boats just got bigger and bigger from then on. He became one of the Charter Members of Three Tree Point Yacht Club.  I think he only decided to  'blind date" me because he heard that I was a board administrator at the Seattle Sailing Foundation.  I had a small sailboat, had taken lessons, but was no big sailing woman.  Our first date was a meet at his Boat, a 42 foot Chris Craft, for champagne with strawberries in the glass then onto Anthony's Homeport for Oyster Shooters.  I learned later that this was his Motive  Operandi. Bob and I did sail together for some races and when he went to Swiftsure with his friend, Bob Wilson, as crew they even came in first. I was just an observer.   Our honeymoon was in the South Sound on Sea Cloud (the chris craft)  three days, then home to pick up the kids and go to Sun Lakes for a family honeymoon. We became the" blended family."  We had the ups and downs of blended families, of any family, but we powered through it.  Still to this day we say "In spite of us, Our Kids turned out great!"  I always felt safe with Captain Bob....except for once! Next blog.

"When you're down, and troubled and you need a helping hand..You've got a friend." James Taylor

Friends...we've made a lot of good friends.  Friends from childhood, from work, from neighborhoods we have lived in, friends from the Northwest, Eastern Washington , the Southwest.  We have been fortunate for that. But this is a TRIBUTE to our friends, Dean and Mad.  28+ years ago at a class reunion Dean and I discovered that we shared the same birthday. Since Bob and I and Dean and Mad are always looking for a reason to celebrate, from that time on, we decided to Celebrate that day together as couples.  I didn't go to school or even know Madeline until then, but I knew she was someone I wanted in my life. We began with dinners on our birthday at restaurants in Seattle then led to trips  down the coast to Oregon, Crescent Bar, California, into the Wine Country, where Dean was always saying "Life is Hell without Zinfadel,"  to Tucson, Mexico, Hawaii, Palm Desert and even Europe. Now, on the biggest trip of our life, Dean and Mad have joined us to help us travel through it.  They are the best!  They come to visit as often as they can bearing gifts of love, support, help and of course,  food.
We all love to cook and eat!  We have prepared many a good meal, together.  I remember helping them prepare for a dinner party that they were hosting, after I had visited my sister when she was sick, and crying while I peeled carrots for them.  We have been together for the good and the bad.
Madeline and I laughing in a restroom of a restaurant  in Palm Springs.  She was in a wheel chair for a broken tendon or something in her foot, and I was having trouble maneuvering it into such a small area.  We got to laughing so hard we sort of wet our pants.  We had to stay in the restroom to use the hand dryer to dry our pants before returning to the table.  On that same trip, Madeline, always the trooper, couldn't golf so we propped her up in a lounge chair in the yard while we went golfing.  Apparently, we propped her up over the sprinkler head which went off before we got back from golfing. oops!  So, many laughs and many tears, together. Thanks, Dean and Mad! 

gotta love those kids!

Last week Sue and Nate came bringing clams and oysters for dinner.  This weekend Ryan and Jaime came loaded with chorizo sausage and clams.  Each weekend, I was able to go grocery shopping and pharmacy without feeling rushed.  Thanks, kids.  Bob really enjoys hanging with our kids, talking about old times and their current life activities.  In a couple of weeks, Anne is coming from Virginia to hang out for the weekend. 

 

    Jaime in my ski gear.

 

Jaime said  she didn't have all the gear for going up on the Mountain so I had her try on my ski suit from 1996.  Although it was probably 8 sizes too large for her, it would keep her warm.  The last ski lift tickets still hanging on it were from Timberline Lodge February,  1996 winter break! Those were better than good times!

Don't cry over spilt milk and dinosaurs!

Bob invited Ryan and I  to dinner.  He had cooked, set the table and we all sat down together.  Sue encouraged Ryan, then 4 1/2 yrs old to tell a story which he did about dinosaurs.  Then, Bob dished us all up with his dinner and poured milk for the kids.  When he returned to the table he immediately knocked over Ryan's glass of milk and said "There, that gets that over with."  The kids' eyes were so wide open in shock and then we all laughed.  He just wanted us to all feel comfortable. 

Bob and the VP

So, our plane is delayed out of Palm Springs. As most of you might know, wherever we would go, Bob would run into someone he knew. In our early years of boating, we would come into a dock, it might be  Friday Harbor or it might be Gig Harbor but there would be someone (often a woman) waving to us as we dock. Still, today, it happens but not on a dock.  Anyway, we are in the bar at the Palm Springs airport and because there are so many people there waiting for the plane to arrive or get fixed or for whatever reason the flight is delayed......there is only one vacant seat in the bar and it has a briefcase on it.  Bob goes up to the man next to the briefcase and asks him if his wife could sit there. When Bob sees his face he says "I know you. Linda, come here  we know him" and I think, "It is someone from the Yacht Club or neighborhood." Bob is saying to me, "Linda, we know him", and I say "Of course, you are the Vice President" and shakes my hand. He says, "Hello, I am Al Gore."  Then, I say, "No you are not, you are Dan Quale" He laughed, then left and gave Bob and I his two seats.  Even, to this day, although the trips out of the house are only to Virginia Mason, we are constantly running into people that have a link to Bob.

It's still all about BOB!

How many of us has said this over the years?  And that is because it has been all about Bob .  Bob has been the center of our Universe! When I first started dating Bob the trait that appealed to me most (besides the twinkle in his eyes and his mischievous smile) was his tenacity.  I knew this was a guy who would let nothing get in the way of his goals.  Little did I know that his tenacity would be used against me.  I remember backing out of the garage, in the Jaguar that he bought for me, with my car door open trying to get away from him as he was persuading me to do something I wasn't sure of and springing the hinge as it struck the side of the garage door frame.  Yep, tenacity!

 I think of Bob as my Lifeguard: he  me saved me and Ryan at a time when we were faced with single parent statistics. He gave us a real family,love, gave us adventure, advantage, and a fun-filled life and for that I am truly grateful!

Alki.......1964 Elvis slept here

It's another Tequila Sunrise......without the Tequila!  We are so happy that  we made the choice to move to Alki.  It is such a great place to hang.  If you have to hang, where better?  Sunsets are beautiful, storms are so there, waves splashing on the bulkheads across the street.  I love it!  The only downside is the salt spray that ends up on my windows.  This morning on my walk I watched a Bald Eagle perched out on a rock in the water waiting patiently for his breakfast to swim by.  There are always people jogging, walking, walking their dog or dogs or CATs in strollers.  Oh, the house across the street has the claim to fame that during the World's Fair in Seattle, Elvis rented the house.

Same stuff...different day!

Bandito pretty much sums it up.......we are just hanging out at the condo.  Even Bandito has decided to give in to it and just find a comfy place to just. Fritz, does he really look threatening?  What happened to his eyes? 

NYE Wedding....WOW!

OK so this sight has changed and I may not be doing it right....This New Years Eve was a Milestone Moment because Ryan and Jaime got married.  Gwynnie celebrated her 11th birthday at the same time.  What a fun NYE, the best ever.  The only thing that could have made the night better would have been if Bob could have been there.  My good friend, Madeline, was my date and we were escorted by my brother, Jeff and his wife Theresa.