Playing With Dolls

Mary Chittenden Catches a Big One on the Elwha River

This photo of Mary Chittenden hangs in Ted’s office.    It was taken on a fishing trip on the Elwha River, probably in the 1920s.  Mary was the daughter of Hiram M. Chittenden, engineer for the Army Corp of Engineers, for whom the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks were named.  Also known as the Ballard Locks, they make possible the passage of ships between Lake Washington and Puget Sound.

This photo of Mary is special to us because of being taken on the Elwha River, can you imagine fishing in this clothing?

I belong to an internet group of mostly women, who appreciate and collect dolls of Wendy Lawton.  If you follow my blog this name will be familiar to you.  At the beginning of the year a theme for the year is given, with a more specific theme for each month.   Members then post photos of dolls to fit the theme.  This is called “Adults Playing with Dolls.”   The overall theme this year is “favorite memories” and for June the specific theme is Favorite Summertime Memories.  Creating scenes to represent memories has sometimes been challenging.

I have wonderful childhood memories of fishing.  We grew up on a lake and I would get up early, dig some worms and spend the day on a little raft fishing.   There were other fishing trips too. I remember salmon fishing with Dad and Grandpa in Puget Sound and once (for me) at West Port on the ocean.  In the fall I would go with my grandparents to the Skagit River and we fished from the riverbank.   During the summer we went to Lake Chelan and I fished from the dock there.    Most of my family didn’t like to eat fish but I loved it!

So, I wanted to create a photo with a fishing theme, but, most of my dolls are rather elegantly dressed, which got me to thinking of Mary Chittenden and wondering if I could recreate the scene of her fishing at the Elwha.    This is my entry for this month.

Mary Chittenden, played by Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, catches a big one the Elwha River, about 1920

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Pow Wow

A paintbox of colors

Raven’s 12th  birthday was last week and since we had a hotel coupon that was about to expire, we decided to celebrate by staying at at the  BEST WESTERN PLUS Peppertree Auburn Inn in Auburn, which has a nice pool.  We planned to find some special activities in that area. We spent Saturday at Wild Waves, then checked in. In the hotel lobby we noticed folks in elaborate Native costumes and learned that there was to be a Pow Wow that night hosted by the Muckleshoot Nation.
We found our way to the Pow Wow grounds and walked toward the tents as folks were gathering for the Grand Entry where flags are presented and hundreds of dancers participate.

Woman Dancers

Like wings–

More woman dancers

This is the 10th annual Pow Wow held to honor Veterans. Dancers and drummers from tribes across the country were represented but most were from Eastern Washington and Idaho. Over 500 dancers were registered and dancing continued into until 1:30 AM, we were told, though we didn’t stay that long. There were dance competitions and some large cash prizes.

Big sister waits for her turn to participate

The regalia was colorful and elaborate. There was a great variety of fabrics decorated with beading, feathers, buttons, bells, teeth, streamers and ribbons.

Detailed decoration

Beaded bag and feather fan

Our kids participate with the Salish Canoe tribes whose regalia is primarily black, red and white so this was very different.

Detail from the back

Male Dancer

The music was different also, higher in pitch, it seemed to be sung more randomly rather than as a chorus.  Drumming is done on a large circular drum, three feet or so in diameter. Several drummers seat themselves around the drum and play together.

We got a little of the excitement on video.

Drummers seated around one large drum

We felt lucky to have “stumbled” on this event, it gave us a chance to observe Native traditions that are very different from those we have experienced from “canoe” tribes.

View from our hotel room, majestic Mt. Rainier

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The Beach

The sand is warm

Our family has a beach house which is about a three hour drive from our home. It is a large old house requiring lots of maintenance and often there  we get busy doing projects, which we enjoy. But the weekends slip by before we have had time to spend on the beach. Yesterday, one of the nicest we have had this year, we were eager to get to the beach before it was too late.

From our house, a thin band of water is barely visible.

On the trail to the beach

Though our house is considered “waterfront” there is a fourth of a mile of dunes that separates the house from the beach. It is a nice walk and there is always a little anticipation as we approach. The tide was in and there was no one in sight. The waves were crashing and the sun was shining, perfect!

Almost there

Sand and water!

Raven used the opportunity to practice hand stands.

Raven practices hand stands

He gets a little help from Dad

Perfect!

Seneca found a little shelter built by previous visitors, these structures come and go as and I am sure in the future our kids will be building them.

Seneca finds a shelter in the dunes

Time for a brief snooze on the warm sand

Hunting for shells, plants and interesting things the tide has deposited is another favorite activity. No Tsunami debris today. Lots of birds though, especially the graceful seagulls, hoping we will unearth something they would like to eat.

A limpet

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Dungeness crab shell, too bad it didn’t end up in a salad

 

Don’t let it pinch you!

Flowers in the dunes

Beach Grass

Wild Strawberries

Fungus

We have a photo of Raven climbing a cocoanut tree in Fiji, and he wanted to try the same technique on a log embedded in the sand. But he couldn’t make it.

Raven climbs a coconut tree in Fiji. No palm trees on this beach!

This is harder

 

This is “recreating” at its best and we all face the last week of school with renewed energy.

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Our Youngest Daughter

Yesterday was the finish of the Kid’s Marathon.  For the past month or so Seneca has run the track every recess at school, logging in 25 miles of running.

Nearly 400 youngsters from throughout the county, and as far away as Bellevue, gathered at City Pier to run the final 1.2 miles to make a complete “marathon.”

Seneca eased herself to the front before the starting gun went off, and she ran hard.  She was way ahead of the large grouping of kids as she crossed the finish line which is why you can’t see many runners in the photos.  Each runner received a shirt, a participation metal and a popsicle.

Then the  spring program with a Hawaiian theme was held at her school.  Mom’s were asked to come early to help their daughters with their flowers, lip stick and so on, but Seneca wanted to do it all herself.  She had practiced faithfully and you can see on the YouTube clip that the girls did a very nice job.  The best part was getting to go back to class barefoot!

Be sure to click on the YouTube link, Ted, the video guy, and Seneca both did great.

To top it all off we were invited to a party by friends who were celebrating the legal adoption of their daughter, the weather cooperated and we had a wonderful time.

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