You are what you drink

I had a rush of memories when I saw these Coke bins recently at Gere-A-Deli in Annacortes. I remember galvanized bins like this at outdoor events filled with bottles of soda – bottles, not cans, mind you – and never, ever enough ice to combat the heat.

I suspect nonfat milk was the leading edge of our dieting obsessions, or, more accurately, our fantasies. Trade out one or two foods for a lighter alternative and the pounds melt away. Wouldn’t it be nice?

A trip down memory lane

We recently visited the Gere-A-Deli in Annacortes and in addition to a delicious lunch they served up a big side of nostalgia. He peaked before I was old enough to follow him (really!) but Hopalong Cassidy was a huge cultural icon, first through books, then via movies in the 1930s and 1940s. By the early 1950s Hopalong was on television and became an early branding franchise as his image was the first produced on children’s lunchboxes and 100 companies eventually producing products with his image. (I do remember Butternut bread.)

I don’t remember either of these brands; the big size of the cans makes me wonder if they were for restaurant use. But around our house we often had tins from various purchases or gifts that had second lives holding collections of sewing bits, nuts and bolts, small toys and the like. Tomorrow we’ll head back to Gere-A-Deli for a couple more – uhm, am I really that old? – artifacts.

Pioneer Memorial Park

Pioneer Memorial Park is located on East Washington Street, along the main drag of Sequim. It’s a small park – 2.5 acres – but it offers a head-snapping view for anyone driving by in spring when it pops out in a riot of blossoms and dazzling spring color. It’s an unexpected wow after a long winter.

The park site was a cemetery at the turn of the last century and was closed in 1914. Human remains were moved and eventually the Sequim Prairie Garden Club took over the site which by then was neglected and overgrown. The club presently has a 99 year lease – until 2051. A small clubhouse at the park is available for rentals and is the site of the club’s popular spring plant sale.

Theme Day: Creative artisan

I chose the Sequim Daily Photo’s resident woodworker as the subject for today’s City Daily Photo theme day. My husband grew up in a home where artistry and self-sufficiency were a given. Need something? Make it. What he has done the most over the years has been woodworking, much of it commercial, and most of it cabinetry. And, like the proverbial shoemaker’s child, I’ve gone barefooted.

If you’ve followed SDP you will know that my husband recently completed constructing the hull of a 12-foot Scamp sailboat. And you may have wondered, “How’s that coming along?” In truth, it hasn’t gotten much further. There was this office – mine – that was just ever so slightly classier than the bricks and boards that kept my life off the floor in my earliest apartments. And though his was only slightly better my office envy resulted in an agreement that he’d complete a functional office for me either before his boat-building class or as soon as it was over. What you see above are the final stages, two ever-so-welcome drawer units. They match a functional work surface, and two open book shelves. I’d proudly post the finished product here except I’m still moving back in. At long last I’m no longer barefooted.

Click here to see other City Daily Photo interpretations of today’s theme.