It's "Leader Day"

I woke up to the most beautiful day. No foghorns this morning! A clear blue sky with brilliant sunlight enveloped PT, the nearby snow-capped mountain ranges and the blue, blue waters surrounding us. Brisk temperatures, but so stunning! Soon, the replacement card adapter will be here & I'll post a photo so you can see the "dreary winter weather of the Pacific Northwest" that I know you've all heard so much about.

I had lunch last week with my new next-door neighbor to-be, Nancy. As she picked me up, she handed me a copy of "The Leader", Port Townsend's weekly newspaper that comes out each Wednesday. She was introducing me to a custom here - spending part of your Wednesday reading about our town. The Dallas Morning News it isn't, but unlike the DMN, I find myself reading almost every article and really getting a sense of what's going on in this town. There's obviously healthy give and take in PT and many long Letters to the Editor to prove it. But they show that people deeply care about this small town, its people and its future.

Today's photo is of Mike & Jeff from Centerline Construction (that's Mike on the left & Jeff on the right in the photo). When I arrived, they were working on the basalt retaining wall. Apparently basalt is THE rock from the area quarries - blackish/dark gray. Jeff explained his method in creating the wall & assured me that I'd again have flowers - just that they would now be cascading down from the top of the rock wall. Maybe some buds even peeking out of the many small cracks between the rocks as well?

People have asked if I will have a "view". I always say "probably not", but when I walk to the mailbox at the street, I'll be able to see the water. And when I walk to Lawrence Street with its darling shops one block away, I'll be able to see the mountains. Mike asked me the question today and it was as if I was seeing the lot's potential for the first time. It actually looks quite promising! Mike climbed almost to the top of his Mack truck and reported that I'd be able to at least see the mountain range (which Pete later described as being nothing short of amazing in the early morning as daybreak's sunlight highlights the mountains and in the evening too as the lights come on in the homes on Whidbey Island, shimmering in the distance) and Mike thought I'd be able to see slivers of the water (all from the second story) as well. The lot is in such an ideal location that even if it doesn't come to pass, I'll be thrilled but it's just one more exciting possibility...