We are back in our lovely little apartment in Hanoi.

Autumn is racing in, dragging the temperatures down to 85-90 degrees F.  We’ve adjusted our days so that we rise early, return home by 1:00 pm, siesta (play music, study Vietnamese, obsess about climate change, try not to succumb to the US political mania), then back out after 6:00pm to scour the city for food and drink, soaking it all in as we go.

We want to share a little about our summer on Lopez Island.  This count-down is as close to an annual Christmas letter as we’ll ever get.

 

#5  Upon returning to the US, Beth visited Whistler Mountain in the Canadian Rockies for a week with Kathi.  This beautiful distraction was the ideal immersion back into western civilization.  Fresh air, blue skies and endless people-watching.  A remarkable contrast to Hanoi.

 

#4  The future is bright in our single-wide because we

• can now wash laundry  (dug a dry-well and carted up a billion rocks from the beach to fill it)
• repaired the washing machine by taming the agitator dogs and motor coupling (thanks, youtube)
• re-caulked, re-hinged, repaired, painted, planted and toiled
• finally moved mini-moby (after 30+ years)

          

• continued the repairs (thanks, Alex) after a march windstorm deposited a tree on Moby
• now have free firewood (thanks, windstorm)

     

 

#3  We started building something.  It’s going to be a 16′ x 20′ shared studio.

Had gigantic stumps removed, hand-dug trenches for underground utility lines and holes for 12 pier blocks.  Materials arrived.  Hard to imagine this orderly load of lumber can become our shop.

             

 

Dug.  Swore.  Leveled.  Tamped.  Leveled.  Untamped.  Shoveled.  Leveled.

       

 

Lured friends over to help when possible.  Labor day.  Heh heh.

   

 

Later there will be two windows in the east side and two windows in the west side.

 

South facing front will also have two windows.  Scored two fire-proof dutch doors from a neighboring job site for free.

 

It’s starting to look like a saloon.  Slanted shed roof.  Ideal for collecting water.

 

 

Battened down for the winter, awaiting plywood sheathing and a new metal roof.

 

#2  Family and friends came to visit.

We ate from the local bounty, and played music as often as possible.  Lopez has a lively music scene.

     

 

#1  Annie, the reason we came back early.

She died August 8, the day before her 11th birthday.  She taught us a lot over the summer.  Slow down, take long walks, don’t hurry.  Do what you want.  Don’t do what you don’t want to do.  Listen to the birds.  Relax when the opportunity appears.  Play music.  Sing.  Stretch out on the couch.

 

Thank you all so much for the visits and help over the summer.

Now think about a visit to Vietnam!