June 2009

The gift of good weather has made this last few weeks perfect as we’ve driven to Corvallis for end-of-the-year school activities, put in a garden, and moved on with the construction of a new room to our house. It even gave me a beautiful two days at the Chateau Lorane Fine Arts and Wine Festival on Memorial Day weekend.

The next week was still nice enough, my mother and I spent an afternoon in a beautiful park, complete with roses, in the older part of Vancouver. Very nice

To make that trip north even more special, I was able to make a brief visit to my older granddaughter and see her new apartment. Great for me because she’s so thrilled. It’s a cute apartment and a nice place to live, with a view of a backyard creek and a wonderful park across the street. She’s creating a good space for herself.

For the first year in a long time, that drive home took me by Schreiners Iris Gardens while they were in full bloom. Very hard to stay on the road with all the beautiful colors stretching across the fields. I think this must have been the ideal spring for Iris, as I walk by those in my neighborhood, they are exceptional. I don’t have nearly as many as I’d like but I’m sure I can’t afford to make one more nursery trip. I suppose I could make a run out to Thistledown Farm for fresh produce and take a little peek at what plants they have right now.

I could use a little inspiration as I begin to plan my own wind-down activities. We’ll make an end of the month trip to the coast to hear a concert at the end of band camp. The last

one at that camp as another grandson leaves it behind. We’ll also have the last AAUW meeting for the summer and a planning retreat before we break. This meeting is special for me, I’ll be the guest speaker.

Come join me Saturday, June 13 at 10:30 AM. The doors are open to everyone and guests are especially welcome. I’ll be talking about story telling, my own writing, my books and the adventures I have planned for the future.

The meeting will be in the gathering room of Westminster Presbyterian Church, located on the corner of Coburg Rd. And Harlow Rd. Parking is best in the parking lot on Harlow Rd. The meeting room is at the back of that parking lot.

Jo

My novels can be purchased from me in person, at The Book Mine in Cottage Grove, The Creswell Chronicle office in Creswell, Imagine Gallery in Eugene and The Thurston Book Exchange in Springfield. My books can also be purchased from me, ordered from my web site Jo-Brew.com.

To be notified when this newsletter is updated, send me an e-mail.