"Across The Universe"

If you love great cinematography, choreography, and Beatle's music, then go out and snag a copy of Julie Taymor's visual take on the 60's; "Across The Universe". I never get tired of watching it. With guest stars Eddie Izzard, Bono, Joe Cocker, and a host of others, It truly recreates the "Magical Mystery Tour" that was the late 60's.

MARY J'S BIRTHDAY BASH.....

Happy Birthday Miss Mary, Long may your fabulousity light up our lives!

A Great party for a wonderful friend and lady! We'll just let the pictures tell the story!
About 120 people showed up, bringing wonderful appetizers and finger food. Joyce from Vita's created 3 amazing desserts: Fresh mango with sticky rice, a 12 inch high dark chocolate cake, and dark chocolate ice cream bon bons!



Just as those were running out Brooke brought in an amazing multi-layer white cake with fresh strawberries and a boiled icing.....(Honestly...when was the last time you saw a boiled icing??? 1965???? it was FAAABULOUS!)

And of course kids everywhere!

(here's Eva in deep conversation with Dick....notice the body language? um....Kira???? you are sooooo screwed!)



...And Josie, who despite being pretty wasted on baby Benedryl, had a great time!

BVM....Day Two

Well....she's a bit on the "fuzzy" side, but growing!

Mary Jenison is turning 60!!!

Thursday is Mary's not-such-a-surprise party at the Lopez
Community Center...
5:30 to 8:30 pm, appetizer/finger food potluck
(looks like there's a heavy Thai influence...what a surprise!)

GROW YOUR OWN B.V.M.

Now anyone who knows me really well, knows that I have a "thang" goin' on with Guadalupe/B.V.M. and have surrounded myself with icons and pictures of her throughout my life. So the opportunity to grow my own BVM in the privacy of my own kitchen, was just too good to pass up!

I decided to keep a photo log of her growth (should take about 10 days to reach full maturity)...

... so here she is, still in the package, and then napping on the bottom of a large Pyrex measuring cup. (Only the best for our Lady G.!)













Day 1......

In Memory of Peter Bennett....

Today we said goodbye to dear sweet Peter Bennett, longtime Lopezian, and one of the most gracious men I've ever had the pleasure to meet. He leaves behind, his adoring wife Glenys, his son Tim and his wife Betsy, two terrific teen aged grand kids, Ezra and Una, and a community that is heartbroken at his passing.

The memorial was held at Center church, which was of course, packed to the rafters, with people standing outside, and in the vestry due to lack of seating. The service was short, sweet, to the point, and exactly how P. would've loved it!

People got up and told wonderful stories, cried, and spent the afternoon filling our hearts with the memory of his loving kindness, hospitality, dry British wit, fabulous bonhomie, and hidden supply of arguably the best Scotch Whiskey on Lopez! Afterwards, everyone went outside to share shortbread and raise glasses of great Scotch in Memory!

It's hard to think that he will not be coming into the Caffe every day, helping Glenys to the point of distraction, when she would start waving her (one) arm while saying "OOHHH Petah!!!! Stawp Fusssss-ing!!!" Or shaming him into leaving a dollar in the tip jar instead of a dime! I miss him terribly, and will remember him for the rest of my life.

Goodbye Peter....we love you.

Tour De Lopez 2009

Well....once again we have survived another Tour De Lopez in fine fashion! 1007 cyclists showed up, the day was cold with sun breaks, with the sun finally coming out for good at about 3pm. We actually love the Tour; it makes for a great day of business, and honestly the folks who attend are lovely....very laid back and just wanting to have a good time! Not like the late summer cyclists whom we call "The Yellow jackets".
I ran over to White Bear's for lunch, she's serving these wonderful new wraps, and they're only $5.95. I had an Asian chicken wrap with peanut sauce, and it was DEEE-vine! Went back over to the Caffe, and hit the ground running, the line was out the door, and the cups were lined up in a row of 15, waiting for drinks. Mary came in for the morning shift, and Suzanne finished out the day. Thank GOD we had 2 people behind the counter!


Ron was also busy at PSR, but it was much more fits-and-starts, so he and Sadie had a fairly mellow day. And of course there always HAVE to be people who cannot read signs.............Forcing us to become the hard-assed Bike sign Nazi's to uphold the rules. (I mean
really....wouldn't you think that putting up a sign that BEGS you to move your bike would do the job???? Hell no.)

Here Comes.......

TOUR DE LOPEZ!

POWER OUTAGE.....

Last night the power was out for three hours, in five Northwest counties. here's what it looked like:
















We played Rummikub by candlelight....... (but you can't see us, 'cause the power was out!)

A Slow Thursday at the Caffe!

ON these "pre-season" slow weekdays, we have to really work hard to keep ourselves amused.....
....such as deciding to take pictures of ourselves taking pictures of ourselves....well you get the idea...however lame it may seem, it makes us laugh, and that's what counts!


I love this poster for the Lopez Farmer's Market. Of course it didn't win the poster competition, too edgy for staid ol' Lopez, but it should have!
It was created by Lopezian Matthew Rabel, and we have them for sale at the Caffe for $6.00 each, a steal if you ask me!

IT WAS A PERFECT DAY....

For big ol' cups of bittersweet hot chocolate, Cafe La Boheme style! (photo by Tracy Cottingham)

KIRA IS BACK...(and there's gonna' be trouble)

Yippee! Kira is back on the deck, so ya' better watch out! After recovering from her shoulder surgery, Kira had her first day of work at Holly B's. today. We set up an unofficial meeting of the "Tourist Trash Talk" Society with Kira, myself, and Odin from Bucky's so we could ALL get up to speed on the daily doings of "The Deck".And needless to say we are all committed to hear no evil, see no evil, and speak no evil, for the rest of the season! (yeah.....right.)

What a tough two weeks!

I've been pretty out of touch, we've lost two more long-time Lopezians. Last week, it was our beloved Peter Bennett a.k.a. "Petah". That was an unbelievable shock, and Glenys, his wife of 55 years is needless to say, absolutely devastated. I am so sad, Peter was one of the kindest funniest men I've ever had the pleasure to know. He was kind of like every one's favorite British uncle. His Passing has left a huge void in our community. His memorial is this Sunday, and I've been asked to speak....I just hope I can hold it together to be able to do so.

Then just two days ago, we heard that Sharon Blake had passed away. We have known her kids, Shawni and Johnny since they were small, and her partner Wallace, and we love them all. What a tragedy. She was very young.

More signs of spring on Lopez Island....The weather has been unpredictable, cold and cloudy one minute, and 20 minutes later the sun is out and it's 65 degrees. Go Know. The trees are finally starting to green up and that is a relief. Ron brought Sadie out for a walk over to the Cafe and she had a good long drink and promptly fell asleep on the deck.

LUNCH AT BUCKY'S

A really terrific Chicken Teriyaki burger with those amazing fries (yup......it IS the kosher salt!)

A MOODY MONDAY...

Today was one of those typical April days, where the weather was all over the map. Cold and a bit dreary, but with lots of sun breaks, and magnificent cloud formations. Also today was the anniversary of the death of Abraham Lincoln, so a few of us met down at the KLOI/Radio free Lopez studio. to enact a commemorative reading.















The reading is based on a piece currently being performed by Sam Waterston in honor of Lincoln's 200th birthday. Our director was Carol Steckler, one of the founders of KLOI, and she provided a partial script. The readers were myself, John Hammond, Rhea Miller, with Carol reading the narration. If you wish to hear this piece you can do so at: www.kloi.org , and look under the show on Monday called "Community Calender. Carol assures me that the full audio of the program will be posted soon!

Ty Returns!

Another great surprise today was the return of Ty Hirss, (a.k.a TyBo, TyKwanDo, and Ty one on!), Holly B. and Andre's oldest son. Now we know the party can REALLY begin! Ty spent the winter in Aspen teaching skiing with his 2 brothers, but comes back every summer to help in the Bakery.

Welcome home Ty, we've missed you, and are glad to see you back once again!

MORE SIGNS OF SPRING......

Woke up this morning to gray and dreary signs....and yet........everywhere are increasing signs of Springs arrival on Lopez Island. Right outside our front door is this planter featuring a curious porcelain figurine of a male ballet dancer we found at the dump. Surrounding him is a planting of Vinca, which today decided to burst out into bloom!
Jumped in the Rover to head into the Village, and Lo and Behold, the flamingoes have returned to the Island! For a few weeks they took up residence in front of Holly B's and Caffe La Boheme, but last night mysteriously migrated in front of Grace Church. Clearly a blatent attempt to muscle in on the whole Pascal Lamb, Easter Bunny thing.

Ron had left the house early this morning, so I ran into him walking Sadie, right in front of the field where the new Lopez Village Market will be built this spring/summer.


Pulled into the parking lot at the Caffe at about 9:30 or so, and another surprise! Claire and Will Dennis, two of my favorite people in the world, are here from California! Their parents have had a summer home on the island for over 20 years, so I have known both these fine young people since birth. Claire had three friends in tow, all part of the very first official "road trip" to Lopez without the parents! (remember those days???) Claire is off to Yale next year, and astonishingly, Will has shot up to about 6 feet tall, towering over both myself and his sister. I have been warning Claire to be nice to him for a few years now, 'cause one day soon he was going to be tall enough to kick her ass! Well, let me just say that this morning, butter wouldn't melt in her mouth....if you catch the drift!

Later on in the day, The DiBona Girls came to the deck to have their first almond butterhorn of the season, washed down with cider and chocolate milk. The pastries were almost as big as their heads, but both Ren (R.) and Kai (L.) managed to polish them off >>>









Lorrie Harrison and Julie Van Camp at the Caffe discussing Julie's upcoming book tour, for the release of her new Historical Memoir called "Searching For Ichabod". Lorrie has written a number of non-fiction pieces, most notably "Kindred Spirits" the profiles of 32 islanders that came out a few years back. I'll post more on Julie's wonderful new memoir as the release date approaches.

Just another Day at Caffe La Boheme....

Holly B. came over to say that she was cooking one of her famous Fritatta, the one she makes for her wonderful baking and sales staff. The recipe will follow, I promise.



Ava came in for a visit, she's our next door neighbor, and her Mom Kira is one of Holly B's longtime counter people. Eva is a kick-ass kinda' gal (I secretly call her "Queen of the
Effing Universe) and you can read more about this wonderful child (and her Julia Robert's look-alike mom) at Kira's blog: http://kirabell-acrazy-beautifullife.blogspot.com/.



After the usual morning 7 to 11 a.m. rush, things quieted down and I started eyeing the amaretti cookie tin with unguarded lust! I stayed strong and didn't give in however!

"CAUSE EVERYONE NEEDS A LITTLE GANESH NOW AND THEN...

"OVER THE RIVER..." Returns!

" Over The River And Through The Woods", the wonderful comedy by Joe DiPietro, is returning to the Lopez Center for one night only; April 18th 2009 at 7:30p.m.

We will be presenting this encore evening for the purpose of recording the play for KLOI, 102.9 FM Lopez Island. The evening will be a fundraiser for the radio station, so admission will be by donation only. Don't miss this final opportunity to be a part of this heartwarming and hysterically funny theatrical presentation!