This is the story of our Scotch Broom Parade.

It is as ridiculous as you can imagine, because there is very little fanfare behind this very impromptu, eclectic, ironic parade celebrating an invasive plant found all around the island.

Scotch Broom is a beautiful yellow flower that grows on large bushes, and are pivotal in protecting erosion.  In the beginning of the 20th century, the island’s forests were clear cut, to harvest timber for ship making.  Suddenly, there was empty land being pounded by the PNW rains, and slowly being stripped away.  The community came together and replanted indigenous trees to repopulate the forests, and used Scotch Broom to keep the soil together.  They are very hardy plants, and they thrive wherever they go.  Hence, they are also rather invasive; which, at one point was an advantage.  But a hundred years later, not so much.

“The essence of the Bainbridge Island Scotch Broom Parade is its capricious nature, unlike “real”      parades and unlike the plant, which blooms true every May with bright and enticing yellow flowers  that make this aggressive invasive species hard to hate. 

Also known as Scot’s Broom, this flowering  shrub was originally introduced from Europe for its ornamental and erosion-resistant qualities.  Unfortunately for the Pacific Northwest, it reduces wildlife habitat, bullying out ecologically  sustaining native vegetation.”

So why hold a parade in its name? According to Island historian Gerald Elfendahl, the event’s original conception, carried on today, was an ironic joke. In the early 1960s Bainbridge’s Strawberry Festival was petering out, and its annual Grand Old Fourth parade hadn’t yet begun. When Island architect John Rudolph stopped in one day to visit a friend at the Chamber of Commerce and happened upon a state questionnaire asking what our community’s annual festival was, he sent in a frivolous answer and thought no more about it—that is until people showed up the following May to see Bainbridge Island’s Scotch Broom Parade.

Within an hour, the event was thrown together with a “queen” pulled off the street, a few impromptu joiners, and some bouquets of Scotch Broom.”   (insidebainbridge)

This is a parade I can get behind!  So spontaneous.  Community-organized.  Fun.  Spunky.  A little unorganized…

It was supposed to be on Wednesday, but last minute they changed the date to Thursday.

I wasn’t sure where it started, when it began or who to contact to get more information.  So, being the adventurers we are, we just got in the car and headed downtown and just waited.  Seriously, what else are we going to do?  Not Go???  Psh, I am a hound dog for parades.

We found the Scotch Broom Parade car in the parking lot of a grocery store!  Woot!!

I wasn’t sure if this was it, though.  Some people were decorating the car, other people were taking pictures.

So, we just hung out for a while.  And then we went into the store and picked up some things.

And then we got in the car to go home, since the Scotch Broom Parade car was gone from the parking lot…

when suddenly…

We saw the parade in action!!  SO EXCITING!!!  Ben asked if the roads were blocked off, or if they had a police escort, or if they had a banner…

Nope!  They were just walking down the street, dressed to the 9s, carrying Scotch Broom bouquets.

That is our annual parade 🙂  You really can’t get more awesome than that.  I love this place.

I was so taken with the beauty of the parade, we stopped off on a side road and picked some Scotch Broom to adorn our house.

I had this crazy idea of having a paper making party…

to make our own paper for Mother’s Day cards with glitter and flowers and whatever else we can find.

I have never made paper before. I have never even thought about making paper before.  Do I need to fell some trees for this?  Do I need a paper making permit?  What kind of a master blender do I need to blend a log into pulp?  I had a friend recommend looking at the pulp under a microscope…I can’t even get my microscope to work! I think the lightbulb is burnt out or something.  But the battery is also over 10 years old.  Maybe it is a battery problem.  What do I do with the pulp once we have it?  Do I need a paper making machine, or is this like making tortillas?  ….wait, I have never made tortillas either.  Is this way above my Etsy paygrade….what are we doing??  What have I gotten us into???

Nah, I just looked up some YouTube videos on DIY paper making and bought a kit.

And We Did It.

I would highly recommend this as an afternoon craft.  It was a lot of fun, and everyone got into it.  Here is how to get started!

What You Need:

• Arnold Grummer’s Papermill Complete Papermaking Kit paper making kit (Amazon)
• Shredded/ripped Scrap paper
•  A large pot of warmer water
• Blender/Stick Blender
• Glass measuring cup
• Glitter/Flowers/Leaves/Herbs/Ferns
• Rectangle casserole dish filled with water
• Lots of dry towels
• Iron
• Ironing board
• Some flat surface that is safe to put things on to dry, that the dog won’t get into or the cats won’t find to eat the paper, or whatever hazards you have in your house

 1) Rip scrap paper and put into pot of warmer water.

Paper, Y U No Rip?????

I would personally avoid ripping important documents or term papers that are due this week, and stick to scrap paper…but that’s just me.  I did a few experiments using newspaper, binder paper and construction paper.  I preferred the binder paper, because it was more white, but adding construction paper added more color.  The newspaper was okay in texture, but it is a very bland gray…and it is hard getting the ink off your pot afterwards (use vinegar).

I tried boiling the pulp, and I tried just lightly warming the pulp…it seems like you just need to get the paper to break apart to become pulp, so turn the stove on for a few minutes to get the water warm, but that’s all you really need.

2) Add decorations to your pulp

Use 1 cup of pulp for 1 sheet of paper.  No more, no less.  Any more, and it is way too thick for paper.  Any less, and it falls apart.

We had glitter, flower petals, different colored paper, herbs, ferns, flowers, leaves…this is definitely the fun part!

My glamorous friend, Melissa, helped throw our paper party!

They were putting all the glitter/flower petals/herbs into the pulp, which was in a glass measuring cup.

3) Blend the pulp together to make it a fine pulp

I used my stick blender, and it worked just fine.  If I had a larger blender, I probably would have used that…but this pulp is very soft. You don’t need anything strong to get the job done.

4) Now, get out your paper making kit mold:

Set the mold, with the screens attached to the mold, into the rectangle casserole dish filled halfway with water.

Then pour the 1 cup of pulp into the mold, and just swish it around until it is evenly coated.

Then pull it straight up out of the water, and let it drain until no more water is leaking.

4) Take the mold and set it on your ironing board.  

Release the velcro and lift the mold off of the screen.

It will look like this.  This is already a piece of paper, and it holds together pretty well already.  It is just very wet.

Now, flip the screens over onto a dry towel, and use the sponge to push water out of the paper.

Then take the screens off of the paper, and put a dry towel on top of the paper and push a hot iron on top.

5) That’s about it!  I let the paper dry over night, and they were done!

This is a fun, interactive project that anyone can do. Also very nice for making your own cards, stationary, paper airplane paper….whatever you can think of!

Have fun!

Quote of the day yesterday when I was buying my hat, “You are too young to remember this, but this is a very 70s, rock and roll hat.” (born in the 70s, my friend)

This weekend was fraught with adventure.  We did a little fishing,

And caught no fish….

We went to some touristy stores…

Saw a little flora on the way…

Found some amazing beaches,

A little roadtripping,

Found some oddly large things in the middle of nowhere,

Found some wild Platypus’

Our goal was to make it to the coast.  The real coast with the Pacific Ocean.  This was one of the dead ends we ran into trying to get there.

Me in my overall-y goodness.

Huge waterfalls we found on the side of the road.

The most amazing and magical lake on the face of the earth.  If Vikings had rowed past us with dragon mastheads, I wouldn’t have been surprised.

The lake even gave us a rainbow as we left.  How’s that for hospitality?

We saw Canada, and actually got Canadian “Roger” cell reception for a moment.

And finally we made it to the coast.  It was beautiful and calm, and just lovely.

I packed my heels 3 months ago, and I still can’t find them.

I am sure they are somewhere, in some box.  But I haven’t found the box, and I haven’t worn my heels in far too long.

Not that there is anywhere I could actually wear them, so I don’t see how it matters.  I’m not gong to wear my 5″ killer heels to the store, or to the Library.  It might be a little weird (not that this has ever stopped me before, for the record).  Even at church, there are a billion stairs and it is all uphill/downhill to get from the parking lot to the front doors, so it is kind of impossible to wear my amazing heels there.

I would love to find the box, regardless of whether I have anywhere to wear them.

Because my heels are awesome.

Last time I saw my heels.

In the absence of my fun shoes, I am finding myself perusing heels on Pinterest, and I am going to take you along with me.

First, I am going to lure you in with glass slippers.

Because we all want glass slippers.

A LOT.

Although I will tell you that they don’t exist, you are going to look anyway.  Because they are glass slippers.  Unbelievably awesome.

Then, I am going to tempt you with these babies:

Which may or may not be comfortable, because they are made out of metal…but they look so amazing, you will make sure you get your Tetanus booster shot to make it work.

But then, you need some shoes that you can actually wear.  And that actually exist.  So I give you this:

So cute and flirty!  And perfect for summer.  So much fun.  Perfect for picnic BBQs.

However, you aren’t on this site because you are swayed by cute shoes.  You need something of substance.

RUBY SLIPPERS.

I mean, you could wear these with jeans and totally rock it.

And although you may like these sensible shoes, you need to be tantilized with something…unusual.  Something that breaks the conformity.  Something that tells the world, “She is somebody.“

So I give you these:

But you don’t want to go too far…there are only a handful of places you can get away with antlers on your shoes, or chicken feet heels.

So we finish off with something classy

There you go.  Heels by Tamarah.

Just taking a walk down our road.

I don’t think we are living “in the country,” per se.

Especially since we are surrounded by trees and not farms, which is what I think “living in the country” means.  Although it is a little rural where we live, granted; but not as rural as Eastern Washington, for comparison.  The island still has paved roads (in some places), grocery stores, pizza places, pubs and gas stations.  Some parts have sidewalks and lampposts, but I believe those are so the tourists don’t get lost in the woods (as some of us have a tendancy to do).  Granted, our house is in one of the more “remote” northern areas on this little island, so there is that to consider.  I think we are in the equivalent of the Scottish Highlands, which is more “in the sticks,” in comparison to the Scottish Lowlands, with more of an urban feel to the cities.

Funny enough, the Scottish Highlands has the same Hardiness Zone for gardening as we do, so that gives you an idea of how wet/cold/wonderful it is here.

There are certainly things this island is “missing,” although I will be the first to declare that I actually do not miss them at all: there is no Target on the island, Costco is 40 minutes away from us on the mainland, and we have one very empty McDonalds which fills the spot as the only fast food restaurant on the island.  If you would like to go out to dinner, you aren’t going to find an Applebees; no, you are going to go to a locally-owned joint that uses food from local farms.  There is a local distillery on the island, and a local bakery uses their spent grains.  Instead of more car washes, you will find more public gardens in empty spaces.

So, I guess we’re a little country.

Nevertheless, we keep finding these little things about living here, on a personal level, that keep making me say, “well, life in the country.”  Like, going to the local lumberyard for gravel to fill the potholes in our dirt road.  Or being on a shared well, and then being a part of well politics (I think we need a new pump).  The policies of easements along driveways, and the very scandalous “on leash” and “off leash” dog wars battling out on local beaches and parks. (this is a very serious battle here, not to be taken lightly).

Plus, we have traded in our rather pedestrian, run-of-the-mill axes for  “northern european forestry” axes; which has made Ben’s life worthwhile.  They are pretty Boss axes.

Here are a few cases of country life in our home:

• I can wash the dishes if the washing machine isn’t running, otherwise I cannot get enough water through the faucet to wash anything (life with a well).
• The water pressure tends to vary in the shower, unaided.  So when the pressure is very low, you wash your face.  When it is higher, you wash your hair.  You adjust as the water adjusts.
• We cannot run the vacuum in the schoolroom if the lights and space heater are turned on in Ben’s detatched office, or we will throw a breaker.
• The coffee pot and electric kettle cannot be plugged into the same outlet, and run simultaneously, or we will throw a breaker and we won’t be able to open the garage door, either.
•  We originally brought our cats into our home in CA to fight the mouse/rat infestation.  They did a swell job in CA, but have yet to bring home a mouse here in WA.  No, they have moved their sights on to shrews.  We have had quite a few gifts of dead shrews on our doorstep, thanks to our very loving cats.
• We cannot walk through our backyard without wearing boots, or our shins will be whipped with stinging nettles (there is a nettle cull on the horizon)
• I used to worry about my neighbors’ dogs pooping in our front yard.  Now, I am watching mother deer walk through our front yard with her babies, and poop next to our treehouse.
• During the day (and night, for that matter) I do not hear any cars, sirens, generators, freeways, house/car alarms, screeching tires, peel-outs, backfiring cars, racing cars, gunshots, loud music, loud motorcycles, tractors or horns. Just birds and wind.

Life in the country!