To Wallace and back
Wilson joins Abby and the rest on the annual voyage to Harrison, Missoula, Clarkston, and back. This time we dropped in on historic Wallace as well.
Wilson at four months
Wilson at four months. September, 2005.
Uncle Greg at the Highland Games
This August Uncle Greg competed in the 2005 Whidbey Island Highland Games. Highland Games are a set of ancient contests testing the competitors’ strength and balance. Swiftness afoot is not featured–apparently the ancient Scotts were not impressed with speedy men. If you take the Highland Games as a reflection of the physical traits valued by ancient Scotts, you must conclude that those rugged folk had a soft spot for red, large, hairy men who can throw heavy objects a long way. From what I witnessed, I’m pretty sure grunting was a desired skill as well.
Best of all, competitors must wear a kilt! I pretty sure they would wear one even if it weren’t required. If you wear a Utilikilt, or want to wear one, go to a Highland Games. No one will judge you there. I nearly bought one myself.
Contests include the hammer throw, the light stone, the heavy stone, and the mother of all Highland tests, the caber toss, in which contestents grasp a log by its base, hoist it to their chest, and flip it so that the end they were holding lands furthest from them. I’m not kidding when I say “log”. The thing is basically a tree with the branches removed. Most contestents can’t even flip the darn thing. I respect anyone who can manage to lift it at all.
The gaming community is very close and supportive. Athletes routinely offer tips and encouragement to their opponents during play. The games are competitive, but the gamers seem to be more interested in growing the sport and making friendships than in beating each other. Also, a newbie could seriously injure themselves if they use bad technique, so these events are an opportunity to build up some serious karma.
Uncle Greg did very well, placing first in several events for an overall fourth place finish in a field of a couple of dozen. Greg is neither hairy nor red, but he is taller than most American men, and he plans to train hard for next year’s season.
The Manisfam had loads of fun and snapped enough photos to cover a heavy stone.
Backyard camping
One hot day in August the Manisfam decided to go camping. Oh, dear, sweet Manisfam. You actually think you can find a state park campsite for a Northwest summer weekend with two days notice. Romantic fools!
We couldn’t find an open campground in the entire state, so we set up camp in the backyard after a meal cooked in our own kitchen and woke with the sun to drive five blocks to a hearty hotcake breakfast from the pancake house. It was Abby and Max’s first camping experience, so it was probably for the best that we practiced on our own land first.
Here are a couple of photos of the camping trip. Also a couple of Oompa and Wilson thrown in for good measure.
Big Daddy Dougo’s Manis Mojo Party Mix!
Get down with Big Daddy Dougo’s Manis Mojo Party Mix! Click a song title to launch iTunes and listen to a 30-second sample from the iTunes Music Store.
(iTunes seems to offer about half of the music we own, but the ratio is getting better as their catalog grows.)
- You Know My Love from the album “The Chess Box [Disc 2]” by Willie Dixon
- Paid from the album “Paid EP” by Supersuckers
- Cracked Actor from the album “Bowie At Beeb: Best Of BBC Radio 68-72 [Disc 3]” by David Bowie
- Groove Me from the album “Briefcase Full Of Blues” by The Blues Brothers
- Nothin’ Shakin’ from the album “Live At The BBC (Disc 2)” by The Beatles
- 25 Minutes To Go from the album “The Essential Johnny Cash 1955-1983 (Disc 2)” by Johnny Cash
- Mindless Child Of Motherhood from the album “BBC Sessions 1964-1977 [Disc 2]” by The Kinks
- Mr Eliminator from the album “Especially For You” by The Smithereens
- Casting Couch from the album “I’m The One That I Want (Live In Concert)” by Margaret Cho
- Soon I’ll Be Loving You Again from the album “I Want You” by Marvin Gaye
- Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat) from the album “The Hip Hop Box (Disc 3)” by Digable Planets
- Love On The March from the album “Step Into My Office” by Baby
- Drive-In Saturday from the album “Aladdin Sane” by David Bowie
- Bloodbook on the Half Shell - Danielson from the album “2006 Pitchfork Music Festival Sampler” by Various Artists - eMusic
- Unknown Soldier from the album “Forecast : Tomorrow [Disc 1]” by Weather Report
- Terrible / Perfect from the album “The Normal Years” by Built To Spill
- Jack Frost and the Hooded Crow from the album “1988-20 Years of Jethro Tull (Disc 1)” by Jethro Tull
- Lay Down Your Weary Tune from the album “Turn! Turn! Turn!” by The Byrds
- Italy from the album “Conduct” by Fuck
- South Saturn Delta from the album “South Saturn Delta” by Jimi Hendrix
Buy a song from the iTunes music store and the Manisfam gets a nickel!
