This morning started in a grand way. There was a beautiful sunrise introducing a clear sunny calm morning:
This was the day that I visited my parents gravesite. My purpose is to clean the stone and sweep the area. The site was a lot better than I anticipated. I had thought about planting something next to it but the cemetery rules prevent that. I was able to give the stone a good cleaning and I borrowed a broom from the caretaker. She happened to arrive to mow grass shortly after I got there.
I came to the gravesite while Tina was at a yoga class with a friend.
On the way to pick up Tina, I had a great view of Mt Baker.
After I picked up Tina we went shopping for groceries as we had invited friends for dinner. This area is quite a foodie place. There are rural specialty shops for all kinds of food. We went to The Bread Farm in Edison has wonderful breads, Del Fox Custom Meats provides steaks directly from their farm (can hardly get fresher than that. Besides, the owner helped us pick out exceptional steaks with just the right marbling). The Skagit Valley Food Co-op was the source for local vegetables, beer, wine and what looks like fabulous pastries just out of the oven. I just hope I will be able to get the grill to work at the Airbnb.
On the way to the co-op we stopped at Sonofresco. They are the fabricators of Tina’s coffee roaster. Last year I had to make some repairs as the roaster malfunctioned after the trip south. They were great, walking me through every step. We got a tour through their facility and got the lowdown on the state of the coffee industry. Hold on to your wallets – the price of a cup of coffee is going through the roof. And, it is not all due to tariffs. The Brazilian crop is in trouble, supply ships have to go around the Cape of Good Hope and there are a number of other supply issues. And, yes, tariffs.
Backpacking Bill 