A Surprise Evening of Wondrous Words: Part 2: Sesitshaya Marimba

Another wondrous part of last evening(see below for Part 1) was being entertained by The Sesitshaya Marimba Band. Our guest of honor Elinor is part of this group. It began in 2003 when Tendekai Kuture came to the University of Idaho as a student pursue a graduate degree in music. He brought a set of Kwanongoma marimbas and then established this community band. Even though he left in 2005,the group continues to play throughout the Pacific Northwest. The CD above is their first, and a new one will be released soon.
Here is our guest of honor Elinor taking time out from the celebrating to perform with her band.

A few years ago when they gave a workshop at the Lionel Hampton International Jazz Festival at the University of Idaho high school students described them as "really cool chicks!" Their lively songs got people up and dancing last evening . It was a perfect addition to a night of celebration.
Elinor's husband Walter is dancing next to her during a traditional number. I have to agree. This marimba band is a group of "really cool chicks!"

A Surprise Evening of Wondrous Words: Part 1

I have often written about the Northwest Inland Writing Project on this blog. Since last April a group of us have been planning a surprise celebration for our outgoing director Elinor Michel. Keeping a gathering like this a secret was a challenge. We pulled it off and an amazing evening in Moscow included great food, music, sharing, laughing, dancing, and wondrous words.
Tom Fox from the National Writing Project honored Elinor with a proclamation from the national office. She has directed the Northwest Inland Writing Project at the University of Idaho for over 25 years.

Elinor then spoke about the accomplishments of the numerous teachers involved in this project. April and Elinor share a quiet conversation during the evening.
I felt so blessed this evening to have such a circle of amazing friends. As we all honored our outgoing director we reflected and reminiscenced about the years of working at summer institutes, doing workshops, taking road trips to conferences, and participating in our writing retreat in McCall.
As the cake stated so well " Write On Elinor"!

Sunset and Harvest Time

The area south of Spokane, Washington is called The Palouse. Surrounding the central towns of Moscow, Idaho and Pullman, Washington are miles and miles of farmland and small communities that rely on these crops as their livelihood. Any season of the year the drive takes on its own beauty, but last night I caught a harvest sunset and images created by combines in the wheat fields at dusk. The crop dust created an eerie, foggy look as I headed south on the highway. Another true sign we are heading into the new season. Darkness is falling so much earlier again!

Sink Full of Flowers

This is why I love this time of year. I decided to harvest flowers from garden beds around the gardens today to create some bouquets. In September the sunflowers are vivid yellow, the asters begin to bloom, the Autumn Joy sedum brightens up the yard, and today I even found a sweet pea that came up from seed in a planter!

That is also why I dread frost. So many of these blooms will wither up and die quickly. This harvest of flowers cooled in the sink in preparation of arranging them. In my haste to clean up, I forgot to take pictures of the final displays... I better do that tomorrow before they are carted off to school.

Close to Harvest Time

Every season hath its pleasures;
Spring may boast her flowery prime,
Yet the vineyard's ruby treasures
Brighten Autumn's sob'rer time.
--Thomas Moore

Garden Gate Growers Fall Plant Sale: A Perfect Sunday Outing

plants on display at The Garden Gate Growers fall sale.

The Garden Gate Growers wholesale perennial nursery has been in operation for over ten years up the Inchelium Highway from our house. Todd and Lisa Kowitz open their nursery in May and September each year to the public. Their fall sale is when the perennials and ornamental grasses are at clearance prices and this is also a great time of year to plant perennials. We know when we purchase plants from Todd and Lisa they will be hardy for the area, healthy, and long-lasting. JEJ and I both look forward to the sales each year. If you are a beginning gardener there are resource books on display and Todd and Lisa share a wealth of knowledge about growing plants around the inland northwest. You can relax a bit and have coffee and homemade cookies as you ponder which plants you need and can ponder some more about which plants you just want!Now you can see why it is my favorite place around the area to shop! Yesterday I was looking for some new colors of sedum and a few hostas. After finding those I had to have another Russian sage and a lovely deep pink campanula. JEJ loves growing different varieties of ornamental grasses and that is one of Todd's specialties. I think JEJ would add more grasses to our gardens if he didn't have to negotiate with me for space in the flower beds! He is outside now trying to figure out the best locations for his new collection of ornamental grasses. Having those trees removed in August created a few more places to plant.If you want more information on the plants available at the Garden Gate Growers during their sales you can go here. The spring sale is always Mother's Day week-end and the fall sale the second week-end in September. For the rest of the growing season these healthy perennials and ornamental grasses can be found in plant nurseries around the inland empire. You can find out about the wholesale nursery itself and contact information here.
As we left the sale I paused to appreciate the view from their driveway. You can see our Garden Valley Church surrounded by trees to the right and a lovely combination of mountains and sky to top off a perfect Sunday outing.