 | We really got busy getting everything ready for Jessi's wedding, it was so fun to get so much done this month. I made a list of things we needed to get done, but after Paisley/Peter and Haley/Liam and Ray arrived, EVERYTHING on the list got done and things got added. It was great. We were so ready for that wedding. It started Friday night with a rehearsal dinner at Friday Harbor House. Peter toasts the bride and groom. |
| We laughed the most at our table: Peter and Meredith and Paisley and PeterPeter. |  |
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Before the ceremony, we all went down to McIver's to help Jessi get dressed. Morgan and Cora danced on the deck in their wedding clothes. |
| Jessi didn't want the traditional father of the bride handoff, but Peter explained that it's really about sharing and participating. As if Jessi could belong to anyone but herself!!! |
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Jessi's bouquet. Paisley and I spent about an hour on it. Fresh beautiful flowers from the Friday Harbor farmers' market, and white satin ribbon with a hundred knots, and pearl stick pins. We made corsages for the mothers, fathers and groom, too. |
| Tom and Jessi's rings nestled in our hens and chicks. |
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Jessi and Tom walked down to Pingree Rock to say their private vows, then they came up to the cocktail area where we could all hear them. |
| We all stood around to watch them. |
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Hawk's job was to set off the cannon just as they walked up from the ceremony. We watched them together for a while, then he had to get his cannon set up. |
| Eli, Meredith, Peter, Jessi and Tom. So fun together. |
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 | All of us. |
| We did all the food, too. Cold apps were smoked scallops on minted pea puree... |  |
 | roasted artichoke and preserved lemon bruschetta and farmers' market vegetables with hummus. We also had cheese straws with bourride, mushroom palmiers and beef satay with peanut sauce. |
| Jessi's friend Jessica arranged the flowers. Doesn't the house look great in front of that bouquet? |  |
 | Haley spent all morning arranging the table. We had one big table that we set with a lot of my china and crystal. She had this great idea of using my new tablecloth from Sarlat in the middle, and we hung the viking ship chandelier over the whole thing. It was spectacular. |
| I made a line drawing of Tom and Jessi's favorite picture of our property to use for place cards. We put our amuse bouche (hazelnut crackers with herbed chevre) on top. |  |
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We had a wonderful time at dinner. Hawk and Peter and Liam grilled the salmon (I made the blackberry sauce) and rib eyes (Ray made 4 batches of bearnaise), we served rosemary/garlic mashed potatoes with crispy pancetta, a beautiful mesclun salad, and beans with butter beans in vinaigrette. Delicious.
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| Jessi and Tom watched the sunset. |  |
 | And we moved inside for dessert: lemon cheesecake with blackberries, chocolate cheesecake, and caramel cheesecake with pecans. We also served mudslides, blackberry and raspberry tarts, and lavender truffles. |
| Whew! After the wedding, Peter and Meredith's friends the Klipschs arrived and we had a wonderful three days with them, not enough. We had one day to ourselves, and then Paisley and Peter and their friends Mark and Nicola came for 5 days. We celebrated Cora's 3rd birthday on Friday. She got a beautiful dress from Peter. |
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And an American Girl doll (Kirsten, of course) from Suzy. |
| Paisley made her Thomas train and Little Red Caboose cakes. Well, actually. I made a lemon cake with lemon buttercream and lemon curd. Paisley and I frosted them. They look kid-like but tasted like adult cake. Cora loved it. |
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My favorite time of year is August, not just because the weather is usually gorgeous, but also because the Madronas peel off their red bark to reveal new green (chartreuse) skin. So so beautiful. |
| And Peter gave me a great idea: use some of that bark to repeat that idea on my upstairs barn door. Here's how it came out. Hawk and I also replaced the barn door handle with a curvy piece of Madrona. |
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We found ourselves alone on Wednesday, the weather was perfect, so we took off in Sunshine for Stuart Island. We ate oysters and steamed clams and spent the night tucked up against the beach. |
| The next day, we poked around the island, ducking into coves and came through between Stuart and John's island. We went into Roche Harbor and got diesel (6.9 gallons, we use half a gallon an hour), and then we came home. |
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