Waterlogs

March 2012

The snowstorm of mid January resulted in some scary moments for some residents whose homes responded negatively to the 6-inch snowfall that was followed by rain. I know of two board members whose listing homes were returned to level, thanks to prompt action of neighbors with brooms and shovels!

Doctor Jim and I are staying put this winter and enjoy traveling from the safety of our armchairs. What are we reading? Why blogs of course! A French friend, long time resident of Canterbury, England, writes of her ongoing adventure teaching school in Rwanda. And, my brother created an online journal during the month he spent in a tiny village near Vera Cruz, Mexico. Several houseboaters have sent me stories of their overseas adventures. So sit back and visit south east Asia

Erin Feeney visits the Taj Mahal. Erin's Photo

2920 Fuhrman Avenue East: While the doctor and I were in Maine in the autumn, we invited Erin Feeney, U of W architecture student working with our community to collect stories and photos for the upcoming houseboat exhibit at MOHAI, to stay in our houseboat and experience the feel of houseboat living. Now she's away in India. "I am studying in India until the end of March with a group of UW students. We are based in Chandigarh, the joint capitol of the states of Punjab and Haryana, which was designed as a modern symbol of Indian independence in the 1940s by a team of Western architects. In collaboration with local architecture students, we are studying the future growth and urbanization of the city. I am in the housing group, looking at existing housing conditions and community models, as well as proposing alternative housing for the future. The diversity and sense of interdependence I have encountered in the Seattle houseboat community provides an interesting contrast to many of the self-sustaining informal communities we are witnessing here. The ample sunshine, delicious food, vibrant colors, and generous people in India will be tough to leave, but I look forward to diving back in to things in Seattle!

Loren and Rob Van Oss with Bodhi. photo by Joyce Black.

Martha and Cork Keck joined Joyce and Dave Black in Mazatlan earlier in the year. photo by Joyce Black

Willow Cove: 3146 Portage Bay Place Joyce Black writes, "As you may remember, in the Summer 2010 edition of Waterlog, the Willow Cove Dock reported the loss of our wonderful dog resident, a Bull Mastiff, Lucy. We are happy to report Loren & Rob Van Oss have a new baby Bull Mastiff named Bodhi and what a sweetheart he is. His favorite thing to do at our house is to get under our coffee table, that won't be happening for long. Welcome baby Bodhi!!" Earlier this year, Joyce & Dave Black welcomed fellow Willow Cove residents Martha & Cork Keck for some fun in the sun at their beach home in Mazatlan, Mexico. "Given the cold spell in early February, the Kecks' were more than happy to be wearing shorts and enjoying the beach at Stone Island, which is a taxi ride and a short ferry trip to a great swimming beach with pleasant beach restaurants with good food and drink."

Open House for Ozell Gaines, at Blaine Hammond Houseboat on 1/21/12: Ozell Gaines at left, Ken Kennedy (also a HHI founder), Larry Ambrose and Steve Greaves. photo by Blaine Hammond.

Ethel Scribner, in Ellicott, MD, while she and her son, Dr. Jonathan Lederer "were looking at geese . . . in a stream." 2011. Lederer family photo

Blaine G Hammond sends sad news from Houseboat Harbor, Inc. "We have experienced two losses, just a few weeks apart." The first was due to a move: Ozell Gaines moved in January to the Ida Culver House. He was one of the original founders of the corporation in August 1968, when moorages, owned by the houseboaters, was a very new concept. Ozell was for years one of HHI's most active members, filling nearly every volunteer and elective position the organization had to offer! The second loss was the death of another of the original founders. Ethel Scribner died on Friday, February 9. With her husband, Doctor Belding Scribner, she was among those who signed the paper committing a group of twelve houseboat owners from a number of different moorages on the lake, to purchase Carrie Stafford's moorage on Portage Bay Place E and bring it into compliance with the new Seattle laws requiring upgraded docks. Ethel, too, willingly involved herself in nearly every volunteer and elective position over the decades. But she found it necessary, some years ago, to move to an assisted living facility near Baltimore MD, close to where her sons live. The Scribners are missed here, both for their contributions to Houseboat Harbors' corporate life, and for their positive, personal impact in creating a closely-knit community at this moorage."

Fred Bassetti celebrates his 95th birthday with a bottle of bubbly. photo by Gwen Bassetti.

3146 Portage Bay Place: Fred Bassetti celebrated his 95^th birthday at a grand fête at the houseboat of Ann Bassetti & Eugene Nutt on 2420 Westlake. (See separate story on Fred and his life on Lake Union and Portage Bay.)

Tui Tui weathers the snowstorm. photo by Robby Rudine

Tui Tui: Robby Rudine is in Brazil for Carnaval and to visit his Brazilian family. "Janet and the ferocious wolfling Misha are fortifying Tui Tui. Our houseboat neighbor Hope Regis had her hip replaced — making her doctor a `hip Hope' artist. The operation was a success but Hope had to superambulate the ramp at its steepest and iciest and on crutches; so you couldn't say her timing was the best. Our not-quite-afloat mud house neighbors in the Old Garny Harris house, former houseboaters Deb Narine and Larry Sunde, launched a new product called the Upper Hand from Stretta. It is a useful series of hand grip actuated pole mounted tools. Deb, a professional media maker at SpyGirl Productions, produced the requisite infomercial that has appeared on the QVC home shopping network. Janet's sister Karen will be visiting Tui Tui from Spain during the Easter holiday. Tui Tui is actively issuing more stamps for 2012. Tui Tui has also posted an Ambassador Peripatetic David G. Sears to the Republic of Tajikistan this year under the guise of a Fulbright. Our dog loves the snow. We discovered he has all wheel drive. He splays out his toe pads and claws in a completely different way and with his short-coupled body and low center of gravity is gratified to turn his nose into a snowplow. Or a schnozzola plow and Keeshond Zamboni in complete and zestful ecstasy. I heard through reliable sources that the body parts found last month under the Ship Canal Bridge were DNA matched with another gruesome discovery of remains. At a Southside recycling plant workers sorting discards were shocked to find a human torso coming down the conveyor belt. SPD has a tentative ID of the victim and a person of interest in the crimes."

Tim and Greta Ahlers enjoying the snow at Mallard Cove. photo by Melissa Ahlers

Mallard Cove: Giff Jones writes from Tucson, "I'm enjoying too much sun down here with close friends. Mary and I had spent pre-snow holidays in Puerto Vallarta then Santa Barbara, and in mid January arrived at SEATAC under clear night skies and awoke the next morning with 6" of snow on the dock." Here's some news from Giff about some of his dock mates. "Greta Kate Ahlers, closing in on 2, continues to charm the dock. She loves to visit her grandparents in Redmond and her other grandparents, Tom & Linda Ahlers on Roanoke Reef. Pretty soon she'll be helping her dad, Tim, maintain his annual goal of snow skiing SOMEwhere every month of the year. Ryan & Loryn Peterson are 2/3 of the way through a complete renovation of their houseboat while 9/9 of the way to completion of their first child, due any day. Adding to the stress after multiple moves, is the sale of their most recent temporary residence at HB #2. Bruce & Barb Lippke, together with entire
extended family, returned last month from their umpteenth annual trek to Kona for the winter holidays, returning just in time for our January snowstorm. In between SCUBA diving vacations, Bob Berman & Lisa Horton `getting back in the saddle again' most weekends at his Cle Elum ranch. Sadly, Mike Swofford's houseboat is on the market. (See Peggy Hanel's tribute to Mike's memory elsewhere in this newsletter.) Marsh & Sue Bugge recently vacationed down under in New Zealand as well as sharing time between their Guemes Island home and sun-seeking hops to Hawaii." Giff concludes with, "The rest of our Mallard Cove non-respondents are presumably engaged in illicit pyramid schemes, working for the CIA, or other similar secret activities."

Pika Sebastian Ruef Hubley. photo Hubley family

London. Mike Naylor

Willow Dock Cooperative: Mike Naylor reports two new residents. "Pika Sebastian Ruef Hubley born on December 21, 2011, a welcome new baby to a dock that has been without children for way too long. And London joined the dock in the fall with her Mom, Tabitha Baker. London is a rather amazing presence on the dock, well behaved and eye catching!"

Amy Ellingson Villanueva at Mount Hood. Summer 2011. photo from Villanueva

DOX CoOp. Amy Ellingson Villanueva keeps in touch via email from the Philippines. Amy and husband, Ray have a blog, erly.com/user/ray/philippines The couple shares their experiences living in Dumaguete City on Negros Oriental. (See Waterlog Sidebar for a short piece from Amy.)

Lilian Gregorich. Snow Princess of Flo Villa dock. photo by Amalia Walton

Max Gregorich. Love the hat, Max! Amalia Walton

Flo Villa Tricia Rendina says, in late January, while she was on vacation, there was a fire on their dock stairs due to a faulty extension cord. Fortunately, Gretchen Ranney was coming home, saw the smoke pouring out from under the stairs and called 911. There was no serious damage.

Borneo: Larry struggles to descend during torrential downpour. He made it! photo from Larry Logue

Borneo: Near the city of Sandakan photo by Larry Logue

Borneo: Rustic abode; no utilities. photo by Larry Logue

The Lake Union. Larry Logue completed a trip to Borneo in late November, climbing Mt. Kinabalu, the highest mountain in south east Asia with some trekking friends. Larry writes, "Borneo is near the equator, so even at the 13,432 foot peak of Mt. Kinabalu, it seldom freezes, but it can pour rain, as I discovered on my descent." Once safely down the mountain, Larry and his friends managed to replenish all those lost calories by visiting the many seafood restaurants along the coast, where often the fish had just been unloaded fresh from the small fishing boats. Many local residents live on the water, but unlike our houseboats on Lake Union, their accommodations are a little more basic. Larry spent the remainder of the trip visiting regional attractions like an Orangutan rehabilitation center. "Unfortunately, the old growth hardwood jungle habitat for the Orangutans is rapidly being logged off and replaced by extensive oil palm plantations, so these rehabilitation centers are critical for the survival of the Orangutans and other native species."

With many great memories, and a couple extra pounds from all that good food, Larry returned to Seattle with its delightful grey skies and freezing temperatures. Even so, he was glad to be back home on Lake Union.

Chris Craft: Jann & Sid's 1950 runabout meets neighboring boats on the channel. photo by Mark Sanderson

Captain Sugar Bear says, "Wanna go for a spin in my new boat?" photo by Jann McFarland

Annoyed Eagle: "…and you are going to be dessert." photo by Jann McFarland

Joyce Black, Sid and Jann McFarland working hard on FHA business in Mazatlan. photo from Jann & Sid

Log Foundation Jann and Sid McFarland "I finally got Sid to part with our 1934 Chris Craft `project boat' and sold it to a father and son who restore classic boats. After reading ads for months, we found a 1950 Chris Craft 17` runabout on Craig's List to replace it. The boat was in Portland and so we drove the truck down and tried it out on the Willamette River where it was moored near some of the houseboats. The man we bought it from was really nice — even had to get in the river to help us get the boat on the trailer. He took off his shorts and I said, `you thought ahead to wear your bathing suit', to which he replied, `this is my underwear'. Oops! We drove home and launched at the Sunnyside street boat ramp and are excited to have a running boat again."

A little too much wildlife? "An eagle came screaming between our house and the neighbors with a big `something-I-didn't-want-to-look-at' in his talons and he landed on the roof of their house about 6 feet from my bedroom window. I tore downstairs to get my camera. The seagulls kept dive- bombing him and he flew over to another house across the channel. I got a series of pictures before he flew off with the `leftovers'.

While Joyce Black (Willow Cove) and I were talking one day, we discovered we both owned weeks at the same timeshare in Mazatlan and so when Sid & I were down there last fall, we met and had lunch at an outdoor restaurant on the beach. Joyce and Dave had just bought a house there in old town and she was down with some girlfriends checking on the renovating work they had done. A few weeks later, I ran into Lee Bourdeau (Mallard Cove) who was in Mazatlan at the same resort for a week.

Dave Gardner, a longtime houseboater from Log Foundation and then from 2460, Inc., passed away on July 5, 2011 at the age of 82. `Hamburger Dave' as he was affectionately called by his neighbors, was an airline pilot with United for many years. He and his wife, Marty were active in the earlier years of fundraising for the FHA when there were huge legal bills to pay off. At one of the auctions that Marty was in charge of, he even stepped in as auctioneer. His voice was deep and resonant _ perfect for the job! We miss you old friend."

Here comes the snow on a Westlake dock. photo by Ingrid Rasch

Rich, Browy out to look at Christmas lights on Lake Union. photo by Betsy Chappelle

2460 and 2466 Westlake( Marty Greer reports that "residents of 2460 and 2466 Westlake celebrated the holidays together this year with a Houseboat Crawl organized by our resident party promoter, Cathi Major. This festive, progressive cocktail party began at Rich Patton and Cathi's houseboat where we were all presented with mini-cocktail glasses, each with a distinctive hand knit (by Cathi) `glass cosy' which we took with us from houseboat to houseboat avoiding multi plastic glass abuse. Most folks immediately gave up trying to pace themselves on the food when faced with a tray of Dungeness crab sliders at this first stop! Several hours, two docks, and six houseboats later, after fine wines, champagne, and elegant nibbles, we ended the evening with the beautiful view from Christy Smith's end houseboat. But wait, there's more: Dave & Betsy Chappelle, not ready to cry uncle, fired up their classy 1950 Chris Craft racing runabout and picked up Marty & Gerry Greer and Cathi, Rich, and Brownie the bow wow, and we went for a tour of the Lake Union houseboat Christmas lights. We all agreed this is a beautiful city and a magical time of the year." 2460, Inc co-op welcomes new resident Cathy Graubert. Cathy says, "I have known ever since a short stint in a houseboat on Portage Bay in my early twenties that this was the life for me and that I would return after I launched those kids! Well, I finally arrived at Houseboat D in December, but the boys arrived 3 weeks later for college vacations! They are kind of tall boys so finding spots for them in what I call my `half bedroom' houseboat was challenging, but we did it! I am thrilled to be here, although I had no idea how much daily conversation would revolve around beaver habitat and behavior!" Marty continues, "Cathy bought the former houseboat of Bill Babcock & McNair Smith. McNair was the designer and overlord of the lovely gardens at the top of our two docks and the co-op is now struggling to deal with all the issues of garden maintenance he handled so seamlessly _ including one voracious beaver! This guy (or gal?) has gone nose to nose with many a neighborhood dog and cat and doesn't even twitch _ just sniffs and keeps on chewing, and chewing, and chewing."

Libby Kutcipal reports the news from 2420 Westlake: "We are happy to welcome new renters Shannon Barbour (#5), Wes Wright (#9) and Sean Balch (#14), who moved across Lake Union from a floating home on Eastlake. We were sad to see the previous renters go! Casey O'Connor (#8) has returned from Nairobi after working there for nearly a year with Doctors without Borders. The marina welcomed
Linda Tate, but was sad to see Bill & Peggy Schickler move their boat to Roche Harbor. Jessica & Kevin Vanderzanden hosted a holiday potluck for the dock, which was an overwhelming success. The dock had a new set of steps built for the entrance to compliment the new awning, which was installed this summer. Lesley Hazelton was awarded a `Genius Award' by The Stranger. Congrats Lesley! 2420 survived Snomageddon without any major dock disasters —just a few falls, a few icy windows, and a few frozen pipes!"

Rose and Tom Hesslebrock renew their vows; with neighbors and flower girl, Avia Roundtree. photo by Steve Eckhart

Farewell to Sally and Charlie Weems. photo by Steve Eckhart

Lee's Christmas Party, pictures neighbors L to R, Kirsten Scott, Karen Eckhart, Sylvia Hubbert, and Gemma Daggatt. photo by Steve Eckhart

Lee's Moorings Dock under light blanket of snow. photo by Terry Moos

Karen Eckhart sends greetings from Lee's Moorings. "Romance was in the air on August 13^th when Tom & Rose Hesselbrock renewed their wedding vows on their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. Neighbors and guests attended the rooftop deck party, and the couple's college-bound daughter cheered on her parents. We waved a sad goodbye to Sally & Charlie Weems as they moved off the dock after living and contributing here for umpteen years. Nancy Hansen & Jim Burnell provided a fitting gathering place to say goodbye. The dock also held a festive Christmas party to cheer the season and gather everyone, both present and past owners, for a warm evening. As everyone is aware, snows hit fiercely later in mid January."

 

Thanks to all contributors for great stories. If you don't see your dock mentioned here and would like to share your docks stories, please contact Marilyn for information regarding sending stories and photos. isobel.rob44@gmail.com