It's a big dispute every year: to spray, or not to spray. There are some who argue that malathion, an agricultural/residential pesticide, is toxic to the human body and should not be sprayed residentially, and others who dismiss those claims and welcome the aerial application of the funky smelling spray. As for me, I haven't really had a strong opinion either way. I've just figured, "Well, I've been sprayed a few times now and it hasn't killed me, let them spray if they think it's necessary." Recent encounters, however, have me changing my tune.
Mosquitoes: Those little buggers know just how to ruin a perfectly lovely, musical evening on the front porch. I kick back in my chair to enjoy the warm summer evening and the sound of Adam's guitar when "zzzzzzzzzeeeeeeeeeeeee!" You know the sound; that horrific little high-pitched foreboding that announces the presence of those nasty winged vampires. Within minutes I'm covered in welts, flailing about, dousing myself in insect repellent. Adam, on the other hand, escapes relatively unscathed... that is, until the bike ride...
It was the perfect evening for a ride. The air was warm, the sun was setting and everything was peaceful. We hopped on our bikes to take a stroll around Waterville, finding it curious that there were no kids riding around the neighborhood. We rounded the first corner, picked up some speed and plowed face-first into a massive swarm of tiny flying insects. They covered our arms, weaved their way into our hair, flew up our noses and decorated our teeth. Adam was unamused, to say the least, and I am sure I didn't help matters much, considering that I kept riding, trying to enjoy myself in spite of the buggy horde. Later he pleaded, as he plucked the bugs from his hair, "Could we maybe we could go earlier in the evening or in the morning, next time?"
So, what is this new tune I sing, you may ask? It goes something like this: "SPRAY THEM! SPRAY THEM ALL!" Now it's personal!
Dear Mr. Helicopter Pilot, next time you do your early morning malathion fly-by, I'll be the one waving and dancing in my front yard! In the meantime, I'll do my best not to burn down the porch with tiki torches and citronella candles.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Small Town Noobs
The first thing most people say when they learn that Adam and I live in Waterville is "Why?!" (imagine a slight tinge of disgust in the tone;) to which I usually jokingly reply, "The house was cheap!" Truth be told, that actually IS the reason we ended up moving to Waterville. We began house hunting in 2007, soon after Adam received the news that his place of employment had been sold, and along with it, our job-perk apartment. We didn't want to have to scrape for pennies in order to make ends meet, so we purposely set our budget low, making it pretty much impossible to find something in Wenatchee that didn't require a bulldozer. Reluctantly, we decided to take a look at a house for sale in Waterville.
I immediately fell in love with the old, beater of a house, not only because the price was right, but also because I could see serious cute-house potential beneath many layers of renter abuse. Adam and I discovered quickly that Waterville was not the 3rd world, foreign country many people made it out to be, but that it was actually a rather nice little town.
Contrary to the advice and opinions of many of our friends and family, we made the seemingly irrational decision to buy the old fixer-upper and move to the tiny, "po-dunk" town. Now here we are, a couple of Waterville newbies; the ones nobody really knows but that most everyone has noticed.
Through this column, you can join us on our journey, as we discover the ups and downs of life in a small town.
I immediately fell in love with the old, beater of a house, not only because the price was right, but also because I could see serious cute-house potential beneath many layers of renter abuse. Adam and I discovered quickly that Waterville was not the 3rd world, foreign country many people made it out to be, but that it was actually a rather nice little town.
Contrary to the advice and opinions of many of our friends and family, we made the seemingly irrational decision to buy the old fixer-upper and move to the tiny, "po-dunk" town. Now here we are, a couple of Waterville newbies; the ones nobody really knows but that most everyone has noticed.
Through this column, you can join us on our journey, as we discover the ups and downs of life in a small town.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Waterville Days
Well, I think Adam and I can officially call ourselves "locals," considering that it is our third summer living in Waterville and we finally made it to Waterville Days! It's an event that we've been meaning to attend since we moved here, but we seem to forget about it every year. Honestly, we would have missed it again this year, but we just happened to be home, working outside when we noticed that there was quite a bit of traffic in town.
After the parade, Adam and I took some time to peruse the vendors in the park exhibiting various wares for sale and we took a stroll through a small car show featuring several antique and some not-so-antique automobiles. It really didn't take long for us to see everything there was to see, so we sat in the grass for a while, enjoying a sno-cone and some pretty excellent live entertainment before heading home.
It was a fun little event and I'm glad we didn't miss it completely this year. Hopefully next year we'll be a little more on-the-ball so we can experience the early morning Fly-In Breakfast (I have no idea what that is) and the Horseshoe Tournament.
We made our way across the street just in time to see the parade come through. I giggled uncontrollably as the procession of mini-tractors and lawnmowers began to pass, followed by a single horseback rider and a pretty cool old John Deere. Other entries included Steven Jenkins, Candidate for Douglas County Commissioner, Waterville Family Grocery, the Waterville Ambulance and, of course, what parade would be complete without the fire trucks! It was a tiny, twice-around-the-block kind of parade, quaintly executed in true small-town style!
After the parade, Adam and I took some time to peruse the vendors in the park exhibiting various wares for sale and we took a stroll through a small car show featuring several antique and some not-so-antique automobiles. It really didn't take long for us to see everything there was to see, so we sat in the grass for a while, enjoying a sno-cone and some pretty excellent live entertainment before heading home.
It was a fun little event and I'm glad we didn't miss it completely this year. Hopefully next year we'll be a little more on-the-ball so we can experience the early morning Fly-In Breakfast (I have no idea what that is) and the Horseshoe Tournament.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Waterville Demolition Derby
I don't know what it is about the Demolition Derby that makes me feel so excited. Maybe it's the hilariously beat-up cars, or the absolutely whipped sound of their engines. I suppose it could be the fact that the Town of Waterville practically empties out as folks funnel into the fairgrounds or the announcer with the endless supply of corny jokes. Whatever the draw, I look forward to the derby every year.
The festivities begin with a visual showcase. Five or six 'lovely' cars line up in front of the grand stands along with their sponsors and pit crew members, and the crowd has the opportunity to vote for their favorite. The judges determine the showcase winner based on the loudness of the crowd's applause. Cars are eliminated, one by one, until only two cars remain. This year it was a close competition between a ridiculously beat-up Ford pick-up, which was obviously a derby veteran, and a Chevy truck, which was nicely painted Orange with the Unocal 76 logo. The 76 truck won, of course. (The orange 76-mobiles seem to dominate every year.)
The showcase is followed by a series of races. I crack up every time the officials wave the green flag and the drivers floor it, causing an eruption of totally unnecessary engine noise. They whip around corners flinging dirt in every direction, deliberately ramming disabled cars and diverting any leaders within bumping distance. You can't really see the drivers so, for me, each car takes on its own personality. I find myself feeling bad for the poor cars that get stuck or that break down in the middle of a race. This year it seemed like every race had a tire casualty! Many tires simply went flat, while others shredded to pieces. One tire exploded so loudly it startled the crowd and another cleanly detached itself from the wheel plopping itself right in the middle of the track. Nevertheless, each driver continued on, spinning their naked wheels as fast as their smoking engines would carry them. In the final race, one car lost its rear passenger wheel and as the driver continued around the track, the entire driver side rear wheel and axle assembly flew out of the side of the car prompting a hearty laughing fit from my friends and me.
The final, most anticipated event is the demolition derby. It is an uproarious free-for-all, in which each participating driver makes their best attempt to disable the other vehicles in the arena. The last car running wins. Unfortunately, this year's demolition derby ended far too quickly. One car never even got rolling and a single high-speed ram from car number 27 took three others out in the first fifteen seconds. Another high speed crash caused an engine fire, which stopped the action briefly, and sadly within a few short minutes the demolition derby was over. Car 27 celebrated its victory with a final crunching blow to its only lasting competitor, a nicely painted car resembling the American flag.
The evening ended with an awesome fireworks display accompanied by patriotic country music. I absolutely love 4th of July (or in this case, 3rd of July) fireworks. There's just something about the patriotism that is invoked and the feeling of unity that stirs in me a sense of pride and thankfulness. I am thankful for those who served and for those who died and I am proud of our current service men and women who risk their lives to protect our freedom. Thank you so much, Waterville, for a wonderful evening. I'm already looking forward to next year!
The festivities begin with a visual showcase. Five or six 'lovely' cars line up in front of the grand stands along with their sponsors and pit crew members, and the crowd has the opportunity to vote for their favorite. The judges determine the showcase winner based on the loudness of the crowd's applause. Cars are eliminated, one by one, until only two cars remain. This year it was a close competition between a ridiculously beat-up Ford pick-up, which was obviously a derby veteran, and a Chevy truck, which was nicely painted Orange with the Unocal 76 logo. The 76 truck won, of course. (The orange 76-mobiles seem to dominate every year.)
The showcase is followed by a series of races. I crack up every time the officials wave the green flag and the drivers floor it, causing an eruption of totally unnecessary engine noise. They whip around corners flinging dirt in every direction, deliberately ramming disabled cars and diverting any leaders within bumping distance. You can't really see the drivers so, for me, each car takes on its own personality. I find myself feeling bad for the poor cars that get stuck or that break down in the middle of a race. This year it seemed like every race had a tire casualty! Many tires simply went flat, while others shredded to pieces. One tire exploded so loudly it startled the crowd and another cleanly detached itself from the wheel plopping itself right in the middle of the track. Nevertheless, each driver continued on, spinning their naked wheels as fast as their smoking engines would carry them. In the final race, one car lost its rear passenger wheel and as the driver continued around the track, the entire driver side rear wheel and axle assembly flew out of the side of the car prompting a hearty laughing fit from my friends and me.
The final, most anticipated event is the demolition derby. It is an uproarious free-for-all, in which each participating driver makes their best attempt to disable the other vehicles in the arena. The last car running wins. Unfortunately, this year's demolition derby ended far too quickly. One car never even got rolling and a single high-speed ram from car number 27 took three others out in the first fifteen seconds. Another high speed crash caused an engine fire, which stopped the action briefly, and sadly within a few short minutes the demolition derby was over. Car 27 celebrated its victory with a final crunching blow to its only lasting competitor, a nicely painted car resembling the American flag.
The evening ended with an awesome fireworks display accompanied by patriotic country music. I absolutely love 4th of July (or in this case, 3rd of July) fireworks. There's just something about the patriotism that is invoked and the feeling of unity that stirs in me a sense of pride and thankfulness. I am thankful for those who served and for those who died and I am proud of our current service men and women who risk their lives to protect our freedom. Thank you so much, Waterville, for a wonderful evening. I'm already looking forward to next year!
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