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Jim's three daughters pose with their great-grandfather, Jim W. Coleman Sr., on a recent trip through the Phoenix area. :)
While working outdoors on Saturday, Jim stopped to snap this photo of a bumblebee on a cluster of budding Oregano.
Wow, I gotta hand it to Mayor Bozeman. When he first started talking about all the development in downtown Bremerton, I just kinda shrugged my shoulders as my eyes glazed over. We've heard it all before. And when the Harborside Conference Center was built, I still had my doubts. But today, when walking past Anthony's and seeing the new Credit Union building, I finally was impressed. This whole "revitalize downtown Bremerton" thing may actually work, hmmmm?
Okay, so I wasn't in a hurry to get the painting done, but here is the Star Lumber outbuilding, painted and complete. On a scale of one to five (with five being the best) I give Star Lumber a five for ease of construction and accuracy of pre-cut parts but a four overall - the supplied nails and screws weren't worth saving as scrap, they all ended up in the garbage. Do yourself a favor - when you build this outbuilding kit, go invest in some square-head screws.
And now, since I've already built one and I have the plans here, I'll go ahead and build another one but with my own lumber and no pre-fabricated front and side pieces. Think I'm up to it?
My 3 to 4 mile lunchtime walk sometimes brings me here, to the old Bay Bowl in Bremerton. Though closed now, this bowling alley had a bar ... and I set one of my short stories there after the death of my son. By clicking to enlarge the photo, you'll see a link where you can buy the book that contains this story. As you read the story, you can picture this bowling alley/bar. Or, for those who just like a free ride, you can click here [LINK] to read the story. I hope you like it enough to want to read more.
Here, Keith Gates of American Tree Service catches his breath up a large tree, preparing to drop more limbs. I've hired Keith many times over the years and I always think: This looks so easy a caveman could do it But, after several chainsaw/tree related trips to the emergency room, I leave it to the expert. And that's Keith.
Hooooga and Rina work on painting birdhouses, made by a friend, Al Cook of Bremerton. Next year, our birds will have new digs!
Kayla runs and squeals with delight after being pelted with a water balloon by her sister, Marina.
Sometime during the day on Friday, July 7, 2006, the skylight over the back storage room in Jim's writing studio exploded, showering glass all over the carpet and items on the floor, over the computers, over the art storage racks, and more. It literally will likely take years to remove all the glass from the room as it showered over semi-permanent storage racks loaded with Cherokee Art prints and other business and personal items.
It was a double paned skylight - only the inner pane ruptured with dramatic force. We are at a loss to explain how that could have happened. Has anyone ever heard of this type of thing, or experienced it yourself? If so, please comment.
This, a Jim W. Coleman Cherokee '01 art print depicts the traveling space warrior.
Detail from Jim W. Coleman's second best-selling art print, "Verde." It is set along Arizona's Verde River and conjures up memories from Jim's past life. (The quality of the photo is poor; eventually may be able to get a better photo).
No, it's not Larry King. This is the Jim W. Coleman Cherokee '97 art print of his great-uncle, Gale Wesley Coleman. As a kid, Jim enjoyed when Gale came by in his old VW Beetle, a car loaded full of Chicken-in-a-Bisquit crackers. As an adult, Jim mourned the loss of his beloved great uncle. This art piece was given as a gift to Jim's dad, Jim W. Coleman, Jr.
The Jim W. Coleman Cherokee '99 art print, "Shore Leave." Here's the question: Is he coming, or going?
Sonja Hill of Bremerton, Wash., a lovely model, who posed for Jim W. Coleman for his best-selling art print, "Indiana." This was the rarely-seen personal portrait I did for Sonja in exchange for her provocative poses.
Gilbert Gilman has been missing in the Staircase Trailhead area for more than a week, and the forest rangers have been conducting a comprehensive air and land search. On July 4, we decided to spend the day on the Staircase trails. The situation there is critical and the more people searching the better. Of course, we stayed to the trails and had a good time, hiking about 3.5 miles with the kids. The area was crawling with searchers and media and the helicopters buzzing by overhead were a little distracting - but we managed to have a good time. We hope Gilbert is found soon, for the sake of his family and loved ones.
While hiking, we occasionally saw signs of the search in progress. Here, a pink ribbon indicates that the area had already been searched the day before.
Here is the damaged bridge, about one mile up the Staircase trail. We saw divers here working the river, searching with underwater cameras for Gilbert. While on the trail, we passed the KIRO TV 7 news crew moving into the area.
Jim W. Coleman on the Staircase Trailhead helping out with the manhunt for Gilbert.
(Photo by Marina L. Coleman
While hiking the Staircase trail, we found an area of forest long ago stripped by a raging fire.
Linda, Rina and Kayla pose while hiking the Staircase trail near Lake Cushman in the Olympic National Forest on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State.
The scenery along the Staircase is beautiful. Still, however, we were haunted by the thoughts of Gilbert Gilman - where had he hiked, what had he seen, where did he run into trouble ... and why? Our thoughts and prayers are with the family.
Jim and Linda on the Staircase Trail.
(Photo by Marina L. Coleman
About two miles into the hike, the Staircase Trail gets very narrow. Indeed, I had to hack through some of it with my walking stick ... and it gets very tricky in spots with regard to steep rocks to climb and slippery conditions. Still, the trail is manageable by kids, provided they place their feet with care and get an occasional helping hand. Here, the gals walk far ahead up the trail while Jim lags to ... to get a picture.
(She's so excited she can't hardly stand it!)
Jim W. Coleman snaps a photo of his youngest daughter, Kayla, along the Staircase Trail near Lake Cushman on the Olympic Peninsula.
I constantly reminded the kids that although nature is beautiful, she also can be deadly. One misplaced step could cause one to fall immediately into the raging river below. In some places along the trail, no more than an inch or two separated the shoe from the potential of a fatal fall...
Linda takes a break at Beaver Flats to catch some sun and watch the kids pick and eat salmonberries along the river.
In a scene reminiscent of Stephen King's "Pet Semetary," Linda climbs over the deadwood into the forbidden zone along the Staircase Trailhead. The search for Gilbert Gilman was in full swing on the other side of this root cluster.
The cedar trees along the Staircase Trail are huge! Here, Linda poses for a photo inside one of the huge cedars.
At the start of the hike, the kids are anxious to go. Here, Rina and Kayla pose before hiking about 3.5 miles.
To get to the Staircase Trailhead, you must first cross over this bridge. There, a sign warns you that weapons are not permitted past that point. I found that odd - there are warnings posted about wild bears but you have to take the trail unarmed? Only in the People's Republic of Washington State.
After doing the Staircase Trail (and coming up empty-handed for Gilbert), we stopped by the Lake Cushman dam. "This isn't a dam," I scoffed, dismissing it and getting back into the truck. You want to see a real dam? Visit Arizona's Lake Mead or Roosevelt Lake. Those are dams. Washington State can't do anything right.
Because of the sheer volume of landscaping work that needs to get done this summer, Jim decided not to put in a garden at home - surprising everyone, himself included. However, because he can't get gardening out of his blood, he works in his father-in-law's garden and will continue to do so until harvest.
At work, Mike and I sometimes eat strange things like sardines, anchovies, wasabi-anything, Scott's chili - you mention it. As a joke, I bought Mike a can of squid from the corner Asian store, knowing that no one would actually eat it. But eat it he did. Actually, "relished it" might be more appropriate. After eating half the can, he threw it away in the lunch room. About an hour later and hungry again, he fished the can back out of the garbage and finished it off. The room stunk for about three or four hours (days). My coworkers were not thrilled with my actions but I state again and for the record: I didn't actually think humans ate that stuff. Looked like cat food to me.
Church, the little Devil-Cat, makes himself at home on my VW Beetle. This car will be restored but now, it's a pile of junk. I hope he gets it out of his system now ...
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