Hitty Pearl S. Buck visits Robin
Hitty Pearl S Buck & the San Juan Hittys
Dear Hittygirls Friends,
After a very long and stormy ferry ride I arrived safely at San
Juan Island. The boat was bouncing so hard that we had to keep our
seats and I heard that waves were breaking over the cars in the front
of the car deck. I felt somewhat worried but apparently the Washington
State Ferry system has an excellent safety record. They have been
having one storm after another here and another is forcast for tonight
with possible wind gusts up to 90 miles an hour!
If you don't hear
from me for a few days it will be because the electricity has gone
out. Please don't worry, I'm sure we will be safe and warm because the
San Juan Hittys live in a very sturdy house built by their Hitty
Friend Robin and her husband Mike. They heat it with a woodstove so it
will be like spending Christmas in a "Little House In The Big Woods",
one of my favorite stories.
This is a very beautiful island, about 18 miles long. I've been
told it looks much like parts of Scotland. There are many small
farmers who raise sheep and cows. On Saturday there is a Farmer's
Market in town that we're going to go to for vegetables and goat
cheese. Mmmm, I LOVE goat cheese! Today while there is a break between
storms we are going visit the whale watch park on the island's west
side. The whales aren't here now (I wonder where they go in the
winter?) but I hear there's a wonderful view and a cute little
lighthouse.
This has been such an amazing trip. In criss-crossing the country
I've found that there's so much diversity but I've always felt an
immediate bond with the Hitty families. Maybe it's what they call
Ancestral Memory. I will talk to you again soon. Oh, I almost forgot.
Hitty Friend Robin asked me to tell you that she is using an old
fashioned camera and so will have to have the film developed before
she can post pictures.
All the best to you,
Hitty Pearl S. Buck
12/16/06
Dear Hitty Friends,
Well the wind storm has passed and we are all still here. Luckily
the electricity wasn't out for too long and it's actually somewhat
sunny today. This morning Hitty Marcail & I went to the Farmer's
Market in town.
HPSB at the SJ Island Farmer's Market
HPSB & Marcail shopping for produce
Farmers from many of the islands around here come to
sell their wares on Saturdays. Some live on non-ferryserved islands
and get up very early to harvest their crops and bring them over in
their boats. There were beautiful baskets of colorful vegetables as
well as the aforementioned goat cheese and eggs, handspun yarn, and
smoked salmon. Hitty Marcail bought a Bob Bon squash for Hitty Cerise
to make a pie for Christmas and also some goat cheese for the salads.
Then we walked down to the waterfront to look at the boats and the
Salish house posts.
HPSB at the Salish House Posts
These are welcoming Salish house posts.
These were carved by a local native woman and are
a welcome to visitors as well as a tie to the native peoples who have
lived here for many centuries and still do. We managed to take some
pictures in spite of the still-gusty winds and hope to be able to post
them soon. This afternoon Hittys Marcail, Beathas, Bayou, Cerise,
Wren, Mei Yi, & myself, will take a trip into the woods to look for
the perfect Christmas tree. Little Mei Yi is extremely excited about
the idea. She is one of the Chinese orphans for whom I helped arrange
an adoption. I am pleased that she seems to have adapted so
wonderfully to her new home and is particularly bonded to Hitty
Beathas. It should be fun.
All the best to you & Happy Holidays!
Hitty Pearl S. Buck
12/20/06
Dear Hitty Friends,
We came back from our tree hunting expedition with just the right
Christmas tree. Hitty Beathas and Mei Yi decorated it with helpful
suggestions from the rest of us. Mei Yi said that this is the first
Christmas tree she's ever seen. I think it must also be the first for
Wei Wei and Kai Ying, the other two orphans that accompanied me on
this trip. So we're all in a very festive mood, wrapping gifts, baking
pies, and whispering secrets to each other. There is another storm
expected so hopefully we won't have to cook the holiday meal on top of
the woodstove, though I'm sure Mei Yi would think it was great fun.
Actually Hittys Beathas and Wren might think it was fun as well.
We did take some pictures at the Whale Watch Park where the
lighthouse is though there weren't any Orca whales to be seen. I
understand that no one really knows where they go in the winter but it
is believed that they head to Magdalena Bay in Mexico. (I think I've
got that right.) There are three pods, or family groups, of them and
when they return in late Spring there is a lot of rejoicing, both on
the part of the whales and their human friends.
HPSB at the Lighthouse on SJ Island
Lighthouse at the Whale Watch Park
We have seen lots of
eagles and fox as well as deer at the park though.
In the next few days we will be attending some holiday parties and
I'll be meeting many new friends. I'm glad I'm wearing such a pretty
dress. Robin's brother and his family will be arriving in their boat
from Lopez Island with the two little nieces. I'm sure you can guess
what they'll be receiving for Christmas. Dolls! As Robin always says,
"It's just not Christmas without dolls."
Love & Happy Holidays to you all,
Hitty Pearl S. Buck
12/26/06
Dear Hitty Friends,
I had a very merry little Christmas here with the San Juan Hittys.
Christmas with the San Juan Hittys
Cerise, Mei Yi, PSB, Beathas, Bayou, Marcail
I received a new fur trimmed hat decorated with a poinsettia and a
matching fur collar to go with my pink coat. What a beautiful
surprise!
Christmas with the San Juan Hittys
Hitty Pearl S. Buck receives a new hat & fur collar.
I think it was little Mei Yi who made the day the most
memorable for me though. As I mentioned, this was her first Christmas
and everything was so new and wonderful to her.
Christmas with the San Juan Hittys
Mei Yi in Pearl S. Buck's lap with a new doll
Her gifts included a
doll, a new "western style" dress, and an adorable little puppy
who
she named Bing Bing, which is a child's word for "cookie". We then
invited some other small dolls over for Christmas dinner and had a
jolly old time. The Bon Bon squash pie and the salad with herbs,
pears, and Farmer's Market goat cheese were a big hit. Pictures were
taken of the festivities and will be posted next week as well as the
other pictures that were taken previously.
Sadly my visit here on San Juan Island is coming to a close but I
will soon head for Santa Rosa, California and I'm very much looking
forward to that. The weather has got to be better there than it has
been here. I will be writing to you one more time from this island and
then I'll be on my merry way to visit with Elise and The Sonoma County
Hittys. All the best to you.
Love,
Hitty Pearl S. Buck
12/28/06
Dear Hitty Friends,
This evening I will be boarding the plane heading for
California
and the Sonoma County Hittys. While I'm looking
forward to my visit
with them I will also miss the San Juan Hittys and
this beautiful
place. One of the things that was given to me was a
recording on CD of
a song called "Leaving Friday Harbor" by the
Battlefield Band of
Edinburgh, Scotland. They wrote it on the ferry while
leaving this
island after a show here. It's a beautiful waltz
played by violin and
bagpipes and will everafter remind of the lovely time
I spent here. I
also want to share this poem with you that now has a
special meaning
for me. By coincidence, or perhaps not, it was written
by our Ancestor
Hitty's biographer, Rachel Field.
"If Once You Have Slept On An Island"
If once you have slept on an island
You'll never be quite the same;
You may look as you looked the day before
And go by the same old name,
You may bustle about in street and shop
You may sit at home and sew,
But you'll see blue water and wheeling gulls
Wherever your feet may go.
You may chat with the neighbors of this and that
And close to your fire keep,
But you'll hear ship whistle and lighthouse bell
And tides beat through your sleep.
Oh! you won't know why and you can't say how
Such a change upon you came,
But once you have slept on an island,
You'll never be quite the same.
--- Rachel Field
Happy New Year & Love from,
Hitty Pearl S. Buck
