This and that

Today we drove to Enumclaw for an indoor picnic. My cousin, Erik and his partner, Bert, flew up from Austin to spend the long weekend with Uncle Gene and Aunt Jeanie. The temperature in Austin this weekend is in the low 90's! Erik, knowing he would be spending the weekend in rain & cool temperatures, said he felt rather silly carrying a coat as he boarded the plane in Austin.

As soon as we drove through Buckley on Highway 410, the memory sensors in my brain begin to fire and I was besieged with wonderful memories of times spent in the Enumclaw area while growing up. You see, my grandparents owned 10 acres in the country where Grandpa, retired, raised a small herd of cattle while Grandma worked very part-time as a clerk at the local livestock sale barn.

While living in Richland, WA many a weekend would find us waiting for dad to arrive home from work on a Friday night. We would have the car packed, ready to 'hit the road' for the 4 hour drive to Enumclaw. (Invariably, dad would have to rearrange the trunk because it wasn't up to his engineering standards!) Once we kids became teenagers, we would each get to spend 2 weeks at the farm with our grandparents - the highlight of my summer!

Uncle Gene has lived in Enumclaw all his life. Visiting his lovely home at the edge of the foothills of the Cascade range evokes many of my happy Enumclaw memories.

It was wonderful being with all the family and we had a fun day.

Otis was traumatized on Saturday. The only time I have ever felt threatened by Otis' canine incisors is when I've attempted to clip his nails. I learned very quickly to allow others who know what they are doing to complete the task!

I took Otis to PetsMart (his favorite store because he is allowed to participate in actual retail therapy). They have clipped his nails in the past but this time, having a new computer system, they needed all his information. Because I didn't bring paperwork proving he is current on his shots, I was told Otis would be muzzled during the clipping process.

As you can see by this picture, he was not a happy camper! He sat up on his hindlegs and used his front paws in an attempt to pull the muzzle off. He looked like a squirrel eating a nut! I bought him an extra special bag of bones because of his humiliating ordeal...

Saturday afternoon I decided to work in the yard, despite the drizzle. Within a short time I shed my sweatshirt and, before too long, the sun actually started peeking through the clouds. By the time I went to bed (9:30 pm), there was was hardly a cloud in the sky. In the Seattle area, about an hour north of us, the sun was not present. I took this photo of my shadow to prove that we did have sun! No. I am not suffering from a rare case of giantism......

A bridge to somewhere new

I watched the quirky romantic movie, Kate & Leopold recently and was captivated by one of Kate's insights. She, a young, single, stressed working woman living in Manhattan comments, "I live on an island, connected to everything by bridges yet I never use them. I never travel."

I found myself nodding in agreement. How many of us feel the same way? We live in small worlds of our own making; driving the same route to work each day, shopping at the same grocery store, cooking the same foods, buying and planting the same flowers in our yard year after year. Enough already! We need to use those bridges to see new vistas and experience new adventures.

So, on this glorious spring morning I took one of those bridges which led me away from my ordinary routine. Otis and I drove to McClane Nature Trail. I must admit, it wasn't a long drive, just across town, but I haven't been there for years and it was something different to do!


And it was magical! The forest smells sweet and fresh in the spring, especially after our many days of rain. The birds were trilling lovely melodies and even the frogs were croaking. The trail is 1.1 miles long and wanders past beaver ponds, through coniferous forests, deciduous woods, open areas, marshes and swamps. Many boardwalks have been constructed to keep one from walking in the marsh. Ferns abound, as do many stinging nettles, skunk cabbage, buttercups, bleeding hearts, lily pads and cattails. I felt I had been whisked away into another land. It was truly delightful!






McClane nature trail is also a prime spot for school field trips and we weren't disappointed. A class was wandering around, clipboards in hand, hopefully learning something. Otis was ecstatic as he received many pets from the students.

Be Still

I read a blog post written by an artist & writer whose work takes her away from her home by traveling to large cities and other countries.

Recently, having completed her work in New York City, she had planned a few days of leisure in which she would visit exhibits, take in a couple of Broadway shows, eat well & shop.

On day two of her scheduled downtime, she found herself having an intense longing to return to her hotel, curl up on the bed and read. At first she attempted to talk herself out of such ridiculousness! 'I'm in New York City, for heaven's sake! I can read when I get home.' Yet her longing to be still triumphed over her mind's rants of practicality. She spent the remainder of her day in quietness while the relentless cacophony of New York City continued outside her hotel window.

We all have moments, likely more than we are even conscious of, in which our soul simply yearns for stillness. Yet we ignore the quiet invitation to take a moment of repose choosing instead to scuttle about with distracting activities. We need to take a lesson from our bovine friends. We need to lay down under the shade of a tree and ruminate.

In days of old, kids were chastised for 'wool-gathering'. In our generation, we need to do more of it.

Look who's been monkeying around!

Today was Courtney's monkey themed baby shower. Funny how we throw a shower for the mom but in actuality, it's the baby who gets all the loot!

I made mom's Sweet 'n sour meatballs, yummy spinach salad, & crunchy garlic bread. Kim brought her infamous pasta salad. We ate well.


Debbie is having trouble deciding which kind of poo is in the diaper! It looks like this might be a Reese's pile!

And Kim doesn't appear to appreciate the taste of Gerber baby food. No wonder our kidlets make faces when we first feed them those pureed green beans!


Mom's long piece of yarn proves she WAY overestimated the girth of Courtney's bubble tummy!


Courtney models her 'hooter hider' lovingly made by Jenny. Notice the pockets....

A flannel rag quilt made by yours truly. They are indestructible....

hmmm... perhaps Cooper will turn out to have goth tendencies?


Oops... A group photo taken after Shirley & Jonny had already left.



The loot. This child will be the best dressed infant this side of the Cascades!

On a card, given me by my best friend, Jonny: 'Grandbabies.... all you need to do is hold one to know how heaven feels.... Aren't you blessed.'

Little Cooper is much anticipated and already surrounded by incredible love. Thank you Courtney for carrying him with such grace, attentiveness and love. While incubating, he is absorbing all the vibes of adoration & good will. He is wanted. He is loved.

Come into our world soon, little Cooper!

Spring color

When spring arrives I long to spend every free moment working in the garden.

Digging in the dirt is therapeutic. As I turn the soil and remove weeds in my flower beds, the weight of my daily woes dissipate and my mind clears. It's a very pleasant sort of therapy.

Look at these happy pansies,

this vibrant, purple lupine,

and these girlishly, frou frou, pink crab apple blossoms (wouldn't they be beautiful in a bridal bouquet?)
I pulled this old wheelbarrow out of the junk pile, painted it red and it is now awaiting warmer weather to fill with zinnias.


This week, we seem to be stuck in a cool weather pattern with plenty of rain. I'm itching for warmer, drier weather so I can plant vegetable starts and sow flower seeds.....

Bloom where you are planted

If ever I stumbled across an example of 'bloom where you are planted' it is a young man named Seth who drives a shuttle bus for Masterpark Lot B at SeaTac airport near Seattle.

Mom and I were exhausted after a short weekend of planning & planting flower pots and beds for friends in California. After an uneventful return flight we simply wanted to get home. But first we had to take a shuttle from the airport to our parked car.

My experience with shuttle bus drivers is that they are polite yet impersonal. They willingly help with luggage and quickly pocket their tip. Seth, however, is an exception. He met us at the curb with a huge smile, apologized for nearly driving right by us and quickly loaded our suitcases on board. Once I became situated, I immediately noticed the music, Sarah McLachlan's 'In the Arms of an Angel' playing softly. Then I noticed the music was coming from his ipod, magically connected to the bus' radio/cd player. Seth, grinning broadly, asked his passengers if we liked the music. He told us he has created 16 playlists of music and has dubbed May as 'women musician' month!

He and I chatted all the way to the parking lot where he kindly announced our arrival, ask us all to step off the bus and proceeded to hand us our luggage. Leaving Mom to tip him, I walked inside to pay our bill. Mom related later how Seth carried luggage to a young family's car assisting the mom and dad who had their hands full with strollers and young children - truly going beyond his call of duty. Every act of service was done with a huge, friendly smile and boundless enthusiasm.

I point out this encounter because coincidentally I read a magazine article on the plane that explained how people who are able to combine work with their passion are so content that they rarely work a 40 hour week. By not working a 40 hour week, they may make less money than a fellow employee who is working merely to pay the bills. But because working their passion fulfills them, they are content with less and often live simple lives.

One could assume that Seth, who appears to be no older than 30, is merely marking time. Perhaps he was 'down-sized' out of a corporate job recently and driving a shuttle bus is the only work he can find. Or, could it be his passion for others has become his 'calling' and he is perfectly happy in his current position?

If I was a headhunter and stumbled across Seth, I'd say I found the mother lode.....