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BLOG DESCRIPTION:
   Shi Blogs Too: from out of the mountains where I live. I will now be keeping a journal. This is something new for me. I have no idea what I am doing, just that I am diving in. This should be an interesting journey for me. Mainly because I consider myself to be a semi-private person. I live with my fiance and our two kitties, in what I have come to recognize as a small community in a somewhat remote area. Retirement has it's own life style and livelihood. Far away from the norm.       ![Merit Badge in Blog Camping
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Sorry for outbidding you in the [Link To Item #2113623] ...I'm not a fan of bidding wars and feel bad about it. I know this isn't the same thing as the package itself, but it's the least I could do. *^*Smile*^*](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Blog_Camping-1788309_13.gif) If you want to find out more about me...read my Author Bio ~
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| We are having to replace a window pane high above the dining room window and slider. It is what is called a Riverfront window, I believe. It seems it was never sealed in its enclosure, and worked it's way loose at top when a bulldozer leveled the ground for our garage next to the house. We've watched it slowly slip away from the top for quite some time now. They are double-pane windows , so there was no outside exposure to be concerned with. I'm sure that there could have been some heat loss during the winter, however. Anyways, the "glass man" comes today to replace it. I guess that's about it for the big news today.  Our movie last night was pretty good. We watched a BBC movie of Jane Austen's "Persuasian". It starred Amanda Root. I thought it was well done. I don't recall ever reading the novel, so it was new to me. Ron even enjoyed it. I must say we love the BBC movies off of NetFlix!  |
| The weather is getting warmer around Western Washington again. We are actually 86 degrees here at home. Ron went riding with his riding chums today. I stayed home and got some cleaning done. His sister Patricia called at noon and we chatted for awhile. She has done the last edit on her book "The Shelties of Windsong Castle", and it is soon to be published. I can hardly wait to see what it looks like. I plan on buying my own copy. Her line of shelties no longer exists after the passing of Jasmine and Aladdin last winter. Both of them died of old age. It was a very sad time for her. She does, however, still have Pebbles her Llaso Apso/Bichon and her new addition Toby(who is a Llaso also.) She just sent a bunch of photo's of them both out on her patio. So cute. Ron came home today with some really nice wax peppers and cucumbers. He just got through slicing them all up along with a sweet onion and stuck them all in some vinegar brine. We will have them with our salami on rye. Yummy. Wonder what movie we will be watching off of NetFlix tonight. Last night we watched "The Red Shoe Diaries." It was interesting, but not my cup of tea. I certainly would never recommend it for anyone. Someone who is into having affairs and rough sex might get off on it ...but it did nothing for me.  |
| The other day I got two invites to join facebook. One was from my sister Ellie, the other from my nephew Darren. So, I joined. Again. I had been a past member, but when I had to change my email address, I could not get back in. My old email account had been wiped out and there was no way I could use it to get into facebook because I could not even remember my PASSWORD! Don't ya just love it? Well, now I am a member again, and I have to say I am totally shocked at all of my relatives that are in there!! So many nieces and nephews that live back in Michigan have joined that site for networking. We are all having fun writing on eachother's wall, and looking at all of our family photo albums. Some of these nieces and nephews have a MySpace, as I have had for years...but some I haven't seen on there. What is really neat is my sissy Ellie is on facebook! She was always so afraid to join MySpace or even go there for fear of getting a virus on her computer!  I have to admit it when I joined the first time I never thought I would use it like MySpace, but it has improved with it's networking and I so like it better now! Oh, and I wrote my password down this time...just in case. |
| A couple of photo's of me taken today. ** Image ID #1589124 Unavailable ** ** Image ID #1589122 Unavailable ** |
| I don't know about the rest of you Seniors out there, but I have found a most pleasant side to aging - I dream more. Not just now and then, but every night, and mostly early morning hours. Apart, from a few exceptions, most all of my dreams are very pleasant ones. They are filled with vivid images and warm feelings. Sometimes they are continuous dreams where I will awake periodically, then fall back into the same dream over and over again. These dreams I can always recall upon awakening. Some feel so realistic that I am left with lingering feelings for hours afterwards. At times I even talk in my sleep while dreaming. This always wakes up my partner, Ron, who gets a kick out of asking me questions in response to what I say out loud. He will keep it up until I am fully awake and aware of what he is doing.  Then we both laugh about what had been said. Most always it doesn't make sense and is ridiculously funny!Sometimes, however, a nightmare or two will crop up. Usually when that happens it involves some wild animal that is chasing after me. It can be of bears or a large cat. I always wake up just before the animal reaches me, thank goodness. I think that most of these nightmares stem from the fact that I have a fear of bears. When I was a small child I can remember there being a picture of bears walking through a forrest that hung on my bedroom wall. When I began to have nightmares my mother took the picture down of course. My fear of bears never went away though.  |
| Got my hair cut - got my picture taken. Don't laugh...I'm gonna be 66 years old in a few months - and that's my natural hair color by the way! I'm not that fond of this photo because I don't look relaxed, but it will do until I get a better updated one in here. ** Image ID #1588617 Unavailable ** |
| It's been over a week since a heat wave started here. Today it is still hot at 94 degrees. That's cool compared to the 112 mark that it hit here on Wednesday of this week. We did go to town that day to escape the hottest day that we could ever remember around Western Washington. We took our time strolling and shopping in the cool air-conditioned Costco store. Then went to eat in a cool restaurant in Mount Vernon. When we passed the Red Apple grocery store on our way into town the temperature on their billboard read - 108 degrees. By 7:00 P.M. we were home again and it was still cooking here. We just kept drinking the fluids and using every fan we had in the house, plus the AC to stay as comfortable as we possibly could. Ron ordered another portable air conditioner, but it arrives on Monday. I'm sure we will be getting some use out of it before this summer is over, though. I'm looking forward to a cooler house in the event of another heat wave here! |
| We are about five days into a extremely hot heat wave here. Yesterday we topped out at 108 on the back deck. Today we are at 109 degrees. They are predicting hotter temperatures for Wednesday and Thursday, with cooling down into the 90's by Friday! We are using the AC in one room this afternoon, laying low and drinking plenty of fluids. Tomorrow we will take the air-conditioned Mazda to town. We will do some shopping and eat out at our favorite restaurant. For those of you who live on the West Coast where this ridge of high pressure is hanging - stay cool.  |
| The Concrete Municipal Airport is the home base of the Concrete Fly-In on July 24, 25, and 26, 2009. This annual event attracts aviators from all over the Pacific Northwest and parts of Canada. The airport has a 2,600-foot paved runway and a 1,600-foot grass runway. The paved runway can handle aircraft up to approximately 12,000 pounds. In addition to small civilian planes, the airport also sees use by helicopters, including those operated by law-enforcement and federal agencies, as well as helicopter-logging companies. Also on site is a lighted medi-vac pad for hospital airlifts. Hundreds of planes are on display on the ground and above for the three day event. On Friday, July 24, we witnessed many different models, and different colored planes buzzing overhead all day long. Some were actually performing stunts in the air above our home. They were putting on quite the air show all that day. Yesterday was a different kind of air show, however. Mother nature took the controls; lit up the afternoon and evening sky with brilliant shades of purple and blazing white lightening above the mountain tops, as the thunder cracked loudly above us and rolled down across the valleys.  |
| I spent all day Monday preparing for the arrival of two of my kids and four grandkids. It was going to be hot that day so I put the big roast in the oven by noon. I was thinking that they would be arriving sometime around 4:00 or 5:00 P.M. As it turned out Julie called me and said that they would be leaving Port Orchard around four or five o'clock! I told her not to stop to eat, that I would have dinner ready for them when they got here. "Eat snacks," I said over the phone. Then I waited, and waited until they finally pulled in the driveway at 8:20 that evening! Boy, were they all ever hungry by that time, too. I had everything all ready for them. Top sirloin roast with potatoes and carrots, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, sliced tomatos, and black and Spanish olives. We all sat down and enjoyed our dinner over alot of loud talking about the trip up to Grandma's house and the hot weather. They were all wanting to know where the nearest lake and park was so that they could go swimming while they were here. I told them about Baker Lake which was not too many miles away. So they looked up GPS's on their wireless electronics and got the maps and miles. How neat! Those little handheld "devices" sure can come in handy. After dinner Matt and the boys immediately started setting up their big tent to sleep in. Then later the kids and Matt watched a movie while Julie and I talked. The TV went off at midnight, but the house did not settle down until after 1:00 A.M. I could hear comings and goings from the tent to the bathroom off of my utility room. The next day was a scorcher. It got so hot in the house I had to turn on the AC. It wasn't long after lunchtime was over when they all piled in Julie's Trailblazer and headed out to the lake for a swim. I stayed home to catch a nap and cook spaghetti dinner. Three hours later they were back from the lake. They were all raving about what a great time they had. The lake was clean and clear and they loved it! The only thing they didn't love was the mosquito's that dive bombed them from the lake to the car! My granddaughter Alex got bit by a deer fly and she was red and swollen from the bite. They had taken some OFF with them, however. Somehow, that did not deter any of them from going back the next day for another dip in that beautiful lake. I stayed home on Wednesday, too, to catch a catnap and fix chicken tetrazzini. That's a dish that I had never fixed for them all before, and none said they had ever eaten eat either. It was a hit with every one of them! Later on while they were all outside playing badmitten, I noticed a message blinking on my phone. I hadn't heard it ringing because the TV had been blaring away. It was Ron calling from a payphone with a local area code I recognized. He was on his way home a day earlier than expected. While I was flipping through the phone book trying to figure out where the call had come from, Julie pops in the front door and yells "Mom, Ron's home!" I told her,"yeah, he left a message from a payphone so I figured he was close in the area." "Well, Mom he's here right now!"she exclaimed. I looked at her and I saw my "little girl" Julie again. I walked out to the garage and he had just climbed off of his motorcycle. He looked so tired. I gave him a great big hug and told him how glad I was to see him, and that he looked so good. He had ridden over 1,200 miles through two states for four days. I helped him carry his gear into the house. The kids followed us in one by one to greet him. Standing around the kitchen counter he reached into one of his bags and pulled out a bag of big Rainier cherries for the kids. Julie later told me that she watched him dismount his big bike very slowly and very slowly inch himself to a standing position. He was ready to get off of that bike a day early for sure! We were all tired that night and ready for lights out at eleven. Next morning I fixed a big pancake breakfast for all of us. The kids were soon packing up to leave. It didn't take them long to get that big tent down and on top of the car either. Before they left I wanted a picture of all of us. We all stood in front of the birch tree and Ron took our picture. We had a great visit and hugged and kissed goodbye. Then off they drove down our road waving goodbye. ** Image ID #1584514 Unavailable ** ** Image ID #1584540 Unavailable ** My son Matt and grandson Kody ** Image ID #1584536 Unavailable ** the kids at beautiful Baker Lake ** Image ID #1584522 Unavailable ** Alex ** Image ID #1584524 Unavailable ** Mother and daughter ** Image ID #1584520 Unavailable ** Michael ** Image ID #1584515 Unavailable ** Michael, Kody and Kory  Kory, Kody, Matt, me, Julie, Alex, and Michael ** Image ID #1584528 Unavailable ** Waving goodbye |
| Ron and his friend Dave are leaving early in the morning for Eastern Washington on their sport cycles. They will go from there down into Oregon then travel west across the state. Ron won't be back until Friday. I'm sure they will have a great time. They go on a bike ride like this every summer. I won't be all alone though - I've got a couple of my kids and some grandkids coming up to spend the week with me. My daughter Julie is coming up with my granddaughter Alex, my son Matt, his two boys (Kody and Kory.) They may even bring my grandson Michael Allen with them! So, I am going to have lots of company and they are going to have a nice summer vacation up here in the mountains. Ron got the hot tub already for them. I stocked up on snacks, soda, and sport drinks. We are having nice warm weather here so Matt is bringing his big tent for he and the boys to sleep outside. I'm really looking forward to this visit! |
I was over visiting my friend Nada  's blog today. She has a wonderful tribute to a WDC member here who has recently passed away. Out of curiosity I clicked on the White Case Memorial in the Sponsored Items area. I was shocked to see that one of my dear friends here had passed away, also. I just have to say a word or two about him. Rest In Peace dear teihzbael  Besides reading your endearing childrens stories, I enjoyed your friendship, emails, and reviews. Your short story
Goodbye my friend. |
| Growing up in a family of seven siblings had it's rewards. I was never at a loss of someone to play with, and I learned about sharing at very young age. It can have it's setbacks , however. My rank amongst my siblings was one that befell me. I was the classic "middle child." I never knew where I fit in - with the older kids or the younger kids. I can remember being told more than once: "go play with the older kids," and "go play with the younger kids." It never helped that I was somewhat timid and shy on top of feeling insecure about not fitting in. Don't get me wrong, though, we all loved each other deeply, and still do for that matter. I am only trying to stress here the insecurities in myself that sprung from sibling rivalry. My willingness to please everyone and seek out encouragement instead of criticism was probably seeded at a very young age because of my position held amongst my siblings. I never understood it at the time, but it did make me very competitive. I excelled in academics graduating sixth highest in my senior class. Played on the girls’ basketball team for four years, and loved girls’ softball. I participated in any kind of games for that matter, honing my skill for winning. Yet, when graduation rolled around in my senior year at Montrose High School, I turned down a scholarship to attend college. I was so insecure about my abilities and reluctant to leave the safe haven of my home and family. I have always regretted that major mistake I made. I was content at the time to relish in the fact that I was the first of all of my siblings to graduate from high school! My having two older brothers who quit school to go to work, an older sister who quit school because of her health problem’s (asthma and eczema), made me first in line for first. Despite, the fact that I earned my cap and gown, I never felt as though my family were that proud of my accomplishment. In fact I never expected them to be, really. What I remember most about my graduation night was my daddy coming to my graduation! I was so proud of him! He worked long hours in the Fisher Body Plant down in Flint, Michigan, and we rarely got to spend any time with him. Most of his spare time was spent drinking beer at home. So when he showed up sober for my graduation I felt elated and proud. My brothers never continued with any more schooling, yet they all held good jobs out in the workforce. Two of my sisters did get their GED’s later on, and my youngest sister followed in my footsteps and graduated high school also. She and my sis that’s one year younger than me took classes to further their educations. One became a hairdresser with her shop in her own home, the other still works as a Pharmacist Assistant. I, however, never got past being a wife and a mother of five children. I spent years at home satisfied with raising my children, and being a good homemaker. It wasn’t until after my spouse of thirty six years succumbed to heart failure, that I ventured out to broaden my horizons. At sixty three years of age I began writing seriously. I joined Writing.Com and posted my writings for critique. Soon reviews started coming in giving me the encouragement I needed to continue writing. I found my genre in poetry and the poems began spilling off of my pen and keyboard. Then I got my first bad review! I was devastated. I felt humiliated. I was a newbie on the site and I wanted to quit right then and there. I could not, did not, know how to handle the criticism. I told the moderator who reviewed me that I never wanted her to review me again…that I never wanted her visiting my portfolio again! I did, later, apologize to her, but I’m sure she did not recognize my apology. I don’t blame her. I must have made her feel as bad as I did, or worse. I stayed with the site and wrote one poem after another filling up my portfolio in a matter of months. I wrote several short stories, mostly non-fiction. Still, I continued to welcome the reviews that praised my work and tried to ignore those that offered any amount of criticism. I hated it when people picked my “babies” apart. I tended not to take their advise and edit anything other than what I felt like editing. I went on to self publish my poetry. I wanted books in print for myself, my children, grandchildren and my extended family members. One of my younger sisters thanked me for the books I had signed and sent to her. She paid for the books and for the shipping cost to send them out of state. She wrote on her thank you note, “It will be nice to own some of my sister’s published poetry. I will enjoy!” I felt good about having my books in print. I rode the “high” until one day I got a note from my older sister. I had sent her two of my poetry books and one non-fiction book of short stories months before and I anxiously awaited her response. The note read “I know I’m late with this note. I want to thank you for sending your diarys’.” Ouch! Diaries? What about my poetry? She did not acknowledge any talent I might have for writing poetry. I felt like a kid again. She made me feel like a kid again. I was not good enough to be an author…or just plain not good enough period. The “middle child thing” crept back in. The older sister again tried to make me feel…or did I just imagine it…not good enough, still. That took me awhile to get over, but I never let her know how she made me feel. I made the mistake of letting her know how I felt about something years ago and she turned on me with the Wrath of Lorraine. That’s her name, and she’s my big sister, and she lets me know it! She can be sweet and I love her dearly, so I try not to butt heads with her because she is older than me and she deserves that respect. Getting back to writing, I just recently joined a group to improve my reviewing. I had begun to slack off on my reviews and I couldn’t figure out why. So, I signed up to take a workshop for improving my reviews. It has been a real learning experience to say the least. I found out that I just did not have enough confidence to give my real HONEST opinion without hurting someone's feelings...so I slacked off on my reviewing. I have learned so much about bettering my reviews to benefit the person I’m reviewing, and improve my writing to boot. Never having been one to accept much criticism…this workshop has opened my eyes to the benefits of unfavorable criticism. It made me stop and realize that I was always refusing to accept what I thought was a “bad review”, as something that was for my benefit; to make me a better writer. Sure, I had always read in these reviews that sentence - “this is just my opinion, and take only what you think is helpful.”, but I never really understood until now…that is exactly what they were all about…being HELPFUL. Needless, to say, I think that now I will be putting my insecurities aside and lavish up the criticism! And review... review...review. No one ever said that the middle child was stupid did they?  |
| As some of you may already know there is a workshop going on right now to help Rising Stars become better at reviewing. I happen to be one of the members lucky enough to have been invited into that group. I've really enjoyed participating in the workshop and enjoy the interaction in the forum there. I think that I have gained much by joining this workshop. Not only for improving my reviewing skills, but for my own writing skills as a writer, also. I can't say enough for the opportunity to be a part of this unique learning experience. My thanks go out to Gabriella for the invite to join this fantastic workshop in the first place, and to Carol Marsella who has been so successfull at attentively leading this group. For those of you who are interested and would like to check it out, you can find the workshop here -
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| Our trip to Eastern Washington for the Fourth of July weekend went well. We left the house at 7:00 A.M. on Friday, July 3rd. and arrived in Moses Lake at Ron's sister's house at around 2:00 P.M. We made a stop for a full breakfast in a town just south of Winthrop called Carleton. They served a lovely breakfast fit for a logger! It was way more than we both could eat, but we ate enough to hold us over until we arrived at Patricia's hours later. We were greeted at the door by little Pebbles(her doggie) and the newest addition to the family "Toby". Pat took this little Llaso Apso in when a neighbor boy could not find the owner. She has since tried every possible way to contact the little guys owner, but no one has claimed him yet. So, he has found a new home with Pat and Pebbles. They of course adore him. Who wouldn't? He is so cute and sweet. Not an aggressive bone in his body. He just fits right in. He is great company for both of them. Especially, after losing her two shelties to old age last winter. He fills up that void in the household now. I secretly hope that the owners never do surface and that Pat can keep the little guy. We had a great time visiting and time flew by so fast. Ron cooked his famous Chop Suey for dinner on the Fourth, and his Mom even came for dinner too. The "chef's" meal was a big hit. They loved it! Later on we had apple cherry pie with Marionberry ice cream. Ummmm ummm yummy. Mom didn't stay to watch the fireworks because she wanted to get home before dark. At ninety two she still drives! She only lives a few miles across the lake from Pat so she did not have far to drive. Pat spoke to her on the phone later to make sure she made it home fine. The fireworks were as awesome as always. They seem like they are directly above us where we sat out on her back patio! But, of course they shoot them off a barge across the lake. During the course of the evening Ron watched The Mike Tyson fights televised on ESPN. I watched some of them with him. I never realized what an amazing boxer he was during his career of boxing. He was a boxing "bulldog!" Almost everyone he fought he knocked out only minutes into the first round! We could not believe what we were seeing! They never televised his fights back then on regular TV channels. They were all closed circuit Pay Per View fights. So many of us only heard of them afterwards or read about them. I for one don't remember any of his fights except the one where he bit his opponent on the ear! They showed that over and over again on CNN. If anyone ever doubted his ability as a boxer I suggest you watch his fights. In my opinion he was "the Greatest." Not, Ali. If my dad had lived to see Mike Tyson box he would have been astounded! My dad used to be a boxer and he loved watching all of the fights that he could. He would have enjoyed watching Tyson win his first 19 professional bouts by knockout, 12 in the first round! Then go on to be the undisputed heavyweight champion and remain the youngest man ever to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles. Inspite of his controversial behavior both inside and outside the ring, the man could really pack a punch! |
| Today marks the start of a high pressure system here in Western Washington. This system will push our temperatures up into the high 80's for today and continue through the 4th. of July weekend! By Friday it could even bring temperatures well into the 90's here. We will be leaving for Eastern Washington on Friday morning to spend the holiday weekend at Moses Lake with Ron's sister and mother. We will get to see the 4th. of July fireworks above the lake there. It has become a holiday tradition for us now. I'm sure it will be sizzling hot over there! If we are lucky, there may even be a breeze blowing off of the lake. We are all looking forward to this visit. Ron will be making some of his wonderful chop suey when we get there. His sister and his mom are in for a treat. They have never tasted his delicious speciality before. I'm sure they will love it as much as he and I do. It not only is a taste bud pleaser, but it is so colorful to see! He usually dices a red bell pepper into it, amongst all the rest of the vegtables, sauce, and pork. Then serves it over steamed rice. Not your typical (barbecued) dinner for the fourth of July...but a light and lovely dish for sure.  Hope you all have a great 4th. of July weekend! I know I will. ** Image ID #1546233 Unavailable ** |
| We rode the Vulcan to Anacortes yesterday. Where we met up with our friends Dave and Nancy. It was great to be out on the motorcycle in the sunshine. It was even greater to see my friend Nancy. She has been battling breast cancer. She's been through chemo, radiation, and a full mastectomy. She lost her hair, but it is coming back in. For now it is white. She thinks it will darken up again, though. She looks good and she says she feels good. Nancy is amazingly brave and courageous. She has kept up a positive attitude throughout her ordeal. She gets her strength from God and prayer. She allows His light to shine through her and enlighten the lives of those around her. I admire her for that. Every email from her is filled with Hope and Love. She has no time for self-pity or depression. She saves her energy to help those around her who are in need of finding a better way of life. She loves working with youth groups through her church, and much of her time has been spent on helping the troubled youth in her area. For those of us who have been fortunate enough to know her and share her friendship, we can't help but feel that she has made an impression on our lives. She's showed me that His light shines bright to lead our paths in this life no matter what prevails us. ** Image ID #1546233 Unavailable ** |
I wrote a poem yesterday for CountryMom's contest ~ ~ Lady Liberty ~ On July 4th. her crown reopens again, Lighting the path, Lady Liberty will reign. A symbol of freedom from slavery, This monumental display of bravery. She welcomes visitor and immigrant. New York Harbor's colossal attendant. Raised right foot, broken shackles proving, Her Liberty remains forever moving. This gift from the people of France, In recognition of friendship did enhance, And enlighten freedom and democracy, As opposed to tyranny and aristocracy. Her torch signifies enlightment within. "Broken shackels" constitute the win. She stands tall for all the world to see, Reminding all of us that freedom isn't free. |
| For those of you who think that it rains all the time in Seattle, think again. They actually, just ended a record breaking dry streak at Sea-Tac Airport. The "official" dry streak was 29 days. They tied with 1982 for the driest May-June (or better said, spring) stretch in Seattle's history, then hit the Day 30 ... thus breaking the record! Of course, it's now raining in Seattle again, and here, and all around us for that matter. One might say that we were getting the hot Southern California dry spring weather, and they were getting all of our rain for a month there. That was certainly a good trade off for us, though, I thought.  But, alas, summer has officially arrived and we are back to cool, rainy days again. As long as it heats up somewhat so that I can run around in shorts again, I'm happy. |
| To all of you who are fathers out there ~ HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!! |
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