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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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I just got through creating a Sig Shoppe today-
My fingers are sore from typing on end for over four days now! So I am going to go watch a movie...yeah!!!! |
| It's been rain showers off and on all day here. Not much going on. Ron rode the bike with two of his chums from Whidby Island. I played around on my computer most of the day. Got my fourth and final cNote collection done. This one I called Shi's Friendship Stitches
 It's been lots of fun.I really miss my kids lately. I am going to have to make another trip down to Port Orchard to see them all again soon I hope. It takes 3 1/2 hours to get down there! Makes it an all day trip or an overniter. Tomorrow though we are going to go see the twins. That's Ron's daughter Angella's twin girls. They are going to be three years old next month around Halloween! Doesn't seem possible already. They only live little over an hour away. They are so cute and sweet , and always so glad to see us. We will take our camera with us to get some up to date pics of them. I will have to put their pics on display here I guess. |
| What a mix of weather we had today. First cloudy... then sunshine... then showers. ..then sunshine and cloudy and showers! We were able to get our 45 minute walk in though. When we got back it started sprinkling. Soon I'm sure we won't be able to avoid all the showers, and then it will be downright RAIN! This morning I opened up my third cNote shop. I really enjoyed making these notes for the community to use. I also am donating one half of the GPs to The Angel Army
Well, gotta run. It's movie time! |
I spent a few hours today creating another fundraiser for The Angel Army. I have another collection of cNotes . This one is called Shi's Sea Notes you can check it out here
Today was a sunny and warm day. We were going to go for a bike ride, but Ron's nap lasted longer than he had planned, and by the time he was up we were hungry. So we postponed the bike ride and went for our walk after dinner instead. Yeah....better for us anyhow! We are walking everyday now. We both have a goal to lose some weight. We also need to get our cholesterol levels back down to normal. His goal is to get off of the blood pressure pill that his dr. put him on a couple of weeks ago. He has never had a blood pressure problem till now. Needless to say it does not sit well with him. So we walk...and we walk briskly I might add! He tells me we are walking in the rain when we have to , so that means we will be wearing some rain gear on those days. Lets see; the rainy season begins next month I believe , and usually lasts all winter. Oh the joys of living in the Northwest! |
Today I spent the better half of the day creating a fundraiser for The Army Angels. I opened a cNote shop. You can check it out here:
This is only the third activity I have created on this site. And, I should add the most time consuming one at that! It is my first fundraiser, however. Oh but, it was a blast to put together. I am thinking of creating another bunch of cNotes already! I sure don't get much done around the house here when I'm doing something like that though. Ron ended up making the lima bean and ham soup for dinner today. He always makes it better than I do anyways....maybe there was a plan to that??? Oh but, he's not being slighted. Yesterday I made some delicious apple cobbler again!!! We'll have that for dessert tonight with vanilla ice cream. I bet ya'll sure get tired of hearing about our cooking don't cha now??? |
Opps I did it again....I forgot to blog today. I was so busy online and in WDC reading and writing reviews for The Angel Army today. Sometimes I just get all caught up in the moment. By the time I was off my computer it was time for dinner. Then off for our walk before sunset. We didn't walk quite as far today. Just around the big block. That's around the loop here. Actually we started out ...walked about 300 feet ...and I had to turn around and come back home to use the bathroom! Bad timing. That taken care of we resumed our walk around the loop. Then soon after our walk we decided to watch a movie on Dish tonight. Ron chose "Zodiac." It wasn't all that bad a movie really. I thought that the ending was rather abrupt though. Funny thing I never realized that they never caught the Zodiac killer. Gosh, with all the forensic work done now-a-days you'd have thought that they would! From what I gathered most of his crimes were committed in the late 1960's. If he was in lets say his early 40's then that would make him 70 some years old now! Ron thinks he is either in prison or dead. I think he is probably dead. If he were in prison wouldn't he still be trying to get caught for all of those heinous murders he claimed to have been responsible for? Oh well, he will pay for his crimes when he meets his maker one day. If he hasn't already.  |
  The weather here today is a reflection of the changing season. Summer is leaving; fall is arriving. It's been a day of clouds with cool temperatures, falling away for sunshine and warmer afternoon air, only to fall back to a cloudy evening cooling down once more. Seems like the changing season brings mood swings along with it. Picking me up ever so gently then settling me down again. I can't seem to get a grip on which way the swing will take me as of late. I've seen it happen before during a change of the seasons...it's almost as if saying goodbye to an old friend...knowing it will be a long while before they come around again. Then too perhaps it is my body readying me for the absence of the sunny warm days cheering me on. Only to give rise to those cold long winter days that lie ahead in the not too distant future. My birthday falls in November. Could it be the cycle of turning another year older? |
Just something I wrote today... Steel Dreams Fall arrived nipping at crisp clean air, splattering patches of blue skies above. So we slipped into nylon liners to wear, underneath our black leather gloves. Our jackets zipped with quilted thermal. Filled up our boots with heavy wool socks. Warmer riding gear- now the normal, soon we'll be turning back the clocks. We're riding tandem today on the Vulcan, trying to capture our youth so it seems. A couple of coldblooded aging Americans, flying high with the thrill of our Steel Dreams. "So put me on a highway And show me a sign And take it to the limit one more time" from The Eagles "Take It To The Limit" |
| Today was sunny all afternoon. It was a good day to get the yard work done. I clipped back on the wisteria, the grapes vines, and cleaned up the planter tubs. I cleaned out what was left of the bush beans and the cucumbers growing in the big planters out on the back deck. Out front I trimmed and deadheaded what remained of the flowers. Ron did all the lawnmowing. He uses the new riding lawnmower. He's usually done in an hour. Then he uses the hand mower to go around the fence line and some edges. It all looks so nice I should have taken a picture. I snuck in a nap earlier today. I had a dream about my son Chris. In my dream he was alive and sitting at my computer. I was speaking to him saying "Chris, if you want to get on my computer then put the keyboard back where it goes please". I could see the side of his head. His hair was cut short and neat to the neckline, like he would wear it when he was young (he always wore it longer as he got older). Then I woke up. It left me with a pleasant, peaceful feeling of wonder. It has been quite a few years since I dreamed of him. I always wondered when I would again. It always makes me so happy to see him in my dreams like that.  |
| I found a new font that I like so I think I'll stay with this one. Today was a good day. We went to town and did our regular run around shopping. Mostly groceries. The weather was decent so we didn't have to dodge any raindrops! We're making plans for a little day trip coming up soon here. I think it's going to be a bike trip. Looks like we still have some summer days in the forecast  so we will be planning the ride accordingly.It's always fun to go East of Mountains and catch some more sunshine over there. There is where the desert air is. Alot of sagebrush and more pine trees and less firs grow over there. On this side we have more precipitation in the air. I suppose one calls it humid over here. Anyways, it's much greener on this ( the west side of the mountains} side. Many more evergreen trees grow over here. The big Douglas Firs and Cedar trees. Much more water over here also. Not just the stuff that falls from the sky either. We have the waters of the Puget Sound, and of course the Pacific Ocean and all it's marine air. East of the mountains in Washington State is like going into another state entirely. At least it has always seemed that way to me. I could never figure out why they just didn't divide the state up into two different states in the first place! The climate is different, the terrain is different, the agriculture is different, the economy is different, and the list goes on! Actually it is a retired person's ideal place to live in this state, except we happen to love the lush green of the western part of the state, so that is why we are still here. I'll have to go into that more at another time. Right now I have to get off of here....it's showtime. |
| Today is a rainy day here. Ron says he loves to hear the rain beating on the skylight. The only skylight we have is in the main bath. Both of our office rooms are adjacent to that bathroom hallway, so we are able to hear the rain hitting the skylight when we are on our computers. It is pretty neat I must confess. We just had some unexpected guests! Ron's sister Ann and her hubby Rich stopped by on their brand new Goldwing motorcycle. Boy is it ever a beauty! It is so good to see them again. We ride together a lot. I just love them both. She is this tiny little thing. He is this BIG Italian. They've been married over 25 years. She has worked for Boeing for years. This tiny little gal works on big jetliners! He seems to change jobs throughout the years. He was a manager in a Casino awhile back. Now, he is studying welding and doing construction work. I always figured him for a salesman, tho.....he is sooo full of shit! They have had no children together. He has a daughter from a former marriage, however. Ann has never had any kids. They are on their way home from Winthrop which is just on the other side of the North Cascade Pass. Seems they spent the weekend in a motel by a river over there. They stayed long enough to dry out, rest up a bit, and watch part of the football game with us. The Seattle Seahawks are playing the Arizona Cardinals in Arizona today. So far the Hawks are losing  . Not good.The rain has not let up, but they headed home anyways. They have to go clear to Whidby Island so they have a 2 hr. ride in the rain ahead of them. I hope they arrive safe and sound. At least it is not a downpour. No one likes to ride in a downpour. Ann says they have heated seats to help keep them warm. Talk about spoiled rotten!! My.....oh ... my. ** Image ID #1061509 Unavailable **  ** Image ID #1319590 Unavailable ** |
| Sometimes I get away from the norm, and my mind goes back to the events of the past. It doesn't happen that often (thank God), but it does crop up every now and then. Especially the memories surrounding my son Chris. Keeping a check on my feelings from time to time, can prevent me from going into what I call "snowballing". That is when one thought leads to another, then another, and I find myself on this rollercoaster ride! Memories just keep pouring in. Usually this will only last a couple of days and then I can shrug it off. The thing that helps me shrug it fastest is a phone call or a visit from one of my children. Like today, my oldest son Mike called me again and we had a good long talk. We didn't talk about his departed brother, however, we talked about "Mike's" life and what is happening in his world. That really helps me to dwell on the "here and now" with my kids. I'm sure that any parent who has lost a child must go through this at some time and another in their lives. I am just so thankful that I have four remaining wonderful kids who let me share in their lives and that of my grandchildren also! I find that the older I get the more these phone calls and visits mean to me. Anymore I just can't seem to get enough of them! I'm going to be 64 in two months. Though I do not feel that old, nor do I look it( so everyone always tells me) my biological clock proves it! I am starting to slow down and I am noticing it more over the past year for the first time in my life. I have begun to think more about my own exit oneday. I mean lets face it 64 is no longer middle age. Funny thing when I was middle aged I never felt like it. It never entered my mind that I was a day over 39 really! When I met Ron I was 57. I didn't feel like it nor did I look like it. Neither of us did for that matter. He was 59 at that time. He is now 65. When we both think about it we FELT like we were only 18!!!! Amazing what falling in love can do to you! |
| I wrote something today that I think I will put in my blog tonight. I had been giving this some thought over and over in my mind for years now. I finally had to just put it on paper. It may be a little too intense for some....so beware....but I feel it is something that I needed to say. So here it is: Death Really Does Come In Threes You've probably heard the old saying "as soon as one family member dies, two more will follow." I never have been able to find the origin of that myth or legend, as it may be called. I'd never been one to give into superstitions anyway. Of course that was before it happened to me. I have to admit, that I now firmly believe in the reality of this one. What convinced me you may well wonder? The facts. As cold and calculating as they were. The year was nineteen ninety-seven. The month was January, and it was an exceptionally cold month, by normal standards. On January second the call came in that my spouse's brother Jim (aged 69) had died of a heart attack. The funeral services were to be January sixth at Haven of Rest Chapel in Gig Harbor, Washington. Jim was an established carpenter and cabinet maker for over twenty years. Well respected in the community where he lived in Port Orchard, Washington. Of course we attended his funeral that day. The chapel was overflowing with many family members and friends. I remember my husband, and several of my grown children were seated behind Jim's wife and grown daughters. Behind us were the many more brothers and sisters with their children filling up the rows of pews. Our hearts were all heavy with grief. Two of his daughters gave eulogies that day for their father. I remember thinking of how brave they were, to stand up in front of everyone and speak so lovingly of a parent now gone from their lives forever. The minutes seemed to go by so slowly. The sadness hanging over the ceremony swept us all away with the sound of "Wings Beneath My Wings." Following the services I noticed that one of my older sons, Chris, had made it to the chapel in spite of his job. He looked so handsome sitting in the back pew, in his long beige trench coat. I was especially delighted to see him there. I knew that he was going through a period in his life that involved alcohol. That he had been attending meetings for it. He was also attending counseling at a church with his girlfriend, who was the mother of his three year old son. We stopped to talk with him for awhile. It was good to hear him talk of his accomplishments with his personal life. He had so much to look forward to. Then as we were making our way to the door we ran into a relative who lived in Gig Harbor. She asked if we had heard that my Uncle Chris had died! He was ninety one, and a lifelong resident of the Harbor. No, we had not heard. It seems no one had our phone number, as it was unlisted then. This was a beloved uncle of mine. He was in fact the source of my "namesake Chris." I had asked my uncle if I could name my son "Christopher" after him when he was born. I was thrilled when he agreed to the name. We were devastated to learn of his passing. He had died on January fourth, just two days earlier. He was to me like a "father figure" here in Washington. I had left my family in Michigan years before and came west. Married here and raised my five children in Port Orchard. He was always such a caring giving person. A well loved and respected commercial fisherman for years. He worked out the rest of his years before retirement for the Pierce County road crew. His parents had come from Yugoslavia and settled into Gig Harbor where he was born in the early nineteen hundreds. He was a prominent figure in the area. He was known in the community for his vegetable gardens and his workshop. He had built more than one boat there. We rode home from the brother's funeral in complete silence. How could a turn of events be so cruel. To find out of this death at the funeral for another? Services for Uncle Chris were to be held on January ninth. We were overwhelmed with grief. My husband felt that he just could not pull himself together to make it to another funeral so soon. So, we called ahead and told family members that we would not make it. We did not want to bring our overburdened grief down to the same funeral home again so soon. Somehow I just feel we should have. More than that, I honestly felt for years afterwards that God was punishing me, because I did not go to my beloved uncle's funeral! Then on January twelve the phone rang in the evening. A police officer was telling my husband that paramedics could not get our son Chris's heart started! That he had fallen on the rocks outside of the apartment somehow and had hit his head. That he and his roommates had been drinking, and no one seemed to know how or what had happened to him. That we should come immediately to the apartment building where he lived. We couldn't get there fast enough. It made no difference in the end how fast, anyways. When we got there his heart had stopped beating for over twenty minutes before they started it again. He was put on a portable ventilator and we watched as the ambulance took him away. Later that evening he was flown to Seattle's Harborview Hospital. Placed on a ventilator and declared brain dead by Washington State law. We were told he would never regain brain functions. That he would die on the ventilator. On January 16, 1997 he was taken off the ventilator and pronounced dead. Our beautiful son Christopher, dead at age thirty. I was in shock for months afterwards, and grieve for him still. Death came in threes in January of Nineteen Ninety-seven. |
| I spent most of the day just relaxing and reading. My daughter and her hubby just got back from Hawaii. It was their second honeymoon ( as she called it). She sent me pictures in her email. She had just recently quit her job of seven years and was needing some vacation. She looks so happy in the pictures she sent me. I'm so glad that they had such a good time in the sun! We just finished watching our nightly dose of DVD's . We're back watching Grey's Anatomy again. It's a regular riot. We are also watching OC. We're really locked into that one. We alternate between those two and Law and Order. Makes for some pretty good TV time around here. Well it's getting late so I am heading off to get horizontal. |
| Yesterday we rode the Vulcan to Anacortes for a hamburger and waffle fries at The Rockfish Grill. It is a neat little restaurant and bar in downtown Anacortes. They make the best hamburgers in Skagit County! We even shared a German beer, which we don't do that often. It was a real hot day, and the chilled beer hit the spot. The restaurant wasn't crowded at all so we had a pleasant meal. On the ride home we stopped off at Rosabella's Garden and Bakery. We picked up some huge gravestien apples, and some of their delicious fruit syrups. Wild blueberry and blackberry syrup! We haven't tried the syrups as yet, but I did make an apple cobbler today, with a crumb crust top. We will have that later for dessert. Ron did the cooking again today! He made some wonderful beef stew. First time I ever had his beef stew. I must say it was a treat. Fit the bill for the day, as it was cooler and cloudy all day. Now if we just had some vanilla ice cream to go with my cobbler later....ummmm. |
** Image ID #1317310 Unavailable ** <a href="http://geekphilosopher.com/MainPage/photos.htm" target="_blank">Photo courtesy of GeekPhilosopher.com </a> |
| We just got back from our three mile walk. This time our walk was more like a hike. We walked the road around Ovenell's pasture down to the Skagit river. Then we walked through the brush above the riverbank. When we were close enough to a beaten path we descended the bank down to the sand along the river. We saw plenty of raccoon tracks and what appeared to be dog tracks. We even saw what we thought were wild turkey tracks this time. Then we made our way along the riverbank until we found the path leading back up to Cedar Grove where we live. That was quite the hike! We were both feeling it in our legs this time. Needless to say we were both sweating too! We were gone an hour and a half. Ron says that's a pretty good three mile hike. We were both slouched into the deck chairs sipping on big glasses of juice when we got home. It's a beautiful evening out there tonight. When the sun set on the top of Sauk Mountain it turned the rock towers a reddish color. We are so lucky to be able to enjoy the beauty of these mountains around us. These truly are the Golden Years. ** Image ID #1316901 Unavailable ** |
| Well its' a pleasant afternoon here. Around 70 degree's and warming. Looks like we got more summer weather coming for about a week. That makes for nice biker weather. Looks a ride is in the picture for tomorrow. I'm going to use this space to plug a certain young lady who is still in school and trying to keep her upgrade here. She is not afraid to jump right in and create her activities. Please check out her Lottery here
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| This evening there is a 'bite' in the air. Some people call it a 'nip'. It's a sure sign that summer is leaving us. It was hot here today... the thermometer out back read over 80 for most of the afternoon. You wouldn't know it now though. I'm going to have to change out of my shorts and into something warmer. That to me is a sure sign that summer is leaving. Ron made dinner for us. He started a nice pot of chili around four o'clock. I love his chili. I love anything he cooks. His chili especially. He starts with lean ground beef. Chops in a whole onion & cup of celery, then adds stewed tomato, kidney beans, and mushrooms! Of course he uses chili powder for seasoning. Is your mouth watering yet or what?? I got to admit it his chili is always better than mine. It was ready to eat at six o'clock. If any of you out there in blogger land have a better chili recipe I would love to see it  So the chili really was a big hit for the bite in the air this evening! |
| Today the County was laying oil and gravel up and down our road. They must have worked for hours cause you could hear their trucks all day. It sure looks good. I think they are getting it ready to blacktop. It's nice that they keep it maintained so well. We went to town yesterday and bought the delicious sweetcorn that we had with our steak and cauliflower today. The corn was fresh and local so we were happy. We had a bum experience with a restaurant yesterday. We ate at a hamburger joint that advertised hamburger and beer. We aren't big on beer but wanted a decent burger, so we went inside. When we saw the food on the unmopped floor we should have turned around and walked back out(we've been known to do that}, but we were hungry and seated to order. It was quite a wait for the meal. We had plenty of time to look around and that wasn't too eye appealing. What amazed me is how can a manager allow a place that serves food to be that filthy? Food everywhere on the floor and the floor looked like it could use a good mopping! Atleast the hamburger was tasty. Nothing was to be desired about the fries tho. They were overly cooked crisp pieces of hallow potato's shaped like a french frie! We're sure the restaurant was part of a chain. So much for management in that one, however. It appeared to us that their main concern was catering to the beer drinkers that frequented the place. Even the waitresses appeared to be suffering from hangovers!! |
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