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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 went to see the twins and Annalyn today. The twins are turning five years old on the 27th. So, we took them their birthday gifts and a gift for Annalyn too. It had been awhile since we saw them last and we were quite surprised to see that baby Annalyn's black hair has turned blonde! Boy, is it ever curly too. It was sure fun watching the girls as they modeled their new jackets we bought them. We stopped at Safeway on the way down to Arlington and bought cupcakes & candles for our little celebration. Grandpa is not into the big birthday party scene anymore, so we went early before they had their big birthday bash party this weekend. We were all able to enjoy eachother on a much more private and personal level. I took some pictures of all the girls and so did Grandpa. We were lucky enough to have gone during the peak of the fall colors. The leaves were showing off their grandor everywhere along the way. These are some pretty spectacular shots I took of The Skagit River and Sauk Mountain in the background. The ones of just the bright colored trees were taken in Darrington on the way to Arlington. The bridge over the Stillaguamish River, before we entered Arlington. The small mountain with all the brilliant fall colors is in Mount Vernon. I hope that you enjoy these. |
| I have been busy typing my fingers away. I created a Book on WDC called "Letters From My Mother." Check it out and let me know what you think of it. I had thought that I lost my Mom's letters when I moved out of my home in Port Orchard in 2001. I found them in the bottom of a box in my bedroom closet this past July. I always wanted to do something special with them, but never knew what that might be. I could use some feedback on this -
You have to start with the first entry. Give me your opinion please!  ** Image ID #1333212 Unavailable ** |
| We are in between storm systems here today. Yesterday, it rained all day and the wind blew in the late afternoon. It was a lazy day for me. Ron had already started a pot of beans when I got up at around 10:00 A.M. He added some smoked hamhocks, diced celery and carrots to the small Great Northern beans. By, 3:00 P.M. we were ready to eat that good smelling soup! Today, it was sleep in late for me and bean soup, again, but it wasn't raining. Not yet anyways, it is supposed to do that with plenty of wind again tomorrow. Sounds like another good day to sleep in to me.  I did get a few dozen peanut butter cookies baked today inspite of my laziness. Oh oh it's movie time...gotta go. ** Image ID #1333212 Unavailable ** |
| I've been busy putting together and publishing two more poetry photo books with the Lulu Studio. They sure are fun to make and easy too. You can find them here - http://stores.lulu.com/shishad The Studio generated the table of contents in them. I can't figure out why the page numbers were so disorganized in the first book I made. They looked better in the second one, though, thank goodness. Guess, I shouldn't complain they only charge for the cost of materials when you publish a book with them. It has given me something to do as the weather has been turning colder here. Ron rode the Vulcan today and I worked on my latest book. ** Image ID #1333212 Unavailable ** |
| A Nice Visit. The train was almost twenty minutes late, but I arrived in Edmonds with just enough time to scurry from the train station to the ferry terminal and board the ferry on schedule. Matt was waiting for me when I came down the ramp at Kingston. He had his left arm in a sling because he had fallen in the cooler at work and chipped the bone in his left elbow. It seems, when he went through the metal double doors to the cooler(he is a meat cutter at Albertson's) a week ago, the sensor didn't turn the lights on in the cooler. So, he's stumbling around in the dark in there trying to set the sensor off when he tripped on a black pallet on the floor! He had to report his fall and get Xrays, and was sent to an Orthopedic Surgeon who told him he chipped the bone at the elbow. He was able to go back to work on light duty yesterday, though. He loves his job and has been working at it for six years now, so he doesn't plan on leaving it. Oh, sorry for going on about Matt's injury, I'll get back the subject of my visit, now. When we got to the duplex I was greeted by Pat's boys, Jayce & Christian. It had been way over six months since I saw them and they really grew! Jayce is two heads taller than his Dad now! I got hugs from both of them as soon as I got out of the car. I didn't get to see Sierra though. She is Pat's oldest and she lives out in Belfair with her Mom now. I was only there a short while before Matt's gal Julie came to see me after she got off work. She works at Tully's Coffee in Port Orchard. We hugged and got our picture taken here. Julie took Matt, Pat and me out for lunch at the Manchester Inn. It sits near the waterfront across Puget Sound from Seattle with a terrific view of the Space Needle. I had French Dip which was delicious. She insisted on paying for it all. We chipped in on the tip, though. Pat's boys had just finished eating so they stayed at their Dad's and played video games. Later on, Matt went to go pick up his kids. Karly had her girlfriend with her, but they weren't going to stay overnight. The two boys(Kody & Kory) had their friend Daniel with them to spend the night at Dad's! So we had five boys sleeping over. Surpisingly, they were all good as gold. No wonder though, as there are four TV's in the duplex and a XBox and numerous video games and movies, besides the computer. They never lacked for entertainment. Christian, being the youngest spent most of his time outside playing with his friends in the neighborhood there. They skateboarded the driveway in front of the garage. Matt and I went to Pizza Hut to get pizza's for all of us for dinner later. We ordered three large combo's and one medium cheese(for the girls) I told Matt I would put it on my check card and he could give me some cash. The pizza's came to $57 dollars, even with one coupon! Boy, times aren't like they used to be when I had raised teenager's. I took just a twenty from Matt, though. Gosh, I think I watched more movies in two days than I had in a week at home. I got to see some old ones over again - Point Break (Patrick Swayze), Pearl Harbor( Ben Afleck), The Man Without A Face( Mel Gibson), Top Gun(Tom Cruise) just to name a few. One I had never seen before - Marvin's Room(Meryrl Streep, Diane Keaton, Robert De Niro, and Leonardo DiCaprio) I loved that one! We even watched a fairly new one called - Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, starring Jennifer Garner, Matthew McConaughey, and Michael Douglas, very funny. Got to go to Walmart and Fred Meyer over the weekend too. Monday morning, my daughter Julie, came to pick me up and take me back to the ferry for the trip home. This time I didn't take the train back. Ron picked me up in Edmonds so we could go have lunch at Ivars In Lynnwood, before heading home. We love the fish and chips there. |
| I'm leaving early tomorrow morning to catch the train out of Mount Vernon. Yep, you guessed it, I'm going down to Port Orchard to see my kids and grandkids! It has been too long since I've seen all of them. This time I've packed my camera. I'll be able to record the growth of those grandkids. I know I won't be able to see them all in one weekend, but I'll do my best to see as many as I can. I'm coming back Monday afternoon.Hopefully, I will be able to get in touch with Mike, my oldest son. He has moved again and I'm not sure where. I'm really looking forward to this visit. I'm thinking that Ron will probably go visit one of his kids while I'm gone. He will ride with his chums on Sunday as usual, so that will give him something to do besides miss me around the house. |
| It snowed last night on Sauk Mountain. Ron happened to get up early this morning and he was able to see the snow. I slept in after he woke me up to tell me that. When I got up the mountain was "socked in" by clouds, so I waited all day to see the snow up there. By 4:30 this afternoon the clouds and fog around the top of Sauk finally scattered and I was able to see the snowy top of the mountain. Here she is showing off her newly fallen snow. |
Yesterday the Ovenell's(they own the pasture across the road from us) took the calves away from their mother's again. Those mama cows bawled all evening and even after we went to bed. Of course, we know it's something that they must do to keep their cows reproductive, but it is still somewhat heartbreaking to listen too. They purposely put the bawling mama's in the upper pasture across from us, because they don't want anyone down in their rentals by the river listening to it! So we went to bed to the LOUD noise in our ears. Ron went riding with his chums yesterday. He stopped at Rosabella's on the way home and picked up some big gravenstein apples. I made an apple cobbler today. We are going to have it for dessert tonight.  Today is day eighteen for me being smoke free. I don't know how much weight I've gained since I quit smoking, but I don't really care either. I am working out on the treadmill pretty steady, so hopefully I'll keep the extra pounds to a minimum. I'm really missing my kids lately. I haven't been down to Port Orchard since May when I went before Mother's Day! That's a long stretch for me. Some of them stayed here a few days in July, though. I need to get down there and visit all of them again real soon. I will be calling them to see when and who can pick me up and where I'll be staying. Guess I better get on it, so that we all can make plans. |
| When I awoke, yesterday morning, and walked out into the kitchen our treadmill had already arrived and was in a BIG box out on the front deck. I had to help Ron as he brought it into the house. Then we spent a couple of hours assembling it. It is a MONSTER! He wanted to buy the best for his money. It is a Horizon Series model T92 with a 20" by 55" workout surface. The console for the Monitor display is very attractive, and includes time, heart rate, distance, calories, and program profiles.The terrain program consists of manual, intervals , hills, or weight loss terrain. There is a fan and speakers for CD/ MP3 Player with headphone jack even! Not that we will ever use the speakers, but you just never know. My first workout lasted fifteen minutes, which didn't get my heart rate up past 111. That was a good start, I think. Today is Day 16 for me being Smoke Free. I am enjoying the benefits of not smoking. |
| For those of you who didn't notice - I was gone a few days. We left early Monday morning and rode to Whidby Island, where we met up with our friends Dave and Nancy at the Keystone Ferry landing. From there, we took the ferry to Port Townsend, which is on the Olympic Peninsula. We rode up to Port Angeles and had lunch on the waterfront. It was a gorgeous sunny day, and we were able to dine outside at the restaurant. Dave and Nancy had their seven year old Rat Terrier(Lucy) with them, so that worked out perfect. After lunch we took Highway 101 out to the Northwest Coast. We rode the curvey stretch of 101 for miles past beautiful Crescent Lake on our destination to Forks, Washington. It had been several years since Ron & I had made that trip. The first two years we were together we spent time at The Olympic Suites in Forks. From there we visited Rialto Beach on the Pacific Ocean, and the last trip there we headed down the coast to Oregon's Cannon Beach. This time, though, Nancy and I stayed in our suite and visited, while the guys rode out to the ocean town of La Push. That's where Ron was stationed years ago when he was in the Coast Guard. Of course it dosn't look the same anymore, but he enjoys seeing it again, anyways. I found it quite amusing that the town of Forks has not just one "Dazzled By Twilight" shop but TWO of them on the same side of the main street through town! I never saw any vampires or werewolfs anywhere, but the couple we were with had their dog with them...does that account for anything???  |
| I spent all week working on my new book. I finally published it on Lulu today. It is called New Visions. You can find it here - http://stores.lulu.com/shishad I am real happy with this book and I may even purchase an ISBN number for it. I'm sure my kids will enjoy reading this one. Oh, and today is day nine without smoking. |
| It's been hot here in the 90's two days in a row, now. We've had the AC going both days. It should be cooler by tomorrow though. There's not a whole lot going on around here, lately. I'm having fun reviewing my contest entries here. They are such good ones too. I'm having fun on facebook with all my relatives and friends in there. I'm having fun playing poker online too. Why, I'm just having fun doing practically nothing really. Today is day three without smoking and I'm not even craving them. |
| This is, again, my first day on the Chantix without smoking. I had been with the program a year & 1/2 ago. I went for four months without taking a puff. Then I folded. I am determined this time to succeed with the Chantix. I want to be around for awhile longer. |
| I'm reminded this week of the horror of the 9- 11 terror attacks on the World Trade Center's Twin Towers. In this week's "Beyond The Headlines," you can listen to KOMO Newsradio's documentary featuring previously unreleased audio of the 9-11 terror attacks. http://www.komonews.com/news/57611192.html?video=YLO&t=a KOMO Newsradio is located in Seattle. |
| It's been raining on and off here all day long. I doubt that it even reached 60 degrees here today. It feels like fall has arrived already. For those who planned a holiday weekend in the mountains anywhere, I hope they brought along extra warm clothing and camping gear for inclement weather. It's got to be really cold at night up in those mountains this weekend. We had no plans for the Labor Day weekend, after just getting home from a vacation on last Monday. We went into town on Friday and did a little grocery shopping. We didn't even eat out that day. Instead we bought one of Costco's roasted chickens and had that for dinner when we got home. It was very tasty with sliced tomotoes and cucumbers. We bought a couple loaves of pugliese bread and had some along with our chicken. For dessert the last two nights we've had pumpkin pie with a little Cool Whip We even dusted off our scrabble game and played it for a change! |
| We got back home yesterday after spending a marvelous time at Lake Chelan over the weekend. I never swam, but I did don my swimsuit and waded in the clear water up to my waist to cool off. We enjoyed watching all of the jetski's and boats on the lake. The lake doesn't lack for recreation that's for sure. They have very nice docks and mooring area's for boats. Giant floating devices for swimmer's, both for adults and children, were on the premises. They even have a scuttle bus to take out of town to the Water Slides. It surely is a family's paradise. We enjoyed dinner on Saturday at a drive-in restaurant close to the resort. Burgers and fries on a picnic table outside sufficed. Sunday we had breakfast at a crowded Apple Cup Restaurant. The food was excellent. Then we spent a couple of hours touring the town of Chelan on foot, going in and out of the shops and walking down to the waterfront. Sunday evening we had Subway sandwiches at the Super Walmart outside of town. Of course alot of the time we spent right in our room there at Darnell's Resort. We were pleased that we had a very quiet room that was somewhat secluded in the Loft. We got to watch the Seattle Mariners beat Kansas City on Saturday! Kool. Watched Clint Eastwwod in a Dirty Harry movie, enjoyed The Main Event on World Poker, and watched some old film clips of boxing. By Monday morning we were ready to head for home again, though. There was hardly any traffic on the road coming home, which made our trip even nicer. We pulled in the driveway in the early afternoon. Boy, were our kitties glad to see us, and we them. There's no place like home.  |
| We are leaving in the morning to spend the weekend at beautiful Lake Chelan in Eastern Washington. Today we made a big bowl of Pica de Gallo to take with us. We will eat it with those hint of lime tortilla chips. It is yummy! I'm packing our swimsuits cause it's going to be hot over there. Even if we don't go swimming, I will atleast go wading in the cold water. We are really looking forward to this weekend get-a-way. Sometimes ya just gotta get outta Dodge. |
| Exciting news today! Ron came home from the dentist around noon to tell me that they are filming a movie down on The Dalles bridge over the Skagit River! He was told the the movie they are filming is called "The Details" starring Toby Maguire. He said that there were trailers parked all over the lot where they hold a swapmeet every weekend on Highway 20 outside of Concrete. I insisted we grab our cameras and go get some pictures. We did not go down to the lot where all the trailers were, but I shot thes pics on the bridge and up the road from the bridge. You all might recognize the actor Ray Liotta here - ** Image ID #1594218 Unavailable ** ** Image ID #1594220 Unavailable ** He was very handsome in a tuxedo and he even waved to me after I took his picture. For those of you who aren't familar with his acting, he played in "The Good Fellas", "Even Money", Smoke and Aces", "Slow Burn", " The Last Shot", and "Identity" to name a few. We did not see Toby MaguireActually we did see him! But, we did not recognize him as we drove by. He is the one in the gray blazer/sweater and dark pants, standing with his back to us in front of the big screen and directly in front of Liotta. We had to keep moving so I was not able to get the shots I would have loved. I was lucky to be able to get these.  ** Image ID #1594221 Unavailable ** ** Image ID #1594239 Unavailable ** ** Image ID #1594241 Unavailable ** ** Image ID #1594245 Unavailable ** ** Image ID #1594246 Unavailable ** The Details was written and directed by Jacob Estes. Shooting began in August in Seattle. Elizabeth Banks stars alongside of Toby Maguire; the two play a struggling married couple. The cast includes Ray Liotta, Dennis Haysbert and Anna Friel, with Laura Linney also playing an eccentric neighbor. The movie is a black comedy, due out in 2010. |
| Yesterday, we rode the Vulcan to Anacortes, to eat at one of our favorite hangouts - The Rockfish Grill. It was a beautiful day. A rather warm one at that. I wore only a tank top under my leather jacket and had to unzip the jacket to stay cool. We had their Brewer Burger with Swiss cheese, and waffle fries. It had been quite sometime since we had a hamburger...and so we indulged ourselves to one of the best burgers around. On the way back home we stopped at Rosabella's to pick up some of her Bosenberry Syrup. It's delicious! I had used the last of what I had here at home when the kids were here in July. They loved it on their waffles and pancakes. Rosabella's is a Garden, Bakery, and Gift Shop all in one. She has an online website here - rosabellasgarden.com Rosabellas is surrounded by 50 acres of gardens comprised of apples, pears, plums, berries and flowers. She's famous for her 5-lb apple pies. She also offers fresh apple cider donuts, fabulous lunchs, pastries, hard cider, and local wines. Just to name a few of the specialties for sale. A big red barn houses a bakery, and a vintage gift shop. In the fall there are U-pick apples, pumpkins, and corn. Summer offers fresh cut flowers on the front porch. You'll find her big red barn on farm To Market Road in Bow, Washington located in the beautiful Skagit Valley. Oh, and before we got out the door I splurged and bought a $4 apple-turnover! Couldn't resist. |
Many of you know Nada  here by following her blog. She is going through an awful stressing time right now. Her hubby is in the hospital and on a ventilator. She can use all the prayers she can get right now. Not only for her hubby, but for herself for the strength to get through this critical time with him.Please pray for them. |
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