Sunday, September 23, 2012

Web Of Change

                                             After The Rain......................
Joe spotted this web on the cable line. As soon as the line dried the spider moved on.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

The Gift of Love

I have always told my children that the most important gift is one of love.
To me this is shown with a kind word, card, phone call. Gifts are not necessary.
My birthday is soon, and already I have received a lovely gift from Joe, Deb & family.
It is a beautiful necklace, purchased during their trip in Ireland.
 The fact that they thought of me while on vacation is a gift  of love.
 The necklace is a bonus that I  will enjoy.






Thursday, September 13, 2012

New Kid on the Block

The birds have been having a convention in our yard.  This morning there was a small woodpecker on the suet feeder...a first. I ran downstairs to grab my camera. It had moved to the top of the bird house.

I think it's a Downy woodpecker. I've never seen one this close.
Such fun!

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Arlene...Arlene..Arlene..Arlene (to the tune of Jolene)

I was looking forward to the Kennedy/Highline soccer game last night for several reasons.
Joe and I would see our family, and maybe have a visit with my first cousin Arlene.
Arlene attends all the games that include her Grandchildren. Her Grandchild, Sierra, plays for Highline.
Our Sami plays for Kennedy...Grandchild versus Grandchild.
 Joe and I don't take these games seriously...we learned our lesson while raising five sons.
We talked to Tim ( Arlene's son) and asked if his mom would be at the game. He told us that she was here,
but wouldn't enter the stadium as she was upset with the young man collecting the tickets at the gate!

The young man definitely had an attitude. When I noticed the no re-entry sign, I asked,
 " What if you need something from your car?" He quickly answered, " Get it now!"

John and Kelley (Sami's parents) arrived and said they think they saw Arlene. Then Kelley's friend, Kelley,
asked if Arlene was the women sitting outside the fence watching the game. Oh my God!
It was an interesting night. We had a nice visit with Kelly & John, saw a close game that Kennedy won, and Sami got to meet her cousin. Sierra is a a very nice young woman and they seemed to enjoy meeting each other.  Alex (Sami's twin brother) was already out the gate. We tried to get him to go back and meet his cousin, but being shy he avoided the opportunity. When I realized it was hopeless I added, but Alex, she is really nice and you are distant cousins, so you could marry her if you wanted. At least we had a good laugh.

When I arived home the phone was ringing. It was Arlene explaining to me why she stood her ground and refused to enter the stadium. The gate-man (gate-boy) was drunk with authority and wanted her to pay even though she had a season pass.
  When her son said MacKenzie's are here, she thought he meant a girl named MacKenzie.Arlene said if she knew it was us she would have paid the extra $2.
 We had a good laugh and decided she was a little crazy but not certifiable.

I've heard of hugging a tree for a good cause, but a chain link fence?


Monday, September 10, 2012

Dinner with a view

Having dinner at the home of June and Roger is always a good thing. The view is fantastic, the food is delicious and the company always interesting. Roger said his own grace and it was inspiring and sincere.

Last night was a wake up call for those of us in the latter years of life.
One of our friends is in poor health and this was her first outing in months.
She was in a wheel chair, since part of her foot had been amputated. She was not
in good spirits, and I accepted this as a challenge, to help her enjoy her evening.
This was not an easy task. She mentioned suicide. Since I had just attended a family funeral
of a cousin (by marriage) who had mentioned suicide quite often and was found dead in a bathtub,
(either overdosed or intentional), this upset me.
Perhaps it was just a dramatic comment to emphasize her discomfort. Still I felt the need to point out
what she would leave behind if she took such a drastic step. 
Not being one to give up easily, I was able to help her relax and laugh at some of the humor being passed
around the room.
After a bit she seemed to enjoy her friends and dinner.
Her husband is very kind. He wheeled her to the bathroom, to the table and to the view.

All in all, I think she enjoyed her first outing and hopefully the next one will show a more positive
attitude.

I hugged Joe when we arrived home and decided I would always be kind to him and never argue etc.
Of course, this is unrealistic, but at that moment I was sincere.
I know we are fortunate to have a good marriage and be in relatively good health and pray that if and when things change, we will leave it in the hands of the Lord and accept whatever happens.

I'm getting way to serious. We actually had lots of laughs. I told the story of a man who was caught speeding by the State Patrol. He told the officer that his wife had cheated on him with a State Patrolman, and he thought he was chasing him to try to give her back.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

True Confessions

It is time to admit, to anyone interested, that I am not perfect.
What's that? You already knew. Well, boo hoo and wah wah, now my feelings are hurt!
On with the story of my Lost in "Spacey" weekend.
Friday....we're.sitting in St. George Church listening to inspirational words, when Joe mentions that I have my blouse on inside out. All the various tags were in plain sight. I was in panic mode. Luckily, I had a sleeveless blouse under it, so I left the main church and quickly righted the wrong.

Saturday, in the hall at St. James, I entered the bathroom, used it, then noticed urinals. As I left I noticed the MEN sign. Lucky again, No man was near. At least I wasn't dragging toilet paper on my shoe.

On the way home I missed the James Street turn to get on the freeway. I decided to keep going and try to go home on Martin Luther King Jr. Way. Somehow, I missed it and drove to Renton via Rainier Ave. S.
Not a bad way but at least 15 minutes longer. It was interesting though. Every time we reached a light, a man in a nearby car, would jump out and extend his arms as if he were on a crucifix. About the fourth time he did this, people started honking..I just wanted to get away from him.

When I arrived home I pushed the remote to open the garage door. The alarm went off. It rang loud enough to wake up the owls.
I quickly backed out of the garage, closed the door, unlocked the kitchen door, and turned off the alarm.
It probably only lasted a minute but it seemed like forever.

I decided to check out the fig tree to see if I had missed any figs. I  found a few to share with friends, and life was good again.


Saturday, September 8, 2012

A Gifted Violinist

During our Music Retreat at St. James, we were fortunate to be the audience for a performance by
a truly gifted violinist, MarianneMartinoli.
Marianne is an amazing musician at age 15.....what can I say.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

You missed the party!



Waiting with Patience

                                              Play date anyone?
                                         Waiting....................