Happy Endings

After passing her martial arts test Tuesday evening Zoey spent the night with us. It was pretty impressive as it included breaking a board.  She went to bed as soon as we got home and slept peacefully until almost 10:00a.m..  At 11:40 a.m. Zoey & Joe  drove to Kentridge to pick up our friend Kenny at basketball camp.
Kenny joined us for lunch then he & Zoey decided to go to the pond across the street to catch pollywogs.
They were careful to allow plenty of water and air while they observed them, then put them back in the pond.
They also shared their musical talent. Kenny played piano while Zoey sang. It was a fun day.
At 4:30 we managed to get Zoe out of the house with her overnight bag packed, to take her to Seattle Memorial Stadium for All City Band practice. I packed her a lunch which she deemed unnecessary.  I brought it anyway.
Traffic of course was horrendous but we made it.
We walked her to the stadium to make sure there was a practice and some one in charge was present.
Zoey insisted that hiding her bag in the bushes was safe. She had done it before and it was just fine.
This so went against my good judgement, but we were tired and let it go.
While we were sitting in the car getting ready to leave we saw Zoey go to the bushes to retrieve the lunch. We had a laugh and left.

Around 9:00 p.m. John (Zoey's Dad) phoned asking me if I knew what was in the bag and was it worth looking for? I knew her School Year book was in there.  I got a sick feeling in my stomach that her bag was gone and felt I was to blame for not offering a different solution. I decided instead of feeling horrible I would pray to St. Anthony. I sent an e-mail to Liz apologizing for the loss and told her of my plans to pray to St.Anthony. Maybe some good soul would return it.

Liz called and asked why I thought Zoey's bag was missing? I said that is what I was told. We then figured that John had looked in the bushes and found it.When they got home Liz asked about the bag and was told it was in the car.

This morning Liz got a phone call from the school district. A security guard had found the bag, looked through it and found her  name. He or she contacted the school district and found her address and phone number.

John and Zoey decided that since Liz had the lumpectomy earlier that day they shouldn't upset her!

The Tall Blond Girl with the one Red Shoe

I tried to think of a clever title for shoes Zoey designed for 8th Grade graduation but nothing. this one doesn't really work since there is also a shoe of  a different color. I'll give it a try.

Shoes of different hues.
Goody..two shoes
Goody two hues
Think I'll just show the photo.

Hurricane Ridge

Port Angeles via St. Anthony

Yesterday Joe ,Julie and I traveled to Port Angeles to see our lovely  niece and God-Daughter, Claudia.
Claudia was in good spirits and seemed happy to see us. In spite of the recent loss of her beloved husband Joe, Claudia succeeded in making our trip a joy.
Although we drove through torrents of rain, Port Angeles was sunny enough to allow us to enjoy the drive to Hurricane Ridge. We were able to see enough of the Olympics to impress Julie and she loved seeing the deer and leftover snow.

St. Anthony came through many times for me this week. I prayed for a deer to come on our property and
one obliged. It is seldom you see one go solo.  I also prayed to find the sun, and Julie's glasses. All found.
It may be a coincidence but I'm thankful to St. A. anyway.

Now, I'm ready to get back to a more relaxed life. It may take another few weeks as we have a graduation,
a graduation dinner, Liz's surgery etc.

May post a few photos later.

A Flood of Emotions

Joe just left to take my sister Julie to the airport.
It has been a sad and happy week. Sad of course, because we lost our sister, Gloria, happy, because we were surrounded by love of friends and seldom seen relatives.
The service at St. James was unforgettable. I will always be grateful for the generosity of the choristers, Dr. Savage, Joseph and Clint. I have never felt such warmth and love from anyone except family.
So many comments about the fantastic music.
Patti Bowman, Fr. Ryan, John Simpson all helped to make the day glorious.
Many thanks and love to all.

No Easy Way to say this....

My sister, Gloria died yesterday.
Today, in the choir room, Dr. Savage said, " There is no easy way to say this, but a choir member emeritus Gloria, sister of Martha. died yesterday. The sound of shock and sadness permeated the room. Many  choir members  came to me with words of comfort and kindness. I wish I could transfer all the hugs to her Daughters.
 Many  said they would miss her spirit, sense of humor, and courage.
Gloria will be missed.
Our chaplain wrote his prayer for Gloria which included a portion of" In Paradisum"
"May the angels lead her into paradise......

I truly believe that she is enjoying peace and contentment.

Bird's Eye View

I guess I should really say...view of the birds eye. Thanks to the closeup on my camera, I feel  I'm invading the privacy of the birdie world. They are such fun to watch and for some reason seem to be more
plentiful in variety and number.

We have our regulars....Chickadee..Nuthatch..Wren...Robin...Crow...Steller's Jay.
This week we have seen Goldfinch...Rufous-sided Towhee..Song Sparrow...White Crowned Sparrow..
Dark-Eyed Junco..Pine Siskin...House Finch..Varied Thrush...Pileated Woodpecker and Northern Flicker.

Hope to see some Evening Grosbeak soon.

A Dresden Doll

I sang for a funeral this morning in Auburn. A lovely woman of 93 passed on.
Her son asked me to look at his mom. It was amazing. She was without a wrinkle. A doll like texture.

I've decided that the way to look younger is to die!

I think I'll keep my wrinkles.