So long 2011

Good-bye 2011 - Good-bye Stonecreek Statuary -

Hard to believe we went from this.....

To this morning's view....

Husband David is walking towards the last 2 items to be delivered....

Life is always about change....And though it's sad to see it close,

We look forward to what 2012 may bring.

May we come to accept all that has come our way this past year,

as we remain open to all the new paths that God sets before us in 2012.

Love you all! 

Summer Breeze

"There is nothing in the Holy

that is not being revealed

100 percent right now."

-Gerald Hair

After spending the entire day wrestling with technology

I had the pleasure of sitting by my bedroom slider tonight,

listening to the rustling leaves and melodic windchimes

as they moved in the evening breeze. It's amazing how

calming the sounds of nature can be to a cranky old soul

such as myself. And all it takes is my stopping what I'm

doing, and noticing that all is holy.

Then I began to hum that old Seals & Croft song -

"Summer breeze makes me feel fine -

blowing through the jasmine in my mind."

(or lavender for Sequimites)

It was a respite-filled moment.

photo of dungeness bridge

If you can just keep your head...or not

One of the best parts of owning a Statuary

is that I can bring the orphans home.

I'm not sure why I like these three so much

but they make for pleasant company.

And they give a whole new meaning to Rudyard Kipling's poem, "If"....

"If you can keep your head when all about you

are losing theirs and blaming it on you;"

May Day Blooms

"The world's favorite season is the spring.

All things seem possible in May."

- Edwin Way Teale

This plant is unique to the Sequim area, blooming only after Easter!

(spotted on Port Williams Road this morning:)

awesomeness

It's been a spell since I've had any weird Sequim, WA Police Blotter news...but yesterday's Gazette provided this nugget:

July 22, 10:47 a.m. - The caller reported someone was trying to sell him a bottle of "awesome"....

Did I mention we've been experiencing triple digit temps this week? Perhaps that would explain this odd incident. I keep thinking about what I would say to someone if they knocked on my door in an attempt to sell me bottled awesomeness but I can't think of a good response - except for shutting the door. And since I finally hung St. Benedict's "All are to be welcomed as Christ" plaque on my front porch it just wouldn't be right to close the door on all that potential awesomeness, now would it?

photo: I googled "bottle of awesome" and discovered a comic created by Andy Belanger (Andy B.) which is about an unpopular 9th grade boy who finds the bottle of awesome and upon drinking it becomes - AWESOME....

Hood Canal Bridge

Thirty years ago on 2/19/79 the west half of the Hood Canal Bridge sank in a storm. What a shock that was. David and I had visited the Olympic Peninsula in November of '78 to purchase land, so by the time we moved to Sequim after our wedding in June of '79 the bridge was resting in 300 feet of water and it would take almost 4 years to replace. Although there were several other avenues to leave the Peninsula, (fly/drive around/launch your own boat) this bridge was the easiest, quickest and most direct route to ferries, and the 1-5 corridor.

Work was hard to come by in those days and life did indeed seem uncertain. But we survived and when the bridge reopened in '82 everyone in town drove out to just drive across it over and over. That may sound silly but it was so much fun! We felt connected. And it was free for that one day only. (A toll was placed on it the next day in order to pay for the repairs.)

Last year we learned that the bridge would have to be closed for 6 weeks this spring for needed repairs, I wondered if I'd feel like I did all those years ago. I didn't. Sequim has grown so much since then and as I am not a daily commuter, I didn't have to deal with the frustration that many others did. The WSDOT did a great job of providing buses and ferries to keep people moving. David and I only had to make one trip in order to get to the airport & that went smoothly.

I've been checking the Hood Canal blog for the past few days (yes, even a bridge can have a blog) and I'm here to tell you that our wait has come to an early end. (Thank God for monetary incentives.) Commuters will be relieved and local businesses will look forward to more customers.

It's not that I plan to jump into my car and cross the bridge a few times tomorrow but it's good to know it's available should I desire to leave the Peninsula for a bit. (Click here for some great photos.)

Do you remember the scene in The Truman Show where Jim Carrey finally overcomes his fear of water and drives across the bridge in search of the "real world"?

Well this is not like that.

OK, maybe just a little bit.

Leader file photo by Frank Garred.

rodents on the loose

More Sequim, WA police blotter reporting

from this week's Gazette:

March 22, 2009 1:07 p.m.
"Three white rats were reportedly

found on E. Prairie St."

Maybe someone mistook them for these proselytizing mice?

HT to E.K.

proselytizing = to try to convert someone to a religious faith or political doctrine

Sequim News

In this week's edition of Sequim This Week
I read the following listed in the Crime Report
under "Disturbances/ Suspicious."
"Someone in reporting party's bed,
possible mental situation".

I think we all know the particulars of this incident, don't we?

Pygmy Pilferers

It was a busy week according to the Sequim Gazette's weekly Police Blotter. A QFC employee reported the theft of "about 4 pumpkins". Who would have absconded with them? Perhaps it was the 3 pygmy goats that the Sequim Quality Inn employee reported finding in the hotel's pet area? I think those goats should be held for questioning....Notice the grocery store employee used the term "about" in describing the pumpkin theft. It could have been three that were stolen, don't you think?
PLUS, in a separate incident a woman reported that someone "stole a receipt from her purse" on the same day the pumpkins disappeared. Are ya following me here? Everyone knows that goats will eat anything. It doesn't matter to them whether it's paper or pumpkins. Don't let their cuteness fool you. These goats have guilty written all over them!!!!

More Sequim News.....

Once again the Sequim Weekly has a couple of wonderful entries under their "Disturbances/Suspicious" section of the paper. It seems someone has reported a "Skinny cow tied up in front yard, Sherbourne Rd." Were they concerned about a poor, malnourished cow that had been left unattended? Or were they referring to the logo for the low fat ice cream sandwich known as Skinny Cow?

I've never really looked too closely at this logo until now - does that cow with the narrow waistline, false eyelashes and the red lipstick look a bit "sultry" to you? It's beginning to creep me out! To me, "sexy" and "cow" just don't go together.....however, in the land of my birth "stupid" and "cow" is a very common saying....but back to the subject at hand...i'm guessing that sexy cows sell ice cream?

The other entry that made my day was the following: "Pit bulls barking nonstop for the last two years." Wow! Now that's a lot of barking! I think I would have reported it after 2 hours but hey, I'm not as patient as these people apparently have been....

Pack o' Poodles

In Wednesday's Sequim This Week in the Crime Report Section, under"Disturbances/Suspicious", I spotted the following entry:

"Several cows on reporting party's property..." Well that's a common occurence - after all we are still somewhat of a farming community.....But it was the next one that made me look twice. It read (and I kid you not) "Pack of 10 to 12 standard poodles, Happy Valley Road"........can you picture this? .......what kind of trouble would a posse of poodles be getting into? and what would they look like?

Perhaps they were a well groomed lot that resembled this lovely standard poodle?

Or maybe they looked like this one? Imagine 10 to 12 of these coming towards ya...scary, huh? would ya run for your life?

Or horror of horrors! Maybe they spotted a pack of pink & purple poodles?

What is this town coming to?
Is it even safe to leave our homes anymore?