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?

Daughters...

Can anyone tell me where I went wrong with these two divas? They think they're 80's chicks! Hey girls! Miami Vice called - Crockett and Tubbs want their girlfriends' outfits back!

Which Way to Turn?

“If you can see your path laid out
in front of you
step by step,
you know it's not
your path."

Joseph Campbell

Well, isn't that always the way? After yesterday's Healing and Eucharist service , I was chatting with Lois Holly & mentioned that I needed to head over to the church kitchen (I'm in charge of buying kitchen supplies - a position I volunteered for). She started to laugh - and then reminded me that only a couple of months before I had sworn that I would never, ever work in the kitchen (due to my previous experiences of being a woman working in a different church kitchen)!

Well, God definitely has a sense of humor, hmmm?

Isn't That Special?

"There is an old Christian tradition that God sends each person into this world with a special message to deliver, with a special song to sing for others, with a special act of love to bestow. No one else can speak my message, or sing my song, or offer my act of love. these are entrusted only to me." -- John Powell, Through Seasons of the Heart

Part of me says, "yea, right" - (that would be my cynical self) - but deep down i know this to be true....perhaps it's the use of the word "special".....it sounds so church lady-ish! let's replace it with unique or distinct...see how that sounds?

Practice Rejoicing!

Whenever you hear that someone else has been successful, rejoice!
Always practice rejoicing for others - whether your friend or your enemy.
If you cannot practice rejoicing, no matter how long you live, you will not be happy.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Transforming Problems into Happiness

Four Types of Vessels

The Buddha compared people to four kinds of clay vessels.

One type of vessel has holes in the bottom.

We can pour in as much water as we like and it runs right out. When this type of person hears the Dharma (spiritual truth), it goes in one ear and out the other.

The second type of vessel has cracks.

Though we pour in the Dharma (spiritual truth), it seeps out slowly until the vessel is empty again.

The third vessel is full to the brim with stale water--views and opinions.

One can't pour anything new in, everything is already known.

The only useful vessel is the fourth, without holes or cracks and totally empty.

-Ayya Khema, "Be an Island"

photo taken from: Beautiful-Landscape.com
by the photographer Alain Briot

(for the most part i think i'm the third vessel - these are those moments when the Holy Spirit is faithfully nudging me
to keep my mouth shut and my mind open so that i may learn!
Where do you see yourself?)

Better Late than Never!

Jan tagged me a couple of weeks ago, and true to my procrastinating self I'm just now getting around to doing it! So here is how this works:

The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
Each player answers the questions about himself or herself.
At the end of the post, the player then tags five people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. (However, I'm not doing this part)....

Ten years ago:
This was the year I had my hysterectomy - it was a year of big changes. I returned to school as my eldest was finishing high school and leaving home. I started wondering about what I truly believed. My theology began a shifting process away from evangelicalism. It seems like a lifetime ago!

Five things on today's "to do" list:
1)Make the house look like no one lives here - yes i've been attempting this one for over a year now as our house has been on the market for that long and you never know when a realtor will call - anyone looking to purchase a lovely home in Sequim?
2) Water the plants
3) Clean out the closet in my bedroom - I actually bought some new clothes for work and this is one of those weird things i do - when i purchase something new i clean the area in which it will live. Sort of a welcoming ritual?
4) Catch up on my reading
5) Go to the gym

Things I'd do if I was a billionaire:
I really can't list anything specific. I think it would bring on such a holistic change in my own life for I would want to be able to bring about change in the world around me. So I would probably set up some sort of foundation to make the money work towards taking care of the poor, the neglected, and the abused.


Three bad habits:
(only 3? there are so many to choose from!)
Procrastinating by filling out memes at my computer
Not regularly exercising
Starting projects but not finishing them

Five places I've lived:
Belfast, Northern Ireland
San Francisco, Calif.
Pasadena, Calif.
Edinburgh, Scotland
Sequim, Washington


Five jobs I've had:
Secretary at a Hollywood TV station, JPL & Caltech
Line Dance Instructor
Sambo's Restaurant Manager
Spiritual Director
Instructor at Peninsula College

People I'm tagging:
No one - I think everyone's done this one.....but if you'd like to give it a go (Bekah) I'd love to read your responses!