Welcome 2013

2012 we survived:

Moving 2000 miles with 4 cats.

Buying a house.

A harrowing election that tested friendships, and beliefs.

134,962 times of throwing a tennis ball for Ramses.

Our first Tsunami watch.

Christmas without snow!!(YAY!)

An 8000 mile road trip.

A trip to the HOTTEST (and maybe Happiest) place on earth in June.

Visitors.

And even the end of the Mayan calendar, though I hear it really ended before if you account for leap years and all.

Can't wait to meet you 2013! 

Living in a Green Christmas

The trees decorate themselves with Holly, while the ferns and evergreens glow

Across the lake, the woods are resplendent in reds and green
while the grass is still emerald.

Sudden batches of Holly berries surprise around the corner

And the beach taunts you to come walk and revel in the sunshine
between storms.

Christmas at the Seaside

Main Street where the bakery is really in the spirit

A lighted Sea Dragon guards the town

There are even lights on the Orca statue

Once twilight fades the entire town glows

And the Sea Dragon welcomes visitors with a wink

By the bay and boats a Crab Pot fishing tree shines brightly

And crab pot light decorations pay respects to the
hard working seafarers

At home, our own tree glistens with silver and blue

And Snoopy hangs out, thinking there is no place better than Christmas by the Sea

Mental Illness

I come from a family where first hand I have seen the ravages of mental illness on individual lives. Please read this.

I am Adam Lanza’s Mother

It Is (NOT) Snowing!

In the Frozen Tundra the ground lays white.

Stars sparkle down through frosty air.

Christmas lights mist through their icy covering.

Cars are covered with salt.

People slip and slide down unshoveled sidewalks.

But not here.

In our oceanside town the grass is still green.

Stars sparkle down between clouds.

Christmas lights glimmer in the raindrops.

Cars stay clean.

People skip down sidewalks while Christmas music plays.

There is nowhere I would rather be, than enjoying this beautiful green Christmas season.

Swan Lake

Love

It's the day after the election night here in America.

I woke up, after very little sleep to a beautiful sight of sunshine streaming over the evergreens onto the lake while the dew sparkled on the grass.

I woke up to a country, which had decided on Love.

Yesterday, we saw people showing love of their country, by standing in line for 7 or 8 hours to exercise their right to vote. People who were proud of their ability to cast a ballot, even though it was being made more difficult in their area.

We saw people vote YES to love in several states, recognizing the right to to gay marriage, or turning down constitutional amendments that would outlaw that right.

We saw people vote YES to a more favorable healthcare law.

We saw people vote YES to legalizing what is essentially a harmless drug, that sends a love of people they love to jail.

We saw people reject those who said through their words that rape was ok.

We saw people reject those who said hate was good.

We saw people say that we were in this together, and that together, we can change the world. We just need to love each other. Love is a powerful thing. I am proud, so many people came together, took time out of their day, and let their love for country, each other, and for individual rights shine through.

"Young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled. Americans sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states. We are, and always will be, the United States of America." – President Barack Obama, 11-07-2012.

Chinook Middle Camp

The kids are here for a short visit so we ran over to the new park on the Columbia river. It was originally the middle camp for the Chinook tribe where they fished, and later a trading location for settlers. In 1904  St Marys church was built there. They still offer mass during the summer months.

It Can't Always Be Sunshine and Roses

We got out first good rainstorm the last few days. I'll leave out the details about how Ramses refused to go outside in the rain, or the story of making sure everything was rainerized that I thought already was, but it wasn't cause I didn't anticipate the way the wind would blow here.

Saturday, we headed out to a fiber fest a couple hours away. It was cute, small, and only very slightly damp. I picked up a little bit of Merino/alpaca/silk roving, natural colored, and a graduated batt. It was fun to look at yarn and fiber, something that has been woefully lacking. Though I have been spinning a little bit, and knitting some too in between beach trips, gardening, and hours spent wandering around the yard.

See the shawl on the left? Yup, knitted that, then mom crocheted an
edge. (she is the person on the right). This was a good plan, as the
pattern I was using morphed from easy to clearly wrong, and
if it hadn't been crocheted, it'd still be here rather than on the person
it was made for (person on the left).

 

Lovely fiber, but I can't wait to start that new batt..

Some may think this looks gloomy, but I think it looks a heck
of a lot better than a blizzard!

Fall Flowers

Geraniums still blooming like crazy!

We painted the pumphouse

And added year round flowers

Dahlias are happy

And bursting with blooms

The roses are still rejoicing

The rhodies are transplanted

The leaves are starting to turn here. Of course we don't have the show in the midwest. It's a muted fall. Nature doesn't feel the need to blast out the colors as a promise spring and colors will be back. They stay around a little bit longer, and come back faster.

Across the lake the alders are changing at the foot of the evergreens

I love the golds

A couple nights ago, a black bear was sauntering along the bank.
I was too surprised to run and grab the camera. But if you use your
imagination - you can see him there...

Random Fall Photos

Jellyfish on the beach

Poodle on the beach

Seagulls on the beach

Sunset on the beach

Dogs on the beach

Another sunset on the beacb

Sunset over the cranberries

Lots of cranberries

Tons of cranberries

Tired poodle, dreaming of seagulls..