Odds and ends

I can't seem to figure out how to add the pictures where you want them, or how to delete the ones you don't want! The second picture is of Lucy, and the first is Lucy, too! She's the dog I took care of over the weekend. LOL. :0)

Just thought I'd jot down a few words for my blog, instead of intentionally waiting to write when I have the time. If I don't do it this way, when I can....I never will!

It was a very gorgeous day here today. I can't believe how sunny it was, and pretty warm, too! We haven't seen much sunshine since I don't know when. It really lifted my spirits immensely. Lately, I have felt rather depressed and unmotivated. I know it's partly because I just lost my precious kitty, something that still hurts greatly......and then it has to be because of all the gloomy weather. I usually don't mind cloudy days that much, and think they're great days to be in, reading a book or for puttering around the house. But, the sun has been a wee bit TOO scarce of late, and it was HIGH time it shone so brightly today! We Washingtonians DESERVED it!!!!!!!!!!!!

I even went for a walk, something that I greatly enjoyed!! There's nothing like a good walk to get your head cleared and make you feel alive. It was a long one, too. I just couldn't seem to quit walking, it was so nice. But, now I'm feeling pretty tired from it. Even Annika was pooped afterwards, and it takes a lot of exercise to wear out a Alaskan Malamute, let me tell you. When I was walking..... the birds were singing so sweetly in the woods, I couldn't help but smile to myself a lot. The people in the cars that passed me must have thought I looked sappy....but I couldn't help it!

I did some house-sitting over the weekend. It was nice to get away, and it was a lovely place to be. You can see the Olympic mountains from the deck, something I could stare at endlessly. I love those mountains so much! I don't know why, really. They're just terribly stunning and majestic. They remind me of the Swiss alps in Switzerland, a place I would dearly love to visit someday. Sigh.

I got to take take of 2 cats and a HUGE black Newfoundland dog while I was there. Lucy is a very sweet dog, but a very -in-your-face sort of dog. And when you have that much dog in your face, it's sort of hard not to feel overwhelmed....mainly because of her breath! But, she was so good, if a bit restless and the cats were so fun to be around. They're both big, bushy cats that are fun to hug,.....though Brulee wouldn't let me, being the shy, paranoid calico mix that she is.

I see it's almost time to start supper, so I better skedaddle if I know what's good for me!

Two thousand ten.

Well, 2010 is here at last! It's rather scary how time seems to speed up the older you get. If it zips by now, what will it do for me at age 65?


Somehow, I like how 2010 sounds & looks. Besides, it's much easier to write than 2009 was, or 2008 for that matter.
I haven't really officially made any resolutions for this new year. I have goals, hopes and wishes, but I try to stay away from the word resolution because it just sounds un-doable. That word is just totally over-rated anyway. We all know most people don't even keep their resolutions, me being one of them.
So, I guess I'm just going to go with the word " goal". And I do have a great many goals for this year. Some are tiny and others quite overwhelmingly large. These ones I'm simply going to have to trust God to give me the strength to achieve, otherwise I'll be sure to fall flat on my face!


Here are a few that I would like to share.

1) Laying aside weights. The ones that do so easily beset me ( and how!)

I was watching the new Pilgrim's Progress movie that was put out not too long ago, and it inspired me to try even harder to make it to Heaven. Everywhere I turn ( and sometimes they sort of just hit you in the face) there are weights everywhere to be dealt with. Bad attitudes/toxic people, shopping, time mis-management, clutter, etc.

And then there are the endless distractions spring up in my life daily! Those are really giant weights in disguise. You know what they are.....mostly the silly, inane daily stuff. Those crazy time eater-upper games on Facebook, movies, reading, and just about anything that keeps you from spending quality time with God. Oh, how harmless those distractions sound and look, too! At the time, it seems sooo important to write that email, do that load of laundry or clean the house. I know some of those things do have a necessary place in our lives, yet spending time with God should be at the top on our list of priorities. The most important thing to do of the day. I often skimp on time with Him or put it off before I go to sleep. I always feel so ashamed and guilty, yet I do it over & over again. How God must long to spend time with me, yet so unfeelingly I just brush Him off to do some mundane task.

Sometimes I long to run away from weights and distractions by heading towards the nearest desert island, but alas, that will never be.......

When I do take the time to spend time with Him, I feel better. I have more clarity of mind, I'm more peaceful, and I seem to get so much more done. If this isn't an incentive to spend more time alone with Him, then I don't know what is.
How I long to be closer to Jesus!! It's the only thing that really matters in life.

2) Lose weight.

This is going to be a huge effort if there ever was one, because I love...no....ADORE food! I intend to lose at least 20 pounds, and I'm hoping to lose at least half of that this year. People say I carry my weight well since I'm tall, and I suppose I do.....up to a point. But it's getting to the place where I can no longer hide the fact that I've had too many pastries & lattes.
I'm just planning on eating lots of veggies and fruit, whole grains, beans and other sources of protein on a regular basis. I made some pancakes the other day, and I added some flax meal to the batter. It must have been a bit too much, because they turned out to be like an inch thick when they were done. O well, at least they tasted good even if they did cause a significant amount of intestional problems for my family.......

3) Get rid of all clutter.

I'm just so tired of having too much around me. I'm really not a packrat, but I do have a lot of books! There are also some other things I could do without and not even miss.

4) Read some of the classics.
I would like to try again to read Jane Eyre, and perhaps some Dickens.


5) Take a class in photography.
This would be right up my alley, and hopefully I'll be able to do it.


6) Go on a trip to California.
My mom, sister and I are hoping to take a week long ( or more) road trip down the coast into California, stopping whenever and wherever we like to see the sights. It would be pretty amazing to see the Redwoods in Yosemite, the Golden Gate bridge, and everything else. I'm sure I would be snapping pictures like your typical tourist on this trip........

So, those are some of my goals & plans for this new year. Hopefully all of them will be achieved! :0)

Beetles and camel rides.

I guess I never did get Ocean Dreams Part II written. O well. And now I can't really remember what else happened. My memory is failing me.........

I know we took the long way home, on Hwy 101, stopped at 2 beaches. One was Rialto beach where it was hoplessly foggy, but the waves were worth seeing. They crashed so loudly it was almost frightening. Michelle and I were having a great time looking for prettyy rocks that were washing up on the shore, but those blasted waves kept coming in closer & closer. It really ruined our fun. We also went through Forks, said hello to Bella and Edward and all the other vampires, ate at a great cafe in Quinalt, ( Angie wasn't hungry, Michelle had a HUGE chili dog, and I had the Quinalt sandwich & a order of wonderful onion rings.....yummy!) then we stopped at McDonald's in Port Angeles, and then went on home. As you can see my memory is pretty clear on where and what we ate, but beyond that...I don't remember.

It is so cold here! We have been going through a major cold snap that I hope ends soon. It's so cold that when you go outside....the coldness takes your breath away. The ground is perpetually frozen and all vegetation is crinkled up and dead. I have to wonder, how do the poor little birds keep warm in all this? You see a lot of them out yet, pecking around on the ground. I guess they have to keep active to keep the blood moving in their tiny veins.


We saw our cardinal friend yesterday! Yay! We hadn't seen him for ages, so it was good to see him again. He is just gorgeous!!

I'm just writing whatever comes to my brain.

My 15 year old cat has a new toy. She is wildly fascinated with a 5 inch long rubber glow-in-the-dark beetle. I have no idea why she likes it so much, but she does. She likes to bite it and meows at it frantically. Maybe she thinks its her baby. She used to do that with socks in her younger days. I'm just glad she is enjoying this over-sized rubber insect. It's good to see her moving around instead of just lying around sleeping. Not bad for a senior citizen! I will miss her so much when she dies!! :-(

Now, I need to go get ready to go to Tacoma. My family and I were invited as guests by my uncle ( who works at Point Defiance) to go to the office party, plus see Zoolights and get this.......go for free camel rides at the zoo! Uh huh.....and in 15 degree weather, too. Should make for a interesting, not to mention exceedlingly CHILLY night!

Ocean Dreams Part I

Ocean Dreams.....doesn't that just sound poetic and lovely? It was the name of the vacation house I stayed at, along with my sister & cousin. It was a lovely place!



My sister & I had the bright idea of renting a cottage/house by the ocean this October, and inviting our cousin from Canada along to go with us. Actually, Michelle was pretty keen on the idea several months ago herself. This was something we have always wished we could do, but it has never worked out. To our great happiness, Michelle was able to spend over a week here in WA, so that gave us ample time to embark on our little getaway to the ocean.



Boy, did we ever have a nice time! The weather was almost perfect.... mostly sunny, very little wind ( very unusual for the ocean!) and an unsurpassed view of the ocean from the house.

I can't think of anything that went even remotely wrong while we were there. It was almost too perfect to be true. Unless it was the small supplies of towels or the scruffy, oddball caretaker that went along with the house......

But, yeah.....the house was very nice, not to mention very CLEAN...... something that I really appreciated! ( I once stayed at a motel that had a small ant hill in progress in the closet......but that's a whole other story....) It was decorated nicely with sea themed decorations and was well stocked with useful household items. My sister took the opportunity to be domestic, and made BBQ ribs while we were there, and they were just great!



The first night, we witnessed one of the most...... if not the prettiest sunsets.... I have ever seen! I sat on a huge piece of driftwood on the beach, taking pictures of it about every minute, to mark its progress. I was rather annoyed, though....someone decided that would be the ideal spot to play fetch with their dog. So, in some of my pictures....directly beneath the large, orange ball of sun, are some little black figures. Grrrrr!!! Fortunately, they left before it set completely!



It was truly an amazing sight, to watch it sink lower & lower, then disappear into the vast ocean......out of sight as if it had never been there. Truly something I will never forget!!

The sky afterwards was a sight to behold! As twilight appproached, the sky was an ever changing palette of colors, fascinating me with its dusky shades blues, purples, oranges and pinks. Pictures can never do justice to the real thing, but I sure took plenty!

Michelle & I were feverishly lighting candles while the sky was getting prettier. Angie thought we were nuts to be doing that while it was so pretty outside. I had to convince her that, no....we did not miss too much, and yes......we were candle fanatics & that's just what we do.......so what did you expect?! LOL



Later, we took a walk along the shore and saw the moon rise over the tree line. THAT was also very beautiful!! I was fervently wishing I had a really good camera to capture such a breath-taking scene, but alas...I did not. The pictures I did take, ended up looking so weird I deleted it instantly.



I don't know if was the combination of beauty, gladness of being away from it all, or simply because we were just plain moonstruck.....but we just had to dance around a bit on the sand! Of course, we laughed a lot, too as we made fools of ourselves ( at least it was dark) To say that we 30-something girls were having a very carefree & delightful evening would be an understatement!

Sizzlin' summer

I'm sitting here at the computer with a powerful little fan blasting at my face. Honestly, this hot weather is really getting to me. I've been pretty uncomfortable the past few days with it, but just today I really didn't know if I could take much more! I just HAVE to whine a bit here. It's my blog after all.....I can whine and complain if I want to! :-)

I have never perspired as much in my life as I have this past week. The sweat just runs down your face in little riverlets, and your eyes get all dry a lot, and your skin is perpetually hot. I hate this weather and hope, hope, HOPE with all my heart it ends soon! 103 is NOT good for any state, least of all WA! Today, I just about passed out from the heat at the gas station. Sounds wimpy, but I had just cleaned a 3 story house, was hungry, and the gas fumes were getting to me. I had to literally fight to stay conscious and prayed that I would not faint. I mean.... how embarrasssing to pass out while pumping gas! I could just imagine if it did happen, the concerned looks on people's faces as they stared down at my lifeless form, laying on the concrete. And knowing me, I would probably fall down in a ungraceful little heap, or something dumb like that. Those thoughts alone kept me from swooning. But I tell you, it was a struggle!

Fortunately, we do have a swimming pool in our yard. This little round slice of cool has kept me sane, and happy for the most part. My sister and I have spent many carefree moments splashing around in it. If only the bugs would stay out, all would be perfect. It's not very fun to be in there with assorted bugs & spider legs floating by you, let me tell you. Oh, and also the scent of sun baked dog poop isn't very nice. I guess that's what comes of having a dog poop anywhere she pleases on the lawn, and no one feeling energetic enough to scoop it up.