A Walk

What is it about a walk on a beach that makes us happy?    The sound of the waves breaking on shore, the cry of the gulls, the agates that shine in the sunshine. 

A  walk in a Vineyard through the grape vines, the cluster of grapes growing in size and beauty.  The quiet, the sun shining on the clusters of grapes, and a stop at the tasting room.   One more delight in finding peace and serenity .

• Hey, it's Hump Day, and the little borrowed computer has a jumping screen this morning.   At least it is up and working so I am able to keep in touch.    I am not complaining.   I am just making noises and hoping I can blog even if I do not have a lot of words to share this morning.   Yesterday was a quiet day , an in day, a day to relax and read.  I started a new book with Vinnie, a borrowed Navy book that is  funny and he seem to enjoy recalling his Navy days with some of the characters , the old timers who had learned to run the Navy their way.   I enjoyed lunch with the ladies and was to lazy to go out for a walk so hunkered down with my J.A.Jance "Left For Dead" book and finished the whole book by midnight.  It is quite a read.  Now I have to find a new read but think I'll go for that walk out today.    I can use the exercise.  

I have my blinds open and the sky has some pink in the clouds this morning, not a leaf stirring, so no breeze out there this morning.   The workers are changing shift and some of the ladies look tired as they get into their cars and drive away;  time to rest for them.    It has to be a difficult job tending to those that are ill.    The shades are still drawn and quiet prevails.   Take time out to say a short prayer for them.   Count your blessings if you have good health, a lot  of folks have painful days.

As I sit here ,looking out the window at a row of parked cars, I wonder if there should not be a better system to get workers to their destination rather than drive an expensive car and leave it parked in the elements all day.   It seems such a waste.  My mind goes in circles looking for solutions but I know no one wants to give up their comfort.   All I can say is I am glad that I do not have to go out the door to work anymore.  Retirement is not a bad thing and do not let anyone tell you it is.   Twenty years to grow up;  twenty years to work; twenty years to retire or more if you are lucky.  Not a bad   life span at all.   Just be sure you live each second and enjoy it.

I am off to get my coffee and wake up.   I have one eye open and am thinking breakfast . . come, join me, I'll share.    How about an awful waffle?   no???  Well how about a blueberry pancake?   no????  Gee you are hard to please. . . I know bacon and eggs but I don't have any bacon.....a dropped egg;  poached to you who have not heard that phrase;  always a good breakfast or coffee and something sweet.. . . don't have anything to tempt you so I'll go check out the cupboards and see what it is I do have  and  settle for peanut butter toast.  Go, enjoy your breakfast and raise a coffee toast for a good day.   Be good, be kind, be gentle and smile as though you won a lottery.    If you do, don't leave without me.   Hugs to all.

Good Morning

The lovely yellow tulips.   Sunshine.    Summer.   How lucky we are.

1. A storm went through last night complete with thunder, but didn't last very long.   I had visions of a huge storm but that was not to be the case;  just a little one that passed over quickly.  I think I was disappointed as I had not heard thunder in some time and thought I was in for a good old fashioned summer storm.  

I am not sure I am going to be able to blog for long this morning as the screen seems to have a life of its own.   I am typing away and it is rolling up and down and a little sign is coming up in the right corner of the computer telling me to complain to Google.   I'd like to complain to Google but it wouldn't do much good.   This is Christine's old computer and I am hoping it does the trick but I have a feeling we will be computer shopping before the week is over.   The jumping screen is a bit exasperating.  Did you tune in to hear my complaints???  I bet not.   Sorry about that, it isn't much fun to have computer problems you cannot fix on your own.  I am just not computer savvy , next time around I'll pay more attention.

A twenty minute ride over a busy highway takes us to Tacoma a sizable city where there is a huge shopping mall.  It took a little while to find the SAS shoe store but Christine is a whiz.   The clerk was waiting on a customer and we had a chance to browse.  The shoes have changed in design and colors but I tend to stick to the same comfortable style they have carried for over thirty years.    A good walking shoe, a good balance, and the size of a battleship.   Christine thought I should buy two pair but at the new prices I am lucky to buy one pair.    Makes me wonder how come shoes cost so much.  I know there is a big mark up.   So, I have new shoes and all I have to do is put them to good use and take a hike around.   We had lunch at the Olive Garden which was a treat.  I haven't been to one of those in some time.   The soup and salad and breadsticks were delicious.

I did better than I expected to do with the rolling of the screen and the lack of lots of words to share this morning.   I finished the book I was reading to Vinnie and gave him a break for a bit.    We have several new ladies who have taken up residence here at Ridgemont and all seem to be very friendly.   Jan is back from the hospital and looks thinner and healthy.  We were all glad to see her.   Ron stopped in for a visit yesterday which was a nice surprise.  He brought along his latest copy of a History magazine he gets.  The pictures and stories looked very interesting.   I think son Michael would enjoy reading it and I may sign him up for his birthday gift this year.   

So I am going to love you and leave you as the screen is jumping like crazy.   I am going to wish you a day filled with love and laughter.   Be good, be kind, be gentle and share YOU with those you like and love.    Be lucky today and find a four leaf clover .   Share YOU with those you  love and like.    One or two or even three good deeds today;  make someone smile.  Cook up a special dish to share .   Christine made a manacotti and brought some over for my dinner tonight.   I don't have to cook...smile.   I did go grocery shopping yesterday so have some 'good' things to eat up.  Come by and I'll share.   Hugs to all.

Hello

Jock celebrated Fathers Day out fishng with his daughter Darcy and her husband.   That is a big fish...'So Big' !!

Oregon . . Ah!!   Lovely to look at, Delightful to see such beauty and serenity all in one picture.

• My computer crashed so I have not been able to blog.    Daughter Christine brought me one of her old lap tops and it is much like the one I had but still a bit different and enough to make me a bit leery as to how to make it work.    I am not going to write much;  just want to say be patient until I get used to this one and I'll see what I can do to stay in touch. 

I thought computers lasted forever;   nope,  they go the way of all things.   The screen is jumping up and down and I am afraid I am going to lose you so I am going to say hello and goodnight and try again in the morning.

I may have to go computer shopping.  Christine tells me they have a new small one out that is interesting, so we may go look some over.  Meanwhile I am not sure how this one will work as the screen is jumping;  I get thrown out but then I have heavy fingers that are all over the key board.    I got it working and I am talking to YOU...aah....I've missed my daily blogging.   

I am keeping busy;   did some inventory work at the Gallery that kept be busy.   I have been shoe shopping which is always the same in style but the price changes;  can you imagine that???   SMILE.....  The SAS shoe is the only one that fits these feet and the style is the same now if they would keep the price way down it would help so I could order another color but all they do is mark them higher so I stay with the same one.    I can't be fussy but I can be comfortable.    

So today go shoe shopping and buy some of those new summer sandals.  They come in lovely colors and look great with your summer wardrobe.   Go and take them for a walk along the boardwalk or find a lovely ocean path to walk and enjoy.   Be good, be kind, be gentle and go about making life bright and beautiful for those you love.    Hugs to all.

Saturday Morning

I felt like I was walking this road this morning;  well, I'd like to be but it is not Nevada ...and I do miss Nevada....friends....rides....wild flowers and lots of good memories.......but I was trying to get on the computer for hours it seems as it does not want to work this morning.  There is no reason I know of, but it is slow and it is having its own time in coming up to put any pictures or messages on.   Not sure what will happen but I'll continue and see.

One of those pictures that deserve as econd look.   How lovely wild flowers are.   Easy to look at and sometimes the aroma is heavenly.    How lucky we are to be able to have gardens, lovely flowers, and they look good inside the house as well as outside in the gardens.   It is a shame to cut them but then that is why we grow them.   They make a room come alive.

My beautiful daughter Patricia.   She is such a jewel.   I am very happy and content to be in her life.  

My words would sting this morning.   I think he will go down as the worst president we have ever had and we have had some doozies.   

Looking out my window this morning the skies look like rain coming;   that gray overcast look without a breeze and the furnace kicked on so we may have some cold outside.  I am not going out to find out as it is Saturday and I don't have to put my shoes on until later.  

Vinnie and I finished the book yesterday so we will take a sabbatical for a week or two.   I want to find a new story to read but not a war story, had enough of that for awhile.   The two books written by Herman Wouk, in 1978, telling the tale of World War II with all of its horror and miseries.   An author who writes with passion for the tale he wants to tell.   If you have not read the books, I would highly recommend them.  Now to find a new tale, but what?   Something with a little humor would be fun.   I have the old book "Suds In Your Eyes" about ladies who build a fence with beer cans, wonder if Vinnie would enjoy hearing about that.   Nah, maybe a western would do it, but, I think he would prefer some Navy stories and Christine has a friend who has a book which she touts as hilarious and it is about the Navy so maybe she will loan it out and I can read that.   We could use a laugh or two.

 

Yesterday, Friday, was house cleaning and laundry day and a down day.  I did get a lot done.  I put on my music and dusted, straightened the pictures on the wall and looked pretty good around here.   Then, after our dinner time, I hunkered down with my book and finished it.   It was a Patterson "Cross" book and they are fast reads and always keep you on your toes.   I took three of my books up to the library and traded them  in for three new ones.   So today, if there is nothing exciting to do and I do not get an invitation to anywhere, I will start a new book.   That doesn't mean I wont stop to puzzle;  puzzle....it is a doozy...defies you to find apiece as they are all alike and fit anywhere you want to place one...then find it doesn't go there....it takes patience;  you know that old saying...'patience is a virtue possess it if you can, seldom in a woman, never in a man";  a truism I think.   I know you are smiling.  Good!!  My rhetoric is repeated over and over;  sorry, there just isn't anything new and different to tell you about.    So, the weekend is here....find something to do with it......something that you waited all week to do.....the time is now....use it wisely.

 

Go, have a fun weekend and do some things you have been wanting to do.  Take the time to enjoy the weekend.   You can catch up on chores and other mundane things all week.  The weekend should be yours to lighten up, relax, do what YOU want to do....it is that easy.    Go...enjoy yourself.   You waited all week, worked hard, so think "I deserve a weekend to do what I want to do"...and...go do it.   Have fun while your at it.    If you shop 'til you drop don't blame the stores;  If you eat more than you should, don't blame the restaurant.   If you don't share your love and your hugs, you have no one to blame but yourself . . .so. . . be a hugger, get busy and see if you can break the count...one means your selfish;  two means you are heading in the right direction, and three means you hit pay dirt....go for it and try for four.    Hugs to all.

 

 

 

Hello

A little irreverent to say the least but a truism nevertheless.    When 'it' hits the fan we all know about it, so, we pick up our pieces and get on with life as we learn some days are much better than others.  Some days we are strong some days we are weak, and some days we get it just right.;  That beach looks inviting, a good placed to walk the blues away.

Ah a lovely shot of Mt. Hood  Serenity at its best.    Some folks love to climb mountains, not me, the pleasure is in looking; nothing lazy about me.

Now you know who is looking for trouble.  

 

 

Mid June and time is fleeting, the fire works booths are showing up already.   So many folks in businesses want to rush the time away as they rush the holiday seasons in much too soon.    We don't have time to enjoy one holiday before they start pushing for sales for the next holiday.    We had a ride out on the highway yesterday and booths are up already with firework displays.   Not my favorite holiday although fireworks can be awesome.    That last barrage is always an eyeful and an earful.  At least with the booths up early , it does give you a chance to tell the children how dangerous it can be if they do not pay attention to what they are doing when lighting a five inch salute.  

 

The workers are on their way into work this morning.  There must be a birthday celebration as one has an armful of balloons and another wrapped packages.  Fun time for someone who is confined to a hospital bed.    The sun is shinning on the side of the building making lovely shadows of the trees.    Not a leaf stirring out there, silence prevails.

 

Don't go way, I'll be right back, need a refill . . . Ah!!  Coffee, what would we do without our early morning java???  Hate to find out.   So now that we have communed with nature, let's get on with a few words , not of wisdom, just words of greeting and a verbal hug or two.     Pat and I went for a ride yesterday to Poulsbo  and did stop at the Casino for a short while.    It was fun to play the slots for awhile and get a little play .  I won a little, gave it back, won it again, gave it back...you would think after some fifty years of playing the slots I would learn to sock away a little of a win but then it wouldn't be fun as one never knows when the cycle is ready to break and give you a win.  It does happen, just not often enough.    We didn't stay long, but did enjoy a wonderful luncheon sandwich and some free coffee.  The only place that doesn't charge three dollars a cup anymore.    now that can get a thousand words of protest out of me.   I remember when coffee was five cents a cup;  twenty five cents was shameful and one never gave though that the price would hit three dollars a cup;  I just wont pay it, I'd do without first.    Cut my nose off to spite my face!!   I'll make a pot at home and drink water out; unless they put a charge on that.  Um, think I have used those words up before, and probably will again.  I just don't like being gouged, there is no reason for it other than pure greed.  I wonder what they charge for a pot of hot water for tea these days.

 

So Ridgemont is quiet, no news which is really good news as most of the folks are doing okay.  We only have Jan over in the hospital wing and she is doing good.  Diabetes can be worrisome when it flares up.  A lot of the folks have been missing, probably the lovely weather and invitations away are prevalent.    My daughter, Christine, is going to take us for a ride to the ocean when she can take a work break and I am looking forward to a walk on the beach.   How much I miss Brookings and my walks over at Lone Ranch Beach, a favorite place.   So today, think beach and find your way for a visit.   Stop and listen to the waves tale;   stop and watch the gulls cry;   stop and find peace within;   stop and enjoy your seconds and refresh.   Ah, sounds good to me.    Be a love today.   There is someone waiting for a smile from you, a kind word, a hug;  go on. . . give it all you have as there are many more where that came from.    One hug begets another, almost like eating popcorn.    Be a kernel and pop;.....good deeds, smiles and hugs, what a way to go.   Hugs to all. 

 

 

 

Wake Up Time

A truism

He becomes stronger, and wiser as he ages.  

Leave it to the seniors.

Here it is Thursday already, another fast week, cool and comfortable with a bit of a shower in the mix.   I met my new dentist yesterday and found him to be a gentleman I had once shared a table with at a special dinner my girls and I attended some months ago.    The x-ray tooth proved to be still healthy but there has been some bone loss and the space between two molars is the cause of my problem which I already knew and my using the probing tool didn't help.   I also found his prices sky high and wonder if he lives in a castle.   $95.00 and that was for one x=ray and his time.   I'm told that is the going price these days, um...wonder if I can survive my first big checkup with him;  no choice as it is imperative that we keep our teeth healthy as our food is our fuel and we have to be sure we eat well to survive.    I have that old 'depression era' mind so it is difficult to reconcile the differences in the prices today.   All I can say is take time to be sure you keep your routine up and keep your  teeth and gums healthy.    I  found the quote for a full check up is $165.00 and that is for looking, not for any work that needs to be done.   I have heard the phrase 'gumming it' and may yet find out just what that means.   We have often heard the expression 'life is not fair' and I believe the professionals lead the way down that path with their expectation to live high on the hog while we are expected to keep them in the style they have become accustomed to . . . I don't think so, we may be the start of the toothless generation.

 

I opened the blinds to see a blue sky with a touch of grey clouds, a bit more rain today I think.    It has been normal weather for the northwest I take it, sweater weather and carry an umbrella. . . June. . .um, wonder what July and August will be this year.  I remember coming here a year ago and finding it extremely hot for weeks then back to a normal pattern which was a wait and see .  I have to tell you that we have some of the most beautiful skies that are truly awesome to see.   The clouds reflect scenes over the water that seem impossible and take your breath away.   One of these evenings I will try to take my camera and catch a view or two and share them with you.   

 

Here at Ridgemont there are no changes.    Karen, our manager is holding down two jobs at the moment, working in  one of the other buildings, helping out as they look for some new people to man the desks.    Some are complaining .  There must be a 'gag' rule about letting us in on how our former neighbor is doing;  silence seems to be the rule of the day.

 

I did read to Vinnie yesterday for two hours and we have about two and a half chapters to end the book.    It has been a long time to read the two books about World War II but Herman Wauk has done a remarkable job of making it all come alive.  There is much history to his tale.   We will probably take a break until we find another book that interests us.   All I can tell you at this time is that it will not be a 'war' book...smile.

 

So today, look around and see what needs doing.    There must be a garden patch that needs weeding already.  Pat's garden boxes are coming along great and we are going to have some luscious vegetables  as the beets are already showing and the carrots not far behind.   I am waiting patiently for a garden tomato.   Thee is always something to do in the garden.   There is a time to nurture and a time to cull the bounty from your hard work.   There is nothing more delicious than a ripe garden tomato.    Have fun exercising those muscles and know that bending and stretching with your behind in the sunshine can only reap a harvest of delicious eating.   Don't be a slug . . . be a gardener. . . baby things along and you will not be sorry, you will be sated with the taste of nature.    Hugs to all.

High Tea

The Theme- Pooh Bear

One of the volunteer tea pourers

The table settings

The Gallery set up for High Tea

Welcoming flowers on the front entrance way

One of the lovely teen princesses serving some tasty treats.   Yes, that is me I the background with Doris and Aggie.

I forgot my camera but Sally did not and she came up with all of these pictures of the High Tea.   There are two teas a year, the next one will be the Christmas Tea and a new theme will be chosen.   The members will get together and help to make whatever is decided for the tables, tickets will be sold, the tables will be set up, the doors will open and all will gather to have  great treats and good companionship.   A great way to spend an afternoon.

I gave myself an expensive treat yesterday and made it to the beauty shop for a hair cut.  The last few cuts at the el-cheapo beauty salon  left my hair standing on ends so I thought I'd better find an expert to give me a good cut.   Amanda is a young beautician and I learned that she has been a beautician for eight years.  She originally wanted to be a policewoman but it didn't work out so she went to beauty school.  I think she said she had 'fessed up' at the interview that she had tried pot once, so she was out before she could get in.   She loves being a beautician .  She is going on a trip to England and Ireland is all excited.   She is partially deaf and doesn't practice her sign language but her mother and grandmother are very good at it.   She has wonderful hand and the shampoo was heaven, such a treat to have someone give you a shampoo, a very relaxing treat.   She snipped, cut, primped, teased my hair into a fancy hairdo which looked elegant but not me and you know the shower this morning will give an end to all that primping.   The salon was huge, five chairs or stations I think they are called.  Each beautician was as different as day to night.   One large woman with tattoos;  one tiny woman with no good feet covering and I wanted to tell her she would be sorry down the road.   One beautician who takes her makeup seriously and loved eye shadow.   A busy salon and all hard workers.   They were having a bad day with the machines not working properly so were happy to take a check or cash.    Forty dollars plus a tip is a high price to pay according to me and one I can't do ,or wont do often.   Once every five years is enough.  I miss Gina, my lady barber in Brookings who really new how to cut hair.

So today, treat yourself to a new hairdo.   Enjoy being pampered for a day.    It feels so good.   You deserve a little pampering, we all do.    Stop and have lunch out and make a day of it.   Enjoy a trip around the thrift shop and see if you can find a treasure.   Whatever you choose to do today make sure you do it with gusto...be gutsy...be wonderful....be YOU.  Hugs to all.

P.S.   Thinking Flag Day was yesterday and not a mention anywhere. . . did I miss something?   Our flag is important to each and every one of us. . . so belated Happy  FLAG Day!!!   Nope, I didn't put mine out either . . . out of sight . . .out of mind. . . now that is scary.