A perfect day

Life is such a joy when a few relaxing moments are spent with friends. My friends are such a joy.  We represent the Right, the Left and Middle and still find common ground.  There is a lesson in that!!! We spent the day in the Proctor District window shopping, haunting thrift shops for a bargain and having a sandwich in a local and I might add delightful restaurant, Rosewood Cafe.  Delicious food had by all.  The place has a friendly and warm atmosphere ... reminds me of my favorite places in Boston.  But Rosewood has its own unique Tacoma feel. Metro Market, as always, had a wonderful display of fresh flowers outside ~ not to mention it's fabulous presentation of food inside!

EXCUSE ME... A Correction!!!

Daylight Savings is on MARCH 14th!!!  Spring begins on the 20th.  More LIGHT ~ it's all good!!!!!

14 Days 'til Spring

We can do it... wait for Spring... but almost all of us would like to see her pretty face now!  Let us begin the rituals of  preparation: clean out the house, air the rooms, get the dogs groomed, plan a summer trip, think about feeling the warmth of sun on human skin...ah Spring!  In the mean time, we wait...

Brenda's Photo Challenge! Anything wooden ~ waiting for Spring!

Today caught me off guard and I am posting just a bit late.   Took these photos on Fox Island (Puget Sound) at the community center there.  Almost every object seemed to long for the activities of Spring and Summer!  Spring is now just 15 days away...but for some there will have to be a few more snow, sleet or rain storms before the GAMES begin!!!  It can not get here fast enough for me!

 Waiting for camp fire stories to be told...

Waiting for Grandparents and young mothers doting on the family youngster...

Waiting for someone to find the patio furniture and BBQ!

Waiting for Dad or Handy man to apply a fresh coat of paint

Wishing all a good week end and good health!

Go Away Sally Ann...No One Likes You

“Why do you stay in prison

When the door is so wide open?

Move outside the tangle of fear thinking

Live in silence

Jalal ad-Din Rumi, Persian Port and Mystic 1207-1273

I named her a couple of years ago.  She was back for another unbidden, unwelcome visit.  She is a relentless hitch-hiker and has the annoying habit of arriving whenever it is convenient for her  .It is always in winter. Fundamentally she is a loner yet she insists on silently hanging around people.  She is the uninvited over-night guest that never seems to know that she has over-stayed her visit.  I can no longer remember when I first gave her a ride - except I know it was some long ago frozen New England winter. Now she just sits quietly, some would say, dolefully in the same spot, collecting dust and sadness. .  Sally Anne has horrible food preferences, all sugary junk food and gobs of not so healthy carbohydrates.  We’ve had to come to an agreement on the food thing…whole grains only and NOTHING with white sugar in it.  As I alone do the shopping, the rules are not difficult to follow ~ she is no longer allowed in the grocery store.  Most days she sits on the couch with a pile of unread books next to her and she always rides in the car no matter how short the errand.  I hate commuting with her.  Her presence conjures up all the “would’a, could’a, should’a” scenarios that time cannot erase.    The saving grace is that I know come Spring , the real Spring ~ not the one I simply yearn for, she will disappear.   Sally Ann hates sun light.  I’ve often accused her of being a Vampire.  She does not smile or bark a hostile word back.  She has no sense of humor.  I’ve come to believe she moves to South America in April.  I know her well enough now to know that she is not bilingual.  The Spanish lessons have been collecting dust along with all the other books near her nest of books on the couch..She does not need to know another language.  She lets the host do all the talking.  She simply sits and does a weird imitation of one of those distorted fun house mirrors.

"People with SAD suffer from a lack of sunlight – they are literally ‘in the dark."  ~ Dr. Raymond Crowel, Psy.D.

Certain bright lights create a hostile environment for her ~ even Costco knows this and sells anti-Sally Anne” Verilux” lights  The sun really does the trick but good artificial lights helps…almost makes it seems as though she is not there.  So does exercise.  She hates sweat and shrinks back just a tad to avoid contact the clear stuff.  But all in all, nothing works as well as sunlight.  Bright warm sun light is the only message she will really notice.  ‘Go away Sally Ann’ it silently screams.  Come April she will do just that! 

Brenda's Photo Challenge! The Color RED!

Red: the color of life.   To be organic is to be messy.  No other color expresses that notion as well as RED!  It is the color of passion, war, love, birth, hate, and blood.  It is vibrant and pulses.  It can bring us to tears or romantic sighs.  It represents summer and autumn. 

Red is the color of life…at it’s beginning and it’s end.

Container Gardening in a different key!

Enough said....

recycling at it's best!!!

Living musically?

“In the end we shall have had enough of cynicism and skepticism and humbug and we shall want to live more musically”   ~ Vincent vanGogh

“...living musically” ~ Isn’t that a fascinating thought?   Perhaps that is the way we should proceed with each moment…chose a musical score  and move as though no matter what occurs in day to day life it were all part of an elaborate dance.  Rather than being trapped in memory, listen to the composers, find your rhythm, timing and engage dynamically as if it were the magic of a symphony that propelled you through time.  Perhaps the nation would turn off Fox News or MSNBC or whatever talking head is espousing their particular version of the truth.  Maybe then we could engage more fully in life…in step to music, creative impulse, rather than hate, ideology, or some pressing need to be upset over the ‘news’ of the day.  What if we were looking for dance partners rather than converts? 

My rationale mind is struggling with the notion.  “How would we get anything done if we are all dancing” the little list maker frets.  Living musically does not mean living idly (I reassure myself).  Perhaps the phrase suggests we would live in concert with ourselves ~ with others.  There seems to be a simple honesty implied in the quote…something to ponder.

Hand Blown Glass for the Garden!

Posted this picture on my photo blog (http://romancingthenorthwest.blogspot.com/) but wanted to share it on this blog as well.  Thought the this artist's hand blown glass was/is creative and graceful as well as whimsical.  It would make a delightful surprise in a shade garden ~ as this garden group demonstrated.  So interesting to be able to create a multi-purpose garden of a different sort ~ part landscape, part canvas.

Of course, after thriving most of this winter in record breaking warm weather, the folks of the Northwest are now dealing with heavy fog and chilly nights.  Dang!  I was feeling so certain that Spring was just around the corner.  Of course, I usually have Spring Fever from January to May so I can not be trusted as a barometer of serious weather related events, especially at this time of the year!

Seattle Garden Show 2010 -2

Last night I drove home in thick fog.  That is always a draining commute when one cannot see beyond a few feet in front the car and the folks driving behind you have a perverse need to tailgate.  Reviewing and editing the photos from the week end excursion recycled the peaceful moments of wandering through the gardening examples at the Seattle show.  What a pleasant escape!

Seattle Garden Show 2010

Spring comes to some in the form of the annual Garden show.  After a record warm and mild winter, there is now daily talk of the hard frosts that are about to descend on us.  But we can face it...we've all been to the Garden Show!  The perfect escape into an imaginary May and June and it works for me!!!!

 the  traditional cold frame in stylish colors~

Simple elegance ~

Brought to you by TODAY OUTSIDE!!!

"Spring is sooner recognized by plants than by men."

 ~Chinese Proverb

Almost There ...

"It's spring fever.  That is what the name of it is.  And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!"                                              ~Mark Twain

Brenda's Photo Challenge! ~ The Best of 2009

In order to tell the photo tale of 'the best of 2009' I had to bring forward a photo from 2008.  This past year has  been one interesting journey.  A journey filled with sorrow, mysteries and joy.  A quick glance over my shoulder reminds me that I left freezing winters and deep snow.  I learned that I could not only tolerate the isolation of the deep woods but thrive there no matter how cold the day was and that at 60 I could stack cords of wood, clean chimney's, rake many feet of snow off the roof of the house and other odd jobs that are required when one lives by oneself in the woods of New England.

I spent part of 2009 in the Central Valley of California. It was stunningly hot and dry.  I had to work hard to find the beauty in the heat of that arid place but grew to love the sights and sounds of the agricultural center of that State.  Spring was a particular delight, though short lived, she turns the normally brown hill sides into a patch work of floral color.

Now I live in Puget Sound and love the sounds and sights of this wonderful place: fog horns, the splatter of heavy winter rain, the scream of eagles hunting for their breakfast. 

Life is amazing!

Getting out of my own way.....

"For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life.  But there was always some obstacle in the way.  Something to be got through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid.  Then life would begin.  At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life." 
                                                       ~Fr. Alfred D'Souza

Choosing to see the mystery or the obstacle~ every now then I have to remind myself not to be so heavy, cynical and overly serious: attempting to keep my eyes wide open in order to avoid becoming my own personal obstacle course.  All this attempting to  witness the magic of it all and stay in the NOW ~  is a piece of hard work!!  

Blogger's Block ~ Listening to the Sirens

“Sweet coupled airs we sing

No lonely seafarer

Holds clear of entering

Our Green mirror”

~ Homer, Book 12, 173 - 173

I have been here, in this place – a state of being and mind, for almost six months.  Is there really nothing to write about this day, or the day before or the day before that?  It is doubtful.   Spring hints at being on the way.  It continues to rain, although not with the persistent ferocity of a few weeks ago.  The day stays light until 5 PM.  All this is a joy, but not enough to write about today.  The peace of this mild winter has become a Siren’s Song for me.   I’m stuck.  The terror of the blank page has me in its grip - it is easier to moan about not writing than to struggle against the sweet sound of the Siren Inertia.  Fortunately I do not depend of writing for a living.  But, I do depend on writing as a point of connection and for being a kind of sand painting that helps me sort through the business Life tosses in my path or that of others within my sensory range.  So today, lashed to the mast (in this case my key board to serve as mast) with Odysseus I listen and write.  Why? Because like Odysseus, I can listen and write...I think I can, that is.

The Doubled Edged Sword

There is so much to ponder that it has become difficult to sort through.  First I am homesick for New England, even though I hate shoveling snow, cannot afford the overwhelming cost of home heating fuel, have developed a morbid fear of falling on ice and adore the green rich environment of the Northwest…I miss the intellectual and creative air of the East Coast.  I miss friends, familiar roads and even a New England turn of phrase.  Then, I am consumed with thoughts about elder health care in today’s heavy handed regulatory environment, even as we as a nation struggle with how to get and pay for health care to more people.  Haiti weighs on my mind.  What is next there?  When does hurricane season begin?  How will people be sheltered?  How much orthopedic (related to thousand of crush injuries) help will come their way in the months ahead?  What happens when 1000s of people need amputations and prosthetic appliances?  Who will do the rehab?  Will we send aid for that?  The orphans, who will care for them?  Orphaned elders and infants alike have the potential of becoming a grim source of political wrangling and statistical data gathering and still not receive the aid and comfort they need.  It was a problem before the earth quake and it will be worse as the media scrutiny dwindles.

The Heart Break of Haiti

Over the decades I have been honored to work with many people from Haiti and lucky for me, count many as friends.  The tragic earthquake that struck that country is heart breaking.  Every nurse and nursing assistant that crossed my path had family still there.  These hard working women raised families, held down multiple jobs and attended college courses while they worked to integrate themselves into life in the States.  They also sent home money to support loved ones still in the extreme poverty of the island nation.  It is difficult to hear their anguish as I check in from person to person to see if they have heard from loved ones yet.  I hope all of the folks in the blogosphere will consider a donation to the Red Cross or other trust worthy group as those teams mobilize to get food, water, shelter and medical care to those who so desperately need it there. Check out these links:

http://american.redcross.org/haiti Two other good orgs: http://www.vwaayiti.org/donate.htmhttp://pih.org/inforesources/news/Haiti_Earthquake.html

The Nurse as Darth Vader

Every time we speak she has a horror story to share about yet another incompetent nurse who has crossed her path.  I dread these encounters. When the conversation heads down this particular path I want to start breathing like the Dark Lord himself …’yes, the nurse as Darth Vader, card carrying member of the Dark Side, ready to do harm at any moment of an 8, 10, 12 or 16 hour shift!’.  It is an impossibly immature response and I do not give in to it but I WANT to do so!  Not because I believe that there is 'no such thing as an incompetent nurse' but because I know there is a mix in each professional group: exceptional, average, and yes, poor to incompetent ~ nurses, doctors, pharmacists etc...  Long Term Care is a particular struggle.  Long Term Care manages in part because most of the personal care (which is most of the hard physical work) is done by nursing assistants and nurses are relegated  passing meds, doing some treatment and documenting care.  Those nurses have patient loads of 20 to 30 patients (double and triple that of their acute care counter parts) and manage the nursing assistants as well as the patients, their families and medical staff.  Many, if not most, of the nurses are LPNs.  Most would say that staff management is not a large part of the curriculum for LPN’s (nor is it for many RNs for that matter).  So, I ask, is anyone out there ready to pay more for the care of elders, more for on-going staff development? Are stock-holders ready to give up investment money for the same thing?  My gut tells me the answer is a resounding “NO”. In the mean time, 1000's of nurses will do the best they can given the limitations of time, money and resourses to fulfill their duties.

If she is right about the lack of competency ~ the next time you visit a loved one in a nursing home…watch out for weird breathing coming from the nurse!