Category: short story

Sightseeing

Mitch had a rare Sunday off and with the upper elevations getting tons of snow, we opted for a day at the Space Needle and the Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum. We thought that since it is the last weekend before Christmas, the new Star Wars Movie opening and the Seahawks playing at home the crowds, wouldn’t be too bad. It was cloudy and chilly but it wasn’t raining while we were at the top of the Space Needle. I was able to get some shots that I thought were pretty good.

I couldn’t believe the beauty of the glass sculptures, true works of art and oh so delicate. I’m here to tell you, I walked around from room to room, keeping a lot of distance between the glass pieces and me. Anyone that knows me knows just how graceful I am and walking among pieces of fragile glass valued at tens of thousands of dollars each, was a disaster just waiting to happen. I have a gift and I had no desire to be the lead off news story of the evening.

IMG_4163 (1280x853)

IMG_4164 (1280x853)

IMG_4165 (1280x853)

IMG_4167 (1280x853)

IMG_4171 (1280x853)

IMG_4174 (1280x853)

IMG_4177 (1280x853)

IMG_4513 (1280x853)

IMG_4533 (1280x853)

IMG_0241 (1280x853)

IMG_0250 (1280x853)

IMG_0258 (1280x853)

IMG_0254 (853x1280)

Taking Stock

Christmas is just two weeks away and this year is so different from previous holidays. This year instead of planning and preparing dinner for one son, his wife and daughters on Christmas Eve and doing it again on Christmas Day for the other son, his wife, daughters and the rest of us. Christmas Eve was usually prime rib and Christmas Day was chicken parmesan with spaghetti and meatballs. Two whole days spent cooking and baking, cleaning and making sure everything was perfect. A bit obsessive, maybe but I love cooking and baking and creating food that people enjoy eating. This year will be a lot different from our past holiday dinners, this year Christmas dinner will be something quick and easy, maybe pizza, maybe leftovers, it will be just the two of us and Mitch will have to leave to go to work.

I have been feeling a bit off, a long way from everything known, routine and comfortable, not that I don’t love where I’m at now and what I’m doing, it’s just a lot different, out of my comfort zone. Since we are still in an apartment, the majority of our belongings are still in storage, most of my cookware, all of my Christmas decorations and cookbooks are not here to put up or use, so I feel like we’re living in an extended stay hotel. Not really home.

Up until now I hadn’t been lonely, even though I work from home and the regular outside contacts I have are my hairdresser I see once a month and our realtor who is patient beyond belief trying to help us find our dream house. Our friends that live here are wonderful, but with our crazy work schedules, social life doesn’t exist, not that we had much of a social life before. So I’m not missing out on that here.

At first I couldn’t put my finger on it, what my problem was, then it dawned on me, I have no problems. I have a husband that loves me, two dogs that make me crazy and would eat anyone that tried to hurt me, (I am the giver of food) and living in a beautiful wonderful place that I get to make new memories. We won’t have the hustle and hectic days of cooking and cleaning, but we will have each other, and that’s what really matters.

Yes, it’s been a very chaotic year with so much upheaval and change, but maybe that’s what you need sometimes, great change. Life, like water that doesn’t move grows stagnant and complacent, forgetting the truly important things in our world. Our family may be thousands of miles away and I won’t be there to cook for them, or watch them open their presents, but I can call and talk to them anytime, not just on Christmas.

The year is coming to an end and the New Year brings promises of hope and change, yes there must always be change, not all changes are good but all changes are not bad either. I embrace the future and all the changes to come.

A Trip to the Coast

Mitch is such a good sport and maybe even a bit of a saint. He definitely has the patience of Job, he has to, he puts up with me. We are on vacation this week, which normally this is our pheasant hunting week, but this year we are a two and a half day drive to Nebraska so we decided to skip that this year and do some exploring here in Washington. Every day this week we have tried to make the two and a half hour drive to the coast so that I could take pictures of the Pacific Ocean and let the dogs run around in the surf. Today was the day we finally were able to go and guess what, today was the day that the big storm hit the coast moving inland with heavy rain and high winds. Yep perfect planning, that’s what I do. Mitch was still game so off we went.

We got to Ocean City about noon, and as you can see by the photos, it was brutal. Mitch deserves the saint of the week award. Maybe tomorrow I can get him to take me to Mount Rainier and play in the snow.

IMG_0208 (1280x853)

IMG_0209 (1280x853)

IMG_0217 (1280x853)

IMG_0219 (1280x853)

IMG_0222 (1280x853)

IMG_0227 (1280x853)

IMG_0229 (1280x853)

IMG_0230 (1280x853)

Flaming Geyser Park – Hike

This morning we did a bit of exploring and went to wander around Flaming Geyser State Park in Black Diamond, Washington. The morning was cool in the high forties and raining. It’s November in Northwest Washington, and that is what we get, chilly rainy mornings. It stopped raining about the time we got there so I was able to grab one of my cameras and snap to my hearts content.

Sadly there was no flaming geyser but I did get some pretty cool shots.

IMG_0142 (1280x853)

IMG_0144 (1280x853)

IMG_0147 (1280x853)

IMG_0152 (1280x853)

IMG_0154 (1280x853)

IMG_0162 (1280x853)

IMG_0163 (1280x853)

IMG_0168 (1280x853)

IMG_0170 (1280x853)

IMG_0174 (1280x853)

IMG_0176 (1280x853)

IMG_0177 (1280x853)

IMG_0179 (853x1280)

IMG_0186 (853x1280)

IMG_0190 (1280x853)

IMG_0192 (1280x853)

IMG_0198 (1280x853)

IMG_0206 (1280x853)

All I Want for Christmas

I already know what I want for Christmas. Normally I have a gazillion wants on my wish list and as soon as someone asks me I draw a complete blank. Everything is gone and I’m left sitting there with a blank face. But not this year, I know exactly what I want. Now that I’m living in Seattle but work for the same company I have for eleven years that is in Kansas City, I’m doing a fair amount of travel back there to check in, do some training and let everyone know I’m still alive and kicking.

One of my most favorite things to do is to “people watch”. It is so entertaining, sitting in the airport waiting for my flight and watching all of the different people walk and run by. As I was sitting in the airport on my return trip to Seattle I had wait for the plane to arrive that would unload its passengers, load us up then turn around and fly back to Seattle. I got to the airport early and had plenty of time to sit and watch my fellow passengers’ position themselves around gate area looking for the best vantage point.

There was the “super important” business traveler that walked up to the front of the First Class boarding line and looked around for everyone in the gate to acknowledge his presence and awesomeness, then went back to reading his cell phone. Behind him strolled up the woman business traveler who had ignored the sign right in front of her that allowed two carry-on pieces, a personal bag and one other bag. No, she had her purse, tote and rollerboard bag, three bags, no wonder there never is enough room in the overhead bins. Then there was the couple that walked into the gate area, the man carrying a portable oxygen canister and his wife. The man sat down six seats away from me and since there were no more seats around his wife decided it was best to just plop down on the floor in front of the arrival doorway and spread all of their bags around her in a semi-circle. This was going to be entertaining when the arriving passengers tripped over her and her bags.

About thirty minutes before departure the inbound flight rolled up to the jet bridge. It was only a few minutes later that people started coming through the gate from the jetway. The first man off looked like he had rolled out of bed after oversleeping, jumped in the car and flew to Kansas City in his pajamas. Seriously, he had on red plaid pajama bottoms on. The next three people that came walking by had dazed looks like they had just experienced the worst ride ever and were just glad to be alive. Then there she was. All I could think of, was does your mother know how you are dressed? Did you not look in the mirror before walking out the door and going in public? The woman came walking into the gate area wearing the strangest hat I’ve ever seen. The hat was a knitted hat, at least five or six inches tall, round and stiff sitting high on her head, it didn’t droop over like a stocking cap, made of brightly colored yarn and there was a long blond braid of hair sticking out on each side of the hat. And no it wasn’t her hair, her hair was dark brown.

I sat there and worked overtime not to laugh out loud, which would have been rude, but still it was so entertaining. I wish I had a camera with me, but that would have been too obvious and again rude, so the best option brings me to my Christmas wish. I want a GoPro camera.

Wouldn’t that be a hoot? I could strap it on my chest, camouflage it with a scarf or something and just sit and wait. I know, I have way too much time on my hands.

Anniversary

Today is my anniversary. It’s definitely a cause for celebration but at the same time I wish I didn’t have this anniversary to celebrate. Two years ago I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I made the decision to have a bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction. I’m still taking a drug to keep any estrogen out of my body, but other than that and my six month checkups I am living my life as I did before cancer.

I want to shout it out loud, “I beat you Cancer! I beat you!” I want to spin around in circles with my arms wide and head tipped back in pure joy. Of course with my grace and balance I would fall down. But that’s not the point.

Today I want to eat cake and drink champagne for breakfast. I want to go shopping for something fun and frivolous. I want to get a manicure, pedicure and a massage. I want to sit on a beach and drink great wine and just watch the tide. Today I want to just have nothing on my schedule but fun.

Okay back to reality, today will be just like all of my other days, go to work, walk the dogs and hug Mitch (my rock). And most of all this is really perfect too, because I’m still here to do these things. I wake up every morning damn glad I’m alive and hope to stay that way for a long time.

Happy Anniversary to me.

Waxing Poetic

I woke up to fog this morning and felt a little poetic.

Fog

The fog creeps in coming across the water
To spread along the beach
Blanketing the rocky shores
Cloaking them in the mist.

The foghorn sounds to warn of danger
In coming too close
The denseness of the fog
Dampening the sounds of the foghorn.

Seagulls flying unseen in the mists
Their calls muffled as they search for food
Drifting on the slight breezes
Diving to the water’s surface.

The water lapping at the shore
The tide flowing in and out
Gently to not disturb
The fog creeping in.

Fall Photos

After a 10 trip to Kansas City on business, I came home sick for the next 10 days. I’m not sure if it was a cold, the flu or the plague but it sucked, that much I do know. We haven’t looked for doctors or dentists out here yet so I suffered through the misery pumped full of Nyquil and Tylenol PM. It didn’t help a lot but I didn’t care as much. This morning I felt almost human again and thought it would be great to get some pictures of the fall colors here. We live across the street from Lake Washington and a beautiful park, Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park. The only snag is that they don’t allow dogs, can you believe that, a park with a no dogs sign? So we were limited to walking along side the park on the railroad tracks so I could get some shots. Lucky us no train came through. It was another sunny gorgeous day not a cloud in the sky.

IMG_0112 (1280x853) (1280x853)

IMG_0115 (1280x853)

IMG_0119 (1280x735)

IMG_0133 (1280x853)

IMG_4470 (1280x853)

IMG_4480 (1280x853)

IMG_4487 (1280x853)

OSHA Would be Appalled

My workplace environment is an accident waiting to happen. There are trip hazards, objects blocking all of the exits and concentration distractions. My daily commute is short, I walk from the kitchen in our apartment to my “office”, a desk holding my computer in front of the bay window in the living room. You would think that this would be super safe, no driving in rush hour traffic, no walking on sidewalks or crossing intersections, no climbing flights of stairs to get to your floor, just a very short fifteen foot walk to my desk. Oh, but then you would be very wrong.

First off I am quite capable of self-inflicted injuries all by myself. But now working from home I have more opportunities to do some real damage. Yesterday, I pushed my chair back stood up to turn and walk into the kitchen to refill my coffee cup turned and promptly tripped over Orso who was stretched out sound asleep right behind my chair. Good thing we have carpeting in the living room and my cup was empty. I’m sure somewhere in the OSHA handbook there is a clause about sleeping dogs.

Another hazard that happens here frequently, is the “hot coffee in the lap” danger, just like going through the drive through except I’m not driving.. That happened when Charlie came over and wanted to be petted just as I had lifted my freshly filled coffee cup to take a sip. He whacked my arm with his head to get my attention. He was successful. I guess I need to use my “to go” cup even here.

Working from home reduces the “Cube Farm” distractions, but there are still many other things to distract me. The worst distraction is the “I’m so cute rolling around here on my back, come scratch my belly” distraction. All of a sudden five minutes have gone by and the thing I’ve accomplished is now I have a boatload of dog hair on the carpet that I have to vacuum up. Oh well, stress level has dropped.

I wonder if the insurance company will lower my auto rates since I’m not driving nearly as much. Probably not, since my Alfac claims have gone up.

Apartment Life

There should be a handbook on apartment living handed out to every renter as soon as they are given the keys to the apartment. Because it seems that in this day and age, people need to be told what the proper etiquette is for living in close quarters to other people. They have no concept of what is going on around them that there are other people in very close proximity to them. I have been living in an apartment here for almost a month now coming from living in single family dwellings, (houses) for almost all of my life. I had no one above or below me, no one on either side of me and no one in a building within ten feet of me. Granted I didn’t run around stark naked with the blinds open for the world to see, I had a neighbor that liked to run around outside in the wee hours of the morning naked, watering his plants. I had some sense of privacy, but not here.

I don’t know any of my close apartment neighbors personally, but I know a lot about a few of them. We should feel either very safe or very scared because I think the Abominable Snowman lives above us. I don’t have a clue what he or she looks like but whoever it is they have the heaviest footsteps. I always know what room he is in by the sound of the footsteps. That he hasn’t come through the ceiling is a testament to the construction of the floors. I just hope the snowman likes dogs, as friends, not food.

Then there is the couple in the next building one floor higher that our apartment. They either are hard of hearing or don’t like each other much. On more than one occasion we have had the “pleasure” of listening to their conversations. One night their very animated heated conversation woke me up. Their voices echoed down and in the windows of the bedroom and from the tone I waited for bullets to fly or the sound of plates smashing. I couldn’t tell what they were saying because it was in a different language, which sucks because here I was wide awake in the middle of the night listening in on a huge fight and had no idea what they were saying.

Lastly the woman who lives in the next building on the same floor as us likes to sit out on her patio and have conversations on her cell phone in speaker mode. The two patios are about fifteen feet apart with some bushes to give each some modicum of privacy. I can’t see her, but I know all about her mother and her mother’s relationship with a man. It seems the daughter doesn’t approve.

I just shake my head and wonder what goes through people’s heads at times. Do they not have a clue that they are not alone in the world? Or is it me? Am I the weird one because I am not a long time apartment dweller that these things bother me? Do people get de-sensitized to the close proximity of other people just like everyone seems to be de-sensitized to violence on television? I hope I’m not here long enough to find out.