Thanksgiving...and Graduation

Tonight, I'll be finishing my course through the National Speakers Association's Northwest Speakers Academy. I've been taking classes through the academy since February, and am thankful for the opportunity to learn from professional speakers and trainers about how they do what they do. This class has helped to bring me more up-to-date on current trends in business (especially for the self-employed), and it has exposed me to many different business models and styles of presentation, from keynote speaking to workshops, on topics that run the gamut from accounting to comedy - and sometimes, even combine the two.

I'm giving my final speech tonight (I am supposed to memorize it, but that's not going to happen - I have it down to notes, because that's how I roll). Each one of us will be videotaped by a professional, in front of a live audience. (I might even post it, if all goes well...)

Here are a few fun photos from our visit to see my parents over the Thanksgiving holiday. It was wonderful to be with them - and with David - for a week! I hope your holiday was filled with the company of loved ones, the riches of gratitude - and very good food.

beautiful flowers - a welcome sight in November!

sunsets are breathtaking

girls' spa morning and lunch afterward

always plenty of good restaurants to visit

rooftop happy hour

playing tennis: the boys, ranging in age from 21 to 58 to 86

a last hurrah at our favorite palapa bar on the way to the airport

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in man.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in princes...
I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me
and have been my savior. 
O LORD, grant salvation!
O LORD, grant prosperity!
...The LORD is God, and he has given us light." - Psalm 118

 Thanks be to God.

There Are No Coincidences

Borrowed from Flora Bowley's Brave Intuitive You message

I have a friend who believes "there are no coincidences" (some people read this as, "there are no mistakes"). I love that idea - perhaps because, from a certain perspective, I have made so many mistakes in my life! What a relief, to be able to see some logic, and in some cases, even blessings and wisdom, in what appeared at one time to be an awful error of judgment or action.

This doesn't take away my responsibility for my actions and their results; it just puts them in a larger field of vision, and allows me to find value in them, rather than condemnation. I'll take value over condemnation any day!

Yesterday, I took a leap of faith and traveled to Canada to meet Elizabeth Aquino, a friend I have known through our blogs for several years. Her blog, a moon, worn as if it had been a shell, is one of my favorites. Elizabeth is a gifted writer, a hilarious woman, a kind and loyal friend, a devoted, compassionate caregiver and an insightful human being. I've wanted to meet her, but since she lives in California and I live up here, the opportunity has not presented itself...until this week.

Elizabeth won a week of respite from the wonderful organization Caregifted. She chose to spend it in Victoria, B.C., and if you're a regular reader here, you know how I feel about that city. I sent a packet of information to her about things to see and places to go, and she invited me to visit her. I took her up on that offer, left my home at 6:00 A.M., caught a ferry across the Strait of Juan de Fuca and arrived around 10:00 A.M. in that inviting, breathtakingly beautiful city.

Before I write about our visit, can you suspend disbelief for a few moments while I tell you what happened on the boat on the way over? Because it is a crazy "coincidence," - only there are no coincidences.

A couple of years ago, we were invited by friends to the All Academy Military Ball in Seattle. Their daughter has been a classmate of David's since the 1st grade, and I love her. She is a student at West Point Military Academy, and the ball is an event they share with other military academies. It was a privilege to attend.

The speaker at the ball was a retired Colonel named James Wilhite. He is the author of a book called "We Answered the Call: Building the Crown Jewel of Afghanistan." If you haven't seen the book, I recommend that you take a look at it - it's an inspiring, fascinating and unforgettable story. I bought two copies of his book - one for my dad, and one for our friend Fred (both veterans of WWII).

Yesterday, as I packed for the day, I was moved to bring a copy of my book and card. When I boarded the MV Coho (ferry), I sat down at a table and started to read some articles I had packed. Two ladies and a gentleman approached and asked if they could join me. I said, Yes, and returned to my reading. I tried to mind my own business, but I noticed their southern accents. I also heard the man speaking about Sandhurst and then heard him say something about founding a military academy in Afghanistan.

My head snapped up, and I looked across the table at the ladies. "Excuse me; did he write a book? Did he speak in Seattle a couple of years ago?" Yes, he did...Col. James and Mrs. Wilhite were sitting with me, along with their good friend, Ann.

Colonel Wilhite with me on the MV Coho

You can imagine that we talked for the entire crossing. We talked about the Colonel's mission in Afghanistan, updates on that story and his work. A number of other overlapping "coincidences" in our lives were revealed in the conversation. They asked me why I was traveling; asked about my book, and what I do, so I spoke that, and gave them the copy of my book which I had packed in my bag. By the time we parted after going through Customs, we all hugged.

I knew that I was in the right place at the right time yesterday...it was no coincidence.

After leaving the Wilhites, I met Elizabeth in front of the Empress Hotel. We went to have coffee and a snack, and talked without stopping for two hours. Then we walked to meet another blogger, the talented artist Kim of Art in Red Wagons, who had come to see Elizabeth from another part of Washington. We walked to a pub, ate lunch, and talked more.

Kim and Elizabeth with me at the Irish Times pub in Victoria, B.C.

Those four hours of conversation and sharing snapshots of our lives passed in a flash. Part of me wished we could have continued all day, and into the night over glasses of wine, but when meeting bloggers from far away, I have learned (there are no mistakes!) to be a bit careful and (as Gregg often says), "go.in.slowly."

I am thankful for the encounters of the day - a couple of miracles, if you consider the odds of both - and look forward to whatever the future holds.

Birthday dinner with my parents at Marche on Bainbridge Island (Greg & Betsy Atkinson's gem of a restaurant)

Birthday flowers from the SFDWG

I've Missed You!

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind, with no time to write anything of substance. I am finally getting through some of my list of things to be done, and now have the luxury of updating here - what a treat! I hope all is well in your world - I will be visiting your blogs as soon as possible.

Since my last posting, we had the fun of hosting a dinner party for some of Gregg's colleagues who were/are visiting from Spain and Italy. It was a pleasure to meet them and break bread together. He enjoys the international aspect of his work very much: the travel, learning about and adapting to the different cultures, the food, art and architecture - and (of course), the business. Since it's not worked out for me to go with him on one of his work trips as yet, it was lovely to welcome his colleagues to visit us here.

We used a few of our airline miles to visit our nephew Phil and his girlfriend Rachel in the Bay Area. My grandmother was brought up in San Francisco, and I haven't been back there since I went with her in 1989. I forgot how much I absolutely LOVE that city. I could easily re-locate to Northern California - the light, the combination of the beach and the sunshine, the architecture...it feels very familiar and comfortable to me. I have happy memories of visiting relatives the city when I was a young girl. We made more happy memories with Phil & Rachel, walking all over downtown, the waterfront,

and then staying with them in Walnut Creek and taking a day trip to Napa Valley. We'd never been to the wine country, and thoroughly enjoyed the two tastings we experienced.

We were fortunate to get to see our friends Caron & Tom (Caron used to live in Poulsbo) while we were in the city. They met us for drinks the first night at Boudin's Sourdough Bakery/Restaurant.

Gregg, Caron & Tom

At V. Sattui Winery in Napa Valley

St. Francis of Assisi statue at the entrance to Robert Mondavi Winery in Napa

Rachel, Phil & me at the beach before heading to the airport

After returning home from that weekend, I began to prepare for a conference call with a potential client in the Northeast who is interested in our DVDs and having me come to speak; I am excited and happy to be working on that. I also promised Caron that I would make some beach wreaths for her fabulous online store, Caron's Beach House, so I've been deep into hot glue, seashells and beach glass.

Caron also has a blog, Everything Coastal, which is great fun and full of good ideas. We were so sad when Caron closed her Poulsbo store, but the good news is that with her online presence, EVERYONE has access to her fabulous finds. If you are looking for inspiration for your home or a gift, check out her site!

I've also been busy "stalking" David on facebook. He is having a wonderful semester in Italy and is making the most of his opportunities. Being able to text and "facetime" with him helps tremendously to keep us aware of how he is and what's going on, much more than back in the days when I spent a term abroad. It's such fun to see all of the facebook photos and to be able to use instant messaging - that is a blessing, in this case. He has been able to travel to Venice, England, Ireland, and will go to Scotland and Spain before coming back home for the holidays. We miss him, but are thrilled for him to have this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

My beloved husband is a huge help to me in pretty much everything, but he does not enjoy household repairs or maintenance. Gregg would rather sweep the driveway, rake leaves, wash dishes or even run the vacuum than wield a hammer. He also works full-time and has a long commute, so his free time is limited. With the start of our rainy season upon us, I decided to take matters into my own hands and put sticky, sandpaper tape down on our porch, to prevent people from slipping and falling when they approach the front door. The problem is that I waited about two weeks too long to do it, and we had rain before I got the tape in place. Wet wood = no-stick sticky-tape. So I swept the porch and scrubbed it with a wire brush, and then used tacks and a staple gun (thank you, Joanne!) and got the job done. It was fun (although Latte was much more of a hindrance than a help as I worked), looks good, and it is a relief to know that the porch no longer resembles a skating rink.

One day this past summer when Gregg and I were taking a walk, we found 5 pretty wooden chairs for sale on the side of the road for $30.00. We continued our walk for about 20 feet, and I stopped and said, We have to go back and buy those chairs. They were a great deal, and David might need them for his apartment at school. So we went back, bought them and promised to pick them up later (wondering all the while if we could get five of them into the back of a Honda Accord; we could, and did).

Once we got home, I started to get attached to those chairs. Plans for their future began to develop in my mind, and those plans did not necessarily include David. I decided that we could give him some other chairs for his place, and went to buy some spray paint. Remember the beach glass table which I spray painted turquoise? Well, here are the newest members of its family:

Aren't they pretty? Of course, I forgot to take "before" photos.

The chairs were a very nice, natural honey-color, and I know that I've just ruined them as far as "Antiques Roadshow" is concerned, but I wanted a different look - and this is it. As we're planning to have about 18 people here for Thanksgiving dinner, we'll be needing all the chairs we can get, and these puppies now have some time to dry. I am thrilled with the way they turned out - for $30, plus a few cans of primer and paint!

Starting in January,  my friend (and spiritual director), Bev and I are planning to teach a class. It will be based upon the "Journey of the Heart" journal of Kathryn Antyr Costa (of Collage Diva & True North Arts blogs - see my sidebar). Kathryn's work is creative, inspirational and insightful. She walks the talk - she practices her ideas in her life, and the results are inviting and beautiful. Bev and I are looking forward to sharing this with you; if you live in the area, we would love to have you join us. I'll be posting more as the details are set, but it will begin in mid-January, and will be held at Bev's office on Bainbridge Island. Leave a message here or on facebook if you are interested.

Katie's Comforters Guild has been keeping me busy with receiving donations of fabric and sending fabric out to those who are willing to sew. I am grateful to each person who volunteers any time or talent for our guild - we need each one of you in order to keep bringing comfort to children who are in the hospital! If you have any interest in sewing or making fleece blankets, please let me know here, or over on the guild's blog or our facebook page - we have lots of fabric to share!

Are you still with me? If so, thank you - as I said, I've missed you! It's good to be back.

Welcome Home

A lot has happened since I posted on the 10th - and it's only the 11th!

Tomorrow (Saturday) is Stud's big SHAVE to raise money for St. Baldrick's (pediatric cancer research), in Katie's honor...check out his mama's blog for updates. To read about another brave shaver, check Paul's blog and read about his friend, Caity.

We arrived home late last night after 5 days in Palm Desert with my parents. It was a good trip. I am always thankful for smooth flights and safe landings - as well as safe flights and smooth landings. There were high winds in the Puget Sound area, with gusts up to 60 m.p.h., so we were warned that it would be a bumpy descent...but it wasn't. Thank you, Alaska Airlines, for two great flights.

The night before we left home, our sweet Liger (a.k.a. Gandhi) came into the house limping. It's hard to describe how this made me feel, but I'll just say that the urge to cancel our vacation and stay at home with him was strong. David was flying in from college to meet us and take the same flight to PSP, so we couldn't cancel, but ohhh...leaving my sweet little guy at home, limping, was awful. Our dear neighbors had it all under control, and took great care of the cats and house, so I knew he was loved, but I was glad to see him and give him love when we got home.

HOWEVER, this morning, his leg started bleeding - Aieee! Fearing a broken bone, I called the local vet before they opened, and sped up there immediately after. It was simply an abscess, but a bad one, and the poor little guy is still woozy from the anaesthesia. I won't go into details of what they did to help him, or the mess he made while "under the influence," but suffice it to say that I've done a lot of laundry and cleaning today. I'm just glad that he is on the road to recovery. Wish he could sleep with us tonight...

While on vacation, I decided to resign from my monthly column at the wonderful website, Hopeful Parents. I've been writing there on the 10th of the month for over 2 years, and I love the founder and the purpose of the site. It has been a privilege and a joy to be part of the team, and I've learned a great deal from the wonderful writers there.

It dawned on me that I am not actively engaged in parenting children with special needs nowadays. David certainly has grief to deal with, as we do, but he is 5 hours away from us most of the year. He is leading an independent life for 8 to 9 months of the year, so we are effectively "empty-nesters." It doesn't seem fitting for me to write about my life there, when other columnists are taking care of children with life-threatening medical needs at this moment. My issues just don't have the same kind of immediacy. Grief is still an issue here, and I am deeply involved in hospital issues and cancer advocacy, but I just felt that there would be someone else who could speak to the site's current parenting issues better than I can. Please do share the site, if you know someone whose child has special needs - it's a supportive community of great writers.

I feel ready to write about other things than Katie's cancer journey and my grief. It's a big part of my life - it changed me profoundly - but it's not my entire life story. So we shall see where I am led.

Here are a few photos from our time in Cali.

Have you ever seen a 14,000-foot peak from above? Mt. Rainier.

Mom at the spa, having a pedicure.

Birthday balloons for Katie's Sweet 16th birthday.



Getting ready to set the balloons free - wishing Katie was with us.

Getting ready to go out to dinner. Mom & Dad like to serve wine and hors d'oeuvres first at the condo - sometimes with a side of cribbage or gin rummy!

The traditional daiquiri or margarita with dinner at Las Casuelas Terraza before going to the airport to fly home. I wish we could have stayed - the band was just setting up in the courtyard!

Did I mention that the temperature difference between Palm Springs and Seattle was 50 degrees?

That's right: 50 degrees!

When we left for the airport, the car's thermometer read 89 degrees; when we arrived at home, it was 38 degrees. Time to put away the shorts and get out the fleece.

Spring Break

Happy Spring Break, everyone!
I spent part of Spring Break in California with my family.
I'm looking forward to catching up with all of my blogger-peeps, and hope you had a great week, too.

Going to Palm Desert to visit my parents means golf and tennis

pool time,

driving fun cars

eating WAY too much
(the world's greatest Greek Salad at Chef George's),
a spa day, with the resulting improved feet & toes

(hey, I never said my feet were beautiful!
I said improved)

celebrating my dad's birthday,

browsing in shops, drinking fun beverages;

sunshine and flowers

(when it's rainy at home).

It also means talking, laughing,

morning walks,

card games,

wine and appetizers before dinner, serious discussions, jokes and banter.

Thank you for a wonderful vacation, Mom & Dad!

We love you!