The leaves are a-blowin' and the rain is a-fallin'

Autumn has come to our corner of the Northwest. The wind is blowing the autumn leaves all around-it's an ever-changing kalaidescope of golden-green and orange hues. The bright oranges are juxtaposed against the dark gray clouds which are rolling in; and we are being drizzled with a constant mist. And if you promise not to tell; I'll share a local secret with you...We Washingtonians love our rain! It keeps our state a verdant green and gives us excuses for many delightful rainy-day pleasures. Like walking in the rain in my pink and black galoshes or reading a novel by the fire. My sister Linda has been stitching Campbells Kids on muslin tea towels, and sewing a pretty floral scalloped edge on them. One year my daughter-in-law made a cozy flannel-backed quilt for me with happy vintage floral squares. (Which I will gratefully curl up in this evening as I read my book-or blog.) When I spoke to my daughter Heather today, she had left the kids with her husband and was out shopping for shoes. The photo above shews some if my autumnal handiwork- stenciled maple leaves on burlap. Oh yes, I love the sun and the beach and my garden; but nature has given us a needed respite from the weeding and the barbeques and the baseball games...Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain!

Mosaic Monday, Sawyer Glacier

This is Sawyer Glacier; as seen from the deck of the Norwegian Sun. It seemed like a scene from "Titanic" as our captain negotiated through the cold waters and around the icebergs. (Thank you Lord, for sonar!) What a spectacular view of God's handiwork! I shall never forget it.

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Sisters Are Blossoms in the Garden of Life

I found this sweet little plate while on a shopping expedition with my sister, Linda. It says, "Sisters are Blossoms in the Garden of Life." How true! My sister is such a treasure to me. It's so appropriate that the little girl is holding a teddy bear...we spent the entire afternoon looking for teddy bears for our antique booth. What a hoot! A piece of advice; when sorting through second-hand stuffed animals you need to take your sister, your sense of humour, and a bottle of hand sanitizer!

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Happy Birthday, Mom

September 30th is my mother's birthday. It's been about 6 years since mom passed away. She would have been 94 this Wednesday. I miss her. I miss stopping by her studio apartment in the assisted living facility and sitting on the pretty little tapestry covered sofa she bought when she moved there. We'd have coffee and I would tell her all about what was going on with my life, and ask her advice. She would listen sympathetically then look at me with those clear blue eyes that were soft as clouds on good days, but could be cold and tough as steel when she was angry; and say, "What are you going to do?" She never told me what to do. Oh how I wanted and sometimes felt I needed her to say, "do this", or "don't do that." But she didn't. Instead she'd tell me a story about how she took in ironing during the Great Depression and Dad cut wood. Or about the time they moved into a ramshackle old cabin near Mt. Baker with only wood for heat and a wringer washing machine that she used to wash my brother's diapers. She told me how Grandma Youngdyk, her mom, came to live with us when I was just a baby. Grandma was dying of throat cancer; and though my folks were poor, they brought Grandma home so mom could take care of her. It wasn't easy for my mom to take care of a colicky baby and her dying mother- but she did it. In the '60s Dad got sick with emphysema and subsequently died. Without Mom's job at the Auditor's Office, I don't know how we'd have survived. In later years, things got a bit easier for her. She was able to purchase a nice little mobile home next to a quiet pond with cattails and mallard ducks. She went to dances at the Senior Center and even traveled a bit. But the point is this...though Mom never told me what to do; her stories did. Her stories had this one common theme running through them...NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU, YOU CAN GET THROUGH IT. BE STRONG. SURVIVE. This is the advice I took from my mother as I sat on her little tapestry covered sofa in the assisted-living facility. I carry it deep within my heart today. I'll tell it to my children and grandchildren... my mother's stories...and my own. Happy Birthday Mom! I miss you. But I remember everything you said.

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