Nov/Dec moments worth documenting

 Corn Maze date with my Guy

 Odd shot on the ferry ramp

 Chair I wanted....sofa version of the chair I bought.

 Proud parents of the Miss Emily the bride

 Rug I loved...fabric I put on my new sofa

 Beach views of things I love......

 Gift for my Ya's doggie Pickles

 Visits home from College = Joy

 Dolly afternoon in Shan's room 

 Overdue "mom" visit  from Oregon

 The people who warm my heart with inspiration

 Pooh!

 Heaven on earth -- Jefferson Beach

 The Door on a quiet night...

 Best pot pie Evah!

 Salsa's binding is fffffinished!

 Bday tradition with my Peanut....Yum!

 Quayle Girls

Fishy?

I changed my blog skin to match my, thankfully lifting, mood of the past two weeks. Or has it been all summer?

Looking back at my post records it is mind blowing that March was the last month of chatty-ness bloggville received from me.  What a long valley of deep, dark, summer this has been.  Many of you, my sweet friends, have been given difficult circumstances this year as well.  I am sorry I could not be more of a support for you.

Though my circumstance trail through the shady cold valley has been most of the summer's terrain, there were several wild flower meadows bathed in the sunshine of JOY that enlightened the soppy mud and cold heavy fog. 

• My father's 70th birthday bash was a blast
• My Peanut's graduation from High School bash was a blast
• My sister's marriage was a blast
• Friends and family bringing me flowers and food from their gardens, driving me to appointments and the grocery store, baking us delicious nutritious food, lending us items to assist in dealing with my limited movement and pain, cleaning my house, helping me with puppy umbilical cords, doing our laundry, walking the dog, lifting us in prayer, moving  furniture for us and giving us so many reasons to Praise Him in the valley.

I am thankful for being held!

I have a few weeks before physical therapy will be prescribed.  I won't lie there are moments that fear seems to over rule my thoughts of tomorrow but the reasonable Tink knows that time passes and physical strength and restoration will come!!!!

Happy Birthday Boundaround...

"The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once"

~Albert Einstein

**Ferry ride last week after a day in Seattle

"The more one thinks about thinking the more one thinks of thoughts."--Toby Creek

I had intentions of posting every day's adventure of my New York trip....then I got sick. No, I got REALLY sick!

I have been home almost two weeks now. With each passing day I think of a million things I would like to be blogging, not to mention the remainder of my NY trip adventures.

Thinking of thoughts....lots of thinking of thoughts........

The big Swine Flu scare had my parents thinking I contracted it. I did not venture out to the doctor for a diagnosis....I am a terrible daughter.

Meanwhile Fairborn Guy and Peanut just kept their distance and put up with my whining and complaining.

I was down six days with the crud...don't ask me where the rest of the two weeks has gone.

More thoughts coming....

Melodies Played By Forgiveness

I watched an admirable movie yesterday titled “Music Within”. I had not recalled ordering it on my Netflix account (sadly not unusual these days) therefore considered just sending it back for lack of interest from the slipcover description. This I ignored since I had the television to myself for a few hours. I decided to just scrap the list in my head of “should do’s” and sit down for a movie all by myself even if it ended up being a bust….”alone with the TV is rare—seize the opportunity Tink”.

The main character, Richard Pimental, is dealt a life as a child with circumstances that I could relate to…they were not replications of mine, yet our heart responses toward our mothers were what I found similar. In contrast the movie displays a life by Richard Pimental that was determined in spite of his mother issues. I eventually gained similar motivation of spirit -- but my road there was very long and resistant…not at all naturally in tact like I witnessed in this film.

Rather, I chose an attitude of victim hood that sucked many years from my life’s purpose; consequently it sucked life from my family as well. Forgiving myself of what it robbed them was one very large mountain for me to climb with countless reoccurring shame visitors rallying to convince me that I was not worthy of such forgiveness.

“Coincidentally” this morning’s worship service topic was forgiveness. It was tremendously joyful to be reassured of forgiveness truths. I was reminded without pain, what my mountain climbs laden with unforgiveness have cost, yet freely dance knowing that victory is won under forgiveness. Even better--life’s gifted purposes are released through a life of victorious forgiveness. These gifts of purpose are our music within.

What is your music within?

This is what I think my music within is:

The House by the Side of the Road

There are hermit souls that live withdrawn
In the peace of their self-content;
There are souls, like stars, that swell apart,
In a fellowless firmament;
There are pioneer souls that blaze their paths
Where highways never ran;
But let me live by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.
Let me live in a house by the side of the road,
Where the race of men go by;
The men who are good and the men who are bad,
As good and as bad as I.
I would not sit in the scorner's seat,
Or hurl the cynic's ban;
Let me live in a house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.
I see from my house by the side of the road,
By the side of the highway of life,
The men who press with the ardor of hope,
The men who are faint with the strife.
But I turn not away from their smiles nor their tears
Both parts of an infinite plan;
Let me live in my house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.
Let me live in my house by the side of the road
Where the race of men go by;
They are good, they are bad, they are weak,
They are strong,
Wise, foolish - so am I.
Then why should I sit in the scorner's seat
Or hurl the cynic's ban? -
Let me live in my house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.
~Sam Walter Foss

*Photograph is of the home my mother grew up in-taken in 1951

Pre President's Day Weekend

My Pre President's day weekend 2008 began with super-duper calorie intake delight. Breakfast is my favorite meal...even though red wine is never served with it. I love, love, love, love to eat breakfast!! This plateful was cooked and served at our church on Saturday morning. It was scrumptious~

Our dining buddies: Kim, Gail, Joe and Dorothy were super

fun to chow with.

I enjoyed hearing from our guest speakers who were from Italy. Later Fairborn Guy and I spent the afternoon in the yard transplanting and pruning; our evening was spent on the sofa being lazy.

Sunday I neglected to take photos, but enjoyed my regular worship routine followed by an outing to the big cites of Poulsbo and Silverdale where I enjoyed coffee with a Ya Ya and chilling with Snickerdoodle in a book store.

The final holiday day was spent sleeping in, reading, cleaning, doing laundry, and enjoying a magnificent walk to the beach as the sun was setting. We have been blessed with a few days of radiant sunshine...oh was the view astounding!

This is a shot of Mt. Rainer and the city of Seattle, looking south from our neighborhood fishing pier.

My walking buddy Sami



Mr. Sunshine setting and the southern peaks of the Olympic Mt's

What did you do this weekend?

Tink Meets Blogger

It's all Miss Cindy's fault...she has been talking for months about how much fun it is going to be to join the blogging world. I recall that in 1998 she did the same thing with quilting...that "useless" hobby that I was sure I had no interest or time to partake of, right? My heart belonged to decorating for crying out loud. I was entranced with transforming our then home, mobile home to be more exact, into the cottage of my magazine infested dreams. I had spent months searching garage sales, shabby chic holes in the wall, resale shops and antique stores for the perfect smallish mirror to cover our ugly circuit breaker box in my newly remodeled laundry room-gone-entryway. With one failed attempt after another Miss Cindy would suggest that I make a wall quilt instead. My response was "no thank you, I do not have time for all that chopping and sewing". Besides, the supplies needed to accomplish the art would put me in the poor house. As quilting fate would have it, one day I was sharing my mouthy complaints about the un-found mirror of my dreams and Miss Cindy's crazy suggestion to another quilting friend of mine Miss Lynn. She ecstatically offered to lend me all her supplies so I could try. I thought this was a terrific two-fold idea. One ~ I would create a darling quilt to cover my ugly circuit box. Two ~ I would prove to Miss Cindy that this quilting thing was not my cup of tea. I achieved the former but thankfully the later not so much...I was instantly smitten. Will that be the case for me here in the land of Ever Ever Blog? It is here that I, Tinkerbelle (Tink for short), shall embark on the Ever Ever Land of Bloggsville...only the Great Blogger of Blogs knows for certain what my blogging fate shall be. Btw Miss Cindy, get going on your wannabe blogging, it will be too lonely out here without you!