Being confident of this...

Intense Desperation

2011-12-16T14:34:00.000-08:00

I am working away at my desk when our office assistant rushes in and says, “Uh Doug, there’s a man out front who says he wants to jump off our deck.”

OK, let’s move!

I told her to get building security called and as I approach the reception area I find a man just outside our entry doors. Let me explain the layout…

We are on the 13th floor of a combined use building – 13 floors of retail/business with another 5 floors of privately owned condos. We are on the 13th floor which is referred to as the Penthouse. As you exit the elevators you arrive at our glass doors – usually open, but closed this particular day due to the cold. After passing through the glass doors, its 30 feet to the sliding door to the deck.

So back to the scene at hand.

A man had exited the elevator and was standing just outside our glass doors staring through these doors and out to the deck. Once the receptionist noticed him just standing there, she cracked open the front door and asked if she could help him. He replied, “I want to jump off your deck.” Our receptionist, startled by what she thought she heard, said, “I am sorry, could you repeat that?” And he said again, “I want to jump off your deck.”

She turns to the office assistant who is there sorting mail, repeats what the man said and the office assistant is off to get me.

So as I approach the reception area, I find the receptionist still in the doorway and the man still just outside the door, 30 feet from his objective.

I slipped past the receptionist, closed our doors and started talking with this man – while standing between him and our doors.

He won’t respond to any of my questions. He just stood there and stared out towards the water, towards the edge of the deck.

Do you know how it feels when you are about to cry and you know if you utter one word you will just bawl? His lip was quivering and tears were welling up in his eyes. I so much just wanted him to start talking. I didn’t care if he cried.

And without answering any of my questions he said, “I just want to jump.” The only thing he ever said to me while on our floor.

At that point I started talking about going downstairs. We move towards and get on an elevator headed for the lobby. I’ll admit that while he appeared harmless, while there in the elevator with him was the first time I was a little afraid of what he might do. But he just stood in the corner of the elevator.

We exited the elevator and start moving towards the building lobby. He wants to go outside. To where, I don’t know.

I keep trying to talk with him. Finally I get a name. His name is Joe. He is still moving towards the front doors to leave. I just flat out tell him, “Look, I don’t want you to leave. Let’s get you someone that can help you work through this.”

By now a security officer has appeared on the scene and an aid car has been called.

Joe is by the door. I try to get between him and the door. I asked him what was going on in his life that would make him want to jump off the deck. He answered, “Everything in my life is wrong.” It was the most he said the whole time we talked. I said to him, “Wow, that has to be so overwhelming. You can’t change it all at once, but there are people that can help you to start walking through areas of your life one at a time to help you deal with them.” He doesn’t reply.

Between the security officer and me we convince him to sit down. While the security officer is off getting some hot chocolate for Joe, I keep talking with him. I learned he was from Miami. He said he didn’t have any friends or job here, and that he stayed in a different shelter each night.

I noticed he was clutching a folded, yellow piece of paper in his hand. I asked him what it was. He handed it to me. I read over the form which was a copy of a release form he had signed for the DSHS to give a nearby clinic his medical records. Plus, I now knew his last name and birthdate. He’d earlier told me his age, which the birthdate supported. He is 45 and completely without any hope for a tomorrow…

I asked him what the clinic was going to do or when he was supposed to go back. He replied, “I don’t know” to both questions. On the form was written, ‘Coordination of services’.

Just then the aid car shows up. I wish we’d had more time to just talk.

I shared with the EMTs what I knew and showed them the piece of paper. They were trying to decide what to do and I offered to go call the clinic to see what they intended next for him. “OK,” they said.

I called the clinic and after three people actually reached the mental health professional he’d met with right before coming to our office. She was clearly rattled as she let slip out, “He said he was going to go jump off of a building.” My gosh, why did they let him go!? She indicated that Joe should be transported to the Psychiatric ER of Harborview Medical Center and they would phone ahead to assist with coordinating his care.

I went back down stairs and they already had Joe in the aid car, just waiting to hear what I had learned and for the piece of yellow paper.

After I calmed down a bit, I called the lady at the clinic as I had a couple of questions. I told her how I believe she and others in the mental health profession must have such an incredibly difficult job and that I wasn’t trying to judge her, but asked why she let him go. She replied, “I didn’t know what to do and he didn’t want to go to Harborview and I couldn’t hold him.” She said, “I do know you saved his life.” Apparently though, if a person is about to harm themselves or others, the police CAN be called and they can then get him transported to a place of care/help.

I called Harborview in an attempt to see if I could connect with Joe and if nothing else, offer an ear. The ER nurse said that I couldn’t see him or get contact information, but that I could leave my name and number, which I did. I called the Harborview chaplain and he told me I had done all I could as far as trying to reach Joe.

Later I got a call asking me to give a statement as part of his evaluation process.

Today, two days later, I received a call from the local clinic. It was the clinic director calling to thank me for my “heroic efforts”. I played down that part, but she insisted that our actions kept Joe from jumping and taking his life. She walked through the event with me, amazed that I was able to talk him down to the lobby area. She says there are trained people in her clinic that find that hard to do.

I shared with her how unnerving it was to look in to his eyes and see such intense desperation…

We concluded the conversation with her letting me know that because we’d stopped Joe from jumping and then kept him from leaving the building that he is now getting the care he needs. That he is in a safe place. Otherwise he may have found a place to jump from.

I guess I have done all I can and can only pray for Joe and those that are helping him.

But it’s a good feeling to know I had a part in Joe having a tomorrow.

Collided with a Pigeon while on the Motorcycle...

2011-11-11T07:18:00.000-08:00

I got a chance to test out my motorcycle helmet yesterday. Score – Doug 1 Pigeons 0. Well, mostly.

I was zipping along Hwy 520 on my way to work, travelling (please pay careful attention to the wording here) along with the flow of traffic which happened to be about 70 mph, when all of the sudden I see a pigeon coming right at me! There wasn’t even a chance to avoid the collision. All I could do was duck. (No pun intended or attempted)

Fortunately the pigeon hit the windshield first before slamming in to my helmet. The windshield broke down towards the base and has a white powder-like residue and scratches on it where the pigeon hit. The top of the helmet is covered in the same white powder-like material with the outline of a wing tip in it! An air vent sliding-cover was askew, easily snapped back in place, and there are scratches from a beak or claws, but otherwise the helmet is OK.

Immediately after the impact, which was at the left temple – I felt pain in my right temple. I slowed down, surveyed the windshield damage, and decided to go on. By time I got to work I just “felt funny”. Not disoriented or sick, just funny. Then I found as I was working on spreadsheets or completing forms it took more effort to decide where to click or what to do next when these were routine things I was working on. A little dizziness now and again, but nothing major. I just felt “off”. As the morning progressed the right side of my neck began to ache and get stiff.

I called this 800-number nurse hotline (No honey, I didn’t say that I called a hot nurse…) and after a series of questions she recommended I at least go get checked out. So I finished a few tasks, had one more meeting that was on my calendar and headed out. Yes, of course I was on the motorcycle! The windshield snapped just above a clamp that holds on a side piece. I was able to snap the top piece back in to the clamp and it seems to be holding. Although, without a doubt it won’t withstand another pigeon collision! Time for a new one.

The doctor examined me and took three x-rays of my neck. He concluded I have a mild concussion and cervical strain (caused by whiplash). In fact I looked up cervical strain online when I got home and the picture they show of the straightening of the lordotic curve was exactly like the x-ray! The neck has a natural curve, but mine was straight as a result of the muscles spasms caused by the whiplash. The doc says this is what caused the pain in the right temple – the whiplash in the neck radiated up to my right temple. And the concussion, well it’s just making me expend more energy on staying focused and concentrating…

The effects of the concussion will slowly wear off over the next two weeks. In the meantime, no jigsaw puzzles or crossword puzzles. He says studies have proven that concussions heal faster if you “rest the brain”. Guess I’ll get back to my Alzheimer fighting tactics in a few weeks. The whiplash will potentially get worse before getting better, but within a month I should be fine.

AND payment for these medical services? Covered as a MVA (motor vehicle accident)! As I was filling out the form I had to answer questions about the “other car”. Year, make and model? It was a pigeon. How fast was the other vehicle traveling? I don’t know – maybe 5 mph – it was a pigeon. Was anyone in the other vehicle injured? It was a pigeon folks!

But what fun with people… I told a couple of people I was taking off to go to the doctor because I hit a pigeon on the way to work and their reply was, “Yeah, and my dog ate my homework.” I get to the doctor’s office, the nurse calls my name and as I am walking up to her, she gets this crooked grin on her face and says, “A pigeon, huh?” The “MVA lady” says, “Good for you! We have way too many pigeons.” And my insurance agent, who is also my nephew, has a new story to add to his store of stories, saying, “Nope, haven’t heard this one before. And probably never will again,” as he busts out laughing.

So that was my Thursday. How was your Thursday?

Mercy

2011-05-17T07:13:00.001-07:00

In April of 2007, we found a little home in Kent to buy. And a cat.

One day in 2006, the previous owners, Paul and Norma Butler, found a cat under their deck. They soon realized the cat was a female and also had kittens with her. They eventually were able to get the cat out, who was just skin and bones. They took the cat and her kittens to the vet, getting them all fixed and vaccinated. Soon afterwards, one of the kittens disappeared and the other two were given away. The Butlers named the cat Mercy. She hung around…because they fed her!

When we made the offer on the house, one of the Butlers first concerns were about us taking care of Mercy. "We can't take her with us. Will you put food out for her?" Of course we will.

We bought house and the cat.

After moving in we realized how skittish Mercy was. Some people called her a "scat" cat – a cat that is sneaking food from wherever they can find it and then run off by people saying, "Scat! Get out of here!" If Mercy was on the deck when I put out the food, she would run off if I made a noise or moved my leg/foot or arm/hand too quickly. Sometimes we wouldn't see her for up to three days.

Then one day, probably close to being there a year, she let me pet her. Not for long. And only by the food dish. But she let me pet her.

I tried string on a stick and other toys, but she would never play with me. We caught her once in a while playing with a wind-blown leaf on the deck, or swatting at a stream of water from the soaker hose, but she wouldn't play with us. We figure she must have been abandoned at an early age and survival in the wild was foremost on her mind, not playing…

As time progressed, she began following me around the yard…never coming too close…even running off if I acknowledged she was there. But we were becoming friends.

Eventually, she even let me pick her up…for 30 seconds or so. And then one day…she purred. Yes, she was getting comfortable.

As time passed she even came in the house. She never wanted to stay for long. Maybe 10 minutes or so. This eventually grew in to 45 minutes. One day – and one day only – I found her curled up in the middle of the guest bed comforter sleeping like a baby. But she was definitely an outdoor cat.

There were times when I would be on the deck at night and she would hear a noise. We'd walk together to investigate the noise, Mercy on one side of the deck and me on the other – between her and the noise of course. Once satisfied there was no danger, or after scaring off the raccoons, we would go back to the step to the sliding door and sit down. I would pet her for a while and then say goodnight.

We had a bed for her on the deck. She would always be there in the morning and as soon as I opened the sliding door, she would meow, jump off the bed and run in to the house. She would plop herself on the floor, roll over and wait for me to rub her belly. This is how we started most days. (You need to know Cheryl and I sleep with our bedroom window open – all year round.) On mornings where we tried to sleep in, Mercy would get up to our window and meow, "Get up! I am hungry!"

Every evening would find her waiting at the slider for us. For most of the 4 years there, she never came inside in the evening – just waited outside while I prepared her dinner. But the last few months, she would come inside in the evenings too for some belly rubbing.

Remember how I said she would run at the slightest noise when we first met? As time progressed she would accompany me in to the shop and despite the loudest bangs, she would stay there with me. Eventually she would even allow herself to be petted or picked up other places around the yard, not just by her food dish.

Mercy grew to trust me, letting me play with her paws, put medication on her, look at scratches… I even got her to sit on my lap a few times.

But she was still an outdoor and "wild" cat.

We moved to Woodinville one week ago. We are out in the country with coyotes. On top of that we just didn't see Mercy making the adjustment very well. The two neighbors, Kathryn and Kathy (two different neighbors) said they would feed Mercy and watch out for her. After all, one of them was already feeding her anyway, and Mercy frequently slept on a chair of the other neighbor's front porch. But as the week grew on, the neighbors reported Mercy was acting more lost and just sat at our back door and cried.

I went down one day to get mail and she comes up to me, lays down and wants to be petted. She let me pick her up and hold her for a long time. I went in to the house; she followed me in and then wouldn't go out when I tried to close up the house. She missed me…

So we decided to transport her out here to Woodinville. She was one scared cat by the time we got here. She immediately went behind and then under the couch. She came out a couple of times. Cried. And went back under. Finally she came out and over to me. I picked her up and she sat in my lap purring.

I took her out to the shed by the horse pasture to show her where her bed, scratching post and dishes were. She sat in her bed for a minute and then went behind the refrigerator where she remained the rest of the afternoon. I coaxed her out that evening with some canned food. She ate the food, letting me pet her and looking around. Then she went back behind the frig.

However, Monday morning she was gone. And her dry food was untouched. I hoped she was just out exploring. We added more dry food and went to work. We came home and still no Mercy and no sign of her eating her food.

Who knows where she went, or if she will come back. I don't think her odds are good out there with the abundance of coyotes – brave enough to walk the streets here in daylight! And if she tries to go back to Kent, it's a long way and she would need to cross I-90.

We left canned food out last night, but it hasn't been touched.

She grew from running away for three days if I moved too fast to trusting me. And I feel like I let her down. Maybe we introduced her to the outside too quickly. My heart breaks when I think of how scared and disoriented she must have been. And now she's on her own.

I hope you come home Mercy. Your food and bed are waiting for you.

Introduction to My Harvest America

2011-01-29T09:31:00.001-08:00

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Merry Christmas from the Haleys - 2010

2010-12-04T10:21:00.001-08:00

2010 has been quite a year for the Haleys... Full of joys, sorrows, losses and lots of thanks for every day they have been allowed to take another breath! They'd like to share the year with you!! (The blue, underlined words are links to pictures on smugmug or to other sites.)

Let’s start with an update on their grandkids! Mya and Austin turned 14 – they will be 15 in 2011, old enough to drive! Serena, Taylor and Tanner turned 12, Kinley and Reghan turned 11, Makenah and Ashton turned 7, Ella turned 5 and Josiah turned 4. Let’s see… Yup that is 11. AND #12 will be here in April! Daughter Megan is expecting her 4th child.

And now, before we get too far in to 2010, let’s see how 2009 ended…

Marissa and her family – husband Johnny and sons Taylor and Ashton – came to Cheryl and Doug's house for Christmas Eve. They cheated though and went out for dinner – Mexican of course - El Charro. Then they went home and opened gifts ending with the customary treasure hunt!

Check out the pictures of a fun Christmas Eve here.

Then they crashed the Spokane Christmas celebration! There was food, games, fun and gifts. The partying tuckered everyone out – even Doug's Dad’s dog Bo!

See all of the fun in pictures here!

So now, let’s visit 2010…

January

The year started the way 2009 ended, connecting with old classmates, old co-workers and “long lost” family members they never knew they were even related to! Haha Cheryl decided to head to Colville, WA to visit with an old girlfriend there – Lori and her husband Les.

These were both friends from Cheryl's junior high through freshman years of school. She also visited with some other former classmates while there. Pictures of the visit are here.

For Christmas 2009, Doug gave Cheryl (and himself!) dance lessons at the Abbey Ballroom in Tacoma with Terry West Productions. They started in the beginner’s class for the West Coast Swing. Doug didn't have a problem knowing which foot was left and which was right, but be darned if he could keep a beat... Anyway, they went to 4 weeks of lessons before Doug tweaked his back and lessons were out of the question for several weeks. They hope to pick them up again in 2011! Check out Cheryl's dancing boots!

Both Doug and Cheryl's birthdays occur in January - two days apart from one another. However, Cheryl wants it to be pointed out she is 1 year AND 2 days younger than Doug... They decided for 2010 they would celebrate their birthdays in Boise with several days of skiing at Bogus Basin.

Check out pictures of the weekend here.

They were able to head up to Bogus twice. Once with Caleb, Greg, Mya, Reghan and Tanner. Monica even went along and hung out in the lodge. They went up again on Monday with Greg, Mya and Tanner. This was Cheryl's first time boarding in SIX years since her back surgery. Check out Cheryl @ Bogus! She did great and is feeling fine!

They also started adding older pictures they've scanned to FB and SmugMug. Check out their growing album of "old" pictures here!

February

February included a trip to Boise to help Monica move, a Valentine's get away and a three day trip to Phoenix for Doug to attend a conference on Financial Management for Law Firms.

While the focus of their February visit to Boise was to help Monica move, Cheryl managed to find time to spend with her friends Rita and Jorene.

For Valentines, let's use Cheryl's FB post - Doug, you are the greatest example of a sweetheart! So grateful I'm your Valentine! Surprising me with the South Pacific play, dinner at Palominos & a night at the Pan Pacific Seattle hotel with an afternoon checkout (reservations you made back in Nov.!) I love you Doug & feel very spoiled & loved!! What's amazing is that you do this stuff for me all year long, not just today!! Thank you for the man you've chosen to be!!

And you remember a little earlier in this post where it mentioned Doug had tweaked his back? Well here's a FB comment about his back on February 14th... I am so crooked that from behind, my head is to the right of my right hip... I am so crooked, even if I stand on tippy toe on my right foot I still am not straight... I am so crooked, I need to whine...I hurt! boo-hoo After some x-rays, an MRI and a few doctor visits they determined he needed physical therapy and would be fine... It was the middle of March though before he was 100% again!

March

Grandson Ashton celebrated his 7th birthday in March. He had some friends over for a sleep-over and then family joined in on the celebration the next day. Check out more pictures of his birthday party here.

Cheryl had rotator cuff surgery in March. It has been a long recovery and still aches at times, but in the long run the tear has been repaired and they hope the surgery gives her a stronger shoulder!

And while Doug rides the Gold Wing to work almost every day, he looks forward to "real" rides!
He took his first ride in March on a warm and sunny afternoon. Check out the blog post here.

April

April brings baseball in to their life - grandkids and Mariners! They took in one of Ashton's games in April.

More pictures can be seen here!

Caleb visited for a long weekend. One of the days involved a visit to Seattle to do some shopping and goof around at the Seattle Center.

Check out more pictures of his visit here!

And April brought their first Mariners game of the season.

They were given some wonderful seats just behind home plate. Remember the Seattle Sonics? Remember Detlef Schrempf?

He was seated in the same row as Cheryl and Doug. Doug went down and said hello along with some other mumbled words... haha At least he didn't bother him for his autograph!

May

May? Well, May was about Hawaii! Mostly. Doug's office was moving over Memorial Day weekend and that was his focus for May - even at the rate of 2 to 3 hours a day from Hawaii. The time invested was worth it as their move went off without a hitch. 30 people shut down on Friday and started back up Tuesday morning as if nothing happened. Nice!

But now back to the highlight of the year! Hawaii!! It was the first time for both Cheryl and Doug so they decided to spend nearly three weeks there on three different islands!

They left on April 29th and came home on May 16th.

The trip started on Oahu where they attended the wedding of a daughter of a long time friend of Cheryl's.

They were able to spend some time with other relatives including son Greg and his wife Megan.

They visited Pearl Harbor and the Dole Pineapple Plantation, snorkeled from a catamaran off the beach of Waikiki and visited Haleiwa.

From there they traveled to the Big Island of Hawaii. They did the most organized tours here -

snorkeling from a catamaran in a beautiful bay with a shark, a volcano tour where they got to see the glow of the flowing lava at night and took in a wonderful luau!

The last island, and by far the most beautiful and relaxing of their trip was Kauai! No organized trips...just relaxing on the beach, snorkeling here and there,
an open-door helicopter ride, a hike along the Napali coast and Doug rented a Harley to "ride the island"!

It was a wonderful vacation and yes, they will go back, to Kauai!

In case you want to see ALL of the pictures taken during their vacation, here are the links!

June

Along came summer and Doug and Cheryl were out and about - Mariner games and street fairs. Doug even got to meet Dino Rossi!

June also included a visit from Cheryl's Mom and Dad. They did some sight-seeing and took a trip to Port Angeles to watch Doug's sister-in-law Gwen finish her first half-marathon - the North Olympic Discovery Half-Marathon. Afterwards they visited with Doug's Uncle Tom and Aunt Joan, as well as with Doug's Dad and step-mom Linda and Gwen and her family.

They also took a quick weekend trip to Boise to help Monica move in to a more appropriate place for her and the kids. They always enjoy seeing family in Boise - especially Doug when he gets to go to the Boise co-op and buy wine!

July

July continued their round of the street fairs and Mariner games - many of them aboard the Gold Wing, including a trip one day that included Kent Cornucopia Days, Ballard Seafood Fest and a Mariners' game with Felix Hernandez pitching!

And of course they were there when Jose Lopez hit a grand slam in the bottom of the 8th to give the Mariners a win over the NY Yankees! Oh yeah!

They rode the Gold Wing to Lynden WA to attend a surprise birthday party for Cheryl's Cousin Keith.

The ride included their first visit to the Conway Pub and a chance to meet some other motorcycle riders.
Check out the pictures here!

July also included a retirement party for Doug's brother-in-law Wes. He had decided to retire early to help with his cancer battle. His son Colin and wife Isha threw a wonderful party at their home!

And July brought more visitors - Talya and her family from Oklahoma! They were here for a wedding and to visit family.
Doug and Cheryl were able to spend a number of days with them as well as have some wonderful pictures taken in Darrington!

When Talya and the grandkids arrived, they headed for a Chinese buffet! While sitting around after lunch, Kinley (now 11) turned to Grandpa Doug and asks, "So Grandpa, what was it like in the old days?" LOL The question was humorous, but they actually had quite a conversation around how things have changed since Grandpa was their age... One of their adventures was to Kingston - just cause.

Check out a few more pictures of their visit here!

August

August started with a 4+ day motorcycle ride to Glacier Park and Going to the Sun Road! Total trip - 1478 miles!

They road with friends from Spangle, WA - Marty, Kathy and Gary.

Check out the blog post about the ride - more pictures and more links! Glacier Park 2010!

September

September 3 brought the passing of Doug's brother-in-law Wes. He lost his courageous fight with cancer and went home to be with our Lord. It was of course a hard time for Doug's sister Debbie and her sons Kenny and Colin.

A Celebration of Wes' Life was held shortly after his passing - a time to remember Wes - for family, friends and former co-workers.

Rest in peace Wes.

September also included a cornhole tournament at Doug's daughter's place in Oso, WA.
They even had a taco truck there with some yummy food! All had a good time and Marissa ended up winning the tournament! Check out a few pictures of the day here!

And Doug and Cheryl went to the last four games of the Mariner season - yup all four of them. And they lost all four... Maybe next year! Doug finally got to stop at this Mexican Food bus along the light rail!

Doug and Cheryl went to the Puyallup Fair in September - Cheryl's first time.
They participated in 3 simultaneousness treasure hunts taking them all over the fairgrounds! Check out all of the fair pictures here!

And September included an ABX (Airborne Express for you uninitiated! haha) reunion at Sammamish Lake State Park!

September also saw the loss of Cheryl's job. She was laid off on September 3 and as of the writing of this blog is still looking for work...

October

October included attendance to some of grandson Ashton's football games - his first year playing tackle football. You can check out more pictures of #12's stellar season here!

Doug's nephew Ben ran a half-marathon in Spokane - so that gave the Haleys a reason to have a party in Spokane! Food, family and cards - a great combo!

Caleb also came out to visit again in October...mostly just spent some time with his Mom hanging out...

November

Doug and Cheryl celebrated their 5th anniversary on November 14th. Doug's FB post on the 14th - FIVE YEARS and two months ago, I met this lady from Boise, ID. We met online @ christiancafe.com 9/9/05 and after exactly 1 week of phone conversations, I flew to Boise to meet her on 9/16/05. As I walked towards her after coming off the plane, I knew in an instant this was it. As I hugged her and we walked towards baggage claim, it was like I was with a life-long friend. ‎4-1/2 hours later I asked her to marry me. Just shy of two months later we got married and she moved to the Puget Sound area. Now five years later we get to celebrate that "instant" in life. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY CHERYL ANN. I love you - forever!

The weekend after their anniversary, they went to a Weekend to Remember Marriage Getaway at the Semiahmoo Resort in Blaine WA. It was a rich and re-affirming weekend, ending with a renewal of their wedding vows. The Haleys recommend this get-a-way to all!

November 22 brought quite a winter storm to their area. The Haleys would eventually get a foot of snow! Doug's commute home on the 22nd was horrendous! A 40 minute commute turned in to 6 hours. At one point he moved only .3 miles (Yes, POINT 3) in TWO hours! Then, just 2 miles from home, Doug skidded on ice, crashing in to a curb. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but the car was un-drivable and needed to be left near the scene of the crash. Doug's office closed the next day and he was able to recover his car and get a rental car. Their car is back on the road again!

Cheryl created a great snowman out of the snow and then she and Doug had a little fun with Frosty...

Thanksgiving followed a few days later.
Cheryl and Doug invited her nephew Josh and his wife Kerstin and their daughter Claire over for dinner. They played guitar hero,

ate WAY too much GREAT food and then played cards.

Check out all of the pictures here!

Wrapping up November was a dinner cruise as part of the Christmas Ship Parade. The Christmas ship was followed by several boats including their ship where they enjoyed a 4 course meal. All of the boats were decorated with Christmas lights.

The Christmas ship would stop offshore from various locations and carolers on the boat would sing, broadcast to the shore via huge speakers. Doug and Cheryl were able to go outside on to a deck of the ship and listen to the carols.

Pictures of the evening can be seen here.

December

December started with a fun weekend...

Doug and Cheryl did some Christmas caroling of their own - from kayaks!

That's right, they paddled a kayak up to houseboats on Lake Union where they sang carols along with 40 other kayakers to party guests at the particular houseboat.

Then on the 5th they were able to attend a Seahawk game against the Panthers (compliments of some friends!).

Enough said!

So, that's the year for the Haleys in a nutshell. A very large nutshell! LOL There is still more ahead though before the end of the year. You'll just have to check back again next year to see how they finished off the year!

The Haleys just need to say they have a very blessed life. They are thankful to their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for their health, Doug's job and beautiful family.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Ponderisms

2010-11-01T18:03:00.000-07:00

Compliments of a certain sister-in-law...

I used to eat a lot of natural foods until I learned that most people die of natural causes.
There are two kinds of pedestrians: the quick and the dead.
Life is sexually transmitted.
Healthy is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.
The only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth.
Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing.
Have you noticed since everyone has a camcorder these days no one talks about seeing UFOs like they used to?
Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.
All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.
In the 60's, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal..
How is it one careless match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box to start a campfire?
Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, 'I think I'll squeeze these dangly things and drink whatever comes out?'
If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a song about him?
Why does your OB-GYN leave the room when you get undressed if they are going to look up there anyway?
If quizzes are quizzical, what are tests?
If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, then what is baby oil made from?
Do illiterate people get the full effect of Alphabet Soup?
Does pushing the elevator button more than once make it arrive faster?
Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle?

Rally for (in)Sanity

2010-11-01T11:18:00.000-07:00

Seems someone thought it would be a good idea to have simultaneous rallies. One called "The Rally to Restore Sanity" and the other called "March to Keep Fear Alive".

I don't have the energy or time to research and extol the merits of either. You can independently check out the details by clicking on the links above or visiting the following Face Book pages...

I mainly wanted to share some of the signs people were displaying from around the world.

But before I do that, I also want to link you to Dave Ross' website where he has a number pf parodies put to the tune of popular songs. Dave was the MC for the Seattle Rally. Cleverly done and some even would have made me laugh...if they weren't so true... An example is Waitin' On A Jet Plane - Dedicated to JetBlue. You can see others here.

Now on to the pictures. ** And let it be known I don't necessarily support any of the points made in these signs - they are just a sampling of what was on this particular website ** Last count there were 508 pictures posted to this particular site. I scanned some 20% of them and am displaying some of the "you fill in the word here" ones. Check out all of the pictures at The Funniest Signs From The Rally To Restore Sanity And/Or Fear! (PHOTOS).

Take Aways #1

2010-09-26T13:21:00.000-07:00

Take away from church today (8/22/10) - Hang time is important.

Take away from church today (8/29/10) - It's OK to be cold. Seriously! Jesus says so.

Take away from church today (9/26/11) - We're indestructible until God is done with us.

** More to come on this post...

An Atheist In The Woods

2010-09-25T20:04:00.000-07:00

He ran as fast as he could up the path. He looked over his shoulder & saw that the bear was closing in on him.

He looked over his shoulder again, & the bear was even closer.

He tripped & fell on the ground.

He rolled over to pick himself up but saw that the bear was right on top of him, reaching for him with his left paw & raising his right paw to strike him.

At that instant moment, the Atheist cried out:

'Oh my God!'

Time stopped.
The bear froze.
The forest was silent.

As a bright light shone upon the man, a voice came out of the sky.

'You deny my existence for all these years, teach others I don't exist and even credit creation to cosmic accident.'
'Do you expect me to help you out of this predicament?'

'Am I to count you as a believer?'

The atheist looked directly into the light, and said: 'It would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask you to treat me as a Christian now, but perhaps you could make the BEAR a Christian?'

'Very well', said the voice.

The light went out. The sounds of the forest resumed. And the bear dropped his right paw, brought both paws together, bowed his head & spoke:

'Lord bless this food, which I am about to receive from Thy bounty through Christ our Lord, Amen.'

Glacier Park 2010

2010-08-14T09:32:00.000-07:00

Friends Marty and Kathy Wilcox invited us to ride with them and their friend Gary to Glacier Park and Lolo Pass. (Ride dates - Wed 8/4/10 - Sun 8/8/10)

A week before the ride, the back brakes on my Gold Wing started scraping. I called the shop and they couldn't promise the replacement job would be completed in time for our trip. So darn it, we had to rent a 2001 Gold Wing... ;)

After work on Wednesday we drove out to Issaquah, rented the bike and next stop was Moses Lake. The '01 Gold Wing is much more comfortable than the '84 allowing us to travel longer distances before the need for a break. Oh, and it had a 6-CD changer in the bottom of the trunk - so we blasted praise music all the way to Moses Lake!

We arrived in Spokane just before 11:00 where we spent the night. I was hungry, so went out in search of some grub. Seems all the fast food places close their dining rooms at 11:00 due to a recent increase in crime. :( Could've used the drive through they said - but instead I went to Dick's! Yummy and cheap!

281 miles for the day.

We left Spokane at 7:30 AM on Thursday and headed for Spangle to meet up with Marty, Kathy and Gary. We went to the Harvester Restaurant in Spangle - a place where it seemed the waitress knew everyone by name. And their business as well... LOL According to Gary people will come from Spokane just to have breakfast here! It was great food.

After breakfast we headed east to Waverly, where shortly afterwards we intersected with Hwy 27. From there we headed north to Rockford, then east on Hwy 278 (WA)/58(ID). At the junction with US 95 we headed north for Coeur D’Alene and Sandpoint.

It was a very, very slow ride across the Lake Pend Oreille bridge and in to Sandpoint!

Just beyond Sandpoint we headed east-southeast on Hwy 200, through Ponderay and along Lake Pend Oreille for miles – very pretty. Just after Cabinet, ID we crossed in to Montana.

We stopped in Trout Creek for lunch at the Naughty Pine Saloon. Trout Creek is a beautiful little creek-side town. And I am pretty sure I popped a small wheelie here! :) We pulled off to the side of the road to discuss where to eat and decided to go to a place a few hundred feet down and across the road. As I followed Marty and Kathy out on to the hi-way, I realized this LARGE motor home was approaching rather quickly. So I goosed the throttle and all six cylinders responded at the same time! LOL I am pretty sure the front wheel came off the ground for a second. Woohoo!!

Just after Plains we headed north on Hwy 28 past Hot Springs and on to Elmo. In Elmo we hit US 93 where we rode along Flathead Lake for miles – a huge, beautiful lake!

We arrived in Kalispell sometime around 6:00. The ladies showered and us men rinsed our faces and called it good! We headed for the Moose’s Saloon for beer and pizza - entering through swinging saloon-style doors. They have 24 beers on tap, sawdust on the floor, peanuts to munch on (and toss the shells on the floor) and good pizza. We (well at least I was) were in bed by 10:00! Shouldn’t have stayed up so late Wednesday night…

321 miles for the day.

On Friday we left at about 9:00 AM for St. Mary via Logan Pass and the Going to the Sun road.

We traveled through Columbia Falls and Hungry Horse (where we fueled up – at only 5 +/- gallons per tank on a motorcycle we always need to be aware of fuel consumption!). We then followed US 2 along Lake McDonald for a long ways.

Then it got curvy!

We traveled along St. Mary Lake to St. Mary where we had lunch at St. Mary Lodge and Resort.

The road was crowded with cars and there were long delays due to construction. However, the scenery was beautiful!

We were literally riding along the edge of the mountain with a LONG fall should we stumble over the side.

We saw more waterfalls here then on Kauai! (Now in defense of Kauai, we were there during the "dry season". Pictures prove there are indeed waterfalls on Kauai!)

The engineering involved for this road is incredible - look at these arches built on top of mountain-side rock piles/columns!

Loved going through the tunnels and gunning my throttle to hear the deep, guttural sound of my engine. Oh wait. That was Gary's Harley! But I had the loudest horn! haha

We were able to get sprayed a little from the water at the Weeping Wall. Even thought about crossing over the little drainage ditch to get closer, but...

Wild life? I hear it's there... We did see two mountain goats near Logan Pass - looked like a momma and her baby. Otherwise...

I brazenly approached the rough, rocky side of the mountain where-upon I was slapped by Cheryl! haha Here is a picture of us driving under an out-cropping of rock!

On our way back we found Jagz – a wonderful Italian eatery with great food and service!

176 miles for the day.

Then cards at the hotel where Cheryl and I learned to play Pass the Ace. I think we lost money… But at $1 a game… Great game for laughter! :)

We decided to leave early on Saturday – think we made it by 10:00 or so! LOL We headed south along US 93, again traveling along Flathead Lake. We took a break in Polson at the South end of the lake. We met a couple there that was headed to the Testicle Festival. No kidding - it's a real event! BUT, 'nuf said about that.

We then continued south to I-90 where we were on I-90 eastbound for just a short bit before heading south on US 93 again. We stopped in Lolo for lunch at Applebees. (I had Won Ton Tacos - yummm!)

Just after Lolo we hit US 12 and headed west over Lolo Pass – 99 miles of curves.

A sad note though - a motorcycle rider was killed earlier in the day – missed a turn going too fast… Insert "dangerous" to that "99 mile of curves"!

But, I DO like "attacking" the curves, so... We pulled ahead of the pack and pushed the bike for awhile, taking curves at 15 to 20 mph hour faster than the posted "recommended" speed. Exhilarating! But honestly, I was safe and to Cheryl's amazement we never scraped on any of the curves - mostly due to the suspension on the '01 versus the '84. The only scraping we did was the right-hand highway peg - it sort of chattered along the roadway... :)

The scenery was beautiful! We traveled along the Lolo River going up the pass and along the Lochsa River coming down. We crossed back in to Idaho at the pass.

We came out at Kooskia ID on the Nez Perce Indian Reservation and headed to Kamiah where we were told of a resort that had rooms. We found the Lewis-Clark Resort and Motel and the Sacajawea Café where we had dinner. The special for the night was a flat-iron steak and shrimp – a HUGE steak. Everyone had it but me – I had the Western BBQ Burger!

After dinner we headed to the pool where we played some more Pass the Ace, before fleeing the mosquitoes and darkness… In the room we gave the others a quick tutorial on Oh Hell!, a card game I was raised on. We played two games before heading bed at 11:00.

Cheryl set her alarm for 6:00 AM… For some reason her phone was still on Mountain Time. We didn't need to get up until 7:00! LOL

Anyway, we headed out around 7:30 AM, saying good-bye to our friends who would head for Spangle later in the morning.

We stopped at the Clearwater River Casino for breakfast just before leaving the Nez Perce Reservation. I tried a slot machine while Cheryl was in the bathroom – and promptly lost $5 in 1 22 seconds. If I’d kept at it I’d of lost over $160 in an hour. So we went for breakfast! Haha We had a wonderful buffet breakfast, some java juice and moved on!

We stayed on Hwy 12 all the way to Lewiston, and then took US 195 north to Colfax. We stopped for gas and Cheryl checked her phone to find a FB post from her sister Rhonda. Seems Rhonda and Warren were going to be in Moses Lake and they wanted to hook up for lunch. So rather than go all the way to Vantage on Hwy 26, we headed north from Othello.

Check out these pictures of a field burn between Othello and Moses Lake!

After lunch with Rhonda and Warren (thanks for lunch guys) we jumped on I-90 and headed for home. We were able to get to Issaquah, turn the bike in and get home just after 6:00. It was nice to be home and get a few things done before the work week started!

We had a wonderful trip with incredibly beautiful scenery, an awesome time on the bike and a great time with friends. And Gary is now our friend too.

First "For Fun" Gold Wing Ride of 2010

2010-03-20T17:17:00.000-07:00

First official joy ride that is, cause I ride it to work every day.

It was late by the time I left, 11:00 AM. But it was warm, sunny and clear. Perfect day for a ride.

I headed east from home on Hwy 516 or Kent-Kangley Road. I followed this road all the way to where it ends, and then headed south towards Kanaskat and Palmer.

From there it was on to Krain. I was so tempted at that point to head around Mt. Rainier… If only I’d left a couple of hours earlier…

I headed in to Enumclaw for lunch. Asked a local for a recommendation. He suggested the Rainier Bar and Grill. Had a Manny’s with a blue-cheese bacon burger and delicious fries while I watched Butler beat Murray St…barely.

Then I headed north on the Enumclaw-Black Diamond Rd towards Black Diamond. About 2/3rds of the way to Black Diamond, I turned west on SE Green Valley Rd. This was a beautiful curvy stretch of road that eventually intersected with Hwy 18.

I headed east on Hwy 18 to Covington and then west to home.

It was a great day to be out on the bike, but I sure missed my riding partner!

Check out more pictures on smugmug.

Just Stuff #6

2010-01-07T21:02:00.000-08:00

>>> Dunbar's number isn't just a number, it's the law Dunbar postulated that the typical human being can only have 150 friends. One hundred fifty people in the tribe. After that, we just aren't cognitively organized to handle and track new people easily.

>>> Ever wonder what job types might best fit your values? Try out this site - Pork.org. Uh yeah, many of the suggested job types may be found in companies with agricultural connections…

>>> Do you like goofy faces and the ability to morph faces? Well then check out monoface. Click the mouth, nose, head and each eye to create a different monoface. And keep clicking. There are 759,375 possible faces!

>>> Game playing time… Check out how well you can line up angles, guague distance, etc. with The Eyeballing Game. No I won’t share my sad, sad score…

>>> Want to see more “rare” Star Wars Photos? Check out the Unique Scoop!

>>> And finally…A new report from the University of California, San Diego says the average human in the US consumes 3.6 zettabytes (or one billion trillion bytes) of information every day. Check out America Hungry, Need Data . NOTE: Found this story on the blog of Invisible Children.

So that’s all for this time…

New Year Resolutions

2010-01-02T12:57:00.000-08:00

If I always had to wait until the beginning of the following year to start something new, change a behavior, toss out the old, etc. I'd go nuts. I'd be robbed of the benefits of the change NOW. So go ahead folks, welcome each and every day with the attitude of a new year - feel free to make adjustments and tweaks every day as needed. Don't ... See Morewait 363 more days to resolve to do/change/start whatever it is that is needed in your life. And to all you New Year resolvers I hope you are able to keep them. Really.

But if I were to set some resolutions for 2010, this would be a good list to start with...

Get out and party - Humans are social creatures, and we’d be wise to follow that instinct. …older Americans who had more social connections were in better physical and mental health than were more-isolated people. Feeling good about one’s friendships – regardless of the number – is particularly crucial to mental health.
Indulge (a little) in red wine and chocolate – Low doses of resveratrol – a compound of red wine – extend longevity and help fight diabetes. …a daily dollop of dark chocolate about the size of a Hershey’s Kiss lowered blood pressure without adding weight.
Tickle your funny bone – You think that’s funny? Laughter lowers blood pressure. …likely cause is endorphin-like substances released in the brain that in turn relax blood vessels… “This effect was seen” after 15 minutes of emotional-based laughter (i.e. more than a mere chuckle) and suggests people aim for that several times a week.
Take more naps – A six-year Greek study of nearly 24,000 men and women found that those who took a 30-minute nap at least three times a week had a 37 percent lower risk of heart-related death. …naps of 20 minutes to refresh, an hour to boost memory and 90 minutes to recharge creativity. …regular napping also boosts visual memory and learning.
Dust off the dancing shoes - Of 11 physical activities, dancing was the only one that reduced the risk of dementia among older Americans. Dancing is physical (balance and strength), mental (remembering steps and following music) and social. The benefit was noticeable in people who engaged in slow or ballroom dancing two to three times a week…
Slim down with…fat? - Fat is bad, right? Wrong! …two fats – linoleic acid and safflower oil – helped obese, postmenopausal women lose weight and gain lean mass. …the good-fat list also includes corn oil, olive oil, soybean oil and omega-3 fats found in cold-water fish such as salmon and herring.
Soak up some rays - If you live north of Atlanta you do not get enough vitamin D from sun exposure making you more prone to depression. …high vitamin D levels lowered the risk of death from heart disease and other causes in older men and women. Try for 10 to 20 minutes of exposure daily, sans sunscreen.
Try tai chi - Look closely (at people practicing this martial art): Most are smiling. Aside from its meditative, strength and flexibility benefits, tai chi also helps reduce knee pain. A study of 40 men and women with osteoarthritis, whose average age was 65, showed that those who did an hour of tai chi twice a week for 12 weeks had markedly less pain than those who simply stretched.
Make more whoopee - Maybe this will help put you in the mood: Studies have found sex can help relieve stress, improve sleep, help self-esteem, reduce pain and lower blood pressure. …frequent sex in older men seems to protect against prostate cancer. …women who enjoy sex reported having a higher sense of purpose in life than those with more mundane sex lives.
Enjoy the great outdoors - There’s something about fresh air. And trees. And streams, mountains, beaches and other natural settings. …access to green environments significantly lessened health disparities between rich and poor people in Britain. …people living within half a mile of a park or wooded area experienced far less anxiety and depression that those living farther from nature.

SOURCE: AARP's 10 Fun New Year's Resolutions

Merry Christmas from the Haleys - 2009

2009-12-13T09:06:00.001-08:00

It’s been a full and blessed year for the Haleys in 2009 and they’d like to share some of the highlights. (The blue, underlined words are links to pictures on smugmug or to other sites.)

As grandparents, they successfully navigated two of their grandkids – Mya and Austin - becoming teenagers. The parents on the other hand…well let’s just say they’ve done a lot of commenting on what THEY must have been like for Cheryl and Doug when they were teens. LOL The remaining nine grandkids: Taylor, Serena and Tanner turned 11, Reghan and Kinley turned 10, Ashton and Makenah turned 6, Ella turned 4 and Josiah turned 3.

The year started with Doug losing his job at Agros due to a lay-off. Through a lot of prayer and networking, he was employed again within a month as the interim Director of Development for LATCH - a coalition of Lutheran congregations whose mission is to build safe and nurturing communities that recognize the right to affordable housing. While there, a response came to an earlier inquiry about an opening for an office manager with a Seattle law firm. After several interviews, he started at Ellis, Li & McKinstry PLLC on April 15th as their Office Manager overseeing office operations, H/R, benefits, IT and accounting. It’s been an incredible opportunity for him – one he is enjoying very much!

Cheryl remains with Skyline Properties where her role has been somewhat modified over the year. She was able to take some of her duties, namely the Bellevue Office Manager role, off her plate and concentrate on Corporate Operations.

Social networking – Facebook, Twitter, etc. – became a part of Cheryl and Doug's life this past year. They both have re-connected with friends from junior and senior high, previous jobs and long-lost friends. As a result of these reconnections, Cheryl spent a weekend in Colville with a “best friend” from High School and Doug attended a reunion of Cordell Hull Junior High classmates – both in October. They’ve connected with friends that are local and as far away as France and Germany. They still enjoy the more personal & private sharing on MyFamily, but Facebook allows them to be a more frequent part of their extended family and friend’s everyday life. They are on face book as Cheryl Haley and as Doug Haley.

With the change in jobs they decided to remain in their Kent home for the time being, although future plans still include selling and setting off on an adventure in a motorhome or 5th wheel.

The year chronologically…

First of all, they had a wonderful 2008 Christmas including time with Doug's sisters Diana and Debbie, and a belated Christmas Eve with Marissa and her family.

January saw them kicking off the New Year in Boise again. Their trip included lots of fun time with family, a ski/boarding trip to Bogus Basin and a 16 hour ride home due to closed passes. Check out the pictures here as well as their blog post about the trip.

Also in January, they had visitors from Germany – Michael and Marit. Michael was a foreign exchange student that spent a school year with Cheryl’s family some 15 years ago. Cheryl and Doug enjoyed showing them the Emerald City. Check out - Michael and Marit.

February found them headed back to Boise to celebrate Arvid’s (Cheryl’s Dad) 75th birthday. A photographer was hired to come take pictures of the whole family!

In March Doug ran his 7th straight St. Patrick’s Day Dash. His brothers Dan and Greg, as well as Greg’s wife Gwen, all from Spokane, joined in on the new, longer course. Snow fell on all of them as they waited to run and they were all wet and cold at the end… It was the first race since Doug's heart surgery two-and-a-half years earlier, where he actually ran the entire race, rather than alternating between walking and running. No speed record set but an accomplishment. Cheryl plans on doing the 2010 dash with him and he is hoping that 2010 will include more runs than 2009.

April found them winging their way to Ventura, California. There they visited with Doug's Mom and Ed, met up with friends of Cheryl for some time at the beach (Doug even tried surfing…), visited Tijuana and of course visited some wineries, this time in the Temecula area. Check out the blog posts and links to pictures:

In May they traveled to Salt Lake City where they spent a few days with Cheryl’s daughter Monica at the Lagoon. Somehow Doug can’t find any pictures from this trip… :( They spent time at the park – Doug loves water parks! – took in a movie and enjoyed eating out.

May also included a trip to Westport, WA for some Halibut fishing. Doug joined Wes (the organizer), Kenny, Colin, Inder, Abhinav, his Dad, Uncle Tom, Uncle Kenny and his sons-in-law Johnny and Stephen. Stephen however, had to leave early due to the death of his grandpa. Check out some pictures here. Doug came home with some great halibut and lingcod.

June included a sturgeon fishing trip to Astoria, Oregon where they got skunked (NOT EVEN a bite!), celebration of Doug's sister Diana’s 50th birthday (Doug is not sure how she got to be OLDER than him…) and the arrival of Monica’s kids – Mya, Tanner and Reghan for a week-long stay. Oh and they can’t forget Doug's Dad’s motorhome catching on fire in front of there house! No one hurt and the motorhome was repaired and back on the road within a couple of weeks.

In July they headed for Ocean Shores with Mya, Tanner and Reghan for the 4th of July weekend. They were blessed with a hotel right on the beach and a wonderful time. And upon their return to Seattle activities included a Mariner’s game and drive-in movie where they all sat outside in lawn chairs and watched Ice Age 3. Check out some pictures of their fun with the grandkids here.

Later in July, Austin (Talya’s oldest) arrived for a two week-stay. He started his visit and ended his visit with Doug and Cheryl, mainly due to their proximity to the airport. He visited with other relatives, including his Aunt Marissa, his Dad Tony and his Grandma Diane. Here are some pictures of some time with Marissa.

August saw the arrival of Caleb to spend a SeaFair weekend with his Mom.

Doug had the opportunity to go on a “guys” motorcycle ride to
Loomis, WA and was gone for the weekend.

August also included a visit from Cheryl’s other son Greg, his wife Megan and their children Makenah, Ella and Josiah. They were in Seattle for a long weekend and Doug and Cheryl managed, as usual, to cram a LOT in!

September started with the bi-annual Darrington reunion over Labor Day weekend. Over 200 pictures of the weekend that included nearly 100 members of the family can be seen here.

Cheryl’s nephew Brian married Courtney in September. This allowed Doug and Cheryl a trip to Sandpoint, Idaho and a stay on Lake Pend Oreille. They actually rode the Gold Wing to the wedding - 870 miles roundtrip!

September also included a weekend visit from Cheryl’s brother Kevin and his wife Janet. They all enjoyed the sites of Seattle, including a visit to the Seattle Underground and you can read more about it here and take in some pictures here.

October was a little slower for them… Cheryl went to Colville for the weekend to reconnect with a “best friend” from High School and Doug attended a small reunion of friends from Junior High. What fun to reconnect and hear about everyone’s life. You look back at where they have come from and realize they have all turned out pretty darn good considering the curve balls life has thrown them.

They did manage a day away when Doug surprised Cheryl with an Amtrak ride to Portland and a play - August: Osage County.

Cheryl’s parents visited in October and included a trip to Paradise, Mount Rainier for lunch!

And did someone say October was “slower”?

November brought Doug and Cheryl's 4th Anniversary and a weekend trip to the Olympic Peninsula planned by Cheryl as a surprise. They did some wine tasting, attended a wine-maker’s dinner and did some shopping. Read all about it:

November also included a Seahawk game – Doug's first in 6+ years and Cheryl’s first. They experienced a rare win against the Lions! Yeah!!

They also rented a condo in McCall, Idaho where they spent the Thanksgiving weekend with Cheryl’s children and their families. They had a great time visiting, watching movies, playing games, sledding and of course, eating! Haha Check out the wonderful (if Doug says so himself…) pictures here.

So far December has included a 2nd Seahawk game (they beat the 49ers) and Christmas parties galore. Doug and Cheryl will be celebrating Christmas Eve with Doug's daughter Marissa and her family. Then on Christmas Day they will head to Spokane where there will be skiing at Schweitzer Mountain and visiting with Doug's family – Dad and Linda, and brothers, sister, nephews and nieces.

Well, wow…it really has been a full year! And they didn’t even tell you about Taylor’s baseball and Ashton’s football games, or about all of there motorcycle rides – they put over 11,000 miles on the Gold Wing between April and October. Doug has even been riding it on 16 degree days this month so far!

I guess the Haleys just need to to say they have a very blessed life. They are thankful to their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for their health, jobs and beautiful family.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Our Weekend - Part 2

2009-11-15T22:33:00.000-08:00

So….

Our way home today started with a very lazy and relaxing morning at the Quality Inn in Port Angeles…

From there we went Christmas shopping… Oh wait! We weren’t going to do that this year…

Then on in to Sequim for lunch. We ate at Sawadee Thai Restaurant. Yummers. Cheryl had a chicken and broccoli dish. MINUS 1 star. I had Swimming Rama – chicken with spinach – smothered in peanut sauce. 3 star – brow sweat very visible! Haha

From there, we headed to Port Townsend where the last two wineries of our Passport Weekend are located.

First winery was FairWinds Winery – located in a converted horse barn!

They have some fine wines, including the first Aligote varietal I have ever tried. I am not much of a white wine drinker, but this was pretty good. “Aligoté is a white grape used to make dry white wines in the Burgundy region of France, and which also has significant plantings in much of Eastern Europe including Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and Bulgaria.” Read more here. Apparently there are only about 6 tons harvested in Washington and this winery takes about 2 to 2-1/2 of these.

My favorites though are the 2005 LEMBERGER - Oaked and unfiltered this wine is gaining popularity in Washington State, Bronze Medal ~ Northwest Wine Summit and their 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon – Merlot blend - Pure friut flavors and aromas mark this vintner's blend of two Washington grapes, 60% Cabernet and 40% Merlot.

Here we were treated to some unusual windmills and some friendly chickens!

And our final winery for the weekend was Sorensen Cellars in Port Townsend. They also had some fine wines, my favorite being their recently bottled Malbec!

It was at Sorensen Cellars we were introduced to some wonderful goat cheese they included in miniature Panini sandwiches being served. The cheese is from Wild Harvest Creamery in Chimacum. They offer cheese-making classes – which I plan on attending in January or February of 2010. I am excited about this! I LOVE cheese!

Three cases of wine and plump bellies full of fine food…we head home.

Our goal – the 5:30 Bainbridge to Seattle ferry. Not going to happen. Next ferry is almost an hour-long wait. It’s then we realize – if we take the 5:30 ferry, we get home at about 7:00 – MAYBE. If we drive all the way around the sound via the Narrows Bridge and Tacoma we are home BEFORE 6:30. Uh, duh! We drive around. We are home at 6:26 (even with a potty break), car unloaded and relaxing BEFORE 7:00. Nice call Cheryl and Lola…

A wonderful weekend, new friends, good wine, great food and a strengthened foundation for many more years to come! Thanks for coming along with us!

PS A few pictures of our weekend can be found here.

Our Weekend - Part 1

2009-11-15T09:32:00.001-08:00

Our Saturday consisted of a lazy morning waking up in Port Angeles overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Sounds - seagulls, a local church bell tolling on the hour - one ring for each hour, ship's bells and horns in the harbor... Just behind our hotel you can look up to Hurricane Ridge - where I learned to snow ski in 1969 or 1970. Check out their live webcam.

We finally got out of here after 11:00 and went to our favorite store in PA - Swains! They have a bit of everything and at good prices. I found a nice wool coat to "dress me up a bit" says Cheryl and a long-sleeve fleece vest for motorcycle riding. Cheryl found a beautiful purple (can you believe she picked purple?) sweater.

Then it was on to some wineries as part of the Harvest Wine Tour of Olympic Peninsula Wineries.

We started at our favorite winery over here - Olympic Cellars Winery. There was a festive atomopshere with fall in the air and beautiful freshly powdered snow-capped mountains as a backdrop! They were serving raw and baked oysters as well as locally produced products - clam dip and hummus (made from "root vegetables" including carrots).

From there we went to Harbinger Winery. They started up about four years ago and are housed in a warehouse with their Kayak rental business! They were serving local cheeses. They also brew beer - but passed on that. They have a large "gong" (what else do you call it?) that they allowed you to hit. So I did. I asked them what they used it for. They said to get people's attention. It did. They said it's a real kid's magnet. I said, "Yup!"

From there we went to Camraderie Winery. Beautiful grounds and a new tasting room to enjoy. Oh, and a beautiful golden retriever waiting for us with tennis ball in hand. Uh, I mean in mouth... Yes, I did play with the dog.

And the last one for the day was Black Diamond Winery. They specialize in fruit wines. We particularly liked the Strawberry-Rhubarb Wine.

From there we went to a newer local restaurant - Joy's Wine Bistro for a wine-maker's dinner. This restaurant is owned by Olympic Cellar's winemaker's (Benoit Murat) wife - Joy. Joy and Benoit prepared a wonderful 4 course meal paired with wines from Europe.

We were told to sit where we wanted. We chose a table for six where one other couple were just sitting down. Eventually another couple joined us. To describe the other two couples as "free spirits" would be an understatement! They were outrageously funny and risque. Our cheeks hurt (and still do) from laughing so hard for three hours. We were the loudest - and the most envied table - in the place!

The couple we first joined were in their 70's - Patricia and Michael. Pat has lived in the PA area for 20+ years and Michael is from "the dessert" in California. Pat had been married for 40 years and raised 4 boys. Sounds like Michael was married before but no kids. They knew each other in Jr and Sr High but never had anything to do with each other. Pat commented that in those days you didn't date, you went steady. She continued with an interesting comment of, "And that was a mistake". They attended a high school reunion 4 or so years ago (after her divorce), talked, discovered some common interests, he called on her and they were married three years ago.

The couple that joined our table last are a local couple - Jan and Jacque. Jacque is a patent attorney (maybe 70 or 71) and Jan (his third wife) is 51 and his secretary. She had more one-liners and movie quotes than you could find in a book full of the same.

Play on words was common...kept us all on our toes trying to be quick witted enough to understand what was said and be able to respond just as cleverly.

The scene that played out at our table could honestly become a long-running sit-com sure to win awards for best humor! We all exchanged contact information and who knows...

Today (Sunday) finds us enjoying another lazy morning listening to sounds of the harbor and watching people come and go. We are atop steps that descend down in to town with benches to sit on and look out over the Strait. People are up and down the steps, sitting, standing, walking dogs, taking pictures...

There are three other wineries that are part of the Passport Tour, all in Port Townsend. We'll check out of here later, get a good lunch, do some shopping and then visit the wineries on the way to the Bainbridge Island ferry enroute to home.

Part II to come, but no way will it be as interesting as dinner last night...

2009-11-03T21:37:00.000-08:00

Just Stuff #5

2009-10-07T20:42:00.000-07:00

From “Hack A Day” comes Farm hacking: 7 amazing corn mazes.

Check out their story about some amazing corn mazes and then browse the sites listed below to see a number of corn mazes across the nation.

Before you are done though, be sure to check out Making a corn maze…

And speaking of mazes…

Check out this program that will help you design your own maze. No corn field needed!

Create My Maze

Check out this and 24 more Funny Design Sandwiches.

Just how many “Periodic” Tables are there????

The Periodic Table like you’ve never seen it before…
Periodic Table of Beer Styles
Periodic Table of Typefaces (fonts)
Table of Condiments That Periodically Go Bad

And laughing out loud to good health…
Laughing 100 times is the equivalent to 10 minutes on the rowing machine or 15 minutes on an exercise bike!

And in closing…

New Life Form Found in Sewer

Cheers!

Kevin and Janet's visit to Seattle (Kent actually!)

2009-09-23T21:49:00.000-07:00

Yup, twas a full day Saturday the 19th...

Picked Kevin (Cheryl's brother) and Janet up at the airport at 9:00 AM. Then went back to Kent for breakfast at the Golden Steer - yummers.

Then over to the lightrail station for the ride to Seattle. We got off at the Pioneer Square where a short walk took us to Seattle's Underground Tour.

The tour takes 90 minutes including "setting the stage" in the Doc Maynard's Bar (the bar is no longer open. It's a good basic introduction to Seattle's history and very interesting to learn about how the "underground" came to be.

Afterwards we went over to Starbucks where we had coffee and planned our next moves...

From there we caught a city bus and rode to Pike Place Market. We'd just crossed the street to get to the market entrance, when a man came darting out of a store with a clerk behind him yelling, "Stop that man!" So I chased him... We darted in between cars crossing 1st Ave (one who wasn't so inclined to stop until I slapped his left front fender), through a parking lot and down an alley before I caught up with him... It was at that point that two things happened...

First, I didn't even know what he'd done or what he took - so what do I say? I said, "Just drop it!" Whatever "it" was!
Secondly, he all of the sudden had two accomplices... Kind of changed the odds... As we came to a stop, he wouldn't respond to me, but told one of his buddies, "Get this guy off my back man!" His buddy came over and chest bumped me telling me to "Get lost bro".

Well, to this point, no one else was coming to help, it was three against one and to top it off I have no idea what to ask him to give back... It was very frustrating to watch them walk down the alley... All I could do was yell "THIEF". One of the accomplices turned around at that point and looked at me like I was off my rocker or something. Or maybe he just didn't like being called what he was! At least I tried... (It did feel food to run though, albeit in cargo pants, boots and carrying a back-back! haha)

So, back to Pike Place Market where Cheryl, Janet and Kevin were wondering where I'd gone... Kevin actually was on his way to help, but didn't know where we'd gone. It was that run down the alley where everyone lost us... At the market we looked at all of the beautiful fresh flowers - Janet was so amazed a big bouquet would cost only $10 - and frustrated that she couldn't buy any (as how would she get them home?). We went by the fish market, into a couple of t-shirt/sweatshirt stores, a toy store, and tea store and just wandered around the Market - always, always an interesting experience.

Our last stop before getting back on the bus was at Beecher's Handmade Cheese. They make wonderful artisan cheeses! Janet bought some Sharp Gouda and I bought some No Woman and some Marco Polo.

The we boarded the bus again for a ride to Safeco Field to watch the Seattle Mariners play the New York Yankees.

Well, the seats were good, the sausages from the outside vendors were good and the online replays of the Husky football game were good... Mariners lost 10 to 1.

And how about those Huskies! Here’s an excerpt from a blog I read – “I am not predicting a certain upset on Saturday however this game is on every experts upset watch list. Washington has a 25-30 percent chance of beating these guys at home this week.” UW Dawg Pound. Well upset the number 3 USC Trojans they did - 16 to 13 with a well orchestrated drive and game ending field goal!

Took the light rail system home from Safeco Field, catching it at the Stadium Station.

Got home around midnight. A fun full day…

Sunday saw a very, very lazy start to the day...

Cheryl made waffles and eggs for breakfast. We got up at various times from 7:30 to 10:00! haha

We finally left home at nearly 12:00 and headed for my office for a panoramic view of the Puget Sound area. It's amazing what you can see from 49 floors up!

Then we headed for Deception Pass.

But of course we couldn't take the direct route...

We headed north on I-5 and then east on the 520 bridge. This is a floating bridge that crosses Lake Washington. From the bridge deck you have a view north to Mt. Baker and a view south to Mount Rainier. Can't figure out what the all commotion was about. We just stopped to get some nice pictures...

From there we intersected with and headed north on I-405.

Eventually we re-intersected with I-5 and headed north.

By now it was nearly 2:30 in the afternoon and we were all ready for lunch. We headed for the Skagit River Brewery for a very tasty meal. Afterwards we found a nearby cache enduring the scrutiny of an over-ambitious security guard. LOL

So now back on to Hwy 536 which took us northeast to Hwy 20 and on to Fidalgo Island.

Our destination was the Deception Pass Bridge that spans the strait separating Fidalgo Island and Whidbey Island. We passed over the nearly 200 foot tall bridge and pulled off in to a rest area. From there we were able to walk back over the bridge and look down on to the strait. Water runs through this strait at a rate of 5 to 8 knots (about 6 to 9 mph) and can literally take control of a boat if it's not careful as it passes through the strait. Beautiful scenery and views. We are pretty confident we could see some thirty miles west where Canada (the southern tip of Vancouver Island) and the north end of the Olympic Peninsula (maybe the Dungeness area?) could be seen. And we discovered an Earthcache.

We found another cache along the way at a Veteran's display in front of a small restaurant right off the highway.

Back in the car and back on Hwy 20 and in to Oak Harbor, home to the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station. (AND my cousin Jenny and her family - Hi Jenny!) Here we found one more cache, but alas, no Seattle sweatshirt for Janet...

From here we headed to Clinton where we boarded the ferry for a short 20 minute ride to Mukilteo.

Once in Mukilteo we decided we were hungry again and headed for Ivar's Mukilteo Landing Restaurant where we were lucky enough to get a window table overlooking Puget Sound!

After a scrumptous meal we headed home arriving there at about 10:00 PM. We were all in bed by 10:05! haha Afterall, 4:30 this morning came very early!

It was a fun visit with Cheryl's brother Kevin and his wife Janet and we look forward to future time with them!

Darrington Reunion 2009

2009-09-23T21:47:00.000-07:00

Not a lot to say ... just want to share some pictures - Check 'em out here!

Ride to Artist Point - Mt Baker

2009-08-24T22:53:00.000-07:00

Well, Saturday found both of us headed for the office… So much to do! But then…

It was time to play!!

We left Bellevue about 6:00 PM and headed for Mount Vernon where we spent the night before a day of riding on Sunday with Cheryl’s cousin Keith.

Along the way we called my daughter Marissa who lives in Oso, between Arlington and Darrington. They often go to Mount Vernon and surrounding towns like Conway and La Conner. We thought maybe she could refer us to a good place to eat near our motel.

Well, she came through with a recommendation of Skagit River Brewery. Great setting in an old building right next to an active railroad track, where freight and Amtrak trains rumble by…mere feet from our table in fact! Have you ever noticed how BIG locomotives are??? Service was great, food was delicious and the prices were good. Oh, and the beer wasn’t bad either! Haha I had the Skagit River "Steelie" Brown Ale – “Favored for its luscious malt character and smooth finish. The Brown Ale's caramel, roast and chocolate flavors go well with many foods.” We both had hamburgers and waffle fries while we played Five Crowns. Cheryl had a cheddar cheeseburger, and I had a blue cheese burger with bacon added. Yummers.

We slept in Sunday morning – oh yeah… Then about 10:00 we headed out to the next exit north on I-5 where we were to meet Cheryl’s cousin Keith. After meeting up with him we rode Chuckanut Dr to Fairhaven, where Keith’s wife Jane met us for breakfast.

The drive along Chuckabut Drive was beautiful and fun. Hwy 11 travels along Samish Bay and then Bellingham Bay, passing through Larrabee State Park along the way to Fairhaven. (Fairhaven is actually part of Bellingham, but shhhhh… Don’t tell the status conscience people of Fairhaven…). Here’s another site with pictures of the beauty of Chuckanut Drive.

We met Jane at the Harris Ave Café, on yes you guessed it, Harris Avenue. (Thanks for the material Jane!) “The Harris Avenue Café is the kind of place that instantly invites you off the street and into its cozy bosom. Located at street level in a vintage downtown Fairhaven building, this café’s warm and earthy yellow and orange walls at once put you in the mood to just relax and gaze at the world going by.” After waiting for about 25 minutes on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant, petting the dogs that sauntered by, we ended up in the patio area – beautiful setting. I had Texas Taters – a scramble with potatoes, chorizo, serrano chiles, a couple different kinds of cheese, and topped, by me, with a healthy douse of Tobasco sauce! Yummers…

After breakfast, Jane headed off to school… She is a principal and getting ready for the new school year requires some extra hours! Keith, Cheryl and I headed for Keith and Jane’s house in Lynden…via backroads of course!

Once to their house, Keith realized we were locked out…but ahhh, there was one small window open. Oh, sometimes it’s not good to be 6’ 5”! haha Anyway, we got in and were able to see the house and meet Sasha and Buddy, their very friendly dogs!

And now… On to Artist Point at Mt. Baker. What a ride! Artist Point – “There may be gold at the end of a rainbow, but that would pale with the reward of reaching the end of the Mt. Baker Highway at Artist Point – a breathtaking 360-degree panoramic view of lakes, meadows, snow and steep mountains. This area is open for only a short time in the summer.”

We wound our way UP Hwy 542 where there were numerous 15-mph switchbacks…and I MEAN 15 mph! The scenery was beautiful – well, at least what I dared take my eyes off the road to view that is! Cheryl actually had the camera out and was taking pictures from the back seat of the motorcycle! She did a great job.

We reached the top where there were still patches of snow! We walked a bit, took some pics, hit the pit-toilets and then headed down. And on the way down we did a lot more scraping of the kickstand and running boards on the way up! Woohoo. Good thing my wife loves and trusts me! Haha

Then we headed for the Boundary Bay Brewery & Bistro in Bellingham to meet Jane for dinner. “A no smoking, all ages establishment, The Boundary Bay Brewery & Bistro has been in business since 1995, catering to locals and out-of-towners alike. While our beer has won award after award, it is balanced by a selection of food that will bring you back all on its own. All presented to you in a unique atmosphere of energy, artistry, community and hospitality.” Cheryl had the Yam Alechiladas and I had chicken enchiladas accompanied by a “Scotch” - With a similar malt profile to its more famous cousin Scotch whisky, this smooth, strong beer is complex with a lingering hop finish. Original Gravity 1.064

After eating and visiting, Cheryl and I began our 110-mile ride home. We got home at about 10:30 PM, tummies full of good food, lungs full of fresh air and smiles on our faces. And went straight to bed…

All of the pictures from our trip can be seen HERE.

Greg and Megan's Visit - August 2009

2009-08-22T08:44:00.000-07:00

Greg, Cheryl’s son, his wife Megan and their three children - Makenah, Ella and Josiah - (representing 27% of our grandkids!) flew in to Seattle the evening of Thursday, August 13th.

In preparation for the visit we realized our Mazda wouldn’t be sufficient for transporting seven people. It was either go everywhere using both the Mazda and the Gold Wing (my choice – haha) or rent a van/SUV (Cheryl’s choice). We decided to rent and found an incredible deal through Budget for a 7-passenger SUV.

Cheryl shows up Thursday afternoon to pick up the car and they have a small 5-passenger rig ready for her. She calmly explains we reserved a 7-passenger rig and shows them our reservation confirmation. They respond with, “Well we told corporate to take that special off of the web site. Why that vehicle rents for $108 a day, not $144 total.” Cheryl responded with, “That’s not our problem. We asked for and need a 7-passenger van.” They said they might have something… Oh yeah, we have a van that just came in but will need to clean it. A minute later they pull in with a new GMC Yukon (4500 miles on it) saying they just “found this one”. It was a nice ride – leather, power everything, xm satellite radio and plenty of room for seven people. Not bad for about $40 a day. :)

We all enjoyed a quiet evening Thursday just catching up on life.

While Doug worked Friday, Cheryl took the gang to the Seattle Aquarium. One of the highlights for the grandkids was the Life on the Edge display. This tidepool allowed the kids to actually touch the sea life, or more appropriately gave them permission to play in the water! Haha After visiting the Aquarium, they toured the Seattle waterfront for a bit before coming up to Doug’s office.

Doug works on the 49th floor of the Two Union Square building where he is the office manager for the law firm of Ellis Li & McKinstry. The highlight of the visit for the grandkids? Feeding paper in to the paper shredder! haha After enjoying the incredible views of Seattle from the 49th floor, we headed off to the Rock Bottom Brewery for dinner. Doug’s fav – the Brown Bear Brown.

Saturday found us headed to the Tukwila station of Seattle’s new LINK Light Rail system. The grandkids all got window seats for the 36 minute ride to Seattle. We passed through a number of Seattle neighborhoods – Rainier Beach, Columbia City, SODO. There was even a long tunnel along the way, somewhere near the Mount Baker station, where the kid's eyes lit up as they realized we were in a dark tunnel. We arrived in Seattle inside the Seattle Bus Tunnel, the only joint bus-rail tunnel in the United States. Well, that is except for the one in Pittsburgh ... but it doesn’t have stations. Read more here.

From the tunnel we went up to ground level and caught a Metro bus to Ballard, where we visited a Cupcake Royale location. Amazingly, there is frequently a line all the way out the door – for cupcakes. Greg and Megan bought “cute” little travel coffee mugs. We visited here with Greg & Megan’s friends from Germany Michael and Marit in January. They bought similar cups and it was fun for Greg and Megan to now visit this store and buy the same cups! After our cupcakes and some coffee (it is Seattle afterall…) we were back on the bus to the Ballard Locks.

The Ballard Locks, officially the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks were a fun time. We watched boats enter and leave the locks, even a boat where a group was gathered on the deck and singing as an accordion player played to the delight of the crowd along the lock. Watching the boats rise from below us to over us as the lock filled up was amazing. The Fish Ladder was a real hit with the kids! HERE are someone else’s pictures of the locks.

When we were done watching boats, salmon and a few seals…we headed for the Lockspot Cafe for dinner. This appears to be a famous diner… After the Catch and After the Catch (episode 2 season 1). They had great clam AND salmon chowder, seafood platters and beer! There was a carved seaman in the restaurant and Josiah would go NOWHERE near him! We tried showing him it was just wood but for some reason it was really scary to him…

After dinner we caught a couple of buses that were to get us back to the bus tunnel, but… There was a festival in town, the Seattle Hempfest where thousands and thousands had gathered and the crowd over-loaded the buses and jammed the downtown Seattle streets. We finally got off the bus and walked to the tunnel!

After getting home, Greg and Doug headed for the RAM Restaurant and Brewery. They have a Saturday special where you can fill your growler (a 64-ounce bottle) for half price - $4.99 rather than $9.99. We refilled the one I had with Buttface Amber Ale and purchased a second one filled with Barefoot Wit White Belgian. Yummers.

Sunday found us on I-5 headed North for the Puget Park Drive-In Swap Meet. For $1 per adult, you can roam the Drive-in lot exploring the wonders people brought to sell. As soon as we parked and got out of the car, Ella sat down to play in the dirt. You know, the dusty, stick to everything kind of dirt. And she was wearing black pants… Oh yeah. Haha We wandered around for awhile and came away with some great deals – a pair of work gloves for $2, 6 CDs for $5, 2# of Malaysian dark roasted coffee beans for $4 and finally a folding cribbage board that holds the cards and pegs inside - $5. Score.

Afterwards we headed for the Taste of Edmonds, but decided we needed a snack on the way. The snack turned in to a full-fledged meal at La Palmera Family Mexican Restaurant in south Everett. Their food is delicious! But then we thought…eating before going to a Taste?!?!?!?!? LOL But really, eating at the restaurant saved us big bucks over eating at this booth and that booth at the Taste…

The Taste of Edmonds featured crafts for kids, rides, craft booths, retailers, roaming artists, wine and beer gardens, live music (at least three stages) and of course booths featuring food from local restaurants. We started at the port-a-pots… LOL Then moved on to bracelet making and crown making. From there we went to the pony rides followed by time on the inflatable toys – the kids (and Megan ;)) really liked these! Then Greg tried the rock wall climb. There was $100 cash waiting to be plucked at the top. But alas, it was rigged… Or at least seemed that way. A little over half way up, the wall juts out a bit. I think that, along with the position of the auto-repeller and limited foot/hand holds, made it nearly impossible. But Greg made it higher than anyone else we saw try! Now on to the desserts… HUGE vanilla, soft-serve ice cream cones for the grandkids and strawberry shortcake for Grandma and Grandpa.
We found a vendor we plan on going back to that manufactures firepits - Outdoor Living Concepts. Very attractive and beats burning wood on the deck in a metal firepit!

As we headed home, all of the kids fell asleep and were put in bed as soon as we got home. Us adults bought Papa Murphy’s pizza which Megan, Greg and Doug enjoyed with some of their RAM brewed beer.

Morning came early as the trip to the airport was at 6:00 AM. Greg and Megan made it back to Boise in time to get to work… Cheryl and Doug went to work, exhausted from a busy weekend, but with a smile on their face.

It’s always strange though to come home in to a quiet and empty house after a visit from family… Seems sad…but quickly we turn our thoughts to the next visit, hanging on to memories of the fun we had during this last visit.

~~~ More pictures here. ~~~

Obama's Health Plan (Post 002)

2009-08-09T19:05:00.001-07:00

Here's a post from a member of Cheryl's family on Facebook:

In reading some articles about Obama care, the death preperation councilling certification seems very interresting to me. If you are 65 or older you must be councilled and make preps for impending death and register those plans with the feds. Anyone seen soylent green, read 1984. I guess Obama did.

Soylent Green is a 1973 dystopian science fiction movie depicting a future in which overpopulation leads to depleted resources, which in turn leads to widespread unemployment and poverty. Real fruit, vegetables and meat are rare, expensive commodities, and much of the population survives on processed food rations, including "soylent green" wafers.

Nineteen Eighty-Four (sometimes abbreviated to 1984) is a classic dystopian novel by English author George Orwell. Published in 1949, it is set in the eponymous year and focuses on a repressive, totalitarian regime.

Obama's Health Plan

2009-08-08T09:47:00.000-07:00

I have to admit I have been lazy aboout reading much about Obama's healt plan proposal...

But at the urging of some of our friends I think I need to read more and learn more.

Here's an article that happend to be on Comcast.net's News Headlines this morning...

"The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama's 'death panel' so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their 'level of productivity in society,' whether they are worthy of health care," the former Republican vice presidential candidate wrote.

Read the rest of Palin's comments in the story here.

Anyone else have links or stories to share? I am going to find a link one of Cheryl's friends gave us to a disturbing paragraph about senior citizens...

Guys Ride to Loomis WA

2009-08-04T21:16:00.000-07:00

A ride inspired by Chuck, a man whose ministry is to serve other men, and Don, an avid motorcyclist. The idea was for as many men as wanted to go, to assemble at Northshore Baptist Church in Bothell, where Don and Chuck are members, and where I used to attend. They would then ride to Loomis on a Saturday for dinner, a night’s sleep and then a ride home after breakfast on Sunday.

There were eventually 5 riders. Don, his long time-friend Bill and Bill’s son-in-law Jeremiah. Rounding out the 5 were Keith (Cheryl’s cousin) and myself. Three Harley Davidsons and two Hondas. I can’t remember the bike types, but will try… The Harleys consisted of two cruisers and one other. One of the cruisers was a 2007 Electra Glide Classic which Keith rode. The Hondas were a 1978 Honda Gold Wing 1000 with a sidecar and my 1984 Honda 1200I Gold Wing.

I left home about 7:15 AM and headed north to Bothell. It was a perfectly clear morning and the temperature was wonderful. But that would change.

Don, Bill, Jeremiah and I left the church at 8:15 AM. Don lives in Bothell, Bill and Jeremiah in Lynnwood, and I am from Kent of course. The plan was to meet Keith in Gold Bar, who was riding from Bellingham.

We met Keith in Gold Bar at the Gold Bar Restaurant & Lounge for breakfast. The food was good and inexpensive and the service was good.

Then we headed out … four men and a sidecar! Haha Sorry, I just had to say that…

We headed up and over Stevens Pass (elevation 4061 feet), stopping about 14 miles east of the pass at Deception Falls for a little break.

Deception Falls has an interpretive loop trail that is an easy access from the car. Short trail with a great view of cascading water and clear pools set in a rain forest at the 2200’ elevation of the Cascades.

Temperature was perfect…

From there we rode in to Leavenworth where we fueled up and headed on… Somewhere along the way, we saw a sign that read, “Sturgis – 1140 miles”.

We continued on Hwy 2 to Wenatchee where we joined Hwy 97 North towards Pateros and Omak. The temperature was still pleasant, most of us in short-sleeve shirts and a couple of us with our chaps on.

From here things started to heat up… I mean really heat up…

We headed north to Tonasket where we ended up at a WalMart! A couple of us, including myself, were showing early signs of heat exhaustion. The time in Wal-Mart, a little snack and lots of water had us back on the road.

There were moments when it felt like someone turned a blowtorch on us. Instant heat and right in our face! A couple of times it was so sudden and so hot that it literally took our breath away. We were all wilting…

From Tonasket we took the Janis-Oroville road north and eventually west on Loomis-Oroville Road. We so hoped the road along Spectacle Lake would provide some relief from the heat… But it didn’t.

The lake itself is beautiful and an oasis of sorts in the dryness of Eastern Washington. I couldn’t find much information on the lake itself. There is Spectacle Lake Resort that looks like a lot of fun. One of the features is a heated pool. Not needed…

We stopped at the Qwik Stop in Loomis – the only store and one with still a little gas in one of the underground tanks… They said it was 110 degrees! Hot.

We rode the two blocks to Chuck’s place where we all got in to shorts, drank some water and rested. Then Chuck served us a delicious dinner (pieces of steak simmered in a bbq sauce with peppers, steamed potatoes, corn and rolls) followed by apple pie and ice cream. And then to bed – we were all exhausted!

I slept in a cabin where I swear it didn’t get below 100! I sweated all night – sleeping bag was drenched in the morning!

After a fine breakfast whipped up by Chuck (scrambled eggs, hash browns and bacon) we were on the road trying to beat some of the heat.

After getting gas in Tonasket, we headed south on Hwy 97 towards Okanagan. There we headed west on Hwy 20 – the North Cascades Highway, Cascade Loop Scenic Highway or the Mountain Loop Highway.

We crossed three passes – Washington Pass at 5,477 feet, Rainy Pass at 4,855 feet and Loup Loup Pass at 4020 feet.

Beautiful scenery and fabulous curves built for motorcycles! Oh yeah!

We got to see part of Ross Lake.

Diablo Lake and its effervescent green color was quite a site!

And we found a rocket plane on the road. A man and his grandson designed and built the thing, powered by a Volkswagen engine. The owner let each of us get in and have our picture taken in the rocket/plane. Pretty cool!

We dropped down into Burlington where we had lunch at a Dairy Queen. From there we split up – Keith headed for Bellingham, Don, Bill and Jeremiah headed south on Hwy 9 and I headed south on I-5.

It was a spectacular ride and makes we want to ride more!!

A few more pictures of the ride can be found on Smug Mug.

Nuggets II

2009-07-25T10:55:00.000-07:00

From a friend of a friend of a friend...

"One of the most incredible people I've ever met, Ruby, a Jamaican from the Caribbean side of Nicaragua who lives to serve others, love's God wholeheartedly, and has witnessed unbelievable things in her lifetime."

This World Is Not My Home from Matt Katsolis on Vimeo.

Just Stuff #4

2009-07-23T20:51:00.000-07:00

OK, check it out dog...

Hulu
Hulu was founded in March 2007, and is co-owned by NBC Universal,
News Corp. and Providence Equity Partners. It is operated independently by a dedicated management team with offices in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Beijing.

Hulu's mission is to help people find and enjoy the world's premium video content when, where and how they want it. As we pursue this mission, we aspire to create a service that users, advertisers, and content owners unabashedly love.

Hulu is an online video service that offers hit TV shows, movies and clips at Hulu.com and other online destination sites — all for free, anytime in the U.S. For more details on Hulu's service, check out the Hulu product tour.

Check it out dog...

Could the whole world be wrong?

Here's a guy that allowed the whole world a chance to vote for the next President of the United States. The choices were McCain and Obama. He tracked it by country as well. It was a landslide victory for Obama. Check it out here.

An alternative to Pandora, is The Radio.com.

Some incredible pictures,, many generated from some incredible experiments...fotoopa.

Any chess fans?

Check this out...scacchi clay stop motion - chess clay stop motion

We're not necessarily #1 in all areas... (Click on the image to see a larger image in a new window)

Nuggets I

2009-07-21T18:51:00.001-07:00

"To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did."

When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better.

Concentrate on this sentence...

The will of God will never take you where the grace of God will not protect you.

Just stuff #3

2009-07-12T11:15:00.000-07:00

Yikes!! MORE Just Stuff !!!!

Posted by Jane Tromburg (Cheryl's cousin's wife)on FaceBook and she says, "You might at first think your speakers aren't turned on, but give it a minute an listen carefully."

In fact I'd say just close your eyes, sit back and listen ... to all of the sounds created...

This fun YouTube video features a 1980s pop classic. The rock band Toto scored their biggest hit with Africa in 1982. The song is instantly recognizable. But it has been reinvented.

Perpetuum Jazzile is an a cappella jazz choir from Slovenia. It’s hard to think of something further from an ‘80s rock band. But their version of Africa may best the original. The group has amazing voices.

But the beginning of this video is really striking. Group members simulate an African thunderstorm with their hands. It’s really something to see and hear.

Test Freaks is about aggregating all information about your favorite products. User reviews, professional reviews, prices, blog posts, forum threads, news, rumors, manufacturers descriptions and specifications, manuals, videos and more. We want you to have the best possible information about the product you are looking for. It should be fun and easy to find the best products for you. TestFreaks isn’t only about finding new products it will also be an owner’s community where you can share your experiences about your products and help others maximize the utility of the products.

TestFreaks is a work in progress and we are continuously adding new functions in order to optimize this process. We are always looking for input and your ideas are valuable to us so we can make TestFreaks the best possible experience for you.

TestFreaks is founded by Kristofer Arwin, Magnus Wiberg and Martin Alexanderson who previously founded the price comparison engine PriceRunner in 1999.

For you Star Trek Fans…

Pit your knowledge against the formidable 20Q artificial intelligence! Think of a sentient being, place or thing from Star Trek, and the 20Q A.I. will read your mind by asking questions.

All things...

More than 50 Things To Do on Google.

And more to gawk at on google… Google Moon

The Gadget Blog - GIZMODO

More gadgets… Japan Trend Shop

The Sun

(10/13/08) The Sun is now in the quietest phase of its 11-year activity cycle, the solar minimum - in fact, it has been unusually quiet this year - with over 200 days so far with no observed sunspots. The solar wind has also dropped to its lowest levels in 50 years. Scientists are unsure of the significance of this unusual calm, but are continually monitoring our closest star with an array of telescopes and satellites. Seen below are some recent images of the Sun in more active times. (21 photos total)

20 Brilliant Advertising Ideas and more…

“30 Foot Cone-shaped Object Lands On California Ranch – Examiner” and other paranormal reports can be found safely tucked away at Area51.org, the secret headquarters for paranormal reports.

Palin … President

Mouse over certain items and things happen... Click where clickable and things happen... Be sure to click on Palin's shirt... And when you want to clean up the room and start all over, just refresh your screen.

Don’t share the following with kids you are teaching to NOT draw on the walls… LOL

What can you do with $10? When Charlie Kratzer started on the basement art project in his south Lexington home, he was surrounded by walls painted a classic cream. Ten dollars of Magic Marker and Sharpie later, the place was black and cream and drawn all over.

Man decorates basement with $10 worth of Sharpies?

You Know All Those Chubby White Women In Old-Timey Renaissance Art Paintings? And other paintings? THEY'RE ALL THE SAME CHICK! Women in Art

I think they might be cousins…

You CAN learn to love others…

A gift from God…

And more cute pictures…

A teacher asked her students to draw a picture of their favorite Old Testament story, and as she moved around the class, she saw there were many wonderful drawings being done.

Then she came across a boy who had drawn an old man driving what looked like a station wagon. In the back seat were two passengers, both apparently naked.

"It's a lovely picture," said the teacher, "but which story does it tell?"

The boy replied. "Doesn't it say in the Bible that God drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden?"

From Love Those Kids.com

And of course I need to make a plug for “the old man”…

Fellowship with God

Fellowship with GOD. This class teaches who GOD is and how to have fellowship with GOD. It presents what the Bible says about the CREATOR of the heavens and the earth, His proper name "Yahweh," His Son Jesus, His gift of holy spirit, and why both GOD, the Father, and the lamb of GOD, Jesus Christ, are called "Lord." Through careful Bible study, the Fellowship with GOD class also presents what the Holy Bible says about angels, heaven, the devil and his evil spirits, and how to become and live effectively as a Christian.

The Narrow Way Ministry

Welcome to The Narrow Way Ministry. We are an independent Christian publication that focuses on issues that Christians face in their everyday lives and provides answers based on God's Word with thoughts, stories, fun, learning and prayers.

These and other links are available at Alcoholics Anonymous History - Dick B.’s A.A. & Christian Links.

Seattle Rock n Roll Marathon

2009-06-28T09:44:00.000-07:00

Weeks ago Cheryl and I signed up to be volunteers at the first ever Seattle Rock n Roll Marathon. We asked to be at the start area and were assigned a shift of 4:00 AM to 10:00 AM. The marathon and 1/2 marathon were scheduled to start at 7:00 AM.

Cheryl tweaked her ankle on Friday so we decided that she shouldn't go on Saturday - good choice 'cause we walked a LOT!

I got up at 3:00 AM and left the house on the Gold Wing at 3:25. As I rode past the Valley 6 Drive-In Theaters, the movies were STILL showing! Talk about an all nighter!! haha

As instructed I was confronted with a road closure along my route to the volunteer parking area. I asked the cop where volunteer parking was and he replied, "YOU are volunteering!?" "Yup," I replied. He asked where my parking pass was and I said in my pocket under my chaps. "OK", he said, "They'll want to see it up ahead." As I rode past a few more cops they all watched me suspiciously... Like, why can't a volunteer show up on a motorcycle? Huh?

I checked in about 3:45 AM and was almost immediately assigned to a team and whisked off to the start line area. There we had to attach banners to the portable fencing along the chute leaving the start area. It felt like we covered a mile of fence! haha

Then on to the bus unloading area. There we got on each bus as they arrived and instructed the runners where to go ~ what was where ~ especially the port-a-pots. LOL

Then back to the start line area where we performed crowd control. We initially were stopping runners from getting in to "corrals" or groups farther up than they were assigned. Some grumpy people when they realized their friend and they were assigned to different groups...

Once they reached the 27th group (there were 36 altogether) we were moved on to clean-up duties. I was assigned the duty of unclipping the poles/signs marking the various corrals from the fencing. I then unclipped the sign from the poles and disassembled the pvc pipe.

Following that I was done and home just after 9:00. A little sore today, but probably not as sore as the 25,000 participants who ran/walked 13.1 (Half Marathon) or 26.2 (Full Marathon) miles. Here's a summary of the event.

It was quite a festive event. From music and balloons at the start area to bands at every mile marker along the course.

The winner of the full marathon, Peter Omae of Kenya, finished with a time of 2:18:17. That means he ran a pace of 5:17 EVERY mile for 26.2 miles!!! Whoa!

I am thinking if I start training now...

Gold Wing Ride - May 17 2009

2009-05-17T22:35:00.000-07:00

Today was my second long ride for the season and Cheryl’s first time on the bike since 2007!

We traveled 350 miles in beautiful weather, over a variety of road types (freeways, state highways and country (yes country, not county) roads!

We left Kent and headed north on I-5 to Marysville. There we exited I-5 and headed West on Marine Drive traveling through the Tulalip Indian Reservation enroute to Stanwood.

We took a quick break at a Dairy Queen in Stanwood which was originally intended as a bathroom stop, but turned in to an ice cream cone stop as well!! Haha

Following the great ice cream we were back on the road, headed north to Conway on Pioneer Hwy.

From Conway we headed west on Fir Island Rd and then north on Best Rd to Hwy 20.

From there we headed west again crossing the Swinomish Channel just south of Padilla Bay and then nipping the north end of the Swinomish Indian Reservation as we came on to Fidalgo Island.

We remained on Hwy 20 to Sharpes Corner where Hwy 20 turns South towards Deception Pass and Whidbey Island. Along the way we traveled along the shore of Lake Campbell for a few miles. We were literally feet away from the water!

Deception Pass was spectacular as always. After crossing both Deceptionn Pass bridges on to Whidbey Island, we parked the bike and walked back across the bridges. We were able to watch people fish below from boats and from the beach on the Whidbey Island side of the pass and kayakers skillfully maneuver the swift currents.

Then we began our journey home…

We traveled to Snow Goose Produce,
a remarkable little shop! They have seafood, fresh vegetables and fruits, cheeses, wines, flowers, plants, breads and ICE CREAM. The line for the ice cream seemed to go on forever!! Cheryl had some peppermint candy ice cream. They make the waffle cones as fast as people order them…incredible!!

We bought some locally baked bread (they are very focused on supporting local businesses), humus, smoked salmon pate and wine. We then went to a lone picnic table behind the store, overlooking the fields. There we played cards, Five Crowns, ate our food, had some wine and enjoyed the sunshine, the view of Mt Baker, the birds and the nice break.

As we were leaving I heard what sounded like the neighing of a horse…and it was! Haha Two girls had ridden their horses through a field, accompanied by their Chihuahua, just to get ice cream!

I am telling you, for all this store has, I think it’s the ice cream that sustains them!!!

We got back on the road heading for Conway and I-5. Once we hit I-5, we headed south for home.

We stopped at a rest stop just south of Everett and met a couple riding a Gold Wing. Turns out they are the Chapter Directors for a Gold Wing Touring Association out of Auburn – minutes from our home in Kent! We visited for probably half an hour! I think we’ll be joining them for some rides this summer! Check out GWTA ~ Destination Friendship!

We then headed on home arriving about 8:00. It was a wonderful ride and has really excited us both about getting out more on the weekends this summer!!

(You can see a few more pictures on our smugmug site here.)

Enjoying California...Day 5

2009-04-11T09:31:00.000-07:00

Yes, on Friday we again eased in to the day! haha

Somewhere around 11:30 we showed up at mom and Ed's and after visiting a short bit, we head up Hwy 101 to Santa Barbara.

We started out on Stearns Wharf where we found one geocache at the end of the pier, bought some postcards and then hurried to get out of the wind!

Then we walked across Hwy 101 to the original Sambo's Restaurant (opened in 1957) for a late lunch.

We then drove up State St, the main drag through Santa Barbara. There are restaurants, bars and boutique shops galore! We found some parking and then strolled south along State St. We visited some stores, bought a Monoply card game and found some interesting street name signs...

We found this Douglas St sign in a shop called Retroville. Turns out this shop was opened in Port Angeles! The couple that own it just moved the store to Santa Barbara about 3 months ago after living in PA for 13 years. In fact the husband still commutes back to PA for work!

We then found a tasting room for a winery we didn't have time to get to on Tuesday - Kalyra Winery. The winery is owned by two brothers from Adelaide Australia. They make wines both here in Santa Barabara and in Australia. The tasting room definitely had an Australian theme going on!

After visiting the tasting room we headed north along State St back towards the car doing a little window shopping along the way. The crowds had both increased and grown in volume (noise is what I am talking about) since we first arrived!

We headed back to mom and Ed's in Ventura where we played a couple games of Five Crowns, enjoyed visiting with each other, had some cheese & crackers, fruit, popcorn...oh my! haha As the night moved along, everyone became a wee bit rummy and quite silly! LOL (THANKS MOM & ED for the visit to Santa Barbara and your hospitality!!)

And today (Saturday) we must return home.... And wouldn't you know it, the weather outside is the best since we've been here!!! Oh well, probably would have been too hot for us anyway!!

Until later...

Enjoying California...Days 3 and 4

2009-04-09T22:39:00.000-07:00

Well, Wednesday turned out to be a bit of a slowwwwww day...

After easing in to the day (again...) we headed for the ocean with the hopes of finding some caches on Ventura Pier. The first one was gone - muggled, it turns out. We found the second one but couldn't find the third one - but we will.

Afterwards we came back to the hotel where Doug crashed for over 2-1/2 hours. He had a headache, his eyes ached and he just didn't feel well...

We did however, make it to Dougs mom's for dinner. We had a great time visiting, enjoyed a wonderful meal Katherine (Doug's mom) prepared, played Five Crowns and watched the American Idol results.

We were "home" just after 10:00 and went right to bed!

Today (Thursday) we eased in to the day (are you seeing the trend yet?) with breakfast at a local-yokel restaurant - the Vagabond Coffee Shop - here more than 40 years. We played cards over breakfast and then retreated to the hotel for a few more hours. We then headed for Ventura Harbor and Ventura Harbor Village. There we found 6 caches, walked along the beach, had some ice cream and even rented a motor-boat and "cruised" the Ventura Harbor and Ventura Keys - canals, lined with beautiful homes and boats, from kayaks to huge yachts!

As we rounded our first bend we were confronted with a HUGE barge coming from the other direction! Oh my! What do we do!? The barge was taking up ALL of the waterway... We veered right, staying away from the shallow areas, and successfully maneuvered our way past the barge. Whew!

Cheryl...always pushing the envelope...

A scene from our stroll on the beach...

A clever disguise for a cache...

Then we headed for another visit to In-n-Out before retiring to our hotel, accompanied by thunder sans lightening and rain!

Until tomorrow...

California Vacation Day 3

2009-04-08T09:28:00.000-07:00

Rain was in the forecast, but we woke up to another sunny day!

We eased in to the day with plans to head north and do some wine tasting.

First though it was off to the post office for some stamps as we have 11 grandkids to get postcards off to!!

Ed (my step dad - he and my mother live here in Ventura) had mentioned they have a Sideways Winery Tour - a self guided tour of wineries that were in the movie Sideways.

So we got on Hwy 101 and headed north with a destination of Firestone Winery.

We headed towards Santa Barbara traveling along the coast and in sunny weather.

Just past Santa Barbara we turned off on Hwy 154, now going northwest up in to the Santa Ynez Mountains towards Cachuma Lake. We crossed over 2,225 foot San Marcos Pass (this would have been a great ride on the Goldwing!) and then dropped down to Los Olivos.

We stopped at the Los Olivos Grocery - quite the hub of activity - and then headed out in to wine country.

At Firestone Winery in the movie "Sideways", is where the four main characters, Miles, Jack, Maya, and Stephanie are bored with the wine tour and sneak away into the barrel room.

This winery was once part of the Firestone Family's wine and tire fortune. In fact, one of The Bachelor "contestants", Andrew Firestone, great-grandson of Firestone founder Harvey Firestone, made this winery even more well known while on the show, bringing dates here and sipping Firestone wine on the show. All the their wines were good, but their '04 Merlot Reserve and their '05 Cabernet stood out and are now in our wine box to come home with us! :)

Next was Foxen Winery with "OK" wines but our least favorite of the day. In "Sideways," you don't get to see much of this tiny winery. Miles and Jack are wine tasting and when the server leaves for a moment, Jack swiftly grabs the wine bottle and pours a healthy glass for both.

Then on to Rancho Sisquoc Winery. This wasn't a winery seen in Sideways but is near others that were in the movie, plus it was one that sounded interesting. Besides having a wonderfully friendly black and white cat to visit with, this winery had great every-day wines, all reasonably priced. "...as you drive the road that snakes along the
edge of the valley floor to the ranch headquarters
and tasting room, you leave the rush of the present
day behind. The farmhouse and barn date from the
early 1900s..." We ended up buying their '06 Sisquoc River Red and their '06 Syrah. AND we were allowed to pick oranges from one of their orange trees (they had grapefruit trees too)! Simple thing...but what fun!

And last winery for the day turned out to be the most fun... Tres Hermanas Winery in Santa Maria. Both the owner, Paulette Teixeira and winemaker Luke Lindquist were there and very enjoyable to visit with. While there, a family of eight came in - Grandpa, Grandma, Dad, Mom and 4 kids. Also in the tasting room/gift shop was a mechanical horse with leather reigns and saddle. Aha! I asked the parents if it was OK if I paid for each of the kids to ride the horse. They were OK with that and the kids' eyes lit up! They all rode, from the youngest to the oldest. Turns out that if the rider pulls back on the reigns the horse goes faster and the rider looks like they are REALLY on a galloping horse! The gears below are covered in plexiglass so you can also see how everything works! Very cool. All the visitors in the tasting room enjoyed the fun the kids were having. While the oldest child was riding (maybe 10?) the grandma came over to me and said, "This is the first smile we've seen on her all day!" What fun! Tres Hermanas winemaker is the only, or at least one of only a few, local winemakers that uses a grape called Refosco. It's a grape that originated in northeastern Italy and is delicious! We bought 2 bottles of their '05 Refosco...and a watch for Cheryl! haha The winemaker signed our bottles as well...

Interesting note... Both the Rancho Sisquoc and Tres Hermanas wineries are on thousands of acres that were originally for cattle businesses which are still active. The wineries and vineyards are really a second enterprise on these properties.

We decided to swing in to Los Olivos to see if there was a place for dinner. We asked a couple on the main street - yes we just stopped right in the middle of the main street - reminds me of Darrington - where there was a good place to eat. They suggested the Los Olivos Cafe.

And yes, this too was a shooting location for the move Sideways! haha

We got "home" about 8:40, in time to watch most of the American Idol and all of Dance with the Stars - Results.

Oh, yes it did rain. The whole time we were up in the Los Olivos/Santa Maria areas! But it really was just a heavy drizzle at most and was very on and off - mostly off. Funny thing is everyone was HAPPY to have the rain. So happy in fact some folks were taking pictures of the rain! haha

Until tomorrow...

California Vacation Day 2

2009-04-08T07:25:00.000-07:00

We awoke to sushine yesterday and eventually a high of somewhere around 73 degress.

We went down to the beach and found a company called Wheel Fun Rentals where we rented Beach Cruisers.

These are Schwinn one-speed bikes with very comfortable seats and you ride sitting up pretty straight.

We hit the bike path and started riding north with no real destination in mind. TEN miles later we ended up at Faria County Campground/Park.

They have a little hamburger stand there. And we were hungry! We had lunch sitting on a picnic table, enjoying the sight and sound of the Pacific Ocean and playing cards. Wonderful!

Here are a couple of pictures taken along the bike path...

Upon our return to the hotel with "slightly wobbly knees" we changed in to swimsuits and headed for the pool and jacuzzi where we spent an hour-and-a-half. Very relaxing. Enough so that I once woke myself up snoring! haha We had the perfect chaise loungers - Cheryl's was in the sun and mine was in the shade but we were still close enough to touch! :)

Then we headed over to my mom's where we visited for awhile and then headed out to a Greek Cafe called Daphne's for dinner. VERY YUMMY! We had a great time visiting and look forward to seeing them again on Wednesday.

Today we are headed north to Santa Barbara County where we plan on visiting some wineries.

Cheers.

California Vacation

2009-04-08T07:16:00.000-07:00

Arrived in Los Angeles on time via a Southwest puddle jumper! haha Actually we only stopped in one city which was Oakland.

Beautiful and sunny in LA. Caught the shuttle to the car rental site and then on to IN-N-OUT Burgers for lunch before hitting the road.

We decided to take the Pacific Coast Highway from LA to Ventura.

The PCH runs from Los Angeles to Olympia WA (although the northern most point is Port Angeles WA as the highway runs along the coast, then east towards Puget Sound and and then south to Olympia). Total length is between 1800 and 2000 miles.

We "dilly-dallied" our way, stopping here and there, some of our own choice, other times dictated by traffic! :) We arrived in Ventura about 6:30. We got settled in to our hotel, the Vagabond Inn and then walked over to the ocean and out on to the Ventura Pier. Very comfortable temperature wise and beautiful weather!

And that's it for now...

Do You Believe in the Power of Prayer?

2009-03-03T20:39:00.000-08:00

Prayer. In my thoughts. I'll be thinking about you...
Is there power in words lifted up to a "higher power"?

Yes. Yes! There is indeed power in prayer! Personally, I believe in praying in the name of Jesus Christ to God our Heavenly Father.

Look at the statistics...

Currently, "they" are saying it is taking an average of four months to find a new job. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on February 6th that 2.6 million people have been out of work for 27 weeks or longer. That is almost SEVEN months.

Agros unfortunately needed to lay off four employees - two at the end of December and two at the end of January. Many people - the Agros Board, Agros employees, family and friends - have prayed for these four people.

All four of these people have found jobs already!

One person had a job within a week. Another had a job within about three weeks. I was offered a job in less than four weeks. And the fourth person secured a job within six weeks.

That is an average of 3.5 weeks.

These four people found jobs 87% faster than nearly THREE million other people who have been out of work for 27 weeks.

OK, OK... I realize that prayers are probably being said for many of the others too. I absolutely trust these prayers are being heard. But I am quite unable to explain God's timing in regards to when and how prayers are answered.

All I am saying is that the favor these four people found in God's eyes should be acknowledged.

I usually read the NIV (New International Version) of the Bible. In this version, Philippians 4:6-7 reads "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus".

The Message translates these verses like this - "Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life."

"Instead of worrying, pray." Why would we be told to pray if it had no value?

Take a look around you. People are praying. In restaurants. In coffeehouses. On park benches. On the football field. Even where prayer has been banned, people are praying.

Is there power in prayer?

I say, "Yes, there is power in prayer. And in fact, when I pray, it is with GREAT expectation that my prayers are heard and answered...in God's way and in God's timing."

I searched the web and found studies done on the power of prayer. Some concluded prayer made a difference. Others concluded prayer did not make a difference.

Mark Twain popularized a saying by Benjamin Disraeli, "There are three kinds of lies - lies, damned lies, and statistics."

We can all find studies and reports to support whatever it is we want to believe.

But the words of the Bible, all inspired by God, say there is power in prayer.

I believe Him.

(pictures taken from FaceBook pages)

Good News I

2009-01-16T09:54:00.000-08:00

One of my uncles, Tim, has dedicated his blog this year to Good News!

He says on his blog, “As we make plans for the New Year let us keep in mind all the fantastic good things that happen in a year and forget those unhappy and sad things that seem to be the highlight of every news cast and every conversation.”

I think it's a great idea!

Below are some of the sites he shared and a couple more.

I also thought that it would be cool if your comments told good news stories themselves! Tell about something in your own life – about your kids, your mate, yourself, your neighbor, etc. There are probably a ton of things that bring a smile to your face or a chuckle in to your voice…THOSE are Good News stories! I think it would be awesome if you shared the news here (or on Tim’s blog).

And share the URL (link) to online Good News stories or sites!

Well, as Tim also said, here’s to a year filled with Good News!

Only Positive News
Positive news updates and inspiring stories from around the world.

Only-Positive-News.com provides you with an alternative news service that provides positive news updates and inspiring stories from around the world. We are also dedicated to finding, celebrating and promoting people from all walks of life who are making a positive contribution and making this world a better place.

Our vision is “Empowering People for a Better World”.

Alltop
All the top Good and Uplifting news.

We help you explore your passions by collecting stories from “all the top” sites on the web. We’ve grouped these collections — “aggregations” — into individual Alltop sites based on topics such as environment, photography, science, Muslim, celebrity gossip, military, fashion, gaming, sports, politics, automobiles, and Macintosh. At each Alltop site, we display the headlines of the latest stories from dozens of sites and blogs.

The Alltop good news page is part of Alltop’s vast collection.

and now for the good news
Positive news to inform, inspire, and fill you with optimism!

One of their goals is to…Build a Good News community that’s fun, informative, and reality changing—when we spread good news, we change the world.

Happy News

We believe virtue, goodwill and heroism are hot news. That's why we bring you up-to-the-minute news, geared to lift spirits and inspire lives. Add in a diverse team of Citizen Journalists reporting positive stories from around the world, and you've got one happy place for news.

"Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." - Abraham Lincoln

GoodNewsNetwork

"I am a hospital CEO, about to live the dream of an early retirement. Providing Leadership in health care is super-satisfying but unimaginably hectic. Starting my day with good news in the past year truly has been an immeasurable help to me as we built and opened a new wing of our hospital."

- Gisèle Guénard RN BScN MEd, VisionarEase Inc. CEO

Michael and Marit

2009-01-14T07:14:00.000-08:00

Some 14 years ago, Cheryl had a foreign exchange student from Germany stay with her and her family. His name is Michael. He became friends with Cheryl's oldest son Greg, who is similar in age. Greg and Michael have stayed in contact all these years.

Michael married Marit in 2001 after their "meant to be" meeting at a church camp where they were both working. The both of them visited the states in 2002 going to Disneyland with Cheryl and some of her family.

Then in 2008 they decided to buy a ticket that would allow them one year to fly to various parts of the globe.

They started in Japan where Marit was born to her missionary parents. Then they traveled to New Zealand where they fell in love with the beach. (they lived in Gisborne, New Zealand map. Read more about Gisborne here.) They were there for 8 months before heading to the United States.

They arrived in California where they visited a bit, including San Francisco, before heading to Boise to stay with Greg & Megan.

Cheryl and I were in Boise for New Years and they hitched a ride back to Seattle (well actually to Kent!) with us. They've managed to navigate the bus system and endure our city tours. Cheryl has enjoyed fixing them breakfasts and we have both enjoyed hearing their stories and seeing their pictures (even if they were on a Mac).

They traveled to Vancouver, Canada via Amtrak Monday and Tuesday, returning late last night. They leave for Boise mid-day today and then for Germany on February 5th.

It's been our privilege to host them and I hope we remain in touch vicariously enjoying their adventures!

(A few more pictures of their visit can be seen here.)

Update from the Haleys

2009-01-11T08:18:00.000-08:00

The last few weeks have been filled with a lot of fun and adventure!
The week before Christmas it started to snow and forgot to stop!

We had 15" eventually at our place in Kent!

You can check out a few more pictures at The Homefront.

Christmas was a quiet one for us... We got up late, Cheryl cooked a yummy breakfast and then we went to see TWO movies. We saw Marley and Me that was supposed to be a comedy...but it really is a tear jerker! So while we weren't expecting how the movie played out, it was well done. Then we went to see Four Christmases - OK, but wouldn't see it again. I do not like going to movies - would rather enjoy a DVD in the comfort of my home where I can pause when I need to... So these two years satisfied my year's quota! haha

Then on Saturday the 27th, we visited my sister Diana in Everett. Her son Ben was home from California and she hosted a game night.

Who was there? My sister Debbie and her husband Wes, Diana and Bob of course, my niece Jeanette, Ben too of course, my nephew Colin and his wife Isha and Cheryl and I. Diana served up a delicious lasagna, followed by a banana-split fest! We played Pictionary for awhile (what a hoot!) and then on to Oh Hell! What would a Haley gathering be without a rousing game of Oh Hell? More pictures can be seen here.

Then on Sunday the 28th, we headed up to Marissa's (my daughter) home in Oso where they had over three feet of snow! We normally celebrate Christmas with her on Christmas Eve but the weather made that impossible this year. Thankfully their road and driveway had been cleared before we went up! We had dinner, opened presents and played Guitar Hero. It was a wonderful time! Check out the pictures here.

After a couple of busy days at work on the 29th and 30th, we left for Boise at 5:00 AM on New Year's Eve. This is where most of Cheryl's family lives.

I had a goal of finding my 300th cache in 2008. I needed 4 more. So I decided to find them on the way to Boise. We found three in Cle Elum, WA - all buried under snow of course! haha We couldn't find the 4th one. I needed just ONE more. I had however, obtained information for caches farther east on I-90, forgetting that we headed south at I-82. So on the way in to Boise, I called Cheryl's brother and he gave me information about a cache in Nampa - found it - #300! woohoo A few more pics can be seen here.

New Year's Eve was spent quietly at her daughter Monica's home. Then on New Year's Day, we went over to Greg and Megan's place (Greg is Cheryl's oldest son) for a family visit and chili-feed. And as happens too often I think, Grandpa was scolded for making too much noise with the grandkids. Geesh!!

Friday found Cheryl completing appointments she had made before we went to Boise, Monica was at work and I, Grandpa Doug, left in charge of the kids! Monica's warning as she left for work was, "Doug, if anything gets broken today..." LOL After the kids did homework and we played a little Rock Band, we went geo-caching (found 6 out of 8 we looked for) and then grocery shopping for dinner. Mya managed the cart and Reghan checked off the list. We couldn't find the canned olives. Reghan (9) sees an employee coming down the aisle, who would probably have walked right by this "little kid" had she not stepped right in front of her, looked up and demanded to know where the canned olives were! haha We made individual mini pizzas for dinner - yummy! After dinner, we celebrated Christmas, including Megan's 9-box $1 gift! haha

On Saturday, Greg, Caleb (Cheryl's younger son), Mya, Reghan, Tanner (Monica's three children) and I headed for Bogus Basin for a few hours on the slopes. Reghan and I were the only skiers. The others boarded. It was fun for me to see the kids board and ski - they are doing great up there! Although I must say there were times when I had a difficult time keeping up with Reghan! haha (Thanks for driving Caleb!) I hadn't been up skiing in 3 to 4 years. It was a great time and I can't wait to head up to Crystal Mountain.

Sunday found us relaxing but with an appointment at Greg and Megan's at 4:00 PM for family pictures. We took the pictures (thanks for your help Michael), had KFC for dinner and then watched Mama Mia!

Cheryl and I were leaving for home on Monday morning. We'd rented a SUV for two reasons - one was to accommodate the load we took over and the other was to have the 4WD. We didn't really need the 4WD on the way over. A fact that I complained about. Monday morning found 3 inches of snow on the ground and more falling. Eghads! We loaded up, said goodbye to Monica and her family and headed for Greg and Megan's to say our good-byes and pick up Michael and Marit.

Who are Michael and Marit? Michael is from Germany and stayed with Cheryl as a foreign exchange student 14 years ago! He is now married to Marit - for 7 years. They have been traveling the world and have been in Boise for a few weeks. They decided to come see Seattle too so a ride back with us made sense!

We reached Ontario, OR at about 9:30 AM. There had been snow and ice on the road the whole way. There we learned that the Blues were closed in at least two places - West of Baker and East of Pendelton - with no projections of when they would open. So after conferring with the State Patrol, we decided to head across Oregon on Hwy 20. It was a beautiful drive - a solitary one too! Everything was white! Oh, yes, good thing we had 4WD! haha Our original plan was to drive to Bend then up to Portland and home. Around Burns though we learned that the roads up to I-90 were OK, so we headed north on Hwy 395. Up and down passes ranging in altitude from 3900 feet to almost 5200 feet. What an experience. When we arrived in Pendelton, we learned that Snoqualmie Pass was now closed! So we headed West along the gorge to Portland and then up I-5 to home. (Of course less than 48 hours later that section of I-5 was closed too - whew!) Trip time home? Sixteen hours! But we made it safely and were warm and well fed, so can't really complain!

More pictures of our trip to Boise and the drive home can be seen here.

Snowing at the Haleys

2008-12-21T22:39:00.000-08:00

I know we may not be as cold as some places and that we have less snow than some. However, we are experiencing a major event here. Low temperature records that have stood for 44 years are being broken and we have the largest snowstorm in over 10 years!

The entire covered portion of the deck is coated in snow from 1" to 2+". This snow was blown in from yesterdays winds. And how weird to have drifting snow in Seattle - can't remember the last time I saw that happen! It's 26 degrees now (10:00 PM - Sunday) and it has been snowing since about 5:00.

We have 7" on our front deck...

Out near the front fence where the snow drifted a bit, we have 12"...

And the Toyota is disappearing beneath the snow...

A few more pictures can be see on smugmug.

IF we go anywhere tomorrow it will be with chains...

Babies and Fathers...

2008-12-21T16:20:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from the Haleys - 2008

2008-12-06T07:10:00.000-08:00

So what’s been happening with the Haley’s over the last 12 months called 2008? LOTS!! (The blue, underlined words are links to either pictures on smugmug or other sites.)

Our grandkids turned two, three, five(2), nine(2), ten(3) and thirteen(2). Yup, eleven WONDERFUL grandkids!! Oh, oh…did you notice 2 of them are turning 13 in 2009!? Eeeghads!! Haha

During 2008 Cheryl became the Business Operations Manager at Skyline Properties and Doug is transitioning out of a fund-raising role at Agros International to a data-base/information systems management role.

The economic downturn has of course affected our industries as well as making us re-think how we are living… We have decided to list our house, even though we may take a loss given the current market, and buy a motor home. We’ll be able to live in it much cheaper than our house, be closer to work and have more free time. Stay tuned to this channel for more regarding this adventure!

Chronologically…

Can’t forget Christmas last year… Marissa (Doug’s daughter) joined us for Christmas eve – dinner and presents. We alternate years. Always fun to see Christmas through a child’s eye!

January saw us kicking of the New Year in Boise. We had a family get together with Cheryl’s family at a Choice Hotel where we ate, swam, ate, played cards/games and ate some more. We also had “Christmas” with Cheryl’s children and their families along with Cheryl’s mom and dad. Doug went snowmobiling for the first time, crashing only twice! Haha We visited a House of Scones in Boise, one of Cheryl’s favorite memories from the past.
Doug also got to introduce a family friend to geo-caching! A fun weekend! Take a look at some pictures - Album 1 and Album 2.

And then in February Cheryl and I headed for Europe! It was Cheryl’s first time traveling internationally and was a chance for Doug to visit some of the places he lived/visited 20 years ago. Yes, a lot has changed! We flew to London first, where we took in a tour on the River Thames, visited Windsor Castle, Harrods and even rented a car and went out to Bath and Stonehenge one day. On the first night there, I surprised Cheryl with a reserved ride on The Eye – with a rose, chocolates and champagne! The pubs were great…or maybe we are just weird because we like pub food. Then we took the “new” chunnel train from London to Paris – very fast! And of course leaving the train station for our hotel “only a couple of blocks away” we sort of missed a turn. Doug's French? Oh, about 2 words! Haha We eventually found our way to a lovely little hotel – Villa St Martin - that we called home for the next few days. We had our picture taken with a Parisian policman on rollerblades along the River Seine. One of the days there we took the train to Versailles and spent some time roaming around the castle, town and shops…where Doug managed to spend $8 on a mango. But it was GOOD! Haha

March found us winging our way to Las Vegas. Well actually to Henderson, where we met up with a couple – Cliff and Susie - that Cheryl has known for some years. We ate, visited, ate, shopped, ate, did some geocaching and ate some more! Haha OK, yes, we even hit a few slot machines!

March also brought the St. Patrick’s Day Dash in Seattle. Doug’s brother Dan beat him, but their nephew Ben, who was visiting from California, ran circles around both of them! Haha Check out a few pics from the weekend.

April brought a visit from Caleb, Cheryl’s son, who lives in Boise. We went go-cart racing and out for lunch at the Crab Pot in Seattle to celebrate his 20th birthday. We also took a weekend trip to Spokane to visit family – some who were from Seattle! Haha We went to a favorite nightclub of Dan’s, took in a niece’s soccer game, did some wine tasting, had a BBQ at Doug’s brother Dan’s home and generally goofed off! Oh, and we took a crew of NINE geo-caching one day!

May saw us heading for Bainbridge Island and a wine tasting for 10 with the wine maker at Eleven Winery. Doug’s sister and her husband & two of their friends, one of Doug’s nieces and two of her friends and our neighbor had a great time! Yes, we even did some geo-caching on the way!

June was busy! We started with a card party at our house…oh! I mean a surprise 70th birthday party for Doug’s dad! Somehow we fit 53 people in this place – along with some canopies and HUGE patio heaters!

Then off we flew to
San Antonio to spend a few days with Doug’s daughter Talya and her family who were vacationing there and Corpus Christi. We started the trip downtown San Antonio, near the Alamo, where we did a “dinner cruise” on the San Antonio River. We then spent a couple of days at Sea World – a LOT of fun! We managed to find a winery in New Braunfels and did some geocaching too!

From there we went to San Diego to spend a few days with Doug’s other daughter Marissa who was vacationing there with her family. We did some boogie boarding, spent time at the beach, did some geo-caching, visited wineries in Temecula and even spent the better part of a day in Tijuana, Mexico!

In July we traveled to Boise for the 4th of July. We returned with three grandkids (Cheryl’s daughter Monica’s children) and a baby-sitting niece who all stayed with us for 2 weeks. We toured Seattle, spent a weekend at Long Beach and took a ferry ride to Bainbridge Island…for pizza! Haha The Long Beach trip included a horseback ride on the beach – awesome! And we managed to squeeze in a Mariner’s game too – that they WON! Whoa! Check out some pics here.

August started with a “fishing trip” to Neah Bay… Doug went with his sister, brother-in-law, two nephews and a niece’s brother on a charter in to Canadian waters where we were ready to bring home ice chests full of halibut and lingcod. Well, my share of the “catch” wouldn’t have filled a shoebox!! Oh well, we had fun visiting and exploring…and geo-caching!

Later in the month Cheryl’s son Greg and his family visited. We took in the Woodland Park Zoo, the Troll, Pike Place Market and the Rainforest Café! We had a great time and even managed a few games of Guitar Hero!

In September we headed for Troutdale, Oregon. There we attended a Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage seminar presented by Doug’s cousin Rebecca and her husband Randy. It was a great seminar…and yes we DID laugh! We headed home Sunday morning in time to attend a Seattle Mariners – New York Yankees game. And yes they won! In fact, the Mariners won all four games we went to this year. What are the odds? We should have been paid to be at the games!!

October found us in Ocean Shores where Doug was volunteering as a Washington Wine Ambassador. We had an ocean-view room for two nights, played on the beach, visited some local shops and did some geocaching. We also rented an electric boat and spent a couple of hours cruising canals at Ocean Shores – something we will definitely do again!

Later in the month we traveled to Yakima for a weekend where we watched Cheryl’s niece Mikaela from Boise participate in a large marching band competition. It was a lot of fun!

November slowed us down a bit…

Cheryl had major back surgery on the 3rd…with 8 weeks of recovery ahead of her. During the first week after the surgery, her daughter-in-law Megan visited helping Doug take care of Cheryl as he was running Agros’ annual fundraiser. During that same time Cheryl’s daughter Monica came over too with her children for a vacation. We visited a bit here and were all able to eat at a nearby Chinese buffet while Cheryl rested at home. She went back to work full time the week after Thanksgiving and is getting stronger by the day!

Even so, we still celebrated our 3rd anniversary on the 14th with a quiet meatloaf and garlic mashed potato dinner at home.

Doug also spent a lot of time working on deck repairs – we painted the deck surface earlier in the year and now are replacing the lattice work and painting all of the railing white. Here's an attempt at a before and after picture...

We have a lot already planned for 2009…and I would tell you about it…
but that would spoil next year’s letter now wouldn’t it?

So that’s it from the Doug and Cheryl Haley household for now.

May the Lord bless your Christmas celebrations and be your guiding star in the coming New Year!

Just stuff #2...

2008-11-09T21:06:00.000-08:00

In geography, the antipodes of any place on Earth is its antipodal point; that is, the region on the Earth's surface which is diametrically opposite to it. Two points which are antipodal to one another are connected by a straight line through the centre of the Earth. Full article at Wikipedia. Check out Google Maps antipode map

Name that Candy Bar game.

Check out wikipedia's Unusual Articles including a picture of a cow on a pole with horns taken in Seattle in 1970...

Do you love popping bubble wrap? Pop to your heart's content here. Be sure to try out Maniac Mode!

Update #5 on Cheryl

2008-11-09T18:18:00.000-08:00

Cheryl has been able to be out of bed more yesterday and today. And she has been able to sit at the dining room table or on the couch for longer periods of time. She started taking 2 painkillers every four hours along with 1 muscle relaxer 3x a day. She's down to one painkiller every three hours now. The incision is looking good. Muscle/nerve spasms that were occurring at night seem to have decreased. And she's just right now taking her 2nd shower! Thanks for the prayers!

Update #4 on Cheryl

2008-11-04T19:23:00.000-08:00

The hospital released Cheryl this morning at about 10:00. I carefully drove her home and helped her settle in to bed. Then I ran down to the drugstore to get her meds for her, which she consumed with a yummy PB&J sandwich and Citrucel... haha

Getting in and out of bed is difficult, as well as rolling over. Once she is up she can slowly walk around the house...and even is getting her sense of humor back (not drug induced either! haha).

Here are some pictures from a booklet the hospital provided us. I like it - comic book style - something at my level... LOL

Here are some views of a healthy lumbar spine from three different angles.

Here is a shot of what spinal stenosis looks like. They are showing a bone spur pressing against the spinal cord.

And lastly, here is an image of what they did - a laminectomy. Rather than removing the entire lamina as shown in the picture, the surgeon made holes in each lamina and was able to reach and remove (rotor-rooter) the bones spurs.

Update #3 on Cheryl

2008-11-03T22:53:00.001-08:00

OK...late night update before I turn in...

Cheryl is doing great. No side affects (or effects) from the anesthesia nor the pain meds. They added something to the anesthesia to help her not get sick and they are using a narcotic other than morphine.

She's been up out of bed twice. Has eaten a bit. And we even got to watch Dancing with the Stars together!

Incision drainage is good. Vitals are good. And when she asked for her Blistex, I knew she was gonna be all right! haha

It's a big scar, maybe seven inches, but he had to get to 4 vertebrae! Cheryl is already noticing relief in her leg! Thanks be to God.

Hopefully she'll get released in the morning.

More later.

Update #2 on Cheryl

2008-11-03T22:52:00.000-08:00

A little more information...

90 minutes. Amazing. They drilled holes in the lamina of four vertebrae so they could clean bone spurs out of the spinal cord canal. Doctor said no disc damage and that surgery is being counted as a success (right diagnosis – right treatment). Now we have to wait and see how long it takes for the spinal cord to decompress - or how much relief Cheryl actually gets from the pain, numbness and aching.

Currently she is more uncomfortable than anything else. One quickly gets tired of laying on their back! But the morphine on demand helps. Haha. Anyway, hopefully she can go home tomorrow!

Update on Cheryl

2008-11-03T15:56:00.000-08:00

Doctor came by at 3:02... Amazing - less than 90 minutes. He cut through the lamina of 4 vertebrae to clean out bone spurs. No disc problems noted. He said the diagnosis was spot on and that the surgery should definitely bring relief. She'll be in recovery until about 4:00. More later...

Cheryl's Surgery

2008-11-02T12:56:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd invite you to support Cheryl through her upcoming surgery and recovery...

On Monday, November 3rd, she goes in for fairly major back surgery - Decompressive Laminectomy (non-laparoscopic) - to treat a condition called Spinal Stenosis, a condition due to narrowing of the spinal cord causing nerve pinching which leads to persistent pain in the buttocks, limping, lack of feeling in the lower extremities, and decreased physical activity.

Surgery time is 1:00 PM and they expect that unless there are any complications she'll be released from the hospital on Tuesday the 4th. Doctors are suggesting a two to three week stay-at-home recovery period with eight weeks to fully recover and get back to full physical activity.

So, would you pray through this with us? And here are some other ways you can support and show your love for her...

Send her an email at the hospital (after 1:00 on the 3rd)
Call her at the hospital - 425-688-5000 (main number)
Send card or flowers to her at home - 11706 SE 259th Pl, Kent WA 98030

I'll put an update on our blog and the MyFamily site Monday afternoon or evening and another one when we get home Tuesday afternoon/evening.

Thanks,
Doug
caretaker of his bride, his princess...

Agros gets mentioned on some blogs...

2008-10-18T08:45:00.000-07:00

Agros International periodically shows up on other web sites and blogs. So when I can, I'll provide links to them here.

Do you know of anywhere Agros is referenced??

The Acoustic Ninja Strikes Again: Missile Bell - the 10/17 blog post.

Poverty - the 10/17 post on a blog named Intimacy With The Almighty.

Ocean Shores and Geocaching...

2008-10-12T21:56:00.000-07:00

We went to Ocean Shores this past weekend, staying in Olympia Friday night and at the Quinault Beach Resort Casino Saturday night - right on the beach.

What took us to Ocean Shores? As a Washington State Wine Ambassador, I volunteered from 2:00 to 5:30 on Saturday for a Lions Club fundraiser where they needed wine pourers.

We had a fun time geocaching and checking out Ocean Shores. We bought WAY too much fudge!! haha

More pictures of our gecaching can be seen here.

A few more pictures of our weekend can be seen here.

Sanctification

2008-10-12T20:47:00.000-07:00

A discussion was recently had on sanctification, albeit brief, on my family's web site. So I was surprised when seraching on my favorite verse, Philippians 1:6, to find an article titled Does Philippians 1:6 Guarantee Progressive Sanctification?

Check it out!

Part 1
Part 2

Just stuff...

2008-10-10T06:04:00.000-07:00

Here's an interesting angle on our current economic "problem". Check out Matt Trivisonno's Blog post - Withholding Taxes Chart

Here you can test your eye-hand coordination! Check out the eyeballing game. Here's a little hint for you...what is a parallelogram?

Death by Caffeine. An interesting way to look at caffeine! haha

Forgotten medical cures for common ailments... For instance, how about the entry for Acid Reflux - I've taken all kinds of medications for my acid reflux. I've taken both of the purple pills and many other color pills for it. Nothing works instantly except nutmeg from the kitchen. Take a half teaspoon in the palm of your hand and gulp it down. It's natural and gives you that instant relief. It works better than any of the expensive medications that my doctor has prescribed for me. See more of these home remedies at Forgotten Medical Cures.

Chronotopic Anamorphosis from Marginalia Project on Vimeo.

And last for now, but certainly not the least...

The Facts from Ross Perot