A Natural Observance

...It's like, things are on fire one minute....

... though inevitably the fire's quenched...

and, though not ever wicked, the most blameless things begin to melt.

(sunflower)

demonstrating that it always seems untimely.

Though memoriam remain....

things go on, naturally.

Renewal is a true constant.

True, there is virtue in preparing for what is to come.

And there's always a bit of grace.
Or what ever word has been used to describe it.
It is there. Naturally.

And I am acutely grateful for it all.
I'm communing for my blessings, family, modern convenience, and life as I quietly observe.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Love, N.W.

Art is a Gratitude. To Create is to Demonstrate It.

Glass installations by Dale Chihuly.

When was the last time you went out and stopped to sense with your senses and appreciate handiwork? It's been a little while, for me.

We all have a desire to create. It just depends on how effective we are at listening to self-criticism. And how much we give our time to the worthy pursuit that it can be.
(Giving myself a half-point for perusing through shops on Etsy.)

Embroidered watch faces
Handmade Pottery

It seems that I've been in a little stream bed of enlightenment.
And if you have two additional minutes, please read:
The Stream bed:

It's an interesting process, I think. An appreciation turning into an action happens here a little and there a little.
But it's hard to miss because it is everywhere. It can change me.

And I'm tinkering with the idea that I am capable of it too.

It's been a while. For art, I mean. I'm still dancing, writing, cooking, agriculture-ing, designing, and taking photographs.

But I'm drawn to more....
It's good for me, and
I'm too grateful to resist the attempt.

(Self-portrait in "End of the Day" Reflection, Chihuly.)

The City of Destiny and Hurricane Ridge

Two things:

1.) My dad jokes that when he comes to visit us here, in the far reaches of the Pacific Northwest, they are like the Beverly Hillbillies. It's like "the country folk in the big city."

They are indeed the Clampetts. And I think that is endearing, because hey-- I still feel like that, sometimes!

And I don't think there's a dern thing wrong with that.

2. As your tour guide, here's the scoop. Tacoma's nickname is "The City of Destiny." We've done the Seattle tour a few times with the Shawver's so when they came up for just a spell, we spent the day in Tacoma. And Tacoma is pretty brilliant in the fall.

Crisp and cool, but with a salty and mellow touch to the skin.

Plus, deuce nickel tre seems a little more sophisticated; holla.

...I think sometimes the industrial Tacoma makes Seattle look completely main stream.

There was only one problem.

We met them there on a Monday. Many things are closed on Mondays, come to find out. Including the car museum, the Promax shop, the Museum of Glass, you get the idea. So with the open attractions that took patronage, we played leap-frog with a school group exploring from New Zealand who found the same thing to be true about Mondays for tourists.

...Maybe the Monday wasn't a problem after all.

We had no trouble with any crowds or parking whatsoever.

Just the way the "Clampetts" like it.

We bought a large box plus a grocery bag of "miswraps" and "booboo's" from the Almond Roca Factory; a  charming idea. My husband's great-grandmother used to work there. And my family thought it was a good deal: they brought out my coveted Idaho potatoes and honey and they went home with chocolate.

This federal building used to be the Tacoma train station. It is like a tabernacle-city-relic.

Dale Chihuly, a Tacoma native with a patch over his eye, and world renowned glass artist, has changed the way I see things. 

He also has these pieces in one of the coolest government buildings I've ever been in.

Everything is remarkably over-sized.

Both art and architecture.

You can walk under this sky bridge exhibit down town. (Walk under the only other at the Bellagio Casino, Las Vegas.)

And Tacoma has even more history. And awesome place names like "Commencement Bay."

Stadium high school used to be a ritzy hotel.

Where's the football field? Down there. Duh. --I would be an awesome tour guide, right? Go right ahead and punt to that ocean liner!

There are still grand homes and cobble streets in some parts of town.

It was a beautiful T-town day.

There are parks in the area (Point Defiance).

And then we headed to Port Angeles.

Olympic National Park, aka my back yard.

The clearest day at the Hurricane Ridge look-out, ever. Lucky us! Seeing Mt. Baker, the Sequim Spit, and light reflecting off buildings on Vancouver Island (Canada).

It was a pleasant time and sooo good to have them come! They even bought me a birthday cake.

This was easily the best picture I had of it.

Happy Trails, Shawvers!

Love Ya'll!

Woodhouse Pics 2010

Here we are!

Thanks goes to A.B. for all your help and patience with our shenanigans, short notice.

Thanks to Jake for wearing the pink shirt that he wanted.

Thanks goes to AllieCat for being fun, smiley, and cute.

Thanks goes to Miss De for being cute, smiley, and fun.

I'm grateful for how beautiful the Salt Creek area is and that I live where I do.

A big thanks to the weather, and the fact that nobody was sick, bleeding or had (too many) scars.

And thanks to me for taking these before I chipped my tooth. (Yep.)

Family Christmas Card Picture is checked off my list,

Now on to feathering the nest-- and other various projects

In case we host (as you may have guessed)

THANKSGIVING!