The Voice of An Angel

Just a quick entry to let you all know I got Barb's (http://journals.aol.com/mastersblynn/ConfessionsOfAnAngelWaitress/) C.D.  I played it today in the break room while I was eating my lunch.  It has some great songs on it and if you haven't got one.....contact Barb at; mastersBLynn @aol.com ,   I'm sure she can help you out.

Last week all of us (160 spaces) in the mobile home park, where I live,  were notified that on Tuesday May 30th the power company would be installing new underground cables and the power would be out from 8am until 8:30pm.  Ok, I think...I work from 7am to 3:30pm so I can get up and get out of here before they shut the power off.  And when I get home at 4pm, it's still light, I can feed the cat, I can't vacuum but I can sweep the kitchen floor. Oh..I better plan on going out and getting something to eat.  I had the whole evening planned out.  So I came home, changed clothes, fed the cat, swept the kitchen floor and took off for the local Mexican place (no..not Taco Bell).  While on the way to the restaurant, I got a call from a friend and when I mentioned my "no power dilemma" she said "well when you're thru eating...stop by."  So I did.  I stayed there until about 8pm then left, stopped at the store got a gallon of milk and headed home.  It was about 8:45pm when I turned into the main entrance of the park and I knew I was in trouble.  There was this huge trench along the front of the clubhouse and about 30 people standing around with the power guys gazing into the trench.  I drove on by, heading for my place and then it dawned on me that none of the coach lights at each mailbox were on. Ok...so they'll probably get the power on any minute.  My first order of business when I got in the house was to round up the flashlights and check to see if my battery clock was set to the right time.  I brushed my teeth and quickly washed my face not wanting to use too much warm water in case the power is still off in the morning  so I can take a shower before work.  Anyway, I usually read before going to sleep, it's a long time habit.  It's really difficult to lay in bed reading with a flash light balanced on your chest.  Finally I gave up and turned out the light (flash light that is) and went to sleep.  During the night I woke and found the power had been restored, so I reset my clock radio (I must remember to put a new battery in it) and went back to sleep until 4:45am when I normally awake on work days.   I have two lights (one outside light and one in the living room) on timers...you know, so they go on and off at certain times.  This morning I reset the timers and off to work I went.  When I came home this afternoon it was soon obvious that the power had been off again.  The outside light was on and it's not supposed to come on until 8pm.  Sure enough I checked with my neighbor and he confirmed my suspicions, the power was off four hours again today.  So I reset my clock radio, the timers and hopefully that's the end of it.   One thing I know, I would never have made a good pioneer, my gosh they didn't even have flashlights.       

Thanks again Barb, for letting us know about your CD, I love it.   Until next time...Linda

PHOTO SCAVENGER HUNT # 77

The entries for Photo Scavenger Hunt #77 will be due on Sunday, June 4, 2006 at 11:00 PM EST from Val at; http://journals.aol.com/valphish/ThereisaSeason/entries/1728

Category:  Nature Scene

Place the link to your entry in the comments section below.  Thanks for playing!  Have fun! xox

I know tulip season is over but I love them so....I took this picture the end of April 2006 at a bulb farm in Puyallup, WA.  They are just a memory now until next Spring, so I'm glad I have some pictures.    Linda

MONDAY MORNING QUESTION

Monday Morning Question from;

http://journals.aol.com/valphish/ThereisaSeason/entries/1729

What is the strangest thing in your refrigerator?

I just checked it out and there's really nothing in there that's out of place.  I have the usual food items in there.  Now, I do keep the bread in the fridge....is that strange?  I do it because, especially in the summer when it's warm, bread tends to get moldy and I get real upset when I want a piece of toast and the bread is covered in mold.  I find if I keep it in the refrigerator, it may get slightly stale but at least it's not moldy.   I have no fishing bait in there like my journal buddy, Jan, over in the U.K. that's for sure !   

Today, being Memorial Day...I wanted to do something special on that theme.  But, then in thinking about it....I decided everyday should be Memorial Day.   We should never forget those who have given the supreme sacrifice for our freedoms.  I dare say there are some countries, even in this day and age, where people can not get on line and express themselves in a public forum like our Internet journals.  Even the freedom to disagree with or bash our public officials is an act that brings imprisonment or death in some countries.  We take so much for granted at times.  Let us never forget that "Freedom Is Never Free."       I do want to mention and honor the 137 military service members from the state of Washington or from bases in the state who have given their lives in the global war on terrorism.   I think especially of their families and friends who's lives will never be the same because of their loss.         Linda    

 

 

Memorial Day Weekend Saturday

It's rained on and off all day, but it's not really cold. Just drizzle.... I dragged friend Bob out to a movie this afternoon.  We went to the Grand Cinema (small privately owned theater here in town) and saw "Kinky Boots" based on a true story of a faltering English shoe factory that found a way to become successful once again rather than closing up.  It was good...touching and also funny at times.  On the way back we stopped and did some shopping at the Goodwill Outlet.  I had stopped there the other day and they were getting tons of used books.  They sell hardcover books for 50 cents and soft cover and kids books for 25 cents each.  I found some that were brand new, still in their cellaphane wrapper.  They also sell all clothes, etc for $1.39 a pound.  I found several new towels, amd some of those wonderful flour sack dish towels, all decorated with embroidered  little designs. I'll just wash them with bleach and they'll be fit to use.  

I am so excited...waiting for me on my front porch yesterday was a package from Qwest (the local phone company). The box contained my high speed modem and directions for getting it going.  It's a partnership between Qwest and AOL and costs the same as my monthy AOL.  I can now log on in about 4 seconds and emails and journal entries with pictures open immediately.  Before I could do my nails waiting for some entries to open.  All this and my phone is not tied up because...well I don't understand all the techinal stuff but I can now be online and use the phone at the same time. 

I'm so proud of my journal friend Jan in the U.K.  Her journal was featured on the U.K. AOL opening page.  If you don't already read her journal be sure and check it out.   http://journals.aol.co.uk/jeadie05/Serendipity/    She's a delightful lady!        Way to go Jan !

Well, I'm full of popcorn but need to make a salad or cook some broccoli so I have something healthy in my belly this evening. So until next time......Linda

Monday Morning

 

 Just a brief entry before I head out to work.  The 80 degree weather is gone for awhile, followed by 60 degrees and rain.  Last night there was quite a thunder storm, with a house just a few miles south of here being struck by lightning.  They had a small fire but the local fire department soon had it out.  They say we're 1 inch behind in our normal rainfall for May...so there's just 3 more days to make that up. 

 

Happy Monday to you all....Until next time, Linda

Saturday

Friday was actually overcast and finally cooler than it had been earlier in the week.  When I got off work at 3:30pm it was actually beginning to rain and continued thru the evening.  When I got home, I moved all the hanging baskets out from under the porch roof so they would get a good soaking.  Well, the rain didn't last long, in fact this morning everything was dried out again.   Today it was cooler than earlier in the week but sunny.  I WANT RAIN !!  Sunday afternoon, I'll be watering everything.

I went to lunch today (Red Lobster-yum) with a group of former co-workers. We all worked at a little hospital here in town that doesn't exist anymore.  We get together every few months.  One of group, Denise,  is moving away, back to Pennsylvania so it was the last time she'll be able to join us unless we can catch up with her when she comes out to visit.  We always have such a good time...it's nice to "catch-up."

After I left the Red Lobster, I delivered an Avon, mailed some bills and stopped at Safeway and bought few groceries.  I also filled up the gas tank ...it was only down to not quite half full but I figure if I wait until it's almost empty, it costs too much. I guess I'd rather take care of it in small increments.  Anyway, I found some for $3.10 a gallon at a Shell station near my house.

This evening, I had an evening out with Connie, one of the nurses that works in the office where I work now.  One of our mutual friends works part time at the Boys & Girls Clubs Bingo.  We have talked about going to bingo when our friend Jan was working to surprise her, so tonight we did it.  Connie is going to retire the end of July and move to Ohio, so we figured time was slipping away.  Well, this was my first time to go play Bingo and it was fun.  I was very tired & thanks to Connie I managed to keep up with the numbers.  I only put out $10.00 for cards so didn't have too many to watch but it kept me on my toes.   I'm happy to say this first time Bingo player won $62.50.  Had I got the $20 packet of cards, it would have been $125.  But that's ok.  There was one win of $500 but I wasn't the one to win the big bucks.   Anyway, our friend Jan was very surprised when we came strolling in...what was really funny was, Jan was one of the gals I had lunch with earlier today and I gave her no indication that I'd be seeing her later in the evening.

The late night newscaster is reporting that Mt St Helens blew off a big steam cloudtoday.  Since it was clear and sunny the plume was seen clear down in Portland, Oregon.  This next week is the 26th anniversary of the big eruption.  I certainly remember that Sunday afternoon, all those many years ago.  Even tho most of the ash went over the Cascades to eastern Washington (and of course in the area around the mountain) we did get ash, here in the Puget Sound area, even tho we are north of the site.

I wanted to tell you that I finished reading the newest book by Oregon author, Jane Kirkpatrick.  It's titled "A Clearing in the Wild" and was just released in April.  It is so good...I highly recommend it to all of you out there.  It's based on a true story of a 1850's religious community living in Bethel, Missouri that decided to relocate in the west.  The one thing I love about Jane's books is that most of them tell the story of those who came to the Oregon, Idaho, Washington area's from the east side of the Rocky Mountains.   In this latest book the first group (the scouts) that come out to research the area come to Fort Steilacoom (Still-ah-come). The present town of Steilacoom is approximately 6 1/2 miles from my front door.   These dear folks then traveled on to the Willapa Harbor area, which is south east of here off the Pacific ocean.  Jane does a wonderful job of describing the living conditions and hardships these people had to put up with.  I still can't even imagine how awful it was.  I know how cold and wet it can get in this part of the country, especially in the winter. And of course they had none of the things we do to make their lives easy.   Anyway, if you are interested, you can order this book directly from Jane.  You don't even have to make a trip to the book store.   Her web site is; http://www.jkbooks.com/

Finally (and then I'm going down the hall with my book and my kitty) I'm happy to announce that AOL is finally offering High Speed in my area.  I got a card in the mail today and immediately called them up.  I should be getting the thing-a ma-jig in the mail in about a week.  It's a partnership between AOL and Qwest, my phone company and costs the same as what I'm paying now.  I'm sure it will make everything much faster for me and am anxious to get it working.  Anyway, it's very late (the gals over there in the U.K. are probably up eating their Sunday breakfast) so I'm off to bed.  Until next time...........Linda

They Are Blooming Again

I posted this picture in my journal a year ago, but then only about 2 people read it, so I decided to drag this one out again.  This is a row of rhododendrons that grow at the entry to the mobile home park where I live.  That's my car, a Toyota Rav 4, parked next to them so you can see how big they are.  And of course they are even bigger this year because like any plant they keep growing.  They are so beautiful....I wish their blooms lasted longer than just a few weeks.  The two I have in my yard are also blooming right now as well as my white azalea.  The state flower for Washington is the wild rhododendron, and they grow like weeds in wooded areas.  The one pictured above is not a wild one...I guess you could say it's been domesticated.  

It was hot again today, up in the 80's.  I don't do well in hot weather, so I'm already complaining and it's not even June.  I know one thing...the flannel sheets are coming off this weekend !! I about died last night, I did get the bedroom fan out and got it going otherwise I would have been totally miserable.

Well, I need to get the dishes done and go out and water and then it's down the hall with my book and my kitty.   Until next time,   Linda

 

Flying Fish

Every year about this time "fish fly"......really they do.  Today was the first day that Alaska Airlines flew in fresh caught Copper River Salmon from the Copper River area in Alaska.  Seattle-Tacoma airport rolled out the red carpet for the first delivery that arrived about 7am this morning.  130,000 pounds were being delivered today, alone.  It's quite the deal here in the Pacific Northwest. The season is very short, so it will be available in every grocery store and restaurant until it's gone. I usually purchase a few fillets each year, it is good but I love salmon anyway so buy the regular stuff all the time.

It was another warm day here in the Pacific Northwest.  When I got home from work, my living room thermometer read 86 degrees.  I've opened up the doors and front window and cranked the living room fan up to high.  I worry about Gabi getting warm in this place but I think cats adapt to heat better than dogs do.  She has plenty of fresh water each day and if she'd just take off her fur coat, she'd be as cool as a cucumber! As soon as it cools down a little outside, I'm going to go out and mow the front lawn.

Since I'm the Grand Prize winner in Barbara's Photo Contest for today,(http://journals.aol.com/mastersblynn/ConfessionsOfAnAngelWaitress/entries/1308)   I will be spending the next couple months trying to figure out how to collect my prize.

I realized today that my journal celebrated it's 1st birthday on May 6th.  My how time flies when you're having a good time !!  It seems like only yesterday.

Until next time.....Linda

 

 

John's Monday Photo Shoot: Bottoms Up !

From John at; http://journals.aol.com/johnmscalzi/bytheway/entries/5936

For this week's photo shoot, I'm asking you to show a little perspective:

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Put your camera on the ground to shoot a picture of something you don't usually see from the bottom up. Call it the "worm's-eye view" of the word, if worms had eyes, which they mostly don't.

I'm going to use this picture of the view from the bottom of my Mother's Day hanging fuchsia basket given to me by daughter, Jools, and family.  It hangs right outside my kitchen window for me to enjoy every day.   I love it...   The colors are stunning !!

Confession Is Good For The Soul

A couple entries back I did John's weekend assignment.  His assignment was as follows:  Present three "facts" about yourself: Two of the facts true, and one of the facts false. Let people guess which "fact" is the fake one. Reveal the fake fact on Monday.  You don't want to give away the fake fact too early, so be sure to make it sound plausible, next to the other two real facts.

So here we go.....1..I did grow up on a farm (only 10 acres but none the less a farm) and we did have a milk cow and my dad raised heifer calves and then sold them just before they were due to have their babies, at one time we had twelve of them, all named after flowers.  And we did have some pigs (until they got out and we spent most of a Saturday catching them) and we always had 15-20 chickens for eggs (neither my mom or dad could stand to butcher them, so mom bought chicken at the store for the dinner table).  So yes, I did have to come home from school and feed the animals and I even had to milk Daisy a few times, also spent many after school hours & Saturdays weeding the huge garden they always planted.    2...I did meet John Wayne & Lauren Bacall, when on a trip to southern California in March of 1955 I went to work with my dad's step brother who was a camera man at a movie studio. They were filming the movie "Blood Alley" (which I just got on DVD, so now I have it forever.)  Lauren Bacall merely sat for the picture & then got up and walked off...but John Wayne ordered up lunch and we all sat around at a big round table together.  It was a memorable experience for a little country girl from Washington.   3...An out and out lie !!!   I would never in a million years suba dive, especially under the Narrows Bridge. I understand it's very spooky under there....the original bridge (Gallopin' Gertie http://www.marineonstcroix.com/fitz/gallopin.htm) fell into the water during a heavy wind storm back in the old days.  And it's broken remains are still down there under the present bridge.  Heaven only knows what creatures lurk in it's ruins.

So there you have it.  Thanks for your responses.......Linda

Mother's Day-What A Wonderful Surprise !

What a wonderful day !  My son, Jim picked me up at 9am, we drove out to Carrie's (his fiance) house and there we met her and her mother.  We all climbed into Carrie's car and off we went.  I wasn't really paying attention to where we were headed so didn't realize when we entered Renton. Carrie pulled into this parking lot and Jim said "mom do you know where you are now?"  No...I didn't, not until after walking about a block we came into full view of the Spirit of Washington Dinner Train.  I was thrilled !!  (This was another thing I've wanted to do for several years.)  Anyway, we climbed on board, found our table and began our adventure.  The train goes about 22 miles up to Woodinville, WA to the beautiful Columbia Winery.  You get about 45 mins there, to take the wine making tour, visit the gift shop and then it's back on board for the trip back to Renton.  The train winds along the shores of Lake Washington, (the homes there are breath taking)and goes over the Wilburton Trestle,  the longest wooden trestle in the Northwest.  It measures 102 feet in height and is 975 feet long.  Thankfully the engineer went real slow when he came to this trestle.  The food was luscious, I had Eggs Benedict, Jim and Carrie's mom had the Monte Cristo Sandwich and Carrie had Quiche Lorraine.  On the way back we had dessert....Chocolate Paradiso (like a chocolate cheesecake) served on a bed of raspberry puree and whipped cream.  Yum !! The weather is sunny and warm, so all in all it was a beautiful day !  

Now it's back to reality, getting ready for work tomorrow.  Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  Until next time........Linda

 

Weekend Assignment From John

Weekend Assignment: From John at; http://journals.aol.com/johnmscalzi/bytheway/entries/5919

Present three "facts" about yourself: Two of the facts true, and one of the facts false. Let people guess which "fact" is the fake one. Reveal the fake fact on Monday. You don't want to give away the fake fact too early, so be sure to make it sound plausible, next to the other two real facts.

Extra Credit: Can you lie with a straight face? Really?

1. I grew up on a small  farm and had to come home from school everyday and feed cows, chickens & pigs.

2. I had lunch with John Wayne when I was a teenager but I can't remember what we ate.

3. One of my biggest accomplishment's was to go scuba diving under the Tacoma Narrows Bridge here in Washington state.

Extra credit: I get a sick feeling in my stomach if I even think about lying, so I don't think I could do it with a straight face.

Happy Mom's Day to all

First of all I want to wish everyone a very Happy Mother's Day on Sunday.  My son Jim, and his fiance Carrie are taking her mom and me to brunch at some mystery place.  My daughter Julie will be spending the day with her family.  My son-in-law brought me a beautiful hanging fuchsia basket a couple days ago.  I have a perfect place for such things...right outside my kitchen window. So it's hanging where I can enjoy it all summer.

The weather here in the Pacific Northwest has been fantastic this last week.  Sunny with moderate temperatures each day. The weather man is saying that Monday it will get up to 80 degrees....we'll see if he's right. 

I took my camera to work this last week and snapped some pictures of co-workers.  I'm including one of me, complete with my headset on, sitting at my cubicle with all my "stuff" around.  Some might say it's cluttered but I spend so much time there, I like pictures and things around to make it easier to put in my time each day.  

I am so behind on alerts...right now there are 184 unread emails showing.  Not all alerts of course but none the less, all unread. So please forgive me, if I have left no comments lately.  Usually I have Friday off , so can get caught up on them but this last week I worked Friday and I have to work all 5 days next week, too....so it will be the same story.

Hope you all had a good Saturday,  have a wonderful Sunday and until next time.............Linda

P.S.  there's a 76 station about 5 blocks from my house that still has regular unleaded for $2.99 a gallon.  Most other stations are up to  $3.05 and as much as $3.10 a gallon.  Yikes !  Where will it end ?

John's Monday Photo Shoot: Grab Bag I

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Grab Bag I

You know what? Sometimes it's fun not to have any rules. With that in mind:

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Grab Bag! Show off any picture you want, and long as it's really cool. That's right, you make the call -- all I want is to look at it and say "Whoa! What a neat picture."

(And remember, just because it's called the Monday Photo Shoot doesn't mean you can't post a picture on Tuesday, Wednesday or even Thursday morning for consideration on the Thursday spotlight entry.)

From John at; http://beta.journals.aol.com/johnmscalzi/bytheway/entries/5904

Ok John, here's mine. A picture of my adult son, Jim, hiking at Mt Pilchuck here in beautiful Washington state.  Linda

Photo Scavenger Hunt #74

The entries for Photo Scavenger Hunt #74 will be due on Sunday, May 14, 2006 at 11:00 PM EST

From Val (Krissy's sister) at; http://journals.aol.com/valphish/ThereisaSeason/entries/1703

Photo Scavenger Hunt #74
Category:  Colorful

Place the link to your entry in the comments section below.  Thanks for playing!  Have fun!

Krissy may return this week.  If she does STILL put your submissions in THIS entry.  I will forward them to her if she is going to post.  Thanks!

Here's mine....I actually took this sunset picture about a year ago in eastern California out on the Mojave desert.     Linda in Washington state

Sunday Evening

Ella's birthday was a huge success.  She loved all her gifts and was awed by all the people in the house.  And of course no 1st birthday would be complete without letting the honored guest have a go at their own cake.  A good time was had by all.

 

I also wanted to include the following heart warming story I received in an email earlier today.             

What Marriage Is All About

He ordered one hamburger, one order of fries and one soft drink.  The old man unwrapped the plain hamburger and carefully cut it in half. 

 He placed one half in front of his wife. 

 He then carefully counted out the French fries, dividing them into two piles and neatly placed one pile in front of his wife. 

He took a sip of the drink, his wife took a sip and then set the cup down between them.  As he began to eat his few bites of hamburger, the people around then kept looking over and whispering.

You could tell they were thinking.  "That poor old couple-all they can afford is one meal for the two of them."

As the man began to eat his fries a young man came to the table .  He politely offered to buy another meal for the couple.  The old man said they were just fine-they were used to sharing everything.

The surrounding people noticed the little old lady hadn't eaten a bite.  She sat there watching her husband eat and occasionally taking turns sipping the drink.

Again the young man came over and begged them to let him buy another meal for them.  This time the old woman said, "No, thank you, we are used to sharing everything."

As the old man finished and was wiping his face neatly with the napkin, the young man came over to the little old lady who had yet to eat a single bite of food and asked, "What are you waiting for?"

She answered..........................

(This is great)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"THE TEETH"

Sunday Morning

I had to write an entry today and share a story that's in the local Sunday paper.  There's a man named Howard Kim, here in town, who after 9-11-01 wrote 2 more verses to our National Anthem.  The story states that this man, a Vietnam veteran, worked out his grief over the events of that horrible day by walking along Tacoma's beautiful water front and writing a tribute to our country,and for all of us shocked and stunned by what happened at the hands of those terriorists.  I'm going to add the link to the story...hoping that you will read it for yourselves.  I believe that these two added verses should become permanently and officially part of our National Anthem "America the Beautiful."  What do you think ?

http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/5721522p-5122576c.html

Another Saturday

It was a busy week and here it is Saturday evening and I haven't posted an entry since last Saturday and I'm about 127 Alerts behind.  Yesterday I was off and after some grocery shopping went to see the newly released movie "HOOT"....it was very good, a good family show.  It was also Cinco de Mayo.  I celebrated here at home by eating a Trader Joe's Handcrafted Chicken Enchilada, a salad and a Dr Pepper.  I joked about paying a visit to Taco Bell but decided to "dine in" instead. 

Today I got up and did some laundry and then at 2pm headed for my local Post Office for their Passport Fair.  All the postal staff did from 2-8pm today was process passport paperwork.  When I got there I was horrified to see people lined up clear out the door and down the sidewalk.  I had a long sleeved shirt and jeans on but no jacket.  It was a breezy 55 degrees, so until my part of the line got into the building it was a little cool.  I had all my paperwork in order and I brought a book.  So visitied a little with those around me and read my book.  Three hours after I stepped into line, I was walking out the door with business taken care of.  I should have my first ever passport in 6-8 weeks.   The postal clerk that waited on me said that the last time they had one of these affairs they processed over 200 passport requests. I'm sure from what I saw today, they did at least that many and maybe more. There seemed to be a lot of families there, and all (kids included) were getting passports.  I know there is some talk of it being mandatory to have a passport to travel between the U.S. and Canada but that law has not gone into effect yet.  Some are for it and some against it.  

Sunday afternoon I'm going to the 1st birthday party for my great niece Ella.   Ella's mom is my brother and sister-in-laws middle daughter, Jill.  I haven't seen Ella and her older (2 1/2 yrs) sister Lindsey since Christmas, so it will be good to see them again.  My brother is out of town on business but my sister in-law and other nieces will be there.

The next two weeks I'll be working the full week because one of my co-workers is on vacation so I'll probably really get behind with journal alerts.  So.... I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday and a blessed week....remember next Sunday, May 14th is Mother's Day.  Until next time........Linda