Happy Birthday Dear Chocolate Chippey-o!

Our dog Chip turned 15 this Christmas. Actually, we don't know his exact date of birth, but because we brought him home in February and he was about eight weeks, we chose Christmas for his birthday. I still remember seeing him for the first time sitting in a Pet Store. He was so very cute, small and brown. I went home (no cell phone for me then) and called Bill. We went back together and bought him. We took him home, and set him just inside the door. We closed the door and waited for Timbra and Haley to discover him. Haley saw him first and said "Timbra there's a weiner dog in our house." We then burst in and all shared in the excitement of our new little puppy. Justin met him a couple of weeks later, and for many visits thereafter, we had a hard time with Chip always attacking Justin's feet. It took us awhile to figure out that one of Chip's favorite toys was a pair of white crew socks tied in knots...closely resembling the ones on Justin's little feet. Oops! Chip was a rambunctious little guy and as he grew, he would often seize the chance to escape out the front. It was not unusual to see us with a band of neighborhood kids, or visiting family racing down the street after him. A year or so later, when we moved to Shingle Springs and had five acres for Chip to roam, he suddenly decided he liked sticking close to the house...hmmmm. He would occasionally wander next door to the neighbors, and as time went on, adopted them as his second family. Though we had to set a limit on the amount of meals he was consuming, as he apparently wasn't sharing with his other family that he'd already eaten enough for the day. Chip was dubbed the fastest dog West of the Mississippi. Most of the other dogs in the neighborhood wouldn't even participate in stick throwing/chasing time. They knew who'd win, so why bother? At one point, we also had a White German Shepard named Pearl. Pearl would wait until Chip was returning from finding the stick, grab a hold of his hind leg and hold on, while he ran with the remaining three legs back to us. There are many wonderful memories we could share about Chip. He has been a wonderful pet, despite his neurotic and often compulsive nature, we have enjoyed all the years he has been a part of our family. Each year at Christmas, and in honor of his birthday, we would give Chip a new rawhide bone. He would settle comfortably by the fire and proceed to chew on his bone until he eventually passed out. We have numerous pictures over the years of exactly the same pose...Chip asleep in front of the fire with a partially eaten rawhide. This Christmas, he got a few bits of ham (he has no teeth left to chew the rawhides). These days, Chip enjoys nice long naps, still jumps for joy when it is time to eat and when it is time for a walk. While out walking, he'll often tire himself trying to maintain "lead dog" status. When I am Chip's age, I hope to be still jumping and leaping for the simple joys life has to offer.

Too many posts

You asked for it! If you're overwhelmed by the amount of new posts, feel free to take a few days to read them all. If you know me, there is not likely to be another posting for awhile. I'm not sure why my slide shows aren't showing up. But if you click on the text box at the top of the blog, you should be redirected to slide.com and be able to view them there. Enjoy!

Wreath making

Sunday, Bill and I ventured to one of our favorite Island hangouts...Bainbridge Gardens. We had reserved some time to make a wreath. With us, we brought cedar and holly clippings from our yard. After selecting our wreath size, getting a demo on how to use the equipment and choosing some eucalyptus and pine boughs, we began the process. We really enjoyed ourselves and hope to make it an annual tradition!

Watchguard Christmas Party

Saturday, Bill's company celebrated their first Holiday party in five years. They rented the Seattle Aquarium for the evening. It was beautifully set up, with dinner served in the main entry area. The touchpool room was set up with drinks, dessert, and coffee...plenty of room for mingling. It was wonderful to see such a large turnout, and obvious that everyone was having a great time Bill and I enjoyed a walk through the remainder of the aquarium. We were alone, but never lonely. The pictures are of us riding the back of an orca.

Seattle Walking

Over the last several weeks, I have been involved in a walking group on Bainbridge Island. As a special treat at the end of our series, our leader Ron, takes us to Seattle to do two additional walks. The first week, we were in the Madison Park area. We walked by many houseboats and he showed us where the houseboat he lived on as a young boy (in the late 1940s) was once docked. Now, it is a large parking lot with a major freeway overhead. We meandered through beautiful gardens and parks and ended up on Madison Avenue where we split up into small groups and enjoyed a relaxing lunch. I joined three other ladies at a restaurant called Cactus. It was yummy-licious! We really enjoyed ourselves. Afterward, we all boarded the local bus and headed back to catch the ferry home.

Last week, we walked downtown Seattle. As we boarded the ferry, we learned it was Washington State Ferry Customer Appreciation day. We were treated to a visit from Oly the Whale, and mini cups of Tully's coffee and mini muffins from Alki Bakery. Let me tell you, Ron really knows his way around the city. We went to see the Gingerbread houses at the Sheraton, and as we walked enjoyed the various Nutcrackers that are decorated and found throughout downtown. We stopped in St. James Cathedral to admire the architecture and pause for a moment of reflection. Then, we made our way toward Uwajimaya in the International district. This place is a must see for anyone who comes to town. A huge Asian supermarket, with a bookstore and several restaurants. On the way, we walked over an overpass that had thousands of yellow ribbons tied on is. Each one had a name of someone who has served or is currently serving in our military. We also went into a (now) tea shop, which was owned by a lady who stored many of the belongings for the Japanese that were put into internment camps during WWII. There is a large hole (with plexiglass over it) in the floor that shows the storage area. Bill's office is in the International district, so he was able to join us for lunch at Elysian Fields. After lunch, one of my walking friends told me she thought Bill was very "brave," to meet up with all of us. My husband, as most of you know, is very capable of holding his own, and good naturedly answered the curious inquisitions of our lunch mates. After lunch, Clare and I wandered through a few shops, and then parted ways for more shopping. What a fun time!

Recent Storms

Thank you for the emails and phone calls regarding our recent storms. Fortunately, we were relatively unaffected (we had a very minor power outage). I read the other day that Bainbridge Island had the second highest financial damage in Kitsap county, which has resulted in four road closures, with two more in the future. Total damage reported to our county was seven million. The storm hit harder in other areas of WA southwest of us, and into Oregon. I had the opportunity to assist our local Red Cross chapter for a few days, and continue to do some follow up. While some of the rescue stories are amazing, many lost all they had including their homes. A few lost loved ones.
Bill and I are actively involved with the Bainbridge Island Emergency Preparedness program. In the event of a significant disaster, our island will likely be cutoff from any outside resources, so we are working together to establish ways to make sure everyone gets the help they need. Through the plan, 6 neighborhoods were assisted during this storm. Our involvement has given us the opportunity to meet our neighbors, and develop a common bond of aiding in one another in our preparedness.
While we can't prepare for everything, we can prepare for somethings.

Thanksgiving

The week before Thanksgiving, Bill and I traveled by Amtrak to Portland, OR. There, we met up with my cousin John and his wife Helen. We had a wonderful dinner visiting and catching up with them. We then journeyed on to Silverton, where we would spend the next few days celebrating an early Turkey Day with Bill's family. His sister Robin was waiting up for us. I'm not sure if was the lateness of the hour, 0r the excitement of seeing one another (or both), but we spent the next half hour or so cracking each other up. The next morning, Bill's mom took us all out for a yummy breakfast. Then we headed back to the house to play games, drink tea, visit and get ready for our turkey. Bill's uncle Bud and wife Tia arrived as a surprise for his mom, and boy was she ever surprised. Other visitors included Bill's sister Cheryl, his brother Rick, wife Candee and their two grown sons Nick and Ricky. Candee's aunt and her husband came too. Pat was Bill's Sunday school teacher, and she told me that he liked to be called Billy Smitheroo (or something like that), and one day during a heat wave tried to encourage her to take off her sweater. Well, for some reason all she had on was a bra underneath, and she couldn't find a polite way to tell him this. Bill's uncle Bud and brother Rick kept us all in stitches as we shared our Thanksgiving dinner sharing stories of Bud's gas station during the time Rick was his employee. Believe me, some of the stories they told would never happen in current times. Like the guy who emptied his ashtray on the ground at the pump, so uncle Bud took a locking gas cap with no key, put it on the guy's car and sent him on his road trip! HA! The rest of the weekend held much merriment ~ endless games of darts, accusations of cheating, card playing, Scrabble, laughter, sharing of more stories, and lots of food. On Saturday, Bill's cousin David, his wife Jenn and their daughter Lizzy came for a visit. They are expecting their second child (a boy) in February. Robin's "older sister" words of wisdom to Bill as we left were, "read the dictionary and learn some more Scrabble words before you come back!" All in all, it was a wonderful weekend filled with lots of memories and the love of family.
The following week was Thanksgiving. On Tuesday, Bill and I started the drive to CA. We had decided to drive down so we could sell our truck. Before we left Seattle, we got a call from Haley saying she had been in a car accident. That was pretty scary. Fortunately, though she had some residual soreness, she was not seriously injured nor was the other driver. Her car, however, did not fare as well. The drive to CA was long, made a bit longer by our desire to be there for Haley. We arrived Wednesday afternoon, loaded up most of Haley's kitchen and all the groceries she'd purchased and away we went to Bodega Bay. Thursday, we got up early and embarked on the welcome task of preparing Thanksgiving. My sister Margaret, her husband Chris, their two children Brandon and TaiLeah, and TaiLeah's boyfriend Dan came to share our meal. After eating, we all ventured down to the beach to enjoy a nice walk and a lovely sunset. I think it's interesting to watch people on the beach, even my own family. We all seem to have moments of utter quiet; some like to dip their toes in the water, others like to watch the waves, or wander a bit alone. I love the ocean, it's presence is healing, peaceful and wondrous. Friday, we spent more time on the beach and in the evening Haley's friend Courtney arrived. We enjoyed a bbq dinner with her, and then embarked on the next round of card playing. Saturday, beheld more food, more walks on the beach, including an exhilarating game of Frisbee, after which we headed over to Bill's cousin's RV campsite where we enjoyed our third Thanksgiving meal, and time with family and friends. A special visitor there was my dear friend from high school, Tresa. We had fun visiting a few old memories, and catching up on our lives. It was great to see her. Sunday, we visited with Bill's dad and step-mom Elsie as we headed through Santa Rosa and on to the airport. Though we missed Mike, Timbra, Alani, Justin, my sister Teri, brother Stephen and their families, we know there are more special times with them in our future. What a wonderful two weeks spent with family.

I'm not sure why the slide show isn't showing up. But, if you click on the bar at the top of the page, you'll go to slide.com and can watch it there.