Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to you and your families, everybody! How do you celebrate? Do you stay up and watch Dick Clark or the Space Needle countdown? Do you get together with friends? Do you go to bed early?

I don't think Clay and I will be "partying" per se, but we are hoping to check out Point Defiance's Zoolights this evening. It should be a fun time and a good test for our fairly new camcorder. Unfortunately I do not yet have a way to share videos here on the blog. That's something planned for the future though.

My favorite thing about the new year is that it is an opportunity for a fresh start. Like a brand new clean piece of paper we can choose how we want to write or draw on it and what we want it to be. Some people make resolutions, others clean house, some use it as a time for setting goals.

I just love the newness of it.

Happy New Year to you!!

Greetings from Jim, Kristina and Elena

Here is another of the wonderful pictures I got in my pre-Christmas mail. I meant to post this one quite some time ago, and the busyness of the season slowed me down.

Not only did Jim, Kristina and Elena send along the greeting card with this photo, but they also did one of those creative family newsletters. I love holiday newsletters. There was something in this one about tater tot casserole. I might have to get that recipe.

Thanks Jim and Kristina!

A Few Pictures

Last night we had a good time visiting our friends Wayne, Michelle and Nikka. This picture shows Wayne, Nikka and Chip (aka "Beastie" the dog).

You can click on the photo to see it larger, and then you will be able to use the Next and Prev links to get to more pictures from the evening and also a few pictures from Christmas when we visited my sister Jozi.

Leg Getting Better?

Well, my mother says her leg is getting better. It feels better to her, which is a good sign. Unfortunately she can't really see it and I haven't yet had a chance to talk to the neighbor who did see it. The doctor gave her one set of instructions (change the dressing daily) and Mom has her own ideas (it can wait until you come down in 3 days). It can be frustrating. I guess I should be happy she's feeling well enough to be so strong willed.

Special Gifts?

Did everyone enjoy Christmas? I don't know about you, but I'm kinda pooped from all the activity! We had a busy but great couple of days.

I hope Santa Claus was good to you. Of course Christmas is not just about the gifts, but sometimes they can be pretty fun.

I enjoyed one thing that was probably not intended as a present, but I received it as one - my husband in a very jolly mood! It's harder for me to be all stressed and grouchy when hubby is happy happy happy and enjoying Christmas like a kid. Thank you dear!

I also received a very fun gift from my mother-in-law. It's a fancy digital photo frame. Something like the one at this link.

Have you ever seen a digital photo frame? It's a nice frame (mine is 5x7 size) you can put on a table top or hang on the wall. But the back contains electronics that let you load in a bunch of digital pictures and it alternates showing the photos like you would see a slide show on your computer. You can set it for how frequently the photos should change, etc. This one is supposed to play music and videos too if you want.

I haven't had a chance to open it up and play with my new toy yet, but hopefully will have a chance to do that soon. Then I will tell you more about it.

Of course giving gifts can be even more fun than receiving sometimes. For example, we got my mother a silver heart-shaped locket with a promise to provide a photo of my dad to go inside the next time we visit. She loved it.

How about you - did you give or receive any special gifts? If so, don't be shy, tell us about them in the comments!

Mom's Leg / Neighbor Helps Again

My mother is having a problem with a wound on her leg. Unfortunately we don't have any idea how she got the injury in the first place. It looks sort of like a burn, but she wasn't close enough to anything that hot.

I first learned about her wound last Thursday when she told me my brother-in-law said I should look at it. I looked, and was alarmed because it didn't look good to me. I called her doctor's office Friday and from the description they said she should be seen the next day. I took her to a walk-in clinic on Saturday where we learned that the wound was indeed infected. They gave her antibiotics and her wonderful neighbor Susan is cleaning and changing the dressing daily.

I looked at it yesterday, and I'm just not sure if it's getting better or worse. It's a good thing I didn't go into medicine. The walk-in clinic doctor had said she should have a follow-up visit this week anyway, so I made her an appointment for tomorrow morning. Keep her in your thoughts and prayers. Hopefully we can get this thing healed up like it never happened.

Merry Christmas

I'm going to take a short blogging break to enjoy Christmas. I hope you, my readers, all have a wonderful Christmas with your families and friends.

Merry Christmas!!

Busy

Life has gotten unexpectedly busier here. That means I have more to report and post on, but less time to post it! I will be in Olympia tomorrow so hope to get back to post on Sunday. In the meantime, I hope everyone is having a great time enjoying the Christmas season.

Nikka and Family

As promised, here are some pictures I got in the mail as part of a Christmas greeting from my friends Wayne, Michelle and Nikka. You can click on the photos to see them larger.

Nikka is the little Christmas angel, and Wayne and Michelle are her Mom and Dad. What a beautiful family.

Thanks for the pictures!

Power Is Back

I have really great news. My Mom finally had power restored to her house! She lost her power on Wednesday evening during this area's big windstorm. Mom has been staying with my friend Sue for three nights waiting for the electricity to be turned back on.

Sue took Mom home about 11:30 today so she could get a few things done this afternoon, with the plan that if the power did not return she would pick her back up after work and take her back to her house again. But when they got to Mom's house the power was on and the house was warm inside. Yay!! I'm sure they both danced a jig of joy.

Clay and I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Sue who took my mother into her home in her time of need. It was such a relief to know that Mom was warm and safe with Sue. Sue is accustomed to living alone, and I'm sure she had to make adjustments in her lifestyle to accommodate Mom. We really appreciate it. Thank you Sue!!

Pictures Coming

One of the things I love about this time of year is getting envelopes in the mail with Christmas greetings and those wonderful family pictures. I plan to post some of the contents of my mailbox here on the blog. Watch for the first one beginning Tuesday evening.

In the meantime, did you hear we made Person of the Year at Time Magazine? That is all of us who contribute to "user generated content" on the web. That means bloggers, people who comment on blogs, anyone who posts photos or videos online, writes an online review, or contributes to the many social networking sites. The buzz is that it's a controversial choice since all of us are not "a person," but I thought it was a cool idea. You can read more about it here.

Friends and Neighbors are Awesome

The last couple of days I've been worried about my mother because her home has been without power for almost two full days now, ever since Thursday night's storm. Mom is 82 years old and hesitates to take help from others because she doesn't want to be "a bother" to anyone.

Her wonderful next door neighbors John and Susan offered repeatedly for her to come to their house where they have a wood stove which keeps them warm without electricity. She kept declining their offer, and last night we all had a sleepless night because Mom insisted on spending the night in her own cold home as the temperatures dropped below freezing outside. John had seen electrical crews working nearby and we all hoped that meant her power would be on soon.

But this morning I called to see how she was doing, and the tone of her voice told me without my having to ask that her power was still not on. She was freezing and miserable. I was determined that she would not spend any more time alone in that cold house. She promised me she would eat something and then she would go next door to the neighbors. When she got there the neighbors said she was pale, very cold and crying - it was a little frightening.

Shortly after she arrived my good friend Sue (different Sue from Susan the neighbor), whom I had called the night before, arrived to check on her. She reported to me that the neighbors were taking very good care of Mom. She was sitting bundled warmly in a blanket next to the wood stove sipping a cup of tea. She was starting to feel a little better. My sister Jozi had planned to pick up Mom about 1:00 and take her on some errands and out to eat to get warm. Sue arranged that later in the day after the errands were done Jozi would bring Mom to Sue's house to spend the night.

I got a call a few minutes ago letting me know that Mom had arrived at Sue's with her bag to stay overnight. Sue has a spare room and was more than happy to have Mom come stay with her. Sue said they are "going to party" so "don't call too early tomorrow." :)

The neighbors will help Mom get her house warmed back up once the power comes back on.

Mom lives about an hour and a half away from me, and I would have been glad to go get her myself. But Clay and I do not have room in our apartment for guests, so we would have had to look for a hotel room for her.

It's such a relief to know that Mom's neighbors and my friend Sue and my sister Jozi are watching out for Mom and she's warm and safe. Thank you!!

Thank You Elena

Check out the beautiful holiday greeting Elena made for me. Thank you Elena!!

I meant to mention it earlier, but Elena's mom Kristina recently started a blog for her. You can find it over here and I've also added a link to it on the sidebar appropriately under "Friends." It's called Elena's Montage.
If you visit you will see lots of pictures of Elena and hear all about her adventures. Thanks mom Kristina for setting up the new blog!

Do You Have Power?

Are you getting tired of me talking about the weather yet? Yes, we had another bad storm - this time the biggest component was high winds. The bulk of the storm happened between yesterday afternoon and this morning. This morning there were over a million households in Western Washington without power. Utilities are saying some in outlying areas may wait days or even up to a couple weeks to have power restored.

I hope everyone reading has their power by now. My mother in Lacey is still without and tells me she is "freezing." I hope to convince her to visit the next door neighbors if her power doesn't return soon. They don't have power either, but they have a wood stove for heat.

Today I'm thinking about all the people who endured damage or hardship from the storm. Just some of its effects:

• Lots of planes grounded. The airport recorded a record gust of wind at 69mph. Power was out in some areas of the airport and the wind actually blew in a window on the B concourse.
• Over 1 million households without power.
• Major bridges closed (Hood Canal; 520).
• Freeway (I-5) closed at one point because the water was so deep cars were stalling out in it.
• All schools in King County closed today; most schools in other counties of Western Washington closed or running late.
• Roads blocked by fallen trees.
  
• Four people killed. Some died when their cars were hit by falling trees. One woman drowned in her basement when there was a sudden flood and the water pressure wouldn't allow her to open the door.

It's hard to believe we've had so much severe weather already and winter isn't even here yet.

I hope you and your loved ones are warm and safe.

Photography Tip for Holiday Lights

A few days ago I promised to post a picture of the two beautiful large Christmas trees in the lobby of my office building. Since then I have repeatedly taken pictures, but the lighting just wasn't right. I tried flash and no flash and different times of the day, but the pictures came out either too dark or too fuzzy.

Today I received a newsletter from Microsoft which included a link to some quick photography tips for this time of year. I decided to try Tip #4 which suggests that to capture the warmth of holiday lights or candles you should use the night shot feature of your camera with the flash. I tried it, and this picture was the result. You can click the photo to see it larger. It's a tiny bit fuzzy, but I think that's unavoidable due to the long exposure. That's what makes the lights show up. I like the way you can even see the lights reflected in the marble floor.

As you can see, there are two of these beautiful trees in the lobby. Note the person in the far right of the photo for scale - those are some really large trees. Of course these are artificial trees, and I don't know what they use to make them smell so wonderful, but from the incredible scent you would think they are real.

Doesn't it make you want to sing? O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree...

Reflections...

As you can see in the tag line above, one of the purposes of this blog is for "reflections."

At this time of year I like to reflect on many things. Family, faith, friends, and so many things I have to be thankful for. This is a good time of year for reflection.

It is also a good time of year for reflections of another kind! There's so much sparkle and twinkly beauty. One of my favorite views of our office Christmas tree is this reflected one. I hope you enjoy it too.

What are you reflecting on this season?

Another Sunset

Decorated for Christmas

The Washington Mutual Tower where I work is a really pretty building. I've posted pictures of the exterior before.

The interior is also beautiful with its grand Third Avenue Lobby and the Atrium on the Second Avenue side. I especially love the way the lobby looks at Christmas with two large decorated Christmas trees and Chases Flower Shop decked out for the season. This photo shows Chases. I took pictures of the Christmas trees too, but the lighting wasn't right so I will try again in a couple days.

Give Blood

Did you know that every two minutes someone in Western Washington needs a blood transfusion?

Have you ever given blood? If so, how long has it been since you last donated? You can donate as frequently as every eight weeks. I try to give as often as I can, but sometimes it’s easier to let other things take priority. The nice folks from the Puget Sound Blood Center come to Washington Mutual Tower where I work every month. That makes it pretty easy.

When my mother had her scare with anemia last month she required two units of blood. That was a good reminder for me to get back on the program. PSBC was here last Friday. I made myself an appointment and did it. It’s really very easy. You have to answer a questionnaire, and they take your blood pressure and make sure you’re not anemic before you donate. Afterwards you get juice and cookies or crackers.

If you’ve ever thought about it but chickened out I encourage you to give it a go. This page has information on Western Washington donor centers and blood drives.

Give blood. Get cookies. Save lives.

Snow Bunny

This is my little friend Elena. She and her folks live up in North Bend where they get the real snow. Last week's weather made for some great playtime in the snow. Thanks to her mom Kristina for sharing these pics! You can click the pictures to see them larger.

Sunrise on a Snowy Day

I took this photo last week when there was still snow on the ground.

Watch Out for Gift Card Fraud

Thanks to my friend Colette for alerting me to a problem with some gift cards. Especially at this time of year a lot of us buy gift cards - they are an easy way to get someone a gift when you want to give the recipient a choice. This information will come in handy if you don't want to get ripped off.

Yesterday Colette sent me an email which described the problem as follows:

"Well the crooks have found a way to rob you of your gift card balance.

If you buy Gift Cards from a display rack that has various store cards you may become a victim of theft. Crooks are now jotting down the card numbers in the store and then wait a few days and call to see how much of a balance THEY have on the card.

Once they find the card is "activated", they go online and start shopping. You may want to purchase your card from a customer service person, where they do not have the Gift Cards viewable to the public."

Of course you have to be careful about what you believe in forwarded email messages. This message was verified as credible at the Snopes.com site here. Later in the day Colette called me to let me know there was a story about this issue on King5 News. They did a good job of describing the issue and explaining how to buy gift cards safely. You can read King5's story here.

Be safe shopping out there, everybody!