Emerald Life

10 on 10

2010-12-10T22:43:00.000-08:00

Festival of Lights - final photo

2010-12-10T11:09:00.000-08:00

Festival of Lights - 8

2010-12-09T13:03:00.000-08:00

Festival of Lights - 7

2010-12-08T16:47:00.000-08:00

Maybe a little redundant but i forgot about my photo until bedtime & the kitties were happy to pose in the low light.

Festival of Lights - 6

2010-12-06T16:36:00.001-08:00

Photo: Alan

Festival of Lights - 5

2010-12-05T18:54:00.001-08:00

Festival of Lights - 4

2010-12-05T10:12:00.000-08:00

Festival of Lights - 3

2010-12-04T08:22:00.000-08:00

Festival of Lights - 2

2010-12-02T22:15:00.000-08:00

Festival of Lights - 1

2010-12-02T12:42:00.000-08:00

Festival of Lights -- An Invitation

2010-12-01T10:15:00.000-08:00

Hanukkah begins tonight at sunset. It is the festival of lights, or more directly a festival of the miracle of light. I am not Jewish, but a good friend of mine is and with the current theme of daily photos, she had the idea of taking a photo every day during Hanukkah.

My friend plans to post photos of things that bring light to her life, while her friend (and my Alan) anticipates that he will be more literal about light. I am inspired by this also, especially as it can take on many different meanings. I invite you to join us and post a photo with the theme of "light" each day during Hanukkah. Post your photos on a blog, Facebook or photo website.

The Festival of Lights is from sunset December 1st (today) to sunset December 9th (next Thursday).

Thanksgiving 30

2010-11-30T21:27:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving 29

2010-11-30T11:00:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving 28

2010-11-28T21:24:00.000-08:00

A favorite hymn, sung today in church.

"God of Day and God of Darkness" by Marty Haugen (of course!)

Thanksgiving 27

2010-11-28T21:14:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving 26

2010-11-26T20:47:00.000-08:00

Thankgiving 25

2010-11-25T21:29:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving 24

2010-11-25T19:56:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving 23

2010-11-24T14:02:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving 22

2010-11-22T22:19:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving 21

2010-11-21T21:17:00.000-08:00

$14,440!!

Thanksgiving 20

2010-11-21T21:16:00.000-08:00

For Megan on her birthday.

Thanksgiving 19

2010-11-21T21:15:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving 18

2010-11-21T21:14:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving 17

2010-11-21T21:09:00.002-08:00

Thanksgiving 16

2010-11-21T21:09:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving 15

2010-11-21T21:07:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving 14

2010-11-21T21:06:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving 13

2010-11-21T21:02:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving 12

2010-11-21T21:00:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving 11

2010-11-21T20:56:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving 10

2010-11-21T20:42:00.000-08:00

Catching up on my daily thanksgiving photo posts!

Thanksgiving 9

2010-11-09T22:18:00.000-08:00


Christmas at my happy place (Ravenna Gardens in U Village)

I am seeing everyone else's gorgeous photos & feel a little silly that most of mine are taken with my camera phone. But the reality is that I've got to make it simple in order to participate every day. So, I hope you will enjoy these daily thanksgiving glimpses, poor quality as they may be. It's interesting to see different people's takes on this daily exercise -- I seem to be finding something to be thankful for each day & then photographing it (when I remember to). I am excited to share with you my coming days, as they will be from my climbing trip in Joshua Tree National Park. I love this desert & the peace it brings me & always take lots of photos (with a real camera, not my phone!). But, these daily photos will be posted afterward, as I will be camping. This also means I won't be participating in the monthly 10 on 10, as I am spending most of tomorrow in an airport (perhaps I will be inspired to take 10 different photos of aspects of air travel :). I look forward to sharing here again soon & seeing the photos you have taken!

Thanksgiving 8 (dos)

2010-11-08T22:21:00.000-08:00

I got to the end of today realizing I had no photo -- I wish I would have remembered to take one when my two wonderful friends made a surprise visit to my office with Mighty-O Donuts, or when the sun was shining through the clouds on my drive out to West Seattle. Even in the midst of a crazy day when multi-tasking threatens to take over my brain, there are still moments of joy when everything fades but the friends in front of me, or the way the sunlight looks...unfortunately during those times I don't think to get out my camera. I guess that's the blessing of those moments -- no other awareness but the joy.

So, my photo #8 comes at the end of a very long day & is rather uninspiring (my new hat).

Because today's photo is uninspiring & because I just can't get enough of it, I leave you with a second Thanksgiving photo -- my adorable nephew Ray in his Halloween costume. So damn cute.

Good night to all.

Thanksgiving Day 7

2010-11-07T19:17:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving Day 6

2010-11-06T20:29:00.000-07:00

The Christmas List begins.

Thanksgiving Day 5

2010-11-06T10:39:00.000-07:00

Extreme wine, UA samples & my Joy.

Thanksgiving Day 4

2010-11-04T22:30:00.000-07:00

Kitties and old buddies.

Thanksgiving Day 3

2010-11-03T15:49:00.000-07:00

Stumptown Coffee & Powells Bookstore.

Thanksgiving Day 2

2010-11-02T22:10:00.000-07:00

My G-maw -- 90 years old today.

Thanksgiving Day 1

2010-11-01T21:40:00.000-07:00

A stowaway from the organic produce delivery -- made me laugh.

Invitation & Disclaimer

2010-11-01T19:17:00.000-07:00

Today, on the first day of November, two beautiful gals who hold a special place in my heart have begun a new tradition for this month of thanksgiving -- one photo a day as a way to note our gratitude. It is a little side addition to 10 on 10, the original idea of taking a photo every hour for ten consecutive hours on the tenth day of every month as a way to document & find creativity with the life & beauty of everyday. I encourage you to check out 10 on 10 -- you can see a couple of my old 10 on 10 posts here and here. The daily invitation of thanksgiving for the month of November has captured my attention -- indeed, due to another friend, it was already something I was considering for daily thanksgiving posts on Facebook. I will be posting a photo for each day in November & I invite you to join me.
And I end with a disclaimer...while I hope this will be a revival of sorts of this sorely neglected blog (last post April!), I make no promises. I am inspired to do daily photo posts in November, but can't speak for past that -- I won't pretend that this blog won't again take the backseat. For now, I hope you will enjoy my daily photos & that you will join me!
Love, Eliza

Back From Peru

2010-04-29T07:39:00.000-07:00

Opening Day 2010

2010-04-12T21:32:00.001-07:00

2010 Opening day didn't turn out well for the home town 9. 4-0 loss to the A's. M's need to find some offense fast.

2010 Mariners

RJ aka the Big Unit

A budding Superstar

An established Superstar

A fading HOF'er

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T10:47:00.000-08:00

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. We are enjoying a great day with my family in Spokane.

Advent Sharing

2009-12-13T12:59:00.000-08:00

Above is the nativity that was always displayed at my Gowey grandparents' house during Christmastime. From a young age I remember admiring it in its corner cupboard spot, especially the lit star in the old paper creche. This will be the second Christmas without both my grandparents & my mother & her five siblings recently sorted out all of their holiday decorations to be distributed among our large family. Little did I know that this nativity set actually belonged to my mother & has now found its way to me. She received the creche & holy family from her grandparents (my great grandfather Clarence Lawton & great grandmother Harriet Eagle) when she was a little girl & each year would buy an additional figure until the set was complete. Below is a clearer photo of the nativity, now in my home. My mom told me that somewhere there is a photo of her, around 6 years old, playing by her grandparents' Christmas tree with the newly-gifted creche next to her.
Today is the third Sunday of Advent, the focus on Joy. I find joy in this family treasure handed down to me, in holding hands with my mother at church this morning & doing the advent reading together, in the lightest snowfall, in my husband making me breakfast, in my kitties curled up asleep, in so many things. We've been absent from this space for some time & have many things to share. In the coming weeks I hope to share some of my favorite photos since we took a hiatus from blogging in June, as well as some of the fun things we've been up to lately (both a 1920s & 1950s themed parties!). For now I want to share with you the words to a favorite hymn--we sang it in church a little while ago & the words have stayed with me, my hope for a joyful, peaceful world.

Abundant Life

We cannot own the sunlight sky,
The moon, the wildflowers growing,
For we are part of all that is
Within life's river flowing.
With open hands receive and share
The gifts of God's creation,
That all may have abundant life
In every earthly nation.

When bodies shiver in the night
And weary, wait for morning,
When children have no bread but tears,
And war horns sound their warning,
God calls humanity to wake,
To join in common labor,
That all may have abundant life
In oneness with their neighbor.

God calls humanity to join
As partners in creating
A future free from want or fear,
Life's goodness celebrating,
That new world beckons from afar,
Invites our shared endeavor,
That all may have abundant life
And peace endure forever.

What do you find joy in today?

JP Pond Skimming on July 4th at Baker

2009-12-05T11:43:00.000-08:00

Baker in August

2009-12-03T21:13:00.000-08:00

Lake Anne

2009-12-02T18:31:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving and all that.

2009-12-01T17:54:00.001-08:00

We had a great Thanksgiving. Can you pick the turkey out in this picture?

The Chef, my sister, did excellent job cooking the 24 lb Tom. She also had the added excitement of getting engaged to the Turkey in the above picture.

The turkey took up the entire oven. But since it was a convection oven it cooked in an outstanding 3.5 hours.

Hailey was a big fan of the Turkey as well.

As is tradition my father carved up the giant bird.

And we all ate as much as we could for 3 straight days. Watched football and played games.

Reviving the Blog

2009-11-30T18:30:00.000-08:00

This blog has been hibernating for nearly 6 months. Like most people we drifted off to Facebook. But I am ready to drift back. I have decided Facebook doesn't fill the roll of this blog. This blog is a living history. It is an electronic scrapbook. Facebook, for me, is a planning tool, but if used more then that it gives me a false sense of community.

So with that I plan on posting again. Sharing our life and documenting our adventures.

So what have we been doing over the last 6 months. Well quite alot. I will try to post about past adventures as well as future. However one thing to note is we have been eating some glorious food over the last 3 months. That was the time a Organic Butcher went in about a mile from work. I had forgotten how good meat can taste. I never knew how great fresh cut greens can taste. There truly is a difference.

Bill the Butcher

Changes

2009-06-14T19:41:00.001-07:00

Earlier this week I was notified that I will still be working for Heifer International. I also learned that over 90 employees in the U.S. have been laid off or redistributed & all of our regional offices will be shut down--it was an incredibly emotional week. At some point, I hope to have the energy & articulation to express my personal feelings & experiences, but it will not be on this public space (it may be time to take Emerald Life private). In the meantime, I leave you with the message I sent out on Friday to Heifer supporters in the Pacific Northwest:

Dear Heifer supporters,

As you know, the current economic crisis has forced many non-profits to make reductions in staff in order to continue their important work. Unfortunately, Heifer is no different. This week some very difficult and painful changes were made in order to position Heifer to maintain our current projects and assist more families around the world. These changes include office closures, restructuring, and layoffs across the organization.

For the Pacific Northwest, you will likely not notice any immediate changes. I will still be working for Heifer from my Seattle office, but will now be supporting you as the Western Zone Volunteer Coordinator, covering a substantially larger region (shown in blue on the map below). Our Western Zone Office in Sacramento will be closing by the end of the summer. The four zones, as pictured below, will no longer have zone offices, but each will have one Zone Volunteer Coordinator. Phone representatives based at our Headquarters in Little Rock and Major Gift Officers placed around the U.S. will ensure personal contact with our supporters. The closing of zone offices and reorganization of staff is in effort to provide cost effective and efficient communication with donors and volunteers.

* Please disregard yellow dots.

Below are some other changes at Heifer you should know about. When reading this it is important to keep in mind that our overarching goal is to position Heifer to assist more families to make an impact around the world, including the United States.

Going forward, Heifer activities in the U.S. will focus on integrating the U.S. program, education, advocacy and fundraising around the theme of “food sovereignty” or health and sustainable food systems. They will also be more cost-effective, which is critical because the U.S. is one of the most expensive of the forty countries in which Heifer bases its operations.

-The U.S. Country Program reduced staff by approximately one-half and the field program office is moving into Headquarters space in Little Rock. It will honor existing project commitments in the U.S. but transition to:

· A partnership based delivery model

· Projects designed to enhance food systems or urban agriculture, or serve indigenous people or immigrant farmers

· Program work will be concentrated in the Southwest, Mississippi Delta, or Appalachian regions

-This reduction in U.S. program staff affected our own dear Colleen Donovan, Program Manager for the Pacific Northwest. The Ellensburg, WA program office will be closed, effective June 19^th. Any and all are invited to stop in the Ellensburg office for one last hoorah next Thursday, June 18^th, from noon on. Colleen can be reached at her Heifer email (colleen.donovan@heifer.org) until next Friday and after that I can provide her personal contact.

61 staff members in the U.S. and 169 staff members outside the U.S. were laid off.

-International Programs has closed or scaled back regional offices to make the best use of available staff and resources.

-Heifer will phase out project support in countries where we do not have offices and projects are managed from neighboring countries. These include Myanmar, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Moldova, Macedonia and Bulgaria. We are also scaling back and repositioning programs in Mexico, Haiti, Guatemala and Nicaragua.

Heifer will move forward as a leaner, focused, accountable and more flexible organization.Your support will be critical in maintaining existing relationships and in opening up new growth opportunities for Heifer going forward. We are truly grateful for your tireless support, and we humbly ask for your patience and understanding as we go through these difficult changes.

If you have questions or concerns, Donna Jared, our VP of Regional Operations, welcomes them at donna.jared@heifer.org. I am also here for any questions or needs you may have.

On a personal note, I would like to ask for patience as I transition into the new role as Western Zone Volunteer Coordinator. The full scope of my job has yet to be determined and I will need time to work through new processes and communication systems. While I will do everything I can to provide you the best support, I am sure that changes and challenges lie ahead. This time is not easy for any of us – we are losing many dear and valuable colleagues and friends and changing the way Heifer has operated for the last decade. I feel honored to be the Volunteer Coordinator for the Western Zone, but I am taking on the roles of three coordinators who have built an incredible volunteer base and will be sorely missed. I assure you I will do my best to honor their hard work and your commitment to Heifer.

During this challenging time, I find hope and inspiration in the lives of those Heifer helps. Our struggles are minimal compared to the world’s poor and hungry and their perseverance and caring spirit renews my sense of purpose. I still envision “a world of communities living together in peace, equitably sharing the resources of a healthy planet” and helping Heifer to build a strong, compassionate, community-based volunteer program is a step in that direction. I hope you feel the same and I look forward to working with you to empower people around the world.

-Eliza Penick

Western Zone Volunteer Coordinator

Bike to Work Day May 15th Friday

2009-05-14T20:06:00.001-07:00

Get out and ride people!

Remember us?

2009-05-13T17:00:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time friends. I'm hoping you haven't completely given up on us. Levi & I are still here, doing fine, just haven't really been a part of the blogging world for a few months. As usual, I've been meaning to post for a few weeks now & I'm finally getting around to it. Rather than overload you with our happenings since March, I'll share with you some of my highlights, with a little update at the end.

Some recent favorites:

A trip to Minnesota for the wedding of close friends & out to the Penick family farm in Ohio. This included a hilarious evening of mustache drawing, an epic midnight dodgeball tournament, & play with cows
The Portland Heifer volunteers (I head down there again on Friday!)

Climbing my first 5.10b at Vantage

Climbing in general: the challenge, the peace it brings me, the views, the friends new & old
New life at my friend Gretchen's farm in Monroe
Levi's excitement over a new baseball season, especially listening to him & Chris discuss the minute details of their fantasy team while on a bike ride
More time & fun with Joy
Continuing a great tradition of spending Mother's Day weekend with both my family & Levi's family at an ocean cabin--this year was Long Beach
The Round at the Fremont Abbey (monthly collaborative live arts event with musicians, slam poets & painters). I've been going for a couple months & hope to continue. Last night was exceptional. The music, especially Shelby Earl, was incredible, but what really got to me was the painter, Danae' Clark. Seated next to the stage, her canvas was a checkerboard of small, separate square pieces. Audience members were encouraged to come up, one at a time, select a square & sit with Danae' while she paints to the sound of the person's heartbeat with the help of a stethoscope. I had the privilege of sitting with Danae' & it was incredibly moving. I sat motionless, extremely aware of my own heartbeat, the music & memories & the woman next to me painting by the beat of my heart. My heartbeat painting is tucked away--perhaps someday soon I will scan it to share.

And now for the update...
Yet again, I am facing an uncertain time of waiting in my life. Like business everywhere, Heifer is suffering & the announcement was recently made that Heifer will be laying off 20% of their staff. No one knows yet who will be affected, but it's certainly a possibility that I could lose my job. It's a strange situation to find myself in, only 20 short months after being hired for the job I waited four years for. I have mixed feelings about it all but can assure you that if I do lose my job Levi & I will be fine. At times I feel anxious & restless, other times resigned, & sometimes even excited.

We hope you are doing well--our love & best to all!

Bloggers Unite!

2009-04-29T09:15:00.000-07:00

Unite For Hunger And Hope

http://www.heifer.org/site/c.slI3IdNVJuE/b.4861851…

April 29, 2009

Objective:
All you have to do to help end world hunger is to join thousands of others bloggers on April 29 and write a post about world hunger.

BlogCatalog members and Heifer International are partnering to call for the end of world hunger and start of hope on April 29. All we ask is that you join thousands of other bloggers and write a post about world hunger on April 29. You can make a difference.

• Right now, more than 500 million people are living in "absolute poverty" and more than 15 million children die of hunger every year.

• World Health Organization estimates that one-third of the population is underfed and another third is starving.

• Even in the United States, 46 percent of African-American children and 49 percent of Latino children are considered chronically hungry.

Organizations like Heifer International are the solution. Every day in April, Heifer International is lifting people out of poverty by providing communities with livestock and agricultural training to improve lives and inspire hope. What can you do?

• Join this event and add a badge to your blog by April 29.

• Watch for upcoming news releases and topic backgrounders.

• Visit Heifer International to learn more about Pass On The Gift.

• Make a small donation or take some other action to end world hunger.

• Post about world hunger on April 29 with links to solutions all over the world.

Retro Weekend 2009

2009-03-16T17:41:00.000-07:00

We have friends, well family really who started a retro ski weekend last year. Since Liza and started skiing this year we thought hey lets go retro.

Enjoy

Climbing

2009-02-21T19:28:00.000-08:00

Anybody remember this post from August 2006? I enjoyed rock climbing then, but it didn't quite stick. Last weekend I spent 3 days climbing in Joshua Tree National Park & I am hooked. Check out some of the photos:

King Dome--just one spot in an 800,000 acre park filled with cool rocks & funky plants.

Climbing Buckets to Burbank, a 5.8 rated climb.

Sunset over the San Andreas fault line.

Cool cloud formations rolling in at the end of a full day of climbing.

Justin soloing Flies on the Wound, a 5.7 climb.

Justin up top, cleaning up the route.

Me.

Learning how to climb using a crack.

Ten year-old Tipton giving it a go.

Me on Morituri te Salutamus, my first 5.9 climb.

After learning a lot from Justin in Joshua, I came home & promptly bought a book on rock climbing & spent this afternoon at Stone Gardens, the climbing gym down by the locks. I am excited to have that gym so close to my work, as I can go there & boulder on my own & they have self-belaying devices so I can even climb on my own. Climbing seems to be a very good stress reliever for me & I am really in need of that these days. I'm hoping to find more people who want to climb (they are all too far away--Justin in CA & Whitney in Oak Harbor) so let me know if you're interested!
For the rest of our neglected blog update...we've been road biking often & Levi went on the first mountain ride of the year up at St. Ed's this week & found the trails to be in great condition. Tomorrow, weather permitting, we'll be riding the Chilly Hilly, the year's first organized ride of about 35 miles on Bainbridge Island. And we're looking forward to fresh snow in the mountains & night skiing on Thursday. We're having fun with old sports & new alike. :)
We hope you are doing well!

Special Birthday

2009-02-12T11:38:00.001-08:00

On Sunday we had a lovely party at Boo's house to celebrate Alan's birthday. My camera leaves something to be desired for indoor photos, but I got some fun ones...

Momma wearing Tanta Kathy's wedding rings (she left us just over a year ago).

Graceful Gmaw.

Goofiness.

Levi relaxing by the fire.

The wonderful hosts.

My special folks.

Levi & sweet Momma.

Aunt Kathy & Momma.

Birthday boy & his mother.

We've taken up a new sport

2009-01-21T14:40:00.000-08:00

And we're having fun (it just needs to snow again in the mountains)!

We know the answer

2009-01-08T17:43:00.000-08:00

After getting home tonight and examining the stream the problem became clear. Somewhere around 10:30 last night the top of a tree broke off (a neighbor heard the crack). The stream splits in two and the tree landed on the left fork. This caused the water to back up and flow over the berm.

We were able to clear out the tree top with an axe and some lifting. Hopefully the problem is gone for this year.

The stream broke at 12 AM

2009-01-08T08:12:00.000-08:00

Two hours, two Fire trucks, 30 sand bags, our annual come out and meet the neighbors party later we got to go back to bed. Looks like I will be back at repairing the stream this afternoon.

On the plus side it didn't go into the parking lot, the new storm water drop put in last year really helped, and most importantly no-one took on water.

So much better then last year.

For Mom Lois

2009-01-05T15:06:00.000-08:00

Dad jumping off the roof...

Christmas in Photos

2009-01-02T17:28:00.000-08:00

A little Christmas Eve visit with Ems & Tillie.

Christmas morning at Boo's.

Our very first alpine skiing adventure with Elyse & JP on Baker!

Dinner at Gabe & Lindsay's in Bellingham.

Hearn Christmas: my brother was santa. :)

New baby Alana!

Gowey Christmas.

Christmas in Spokane (with over 4 feet of snow).

Meet...

2008-12-29T19:23:00.000-08:00

Alana Joy
Born 1:18pm December 27th
7 lbs 9 oz, 20 inches long
Congratulations Jen & Ryan!

Christmas Birth

2008-12-24T23:12:00.000-08:00

Much is made of the baby.
The baby Jesus.
Born to be a savior.
But to believe that Jesus was born to be a savior
Is to believe that cribs hold dictators, and drug addicts.
Their lives ensnared by predestined fate.
Jesus was born to be a human.
And as a human he could make choices.
And his choices led him to Calvary and beyond.
The Christmas miracle was not that a predestined savior was born
But that the will of God was entrusted to humanity.
Our frailty, revealed in our infancy,
Is strong enough to hold the purposes of the Almighty.
The Christmas miracle is not wrapped up in one baby,
But in all humanity.
Each of us are frail but sacred vessels of possibility.
The world is full of saviors awaiting awareness
To make choices, to pay the price,
to ignite the sacred potential of a human life
and embody the divine.

-Pastor Rich Gamble

2008-12-22T17:31:00.001-08:00

Levi & I built a new friend this afternoon. :)

Snowy Days

2008-12-21T14:41:00.001-08:00

Favorites:

watching snow fall
sledding with kids
clean, decorated house
gathering friends in our home
reading reports comparing this storm to 1990 & 1996 & remembering where I was during those
warm kitties
Levi teaching himself to play guitar
Christmas lights in the snow
emails with Alan, Mom, Boo & Chris about our snow adventures
the crunch sound of walking in the snow
yummy food & drink

Prayers for those:

without shelter
away from their families
fleeing from their homes
unemployed
lacking food
feeling alone
battling mental illness
facing violence

May we all support efforts so that each person can experience the peace of this season.

Life lately...

2008-12-16T21:20:00.001-08:00

Lately Calvin has been squashing himself into various boxes.

And these two silly girls keep getting cuter & smarter.
And we are all eagerly awaiting the arrival of this Christmas baby.
And hoping for more snow!

Best wishes to you, dear friends!

10 on 10...

2008-12-11T19:40:00.000-08:00

sort of.

I feel as though I start each post with some comment about how busy life has been...this would be no exception. I've been traipsing about the country, trying to remain positive in a fearful/frustrating work environment, & navigating the slippery slope between work & life & sanity. It's a good thing I did not write this post yesterday, because with four hours of sleep on a missed connection in Dallas, the world looked horribly bleak & I was ready to burst into tears at anything. Thankfully I did as my mother always suggests: go to bed & go to sleep, tomorrow will be a better day. And indeed it is!

So, putting a twist on 10 on 10 (since I was on an airplane yesterday), here are 10 things I am thankful for & 10 recent favorite photos.

Levi--his patience with my ups & downs, absence, & neglect of the house
The Holden Evening Prayer Service at Keystone
Christmas lights
My Majha
My Budgie
Our recent trip to Kauai
Text messaging & how it helps keep me connected
Eggnog chai
Hoodies
This blogging community--I miss you all & hope you are well!

First batch of Flickr Photo's are up

2008-12-08T18:07:00.000-08:00

Maybe more to come not sure.

Our Set

Aaron's Set

Surfing

2008-12-08T17:43:00.000-08:00

The 6 of us took a surf lesson while in Kauai. It was great fun and we were all successful getting up on the boards. I can see why people get addicted to the sport. Even on the small waves we were riding it was a rush.

Just north of Na Pali Coast

2008-12-07T21:31:00.001-08:00

The sun was in and out on the trip but when it came out the blue ocean was a thing to see.

Back from Kauii

2008-12-07T13:37:00.000-08:00

We are home and safe and cold. Had a great trip. Lots of great pictures and stories. Unfortunately my camera broke while we were there so this was the only good shot I got. Liza's should have plenty of good pictures though.

More to come..

A Festival of Hope

2008-11-19T09:36:00.001-08:00

Join us this weekend to participate in an alternative economy in which people come first -- an economy of love & justice.

For the First time in Eliza's life

2008-11-05T21:02:00.000-08:00

In January for the first time in Eliza's life and for the first time since I have had memory there will not be a Clinton or a Bush holding one of the top two seats in the United States. That is crazy to think about.

Rachael Lake Hike

2008-10-31T21:45:00.000-07:00

We took the opportunity last Sunday to hike. With it being such a nice day we set out to Rachael Lake, a hike we had never done this late in the fall. The group consisted of Bet, Chris, Nicole, Eliza, and myself.

The hike is 4 miles out and 4 miles back. The last mile gains in the neighborhood of 1300 ft so it is a challenge. Luckily there are several waterfalls along the path to distract us.

When we got to the top the lake was beautiful as always. If you actually continue past Rachael Lake, uphill another half mile, another series of lakes exist. The lakes in my opinion are even better then Rachael however we didn't have time to visit them on Sunday.

Nicole and Chris decided to take a nap.

Bet and I worked on getting pictures of he lake.

Checking In

2008-10-18T12:49:00.000-07:00

Hello!
The Penick household is just emerging from being sick most of the week. I came down with it first (after running a great Heifer 101 workshop in downtown Seattle). It came at a good time for me, as I was forced to take some time off while waiting for my broken laptop to be fixed & sent back from Little Rock tech support (who knew you were supposed to clean the things every week!? :)
Then Levi came down with my cold, worse than me & right when he was trying to finish 20+ reviews at work. We're both feeling better as we head into the weekend--Levi headed off to a card show this morning & I am sitting in the airport waiting to board my flight to Denver. It's going to be a long, intensive week with my 12 colleagues from around the U.S., but I do get a little time to see my cousin Meredith & hopefully go on a hike tomorrow.
I've been working a lot & am still trying to figure out those work/personal boundaries, with the realization that I knew the first couple years of this job were going to be pretty demanding. It's a scary time in the not-for-profit world & as we approach the holiday season (in which over 50% of our revenue comes in) we're all a little nervous about how things are going to pan out.
I hope everyone is well & enjoying this gorgeous fall weather!

Congrats Eric and Nicole!!

2008-10-13T19:55:00.000-07:00

Eliza and I's good friends Eric and Nicole got engaged last weekend!

Congrats!

Sightline

2008-10-13T19:53:00.000-07:00

This is a very cool outfit Eliza and I found out about last year.

Check it our if you have the time.

http://daily.sightline.org/

We Heart Fall

2008-10-05T20:13:00.001-07:00

Saturday we had a lovely girls' day ushering in the autumn season. We lingered over breakfast at our favorite spot in Ballard (Wild Mountain Cafe), we browsed Antika in Greenwood & Momma picked out her birthday present, we sipped tea & spent over an hour playing with pumpkins at Swanson's Nursery, & then bought pretty gourds & yummy food at the Ballard Market.

At Swanson's, it's $25 for as many pumpkins you can fit into a Radio Flyer wagon. We piled it high & had one additional large pumpkin that we thought would need to be purchased separately, but as we stood in line, a young workman came over & with a smile balanced the final pumpkin on the top of the pile & cheerfully brought it to the attention of the cashier.

My front step makes me happy. :)

Three years ago I brought home two tiny kittens in October.
Here they are now.

Happy Fall to All!

Sonics or rather THUNDER

2008-10-01T18:32:00.000-07:00

If any of you have followed Seattle sports over the last year, yes very depressing I know, check out this blog http://benditlikebennett.blogspot.com/ it cracks me up. The comments make it all the better as many people just don't get the "tone" of the blog.

Our Poor Blog

2008-09-28T11:30:00.000-07:00

Clearly Liza and I are not doing a good job updating our blog. It has been a busy summer and we have both been very busy with work. With that said here are some of the things we have been doing to keep ourselves busy.

Co-workers wedding on a sunny Saturday. I was really fun to go to the wedding because Liza and I seriously looked at this venue for our wedding some 4 and 1/2 years ago.

I also got a new (used) SLR camera a few weeks back and have been having fun learning and playing with the settings.

The sun is out so it is time to go on another bike ride!

Oh and for all of you wondering Liza's shoulder keeps improving. She has now been out on the road bike several times and has almost all her range of motion back. Strength in the shoulder is still building however and will still be a few more week away.

Crashes

2008-08-30T10:17:00.000-07:00

Over here at the Penick blog, you may have noticed that we like to post photos of our various bike crashes. Bruises & injuries are always fun to show off & perhaps they serve as reminders to us--now whether those reminders do any good is debatable.
It all started with the documentation of my encounter with a tree in early 2005 when I first started mountain biking.
I don't know that this one even warrants mentioning, but there was the small road mishap I had on the Fremont Bridge in May 2007 while commuting home from work.
Then Levi took his first tumble on his new Truth, on Tiger in July 2007.
And this May he went ass over handlebars at St. Ed's. With the nature of his pain & injuries we're guessing he also had a disruption in his AC joint, probably a class 1 or 2.
To continue the tradition, here are photos taken earlier this week from my crash.
Can you tell which shoulder it is?
My bike landed on my left leg.
I have no idea when this happened.
A few scrapes to go along with the bruises.
The good news is that I saw the orthopedic surgeon on Thursday & I don't need surgery! I've got a 95% chance that everything will heal up fine in the next 6-8 weeks with full range of motion & no residual pain.
A full week after the crash, bruises on my shoulder are showing up.

Bend

2008-08-25T21:08:00.000-07:00

We took off for Bend, Oregon last Thursday morning & returned late last night.
Our only agenda: ride bikes, drink beer.
Accompanied by our friends, Mike, Joy, their two kids, & Chris, we had an awesome time. We all agreed that it was some of the best mountain biking any of us have experienced.
Here's our campground, with the entire Phil's Trailhead right in our backyard & a peek-a-boo view of Mt. Bachelor.

Levi with Alina & Cameron.

Riley trying to nab the bacon that we hung to attract the bees away from our campsite.

Nice rocks in our campsite--perfect for climbing, warming in the sun, & star watching.

Alina Bina had a fun afternoon in the dirt. The desert dirt was so fine & got everywhere!

Deschuttes--one of three brewery stops.

Whoops Trail--the beginning of a seven mile descent.

Hands down the funnest (yes, that's a word now) trail I've ever ridden.

Chris riding a berm on Whoops.

Me riding Whoops.

The trip would have been just about perfect, except I crashed on Saturday's last ride. It was on the Whoops trail, which I had already rode once just fine that day. The second time around I was a bit over-confident & pushed my limits, gathering too much speed as I hit a 5 foot tall double-peaked table (or Whoop-de-Woo). Coming off the top, my back tire caught a lot of air & I didn't bring my front up enough, so I went over the top, landing mainly on my right shoulder. I walked off the trail just fine, but the evening of Levi's 29th birthday was spent in the Bend ER. The image below shows the AC joint--where your clavile meets your shoulder blade & there are four ligaments.AC injuries are fairly common among athletes--it's actually nicknamed the Quarterback Injury. I have a class 3 distruption of that joint, meaning I blew all four ligaments. I see an orthopedic surgeon on Thursday, but from the information I have learned from my knowledgeable Uncle Casey & the internet, hopefully surgery will not be necessary. I'm praying that with some rest & physical therapy, it will heal well & I'll be back to full range of motion by our trip to Hawaii in December.
Next summer, I'll definitely be ready to head out on another mountain biking adventure for Levi's & Mike's birthdays--we're thinking Whistler. :)

Favorite Photos of Late...

2008-08-25T18:52:00.000-07:00

Calvin, biker kitty.

Liz, Jen & me at our 10 year reunion.

Gowey pool party at Boo's.

Late 10 on 10

2008-08-11T21:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was 10 on 10 & I missed it! Our blog is definitely facing some neglect between a busy summer & my attempts to not spend so much of my free time on the computer. As I head off to work from Little Rock for the week, I leave you with 10 of my favorite photos from the last 10 days. Have a wonderful week!

Today

2008-07-28T20:13:00.000-07:00

My Grandma Anne joined her adoring husband, Granpa John.
It is sad to have Grandma gone, but I am thankful she is not struggling in her earthly body anymore. I know Granpa was waiting for her with a huge smile on his face. It makes me so happy to know they are together again.
I left work a little early & headed up north to check on my little sister, as this is the first grandmother she has lost (& it's so difficult to lose the mother of your mother). We headed out into the bright afternoon & took a walk in the grass with Tillie.

It's such an affirmation of life to see the next generation (especially when the next generation carries the name of the lost loved one, Tillie Anne). With the loss of many elders recently, Boo & I have had many discussions over these losses & our responses to them. One reoccurring reaction we both have is a surge in the desire to have our own children. Perhaps a response for the continuation of our family, of the species, of life, as one generation passes, we both feel a increased desire to introduce the next generation. It was comforting to watch Tillie, the next Hagopian/Hearn/Maier generation, run & laugh in the sunshine.
I need my remaining three grandparents to be with us for a while longer--I'm not quite ready to provide the next generation.

Lately

2008-07-27T22:31:00.000-07:00

I'm going to make some changes--starting tomorrow. :)
With the realization of certain things, especially how crazy work is going to get in the coming months, some priorities need to be shuffled.
--less time on the computer when I am home. Lately, after spending most of the day working on a computer, I come home & automatically turn it on again. Sometimes it's work, sometimes not, sometimes a combination. But this is time I could be on a bike ride, visiting friends or family, reading, making dinner,spending time with Levi, just simply being out enjoying the summer & not tied to this laptop.
--more care in what I eat. Lately, I've slacked off a ton in this area & go for what's most convenient & not necessarily healthy. I haven't been making enough time to visit the farmer's markets to really enjoy the amazing produce that's available. It's important to me that I support local growers & not buy my produce at Safeway & I haven't made this enough of a priority lately. With Levi & I waiting to switch to a house till next year, I hope to then commit time to growing some of our own food.
--my mind, my heart, my time. Lately, not enough of these three things have been committed to the people & activities I love the most. For whatever reasons, I am the type of person that lets myself get caught up in the aspects of life that seem to need me (or that I think I need), when the truth is that none of these things truly need me, & instead I find I have neglected those that I need most--my family, my dear friends, time for bike rides & hikes, for reading & creative endeavors, for supporting causes I believe in.
All of this becomes that much more complicated when combined with my job & the fact that it crosses over many of these categories. Heifer International is one of the causes I believe in very strongly & my work for them supports the important work they do around the world. Therefore, there are times that my job will get the best of me, to the neglect of other areas in my life. I am quickly learning that this is the joy & hardship of working for something you believe in--which also happens to be a non-profit with limited staff, stretching the time & ability of those of us lucky enough to do this work. So, as I muddle through & seek to rearrange my priorities & become more efficient with my time (vital!), I ask for patience from those closest to me. The coming months are going to be crazy--a test of patience & abilities for me. And I'm going to need patience & support from you. I have chosen this as my life's work & while I will not allow it to become my life, there are times it will require a great deal from me.

Anybody have any tips for time management & efficiency?

Here's what has been happening lately that I love:
Mountain biking the top of Galbraith Mt. in Bellingham.

Being silly with people I love.

My beautiful Momma & Auntie Beth at a fun bridal shower for my cousin.

Taking Tillie on her first bike ride (in a trailer).

My silly niece in the pool.

Rafting with my co-workers.

A weekend with Levi--spending time with his family, meeting old friends at his reunion, riding our bikes together, catching a movie.

Good thing I said I'd start these changes tomorrow, cause now it's 10:30pm & I've spent much of the evening on the computer. Sweet dreams & priorities to all!

Measure of America

2008-07-25T09:16:00.000-07:00

I'm very excited to get a copy of this--the first report to measure an industrialized nation on human development. Read more here.

And we're doing fine over here. :) We head off this afternoon to spend the weekend in Spokane--Levi's 10 year reunion is tonight.
Enjoy your weekend!

For Aaron

2008-07-05T10:14:00.001-07:00

As promised, the link to our photos on the new camera (not all were taken by the digital SLR, but the majority).

G-paw

2008-07-03T19:35:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was a memorial of sorts for my Grandpa Bruce who passed away in November.
After returning home, the thought of blogging about the weekend seemed daunting & overwhelming to me. I'm sure part of it was because there are so many photos to choose from, but more significantly because I had jumbled up feelings of frustration & loss & did not want to tackle that here on this virtual journal.
Those feelings seem to have settled into a deep missing of my G-paw & the acceptance that some aspects of last weekend can never be explained in words.
My G-paw was very involved in the Portland Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden for many years & it was here that we gathered family & friends, dedicated a tree in his honor, & told stories about his life & passions.
After a humid afternoon filled with constant heat & occasional thunder, it started to rain as my sister & I walked the last pathway together out of the park. The drops were soon falling fast & heavy & we both welcomed the cooling wetness, laughing with tears in our eyes because we knew it was G-paw.

"When you come to the end of a good Scout's day
And you sit in the campfire's light
And the peaks are lit in the sun's last ray
O'er the shade of the coming night
And you think what the end of a good Scout's day
Can mean to us comrades true.
When the bugle blows and the flag comes down
And the stars shine in fields of blue,
Well this is the end of a good Scout day."

NW Girls in the South

2008-06-25T13:14:00.000-07:00

The girls of our NW office (which is the whole office, except for our boss) headed to our Little Rock headquarters this week. We had a great time--heading out on the town, touring LR, meeting folks at HQ, & enjoying a quick trip to Heifer's Ranch.
Here we are, enjoying the beer sampler at a brewery on the Arkansas riverfront.

Great fun, but I am looking forward to boarding my plane in a few minutes & being back home!

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads...

2008-06-15T21:24:00.000-07:00

especially my own.

Weekend

2008-06-15T21:08:00.000-07:00

Great weekend, we're all tired, quick update.
Saturday was the annual trip to the Museum of Flight for Father's Day.

Friends from DC came into town & we headed to the Ms game with a whole crowd of people.
Here's Eric & Levi & Nick, all Spokane boys.

Our wonderful weekend guests, Eric & Nicole.

Seagull view from the top of Safeco.

Sunday we headed up to B'ham, hiked Oyster Dome & enjoyed dinner & beer at JP & Elyse's house.

Hope everyone got out to enjoy the sunshine...finally!

June 10 on 10

2008-06-10T20:47:00.000-07:00

Today was another round of the 10 on 10 photo journal. While I love participating in this, I've come to grips with the reality that I am not a great photographer & I get much more pleasure seeing the amazing photos from the other participants. See them yourself here.
I also hope that July 10th holds something more exciting for me, as I had a hard time coming up with interesting topics while working from my desk all day long!
This month, I decided to take photos of things on my right--I recently had an optometry appointment & my awesome doctor fitted me for a new contact lens that will give my right eye (my bad eye) almost 20-20 vision again! Hence, the perspective from my right side.
My day starts off with Calvin, who is almost always at my side, right or left.

To my right in the car on my way to work.

I am outgrowing my small, though thoroughly appreciated, office space & now this is on the floor to my right--our global map & the milk & egg cartons I use for visuals at elementary presentations.

And of course, my mouse. I am left handed, but after using shared computers so much in college, I am now more comfortable with the mouse on the right side.

The beautiful roses I pass on the right side of the street on my walk to the Tangletown Market. They smell so good!

Mug of tea for my right hand while I look up a project in Romania for a donor interested in funding work that directly benefits children.

My treasured Betty LaDuke print, Peru: Tree of Life, on the wall to the right of my desk (Sidenote: I will hopefully be heading to Ecuador next spring to visit projects!)

A note from my delightful co-worker & fellow Elfquest fan--this sits to the right of my phone where I can glance at it often & laugh.

Holding my shopping list in my right hand as I head home.

Meatballs for dinner!

That's June!
Looking forward to seeing everyone else's 10 on 10.

I heart Ballard

2008-06-08T20:41:00.000-07:00

Much of my weekend was spent in Ballard, the Seattle neighborhood I grew up in. Friday I was thrilled to have an afternoon with my cousin who just moved back from Colorado. We hit our favorites--Ivar's, Gasworks, coffee (from Cafe Fiori) & Shilshole Beach.
Saturday was Demolition Day at my mom's house. We took down the old garage in the backyard, which was built in 1930 when the house was going up (the first owners likely lived in the garage while the house was being constructed).
As we were watching Bet wield the chainsaw, sawing through the beams all rough & tough, Boo comments: "This is the same guy who likes bubble baths." :)

The final wall is down!

It's amazing how much this changes the backyard--my mom is very excited to expand her garden. The ground apartment next door will be razed later this year (as well as the house behind it) & townhomes will go up--the view from the back alley will likely change dramatically by next spring.

We uncovered all kinds of bugs & spiders during demolition, which was fun for me. We found possibly the biggest European House Spider I have ever seen. Testing out the macro setting on my camera, here's a nest of newborn spiders making their way into the world (Elyse, skip this photo).

And I couldn't resist climbing the apple tree again. This tree was my access to the top of the garage. As a little kid I used to pack a backpack with a snack & a couple books, climb the apple tree, & "run-away" to the roof of the garage.

After much accomplished at my mom's (but more to do), we headed to downtown Ballard for the Second Ascent Twilight Crit--always a great series of races. Here's the mens Category 1 coming down Salmon Bay at around 32 mph.

Today I biked to church & then met Levi at home to go check out a cruiser off Craig's List (yes, I want another bike) & looked at a few open houses along the way.
I hope everyone had a great weekend--hopefully the next one will be sunny & warmer!

My weekend so far...

2008-05-31T21:18:00.000-07:00

has been awesome!

It started early, as I took Friday off to hike with my good friend Liz. She's summiting Half Dome next week & wanted to get in one good hike prior to leaving, so we did the 8 miles & 3,700 foot elevation gain of Mount Si.
Looking west from the top.
And east from the top.
Lizzie
Me with Rainier visible in the background.
After we hiked back, we did more talking & laughing while enjoying the sunshine atop a picnic table. We ended the day with delicious beer & sandwiches at the Snoqualmie Brewhouse. It was great to have an entire day just me & Liz.
Today we rode a stellar 40+ route with lots of hills on Camano Island with Joy & Mike.
Joy's folks watched the kids while we rode, fed us a yummy dinner, & we enjoyed the view from their back deck!
Mike & Alina in her adorable Mexican dress from Nana & Papa.
Cameron loves Levi.
Us.
The Walkers.
And the kids sacked out on the ride home. Which is what Levi & I are going to do ourselves now!

Global Food Crisis

2008-05-29T10:42:00.000-07:00

We've all been hearing about the global food crisis. I work in the field of hunger alleviation & never before has the need for a lasting solution to hunger & poverty been so clear or necessary. Much of what the news is calling for is immediate food aid, which is necessary to keep people alive, but it is not a permanent answer for communities devastated by rising food prices. Food aid will fluctuate (& create dependencies on foreign aid) and the rise in food prices due to high oil prices & increased demand from rapidly developing countries like China & India is only going to increase. Heifer's model of sustainable development is vital in providing a permanent, holistic solution, created & driven by the communities themselves. More here.

Auntie's Evening with Tillie

2008-05-28T23:11:00.000-07:00

Boo & I got to babysit Tillie last night while Ems & Anthony had a night out.
It was great fun. We went to the fruit market, played with the kitties, then headed out to feed the ducks & walk the nature reserve behind our house. Tillie loved all the birds & was fascinated by their sounds & flying. Also, you get a glimpse of the next phase of my bird design--Tillie is modeling a Lili Concepts sweatshirt. This & more will hopefully be up on a new Etsy shop soon!
Here she is on the move!

As promised...

2008-05-24T10:25:00.000-07:00

A full 9 days after Levi's crash, the bruises are showing up in force. His left side & leg are peppered with colorful marks, the one below being the most impressive.

And his chest skipped the blue & purple stage & went straight to green & yellow.
Ignore the white scar--he did that long ago when he pulled on a tablecloth & brought down a pot of hot coffee on himself, resulting in a skin graft (he was not quite two years old).

And now we're off for a road ride! :)