I have the day off, since today is the official recognition of Martin Luther King's birthday and we have it off at work as a holiday. I went out for a walk,which I need to get back to regularly, and took a look at the front yard. I have trimmed back some (severly on my redtwig dogwood), and figured I might do some more work there since it isn't raining yet today. But aside from maybe scrubbing the front walk and driveway (moss) and mulching a few beds (and picking up trimmings) there isn't any real big stuff to do and it'll just get messy again. I think the real cleanup will wait till at least until the first flowers start coming up (primroses and muscari)and that won't be for at least another month. The back yard and patio could use some work, however, but I don't know if I'm motivated enough to do much there yet.

Will have to take the car in to have an oil leak fixed...thought we could stretch it out a bit more, but no. Cars can be such a pain sometimes :( ...

Reading a good series now, the Belgariad, by David Eddings. Nearing the end of the second of 5 books and really enjoying it.

I just finished reading the biography of John Adams that I have been reading. It is quite an enlightening look into the life of our second President. He usually gets overlooked in our history retelling,given much less coverage than Jefferson and Washington, Hamilton and Franklin, who were all contemporaries. He, and his wife Abigail,were well read and well-written, complex individuals who helped this country become what it is, in part. They exchanged many letters on every subject imaginable. Their life together was a love story of partners who encouraged each other to excel in every thing they did , comforted and defended each other when discouraged, and supported each other every step of the way.

Adams and Jefferson had an on and off relationship/friendship,with many letters exchanged over the years, which culminated in a unique historical ending. They both died in the same year on the same day, and the day was the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1826.
Both were in failing health but determined to live to see "one more Fourth of July"

Again, I highly recommend the book , John Adams, by David McCulloch.

Now, I'm back to fantasy, starting the Belgariad series by David Eddings (a present from my sweetie)...quite a change of pace, but that's typical for me.

I hope everyone had a happy and safe New Year's Eve. We went dancing and were swinging in the New Year with a whole bunch of others. Biggest New Year's Eve party we've been to in years. Great fun. Tired,for sure, but still a lot of fun.

I am still plowing through the John Adams biography. Just finished the part about the presidential election of 1800, between Adams and Jefferson. It is worth noting, especially considering our recent past elections, that we really didn't see much new as far as extreme partisan campaigning. It is distressing to see a debate on issues get bogged down in name-calling and dire predictions of calamity if the other candidate wins. Yet that is just what happened Adams-Jefferson contest over 200 years ago.

These were two men who both had extensive national and foreign affairs experience. Both were heroes of the Revolution and involved in setting up the whole government (Constitution). One was the current President and the other the sitting Vice-President. Both were well-written and well-spoken. But to partisans on both sides the nation was headed for disaster if the other person won. Two prominent names among the partisans,Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, would go on to ignominious ends. Burr would obtain the office of Vice President, but later be tried for treason. Hamilton would go on to foolishly get into a duel (pistols at paces) with Burr and lose his life.

On the other hand, Jefferson would serve as President and help orchestrate the Louisiana Purchase (from France) that would vastly expand the size of our country. Adams would retire to write and farm, and his eldest son, John Quincy, would end up as our sixth President, though his father would not live to see it happen. In an odd occurrence in our history, both Adams and Jefferson would end up dying not only in the same year (1824) but on the very same day. And one would ask about the other on his death bed.

Both of these men are remembered well in our history, though Jefferson usually gets the greater credit. Both were great contributors to the nation we have today. And to their credit they themselves too little part in the bickering of the election of 1800. But it is wise to remember that passions of elections can get out of hand and we are still one nation and we must all work together for the betterment of all, or we will all suffer the consequences.

Happy New Year everyone! :)

Today we celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary, my dear sweetie iorhael94 and I.
I am very glad to have her as my one true love, my soul-mate, my best friend. Through all the highs and lows (this year having another one of those lows)wherever we are together that is home and we share it all. I love you ,my dear, and always will :)

The other day I got a real surprise looking out my den window, while I was working. I had put up a hummingbird feeder in the summer after seeing a couple hummingbirds flitting around some of my plants. It was late summer and I wasn't sure how many more I would see, but I thought it was worth a try. I don't think I saw anymore after that and I was just thinking that I should take it down. Then I looked out the window earlier this week and twice saw a little one flitting around the feeder just outside the window. I think it must have missed it's flight down south for the winter, but it was a treat to see:)...(I also saw a pair of squirrels checking out my planter with bird seed ,so I guess I'll have to refill that soon).

This is why I love living in the Northwest and being a gardener. I love the surprises I see,whether plant or animal. There's always something new to see if you only train your eyes to look for it. Too many people are afraid and looking out for bad things that might happen. I try to be on the lookout for good things to happen, because I believe that God puts good things in our days and I don't want to miss encountering His Blessings.

Merry Christmas everyone :)

Some quotes from the John Adams biography by David McCullough that I am reading:
( quotes under cut )

Just a few quotes for you to ponder. I am 2/3rds of the way through, up to the point when Adams succeeds Washington as President. Fascinating reading (for someone who loves history :)

I see that posting has been really sketchy recently. Combination of traveling back and forth to the East Coast twice, plus holiday season, and being sick with a hanging on cold. For a while I was only on the computer for work, and then only because I get to work at home...no need to worry about infecting my coworkers :)
I also have been curling up with a very good book,a biography of John Adams, by David McCullough.Being a history/poli sci fan it is a treat. It is full of descriptions of the people,places and events of Revolutionary America and before...later will get to early Presidential history, but I am not to that part yet...just finishing with the Treaty of Paris which ending the War.

The writer paints a reality-based picture of many characters, as seen through Adams eyes by way of letters and diary entries. No cardboard cutouts or stereotypes. And the events are shown in all their complexity. Did you know that John Adams was the defense attorney for the British soldiers on trial in the aftermath of the Boston "Massacre" ? (and that most were justifiably acquitted? ) And that one night he and Benjamin Franklin had quite a spirited debate over the health benefits of closed versus open windows, while sharing a bedroom?

He also thought that promoting higher education was a valid and valued function of any good government (wrote it into the Massachusetts Constitution).

I highly recommend the book. Find out what our Founding Fathers were really like.

Today I am truly thankful. Thankful for my dear sweet wife, thankful for my family, most of whom will be gathering together in one place to celebrate and feast (we are missing a couple couples, but they also will be with family). I am thankful for the essential necessities of life (food,water, shelter, clothes). I am thankful for freedom and opportunity that so many in this world do not have nor have any prospect of every having. I am thankful for God's blessings on me in so many ways, and for his grace and forgiveness when I mess up. I am thankful for the beauty of nature all around me, and the all the critters in it, and the wonderful design that I see in it all that points to the Almighty Creator. I do not believe ,nor ever will, that it all came by chance. The finger of God is too plain to see.

I am thankful for a President who seeks to motivate by hope, not fear, and I pray that he will keep strong. Not as an idol, but as an inspiration and example..."only in America". I am thankful for, and supportive of, our system of government and all it's processes. It is not perfect, but there is so much opportunity there that we take for granted. It is up to us to take advantage of that.

I am thankful for the freedom to travel anywhere in this great land of ours safely, and I am now off to do that myself...to spend a few hours on the road to get to where my family is gathering.

Be safe and sane,my friends :)

Today is a special day, it is my dear sweetheart's birthday.
Happy Birthday iorhael94
We met over 20 years ago and have been married for almost 15, and there's no one else I'd rather share my life with than her. She is smart, beautiful, intelligent, with a kind open heart that welcomes all in. She has a good sense of humor, accepts me with all my quirkiness - even my experiments in cooking. We share so much in common, and when/where we are different we complement each other.

This has not been the easiest of years, with her father passing away and another close friend's husband dying suddenly. Times have been tough in other ways, just like what the country is going through right now. And birthdays sometimes are hard, because we look back and wonder what we might have done differently, or just how far ago some things occurred. But I believe it is a time to celebrate life and relationships and the treasures we have. And I have the best treasure ever in my dear wife.

Happy Birthday dear!

Over the past few weeks I have done hit-and-miss gardening...haven't spent a lot of time at it since we have been out of town or busy with other things (like dancing) and the weather has turned a bit more rainy. Even so I have noticed new things happening - the garden moves on in spite of me sometimes :)
( pics under cut )
All this color is a nice reward for gardening work, though I take pleasure in the doing as well. The new work? Harvesting the lavender buds from the stems I trimmed, harvesting the fennel seeds from the seed heads forming, and picking the remaining cherry and grape tomatoes from the pots planted outside the kitchen door. My veggie plantings were not much this year, but they sure look and taste great ;)

for any out there who don't believe God exists, or that everything just came by chance
how do you explain this:



his blog is at http://jonathanturley.org/2009/09/10/space-butterfly/

thanks to Jonathan Turley for sharing it on his blog -he really is much more than "just" a constitutional scholar at George Washington University
this was taken by the Hubble Telescope ...and now is my new desktop background :)

Today is my mom's birthday. She would have been 93 today. She died 30 years ago, but her influence lives on in me. She taught me compassion for all, regardless of how they looked, where they were from, or what kind of person they were. She had no time for prejudice, grandstanding, or making points at the expense of others. She and my dad had their own struggles with health insurance and they had serious medical conditions, which in that day and this make it difficult to get insurance - pre-existing conditions. They worked hard all their lives, and thank goodness Medicare was there in later years to help with medical bills. I don't know if she would have
liked all of what the health care reform bill includes , but she would be respectful in her differences, and would be appalled at the rude behavior of those at the town halls - the ones who yell and hold nasty signs. She would insist on respect for the President and members of Congress.
Were that there were more like her today.
Thanks Mom, it is because of you (and Dad) that I am who I am today:). I miss you very much.:(

I haven't done any yard work this weekend, since all the things I wanted to trim are all wet and that's no fun:(. Last weekend I trimmed and weeded and spread more compost on some of the beds. I have more to do, but things are getting a little bit neater.
( here's some pics of beds,finds, and a friend )
and here is my friend, a neighborhood cat who has "adopted" our house. She is getting fed somewhere (not by us) but had kittens here once (under our bay window), and shows up regularly to stretch out on the grass or on the front porch to sun herself. She came out an kept me company (from a distance) for a little while when I was working.

Sad news just broke, Senator Ted Kennedy died tonight of brain cancer at 77. I really had hoped he would have lasted until the vote on healthcare reform, but it was not to be.:( Hopefully there will be renewed energy by Democrats to get a bill passed, to guarantee all Americans affordable healthcare. Also hopping that the naysayers and those who consistently attacked this fine American during his life will keep quiet at his death. They have done enough already.
I feel especially bad for Caroline Kennedy, Patrick Kennedy, and Maria Shriver. They have lost two close relatives (the other was Eunice Shriver) within a couple weeks. My prayers go out to God for them in this time of grief.
Thanks, Teddy, for all you have done. May you find perfect rest now.
We will work hard to carry out, passing the torch along to the next generation of Americans, and making sure they are healthy enough to carry it.

I completed what I started yesterday, moving the blocks for my herb plot from the shadows to the light. It was a good workout, to be sure, and I am sure the herbs will love the sunlight, but exhausting as heck. Thank goodness it was partly cloudy with a little breeze at times. I am temporarily using it as a compost bin , putting both greens (leaves, grass,etc) and browns (twigs, vine cuts, rose cane trimmings, etc) into it and over the fall and winter will hose and turn it to help break down the plant matter into good compost soil. I have basically oregano and mint remaining of the herbs originally planted there, and they will spend the off-season in pots until spring when I will plant more herbs. I might put some winter pansies there for color or try some winter weather stuff as cover crop. For now I am resting from my labor, and waiting for more tomatoes to ripen.
( pics under cut )

I spent a few hours working in the garden today. I transplanted, weeded, trimmed back old growth, and moved a few blocks - actually more than a few. I had built an herb plot in the back yard shortly after we moved here, but my personal Ents have taken over and surrounded the plot,so I had to move it so that it would get more sun (herbs like sun to grow). In the process I discovered a few new points of color in my garden.
( pics under cut )

everywhere there is color...yet more work to be done...nice break from the computer :)

I just finished a second book. Fahrenheit 451. It is spooky in a way, because although it was written over 50 years ago ,some things are so like today. It pictures a world where people don't read, instead they live through video walls. They have given up independent thought and want someone else to feed them information and tell them what to think. They drive so fast they have miles long billboards so they can read the ads. In such a world making reading books illegal is not controversial and having firemen burning books is seen as a civic duty -to maintain order.
Today we don't burn books, and firemen put out fires,not start them. But how many of us really value reading, or read thought-provoking books, let alone stop and do some real thinking of our own? ...something to ponder.

The other book I read recently was Dr Zhivago. It was much longer, and is more descriptive than narrative. It pictures events in Russia mainly at the time of the 1917 Revolution and the subsequent Russian Civil War, through the eyes of the title character, and his love, Lara. It makes one realize how much we have to be thankful for. We rarely have to worry about the basic necessities of life, and we have a stable society. We may disagree with our political leadership but we have a say in it. We are born with hope and opportunity to improve our lives. And we have a rich history of increasing democracy with a firm reliance upon the rule of law, not the rule by force. The Russians of that day had none of that. They scrapped out their existence in a harsh environment, both physical and political, and for 4 years were trapped between two hostile forces (the Whites and the Reds) bent on controlling everything. And families were torn apart. No wonder that the writer, Boris Pasternak, had to have his manuscript smuggled out of the Soviet Union to be published.

My take - be thankful for what you have, where you live, celebrate independent thought, double check with original sources everything you read online or get in emails. ....and , at least once a month, if not more, turn off the computer and curl up with a good book -one that makes you think...:)

I decided to make a slight name change to my LJ. As I had earlier posted I have started a new blog - Chytha's Resonance- for discussion of faith and politics issues, so the "questioning" part of my LJ is there more often, where as the "quest" part , the daily life events, are still LJ. So it seemed logical to rename my LJ, for which I have chosen LifeQuest. My journey is involved with family, friends, daily adventures with my sweetie, and my garden. Politics is involved but my life is much more than that. If you want to check out my rants, reasonings, and resolutions, go to http://chythasresonance.blogspot.com/

There are more garden pics to come and a review of Boris Pasternak's Dr Zhivago, which I just finished reading. But for now I am wiped , heat is still here, and my mind I think is still in the San Juan Islands, which we just came back from, so more intelligent writing will have to wait till later:)

We're about to head out to catch the ferry to the San Juan Islands, to meet friends for a long weekend of relaxation in the islands. Every time we go it is such a treat -away from the hustle and bustle, away from work, time to reflect while gazing at the water. And a chance to catch up with good friends that we only see once a year, since they retired to Arizona and only come up here for the summer (good thinking on their part). They have a nice little cabin by the water ,with deer that walk by , hummingbirds that visit their feeder, and the loudest sound is the lapping waves off their porch. After this week it we really need it.

trying to keep cool...remembering cooler days...how about this pic? ...doesn't help that Firefox seems to be fritzy ...grr... working till 3pm then heading for a cool bookstore,etc, until the heat breaks for the day...very thankful to have left my Phoenix days behind...except I think they may have followed me...:(
keep cool everybody :)