Photoessay #1012 - Tour de Terrace Parade

Last night Melina, Teddy and I marched in the Tour de Terrace, the SeaFair related community parade for the town of Mountlake Terrace. We marched with other dogs and people in the "Off Leash Dog Park" entry. You can see us walking along in the first shot. Melina holds Teddy's leash (which she did most of the time). I think this is her first parade (seeing of marching). Pretty exciting walking down the street with people lining the sidewalks and applauding as our small group passed by. Melina had a great time. She's in the middle behind the new snazzy banner. Teddy obediently marches with the group only occasionally attempting to wrestle with his buddy Tully, the Australian Shepherd. One man carried his new Shiloh Shepherd puppy Tilly, only 8 weeks old. Teddy looks back at me in this shot. I'm actually being interviewed by a reporter from the Enterprise. Maybe we will be featured this week, I'll have to watch out for it.

Second shot, taken hurriedly by Dennis at the end attempts to feature the whole group.

Funny, being interviewed in the middle of the parade.

Photoessay #1011 - The Atlantic!

Danny had never been to the east coast before. He really wanted to see and touch the Atlantic Ocean. Mary Ann did mention that this technically couldn't happen in New Haven. But we could go to the beach and touch Long Island Sound, that certainly would be close enough. So on a hot Saturday earlier this month, we toured around New Haven.

Danny rejoices reaching his goal at Fort Nathan Hale, a small site on the water that was used in the Revolutionary War and Civil War designed to protect New Haven Harbor. Didn't see too much action.

Hot bright day.

Hot news tonight, Melina, Teddy and I are marching in the Tour de Terrace parade as part of the dog park entry. Don't miss us!

Photoessay #1110 - Memoir certificate

I intend to take the Memoir Certificate program at the University of Washington Professional & Continuing Education. Year long program, not particularly cheap. I would never have considered taking this on when I was working. But now I will. It runs for 3 quarters. I realized today that the application process is a little bit more involved than putting in a credit card number. Writing sample and a letter of application. But, again thanks to not working, I managed to prepare these pieces this afternoon.

Other movement in the air. Danny called, he wanted to talk about the nuts and bolts of leaving his shared apartment and rent one of his own along with his girlfriend. I convinced him that really he had no impediments other than the usual and encouraged him to move ahead. He called me an hour or so later. He had given notice to his roommate and applied for and got a new apartment, just what he wanted. Yay!

Ilana realized, to her chagrin, that the registration for the classes at University of Michigan had actually started that morning and she didn't even know about it! She hadn't been checking her umich.edu address. By this morning, she had gotten all of the classes she needed.

Her workplace of only six months gave he a party even ordering a cake done up in Univ of Mich colors. One workmate gave her a set of maps, another some yummy baked bars packed in a container for the trip. So thoughtful.

She's getting ready to do what she calls 'Buick Tetris' fitting everything she needs into my mom's Buick. Her older sister will be here this evening to help (she'll whack thins into shape), her older brother on Saturday also to help. She's off on Sunday!

Picture used without permission from pickthebrain, a personal productivity site.

Here's the latest version of my writing sample I'm submitting. Suggestions welcome. It's a rewrite of my piece from last week from my Autobiography class. Exactly 500 words

Winter Olympics

The nurse at the hospital told me over the phone on Tuesday morning in February "Your mother has decided to end all of her meds and have her pacemaker stopped. Comfort medications only."

My 85 year old mother had declared many times throughout her life "I do NOT want to be kept alive with machines. If there's no hope for me to live independently, no heroics. Promise me!"

But this story is really about the Winter Olympics. My mother held some things in reverence...the space program, Leonard Bernstein, the Olympics and, of course, medical doctors. She had been looking forward to the Winter Olympics. When I spent time with her in the skilled nursing facility several weeks before, the promos would come on, she would cry out with anticipation and delight "Yes! I'm ready for the Olympics, I'm right here watching, Let them start!"

My brother, sister and I dropped everything and went to Rockford Illinois. The next morning my mom had a deathbed speech all prepared. She wanted us to support her "It's what I want! I'm at peace" she assured us, paying extra attention to my sister who would call out the medical cavalry given the chance.

By Wednesday afternoon she could only say words, not sentences. She soon became unresponsive. But the Winter Olympics were in full swing with plenty of skiers, skaters, snow boarders, hockey players. We watched those crazy sports all week cheering for the US athletes or whoever happened to be winning. Telling my mom about the medals and the records. "Mom, Apolo Ohno just got a silver medal!" When we left in the evening, we kept the Olympics on so, in her own way, she wouldn't miss out on the drama and pageantry.

She died Sunday afternoon. My siblings and I, spent the entire week with her watching the Olympics. We all knew that this train only had one destination. Like the ski slopes, down, down and down. We planned the memorial service and got the photos we would use ready. We had the opportunity to share all these arrangements with her.

Think about it, what would you rather have? A lot of people gathering around you, anguished, crying, grieving? A few times, other people visited, looking down at her, unhappy and upset. She was busy dying she didn't want all that distraction. She made that really clear "Up! Up!" she said, while she still could. So we kept things pretty quiet.

When your time comes, why not hang out with your adult children watching your beloved Olympics? Looking at family pictures? Just like you would be doing at home? The nurses kept the IV morphine flowing.

What good fortune that my mom could make this call herself.

My mom feared being alone at the end. But she wasn't. Her children peacefully stayed with her. We had all the time in the world. Plenty of ski-jumpers still blasting down the mountains and soaring into the air and figure-skaters spinning and spinning.

Photoessay #1109 - Going-away picnic

Some of Ilana's closest friends had a going away picnic for her last evening at the Ballard Locks. The locks serve boats going between the ship canal between Lake Union and Puget Sound. Always a great place to bring visitors, fun to watch the boats, big and small, go through the locks. I had forgotten the beauty of the immaculately groomed Carl English Botanical Garden adjacent to the actual locks. We picnicked on the terraced grass overlooking the locks. What a nice place for a summer evening! Though Ilana said they definitely throw you out at 9pm, no exceptions.

Here, Ilana's friend Erin prepares the pretty cake she made to be served. We;re looking away from the locks here towards the railroad bridge. We saw two trains.

Ilana on the left, her friend Nicole looking on. Closeup of the bird down by the water watching the boats, likely hoping for a handout.

Photoessay #1108 - Lost at Yale

During our recent visit to Connecticut, we took a tour of Yale University. Just because it's there. One of those things you rarely do except when somebody comes to visit. Hot day. We took the tour and walked through the campus. The tone seemed designed to motivate highly qualified students and their parents to 'Choose Yale' along with the huge associated price tag.

Not that I'm immune. I haven't been involved with private colleges but I have participated in paying out of state tuitions.

We visited the visually impressive Bienicke library. I know I've seen it before. The shell is made up of thin marble walls designed to allow in some light but not enough to damage the rare books inside. The collections themselves are housed in an inner structure, a cube that takes up part of the outer box. From the floor you gaze into the many floors of rare books. So absorbing.

After a bit, I decide I better rejoin the group. Go downstairs, no tour group. They've left while I've been entranced by the books and exhibit. No sign of them. Dang. I don't have the phone or a map, I had been obediently trudging with the rest of my family. Very hot. I decide to go back to the visitor center, stop some other wandering tourists who have a map and I figure out how to get back. When I get there, they tell me the tour ends at the book store. Should have figured that one out. I'm on my way when my cousin spots me.

"Why don't you pick up your phone???!" she demands. In the car, geez. So, it's all good but I've been putting off listening to my cell phone messages likely my cousin becoming increasingly agitated trying to figure out where the heck I am.

Oh well, you don't think of MOM getting lost on the tour!

Shot from inside of the Bienecke library, Yale University

Photoessay #1107 - Presiding clergy

We had a memorial service for my mom shortly after her death in Rockford Illinois. My siblings and I had the chance to plan it during the last week of her life. My mother had held my father's memorial at the downtown funeral home. I marveled that my brother and sister did not see how comicly creepy that place was, straight out of a southern gothic movie. When we went and visited, they all of the sudden could see it. We decided that we would look further since we had some time...only the good lord knew how much.

We considered the temple but the rabbis was right in the middle of having a baby plus my mom never liked the rabbi much anyway. My mom knew her backup rabbi and she didn't much like him either. Probably it would be a mid-week service. How many people would come to the synagogue? We decided that the Wesley Willows community was more important. How about Chaplain Brian? My mom liked him; we all did. And what about someplace at Wesley Willows. The chapel was taken; I didn't want a room in the basement. We ran into one of my mom's neighbors Helen and she got us thinking about a room in the new Town Center building across the street. They had a beautiful new room upstairs from the main lobby. Light, lots of windows, available. Yes, yes, we'll take it. They wanted to do the catering through them. Yes, yes, that would be fine. We talk to the catering manager, I estimate 100 people, we suggest fruit and vegetable trays plus cookies, punch and coffee. Fine, I don't even ask the cost, tell them to put it on my mom's bill.

Chaplain Brian agrees to preside, whew a load of our mind. My mom's likes him, he seems a little unlikely, later I read that he's from the Salvation Army, somehow that fits. He panics a bit when he hears that it's a Jewish service. "Oh! Oh! I'll have to get a book to know how to do this" We keep assuring him, don't worry we'll take care that. And Pam does with help from her rabbi in Lafayette. Plus as we went along we kept adding more and more Girl Scout references (much to my brother's chagrin but, at some point, he goes along with it because we're doing it anyway).

My parents wished for their cremated remains to be interred at the Mishkan Israel cemetery in New Haven CT after they both pass away. My cousin Mary Ann makes all the arrangements. We went and did this last weekend. The rabbi did a simple service, did not even try to talk about them individually as he did not know them. Again, fine. I spoke along with my brother, sister and cousin. I gave out the booties. A very hot morning in the sun.

Pictured Chaplain Brian Kenney of Wesley Willows and Rabbi Herbert Brockman of Temple Mishkan Israel.

Photoessay #1106 - Busy Saturday

My Melina summer is going swimmingly. I picked her up at 11am yesterday and Dennis brought her home after 9 in the evening. We took care of 5 month old Maddie (yorkie/poodle mix) while Danny and Jessica went to a wedding overnight in Bremerton. Melina says that she really wants a 'yorkie' so we gave her a great opportunity to hang out with one. In fact, she was named First Assistant to Ilana who was paid cash money by Danny to take care of the puppy. Maddie got along with Teddy great, they had fun in the backyard chasing the ball and generally chasing. We did do a bit of letterboxing after supper, replacing the 'Stumped' box and finding another on the Interurban Trail not far away. Ilana treated Melina to a cool drink at Starbucks to thank her for her help (playing with Maddie almost all afternoon).

Later in the evening, Matt came over and he and Ilana decided to break out our (not insignificant) lego collection and play with it on the kitchen floor. Melina happily joined in.

I invited Melina to come with me on Friday evening to march in the Tour de Terrace parade (Seafair related parade in Mountlake terrace) as part of the dog park contingent. The parade only covers 4 blocks according to the knowledgeable.

Melina holding Maddie in back yard (Teddy wondered why he never gets to get on the couch or hang out on people's laps) and participating in the evening lego event.

Photoessay #1105 - Connecticut long ago

57 years ago....my grandmother Regina, myself aged 1 (maybe) and my mother Claire on a visit 'home' for my mom. At the Norton Avenue house.

I always associated those kinds of shoes with grandmothers. Heavy leather laceup shoes. My grandmother always wore them. Relatively recently, I realized that all grandmothers do not wear them.

But a proud mother and grandmother. My mom's pretty cute after having a baby and all.

From a group of pictures I got from my cousin on the Connecticut trip. That I'm supposed to send back.

Second shot is the Norton Avenue house today. Late in their life, they were able to buy this small bungalow, not sure how. This was the house that I visited as a child

Photoessay #1104 - Perimeter Guard

I may be completely out of my mind but I have been hired as University of Washington Intercollegiate Staff event staff. More specifically as a 'Perimeter Guard' at the home football games and for commencement. I thought it might be fun to be involved with intercollegiate athletics. However, I may have signed myself up to stand in or near a parking lot for 8 hours or so. But I think I might get a cool uniform.

200 people work as event staff at the home football game. An experience, to be sure. If I have the stamina. I had a very short interview. I think they offer you the job unless you look like a complete psycho hose beast. I did chat with the gentleman before me. He also ushers at Safeco and Quest fields. Said they were having a hiring open house tomorrow morning if I wanted to do that. Like this, he says you know if you have been hired before you leave. He says that the ushering people are like the circus or the carneys, they all know each other and hang out. I'm thinking this might be a little much. He had a lot of experience in contrast to me with zero.

Aerial shot lifted without permission from the Pac10. Notice the softball field in the lower right corner. I'm not kidding when I say that the softball field is RIGHT NEXT to the football stadium

Photoessay #1103 - Letterbox maintenance

Now there might be people who tire of me posting pictures of me and my granddaughter Melina letterboxing. Too bad!

Melina and I spent the day making three letterboxes including carving stamps. For existing boxes that have (whoosh) disappeared. That's the problem with a number of boxes, you are always having to replace them when they go missing.

We replaced two of them with stops at the dog park, Melina found a few of my boxes and we tried a new box at Animal Acres (couldn't find it). Came home, practiced our piano duet (Heart and Soul) and she threw the ball for Teddy to fetch many times in the backyard. She had such a great time, I don't think she wanted to go home.

Next up is Saturday. Danny is paying Ilana to look after his yorkie-poo puppy while he goes to a wedding in Bremerton with an overnight stay. Melina is first assistant puppy sitter. Plus we'll work on the boxes some more.

Here's Melina replacing my Grace Cole Nature Preserve box. Deep in the woods in an area that really makes you think you are in the wilderness. She's climbed up the embankment and camouflaging the box in the middle of the 11-trunked tree.

Photoessay #1102 - Connecticut's bounty

Pictures taken last weekend in my cousin's manicured backyard in Cheshire CT. Her husband Denny loves to garden and his yard's greenery pleases the eye. Green everywhere in July New England. My sister Pam chats with Denny learning about his garden. I enjoyed it too!. He grows beautiful vegetables and flowers back in his backyard kingdom. Of course loves to talk about it. I love visiting people's gardens and hearing about them even though I 'm not really able to do it myself.

You can see the creek at the back of the property and the woods beyond. Deciduous New England woods so different from the evergreen damp dark northwest forest. You can see the two blackberry bushes behind standing on their own behind the vegetable garden.

The flower and the butterfly? My money shot taken at the same time in a flower garden in front of the vegetable garden. The butterfly appeared and I acted QUICKLY. Also a closeup of the blueberry bush.

Truly New England bounty tended by a dedicated joyful farmer.

Photoessay #1101 - Some new relatives

Many members of my mother's family are buried in Mishkan Israel Cemetery. Always interesting to visit, especially now. The heat of the day of the memorial prevented us from the full tour but we did hit the high points.

I used to know the genealogy down pat but not so much any more. But I did learn something new. My great grandmother Delia Zunder Weil, the subject of the Delia wall built by my mother, had two sisters who died as children that I didn't know about. Caroline and Rosa. Those girls died six months apart. I wonder what happened. Some epidemic? Delia's dates 1866-1910 so she was conceived after Rosa's death.

I never knew about the sisters, always thought Delia was an only child. Must have been very sad days for Maier and Regina.

My cousin also told a story which sounded faintly familiar to me. That Delia had died of a broken heart (in her 40s) because she was in love with a gentile man and was not allowed to marry him. I don't know who....Her own daughter, Regina my grandmother, born in 1896 was only 14 when she lost her mother.

Shots are the side of the Zunder monument and the marker for Delia's grave near the Weil monument.

Photoessay #1100 - Picture at the internment

This post will concentrate on who's who in the group picture (taken by the rabbi) of those that attended the internment of my parents Claire and Allen Ginsburgh at Miskan Israel cemetery, New Haven Connecticut on the morning of July 16, 2010.

My mother had not lived in New Haven for 60 years and her cohort is as old as she so not many here that really knew her. Mostly my cousin Mary Ann's family. But it all counts!

I realized that those in the seats should be the closest family members.

So let's get to it, left to right.

Seated:
Myself, (why am I looking at that funny angle)
my brother Charlie
my aunt Elgie (sister of my father who traveled from Boston)
my sister Pam.

Standing:
my son danny
Tyler (3 years old, somebody's holding him)
my daughter Naomi
Mary Ann L (wife of my cousin Mal)
my cousin Mal
my husband Dennis (kind of in back)
Sam (aged ten months) held by his mother Kristin (Mary Ann F's daughter)
Betsy (daughter of my cousin Mal)
Betsy's husband
Mr. Goldberg, friend of my parents
Mrs. Golberg, friend of my parents
The couple in the back were friends of Denny (husband of Mary Ann F)
my cousin Mary Ann F (hostess, brains of the operation, very very close to my mom)
Jason, husband of Kristin
The Goldberg's son, don't remember his name
my niece Teresa (daughter of Pam)

Denny, husband of Mary Ann F, is not in the picture. Undoubtedly he is off running around with his grandson Max age 3.

My cousin Mary Ann F said many times that she had promised my mother that she would put this on including the reception back at her house "Now you're going to have everybody to your house and you're going to feed every body"

As, with my favorite line, "this is for documentation purposes"

So we like Hartford

Which is why we are staying an extra night.

Not really. We got to Bradley Airport to find our flight to Detroit was delayed. No big deal. Then delayed again. Not so good. No way would we make our connection to Seattle. Problem with leaving on a flight late in the day. So Delta gave us 3 hotel rooms and food script. We go out tomorrow through Minneapolis. We hope.

I went through this before on a connection through San Francisco and I got real upset. But later I realized that it's not such a big deal. Danny and Naomi are ok with it.

We went bowling. Shoutout to Bradley Bowl, bowling alley right near the airport. Clean, well-lighted, nice. We had a good time there. Seemed well run.

Today, I did get the heritage pictures in the neighborhood where my mother grew up in New Haven. We went up to East Rock again for the view.

With good fortune, we will get home tomorrow....

Sight seeing

Today we went around New Haven seeing some sights. But mostly it was too hot. Went to Fort Nathan Hale which originally was used in Revolutionary times. Back to Yale for the tour. Too hot. Main excitement was that I got distracted in the Bienecke Library, (dramatic rare books) and lost the tour group. Phone in car. I trudged back to the visitor center, finding out that they ended the tour at the Book Store. Mary Ann then found me. Leaving increasingly irate phone calls on the cell phone in the car. By that time, we were all too hot to think. Stopped for ice cream on the way back to Cheshire for some quiet cooloff time. We went to this restaurant at the beach in Mamonguin (know that's spelled wrong) where Mary Ann remembering my mom and aunt and everybody eating. On the beach where some family members owned cottages used to own some beach cottages. A long time ago. Nice place and we all enjoyed each other's company but it took 2 hours to get our meal. Turned out we took the walk on the beach in the dark and watched some unesxpected excellent fireworks......

Graveside

This morning at 11am, the local rabbi (don't remember his name) conducted a short graveside service for my parents at Mishkan Israel Cemetery. All were family members except their friends, the Goldbergs. Many of their contemporaries are of advanced age themselves and the day was broiling hot. I have some pictures but I'm pretty tired tonight.

The rabbi did a short opening reading, the 23rd psalm, the familiar piece from Eccliastes (a time for this, a time for that). A few remarks and then opened it up for comments. Then Kaddush at the end.

I had first comments; really it was Naomi and I. My mother and grandmother had knit those baby booties, excellent pattern and they DON'T come off. Every baby born that any of us knew about should get a pair of these booties. My mom's last wish was that Naomi should get the bootie pattern. And Naomi's learned to make them.

She didn't really figure it out until she came home from Pullman and could consult with the yarn shop people. And you can't knit much at girl scout camp. But she made six or seven pair, the last pair finished on the way to the cemetery. I gave away all of the booties to family members to give to babies. Not made by Regina; not made by Claire but made by Naomi. The tradition carrying on. I gave them to Mary Ann, my brother, my sister, my cousin's wife, my cousin's daughter my other cousin's daughter. My sister, brother, cousin, and aunt also spoke. A portable set of 4 chairs sat by the grave. I realized that family should sit there. So my aunt, my sister, my brother and I sat. With Dennis, Danny and Naomi standing behind me.

All of us shoveled a little dirt into the hole. Just two boxes down there. The markers were ready but will not be put down for awhile.

Travel to Connecticut

It takes hours and hours to go across the country. But Dennis, Danny, Naomi and me have made it to Cheshire CT. Part of my problem planning this trip was thinking that the state abbreviation was CN. But it's CT! ha ha makes it a lot easier if you get it right. But we all went to the airport and checked everything got on one plane and went to Detroit. Walked all the way down this really really long terminal to eat some philly steak sandwiches and get on a plane to Hartford CT. Got the luggage, rented a car, drove 45 minutes or so to my cousin's house in Cheshire. My sibs, niece and aunt already there. We're all staying at the local hotel. Had to get 3 separate rooms but the money will all work out.

We're here!

Photoessay #1099 - Two trips

Two trips in the next month or so. Very different.

Tomorrow we (Dennis, me, Danny, Naomi) will travel to Connecticut for the final internment of my parents at Mishkan Israel Cemetery in New Haven. My cousin will host. It's just another step but the finality and the event cause that life cycle mandela to turn another interval. It all goes round and round. For all of us.

I will see my cousins and their families. I haven't really seen them all since before the beginning. My cousin's grandsons. My sibs of course. I choose to remember the delight of my mother when she bought the space in the Mishkan Israel cemetery. The congregation of her parents, and grandparents. She celebrated, she felt so good about it, she wanted to break out the champagne. Huge for her; her elation at getting this done.

I know I went there on my last trip to New Haven. 1974. A while back. I'm sure I went to the cemetery. Yes, yes, I remember because my grandmother had just died and there was her grave looking so fresh. Jarring. In fact, she had died in the middle of that summer long trip and I had stayed at my parent's house in Rockford keeping things together while my mom flew to New Haven. I remember taking my mom to the airport.

The rabbi is holding something at 11am on Friday at the cemetery. The picture taken from ancestry site. An entrance to Mishkan Israel Cemetery.

We're planning a 'visiting' trip to California the last week in August. We'll stop first in Marin County at the Beittels. We'll catch the end of Mark's visit from Italy. His daughter Micolle will be there for a monthvisiting her grandmother. Just heard from Mark, actually, he did a video skype call from Italy. Don't have a video camera on this but it was good seeing his image. He was booking tickets to a jazz concert but that was Saturday, the day before we come. No problem, he said, we'll plan a backyard barbecue on Sunday when you come. Sounds fun. We'll go to Sacramento for a few days, then maybe to Santa Cruz though weekdays for JJ are promblematic. Ending with Wine Day at Eliza and Jim's vineyard in the Napa valley.

I need to dig up the family history to look at when we're in that cemetery....

Photoessay #1098 - Japan - Jizo Bibs

Back to Japan in April, still many interesting images.

This hillside covered with jizu statues is right downhill from the huge Kiyomizu-Dera temple complex in Kyoto. Thousands of high schoolers in their dark uniforms visited when we were there. An ancient temple, established in 780 at the sight of a waterfall. I see now that we missed the whole waterfall thing. See, we needed our guide earlier!

We went off the beaten track a bit where we ran into a quiet corner and a hillside covered with statues. Statues of Jizo, a monk, the patron of children, especially of children who die before their parents. Nobuko said that couples who have had miscarriages come and place bibs on these statues. Elsewhere, I read that parents will put a bib on one of these statues in gratitude to Jizo for watching over their children in the afterlife. Specifically Jizo helps the children's spirit cross the river Sanzu into the afterlife which they are unable to do themselves.

I couldn't tell if these bibs had been put there recently. Clearly these statues have been on this hill for a very long time.

Rather sobering to see yet we could hear the high school students calling out and enjoying their field trip just a short distance up the hill.

Photoessay #1097 - Nooksack Falls

Another shot from yesterday...Nooksack Falls. What a beauty and very accessible. Not wheelchair. You do have to drive a windy gravel road down from the highway. But a very short walk from there.

Such exciting noise, you turn a corner and boom, there's the falls. I've never hear of it. Mt. Baker keeps its secrets for sure.

They fence off the viewing area for good reason. All sorts of cautionary signs; apparently a number people have died over the years trying to get closer and closer to Nooksack falls. They've got warnings bolted to the rock.

Photoessay #1096 - Mount Baker

We've never been to Mount Baker. Though you can see it from lots of points in Western Washington. Dennis wants to see more wilderness places yet I whine about camping (I dont WAMT to gp camping!) But how about some day trips? Or maybe stay overnight at some place near where you might camp. If you were going to camp.

So, nothing much on the agenda for today, Sounds too good to be true.

So let's go! And we did. Turns out that mid July is a little early. In fact, we could not go all the way to the top which is 'Artists Point' or similar. Because the Forest Service hasn't plowed it, too much snow! And you want a picnic table? If you don't buy the 5 buck pass, there's only one in the WHOLE place and it's currently under a bunch of snow.

Turns out that lots of letterboxes are around. The printer jams so we only find one. Beautiful stop at Nooksack Falls. Drive up to Heather Meadow, (Thant's as far as you can go currently) pretty views and a busy group of fit looking people getting ready to go backpacking. But a beautiful view and a accessible short interpretive trail around Picture Lake. Just my speed. Except even this wheelchair accessible trail is somewhat blocked by snow.

Got any idea why this might be called Picture Lake? Mt. Shuksan in the background and reflecting.

Beautiful Sunday in July. And not many people. NOTHING was crowded.

Then I start thinking, what if I wanted to bring jam to Connecticut. We drive back and I just make the end of the market.

Photoessay #1095 - Too hasty?

We don't want to move too quickly. After all, Teddy has been sleeping in this bed practically his whole life. But maybe we could improve it. Yes, that is the chewed up foam filling off to the left. No longer connected or structural. And the other dog rug underneath is losing its filling from multiple holes. By the handful.

Dennis originally bought the bed as a CAT bed for George, the big white cat. Who would have nothing whatsoever to do with it. The very idea.

But puppy Teddy loooovvved the bed. He did not know it was a cat bed.

So, in a general cleanup campaign, I upgraded to a fancy new retail bed from Petco. The full meal deal. And threw the old ones into the trash.

Here's Teddy trying out his new digs. He's a little confused but he's trying to get the hang of it.

You can do it, Teddy!

Photoessay #1094 - After the Fire

After the Fire - J. A. Jance

I love my Guided Autobiography class. Every week the instructor suggests memoirs for us to read. And class members also make their recommendations. I will definitely recommend this book this week. I listened to it and I found it compelling and lyrical yet personal and grounded.

You might recognize the author as a popular Seattle based mystery writer. In fact, I have an audiotape of one of her books racking up overdue fines right upstairs. Plus she will be making an appearance at Third Place Books not a mile away from my home on July 27.

This memoir is really an annotated collection of poetry that she secretly wrote in the late 1970s through 1984 chronicling her life during her 18 year marriage to a heavy drinking self-destructing alcoholic. Feminism also plays a part as she endorses these new ideas not realizing that she's living her own life as a sacrificing submissive wife. Bitterness at being excluded from the creative writing program at the University of Arizona because of her gender and her husband's decree that the only writer in their house would be HIM fueled her dedication to write, though she didn't start until she left her husband and moved with her two young children to Seattle selling life insurance for a living.

The pieces ring true to those coping with family members experiencing addiction. At the time, she thought she was writing 'art' but years later, she recognizes she really was journaling her own story. She eloquently sets the stage for each poem and then reads it. But her poetry and images are so integrated into her own self that often I didn't know if I was listening to the poem or its commentary. You experience with her the recognition that she could not save him, she nearly destroyed herself with her enabling behavior. She illustrates the last straw when attending her child's t-ball game, he had drunk so much by 5pm that he had to crawl back to the car on his hands and knees. He died 18 months after she divorced him of acute alcoholism. In some ways, she still felt tenderly towards him but she recognized that if she had not been able to save him after 18 years of marriage, it was never possible. She subsequently met her second husband at a grief group and, as far as I know, is still happily married.

An eloquent memoir that clearly captures the time and the destruction of addiction.

Photoessay #1093 - Yay

Yay, the Cambodian word for grandmother. My granddaughter Melina, now 9 years old, lives with her mother and grandparents. Her maternal grandmother, who has provided much care for her is Yay, but I also am Yay, something I much appreciate.

So now I get it. For right now, with summer, and me not working and my own children busy with their own lives. Initially, I didn't quite knew what I would do. But I felt that things would develop and show themselves.

But now I see. This summer, I'm going to spend as much time as I can with my granddaughter. Turns out that she's a very enthusiastic letterboxer. She's all set up and she likes it a lot. Today, on likely the hottest day of the summer (things completely fall apart in Seattle if either it sows or the temp reaches 85 degrees), we were out there;we went letterboxing at Farrel McWhirter Park and also found a box in a toy store. I love Farrel Mcwhirter, we used to take here there a lot when she was quite young. Lots of farm animals, always somebody new.

All this time, I insisted that we see Melina but she wasn't incorporated into our family activities. A quiet child, she never overtly resisted and always complied but we never got much of a relationship going. Usually Naomi would come and she could really bring Melina out. Plus it was a whole day affair as we have to go to Redmiod to get her and bring her back (30-45 minutes if no traffic),

But as illustrated by a conversation with Susanna...
Susanna: Why do we keep doing this? She hardly says anything
Me: Well do you want to give up on Melina?
Susanna: NO!!!
Me: So are you coming with us to the zoo (or whatever)
Susanna: well, ok.

But I, as a grandmother, didn't have a close relationship.

So seize the day! Melina and I have a lot to do this summer and we are doing it. Yay has a lots of time. Melina wants to come over and get that duet going on the piano. She wants to go to the dog park. She likely would help me maintain my letterboxes that have gone AWOL.

Plus there's a bunch of boxes in Redmond (thanks Roots and Shoots), we've already found 16 in the last week or so and there's bunches more. Letterboxing provides just the right flavor of adventure. A treasure hunt, mutual discovery, a little confusion, a little outlaw, some surprise. Plus you go crazy places.

Who knew that "Where the Wild Things Are" stamp would be so huge! We were both AMAZED..... Already we are saying things like "Remember when we found that letterbox hidden behind that log over there?" as we drive rather aimlessly usually lost in Redmond.

Plus we figured out where the Baskin Robbins was in Redmond this hot afternoon.

So I'm in. I hope that she wants to continue with this. Because you've got to grab the opportunity.

Image used without permission from Craftworks, an organization who works with disabled folks in BC.

Photoessay #1092 - TEP Cornell

My father belonged to the Delta Chapter of Tau Epsilon Phi fraternity at Cornell University. The longest running chapter (currently 25) founded in 1913.

Founded at Columbia in 1910 by combining two student groups who wanted to join a fraternity at the Pharmacy School the group provided a place for Jewish students who were barred from the two existing fraternities. I saw some verbiage saying that TEP did not discriminate on religion or national origin. However it started as initially exclusively Jewish. Don't know about now. Likely in 1946 (the date of these pictures from the Cornell yearbook), most members were Jewish. Likely my father would have denied this. Likely he would have refused to talk with me about it at all. I think he might have gotten a fraternity magazine; I think my sister still has his fraternity pin. As customary at the time, my mother wore his fraternity pin (pinned) before being officially engaged.

Her's some pictures, the 1946 membership for the Cornell Delta chapter 1946. My father in the front row third from right. As he occasionally joked (and likely true), he probably still had the tie he wore. He was definitely like that. The house. They still have a house; assume it's the same one but not sure.

My father's picture as a college senior and the short verbiage about him.

I think he did enjoy it but I never remember him talking about any of his friends from the fraternity.

Photoessay #1091 - Family gathering

Group picture from the Hartley family gathering at Harstene Island on July 3. Cabin belonging to the next door neighbors (also family members). Pretty good showing. Teddy totally with the program; you can see him peeking out in front of Dave on the left.

Do I know the names of all of these people. Um, maybe not so much, but they all look familiar. Ilana and Naomi in there with Dennis. I'm not in the picture because I'm taking it. Another person used the self-timer but time was short and I can never quite remember how to use it.

Fun day with an intact family. You can take that for granted!

Photoessay #1090 - Neighborhood party

Yes, we still had our neighborhood party last night but it's getting pretty sparse. I put flyers in the mailboxes. Realized that I didn't know half the people who lived here any more. 3 rentals in the neighborhood in 12 houses, used to be none. We thought that it would be a great opportunity to meet the neighbors that we didn't know. But they didn't come except one family sent over a cake.

When my kids were little, this neighborhood was very cohesive and the July 4th party was THE PLACE TO BE. Especially when fireworks were still legal and some of the dads tried to outdo each other. Some parents worried about safety but as one child told her mother "you can go somewhere else but I'm staying HERE". We played softball and water balloon volleyball. Somebody had a portable fireplace and we would light a fire rather late into the night. The kids ran around from house to house or played games in the middle of the court.

But 8 of us huddled on the Cole's lawn next door. People had JUST moved into the house where we usually set up the tables, barbecues, etc. Eight of us shivered in the drizzle until about 8pm and we all went in. But Naomi had her knitting and Soum brought out her knitting and they had a little workshop on knitting booties and socks.

Teddy, who went to every single event with us this weekend had a great time.

Photoessay #1089 - More letterboxing

Melina really enjoyed letterboxing last week. I decided we should go again while her interest was strong. Melina wanted her own notebook "I'll ask my grandpa for one!" she declared.

So I convinced Dennis to go. I printed out another set of boxes kind of in Redmond/Town Center area. Took Teddy and off we went. Turned out Melina did have a notebook all labeled, she also had a pen, stamp and stamp pad in a bag ready to go! Just like mine. We are IN business.

So we ended up finding 7 boxes. The hard parts of the Juel Fairies we just couldn't figure out. But we found Go Seahawks instead completely by accident. We went to find the Tree Top Toys one but the store was closed. But this place next door... Soul Food Books ... it rang a bell with me. I went in and said "Do you have a letterbox?"? and they did. Very cool big one with a huge stamp and lots of colors. Great start for Melina's book. We were having a gay old time until this lady came to say that she gave psychic readings and she needed that table. The one I thought was IN Redmond Town Cenber was actually on a path up the road. The one that I thought was in Marymoor Park was actually in a brushy area OUTSIDE the park. Melina thought that one was the most sketchy. Two in Inglewood Park on the beach of Lake Samamish. I thought think I've ever even seen Lake Samamish.

So we were moving and she wants to go again. Aha, I just found some in Farrell McWhirter Park. We'll go there next for sure.

Shot of Dennis, Teddy and Melina looking for a box near Redmond Town Center. Melina had to actually get INSIDE the tree in the second photo and Inglewood Park

Photoessay #1088 - Harstene

It's late, almost midnight but we just got home. Today we attended two events associated with Dennis' family. First we went to the gathering at the family gathering. Don't know if it was the light or the food but it seemed so much more fun today. Usually, the place doesn't speak to me, but today, it was all so pretty and calming. We brought dumplings from the Noodle House which worked so-so. Lots of good food prepared by Eliza and Jim and everybody else.

Then on to Phil and Suzanne's (we didn't get there until 9pm and only two guests. Their home overlooks the Kent Valley and Emerald Downs, the race track that has a big fireworks show on July 3. By the time, the show started around 10:20, their yard was full of folks. Remember the lattitude here, this time of year it doesn't get dark until 10pm.

We took Teddy and he was NO PROBLEM, just like he says. When we drove into Harstene, we immediately saw three other dogs. "We though you needed another dog" we said. He ran around outside with everybody else without a leash and had a gay old time.

Shot looking down the beach from the cabin, Ilana and Naomi playing with a new rope swing.

Photoessay #1087 - Looking at Condos

Many thanks for my friend Jan, who works in real estate, for going to lunch today and showing my codos in the nearby town of Edmonds. Cute town with a walk-around downtown on Puget Sound. Lots of condominiums. Bus service. Nice views. But lot of people want a condo in Edmonds so the prices haven't dropped as much as other places.

We went to 4 places. I'm just exhausted! Not used to it! The first place looked right into the sewage plant. But a nice looking sewage plant and the sound and mountains beyond. Very reasonably priced, small, not much storage, pretty plain. We thought that maybe an older lady original owner had lived there.

Second one was too cute by half. Confusing floor plan. Crazy colors, lots of black and this navy blue patterned carpeting. Kind of place where you have to ask, what room is this? Might be a cool place for a young Microsoft guy who likes to entertain. 50K more than the first place.

Third place we kind of found by mistake. Nice reasonable floor plan. Kitchen doesn't have window, that would be hard. Nice aspect, actually right around the corner from the first place. Overlooks 4th St which turns out to be pretty busy. Walk in closet in smallish master bedroom. Lots of window in front. Price in the middle

Prices ran from 289K to 350K. All two bedroom/two bath.

Would this go in our investment plan and eventually move in?

Photoessay #1086 - Assimilation

Second essay from my Guided Autobiography class. Topic was Family History. I could write on so many topics. This one is on my mind. I may try to make it more evocative. The repetition is strong.

Shot of my parents when they entered Wesley Willows. 2003? They are in their late seventies in this picture.


During the time period of this class, I will be traveling with my husband and two of my four adult children to New Haven, Connecticut for the final interment of my parents. My cousin, who was extremely close to my mom will host this and has made the arrangements. My brother, sister, niece, aunt and my cousins adult children and grandchildren will all be there.

Makes me wonder. What were Al and Claire up to? Their aspirations, their hopes, their satisfactions? Separate from me, their oldest child?

My parents, from stable reform New England Jewish families of Ashkenazi descent, had one theme that they never explicitly mentioned but governed their household and family formation. Assimilation. We lived in suburban communities in California suburbs inhabited by white nuclear families. My father embraced the upward mobile profession for bright young men of the 1950s, aeronautical engineer. The message over and over "We are NO different than our neighbors. We are the same. Nothing ethnic about us. We are the same". They were determined to go off on their own geographically away from their own families of origin. To California, where real progress happened.

The message to their children: "You are the same as all of the other kids" Not that they abandoned Judaism altogether. We belonged to the reform temple across town. We went to the religious school. On Sundays so that it would match the other religious institutions. Interesting that they belonged to 'Judeo-Christian' but not into 'non-denominational'.

They had their 3 children, my father had his career, my mother always active with volunteer activities. They kept their house and yard neat and tidy. Their children always dressed appropriately. Paid their bills, saved their money. Had their social life, bridge parties, dinner parties, cocktail parties, responsible teenage girls babysat us nearly every weekend.

They did it. They met their goals. And they were NO DIFFERENT than anybody else in their community.

But were we really different? Sure, when I look at my genetic background, it's not varied. Askenazi Jews, every one of them. No gypsies or native Americans or anything else. I wondered how people knew I was Jewish, this dark-featured girl named Ginsburgh? How did they know? I was always shocked because "we were JUST LIKE everybody else" And it wasn't until the last 10 years, that I realized that I wasn't white, I was a person of color. My parents would dispute that, I'm sure.
They attained their adulthood in the shadow of the Nazi holocaust. But entirely removed by several generations, I don't believe they ever identified personally at all. They did not acknowledge anti-semitism. We were the SAME as everybody else. Recently my mom mentioned that my father worked for Aerojet because they 'opened up and would hire Jewish engineers'. However she vehemently denied that opportunities were limited for engineers previously because companies would not hire Jewish engineers.

My father always tried to live up to the high achievements and stature of his own father. My grandfather, coming from a modest family in Rochester New York went to Harvard on scholarship graduating as part of the Class of 1920. That became the defining identification of his life. Harold Ginsburgh was a Harvard man, that was that.

When I look at the characteristics of the usual emigrant Jewish experience, it just doesn't resonate with me. The yiddish speaking emigrants to New York City in the garment district with their progressive beliefs. Though, like my family, they believed fervently in education and upward mobility. They vacationed in the Catskills at the Borscht Belt resorts.

I don't remember talk of any of this. I asked and my mother sniffed at the very idea. "Those Russian Jews, they did that" She more identified with "Our Crowd", a book published in 1967 about the wealthy German Jewish families of New York City. My mother's family, though now penniless, considered themselves as the High German Jews and they looked down on everybody else.

How did this assimilation and denial affect the generations going forward, their children and grandchildren? Every single one of my siblings and cousins married non-Jews. That's a huge demographic shift. Two of my children are Korean and my granddaughter is Cambodian. Was that the idea?