Simply Blessed » Seattle

It’s Juneuary

heartsdeesire — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 17:10:09 +0000

Well here we are Sleepless and Soggy in Seattle again. I noticed the blog is getting hits for this post from 2008 “It’s Juneuary”. So I’m re-running it to entertain myself mostly in between the IV caffeine drip and wringing myself out. I did not, however, have to get in my car and scream expletives this year. By george, I call that progress!

It’s Juneuary in Seattle. I kid you not. And I knew I would have to let in my sunshine before the sun actually did shine and I did and it hasn’t but I have. LOL. But first I got in my car and screamed as loud as I could, f@*k you rain over and over again, until I felt better. But it was only a little better. Eventually I had to let go of needing it to be different for me to feel good. And let go I did. Again.

My sun loving self has been here before and maybe I’ll be here again. What. ev. er. What. ev. er. is my new I’m-an-up-and-coming-allower phrase. So next time you guys are sweltering, think of me, fires lit, homemade soup on the stove, finding the sweet spot anyway… in Juneuary.

Slice of Home

heartsdeesire — Sat, 08 May 2010 04:52:33 +0000

I am breaking new ground here while I take you on a small tour of an area nearby where I live. In my hometown, Renton, Washington, is the Ben Coulon Memorial Park. It is one of the many parks that reside along Lake Washington. Lake Washington formed after the ice age and is named for our first president, as is the state. The Native American Duwamish tribe who are native to this area called it instead Xacuabs, which meant literally “great amount of water”. It is the second largest natural lake in Washington and the largest natural lake in King County.

What makes this particular park special to me is that there is a paved walk way flanked by several different types of trees, many of which have name tags. I always love it when someone takes the time to label what it is I am admiring. Another thing that is unique about this park, it is home to two species of deciduous conifers. To my knowledge there are only three types in this whole world — the Dawn Redwood, European Larch and Bald Cypress. Coulon Park houses both the Bald Cypress and European Larch. This means those evergreen needles drop off every late fall and every spring they are replaced with new evergreen growth. Very unusual!

You may click on any image for a close up view. So grab a cup of tea or coffee, whatever is your pleasure and sit back and enjoy the photo collage journey with me through Coulon Park.

Japanese roses
with noses

lady bug, lady bug
God’s pure delight

Part of a Quaking Aspen grove, what a find here! These usually grow in areas with cold winters and cool summers and much, much higher elevations. All we qualify for is relatively cool summers. In Colorado, in the fall there are traffic jams up in the mountains just to catch the sight of this one tree turn two colors. They are found in groves as they all have a common root system.

Ah, here we begin with the European Larch.

European Larch Lane

new European Larch baby green cones and notice the new needle growth in tufts

European Larch with mature cones, notice their small size and how they hang uniformly off the limb

And right across from the European Larch is the Bald Cypress

Bald Cypress just coming into her spring finery

Closer view of Bald Cypress new green growth. In the fall the foilage will turn a dark rust color and then drop off completely and the tree will appear to be “bald”.

*many thanks to my friend Marie, whose willingness to share her knowledge of trees has truly enhanced my enjoyment and love affair with trees.

Misty Morning

heartsdeesire — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 17:45:38 +0000

I forget that I twitter and even though I lost my twitter virginity awhile ago,
I’ve never officially posted a tweet, it’s always been about blogging.

So here goes…

After a couple of days of uncharacteristic summery warm and sunny weather,
I find it a comfort to wake up to a cool, gray and misty morning. It feels all
soft around the edges now. Everything glitters in the sunlight but it has it’s
harsh quality, too; nothing escapes it, for instance. Pacific Northwest you
continue to grow on me and perhaps, me on you.

A Day Like Today

heartsdeesire — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 02:26:03 +0000

heavy your skies labored today

rain
hail
rain
hail again
and snow

sights and sounds that left me
breathless at my window

deep sunset now and I am
swept in crimson and coral

raindrops hang like glass ornaments
look closely and I am happily lost

deep in your world.

©heartsdeesire

Sunblock in Seattle

heartsdeesire — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 01:40:07 +0000

I thought my Seattle, Pacific Northwest and Vancouver readers might appreciate this…or not! :)

Got Snow?

heartsdeesire — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 22:06:35 +0000

That’s our official reading for how much is on the ground as of this morning out here in unincorporated Renton, Washington where the snow plows have gone missing! Maybe we could borrow one from Seattle’s “fleet” of 27. :)

We and all the animals are snuggled indoors. It’s a White Christmas for sure and perhaps the only one I will ever see again in the Seattle area. This December will surely go down as an unforgettable one. Pacific Northwest readers of my blog – I know you understand and the rest of you probably wonder what the big deal is about. :)

Merry Christmas everyone!

Love, Bethie

Bob.

heartsdeesire — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 23:45:11 +0000

This is Bob formerly known as Allie. The girl cat that we discovered is a boy cat!
Isn’t he handsome? And it’s official, Bob is as white as snow. Yes, the Seattle
area has had enough snow to determine that. I won’t bemoan our fate though,
I know some of you have much more snow. Nevermind that I’ve been snow
bound for a week straight – nope I’m not going to whine. Much. :))
Love, Bethie

Magical Mt. Rainier

heartsdeesire — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 21:11:21 +0000

Wow! I had to post this image of lenticular clouds seen over Mt. Rainier this weekend.
Just one of the many joys of living in the state of Washington!

Internal Sunshine

heartsdeesire — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 20:25:04 +0000

I live in Seattle. We have a lot of cloudy days here. I need the
sun. I asked myself: how can I have sun when there is no sun? I began
to go away to find some sun. I would make sure I got a hotel with a
pool so I could sit out by the sun. Then the hotel was so tall, it
blocked the sun. :) What is up with that?

So I asked myself again: how can I have sun where there is no sun? It
came to me one day, inspired by Neville Goddard’s teachings, I would
go to bed with the sun on my face. I told my Seattle friend this and
she said: oh, you take a nap in the sun. I said: no, I go to bed with
the sun on my face. In other words, there is no sun outside. I claimed
it inside. I remember what sun feels like on my face. I can feel the
brightness of it, I can feel the warmth on my skin. I do this particularly
at night just before slumber, because it’s fertile non-resistant ground.

This is what I’ve been doing for about 3 weeks now even on sunny days.
The sun shows up outside or it doesn’t. *I pay no mind* to cloudy days
now. I pay no mind, literally means I do not give it my attention or focus.

I am suggesting that if you claim a thing from the inside, not to make it happen,
but purely for the sake of your own well being, then it happens. Eventually life
will outpicture differently, that is a natural unfolding, when you claim it inwardly
for the love of you.

Love, Bethie

Music of the Night

heartsdeesire — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 01:08:01 +0000

I went to see Phantom of the Opera at the Paramount in Seattle today. I think this is my 6th time seeing it since it first came out. I have not seen it for several years now, my last time was in NYC. I sort of thought at the time: if I ever saw it again, I would wait till I could see it in London. Yet it came here and my youngest daughter wanted to see it, too, so I could not pass up the opportunity to see my all time favorite musical once again. It did not disappoint me. I had tears in my eyes even at the opening auction scene, as the wind up monkey played the first strains of music. The chandelier though, it seemed smaller now or was it just that I had somehow grown bigger.

Just kidding!

My favorite song, well actually there are two: Music of the Night and Point of No Return. Music of the Night is the first song that Phantom sings to Christine as he takes the role of the angel of music, her tutor. Reading it’s lyrical prose now, it’s almost Neville-esque. Neville speaks of using the imagination to become or claim a thing inwardly and specifically to use this power of the imagination at night, just before slumber. I’ll include the lyrics to Music of the Night. There have been changes to the lyrics and a few versions available; this is the version I heard tonight that I include below.

Finally, I came home with a question in mind. I thought I had it figured out that Raoul was the wheelchair man in the auction scene but I saw in the program the auction scene was only 30 years in the future. This was a white haired, white bearded man in a wheelchair bidding on the musical monkey. It couldn’t be Raoul, he would have only been in his 50′s and not just that, that monkey had meaning for the Phantom not for Raoul. Suddenly I realized it had to have been the Phantom and that was the true healing of the Phantom. When the Phantom disappeared, he left his mask behind, meaning he left his deformity behind. He had been transformed through the receiving of Christine’s love and finally in his own acceptance of it. It had to be the Phantom in the wheelchair. And I like that ending a lot. Alas, I came home and did the research and it was Raoul in the wheelchair. I like my ending better. As they say, it is my story and I am sticking to it. :) And, by the way, this was my favorite Phantom, his name is Tewksbury, he was an alternate Phantom. The voice and acting were impeccable. So Mr. Alternate Phantom, you were every bit as good as Michael Crawford. Bravo to you and as always to Andrew Lloyd Weber for creating this true modern day masterpiece.
Love, Bethie

Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation
Darkness stirs and wakes imagination
Silently the senses abandon their defenses

Slowly, gently, night unfurls its splendour
Grasp it, sense it, tremulous and tender
Turn your face away from the garish light of day
Turn your face away from cold, unfeeling light
And listen to the music of the night

Close your eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams
Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before
Close your eyes, let your spirit start to soar
And you’ll live as you’ve never lived before

Softly, deftly, music shall caress you
Hear it, feel it, secretly possess you
Open up your mind, let your fantasies unwind
In this darkness which you know you cannot fight
The darkness of the music of the night

Let your mind start a journey through a strange, new world
Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before
Let your soul take you where you long to go
Only then can you belong to me

Floating, falling, sweet intoxication
Touch me, trust me, savour each sensation
Let the dream begin, let your darker side give in
To the harmony which dreams alone can write
The power of the music of the night

You alone can make my song take flight
Help me make the music of the night

Song: Music of the Night
Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber
Lyrics: Charles Hart