Beautiful Existence

I was HERE

Beautiful Existence — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 01:33:04 +0000

I’ve been contemplating another post on this first blog site for awhile (because a year is just a ridiculous amount of time to wait) and I just haven’t felt the right time until NOW.

Last night I witnessed an end-of-an-era party at a local record store called Easy Street Records (Queen Anne location) and it was the second time in a month I’ve been bittersweet about something…

Last summer her last words on the phone to me were “I love you” and of course my reply to my grandmother was “I love you too!”. Little did I realize that less than 4 months later she would be gone and I would be standing in a record store thinking of her while watching a crowd full of DJ-dancing youth party like it’s 1999.

Grandma had led an interesting life… as most over 80-year old people can claim. If you think about it, your life will probably be somewhat interesting if you live for at least 80 years (or more) too! But my grandma had skeleton’s that hadn’t been known to the family or me until the end of 2012 when we opened up her jewelry case.

Like a lot of women I know (especially me), jewelry holds significance in our lives. It holds a place and time for the person we received it from, the environment in which it was given, the occasion and especially the memories of all three in our minds. My association with jewelry has had me triumphantly hawk a Tiffany & Co. 3 1/2 carat diamond and platinum wedding ring just to be able to rent a UHaul and leave him! I say triumphantly because I LOVED that ring! BUT, he told me I had no money (and no ability in his mind) to him. But through that significant piece of jewelry between us, that is just what I did!

Jewelry, especially if it is kept for a significant time in a woman’s life is certain to hold deep memories for her, and my grandmother was no different. One of her jewelry cases had photos of her old love from high school when he was a boy of only 7! She held her memories of voters cards, work pins and newspaper clippings of her youngest (my mother) with her other buried “treasures”. Almost as if we would find them and put together the pieces of her life through her jewelry.

And you know what? We did just that. While rummaging to see what this was and what that was and who might want to inherit it we pieced together a lifetime of love and loss (and some serious questions) from those pieces of metal, jewels, plastic, paper & decor. We pieced together a life that exchanged many different gifts for different occasions and different eras. Her love losses became bittersweet by adding the extra understanding of family diaries and stories to the mix… until her jewelry case became a way for me to cry and release her memory in my own moment. For a woman that lost husbands through divorce, suicide, accident and concious choice these pieces of jewelry were her story to read again each time she opened up the lid or held one in her hand.

From one of the diaries of others I surmised that this one bracelet, a charm bracelet, held a discovery that would eventually change the direction of her life forever. So when I came upon the bracelet I immediately wanted it to carry this realization into my own world by wearing it. But then I looked at it and the second box holding the charms and realized that she never had even opened it, let alone wore it?! This trip that started the collection of this jewelry bracelet was never fully realized by my grandmother, sadly. A woman that always told me that I was great at whatever I was doing… a woman that touted my praises everyday and made me feel 10 feet tall when I would talk to her. She never even opened up her own adventure and wore it for herself?

The charms are from all over the country, they come from different time periods with different costs from many different stores and tourist shops. They are all silver, all perfect and ALL just waiting, patiently for somebody to finally put them on!

So I did.

My favorite is a Space Needle charm that looks like it could have been from the World’s Fair by the price tag on it.

I almost couldn’t stand putting the bracelet together and wearing it for the first time, but the obstacle that my grandmother never realized in her own life by wearing her adventure wasn’t going to hold me back too! This woman who always told me that I was a strong person and could achieve anything made me realize that I HAD to wear it, if only for her!

Which leads me to the second bittersweet moment last night that made me realize this was my next post…

That Space Needle charm.

The Easy Street Record shop had been in this location for over a decade and grown quite a following in Seattle for having impromptu acts show up and perform as well as knowledgable staff who have become a welcome addition to many industries in the area.

I walked in off the street and toured the rummaged racks, the youthful grunge-esque style party crowd was drinking PBR and Rainier to the beats. The mature cliental gently looking over titles one by one as if drinking a fine scotch, sip by sip and savoring every moment.

I picked up my camera and started shooting odds and ends and found myself right in front of a pile of CD’s with New Order’s Substance 1987 sitting right on top. This was my GO-TO music way back when! One of my first loves of music was playing this cassette over and over again until I bought the CD in which I did the same thing for probably 20 years. But somehow I lost it a while ago and never thought about it again until now. So I reached to pick it up and my charm bracelet dangled in front of me, specifically the Space Needle charm. I immediately realized this store is right in the shadow of the Space Needle, I’m sitting here feeling melancholy about my youthful music choices and the closing of the store and WOAH! I had a major rush of bittersweet wave shock throughout my body! My face actually became flush and I sat there for a moment, in that loud-rowdy room full of strangers and sat with that feeling of love and loss.

In a sort of euphoric haze I walked around a bit more looking at the crowds, the mess, the empty Dicks hamburger wrappers on the displays and then the neon caught my eye and I snapped a picture.

It wasn’t until I came home and started editing the photo that I knew the caption for this post, this story, for my grandmother’s story, for Easy Street Record’s story. It wasn’t until now that I realized that it really is the story for all of us in the end whether it came from a CD, a record, a bracelet that was never worn… the story is still there, still realized by many people in many different ways. I just happened to capture the caption of so many people and places in life through this one picture, in this one place that both worlds seemed to collide for me last night. And all it said to me was…

I was HERE. (and that’s really all that matters in the end anyways)

Love you grandma! You will always be HERE, right in my heart (and sometimes on my wrist!)

Gratitude

Beautiful Existence — Sun, 13 May 2012 16:12:59 +0000

My father is a very smart man in both ways… read and in reality. I often wonder why he doesn’t become a college professor because he taught my brother everything he knows and my brother knew more than his professors in college.

One of the ways that my father has expanded his knowledge over the years is with what I call “tidbits of information” and the apple didn’t fall far from the tree because we both crave learning new things everyday and seek knowledge in all forms… written, verbal and electric. My father has an especial fondness of sitting in his Lazy Boy chair, warming up his laptop and receiving, reading and forwarding emails from numerous friends, family and websites at least twice a day. Luckily, I am one of the recipients of his vast emailed messages and often learn many things from my father’s emails such as how to preserve berries from molding, how to protect your car from theft by covering up the VIN # or how famous actresses like Martha Ray helped save soldiers in WWII (a favorite subject of my fathers).

The following story was forwarded to me by my father. I immediately Googled the man and the story behind it and found it all to be true, and in my eyes a very heart-warming story of TRUE appreciation of life and how humans perceive the world around us… very often you cannot judge a book by it’s cover and whether it’s the man in this story or my father… knowledge is everywhere, if you look.

“It happened every Friday evening, almost without fail, when the sun resembled a giant orange and was starting to dip into the blue ocean.

Old Ed came strolling along the beach to his favorite pier.. Clutched in his bony hand was a bucket of shrimp.

Ed walks out to the end of the pier, where it seems he almost has the world to himself. The glow of the sun is a golden bronze now.
Everybody’s gone, except for a few joggers on the beach. Standing out on the end of the pier, Ed is alone with his thoughts…and his bucket of shrimp.
Before long, however, he is no longer alone. Up in the sky a thousand white dots come screeching and squawking, winging their way toward that lanky frame standing there on the end of the pier.

Before long, dozens of seagulls have enveloped him, their wings fluttering and flapping wildly. Ed stands there tossing shrimp to the hungry birds.

As he does, if you listen closely, you can hear him say with a smile, ‘Thank you. Thank you.’
In a few short minutes the bucket is empty. But Ed doesn’t leave. He stands there lost in thought, as though transported to another time and place.
When he finally turns around and begins to walk back toward the beach, a few of the birds hop along the pier with him until he gets to the stairs, and then they, too, fly away. And old Ed quietly makes his way down to the end of the beach and on home.
If you were sitting there on the pier with your fishing line in the water, Ed might seem like ‘a funny old duck,’ as my dad used to say. Or, ‘a guy who’s a sandwich shy of a picnic,’ as my kids might say. To onlookers, he’s just another old codger, lost in his own weird world,feeding the seagulls with a bucket full of shrimp.
To the onlooker, rituals can look either very strange or very empty. They can seem altogether unimportant …. Maybe even a lot of nonsense.
Old folks often do strange things, at least in the eyes of Boomers and Busters. Most of them would probably write Old Ed off, down there in Florida.

That’s too bad. They’d do well to know him better.
His full name: Eddie Rickenbacker.

He was a famous hero back in World War II. On one of his flying missions across the Pacific, he and his seven-member crew went down. Miraculously, all of the men survived, crawled out of their plane, and climbed into a life raft.
Captain Rickenbacker and his crew floated for days on the rough waters of the Pacific. They fought the sun. They fought sharks. Most of all, they fought hunger. By the eighth day their rations ran out. No food. No water.They were hundreds of miles from land and no one knew where they were. They needed a miracle.That afternoon they had a simple devotional service and prayed for a miracle.

They tried to nap. Eddie leaned back and pulled his military cap over his nose. Time dragged. All he could hear was the slap of the waves against the raft.. Suddenly, Eddie felt something land on the top of his cap. It was a seagull!
Old Ed would later describe how he sat perfectly still, planning his next move. With a flash of his hand and a squawk from the gull, he managed to grab it and wring its neck.. He tore the feathers off, and he and his starving crew made a meal – a very slight meal for eight men – of it.

Then they used the intestines for bait.. With it, they caught fish, which gave them food and more bait……and the cycle continued. With that simple survival technique, they were able to endure the rigors of the sea until they were found and rescued (after 24 days at sea…).
Eddie Rickenbacker lived many years beyond that ordeal, but he never forgot the sacrifice of that first life-saving seagull..

And he never stopped saying, ‘Thank you.’

That’s why almost every Friday night he would walk to the end of the pier with a bucket full of shrimp and a heart full of gratitude.”

Reference: (Max Lucado, “In The Eye of the Storm”,Pp..221, 225-226)

Thanks Dad, for still schooling me after all these years!

FOUND! Fridge Art

Beautiful Existence — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 16:48:20 +0000

If you read through my blog here you will find that personally I ADORE found art! I find it everyplace I go… but then again I’m always appreciative of all art whether from nature or man made.

So one of the ways I keep my creative juices flowing, even if I’m not blogging, doing a year-long challenge, writing a children’s book or drafting my next business (all of which I’m currently doing) I engage myself in some harmless but vibrant FRIDGE ART!

I’ve been collecting magnets for years and now give magnet gift sets to friends so they too can find all the quirky beauty of looking at a new fridge design every month or so. This is my April 2012 Fridge Art, entitled “April Showers and Flowers!”

And here is last month’s (March) Fridge Art…

And I even go to town at my workplace when I can!

But if you know me and my family you will know the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree! My mother is an AMAZING interior decorator in my book… giving me and my sister a grant gift of “Tchotchke Decorating” from a young age… just look at how she decorates every corner of her house for every holiday/season!

So no matter where I find the art… I’m always going to appreciate the moment and the message, no matter how it’s created in the world!

Starbucks Evolves

Beautiful Existence — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 16:31:13 +0000

I just posted last week about how our beloved Seattle icon Starbucks is greening their footprint building a recycled shipping container store. But today I stumbled upon their latest creation “Evolution Fresh” and let me tell you this is not just another “concept” coming from the coffee giant…this is an all out EVOLUTION in our fast-food diets!

This evolution isn’t just at this store, oh no! It is replacing all the coffee stores Naked juice brand with Evolution Fresh choices, and they are YUMMY! I picked up my first Spicy Lemonade and what a pleasant combo of lemon, ginger and a hint of cayenne…. Lovely!

And get this… as I sat here writing this post outside the store on The Lodge’s comfy couches they came up & offered me a sample of their “Southwest Scramble”. It was light, tasty and filled with hints of mouth-watering goodness! I’m ordering lunch before I leave today & know I won’t be disappointed!

So check out the juices in your local Starbucks store today and if ever in Seattle head east 20 minutes to Bellevue & try their new version of fast food… our world’s health (and taste buds) are going to forever be evolved!

Green coffee for St. Patricks day!

Beautiful Existence — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 20:07:25 +0000

Starbucks… their logo is green (perfect for upcoming St. Patrick’s day!) -AND- more importantly the company is GREEN, as in Eco focused!

As a true born-and-raised Washingtonian, I <3 my local coffee company. They have always brought out the best in so many ways but their latest store opening in south Seattle made out of recycled shipping containers is quite simply BRILLIANT! And a good GREEN focus here on the eve of St. Patrick’s day and everyday for those of us that choose the color Eco-Green all the time!

Just check out their brilliant architecture…

and how could you beat that this store is fully transferable to another spot? Yep, they just have to break it down, ship it up and reposition it on another spot for true multi-use-functionality!

Thanks Starbucks! For taking our GREEN agenda here in the PNW and expanding it with your vision yet again! There are other coffee houses, coffee companies and coffee choices… but as long as you keep leading this environmentally conscious direction, I am eternally your follower!

Doing my part

Beautiful Existence — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 15:32:16 +0000

I have cut back on my latte consumption in the last two years, partially because of it’s cost and secondly because I’m still trying to loose that extra baby-weight. But today I did make it in before work and to my surprise I was one of the first to witness the launch of an initiative by Starbucks (who donated $5 Million to and is teaming up with) and Opportunity Finance Network to “Create Jobs for USA“. (www.createjobsforUSA.org)

In these economic times it is essential for all of us to pitch in to not only turn our economy around but help out the businesses and neigbors who are out there on the front lines doing their part.

So Starbucks is selling these awesome little bracelets for your $5 donation which 100% goes to a whole slew of investiment strategies from funding nonprofits to what else… job creation!

I have a funny feeling these bracelets are going to sell out… so I would get in today and get yours and help all of us pull our country (and in a sense the rest of the world) out of this negative spin we’ve been in for years now and get going again in the right direction!

The saying on the bracelet says “Indivisible” and that’s what I’m standing behind with my purchase and outward fashion statement!

The Good, Bad and UGLY

Beautiful Existence — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 00:09:40 +0000

So, let’s start with the UGLY and get it out of the way…

Yesterday was a HARD, UGLY day for me. I was forced to face something that had been increasingly difficult for years and it made me absolutely SICK to have to face it and make a UGLY decision! I’m going to be working on being okay with this decision for years… possibly for the rest of my life, but it was necessary to make for my mental/emotional health and happiness.

So, with such a BAD start to my day, and for the emotional drain such a major life-changing decision takes on a person, I decided to bump up an appointment that I had been working towards for months…. donating over 11 inches of my hair to Locks of Love.

This is where it starts to get GOOD…

My eyes completely red, puffy and sore from the tears that had been streaming down them for hours… I walked into my appointment, completely open to my new look, my new life after these major changes.

I’m still messing with the look but I have to admit that it felt good physically and emotionally to let go…

To let go of my hair, of my troubles, of my wishes to be the mother I thought I was going to be. I now look in the mirror at what was and smile at what now is.

Say cheese!

Beautiful Existence — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 16:03:13 +0000

When you are the “creative one” in the family, you get the opportunity to lend out your talents for a variety of needs. I’ve helped my family with everything from web site design to the latest… creating a photo booth for my sister’s event.

I always enjoy helping out with items that I enjoy doing, and this photo booth was one of them. Now if only I could apply my worldly-artistic talents to a PAID position!

Summer fun

Beautiful Existence — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 17:24:26 +0000

My posts for the next couple of months might be few and far between but we will be out enjoying our beautiful Seattle Summer and for now we can share some images with you…

I uploaded Instagram onto my iPhone and LOVE IT! I think I’ll be “Instagraming” most of my summer photos if they keep turning out like these ones!!!

A secret path

Beautiful Existence — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 15:14:34 +0000

When I was a girl growing up on my parent’s farm I was constantly in a world of awe and wonder at nature. I had my “secret” places, which would change from time to time. Places I would hide treasures in, places I would hang out in to get away from my annoying younger brother and sister, places where for a couple of moments of my day… I could just sit and be at peace with myself and nature.

This is a path that was created by one of these secret spaces…

It is called the “island” by my family, and it’s FULL of hidden places. I’ve shown my older son one of my secret spaces in the last couple of years and I’ve now started to take my younger son to some of these secret places to… I hope that one or both of them eventually see the magic I witnessed as a youth.

No matter what they end up seeing, I’m constantly amazed at how just one image can transport me back to my childhood and give me my “secret” space again to escape to during hectic times in my now-adult life!