Originally published 8.21.14 I've posted video of Peaches on my author page on FaceBook. I'll try and figure out how to post it here later... but now to this week's blog. So I have this writing room in my back yard. It's supposed to be my room, a sanctuary from the noise and chaos of the household grind. My wonderful Hubs made it for me with the strength of his hands and sweat of his brow, seriously... he sweats a lot! I can hop inside and disappear into worlds that only exist in my mind. It is a writer's dream come true and it is mine, all mine...or so I thought. Because the best time to catch the muse is in the early morning when the rest of my world sleeps, I often find myself ascending the stairs in the dark, before the sun rises. It was within my first few pre-dawn writing sessions that I knew my room would never be just mine. Apparently the wildlife in Leavenworth like my writing room too. My most frequent companion is a squirrel that I have since named Emerson. I'm sure there are more squirrels than just him, but he is by far the one most interested in the habits of an aspiring author. It's like I am his cuppa morning coffee... he wakes up and shimmies down the tree to squawk at me and see what I'm up to. I love him so much! I knew he needed a name right away but I was torn between Emerson or Thoreau (Frost was a distant third but didn't make the cut). I went with Emerson only because it's easier to spell. So, my frisky, little muse of mirth comes to me almost each morning just after sunrise and dances up and down the trees and squeaks and squeaks... and squeaks, proclaiming to the animal kingdom that I am hard at work. Sometimes I'll step out of my room and into the forest and talk to Emerson about how the story is going, he makes lots of suggestions but sadly, I don't speak squirrel so the world may never know Emerson's point of view only the inspiration he stirs within me. ![]() Emerson is harmless but Mama Peaches, is a-whole-nother story! Mama is the newest neighbor. She moved in a few weeks ago and brought her baby with her. Mama, aka, Peaches (because Mr. Muscles decided to feed some to her), is a beautiful black bear and I think she thinks my mountain belongs to her. I don't argue but I do try to remind her that the back yard, at least, is mine. We think it may have been the local fires that brought them down into our little draw and we have no idea how long they'll stick around but they sure are fun and intimidating to say the least. The Hubs was the first to notice them, he thinks there's a male wandering around too, but we won't name him because once they're named they're not harvestable by our rules so the big male bear will not be a friend, but just might be dinner. Peaches and her cub are safe from our freezer but the real question is are we safe from them? I've never been this close to a big wild animal before, even in a zoo, it's kind of crazy. All I know is I couldn't feel more at home as I do nestled in the cleft of the mountains with my wildlife peeps... if I can call wildlife my peeps. Anyway, between my three woodland friends and my human visitors who come to see the animals and visit me, my room has become a more like a community center... I guess I don't mind so much, there's always that time just for me right before the day breaks!
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Originally published 8.8.14 If you are inspired by Mr. 11 and Sandra & Melissa, you too can donate! Go here to find a blood drive near you: http://www.redcross.org/blood ![]() So here's the thing... I want the world to be a better place because I'm in it and I like to be a ray of light in dark places. What that means is I purposely look for ways to pay it forward. I must say one of the easiest and most rewarding ways is giving blood... except for the poking parts, I hate those, especially the iron prick, that one hurts like a bugger! Anyway, I give (when I'm not anemic) because it's the right thing to do. Do you realize that, according to the Red Cross, one singular donation can save up to three lives? How great is that? I sit for a bit and that little amount of time, and blood, actually save lives. It's not a maybe, it's a fact. I have saved lives! I'm like a super hero, you can be too! That's the back ground, now you know why I give, so let me get into my last donation. It was a long day at the office and I was stoked to leave and go donate. Supplies are down nationwide and they needed my help. I'm a big helper so I was up to the challenge. Little did I know I was in for a whole lot more than a simple donation. Giving blood is not for weenies (because of the needles) and it's not for meanies (because they don't care about saving lives) so I knew I was going to be in good company but I had to remind myself to be on my best behavior; wait for my turn patiently and make small talk with other donors instead of having my nose in my phone or a book, both of which are a challenge for me and my InstaGram loving, ADD self. I get there, to the Riverside Center in Cashmere, and check in. I'm a minute early and that's good for me, trust me, and if you don't trust me ask anyone who knows me, that's a feat in and of itself. So, there I was proud as puddin' at myself and telling everyone who cared to listen that I was on time. Then I had to do the thing I hate most... wait! I mentioned that I hate waiting, right? And there I was, stuck, waiting, FOREVER! There was only one thing to do to pass the time... I started pestering the people around me. The closest gentlemen asked for it, he was talking to a volunteer and he said he had given 11 gallons of blood in his life! You might think it was the sheer volume of life giving elixir that impressed me, but you might not know me. I was amazed but it wasn't the volume that got me, it was the amount... 11! Eleven is my favorite number in the world, it also happens to be the birthday of one of the most faithful and God fearing women I've had the honor to meet. And, as of earlier that day 11/11 just so happened to be the planned launch date for “Waiting on Justin.” I felt so lucky to be seated next to Mr. 11. Thankfully the selfie I talked him into taking with me and the story about why he started donating passed enough time to get me to the privacy booth. ![]() I answered my questions, got cleared for donation and was led to my chair at the same time as these lovely ladies who seemed to be making a game of giving blood. One kept asking the technicians how fast her pace was, I didn't know there was a pace in blood giving, but I'm a runner so I was intrigued. The other wanted a blanket on and then off. I couldn't quite figure it out, but it was fun to watch them being so passionate about their donation.I learned later that the fast bleeder was Sandra Mueller and she was in fact making sport of saving lives. Her partner in uncrime is Melissa Campbell, is not to be confused with her mother (although they shared a hilarious story about someone making that assumption once on a particularly bad day Melissa was having). Melissa was the undisputed WINNER of the contest because she took longer to donate and proudly wrote it on her name tag for Sandra, and all of us, to see. I'm still not sure what the exact rules are, but it doesn't matter, the game for me was watching the two of them. I waited with Sandra, while Melissa continued to bleed out, slowly, the way a winner should. Sandra tried hard not to be bitter, but you could tell... it was there in her eyes, if only her body bled slower, she could have been last in the seat and written winner on her name tag. Melissa finally finished and sauntered over to the snack table relishing her victory... I think there was applause... I'm pretty sure there was. Sandra promised she would be victor next time and then the two friends sat there at the table drinking juice and badgering each other about their blood giving. They almost had me in tears, it felt like a live Seinfeld show and I had a front seat. ![]() Another donor assured me the Sandra and Melissa show was for real and they did it ever time the blood drive came to the Riverside Center. At that point Sandra chimed in that he was right and if anyone wanted to watch the two woman show admission was minimal, all anyone had to do was give. Give life, give blood and get a laugh with the giving. Who knows? Maybe Sandra can pull off a victory next time. I don't know if you can make it to Cashmere on October 8th to give blood, but if you can I highly recommend it, the show starts around 4:45PM. My words and little blurb don't do these women justice, they were funny, they were entertaining and they were taking time out, have taken time out month after month of their lives to make the world a better place, both for those who need our blood to live and those who, like me, just want to help. Melissa, Sandra my humble and heartfelt thanks for your generosity, spunk and willingness to let a strange lady blog about you. If you want to donate, find a blood drive, save a life and leave a comment to let me know. If you have a funny donation story share it. End of the month, that means it's picture time again. This month wasn't a race around Washington but it was full and busy nonetheless. The pictures are in no particular order because I can't figure out how to organize them but they're here. I would have to say the highlights of the month were helping at Kinderfest in Leavenworth with my church and running the Oso Strong 5K. I loved quizzing the little kiddos on American History... you know America is 238, right? Most of them didn't. It is a joy and honor to help instill a little bit of American pride into the younger generation. And the race, what can I say about it? The best, most organized race I've ever been part of and it was put together by wonderful people I proudly call friends and and supports their community in one of its hardest times. I can't help it I have to say it... I'm Oso Proud of the community support I saw! Originally published 7/21/14 If you'd like to help those who have lost their home or livelihood to the fires the best place to donate right now is the Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org/wa/spokane ![]() Fire, fire everywhere! We moved to Central Washington from the rainy West side in the spring of 2011 and every year forest fires have been in the forefront of everyone's mind the closer summer comes. I made a joke that first year that there were actually five seasons over here: fall, winter, spring, summer and fire season. It was a joke that has proved to be true. The first job I had after our move was right smack in the middle of Front Street in Leavenworth. I worked at Bearly Purrfect, which has since been remodeled into Cup and Kettle, which sits just above the Cheesemonger's. Though the job was “just” scooping ice cream and serving tourists, I loved it and miss it, and my co-workers and bosses, almost everyday. Working there, with life-long residents, taught me a lot about the area. I learned about local life, hiking spots and adventures to be had in Central Washington and I learned about the fires. They told me which fires raged when, honestly there have been so many I forget them all. The fires are named, not like hurricanes which are named after people, fire names come from the areas they consume and they year they raged. Look anywhere around here and you see remnants of past fires. Talk to anyone local and they can tell you their stories of the worst fires. Fire season is a part of life here and it has become a part of mine too. The first real bad fire I remember was in 2012. I was working at the Wenatchee Valley Tech Center with my beloved JAG students and fires raged between Wenatchee and Cashmere through September. My asthmatic tendencies made it hard for me to breathe and I spent the better part of the month in a mask. I was amazed at how the kids took it all in stride. They knew it would be over soon enough and it was no real cause for concern. I was freaking out that there was a fire so close but they shrugged it off and went about their days like it was normal. It was shocking. Fire that close to home seemed anything but normal to me but I was still new here, I didn't get it. Last year the fires got closer. We had one start on Eagle Creek, they called it a sleeper fire. Sleeper fires are caused when lightening strikes and catches a spark but it simmers for days, sometimes weeks before it ignites. Eagle Creek cutoff was just a half mile away from our house on Chumstick Highway. Talk about hitting close to home! Our family came up with a fire emergency plan. We decided on the important things to take; the humans, the pets, the computer, the pictures. Our photo albums stayed in a box for easy removal and the computer tower was easy enough to unplug and pull out in an evacuation. And then we waited to see what the fires did … and let life happen. The fire raged, the firefighters were heroes and eventually it was contained and burned out and life continued in Central Washington as it had every year before. One more plot of land left reminders of what fire can do and one more fire season went in the books. This year the the fires came early and are burning hot, fast and relentlessly. A co-worker who lives in Entiat had to drive for nearly two hours to get around that fire to come in to work before the road reopened. Hearing her plans for her animals and home made me realize how carefree my attitude is toward the fires because we're not home owners. If we lose our home in the fire, all we lose is stuff, we have insurance to cover that. If we owned our home it would be so much worse. That makes me think of Pateros. We've been there, my daughter and I had dinner there, it's a lovely little place and now it's gone. I wonder how many more houses will be lost. Highway 2 is still closed because of the fires, Winthrop is without power, what else will the fires affect before they're burned out? I have no idea when reprieve will come but I know that it will. In the meantime I have no doubt the firefighters will continue to fight using all the resources they have and that the community will continue to support their efforts. Despite the tragedy, I am proud. Our community support for our firefighters is commendable, I've seen children pull out guitars and sing songs of praise to a group firemen taking a break. I've seen signs of thanks posted on fences. I've heard the announcements in Safeway for fundraisers for those in Pateros who have lost their homes. I am deeply saddened for those who are displaced and worry along with others whose houses are still threatened but I am proud. I am proud of the citizens, of the community and of the brave firefighters doing their best to keep the devastation away from our communities. I get it now. It's fire season, it's part of life and we do what we can to get through it. More info on how to help victims of the fires: http://mynorthwest.com/108/2567860/How-to-help-the-Washington-wildfire-victims Link to fire news: http://q13fox.com/2014/07/18/theres-a-firestorm-in-washington-right-now-80-homes-destroyed-as-wildfire-grows-to-265-square-miles/#axzz3845AEJK3 |
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