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Health and Wellness, Music

Rainy Days and Sundays (Always Get Me Up)

January 19, 2020

I’m alluding to a song that was popular in the 70’s, by the Carpenters, called “Rainy Days and Mondays”. The song says “…rainy days and Mondays always get me down.”

But I don’t feel that way about rainy days or Mondays.

Water is a life-giving force and water, falling or streaming, is music to my ears, nurturing my soul and soothing my senses.

I’m from the Midwest. We had frequent thunderstorms. So I grew up with an appreciation and eagerness for thunder and lightning (as long as I wasn’t outside, in it!)

But we seldom have thunderstorms here in Seattle. So, when one occurs, it’s cause for celebration among my kids and I. We call each other and exclaim “Hey, did you hear that?”

So imagine my elation when, one day, while I was shopping at Trader Joe’s, standing by the zucchini, I suddenly heard the faint sound of thunder and lightening…………..

……………just before the mist sprayed down lightly over all the vegetables I was standing next to!! 😂

Smiling ear to ear, I looked around to see if anyone else shared my simple fascination, joy, and surprise at the creativity involved in the making of that “thunderstorm”.

But everyone else was just going about their business. It seemed I was the only one who noticed it.

(Oh, well, maybe some day I’ll grow up. 🤨)

But, I say, two thumbs up 👍🏻👍🏻 for the ‘creative’ who came up with the idea!

So last Sunday was a rainy day. Sunday is my only day off. So it’s a day of rest. A day just to chill. A day to do laundry. A day to connect with family and/or friends. And it was a day to turn on “Lizzles!” (a playlist I made of all Lizz Wright‘s songs) and let Lizz’s music intermingle melodically all day long with the rhythmic rainfall gently touching down on the skylight above my desk (my creation station), while I sat there and dreamed wide awake as I began this post and thought about ideas for future posts. Also it was a kind of day that called for soup or a hearty stew, as they say.

Recently I bought an Instant Pot…..

….and an Instant Pot Cookbook….

……by Urvashi Pitre.

Her cookbook offers various dishes from all over the world, three of which were recipes for three delicious Korean dishes my boys and I learned to love during the years we lived in South Korea.

One of the recipes was for Kimchi JJi Gae (Kimchi Stew). I wanted to try it first.

It turned out really well. It was a great recipe true to the authentic flavor I have grown to know so well.

As the day went on, it got colder and the rain turned to snow.

By evening, 7-8 inches of snow had fallen. But I didn’t mind.

🎶 Snowy days and Sundays always get me up too 🎶.

creativity, Health and Wellness, Music, Photography, Travel/Adventure

Sound Bytes #6….”The Finale”

November 11, 2019

This Sound Bytes Series has been a lot of fun for me to put together.

Lizz’s music, the travel and sight-seeing around the Puget Sound, the people I met along the way, and the opportunity to share it all with you.

It’s been all about the beauty of the Puget Sound and the beauty of the sound of Elizabeth Lacharia Wright’s (Lizz Wright’s) music.

I love both sounds.

When I first conceived the idea to do this, I knew I wanted to end the series with an aerial view of the Puget Sound above the San Juan Islands. (It’s at the end of this post….as Sound Bytes #6).

I also wanted to write a song called, “Love At First Sound”, for this final post of the series. (It’s also down below.)

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creativity, Music, Photography, Travel/Adventure

Sound Bytes #4 ….”San Juan Island”

October 21, 2019

San Juan Island is just one of the islands in the archipelago known as the San Juan Islands.

The four main islands, to which people frequently travel, are Orcas, Shaw, Lopez and San Juan Island.

(I got this map from the San Juan Island Visitors Bureau.)

In my last post, (Sound Bytes #5….”Orcas Island (Continued)”, I mentioned that I didn’t leave Orcas Island as soon as I thought I would, to get to San Juan Island. The rainy weather on Orcas delayed me one day. So I essentially had only one day to spend on San Juan Island, to do all the things I wanted to do.

I called ahead to let the front desk people know I would be getting in a little late that night.

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Health and Wellness, Music, Photography, Travel/Adventure

Sound Bytes #5….”Orcas Island (continued)”

September 11, 2019

In my last post (Sound Bytes #5….”Orcas Island”), I said that the next post would be Sound Bytes #4….”San Juan Island”.

But after I thought about it, I realized I had to go back to Orcas Island to do a few things I was unable to do on my last visit to the Island. I’m pretty sure #4 🤨 will be next, but…..

Oh well…..I think I can safely say that #4 will be here when you see it. (How’s that for being non-committal?)

I wanted to:

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Health and Wellness, Music, Photography, Travel/Adventure

Sound Bytes #5…..”Orcas Island”

July 14, 2019

Last month I intended to visit the San Juan Island, not only for the fun of it but also for the purpose of doing Sound Bytes #4….”San Juan Island”, which I mentioned in a previous post (Sound Bytes #2….”Sound Views From Anacortes”). But I couldn’t get a reservation on the ferry for the times and days I needed to get on it.

So I looked at the ferry schedule for Orcas Island and I was able to get a reservation for the days and times I had planned to go there.

So, I decided to do Sound Bytes #5….”Orcas Island” first.

(So, just so you know, Sound Bytes #4, will follow this one, although it is out of order.)

Let us begin!……

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