Saturday, October 31, 2009

Sunday's Psalm--Solemnity of All Saints


Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

The LORD's are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.



For he founded it upon the seas

and established it upon the rivers.




Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who can stand in his holy place?


One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.



Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.

Such is the race that seeks him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.

Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.



from Psalm 24

Photos:  trillium, Ohanapecosh, Mt. Rainier, Washington
College Fjord, Alaska
Nenama River, Alaska
Sourdough Ridge and Mt. Rainier, Washington
Fr. Brown's Cross, Juneau, Alaska
grandson's hands
sunset, Longmire, Washington

Friday, October 30, 2009

Sky Watch Friday--just hanging around town

I've not been out and about much in the last few weeks, but my hip pocket camera is always--well, in my hip pocket--so I stopped on the way to town one day last week when the clouds were especially brilliant.


There are fabulous skies all over the world, and we get to see many of them through the  efforts of SkyWatchers around the blogosphere. Find them here.

Please click previous post and see my ABC Wednesday post--it is very important to me. And visit again tomorrow, as I have a special reflection planned.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

ABC Wednesday -- O is for...

O is for October

What is October to you?
Does this leaf represent October? It may if you live in the Northern Hemisphere. The other day I was looking out the window through the blinds and I thought it was snowing. The wind was blowing all the leaves off our big birch tree in the yard and they were drifting like huge snowflakes. Nights are very chill and I have to scrape frost from my windshield if I go somewhere in the morning.

October is a carnival of color.

Or maybe this represents October for you.


When our kids were growing up they did not wait till October to start thinking about their Halloween costume. But when they started asking in July or August, my answer was, any costume worth wearing can be made in the days before Halloween. It doesn't take months and I refused to think about it that early. Now, the giraffe costume took some time for the paper maiche and paint to dry. The robot took a trip or two to town for boxes and dryer vent and silver spray paint. (The arms and legs were that expandable plastic venting, Really cool effect!) But most costumes were thrown together no more than the day before from stuff around the house.

Halloween is coming this Saturday, and though where we live we don't usually see many trick or treaters, they will be out and about haunting the streets in town. I hope they have as much fun with costumes as we did. If Halloween celebrations are not common in your country, do you have a holiday when kids dress up?

All the color and fun aside, October is also a serious month.

It is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
This is especially important to me because of my mother and my sister and other relatives and friends. It is important to me because I have daughters, daughters-in-law and granddaughters. It is important to me becasue I am a woman.


In the summer of 1993, both my Mother and my sister Ann were diagnosed with breast cancer. They had surgery a day apart. Mother had radiation; Ann had chemo and radiation and continued to work as well as care for many of mother and dad's needs. In January of 1995, twelve weeks after Dad died of another cancer, Mother followed him. They would have celebrated their 61st anniversary the next month.

The day of Mother's funeral my cousin Terry was in surgery. (Her mother, my Aunt Grace, had fallen to the disease two years before.) They identified four different kinds of breast cancer cells in her breast tissue.

Ann's cancer returned a few years later, and she lived with it until October of 2003 and died the day after her 48th anniversary. Terry is well, and enjoying her retirement.

Make an appointment for a mammogram.
Do a monthly breast exam.

My list of those directly affected by breast cancer grows. It includes other relatives, many friends, and many friends of my friends and relatives. I carry the names of about 75 on my hat and have quit adding names to it because there is no more room. the names are not only women, but also men who have had breast cancer.


I'm walking again. During our recent cruise, on a day at sea, my husband and I joined others for 5K in "On Deck for the Cure". (8 laps around the deck in case you wondered.)  And because the Breast Cancer 3-Day walk for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation took place in Seattle while we were gone, I am signed up to do the walk in Arizona in two weeks.

I still desperately need more sponsors. So if you want to do something to bring an end to this disease which affects so many, please consider  clicking my shoes in the sidebar and donate five or ten or more dollars to my sponsorship.

Watch in the next couple of days for some special items I will be offering as an incentive to sponsors. I just have to get the pictures taken.

Okay, here's a bunch of links for you:
ABC Wednesday is in it's fifth season. Visit the site to see what others have found for O. Please also visit our ABC hostess Denise, who is grieving the death of her beloved pet Wilma.

For more information about the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk, visit the 3-Day site.


For information about Breast Cancer and Susan G. Komen for the Cure, look here.


And if you would like to sponsor me, here are my shoes again.

Okay, I can't make the pictures into links, the links are above in the text.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Odd Shot--going somewhere?


I guess it's just because I live in a house that was moved from its original location because of freeway construction, but when I saw this house across the road when we stopped to see the Alaska Pipeline, I assumed it was in transit somewhere. Actually, there is just a wagon of some sort in front of it.

I publish an Odd Shot every Monday. If you join me, please leave a comment so that others can find all the Odd Shots of the day. I will not post a linky again unless participation increases.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Sunday's Psalm--30th Sunday of Ordinary Time

The Lord has done great things for us:
we are filled with joy.




When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,

we were like men dreaming.



Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with rejoicing.

 
The Lord has done great things for us: we are filled with joy.

Then they said among the nations,
"The LORD has done great things for them."


The LORD has done great things for us;
we are glad indeed.

The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the torrents in the southern desert.


Those that sow in tears
shall reap rejoicing.










The Lord has done great things for us;
we are filled with joy.


 
 
 
 
Although they go forth weeping,

carrying the seed to be sown,










They shall come back rejoicing,

carrying their sheaves.



The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.





Psalm 126: 1-2,2-3,4-5,6


Photos:
native dancers, Anchorage
joyful hand
Mt. Rainier meadow in August
September sunset
Tonto Natural Bridge State Park, AZ
grapes, seedlings, grain

Coming home

All good things must come to an end.

We said good bye to the Coral Princess in Vancouver and boarded a bus for Seattle.

Our sojourn on Canadian soil consisted of a day sailing through the Straits of Georgia and ten minutes in the cruise terminal lined up to get on the bus. Once we had boarded the bus, a seal was put on the door and we headed out toward the border.

We had spent sixteen days in Alaska, which is celebrating its fiftieth year of statehood, and a short drive through British Columbia sealed in a bus. When we reached the border, once we waited through the long line of cars and busses,  there was only a quick passport check--no customs to be dealt with. After all, we had barely been out of the country.


We passed Mt. Baker, which we can see at a distance on hikes on Sourdough Ridge when it's clear.


Sourdough Ridge--somewhere at the left edge of this picture.

When we see Mt. Rainier looming big on the horizon, we know we are home.

I've posted 45 random pictures from the Alaska trip on 365 and 35 posts here with one to fifteen pictures each. It's not all the pictures.  Monday's Alaskan Odd Shot is already ready. We have been home more than a month. I need to get my camera busy and be back to My World on Tuesday.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Skies and Reflections---good-bye Alaska--Hello, Vancouver

We left Ketchikan in the evening, spent a day and a night "at sea", arriving with the dawn in Vancouver, B.C. A picture is worth a thousand words. Here are ten thousand.



Cruise terminal





Longshoremen waiting to tie up the Coral Princess. Look at the size of those ropes.

More Skies for Friday are here.
More Weekend Reflections are here.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Alaska Bits -- 26 -- How far south can you go and still be in Alaska?

The practical answer is Ketchikan. And the two most fascinating things about Ketchikan are totem poles and Creek Street.



...and rain. Ketchikan brags about being the rainiest city in the country. The rain held off for us as we wandered around town. Ketchikan sits on a very narrow shelf of land on Revillagigedo Island. You don't have to go very far to find that the next street is UP.


In Eagle Park, this modern totem sculpture dominates the scene and keeps the traditional style alive and current.


You can see behind the eagle, an interesting sign of the unique hillside characteristic of Ketchikan. There are three ways to get to the northern stretch of the town. The road goes around, another route through the tunnel, and a hillside staircase.


Creek Street was once the red light district. It gets its name because of--well--the creek. It is now home to funky shops and migrating salmon.