Tag: Middle-Age Adventure
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Our Lady of the Train Station
The train system in Europe is amazing, but for the uninitiated it can be a bit overwhelming at first. So when the Old Lady with a shopping bag approached us at the S Bahn ticket kiosk in the Munich airport, we were grateful for her assistance. “Vere are you going?” she asked, outing us as…
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Maggie’s Beads
As I pulled the beautiful blue glass bead from my back pack, I knew I had a perfect place to put it. We were in Porto, Portugal on the main boardwalk along the river. A blue dingy was on the dock, waiting. The bead needed to be on this boat. It was so apropo because the creator…
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My Shamans
Bart. That was the name of my first Shaman. It was the early 2000’s. My family had decided to spend the Christmas holiday in the small seaside village of Puerto Morelos, Mexico. Sitting on the beach, terribly hungover from a night of Margaritas followed by cartwheels down the street, I struck up a conversation with…
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One Tiny Sock
I woke up with a surge of sadness. Three days of chaotic joy. Running Singing Rapture at the moon. Puddles Dirt Wonder in the mundane. Tears Laugther Each moment a gift. Carefully wrapped in a precious memory.
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Holy Puck! She’s Amazing.
I really like badass women. Take the character, Mattie Ross from the movie True Grit. A young woman hires a washed up US Marshall to exact revenge on her murdered dad. But she takes this plan to the badass level by insisting on joining him on a journey which ends with a rattlesnake bite, an…
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Life is what happens…
“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” John Lennon from the song, Give Peace a Chance I love this quote by John Lennon. I’ve always mused on it from the perspective of folks (including myself) who are too busy keeping up with “rat race” related concerns that they miss the…
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As Unready As I’ll Ever Be…
I am nowhere near ready. Yes, my bags are packed. Tickets purchased. Itinerary sorted. I’ve even wrapped my head around it. No, it’s my body. My physical readiness. Basically, I’m doomed. Day after tomorrow, Rick and I will ride from our front door to Kingston and catch the ferry to Edmonds, Washington. There, we will…
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It’s the Water
“Now, turn it all the way until these padlock rings line up. Exactly.” Standing over our water meter, my neighbor, Chris, guides me in the nuanced skill of turning off, or on, water to any of the 73 homes in our neighborhood. It’s one of the jobs I’ve acquired now that I’m a board member of…
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60 Shades of Gray
Reflections on Retirement When I tell people I’m from the Pacific Northwest, they invariably say,” it rains a lot there, doesn’t it?” Yes. Sort of. Like the Scots, said to have 421 words for snow (for example, the Scottish word for a large snowflake is ‘skelf’), those of us in the PNW have many many…
Gonzo Girl 