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~ The adventures of Richard and Julie Lary

Rajalary

Monthly Archives: September 2011

Our First and Last Rodeo

19 Monday Sep 2011

Posted by rajalary in Entertainment

≈ 1 Comment

Since neither Rich nor I had seen a rodeo, when we visited the Puyallup Fair two weeks ago, we decided to get tickets to see the Puyallup Pro Radio Justin Boots Playoffs. Knowing what to expect at a rodeo, I opted to block out the negatives, and focusing on snapping photos.

We’d purchased seats in advance, and luckily snagged two “cheap seats” at the far end of the field, in the front row of the top section so no one was sitting in front of us. I was able to set my camera on “sports” and zoom in to fairly successfully capture the action. My strategy was to anticipate where I thought the animals and rider would appear, and then hold the camera steady, wait until they entered the frame, hold my breath, and snap!

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Puyallup Rodeo
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In between taking pictures, I noticed Rich was looking away during certain events. It was hard to overlook the fact young steer were being grabbed by the horns and wrestled to the ground. And during the tie down, very young cattle were pulled to a stop by a rope around the neck, and then lifted up by their legs and smacked onto the ground where they were tied up.

I won’t go into any more details, but every U.S. and many international animal welfare organizations are adamantly opposed to rodeos and events, which use fear, stress or pain to make animals perform or where animals could be injured or killed.

Here are my pictures from my first and last rodeo…. Sorry bucking horses and bulls, little steer and calves.

Invocation #3: December, 1983

16 Friday Sep 2011

Posted by rajalary in Invocations

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We are here today, O Lord, to celebrate the Festival of Chanukah. The time of a miracle. When one day’s flame of light was kept going for eight.

We too have witnessed a miracle. Our own. We have kept our Lamp of Life burning to a length of years not granted to everyone.

At times it was hard. At times easy. At times the light burnt so brightly it shed a glow upon all who came near.

At times an ill-wind blew and made the flame to flicker, but always a protective hand came up to shield it.

If once we took our Lamp too lightly, we now know how precious a gift it is. Not be abused or neglected.

So we ask, O Lord, that for the rest of our days, you grant us the power and the will to tend our Lamp; to keep on doing and not being done for. To keep the flame bright and unclouded so we may share its light with others.

After reading this invocation, I immediately sent the following spiritual message to my grandmother Rose, holder of the Red-Pen-of-Perpetual-Corrections, “You wrote fragment sentences. Lots and lots of fragment sentences!”

I had many heated discussions with her about my tendency to insert an occasional fragment sentence when a short phrase was more appropriate than a grammatically-correct sentence. And now I see, she was a flagrant fragmenter!

Onto the invocation…

My grandmother passed away a month after her 90th birthday. Her husband, Morris, followed a year later. She lived a healthy life, eating small meals, keeping active with gardening, and housework, and remaining mental astute through reading and writing.

She was 83 years old when she wrote the invocation above where she gave thanks for her “lamp of life burning to a length of years not granted to everyone.” It’s a beautiful turn-of-words, but more lyrical is her desire to “keep the flame bright and unclouded so [she] could share its light with others.”

It’s a selfless statement to want life not just for you, but to help others. The ability and willingness to continuing “doing,” whether one’s life work, hobbies, tending to others, or day-to-day activities is what keeps ones lamp burning bright.

Dahlia Philosophy

15 Thursday Sep 2011

Posted by rajalary in Hobbies, Travel

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Last weekend, I went to the Puyallup [Washington] Fair. I’d never been before, but believing the hype was convinced it was going to be fantastic. It wasn’t. Marketed as “one of the biggest fairs in the world, and the largest in the Pacific Northwest,” it fell short in several areas.

I’m old fashioned. Relishing cavernous buildings jam-packed with animals and agricultural products. I want to see tables overflowing with fruits and vegetables, pies, cakes, breads, canned goods, stalks of wheat, jars of seeds, and giant sunflowers with blue ribbons by the best. Show me rows of quilts, hand-sewn clothes, stuffed animals, macramé, knitting, tatting, weaving, crocheting, painting, and everything in-between. Let me walk in awe through buildings full of floral bouquets, cut flowers, potted plants, and landscape displays. I want to cheer for the winners and hope the losers do better the next years.

The Puyallup Fair dabbles on the edge of what I would consider a state fair. It has 4-H exhibits, but primarily what’s exhibited is cats (I’m not making this up) and artwork by local students. They have enormous pumpkins and elaborate displays by local granges, but only a few tables of vegetables. For the most part, they have booths for agriculture groups, gardening clubs, local and government agencies, commercial exhibits (i.e. magic pots, knives, cleaning products, pain relief remedies, rain gutters and roofing, freeze dried mixes, and of course, snake oil disguised as health remedies), carnival rides, petting zoo, entertainment, and ghastly food, including deep fried butter.

One section of the flower display was notable; it featured cut dahlias along with a jaw-dropping, identical bouquets of dahlias, grown by a Dan’s Dahlias in Oakville, Washington.

When I lived in Oregon, a part of my yard was dedicated to growing dahlias.

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Dahlias
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You have the option, when growing dahlias, to leave them in the soil and wait to see if they pop up in the spring. Or, like me, around Thanksgiving, you spend half a day digging them up the plants, cutting off the stems, and then laying the tubers (usually covered with mud) on newspapers in a cool, dry spot like the garage. Every week or so, I would shake off the dirt. Around the New Year, I would divide up the tubers, and choosing the healthiest ones, which were then packed in straw.

In the springtime, when the tubers began to sprout, I’d plant them in the ground. As they grew, I’d tie the stems to bamboo stakes so they won’t tip over.

Was it worth the effort? Absolutely. I loved picking huge bouquets of dahlias and being able to give away my excess tubers to other flower-lovers.

In a sense, dahlias are like employees. You can leave them alone, hoping they continue to producing at a high level. Or you can nurture them. Help them strengthen their skills, keep them engaged by providing challenging projects, and when necessary, encourage them to expand into other areas to augment their experiences.

Kayaking Across Alki

13 Tuesday Sep 2011

Posted by rajalary in Hobbies, Seattle

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During the Labor Day weekend, we loaded our Hobby Cat kayak onto the car and headed to Alki Beach, the westernmost point in West Seattle. It was early in the morning so we got a parking spot across from a launch ramp and easily carried the kayak into the water.

It took us about an hour to pedal across the Sound to downtown Seattle. Along the way, we passed the container shipping facilities and waved to several ferries, gliding to and from Bainbridge and Vashon Islands.

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Our kayak
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We went as far as Discovery Park, before we made the journey across the water, back to Alki.

Hopefully, we’ll have a couple more sunny weekends so we can see other parts of Seattle from our kayak!

Invocation #2: November 16, 1983

08 Thursday Sep 2011

Posted by rajalary in Invocations

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Again, O Lord, we are here to spend an afternoon with our fellow members. We are aware that at this time of life we are privileged to be still sharp of mind and sound of body; that we are able to leave our homes and travel about.

Unfortunately there are those upon whom age has laid a heavy hand. They are not able to get out, but must spend their days within confined walls.

For those unlucky shut-ins we want to offer this prayer:

May they find something in each day to bring them laughter; something to bring them pleasure; something to make them feel less alone; something to make them eager to greet another tomorrow.

O Lord, let them find reason each day to make them glad to be alive.

There are so many definitions for “glad.” There’s delight, gratitude, cheerful willingness, and pleasure. It’s a strange word. Flat and bland. Yet, it’s the word my grandmother Rose chose to associate with life – “glad to be alive.”

She gathered broad statements – “something in each day to bring them laughter,” and “something to make them feel less alone” – and tied them into a bouquet with a ribbon of “glad.”

In sense, Rose tied many incidents together with a ribbon of glad. After my father passed away, when I was nine, my grandparents would visit nearly every Saturday. I was thrilled to see my grandmother because of her ability to see the good in the bad and turn despair into hope.

I had a grim childhood — repressive, unyielding, forbidding, and dark. The bright spot was my grandmother. Seeing her every week, made me glad because she found a way to make me laugh, feel less alone, and most of all, gave me the courage to face another tomorrow, and believe someday everything would be better.

Re-inventing scribbles

05 Monday Sep 2011

Posted by rajalary in Computers and Internet

≈ 2 Comments

In the early 90’s, I worked at Tektronix (oscilloscopes and other test equipment) for a non-conventional manager who insisted everyone use an Apple Computer. This was a time when primarily designers, creative professionals, and schools were using Apples. I was thrilled with my compact Macintoshwith its built-in screen, hard disk drive, and carrying case.

It was portal, easy-to-use, and best of all, had an intuitive graphical user interface. It was the latter that planted the idea I could become a writer/graphic artist/marketer extraordinaire. scribbles writing

A few years later, I started scribbles, witha considerably larger Macintosh, outrageously expensive ink jet printer, and software from my then boyfriend who owned a printing company, which employed graphic artists and typographers using Macintoshes. My first jobs were laying out data sheets for Tektronix and other high-technology companies, along with drawing technical illustrations using Freehand.

While I eventually returned to  the corporate world, I always longed to return to producing marketing communications from conception through writing, design, and printing (or more commonly, posting online).

This morning, I recreated the scribbles logo. It’s a bit more ornate than the original, and more cyan than marine blue, but it still conveys my tagline, “Adding color and eloquence.” Tomorrow, I’ll work on getting my Washington business license, and design a website.

Now all I need is clients… hint, hint!

Invocation #1: November 2, 1983

05 Monday Sep 2011

Posted by rajalary in Invocations

≈ 1 Comment

Here we are again, O Lord, to spend a few hours in friendship with our fellow members.

We are none of us without problems, without pains and aches, but we leave them all behind to come here and think of other things and talk of other matters.

Help us, O Lord, to maintain this attitude of balance between our physical needs and our mental needs, so we may continue to lead a hopeful, fulfilling life.

This being the first invocation, I’m sure my grandmother, Rose, agonized over the words, wondering whether her words would invoke introspection or simply be ignored. She put a lot of thought into what she wrote, unlike me who slams out sentences as fast as I can type.

My “attitude of balance” is to get the words down as fast as possible so I can move onto another project. Using a PC, I can easily go back and make changes, correct typos, and move around paragraphs.

Rose, however, used a typewriter. Making changes meant having to cross-out and retype. She had to be thoughtful and deliberate when she wrote. She had to balance the mental need to express herself with the physical aspect of having to type and retype a passage if she had carelessly hit the wrong keys are started typing before she had a complete train-of-thought.

The “attitude of balance,” however, she refers to in this invocation undoubtedly has nothing to do with writing or typing. The balance she juggled was between her writing and the need to be a good wife – keeping the house tidy, making meals, gardening, shopping, and keeping in touch with friends and family.

Rose came from a large family of five sisters and three brothers. Her husband, Morris, had seven sisters. Many lived close by, frequently visiting, and often seeking her support and wise advice. Her writings speak of the challenge of having to stay neutral or watch what she said to keep peace within the family.

Maybe it was this balancing act, which moved her to write about creating equilibrium between ones physical and mental needs.

Weightlessness

05 Monday Sep 2011

Posted by rajalary in Seattle

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After visiting the Museum of Flight, several weeks ago, Rich and I headed across Boeing Field to Helicopters Northwest. Through Groupon, we’d purchased a thirty minute flight around downtown Seattle. Rich, however, asked if the pilot would fly us over Bainbridge Island, where we hope to move in the coming years.

Unfortunately, the flight was in the late afternoon, which had grown hazy and unusually hot. The latter was a “good thing” because the pilot removed the door on

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Helicopter Ride
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his side of the helicopter, cooling off the interior and providing an unobstructed view out the right-hand side of the helicopter.

I saw in the front with a digital camera; Rich was in back with a camcorder.

It was the second time I’ve been in a helicopter and the experience is akin to being on an amusement ride where gravity is hold you down onto your side or against the side of a spin cylinder. The weightlessness is both soothing and exhilarating.

We became Peter Pan and Wendy soaring over the Puget Sound, Bainbridge Island, the Sea-Based X-band Radar being pushed back to Alaska by tugboats, powerboat and sailboats cutting across the water, Shilshole Marina, downtown Seattle, and finally, south Seattle and Boeing Field. Even though the helicopter travels at over 110 miles per hour, the only hint of movement is the constant changing of the landscape.

The only drawback of a helicopter is the thrill of the ride ends too quickly.

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