and where the hell was the squad?

The boys were not on watch last night when Whatcom Middle School burned down. I’m sorry to say, these dudes did not fulfill their duty.

Got some splaining to do….And I am wondering what the hell Chief Jess Odell is going to tell the authorities about his squad. I bet Asplund is going to take the fall. Now, I know, you’d first think that ol’ Mr. Horn should have been blowing something, but Asplund, he’s only got a future in local retail…he’s surely set to take the fall.

Plus, rumor has it, he’s been carrying a “torch” for little Miss Oltman. But we know the truth! He’s got his eye on her family’s insurance business ~ damn his future in retail!

I also heard that “Duke” Skinner was involved in something up there on the roof top. Yep, it was all about giving some guy, well you know, “the axe”.

That was all happening while the Yell Kings, Stevens and Hudson, were working up one of their clever formations we keep hearing about. As the kings, they should have had kept a closer eye on old Duke. And used some of their zeal to yell F * I * R * E !

The very early days ~ she still had her pitched roof.

No additions yet, but she was still a high school.

A recent image.

Whatcom * * * * School ~ it use to say “high” but now she was a “middle”. Was is the word. How many hours did thy waste?

Aside: I have my mom’s eldest cousin’s old annuals from Whatcom High School ~ 1934, 1935, 1936. As I looked through the books tonight, I realized that I have few (if any) memories of my middle and high school years. The weren’t pleasant I recall, but I can’t recall much more than that. It is funny how memories fade or become more important as the years pass. There seems to be quite a HOLE in my memory.

My middle school, Shuksan, was demolished this fall. Could that be why I haven’t any memories left?

a hole in our hearts ~

This morning the community was shocked and saddened to learn that one of the local landmarks had burned through the night. Whatcom Middle School (originally Whatcom High School and then Whatcom Junior High) stood in the Lettered Streets neighborhood for over 100 years.

My husband went to school there.

My mom went to school there.

My cousins went to school there.

With nearly 600 displaced pupils, teachers, and support staff, the Bellingham School District is going to have some huge challenges facing them in the coming years. The economy isn’t in the right place for something like this to happen ~ not that any time would be a good time. But rebuilding (more like building from the ground up) a school will take a couple of years.

Here is video of the news report on the fire.

I do hope my dear friend and favorite goddess Kwan Yin will protect and show her mercy.

ode to my future ~

As I go through the day, I think about my hands constantly. It has become a nervous habit, rubbing my sore knuckles. I still pop and snap them all day long, but the affected area has nothing to do with cracking knuckles. It’s age. It’s use. It’s arthritis.

I wouldn’t call it vanity. It is just they way people try not to show their “short comings”. Everyone has something ~ something they are hiding. My list is long, but not different than yours. It may be something permanent like the scars I have from a car accident. Or it could be the scratch across my nose from the cat biting me in the night. We are all trying to cover up and hide those imperfections.

When my hands are painful like they are tonight, I think of Olivia. Faded photographs of hands, painful hands. Olivia was my great-great aunt…my great-grandfather’s brother’s wife, and I only know her from the collection of images I have tucked away.

You can’t help but notice that Olivia hid her hands. They were always tucked under in a way to not show the arthritis that had settled in her joints.

In most posed photos she has her hand hidden from view.

It is apparent that her right hand gave her the most trouble and insecurity.

The unmistakable knots and twisting of her fingers.

Even in the nursing home, photos show dear Olivia holding her hands in a manner to not display what arthritis had done to them.

My grandmother, Mabel, had arthritis too. She always said she hated her hands, and then pluck at the loose skin on her knuckles. But I loved her hands. Those hands, like Olivia’s, tended the garden, crocheted and knitted, mended and cooked, patted and consoled, they supported the entire family.

Olivia Saude born 1865 Norway, died 1960 Rugby, North Dakota

tweet ~

i just realized i don't have a headache, my sinuses aren't burning and my hormones aren't wacked out. well hell, you'd think i was 32 again.

to knit or not to knit ~

I keep thinking that I want to knit a new sweater or vest...but then I think again. If I could only lose 40 pounds it would take so much less wool. Damn those skinny knitters!

headed toward accreditation ~

Today the college nursing program I work for learned that it was going to receive its recommendation for National accreditation.

Only four years ago the first group of nurses began the two-year journey to prepare for a nursing career. It is really great to see the faculty and students work so hard to make the Whatcom Community College Nursing Program a success ~ Kudos to them all!

Although a majority of the students are women, there are more and more men moving into the profession. I was excited to find the photo above ~ do you think he was graduating as a nurse too?

Although I’ve hardly been working for the program for more than four months, it was nice to learn that I helped make a contribution to the program’s move toward accreditation. Although I really feel like I was just along for the ride ~ they have all put in four years of hard work to get the program where it is so quickly.

So make sure you respect those nurses out there! Even if they are sticking you with a needle ~ that flu shot is going to keep you well this winter season.

sunday afternoon in the park with bill ~

Yesterday was the Cornwall Park Disc Golf tournament. Dad (aka Bill) decided to take part. He’s been playing every morning for a year ~ about two hours a day. He may not be the local pro yet, but at (almost) 73, he scored better than some of the younger dudes.

We grew up with our backyard leading into the park, so this was our natural playground. We’d play on the park swings, roam the hills, and bike like mad through the trails before there was even a hit of a mountain bike fad.

I remembered to bring my camera with me to take some shots of the tournament. But I have to admit, the “nature” in the park was enchanting ~ the tournament soon took a photographic back seat.

There were mushrooms and toadstools galore throughout our walk as the group dad was playing with circled about 10 holes. Most of these mushrooms were at least 7” in diameter and 6-7” tall. They were amazing.

The park is filled with the most amazing trees: cedar, fir, hemlock, maples, etc. They are some of the oldest and largest trees in Bellingham. One of the problems with the disc golf course in the park is that the trees are natural obstacles and get whapped by discs constantly. The bark gets damaged like the cedar in the photo above. This, supposedly, isn’t a big deal for the older trees, but is not good for younger ones. Personally, it is really a shame they can’t figure a better way to play around some of the trees.

Not sure which hold this was taken at, but it gives you an idea about the height of the trees.

There’s a small row of chestnut trees at the southeast entrance to the park by the elementary school I went to 35 years ago. I use to collect the chestnuts on my way home from school ~ it was my “collection”. I’d glue each chestnut carefully to a sheet of paper ~ oh, how I loved my chestnut collections.

I couldn’t believe how close I was able to get to this dragonfly ~ such wonderful shape and color.

The colors of fall were starting to show everywhere.

This is the last hole we watched before heading home. See the big pack the guy on the left was carrying ~ most of the guys what these filled with their discs. Poor guy wasn’t play so well, but he did have a lot of discs.

Dad told us where there was a patch of native cyclamen that we would pass on our way up the hills. The leaves were starting to break through the ground ~ another sign of impending fall. Soon the shuttlecock flowers will be gone for another season.

carpe diem ~

Synonym via MS Word ~

“make hay while the sun shines”

“Cook car” c. 1900, Barton, ND.

Making hay was a community endeavor during the turn of the century (and much later). When the threshing machine came to town, everyone pitched in to help. Even the ladies worked the cook car preparing hot meals for the men. Above, my great grandpa (John Johnson) is kneeling center, bottom ~ smoking a pipe. My great-great uncle, John Saude, is the man standing ~ first man at left with light colored long-sleeved shirt and suspenders.

Circuit camera photograph of men “making hay”

in Barton, ND c. 1900.

Close up of circuit camera shot above.

Threshing in Barton, ND c. 1900.

And a closer look at the right side of the photo above.

Carpe diem ~ seize the day ~ make hay

Today with the sniffles, I successfully rolled out of bed before 8 a.m. Drank a cup of coffee and played on the computer. Carpe diem!

signs of summer ending ~

The season begins with the hopes and dreams

of a warm, bountiful summer and a plate full of burgers.

A sense of sadness and melancholy fills the hearts of everyone when the hamburgers are gone and the days become shorter. Time to close up the family cabin ending another season of summer.

surface tension ~

Leaving my parents’ house this afternoon I was stopped dead in my tracks by these Katsura leaves. These pools of water were nervously balanced on the fallen leaves after last night’s rain. As the light came and went with the clouds passing over the sun, the pools changed like little looking glasses.

Perched atop this bubble of life was one tiny blade of grass.

My parents’ porch, like their yard, is a gardener’s wonderland. Collections of yard art from the traditional (Red Grass Designs, Rosebar [we’ll miss you Mary Taylor], Shirley Erickson) to the dada-ish work of Rich Art (aka Dick Tracy or Rich/Richard Tracy) that I purchased when I worked at the Whatcom Museum. Each corner has a surprise.

Above is a rock that Steve and I gave my parents for their 46th anniversary. Steve was into carving stones into plant markers for the garden. I drew this pattern out to represent multiple things ~ an “H” (for Hadley, my maiden name), the number “46” for their years of marriage, and a flowing motion to represent all the Asian inspired things they have in the yard and house. I think Steve did a great job using his Dremel and many hours.

On Friday, I made a new friend. I saw her flutter by the window and land outside just behind the TV. I quickly grabbed my camera to capture some images of this little lady goldfinch.

She continued her journey south after this last shot.

Enjoy the winter down south, my dear!

fragment ~

…week word….too literal?