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They had just spent their first real night in the new place, the one they had built together.  It was a great starter nest!  They had worked side by side to find the perfect twigs and tufts of winter grass to stitch it all together just right.  There were no adornments, just a nice roof over their heads, and it would most definitely survive the typical spring and summer time weather a neighborhood at 7200 feet could expect! As the sun began to rise behind the gloomy clouds and morning showers, the slight breeze swayed their high rise just a bit and Marvin whispered,      "Nothing to be alarmed about, Mavis, trees of this size will shimmy and shake, especially this far up from the ground!"      "Mamma always told me there was no time for worry" Mavis replied, "besides, it's time to get up and get going with our day!"      "Yes!  Indeed it is my fine lady" Marvin smiled and with that headed toward the door to go fi...

We got some new neighbors this year.    "This isn't really their hood" I thought as he shooed them away.  The first time was out in the east grove, right when you come around the corner.  They were tucked in toward the house, so passersby on the road may not have noticed, but we did. A few days later they were back, it is Springtime after all.  Not in the exact location, but a few trees over.  Those darn magpies!  The next morning they returned to find chaos instead of their finely woven structure, but they were determined that this was the place - only to be foiled once again. We didn't see them for a few days, but then one morning there they were, out there talking.  How could all of their hard work keep tumbling down?  They hadn't noticed it to be too windy when they'd left the night before?  They hadn't seen any creatures lurking about that would create such havoc! A few mornings later they arrived for yet another visit....

"I wish somebody would have told me then, these are the good ole days" Macklemore sang to me on the radio as I raced to the airport a few weeks ago.  Didn't really think too much about it until I was flying home a couple of days later. I had gone to visit my parents to look through old photos and I found this one of my Nona with her beautiful sister-in-law Norina and fun loving daughter Anita.  They’re all standing around Nona’s stove.  Anita is pouring something into a strainer and Norina is smiling, with her cigarette, (yup, this was the early 70's, folks), with her back to the wall where Nona’s phone with the long curly tail hung.  I remember well the mustardy gold striped wallpaper and all of the custom cabinetry that Nono had made for the home they had lived in for many decades. This photo is screenplay stuff.  Nice screenplay stuff, like, my family really didn’t seem too controversial?!?  We weren’t oil tycoons or mobsters.  In this photo w...

They really are like the beautiful song Barbra Streisand made famous.  Oh, Oh, mem'ries.... (insert music note emoticons here).  They may be beautiful and yet.  Misty, water colored mem'ries.  You know the words... I was given this unique piece of artwork a couple of years ago.  I had recently started dating her son and we had personally met, though she lived over a thousand miles away.  She mailed it to him to give to me.  Maybe I had impressed her as the type of someone who might like a piece of her personally hand made artwork?  A work of art that she had personally made. The first home my ex and I had purchased was a 700sf war box in West Seattle.  Back in those days we didn't take photos of ourselves and our surroundings every step we took.  Taking pictures happened when we remembered to bring the camera.  Carrying around your Nikon like a purse wasn't the norm. It was a cute little house that sat perched up off the str...

I could hear some darn dog barking in the neighborhood as I was working out in the garage one weekend afternoon.  Enjoying the light breeze and bright blue, sunny skies, I decided to take a break from the project I was working on to see where he was and what he was excited about!  As I was looking out the open door to the backyard, I happened to notice this little ant.  As crazy as it sounds, I forgot all about the dog and watched this little guy for a minute or three as he carried a little bug while climbing the door jam vertically.  I watched him as he wandered about in his travels... kinda going in a straight line... but, not really.  He wasn't bothered by the barking dog.. the weight of his treasure was his focus and it must have been mighty, I thought, because that was all he was concentrating on.  I loved his determination!  I got to wondering... who would he be sharing his treasure with and how would they celebrate his success when he a...

You could be tall or you could be slim.  You could be her or you could be him? You could be black or you could be blue.   Who would you be if You weren't You? You could be creepy or you could be clean. A Mexican mobster or African Queen? You could be nice or you could be mean. Your hair would be red or would it be green? Could you be sinister or would you be nice? Whose shoes would you wear if you were walking on ice? You could be Starsky and he could be Hutch? You could be scary and he would be Dutch? Mermaid, were wolf or haggy witch. What would happen if the spectrum were to switch? Ogre, wart hog or Peter Pan. Hollywood starlette or rich old man? "What happens now?" you might want to ask. Where are the clear cut answers to this task? Be the best you can be at all times! Be sure to listen and watch for the signs! Stay true to yourself, Be calm and cool Whoever you be Don't be a fool!

"I just love those days when I can help other people feel like SuperGirl!"  Maggie announced enthusiastically through the empty paper towel roll that had been saved in the pantry for such performances as this. "Ya?" Mom said, "tell me about it!" as she busily continued cooking dinner for the soon-to-be arriving others, "and grab me a few carrots out of the fridge, please." "Do you remember that girl, Jane, from my high school days?" Maggie said as she moved toward the fridge to help out. "Not sure, hon." Mom said as she was given the carrots and quickly moved to put them in the sink for a quick rinse. "She was the girl who had it all together, Mom" Maggie said, "she was just always so perfect and self assured." "Oh.  Okay" Mom said, "so what about her?" "Three years ago she'd gotten into this unfortunate skiing accident.  Blew out her knee along with tons of oth...