Chancedance Chronicles

'Perhaps the poet whose verses gladden us was sad and solitary, and the musician a melancholic dreamer...What they give us is no longer their darkness, their suffering or fears, but a drop of pure light, eternal cheerfulness...'

--Herman Hesse, Magister Ludi

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Visit Berlin with me
2005
2007

6-16-10 1 week away from summer but it still looks like fall outside here in the Puget Sound area. Maybe that's why I am feeling unmotivated and procrastinating over getting things done today. Or maybe I'm still recuperating from my 10-state journey. Or maybe it's a lingering malaise of the spirit insidiously insisting that it doesn't matter anyway. As I look below at my last post, I can only shake my head and wonder why fate has to be such a twisted bitch. That job, and another that I had at the same time, didn't work out. Once again I was only employed for 2 weeks, and then, like a dream that fades with dawn, it was gone. It was disappointing, but it did allow me the time to go visit my grandfather and sisters in the Midwest. My grandfather is 94 and his once-brilliant mind is fading from lingering effects of a stroke 4 years ago and from age. It was good to see him anyway. I think we brightened up his life for a little while. After a week with him we spent another week in Wichita visiting my 2 sisters and my energetic passel of nieces. The joyful exuberance of children was a healing balm after being faced with the struggles of aging. I took many photos of everything from the slowly changing scenery from one state to the next, to the unique images of history of the area, to the beautiful smiles and beloved faces of my family. My goal is to make a little photo journal of it, if I can just quit procrastinating.

5-7-10 Spring looks like it's finally starting to arrive, better late than never. I hope your smiles, like mine, are returning with the sunshine. I've kept busy this past month with a little vacationing to the ocean in both Washington and Oregon. I had a feeling I needed to get my kicks while I could because I just knew things were going to change soon. Turns out I was right, I applied for a job yesterday, interviewed today and start Monday. It's only part-time, 3 days a week, but I'm glad because after doing my own thing for almost a year and a half, jumping back into a daily grind would have been really hard, as I learned back at the end of February when I briefly worked full time. Three days a week is enough to replace my unemployment pay which sucked anyway plus leaves me time to go to school with less conflict with the job. My son got a job too so knowing things are moving in the right direction is also a comfort. That just leaves my husband needing a job. Law of Attraction says to think positive and always give thanks for any and all symbols of the successes you want, so I'm here to say I'm grateful and delighted for the successes coming to me and my friends and am opening the door of welcome to more!

3-28-10 Finished the set for HMS Pinafore and took a nice daycation up to Skagit Valley & Deception Pass with hubby afterwards because we both worked our hinies off trying to get it done. (Visit my facebook page for photos) In fact, I want to shout out a big thanks to both Troy Sr and Troy Jr for their help accomplishing this monumental task. My dad designed this set and took the photos, so it turned out to be a family project from start to finish. Click here or on the pic below to see several photos of the finished set. Show runs every weekend from now till April 25 so go see it if you live in Tacoma WA area. Click here for ticket info.

3-12-10 Another month has gone by and spring is nearly here. I've been eagerly anticipating the return of the sun and working in my garden. Although it's been unusually snowy in other parts of the country, here in the Pacific NW we had a very mild winter with a lot of early sun. The daffodils bloomed early and my tulips already have buds forming. We've also already enjoyed several long rides on the Harley because we learned amongst all our ups and downs last year to take advantage of every joyful opportunity as they come along because you never know what the next day might bring. Speaking of unexpected twists and turns, I recently got a job at a sign shop and it seemed to be going really well with lots of work and the clients liked me. I was just starting to accept the lure of financial stability for the first time in over a year. Then out of the blue, the owner got offered a new job and in the course of figuring out how to manage his change, decided my position could be filled by his colleague's graphic artist next door. I did nothing wrong and he didn't know the job opportunity would come up when I was hired, but as fast as the job came, away it went and after 2 weeks I was again employed only by myself at Snakebite Graphics. It goes to show how we humans learn to adapt. A year ago this would have made me crazy, but my response this time was simply to move on, contacting my dad and the theater to let them know that I could participate in some other projects and will now be working on the set of Lakewood Players' upcoming show, HMS Pinafore. I'm learning to trust God that things will work out as He wants them to, and sure enough faith is rewarded and my husband has a job interview today that would meet all our needs. Wish us luck that he gets it and we can go back to a bit of stability. I've had about enough of "interesting times". And one last note before I sign off, yesterday was the birthday of an awesome, unique, creative, inspirational person, my best friend for almost 40 years.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAUL!

2-11-10 Happy Valentines Day! I hope you have love in your life and take good care of it. That includes loving yourself. I'll be off celebrating a long romantic weekend in Newport, Oregon this weekend like hubby and I have done pretty regularly for the last 8 years or so. Honestly, I'm very ready for a vacation. I've got new & old clients keeping me busy and just finished a backbreaking labor of love painting the set for You Can't Take It With You at Lakewood Playhouse. I've also taken advantage of unseasonably nice weather in the Pacific NW to dig in a new flower bed. For you east coasters, I'm not trying to gloat. Sorry about your many feet of snow. We had none at all this winter. I just hope we don't get a sudden late cold snap because I'm itching to get things planted in my new garden.

I want to take a minute to talk about gratitude and taking things for granted. Recently hubby and I became involved with a wonderful group, Bikers Fighting Cancer, who help kids with cancer. The day before another biker's funeral, one of our members went down due to an out-of-the-blue heart attack while riding and ended up brain dead. BAM, just like that, his light was snuffed out. What were his last words to his loved ones? Theirs to him? What were his plans for tomorrow or next week or next year? How might your priorities change if you lived life like every day might be your last? Who would you spend time with or make amends with or say I Love You to one last time if you knew the end was near? Take moment to say thank you and I love you now. You never know what might happen tomorrow. 
 

Updated 6-19-10
 

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