We’re back in South Carolina. It was an arduous trip across country, but we rolled into town on Wednesday and have been getting reacquainted with our house. It is good to be home and spend some time with family.
Category: Miscellaneous
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On Black Friday most people go buy excessively large TVs and other electronics. I wound up with something else – a velcro cast boot. This all goes back to our trip to Oregon at the end of October. Laura tripped over a curb and banged up her knees and elbow. Hers was the most obvious and dramatic injury, but apparently I’d done something more subtle and long-lasting.
Ah, Halloween, when the children of Bow Edison Elementary School parade past the bars and saloons of Edison and denizens of the town throw stuff at them. Actually, it’s a great annual tradition, one which Laura and I HAD to attend.
I lost two of my mentors this past week, one from high school and one from college. Both inspired me as instructors, and both had an impact on my career as a Presbyterian church musician
Read More “Remembering Musical Mentors – Ramon Kyser and Anne Sheppard” »
I take a TON of photos. Sometimes these don’t fit into a cohesive blog narrative, but they still wind up in my Flickr stream. I decided that I’d just post a few of these all along with a caption. These aren’t necessarily in any order nor are they meant to convey anything. I’ll be doing these all along as I come across weird things out here.
It’s been a long time since I’ve lived in a place where I can look up and see the Milky Way. Our home in Greenville is in the heart of the city and light pollution is terribly. Up here on Samish Island I can step out the back door and have a clear view of our galaxy, weather permitting. With the recent clear skies I’ve been tempted each night to head out with a camera to do some night photography. The other night I gave into that urge.
Skagit Valley seems progressive compared to Greenville, but there are some areas where that’s not the case. One place switch taxation. They don’t have a state income tax, but instead, they have a very regressive, high sales tax. This shows up in the way services are provided (or not provided) to citizens.In Greenville County we … Read More “Skagit County Library Dilemma” »
Our last big sabbatical was in 1991, twenty-six years ago. Laura has had other sabbaticals since then, but these have been half-year leaves involving work and research with local companies. During those sabbaticals I was working in positions I couldn’t leave easily, so an extended trip wasn’t possible. This is the first extended sabbatical away we’ve been able to do since that first big one, and we can’t help but draw comparisons between them.
I think I’ve come to a crossroads with this blog. At one time I used it sort of as a personal journal, with shorter, more frequent posts. My posts still contain a good bit of day-to-day life, but now it seems to be more of a showcase for my ideas, with curated photography and considerably more research. I’d like to return to journaling, but given what this blog has become, I’m not sure this is the venue.
Life on our island is still an odd dichotomy of frenzy and relaxation. It’s incredibly peaceful, but we still have so much to do. Similar to the stages of grief, there seem to be stages of settling in. We hit the tourist stage while Glynda was here, and seem to be in the midst of the “dealing with stuff” stage. I’m ready to get to the “normal life on the island” stage, whenever that might come.