Rock or Fish? Haiku

Photo by Angie Quantrell

 

 

See the face?

Swimming amidst the wet sand.

Rocky bed for fish.

- Haiku and Photo by Angie Quantrell

I Work at Home ~ Encouragement from a 7 Year-Old

 

Comments from the peanut gallery...

by Angie Quantrell @AngieQuantrell

I work at home.

I'm sure some people think I just goof off, sip coffee, play in the backyard, eat bon bons, and read great books.

It's true. I do those things. Occasionally. Or maybe even almost daily.

But I also work. At home.

Last week, my grands and great-niece and their adult caregivers (mom and Nama) hit the road to visit Owen Beach at Pt. Defiance Park near Tacoma, Washington. As the road trip one-way was about 3 hours, there was plenty of time to talk. This conversation came from the way-back seat of our van.

Nama: Audrey, are you talking to grandma (via Face-Time)?
Audrey: Yes.
Nama: Is she at work?
Audrey: No, she doesn't work. She just goes in her office.
Hayden: (Looking incredulously at Audrey) Nana does that! She works in her office. (Now looking at me) Nana, you write books in your office!

Long-distance-front-seat-to-backseat high five!

Yes! He gets it. I am working in my office. I do have a job. I don't make much money right now, giving credence to the term "poor starving author," but I am working.

This writer felt very pleased and encouraged by the voice and total belief in the voice of a 7 year-old boy. He believes in me.

Who encourages and believes in you and your life's work?

Going to the Beach in Washington

Hayden, 7, at Owens Beach, Pt. Defiance, WA. The gray? Rain. Sheets of.

By Angie Quantrell @AngieQuantrell

When in Washington (the state), going to the beach may look different than going to the beach in other locations.

For instance, one may need to wear a winter hat at our beaches.

Hayden, Audrey, and Khloe sporting layers, hats (including winter), and beach tools.

Sweatshirts may be required.

You will get wet. With rain more than salt water.

Barnacles and tiny crabs abound.

Picnics are held under shelter. Or you eat wet food.


Picnics under shelter keep the food dry.

Seagulls will peck open unattended packages and ruin the cookies.

Sand will be discovered in odd and stayed-in-the-van-how-did-sand-get-there places.

You will bring too many things in order to plan for any type of weather.

Gage, 1. The same beach and same age when Hayden first went to the beach.

You will take home more than you bargained for. Some of those things will smell after a day or so.

Laundry and deep cleaning will be necessary once you get home.

He who wanted to throw himself into the water. Or eat sand. It was hands-on-Gage for one adult at all times.

Wet, cold, damp, briny kids smell just like that in the close confines of a van. Wet. Damp. Cold. Briny.

Umbrellas are often in use.

Can you see the little feathery barnacles? The openings are ones that are feeding.

One might wear a camera around the neck, but it will be covered with a plastic grocery bag that is tied tightly to keep out the rain. And sand. And stuff.

Water sandals are the perfect shoe. Waterproof and protective against stones.

Seals will wonder what you are doing. Bald eagles will soar, seagulls will annoy, ferries will pass, squirrels will steal, raccoons will beg, deer will graze.

Looking at wildlife.

Those dead looking rocks with barnacle crusts are not dead. Just put them in a bowl of ocean water and see what happens.

Strangers are kind. They may even bring a new crab specimen and seaweed clump for investigation.

Our barnacle and crab observation project.

On rainy days, you will mostly have the beach to yourself.

You can still get sunburned if it's raining and cold.

If you want to go to the beach, go. Sunny or rainy, windy or stormy, the beach is a wonderful destination. Just know that our beaches will not resemble southern beaches (most of the time). The water will not be warm. Body extremities will turn blue. Noses will run.

But it will be the beach.

The group - minus the photographer who quickly unwrapped the camera for a quick shot.

Layer up, my dears. Or at least plan for a variety of beach weather. This is the life of Washington beaches.

10 Necessary Things for Getaway Weekends with the Girls

Angie hanging out on the balcony of our hotel room.

By Angie Quantrell

After a recent 2-weekend-in-a-row record for getaways with girls, several necessary requirements for a successful retreat floated to the top of my mind. Add these suggestions to your special weekends for a fantastic time.

1. Take friends and relatives. Yes, I adore having time alone. But for a million laughs and plenty of sharing and rekindling of friendships, take along friends, sisters, moms, or cousins. We laughed until our sides ached, shared until our minds went blank, and relaxed between in the quiet times.

Sister TJ goofing off at a museum stop.

 

2. Location, location, location. Choose a meeting place that has the necessaries for a bunch of girls - beds, bathrooms, showers, kitchen space (or great restaurants), activities, and lounging-and-chatting-places. My first weekend away was a beach cabin with all the amenities. The second weekend was at a spa resort complete with bells and whistles.

Beach or resort? Both are fantastic for getaways.

 

3. Plan for good food, coffee, and tea. It doesn't matter if you assign meals to each person, haul along the ice chest to save on costs at a resort, pool snacks for sharing, or dine out and let others wait on you. Some of the best times are had during meal preparation, eating, cleanup, or waiting for restaurant selections to arrive. Those early morning risers will thank you if plenty of am coffee and tea choices are read to go.

We shared meals at the beach (delicious root vegetable soup and rosemary cheese bread). We combined resources for meals and ate at restaurants during our spa weekend.

4. Prepare for fun activities. Beach walks, shopping, sightseeing, crocheting, rubber stamping, watching movies, crafting, soaking in hot springs pools, a 50th birthday party, splurging on spa treatments, getting haircuts, and sneaking to the fancy lobby in pajamas are all things I've enjoyed over the last 2 weekends. Taking it easy is also a wonderful treat.

Polly loved crochet time.

5. Carpool. Get the party started early. Time in the car chatting and stops for museums and attractions along the way add to the festive holiday atmosphere. Plus you will be saving gas and the environment at the same time.

6. Embrace the sillies. At the beach getaway, the hostess brought her  4-month old kitten. Talk about fun times (and one spoiled kitty). During the spa retreat, we surprised each other with little gifts, balloons, chocolate torte, and crazy toys. The birthday girl had a crown of glow-in-the-dark ears. My sister turned the leftovers into a runway lighted strip to lead us to the bathroom in the dark hours of the night.

Playing is good for adults!

 7. Capture the fun with photos and videos. Many of my pictures did not turn out. I really wanted photos of us soaking and being pampered though that was not possible. But looking back and sharing the shots with each other is worth hauling around that clunky camera and having to delete the ugly shots.

8. Be flexible. You will get tired or irritated at times. Let things roll off your back. Go with the group consensus or suggest everyone choose their own thing to do. Not everyone wants to go on a 5-mile hike or spend the entire weekend sitting and stamping. It's ok to do different things at the same time.

9. Enjoy the time. Who knows when the entire group will be able to get together again (if ever). Catch up, reconnect, and refresh. Make the most of the gathering. We all need times like this to take us out of the every day ruts and get our brains recharged.



We splurged on one fancy meal at the hotel.

10. Stay connected. You just spent a marvelous weekend in each others' hip pockets. Keep the love and relationship going by staying in touch through email, phone calls, texts, social media, and in person. Your mental sanity is worth the time and effort!

So pull up a chair. Let's chat.

Did I miss anything? What else would you add to the list for great girl getaways? I'd love to hear. I might just be planning my next trip...

beach (noun)

beach (noun): a sandy or gravelly part of the shore of an ocean or lake (Merriam-Webster's Dictionary and Thesaurus, 2006)

beach. salty, fragrant, windy, sandy, wet, smelly, misty, sunny, crowded, relaxed, rocky, noisy, invigorating, desolate

beach. waves, tides, sand drifts, rock piles, seaweed, footprints, campfires, shells, driftwood, seagulls

beach. fun, kites, games, sandcastles, horse rides, wading, swimming, fishing, crabbing, walking, dogs, families

dream. play. rest. relax. gaze. melt.

vacation

beach (noun)

Photos by Angie Quantrell.

Sea Glass

We friends strolled along the beach, collecting, searching, scavenging for bits of this and that as momentos of our time together. The favored flotsam was sea glass. Any bit of glass, blue, green, amber, or translucent was intently considered, admired, and displayed. The most tumbled, distressed pieces were cheerfully tucked into pockets for the ride home. Other findings of glass, those not quite done yet, were tossed back to the foamy waves to cook some more. Those rejected now pieces would be treasures in future years.

As we chatted and tossed, collected and wandered, the whole sea glass process made me wonder. Does God do that to us? Does He collect us from the beaches of life, rescue us out of the waves? I know He rescues us, but how does He decide when? And who? Who is pocketed and who is ready to go home? Conversely, how does He decide who is not finished yet and is tossed back for more tumbling in life's ocean? And how can I be content when I am in the wash, so to speak? Some days, waiting patiently to be complete is quite the challenge.

Next time, and the next after that, when I am weary of the storms I face and the waves that rub me raw, I'll try and remember that I'm being polished to be God's beach treasure. When I'm done, I'll finally get put in His pocket and be carried home.

~my collection of flotsam, including bits of sea glass


~my favorite fancy sea glass


PS And as I wait, I'll try to figure out how and why in the world this post is underlined! There was a short computer blip, and voila', there you have it. I don't even have an underline feature that I can find on this thing...

Flotsam Jetsam

"(Flotsam, Jetsam, now I've got her boys) the boss is on a roll,"... sings the sea witch, Ursula, on Disney's Little Mermaid. Ursula certainly knows what to do with the items she finds around the ocean!

I found my own flotsam jetsam. Lots of it. Bricks, partial bricks, mini bricks, white rocks, rocks with circles, beach glass, shells, driftwood, rocks with holes, even a rusted shovel head. Determinedly I gathered them all into my trunk and brought them home for somewhere in my garden...somewhere...

Before departing the beach, I stacked rocks and bricks on the shovel head in hopes of keeping them from rolling around in the trunk. Not much chance of that, careful driver that I am. But it's those other drivers!

As soon as I drove into the garage, I started unloading my beach treasure. A few may call it trash. Then I say I am recycling and cleaning up the beach and am green.

To forestall beach stink (stuff left in plastic bags, buckets, and trunks) I quickly spread my treasure on the patio to dry out. Dumped is more like it. I was tired.

And that's when I saw it. My flotsam jetsam pile on the shovel head. Perfect for my front garden. As is. No arranging necessary. Just carry it to the front yard and place it next to the azalea and a few pieces of mysterious driftwood. Nature's beauty on display.

Now what to do with the remainder of my treasure haul?!!