A Weekend of Rest

For the long Memorial Day weekend I had the opportunity to get away to the beautiful and peaceful San Juan Islands. Six of us made the journey to Friday Harbor for some much needed rest and relaxation.

This is how we filled our days. Our mornings started out slowly but surely as we all woke up to our own internal clocks. Then a hearty breakfast would follow. And then we would enjoy the view of the harbor and ferry terminal from the living room of the condo with good books and good music. I loved these times to just "be" and enjoy the break from all the usual things we find to keep ourselves busy in our everyday lives.

Our afternoons were the time for exploring outside. Somehow the clouds would part each afternoon and there was warmth and sun to be enjoyed. We explored the island. We went to the beach at Lime Kiln State Park in the hopes of seeing some Orcas off the coast, but all we saw were porpoises. We visited the Westcott Bay Sculpture park and got to interact with art in nature. And we also did a little kayaking in Roche harbor.

And our evenings always started with a fabulous dinner, where we would linger at the table long after the food was gone to enjoy the good company and the comical conversation. We watched movies and played games. And ate tasty brownies and ice cream.

All in all is was a fabulous weekend. I time of making new friends and enjoying new adventures. And as the ferry was about to pull out of Friday Harbor we finally got to see those Orcas. A pod passed by the mouth of the harbor and all though they were a long way off it was still an exciting sight to see. And the perfect end to a wonderful weekend!

This just in...

So last night I got a call from Brett. And he had just picked up my sweet new ride. So with out further ado here is my beautiful little moped...


In just a matter of days she will make the journey from Portland, Maine to Seattle. Kathleen and Brett will stop off at the Moped Rally in Kalamazoo for a few days on their way cross country. But around June 1st I should be out on the roads.

This is a Moped

In approximately 3 weeks my dear friends, Kathleen and Brett, will be moving back to Seattle from Maine. There are many, many reasons why this makes me very happy but the reason I am writing today is to talk about one of those reasons in particular.

During their years living in Maine, Brett and Leen, discovered the joy of the endearing little machine known as a moped. And when I had the opportunity to visit them almost 2 years ago I had the opportunity to go for a nice long ride on one of these amazing little bikes. I must admit that I was really scared to ride at first. It had been years since I had even been on a bicycle. And add to that the fact that I didn't really know how to operate a moped and you have scared little me. But I went for it and oh how happy I am that I did. I was hooked! So much so that when Leen and Brett arrive in Seattle it will be with a moped for me.

I discover as I share this news with people that most of my friends are confused as to what a moped really is...so let me show you.

The name moped comes from the fact that they have both a motor (gas powered) and pedals. Many people think that a scooter is a moped and this is not so because scooters do not have pedals. Hopefully this clears up any confusion you may have about mopeds. This photograph is not of my soon to be moped, but when I get it I will definitely post pictures!

I just won a helmet on an eBay auction and it is on its way to me. So now all I need is for my moped to arrive and I will be off. This summer weather is really making me antsy to have my moped. I have been seeing more and more mopeds out in the glorious weather and I long to be among them. It will be great fun, indeed!

Oh Happy Day!

I don't know why but I just feel happy today. That deep peace of contentment.

As I waited for the bus this morning in the warm sun I felt like this day would be a good one. And when I stepped off the bus at SPU there was a beautiful flurry of petals swirling through the air like snow. It was so beautiful! I couldn't help but smile and giggle with a childlike sense of wonder at the site. As I walked through the loop to Peterson Hall I enjoyed the way the light shown through the canopy of trees and made the falling petals glisten as they floated softly to the ground.

This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it!

Discovering Rilke

Today I had the chance to sit and chat with my friend Amy. We shared thoughts on life and our present circumstances. It was a time that made way to contemplation for me. During our time together Amy shared a passage written by the poet Rainer Maria Rilke. Amy quotes from Rilke often and they are always such beautiful and poinient words. So today I decided that I must find myself a book of Rilke's work so that I can explore more of his deep reflections. So I went to amazon.com, typed "Rilke" in the search field and began to peruse that wonderful "Look Inside" feature. I found one passage in particular that rang in my ears with so much truth and wisdom. I will share it here...

You are so young, so before all beginning, and I want to beg you, as much as I can, to be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.
Reslove to be always beginning-to be a beginner.

How contrary these words seem to all the things I hear as I make my way through each day? But how welcome too? It can be so overwhelming when life seems filled with so many questions but few answers. These gentle words are an encouragement to me that this is not a fact to be frustrated with but to revel in. Enjoy the questions, the mystery...for the answers will come when the ought. We must not force the answers to come. I think when we do that we rig things so we get the answer that we want and not the one we need. There seems to be this hunger to "arrive" in this world today that we forget to enjoy the journey and the lessons we can learn there. I am just as guilty of this as anyone. But I long to step into Rilke's invitation to "Live the Questions now."

This is just one of the things I am contemplating today. And I am thankful for my friend Amy and that she has introduced me to Rilke. I am looking forward to reading more of his words to see what other truths I will find.