<<Featured Image: This week’s featured image shows the puzzle that we finished this past week. This is one we have done before, and is one of my very favorite puzzles because it is very colorful, and has very definite images where you can match up the edges. Some puzzleshave blurry lines and are extremely hard to do. I like to do puzzles that I enjoy, not ones that frustrate me. We have a brand new puzzle we are working on now and so far it looks like it is going to be one of my favorites, too.>>
Every now and then I hit a roadblock when I go to create my blog, a time when I feel like I don’t really have much to say, and don’t have a lot of pictures to share. Usually enough happens during the preceding week that I can find some interesting things to write about, but this past week seems to have been very uneventful. Well, except for one thing. I got a new iPad yesterday!
The iPad Mini that I’ve been using is about 5 years old, and in technology that equals about 100 years. Anyway, I finally got tired of having to delete everything and reboot just to get data to come in, so I bit the bullet and got a new one. This time I got an iPad Air, which has a much bigger screen. I’ve spent most of my time since it arrived getting everything set up, but so far I absolutely love the new one. Here’s a picture to show the size difference between the old iPad Mini (left) and the new iPad Air (right).
Everyone in Yakima has been overjoyed this past week to be able to see blue skies and breathe fresh air. Even though today is a bit overcast because we are supposed to get some rain (we’ll see), the sky in this picture from a couple days ago is absolutely beautiful.
With the clearer weather, Linda and I have taken a few walks. Usually we just walk around the residential area near our house so we don’t run into lots of people. But one day this past week we took a walk down to Kissel Park, which is only a few blocks from where we live. There were a few people there but not so many as to make it uncomfortable. On our walk we came upon a bunch of toadstools, pictured below.
It reminded me of some fascinating fungi we came across when we visited the Hoh Rainforest (<– link) located in the Olympic National Park here in Washington. Most people don’t know that there is an actual rainforest in the United States, and I was one of them until we moved here. It’s a very unique place to visit and I highly recommend it if you ever get the chance.
CONNECTIONS
Linda and I so love our cocktail hours on the weekend. This is our time to relax, talk about whatever we want, and enjoy some quiet music. This past weekend we were listening to one of our playlists when a particular song came on (click on link here to listen to it) that always brings to my mind some sweet memories. The name of the song is “Tangerine” by Jimmy Dorsey & his Orchestra, with vocals by Bob Eberly & Helen O’Connell. This version was released in 1941, and was one of my Daddy’s favorite songs. I can remember him singing it whenever we would go on trips in the car. Linda remarked that this song always reminds her of him, even though she never actually met my father. I texted my sister the song right away and asked her if she remembered it. She immediately answered with the same memories that I have of it. It’s funny how something like a song can transport you back in time and bring back so many memories. It’s all part of the connections we make in life. These connections are so important to us as humans, especially during this time of Covid when a lot of our normal connections are not allowed. Something so mundane as stirring my coffee with the same spoon my mother used to use can bring on a flood of memories. It seems that in some way, all things are connected. We need to keep our connections alive as much as possible…our connections to Mother Nature, such as gardening, walking among nature, taking pictures…connections to our friends, like my connections to my friends Back East…and connections with our family members, even though we cannot see them in person. All of these things can serve to bring us great comfort during these very stress-filled days.
I remember a TV show from long ago that demonstrated this concept very well. It was appropriately called “Connections” and was originally broadcast by the BBC, hosted by historian James Burke. This program primarily dealt with subjects related to science and how one thing connects to another, and then another, and so on. It was a very interesting and thought-provoking series. Episodes of this show are available on YouTube if anyone would like to check it out.
PARTING SHOT
Summer Girl isn’t worried about connections. All she really needs to be connected to is her food and water bowl. To her, everything else invokes this response: “talk to the butt.”
Join me every Wednesday (barring any unforeseen circumstances) for more from the Southerner in the Northwest.
Southerner in the Northwest 