The 10th Web Based. . .

"Occasionally" Annual Salmon Beach Bulletin

So it looks like Santa has had the same kind of year that the rest of us have had!  I've been off from teaching since March 8th and am not at all happy about it; I actually shut down my lessons a week before the governor shut the store down!  I've been winding down my teaching schedule for the last 8 years or so, and I'm down to. . . well, I did have only 8 students, the last couple of years, and I enjoyed that, as with the Social Security checks, they covered my expenses; not getting rich, to say the least, but my tastes are simple.  Having said that, I can tell you that I miss the students, and the "family" that works at Ted Brown Music Co.! 

I can tell you that I am feeling extremely lucky this year; I know of only 1 friend who came down with Covid-19, and he told me that he thought that he was dying during the worst part of the ordeal.  I know of only 2 friends of mine that have relatives that have tested positive for the virus, but they aren't sick or exhibiting symptoms.  So I'm keeping you all in my thoughts and prayers, and my fingers crossed for all of the rest of you and your families!

If I can keep new music coming in, and my ol' 2002 Subaru Outback continues to serve me well, then Life is good!  I've had to dip into my savings, when I wanted to go somewhere to serve my photography muse in the last 6 years, but other than that, my expenses are minimal. If you remember, back in 65, when I got to Salmon Beach, I paid a whopping $800 for my house, thus, no mortgage to keep up with; God, I would not have been able to pursue my musical education if my old childhood friend, Bob Rector  hadn't found this place and imported me from Richland to go to UPS with him, and for that, I'll be forever indebted to him!

Luckily, for those of you who have been following me on Facebook, I have a wonderful view, and a big park just above me, where I can spend hours walking around, and between working on the house and garden deck, gathering fire wood, reading and developing my eye for photography, I don't have any trouble staying busy.  Boredom has not been a problem for me, but the frustration of having set up my Iceland trip almost 2 years ago and having it postponed 3 times now, has worn on me a bit!  

So, having said that, this last 9 months has provided much time for "navel gazing", and I have to admit that it's no better looking than it was before!  🤣  I have been spending anywhere from 1/2 hour to an hour, every morning, meditating and counting my blessings before I get up to start my day, constantly reminding myself that every day is a gift, and that's why they call it "the present"!  I have pretty much unplugged from the American media, and the angst that they engender in me with their constant focus on bad news and how horrible our nation is, and my Life actually does feel more peaceful and fulfilling.

I'd have to go looking to see how long ago it was that I decided to try and lift the spirits of my friends with the everyday beauty that surrounds us, and started posting an awful lot of photos on Facebook, and sending some of them out to my friends that aren't on Facebook, and as far as I can tell, I was fairly successful.  I still enjoy talking politics, but in the current social situation, I've pretty much refrained from doing so; the days of respecting another's right to their own opinion seems to be fading in the rear view, and I'm not sure where it's going.  What I do know, is that friends are one of the most important things in my Life, and I don't want to risk losing any of them because of a stupid conversation that is not going to serve any purpose; God bless the few friends that I actually feel secure in broaching the subject of politics without anyone getting angry or upset!

We have settled into the winter season, with a lot of gray skies and rain, but occasionally something like this happens, to remind me that, indeed, there is so much beauty in the world:

And since my ability to move around and shoot the landscapes that have been my main focus since I first picked up a camera, this year, my focus (no pun intended!) has shifted to what is known as "macro photography"; shooting so close to things that they become almost abstract art:

Yes, in the photo below, I'm quite aware that most of it is out of focus, but what I was looking for was the focus in the yellowish green about 1/3 of the frame, from the left, and 1/3 down from the top.  Oddly enough, while I was working on it, I didn't notice that the curve of the petal to the left and down just a little, was also in focus, which was not what I intended!  Ah well, live and learn!

And I've noticed that my life long appreciation for "curves" has made itself very evident in my photos!

After losing my dog, Angel, a couple of years ago, I had held off getting another one, in anticipation of the Iceland photoshoot, but having come to the conclusion that it is going to be at least another year out, I started a serious search for a young female dog or puppy, to boost "the band" at #72 from a trio to a quartet.  Boy, was I ever shocked; the price of saving the life of a Humane Society dog (which is where all my "grrrrls" have come from, except for ShortDog!) has skyrocketed from almost nothing to the price people used to pay for purebreds.  Seems as though it's because Covid has so many people staying at home, that the demand for canine companionship is higher than it's ever been.  It may be that there are just fewer animals out there because people have become more responsible in getting their animals "fixed".  Whatever,  I've been looking for almost 4 months now, and have spent endless hours on the net; hopefully, the persistence will pay off.

This is about the shortest Christmas "card" that I've ever turned out; I hope and pray that the upcoming year will see us able to move freely about, able to hug our loved ones again, and get on with our lives.  So, I'm wishing you all a "MERRY CHRISTMAS & A SAFE AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!"