A cut from the life of the Rosholt Selles; A slice of culture from central Wisconsin; A piece of overseas mission; all from the heart of one who is richly blessed by the Heavenly Father.
Karol and I are in Seattle and Portland for the weekend. Reunion with some Peace people; wedding reception for Alisa Ma and her new husband, Ben; and worship in Portland at Tabor Heights United Methodist Church, John Go, pastor. John (Joung Youl) was a part of the Peace community in the late '80's.
Seattle is one unique city: expensive parking, good transit system, an eclectic mix of people; lots of homeless, damp with temps in the 40's; and, right now, a green city (vs. white in Wisconsin).
Lunch at a Thai restaurant.
This little flower garden graced the front of a little shop.
The view from our Marriott Courtyard hotel room - facing the Seattle Mariners baseball stadium.
Street people/the homeless abound in Seattle.
Alisa (just married) with her mother YuHua (Grace) and Karol at our early morning breakfast.
The Pike Farmers Market may be the biggest tourist attraction. The main floor and a variety of sub-floors offer crafts, food, fish, and most anything you might ever want.
The seafood looked mighty fresh, but the smell equaled the freshness.
Walking through the market was quite the experience since so many varieties of products were available for purchase.
12 is the number in Seattle. Someone told me that it started with a young girl who was named Sabrina Twelfth Mann (the family, avid Seattle fans). Now, all over Seattle you see the number 12 - the Seahawks have 11 men on the field, and #12 is the "fan." We have seen many shirts with the number 12 and the name "Fan" on the back (even the maintenance man at our hotel).
An animated cutout in front of the Seattle Art Museum.
Parking is at a premium in downtown Seattle. You can only park on the street if you call in and pay the rate. I thought we would have an easy time with our car; but we have walked.
Parking garages and lots are expensive. I thought that this was for the day - but this was for one hour.
A very interesting sign. The colors and white are all little Japanese origami folded cranes. The folded crane (tsuru) is a sign of Peace. You will find many in Hiroshima.
After enjoying Vietnamese "Pho," Karol and YuHua look at the video of Friday at the Justice of the Peace where Ben and Alisa were married. Ben's parents, Alisa's parents, and Alisa's brother, Bert, were the only ones present.
Early this morning, the temperature hovered close to minus 30 degrees.
That is a bit chilly. But those crazy weather forcasters always want to
make it colder by laying out the "wind chill." In fact, yesterday
morning, one of our weathermen, Mark (Wausau, channel 7), did not even
give us the temperature, he only reported the wind chill.
Karol and I never tire of seeing and photographing the majestic pileated woodpecker, here, a male. While this is not an award winning picture, you have to know that we simply love these birds that regularly come to eat suet (beef fat from the kidney area) on a nearby tree.
This ATV trail takes me down to the lower storage shed where I house my dry wood. The snow was so deep that I needed to shovel my road. Yesterday, I brought a very small load up this hill, but I got stuck several times....the temperature was so cold that the "dry" snow was like shifting sand.
You are looking at one disappointed boy. Joshua had wanted to come to our house to sled, but it was impossible to make a slide in the deep snow. Instead of sledding, he and sister, Kaitlyn, decided to dig a tunnel in the snow that Cheeto, our snow plower, had piled up. Joshua is a true Wisconsinite - the giveaway is the Packer coat.
This is my current supply of firewood: maple, cherry, birch, and a little oak. This stack was cut three years ago and is really nice and dry (that insures that our chimney will remain clean). The wood stacked behind the ladder will eventually be used for bowls.
CHECK OUT A VIDEO OF MY WORKSHOP. I THINK I NOW HAVE EVERYTHING NEEDED IN TERMS OF TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT (AT LEAST UNTIL I WANT TO SOMETHING MORE ADVANCED OR UNIQUE)
SPEAKING ABOUT BOWLS....I'VE BEEN OUT IN MY WORKSHOP RECENTLY.
Made last night. I love the gentle edge on this maple bowl. This one took me approximately two and a half hours to make. Karol was pleased and so was I with the quality of this bowl.
When
the weather is cold, I start a fire in my workshop in the morning, and
in several hours it is warm enough to work with just a hooded
sweatshirt. I've been turning mostly cherry and maple, but the piece in
the front (left) is a natural edge "unknown wood." If I have a
preference for bowl uniqueness, it is the bowl in the front center with
the overlapping edge (great for M & M's).
Another selection of bowls. Can you tell which one I didn't turn?
The snow on our pier keeps getting taller and taller.
Our second favorite bird is a tie between the black-capped chickadee or the red-breasted nuthatch. Both are like little comedians with antics and movement that tend to amuse us as we watch.
In order to protect itself from the winter cold, the rhododendron curls its leaves tightly.You can see ice on the left side of the photo. The buds form the center of the leaf clusters. In spring, they will produce wonderful pink flowers. Winter is just a time to live in expectation of spring!!
Karol and I have spent the last five days in Pittsburgh with our two children and their families (Matthew and Miriam). It has been a joy to be with the families, enjoy the warmer weather, and romp with the grandkids. Check out a few of the pics and catch the joy.
Before we left home, we enjoyed the male pileated woodpecker at our suet.
Karol enjoys the company of Isaac (l) and Caleb (Matthew and Angie's boys)
Ross Kolodziej, the new head strength coach at the University of Pittsburgh.
Everyone likes an auction. Many people like antique auctions, probably because they remind one of days gone by. Additionally, it's a chance to see how much some of those goodies in your own home are really worth.
The autioneer is certainly in the center of the ring. Wayne has his 6 ft. son, Lee, as his assistand. Additionally, the "scorekeeper" who completed the little sales tickets for each item sold and the helper who was really a "gofer." The ring also featured the owner of the antiques, Bo, who shared information as requested about the origin or functionality of the item to be auctioned off. There were also the two women who initially received your driver's license information and later who received your money as payment for the goods purchased. The only others besides the prospective buyers were the two women who were serving food (I only saw biscuits and gravy and sodas).
Stuff is laid out in an orderly manner - with a "watchdog" so that no one pockets goods.
No piece is too old or shabby or new and clean to be sold at auction.
Before the auction, prospective buyers check out the quality of the goods. The auctioneer always says that when you buy it, you can't return it (it's "as is"}.
Some of the items do interest me!
Remember those rubber tire ashtrays from the 50's?
There's something for everyone!!!
Promptly at 10 am, the auctioneer is ready to go.
POSTSCRIPTS TO OUR PHOENIX TRIP
Luke Selle, this is for you! The air force base to the west of Phoenix.
Normally we asked to pick the citrus. What do you think Jason might be doing?
We received permission to pick lemons from this tree.
The coots come running because they think we're going to feed them.
Tomorrow morning at 8:05 am, we'll be on a flight back to central Wisconsin and our home. We're looking forward to it even though we know that it will be pretty cold. HAPPY 2014 NEW YEAR!
