The Wedding Was Great

The wedding went off without a hitch.
Everyone was great.
That's Andrew (the groom), Evelyn (my wife), Siona (the bride and my daughter), and me (the proud dad) in the picture.
I'm sure there will be more pictures once we get a chance to catch our breath and catch back up with our lives.
Congratulations Andrew and Siona.  You make a lovely couple.

We Have Escaped Snowpocalypse 2012

Our long white out is over.
The temperatures are edging back toward normal.
The blessed rain is falling and the snow is melting.
There has even been a bit of sun now and then.
Back to the stores to restock.
Back to school and work to catch up.
Glad to be out of the snow.

I am doubly glad that I like my family,
So being cooped up with them for a week was NOT part of the ordeal.
It was the best part of the adventure.

Pictures of my Dad

Here are some photos of my Dad, Claire Jay Larsen, 1935--2009 2009 on the Alaska Cruise he took last week with his wife Carol just before he died.

2000 at the Kangaroo Farm in Arlington WA.

1966 on a camping trip somewhere. He was always happiest outdoors.

1956 in Colorado while he was on his mission. We never could stop him from climbing rocks. He was always full of energy and ready to explore what was over the next hill. We miss you, Dad.

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I will be flying to Bakersfield CA on Tuesday to help arrange things for the funeral, which will be in Bakersfield on Monday the 14th. You can call Hillcrest Memorial at 661-366-5766 if you are interested in the details.

Thanks to all the people who have expressed concern or helped with the arrangements. Everyone has been so kind and gracious to me and my family.

Jay Larsen

All Good Things...

Good Things:
My girls are coming home from California tomorrow!!
New water filters, and seeing all the gunk we have not been drinking.
Reading old comic books.
Listening to good music.
The way John Byrne draws faces with just a few simple strokes.
Trying a few comic portraits of my own (see above).
Not being born with one ear two inches lower than the other (I'm sure there is a story there...)
Bacon
Finding old friends again.
Did I mention my girls come home tomorrow?
Tomorrow...

Well Enough of That, Back to Work

Had a nice Interdependence Day Holiday with the family.
The weather was great. BBQ, fireworks (on TV), fun and games.
I didn't even watch the news or turn on the computer for 3 days...
But now it is just another corporate Monday and it is back to work for me.
My girls are on the road this week, visiting family and friends in Northern California.

Great Vacation

Had a great trip to Sun Lakes in the Grand Coulee in Eastern Washington.

Camping at the State Park. Fishing in the lakes. Telling stories round the fire. Almost drowning the dog.

Loved it.

More photos at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=125971&id=544444151&l=e56048ff83

(and no, I didn't take the picture of the bears earlier. Or the hyena.)

On Vacation - Day 6

Back to work and the week day commute, tomorrow...

On Vacation - Day 5

Taking it slow...

On Vacation - Day 4

Yes we took the dogs with us...

On Vacation - Day 3

The Captain of my boat is much cuter...

I'm On Vacation - Day 2

Where the bears know kung fu...

I'm On Vacation-Day 1

I just had to get out of my work clothes...

Booty Call

Yeah! I'm home!
With my suitcase full of booty. Well samples from the vendors anyway.
None of the bottles leaked, which is all you can hope for when transporting strange spices and sauces from around the world.

Hit the Road, Jayck

I'm heading for the airport to attempt a docking maneuver with my corporate comrades in Dallas Texas. So my posts for the rest of the week will be from the road. Meaning mostly from my phone. And I find it difficult to compose poetry on my phone. Many of you will see that as a blessing, I'm sure. And I haven't found good photo collage software for my phone yet either, so plain old snap shots will have to suffice.
So, if you are going to the Tree of Life National Show in Dallas, I will be the corporate clone with the headphones on. Wish me luck...

Pawn of the Weather

Haven’t blogged much lately.
Mostly because I was on vacation and had more relaxing things to do.
But it seems like all my blog entries are about the weather lately.
Next I will be blogging about my healthcare issues…yuck.

Anyway, all that snow was humiliating—meaning it made me very aware of how small and fragile I am when compared to the size and might of the planet and its weather. As we got snowed in and all our technological systems failed one by one—roads gone, telephone out, internet gone, power dead, heat and water gone—the mighty human being and our civilization gets reduced to “Can I keep my family warm and fed for the next 24 hours?” Like I said, scary and humiliating in a way. But we made it through. Incredibly brave utility workers spent all those freezing days fixing poles and wires and digging out roads so that we could get the lights back on and the heat going. And we worked hard shoveling thousands of pounds of snow off our roof and our very long driveway. But things got back to normal for a couple of days.

Now the South Pacific has sent us a huge stream of warm air and 10-inches of rain. All that snow is melting and our rivers are flooding. I barely made it home today, one of the last cars to swim across the Stillaguamish River before they closed Highway 530 and all the other routes to our house. The water on the road was up to my car door, but I crawled slowly through it and back to my warm cozy house. (That is my road in the picture above. The picture below is about 20 minutes from my house.) The roads are now closed, the river is 3 feet over its banks and not expected to crest until sometime tomorrow (Thursday).

So once again I am reduced in my movements and options by the weather. But at least I don’t live in Orting, where they are evacuating the entire town today.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends from the Larsens, Washington State Branch.
Don't accept all the bad news on the TV, and make some good memories with people you love and who love you back. Eat good food. Watch some children play. Breathe some clean air. Inhabit your life--it is the only one you get.
Love and Peace.

Glad I’m Not a Pundit

I’m glad I’m not getting paid to give my opinion about the election. I’m not sure what it all means. I’m not even entirely sure what I am feeling right now. I keep swinging round and round from one thing to another:
I’m afraid it’s all a dream and I am going to wake up to President McCain.
I’m so happy, I want to skip and jump.
I’m really impressed with Obama and his family.
I’m so afraid he will be just another politician after all this.
I feel lots of sympathy for the conservatives that got hosed by Bush & Co. then got disappointed by McCain and Palin.
I’m also afraid that the rightwing media (especially talk radio) will whip up a bunch of hate and anger right when the world could use some cooperation.
I’m so disappointed that all those Anti-Gay-Marriage propositions passed.
We make two steps forward and one step back, but always forward again.
I wish I could see Martin Luther King Jr’s reaction to all this.
I’m so happy my daughters could see this and that I got to see their reactions of delight.
I’m so looking forward to January 20th.
This is what a peaceful revolution looks like.

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Picture from: http://www.patrickmoberg.com/november-4-2008.jpg

The Polls are Closed, America is Open for Business Again

Excuse me for a second:

WHOOOOO HOOOOOO !!!!

Wow! Talk about a home run.

Congratulations to President Elect Barack Obama.

I am truly moved.

I watched the returns come in with my girls.
And I feel like we have just helped write a new chapter in the history books.

Did I say Wow?

Now the real work begins for all America and all Americans.

Waiting for the polls to close

I'll be watching TV with a beautiful redhead.
I'll be crossing my fingers.
I'll probably yell at the talking heads.
I'm used to being in the minority on election day.
I'll be hoping for a good outcome.
It would be nice to be on the winning side this time when so much is at stake.

Shrewsbury Faire in Oregon

Went to the Shrewsbury Faire in Oregon last weekend to get our Ren Faire fix.

A good time was had by all.

Then we drove up the Oregon Coast on our way home.