Solar Topia!, aka Dana Lyons

The Rotunda Room of the Whatcom Museum of History & Art filled with the acoustic songs of humor and social commentary as Dana Lyons took the stage for one of the Celebrate Bellingham! music programs co-sponsored in part by the City of Bellingham, Parks and Recreation Department.

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Here's a video from YouTube of Dana performing Cows with Guns, just one of the many songs he entertained us with today.

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Here is another You Tube video, Solar Topia, by Dana Lyons. Currently in the middle of recording an album with new songs he has written, perhaps we will hear this song on an album soon.

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Bellingham's original City Hall!

I like to park at the bottom of Holly Street and walk the path through the park and up the steps to the back of the museum.

Looking out to the park and waterfront below.

If you have never heard his songs, or want to enjoy them once again, turn on your speakers, follow this link - http://www.cowswithguns.com/mp3s/myWimpy3.html - to open the Dana Lyons Jukebox, sit back and enjoy.

Christmas at the Waterfront

The penthouse view from my ice palace of fresh, sparkling snow this Christmas morning.
Over icy streets we traveled for a wonderful Christmas dinner with friends at Bellingham's own Waterfront Tavern. Bellingham Bay as seen from the Waterfront.

Later, I headed out for an evening walk.

Look what Torrie found.

It's a snowman! Is it Frosty?

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Some of my favorite pictures from Christmases past.

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Merry Christmas to all!!!!!!

The Big Lazy Dog

Bubbles in the Snow

With more new snow accumulating last night, it was up to my knees in many places when we went out walking this morning. Parked cars had been magically transformed into mere bubbles of snow.

Hydrants were mounded with snow.

Looking out through the yard to our main street.

Such deep snow turned what normally would be a simple walk around the block into an exceptionally good workout. After, we headed back in to warm up.With more snow on the way, now it looks like we will have a white Christmas!

Winter Solstice

Several more inches of snow greeted us this winter solstice morning, reminding me that winter had officially arrived.We set out for a walk in the fresh snow. The fairways of our neighboring golf course were covered deep with snow and no golfers were seen out there for any solstice games.

We seemed to have the entire woods to ourselves and explored the snow-covered trails.

Torrie picked up the scent of a small animal from tracks left in the fresh snow.

More pics from our winter solstice walk.

Soon, our days will be longer!

Deep Freeze

With our city streets finally relatively clear after that last winter storm passed through and with even more inches of snow predicted to start falling before day's end, I decided I should venture out at least as far as my neighborhood gym today and get in a good workout in hopes of warding off the possibility of cabin fever once our roads plugged up again.

The parking lot was relatively clear of snow at the grocery store near the gym.There were nearly as many mounds of snow piled up along the edges of the lot as there were cars parked nearer to the entrance of the store.

This deep freeze, not the type of deep freeze in which one might stow away frozen treats, yet it certainly felt about that cold when I stepped outside. This snapshot of our current conditions makes me feel glad tha I am once again safe and warm inside at home.

Snow Day!

It snowed today! It snowed on the dog.

And it snowed on me.

This red topped pileated woodpecker made so much noise and danced around from one branch to another in the apple tree at the end of my driveway. He seemed so pleased to have found all those apples after our recent deep freeze and today's new snow storm. With my steps silenced by several inches of fresh, powdery snow, I was able to freely walk around under the apple tree and take plenty of photos without disturbing his feeding frenzy.

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More photos from our snow day.

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It was an absolutely perfect day to cook up a winter's worth of soup to share with friends.

Frigid gusts out of the Northeast have started blowing again and with even more snow in our forecast, they now add that we may have a white Christmas this year! Ho, ho, ho.

Wind Chill

It sure felt a lot colder out there than the thermometer indicated as we headed down our driveway for a walk. Even with the clear blue sky overhead, the street remained ice covered and everything seemed frozen absolutely solid.
Torrie sniffed around in the snow and seemed to enjoy the crisp freshness in the air.
My shadow paused to observe some small snow drifts the wind had blown up against a frozen hedge.
Even bundled in my best fleece layers while out walking in the afternoon sun today, it did not take me long to conclude that combined with the relentless wind averaging 25 mph, our afternoon high of 23 degrees fahrenheit really felt much, much colder - according to this wind chill chart, more like only 7 degrees!

While I love being outdoors, on afternoons like, I am really glad that I have a membership at the gym this winter. The gym is exactly where you will find me getting the majority of my exercise now, and at least for the next few weeks according to our local weather forecasts!

Flowers

Winter Blows In

Our first real winter storm arrived today as cold air from the north blew down on us and snow began to fall after dark. Here is the webcam picture from Interstate 5 near Lake Samsh.And the view along Interstate 5 at Iowa Street.

The snow continues to fall and the winds blow wildly. It is a little reminiscent of my winters in Iowa and Minnesota so many years ago. Perhaps we will have snow drifts to plow through tomorrow. I am sure I will be out and about with my camera then.

Age

Ever wonder how old you really are? Each year, we celebrate a birthday and accept the fact that we are one year older. Not only does the calendar mark our age, so does how well we take care of ourselves. It is a proven fact that by leading a healthy lifestyle, we possess the ability to slow down our aging process.

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One evening recently one of our local news programs mentioned a website, Realage.com, where we could take a test to find out how old we really were. The website, full of lots of information to help us guide us in living a healthy life, has made available a free test to help us determine our biological age based on several factors - chronological age, genetics and the lifestyle we lead.
Always trying to take good care of myself, I couldn't resist checking that website out. After an easy registration process, the test was free and easy to take - check it out yourself at RealAge - Free Test.

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My test results told me that I must be doing something right! I do try to eat healthy, I try my best to get plenty of rest, I drink lots of water and I certainly stay very physically active by regularly going out for long walks and hikes, frequently going out to dance and by working out at the City Gym several times each week.

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What is my real age? Chronologically, I am 56.4 years old, yet based on how I am living my life, their test results revealed that I am 47.1 years old - a difference of 9.3 years!

Really now, how old are you? Register and take the Real Age - Free Test to find out.

Ukulele

While browsing through the thousands of chord tabs available for the ukulele on the Internet, I found this really sweet version of the old Johnny Cash hit, "Ring of Fire".

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Here is a sweet video of this song found on U-Tube.

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Playing my little blue uke upside down and backwards as it's not a lefty takes me a little more practice and reminds me that I really should get it re-strung. Here are the simple chords and lyrics so that you can play and/or sing along:

Ring of Fire

by June Carter and Merle Kilgore

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A ..........D .........A

Love is a burning thing

...............D....... A

And it makes a fiery ring

...............D...... A

Bound by wild desire

..............D.......... A

I fell into a ring of fire

E ..............D .................A

I fell in to a burning ring of fire

.............E

I went down, down, down

...............D ................A

And the flames went higher

.............A

And it burns, burns, burns

.......D....... A

The ring of fire

.......D....... A

The ring of fire

A................. D........ A

The taste of love is sweet

......................D .....A

When hearts like ours meet

.....................D....... A

I fell for you like a child

....................D ..............A

Oh but the fire went wild

E................ D............. A

I fell in to a burning ring of fire

...........E

I went down, down, down

.............D ...........A

And the flames went higher

A

And it burns, burns, burns

........D........ A

The ring of fire

.......D......... A

The ring of fire

A

And it burns, burns, burns

......D........ A

The ring of fire

......D........ A

The ring of fire

Happy Thanksgiving

We like to start our holiday with dinner at The Rock the night before Thanksgiving.

A wonderful time at Brian's in Rock Island!
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On the grill.
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Basting the ham. ~~~~~
All is carved.
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And ready to serve.
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Happy Thanksgiving!!!