365 Inspirations—341: Beach Walking and a Long Winter's Nap

"Think what a better world it would be if we all, the whole world, had cookies and milk about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down on our blankets for a nap."—Barbara Jordan

Today we went beach walking at Discovery Park. It was bitter cold outside. Who, in their right mind, would go to the beach on a day like today?

Nevertheless, we bundled up and headed out.

Suddenly, while staring down over a cliff at the murky greens and blues of Puget Sound, I recalled my dream from the previous night. I saw that exact water in my dream. The same color, the same everything. The only difference was that the water was warm and people were swimming in it.

My husband is usually pretty quiet on our walks, but suddenly memories of beach walking in Korea along the East Sea started flooding back to him.

He began to recount these stories to me. He talked about how he loved walking alone or with friends along the beach in the winter and how they'd always stop by a tea house after and drink tea. They'd talk about their dreams and ideas and sometimes stay until the shop was about to close. Usually they weren't ready to go home, so the shop keeper, out of kindness, would make them all steamy bowls of ramen before they left.

I listened with intent, happy to hear my lovely husband, who is normally quiet and contemplative, become chatty and full of enthusiasm while retelling these stories.

We stopped by our favorite fish stand on the way home and got a salmon taco, right down by the fishing boats that make their way to Alaska in the summer and fall.

When we got home, I was so exhausted. There was no real reason why I felt like this. I hadn't exerted more than the usual energy on our walk, but I wanted nothing more than to sink down in my bed under the thick pile of blankets with a good book, a cookie and a glass of milk. And that I did.

I am not a 'nap' person. I rarely, if ever, take naps, but today I slept for a very loooonnngg time in the middle of the afternoon.

A friend, who went with us to Sedona on one of our yoga retreats, left a book with us. It's not what I usually read. It's an old Russian novel called The Golovlovs by M. Saltykov-Shchedrin. It was rated "among the very best novels in the world" by Arnold Bennett. The Golovlovs is one of the last translated, but highest-ranking, realistic novels of nineteeth-century Russia. Somehow I got swept up into the characters of the novel.

Under the warmth of my blankets I'd read a dozen pages or so and then doze off for an hour, read more pages and then doze off for another 30 minutes. I swear that when I dozed off I was dreaming of the characters in this book. They played out on the movie screen in my dreams.

There's something that seems very natural about napping in the winter, especially when it's freezing out. There are icicles outside, but you are inside, warm and toasty with a good book. When I awoke the first time, the sun was starting to set, casting an orange glow on my backyard. The second time I awoke, it was pitch dark outside and I drew the shades and continued reading more.

Not sure how I will sleep tonight given that I napped all day. But I'm ready to go back to my cozy bedroom and continue on with the book and see how far I get before I fall asleep.

Do you enjoy taking naps?

365 Inspirations—21: Beach Walking in Winter

“The Sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.”

—Jacques Cousteau

I like to walk on the beach any time of year and winter can be a great time to go beach walking. We've been stuck under a cloud of fog for about a week. Last week, as I was driving home from my classes at the college, I couldn't see more than two feet in front of me while driving because the fog was so thick.

Finally, the sun broke through yesterday while I was in yoga class. We were doing our last few "Ommms" to end the class and the place filled with light! My husband and I went outside after the class and he said, "This is a day we should not miss! Let's go to Discovery Park."

We had a bite to eat at the huge grocery store near the yoga studio. They have an outstanding salad bar. Then we headed out to Discovery Park in Seattle. One thing I absolutely love about living in Seattle is the fact that we are in a city, yet it often feels like we are in some remote location on an island somewhere when we go to the parks in the area. The truth is, all the photos in this blog post were taken in Seattle!

The sun was high and the fog was finally gone. It seemed like all Seattleites were finally breaking free from their cocoons they had been in. People were wandering around along the seaside just staring at the mountains, ocean, and beach in awe. 

I walked slowly along the shore, soaking in the sun. I listened to the waves roll in. They were big round rolls that didn't break until they got to the shore. A flock of seagulls squawked above my head and I could see both the sun and the moon at the same time.

The weather in Seattle is mild. We usually get quite a bit of rain in the winter, but often only have about a week or so of snow each winter. The weather was around 45 degrees for our walk. We were happy to finally see the sun again and we were particularly happy to be beach walking in winter!

Do you like to go to the beach? Where do you like to go? Have you ever been beach walking in winter?

365 Inspirations—14: Heated Toilet Seats

"You can program it. Set temperatures of water in the morning and when you get up at 7:30, your toilet seat is warm and ready for you."—Hamid Shoushtari 

 Our computer internet is out, so I'm at my husband's yoga studio down the street typing my next post. I've committed myself to blogging every single day, so a downed network is not going to stop me!

A heated toilet seat is the inspiration for today. It just came to me, believe it or not. My husband stopped by to install one in the bathroom of the yoga studio as I was typing this.

As he was leaving, he said, "After you use the toilet, be sure to put the seat down so it stays warm."

The toilet seat was a gift from a yoga student for my husband's 40th birthday. He turned 40 on December 26, but we celebrated mid-December at our house in Seattle because my husband wanted to go to Las Vegas for his 40th.

Now, when I asked him what he wanted to do for his 40th, I did not expect him to say, "Let's go to Las Vegas." Friends said, "That could be your next book. 'The Monk Hits Vegas.'"

I'll have to give it some thought.

 Anyway, when my husband unwrapped the gift, his guests all laughed and someone piped up, "You can take that one to the Craps table in Vegas." And the laughter continued.

I just went and used the toilet. Let me tell you, in the dead of winter, those seats can be handy! It reminds me of when I lived in Japan. My toilet had so many buttons on it—one for heat, one for water, one for spray and a bunch of other buttons I was afraid to try. The thing looked like a space ship and even played music!

In the bathrooms in Japan, some of the public restrooms have sound machines on the wall that play sounds like waterfalls or waves in case you need privacy. While in Korea,I discovered that there was something similar on the wall. I thought, Oh, they have these here too and proceeded to push the button. With that, an army of Korean staff showed up at my stall. It was not a sound machine, but a help button! That's the last thing you need when all you want is a little privacy in the public restroom.

Have you ever experienced a heated toilet seat? Would you ever buy one for your home?

365 Inspirations—Five: Rhododendrons in Winter

“Nobody sees a flower - really - it is so small it takes time - we haven't time - and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time.” 
― Georgia O'Keeffe

Winter is here. Where I am a from it tends to be cold, rainy and dark. On occasion, we have snow or sun, but it doesn't last very long. We had snow in mid-December that lasted a day or so. Everything was frozen and silent. Nothing seemed to be growing under the blanket of snow. For many animals, it's a time to go into hibernation and wait for spring. Sometimes I feel like doing the same.

A few days ago I went on a walk with my husband. It was very cold outside and I had on my down jacket, gloves, and hat. The trees were bare. Fortunately, the sun was out and that tends to make all the difference in the world in the winter in Seattle.

As we got closer to Puget Sound I stopped dead in my tracks. I couldn't believe what I was seeing along the side of the road. It's January and a rhododendron bush (our Washington State flower) was fully in bloom. I have only ever seen these flowers bloom in the spring.

I got closer to the bush to examine the flowers. They were a pale pink and were in clusters. What were they doing there? Why were they blooming?

I have no idea, but they made me happy. They made me believe that anything is possible. That even in nature, there are no set rules. Things and people can change.

Just because all the other flowers are blooming in the spring doesn't mean that this bush has to do the same. Why not show it's true colors at a time when there are no colors to be found? Why not do something different?

We could use a little color this time of year and I was inspired by this little rhododendron bush. I hope that I can also be an inspiration to people in times when life may seem cold and dark. I hope that I can also show vibrant colors when there are none to be found.