My father, a German half-Jew, discussing similarities between Trump and Hitler (July, 2016)

 Look what I came upon as I reviewed video conversations I had with my father during the years before he died, when he was finally willing to talk about his experiences as a half-Jew (a "mischling") in WWII Germany. 

Dad wrote prolifically about his experiences, but he insisted that his books and stories be only for family, never for people he didn't know. I begged him to publish his memoir, stressing the importance of his first-person voice during a time when those voices were growing quieter and quieter, while another voice - that of Donald Trump - was becoming louder and louder," but he refused, saying only, "You can tell my story when I'm gone" - which is becoming my life's work.

This video conversation with Dad, shot at his house in Ashland, Oregon in July, 2016, four months before Trump was elected and seven months before he died (I swear, Trump's election killed him), is chilling, prescient, and terrifying. 

As much as I miss him, I'm glad he's not alive to witness what's happening in our country. He totally called it.

Featuring: Tom’s finished water feature, compliments of a drone!

Remember when (yes, you will want to click that link) I asked you to remember when (and, yeah, click that one too) I insisted that we’re finished with major projects around the house?  And remember when I posted update this update to Tom’s progress on the water feature? 
Well, the water feature that began (in Tom’s head, anyway) as a fairly quick project exploded over the past year into the water feature that belongs in a corporate courtyard!  No, I take it back; this one is OURS, built lovingly and meticulously by my husband – who even has cancer!
(My brother Michael filmed this yesterday with his drone. See what I mean?  Isn’t it incredible? And he even set the video to my favorite music!)

And would you believe that on the day we found out that the cancer that we feared was stage 4 was only stage 1, Tom said to me, “So… I’m playing the fact that I have cancer here, but… I want to buy a lot and build a house.  Everything I’ve already done has just been practice for the BIG ONE – the house that we build.” 
And, having just realized that the man of my life was going to (thank god!) be alive for a long time to come, I replied “OK, honey…”
But first I want to fully appreciate this house for at least another five years, until we retire.  Then I guess we’ll talk. (Since he has cancer…)
And just because I feel like it, here’s a little visual chronology of this latest project:

Puppy dogs: Small, medium and huge!

This is Quinn, our new puppy… Grace, Elisabeth’s boyfriend’s puppy–yes, PUPPY… and Shasta, who thinks she’s a puppy.

Flying above the Napali Coast

This is the video that Tom shot last month over Kauai, put to Jack Johnson’s If I Could. I think this will be our go-to stress-reducer around here!

(Just had to make sure to post it on my blog, now that I added some music…)

If only their love maps had been stronger, this could have been prevented!

Since working at The Gottman Institute, I have a whole new perspective on relationships and keeping them strong.  I would have loved this video before I worked at TGI, but I have a whole new level of appreciation for it now.

Had this guy known his wife better – had he really understood her inner world (that is, had their love maps been stronger), he would have known that getting her a dual bag vacuum cleaner for their anniversary wouldn’t go over well and he could have stayed out of the dog house.  (“You dual bag!”)

I am still giggling!  Kudos to JC Penny for thinking outside the box and making great use of social media in their marketing!

Newsflash! 7–8 foot Christmas trees are $39.99 at Costco!

But there’s a caveat. You can’t see what you’re buying until you get it home and unveil it.  We were feeling adventurous this morning (and in a hurry because it’s the last weekend the girls are here before heading to Hawaii) so we decided to take the chance – especially because Costco guarantees the trees to be full and nicely shaped.  We bought the tress from these nice guys:

Once Tom cut a slice off the trunk, we brought the mystery tree inside…

…propped it up…

…and unveiled it!

Our mystery tree!

So Costco was right – it IS full and nicely shaped!  What a deal, eh?

We put on the lights and silver balls…

…and then our tree was all ready for decorations!

“Oh, I love the candy cane one!”

Boo waits all year for his tree to come back into the house – or at least that’s probably the way he sees it!

Happy holidays! 

Next event: baking cookies!

I heart this guy!

Anaheim and “The Argument Clinic”

I’m in Anaheim, California where The Gottman  Institute is hosting a training for clinicians in Gottman Method Couples Therapy. 

The days are filled with workshop activity (like my little arts and crafts marketing project)…

and the evenings are filled with friends and fun (like my absolutely wonderful visit and three hours of non-stop laughter and timeless connection with my dearest friend and former neighbor, Lisa)…

…and if I had the energy I’d write about it all. 

But tonight the most I can muster is a few tiny tidbits because I’m fading fast and tomorrow is another big day.

I thought you’d enjoy the video that the Gottmans showed to kick off the workshop this morning. There’s nothing like this to really focus audience attention and bring up the topic of conflict. I love this!

Hawaiian Meditation (and Anticipation!)

With the next seven weeks promising to be extremely busy at work, and with the Fall pressure of three kids in college (room, board, tuition, laptop replacement, etc., times three), I have a feeling I’ll be visiting this video often.  Join me any time you want!

Tom’s usually the one to  escape into anticipated upcoming adventures, while I’m normally the one who plays travel agent, making plans and dealing with logistics.  With our upcoming trip to Kauai and Oahu, however, I find myself visiting “his” territory more and more!

Pemco Insurance: The fly on our wall

I love these commercials – mostly because they are absolutely spot-on in pegging us Pacific Northwesterners.

I wish this radio ad had visuals for you, dear reader… but we Seattleites don’t even need visuals because we know exactly what this looks like:

Here are some more “a lot like you… a little different” Pemco ads. If you don’t get them, that’s OK. You kinda have to live in the Pacific Northwest to really understand.

And some more radio ads that are worth imagining… if you CAN!

And if you need some visual assistance, you can get it here.

If you’re shaking your head, insisting you just don’t get it… well, head-shaking-clueless-about-Pacific-Northwesterners guy, you’re definitely not one of us.

But because we’re from the Pacific Northwest, we love you anyway.