Weekly Photo Challenge: Depth
I set off on a walk to search for “Depth.” I took pictures of a winding road that could be “Depth,” but then felt drawn to look over the side of a hill. That view was “Depth” to me!
As I reviewed the photo, I became intrigued by two objects that were in the center. What were they? I went back to the hill to look closer.
What was a fire hydrant doing in the middle of the woods? And what was the yellow circular object?
As I write this post, I’m wondering if there are also one or more objects just to the right of the fire hydrant. “Depth” had led to a mystery. Maybe sometime I will crawl down that hill and take a closer look!
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Written for Weekly Photo Challenge: Depth
Tomorrow’s the Big Day!

Tomorrow is the day most of Seattle has been waiting for, the day of The Super Bowl! I definitely want us to win, but to me this season has been a major success regardless of what happens tomorrow.
In my mind, the city of Seattle, the state, the region and beyond became a family last year as they rallied around the Seahawks football team. That community experience was so powerful, and I expected it would be similar this year; but as far as I’m concerned that sense of community grew exponentially during this season.
There have been rallies occurring here for weeks. On Blue Friday’s so many people wear their Seahawks jerseys to work and in their lives. As the big day approaches a sea of Seahawks jerseys can be seen every day of the week. Apparently on the day of the NFL championship game, 91% of the televisions that were turned on in Seattle were tuned in to at least part of the game. Seattle area fans are streaming towards Arizona whether they have tickets to the game or not.
Seismologists keep track of the rumbling in the earth during the games, as Seattle is known for being one of the loudest stadiums. The dancing and cheering that happened when Seattle came back to tie the game in the NFC championship caused activity equivalent to a level 2 earthquake. The press box was shaking so much that some of the press thought that a real earthquake was occurring! Take a look at the seismic readings below. The Beast Quake happened a different year; but notice the difference in the reading during the Dance Quake and that of the Overtime Touch down which resulted in the Seahawks winning the NFL championship game! For more information click here.

Governor Jay Inslee created a proclamation that called for all 12’s (Fan’s are considered the 12th “man” on the football team due to their level of support) to engage in three moments of loudness in support of the Seattle Seahawks: at 12:00 p.m. on Jan. 30, Jan. 31, Feb. 1, 2015. He requested that the fans get LOUD, LOUDER, and LOUDEST for 30 seconds on each day.
Government buildings have the U.S. flag, the Washington State flag, and the 12 flag flying. There are 12 flags or lighted displays everywhere. Google Images shows an impressive selection of them.
Celebrating the Seahawks has also become a family event. I heard someone being interviewed yesterday that said their one year old was the biggest Seahawks fan in their family!
Tears rolled down my face as I watched the joy that the children in the video below were expressing. I think the video exemplifies much of what I am trying to put into words in this post.
(I cried as much when I re-watched the video in preparing this post as I did the first time I saw it!)
So, whatever happens tomorrow I will have had the joy of experiencing a sense of community that is so palpable that in some cases it can be recorded as seismic activity!
GO SEAHAWKS!
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Burning Down the House
One of the first things I saw this morning was the Word Press Daily Prompt entitled Burning Down the House.
The writing directions were:
Your home is on fire. Grab five items (assume all people and animals are safe). What did you grab?
Five items instantly popped into my head. I’ve continued to ponder that question throughout the day and my answer has not changed. Even though I believe I could walk away from any of my belongings, these are the five that came to mind.
#1
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#2
Photo Credit: Wikimedia
Samsung Galaxy S3
I couldn’t take my own picture of this since my camera is on the phone!
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#3 and #4
Years ago I made each of my children an album containing pictures from throughout their life. They both live in India now and the albums would not fare well in the heat there so I am storing them at my house in Seattle.
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#5
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Wordless Wednesday
2014 in review
When WordPress sent me an annual report for my blog on December 30, I decided I wasn’t going to post it. Since I’ve come home from India, though, I find I have enjoyed looking at other bloggers’ annual reports. So I changed my mind and decided to post mine too!
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The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 14,000 times in 2014. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 5 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
January 2015 in Seattle
While the Northeastern part of the U.S. is bracing for major winter storms, the Pacific Northwest is experiencing record heat. I visited Seward Park in Seattle today and the beauty around me was stunning.
(If you click on any of the pictures you will be able to see them as a slide show.)
Thanks for the “Sisterhood of the World Bloggers” Award!
Yvonne at Seasoned Sistha2 recently chose me as one of her nominees for the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers award. I definitely consider Yvonne a blogging sister of mine and am glad to know that she sees me in the same way.
It has been interesting and fun to think of my other blogging sisters and to decide which ones I will share this award with!
Award Rules
- Provide the link to the person who nominated you.
- Add the reward logo.
- Answer the questions your nominator has asked.
- Nominate five other bloggers and let them know via comments.
- Ask your nominees five questions.
My Answers to Yvonne’s questions:
1) Who would you want with you if you were stranded on a deserted island?
It makes the most sense to have a friend with me whom I enjoy being with, but one who also knows how to survive in the wilderness. I would definitely want someone who knows what plants can be safely eaten. So Maheswari, I would like you to be on the deserted island with me!
2) Would you rather travel by plane, train, or automobile?
I enjoy traveling by train the most, mainly because you can get up and move around as much as you want to. And I have had big adventures on trains! (e.g. The Day I Became a Train Hopper)
3) If you could choose to do anything for a day, what would it be?
This may seem really strange, but in this moment what I would like to do for that day is visit one of the Seattle recycling plants! I’ve wanted to do that for several years, so I better get busy and make it a reality. (If I knew this was going to be my LAST day, though, I would have a different answer!)
4) For what in your life do you feel most grateful?
I feel most grateful for my two incredible adult children and for having Amma as my spiritual teacher, guide, and mother.
5) If you had to change your first name, what would you change it to?
I did change my first name! In 1991. At that time, I asked Amma for a spiritual name and she named me Karuna, which means compassion. I treasure that name.
The Blogging Sisters I Chose as My Nominees:
Justine at Eclecticoddsnsods
Maria Brinkley at Maria Brinkley, artist
Arati at Dancing to the Words
Gerry at Open Hearted Musings
Five Questions to My Nominees:
1) If you could visit any place in the world, where would it be?
2) Which of your belongings do you feel most attached to?
3) For what in your life do you feel most grateful?
4) What words of wisdom do you have for yourself?
5) What words of wisdom do you have for others?
Weekly Photo Challenge: Express Yourself
These are the treasured photos that come to mind when I think of the phrase “Express Yourself.”
This post was written for the Weekly Photo Challenge: Express Yourself
Challenge directions:
Today, we challenge you to show us what “express yourself” means to you. It could be the delightful, gummy grin of a baby grand-nephew, a message of love written with a biplane in the sky, the clenched fist of anger and frustration, or even a lunch with an attitude. This topic is wide-open and I can’t wait to see what you do with it. Have fun!
मनसा सततं स्मरणीयम् – Let Us Always Remember
I received an email from one of my Sanskrit teachers today asking us to learn a new chant. I listened to it and loved the tune. I then found a YouTube version that had the Devanagari script, the transliteration and the translation. The translation brought tears to my eyes. I think the chant is so beautiful in every way.
Here is the translation and the video:
Let us always remember,
Let us repeatedly speak out:
Our duty is to do good to humanity.
Let us not focus on material pleasures
Nor lay in the lap of luxury;
Let us be awakened always that
Our duty is to do good to humanity.
Let us not enumerate our sorrows
Nor constantly reflect on our happiness
Let us step up to take action:
Our duty is to do good to humanity.
Let us sail over oceans of misery,
Let us scale mountains of difficulty.
While roaming through the jungle of adversity,
Our duty is to do good to humanity.
Be it a dense forest of extreme darkness
Or surrounded by kith and kin
When we travel these paths,
Our duty remains – to do good to humanity.
(Note: Kith and kin means friends and relatives.)
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