Saturday in the Northwest

If you’d like to hear the story of another one of my cool Saturdays (And I know you would) read on.

This weekend was pretty exciting. In the morning we got to watch about 1,300 youth perform in a dance festival. In the afternoon we got to visit one of the biggest Asian grocery stores in the Northwest. In the evening we stopped at (of course) Wal-Mart for some last minute items, and that night, I got to exercise my art degree in creating exciting birthday cards for two of my brothers!

I know you’re just dying to hear the details, right?

First, the dance festival.

Who is involved?

Participating in a Multi Stake Dance Festival is usually a once in a lifetime experience. Nearly 1,300 wonderful young men and women, ages 12 through 18, from the Bellingham, Bothell, Lynnwood, Marysville, Mount Vernon, Shoreline and Snohomish stakes will be performing April 22, 2006 in the Marysville-Pilchuck High School gym.

Pretty big stuff, huh. And that’s right from the web-site’s mouth.

It was cool because I know all of the youth from our ward, being one of the Young Womens leaders. All of the young men dropped out before the four month practices were done, but at least five of our girls stayed on and participated. I was surprised… I must admit, if our Stake or town had done something like this, I don’t know if I’d have been too keen on participating, though my attitude would be different these days.

It turned out to be a very good show. They wore elaborate costumes for each dance, and put a lot of practice time in. My favorite dances were the Asian dance by the girls, and the Polynesian dance by the boys from many Stakes. The former involved fans and hitting chopsticks with a lot of moving around, the later consisted of a lot of slapping and hitting the floor. It was neat because they had a Polynesian boy in full native garb leading them. Elora really liked that part. There were also dances involving jazz music, hip-hop and other selections. The show was supposed to be in commemoration of the life of President Hinkley, although I'm not sure how that last music selection really fits in.

After the show, we were obliged to follow the long line of cars that inevitably follows a large-scale LDS event. I didn't mind the wait though; spring is in full bloom and Marysville is a quaint town that I wouldn't mind living in someday. Perhaps.

We ate a quick lunch at home then it was off to Seattle. My brothers Dain and Thorin are both celebrating their birthdays this week. Dain is majoring in Asian studies in college and loves Japanese stuff (including his Asian girlfriend), so we thought it would be cool to get him some items from Uwajimaya (pronounced wa -jee- my- uh). Uwaji-what, you ask?

With over 400 employees Uwajimaya is one of the largest Asian grocery retailers in the Pacific Northwest. Since the beginning Uwajimaya has evolved beyond providing basic grocery staples and become known as a tourist and destination store. Uwajimaya believes good customer service is paramount. Its reputation is built on being known as the information specialist on all things Asian and part of its mission is to educate the customer on all aspects of Asian cultures. Uwajimaya's pre-eminence among Asian stores comes from its use of modern technology, its emphasis on cleanliness, and its adherence to its business philosophy.

I had been teasing Dain about getting him squid for his birthday, so I thought, "Hey, why not?" So we got him canned Squid, roasted Eel, Wasabi, and a bunch of cool food items with Japanese lables all over them.

Joseph actually got some squid for himself too, and he ate the whole sardine-style can full. He said it was pretty good, but you have to watch out for the beaks because they're crunchy. Yum.

We would have loved to stay longer, but Elora was pretty tired and cranky by this time. We drove to the neighborhood I used to live in before I was married, where I fed her in the backseat. Even this was exciting, because while we sat there, we saw a ferari get rear-ended! I always knew there would be a wreck on that corner.

Now I will skip over the Wal-mart part...you've heard it before. And if I had a scanner beleive me I would show you my interesting and innovative birthday cards. Alas, this is not the case. Suffice it to say they were nice.

And now, dear friends, I will leave you with what you've been wanting to see.

Pictures of the Spring weather, accompanied by my lovely daughter!

Spring Is In The Air

After reading a lovely post that displayed spring flowers in effigy, I felt I too had to celebrate the season and the simple things it brings. Okay, and some of this applies more to summer, but I will still call this:
Spring: a montage of verse (written several years ago) and pictures (only some are mine).

In the tree on a rainy day

surrounded by the slow drip
and soft glisten of green
sodden branches seep through
my well worn jeans
as I perch serenely above
the subdued earth.
a still-brooding sky
stares down in sullen contemplation
on my upturned countenance,
and I return the look silently waiting.


Sky
Roiling clouds of titan proportion rumble distantly
serving to remind us of our humanity.



To Be Cherished
Those were the days
that seemed to never end
charged with the fire of childhood
tempered with the passing breeze
and held together by the imagination
of a barefoot young girl.

(okay, this next one was written by my friend S.O., and I didn't ask her if I could publish it, but I love it so I hope she doesn't mind. I think its more about summer than spring, but its great!)

4/2/98
To the hut
With haste I snatched
the paper bag, filled
with soggy raisins and jelly sandwiches.
I must hurry to begin
the adventure
which exists on the other side of the field. I found my other shoe
and the journey began.
Under Poplars I tripped - though
they could've been oak or maple or quaking aspen. I mumbled
repetitious rhythms as I plodded steadily along
and monotonously marched while the tune replayed again and again
over and over
beating... like armies.
Over my shoulder disappeared
the red bricks baked by the sun
which slowly became a large
gold plate. The clouds - white napkins.
Silence dominated the air until quickly
past me the cat ran
with her kittens that aren't born yet
a thing I didn't comprehend.
The first gate I climbed. The second
I slid between the slats and I arrived.
This time
only one scratch, my skin cut by
the rusted wire. No tears
fell and I climbed
the creaky ladder to the loft of
the old barn. Why?
Because here I exist.. I dream.
And it is quiet
everywhere.. except
for the crinkle of the paper bag.

So thats it for now. I hope you enjoyed it!