Hey, y'all...
Goofy and I finished the Rescue Diver class on Saturday!
Wow...was that water cold though! 44 degrees at the surface...somewhere way less than that at 30 feet (where we had to go to "rescue" a "lost, unresponsive diver"). Had to find her first, with less than 5 feet visibility. What fun!
So...on to Maui and some more warm water diving!
Aloha!
M&G
Monday, February 18, 2008
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Nearly there...
Goofy and I are taking a Rescue Diver course.
It's a third major certification on our way to Master Scuba Diver (which we should finish up in the next month or so).
Rescue Diver is a good course for any diver to take. It's all about being able to take care of yourself and others before you (or they) get into trouble. Kind of a good way to look at a lot of things in life really.
It also teaches us how to help people that have managed to get into trouble in spite of their best intentions.
We have learned to calm folks that are just over-stressed and need some reassurance and maybe a helping hand. But if things go really wrong, we have learned and practiced how to bring them up from the bottom and start rescue breaths on the way in to shore. We can even get them out of the water and start CPR while waiting for help to arrive. Mostly, though, we expect that we'll be able to spot trouble and do things to make it go away before it escalates into a full blown "situation".
We have finished with the practice sessions in the pool, have done all the reading, reviews and passed the final written exam.
Just one more thing remains...and it's happening in Puget Sound this weekend...brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
The best we can hope for is 54 degrees in that murky grey water of our home. It'll likely be closer to 44 degrees this time of year, though.
The practical part of the certification will have us rescuing and being rescued by our classmates in different scenarios to test our new skills. We'll deal with "tired" divers, "panicked" divers, "unresponsive" divers (both on the surface and at the bottom). We'll tow each other in, and haul each other out of the water onto the beach.
We'll have someone on the beach letting people know that we are just practicing our rescue skills..we don't really need help or paramedics (hopefully :).
We'll be cold, and we'll have fun, and we'll all learn more about ourselves and our friends. I can't wait!
It's said that if you can complete Rescue Diver in Puget Sound, you can rescue anyone anywhere. I don't know about that, but I do know that once it's done, and I'm all finished and certified, I'm going to go somewhere WARM to celebrate! LOL
Think sunshine this weekend!
M&G
It's a third major certification on our way to Master Scuba Diver (which we should finish up in the next month or so).
Rescue Diver is a good course for any diver to take. It's all about being able to take care of yourself and others before you (or they) get into trouble. Kind of a good way to look at a lot of things in life really.
It also teaches us how to help people that have managed to get into trouble in spite of their best intentions.
We have learned to calm folks that are just over-stressed and need some reassurance and maybe a helping hand. But if things go really wrong, we have learned and practiced how to bring them up from the bottom and start rescue breaths on the way in to shore. We can even get them out of the water and start CPR while waiting for help to arrive. Mostly, though, we expect that we'll be able to spot trouble and do things to make it go away before it escalates into a full blown "situation".
We have finished with the practice sessions in the pool, have done all the reading, reviews and passed the final written exam.
Just one more thing remains...and it's happening in Puget Sound this weekend...brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
The best we can hope for is 54 degrees in that murky grey water of our home. It'll likely be closer to 44 degrees this time of year, though.
The practical part of the certification will have us rescuing and being rescued by our classmates in different scenarios to test our new skills. We'll deal with "tired" divers, "panicked" divers, "unresponsive" divers (both on the surface and at the bottom). We'll tow each other in, and haul each other out of the water onto the beach.
We'll have someone on the beach letting people know that we are just practicing our rescue skills..we don't really need help or paramedics (hopefully :).
We'll be cold, and we'll have fun, and we'll all learn more about ourselves and our friends. I can't wait!
It's said that if you can complete Rescue Diver in Puget Sound, you can rescue anyone anywhere. I don't know about that, but I do know that once it's done, and I'm all finished and certified, I'm going to go somewhere WARM to celebrate! LOL
Think sunshine this weekend!
M&G
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Here comes the rain again...
I have lived most of my life here in the Northwest. Goofy has too...
It's great. Green trees, ocean, sound, mountains...all within easy reach.
I used to laugh at people that couldn't "take" the gray days.
"Haha!...you must not be from here!" I'd say, thinking I knew what the hell I was talking about.
I think IT just got to them sooner than me.
Or maybe they grew up in parts of the world that aren't gray 8 months (minimally) a year, so it seems off right away.
Don't get me wrong.
I love it here in the suburbs of Seattle.
I like to look out my back windows and see green...lawn (that needs reseeding), plants (that need weeding)...100+ foot fir trees older than a long winter's night (that may fall on my head one night in a wind storm). LOL
Honestly..joking aside. I do love it here...the sea calls to me...even the cold Puget Sound.
I need to be near by the water to feel comfortable in my skin. It calls to me...silly as that sounds...it's where I can think and be at peace. In my most needful moments, I seek out the sea...just to re-center and breathe.
(That must have come from Mom :) She loved the water too. I often feel her there...but I digress :)
I've always loved the rain...love it still...especially when a good thunder and lightning show are part of the entertainment.
its the gray, gray GRAY days that get to me.
I know - because I've been to grade school - that the sun is still up there (somewhere). I just wonder why it can't show itself around here more.
I'm not greedy...if we could count on 1 sunny day a week, I'd be good.
I'd take a rainy day a week too...that'd be fair and A-OK with me! (I love a storm though, so I could get out voted on that one). LOL
OK...and while I'm thinking about it, maybe from the middle of May, through the end of August, we should get a few sunny days a week in a row...it's summer time, so why not?
This would, however, conflict immensely with the Seattle Rain Festival.
You know the Seattle Rain Festival, right? That celebrated time of year from January 1 through December 31?
We love to tell people (not from here) how much it rains in Seattle...if only that were true, I'd be OK with it...but it's not rainy...
....it's GRAY, misty, foggy, damp, gray.
Perhaps, this is why, the call of Maui is becoming louder in my ears these gray February days...
Sunshine and water...ah...
M&G
It's great. Green trees, ocean, sound, mountains...all within easy reach.
I used to laugh at people that couldn't "take" the gray days.
"Haha!...you must not be from here!" I'd say, thinking I knew what the hell I was talking about.
I think IT just got to them sooner than me.
Or maybe they grew up in parts of the world that aren't gray 8 months (minimally) a year, so it seems off right away.
Don't get me wrong.
I love it here in the suburbs of Seattle.
I like to look out my back windows and see green...lawn (that needs reseeding), plants (that need weeding)...100+ foot fir trees older than a long winter's night (that may fall on my head one night in a wind storm). LOL
Honestly..joking aside. I do love it here...the sea calls to me...even the cold Puget Sound.
I need to be near by the water to feel comfortable in my skin. It calls to me...silly as that sounds...it's where I can think and be at peace. In my most needful moments, I seek out the sea...just to re-center and breathe.
(That must have come from Mom :) She loved the water too. I often feel her there...but I digress :)
I've always loved the rain...love it still...especially when a good thunder and lightning show are part of the entertainment.
its the gray, gray GRAY days that get to me.
I know - because I've been to grade school - that the sun is still up there (somewhere). I just wonder why it can't show itself around here more.
I'm not greedy...if we could count on 1 sunny day a week, I'd be good.
I'd take a rainy day a week too...that'd be fair and A-OK with me! (I love a storm though, so I could get out voted on that one). LOL
OK...and while I'm thinking about it, maybe from the middle of May, through the end of August, we should get a few sunny days a week in a row...it's summer time, so why not?
This would, however, conflict immensely with the Seattle Rain Festival.
You know the Seattle Rain Festival, right? That celebrated time of year from January 1 through December 31?
We love to tell people (not from here) how much it rains in Seattle...if only that were true, I'd be OK with it...but it's not rainy...
....it's GRAY, misty, foggy, damp, gray.
Perhaps, this is why, the call of Maui is becoming louder in my ears these gray February days...
Sunshine and water...ah...
M&G
Monday, January 28, 2008
....more on the SNOW! FUN HAVING!!! :)
Here are a few more shots of the snow as I ventured out this morning (well...as far as the street anyway :)
These are some of the trees along the west side...Note the lack of any blue sky any longer...really went from kinda clearing with a few patches of blue peeking through, to grey, grey, and darker grey.
View of the house from the north driveway...
The house from the south driveway...
Out on the street looking to the north...
It's an awesome day...the snow crunching underfoot, animal tracks in the snow, neat! Magic is having some fun now!
M&G
These are some of the trees along the west side...Note the lack of any blue sky any longer...really went from kinda clearing with a few patches of blue peeking through, to grey, grey, and darker grey.
View of the house from the north driveway...
The house from the south driveway...
Out on the street looking to the north...
It's an awesome day...the snow crunching underfoot, animal tracks in the snow, neat! Magic is having some fun now!
M&G
Snow!
Hey Y'all!
It's snowing in Seattle again. Actually snowing at sea level.
Goofy and I are NOT at sea level, however, and have a bunch of snow this morning...about 6" so far :)
It's continuing to snow on and off this morning, and they are forecasting more heavy snow this evening...Goofy does the dance of snow joy at this news.
The trees in the front...
A view in the backyard...
A closeup of a branch near the front deck....
Enjoy your day!
M&G
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Another Winter's Day View
Okay....
I know that the pic isn't the best, but it's cold, and I don't want to go take a photo myself (although I might later on :)
This pic is from a webcam in Bellevue looking west across Lake Washington toward Seattle and the Olympic mountains.
Lovely, isn't it?
As always,
M&G
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
It Is COLD!
Wow....it's cold here.
This morning, it was 21 degrees when we headed out in the world.
It didn't get much warmer all day. I think that the high was somewhere in the low 40's, but it was still cold.
C O L D
We, in Seattle are kinda ok with _some_ cold. You know...35 or 40 degrees (when it hits 55, it's shorts weather, baby). This, of course, includes any wind chill factor. :)
Colder than that belongs in the mountains, where we can travel to if we'd like cold and snow, not here where we live (lol).
And it's ok if it's cold(ish) at night (33 or so is fine).
But...it's been in the teens and low twenties over nights the last few days.
We've had really clear skies though, and lots of sunshine, so we got outside anyway...in our heavy coats, and hats, and gloves and boots...and sunglasses...to bask in the sun.
It's been beautiful. Day and night. The sky is so clear tonight that you can actually see a lot of stars.
I went looking for a good pic online to share the idea of cold Seattle...something that really conveyed COLD. I wanted you to feel the cold through the computer screen.
What I came across is this webshot tonight from the Seattle Times building downtown.
It looks kinda dark and starry (even though that's not what you are looking at).
It looks kinda cold, too.
I just like looking at it. Maybe you will too.
There's more there than you can see at first...a good contemplator. Double click it and see what you can find.
There's so much bad stuff going on in the world - death, lies, war (not just ours)...overwhelming, really, at times.
Maybe that's why I like looking into the dark Seattle night, trying to make out what is there in the shadows, and not really caring if I do.
Hope you are all in safe warm places tonight.
M&G
Monday, January 14, 2008
Sunny Sunday Drive (in Seattle? in January?)
What a beautiful Sunday Seattle had! Yes! Right in the middle of the rain festival that lasts nearly all year...a beautiful, crisp winter's day!
It was sunny (after days of rain), and warmish (48 degrees), so we decided to put the top down and run the roadster up north.
As most of y'all know, I do not like to take the roadster out with the top up...seems wrong, somehow. :) I know that some people think it's nuts to have a roadster in Seattle (with all the rain we have), but honestly, when it's not raining here (regardless of the temperature) the drive with the top down is wonderful! In most places, they get tons of heat with the sunshine...not so Seattle...lol, so you can drive more often with the top down and not bake. I will turn the A/C on when it gets too hot though (cold air falls, before you laugh too hard, so it pretty much stays in the car.)
Goofy and I put on hats, gloves and scarfs...put the top down and hit the road! Goofy also had a blanket and ear muffs, but I digress :)
Here's a view of the mountains from the southbound freeway, looking east. I guess we were having too much fun enjoying the day to take pics on the northbound trip :) All the way up, we saw how lovely the snow has dusted (or buried :)) the mountaintops surrounding us...
Here's the road heading southbound...if you look hard, you might be able to see Mt. Rainier in the distance...
There wasn''t much traffic north of Everett, but once you hit the northern limits, nearly gridlock! OK...10 MPH, but that's way too slow for Magic!
I love the way the trees stand sentinel on the sides of the freeway. In winter, the birch trees look so stark and barren...just like they should. Goofy got a great pic over the top of the roadster of the trees in shadow....
This is looking west toward the water somewhere north of Everett. What an amazing sunset!
So...we had a great roadtrip (we did have to stop for a little outlet shopping in Burlington - the last thing to really do before the border :)) The sun was out, the ragtop was down... the seats were on high, the heat was blasting our toes and the stereo drowned out our singing along (for the most part).
Perfect day for a Sunday drive in January! Hope you all had a great weekend too!
Later, gators!
M&G
It was sunny (after days of rain), and warmish (48 degrees), so we decided to put the top down and run the roadster up north.
As most of y'all know, I do not like to take the roadster out with the top up...seems wrong, somehow. :) I know that some people think it's nuts to have a roadster in Seattle (with all the rain we have), but honestly, when it's not raining here (regardless of the temperature) the drive with the top down is wonderful! In most places, they get tons of heat with the sunshine...not so Seattle...lol, so you can drive more often with the top down and not bake. I will turn the A/C on when it gets too hot though (cold air falls, before you laugh too hard, so it pretty much stays in the car.)
Goofy and I put on hats, gloves and scarfs...put the top down and hit the road! Goofy also had a blanket and ear muffs, but I digress :)
Here's a view of the mountains from the southbound freeway, looking east. I guess we were having too much fun enjoying the day to take pics on the northbound trip :) All the way up, we saw how lovely the snow has dusted (or buried :)) the mountaintops surrounding us...
Here's the road heading southbound...if you look hard, you might be able to see Mt. Rainier in the distance...
There wasn''t much traffic north of Everett, but once you hit the northern limits, nearly gridlock! OK...10 MPH, but that's way too slow for Magic!
I love the way the trees stand sentinel on the sides of the freeway. In winter, the birch trees look so stark and barren...just like they should. Goofy got a great pic over the top of the roadster of the trees in shadow....
This is looking west toward the water somewhere north of Everett. What an amazing sunset!
So...we had a great roadtrip (we did have to stop for a little outlet shopping in Burlington - the last thing to really do before the border :)) The sun was out, the ragtop was down... the seats were on high, the heat was blasting our toes and the stereo drowned out our singing along (for the most part).
Perfect day for a Sunday drive in January! Hope you all had a great weekend too!
Later, gators!
M&G
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Hey! Is This Strobe Working?
Earlier, I promised some pics of Goofy that made me laugh...really hard. I was told to delete them...I refused. I suspect that this is funnier to me than to most, but here there are...
Here, Goofy checks to see if the new strobe on the underwater setup is working...LOL.
What do you think? Is it? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! HAHA!!
I'm not sure, better check again...so...later that day on a dive at a different site. ..hoohoo, I am cracking myself up...hahaha...
Is it just me? I think it's hilarious that Goofy checks the strobe upside down and backwards...hahahahahaahaaaheehee...
Good hair....bwspthahahaha...
I have been told that this is "so not funny, Magic". I beg to differ...heehee
Guess this time it's just signed "Magic"
...Goofy does NOT think this is funny at all...
Here, Goofy checks to see if the new strobe on the underwater setup is working...LOL.
What do you think? Is it? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! HAHA!!
I'm not sure, better check again...so...later that day on a dive at a different site. ..hoohoo, I am cracking myself up...hahaha...
Is it just me? I think it's hilarious that Goofy checks the strobe upside down and backwards...hahahahahaahaaaheehee...
Good hair....bwspthahahaha...
I have been told that this is "so not funny, Magic". I beg to differ...heehee
Guess this time it's just signed "Magic"
...Goofy does NOT think this is funny at all...
Saturday, January 5, 2008
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