IntrinsicTina

I've been browsing my own blogposts to see what I was up to back in the early days of my blog.  What I noted most was my use of photos. Unfortunately, I am unable to take new photographs, but I can access the ones loaded in my Tobii. This picture of a dove perched atop a very old adobe wall, was taken in Oceanside, California at a mission.  The Old Mission San Luis Rey de Francia, built in 1798, otherwise known as the King of the Missions. This beautifully weathered wall, located south of the mission, in the Lavandaria. I've been particularly proud of the peaceful, warm nature of this photograph.

68 I use a Tobii I-series I-15 Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) device to communicate 1-on-1 with people or in my blog. I've been using my tobii since 2013, three years and three months, to be exact. My AAC device can be used by touch or eyegaze, but I've always used the eyegaze feature since my hands went kaput back in 2012. Tobii is my main tool for communication since most people cannot understand my speech impediment.  Or more accurately, my unintelligible speech.  Specifically,  I use it to place phone calls to either my husband or for emergency use. I also use tobii to email, instant message on Facebook, social media, like Facebook, Twitter, PatientsLikeMe and Good Reads. I maintain a personal blog on Blogger which I devote a great deal of time to.  (Of course, you already know this if you're reading this post online.) Naturally, I must use tobii to communicate in real time for one-to-one conversations or for communicating in a group situation...

25 I have a photograph of myself in front of the inscription We are surrounded by our past. This digital pic, taken by my friend, Anne Powers, numbers among my favorite photographs of myself. Not only was it a flattering photo, I had lost considerable weight and my hair was beautifully styled but I was at a place of confidence and gratitude. Contentment. Today, I am surrounded by my past. My husband brings my old laptop to view pictures I've taken throughout our years together. Additionally, he brings hard copy photos from boxes, albums, and DVDs. We pour through these pics, reliving memories, bathing in the nostalgia of holidays, vacations, meals, fishing trips, our families, friends, cats, you name it. I pluck out snapshots to post onto the metal supports of the built-in lifts, so I may view them and smile. I wish I could post my favorite pic here. 

Dear Renee', I saw you today, actually, I saw your image today. You were, pretty in pink, standing in front of a weeping rock wall, arms upraised, smiling to the Heavens. Wow! I cannot be sad when I see how much you enjoyed life. We were in Hawaii, on the island of Maui (your favorite), on the road to Hana with Dawn and Mark, myself, Rodney and yourself. But, this one is just you. The year was 2006, your first trip to the Islands, and you were ready to embrace the spirit of aloha. What fun to spend that time with you! Everywhere you went, you were decked out in flowers and/or a sarong. You were living in California, the rest of us were in Washington, thus we were Renee'-deprived. How fortunate we were when you decided to move to Washington. (I digress.) I remember your pedicure, shocking orange with white hand-painted plumeria, the exact shade as Mom's nails, though the two of you did not confer. I remember your toes in the sand, I should, I photographed them. It evok...

My husband finally had my VHS-c tapes transferred to DVD format. Oh what fun! And illuminating as well! I've been binge-watching these DVDs ever since. They contain the most precious of memories. Memories of my daughter and my first husband and me. It's obvious to me how in love with our daughter we were. Still are, speaking for me. I don't speak for my now ex-husband. What I discovered, or was able to reaffirm, was that I was a good mother and my exhusband was a good father. My mother-in-law was exceptional. Exceptionally patient, kind, and generous. This, I always knew. I don't know who I mourned more with the loss of that first marriage, my husband or my mother-in-law or sister-in-law. I loved them all so much. My daughter, I loved most of all. Still do. I also saw how much I favor my grandmother. While my immediate family are of similar mindset, I am different. Whether it be nature or nurture, I turned my back on their lifestyle and attitude. That doesn't ...

This weekend my husband gave me a wonderful gift..Himself. He has plans for himself for Father's Day weekend in St.  John,  Washington USA watching the Sprint boat races. These races take place in sloughs carved out of a farmer's field and are filled up with water. Sounds boring but it is not. I can assure you. These sloughs cross each other and create hairpin turns for the small boats powered by large, fast motors. They race time and have been known to run up on the banks, flip over, and even crash. Anyway, because I won't see him over the weekend, he spent this weekend doing things with me. Not a normal occurance but quite an equitable trade. I don't begrudge my husband a life away from me as long as I get to enjoy some life as well. I've never been a home body unless you count me as a homes body. We traveled between our homes but we spent a lot of time traveling and collecting experiences. I have always been a doer since I've been an adult. I cannot stand t...

Memorial day weekend and I got out of the home, and out of my current reality, so to speak. The forecast was grim and the pregnant, pewter clouds echoed the same. Stepping out in faith regardless of a plan, worked. We planned to visit MOHAI over the holiday weekend but couldn't get it together early enough to justify the $17 USD per person entrance fees. Oh, MOHAI is the Museum of History and Industry. Located in Seattle, Washington on the banks of Lake Union in the heart of the Mercer Mess. Because my husband is easily frustrated by Seattle, by traffic, by my disabilities, by life in general, we decided to go on a dry run.Incredibly, this ended up being the main attraction. This was the same weekend for the Folk Life Festival, my first choice, so there were no crowds to contend with. What we found was easy parking for the handicapped; wide, clean walkways; open space, waterfront access (even for me); interactive fountain; city, lake, and Space Needle views; bright orange angul...

This weekend marked the 12th anniversary of my marriage to my husband, Rod. Actually, our anniversary date coincided with Earth Day. I'd love to tell you that we spent the day cleaning penguins or stoically and stubbornly not using fossil fuels around the home taking up the push-mower or the humble rake but that would be a lie. We started our day seated in our Subaru trekking northward participating in the annual migration of tourists to visit the tulip fields of Mt. Vernon. We love a road trip that culminates into varied photo opportunities. Vast expanses of blooming flowers on a promised sunny day guaranteed success in that regard and it did not disappoint. Additionally we got to indulge in our passion in sampling the local cuisine as well as mingle with the locals. Our first stop was at Bill's Diner in the heart of Mt. Vernon proper, across the street from the courthouse. Normally this historic establishment caters to the business crowd Monday through Friday from 7 am t...

March brought serious surprises to my life. Although I haven't mentioned it, I've been struggling with an increasing disability.  Since late last year, I've been plagued with an unstable spinal condition. What started off as a troublesome pain in my neck (October/November) has deteriorated into diminishing control over the fingers in my right hand (January) and arm (February).  This condition left me without any other option but to file a claim with our state's department of Labor and Industries. (March).  The tenacity of this condition coupled with the state's lethargy to diagnose and treat my condition, spurred my employer into cutting me loose (April). Unfortunately, because of this relentless deterioration, I've had to give up many of my preferred activities and pastimes: personal computing (blogging, social networking, learning new programs). Digital photography (capturing, uploading, captioning, classifying, and printing), knitting and crocheting, p...

(even without children) 1). Get up with alarm at 5:30 am (hit knees to ask God to direct my day), 2). Get self ready for work, (place a load of laundry in the washer), 3). Go to the bathroom, (clean out the toilet, pick-up any towels and put up new ones), 4). Grab lunch from refrigerator, prepare a nutritious breakfast of yogurt or whole grain cereal, (pick-up previous night's mess, time permitting), 5). Drive to work, stop off at Starbucks or Cutter's Point for a decent cup of coffee, 6). Work a full-time work schedule with a half hour lunch break, 7). Clock-out of work, stop off at bank and/or post office for the office on the way home, 8). Make any number of side trips on the way home such as: nursing home to visit husband's mother (drop off payment once-per-month); grocery store if something needed to make dinner or for the weekly shopping; Sam's Club for monthly AA cake and/or stop off at Chase to deposit weekly AA monies; Reber Ranch to pick-up wild bird f...

These two photos capture me doing a combination of two activities that I LOVE! Knitting and photography. One photo is 2008 and the other is 2010 and I'm still going strong.