Flowing Along At The Oregon Coast

I think I'm a few behind on my sibling assignments, but I thought I would try to at least get the latest one done, which is Sibling Assignment #103, given to us by Raymond Pert.

Our family trip to Rockaway Beach has come to an end. Reflect upon what you enjoyed about being together as a family this past week.

Raymond Pert's post is here, and IEG's post is here.


What I enjoyed most about being at the coast, was being in FLOW.

People enter a flow state when they are fully absorbed in activity during which they lose their sense of time and have feelings of great satisfaction.

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced chick-sent-me-high-ee) is chiefly renowned as the architect of the notion of flow in creativity.

Csikszentmihalyi describes flow as "being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you're using your skills to the utmost."

At the coast, we didn't have many schedules.

We could just get fully absorbed in daily activities and lose our sense of time and did indeed have great satisfaction.

Such as the morning walks with the dogs. We could get up, feed the dogs, then put on their leashes and head down the beach, not having to be back at any certain time.


Life just flowed along.

Playing games around the table.

Visiting tide pools at Hug Point State Park.

This picture cracks me up. It looks like the starfish
is in a somewhat seductive pose!!

Cooking and eating meals around the table.


Taking photographs of family, dogs, sunsets, tide pools, rock formations, seagulls, clouds.


Reading "The Gift of the Sea" by Anne Morrow Lindberg.

What a luxury it is, to not have every minute of your day scheduled. To just relax, and be in the moment...to flow in the moment.

And to have this experience surrounded by my mother, brother, sister, brother-in-law, husband, and three daughters made it even more special.

Still Delicious After All These Years

Seven years ago I ate the most delicious food that had ever passed over my palate.

Today, I ate the same food, and it did not disappoint.

This epicurean delight is fresh crab on the Oregon Coast.

There is something about getting fresh crab freshly caught out of the ocean, taking it home, boiling a pot of salt water on the stove, and adding the crab to cook it for about 15 minutes.

Then you pick the tender white crab meat from the shell, dip in butter, or not, and eat.

Words cannot describe the taste sensation I experience when eating fresh crab.

I was a bit worried. You know how time can play tricks on you, and you really think something was really, really good, but, as time goes by, the memory is better than the actual event.

I am so thankful it wasn't the case with the fresh crab.

It was delicious seven years ago.....and it was delicious again today. Yum!! Yum!!

Here we are enjoying our yummy crab feast.
Doesn't that look GOOD!!!
We also purchased some clams and steamed them to add to our yummy seafood supper.

Living in a Gray World

Since arriving on the Oregon Coast on Monday, we have entered a world of gray.

The sky has been gray. It is foggy. The rain drizzles. The wind blows. The waves crash in various shades of gray.

Gray is a bit like being in limbo. There is no extremes in gray....it is a balance between black and white.

It feels good to be in this gray world at the moment. Just being. Just existing. Time doesn't exist in this gray world. No schedules. No appointments to keep.

I'm thankful today for this special gray world.

PKR and I in our special gray world, with Sadie along side.

Sadie and Peaches chasing seagulls.

PKR and Z2 looking for treasures.

The beautiful grayness of Rockaway Beach, Oregon.

PKR and the dogs.
Walking along the beach with the dogs is such a great way to start the day.

A New Joy...Walking Dogs on the Beach

PKR and I headed down to the beach this morning with Peaches and Sadie, and walked along the sandy beach for over an hour. How relaxing and joyful this experience was for us. The dogs love the beach, and so did we!!!

The Princess Turns Nineteen!!

Was it really 19 years ago I was wheeled into the operating room at Glendive Medical Center in Glendive, Montana to give birth by C-Section to my beautiful first baby daughter?

Where does the time go?

Her last year as a teenager begins today. Wow!!!

You've come a long way in 19 years, beautiful girl...a long ways!!!

Happy Birthday, Princess!

Oh Baby, You're My Handy Man!!

Last night I went and had a wonderful "Ladies Night Out" with some wonderful friends. When I returned home around 10 p.m., I was greeted to a wonderful surprise.

PKR had pulled up the carpet in our dining area, and had brought up the hardwood flooring we had brought from our old house, and said he was going to see if he could install it.

Well, he laid it out last night, and figured out a way to do this project.

Here are some of the pictures at the beginning. We'll add more as the floor progresses.

What a blessed woman I am!!