Flying Free

This past weekend I had the fabulous opportunity to go to Ocean Shores with a group of girlfriends. The weather was phenomenal, and we were lucky enough to have been there during a kite festival.  Seeing all of the different kites soaring, fluttering, and floating all around me made me feel like I was in an undersea wonderland. It's not difficult to experience joy when looking at these bright jewels floating in midair.

An extra special treat was getting to see Ray Bethell, a multiple time World Champion in Kite flying.  Ray's signature style is flying three kites simultaneously in formation (and he also holds the world record for flying 39 at once).  I had never heard of Ray, or seen anyone fly multiple kites before.  I was mesmerized, not just by the kites, but by the man's movements and his concentration.  After Ray finished a session, I went over to talk with him. What a delightful person! Through that conversation, and then after checking out his website, I learned that Ray, now somewhere in his 80's, didn't start flying kites until 1981.  I also learned that he has experienced several hardships in his life, and hasn't let them overtake his spirit. When he was in his 60's, Ray was struck by a rare virus that left him deaf overnight.  Later, his wife developed alzheimer's disease, which slowly took her life.  Ray says, "How does a person deal with the unfairness of life?  The only way you can do it is to face it head on... it's unchangeable, you have to learn to deal with it."  These are wise words that I'm starting to learn.

Here is a photo that I took of Ray with his three kites in action.  You can learn more about Ray and see video clips of him in action on his website. I highly recommend this video interview, if you have 8 minutes to spare.

 

New Girls

I am excited to tell you that Brian and I are adding to our family! No, not in that way; we're not planning any more children, but we're planning for three CHICKENS! Brian is going to build a sweet little coop, and I've been researching breeds. I think we've settled on three breeds and I'm hoping to get one of each. They are: Rhode Island Red, Barred Rock, and Austrolorp.

We've been talking about getting chickens for some time now, but the timing was never quite right. Now that Bronwyn is a little older and more stable, I feel ready to embark. I'll definitely keep you posted as we go through the process.

In other news, I'm reading a really great book right now: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby. It is a memoir that was written after Jean-Dominique suffered a massive stroke that left him intellectually intact, but completely paralyzed physically. His only way of communicating was to blink his left eye. I'm half way through the book and it's really an inspiring read.