I.N.T.R.O.

Hi! Welcome to my cyber refuge, built here in the beautiful "Evergreen State" (Washington). I knew NOTHING about building a web page when I first signed up in March '98, but I gradually taught myself and have my refuge to show for it. There are excellent resources on the Net to walk you through the whole process, but sometimes I still can't believe I built this nifty site (brag, brag)!.

"Home" for the last 15 years was a tiny, rundown 70's singlewide mobile. The original game plan was to build a log house on our property. We weren't able to make that happen, but 2007 was finally the year our living conditions vastly improved at last. This site now includes a home planning blog, My Dream Realized. We moved into our lovely new triplewide in June '07 and love it!

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I've been married to Rex 29 years as of April 7 (also his birthday!). Pictured above with us are our first two beautiful Great Pyrenees dogs, Tessa (left, above) and her brother Farley, both born 7/21/92 and adopted by us as puppies (our darling Farley died on 5/30/03 and our Tessa passed on 7/3/04). We currently have four beloved doggies. We adopted Heidi, another beautiful Pyr, born 12/9/97, on 1/17/02, and Colby, a Samoyed, about 4 at the time, on 2/26/02. Then we adopted Archie, a handsome young male Pyr (born 12/11/01) on 7/26/03. He grew quite a bit his first year with us, and now his build and the way he moves reminds us quite a bit of Farley. Lastly, on 4/23/04, Jesse, another male Pyr born 2/12/03, joined our family. He reminds us very much of Gus, a much loved Pyr/yellow Lab we adopted in March, 2000 who suddenly was taken from us on 1/13/02 from an apparent stroke, at approximately age 7. Great Pyrs look a bit like polar bears and have a protective yet very sweet temperament. We have no kids so they are our "kids". Read more about them, and the Great Pyrenees breed, on my F.U.R.B.A.L.L.S. pages! Farley and Tessa are pictured above at age 2-1/2. The pup on the right looks just like Farley as a baby. Farley was among 10% of Pyrs with a "mask"; Tessa, Archie and Heidi are classic all-white Pyrs, and Jesse and Gus look(ed) like smaller, slimmer all-white Pyrs.

The smallest member of our household for almost five years was a cute black and orange shorthaired guinea pig, Popeye, who joined our household in Sept. 2000 and passed on July 20, 2005. We adopted another cute little male adult guinea pig, Harvey, age 4, a tan Abyssinian, on July 25 (he passed suddenly on March 30, 2006), then in Oct. '05 we adopted Salina, a solid black (except for one white speck) female shorthaired guinea pig who, sadly, passed a few months after Harvey, on July 13, '06. In May '06, we adopted two young female guinea pigs -- Rosemary, a black and orange tortoise shell abyssinian, and Meg, a brown agouti. During the next couple years, we proceeded to gradually acquire nine more piggies, mostly from our county's branch of freecycle.com. As of June '08, we have eight piggies remaining of the total of 14 we've adopted since 2000. I have added a third "Furballs" page here, having realized the couple of paragraphs that were on the top of my doggies' page was not enough to do justice to these sweet, tiny members of our household. So please visit "Cavalcade of Cavies", a/k/a "Furballs 3", to meet our past and present piggies.

I've worked in various financial and/or marketing environments as an high-level admin assistant in Seattle and Chicago. In May '06 I started working at a small but active continuing education provider in a nearby town where my commute is half as long as my previous commute to Seattle. I occasionally sell craft-related and other gift items via online auctions, and offer web site building/design services to those wanting a personal or small business site. During my weekday ferry commutes (and on evenings and weekends during Internet breaks!), I crochet table runners, doilies, Christmas ornaments, Barbie dresses, or afghans, and will also take orders for any of the above. Please visit my Comfort N'Joy pages to see examples of my custom work!

As I have often done since first starting my site in '98, I remodeled this page again in '06. But I kept the following poem, written by Francine Pucillo. She has the ability to evoke strong and widely varying emotions with simple 5 to 7-syllable lines; one of her poems also appears on my September 11 page. Following an unsettling span of several years, but hopeful about the changes that are now unfolding, I have regrets but have also learned some life lessons and look ahead to what the road of life will bring next.

Gentle breezes flowing
My life within the air
Thoughts of passing seasons
Suddenly appear

Time goes by so swiftly
You turn around it's gone
Pages quickly turning
Another diary bound

Road of journey longer
It seems to never end
Picking up the pieces
Sometimes we have to mend

Heart in deep reflection
Of choices I have made
Hoping that with wisdom
The lessons never fade

Looking to my own soul
With peace perhaps I'll see
Road in life I've paved now
Will travel on smoothly

Thoughts of life consumed now
With precious memories
Smile in sweet surrender
Contented heart appeased.

~~~~~~~~~~

~ Francine Pucillo~
used with permission

Rex and I are born-again Christians who have attended Baptist, Nazarene, Evangelical Free and non-denominational churches. We church-hopped quite a bit before settling into a small non-denominational Bible church at Easter 2001. I personally attended that church (which we joined in '03) until June '08, rotated on the worship team, and created the church's new web site in fall '06; I still maintain and update the site. But my attendance was sporadic; I somehow felt something was missing, and I knew what it was. I needed more structure and tradition in my worship experience. I feel I've found just that in a small Lutheran church where we sing the old hymns, recite responsive readings, and have communion every week. I've only attended a few times as I write this, but feel it's where I belong and trust hubby will join me there soon. (Click here for my Christian testimony and to learn how we got together and ended up in Washington!)

My interests page includes many links to info on people and activities that are meaningful to me. WARNING -- it will take awhile to read, especially if you check out the links! Hope you like it...

If you think we have anything in common (especially from my "interests" page), feel free to send me a message by clicking here for my contact form. I spend a lot of time alone and enjoy meeting people who have visited my refuge. And if you are a first-time visitor, please be sure to sign my guestbook! I love visitors and want to have a record of everyone who visits, but am amazed at the number of people who have mentioned visiting and yet never sign in. It only takes a few seconds and I'd really appreciate it! You'll find a "sign" link at the bottom of most of my sections. God bless....

For crochet lovers only! Links for virtually any category of free crochet pattern you could possibly think of!

Recipes in literally any category you could possibly think of! (Also check out my site's recipe page!)

"Visit" Port Orchard, pop. 8,250, the seat of Kitsap County! (We live 6 miles outside the city limits -- in the "wilderness".)

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"Dream Orphans" - official font of The Evergreen Refuge - download here
Music MIDI from Alberta Rose (site apparently left the Net)