Reasons I Love Seattle: #1 Sunset Over Lake Union

Reasons I Love Seattle: #1 Sunset Over Lake Union

I was running late for a meeting, but I just had to stop and capture a couple shots of this sunset. I pulled over alongside the lake, rolled down the passenger-side window, and clicked away.

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As I continued on my way to the meeting, the sunset intensified. Each time I pulled through an intersection, the break between buildings revealed a different sky, full of different colors. It was changing by the second.  This was during rush hour traffic. I was looking around for a place to pull over so I could catch some more shots when I pulled off on a side street – and in to gridlock.  The sunset, of course, completely blocked by the concrete monstrosity of a building where the road curved in front of me.  Now, not only was I late for the meeting, I didn’t get that additional shot I was looking for, and I was trapped in place by traffic. Crap.

It occurred to me at this point that the sunset was not there to stress me out, or even for me to “capture” on film; it was there to bless my day. At that moment, a spot opened up for me to pull a U-turn and get back on my way, and the next break between buildings revealed the Space Needle, backlit by a fully fuchsia sky. Breathtaking. And just for me. I did not capture that shot of the sunset, but it did bless my day.

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This has been an amazing week, full of wonderful news and new opportunities.  Much of it I can’t discuss just yet.  As if full-time school, cancer treatment, and motherhood were not enough, I’ve had a few writing gigs come my way as well.  I’m stealing this idea from The Bloggess and creating a regular post that will link to some of my other writing on a (hopefully) regular basis, as well as drawing your attention to other creators of awesomeness on the web.

Me: As seen on…

Goodies: Five Fabulous (and Inspirational) Bloggers – I was asked to highlight 5 amazing bloggers, and when I did, I used the opportunity to describe one of the coolest literary events I have ever experienced.

Awesome people who mentioned me (or linked to me) in their posts this week

Chookooloonks: seattle jazz trip: on the jason parker quartet, and what became one of the most beautifully different nights of my life – the amazing literary event I described above, from the perspective of the headlining author, the beautiful Karen Walrond.

My favorite reads from this week

THXTHXTHX: Dear Instances Where I Don’t Have My Camera – I came across this post when I got home last night, after my experience with the sunset.  Amazing. You see how that works? 😉

Seattlest: An Interview with Nancy Pearl, Seattle’s Celebrity Librarian – Our libraries and librarians are so needed right now, and so underappreciated for the services they provide to our communities – and Nancy Pearl is a Seattle treasure.

The Pioneer Woman: Daisy the Dog – I love the Pioneer Woman, but I usually don’t highlight her because she already gets more hits than Google. However, this post reminded me of the cow I had when I was a kid. The one with the oh-so-clever name of Milky, who then calved, and I assigned the even-less-original moniker of Calfy for her offspring.  Yeah, my naming skills have improved since then. No, Milky and Calfy did not have this much access to the house.

Chatting at the Sky: 3 things to do when they don’t like your art – Another timely piece.  It’s hard to think of putting your work out there without thinking you’re putting yourself out there, but rejection comes with the territory. Here’s how to deal with it.