Photos – Page 2 – Sonderjourneys

Jun 1, 2013June 1, 2013

Walking by the Egret

I haven’t posted on Sonderjourneys in a long time. I was too busy journeying!

In April, I purchased my first home — a two-bedroom second-floor condo with a lake view. I’m still settling in — not unpacked yet. But I have started doing a walking program. My first regular exercise program in my life! I’m using the book Walk Your Butt Off! It’s got a 12-week program in which you gradually increase your speed. I have completed the 4-week preliminary program for sedentary people, and today started the second week of the main program. It is just not a chore to walk beside my beautiful lake! Feels like a privilege to have a reason to walk there!

And today my walking got slowed down when I spotted the egret posing on the wall. I snapped some pictures with my phone, but it doesn’t zoom, so I knew the bird would be hard to make out.

Mind you, one of the selling points of the place was that my realtor told me that an egret lived on this lake. She said that egrets mate for life, and when one dies, the other will nest forever after in the place they were last together. This is a solitary egret, and he’s going to live here until he dies. (I don’t know if it’s true, but it’s sure a nice story! And I have indeed seen him several times now.)

Anyway, when I came back after walking to the other end of the lake, the egret was still there. Since he was staying so long, and since it is my day off, I decided this would be the perfect time to come back with my good camera. I did, and he was still there!

I thought it was a good time to also snap some pictures of the pretty flowers growing around the lake.

(You may not notice, but there’s also a mallard duck sitting on the wall.)

And did I mention, this is right outside my home?

After I took the first and best picture above, my batteries instantly died, and he flew away. But he obviously didn’t fly far, so I thought maybe I could find him. (While first taking more pictures of flowers.)

Sure enough! He was right by the path a little farther on.

I loved the way the fountain had a rainbow this morning.

And I kept snapping pictures of the egret until he got tired of me and flew to the other side of the lake.

Such a beautiful way to start my day!

Nov 25, 2011November 25, 2011

Silver Falls with Family

Family, Nature, Photos, Waterfalls 2

September 3, 2011 — The day before my youngest brother’s wedding, and the family was gathering in Oregon. On Saturday, several of us planned to go to Silver Falls. That was one place I’d wanted to see, because I remembered hiking there as a child. (You can go behind the waterfall!) We didn’t get going as early as planned, and then one sister and her husband needed someone to take them back early so they could get the flower girl to the rehearsal. I was the logical person to volunteer, since I wasn’t sure how much hiking I could handle, since I was still recovering from my stroke. So I didn’t go very far at all, but what I did was lovely indeed.

Here’s the group that went hiking:

My son and I are on the right. Two sisters went, with one husband. Two brothers went, with one wife. And my Aunt Donna came along, with her son (whom I’d last seen when he was about 12 years old) and his wife and son. So that’s a tiny section of my family, but it was lovely to be with them!

Now, of course, I couldn’t resist taking pictures of the Falls:

Our first view of the Falls. Of course, we had to take pictures!

Here’s my sister Marcy snapping one.

And here’s my sister Wendy.

Getting closer to the Falls…

Forgive me, but I always like taking pictures of leaves lit up by sunlight.

Here’s a view through the trees.

Closer to the Falls, you get more of a feeling of how big it is.

Here’s my brother Randy and his wife Vickey.

And I had to take one from behind the Falls, the thing that thrilled me so much as a child.

Here’s the bridge at the bottom of the Falls.

The Falls were especially pretty from the other side.

This is my sister Marcy and her husband John. We’re now on the bridge I pictured earlier.

And here I am with my son Tim.

Sisters!

A last look at Silver Falls from below, before starting the upward climb.

Tim found a side trail to explore.

Another glimpse of the top of Silver Falls.

I was fascinated by all the moss on the trees in Oregon and Washington. It was how I remembered forests — but hadn’t seen in years. And this set had leaves lit by sunlight as well.

And one final look at Silver Falls, before going back to my Aunt’s house, taking a nap, and then getting ready for the Rehearsal Dinner and even more Family.

It was a lovely day. It was probably good I took the shortest loop, since the climb back up completely wiped me out. But I was very glad to get out and about with wonderful people whom I love very much — but don’t see very often.

Sep 2, 2011September 2, 2011

Washington State!

Family, Nature, Photos 0

I was born in Washington, DC. However, my parents moved back to their roots when I was only a year old, and the first place I remember living was Kent, Washington, outside Seattle. We moved away when I wasn’t quite six years old, so I have a lot of memories that I know were when I was really young, simply because we were living in Washington.

I suspect that living in Washington is where I learned to love GREEN. And oceans and boats (or at least ferries) and rivers and trees and fall color and snow and mountains. When we lived in Washington, we often drove down to visit my grandparents in Salem, Oregon.

Now, more than forty years later, I’m staying with my Aunt Susie in that same home in Salem, Oregon, and today we drove into Washington State.

First, I should mention that yesterday, I got to visit Powell’s City of Books in Portland, and got to spend time with my older son, Josh, who recently moved to Portland. We went out to eat afterward at the wonderful Mamma Mia’s Restaurant. It was food for my soul to have time with both my boys. Here they are at the restaurant:

Now, Tim (the one on the right) is about to be a Senior in high school, so he’s looking into colleges. Once Josh moved to Portland, he thought maybe he should check schools in this area. Well, Josh found a school that sounds very distinctive — The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. They don’t give grades, but instead offer narrative reports, and they also let students design their own majors — which sounds very good for undecided students like my son.

So, we decided to spend the day today driving up to Olympia and back. The excuse was to visit the college and talk with an admissions representative. But a big part of my reason is that I love Washington State and wanted to spend part of my vacation there.

A cool thing is that there was one part of the trip — the same one my parents took many times between Salem and Seattle — that I am absolutely sure I remember from more than 40 years ago. It’s the bridges. The big green bridges. And when you’re going back to Salem, there are several small bridges, but then the great big bridge is the last one, and it means you are now in Oregon, and we’re almost there. (Or at least a lot closer.) I started singing “Over the River and Through the Woods, To Grandmother’s House We Go,” and I actually got a flashback from when I had just learned that song — in KINDERGARTEN! — and was singing it as we went to Grandma’s house in Salem. It blew me away, just the sheer amount of time that passed, and then the memory just burst to the surface. I also hadn’t thought I’d remember anything about the trip — and then I saw those bridges, and so much came back!

I enjoyed the school visit, and they were very friendly and helpful. Unfortunately, Tim lost a screw in his glasses and a lens popped out, so he was alternating between looking out of one eye or not being able to see, poor kid! (On the way back, we had my aunt’s GPS lead us to a LensCrafters right off the freeway, and they fixed it for free.) But I think he got some idea of what the place looked like!

One thing I really enjoyed was walking down a little trail right on campus and being plunged into an old forest, covered with moss. We even saw a deer on campus, behind a building!

I could not possibly walk in a forest without taking pictures, so here are several:

Of course, you have to imagine these trees completely surrounding us…

And you have to remember that the weather was absolutely perfect, sunny but slightly cool…

And the moss on all the tree branches gave it such a mystical feeling, reminding me, again, of the childhood experience of walking in a redwood forest and taking home a piece of wood with moss on it…

And being in this forest felt so RIGHT…

And I found myself thinking, “Now THIS is what a forest should be!”…

So I feel quite confident that my childhood experiences established my concept of a quintessential forest…

And it simply did my soul good to be in such a forest again!

…And would you look at the sheer size of those ferns!

I did surprisingly well at Evergreen. We didn’t do a lot of walking — just the little hike — and I never did get fuzzy-headed. I got a little bit tired driving up, but we made quite a few stops on the way back, so I didn’t have any real trouble.

Oh, and one of the best things about the day was that my son read me stories from The Chronicles of Harris Burdick! We got through seven stories, which is half the book. They are written by a wide variety of authors, and all have something strange about them (as fits the pictures), and it was a wonderful way to spend the time, as we passed through gorgeous countryside.

So, it was a simply lovely day. Absolutely perfect weather, a trip through beautiful countryside, plenty of nostalgia, time with my son, a short hike in a forest, and a good book read to me by someone I love. Wow!

Jul 6, 2010July 6, 2010

ALA Annual Conference 2010

ALA, Books, Photos, YA Authors 1

It’s been more than a week since ALA finished, and I had a wonderful time. Time to report!

I’d had four days at my new job as a Management Analyst for the Office for Children, Provider Services. It’s a nice job, very peaceful, but it’s not a librarian position.

Going to ALA Annual Conference this year was a no-brainer, since I wouldn’t have to pay for travel (except parking) or a hotel. And it ended up being a peak experience. Three years ago, ALA Annual was in DC and I went and was inspired. But that time, I didn’t see a soul I knew. This time, every day I saw librarians I’d worked with, bloggers I’d met, and authors whose books I’d reviewed. I felt like part of the great big wonderful Kidlit community, and it felt good. I did realize that I am a Librarian by calling, not just by job.

The first night, the main thing going on was the opening of the Exhibits. I happily filled my bag with free books. And then I looked up and saw an author I admire, whose newest book was sitting on my bedside stand, a few chapters in: John Green.

I didn’t come up with anything especially clever to say, but I managed to ask if I could get a picture with him and with his co-author (of that book on my bedside stand) David Levithan:

(David’s on the left, John’s on the right.)

I also went to see the Peachtree book and found my friend and Writing Sister Kristin Wolden Nitz’s new book Suspect prominently displayed. It will be out in the Fall, and they were giving away Advance Reader Copies.

I finished up the night at the SCBWI sponsored KidLit Drink Night. Right away, I met Karen Cushman! Author of The Midwife’s Apprentice and Catherine, Called Birdy, among other great books.

I met lots more authors, some published and some unpublished (like me), and many whom I knew from the DC KidLit Book Club. I was hoping to meet Betsy Bird of the Fuse #8 Blog, but unfortunately she was in the Emergency Room with a sprained ankle. I did meet my friend Kristin’s agent and lots of other fascinating people.

Then I lugged my books home on the Metro and resolved to drive for the rest of the conference. It was a nice beginning! Already I’d gotten lots of cool books, met wonderful people, and schmoozed with authors and bloggers and agents and librarians. And that was in only a few hours. There were three more long days to come!

Dec 13, 2008December 13, 2008

The Street of the Lifted Lorax

Books, Family, Photos, Reading, Simply Silly 1

This summer at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure, I especially enjoyed Seussville, and there I especially enjoyed The Street of the Lifted Lorax.

The Lorax was one of Josh’s favorite bedtime books. So much so, that he had it memorized and could recite long parts of it in his adorable one-year-old voice. Timothy also loved it as a child. Steve was the one who bought the book, and I will always remember his voice reading it and then Josh’s baby voice chiming in.

As a children’s librarian, it seems especially appropriate to celebrate The Lorax with this sequence of pictures:

They had a plaque quoting from the beginning of the book:

Here’s the devastation left behind after the Thneed factory ran out of truffula trees:

“On the end of a rope he lets down a tin pail and you have to toss in fifteen cents and a nail and the shell of a great-great-great-grandfather snail.”

“Then he grunts, ‘I will call you by Whisper-ma-Phone, for the secrets I tell are for your ears alone.'”

“SLUPP! Down slupps the Whisper-ma-Phone to your ear and the old Once-ler’s whispers are not very clear, since they have to come down through a snergelly hose, and he sounds as if he had smallish bees up his nose.

” ‘Now I’ll tell you,’ he says, with his teeth sounding gray, ‘how the Lorax got lifted and taken away…'”

They tried to put a more positive spin on it, but the stump below is supposed to say UNLESS:

“UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.

“SO . . . Catch!” says the Once-ler. He lets something fall. “It’s a Truffula Seed. It’s the last one of all! You’re in charge of the last of the Truffula Seeds. And Truffula Trees are what everyone needs. Plant a new Truffula. Treat it with care. Give it clean water. And feed it fresh air. Grow a forest. Protect it from axes that hack. Then the Lorax and all of his friends may come back.”

Dec 2, 2008

Christmas Letter 2008

Family, Letters, Photos 9

Merry Christmas! I don’t have the physical addresses of all my online friends, so I’ll post a blog version of my Christmas letter. First, my two fine sons smiling down on us:

2008 has been an eventful year for our family. Last December, I finished my Master’s in Library and Information Science. I got to march in graduation on my birthday in June, exactly 21 years from the day I marched for my Master’s in Math.

By February, I was a full-time Children’s Librarian (okay, “Youth Services Manager”) at Herndon Fortnightly Library — the very closest public library to my home.

Timothy is 14, and a Freshman in high school. His big event of the year was being accepted to the local magnet high school, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. TJ was rated the Number One high school in the nation by US News & World Report. It’s an amazing school, and we are so blessed that Tim gets to go there. It’s a public school, so it’s free, and they even provide bus transportation. His favorite class for first semester is Film Study, perhaps influenced by his brother.

Josh, at 20 years old, finished his Bachelor’s degree in Film from Full Sail University in Orlando, Florida. We got to go see him graduate and visited some amusement parks while we were at it. Now Josh is out in Los Angeles, staying with my parents, and looking for jobs in the film industry. So far, he loves LA, particularly all the independent theaters. Kind of funny — he’s near his birthplace (Anaheim), and I’m near mine (Washington, DC). The circle of life?

I spent the year facing the “reality” that, like it or not, I’d be divorced this year. About a week before our first court date in November, our lawyers finally reached an agreement. A few days later, I learned that Steve had a dispute with his lawyer, would not sign the agreement, and was dropping the case! (For now, anyway.)

So, we are still married. And I have no idea what God is up to in our lives. This is what I do know:

— God is good, and God is faithful. He is filling my life with things to be joyful about.

— Being a “career woman” is fun! I really do love being a children’s librarian.

— I love connecting people and books. My website of book reviews, http://www.sonderbooks.com/, is going strong.

— I’m writing again! And that also feels wonderful. I have a book out there being considered by a publisher.

— I am part of a loving, caring community at Gateway Community Church. New and old friends there have been my lifeline.

— Northern Virginia is beautiful! I’m enjoying walking in the woods. I still love taking pictures.

I’m afraid I spend a lot of time online! I’ve gotten a real kick out of connecting with friends from all the different phases of my life via Facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=753450664&ref=profile

I’m enjoying posting on three blogs:

This one: www.sonderbooks.com/sonderjourneys A standard blog, musing about life.

www.sonderbooks.com/sonderquotes Quotes from all the great books I’m reading and things I’m learning.

www.sonderbooks.com/sonderblessings A little way to count my blessings and to remember to be joyful.

May you all have a blessed Christmas!

Wishing you much joy,

Sondy Eklund

Oct 13, 2008October 14, 2008

Columbus Day Interlude

Nature, Photos 1

For Columbus Day weekend, my big goal was to spend lots of time at my computer and catch up on posting book reviews on my website. I had been writing reviews and posting them on the blog part of the site, but had more than 40 reviews which I had never transferred over to the main site, complete with links and pictures of the cover.

It was going great. It’s Monday, and I only have two more sections to update — Children’s Fiction, and Picture Books, about 16 reviews. I didn’t want to stop, but I had to do the grocery shopping.

That’s when I noticed what a glorious day it is! The temperature is 75, a little on the warm side. Most of the leaves are still green, but there are so many splashes of color! I wouldn’t have thought they would change in such warm weather, and indeed not many leaves are falling just yet, but there is so much color in the treetops. The sun is shining brightly, so the colors shine against the brilliant blue sky.

I decided to take a break from computer work and go for a walk over the bridge to Frying Pan Park and “our” waterfall. It turns out there is a whole network of trails on the other side of the waterfall. The creek is low, so it is easy to cross.

My favorites are the bright red vines that twine around the tree trunks and outline the tree branches, as in my “cover” picture above.

I was flooded with a sense of well-being as I went on my little less-than-an-hour walk. (I’ve already spent more time uploading the pictures than I did on the walk! But it was worth it.) It was odd seeing so much fall color when the weather was warm, almost hot. But so beautiful. The woods seem very much alive still, yet so brilliantly colored.

I saw other people at the waterfall, but nowhere else along the path. I am definitely going to have to make more of a habit of walking in the woods.

After the narrow walking trails, I got to some horse trails, that lead out of the woods to the barn at Frying Pan Park. Along the trails, there were jumps set up. When I saw this “room” with a roof of colored branches and the horse jumps, I was transported back to my girlhood reading horse books. How easy to imagine a girl keeping her horse at Frying Pan Farm and teaching him to become a champion jumper, in the woods, destined for greatness!

Below is one of the trees stretching over the horse jumps:

It ended up being such a lovely interlude! I do so love Autumn! Having grown up in Southern California, it still seems such a wonderful miracle.

Life is good!

Oct 1, 2008

An Evening Walk

Family, Nature, Photos, Waterfalls 0

It was a lovely summer evening after a full day of work. I asked my son to take a walk with me, and he agreed! There’s a little creek and waterfall at an abandoned corner about a five minutes’ walk from our home. It’s nice to walk over and just hear the water above the sound of cars rushing past. There is a bridge across the busy street, so we don’t have to deal with traffic and can get a little lull of time in the woods. I don’t go there nearly often enough.

I’m still reviewing my summer from the pictures I took. This was early in the summer. One thing I reflect about it was that I sure enjoy my son’s company. It’s just the two of us now, but I am so thankful that he is such good company.

Sep 1, 2008September 1, 2008

Longwood Gardens

Flowers, Nature, Photos 2

Okay, I’m slowly telling the story of my Summer Vacation. The day after my birthday and graduation, I had breakfast with my classmates and fellow graduates, and then drove back to Virginia. Along the way, I stopped at Longwood Gardens and spent a few hours there.

Years before, when Josh was a toddler, we visited Longwood Gardens with my parents-in-law and met some family friends who lived in Pennsylvania. (We lived in New Jersey at the time.) I believe that was when I met Lorinda, who often leaves comments on this blog.

It was funny, because I barely remembered that trip — until I went inside the large greenhouse and peeked at the Children’s Garden. Then I remembered that on that long-ago visit, it rained, so we spent most of our time inside the greenhouse. I also got a weird sense of deja vu when I watched the small dancing fountains going to a recording of Stars & Stripes Forever, because my father-in-law had videotaped the entire performance, and it was identical, after all those years!

Anyway, my trip this June was a totally different experience. That trip was a large gathering, planned by my mother-in-law, and with a toddler in tow. This trip was a solitary ramble in a beautiful place on a gorgeous day. I was thinking about graduation and new beginnings and all the hope my future holds. I did a lot of praying and thinking about the future, and a lot of simply enjoying the beauty.

The water gardens were beautiful to listen to as well as to see. There was a bit of forest I was able to hike through. I sat on a bench and simply enjoyed the woods. It was very nice to have nobody tired of me taking pictures or bored with simply looking.

It was funny — the day was Father’s Day, and there simply weren’t too many families that celebrated Father’s Day by going to gardens! Those that were there were on a very different, child-centered agenda, from what I was doing. It felt wonderful to ramble through a safe, slightly wild, gorgeous place and reflect on how blessed I am.

I’ll post the full album on Facebook, but include some of the best pictures here:

Jun 17, 2008June 30, 2008

A Happy Birthday!

Librarians, Photos 3

My verse for my birthday this year was Psalm 142:7b

Then the righteous will gather about me

because of your goodness to me.

I chose the verse in the morning, and in the evening this wonderful group of people truly did gather about me! These are my online classmates from Drexel. We had gotten to know one another quite well, but met for the first time at graduation.

It was wonderful to march in graduation together and celebrate this milestone together.

Marching in my MLIS graduation from Drexel indeed felt like a sign and symbol of God’s goodness to me these past few years.

Yes, I’m still hoping and praying and standing that my marriage will be restored. But in the meantime, God is pouring out blessings on me. I still find it amazing that I was able to complete my degree and find a wonderful job that required the degree within two months after finishing.

God is good, and life is good. And having wonderful people gathered about, rejoicing with me, was a wonderful way to celebrate that.

Definitely a happy birthday!