Today is Monday, July 29, 2024
National Get Gnarly Day
On this day in history…
1954- The first part of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy epic The Lord of the Rings—which became a sociocultural phenomenon and was adapted into a series of blockbuster films in the early 2000s—was published.
Spotlight Photo
What a joyous noise to hear an ice cream truck while out on a walk.
Quote of the Week
“Crying is a kind of communication, and communication is awesome.”
– Emma Gonzalez
Happily Ever After
https://www.everafterphotographypnw.com/
Ever After Photography PNW is owned and operated by photographer extraordinaire, Mira Nachtigall. Mira specializes in birth, maternity, and newborn photography. She shares her art each week to help beautify the My Monday Memo. Mira and Rachel’s friendship spans back to 2007 in Las Vegas. They now reside very close in Washington.
Feline Tomfoolery
with Brady & Belichick
Dear Humans,
We are so cute when we sleep that the human can’t resist snapping dozens (hundreds) of photos during our cat naps. We do enjoy a good cuddle sometimes.
Much Love, Brady (right) & Beli (left)
Brady & Belichick are Rachel’s adorable felines. Brady is a short hair and very dominant and athletic, much like his namesake (Forever Patriots). Belichick, aka Beli, the long hair, was the runt of their litter and is much more passive, until provoked enough. These two cuties turned one on May 4, 2024.
Donate Blood, Save Lives- #9
One gallon and one liter donated to date. Rachel’s 9th blood donation was completed recently at the mobile blood drive held close enough to home that she was able to walk rather than drive. Did this turn out to be a good thing? No. More on that later.
She always goes into it with a goal of an iron level of 14, but this time was lacking with a 13.3. Still good though. Her goal for donation time was to beat her personal record of 4:52. On donation eight, she had missed that by one second. Would she succeed this time? Nope. She missed the mark once again with a time of 4:55. She’s slowing down. Grrr. She did get a few tips on how to increase the flow next time. Challenge on.
The team at this donation was great. Gabriel took care of her intake and started her draw before getting busy with another patient’s intake. This was the first time she sat unattended (for the most part). The others were busy setting up their own patients and Rachel knew her bag would fill quickly. She was a bit concerned that she would finish with nobody to help her. This was also the first time she could actually see her bag fill, which was really fun. Seriously, no sarcasm. Maybe a little sick? Sure.
As she saw the bag filling to what looked like capacity, she asked for help and expressed her concern over time and that Gabriel wasn’t back. Her bag was checked, and she was reassured she had about 30 seconds to go. Good thing she asked when she did. Patrick and Samantha took turns and finished her up and she was off to the goodie area.
This blood drive was sponsored by Wanna Cupcake and McDonalds, which meant there were freebies. Yay. A free cupcake from Wanna Cupcake? Score! She walked over and picked up a Snickers cupcake to enjoy later and headed home. She then walked to her dentist office for a cleaning and realized she wasn’t feeling all that well when she arrived. Her hygienist took her blood pressure and advised her that she diastolic was down to 46. Uh oh. So, when they say no strenuous activity for 12 to 24 hours after a blood donation, they must mean walking, too. Rachel did not consider this walking to be strenuous but has learned her lesson. She took it very easy the remainder of day and didn’t feel great. Her next donation is scheduled the required 56 days out. A restful day it will be.
Story of the Week
Kenny Chesney: Sun Goes Down Tour
Pictured LT to RT: Josh, Angeline, Rachel and Steve enjoying the show.
On Saturday, July 13, 2024, Steve and Rachel, along with friends, Josh and Angeline, headed to Seattle to enjoy a Kenny Chesney concert at Lumen Field. The Sun Goes Down 2024 Tour would be a long show and the sun would definitely go down. With a start time of 5 PM, there would be four acts to take the stage and would run until 11 PM. Long, yes, but totally worth it.
Taking the stage first was Uncle Kracker, who has been well-known to Rachel since 1999 when his hit songs “Follow Me” and “Drift Away” hit the airwaves. Next up was Megan Moroney. This is a new artist to Rachel, but Steve was very familiar and a fan. Rachel, too, is now a fan. Her debut album, Lucky, was released in May 2023. A couple of Rachel’s favorite songs include “Tennessee Orange” and “Am I Okay.” Third up would be the Zac Brown Band. This band is also well-known to Rachel, as they have been making great music since 2002. You may know their songs by “Whatever It Is” and “Toes,” and so many more.
The main act was ready to hit the stage, Kenny Chesney. By this time, Lumen Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks, had filled up nicely and the sun was certainly down. Kenny Chesney has been putting out hits for more than 30 years at this point. At 56-years-old, he still commands and rocks that stage like a pro. Not that Angeline and Rachel were looking, but he is also in fantastic shape (thank you muscle shirts). Why he left his shirt on throughout the entire concert was beyond them. Come on, Kenny, you would have been cooler shirtless. Maybe next time.
A few of Rachel’s favorite oldies from Kenny include “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems,” “The Good Stuff,” and “I Go Back.” Of all of the new songs, of which there were so many good ones, Rachel’s favorite was “Get Along.” What a fantastic song for unity. Something we could all certainly use more of in our lives.
Steve was able to get these four concert tickets for less than $20, total. This was courtesy of Vet Tix, of course. Yep, wow. Rachel is continuously amazed at what Vet Tix has to offer. All four of them are very appreciative to Vet Tix and the donated tickets. During the concert they visited with others seated nearby and learned they too were recipients of donated tickets. What a gift.
This was a fun night with friends and great entertainment. But why end the weekend there, right? On Sunday afternoon the four met up again at a nearby lake, American Lake, and enjoyed the afternoon paddle boarding before heading to dinner.
This was Rachel’s first experience on a paddle board and another box checked on her 24 for 2024 list. While she was only able to stand on the paddle board momentarily before falling into the water (not gracefully at all and totally blames the not so calm waters that day), she enjoyed paddling around in a kneeling position and just relaxing on the water.
Rachel looks forward to spending more time on the water this summer and hopes for a bit of standing success on that paddle board. We shall see. Until next time, be well.
