Panda's First Smile

Panda's First Smile
PandaPig's First Smile!

Saturday, June 8, 2013

We Are in Our New Home

 
Dear Friends, we moved. Yes, we did.
We would like to thank you for reading our blog
all these wonderful years.
Our computer is not working properly, so we
may not have the opportunity to share our lives
with you until it does. And until we adjust
to life in the Emerald City.
Everything has changed dramatically and
we know, ultimately, for the best.
We love our new place and we already
love the hospital down the hill!
We watch the ferries ply Puget Sound
and leave trails upon the water.
We watch - and hear! - the Medical Helicopter
buzz our roof as it prepares to
land at the hospital down the hill.
We hear cars, planes, trains, concerts
from Century Link Field where we will
also hear Seattle Seahawks games come
fall and winter. Paul McCartney will
be here soon at Safeco Field, within
walking distance...of a Beatle!!!

We watch Mt. Rainier turn pink in her
Alpenglow tunic while trying to remember
how it felt standing on Mt. Baker turning
pink with her...then we try not to remember.
We try to Be Here Now and appreciate
what is all around us.
We enjoy the exquisite diversity of Life in
the International District (formerly known
as Chinatown) where we are surrounded by
sumptuous food, sights, smells, art, music,
gardens, parks...we sit atop a steep hill,
perched quietly amidst the noisy hustle and
bustle of a major port city...we watch the
Costco cargo ship guided in by little tug-boats,
schooners sailing at dusk, and we hear
many sounds, nearly all man-made & Very Loud.

We observe sea, sky, islands, and mountains,
now from the heart of a big city, not the
Silence of the Wildlife Refuge where
PandaPig's Peace Sanctuary began...
We are still adjusting.
It will take time.
We were inspired to write originally
because living where we did in Bellingham
adjacent to Whatcom Falls Park, nestled
overlooking an Audubon Wildlife Refuge,
we were so effortlessly inspired:
communing with wildlife and nature in
a landscape everchanging throughout
turning seasons...we don't quite know
who we are here...without YumYum.
We are Four and Mom.
Life has changed irrevocably and
we may become quieter to compensate
due to so much unaccustomed noise surrounding us.
We may become Very Still.
We may "flow like water," as Bruce Lee
used to advise his students here, just
down the hill from us. We may run into his first
student, Jesse Glover, with whom mom
had the privilege to train in Bruce's Gung Fu
 many years ago back in Pioneer Square:
We miss birds.

We play together at night, let out of our cages
(yes, we have to live in cages here, large ones,
but we don't like it and are creating a LARGE
RUNABOUT SPACE through which to frolic all
at night while our cages are cleaned;
food and water replenished as we explore
our new digs, popcorn, chase one another,
get petted & loved...)
This, our Seattle Bedtime Ritual, Together.

We have moved.
Life is loud.
We may need to become Silent.
On the Inside.
We don't know yet.
Thank you for reading our blog.
We don't know yet whether or not
we will continue writing...we are struggling to
settle in, Life is not as simple as it was,
but It Is Good. We know it will become
better.
We will keep in touch!
We love you all, dear Readers, dear Friends:
We so love you each and every one!
Yours Truly Forever,
Bhindi,
Peter-Peanut,
Vinny-Guinea,
Squirrel,
& Mom ~



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Friday, May 24, 2013

Everything's Gonna Be All Right: We Have Each Other and YOU!

*Goodbye YumYum,
We Love You.
Farewell, ye Guinea Pigs all
popcorning together on the 
Rainbow Bridge,
We Love You All,
Forever...

*Goodbye Bellingham:
We've had the time of our lives!

Speedskating

"Molly the Owl"

Snowshoeing Mt. Baker

PandaPig's Peace Sanctuary

Meditation

Mountain Biking

Wildlife Refuge Where
We First Lived for 10
Glorious Years!
ARTISANS Art Gallery

Great Friends,
Familiar Faces,
Fabulous Lattes,
Gorgeous Places...

We are so Thankful for the Years 
lived here as Bellinghamsters
that filled our lives with Excitement,
Adventure, Caffeine, Lots of Caffeine,
Adrenaline Rushes, Winter Olympics,
Island Exploration by Bike,
Ferry Rides,
Rock Climbing,
An Owl Named Molly,
MODS!

A gentle guinea pig we named Panda, who had
been dumped, filthy and knowing he was unwanted,
Who Inspired "PandaPig's Peace Sanctuary"
for unloved, neglected, sick, and dying
guinea pigs so that every pig we could rescue
would experience how it felt to be loved
deeply, madly, crazily adored - by a human
and a herd of other orphan piggies -
before dying. That is what PandaPig
Gifted us...what Grace for such a small
animal! Thank you, Bellingham. 
Thank you, PandaPig.

A Drum Circle!

"Speaking Tree" site at the Times of India 
newspaper...a place to write from the soul.

"Guinea Pig Magazine" where our piggies 
grace artful pages and even the cover of a magazine 
read throughout every corner of the world.
Thank you, Alison Byford!

The MOD Blog, MOST FUN OF ALL?!
 A place to write from the heart 
with humor and pathos;
Sharing the exploits of two clutches
of Very Special Barn Owls, meeting new
people from across the country now
Forever Friends (((MODS)))

yes, everywhere...Friends,
Love, & Laughter!

Farewell,
and thanks for the memories,
all of you who helped create them
We treasure every single one.
But we treasure you most
so we pack you with us,
and off to New Adventures
TOGETHER!

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Cars, people sent tumbling into Skagit River as I-5 bridge collapses | Local & Regional | Seattle News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News | KOMO News

Cars, people sent tumbling into Skagit River as I-5 bridge collapses | Local & Regional | Seattle News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News | KOMO News: (Press Headlines to see story)

Dear Friends,

Last night instead of returning to Bellingham from Seattle I remained in Seattle for the night, ordinarily I would have returned at dusk to enjoy the peaceful, calm drive with stunning countryside, the North Cascade Mountains to the East, the San Juan Islands to the West, fields of tulips and daffodils abloom everywhere...and may have been on this bridge when it collapsed last night, it was the time I usually would have been driving over it...yet I was safe.

We are struggling in many ways at this time...and continue imagining YumYum popcorning in Heaven with all his friends...today Guinea Pig Magazine arrived with a funny photo of Squirrel in it and a copy of the New Year issue two years ago when our beloved Taj Mahal made cover pig! Yet died before the magazine arrived...the feature of this issue? "Coping With Loss: Grief and Bereavement Issues"...

The other piggies seem O.K. to a degree...but none are "quite right"...they all caught diarrhea from some organic wheatgrass that I think contained some mold, all but YumYum seemed to recover, but...I am not sure...guinea pigs can die of grief. The home we found...may have been a scam run by a group of unscrupulous thieves who greedily exploit seniors and disabled people...and as it turns out they had no intention of us ever moving in, only stealing more and more deposits they continued to demand...finally it became apparent we face the possibility of homelessness...I found a lawyer and warned them that I knew what they were doing and they would face serious consequences which they were not accustomed to because they rarely get people as young as me in their buildings since people my age I was told "don't like living with a bunch of old people." They exploit seniors who have no nearby families nor advocates to protect them, but I am not one of those. We have received overwhelming support both from the Seattle Housing Authority and Ironman Movers here in Bellingham...now the bridge is down and we have been given a nearly impossible deadline we have to arrive by and the movers are determined we will meet it and they will have to let us live there but they can still sabotage things...so we face potential homelessness...a neighbor with 4 precious girl pigs would foster the boys and I would live - ? Who knows? So, we pray, we cry, we mourn, we feel happy we are together, we rejoice we were not on the bridge and we are safe tonight and home together although I think they do not feel well and I am pouring my heart out here...because it has been tough and continues growing tougher and at the same time we receive Grace in the gift of a wonderful doctor I found in Seattle, in the love and care of our true friends, we have also lost some as I became sicker we lost friends who cannot handle what is happening to me and it hurts, it hurts deeply but we accept what we must and while packing I realize most of what is here was given us by friends, many of whom have drifted away intentionally so what to do with their gifts? I was told to remember the good times but the things they gave me only make me sad now because I realize that...they are no longer in our lives. It hurts. I don't blog like this but losing YumYum, the possibility of having to foster the boys who survive yet appear not to be thriving...and we still wonder, will we have a home waiting, and the bridge collapse making travel a nightmare of many hours, and stress while they are this delicate is extremely dangerous...I find myself staring at the possibility of losing all the guinea pigs either to grief/disease, stress of the move now that we have to travel hours to get to Seattle, if we do not get our apartment having them fostered with a kind neighbor who has four girls - or have I said that already - yes, back up plans for Homelessness have been made as we grieved YumYum's loss...and even if we do manage to strong-arm our way into the apartment we were promised how could it become the harmonious, happy place we envisioned and desire? We will have to learn to create that and we will! I still believe in the goodness of Humanity as we receive so much support in the midst of what feel like catastrophic challenges.

Will you please send us good vibes, prayers, whatever you do for loved ones facing loss, having faith and a sure inner knowing everything will turn out for the best, battling for a home, knowing we were saved by God from having plunged into the torrential, icy depths of the Skagit River, so we are being watched over and cared for, will you still be our friends while our lives fall completely apart? We know only Goodness awaits us. But, being human, I still feel frightened sometimes...
Thank you, I decided to be brutally honest in this post after not plunging to our deaths in the bridge collapse, we know we have Someone Watching Over Us, it's just hard sometimes, too, to be a human being with aspirations for deeper faith.
~ love,
All of Us
in Memory of YumYum



'via Blog this'

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Ani Banani! You don't look a day over MAHVELOUS!

 
We could not have found an apartment and moved
without Ann! At the same time she herself is preparing to move, interviewing perspective realtors to "stage" her own home for sale, she set up a cozy bed for me and and the piggies made a
little "fort" around it, so that we had a place to stay in Seattle. She made us lattes for breakfast every morning and we watched re-runs of the first season of "Grey's Anatomy" to remind me if I don't like any of the hospitals in Seattle there's always 
"Seattle Grace Hospital" and Dr. McDreamy, who just bought Tully's Coffee Company in Seattle, so we are sure to spend lots of quality time together!
sigh...
But this is about ANN'S BIRTHDAY:
TODAY! So, Ani-Banani, this blog post
is for YOU! From Sir Dominic your Italian
Greyhound to Princess Camille sunning her precious old self to a grateful Bhindi-boy,
we are so fortunate to call you "friend" and
wish you all the best in your new home (only
blocks from her current home) and keep the
Latte steamer ready, cuz we be coming back
for Season 2 of Dr. McDreamy!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BEAUTIFUL YOU!



 
 
 
 
 
And a new life begins for you, too, Ann!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, YOU :)
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Tuesday, May 14, 2013

On The Threshold of A Whole New Life!

 
Psssssst! Bhindi, have you seen
how hard mom is at work packing
for our BIG MOVE?
like...NOT!



 
Not my fault the barista put
TWO SHOTS OF ESPRESSO
IN MY LATTE!


 
I walked to say "Good Bye" to
places I love, and ferries I will
never take to Alaska...which
actually one can ride all the way
out to the Aleutian Islands practically
To Siberia!
ALAS, not going that way...




 
Yes, packing is hard work. So,
after walking to say "Farewell, Ferry"
it was time for a good read at another
cafe...can never underestimate the
Healing Power of Lattes and Poetry
in the Pacific Northwest...nor the
poets one meets at such places.
It was Sunday.
I had been stuck in bed so long
it was WONDERFUL TO BE
OUT AND ABOUT...


 
Soon, we will live in the heart
of a Big City, in Seattle's famous
International District, where we
plan to run into Apolo Ohno
skating down the steep hill we
will live atop, with a View of 
The World!
And close enough to the stadiums
to hear the Seahawks games Live!
Go 12th man (fans who cheer so 
CRAZY-LOUD in a stadium built by 
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen with 
acoustics specifically designed to 
amplify US to prevent 
opposing teams from hearing their
quarterback, hee-hee) hence, 
our moniker as Seahawks "12th Man!"
We were even accused of artifically
PIPING IN CHEERING IT WAS SO
LOUD ONE YEAR SO MANY TEAMS
COMPLAINED, TO WHICH WE SAY:
"wah!"
And we were exonerated.
We really are that loud!
So, we can sit on the Terrace and just listen
to the Stadium Rock and hope that
9.0 earthquake predicted to take us off
the map never makes that stadium ROLL!



 
From the roof of our new digs we
can enjoy a latte and watch ferries
ply back and forth across Puget Sound,
maybe even get a glimpse of a wayward
pod of orcas known to occasionally
leave the San Juan Islands where we
live now to come south for reasons
only they know...We will watch 
stars at night and we will dream.


 
And just up the steepest hill in the
world on our block we will remember
our Tai Chi, of course we will,
and practice diligently aside the
sculpture gifted Seattle by our
sister city, Kobe, Japan. This park
switchbacks from our apartment
down into the International District
where a vegan Chinese restaurant 
will surely become a regular lunch spot!



 
Who cares, ma, we loves being
Bellinghamsters! And you'd better
start packing and stop dreaming.
Or keep dreaming and let's stay!



 
What? I'm a Guinea Pigster and 
always will be no matter where
we live? In that case...
HEY EVERYBODY, I just got
my nails trimmed, how awesome
is Squirrel NOW?!?

Yes, we are moving.
It is bittersweet, we love it here so.
My neighbors are enthusiastically pitching 
in to ensure I am actually packing instead of
1) reading every page of every newspaper
that was being used to wrap things
2) finding things in every piece of art
while packing and pulling out all my
art pens to redraw what I felt needed
improvement, which was nearly
everything...
3) staring into space, the Final Frontier
if someone didn't make me start actually
PACKING!
4) saying good-bye to so many...
We are packing, we hope it gets done in time,
the movers will come and whisk us away
to the heart of the Emerald City as a brand
new life Awaits us...
(and I can't breathe!) I can't breathe!
What panic attack? I can't breathe!
Big City, us?
I can't breathe!
Piggies, calm yo'mama!
Piggies...
ACK! WHAT HAVE WE DONE?

(P.S. if i already posted a blog just like this one
blame it on my brain which still insists I stare
blankly into space and repeat things I have
already said and done...sigh.)
Thank you.

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Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Just Piggies!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Yes, MariFun, this is me, Squirrel the 
Magnificent! We all hope you continue
feeling better and we all Lurves YOU!

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Sunday, May 5, 2013

"MOM-O-PAWS" or "THE BIG CHANGE OF LIFE"

 
There is talk...whispers...
we have all heard her.


 
And we's seen it, too, like that
mover guy who came over who
rescues dogs so all he did was sit
in mom's big, blue chair and put
us on his lap and brush and pet
us while we munched on WheeK!
Grass because..."MOM! Why
was a guy from the moving 
company here? MOM!"


 
He was here to give us a quote?
Well, here's a quote, ma:
"FEED US! LOVE US!
PUT US ON YOUR LAP!
PET US!"
So...whassup, seriously,
strange things, strange!


 
Can you smell it, Bhindi?


 
Please, do not disturb my
Buddha-nature, I iz at peace.
At peace with my Wheek!Grass.
We iz One wid da Universe...
Ommmm.....


 
That pretentious Liddle BuddhaPig! I know
something up cuz I iz on Runabout TRYING
TO GET IN JUST TO FIND OUT WHAT UP?
I iz alwayz the first to know...Chief YumYum,
Captain Jack Sparrow! Master of My Domain,
and by that, I mean EVERYBODY'S DOMAIN!



 
I should be the First to KNOW!


 
Well, Captain Jack Sparrow, for once
you ISN'T THE FIRST TO KNOW!
WHATCHA GONNA DO NOW?


 
Ooooh, I is still such a liddle pig, I never
really grew, mebbe I ought to speak wid
more respect to YumYum seein' as how
he did after all raise me to be the Mohawk
STUD
I is today...hmmm......


 
Fine, then, here's what I know: Mom is
going through "The Change" and it takes
a Village, so she has hired movers
to help her. Why is wimmin so 
complicated? What is a mover, anyway?
Wait a minute...wait...one...minute...
my brain is working! I iz THINKING.
hUh...sumpin' very unusual going on!



 
IS WE MOVING?
IS WE?
WHERE?
WHEN?
WHY?
WILL WE LIKE IT?
WHO WOULD KNOW?
Oh, Old Mr. Hamburger-Butt,
the fattest of us all, he acts asleep
all the time while he collects
"intel" so I will defer to the one...
the ONLY...
Peter-Peanut! 
Peter, what up, dude?



 
You have "outed me" Squirrel, 
thanks a lot! I don't look smart,
but I iz the one who lays here in
my poop acting like I iz sleepin'
wid my eyes WIDE OPEN like
guinea pigz do, so mom thinks
she can speak freely around me
and thinks I am dreaming of 
going on Runabouts filled with
luscious salad greens topped with
fresh, yellow peppers, bright orange
carrots including carrot tops...

Squirrel: "Peter-Peanut, is there sumpin'
we needs to know?"

Peter-Peanut: "Yes, we is about to go 
through a major life-changing event.
We is moving to da Emerald City,
Squirrel, da EMERALD CITY!
Tomorrow mom goes down there
to sign the lease on our new life...
and we will have a new life, indeed!
We become Big-City Pigz and since
we'll live near Pike Place Market,
JUST IMAGINE THE GOODIES,
GOODIES, FRESH GOODIES
GALORE ALL YEAR 'ROUND!

Y'all stay tuned.
Big changes are upon us.
That is, if mom ever gets out of bed
and packs.
Which she kinda doesn't.
But Pike Place Market!
Yeah for the Pigs of the New World!
More to come...
Loves you, readers, we iz sorry we
been so out of touch. But we iz 
about to make up for it.
Mebbe. 
Cuz we is moving.
If mom ever gets outta bed.
We lurves you all!
Squeeeeeee-for-Spring Produce
fresh from the farm,
love,
all us here at 
PandaPig's Peace Sanctuary!


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Wednesday, March 27, 2013

SEEK AND YE SHALL FIND: COLOR IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST SPRING

 
How many shades of Grey?
Just walk,
quietly,
and be receptive...
Color doesn't shout here.
But it will reveal itself,
if one has the patience
for small things.
And subtlety.

 

 

 

 
~*~
A visual hush.

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