JulieLeung.com: a life told in tidepools

Tim Burlowski likes ice castles (great picture too!):

For some reason at this stage in my life I seem drawn to impermanent, impractical displays of beauty even those with little practical purpose. I find myself entranced by impermanent beauty, flowers that bloom for just one day, fireworks that vanish in an instant, 7500+ Gates that just dissapear, quick smiles, knowing glances and shared laughter.

Me too.

I was honored when Chris and Ponzi invited me to speak at Gnomedex, as we were all walking down the hall together after my talk at Northern Voice last month. It’s exciting to see the first batch of speakers announced today on the Gnomedex 5.0 site including: Denise Howell, Steve Rubel, David Geller, Buzz Bruggeman, Phillip Torrone and Steve Gillmor . I’m looking forward to the opportunity to share stories again, weaving experiences, principles and images together. I’m looking forward to learning a lot and listening to the conversations that come. It will be fun to be in my hometown, in a conference center on the waterfront in Seattle. My first slide is a picture of the Pacific Ocean which will be right outside the windows. Hope to see you there!

I’ve delayed in linking to Bainbridge Buzz, a new online community magazine, because I don’t know what to say: there’s such an abundance of wealth on this site that I don’t know where to begin in describing it! The more I read, the longer my list for this post has grown. In respect for the site’s copyright laws, I will link but not quote. To learn more about Bainbridge Buzz look here and editor Cathy Nickum’s info is posted on this page. Newer pieces as well as older articles from the Buzz’s earlier life as a paper journal are included, two kinds of treasures.

The magazine covers a range of topics relevant to islanders such as education, including Mothers Against WASL. I’ve enjoyed the refreshing writing such as morning tea and women’s rowing which have inspired me.

On Bainbridge Buzz are practical recipes and reflections on friendship and family.

Hot topics abound from Democrat – Republican dialogue to reaction on the recent (March 17) release of a sex offender in our community and aspects of sex and parenting.

Cathy courageously is sharing slices of her own struggles as a parent of a teenager.

At first, blogevangelist that I am, I felt frustrated with the site. Navigating between pieces requires more clicking than I like, spoiled as I am from using an aggregator to read blogs. I told Cathy I would appreciate a subscription feed. Blogging software, I think, would work just as well.

As I’ve read and dialogued in email with Cathy, I’ve seen the potential for this site. Comments and contributions are welcome. Maybe Bainbridge Buzz can be an online community where we can gather together across generations and build bridges across the gaps of communication. As I look through the site, I see honest personal voices. I see information and opportunities. I see people seeking dialogue. I see writers taking risks to share their souls. May community come.

Bainbridge Buzz is described in its tagline as community and connection for women on Bainbridge Island and beyond. Many of the issues do go beyond Bainbridge. The magazine may soon start a men’s section and welcomes male readers…go take a look and see what the buzz is!

I copied the image above from Philippe Boucher at his Voice of Bainbridge blog. Philippe and Mike Houser each have expressed interest in getting together with other bloggers on Bainbridge. Planning a local gathering has been on my wishlist for a while and I am now trying to set a date. If anyone is interested in coming to a meeting of Bainbridge Island bloggers, please comment below or email me harrome AT yahoo.com

Thanks!

I could play a guessing game with this picture, like Katherine did on her blog.( The answer actually would be similiar to hers…oops I’m giving something away!)

Another homeschooling mom in our area offered frog eggs so the girls and I went to gather some. I had prepared a tank but soon realized I didn’t need to use it until the tadpoles have hatched.

The eggs are tiny, smaller than peppercorns. I held one in a spoon. It was a black ball against blue plastic. I stared at it, amazed at the reminder that life begins little, in miniscule miracles.