January in the Pacific Northwest

Feel a little bad complaining about our gray and wet winters when there is so much of the country buried deep in snow.  After 45 (almost 46) years, I think maybe I am entitled to whine a little.  REALLY hoping that this will be my last January in Washington. For those of you that know me, also know how much I struggle with the rain and gray, and also how hard I have to work at overcoming the annual onset of the blahs...

When I first opened "Caron's" in Poulsbo, that was one of my goals - not only for myself, but for especially for our customers.  It seemed to have worked. Cannot tell you the number of people that would come into our light-filled store, painted in the colors of a summer sea,  filled to the brim with beach and coastal reminders, to simply walk around, smell the candles, listen to some jazz,  and would always leave feeling better.

Now, that I am creating a new kind of business, (online, not brick and mortar) I am using those lessons to help me make it through another January, February, March, April and possibly part of May...   Always making sure that I work in a light filled space,  taking breaks to look out at the sound and the ever changing water-landscape, and talking to friends to help beat the Northwest Blues.  Many days, the water is so quiet, hardly a ripple is reflected, all the easier to see the surprise of a sea lion trolling for salmon, or the darting of a bald eagle in search of prey.

Walking helps tremendously, even if it is raining! Here's some photos from a very gray morning today, there's very little color, but brilliant color when I could catch it in the dripping rain. There's also something very beautiful about nature hiding, waiting patiently, silently sleeping, storing up energy to wake up with the coming of spring.