Hello from The Vale

I picked up a magazine this morning called Conscious Choice from Seattle.  An article in the magazine caught my eye.  The article is by Daniel Pinchbeck and he discusses his personal quest for spiritual fulfillment in his journey through life.  One paragraph in particular provides some thoughts for consideration:

“For many indigenous cultures, it is a high priority to stay on good terms with the ancestor spirits, who can wreak havoc if they are not given respect.  The living and the dead maintain a reciprocal relationship. For the indigenous Maya, if the dead are not handled properly, their ghosts hang around, inflicting neuroses, addictive patterns and depressions upon their descendants.  Such a perspective does not conflict with modern psychology, but adds a deeper dimension to it.  As Amit Goswami explores in The Self-Aware Universe, quantum physics offers the possibility that incorporeal patterns of thinking, feeling and action might continue and have effects in the world, even without a physical reference point in a living organism. “

How many of you felt that something was missing when you reached the”age of maturity”?  Are you still trying to figure out what is missing?  Perhaps you should start to search out other paths of expression and spirituality (not to be confused with being religious).

My father was a librarian, mom was a doctor of physiotherapy.  We have a very unusual upbringing apparently.  Many is the time that our friends from school told us how amazing our parents were, they were really interested in what we were doing.  As an adult I have maintained a very close relationship with my siblings.  My two sisters and I lived together for 14 years and actually were planning to start a business together when my next youngest sister passed away very unexpected.  My other sister and I carried through with the move and started The Vale.  A month ago, again very unexpectedly our brother passed away.  The two of us who are left are still somewhat in shock.  I was perusing various websites looking for things to help clear the shock from our minds and came across the following quotes on Beliefnet.com.  Take a look at think about them.

 ”Most homes valued at over $250,000 have a library. That should tell us something.” — Jim Rohn

“I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.” – Groucho Marx

“Read an hour every day in your chosen field. This works out to about one book per week, 50 books per year, and will guarantee your success.” – Brian Tracy

“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island… and best of all, you can enjoy these riches every day of your life.” — Walt Disney

How many books have you read this year?  How many have you read this month?  With Dad being a librarian the four of us sometimes went through over 300 books in a month.  We read anything and everything Dad brought home.  If a box of books was donated to the library, we were often asked to go through them and “vet” them for consumption on the shelves.  We have continued the habit of reading to this day, books, magazines, newspapers, websites….anything that keeps our minds healthy and functioning will help to prolong the quality of life we all want to experience.  Even if we have the TV running, we usually have a book in our hands.  Start your own “Reading is fun” campaign even if you don’t have kids who are participating in such a program at the local library.

I was perusing the web the other day and came across a couple of quotes that I found very interesting and VERY TRUE!! Take just a minute to think about these things

“The three great essentials to achieving anything worthwhile are; first, hard work, second, stick-to-it-iveness, and third, common sense.” — Thomas A. Edison

“It takes less time to do things right than to explain why you did it wrong.” — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I am sure that at one time or another everyone of us has met someone at work or school who spent hours explaining why the did something the way they wanted to even though it was wrong. It takes so much time to explain why it was done wrong that there is no time left to do it the right way. Then that person just cannot understand why everyone is so upset with them. People talk about”oxymorons” which are a figure of speech which combines two contradictory terms. “Common sense” is one of the main terms used. Meaning that while it should be common knowledge of the easiest and best way to do things it frequently is the last thing that people think of doing. Why is it that people do not use “common sense” to accomplish their goals. Perhaps if common sense was more common there would be less trouble and chaos in the world.

Today has been another wonderful day.  Temperature reached a balmy 70 degrees.  The sun shone, the Farmer’s Market was on the corner of Laurel and First Streets.  People were walking on both sides of the street.  People in Downtown Port Angeles after 4:00 p.m. in the afternoon.  It was delightful to see all those people out there.

We are looking forward to seeing everyone visiting downtown on their way to Victoria, off to the Hoh Rain Forest.  Stop and enjoy the friendly atmosphere in Port Angeles.

Well, this past week has been very slow. It rained here during the Marathon weekend. The weather outside today is sunny and breezy. There are lots of cars parked on the street but not much activity in shops. It makes you wonder where everyone goes who parks out there. Lots of traffic traveling East along First Street in the downtown area.

The construction project for the Gateway is moving along. If you are walking along the sidewalk I suggest you use the south side of Front Street between Lincoln and Laurel. Cherry Street between Front and First is now one way with diagonal parking on both sides of the street. This was done to help make up the parking spaces lost when construction on the Gateway started.

The Vale has added Personal Potions by Beverly to its stock. Beverly is usually found at the Farmer’s Market on Saturdays. We are very glad to have the Farmer’s Market back downtown in the parking lot next to the Toggery on Wednesday afternoons. We truly wish they were there on Saturday’s as well. We missed, you Farmer’s Market. Welcome back.

When we were children there was a saying we were all taught:  “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never harm me.”  Now scientists are discovering that words can indeed harm you.  Have you seen the research that Masaro Emoto has done on the effect of words on water.  You don’t even have to say the words, just tape them on water and the crystaline structure of water changes.  If words can do that to water, just imagine what effect words have on you when you are 70% water.

Some other things to think about:

• “I can’t do it” never yet accomplished anything: “I will try” has accomplished wonders.” — George P. Burnham

• “Without knowing the force of words, it is impossible to know men.” — Confucius

• “Well chosen words mixed with measured emotions are the basis of affecting people.” — Jim Rohn

• “Actions can say more than words, but without words actions can be meaningless.” — Michael McEwan

• “Try not.  Do, or do not, there is no try.”  Yoda — Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

For years teachers have been saying you need to focus on the postive to accomplish anthing.  It is “all in your mind”.  As the movie  The Secret has said, what you think about is what you draw to you.  If you think about how much money you need to pay your bills, the thought that is uppermost in your mind is “bills”  and you draw more bills to you.  Change your words or vocabulary to reflect “can” instead of “can not”, “have” instead of “have not”.

The day here started with a beautiful sunny sky.  The temperature was in the high 50’s and felt warmer.  It was the kind of day you just don’t want to be inside.  As the day wore on the sky grew overcast and now there is a grey look to the sky and the wind is coming up.  Not many people are walking on the sidewalks although the street is parked full.  There seems to be a steady stream of people driving through town.

The ground has been definitely been broken for the Gateway project.  The lower level is being dug up quickly.  Some of the old black top has been crumbled.  With the chain link fence up you can watch every step of the project.  I hope the construction site gets included on the Historic tours.  There is lots to tell about the area.  The tours start at the pier so you are just across the street from the north end of the construction zone.

This weekend is Art on the Town and the marathon.  The Lippizan  stallions will be performing at the fairgrounds this weekend.  Hope everyone enjoys the show.

Well, Port Angeles is gearing up for commencement of construction on the Gateway project.  The fence is up around the construction site and heavy machinery is there.  The city is working to arrange for replacement parking for shoppers while the Gateway project is in progress.

All the businesses are working to make sure that their customers will be able to access the businesses even in the midst of the construction chaos.  It does appear that businesses on First Street will not be as badly impacted as those on Front and Lincoln.  We look forward to seeing all our regular clients during this time and promise to continue providing our normal customer service.

Meanwhile we have a slightly over cast day with a breeze blowing but the sun is shining through the clouds and it is a nice day out.  Drop in and visit with us when you are downtown.

Finally back online.  First the computer died and I had to rebuild.  Then we had a death in the family but we are back up and running again.  Hopefully we will be posting regularly.

Today in Port Angeles there is an overcast and it is cool outside but spring is definitely here.  See you all when you come downtown shopping.  Don’t let the Gateway construction project scare you away.  We are making all sorts of accommodations so you can still shop in your favorite places.