Evening, Wisdom and Beauty

We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak. ~Epictetus



Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen. ~Winston Churchill



No one is listening until you fart. ~Author Unknown



The kindest word in all the world is the unkind word, unsaid. ~Author Unknown



Trust your own instinct. Your mistakes might as well be your own, instead of someone else's. ~Billy Wilder



There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm. ~Willa Cather

That's My World -- Blake Island

That's My World is hosted each week by Klaus and the My World team, Klaus, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy, Louise and myself. Each week people from all over the world share their world with us and it's a wonderful, inexpensive way to see the world! So click on the icon, sign up and share your world with us! Please do read and follow the instructions before signing in!!

My world today is Blake Island. It is a beautiful and interesting place with an interesting history. The history and photos are courtesy of Google and Wikipedia



Blake Island is an island in Washington state in the United States. It lies in the middle of Puget Sound, north of Vashon Island, south of Bainbridge Island and east of Manchester.



Blake Island is a 475 acres (1.9 km2) marine camping park with five miles of saltwater beach shoreline providing unobstructed views of the Olympic Mountains and the Seattle skyline. There is a small marina and limited mooring buoys. The park is only reachable by tour boat or private boat. On the northeast end of the island is Tillicum Village, a showcase for Northwest Coast Indian arts, culture, and food. The island is home to a variety of wildlife, including deer that sometimes swim from the mainland to the island from Manchester.

Tillicum Village





Smoking Salmon at Tillicum Village





Blake Island was used as a camping ground by the Suquamish tribe. In 1786, it was the birthplace of Chief Sealth, for whom the city of Seattle was named. The island was first noted by British explorer George Vancouver in 1792, as part of his exploration of Puget Sound, though it was not named.



In 1841, Lt. Charles Wilkes of the United States Exploring Expedition named it Blake Island for George Smith Blake, the officer in charge of the United States Coast Survey between 1837 and 1848, although it was known locally as Smuggler's Island for some time. In the mid 19th century, the island was logged for its timber.

During the Prohibition, it was frequently used as a refuge for bootleggers smuggling alcohol from Canada.

William Pitt Trimble, a Seattle millionaire, purchased Blake island, and renamed it Trimble Island for a time. By 1917 he and his family lived there in a magnificent estate.

In 1929, the Trimble family's occupation of the island came to an end when William Trimble's wife Cassandra died in an accident in Seattle. After that, the island was abandoned and the house was left to decay. Trimble sold Blake Island to an investment company in 1936, and retired in Seattle.

During World War II, a unit of the Coastal Artillery of the US Army was garrisoned in the Trimble mansion. The mansion burned during this time, leaving only the foundations visible today.

In 1959, the state of Washington made the entire island a State Park.

Blake Island Beach

Evening, Wisdom and Beauty

The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one. ~Elbert Hubbard



I never make stupid mistakes. Only very, very clever ones. ~John Peel



Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional. ~M. Kathleen Casey



You can't run away from trouble. There ain't no place that far. ~Uncle Remus



Never say, "oops." Always say, "Ah, interesting." ~Author Unknown



The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing. ~John Powell

10 Tips for the New Year on How to Age Gracefully

1. Stay out of trouble.



2. Aim for greater heights.



3. Stay focused on your job.



4. Exercise to maintain good health.



5. Practice team work.



6. Rely on your trusted partner to watch your back. Take your time trusting others.



7. Save for rainy days.



8. Rest and relax.



9. Always take time to smile.



10. Realize that nothing is impossible.

Evening, Wisdom and Beauty

There is no defense against adverse fortune which is so effectual as an habitual sense of humor. ~Thomas W. Higginson



Humor is the instinct for taking pain playfully. ~Max Eastman



I think the next best thing to solving a problem is finding some humor in it. ~Frank A. Clark



Above all else: go out with a sense of humor. It is needed armor. Joy in one's heart and some laughter on one's lips is a sign that the person down deep has a pretty good grasp of life. ~Hugh Sidey



Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing. ~William James



After God created the world, He made man and woman. Then, to keep the whole thing from collapsing, He invented humor. ~Bill Kelly, "Mordillo"

Shadow Shot Sunday and Pet Pride -- This Week

Shadow Shot is hosted each week by Tracy at Hey Harriet and it is both terrific fun and quite addictive! Click on her icon to sign up and get addicted with the rest of us!

With the busy Holiday weekend I'm combining Shadow Shot and Pet Pride this week. Shadows have been a bit scarce these days, but the dogs seem to be able to find them better than I do!!!

AND Pet Pride has the host with the most, Bozo from Mumbai! And you can click on his icon and let your pets show their stuff!



Mojo meditating in preparation for the Christmas feast! If you embiggen you can see why he's called Max the Tongue!



Max the Tongue is spending the Christmas holidays with us as his human friends are out of town and here are the three buddies enjoying some sunshine yesterday!



It was brilliantly sunny Christmas day and I couldn't resist a trip to beach below the harbor where I found this one.



This was kind of an interesting shot -- it was raining very hard and yet there were some shadowy reflections through the curtains and I loved being able to see the big raindrops!



And some color, of course!!

Evening, Wisdom and Beauty

First of all this evening I want to tell all of you how much I appreciate your visiting my blog and for the wonderful comments that you leave for me. The friendships I have found over the past year here online have been the very best gift of all!



Many people look forward to the new year for a new start on old habits. ~Author Unknown



A New Year's resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other. ~Author Unknown



New Year's is a harmless annual institution, of no particular use to anybody save as a scapegoat for promiscuous drunks, and friendly calls and humbug resolutions. ~Mark Twain



We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day. ~Edith Lovejoy Pierce



May all your troubles last as long as your New Year's resolutions. ~Joey Adams

Merry Christmas!

May Peace be your gift at Christmas and your blessing all year through! ~Author Unknown