The Skagit Valley and its tulip fields is about a 45-minute drive from home.

A ship’s wake.  I have been on the aft deck of an aircraft carrier, and seen that wake make a 90-degree turn in a very short time.

My wedding ring, a “Mini Moebius” by Margaret Ostling.

My beautiful violin, by David VanZandt, New York (now in Seattle), made in 1987.

My gorgeous, soft “Aristo-Cat”, the Lady Kikyo.

The shrub-steppe terrain around the Columbia River Gorge, and around the Yakima Valley in Eastern Washington.

The view from the Diablo Lake Overlook, on the North Cascades Highway.

And storm clouds against an achingly blue sky.

All these things bring me pleasure, and tranquility in an increasingly stressful world.