Book Report: Crucial Conversations

I read the book Crucial Conversations and have to say it really was a great book. Thesis: Successful people can be measured by how well they handle Crucial Conversations; the one's that do well -follow a pattern, and this book spells out the pattern for effective Crucial Conversations. I'm sure this book will eventually be a standard compliment to any business person's library. I give it 5 out of 5 stars. See other books that have made it into my Recommended Business Library.

Rustic Home in Back Yard

This is a picture of a Chicken coop in our Edgewood, WA back yard that is nearly 80 years old. Legend (from our neighbors) is that the original owners kicked out the chickens to live in this small shelter while they were building their house -during the depression.

This interesting tidbit of history is supported by county records that indicate this parcel of land was part of an old strawberry farm tract dating back to 1900. I have always loved houses, including the business of houses.

Update on Centralia: Salvation Army has the flooding situation well in hand. It turns out that disaster relief efforts work best when they are handled by the local folks and their friends (as apposed to state run agencies). This is according to Cap Ron who is Paster at the local Salvation Army Center. Other religious groups also helped out, and the combined effort made quite a difference.

Mt. Rainier Sunrise

I saw the most beautiful sunrise from my backyard on Monday, November 19th at 7:05AM. This shot is looking southeast from Edgewood, WA toward Mt Rainier. I practically have no idea what I was doing and it still turned out okay. Wow! See more Edgewood, WA sunrises.

Going back down to Centralia

Members of our church went down to Centralia, WA on Saturday 12/15 to help disaster relief efforts. Many homes in certain sections of Centralia and Chehalis were completely flooded. Flood waters had receded by last Saturday over a week after reaching their peak. Several religious groups from the region mobilized people to help haul trash, tear up carpets and linoleum, and salvage furniture.

Some families affected by the flood were young with little kids and had only purchased their home a few years ago and are now dealing with fixing their homes that are not covered by flood insurance. Most of the homes that were flooded were not in a flood zone. Fortunately, FEMA, Salvation Army, church organizations, and friends are all bringing resources to help our neighbors in Centralia/Chehalis valley.

Now that things are beginning to dry out in Centralia, Karah and I will be going down one more time this Thursday to help put on the Salvation Army Christmas event. Should be a lot of fun. Anyone interested in coming down to Centralia to help should contact Deone Docken at 253-905-1362. The work party is planning to work from 5:30 - 8PM at the Salvation Army in Centralia. We'll be leaving at approximately 4PM on Thursday 12/20. Anyone is welcome as there is much work that needs to be done. Christmas of 2007 will be a Christmas to remember.