The WHAT'S NEW Page
Shelley is pictured above playing her guitar)
From Jan of 09, Shelley herself will be doing these entries herself.
5/11/10
The cat's out of the bag!
We are officially planning a trip to Jamaica in November of 2014. It's going to take everybody that long to save up the necessary funds. We can currently add up to 12 more people. If you're interested in going, let me know
To view info on prospective accomidations/costs, go to the "Viva Jamaica" page via the link below
5/2/10
I've been in the process of developing a seminar on the subject of ministry to people who are disabled. I'd been thinking about it for a long time when a friend I met at TSE challenged me to come up with something. I just unveiled the copy to my friend. He's going to give me his perspective and hopefully, we can meld the two into one great presentation.
3/20/10
I've sought out a subsidized publsiher. The prices are more reasonable than I expected. I'm hoping to officially get started on that within a year to eighteen months.
12/28/09
A concert ministry?
My praise CD fell into the hands of a delightful man who operates a concert ministry. It's local and low-key. I performed with Melody Makers in early December and this past Sunday before Christmas. The first was at a church about forty miles away. There, I sang three of my songs and led worship, something I didn't expect and LOVE to do.
The Christmas performance was at a retirement home. I forgot part of the words to "WHo Do You Think," and thought I'd die before finishing the song. While breaking everything down while being careful not to get in the way of pics with Santa, I knocked my keyboard on the ground. Ever prayed over inanimate objects? Well it works. I set it up again as soon as we got home and it works fine, thank God. The people loved the music and that's what's important. I guess God can use anybidy.
12/23/09
Happy Anniversary Tiggy! (Paul,) Let's go another fifteen!
12/18/09
Ho HO HO!
Among other things, I've been working on a donation project. At our local childrens' hospital, they have a place set up at Christmas time for parents of hospitalized children. According to the social worker, they stock a room with all kinds of new toys and allow parents to choose toys at no cost to give to their children. She said a lot of parents have been camped out at the hospital for days or weeks with a critically-ill child and have been too overwhelmed to think about trivial things such as Christmas shopping. Others are financially depleted because of hospital bills while still others have an unexpected Christmas interruption because of an accident or sudden illness and want to do something special.
I've actually been gathering things up for months now. Among the gifts was a doll with four changes of hand-made clothing and a little diaper bag full of all the necessaries, magic bottles that look like they are slowly emptying when tipped upside down, pretend baby wipes, pretend baby food, diapers, etc. I found this incredible Victorian-style pram tha the nurses were drooling over. Everyone wanted to know where it came from. I also kicked in one of the big dolls and a couple music boxes. One was this snowglobe affair they were selling at Lowes where you push a button, lights come on, snow falls and the thing plays nine different songs.
I had a blast doing this and the social worker asked to take my picture. So, she lays out everything while I'm sitting there looking like I just came from the grandmama of all garage sales.
12/15/09
Sew What?
Yes, I should never have sat down at that machine. It was like driving a caddilac after driving a motor scooter. They made me an offer I couldn't refuse. I'd been thinking about replacing my old machine, which bogs down on heavy-duty projects. I had been thinking of buying a new one and decided to do so before it died of abuse so that it would be in working order for my nieces. They're pretty thrilled about getting it. It's a good machine, just not made for sewing coats and comforters. I bought a Viking, which definitely lives up to its name. It will sew through just about anything but concrete! It has enabled me to speed up on projects, just in time for the Christmas rush.
12/05/09
We carried out an annual tradition once again this year, taking a Christmas gift to Santa Clause. In about 1996 I think it was, I visited the Santa Clause at a Christmas fair they have here each year in the first week of December called Victorian Country Christmas. This gnetleman really impressed me, so when I came back the following year, I gave him a small gift. He said, "No one ever brings me gifts. They just ask for them." and a tradition was born.
Paul started taking part in this a couple years later. The Santa there currently is not the same one we served in the earlier years. This one has a Mrs. C and they both love the Lord. This one won't open his gift until Christmas day. I'd like to see the reactions, but I guess he's afraid the real Santa won't bring him anymore gifts if he opens them early. Do I believe in Santa? ABSOLUTELY! especially this one. This year, he got two of my house photos enlarged and framed.
9/10/09
San Francisco, Here We Come!
Since we had nine zillion airline miles racked up from out around-the-world travels, we took a trip to Califrnia a week after I got back from New Jersey. We visited my Mother-in-law, who cooked us some wonderful meals. We had a lot of nice chats and a few loaded political discussions. Paul's brother, wife and five-year-old ddaughter joined us for an outing to the Jelly Belly factory. I bought an obsens amount of candy. We also took in the Charles Shultz musium, something Paul thoroughly enjoyed.
For my benefit, we photographed houses in Oakland, a few other small towns and San Francisco. While Paul visited the baseball park, I spent the day at Fisherman's Wharf. There is nothing I throw at this dog of mine that he can't take. He's confident and loves weaviing in and out of crowds and we got to do a lot of it. There was a street musician singing praise jusic. I talked to him a little. Didn't have any lobster, but I saw some of the most beautiful furniture that ever existed at this really over-the-top, high-end furniture place. They also had some chandeliers that I can only describe as decidantly opulant. FANTASTIC!
Paul made sure I crossed the Golden Gate bridge and went down Lumbard Street. People say San Francisco looks like Seattle. I don't think so, not at all. For one thing, the houses in Seattle have yards. For another, Seattle faces west to the bay while SF faces east. It smells the same, especially down near the water. The weather there was perfect.
It's going to be a long time though, before I want to see the inside of another airplane. We've done more traveling this year than we've done in the previous five years. My suitcase and me are worn out.
8/23/09
The Seeing Eye Graduate reunion
Greetings one and all. Hope this isn't something you're reading to aid in falling asleep. :) I just returned from an incredible weekend in Morristown New Jersey for the Seeing Eye's 80th anniversary celebration. It is nice to be in a place where blind is norma.. blind is normal. The celebration was held at the Hyatt in downtown Morristown. I had some trouble hooking up with my limo, but other than that, the trip was ideal. I saw a few old friends. You've never seen anything like a banquet hall with 200 dogs. There were dogs, dogs and more dogs everywhere you look. I loved it when the elevator would stop and people almost jumping out of their shoes at the sight of three or four shepherds and a couple labs in one elevator.
They had a family day on the Seeing Eye campus. The weather was hot, but not as bothersome as I expected, although I found myself taking a showere every afternoon before dinner. The Hyatt's pretty posh. I was able to share the cost with a roommate. In the restaraunt, they gave me a free breakfast because I had to wait ten minutes for a waiter.
I got a few photos of Victorian houses. Morristown is loaded with them. I got lost and just about wore walden out beofre geting back to the hotel. This is one of the houses. While there, I presented TSE with two framed house pictures. I had to scramble around town to find frames. I wasn't about to pack them all the way from Seattle. They are now hanging in one of the lounges to demonstrate the meriad of capabilities people don't expect from blind people.
1/15/09
Atta comes home!
On Monday, December 22nd, a long-awaited taxi pulled up in front of the Magnussens' home, the arrival of their son Atta, (Who is currentlly using his Christian name, Felix) came home for Christmas. A 5-day blizzard almost cancelled their plans, but God was merciful and made a way, althought Greyhound bus service was cancelled throughout the Northwest.
"When they said not to travel unless you absolutely must," Shelley says, "I thought we'd be lucky if he arrived by Christmas day."
Activities during Felix's stay included taking family portraits and dinner at The Spaceneedle revolving restaraunt for Paul & Shelley's 14th wedding anniversary.
"Felix was just blown away," Shelley reports, "when he discovered we were going to the Spaceneedle, (a 500-foot tower built for the 1962 World's Fair) He was even more surprised that the whole place rotates and was fascinated by the view.
I think the funniest thing that has happened so far was when Felix thought we were putting dirty dishes in the dishwasher as he thought they were stored, rather than cleaned in it. Boy did he ever laugh and needless to say he was quite relieved that he wouldn't have to spend more than a week eating off of dirty dishes."
On January 3rd, the Magnussens leave for Felix's homeland, Ghana, West Africa to meet Felix's biological mother. It's an unforgettable Christmas to be sure. This event has been anticipated for more than nine years.
In Accra Ghana, the Magnussens and Felix stayed in a lovely vacation home in an upscale, newer tract neighborhood. Neighbors came by to say hello and introduce themselves.
"The people of Ghana are lovely." Shelley says. "They really made us feel like part of the family. We visited Felix's borthplace, an event that was obviously anticipated. When we arrived, there were at least 40 people in the street."
While in Accra, Shelley had the opportunity to partake iin one of her favorite activities, dickering, the art of bringing down the price by friendlly intimidation, which Shelley describes as walkiing away when they won't lower the price. "They always give in at that point. Then I smiled and thanked them for their kindness." Shelley will be putting up the full version of the Magnussens visit to Africa soon.
5/27/08
Ode to Gus
Shelley's guide dog, Gus, was put to sleep on May 27th as a resut of a terminal deteriorating condition that was causing him great difficulty. Shelley has planned to plant a beautiful hydraingia bush in the garden in Gus's honor. Gus way 8 years old and had worked for 6 years.
4/1/08
Finally, IT'S HERE!
Just prior to Easter, Shelley completed her first digitally-recorded album entitled "Classic Praise" or, as Shelley sometimes calls it, "Holy Oldies."
The album contains praise and worship music from the 1970s through the 90s. Shelley's hope is to celebrate God's grace and power by looking back on our lives, recognizing all God has done for us. She also hopes to introduce some timeless and somewhat forgotten praise music to a new generation.
Shelley says, "There was quite a learning curve with this equipment, part of the reason the completion of this project was months overdue. I burned almost an entire spool of CDs, making proofs to listen to in a standard CD player. For some reason, I can hear the mistakes better there than through headphones."
If you'd like a copy, feel free to email Shelley at
This album is NOT for sale in keeping with the idea that God's blessings are free of charge.
12/07
Melissa Leaves the Nest
Melissa has moved to Georgia to be with a young man she met through the Internet. They've met in person and seem to really enjoy one-another's company. They are planning to marry. Shelley says, "I miss her terribly sometimes. She's left a hole in our household. We used to joke around and laugh, but I think this is a really good change in her life."
10/07
To Ghana With Love
The Magnussen family has plans in the works to visit Ghana, Atta's homeland. (Atta is hereafter referred to as Felix.) He hasn't seen his relatives in at least a decade. Shelley especially wants to meet Felix's biological mother. It's the trip of a lifetime.
"We rented a villa," Shelley says. "We want people to be able to come to town without having to find a place to stay."
The economy in Ghana is such that a large villa costs about the same as a 3-star hotel room in the U.S. The Magnussens plan to leave in January of 09.
4/2/07
Recording begins!
After a long wait, Shelley has finally secured a digital recorder and is working on the first of many projects she has planned, a praise album. "Sure beats jerry-rigging with the stereo and that little mixing board." Shelley says. Sound-wise, there is no comparison. She is now able to add one element to her music that she hasn't been able to before, background harmonies.
For those non-techy folks, a digital recorder works much like a tape recorder except that the music is recorded onto a hard drive, similar to a computer. It also allows multiple-track recording, allowing for some pretty elaborate stuff. With the unit Shelley has, songs can be burned directly to an audio CD. It's basically a recording studio in a box.
2/07
After being off-line for two months, we're finally back online. Thank God1 This website has been longing for an update.
1/07
Someone's Been Playing With Paintshop Again!
As you can see, the Blindlady has been at the sewing machine again. Check out that Eskimo coat!!--but where did she get all those models???
10/5/06
Home At Last!
On October 5th, Paul & Shelley's chosen son Atta finally set foot on North American soil, arriving at the Vancouver BC International Airport at approximately 5:00 PM. He has been granted full immigrant status, making him a permanent resident of Canada. And so ends a nine-year struggle that the Magnussens entered into seven years ago to live in a place where there are real opportunities for this intelligent young man. Atta spent a third of his life living in Kiev Ukraine attending a university there. The quest to bring Atta to Canada took three years. Atta says of the adversity he faced, "The blessings have far outweighed the hardships." Atta is Twenty-Nine.
8/18/06
SHELLEY MEETS BARRY
Of course, famous people are just people like
anyone else, but it's still exciting to meet them. Music legend Barry McGuire
performed at People's Church in Vancouver Washington. As a birthday gift,
Shelley's husband Paul drove her there to attend the concert. Having arrived
early, they had the opportunity to meet with him before the concert.
Barry is best known for his 1965 hit, "Eve of Destruction." He was also in the folk group, "The New Cristy Minstrels" and performed for a year the Broadway musical, "Hair."
Since Barry found Christ in the late 1960s, he has been a part of the Contemporary Christian Music scene, including touring with the group, "the 2nd Chapter of Acts, who sang back-up on several of his albums. At 71 years of age, his voice and performance haven't lost their edge.
"He's a big teddy bear", Shelley says. "He's always got joy in his voice. He has the sweetest spirit."
Barry has his own website which is listed on this site's link page.
4/18/06
The Long-awaited lifestyle upgrade!
...and just what is a "Lifestyle Upgrade???"
In Shelley's case, it's a wonderful new piece of adapted equipment.
Being able to sit in your favorite chair and read any book you wish wasn't an option for Shelley until this week when her electronic magnifier arrived in the mail. "I can read EVERYTHING!" Shelley says, including the thermostat, dials on her stove and CDs, without having to pull them individually. Shelley said, "We've got so many CD's I didn't know we had. I feel like I'm in the promised land."
The Humanware brand magnifier is essentially a closed-circuit TV about the size and weight of a PDA. Shelley proclaimed excitedly, "I can even read away from home like everybody else!" After three years, Shelley's prayers for this wonderful device have been answered.
Easter, 2006
Dresses number four and five. They're
gettin'
better. According to Shelley and Jessica, a man was coming around the corner as
the two were walking down the hall. The man gasped, then smiled and said,
"BOY! I wasn't expecting that!"
Niece Jessica, Paul and Shelley all decked out for Easter. Shelley sewed these Victorian dresses they're wearing and also made her flower-laden Easter hat.
12/18/05
Some happy customers
This past Saturday, Shelley did an engagement at a local nursing home, which was very well-received. To keep things simple, she just took the guitar. Many of the people in the audience sang along or clapped to the music. "The really special part", Shelley says, "Was when they took me to the rooms of a few people who couldn't get out of bed and I sang to them personally. It was great and I'm definitely going back there again."
11/17/05
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Shelley just finished a project that she wasn't sure she could pull off, sewing a Christmas dress. She says there are a lot of mistakes, but she is still very proud of it and she's sure she'll get better with practice. She found an old "Gunne Sax" dress pattern on Ebay and went to work. "I'm not very good at cutting." Shelley said. "It took me practically all day."
(The dress is made of red calico with eyelet lace, ribbon and frills. It has a floor-length skirt which is very full.)
11/4/05
Shelley is currently putting the finishing touches on what will be a first attempt to publish. It is a short story about an old mountain man who finds the most unusual dog he has ever seen who comes to him for help, miles from civilization. This dog greatly impacts his world with a new understanding for the fragility of life and the power of God, through His creation. The story is titled, "Mystery Comes Calling." Please pray Shelley will find the right publisher.
10/6/05
CD headed for UK
ACB radio is putting together a Christmas day show on "ACB Radio Cafe", a stream that plays music by blind musicians. They requested that people submit Christmas music they have recorded. We really didn't think they'd want a CD that isn't professional quality, but the person who exchanged email with Shelley said they were interested in playing "most if not all" the tracks. The person putting the show together lives in England, thus the CD is being sent there.
10/18,
New Church
The church Shelley and her family have been attending for ten years closed around the end of September. It was a sad occasion, but it was necessary, due to lack of attendees. Shelley says she really misses leading worship, but she and friends from her old church are now at Temple Baptist Church. Located three miles away, it's a 10-minute drive and the people are wonderful. The Pastor is faithful to teaching God's Word and they have what is essentially a worship orchestra. Shelley is hoping for the opportunity to sing there, but she says it's nice to worship from the pew for a change. She and her husband are thinking of becoming members there.
10/4/05 I
t's about time!!
Finally, Shelley was able to secure a smaller Peavey amplifier. Shelley is hoping to schedule some engagements at local retirement homes. "That 70-pound amp is killing us. Every time we have to haul it somewhere, it's a huge inconvenience." Shelley says.
Besides the issue of portability, the larger amp is too powerful for settings such as a retirement home.
8/14/2005
"FINALLY!!"
Shelley's husband Paul brought home a REAL treat, a rather pricey keyboard stand that tilts. This might seem like a small matter, but practically lying on top of the keyboard in order to read the screen is a big deal, especially after 4 or 5 hours. Now Shelley can finally work sitting upright and she'll probably be seeing less of the Chiropractor in the future. It has really helped her productivity.
Happy Birthday Shelley!
6/5/05
A praise album is in the works. Shelley's been thinking about it for some time. This one will probably be completely solo. Hopefully, it will be ready by Christmas. We're planning to send some out and give some away locally.
3/12/05
Viva Las Vegas!
Shelley, Paul and, of course, Gus spent three very short days in Las Vegas this month. The weather was hot by Northwest standards, but the trip was refreshing.
There was a hassle with the ticket agents at the airport about where people with guide dogs are allowed to sit. This comes up more often than it should. The agents typically insist that dogs have to be in the bulkhead row in order to "not block the aisle."
1. You can't block the aisle when sitting by the window.
2. Dogs take up more floor space in the bulkhead than the regular seating because there is no seat in front for them to lie under. This setup leaves NO place for the dog's master to put his or her own feet. This makes for a miserable flight.
Of course, the Magnussens were assured by the agents that this was company policy. Too bad they never visited their airline's own website where the policy states exactly the opposite. If the response of the telephone rep Shelley submitted the complaint to is any indication, those agents will NEVER again, forget what their company's policy is.
Incidentally, contrary to the popular opinion, a dog does not need an area the size of your average squash court to travel and their handlers know what they are doing and their judgment should be trusted AND respected.
Fortunately, the flight wasn't full and a very wise and gracious flight attendant made things right.
When Shelley was feeling ill and needed to get back to the hotel room, Gus guided her through a busy shopping mall and even busier casino, to the door AND the cab stand with a simple "Outside" command. There was a lot of places to see shop and eat at. The biggest hits had to be the Seline Dion concert and the M&Ms store.
Gus enjoyed himself, especially the ride on a gondola down the replica of a Venetian canal while the driver sang to his passengers in Italian. BRAVO!! By God's grace, the plane rides didn't frighten Gus as they have in the past. Actually, the minute he entered the tunnel to board the plane, he charged along enthusiastically. Most working dogs love to work in crowds and Gus is no exception.
The Magnussens met up with a bona fide Clingon at "Quark's Bar" where a model of "The Starship Enterprise" hung from the ceiling. The milk-shake glasses in this restaurant are so tall, you'd have to sit them in your lap in order to drink from them and the straw was not long enough to reach the bottom.
1/29/2005
New Christmas Album completed by Thanksgiving 2004
(Pictured
left are Shelley, daughter Melissa and the
children who took part in production of the Christmas project, along with their
mother, Kay)
Shelley produced a Christmas CD in the fall. Participants included a family of home-schooled children & their mom, Shelley's husband Paul and her daughter, Melissa. Incidentally, Shelley made the colorful sweater she is wearing, another significant accomplishment. Shelley's father made the sleigh some of the children are sitting in.
So far, the response has been tremendous! God has truly and graciously blessed three months of toil. (For Shelley, it's been more like six months as she spent most of the summer laying down music tracks for the album.)
This CD, 80 minutes in length, contains 21 songs, including five originals. It is still available upon request at no charge, (one per household.) You can request a copy via email
12/23/04
Paul & Shelley celebrated ten very short years of wedded bliss.
9/2004, Melissa joins the family!
Melissa is a young lady who Shelley used to care for when
Melissa a child. Having come through tremendous family difficulties, Melissa has
taken Shelley and husband Paul into her heart as her parents.
Pic of Melissa, click to enlarge
(Paul & Shelley's son, Atta, joined the family in somewhat the same way.)
7/04
Our dearest Katie passes on:
Pictured
at left are Gus, Shelley's current dog, (left) and Katie, her first dog on the right. Both are yellow
Labradors. Click picture to
enlarge
In mid July of 2004, Shelley's first Seeing Eye dog, "Katie" was etherized due to insurmountable health problems that caused a great deal of discomfort for Kate. A memorial was held a few days later with a balloon release while the song "My Girl" played on a tape player. "MY Girl" was the song Shelley often sang to Katie. (Kate was 13.)