My first entry

ANASTASIA: It is Monday morning and I am sitting at home listening to the pest control guy set traps for the rats that have decided to take up residence in my rental home. It's a great view from here. I can see the Langley marina and Saratoga Passage from my office winow. I live on an island and I used to have to take a ferry to get to work in Seattle, but thanks to the lovely people I get to work with here, I maintain a full practice in Langley. Gone are the days of rushing to make the ferry, only to find a line and stressing out if I will make it to work on time.
The temperature is in the 40s and it's overcast. I am anxiously awaiting the gray whales coming to feast on the shrimp beds out in the marina. I can't wait! I am always listening for a spout or a large splash or a scraping that tells me they are here. The wind is blowing and the day is cloudy and gray. Camano Island gives a hint of blue to the scenery so it soothes the dreariness a bit. I find it interesting in my research about my family that the place my family is from in Croatia is an island, too. Even the marine invertebrates are the same in the Adriatic as here. I want to know where I come from. Am I rooted somewhere? Can I trace some of my traits, characteristics or propensities to a place? We'll see......
My father can't figure out why I care so much about finding my 'roots'. He calls us Croatians, 'hogheads', because he says we all have extremely large heads. He also reports that we Croatians were on the side of Nazi Germany in World War II, and of course I have no interest at all in being tied to supporters of Nazi Germany. But I want to know anyway.
My most desired outcome for this trip is to find out about the tribes that lived in the area before Catholicism, and specifically, the healing practices that have been used. As a massage therapist, I find the body to be a wonderfully complex, multidimensional manifestation. Are there traditions of therapeutic touch in Croatia?