Describing a surprise:
On Monday, I heard a strange banging sound. It was sunny with a dark cloud over the house. I went outside and discovered it was raining in my backyard, hitting my deck roof, but not in my neighbors’ yards, and the raindrops were huge and slow (likely melted hail). Yes, it is the Pacific Northwest. Beware of dark clouds, even a single one, and carry a hat, coat, or umbrella if there is a cloud anywhere! At Nike, I have had folks, new to the area, who have to go home to change after getting soaked at lunch or walking between buildings. I would smile and remind them we are in the Pacific Northwest. It rains here, always (even when it is sunny).
Starting the story of Monday, I spent the morning, rising late but waking with the sunrise, writing the blog, making coffee (Fair Trade), and getting my day together. Later, I would strip the bed and start the usual Monday laundry. Monday is my Saturday, and I miss the Saturday morning cartoons (oddly, He-Man is getting a movie, Masters of the Universe, in June!), but I write, do my usual tasks, and do not go to work (my favorite bit).
I deal with church things that invaded my usual peace on Monday, and it leaves me unsettled for the rest of the day. When I am stressed, I eat (without working and caregiving, I have lost weight), but today I have trouble. I make Trader Joe’s Beef and Broccoli and eat most of it, and then have crackers with cheese. Not good. I sliced potatoes with my mandoline slicer and managed not to cut myself, added some cheese, milk, and ham, and baked that for dinner. I did not get it right, and the potatoes are not quite done. Cook first, then sauce them, I think. I will look up a recipe; this should not be this hard.
I hear from my bank, and I have arranged for the first payment from my IRA to cover my usual expenses (always thinking of the Addams Family, with Gomez pouring gold coins into a briefcase for his lawyer, “For the Monthly Expenses,” and then breaking into another sword fight). Yes, the Addams Family movie is my model for paying bills (I once used Nixon stamps for bills).
Deborah recommended Star Trek DS9, and I have started from episode 1 and find, as she said, this is a very interesting show. I enjoyed the first three episodes that I watched on and off all day. Instead of cleaning, writing, or doing other housework, I just sat, ate, and tried to relax. I suspect my 230 pounds (yesterday’s weight) may have slipped higher. I will try to get some walking done. Ugh!
Corwin contacted me, and I drove to his apartment. He needed to pick up a work vehicle, and I drove him from his place across 26, back 26-217 into Tigard (south of Beaverton), and then I headed back alone. I took the path over Cooper’s Mountain, and things have changed. I think it has been six months since I drove that way. It felt very comfortable, and I kept saying ‘wow’ at some of the new houses and other constructions. I was also relieved that many are still farms. A vineyard hazelnut farm I have driven by for years is for sale for $4 million with 52 acres (I looked up the price today). Six million would get you just short of 300 acres (one of the signs I saw and wondered about), but it is already sold.
Aside: I am not tempted to become a vineyard owner or proveyour of filberts. I am hoping that someone will buy it as a farm, and that the trees will not be pulled down. I look at my apple tree, which was left as part of the old farm that once stood here (the builders left some). It now grows sideways after it fell, but it seems happy. It reminds me, I can almost hear it whisper into me, “You are truly only a steward of this small patch and not an owner, but have an apple in the fall and remember all who came before you.” The apples are hard and sour, but when sliced and eaten that way, they are wonderful. Hmmm.
And I hate to be so short on a blog, but yesterday was just a sit-and-relax day. I don’t do them very often, dear reading, and hope you (and the universe) will forgive the lost day and the extra calories!
Thanks for reading!
Alohawild (Michael Wild's) Website 