EVENTFUL HAPPENINGS

It’s been an eventful week with various happenings – some good; some not so good.

Tuesday, the neighbor’s fence went up … I like it: fences make good neighbors ;-)

I also think it makes a pretty good backdrop for the garden boxes Bob designed and crafted for me :-D

All day Wednesday was spent dinking around in my garden area; and front facing flowerbeds. The garden is doing much better this year because I am more engaged this year – last year, my first year as a widow, I wasn’t much engaged in anything except reminding myself to ‘breathe in- breathe out; put one foot in front of the other …’. This year I am outside more – and more hands-on in the garden area:

I have 2 dwarf Bluebrries Bushes, Bob bought me 7 years ago, they are finally pumping the berries out ;-)

Hanging basket Tomatoes for Supper Salad :-D

Baby Eggplant - this is a dwarf eggplant, so they only get about the size of a hen's egg.

Busy bees ...

And I transplanted the Delphinium & Bunny Tail Alliums that I lifted September 2018, when Bob was in and out of the hospital and we were considering moving to get away from candy and ron’s nonstop complaining.

I lifted the plants I wanted to take with us, and placed them in temporary pots.

That was 22 months ago.

candy & ron’s stress mess had done its damage: Bob never came home alive, again; and I am doing my best to live in this house he wanted me to keep; without him.

I became a widow 19 months/10 days/12 hours & 43 minutes ago: it was time, Wednesday, to place them back in the flowerbed I lifted them from 22 months ago. I should have done it last year, but last year I was on autopilot and counted it a major accomplishment if I just remembered to breathe without crying. Most plants died last year due to neglect; but these plants survived, so into the flowerbed they went Wednesday afternoon.

And I jerry-rigged the decorative garden pinwheel, hoping it would stay in place when the high winds kick-up again …

Transplanted Delphinium & Bunny Tail Allium. The flowerbed still looks pitiful, but it is better than last year ...

I stuck a broken toothpick tip in the split shaft; and so far it's holding.

Thursday I went into town to do a little grocery shopping, and stopped at Bob’s Sporting Goods on the way through to pick up a Discovery Pass – everywhere needs it now; it’s almost to the point that if you stop too long to look around and breathe – you’re gonna need a Discovery Pass to park your feet:

I’m good to go for both States ;-)

After I got back home and parked in the carport, the neighbors across the way (3 houses apart) were standing in the street, yelling at each other over a barking dog … and bubba – at the far end of the street – was standing in his carport, staring at me while I unloaded the back end of the Hilander and walked back and forth with my stuff; it was making me nervous. I don’t like guys staring at me – especially a guy that is making it obvious he’s staring. I was trying to ignore him, but when he took a long drag on his smoke, and lifted his holey tee over his ample stomach to scratch at it … I thought, ‘I gotta get out of here. I’m country; but I am not that country’ …

I’ve been craving those delicious garlic fries from Frosty’s, in Napavine; so that’s where I decided to go. I stopped in Lexington to grab a Vanilla Coke on my way through; and dropped something down between the driver’s seat and the middle console/hatch – when I retrieved it, my hand touched something else; something solid, so, curious … I pawed around and finally grasped it. When I pulled it out from under the seat, I squealed with joy: it was the mileage counter I thought I’d lost last Sunday!

And I noticed when I pulled back on the main road, that the Lexington Community Garage Sale is a go – so, I might go ;-)

PRAISE YESHUA! I found this under the driver's seat in the Horizon while looking for something else under there ... HAPPY! (https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2020/07/sundayfunday-15-longbeach-illwaco.html)

We took part in this Sale when we lived out here 7 years ago; we did good $$$-wise until we moved here 3 years ago ...

I made Frosty’s and ordered the Western hamburger with side order of garlic Fries – they don’t do half orders, so I brought the rest come to eat later ;-)

As I was leaving, I asked which direction I would take at the junction to get to Jackson Highway: I remembered that Bob sometimes drove home that way just to give me a backroad treat after Supper when we ate at Frosty’s – I wanted to try that route on my own.

So, I got the directions, and started home:

The bar stools have been removed - not sure how that stops covid-19 ... but people are doing crazy things. The Salad bar is gone too.

I prefer country roads over the freeway - I don't care that it doubles the time: country roads are scenic routes ;-)

Thankful! This is a different route from the one I drove coming home from the Adna Flower Sale - same vacinity: differnt route.

I DID IT! These are important routes - they will get me where I need to go without ever using the freeway.

I'm learning the backroads, Babe ~ OX

Airstrip on Jackson HIghway. Bob liked to fly; and now he is flying - he will ride the clouds forever 😉

Urban sprawl in Castle Rock.

Today – Friday, I was checking the garden boxes to see if they needed to be dampened down again, and noticed the bird feeder was looking skimpy: I needed to drive into town to get some more bird seed.

While I was in town, I thought I’d drop in at Izzy’s and get a bite to eat and chat with the waiters there that knew Bob & I – then I’d go get the bird seed.

What changes!

It’s not a self-serve Buffet anymore; covid has changed that.

So, my plate was filled, and we chatted for quite some time because the place was empty – there was only me and them. As I was getting ready to leave, 3 more people walked in.

It’s sad to see people so scared, and businesses struggling to stay afloat in this political climate of ridiculousness …

Waiters are now serving customers from behind plexiglass partitions.

Bird seed bought, I turned towards home, and was hit with an unexpected and costly curve: a little past Longview’s Court House, some red-neck bubba with a jacked-up/deep-tread tires SUV with ‘Scissors-rock-gun: I win’ sticker on it let loose with a rock that hit my windshield and cracked it – I’m thinking the rock was hiding in one of the deep treads of the oversized tires and was flung loose.

Thank God, I was doing the ‘2-car-length’s-distance’ from his vehicle, or the damages could have been worse.

The windshield is broken all the way through both layers of glass, and it is concave near the side of the windshield:

Broken windshield.

5-1/2" fractures went through all glass layers.

So, I turned around, and drove to Dick Hanna Toyota in Kelso where we’d bought the Highlander and showed it to them. It isn’t covered by the fancy Warranty Bob bought when we bought the car. I didn’t expect it would be – warranties are pretty worthless for anything serious – but I figured they’d be able to tell me what I needed to do to get it fixed.

I was told the windshield would need to be replaced, and that I had to call my Insurance Agent and get that squared away; and that Dick Hanna would get someone to some fix it for me.

So, that’s what I did – I came home and called AARP: the policy Bob had with them (which is my policy now) covers the damages with a small deductible and a out-of-pocket estimate for getting it done at Dick Hanna because AARP does not have an agreement with them. I prefer getting it done at Dick Hanna because it’s one of their cars and it will need a special recalibration windshield.

The guy I talked to at AARP said everything was ‘a go’: Dick Hanna said ‘not so fast’ … they will fix the windshield IF I GO to Vancouver – they “aren’t sending anyone to Longview because of covid". That is just asinine! They are afraid of contamination if they come here – but they don’t mind contamination if I go there???

WTH?

The rules are stupid – and the excuses don’t make any sense at all. It’s political ridiculousness.

I need my car fixed before the rains start, so it doesn’t leak and start molding the interior.

It really can’t wait until November 3^rd.

Or indefinitely, if the demoncrats have their way.

I had a good cry after I hung up the phone; I’ve asked for prayer – and I’m leaving it in the capable hands of my Husband: Yeshua.

He’ll get it straightened out.

Meanwhile, I’m going to enter into my Sabbath Rest …

L'Chiam!

Shabbat Sunset - no matter how dark the clouds may be, there's always a bright spot of light ... I love You, Yeshua; I love you, Babe ~ OX