My house will be thankful for today’s ‘still small voice prompt’ … for a while, I’ll be staying in it longer than the 2 hours before and during leaving/parking in the carport – plus the 8 hours of sleep I use it for.
Since Bob stepped off Earth, I’ve been gone as often as I can … and still justify paying the monthly Lot charge.
I’m hardy ever home anymore.
I come home just long enough to kick my shoes off, yank my bra off and throw it across the room, and flop into bed at night.
While eating breakfast this morning, I just happened to glance at the light hanging over the table … and saw it had cobwebs woven all around the bottom of it: they gotta go. Even if I am currently a hausfrau slacker, I can’t allow nomadic spiders to feel comfortable enough to make my home their home. I don’t have anything against spiders, per se (they have their place in the order of life on Earth); but they belong outside in the elements – they cannot freeload in my personal space.
But, the shrouding spiderwebs did not get disturbed this morning: they got a glance before I finished breakfast and scooted out the front door 😉
First, I bought a new garden hose … then I decided it would be cooler at the beach: with the ocean breeze kicking up, and whisking over Longbeach.
The seatbelt pressing on my lobster-red sunburned shoulders (that I scorched walking the PIGS sales, Friday), was really hurtful.
PIGS (https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2021/06/pigs-puget-island-garage-sales.html)
But I just kept rearranging the annoying thing … and cursing State Laws that interfere with free choice, and fill county and state coffers for overreaching power grabbers. I grew up in the era where seatbelts were optional – obviously I survived the freedoms of that era; and I seriously resent “what if” and “let’s fine the hell out of drivers” paranoias that plague society now.
Before I entered downtown Longbeach, I saw the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge sign and turned towards the direction of the pointing arrow: this destination is in my Ambitions Jar, and had not yet been plucked out for a daytrip adventure … but I was here; and so was it 😉
I couldn’t access the refuge advantage points … but I did see some pretty wildflowers before leaving the area. I don’t know if I’ll venture back: I’m really getting sick and tired of the governmental covid restrictions bullshit – I mean, this is an outside thing. There is absolutely no risk of {catching covid} in sweltering/blistering/full-on-sun, 100+-degree-weather, for God’s sake!
Leaving the dust of the inaccessible refuge behind, I drove to downtown Longbeach, where I walked the entire length of Main Street (maybe 30 minutes, tops – from start to finish), and came home with a few things I bought at three stores along my stroll 😉
I bought a nice yellow pullover rain slicker, too; I know it’s summer, but I’ve been looking high and low for a rain slicker locally – with no luck. I knew I’d find one in Longbeach … and I snapped it up when I did 😉
Around 2:30 PM, I decided to turn the car towards home – I’d been kicking around Longbeach for an hour and a half; that was long enough to be surrounded, and pressed on all sides, by milling crowds of people. I’d enjoyed the cooler atmosphere of ocean breezes: and spent $$$ I had not planned to spend – not enough to keep my wings clipped and housebound the rest of the month … but enough to keep me closer to home turf when I do decide to get out of the house during the upcoming weeks.
Heading back home over the stretch between Dismal Nitch and Naselle, the blistering sunrays had beat down mercilessly on the blacktop highway; and the tar in the cheap, crappy, chip seal job the country laid, was melting to near water stage – causing the chipped gravel was literally lifting off the road (leaving ugly holes in the roadway that looked like exploding sunspot minefields) and loudly thumping and bumping along the undercarriage of the car (and no doubt sticking in lumpy globs) … and mentally, I could see Bob wincing. He hated driving through wet tar because it messes up the vehicles.
Dismal Nitch:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dismal_Nitch
Listening to the flinging and zinging lumpy tar/gravel thumps, I wished I had driven back around the Bay, on 101, instead of returning on 401.
As I made Naselle, and was going into Johnson’s 1 Stop, I was stopped by Niki, as she was exiting. We hugged and chatted for about 10 minutes, and then she said, “Stop by the house before you go home today – it’s nice and cold with the AC humming along.” I said, “I’m heading to Eden Valley for a couple minutes after I leave here.” And she said, “I’ll be looking for you to drive up afterwards.”
So, that’s what happened: we had a nice, long, 2-hour visit in her comfy air-conditioned home 😊
And we’ve made concrete plans to stop at each other’s houses every time either of us passes through the other’s ‘neck of the woods’ (her place is literal country-country; mine is end-of-city-urban).
I am glad I listened to that still small voice that whispered to my inner being earlier today 😉
Which means … I’ve got to slow down long enough to stay home and get serious about applying elbow grease to housecleaning endeavors: and evict the freeloading spiders as I knock down those shrouding spiderwebs and thanking Elohim profusely for being faithful to answer prayers: we have both been asking God for a sister of the heart to kick around with 😊
It will be fun and enjoyable to have life in this empty house again
I am thankful.
I am blessed.
I am going to get busy getting this house ready for entertaining.
Gaining ground towards home, I was driving past the Duck Inn, in Skamokawa; when I glanced towards it, debating whether to stop in for a quick bite, or continue home to eat a calorie-counting home cooked supper … and happened to see, in the side mirror, a speeding up vehicle with flashing red and blues coming up on me. And I looked at the dash and saw I was only doing 5 miles over the speed limit; I copped a badass attitude, with a badass expletive, and slowed down to pull over and get my ass chewed on by the speed meter patrol.
But, he sped right by me: lights still flashing a blinking tempo matching the sparkling sunshine grazing off the windshield.
Then my badass outlook morphed into heart-felt sympathy for whoever was at the end of the shimmering flash and dash when he reached his destination.
Since becoming a widow 30 months ago, my senses are more sharply aware now. Where I have always been compassionate towards survivors, I’m more empathetic, now: feelings deepen when one’s own life has been touched by tragedy.
Intermediately – for the next 8 minutes, I saw the flashing lights in the distance ahead of me: but lost sight of them as I neared the Julia Butler Hansen Wildlife Refuge. By the time I crossed the bridge there, he had either turned off the Elochoman Road … or barreled into Cathlamet. He was off radar. And I didn’t see any flashing lights anywhere along the route from Cathlamet to Longview.
But, I did see four more police vehicles pass me on that short stretch of highway just before Longview: one lit up, and three more following like ducklings swimming in line with mama. The SUV cops were busy today.
I parked in the carport at home around 6 PM, and ate a reasonably good supper (fats, spices, and sugars add flavor and zip): I have seriously cut back on all three to seriously pare off the weight my small framed aging body is loudly complaining about. I am determined to shut those complaints down … but MAN! … I miss those fats, spices, and sugars 😉
I also finished one novel, and started another as I prepared to while away the nightie hours immersed in a quick paced storyline 😊
