CHANGE IS THE ONLY CONSTANT

Today was my Friday morning coffee hour in Lexington, and I was running late. Thank goodness for my ‘community network’ that knows me (small, though it is); as I exited the Park, and quickly cut across the Ocean Beach 5 lanes to nip into Mr. Bill’s for my joy juice … the girls had caught sight of the car, and had my coffee ready for me 😊

I’m glad they also have Oat Milk. I’m lactose intolerant and shy away from cow milk, but my body can deal favorably with oat milk. I don’t like oatmeal, but I do like oat milk.

I know … I’m a weirdo 😉

Oat Milk Benefits: https://www.goodto.com/food/is-oat-milk-healthy-608825

Mr. Bill's Espresso; Ocean Beach Highway.

Joy juice in hand as I entered the house, I was hailed with a warm greeting as I settled in, to enjoy my nosh and natter hour; and was pleasantly surprised to hear memories of Bob, I had not previously been aware of. There were a few unexpected people included in the Lexington gathering that knew Bob when he was in High School (before I knew him personally) and they shared some memories of that time with me, today. It’s fun for me to hear about those times. It always cheers me up, hearing about Bob’s impact on people’s lives – Bob is my favorite topic 😊

My ‘community’ is shaping up nicely 😊

After the chit-chat session exhausted itself – and before I had cleared the invisible boundary line between Lexington and Longview, I had decided to drive to La Center; Spring is in the air, and I’m getting itchy feet. Plus, I wanted to stop at that bakery I’d driven past – and see what they have to offer: a tasty pastry following my Shabbat meal would be a nice treat 😉

There is also a restaurant in La Center I was thinking about ducking into, and sampling something from the menu; it’s nothing fancy, but I like to enjoy new places when I’m out and about.

I was also thinking of kicking around La Center for a bit to see what all was there (play Curious George for an hour or so).

Decided to drive to the bakery in La Center.

There was plenty of time for a leisurely backroad drive ...

All along the route I saw evidence of lingering flood waters. There didn’t appear to be severe damages by floodings, but the areas are still very saturated, and the waters have reached the high-water marks – some clearly breaching the low-lying areas with lapping over-reach.

Nichols Blvd., Longview; access to I-5.

Lake Sacajawea was at the high-water level mark; Nichols Boulevard, Longview.

Carroll’s, Kalama from Longview; via WA-432 E and Old Pacific Hwy S.

High waters lapping the beaches of Cottonwood Island; view from the Carroll’s Bluff hill road to Kalama. Oregon is in the background.

Cottonwood Island is situated in the Columbia River between Kalama & Longview. People do not live on it, and aside from birds, I don’t know if animals live there, either.

I was relieved to see that though Lane Road is sliding … it hasn’t worsened over the Winter, and hasn’t washed out too much from all the rainy days of late.

The sunshine felt good – it wasn’t strong sunshine yet, but it was very warming on my shoulders as it shone through the car windows 😊

I also noticed that my dome lights came on and refused to shut down.

I pulled off the road and parked in a graveled spot to haul one of the Owner’s Manuals out and read about the lights – that was a useless activity: there was nothing useful in the book, just a lot of nerdy info that sounded like Greek to me. So, I put the Manual away, reentered the roadway, and hoped that when I turned the car off in La Center … the lights would go out, too. The psycho behavior of the on/off lights are picking up in frequency: very frustrating.

Lane Road, Kalama-WA

‘Sunshine On My Shoulders’ song:

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9Gh6dn7hzQ)

Green Mountain Road, Woodland to La Center; via Green Mountain Rd and NW Pacific Hwy. 

Sadie and Josie's Bakery; 582 NW Pacific Hwy, La Center, WA

Gorilla Grill, La Center.

When I got back to the Highlander with my bakery goodies, the lights were still on.

I knew I had to do something about this annoying nuisance – and fast. If I decided to go to Shabbat Service tomorrow morning, would I have a live battery in the morning to ignite the Highlander’s get-up-and-go? No! Not if the lights refused to stay off, and burned through the night ☹

I reined myself in from having a princess temper right there on the sidewalk, and calmly morphed into Queen mode.

A Queen calmly assesses the situation from every angle … and seeks help when necessary; a Queen, even if she feels inept in a situation does not give into a feeling of stupidity. A Queen realizes that every {inept} situation leads to a learning experience, so that next time (if a ‘next time’ arises) she will have the knowledge to deal with the situation as it arises.

Change of plans ... backtrack to Kelso.

Bipolar dome lights - seriously frustrating.

When I arrived in Kelso, and drove into the Dick Hannah Maintenance Cubicle, the crew was very helpful. And they know that I only show up when I’m truly stumped, and need a ‘show and tell’ demonstration, like: “talk to me like a 3-year-old – step by step with hands-on instruction”. I learn best that way; pointing to a page in a manual won’t clarify anything to me.

The dome lights had been on for 2 stinking hours. I was glad they were finally off. I am glad someone took the time to show me what to do if it happens again.

Thank Elohim I have good people in my life 😊

The light button was 'stuck' – no explanation given other than that; Dick Hannah employees dinked around with it, freed it up, and reset it.

Change.

It was woven throughout my entire day.

And I think I rolled with it pretty well 😉

I also think I deserve one of those yummy eclairs with a goblet of wine, as I kick back in my comfy armchair and welcome the Shabbat’s relaxing caress 😊

My La Center goodies: White Cupcakes w-choc frosting & Bavarian Eclairs.

L'Chiam!