Well.
A lot has been happening.
I got married on January 7th ... and my laptop immediately took a nosedive, and was out of commission; so, Holland bought me a new laptop last week: and I've been trying to figure the format out, ever since.
I haven't been able to post anything until tonight.
Last weekend, we drove across the bridge and into Oregon to find the Beaver Falls: neither of us had been to the Falls in decades ... by the time we found them, it was dusk, so we will have to go back in the near future ;-)
But while we were driving around, we saw an old church building at the Shepherd and Rutter roads junction; it looked kinda run-down, so I researched it when we got home - it didn't look like it was used much anymore.
;%20Quincy,%20Oregon.JPG)
Tuesday, I was in the mood to highlight my housewifey side ... so, I used the overripe bananas to make banana bread. I used a recipe I have never used before, and it's a winner.
It is definitely a repeat :-)
Wednesday and Thursday afternoons, we spent time at Willow Grove, enjoying some fresh air before the rains started on Friday. We are still newlyweds - we talked, getting to know each other on a deeper level/we touched across the pickup console/we joked and laughingly teased each other/we shared dreams and goals/we watched wildlife escapades.
In between the restful daytrips, Haus frau pride days, and the 'getting some fresh air' down times ... Holland has been taking care of the man-stuff in-house things that Bob didn't get around to before he took up his Heavenly residence - and things I let go because 'what's the point' when there was only me infrequently kicking around the empty house? After Bob's spirit stepped off this Earth 4 years ago, I spent 95% of my solo lobo days elsewhere: leaving the house as soon as I could every morning and coming home again basically to just fall into bed and get a few quick zzz's before repeating the daily routine of being gone as long as I possibly could before returning to park the Highlander and letting the tires cool down.
But now, I am sharing my life (and living space) with a new husband.
While neither of us needed to be "taken care of" in our solo lobo years, human beings are designed to share their lives - our spirits require a witness to our lives. You may ask, 'with a billion people claiming a spot on the Earth's crust, what does anyone's life really mean?' That a legit query. But in a marital situation, you are promising to care about everything in the relationship: the good things, the bad things - the terrible things, the mundane things ... all of it, all of the time, every day. With that promise, as you enter into that relationship, you are saying to your best friend/your spouse/your lover, "Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it. Your life will not go un-witnessed, because I will be your witness."
My house is shaping up into a home as Holland and I begin to shape it into "our place". Bob only spent 18 months in this house after we bought it in June of 2017 - and though the house has been my sole domain legally, it is only now that I am actually beginning to live in it full time. I finally unpacked the last moving box from 2017, last year.
Basically, this house is still as "new" to me as it is to my new husband. Holland has added a water filter to the shower, so the city water won't burn my skin with all the {additive} crap that is supposed to {purify} it; a new bathmat was added to the shower upgrade, too. He also placed an air purification thingee in the bedroom, to filter out all the dust in the air that irritates lungs and eyes - the house has a heat pump that helps with that, but the filter is an added bonus. He loves me :-)
So, tonight while downtown shopping groceries, I suggested he treat himself with a little pampering, and buy a small grill for an early Valentine's Day gift: he loves the beaches and riverbanks ... and the grill, small enough to be hauled in the Highlander or pickup, will for sure be used.
He spoils me - and he deserves a little spoiling too ;-)
While I am getting this post Blog-ready, my wonderful man is watching a man-film that was filmed across the Columbia River, on the Rainier beach: Longview Shipping Port Docks, and Longview's "mill city" Mills are highlighted in the background of this film clip:
