HUDSON-PARCHER RV PARK IN RAINIER-OR

May 18th: Holland and I were friends for a year before we married. We have only been married 19 weeks; and in that short span of time, we have shifted two households-rearranged 2 sets of individual holdings-and totally moved out of one place and into another: Holland twice, me once.

From January 2023, to the current date, we traveled through 3 States to get married: and 17 States to purchase a Home we can mold into our space.

And let's not forget Bleu … we also traveled for hours to purchase him, and bring him into our New Life ;-)

That is a lot of {adjusting} in a little over 4 months.

Presently, while we are back in familiar territory for awhile settling accounts (though now living across the Columbia River, in Oregon), we are doing our level best to clear the storage unit; and set up housekeeping in our 5th Wheel.

This is our second day here, at this Park. We need to find another place to park tomorrow - hopefully for a full month, while we tie up loose ends, locally.

The first thing on today's agenda is to get Bleu a flea bath - and his toenails clipped: they are cutting the skin on Holland's arms, to ribbons. So, an appointment was made at THE DOG ZONE off Industrial Way in Longview-WA. We dropped Bleu off there to be dipped and clipped, while we tended to business downtown (Bank drop-by/buying bedding for our new bed/groceries), and grabbed some boxes out of storage for sorting after we get back home, in Rainier-OR.

Bleu watching Holland walk into The Dog Zone.

We drove past this building, and Holland told me he and his brother Mark, did this building. I told him I had been in that building with Bob: we are always amazed at how often our paths crossed, before we actually met.

Holland's favorite colors … with a 'manly' comforter that matches the RV's interior colors.

We had drastically downsized personal belongs before we sold the house in Heron Pointe: but looking at the stacks of boxes and crates in the storage unit, we know we need to downsize more.

There are hard decisions to be made.

The things we had kept (and we chose carefully), and hoped to keep, represented huge chunks of the life we knew individually - things we knew we could comfortably dove-tail and weave into the Life we are building together.

But realistically there is not enough space for much of those things in the 5th Wheel. We will have to sacrificially downsize even more.

I had lived in a 5th Wheel for 8 years, so this is nothing new to me. But my last 5th Wheel had more storage space.

This 5th Wheel has more living space (with the slide-outs), but storage space is skimpy. I'm going to have to get creative to store more.

Thankfully we did not have to cull many more clothes - my shoes and handbags are another thing altogether; and Holland will have to start cherry-picking through his tools, and keep only the absolute necessities.

We keep reminding ourselves that personal scarifies are beneficial to the whole.

There will have to be wise choices made :-(

This relic chimney of the present Hudson-Parcher County Park & RV Site, made me think of how the remnants of our past lives is being reshaped into what we have together now - in the present.

An old-time chimney in the Hudson-Parcher RV Park; remnant of this Park's past life.

As of right now - the only thing we are not willing to sacrifice is what we have found together.

Our life now is a life on the move. And until we get a generator and an 'anywhere' internet hookup, we are reliant on available RV sites.

Holland confirming our Clatskanie RV spot; while I tackle the stuff we brought back from storage.

We are letting go of what we knew … and are actively embracing a joint venture ;-)

Extreme - 'More Than Words' song:

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

"OUR DAY" ~Soltero's in Kelso

Kenny Chesney - 'Because Of Your Love' song:

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

Holland and I agreed early on that we would put our marriage before anyone or anything else.

Holland suggested we make plans every week for a specified day we would set aside to spend time together: the entire day would not be interrupted by anyone, or anything. We can do that easily - we're both retired.

So, that is what we did today. We have loads of stuff that needs to get done (we barely made a dent in the 'To Do List' yesterday); but today is "Our Day", so everything and everyone else is just going to have to wait. Tomorrow will come soon enough, and then we'll get busy with the other things.

Last week I chose how we spent {Our Day} … today, was Holland's choice - and it was a good one :-)

We first went to The Tractor Supply Co., to grab bottled water; while there, he thumbed through the baseball cap selections to find one that would fit my small head. We found one - and the Logo is okay. This country bumpkin happens to like John Deere's ;-)

My new baseball cap - notice the sizing ;-) The elasticized back is perfect - not the snap kind, or the Velcro type. THIS WORKS.

Then we drove to Kelso to get some oil and flour at the Chef's Store, near the airstrip airport there … before eating Supper at Holland's favorite Mexican Restaurant.

I had never been there before: this was a new experience. And it was a wonderful surprise. I had driven past it for decades, but this was the first time I'd ever stepped inside.

I asked Holland if we could make this "our restaurant" - the one we frequent when in the mood for good mexican food: he said we could, and he was happy with my request.

I have eaten at most of the other mexican restaurants, and before this experience, I had favored the El Ranchero in Lexington; but the food at Soltero's today was delish, and it's a place I have never been with Bob.

I am building a new life with Holland. I want new experiences in my new life with my new husband :-)

A new mexican restaurant; I've never been here before. The whole place is filled with hand-painted murals, from the outside, in.

It was beautiful, and felt very welcoming. I liked it immediately: Soltaro's Dine-In Mexican Restaurant: 300 S Pacific Ave S, Kelso.

Window above our table - I love the brickwork.

Our table, and the tile work running the entire room, and boarding our table.

Holland did good in making 'Our Day' special. I tried a margarita for the 1st time.

A little tart like a whisky sour - but I like it.

Holland's meal choice. He loves LOTS of pepper on his food …

My meal choice. I ate the whole thing; definitely a repeat dish.

While I ate, I noticed this design on the building across the street.

I also noticed several of the tables in the restaurant had different patterns on them.

I like the way this place was decorated - good vibes here. We'll be coming back.

I love making memories with my husband :-)

After we stuffed ourselves on the good food (and I finished off that huge margarita), we drove to Willow Grove. Holland likes to relax and unwind by watching the river for a bit. I like the fresh air, and people watching.

Eastern blowing wind whipped up rough, white-capped water on the River this evening.

We spotted a ship around Oak Point moving swiftly towards Willow Grove.

The 'Dubai Galactic' was wasting no time - and moved swiftly past us …

The DUBAI GALACTIC was enroute upriver to the port of Kalama, sailing at a speed of 0.1 knots and expected to arrive there tonight at 12:30 PM. The vessel DUBAI GALACTIC is a 16year old Bulk Carrier built in 2007, and currently sailing under the flag of Marshall Islands.

We unloaded the water and the oil when we got home, and parked the Highlander. Neither of us have ever cooked with grapeseed oil before, so this will be a new experience for both of us ;-)

Holland likes to deep fry foods, so I'm thinking we'll be getting a taste of the oil before this week ends.

Health benefits of Grapeseed Oil:(Health benefits of Grapeseed Oil:

(https://www.webmd.com/diet/grapeseed-oil-health-benefits) 

Overall, grapeseed oil is a good choice for deep frying due to its high smoke point and neutral flavor. Chefs love it because it has a neutral taste and a somewhat high smoke point (a bit higher than canola, and much higher than olive), which makes it perfect for sautéing and other higher-heat applications without adding any burnt oil off-flavors.

Most notably, grapeseed oil has significantly more vitamin E than most other cooking oils, which contributes to a healthy diet. Because vitamin E has high antioxidant properties, it can reduce the damage done by free radicals to the body's cells. Grapeseed oil contains a potent combination of vitamin E, flavonoids, polyphenols, and linoleic acid, which all promote healthy hair growth and scalp health (good news for me!).

Studies showed that oral administration of olive and grape seed extracts have anti-osteoarthritis effects due to their anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory effects; studies also have shown that the use of grape seed extract can improve how damaged kidneys function by almost 10 percent; this is very significant for those who have chronic kidney failure. The same goes for liver function. Grapeseed oil may lower blood pressure, thin your blood, and increase blood flow … so caution is advised for those taking blood-thinning or blood pressure medications.

Today was a great day.

Tomorrow we'll be back to the grind ;-)

LIVING PRAYERS

One Month Wedding Anniversary: (https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2023/02/one-month-wedding-anniversary.html)

I needed to go into town to the Bank to reorder more checks - I am down to my last batch; so I said to Holland that this would be a good time to go in with me and have his name added to my account. He has been reluctant to do this, but I explained how important it is that his name also be on my account. He finally agreed, so off we went. Next week sometime, it will be my turn to be added to his accounts.

We needed to go the DMV and get our Driver's Licenses updated, too. That was scheduled in.

I hoped we had everything we needed, as we left the carport - but I was pretty sure someone, somewhere, would burst that hopeful balloon.

We're a month and a half delayed in this process due to one reason or another, but the timing was right for today, so we tackled it- we'd get in, get it done, and get back home before noon so Holland could get back to work running a product down to ship to Europe ;-)

And miracles of miracles ... HOLLAND LET ME TAKE HIS PICTURE!

Holland & Me.

I explained to him the other day how important pictures are to me. I'm glad he's becoming agreeable. He says he looks retarded in pictures. That is not true, and I want him to become comfortable and allow the camera to become his friend, so I said to him after seeing a picture of his mother about a week ago while we were at his SIL's house: "Do you think your mother looked retarded in that picture, in Lana's house?" He, of course, said: "No." I replied, "Neither do I. You have your mother's face, Holland. She was a pretty woman. You are a handsome man. You would take good pictures if you'd just relax."

He is learning to relax; and I am happy with the results :-)

Getting legalities of Name & Address Changes in place ...

We talked all the way into town. We talked about different things.

Unintentional Hurt:

(https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2023/02/unintentional-hurt.html)

We laughed.

We held hands.

We were enjoying each other.

When Holland parked the Highlander in the Bank's parking lot, he squeezed my fingers, smiled, and said, "A happy wife is a happy life. I love you, Baby." And I smiled, too, and said: "Yep. You understood the concept before, but now you are beginning to understand the reality." And we both laughed.

It is an old joke with a bite of truth in it - and Holland knows that I also believe in meeting him halfway so he is also happy :-)

We will be spending the rest of our life together. We've got to meet each other in the middle.

Diamond Rio - 'Meet Me In The MIddle:

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

Once inside, we were ushered into a cubby room to get the process underway. It didn't go as smoothly as anticipated. We were told we needed to go to the DMV (which we had planned to do after the Bank) and come back with our updated licenses - mine with a Name Change, Holland's with Change Of Address; Holland also needed proof he was living with me (was that talking head serious???)

For Pete's sake :-(

So we backtracked back home and grabbed a bill with his name on it ... raced across town and into Kelso to get that documentation; and wasn't sure we'd be able to get back to the Bank before the doors closed. The DMV gets pretty busy after 'noon.

We got there before noon, got our tickets, was called forward in turbo time ... and was told we needed to show our Marriage License: the {real} one, not a photo copy.

UGH!

I knew someone would tell us we didn't have the required stuff needed.

So, back home we drove to retrieve that.

Everyone was determined to make this process as difficult as possible.

I was starting to stress a bit.

We'd been running back and forth, trying to make the legal beagles happy; we'd been burning up the road for hours with nothing to show for it but a burning of fuel >;-(

Holland had things that needed to get done at home, too; and the crazy people covering their asses (the asinine legalities are for them - not us) were making our day frazzled.

Holland took it all in stride: "Just relax, Baby. Nothing happens except God allows it to happen. Look at it this way - you're out of the house. You're taking a drive. We're spending time together. We're talking things over." And he squeezed my hand with every point he was making ;-)

I said, "I know. But you have that thing that needs to get done, and this running back and forth is eating time up."

He said, "This is important, too. I love you."

And I managed to snag another video of my handsome man without hearing him snarl about that :-)

Holland brings a calmness into every situation.

On our third trip back and forth over Industrial Way, Holland said, "It's okay, Baby. Think of it this way ... you're getting a 150-mile drive today without even leaving Longview; we're making a loop drive through Cowlitz County."

I had to laugh because it was true; absurdly true, but truth just the same.

But, in all honesty, if I had to get a 150-mile drive today, I'd rather have left Longview altogether ;-)

However, Elohim had other plans. And my handsome husband and I spent the day together :-)

Everything did eventually get done: Holland was added to my Bank Account - which is now OUR account. Our Licenses were updated: $40 was forked out for the updates (I had already paid $50+ in December '22 to renew the darned thing!).

Driver's Lc Name Change

Bank Name Change

And we are back on track with each other - that's the main thing.

Holland will do his work thing tomorrow while I'm spending time with Chrystal.

I sure hope March (tomorrow) comes in like a lamb because I'm really tired of dealing with the lion ;-)

TAKE ME TO THE OTHER SIDE

I woke up this morning to my big, tall, man bringing me a cup of hot coffee. He spoils me rotten :-)

Holland will be busy most of the week tracking down a product to ship to Europe ... so, I need something to do: boredom bores me. When I get bored I get antsy; antsy makes me edgy. Nobody wants to be around me when I get edgy - including me.

I reached for my phone and started setting things in motion to skip the hovering boredom ;-)

A good time with good friends would take me to the other side.

Text to Becky; we had to cancel our last lunch date because I had a shingles outbreak.

Text to Chrystal; we haven't had lunch chit-chat, in a few weeks.

Text to Ramona; I haven't spent face-to-face-time with her since October!

I had to drive downtown to the Bank, so I decided to grab a few groceries while down there. I had a list of maybe 10 items. After that, I'd go over to Kelso to track down an address Holland and I plan to visit this weekend; then I'd drive home the long way over Columbia Heights and down over Lone Oak. I'd be out of the house, I'd be busy with "wifey stuff" for about an hour, and I'd enjoy and nice backroad drive home.

Since I was going to be out-of-house for a bit, I put some makeup on:

All Greens today ...

'Cypress' for lid accent.

'Auburn' Brow Gel; 'Deep Green' Mascara; & 'Coal Ardent' liquid Blush; L'Oreal 'Nu Confident' lipstick & 'Coral Crave' Babylips lip gloss.

Holland likes this sweater - it gets to stay in my sweater cache ;-)

The Who - 'You Better You Bet' song:

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqPlb5PLBvg)

As I was leaving, Holland said, "Hey - you got makeup on." Poor guy hasn't seen me wearing any makeup for a while ... he's probably wondering where his flashy flamingo went ;-)

I said, "Yep - I'll be out and about today; gotta have my face in place. I didn't get fancy with my hair though because the weather is too unpredictable for that." There's no sense getting fancy with the hair if you have to suddenly flip you jacket hood up and ruin it all in a split second.

There wasn't much I could do about Mother Nature's tempestuous indecisions, but dabbling in the war paint chest would get me to the other side as far as fighting the gray cloud gloominess.

Tall Man Movie, 1955 with Clark Gable & Jane Russell: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nas8Y1IW_Tk

The Moody Blues - 'The Story In Your Eyes' song: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9Zr440nXe8)

Things are getting back to {normal} in other ways, too. I'm back to doing "wifey things" I haven't done in the past four years: grocery shopping for two, is one of them.

And Holland is right about the simple application of war paint. I do feel more ready to meet the world when I wear makeup ... it gets me to the other side; it's a psychological boost. He has had sisters, and he has been around SIL's - he knows this ;-)

Grabbed a flavored coffee  at Mr. Bill's on the way downtown.

That said ... I did get a bit of sticker shock when the grocery tab was rung up. Reminding myself that the grocery bill used to be that high when  I was shopping for three, five years ago - and the politically angled covid nonsense that drove prices up for everything in the four years following, helped ease the pain of forking the moolah over.

Add to that reality check the fact that Holland has been doing the grocery shopping every week since we got back from Reno, helped my startled senses get over the shock - and to the other side.

Grocery sticker shock ...

Jane Russell - 'Tall Man' song:

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhOd3iW8Mdw)

'Normal' is back in my life, thanks to my tall man.

There was dicey road conditions along the backroad home, but it was pretty much gone by the time I passed Elk Ridge Road, so getting over the hill to the other side went pretty smoothly.

Columbia Heights road still has quite a bit of ice, snow, and slush along the route.

As I was turning onto Coal Creek Road from Old Pacific Highway, I song came on that made me laugh out loud - the song sorta {fit} the marital adjustments of late.

Aerosmith - 'The Other Side' song: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTcf10qeiCE)

Neither Holland or I have had people in our lives on a steady 24/7/354 basis, for years. Generally speaking, having even {close} friends in either of our lives has been spotty.

We both like our 'alone time' while sharing our lives; a week's span (or more, sometimes) away from friends works for us - that does not work in a marriage.

Holland and I have weathered overwhelming situations since the start of December 2022 - it has been one overwhelming situation after another, and those things have taken a toll on the developing US. Thankfully, the gray clouds are dissipating (weather-wise as well as life situations), and we understand what we're dealing with. There was the ridiculous nonsense jeannie paulson spitefully stirred up at Oak Point (still dealing with the fallout of that stressful mess). Holland had to put his dog down while in the midst of moving from Oak Point (very stressful situation; all the way around). Getting married in the midst of an incoming winter storm was hectic (kinda dampened the excitement, though we did enjoy ourselves on the way back home). Three weekly in-home gatherings ate up time we really couldn't spare (we had to drop those for the time being). Legalizing legalities keeps getting side-lined (scheduling issues, as well as unwanted infringing issues). Winter ailments just lingered on and on and on, revealing another side of both personalities (I hope we are finally in the end game of that). The melding of two solitary lives into a busy, lively L.I.F.E. together, has not been easy. Thankfully, our health is returning and Spring is arriving; we will be able to enjoy sunny days again (literally and figuratively): sunshine in any form soothes body and soul.

Remarriage is an adjustment for both of us as we move into our 'new normal'.

But we know Elohim is in the details: there is no doubt in either of our minds that we'll make it to the other side once the adjustments get worked out.