WALKIN’ THE LOOP

David couldn’t make it today, but I walked the upper end loop of Lake Sacajawea anyway:

Sacajawea statue; Lake’s namesake. I started my walk at this statue.

I am determined to stay active, shed pounds, and live independently in our home as long as I can.

As soon as I exited my car, I saw the beginning of the ‘Go 4^th’ weekend setup:

Entertainment tents.

Then I walked across the metal bridge, crossing the Lake. As I crossed this bridge, my thoughts went back in time. Bob always liked coming here to the Lake, but our Pomeranian Tyson, and our wolf Precious, hated crossing this metal bridge. Their toe nails made noisy click-click-click sounds and they acted like it hurt their ears: we avoided this bridge when we walked them here at the Lake. But they are walking the streets of Heaven now with Bob, so I didn’t mind starting my walk here this morning …

The gray clouds parted enough to allow a little bit of blue sky to peek through:

The squirrels were little furry beggars and I felt guilty that I had forgotten to load my pockets with peanuts before I locked the car. I must remember to do that next week …

Saw lots of geese squatting, waddling, and flexing their wings/necks while they hunkered around the Lake’s edge:

They look peaceful, but they can become honking, hissing, missiles of terror when the mood strikes them.

Glancing across the Lake and watching walkers/joggers make their final laps around the loop – where I will be in about 45 minutes time – I couldn’t help remembering that it was there; across the way, 45 years ago, that Bob and I stopped with our 1 month old daughter to enjoy a summer afternoon … and the stroller brakes did not hold! We had just set the back wheel brakes, and sat down on the grass when the stroller started rolling; picking up speed on the down slope. Stacey would have rolled right into the lake but for Bob’s speed, long legs, and long arms.

Every time I pass that spot, either on this side of the Lake, or on the opposite side, that memory pops into my thoughts. It was a brand-new stroller; we should not have been given the fright of our lives …

I will make my final lap today, on that path on the opposite side of the Lake, heading back towards my car.

The walking path I am on comes to a junction just a few feet ahead; I can either continue forward and cross the street, or I can take the underpass spur and walk along the lake.

I chose the lakeside path that goes under the overpass.

And watch a city worker clip the grass for the holiday festivities, which will begin this weekend (http://gofourthfestival.org/event/). Not sure if I will be attending any of the events or not this year.

It still seems very strange to me to be doing anything social without Bob beside me:

Lakeside path meanders underneath the overhead roadway.

The lakeside path may not be so pretty, but it is peaceful – even with the non-stop traffic overhead.

I also decided to take another spur off the main trail, and visit the Weyerhaeuser Japanese Garden area. It’s been a while since I have been there. Pets are not allowed in the garden, so it has been a very long time since I have visited the Japanese Garden. Precious, our last furry companion, went to the Happy Hunting Grounds 5 years ago, but Bob and I were so busy living the retired life – and then buying/setting up our home at Heron Pointe, that a visit to the Lake was sporadic and quick. But this morning I made time for this garden reconnect.

I still have a hard time wrapping my mind around Bob’s graduation just 6 short years after his retirement. It is hard not to give into the bitterness when my mind starts thinking that we moved to Heron Pointe to get away from stressors – and unknowingly found ourselves embroiled in highly stressful situations with 2 egomaniac morons that do not understand boundaries or have moral consciousness’. Bob SHOULD BE HERE WITH ME TODAY. Yep; very hard not to give into bitterness.

So, I am going to walk through those Garden doors and let the tranquility of the moment envelop me …

Heading towards the Weyerhaeuser Japanese Garden.

Interesting artistic appeal.

I always feel like I am entering a secret garden when I cross this bridge.

I like the low-laying rock walls along the pathway.

Rules posted again – just in case they were missed at the entrance doors.

I spotted a broken twig with moss attached to it, so I picked it up and carried it home with me to put in my garden birdbath, for butterflies to rest on.

Kessler Blvd. seen from the Japanese Gardens. Kessler leads to Ocean Beach Hwy: the end of the upper end loop path; there I will make a turn onto Nichols Blvd., back towards my car.

Ocean Beach Hwy. in the distance.

A Pouring 3-tier Bamboo Fountain made a quiet tinkling sound.

I like the sound of this bubbling stream that flows from the Pouring 3-tier Bamboo Fountain to drain into the Lake; on a continuous water flow.

I like stands of bamboo. But it is very invasive, and there are shoots of it creeping into the pathways.

Asian Pergola.

That little jaunt was refreshing :-D

Leaving the Japanese Garden and resuming my upper end walk, I noticed someone fishing the Lake:

And making the corner off Kessler to stroll alongside Ocean Beach Highway before cutting onto Nichols, I saw a lazily swimming duck and some pretty little purple flowers (probably just weed; LOL) perking up the scorched-earth-browned-grass; as well as the backside of the Japanese Garden …

The Evergreen State is not so green this year; it has been a very dry year.

The backside of the Japanese Garden, seen from Nichols Blvd. loop.

Right about here, on Nichols Blvd., across from the Japanese Garden on the opposite side of the Lake, I felt a few light drops of rainfall; but it was brief, which was a good thing because my car is parked quite a way yet down the street.

Continuing on, my peripheral vision caught sight of a hefty conk on a tree trunk. And my forward vision caught sight of the gray clouds scuttling across the overhead sky to shut the blue sky out. While I was watching that unfold, a little old lady stopped to chat with me, asking me if I had seen last night’s rainbow. I said I had; she told me that she saw a double rainbow, and I said that that was a lucky thing – double rainbows are pretty rare. Although Bob and I saw a triple rainbow one time (that was pretty cool!). Then, she tagged the lamp post and we shared a chuckle at that action (Bob & I used to do that too), before she started back the way she came; at a pretty good clip for someone her age:

My ‘friendly little old lady’ who stopped to chat with me, in the white hat.

I resumed my walk at a more leisurely pace (have to consider the angina and environmental asthma aspects of my health). I have always struggled with angina – ever since I can remember – so clogged arteries, is not my issue; with me, it is a variant birth defect. The environmental asthma I picked up after moving to Longview in 1995: darned near killed me until my lungs kinda acclimated to the poor air quality here in Longview. I occasionally utilize inhalers, but I try to steer clear of using them unless absolutely necessary. Steroid anger issues I do NOT NEED on top of everything else I have to deal with. Basically, I tend to pace myself and pay attention to my body when it sends signals to me.

Coming out from under the overpass, I saw waterlilies blooming. But they are only opened half way because of the cloudy sky overhead, which is blocking the sunlight they need to fully open up …

I like this upper end loop walk because it is a full body workout. Walking the middle and lower end loop around the Lake is flatter terrain, and less challenging. And for the time being, I need the challenge:

Uphill climb leaving the underpass.

I freely admit I was struggling with shortness of breath at the top of the trail, but I refused to sit on that bench. It is much easier for me to relax standing up, and easier to get moving again after a short rest.

After about a 5-minute rest, I started walking again, and noticed the grass had been spray painted with plot numbers marking off sections to be used by various vendors during the ‘Go 4^th’ festivities. ALL of the grass from this point on, to my parked car a bit further down the boulevard. From here, off to my left, I could see the entertainment tents I saw at the beginning of my walk, so the end is very near. And off to my right, I can see RAL High School, where our granddaughter went 3 years of her High School years. And just before I reached my car, I picked up another mossy twig to pack home …

From here to my car, I counted 100 marked placements just this side of the Lake – there will be more on the opposite side.

Tail end of my morning walk. From here, I can see the tents and bridge where I started from.

RAL High School; our grand-daughter, Alyna went 3 of her 4 HS years here; and was on the Dean's List with a steady 4.0 running every year. I credit Home Education for that: Bob & I home educated her from Pre-school until Junior High. We are very strong advocates for Home Education. It breaks my heart that our 5 year old  grandson, Alyna's little brother, will be a public schooled child.

Back home, driving the back-street loop behind our home, I saw a new ‘For Sale’ sign had been put up while I was gone this morning; and a moving van was parked in front of the following house. That makes a count of 10 houses posted since Spring this year, ON TOP OF HALF the tenants that picked up and moved after Candy became manager 2 years ago:

After I parked the car in our carport, I thought I would check the rain barrels to see if they filled after last night’s rainstorm.

((((YES!))))

Praise Elohim!

Barrel #1: Not a lot of runoff water in this particular barrel ... but at least it IS filling. And that is encouraging!

YES! Now I know what to do next year ;-) This year has been all about the learning curve ...

Barrel #2: HALLELUJAH! A ‘full-to-the-brim’ barrel! Thank YOU, Yeshua; thank you, Mike :-D

Barrel #3: Not all the way full, but it is fuller than it was before Mike switched the downspout thingee. I’m happy.

Barrel #4: REALLY PLEASED - now I can stop using the crappy city water on my garden veggies.

Feeling like I have finally caught a break, I thanked Mike for fixing the downspout issue for me last time he and Cheryl were here; laid the broken twigs in my birdbath, and I did a quick garden walkabout; noticing I have pretty purple blossoms on my Purple Romano Bean plants :-)

I had to break the twigs down a bit to fit them into the birdbath; the butterflies will appreciate them.

Pretty, purple blossoms on my Romano bean plants.

It really has been a very GOOD day here today ;-)

3 STRIKES & YOU’RE OUT

My day started out with a 2 strike call, concerning our bank … 1 more strike and I am moving my account to another bank.

I KNEW being forced by our bank to close our old account with them and open a new account in my name would spell trouble with a capital T, but no one would listen to me – they were “educated”, and supposedly “knew the way things work”.

So …

This morning, giving in to a hinky feeling I had, I called our bank to inquire about my Social Security deposit: NOTHING SHOWING.

Just about what I predicted would happen when our bank forced me to do what I did not want to do. I asked them THEN if there was going to be a problem, and they said, “no.”

Well, THERE IS A PROBLEM Houston!

So, after I hung up, I drove into town to the Social Security Office and asked what the hold-up was, and would this month be skipped due to the confusion?

I was told that my Social Security Benefits had been sent TO THE CLOSED-OUT ACCOUNT, so NOW it has to BE SENT BACK to the SSA and get “redirected” BACK to my new account. What a F#@&ing mess! All to benefit the bank's stupid accounting system. It sure as hell isn’t benefiting me.

I was pretty peeved with BOTH institutions.

And I have bills coming due – so I came home and called every one of the creditors, explaining my situation; some were understanding and gave me a compassionate grace extension to pay them when the $$$$ arrived: some were snarky and want their monies BEFORE the benefits will arrive, or “service will be disrupted and will need to be reinstated with a $35 fee attached.” To which I responded, “Well. I can’t control the government, and I can’t control the business world”, before hanging up; before they gave me anymore snarky lip-service about circumstances that are out of my hands.

Needing to redirect my thoughts and burn off some tension, I went outside to water my garden beds, and saw that I have a baby zucchini:

Feeling better after spending time chilling with my veggies, I decided to walk around the Park for full-body/emotional balance. I noticed 2 more houses have gone up for sale since I last make the Park mile loop – that makes 8 houses since Spring that have been sold due to Candy’s insane egomaniac overreach.

And someone else likes big metal spheres, because there was a new one in place on the back end of the Park loop; remember the 1^st one I posted?(https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2019/06/getting-stuff-done.html)

On the last leg of the homestretch lap, I noticed raven decoys had been set out on one corner lot – I like campy things, so the ravens kinda drew my eye …

And, THIS also caught my attention, walking past the clubhouse:

ILLEGAL ACTIVITY. This is a Real estate violation; it is illegal for mobile home parks to have on-site realtors, freezing out freelance realtors. But, Candy Scott thinks Laws do not apply to her – she and Ron Cook have a lot in common concerning that mindset. If we had known about the crooked foundation Heron Pointe was operating on, we never would have bought a home here. Now, I am stuck here.

Then I felt raindrops, and was thankful home was only a few feet away …

At home, I was further reminded of Candy’s tweaking to suit her own ends:

LONGEST 2 WEEKS IN HISTORY.

(https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2019/05/retirement-was-short-lived.html). It has been FOUR weeks since the Office blowout with little hitler. If his house “has sold”; he must BE the buyer, because he is still here, and shows no sign of moving on.

Yeah: I am peeved.

I can’t stand liars.

BUT, I do believe karma is paying attention ;-)

I got the mail and opened my envelope for space rent due, and read the enclosed notion, wondered if Candy realizes that the karma she “believes in” recently paid her a visit? Probably not; she is too busy telling herself she is untouchable. But, I see things differently than she does. I really DO believe people who create their own drama deserve the karma they reap: like hitler, Candy whips up drama and serves it with wicked glee to everyone (except her pets, Ron & Tessa), about everything. And that is why HALF the Park has sold and fled in the past 22 months …

I am half tempted to quiz her like she quizzes everyone else – “did you actually SEE who it WAS that cut through your hedge?”; did YOU actually SEE who it WAS that scratched your husband’s truck?”; how do we know that YOU did not damage your hedges yourself?”; and “perhaps it was your HUSBAND’S FAULT that his truck is damaged?” Maybe I should suggest that she "close your blinds so you don't see" who she says is 'trespassing'.

Candy is all about Candy.

So, now little hitler will reap what she has sown:

It did start raining pretty good during Dinner - I hope my rain barrels are filling this time. And when I took the garbage out, I saw a beautiful rainbow in the sky :-D

Though the rainbow and lightning was pretty cool to see, Tessa’s house is not; homes like this are NOT supposed to exist here at Heron Pointe – but Tessa, like Ron, is one of Candy’s pets, and she will not bring them to heel.

Park rules STATE clearly that decrepit structures like Tessa’s are to be issued a warning to be cleaned up, and IF IGNORED, tenant is to be evicted. Candy bitches every month in her worthless newsletters that “homes must be maintained as not to be an eye sore in the Park.” YET, she steadfastly REFUSES to deal with Tessa’s rebellion to ‘maintain’ her home and her lot. Tessa’s house looks like a condemned building, and the yard looks pretty much the same as the house.

That American horror house covered with black mold and badly in need of a fresh paint-job, and the wildly over-grown yard is my view everyday under the idle {management} we currently have.

But the rainbow was spectacular :-D

And the rest of the park is beautifully landscaped, and the home are carefully maintained: Candy is quick to make sure the rest of us toe the line (https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2017/07/downtime-day.html)

Except for Tessa.

And Ron.

Karma sees everything everywhere; and karma never forgets an address ;-)

Karma plays by the “3 strikes, you’re out” rules.

The game has been set in motion, as Candy noted in her July newsletter, highlighted above.

I can be patient.

I wonder how long it will take before she realizes karma has her address on speed dial.

BERRY COBBLER SHORTCAKE

I was up bright and early this morning – even had a light breakfast; normally I skip breakfast, but I thought I better have something to eat this morning since I was going to be walking around the Lake (https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2019/06/trying-to-find-balance.html).

I met David at the Lake, across from RAL at 9 a.m., prompt, and we started walking & talking: about Bob at first, then about everything else. At the start of our walk, we caught sight of city workers putting this plaque into place for the upcoming 4^th of July festivities at the Lake:

Got a chuckle out of this ... is Cowlitz County stuck in a time warp or what? This IS 2019, right???

When we had made the upper end loop, cutting alongside Ocean Beach Highway, heading back towards our vehicles …

Last lap of the upper end loop walk around lake Sacajawea. We felt a few raindrops here - but they didn't last long.

… we made a pact to walk twice a week – at least – every Tuesday & Thursday (flexible, depending on circumstances & situations) around the Lake. David & I have known each other since my family moved to Skamokawa, Washington from Grand Rapids, Minnesota in 1966 … pretty much forever. David, at one point – being a good friend, even introduced me to my future husband in 1974 – but I wasn’t interested; I was already seeing someone. And I was even kinda pissed, truth be told, that he might think I wasn’t capable of getting my own dates! LOL

But, I did eventually meet Bob – and snagged him on my own: LOL!; and all was forgiven ;-)

David’s 1^st wife, Marla, and I were lifelong friends – until the cancer she had valiantly fought finally claimed her. David’s son, Tavis, and my daughter, Stacey, were childhood friends.

After I came back home, I promptly baked a yummy dessert (recipe at end of post) :-D

I had gone back to Crawford’s Strawberry Farm, this past Sunday with Cheryl & Mike, and picked more strawberries
(https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2019/06/going-up-to-country.html); so I am trying to use them up before they go bad: they were already pretty ripe when we picked them.

I had this recipe in mind at the Strawberry farm, so I picked some smaller berries to use in the recipe:

Little strawberries are perfect for this recipe as they don’t have to be cut.

The house smelled SO GOOD!

And the cobbler ain’t bad either ;-)

==BERRY COBBLER SHORTCAKE  ~Makes 8 servings

2 cups all-purpose Flour * About 1-1/3 cups Sugar *(or substitute 52 pkts. of Stevia – set aside 11 of those pkts. for the whipped topping) * 2 teaspoons Baking Powder * 1 teaspoon Lemon Peel * 1 teaspoon Orange Peel * ½ teaspoon Baking Soda * ½ teaspoon Salt * About 3/4 cup (3/8 lb.) Butter OR margarine, cut into chunks * 2 large Eggs * 2/3 cup Buttermilk * 2 quarts Berries, rinsed & drained (use 1 kind , or a blend of several), such as blueberries, olallieberries, loganberries, raspberries, or hulled strawberries * 1 cup Whipping Cream *IF you substitute Stevia for the sugar, ADD 6 oz. Yogurt

Stevia: sugar substitute for cobbler

Stevia; sugar substitute for whipped topping

1) In a bowl, combine flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, lemon peel, orange peel, baking soda, and salt. Blend together:

2) With a pastry blender or your fingers, cut in or rub in 3/4 cup butter until coarse crumbs form:

3) In another bowl, mix eggs and buttermilk to blend *(if you are using yogurt, add that here too). Add to flour mixture; stir with a fork until evenly moistened. Spread batter in a buttered shallow 9 x 13-inch casserole. (I used 3 round cake pans, dividing the batter equally; 1 cobbler to be eaten this week, and 2 cobblers to be frozen for future snacks).

4) Slice strawberries, if using. In a bowl, mix berries with ¼ cup sugar *(or the 11 set-aside pkts. of Stevia). Spoon 3 cups berries evenly over batter. If desired, sweeten remaining berries with more sugar to taste:

Equally divided berry studded cobbler; ready for oven.

5) Bake cobbler in a 350-degree oven until browned – about 30-40 minutes.

3 pans barely fit the oven ...

6) Meanwhile, in a bowl with a mixer on high speed, whip cream until it holds soft peaks; sweeten with about 2 Tablespoons of sugar to taste *(4 pkts. Stevia).

7) Cut warm or cool cobbler into 8 portions (3 cake pans, as I used, will make 9 portions).

With a wide spatula, transfer portions to plates. Top equally with remaining berries and whipped topping.

YUMMY!

LOOKING FOR MR. SUN

Mr. Sun has gone MIA

Seriously in hiding. And I have been told that rain and thunder is coming:

My limping-along-garden is doing its best to put its best face forward in some beds to cheer me up …

Pretty, colorful, variegated leaves showing on the Painted Mountain corn stalks.

But it is losing the battle in others, as Mr. Sun continues hiding his face from us:

Even though I have not started to be affected by creeping crud on my outer extremities as my poor lettuce has, I am nonetheless feeling the down-slide effects of the perpetual gray days.

WE NEED SUNSHINE!

After I pulled all my ruined lettuce – lettuce can do without harsh sunlight, but it still NEEDS some sunlight for healthy growth – I gathered some miner’s lettuce, purslane, violas, and nasturtium leaves/flowers to add to the sparse gleaned lettuce leaves to make a spicy, healthy, and nutritious skimpy salad for Supper.

This will be my last salad for a few weeks, until the seedlings re-sown in the gleaned bed sprouts and starts putting out greens again …

Hopefully, Mr. Sun will sort out whatever sent him into a full-blown snit and get with the program ;-)

SURVIVAL IS NOT A CHOICE

When Bob’s physical body was dying … and even after his earthen vessel did die, 1 of my SIL’s would tell people, “she is a rock.”

But I wasn’t a rock.

I was doing what had to be done in a numb state of mind because inside I was crumbling and desperately trying to keep it together.

Bob was my whole world: and my whole world had been taken away from me. I was scrambling for firm footing.

The “rock” had a hairline fracture that would significantly widen over the next 3 months after the shock wore off and legal business had been tended to,

The people who loved Bob and me understood that would eventually happen – and they never left me alone; even though I had specifically requested I be left alone for a while. I knew I was barely hanging on emotionally, and I hate breaking down in front of people. I rarely even cried in front of Bob. Crying always meant weakness to me … and I hate to appear weak. But our loving friends hung around and hovered over me after Bob’s graduation. In the beginning, they just called daily and listened to me cry; and talk when I eventually could talk without choking on words. In February they started coming around more often – by April, they were plotting kidnapping ventures and getting me out of the house and out of my head, as much as they could. They still do that. LOL

I didn’t even know I had friends that loved me like Bob did (okay, not quite like Bob did, but close – very close). I am not very good at being social – being social was Bob’s thing. I am a lobo.

But our friends had been watching me. They understood that even lobos are not islands unto themselves.

And they were quick to come alongside me and let me know I was not alone. Even though I was alone.

I honestly do not think I could have made it through the wilderness without them; and they were dealing with their own losses too: 1 lost a mother (just a few short months before Bob ended up in the hospital), and 1 lost a father (just a month before Bob ended up in OHSU). We were all grieving.

But they called us every day while we were in the hospitals; local and in Oregon.

Bob left knowing he was loved.

And Bob left knowing I would BE loved when he was no longer here to comfort me.

I thank God for my friends.