LIFE UNFOLDING

Tomorrow it is supposed to start raining again, so today I did as much outside as I could to get my Spring tasks underway.

This morning, I thought I’d drive to the Four Corner’s Farm & Garden Store in Castle Rock, to buy a few seed potatoes and a container of Sluggo Slug Bait; before I tackled tidying up the stored geraniums.

The early morning drive was nippy, and foggy:

Foggy morning. 8.48 AM - Ocean Beach Highway.

While, still on Ocean Beach Highway, I remembered that a friend had told me about a nursery on 44^th, so I thought I’d check that tip out …

(https://www.watershedgardenworks.com/nursery)

The nursery itinerary wasn’t what I am in the market for – it specializes in landscaping items: I need vegetable garden items.

I’ll continue driving to Adna, to purchase what I need; I actually like the country backroads drive to Adna, so the lengthy drive is a win-win situation, as far as I am concerned 😊

Topping the upper end of Virginia Way, the fog had lifted – and not a minute too soon, either: a doe was standing close to the road, munching grass. Deer can be testy creatures, and nearly impossible to see when shrouded by a fog bank. Thankfully, the fog had dissipated for clear vision … and the doe didn’t startle:

It was clear vision driving all the way over Virginia Way, Nevada Drive, and West Side Highway through Lexington – nearing Sandy Bend, though, the fog was laying low and heavy …

Thick fog patch on West Side Highway, near Sandy Bend.

A Truck was creeping up on my slow-moving bumper; so, I pulled over the first chance I got, and let him zip past me; I was in no hurry to get to Castle Rock, and the rest of the day was scheduled to operate in slo-mo 😉

When I arrived at Four Corners Farm & Garden Store, I was told the seed potatoes’ arrival has been delayed; so, I will have to go back to Castle Rock next week. But I did bring home the slug bait 😊

The weather had warmed up to about 50-degrees, so I settled back for a relaxing drive: when I reached the top end of Nevada Drive, I decided to take the Lone Oak Road home, instead of retracing Virginia Way to Old Pacific Highway (my normal route). Lone Oak is a twisting snaky road, but it is a nice country drive that would drop me close to Coal Creek – seconds from home.

Midway along the road, I came upon three robins skipping down the center line; it made me smile. I always smile when I see robins: peppy robins herald the onset of Spring … and seeing one, make my feet itch to get outside and embrace all that life is birthing in this new Spring season 😉

Nevada Drive from Four Corner's Farm & Garden Store, Castle Rock, WA. 14 minutes.

Columbia Heights Road from Nevada Drive Road, Longview. 3 minutes.

Heron Pointe from Lone Oak Road, Longview, WA. 9 minutes

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mu0HCKbPTmU)

When I got home, I pulled the geranium pots from their overwintering storage, to start trimming the dried parts back to lively green growth. But first, I needed to sharpen the vintage pruning clippers (these are my favored clippers, but they have not been attended to in 3 years). I had watched Bob sharpen knives and my garden tools for decades – but his youngest brother, Kerry, explained how to do this last year when I asked him how it was done.

While going through the motions, I drew the first blood of this Spring season when the bottom jaw of the dull and rusty clippers jumped the file and bit me – the jaw blade wasn’t sharp, but it did jab me and pierce skin. By the time I got back outside, the small bubble of blood had stopped oozing:

Sharpening Garden Clippers. 10:38 AM - home.

First gardening wound of the season. LOL

Making the bottom jaw's bite sharper ...

The weather by then had inched up to 59-degrees, but it was a chilly 59-degrees. The sun was shining, and the sky was free of clouds; but it was not really a ‘warm Spring day’, yet.

It was, however, an enjoyable Spring day 😊 

I got the geraniums tidied up, lightly fertilized, and slug baited; and set out in the breezeway to rejuvenate them …

Overwintered geranium's trimmed, fertilized & sprinkled with Sluggo.

All the geraniums have been tended to ... and set in the breezeway to ‘wake up’ in a protective environment.

Herbs putting out new growth, Daffodils blooming, & Tiger Lilies planted.

And I met my new backyard neighbor – and we visited over the fence; she seems like a nice lady. She as widowed 8 months ago, and she moved here three months ago, from Yakima.

Yakima to Heron Pointe.3 hr. - 21 min.

Tired, and feeling accomplished, I settled into Bob’s recliner when I got back inside … and enjoyed a phone convo with my BIL, Rick (my sister Iris’s husband), as well as the vociferous honking of geese flying over the house:

Noisy flock of geese flying the airway, right over my head ... 4:23 PM 

And I finished up two more preemie baby gowns …

Preemie Baby Gown; 4 pounds, or less. Knit.

Today was a promising and productive day; full of life unfolding 😊

KIOSKS MAKE ME FEEL STUPID

They are soulless.

They are inanimate. 

They are digital robots.

They are basically rubbish.

But they have the power to make me feel stupid.

Yesterday afternoon, I received a notice from Xfinity that on February 26^th, Xfinity had decided I needed to receive my billing via a paperless route, so they set up an account for me … and I only had a week {window} to opt out.

Well, that whole thing pissed me off ☹ (1) Xfinity did not ask me if I wanted to go paperless (2) Xfinity took it upon themselves to make a decision for me – without my expressed permission (3) The week’s window began four work days ago … and the window was quickly closing before I had even yet been informed there was a necessary window.

So, this morning, I was up and out of the house … and downtown, with the papered notice in hand – by 9 AM.

Only to find out the downtown office had closed and relocated.

Standing in the vacant parking lot, reading the relocation poster, all I could think was, ‘I have no freaking idea where 740 Ocean Beach is’. So, I walked back to the car, and pointedly tapped the address into the map app on my inherited smartphone: all that did was add more confusion to an already frustrating situation – the {quick} route was an endless maze of blue lines going nowhere fast.

I pulled over as quickly as I could find an empty parking spot along the confusing highlighted phone app route … and entered the address into the car’s GPS system: 5 minutes later I was parking in Xfinity’s new parking lot; which, until recently, had been the Army/Navy/Marines/Airforce Recruiting Building in the Strip Mall.

Who knew?

The notification poster taped to the abandoned Xfinity office could have made things less frustrating by simply stating: ‘we are now located at the Twin Cities Shopping Center Strip Mall’.

As I entered the new downtown Xfinity office, I saw right away that it had indeed morphed into a downtown entity – the interior was streamlined: it was mimicking the AT & T office … in every way. There was an open floor plan with nappy gray upholstered ottomans strategically placed near a wall-mounted large-screen TV. There were Formica topped islands with tall-legged stool style chairs. The attendees wore wired chat headsets. There were kiosks lining one wall.

For one brief moment I thought I had entered the wrong building.

I explained to the greeting attendee that I had received notification that Xfinity had moved my monthly billing to a paperless thing; and I wanted to opt out – could I do it here, right now?

He said, yes – I could opt out: and then he fixed the issue 😊

Then I asked him if I could pay my bill also, even though I had not yet received my bill (I will no doubt receive that tomorrow). Again, I was told ‘yes’ … then he added … ‘you can pay at the kiosk’ – and he waved his hand in the general direction of the offending soulless machines.

I said I wasn’t sure how to use the kiosks (I really hate those things!)

He said, “Just tap the screen, and follow the directions.”

It sounds so simple.

Yet, it is anything but.

There is always a glitch somewhere; sometime.

And true to form … it made me feel stupid.

After the third time of being frustratingly rebuffed by the inanimate jerk, I terminated the transaction and turned to the attendee, saying, “I’m going to need some help over here.”

He came to me, and I said, “I’ve tried 3 times … but when it gets to the card part of the transaction, it just stops and times out.”

The guy said, “Yeah – what the machine doesn’t tell people is that when you insert your card, you have to pull it back out quickly – or it won’t read it.”

I just looked at him. 

And glared at the soulless machine. 

That is an important ‘instruction’ to know!

The transaction was finally finished; I pocketed my receipt, and left the building.

It helped defuse the frustration … and restored my confidence … by reasoning that the actual stupid person was the designer that programmed the robotic digital kiosk.

And if I ever have to go back to Xfinity for anything, I will park in the larger Strip Mall parking lot, and walk the distance to the building because the parking spaces in Xfinity’s designated locale is very, very tight – in all directions.

ST. HELEN’S DAYTRIP

I woke up about 7:30 AM, this morning; and “St. Helen’s” ran through my mind before my eyes were even fully open … and I tried to put the thought off after I rubbed the sandman residue out of my eyes, and got up out of bed.

I ate breakfast/made the bed/swept the floors – but the thought was still with me at 9:30; so, I shrugged and thought ‘why not? Just do it Val, and see what the day gives you’ … I got dressed and hit the road.

St. Helens, OR from Heron Point, WA. 38 min (28.3 mi) via US-30 E 

The temperature as a sun-kissed 41-degrees when I got into the car and drove out of the Park; and the talking head on the radio was promising sunny days climbing into the 60’s until Thursday evening.

The day was looking very good, and the week appeared very promising 😉

Crossing the bridge and jumping the border into Oregon, I started getting excited: I was so ready for a day spent out of home and on the road! I’ve been hiking all the local trails, but I have been chomping at the bit for a lengthy drive and a change of scenery 😊

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLlown9_G3w)

First out-of-town daytrip since November 2020.

The roads were free of ice, and storm-blown debris – thank God. Traffic was light, too.

When I reached St. Helen’s, I did a little shopping: Spring themed things at the Dollar Store (the Dollar Store here, at home, carries a different stock of items) – and yarn at the Wal*Mart across the highway (a $7 difference in price, for the exact same yarn). I also bought a stackable shelving unit (I found out at checkout that it was on sale: score!): I know how to put this together … no tools required 😉

Stackable shelving unit.

Glancing out the windshield as I slid into the driver’s seat, in the Dollar Store parking lot; I saw the snowy sides of Washington’s Mt. Saint Helens, in the distance … and I didn’t cry when I thought of Bob logging that mountain’s timber, on and off, throughout the years of his adult life – and the many afternoons we spent enjoying the volcano before her 1980 eruption.

My heart is on the mend.

Feeling pleased with my personal progress, and my frugal bargains; and enjoying the sunny warmth of the day as I headed the car towards home … I caught a glimpse of cars parked in the parking lot of Noi’s Thai Kitchen Restaurant.

On impulse, I flicked my turn signal on and decided to join the car lineup 😊

Bob and I had always wanted to try this restaurant – but it was never open for business when we passed through St. Helens (we always missed the ‘open for business’ time slot); it was open today, and I was not going to pass up this opportunity!

Perhaps this was the reason getting to St. Helen’s today, was impressed heavily on my thoughts this morning …

St. Helen's, OR; Thai Kitchen OPEN!

Laid back interior; nothing fancy, but clean and friendly.

Thai Tea: YUMMY.

Pretty Jade colored floor tiles ...

Fried Rice w-Shrimp & Pineapple; very tasty. Bob would have enjoyed this dish, also. I also got Chicken Chow Mein to break down, and freeze at home.

Koi pond at entrance. 19 count! I used to have a yellow one, too, when we lived on Merritt Drive. It grew to the length of my hand before it died in a snap freeze.

I am so glad the restaurant was open this afternoon: the food was delish! And I ate it without tearing up, thinking of how much Bob would have enjoyed the place if he were still here. I like our local Thai restaurant too, but the food here was of a different flavor – I will definitely be stopping at Noi’s again when I am in that neck of the woods 😊

The drive back home was considerably warmer (I was regretting the sweater I wore), as the temperature had climbed to 59-degrees by the time I passed through Rainer; heading towards the bridge to pass back into WA, around 1:30 PM.

When I parked the car at home, I stuck the Dollar Store scroll-shaped-wire trellises in my potted roses, for updated support; kicked my shoes off when I got inside the house, and stashed the yarn skeins in my dwindling stockpile … then I portioned my delicious Thai meals into freezer pans: I am serious about shedding some more pounds – but I like to eat delicious food, too 😉

Freezer Meals - 1 Rice w-Pineapple & Shrimp; 2 Chicken Chow Mein.

Today was a good day, all the way around.

I am glad Spring has arrived … and Daytripping will be happening again; I have missed my road romances 😊

ENERGETIC WEEKEND

My ‘Island of Rest’ was a quiet space of bustling activity – here, in the PNW, we have to ‘make hay while the sun shines’: and that can be a tricky undertaking, as the sunshine in the PNW usually shines through briefly … and behind schedule 😉

I try to make sure all my weekly tasks are completed before Shabbat kicks in Friday evening; and I don’t plan on leaving my personal space (house and property) until Sunday rolls around – this is flexible, as this weekend proved 😊

I am a Messianic Christian, blending my Jewish heritage with my Christian Faith: I bend to the Will of Elohei, rather than to religious observances. Under the Law of Grace, I am not bound by the Shabbat ordinances … but I CHOOSE to incorporate the Shabbat ‘Island of Rest’ observance into my life for the refreshment it brings into my life: while, as a Christian, I have communion with Elohei 24/7/365; the Shabbat 24-hour period of rest is enjoyable, as well a necessary – during this span of time, time kinda stands still … passing in a slow pace, basking in Elohim’s favor, and reflecting on all God’s glory, faithfulness, love, and mercy.

I LIKE setting that 24-hour period of time aside to spend with my Father (Elohim) and my Husband (Yeshua): I am glad Yeshua thought of this ‘Island of Rest’ … taking time to make time for refreshing body, mind, and soul … concept when He had finished with Creation 😉

Friday morning blew in wet and stormy – getting out of the house was not going to happen; so, I did three loads of laundry … went outside to the shed, and pulled the eight metal trellises I use for pea supports in my garden area … and laced bird netting to them in preparation for my Spring garden:

Netting cut to fit trellis.

Securing bottom edge of netting against shifting, & lacing net to trellis.

Fitting top netting to curvature ... and FINISHED :-)

The last load of laundry finished drying as I tied off the last lacing knot on the last trellis 😊

I hauled the net-laced trellises back out to the shed – and walked the basket of laundry to the bedroom, and started folding/putting things away; and then settled in for a relaxing evening of Youtube black-n-white movies while I ate Supper.

After Supper dishes were washed and set to drip-dry, I finished up the preemie baby gowns I had started earlier in the week. Preemie babies have a special place in my heart.

I had a friend in high school who gave birth to a premature baby – that baby was so small, her adoptive father (the man who married my friend), could hold her in the palm of one hand: that little bit of humanity grew up strong and healthy … and is today, a mother, herself.

My youngest brother’s third child was a preemie – Jamie Lee was the size of a Barbie Doll when she was born … she looked so small and fragile in that incubator! Today she is in her thirties, is taller than I am, and weighs more than I do.

So, making these little preemie gowns brought back a lot of memories – and I knitted each one with love to honor the little warriors who will wear them.

Preemie Baby Gown - drawstring hemline; tiny sleeves .

Preemie baby Gown FINISHED.

Preemie Baby Gown FINISHED. Made for a Fall baby; Fall Button trims.

Starting 2 more preemie baby gowns ...

Saturday, the sun showed; so, I decided to get the primroses I had bought Wednesday, into the front garden beds:

Shasta Daisies cleaned up, and Primroses planted; 7 count between the 2 front flowerbeds.

Tete-a-tete Daffodils coming up amongst the Hens-n-Chicks at the base of the ornamental Maple.

The garden beds may not look so spiffy now, but they will look real pretty in a couple weeks when the dormant perennials spring to life in the warming weather. There are Cabbage-leaf Begonias, Shasta Daisies, Delphiniums, Calla Lilies (smaller variety), Carnations (mat type), Daffodils, Crocuses, Alliums (smaller varieties), and creeping Stonecrop sedum already established in each flower bed (I planted all those in 2017 after we bought this house – I brought those transplants from our previous home); the primroses will add early color to each front flower bed before the rest bursts forth with renewed life 😊

Also, when the rains let up, and the sun shines longer than an hour between rainy periods; I plan to tackle the moss issue on the flower bed decorative edges. People have suggested bleach to kill the moss … but I don’t want to damage my flowers. An internet search suggested using soda as a safe and effective moss killer, without damaging my plants: we’ll see – I’ll try that when I am assured the soda powder will have time to work its effects before the inevitable PNW rain showers wash it away.

Today – this Sunday, I am still enjoying my extended hiatus from socializing: either in person, or through social media; I am enjoying the solitude, and the rest from the world’s stressful madness.