WATER ~ WHERE IS THE WATER?

Both are a LIE from the pit of Hell: there is no freedom - or prosperity - in either.

3 weeks ago, I was buying 4 cases of water … my normal amount for decades … when the cashier said, “I’m sorry ma’am, but I can only allow you buy 2 cases of water.”

I asked, “Why?”

She said, “I can only allow you to buy 2 cases of water – you can put the other 2 under the counter, here.”

There was no explanation given, just a statement: and a confiscation.

I threw 2 cases under her counter – and huffed out of the store.

This afternoon, I drove into town to buy a couple cases of water; and there wasn’t any.

NONE

Racks of potato chips and bakery goodies were lined up in the space that used to hold crates of water for decades.

But there was no water today. 

Stores are notorious for rearranging their goods, so I thought maybe they decided to place it somewhere else in the store.

I flagged down 2 store workers walking aimlessly around with nothing to do.

I asked, “Where’s your bottled water?”

The fella said, “There isn’t any, and there won’t be any.”

I asked, “For now … or, forever?”

The fella said, “We haven’t had water in here for weeks; and we don’t expect any. The trucks are on strike.”

The girl standing next to him, said, “It’s the covid thing.” And shrugged.

UNBELIEVABLE.

WTH

No clear explanations ...

As I was walking away, the girl said to me, “If you do find water someplace, get it.”

That sounded pretty ominous.

So, I scrapped my hiking plans, and went water hunting.

Why are truck drivers striking? Honest to God, people have become demigods.

Of course, with governments handing out free paychecks for ‘no service’ due to covid – people can just sit on their fat asses and issue demands.

Just like politicians: $$$$$ for nothing. 

demigods are as worthless as politicians. 

Right now, America is overrun with both. 

Leaving the store, I noticed another sign; this one about a coin shortage.

Why is there a coin shortage?

WHY are people hoarding coins?

Coins today have no value, other than the value they carry when in commerce play: there are NO solid coins (gold, silver, copper, ect.) in public flow, today. All coins being passed from hand to cashier are bastardized metal mutants. So, whoever the deadheads are that are hoarding them, hoping for a big payoff, need a thorough shaking; they are in for a rude awakening when they try to flood the banks later on, for their great {score}.

Numbskulls have gone off the rails. 

I stopped next at Safeway.

I managed 3 cases of water (I didn’t want to appear greedy).

Found water at Safeway ... but the pickings were slim; very slim.

I buzzed by Fred Meyers; and stopped at Wal*Mart on my way back home.

Wal*Mart had water: but their bottled water was packed in 38 bottle packs – I’m 64 freaking years old, and small: there is no way I can heft those extra-large packs (1) they are literally placed a head above me on shelving (2) they are too heavy to heave from car to house … even if I could flag down a tall Good Samaritan in passing, and ask for help to get the case into my shopping cart.

They would not have posed a problem for Bob.

But, Bob is no longer here.

They pose a problem for me ☹

So, I came home with a small portion of the water I went to fetch.

I am pissed.

I am seriously fed up with all the covid bullshit – from DC demonrats; from local demonrat officials; from demigod public servants (employers and employees); from fearmongers; and the fearful.

I.A.M.F.E.D.U.P. 

And the rest of the population is getting fed up, too.

None of this nonsense is going to end pretty; satisfactory; or beneficial to anyone – including, and most specifically, for the stoopids pushing the covid agenda, and climate change rhetoric.

The People are tired of the never-ending political power grabs that are destroying our Nation, and pitting the population against one another.

The People are tired of empty store shelves due to governing mandates; striking workers morphing into demigod lunacy; an illegal dysfunctional {president} retreating into hiding after creating worldwide chaos; and a highjacked DC congress that puts foreigners above American Citizens.

America, under the obamanite coups is quickly escalating towards a 3^rd world status.

A COUNTRY MONDAY

I woke up this morning thinking of some things my friends said to me over the weekend: “You can still enjoy a country life, here, Val. I love you – I’m glad you aren’t moving”.

They are country folk; also, city transplants.

We grew up in the same County – went to the same schools; rubbed elbows with relatives, friend, neighbors, and enemies. Our husbands worked, hunted, drank, bickered, and matured to adulthood together – our children were diaper changed side-by-side, went to school together, and shared a life together before leaving home and moving on to other States.

We have a LOT in common: we have ‘history’.

We support each other’s choices.

We pray with/for each other.

We honor each other by speaking honest truths.

We share the same life goals & values.

We love each other.

We stand together.

Some of my friends live smack-dab-in the city, a few live in citified rural areas (like Lexington; which is becoming more urbanized every year) – and several of us live on the far-flung-outskirts of the city: and though the city is spreading out this way, the corrosive tentacles of city trappings have not yet reached this far on the West end.

City congestion and liberal policies are getting closer to home, for sure; but for the moment, our small pocket of city real estate is holding its own in quieter/cleaner living … and rustic tranquility.

For the time being, we are all enjoying a good life; despite the ever-grasping city.

And, at any given time, I can escape deeper into the countryside when I feel the need for comforting solitude: in this, I know I am luckier than most.

I am blessed.

I am thankful.

As I woke up, I also thought I’d like to have a country breakfast at Omelettes & More; so, I washed my hair, pulled some clothes on, and drove the back way – down Industrial Way.

Omelettes & More from Heron Pointe; via Industrial Way WA-432 E - 9 mins.

The sky was gray: and it was misting while I drove Industrial Way. The mist was light when I pulled out of the carport … but it increased in wetness and density so much so, that I had to use the medium speed of the windshield wipers to keep my vision clear.

Misting gray clouds heavy with humidity - and Industrial Way 'environmental asthma' stink.

Treated myself to breakfast this morning. I like it here.

Something new to my eyes: a ‘hillbilly beard’ covered with a paper beard net; it had actual ear straps.

I ordered a big breakfast: that way, I can enjoy it later in the week, too 😉

'The Works' - brought half of it home, for later this week ...

The booth I was seated at, had a low sitting bench seat: I felt like a midget sitting there … but at least my feet were touching the floor 😉

The table edge hit me high on my breasts – the fork didn’t have to be lifted very high to get to my mouth. LOL

Breakfast finished (half of it boxed); I topped the gas tank off (prices have gone up a.g.a.i.n.), and drove to 46^th, to walk a portion of the Pacific Way Trail. There was road work going on, but traffic was not backed up.

Safeway Gas Prices this afternoon.

Directly across the street from Safeway’s terminals ... WOW!

FM prices (other size of the pricey Chevron) noted on the way out of town.

Slipping the Highlander into park; I slid my backpack-purse straps comfortably over my arms, grabbed my walking stick, and was reaching for the cell phone … when I spotted the box of books slated for the Library at Heron Pointe.

CRAP!

I have been hauling these books around for weeks because the Library is only open for a brief period of time Tuesday mornings ☹ … and I’ve been busy Tuesday mornings, missing that brief window of opportunity. I have been hauling that box of books around for so long, I forgot it was even there.

The Louis La'Amour books I had checked out at the Park Library before the first round of covid nonsense - the children's books I am donating, since I'll never see my grandson again in this lifetime. It hurts my heart to see them ... and I'd rather other children enjoy them.

I had to drive back to Heron Pointe to unload the books, before driving back to the dike to go walking.

So, I slid my backpack-purse off my arms, put my walking stick back into the backend of the Highlander; and drove back to Library at Heron Pointe – and the door was locked. The ‘librarians’ were in the back, playing pinochle! Mind you, the Library is only open on Tuesday mornings, from 10 AM to Noon: very brief … and that’s why the box of books has been in the Highlander for weeks. So, I tap on the door glass to get their attention – point at the box cradled in my left arm – and wait for one of them to lift their butts off a seat and unlock the door. I mean, really!; if the Library is supposed to be Open – it should be open.

Handing the box over, I drove back to the Pacific Way Trail, along the dike. I drove the Old Pacific Way backroad, because there was a water main being excavated/worked on, when I drove 46^th earlier. Driving this route to get to the Trail, would have me on the wrong side of the street to park … so I took a side trip out Dike Road to turn around at the Dead End – which would turn me around the right way to park when I got back to 48^th.

I didn’t mind doing that: I was curious what that street looked like now – in decades past, Bob used to visit the junk yard at the end of the blacktop, when he needed out-of-date-pieces for various machinery/vehicles that needed fixing. The place looked pretty much the same … except that blackberries are covering most of the ‘dead’ machines/vehicles that used to frequently be cannibalized before everything manufactured became digitalized. It was sad to see those abandoned things in the creeping grip of blackberry brambles.

Along the Dike Road ‘for old times sake’ drive, a woman was walking her horse. I was glad to see she was managing it so well; some horses balk & get antsy around traffic – I was glad to see that would not be the case, in that particular moment 😊

A horse on the Dike Road; owner managed it very well - some horses rear, near traffic.

Finally parked along the Pacific Way Trail, I set out on my walk.

Again, I only intended to walk a third of the Trail. 

Pacific Way Trail - 2 miles round trip a third of the way; 200 calorie burn off.

It wouldn’t do much by way of calorie burning (especially after this morning's breakfast)… but it would strengthen my muscles, and loosen my joints for a longer walk, soon 😉

Under the low-lying gray clouds, I enjoyed a country mile walk 😊

I saw a flock of Swedish Black Ducks, enjoying their wet community.

I saw 2 deer grazing in tall field grass. 

There was very little foot traffic on the trail.

I walked among spirited swallows, on the wing – swooping and darting along the path in front of my feet.

I stopped and listened to birds, busily congregating in a leafy bower on the opposite side of the dike slough.

I saw that since I last walked this trail; someone had bought the rundown, windowless house along the trail route: it’s got new roofing, and has been painted … but it still only has 1 upstairs window. In the whole house – 1 window.

A whole flock of Swedish Ducks - I've never seen this many together; I only ever saw just 1 among the other duck varieties.

2 Deer I spotted at the beginning of my walk, today.

Boisterous bird cheeping; I stopped and listened for a few minutes while watching various birds darting in and out of leafy bowers.

1 window in the entire house - very odd. There is another windowless house between Cathlamet & Skamokawa.

It was 63-degrees during my Trail walk; and the gray clouds still hovered. Humidity was 50%: and the misting, which was light from the start of my walk to the gated turnaround – escalated to a full-on-glasses lens-mucking: there are no water clearing glass wipers on my glasses: by the time I had made the turnaround and reached the parked Highlander, I was glad I had kept my walk short 😉

I did a little light grocery shopping on my way home, and grabbed some color spots when I passed them. I like color. I think these will do nicely to liven my new life 😊

These pretties caught my egg when I was shopping ...

Stores are already setting Fall themed Holiday décor on shelves; but, I was not tempted to buy anything Fall related – yet.

Exiting the store, I was hit with a wave of miserable hot – not hot, like burning sun hot … but hot like sticky, muggy, heat: 62-degrees, and it felt like 100% because of the heaviness in the stifling air.

And the air conditioner was useless because it was not hot enough to warrant turning it on. I drove home with all the windows open to create a breeze tunnel, that kinda helped tamp down the muggy stickiness.

Now that I am no longer looking for a new home, I will be driving to Naselle again, come Thursday; to enjoy the company of my country friends there 😊

Keeping that in mind, I also decided to delve into my ‘Ambitions Jar’ and pluck out a destination to visit on my way back home from Naselle 😉

Thursday afternoon ambition.

Tonight, I started working on my own design knit ‘Angel Baby Gown’, to match the tiny blanket I finished the other evening. I will make 2 gown to send off with it: 1 for a girl … 1 for a boy; both will match the blanket.

Grief is hard.

It is important the grieving know someone cares.

I started MOD Angel baby Gown, while Supper cooked.

PLEASANT SURPRISES

I went to the Lexington Community Garage Sales on Saturday … and left early because the wildfire smoke in the air was so strong, my eyes were burning and my lungs were struggling to work properly.

I only spent 75-cents while I was there: a baby doll for a quarter, and 2 terra cotta pots for 50-cents/pair. The rest spread out on lawns, and on tables lined up in garages, was crap – and I never did see the Elephant Ears Wagon, that was advertised.

I drove the streets on the backend of Lexington to check the old neighborhood out after the smoky air kept me inside my car following my 75-cent spending spree (LOL) ... and I saw what I at first assumed was an apartment complex (they are going up all over the place!); until I saw the sign: a school! The population must have really increased in the short 4 year span we've been gone from there.

 

Right off the bat, I found the perfect size 'baby' for my Angel Baby Designs; a very pleasant surprise 😉

Lexington has its own Elementary School, now! Wow - we moved from Lexington 4 years ago; and it wasn't even in the Plans, then.

Even though I was disappointed in the community sale, I did visit for about 1½ hours with a longtime friend, who lives in the same street we used to live on, when we lived in Lexington: it was a good visit 😊

I then ate at the El Ranchero restaurant Bob and I used to frequent – the owners remembered me, and knew what I wanted 😉 While I ate, I thought of how things have changed so much over the past 4 years (it is always a surprise to me, and others that Bob has been gone for 32 months; it seems longer, yet shorter, too). I am always happy to know others loved/miss Bob: I do, of course … but it is nice to know that he greatly impacted the lives of those who knew us as a couple, too.

The Community sales of Terry-Taylor, and Lexington (we hosted 4 of the Lexington ones, ourselves), used to be fun, and selling quality stuff people were tired of and wanted to switch out (good bargains at good prices); but the last few years, it’s just been junk they are too lazy or too tight-fisted to haul to the dump where it belongs, priced at ridiculous prices. I’m thinking I’m done with ‘community sales’ that have played themselves out over the years, and am better off sticking to sporadic garage sales in flung out places, in various counties.

This morning I talked to my eldest granddaughter – what an enjoyable surprise!

I had to run into town after the phone call ended, and surprisingly ran into an old friend I haven’t seen for a few years; at Baker’s Corner, when I popped in there for a split second … a welcome surprise: we hugged, caught up on the years, and exchanged phone numbers – making plans to walk around the Lake, in town. A bit later, I had a nice short visit with my friends out Coal Creek – and they were very happy I am not moving, after all: I knew they would be, and we had a good laugh over that. They said, “we’ve been praying that you wouldn’t move; we said, ‘God, Val is getting older …’  and I said, “Okay, stop right there!” And we laughed again.

But, they do have a point.

I am getting older.

The income & help I had to work with then, is slimmer – and more expensive to work with, now: their prayers are the ones Elohim is honoring.

Bob and I bought 5 houses since 1993 – and we sold 4 of them; I’m currently living in the 5^th. I’m not new to buying and selling homes … or remodeling them; but I am older now working on 1 paycheck and needing to hire helpers, and the house buying market just isn’t right, right now, even with the low interest rates. Under the current restrictive policies of the current political deadheads, the market is in freefall – and like the garage sales … realtors are attempting to put lipstick on pigs and hoping someone buys the clownish pigs. I’m no fool – I know a pig is still a pig under all the makeup: and there won’t be enough $$$$$ in the long run, to keep the pig fashionable.

So, I am staying put. 

My friends are happy.

And I can be content. 

After I got back home, I pulled the plants in my veggie beds that needed to be pulled … and saw a little green tree frog in the garden area; a startling surprise 😊

A little Tree frog in my garden area this afternoon.

I didn’t even have to entice the little frog; so, I must be doing something right 😉

But, for those who would like to have a resident frog in their garden area, here is a link on how to accomplish that: https://wildlifeinformer.com/how-to-attract-tree-frogs-to-your-yard/

SHABBAT BLESSINGS/Pt. 3 ~ Stella

Today, from start to finish (except for the dream that jolted me awake), was a good day 😊

I was blessed; and refreshed.

On my way home, I decided to nip off at Stella, and take the higher Stella Road home – I hadn’t been on that road in decades, and I wanted to see if the foxgloves were still covering the hillside along the narrow upward roadway.

Lower Stella Road, at Stella.

The foxgloves were nowhere to be seen: that made me sad – the whole hillside used to be covered with them. The foxgloves, and the stately, turreted mansion near the top was always the draw of the drive.

I was thankful I did not meet a vehicle on the shoulderless, narrow 1-lane road; that was all I was thankful for as I continued to the top of the roadway.

The spiring foxgloves of memory were missing from the landscape … and the stately mansion I remember, has been sadly neglected in the present.

The hilltop mansion; at one time, it was very beautifully landscaped.

Fall Creek Junction from Germany Creek, on the left, joins to Upper Stella Road & ties into Eufaula Heights.

Germany Creek to Eufaula Heights; via Upper Stella Road & Eufaula Heights Road - 16 mins.

Fall Creek Road & Upper Stella Road; 4 mins.

Further along upper Stella Road, the belly-tickling road was still the same 😉

Bob used to hit the gas fast and then let the forward moving 2-tone Ford do a stomach-dropping surge to the bottom before rushing upward at the bottom: wringing a belly-tickling sensation and a girlish scream of delight out of me.

The loooooong glide-ride. LOL

The glide-ride-road today did not wring forth the same feeling, this afternoon – I did not do a fast freefall … and there was no delighted girlish scream on my lips: Bob was not here to laugh with me.

This leg of the drive was filled with bittersweet memories: I was glad to get onto Coal Creek Road, and homeward.

I don’t know where all the wildfire haze is coming from, but it’s been hanging in the air for a few days; shrouding the atmosphere in a noticeable amber, gauzy, cloud cover.

And tonight, the moon was swathed in a red haze.

Hazy Red Moon tonight.

NO! I do not believe in the climate change BS being bullied about: the majority of the {wildfires} have been caused by careless humans, and politicians who salute, and ‘bend a knee’, to domestic terrorists who employ anarchists with a firebug bent.

Everything is right on schedule according to ancient prophecies that foretold of these days … THAT, I believe in.

I believe it, because we are living it: in the moment.

The moment has been forewarned, so I do not stress about what will be played out.

**SHABBAT BLESSINGS/Pt. 2 ~ Julia Butler Hansen Game Refuge: https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2021/08/shabbat-blessingspt-2-julia-butler.html

**SHABBAT BLESSINGS/Pt. 1 ~ Skamokawa Vista Park: https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2021/08/shabbat-blessingspt-1-skamokawa-vista.html