May Your 20's be Roaring!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Decade!

No matter where your road takes you, may you enjoy the journey.

The Drive

Karen and I did finally make it out today, and not to the movies. I was being kind of a brat and went to my room to write of my disappointment rather than get dressed for the movies. I think that Karen really wanted to go. She wants to see Bombshell, but given the news climate we are living in, I don't know how much more I can stand.

Karen came into my room shortly before 2:00 and asked if I'd like to take a drive. It sounded good, though I would have still liked to go to Roslyn. Instead we went on our familiar path toward Enumclaw. The lighting was perfect. Mount Rainier was glorious today. So often it is covered by clouds, or the lighting almost blends the mountain into the sky. It is a rare day that we get the breath taking views of it that we got this afternoon.

Karen and I both want to move to Enumclaw, though neither of us has done much to find housing there. I have a feeling that it's going to be a bit more expensive than where we are. But there is something about that town that calls to both of us. When we go there, it feels like home.

Small Disappointments

It's a pretty day here, and warm for the time of year. My sister said, "Let's take a ride, go explore something." I said, "Yes, let me get dressed. How about if we go to Roslyn? We've talked about going there."  She said, "That's about an hour away. I have a coupon for the movie theater." Sure, why not?  It's a beautiful day, we should go sit inside a dark theater. Why not? These small disappointments are common here. She makes a small promise and then reneges on it. Not a big deal really, but the constancy of them is a bit soul sucking.  I could go to Roslyn on my own, but now I can't because this is a place she has claimed for us to visit together.  I should have said, "Let's walk to Zola's and have tea." That she would have gone for. Now that seems like such a better plan than spending a beautiful afternoon at the movies. 

Honeysuckle and Lavendar

I love honeysuckle, I always have . In the early spring after a long winter, I could open up my windows and smell it's heavenly fragrance. It gave me hope that it would be warm again. That with the coming of spring and summer the world would come alive again.

Honeysuckle doesn't grow naturally here. We have a small patch of it. If this had been the south, that thing would have already taken over the fence and the yard. But here we have to encourage it to grow. On the other hand, lavender doesn't grow easily in the south. It doesn't like the humid temperatures or the clay soil. People get it to grow in gardens, but they have to nurture it like a miracle child. But here, everyone has it in their gardens. It grows in the cracks of the sidewalks. It will take over a field and I've seen it growing wild on the side of the road with wild foxglove. I had never actually seen real foxglove before I moved here. It's prettier than the cross stitch motifs that I sewed decades ago.

I like lavender too and over the past several years I have begun wearing the fragrance a lot. I like Dr. Teals Lavender and Epsom Salts body wash. It's awesome stuff for aching joints and the lavender oil soothes eczema like nothing else. The smell is nice too. I pair it up with Yardley's English Lavender Soap. It makes me feel like I'm being extravagant.

A few weeks ago I was talking with my niece about Bath and Body Works. She asked me what my favorite fragrance was and I told her that it had been the Wild Honeysuckle, but they had stopped making it. I hadn't gone into one of the stores for many years; probably since Mollie was a teenager. So for Christmas, Nora got me a bottle of the Wild Honeysuckle body spray. I love it as much as I remember. She said that she cheated because she had a coupon to buy so many and get so many free. She was able to get the Lavender spray that she loves.

I had gone to Pier One with my sister, really to look for a mug for her stocking. I didn't find anything that I thought would work, but they had a buy one get one sale on the candles. I bought a lavender one for my niece and got a honeysuckle one for me. It seems we shop well for each other...and ourselves.

I'm still using Dr. Teals. It would be awesome if he'd come up with a honeysuckle fragrance. But the two go well together. I come out of the bath smelling like flowers. The cats don't like it much. They have quit jumping up on my bathrobe the minute I take it off and throw it on the bed. In fact, I'm burning the candle right now and none of them are in the room. I think they prefer the sandalwood incense that Karen is burning.

It's getting cold. They say we may have snow on Saturday. Saturday is a good day for snow. We can cook a stew and relax in the house.

Frosty

Not an actual picture of Frosty, but this cat looks like him.

I forgot to tell you about Frosty. Remember the abandoned cat that was left by the railroad tracks shortly before Thanksgiving.

Turns out that he was a male cat and a timid one at that. After several days he became hungry and cold enough that he came through the cat door and into our laundry room. We leave dry food in there for the cats and I found him in there eating one morning. As soon as he saw me he ran out the door and into the bushes.

Later that day, I saw someone poking around the fence outside our property. I asked if he was looking for a cat and he said yes. He said that he'd left his cat, Lucas with his girlfriend while he'd gone home to Bellingham for Thanksgiving. She told him that Lucas ran off while he was gone. I said that Lucas had been coming into our house to eat, but wouldn't let any of us near him, "Oh and by the way, Lucas brought his carrier and toys with him when he ran off. They are by the tracks. " But when we went to look for them, they were all gone. Easy enough for someone to take them or the City to clean them away. I'm sure he can verify that his girlfriend doesn't have them.

I let him in the yard where Lucas ran and jumped into his arms, happy to be found. I let him take the cat without giving him grief about it. But I hope that he has a talk with his girlfriend, and that all will end well for him and Lucas. I should have gotten his number in case Lucas ever decides to pack his carrier and run off again.

Year End

Another month has passed since I have written. Thanksgiving and Christmas passed with it. It's fine. Not much happened in my world if you don't count impeaching a corrupt President. I'm sure that you would have all loved being regaled with my opinions on that, yeah, that's unlikely. Though I must say, I did laugh more watching that shit show than I have in the entire year previously. It is ridiculous the length to which some have chosen to go to defend the indefensible. My mantra became, "Why protect him? He won't pay your bail".

With the holidays, we did a whole lot of cooking and partying as well as shopping. Too much of that, in fact. I am quite penniless right now and have a whole week before I can expect another deposit into my bank account. It's fine. I have more than I need to survive for a week. I feel fortunate in that regard.

This week alone, we celebrated Ken's birthday, Christmas eve and Christmas day, which included meals, appetizers and deserts for all. We also went to Everett to have a party with my sisters oldest friends, and had coffee and shopping with neighbors. Then there are all the parades and open houses etc.

What I missed was my own friends and traditions. I have failed this past six months to establish myself into a church home. So I had no Christmas eve service to go to. And I have no real friends either. I have no one to blame but myself. I haven't really tried all that hard. I have enjoyed doing my own thing and not being influenced by the whims of the crowd. I did need the time alone. Still, I felt a bit homesick because of the lack of them. Thankfully, my home church posted the Christmas eve service on Facebook and I was able to tearfully watch. It was good to have a bit of the familiar to hold on to.

While some celebrating is fine and dandy, by last evening I was well past my prime with it. Three parties in a week and we had merry makers coming over to give and collect gifts. I was done. They were my nieces friends, so I left Karen and Nora to entertain them while I slipped off into my room. Providing food, drink and entertainment aside, I was just done with being around others. I needed to acquiesce to my inner hermit. I thought that I'd indulge in social media or crafts, but it was not just my mind, but my body that needed to decompress. I was in bed before 9:00. That has been a rare occurrence since I went through puberty.

Cheese is still with us, though he is more decrepit for the passing of time. I had been allowing him to sleep on my bed, but he became of the opinion that he didn't need to move off  to relieve himself. I finally had to ban him to a place more adjacent to the litter box we'd set up for him. He doesn't use it. He regained the ability to take himself outside to do his business. I suppose it was being put out that woke him to the realization that his privations needed to be taken care of in an area that don't inconvenience the rest of the family. He has reassumed his positions on the couch in the living room.

Coming up, I have few plans for the new year. I need to get my social security on board. I become eligible for it next month. I have a calendar to help me be more mindful of what day it is. I hope to use the current chilly weather to inspire more knitting. And I have re-kindled my lost passion for counted cross stitch. The wedding won't take place until March of 2021, so I have no travel plans. I will just see where this coming year takes me...