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...

Thanksgiving Week - Abandoned

I know; what an awful title. But this is about an awful thing. Yesterday my brother came home from work and said that there was a stray cat in the yard. I looked out, but I didn't see it. Later he came back and said that it had been abandoned by the railroad tracks by someone. The left it's carrier and toys but abandoned it out to starve and freeze.

When my sister came home, she said that she'd seen it on the roof of one of our sheds, but it ran off when she tried to get it to follow her into the house. We have come to the conclusion that this tiny house by the railroad tracks is a catchall of last resorts for those who have been abandoned. Indeed, Max and Shadow are here because the former tenants left them here when they moved on. Pippi was thrown in a dumpster when she was a kitten and brought here by Nora. And even Cheese, though this isn't his first home, came to be part of the menagerie because he'd been left in a parking lot and jumped into Nora's arms as she came out of work. He was so sick and flea infested that there was no questioned that he'd been cast aside.

If we manage to lure the poor thing inside, we will name it Elsa if its a girl or Frost if it's a boy, because it was left to freeze alone. My heart tells me that the universe is giving us one more to love because Cheese is soon to leave.

Nap time at the cat house

Snow Before Thanksgiving

Snoqualmie Pass

My father used to say that snow before Thanksgiving was a harbinger of a good new year to come. Living in the South, that almost never happened. It has been snowing in the passes for weeks here, but I am told that it is rare below 400 feet. Last night was one of those rare occasions. It had been predicted, and it came and went just as we were told it would. Around 2:30 the cats all moved into my bed. And instead of vying for position in front of the window, they were all trying to move under the covers. My throat was dry so I decided to make myself a cup of Sleepy Time tea. From the kitchen I could see flurries falling around the street light outside our fence. I watched it for a half hour or more before it stopped. After finishing my tea I had to fight my way back into my bed. The sleepy cats had claimed most of the real estate and weren't all to happy about having the warm covers around them disturbed. Cheese cried because of it, but was placated when he was allowed one of my pillows all to himself. I awoke this morning to find the cats and the snow gone as if it had all been a dream.

Thanksgiving Week - Monday

Goodness, I want to post, but my life is peaceful now and there is almost nothing to write about on a day to day basis. My big and exciting event today is that I will wash a weeks worth of clothing. A very fascinating topic indeed. Tomorrow I will clean some of the crevices and corners of the house that usually go undisturbed. Wednesday I will clean the rest and start to prep the meal. Then Thursday is the big day. Karen and I will spend the morning cooking. Really, what the house looks like isn't such a big deal since the only people who will be here are the same people who know what our house looks like anyway. But you know, we are GRITS and we must keep up appearances. Karen says that it will make everyone more comfortable regardless of the fact that they are very comfortable anyway.

Last year I wrote THIS  post explaining why I preferred to spend the holiday alone. I found it last night and it made me very sad. I was fine spending the day by myself, but the people coming over on Thursday give me a new perspective. I didn't want to celebrate the meal with others because the presumption was that everyone had to eat some of everything that is served. And my dietary restrictions made me feel like that was an overwhelming task. I still  have diabetes, hemochromatosis and gastroparesis. But if I pick and choose what I want to eat with this group it's fine. Almost everyone else will be too. So if my gut is acting up and I eat nothing but mashed potatoes and a parker roll no one will object. If my blood sugar is high and I eat nothing but a sliver of turkey and a few bites of cauliflower, that's fine too. If I'm feeling bold and eat until I'm sick, then shame on me, but no one will judge me. Everyone else will be choosing what in the meal appeals to them. It's just my job to make sure there is something there that everyone can enjoy.

In knitting news, I have been quite busy. I was into cabling for a week or two, and knitted a couple of headbands. But now I'm back to my recent fascination with color work. I am attempting my first true Fair Isle hat. I'm attempting to follow a graph instead of written instructions. And though the pattern is fairly simple, it has been a learning curve for me. I have to keep my amateurish attempt in perspective. The whole years that I was working, I dreamed of having the time to sit and learn to be truly good at what I do. Now I have to accept that my first attempts at techniques I haven't really tried before aren't going to be smooth and seamless. I will just have to be thankful that I finally have time to sit and learn the new things.

Happy Monday.

Thanksgiving Week

It is officially the week of Thanksgiving, which means for us, the beginning of the holidays. When I was a child there was a sort of unwritten taboo against starting the holidays even a minute before the dishes were cleaned and put a way from the Thanksgiving feast. That taboo has been effectively ignored by any and all for decades now. Stores start decorating for it even before summer has passed. But for me, the week of Thanksgiving is good enough.

My sister and I went to a store here called Haggens (I believe) that is really just a high end Safeway to purchase our feast. This was her idea, not mine. There is nothing about spending extra on groceries that makes me feel even the least bit festive. Fine shopping has always made her feel special. So I let her purchase all but a few of the groceries. I am making the cranberry relish and the parker rolls as well as a baked cauliflower for this meal, so I bought those. Still, the $0.69 a pound Jenny-O frozen turkey at Walmart is fine with me. I don't need a premium "fresh", as in never been frozen bird. I will hardly eat enough of it to make it worth the price. She says that she makes up for it by buying the tree from a place where she gets a great price. I guess I can see her point. We aren't going to eat the tree after all. However, she likes to decorate the tree with chocolate ornaments, and they are expensive. She found a few at Target that aren't really pretty. I went online and what I found was woeful. So this too, I will leave to her. I bought matching stockings for the three of us instead.

The three kittens have gone to the eastern side of the state to visit with their father for the holiday. They won't be joining us. In a way, it is a blessing. We will have my niece, her best friend and her best friends partner and my sister's ex joining us for the meal. Seven adults will be plenty to fill this small house with cheer. Writing these words, I come to the realization of just how indulgent my sisters feast is for her, she likes the cooking of it more than eating it. My sister, her daughter the best friend and the partner are all vegetarians. None of them will be eating the fresh, never frozen bird. And I can assure you that my brother, my ex-brother-in-law and I simply will not care one bit. AND...it is a 23 pound turkey, and I prefer ham to turkey. The bird is more for her pleasure of cooking it than it has anything to do with any of  us eating it. I will keep my feelings about it here on this blog and let her enjoy it. I will enjoy hijacking the television to watch the parade. I'm pretty sure my brother and ex-BIL will want to watch the Falcons football game. I may hijack my sister's TV and have Christmas movies playing on it.

Cheese is still with us. I think he's hanging out hoping to snag some of that Turkey.