We try to walk out at first light. The sand is washed smooth, gulls rest onshore, and no one else is out—most people are still sleeping.
Continue readingMOON
covid-19
SO MUCH WANTS DOING
Hello world. I’m writing about covid and my BMI and tidying up. You might want to stop right here and not read any more. The pizza was wonderful, btw.
YESTERDAY
Things I have not accomplished in the last 24 hours:
- blueberry muffins
- weaving
- a walk this morning or Tuesday because of weather
- finished a book
- made decisions
- cleaning of any kind whatsoever
Things I (or we) accomplished in the past week:
Continue reading“A LIKELY STORY”
A friend asked me the other day about our beach walks. How far, how long, how fast? We basically walk north on the shore and then home, sometimes south too. If we can get over or around enough creeks and headlands, we might manage to get two miles north, four miles round trip. But it’s not that simple; we also walk into the rocky edges of the shoreline, east-west, up and down, over and over. I told her that when tides force us to walk on the highway we manage better than 20-minute miles. That’s not fast, but good enough. When I log distance, I mostly count North-South distance because it’s impossible for me to accurately record what our zigzag path covers.
Life is like that, isn’t it?
BRINGING TOGETHER
Gary complained I had not posted. It is barely raining a little drizzle, there is sand, and we will have our walk. Lately, we find we cannot get more than a mile north because Shark Creek’s runoff is too high for us to cross, but we will go out as soon as there is light. Gary is dressing in the dark, and I will have a last sip of coffee. Neither of us have yet been vaccinated and we miss our family.
In the mean time, like so many others, we listen to music and hope for comfort, conversation, and more communal days.
Continue readingMUDDLING ALONG
It is raining this morning, not hard but hard enough to provide an excuse for staying in. We walked long yesterday morning and the world was cold. There is snow at the summit of the coast range, but we aren’t driving anywhere today. We’ve had a fire in the wood stove every day for weeks. Rain means cloud cover and cloud cover means the temperature is up but there will be no gorgeous dawn or appaloosa sky.
Everyone I talk to seems to be apologizing for forgetfulness and mistakes. The entire country might be on high blood pressure meds from the tension, or something to address depression, moodiness, forgetfulness, errors, confusion, and general stress. Zoom, FaceTime, phone calls, and email are temporary fixes. Our drugs of choice are only coffee and alcohol. Last night Gary and I shared sparkling wine that sent us off to bed in good spirits. Literal and figurative, emotional and physical good spirits. It was a celebration of nothing in particular, only that we are still here, still muddling along.
Continue reading‘WHAT PARTY?’
The joke goes like this: What are the two saddest words in the English language?
What Party?
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PERSON2PERSON
Crows perched high up on a massive drift log south of our home. I can rarely zoom in this close and still have the photo be in focus. And in the fog. (In case you wonder—we love fog.)
A friend asked me what local schools in my area are doing this fall. So this will be a rant. Don’t read more if you don’t care to know what I think. Continue reading
PROTECT and SERVE
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN + Oregon Live) — Four Oregon State Police troopers went into a Corvallis coffee shop without wearing a mask, which prompted the OSP superintendent to put at least one of them on administrative leave during the investigation. [The state has mandated masks for everyone inside public places as a way to stem the growth of coronavirus in Oregon.] Continue reading
MASK
There are always left-behind poop bags on the shore. And while I am here, there is a lot of recent talk about the toilet plume. Consider that anything you can smell is the result of molecules of rose petals or vomit or yeast or alcohol or whatever inside your nose. That’s the only way you can smell it—it’s inside your nose.
All persons in my county must be masked when visiting any indoor public space, beginning 1 July 2020. The county itself requested this. As a friend said to me on the phone: we’re a tourist economy and people come here from everywhere. We need some protection.
from NPR “Masks And The Outdoor Exerciser: Advice For Runners, Bikers, Walkers, Hikers”:
When outdoors: “experts I spoke to all said wearing a mask is a good thing. Now you probably don’t think you have the coronavirus if you feel good enough to exercise. But some people are asymptomatic – they never show symptoms – or presymptomatic – sick but not yet feeling it. Continue reading
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