Gratitude Sunday, late edition

This is a late edition of Gratitude Sunday because, well, we just got power back this afternoon. It was a long, hot, miserable, cranky weekend on many fronts, due to the storms that ripped through this part of the world on Friday and Saturday. We're back up and running, though, and everyone is safe, sound and in a better mood, here on the Lane, at least.

On to the post!

-Mom's wonderful forethought. She rigged up solar spot lights years upon years ago and made sconces for them, so whenever we lose power, we don't lose all light. There's something... satisfying, I suppose, to the ritual of taking them down in the morning and setting them out on the well house cover to gather sunlight during the day and bringing them in at night. We also have a closet full of grey water and drinking water *always* on hand, as we lose power frequently in the summer.

-I never thought I'd say it, but I'm thankful for once that I had a big box retail job with long hours to go to this weekend - it meant that I had something to do that wasn't worrying, and I could do it in a cool, well lit building with running water. Washing ones hands in running water really is a luxury!

-My coreopsis bed is doing amazingly, and while these past few days, it's just been too hot to go harvest *every* evening, I have two sandwich bags stuffed full of flowers that are in the freezer until the bloom is done. Then, I'll dye wool in the most delicious pumpkin orange.

-Most of all, however, I am grateful for wonderful friends. B might be in the hospital, and K is stressed and run down beyond belief, but they had us go over last night to sit in the air conditioning, watch the news, take much needed showers and chit chat until it was time to head home. The invitation to just spend the nights until we got power back was extended, and while we won't need to now, we're all very touched!

Rainy days

After a slightly worrisome dry spell, it seems we've hit April weather. It's June, of course, but then, this whole year has been a bit odd so far in regard to the weather.

I was fairly much up until dawn, and I woke up a few hours ago to a dreary, overcast day that still hasn't gotten above 70 degrees. It had stopped raining by the time I woke up, but these clouds don't seem to be going anywhere soon. That, of course, put a damper on my chore list, because there was no way I was going to weed eat or pull out a truckload of vinca (seriously, why do people even bother with planting vinca? It takes over!) while it's this wet. That left me with indoor chores and planting.

I love chilly, dreary days - they do something to my soul, they bring on such a state of quiet grace. I decided to go out and plant the seed starts I've had plugging along since March, and it was a great idea. As with most things, I tend to go through alternating periods of competency in gardening. Sometimes, I think I must be some kind of genius, and others, I look at plants and they die. I'm apparently in one of the upswings, because I spent a good hour out in my little corner reserved for all plants that make me smile. I weeded, and they didn't fight me. That was more than likely the fault of the muddy ground, but we'll just pretend they were bowing out before my lovely, dirty hands, yes? Once I had everything spic and span, the plants just seemed to know where they wanted to be planted. Foxglove along one border of the bed, delphiniums along the other. The calendula settled in sweetly in front of the garlic and rosemary, beside the bee balm and one lone coneflower. The lavender is making friends with the carefully restrained oregano and calendula.

I think, once I've had a cup of coffee, I'll head back out to stake up the rosemary before it gets entirely out of hand.

Sunlight and good work

Today, after a minor irritation, wherein Mom and I hopped in our borrowed car to go pick up some fleece from the post office, only to turn right around at the end of the road due to an oil and water light, I found myself inordinately angry. I wanted my fleece, and I wanted it now! I was moments away from foot stomping and angry tears when I made myself pause, breathe and think.

Yesterday, even though it was a bit chilly and cloudy, I went out and sat on a log from my dearly departed black walnut tree and worked on shaving the bark off of one of its branches for a walking staff. I was out there for an hour and a half and didn't notice the time flying by at all. I decided to do the same today, and spent a while out in the sun, sanding it down. When my arms got tired, I grabbed my pruning shears and paid some attention to my roses, talking to each one, of course, because it would be rude not to talk to roses!

This is how I cope with inner turmoil, be it valid, emotional turmoil, or hormonal rages. There's something about fresh air, sunshine and good, honest work that does a soul so much good.

Whew!

I'm sorry for the silence lately. I got caught up in the holidays, which were alternately quiet and a bit crazy. Let me tell you, baking a cherpumple when you decide not to buy the pies is a looong undertaking!

So, last week was my trip to Oregon. While there were some disappointments, I can honestly say that I don't regret anything I got up to.

I could go into much detail on what I did, but as it's getting late, I'll hit the high points:

-I finally got to see my best friend Lena again. It was the second time we'd seen each other in person, and neither of us have any problem admitting that. We've known each other so long, and think on the same level to such a degree that there really isn't any awkwardness when we meet.

-I got to meet her partner, Sam, who I expected to be awesome. She, of course, exceeded my expectations, and it was really good to spend time getting to know her. I was afraid we wouldn't quite know what to make of each other, but that wasn't the case at all.

-Lena and I hadn't seen the Pacific until last week, and when we did, we did it together. When the ocean opened up as we drove down the highway, we both squealed like school kids. It was perfect! We made a spontaneous decision to not only stop in at Sea Lion Cave, but to go to the beach under the Heceta Head Lighthouse. Both were absolutely indescribable. I took a ton of pictures, and I was inspired by Taryn over at Wooly Moss Roots and filled my purse and pockets with stones. One of those is destined for our fire circle, and the others, well, they'll tell me eventually where they want to be.

-I met a ton of great people at a party that was just fantastic. It was everything a party should be, with good wine, good food, good conversation and good dancing. I also met a very sweet, soft-spoken man I've been in touch with since. The four of us even went out to lunch later in the week.

All in all, I had a blast. I plan on making it a yearly trip, even if I can't see moving there right now. It's such a gorgeous, welcoming place and I can't help grinning when I think about it.

At the moment, however, I'm grinning at the thought of bed. ;)