a second cup of coffee, crowded chaos on the deck and first day of school

A second cup of coffee, gazing out the window  this is what I see. I am going to miss the deck garden as winter rolls in. There are still flowers blooming and bees doing their work, there is a change in the air , though subtle, we feel it. 

Finch on a tattered twig from the plum tree, high in the sky, and the chaos of the deck flower pots- I am partial to disarray. Neat and tidy is not one of my virtues.

Weather looks promising- I might make it past cups of coffee out into the world. Yesterday I had to pick up provisions to make onigiri for a party this coming week end. 

When Erik was little this was our favorite shop. Especially the alter at the back where big bags of whatever are kept. After Erik left home,  I stopped shopping at the market due to Dennis's inability to eat anything  with a single carb in it,  and also due to his dislike of unfamiliar foods. 

Mochi/red bean/sesame treat for the road! Yummiest treat ever! 

I came away with the basics - will use salmon for filling. Spam is the usual fave but - ewww, I can not tolerate spam, which is One of Dennis's favorite so called "foods". He has the weirdest diet of anyone on the planet ( his father was the champion but he is no longer on this planet)...so Dennis comes by it naturally , is now the champion, and it is keeping him alive and well.  Also his Dad lived to be very nearly 100, eating the weirdest diet invented by himself...so there is that! Dennis will outlive us all.

I went in for an annual wellness check and labs yesterday after buying goods from the Asian shop- All is well,  no meds , no gadgets, blood looks great and blood pressure is way normal! I have been worried about that since every time I go get an eye jab my blood pressure tells them to call an ambulance. 

My doctor just rolled her eyes and said "tell them that your DOCTOR said your blood pressure is low if anything"....

Flora Jane  started big kid school! She is pumped and she will of course be the star student of the universe. Check her boots! Style master.

TIME is scooting isn't it? Our generation of amazing folks are leaving. At 92 living with a terrible condition, Gloria takes the cake. 

 “My experience with trigeminal neuralgia certainly made me realize how little the health care system knows about many things,” Steinem pointed out at the time. “With this ailment, 5 percent are due to brain tumors, 5 percent are due to multiple sclerosis, and for most, they have no idea. It manifests itself as an excruciating, worst-kind-of-tooth-pain, somewhere in the face, usually in the jaw. … And because of the costs of searching out different specialists, it was very clear to me that if I hadn’t had the resources and insurance both, I would probably have done what most poor people with this disease do, which is end up having all of their teeth out and then discovering it’s not their teeth.”

RIP Gloria, my favorite of all time.  Remember when I crashed the high rent party held for her in the posh neighborhood -with my paper camera? I can't find the photo but I blogged it  before- that was one of the most memorable moments in this life. Gloria changed/improved  our lives , our champion, and MS magazine , our shield! Damn, makes me sadder than any other recent departure. We could never thank Gloria enough, moved mountains yet still more to shift! 

Smash the patriarchy, y'all, we owe it to ourselves, our women children, our sons,  and to Gloria.

 

 

pink cheeked sky , Love Thy Neighbor week end of INK

Rosy cheeked  Sunday evening. Temporate and cozy wearing a layer and a half of clothing. It has been a low key week end, as usual, for me.

Tattoo parlors  organized a fund raiser on Saturday. Downtown businesses of the cool and hip  sort donated proceeds of the day to Planned parenthood.  Over $125,000.00 was raised and donated! 

People stepping up to take care of their loved ones, their bodies, their right to choose. 

The queue around the block began at 4:00 A M. Saturday's clock ran out before everyone could be inked. Honoring their customers they will extend the process of jabbing arms and butts ,injecting ink as they go, for  as long as it takes. "Love Thy Neighbor" has become a  rallying theme. Homeless housing has taken off as well....finally. some accept, some don't but at least a few are off the streets and secured under a roof.
 

There were old people in the queue as well! Bellingham community does have priorities- Planned parenthood is at the top of the list. 

"Don't let the Bastards grind you down"

 

 

Sally and Anna are driving down to Burning Man tomorrow, van well packed (we hope) first time for both of them - should be more than interesting for those two. Sally printed a photo of Douglas , our friend who died in the spring. He went to Burning man several times - LOVED dressing up  and being girlie- loved pearls and lipstick. Sally will leave the photo and our inscriptions in the temple.

I asked Dougie Wougie to haunt me, please- I would love to see him again!

Sally and Paul just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary! WOW, says I! Seems like five minutes ago we were at their wedding- I was in the bedroom with Sally getting her dress over her head and laughing uncontrollably  - there may have been cocaine involved, not sure..(liar) Anyway, Sally got this card for Paul which totally hits the mark because SALLY is the mark hitter. !!!

Burning man at our age...it just ain't right! 

So that was the week end - a good one here in the Ham, our little  bubble of sanity. Feeling lucky- it is a good little community.
 

 

 

 

crawling into seasonal change.

Autumn color, Dennis's tomatoes grown in the hottest place by the garage wall, always do their best there. The zucchini on the deck fizzled this year, zucchini - a dime a dozen in the fall so no big loss,   flowers have been rewarding! Dennis grew seven cucumbers, also by the garage, a few marigolds to ward off pests. Rabbits don't seem to like them.This is the rabbit that the neighbor threw a plate at, We call her Mrs. Farmer McGregor- anyway the rabbit scooted through the critter proof fence that she had put up a few years ago, and sat in our yard until I got too close and ZIP! back through the fence into Mrs. McGregor's yard.  The rabbit's suits blend so well with  brown end- of- summer grass, that I nearly step on them before I know they are there.

A crow left one of its feather sticking straight up like a flag. With my poor vision I thought it was an entire bird. 

Out of the corner of my compromised vision , the cosmos  were acting crazy. There was no wind , and no earth quake- with my camera I zoomed in on a charm of goldfinches bouncing around on the cosmos, eating their middle and tearing the petals off. Wild!  We have a bird feeder but I guess the cosmos are more enticing.

Flurry of  frantic activity and then they were gone. 

Weather is creeping in - temperate , mild, damp-ish. Refreshing I find, but am forewarned of the interminable darkness that comes with winter. That is the one thing , other than high cost of living here, that drives folks back to sky country. Darkness.

Daughter in law and son are now living in sunny Portugal. Her mail is being forwarded to us. She had been an interior designer in Seattle and receives that sort of magazine frequently. They are uninspiring - back to beige/brown/ muted green.- yawn-

When Austin comes here after working on the island- I am so pleased to see his car pull up- seeing him as well as his spiffy automobile , not influenced by his mom's designer influence- His car is cheerful  - visible!

Lil Stumpy came back this morning her family, all together.  happily being little raccoons in the rain. Amputation healing nicely. 

Lovely having Austin staying with us for a while. He will eat anything  that I cook, especially having worked all day, being very hungry,   having to commute so far- Up at 5:30 AM, returning around 8:45 pm...YOUTH can do anything! Anyway I have been cooking for a change, since Dennis can not eat anything I have let any so called cooking skills take a back seat. I have forgotten how. 

Today - dark, cool, rainy, restful....no plans, a snooze maybe. The shift in weather takes some adjustment. 55 degrees at the moment, 86% humidity, dark and drippy but not a cats and dogs day. A gentle nudge into seasonal change.  It feels a little like jet lag.
 

 

 

 

 

 

more color samples, autumn flowers, Another death and a rebirth

Is 80 the magic number? One day after Dolly died , Tim followed! 

Dammit. 

Yesterday I went to the thrift store and  to Home depot which I have been boycotting due to their idiocy ! Anyway, I dropped in to get more paint samples ,and I must say that BEHR offers more  pure colors than any other plus it is a one coat job.  BUT any company supporting Trump and this fascist state can do without my dollar. Samples are free.

Here are the samples , the bright ones in the middle are BEHR. The top larger sheets are Glidden, lifeless and flat  but good for a garage door maybe. 

The flowers and trees at Home depot are gorgeous. Change of season, mums and sunflowers , abundant and plump. I will not give them my coin though. As I was rifling through the color samples, taking two at a time to use in crafts. A woman asked me if I needed help- "Oh, no thank you, I can manage..."Was I intimidated or shamed, no, I was not!

At the thrift store (senior day/30% off) I bought a Icle Pickle one-handed magic bag for $3.00 The bag is made of good quality velvet and wood with a wire thumb switch to do the magic. It came with a few tricks- silk squares of every color, large and small- a whole spoon and a half spoon and two playing cards that will magically change from KING of diamonds  to QUEEN of diamonds. It must have not been used much- in perfect condition. 

autumn at depot.

There was a stack of 1954 and 56 Bellingham Heralds, old new papers when news papers were a thing. (thrift store) The pages are huge, the ads are huge, the funnies are not funny and the social page is hilarious. 

" Mrs. Higgen, of 312 Forest street, hosted a monthly bridge club in her beautifully decorated home. She served Jello Supreme  including berries from her garden,  on her mother's china brought from Austria, coffee/tea and a log roll. In attendance  were."...(listed the women)

Grace Kelly leaves the USA for Monaco  and her wedding to the Prince. "Prince Rainier expects her to abandon her acting career" 
 

OMG, you guys-  The old one eyed auntie came to the deck with her three in tow plus THE Baby that lost its arm!!! WHAT?  I can not believe it!! That baby's arm has healed into a fine stump. I thought for sure it was dead as the mother has come these past few days toting only three of her offspring and NOT the injured baby!  WOW look at that! Clean as a whistle that amputation, fur growing and wound sealed. 

I watched her picking up chicken and grapes like a pro. Healthy and hardy. 

 So overjoyed -lump in my throat and something  likened to  welling tears in my eyes ( but that could just be my wonky vision)!   LOOK!!!

Her Mom did it! I swear Raccoon Moms are the BEST and the aunties that take the load off for a while. Raccoons are miracles of nature, they are!

Ok then, I can quit moping around and celebrate- I will also celebrate the life of Tim - My all time favorite Doctor!

 Cheers everyone!