back in the mountains

Back in the mountains again and the first order of business is to clean up around here. The second is to battle the Dark Lady Aspartame. Yesterday I was able to eschew the Dark Lady and drink only the Holy Mother of us all Meadow Valley Water. Today I want Dark Lady diet Shasta. Yesterday the vacuum blew out and I had to order one form Amazon. My only solace is that the 500 dollar model was on sale for $150. Evil Amazon. Some day that outfit will own everything and even a 100 dollaar vacuum will cost 500 dollars. But I need a vacuum, driving to Reno leaves a huge carbon footprint, no vacuums are on sale, blah blah blah.

I"ve already had this current vacuum in the shop twice equal to the price of buying a new one. So when the motor blew I just knew it was over. I try not to just wantonly throw things away. But there is a limit.

So since I can't vacuum I've decided to dust and declutter. This is not as simple as it sounds. I don't have a place for everything and everything in its place. Plus I have a sewing project all spread out over the living room. But anyway that's what I'm doing today. Things have gotten out of hand since I've been away. But how can I do all this work without the pep of the Dark Lady?

up up and away

So I was on the plane wondering who would be my seat mate when along comes the only attractive guy my age and sure enough it's him. I'm determined not to talk to him so I ask if I can lower the arm rest saying I need it to hang onto when we take off. He laughs and says, "I'll leave you to that," and I think smart Alec.

So he plays video solitaire on his phone wearing some adorable reading glasses. I ignore him for two thirds of the trip. But them they bring around the drinks. He orders the free micro brew, and I get a diet coke, and I ask, "Do you live in Reno?"

Turns out he does. He's a mechanic for the fire department of Reno. Has three kids, two boys who are grown and a 13 year old girl who won't talk to him much. He owns several properties with houses on them. He wants to buy a boat because he's retiring in a year and a half. Meanwhile I'm talking too. He's not just blabbing. It's a balanced conversation.

Long short as Elyce likes to say, I think I definitely could have gotten myself a date had I been in the market. So although I'm not and was overjoyed to see Richard waiting patiently for me. I thought gosh even with my gray hair I'm not terribly out of the game. Vanity thy name is Lyn.

eat, pray, love

After this trip, I've definitely completed the "eat" part of my sprirtual journey. I haven't let  myself just eat whatever I wanted without concern for my weight in I don't know how long. Decades. Next I guess I will have to work on the "pray" part of my journey. This will be accomplished by the trip Richard and I will take to the desert.

The desert is always a good place to fast and meditate. Although we never really fast. We always have simple but fine meals out on the road. The desert has this pure pink light in the mornings when you wake up. It's a prayer being out there. You have to slow down. There's no computer or blogging.

As for the "love" part of the formula. I am fortunate to already have love in my life but maybe I can find better ways to express it. Such as keeping the house cleaner. I'm surprised what a domestic goddess my friend Elyce has turned out to be. She cleans and cooks all day long when she's not at work. I could take a page from her book and clean a bit more. Cleanliness is godliness, etc.

I think you can always go on these little spritual journies all the time. You don't need to take a year and travel across the world. Eat, pray love. You do it everyday.

chihuly experience

So I was enthralled with the Chihuly Glass Museum in downtown Seattle. It seems to me that it could become a temple and  Chihulism a religion. If the Mormons can paint the Garden of Eden in their tabernacales, how much more does Chihuly do by painting in three-d the lowly brown stones, the brillant roon of sea anemones, the giant hanging alien beings, all of life is celebrated.

Anyway, I took in the whole experience like a sponge all under the ever present steeple of the Seattle Space Needle. A funny thing about religions, if they just charge you the money up front and then let you in to have the experience of your own soul talking to itself, and then lets you out again with a mild request that you tell your friends about the experience, it works pretty well.

I felt uplifted by the entire afternoon. But like all pilgramiges this one must end. I go home on Sat. But although I will totally miss Elyce and her family, I will be happy to resume my own little life in Meadow Valley with Richard whom I have missed and who has missed me. Going home is not so hard when you have someone waiting for you.

getting my bearings

I'm just getting my bearings and it's almost time to leave! More importantly I'm just getting over the worst of my craving for diet soda and I'm about to leave. I did mention  my friend Elyce has a four year degree in Chinese Medicine? Well she believes that if sugar is the great Satan, fake sugar is the great Satan's evil stepson.

It upsets her so much to see me drinking my usual gallon a day diet soda fix that I have abstained out of politeness and a bit because I do worry about my own health. So I have been plagued the whole time with the specter of a magraine from the withdrawal. I've never drunk so much tea in my life.

The problem is jail house drinking. As soon as I break free from this controlled environment will I just go back to my dirty little habit again? Or will I be able to hold on to the progress I've made this week? This is a magnificence question.

The universe brought me this opportunity to detox from diet soda. Shouldn't I take the opportunity as it has been given to me? I think I'm going to go stock up on a bunch of teas when I get home! Thank you Elyce.

the clock

What I wouldn't give to have my old clock radio form the '70's back! It was the coolest thing of the era. But what I guess I really want is some of that time back. Going to visit friend Susie was a little like that. Her children are lovely as is her husband, but as the evening passed it was just us three girls remembering things that only we three girls ever really knew about.

Susie remembered how my mom showed her how pizza could be made at home from scratch. And we remembered how Elyce's mon used to make us breakfast porkchops if we spent the night at her house. We talked about another friend who had been a super achiever in high school who is now diagnosed with bipolar and is on permanent disablity.

I noticed as we spoke about our mutual friends how many of them had not succeeded in the traditional sense. The prevailing story was that all of us had put our professional lives on hold for our kids. Our kids had been our careers. And we all had very successful, I would say profoundly successful, children. And we ourselves had been at the top of our class at Roosevelt High in Honolulu. But as individuals we stood on pretty finacially shaky ground.

But for all that, it's a celebration to have magnificent children. I think it is a great joy and a satisfaction. And when they are grown and gone it's great to have friends to go shopping with who understand your quest for that certain 1970's clock radio.

first day Seattle

So my friend Elyce has a big beautiful back yard that's just stunning. And her housse reminds me of the house I grew up in on Dowsett Ave. in Honolulu. It is such a pleasure to be here. Her son Noah is like a nephew to me! I feel that much love for him. He's a wonderful musician who plays both the guitar and piano and sings. I feel that my son Steven would be like an older cousin to him that he just hasn't met yet.

Seeing my old friend Kim was really interesting. She has worked for Habitat for Humanity for many years and has traveled the world spending much time in Africa and India. She described going from the Indian Ocean Tsunami to Hurricane Katrina back to back and what a contrast that was. In the first case the focus was on recovering the dead and in the second the focus was on assisting the displaced. To put it bluntly trying to cope with thousands of living evacuated people was harder than dealing with thousands of dead bodies.

This afternoon we spent time drivng around downtown West Seattle as well as touring Pike's Market. We went to this most obscure T-shirt store I've ever encountered. It was down an alley and behind a building and then down a hallway. And it only sold shirts having to do with West Seattle. I bought a houddie for Richard.

Tomorrow we're off to see Susie and her two lovely children! True to form it's now raining in Seattle.