ANOTHER CONVERSATION WITH SILKEN

 POST # 699

Here we go again.  Another "conversation" with Silken.  What have you got to say today, furball?

S:Silken

TTW:The Thoughtful Wanderer

S: Aren't you ever going to get out of bed Paul?

TTW: Hey, I've been awake for a half hour already, and I'm doing some reading.  Do you mind?

S: I do mind, because today is the first day of summer. Wouldn't you like to see the sunrise? I just had a look, and the sun is just about to rise over the horizon, so you must come now or you'll miss it.

TTW:  Okay, okay.  You win.  Let's both get up and go see the sunrise.

TTW:  WOW!!! Thanks for coming to get me, Silken.  That was great timing on your part, and I am very grateful that you came into my room to let me know.

S:  No problem Paul.  It's my job to keep you informed on anything around here that may be of interest to you.  So, you're welcome.

TTW:  Now it's my turn to show you something, Silken.  Last month, when I was still in Washington, there was a blue moon, which is the second full moon, in the same calendar month.  I managed to get a photo of it early the following morning.  Have a look.

S:  That's magnificent Paul.  I don't think that I have ever seen a blue moon before, or if I did, I wouldn't have known that fact, because I don't use a calendar.  All I really need to know on a daily basis, is when my food is going to arrive.  

TTW: I'm glad you mentioned food, Silken, because the other day, I cooked up my very first tofu dish, and if I don't mind saying so, it was delicious.  Here are a couple of more photos for you to look at.  The first one is from the recipe page online, and the second photo is the actual dish that I cooked up.  Not a bad comparison eh?

S:  It looks even better than the recipe photo.  I was wondering what you were doing the other day, with all those pots and pans, and spices and other things.  I guess all of your work was worth it.

TTW:  It certainly was Silken.  In fact, that dish was so tasty, I have decided to try another one this evening.  I can't wait.

S:  Good luck with that Paul.  But make sure that you don't get so distracted making it, that you forget to feed me.

TTW:  We had this conversation just last week, so just relax.  You're my number one priority when I'm here, and I'll make sure that my tofu dish won't conflict with me feeding you your dinner tonight.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

A "CONVERSATION" WITH SILKEN

 POST # 698

A recent "conversation" with Silken.

Silken: S

The Thoughtful Wanderer: TTW

The look upon Silken's face says it all, so here is our "conversation".

S: You did what?

TTW: I know, I know, I can barely believe it myself, Silken.

S:  After all these years of being a faithful Luddite, and now this?  I'm struggling to accept this new fact.

TTW:  Well, you had better get used to it my friend.  It is now officially a part of my life.

S:  But you had to do it here, under my watch?  Why now?

TTW:  Life moves on Silken.  I weighed up all of the pros and cons before making my decision, so now I am sticking with it.  This is the new me.

S:  This decision must have cost you a lot?

TTW:  Actually, it was a gift, which certainly helped me to decide to have it.

S:  Okay, so what do you call this new thing that you received as a gift?

TTW:  It's called an iPhone.

S:  It looks pretty fancy to me. It must be very modern indeed.

TTW:  Actually it's not at all, Silken.  This is version #6 of this gadget, and I think they are already up to #17, so modern, certainly does not describe what I have.

S:  And what on earth do you need it for anyway?

TTW:  Well I still like to think that I don't really need it, but it will come in handy if anyone needs to call me from time to time.  And I can also receive and send text messages with it, so that might be an extra help as well.

S:  What the hell is a text message?

TTW:  Don't worry about it Silken.  It's nothing that you will ever have to deal with for the rest of your life.  Besides, even if you understood what a text message was, you don't have an iPhone to use, and even if you had one, you probably wouldn't use it, as you spend the vast majority of your time sleeping.

S:  I guess you're right.  But back to my original comment about being a Luddite.  Don't you think that this is going to tarnish your reputation now that you've become so "modern"?

TTW:  It is what it is, and I doubt that many people will even take notice of the "new" me.

S:  Okay then.  As long as you are happy with your decision, then so am I.  Now, would you mind if I now went back to sleep?  This conversation has worn me out, and I need to rest up, so that I have enough energy to eat my dinner tonight.  You do remember that you have to feed me in a couple of hours, right?

TTW:  Relax.  Yes, don't worry, I'll have your dinner ready and waiting at the appropriate time.

S:  Thanks Paul.  Wake me when dinner is ready.

TTW: You can count on it Silken.

And here is one more photo of Silken, just prior to nap time, and still wondering why I now have an iPhone 6.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

BEND AND BACK

 POST # 697

On June 4th, we headed off on a road trip to Bend, Oregon. Mary's granddaughter was graduating from high school, and Mary wanted to be there to participate in the event.

With the car loaded up, and with Dora-dog happily settled in the back seat, we headed off on our adventure.  It was just before 11 am when we were finally on our way.  Thankfully the weather cooperated with a mostly overcast day, which makes it comfortable to drive, without the sun glaring through the windows.

Getting through the Seattle area wasn't too bad, and the traffic flowed smoothly, as we continued on our journey southward to Oregon.

Once we had crossed the border, it wasn't long before we arrived in the town of Sandy.  And for us, Sandy is famous for the fabulous bakery located there.  It was a perfect spot to take a break, and have a snack, before getting back on the road.

From Sandy, it's about another hour or so to Mount Hood, which is a magnificent mountain to look at as we drove on by.

As we continued on our journey, the desert landscape begins to take over, and the air is much dryer than it is on the coast.  We arrived at our air b&b location around 8 pm, settled in, and called it a day. The location is a quiet one near the river, and quiet is always a bonus as far as I am concerned.

  

Since arriving, we've had time to get out for some nice walks along the river in a few different locations. The first of the two photos below, is only about a five minute walk from where we are staying, which gives the reader an idea of what the landscape is like that surrounds us.  

Dora-dog has been happy to get the opportunity to splash around in the river from time to time, which she is very grateful for having had the opportunity to do so.

We depart this morning, June 7th, to head back to Shelter Bay, and then I am heading back to Canada the following day.  I'll wait to post this entry until we get back, just in case there is anything else that I want to add with regards to the return journey.

And here are two more photos before this post comes to an end.  Dora-dog by the river on our evening walk last night, and relaxing back at the air b&b after the walk.

And finally, the return journey was uneventful, and we arrived back in Shelter Bay around 6:30 pm.

Here is a photo taken near a place called Warm Springs.  Very interesting landscape in this part of Oregon.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

CONCRETE AND DECK WORK

 POST # 696

Before we come to the story regarding Canadian donuts, let me spend a little bit of time talking about the deck work that has now been completed. (Well, almost completed, as I have a few touch ups that I will finish later today.)

This happened to be round number two regarding the deck. The first time that I completed this task was way back in April, 2021.  Here is a link to that blog post. https://wherespaulnow.blogspot.com/search?q=deck+work+done

I am amazed that just over five years have gone by since that first staining of the deck.  The older I get, the faster the years fly by, which is all the more reason to try and get as much out of each day as possible.

The photos show the before and after look, and if I don't mind saying so myself, I think it looks pretty darn good once again.  It had a double coat this time, so perhaps it will last longer than five more years.  Even Dora-dog has approved of the new look, as she inspects my finished work.

Okay, that's enough talk about the deck.  Now let's talk about Concrete with a capital C.

Approximately an hour's drive east of here is the small town of Concrete, WA.  I have been there on a few occasions over the years, and I just have to say that there is a pizza place there, that sells the very best pizza that I have ever tasted.  But this story isn't about pizza.

When I take my daily walk with Dora-dog, we always pass by the post office in town, and in front of it, there is a newspaper stand, that holds issues of the Concrete Herald.  Recently, the cover attracted my attention, so I grabbed a copy and brought it home to read.

There were numerous interesting articles to read, and near the end of the paper I came across the only obituary printed in that particular edition.  I decided to read about Carmal Ann Arnold.  Imagine my surprise, when I read about all of the places that she had lived throughout her life.  The place that caught my attention was the town of Canadian,Texas.  What?  There is actually a town in the USA called Canadian?  Turns out to be the case.  Here is a link to Canadian's website for anyone who is interested. https://www.canadiantx.com/live-in-canadian  The photo at the beginning of today's blog post is of the donut shop in Canadian.

After being a Canadian for over 71 years now, I had never heard of the place.  And I bet that I could do a survey of 100 Canadians, and not even one would know that there is such a place.  It was worth picking up the copy of the Concrete Herald, just to learn that fact.

I guess that is enough rambling for today.  It's going to be a beautiful day by the looks of it, and Dora-dog will be sporting a new look on our walk, because later this morning, she will be getting her Spring haircut, just in time for the warmer weather.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

A NEW OUTLOOK ON LIFE

POST # 695

It has been just over a week since the dramatic fire at the neighbour's house took place.  And even if I wanted to put that drama behind me, I am reminded of it each and every day when I walk out into the back yard.  There is the house, or should I say, what is left of it.

One can't help but feel sad for the neighbours.  Last Wednesday started out like every day prior, and I am sure that they would have had no thoughts about their house being engulfed in flames later in the morning.  But life throws us some curve balls every now and again.  No doubt we could all tell a few stories about unexpected occurrences that have happened to us.  Somehow we just have to live through whatever takes place, for as long as we are able.

But for The Thoughtful Wanderer, this tragedy has had a profound impact on me.  It's so easy to go through a day, and just take everything for granted.  Most of us probably do just that.  Life's good today, and it will be good tomorrow, or so we imagine that it will be.

Since that day, I feel like I am getting more out of each day that passes.  I'm up earlier than normal, and I seem to notice little things that I didn't pay attention to before.  And I am more in the moment than I have ever been in my entire life.  For example, yesterday I was doing some weeding in the front yard.  Let it be known that weeding isn't one of my favourite tasks, however yesterday I enjoyed each and every minute of the work.  It didn't even seem like work.  I think that I could have weeded all day long, but before I knew it, I had completed the job.

I feel more alive than I can ever remember, and the tragic incident next door was without a doubt the catalyst for this new view of life.   

So I am very grateful for this new outlook on life, but at the same time I am sad for the neighbours.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

A CLOSE CALL

 POST # 694

"You'll want to get home right away, because the house behind your house is engulfed in flames."

That was the message we received from the neighbour yesterday, while we were in Mount Vernon grocery shopping.  Needless to say, we made a quick exit from the store and headed back to Shelter Bay.  We followed one of the firetrucks as it proceeded to the fire.

The smoke was very thick, as we entered through the gates, and we really didn't know what to expect when we got to the house.  As you can see in the next photo, the fire was truly raging as we arrived on the scene.  Mary's house is in the foreground, so you get an idea of just how close it was to the house that was on fire.

With multiple fire trucks (8) and crew on scene, they eventually put an end to the fire, which we were all very thankful for indeed.  Unfortunately for the home owners behind us, the house was a total loss.  

The map below shows how close we were to the house that caught fire.  It was number 67, and Mary's house is the one with the red marker on it.  Too close for comfort.  Thankfully, at least for us, the wind yesterday happened to be blowing (quite strongly) out of the south.  If it had been blowing in the opposite direction, it is possible that the other three houses featured on the map, including Mary's, might have also been destroyed.

We were very lucky indeed.  

You wake up each day, and expect to have a normal day, but yesterday certainly wasn't one of those days.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

BLOOMS AND THE BALL

 POST # 693

Maybe it was a bird flying by, or perhaps a squirrel running around the backyard, but somehow a sunflower seed managed to find a place to settle.  And now we have the beginning of what will be a magnificent sunflower, one day in the future.  It is amazing just how fast it has grown to this point, and I'm looking forward to following its progress while I am here.  There are other  sunflower seeds as well, so with any luck the backyard will have plenty of sunflowers by the time fall has arrived.

Yes, it's that time of year when everything is blooming, and we have a good selection of plants here to admire as the days go by.

Of course, one of my favourite plants growing right now is the resident rhubarb plant.  The stalks are fairly thin at the moment, but not so thin that I haven't had an early season taste.  And when it is prepared like my dad prepared rhubarb, with just a sprinkle of salt upon it, it is very yummy indeed.  I'll be keeping a close eye on its progress, for sure.

Rounding out today's short post, is the familiar face of Dora-dog, relaxing for a moment, after playing a game of chase the ball around the yard, which is one of her favourite things to do each and every morning.  We both get some exercise, and that is a good way to start the day.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer