Finally  I feel like I am on the downside of getting moved. All of the changes we wanted to make to our home here on the Washington coast are done and the house is on the market. I can't wait to get moved. The next couple of months are going to drag so badly. We can't close on this place till after September 2nd or we will have to pay a HUGE prepayment penalty and I am damned if I am going to make our bank any richer than it already is.

My husband goes back to Alaska next weekend so the move will be my responsiblity. But my son is moving with us and he is a lot of help. We will just get stuff loaded in the semi trailor they bring here and then they come pick it up and deliver it at the other end. It sure makes life simpler and is less of an impact on the environment. They load several households in one trailer and deliver them all at once. I will drive my nice fuel efficient car loaded with my son and I and the cats and unload the trailer at the other end.

I have made a concerted effort to cut car usage to an absolute minimum and am now putting less than a 100 miles a month on my car. By combining all of my chores that require the car and not making frivolous trips, I am saving a lot of money and doing my bit for the earth. Gas out here is at $4.59 a gallon and no matter what the cost, it is bad for our Mother.

Sunshine

Friday and Saturday were glorious and wonderful days and on Saturday it got up to 72 here. That kind of temp here in this area set records all over the place. Of course, now the gray and rain is back but at least it makes me belive that summer is there waiting to come back.

This will probably be our last spring here in the NW. We are planning to move to Pennsylvania this fall. My husband will be home on the 21st and we are going to do a couple more upgrades to our home and then put it on the market. We are neither of us Northwessterners by birth and didn't come this way till we were adults. Both of us are more than ready to get back to four actual seasons, other than wet and wetter, and closer to his family who are all still in Maryland. I want to be someplace where I can grow tomatoes other than in a greenhouse. And I miss the fall color. Neither of us have ever lived in Pennsylvania so this will a something new for us. There is a poem by Robert Frost I think that talks about the roads well traveled. Well, the roads out here are way too well travled and familiar and I am ready for new horizons and thoughts and seasons.

I imagine that my youngest daughter is going to be very upset, but she is planning to move to San Francisco next year so it wouldn't make any difference in proximity after she leaves Portland. Moving is such a pain and nuisance, but I am truly looking forward to this one. My son is moving with us so he will be a big help.

I have been picking daffodils in my yard for the last week and today I harvested the first lovely, tender and delicate sprigs of fresh mint and added them to a pot of leek soup. It tasted wonderful and smelled like  the nectar of the gods. Why do fresh herbs smell so wonderful?

There is something about those first delicate little herb shoots in the spring that makes me glad to be alive and joyous in the bounty of the Earth. I admit that spring comes pretty early here and most parts of the country aren't enjoying it yet, but today was a glorious day.

Something about Spring encourages me to clean house and sort out dresser drawers and clear up clutter. I spent part of the day cleaning and putting together bags of things to take to the thrift shop that supports our local food bank and things to pass on to other family members. It is sort of like I am tossing out the remnants of winter. Maybe it is something to do with being a double Virgo and also somewhat obsessive-compulsive.  Ok, make that a lot O-C. I alphabetize my spices and herbs and my cupboards are organized by type, size, etc. It drives part of my family crazy and part of them understand completely. My sister is Virgo, too and about as O-C as I am.

I hope that Spring catches up with the rest of the country soon, too.

Sunshine

It has been so long since I have been on here. First Yule, then my mother getting ill and all of the difficulties of getting she and my father moved up to Portland where she could get good medical treatment. I have been back and forth to Portland so many times lately, I think I could drive it in my sleep and maybe I have.

Realizing suddenly that your parents are no longer the rock you have leaned on all your life and having the tables turn 180 degrees is a big shock. It is as though in one minute they have become your children just at that time in life when you thought your children were all raised and on their own. And what makes it even more difficult is that they don't want to be dependent and fight it every inch of the way.

It is our plan to leave the NW this fall and move back to the East...probably to Pennsylvania. My husband is from Maryland and would like to be a bit closer to his siblings and I would like to be in an area again that has four seasons. I think we will probably be somewhere around Pittsburgh. I am looking forward to it.

Our weather out here has been truly awful this year but the plants think spring is on her way. The pussy willows are budded out and the snow drops are up and nodding away in the yard. And a number of my later bulbs are already pushing up and reaching for light. I am more than ready for the Maiden to make her appearance and warm things up a bit.

It doesn't seem possible that it has been over a month since I have posted. This time has been busy and we had a week of no power during our recent storm and then another week of no internet. It does take a while to get things back to normal after a major wind storm. But at least we didn't have flooding here. A lot of the counties around us were deeply under water and the main North South Interstate was 10 feet under water.

Two of my kids will be with us for the holidays and I am looking forward to it. I have been doing lots of baking and making and feel very maternal and "earthmotherish" .

I hope that all out there have a truly blessed Yule and enjoy the wonder of a new year arriving.

Sunshine