WAITING; Coalinga-CA

December 22nd: The waiting is the hardest part.

The next few days will be hard: there's so much waiting involved.

The first thing I saw this morning, was that Minerva's second blossom bud has opened … it will be worth the wait. Christmas is a mere 3 days away 😁

I'm going to see a Christmas bloom, after all 👍

We needed to go after bread - and dressing, I was happy to note that I was able to comfortably wear a top 👏 I have not been able to wear since the day we bought Betsy 3 years ago: the intermediate fasting ❌, muscle toning exercises 🏋️‍♀️, and lean eating 👨‍🍳 is paying off.

I am glad to be losing weight (and noticeably, too).

The waiting has been hard - and there's more waiting laying in wait, in the near future, but it is working; &. I intend to be able to wear all the tops in the closet that have not seen the light if day since the "I do's" were exchanged and fatty meals became daily food fare 😒; against my husband's will, that fatty food habit has been curbed & we are eating healthier. We still have our splurge days 😘 - but they are far and few between now 😉

I was feeling pretty good when we stepped out of Independence and slid into Betsy.

Holland must have been feeling good, too, because he put this song on stereo and jacked the speakers up as we vibrated Betsy's cab up the highway towards Coalinga (he doesn't particularly like Billy - but he knows I do) - and he wrapped my hand in his 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨 when the "it's a nice day to start again" lyrics filled the air.

The waiting is worth it 💎🙏

1985 Billy Idol - White Wedding: 

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNO2HK8F9Z0)

💞

The Fueling Station was decked out in festive colors - LOL; Coalinga-CA

On our way back home, we noticed that the orange orchards are ready to be picked … and that is not happening 🤔

The air was thick with the odor of over-ripe oranges and moldy neglect as the oranges wait 😑

There are probably lots of reasons for this, and weather chaos is probably the biggest culprit; everyone familiar with this region says the cold & wet weather we've experienced this year, is not the norm for here. Maybe next year will be better.

The Orange Orchards are seriously overladen, over-ripe, & under-picked; some molding on the ground.

While we were in Coalinga, Holland had exchanged my $20 winner card for an extravagant $20 card 👌 … and bought me an extra 🤠, "because this is your birthday week" 💝

I scratched one off, at home: it was a dud 😔

The other one is waiting to be scratched off, on Christmas Day; I think Holland will have a harder time waiting for that revealing 🧐, than I will - he can be pretty impatient sometimes 😂🤣

I'd wait until my BD … but we may be pulling up stakes, and moving on down the road before then 🗺️

Christmas goodies - both waiting until Christmas Day.