SPIRIT RISING & Shabbat Eve 2026; Castle Rock-WA

March 21st: I had been planning to visit Calvary Chapel fellowship in Centralia … but this morning I woke up with thoughts running through my head that convinced me Elohim had checked me in that. My feet hit the floor knowing that He wanted me to stay local - so, I shared what was revealed to me with Holland 🔑 and he had some revealing of his own, to share with me; the Ruach HaKo'desh is rising & renewing our spirits.

It is all good ✌️, with both of us 💕

Holland brought up getting a gym subscription 🏋️‍♀️ - I readily agreed 👏 He called 📱 and got the price of a Day Pass 💰 to the Planet Fitness workout gym, at the Mall. If we like it, we'll purchase a Pass that is interchangeable in other States 🗺️ This is a win-win 🤝: home routines are fine and good … but we really need to be walking more, so the treadmill will be a major plus: I've been wanting a fold-up treadmill I can use/store in Independence, but using one at the gym makes more sense to Holland. I like that we will be working out together to get healthier and more fit 👌

Planet Fitness.

He also brought up checking out a Couple's Wednesday Bible Study ⛪️📖  at the Community Church in Castle Rock - we aren't interested in separate studies, staggered throughout the week; so, if they have such an archaic thing anymore, this will be the better choice for us. We can study/be on the same vibe together & if one of my asthmatic coughs starts … or Holland's pain level spikes; and we have to leave the meet early, we won't be disturbing a Sunday gathering - and one of us can drive us back home, if one of us is not able to do so. Wednesday's are low-key gatherings that work better for our needs.

The Ruach HaKo'desh is renewing our spirits; and our spirits are rising to the Call.

Castle Rock Christian Church; Holland has attended here, in the past. This will be a new experience for me - I've fellowshipped for 3 decades with Messianic Believers … to Sunday people, it seems I speak a foreign language. And to an extent, I do. Holland is a Sunday person - I will have to relearn things I've gotten a little rusty on.

We both agreed that we need to get it together in focusing on building  US up 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨 Grace began our story … grace sustains it … and grace will bring it all to completion - we heard each other out, and came to an agreeable middle ground. I shared my concerns & was heard - he shared his overviews & was heard. WE are more important than anyone or anything pressing on our time & nerves. Time is short, we are no longer spring chickens, & our remaining time on Earth needs to be redeemed ⏳🪔. Holland has medical needs that need immediate attention ⚕️: this is my major concern 🧐 & the main reason I agreed to come back to WA State 🤨 Also, we understand that we (together & individually), have tasks to do - personal tasks that we have been called to attend to, that have been entrusted to us to uphold & fulfil ☝️ ✝️ = these things need to be front & center in our life; everyone, & everything else, can take a number and wait until we can get to them 🤞

The air cleared 😘, and understandings clearly clarified 📣, Holland suggested we get out of the house, do a little light grocery shopping 🛒 & go for a short drive 🚘, when the wash cycle ended.

I was game 😊

Spring was in full swing …

Clear, blue skies - pink flowering trees & Evergreens; Toutle River RV Park-WA

White blossoming Weeping Cherry Blossom Tree.

An abundance of flowering trees line the entire Park boundary …

Cascade Select Market, Castle Rock-WA from Toutle River RV Park, Castle Rock-WA; (4 mi) 8 mins via I-5 S

Red Twig Dogwood; Castle Rock-WA

A personal Spring 'thing' & not available in any State of the lower portion of the USA

Camelot, Castle Rock-WA; the Cook Ferry Park, is directly behind & runs along the Cowlitz River, tying into Westside Hwy, CR-WA

2 houses showing across the way, on clear-cut properties; we're thinking in t he vicinity if Headquarters Road-WA

The sturdy, sunny, daffodils, the serene duck couple, the tranquil setting of the fishing shack - and the surprise ashy sand extraction refueled our drained spirits.

The sunny drive was just what was needed to lift our spirits.

Sunny daffodils showing brightly in the midst of weedy deadfall.

A Mallard & his Hen swimming a ditch across the street from the daffodil cluster.

I never knew this road existed; & Bob & I had driven up & down Cook Ferry Road for decades.

Of course, Holland has lived in this region of WA for 3/4 of his life; off-on 40 years, between Vader & Kelso.

Cook Ferry Road, Castle Rock-WA

A bench in the middle of nowhere … fishermen don't sit anywhere but on river banks.

A Robin - we saw several; this 1 stood still long enough to show it's photogenic side.

A Killdeer

Horses! And Holland is right - it's a 'she' - not a 'he' - guiding them forward.

The Sand Pit was something new to both of us; it's actually ash residue from the 1981 eruption of Mt. St. Helens.

The ash created & washed down from Mt. St. Helens,  changed the depth, width, and course of the Cowlitz River. He hadn't been down that end of the road in about 10 years, so the ashy sand pit was a surprised to him, too.

That was a fun excursion - I didn't know that road existed, so I was happy Holland drove out there to show me the fishing shack he always talks about - he was a fishing junkie ,🐟⚓️ and has fished wherever he could; all over the place: Vader, Castle Rock, Kelso, Longview, the Elochoman, Kalama, Woodland, Ridgefield, Vancouver & Rainier-OR … wherever there was water and fish. 

Holland talked so much about CA, that I always assumed that was his hometown; but I have learned over the past 6 months, that though he has worked in nearly every State in the Union … he has actually spent half of his life living in WA (32 yo) … and has lived in the Vader-Castle Rock-Kelso region of WA permanently, since 1994. He's pretty tethered to WA State.

It was a good Day 😁

Our flagging spirits are rising: the Day ended well 👍

Battery operated Taper Candle for Shabbat.

CHRISTMAS IS MY FAVORITE TIME OF THE YEAR; Coalinga-CA

Morning coffee and morning exercises: a good way to start the Day 😊

We need to walk daily, and we needed to go after bread; so Holland drove the loop drive 🚘 to Coalinga (up the freeway and country road back home); this is a long way to go & there is not much to see but various sizes of oil pump jacks along the Coalinga side of Hwy #198 - but I like it because it's quiet open country … it's greening up nicely following the recent rainfall. And I appreciate my husband's indulgence 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨😘

Loop Drive from W Jayne, up Freeway to #198 to Coalinga; and back to W Jayne.

Main Road to Coalinga off Freeway. I like this country drive.

Of course we always come home with more 🙄 than we went to the store for 💸, but at least we got our daily walk in 👌

Back home, purchases were put away in 'fridge & pantries, the fireplace was lit & the Christmas Box was pulled out of hiding 👍 and I spread a bit of Christmas joy around our humble abode … nothing fancy … just enough to be festive, laundry was done, and Holland's cousin Bruce called to say he'd arrived in CA - he and Holland made plans to get together 🤝 when Bruce's schedule loosens enough to set time aside to shoot the breeze for catch up chit chat. I hope it works out this time - they talk quite a bit on the phone, it's the face-to-face that is hit and miss.

Electric Fireplace - warmth & ambiance.

Bruce is in CA; plans being laid to meet up.

Garland hung & candy canes set out.

Garlands & beads, hung.

MOD Crochet plant pot cover made with sparkly holiday yarn.

I usually start getting my December Holiday stuff in place as soon as the Thanksgiving stuff is cleared away … but this year, I've been dragging my feet; the Grim Reaper has been making collections this year (me = a beloved friend, a younger brother, and a cousin; my husband = an older brother). It is hard to be merry & jolly when the heart is dealing with so much heaviness.

Holland must be needing a little of December's special vibes because he's all of a sudden going soft 💞 about Christmas - the other day actually suggesting "a little Christmas tree"; and tonight wanting a little more of Christmas vibe than I skimpily spread around throughout our small spaces. Hmmm: I like this ... I'm already thinking ahead 🧐 to what I can add to the Christmas Box ✅ for Christmas 2026 👏

I'm a snow baby, born December 29th; Christmas is my favorite time of year 😁

Country Christmas Albums...Plus!

But this year the December excitement has been tempered with losses 😔 - as well as gains 🦋 This Christmas 🎄, we'll spend some time on the introspective simplicity of reflective memories of those who have passed on; and work on ourselves 💝, enjoying each other 💖 & rediscovering the friendship ✌️ that got sidelined 🤦🏻‍♀️😒🤷‍♀️🤔 in the shuffle of melding 🥰 2 totally different lives into 1.

The month of December holds so much for me: my birth month, the month my life with Bob permanently ended … and the month Elohim blessed me with a new love. Where once sorrow reigned - hope now makes big gains.

There is something so blessed in December's special vibe, so tonight if you’re feeling stretched thin, tired, or a little heart bruised; I hope December's soft joy wraps around you like a warm blanket, and reminds you to walk gently with yourself - we are all doing the best we can with the cards we've been dealt, and grace goes a long way.

LIVENING THINGS UP: Coalinga-CA

October 14th: I woke up to furious rainfall this morning; California is experiencing its first widespread soaking of the season, which will also include the heaviest Sierra snowfall so far this fall. This storm system is currently diving southward along the California coast, with rain from the Central Valley into parts of Southern California, and snow falling in the Sierra.

Fall is the transition period in California. Sometimes, strong Santa Ana winds fan large wildfires in October - even so, where we are currently, is the best place to be; considering the destructive weather 😳 in places we are normally are hunkered down in this time of year (Yuma-AZ, Quartzsite-AZ, Parker-AZ, Kingman-AZ to name a few).

When Holland was up and finished his mug of coffee, he suggested driving into Coalinga for our Tuesday bucket of chicken from KFC

Along the way, we skidded on wet mud, off the road, and nearly smacked an orchard tree with Betsy's broad side. We could see across the way that there was a tow truck … so, Holland walked across the highway to ask for a pull out of the slick & sticky mud: the man obliged - and refused pay; we were thankful, and I prayed a blessing on the man for his open-handed kindness 🙏

An unforeseen incident - this slick situation is a little too close for comfort.

Never a dull moment with either husband.

We had a fun time filled with laughter and light-hearted teasing, following the livened up mudding incident; we made Coalinga without any more interesting snafu's, and Holland asked one of the KFC workers if there was a hand wash car wash in town … there was 😁👍 We had driven past it many times without noticing. Today, we noticed, and utilized it 😉

We got back home before the gray clouds unleashed more pent up precipitation - and enjoyed our hot chicken in Independence's cozy warmth.

The overnight rainfall perked everything up - vibrancy was on display at the KFC drive through; Coalinga-CA

A DIY Car Wash - Holland was happy to find this.

Betsy was not bogged down by muddy clay anymore.

The tail-end of the 2-day storm; Coalinga-CA

More than hot chicken was enjoyed in our cozy nest: we are both working on ourselves this year to shore each other up, and mend the torn fabric of the Life we are weaving: we know what we want … and we both know that Elohim knows how to get us there.

Our relationship hasn’t been rainbows and roses the whole time - and it’s been really tough, at times. But that’s life, isn’t it? Some days are good. Some days are terrible. We don't know from one day to the next how it will go, but we both just know that our lives are better with each other in it, than it is without. Some days you just drift apart for a while - you get your ugly times, your bad times and your horrific times. But if you love each other enough, you'll work through.

I remember when it dawned on me that Holland was courting me: Holland had cooked something (for everyone gathered, but specifically with me, in his thoughts), "with margarine - not butter; for the first time, there is margarine in my refrigerator": I knew then, that he had placed me in his priority zone.

I remember when he went out of his way to bring Thanksgiving Supper to me - he thought about me the entire time he was with his Kelso family members … and he told them about me: that he was going to marry me. When I agreed to Christmas Supper, the family members were already prepped to meet me. He is always a forward thinking man.

I remember when I wanted to get out of Longview for good … he gamely jumped on my Road Gypsy thought train and drove us clear across America (to West Virginia), to purchase Independence, because we could buy her at half cost, and have her out-fitted on site; to suit our needs.

I remember that while we were touring America and wildfires broke out everywhere around us - he drove nonstop through several States, to get me safely to a place where there was no smoke in the air: wildfire smoke started in Idaho, wound down through Nevada .. and up the coastline from California, Oregon, and to Long Beach-WA. We finally found a safe haven at David's beach property, where the air was clear and Holland could rest easy (his mind, his body, his generous loving heart).

I remember that even when the fight is on hot and heavy - he is the first one to forgive bad behavior and seek to rectify the situation (loving ministrations more with actions, than with words); I'm not so quick … and he overlooks that, letting me cool down in my own way, in my own time.

I remember the sight-seeing detours he planned along routes he hated - just so I could have the chance to see those places & share through pictures & videos, those places with my far-flung friends across the globe.

And I remember so many other things, too, that let me hear "he's the one."

I remember that he is fighting demons from his Past, that at times hamstring him from enjoying the Present.

No one else has to understand it; half the time WE don't understand it … and that's okay: we know that God brought US about (no other way "we" could have happened), so we'll continue working it out - for the 95% of time there are no questions 😉

I wanted different; I petitioned Elohim for different … I got different: Life has been livened up.

Self-care measures.

The prayers this year are the same as last year: we want to enjoy each other, and have fun with each other's company; we want relative solitude; we want to visit, and camp, in far-flung isolated ghost towns, abandoned mining communities; where the only sound is the quiet hum of nature, and a skidding pebble under the soles of our shoes as we explore … I want to listen to the coyotes sing their night songs, and view the stars, and milky way, in all their nighttime glory. We want a smaller camper - a smaller camper would help us check off our Bucket List events. We want to visit places in the mid-West, and on the East Coast, where we won't have to be overly concerned about undersized parking areas. We want to be able to park and camp, inside National Parks, instead of 4 hours outside them.

Of course, Elohim's Plans for us may not be our plans for us - but on the off-chance that we are all in agreement, we are hoping & praying that Elohim agrees with these wants, and helps to provide us with a workable solution.

As the evening arrived & progressed into the wee early morning hours, I had watched several humorous movies, and finished up 2 little clothing items that will be going into the city with us next month, when we go that way for grocery shopping:

I watched Diane Keaton movies for hours while working these little things up …