DIAMOND IN OUR POCKETS; Coalinga-CA

There’s something so joyfully content about that little longing we feel to shape a Life that feels inclusive, quiet, and uniquely ours 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨 Creating a cozy little life isn’t about perfection - it’s about finding joy in simple routines, making our home feel like a sanctuary, and giving ourselves permission to slow down 🐌 enough to truly savor it. A warm drink ☕️🍵, a peaceful corner ✍️💻🎬📚, a moment to breathe 🕊️ … it all adds up to a life that feels beautifully lived.

I'm glad we are both taking space, and taking the time to hunker down and work on ourselves 🦋 for each other 🥰, for the benefit of the whole 💖

This week, the working has been in slo-mo: we've both been laid low 🛌 by the weather. The gray cloud overhang ☔️ hasn't been helpful, either.

But this morning, we felt well and chipper enough to drive into Coalinga for some 🍕 I didn't get too dolled up … but I did spiff up, a bit 😉

'Blue Mist' Mascara; 'Nude Burn' Crème Blush; 'Pink Sand' Crème Lipstick.

'Soft Brown' Brow Gel & 'White Diamonds' perfume; the scent Holland likes on me.

It was chill enough to pull my denim jacket out of hiding & slip it on.

Coalinga from the Almond Oasis RV Park; 15 min (11.2 mi) via W Jayne Ave-CA

Foggy morning on W Jayne Ave-CA

We ate a few pieces of pizza out of the box, in the parking lot, & people watched 👀 a while before we headed back to Independence.

Holland was treating me to the loop drive I like through Avenal … when he spotted a road sign and said, "I don't think we've been down that road yet. Have we been down that road?" I replied, "I don't think so, either. It's not a name I recognize." So, he turned around at the big barn; and backtracked to Sutter Avenue 👏😊

A short detour home on Sutter Ave.; 22 mins (19.5 mi) via #33-CA & W Jayne Ave.-CA

Laughing together; the best medicine available.

Sutter Ave., is a jump road between Hwy. #33-CA & W Jayne Ave-CA: there wasn't much to see, other than the normal open fields; 1 orchard, & 1 ranch acreage - but it was a nice country drive. I like country drives with wide open fields. And we enjoyed the entire drive to the backbeat of George Strait, Alan Jackson, Randy Travis & Kenny Rogers … this was a special concession & I appreciated Holland's attentive pampering 😎😘

We are diamonds in the making.

Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris - 'I Dug Up a Diamond' lyrics:  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q6N4fU5PXs)

When we got back home, I noticed Minerva is busting out all over with blossom 🌸 buds 😳😊

I snipped the stamen's out to halt allergic reactions. I'll get 4 blossoms out of this 1 bulb!

We ate a few more 🍕 slices … and had a slice of rolled strawberry cake 👍 for dessert:

This strawberry cake roll tastes like an oversized Zinger roll - without the cream filling.

Then Holland kicked back for a short siesta 😴 - and I did some toning exercises 💪: throughout November, I've been scheduling in some intermediate fasting days too, and I've dropped 10 pounds, as of this morning 😁 If I stick to the self-care practices 🙏, I should be a lot lighter, pretty toned, ✅ & a lot spiritually balanced ✝️ come Spring 2026. That is the goal, anyway 😉

Standing Toe Touches~20 repeats

Bodyweight Side Stretch~20 repeats each side

Bodyweight - Potty Squat with support~20 repeats

5 min = of continual repeats

The rest of the evening passed with relaxed, & relaxing activities, wrapped in contented domesticity.

WIP coming along …

Laundry catch-up.

The making of diamonds takes place under friction - that is true, but done correctly the result is a brilliant gem of immeasurable value.

Today was a good Day.

Happiness.

Well-being.

Exploration.

Contentment.

Diamonds in our pockets.

We are both diamonds in the rough, taking shape, to better enrich our union 💖

WOMAN'S WORK; Ocean Park-WA

August 2nd: Holland's younger brother called last night to say he was thinking about coming to the beach, and if he did - he would be stopping by to see our home, Independence; Holland was looking forward to the visit, but since there was no definite given, he wasn't sure Mark would actually be coming.

We woke up.

We drank coffees ☕️ and waited.

The Day got longer 🤔; Holland went upstairs for a mid-morning nap 🛌

About an hour into the nap, his cell rang … Mark was at the Ocean Park Beach Access: Holland got up and went to meet him.

While Holland was gone, I went into turbo woman's work mode, and tidied the house for visitor inspection 😉

The guys pulled up outside just as I finished sweeping the floor, set a chair in place for an extra seating ✅, and was finishing up an interesting article 🧐 about the russian earthquake that had put the western part of American on alert a couple days ago:

Russia’s Magnitude 8.8 Earthquake Caused An Eerie Disturbance 4,000 Miles Away In Death Valley National Park: (https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/russia-s-magnitude-8-8-earthquake-caused-an-eerie-disturbance-4-000-miles-away-in-death-valley-national-park/ar-AA1JNieA?ocid=winp1taskbar&cvid=2707a8d939e5408ad53cd6984b8f7d05&ei=11)

Oregon & Washington Under Tsunami Advisory After 8.8 Quake Strikes Off Coast Of Russia * Tue, July 29th 2025: 

(https://katu.com/news/local/80-quake-strikes-near-peninsula-in-russia-tsunami-danger-being-evaluated-for-west-coast)

I like Mark; he's a quiet person like Holland, and speaks with a gentle sexy voice, like Holland - they are manly men who came of age in the past century with confident mannerisms. After the inside visiting came to an end, they went outside for about another half hour of schmoozing:

Holland and his younger brother, Mark; Ocean Park-WA

When Mark had left, we ate supper and relaxed in our own ways … Holland went online to veg out with humorous reels; and I got busy with more woman's work, which actually relaxes me. Some women get annoyed with domestic tasks, but I like doing them.

I like being a wife.

I like taking care of my man 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨

I sorely missed doing these mundane tasks during my widow years, and I am thankful Elohim has blessed my life with these simple chores, again.

I like having this man in my personal space.

I like hearing his laughter.

Whatever he's listening to, or watching, has seriously tickled his funny bone 😘

Sorting the laundry, I hadn't realized that the hamper had gotten so full. When I said that to Holland, he said, "Don't worry about it Baby; your hands were sore, and I didn't want to burden you with laundry. You're not my slave." My guy is so thoughtful … and he is capable of doing a load of laundry if his clothing cache had been severely depleted. And he wouldn't mind doing it, either (until we married, he has done his own laundry since he was 14 years old). So, I laughed, and said, "Well, I'll never be anyone's slave - but what piddly amount of woman's work I do … is wife work; not slave work. It's one of my few job descriptions under the heading of Wife - and I'm thankful to be doing it again."

Hanging Laundry.

Because I hadn't had time for it earlier, I did my exercises later in the evening … and feel blessed in that area of my life, also 😊