JOURNAL YOUR UNUFURLING LIFE WINGS~Self-Care 2026;Castle Rock-WA

It seems like July has only begun … and already August is hovering to flip the calendar page in 5 days' time 🤔

Where did the time go?

There's still stuff to get done before Fall - but we're also making time for some relaxing times, too:

Be kind to yourself.

Release the pressure.

Go for a walk.

Get your favorite coffee.

Stretch & exercise your body.

Journal your unfurling Life wings, detailing the renewing metamorphosis.

Take a therapy drive with your favorite music.

One thing I do want to do while we are here, this close to Centralia - is make a Daytrip to the Fort Borst Park; I caught a glimpse of it, from the freeway, coming home from Holland's Dr, appointment, a dew days ago. All I saw was walking trails winding through a heavily forested area … that was enough to pique my interest, but when I got home and researched it, I realized that it is actually quite large and interesting. So, I mentioned to Holland that I wanted to borrow Betsy and spend a couple hours exploring it. He said, "From what we saw, it's pretty dark with all those trees. Do you have Bear Spray?" I laughed and said, "It did look dark, but I have my walking stick. And Bear Spray. And my wedding gift; with permit." 

Bear Spray

I'm used to walking & hiking with Yeshua as a stronghold companion - but, Holland has lived much of his life in shadowy, sketchy city neighborhoods, and knows the underbelly of society: he is a very protective husband 🦁; when we married, Holland immediately bought me some Bear Spray as soon as he found out I go hiking alone - plus, he gifted me with & insists I carry a firearm in risky environments, and personally took me to purchase a concealed weapon permit: he has also been assured that I know how to use a firearm 👉 with reasonable accuracy. I figure that with Yeshua beside me, my walking stick in hand, the Bear Spray at the ready (a guard against 2 legged threats = a menacingly man that doesn't belong in my personal space), & my gift in place (a guard against 4 legged threats = bears, cougars, ect.), I should be pretty safe (and my husband's mind should be at ease) while I go hiking 😘

My gifted Taurus TX22

We did go for a short local drive, this afternoon; and while refueling Betsy, my heart was heartened to see Old Glory so prevalent everywhere I looked … front yards, vendor stands, trucks, motorcycles:

I like seeing American Patriotism displayed openly, honoring Old Glory.

When we got back home, Holland called around to pin down a printer; it sounds like we will be driving onto Longview tomorrow to purchase a printer … and I went into the back spare room to do a workout.

I have also included seated alternatives to the exercises shown on the worksheet:

Aim to do EA Set for a ct. of 20, x3

Side Punches~Aim for 20 ct., x3

Alternative~Sitting Air Punches~Aim for 20 ct., x3

Gym Visual Arm Circles~Aim for 20 ct., x3

Alternative~Sitting Arm Circles~Aim for 20 ct., x3

Standing Alternating Knee-to-Elbow Crunch~Aim for 10 reps EA Leg (20 reps total), x3

Alternative~Chair Assist Alternating Knee-to-Elbow Crunch~Aim for 10 reps EA Leg (20 reps total), x3

Alternative~Gym Visual  Elbow-to-Knee Twists~Aim for 10 reps EA Leg (20 reps total), x3

Darebee Step Side Jacks~Aim for 20 ct, x3

Alternative~Seated Side Jacks~Aim for 20 ct, x3 

Today was a slow Day - but it was a good Day to be alive, & to feel alive ☺️💕

Self-Care, exploration plans, workouts, & above all - love like there is no tomorrow, because Life  with is short & tomorrow may end in a heart beat.

OVERTHINKERS; Coalinga-CA

September 30th: Fall is here (well not temperature wise because the temps here are a comfortable 80-degrees by noon 😉): apples & pumpkins are in season here as well as across America where there are 4 distinct Seasons … but here in Coalinga-CA, we get the blue skies and sunny weather too; how lucky are we?

It feels good to have the front door open most of the Day.

As we were finishing our morning coffee, Holland suggested we go to the Tractor Supply store in Coalinga, to grab a couple things - while there, I asked if he could drop me off at the Plaza, and pick me up on the other side: I have been wanting to explore this little bit of modern. The Plaza seems out of place in this nondescript little town that seems forgotten except for the oil riggers dotting the barren landscape of the back 40.

The Coalinga Plaza was constructed in 1991, after the 1983 earthquake. It is a modern addition to the [downtown area] where so many founders commercial business buildings were destroyed.

Coalinga Earthquake: http://www.sjvgeology.org/geology/coalinga_earthquake.html

The Coalinga Plaza-CA

I walked the Plaza

A little Park; lots of rose bushes & an Information Plaque.

1983 Earthquake notification …

{{Dominique Bordagaray was born in France in 1876 and immigrated to the United States in 1893, arriving in Los Angeles in December of that year. Shortly after his arrival, Bordagaray began working with sheep farmers. In 1898, Bordagaray retreated into the nearby mountains of Millwood Basin for roughly two years, where he taught himself English. When he returned to civilization, his English was very good.

At the turn of the century, Bordagaray operated a hotel in Fresno, and soon branched out and began buying and selling sheep. He founded a sheep-shearing business in Coalinga and was the first man in the area to use modern sheep-clippers.  Among Bordgaray’s other business ventures were a store and a livery stable.

At the Bordagaray homestead just east of Coalinga, he farmed cotton, had several fruit orchards, and a vineyard. In the Coalinga's early years, he built a row of store buildings, including a French laundry, a theater, and a number of other businesses in the town. In 1917, Bordagaray started a tavern and rooming house on Fifth Street, which remained in operation until it was destroyed in the 1983 earthquake. It was often referred to as the “oldest bar in the West.”

Dominique Bordagaray was also the father of pro baseball player, Stanley “Frenchy” Bordagaray.

~Dominique Bordagaray: (https://theclio.com/entry/46387)}}

Town Info Plaque.

Then I saw these pillars - and decided to walk that way: a block to the left.

As I was crossing the street from the Park, towards the pillars … I saw out of my peripheral vision, a parked red truck that looked very much likes ours - and the arm casually draped over the drivers door from an open window, looked familiar.

It was our truck: Holland had not let me out of his sight. He takes his protection of me very seriously. I don't mind him watching out for me; I just wasn't expecting him to be parked in the Plaza: I was expecting him to be watching and waiting for me on the outskirts of the Plaza - I would walk through the Plaza, gawk at the modern construction, check out the Park … and meet him on the other side of the fancy 2 Block commercial metropolis. But, if my hawk 😎 would rather watch his chickadee up close and personal 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨, I'm okay with that, too 😘 

He takes his protection of me very seriously.

Holland had been watching from afar; saw my intent - and quickly followed.

Coalinga-CA City Hall Building.

And my husband; patiently waiting for the itch of my feet to be satisfied.

I walked 1.2 miles today. I was walking in sunshine, my brain was stimulated & my itchy feet were happy.

Climbing into Betsy's cab, Holland said, "How about some KFC - I don't see any mexican eats here besides Taco Bell." I agreed. I like fried chicken. I like mexican food, too, and find it really strange that since we've been road gypsying we have not been able to locate an authentic mexican restaurant serving authentic mexican food! We're just a couple miles from the mexican border, live (and have lived) in communities with large populations of mexicans, and we cannot find authentic mexican cooking anywhere. Very weird.

We got a KFC "Tuesday Special" chicken order, and headed back home. We never did get to Tractor Supply.

A pretty flower combo, on our way to KFC; Coalinga-CA

A heart-shaped cloud on the way home.

Back home, we ate some chicken; I worked on an extra large potholder, and listened as Holland started talking …

He is now wanting to stay here, in Coalinga, through the winter months 🙄; the weather has calmed, and wildfire smoke has backed off so we can both breathe without choking. I like it here, so I'm okay with that decision. What I am not okay with is the continual emotional roller coaster yo-yoing 😵‍💫 of 'should we stay or should we go'. Today, he is saying we are staying - tomorrow, he could be singing a different tune. The inconsistency is driving me crazy 🤦🏻‍♀️

MOD Ex-Lrg. Rectangular Potholder; Coalinga-CA: (https://roadgypsiesvalandholland.blogspot.com/2025/09/mod-ex-lrg-retangular-hotpad-coalinga-ca.html)

We are both overthinkers.

AISLE TUSSLE; Shabbat Eve/Quartzsite-AZ

January 12th: First off, Holland drove over to the Office here, to extend our stay a bit longer: we were wanting to stay here, at The Pit Stop, till the end of the month … but were only able to obtain our spot 'til next Saturday 🙁

Then, we drove into Parker to get some groceries:

Parker-Az from Quartzsite-AZ; 36 min (35.7 mi) via AZ-95 N

Parker-AZ: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parker,_Arizona

And some middle-aged-idiot couple started a fight with moi in the produce aisle … mouthy man, aggressive hip-bumping wife (action like the 1970's hustle dance) trying to bodily move me aside; it was stupidly childish the way they were behaving: the mouthy man, who apparently thinks every woman should back up and obey him, and his equally ignorant-arrogant wife … got treated to my particular brand of French while I stood my ground, and continued to gather my bell peppers … and slowly came to the realization that they had picked the wrong little woman to tangle with.

I was not intimidated by their asinine behavior.

The incident was ridiculous and they were acting like morons.

At one point during the tussle and argument, Holland and I both heard the change in the belligerent moron's tone, and I prepared for a physical attack - and then I heard Holland calmly, but firmly say, "That's enough now." Holland had taken note of the change in tone, too, and wasn't going to let his wife get punched out: over bell peppers, for goodness sake! The moron took his slanty eyes off me to look around to see who was talking - took one look at my handsome big guy … and he backed up, and shut up, asap.

Poor Bleu was so upset by the angry incident, he was a bad little dog in the store that treats him like a furry rock star. But people saw what had happened to his human mom, and they were lenient with him 😉

In the pickup, I said to Holland, "I didn't need you to step in … I would have cleaned that moron's clock if he had laid a single finger on me: but I was glad to hear your voice in the background. Thank you. I'm sorry if I embarrassed you, but some guys need to be taken down a peg - or two; the whole thing they started, was ridiculous: I have never seen that, or experienced that, in a store before. And, all over peppers, for Pete's sake!" Holland assured me that I hadn't embarrassed him.

In fact, he started laughing and said, "Boy, you really don't take any shit off anybody, do you?" And I said, "No; and especially not by mean-tempered men who think women should jump when they bark. But I am sorry I embarrassed you." He repeated, "You didn't embarrass me, Baby - get that right out of your head. I knew you could handle him, so I stayed back and let you do your thing - he was wrong, and you were doing okay all by yourself in dealing with him. But I wanted you to know you weren't alone if he got physical with you … and I wanted to make sure he understood that he had over-stepped."

I have a good man in my life :-)

I asked Elohim's forgiveness. I don't like to lose my temper.

And on the drive home, we talked about places to visit, while we are here. Parker isn't that far away … I could even visit some of the places myself, if Holland wants to stay home with Bleu ;-)

-Buckskin Mountain State Park: (https://azstateparks.com/buckskin/explore/facility-information#:~:text=All%20pets%20must%20be%20leashed,10%20p.m.%20to%207%20a.m.)

-Colorado River Indian Tribes Museum: (https://www.crit-nsn.gov/critmuseum/)

-Parker Dam: (https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/parker-dam)

-Swansea Ghost Town: (https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g31301-d7645184-Reviews-Swansea_Ghost_Town-Parker_Arizona.html, https://www.blm.gov/visit/swansea-historic-ghost-town-0, & https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swansea,_Arizona)

-La Paz County Park: (http://www.lapazcountyparks.com/la-paz-county-park.html)

Then, about a half hour after being home, while I was putting groceries away - Holland got a text saying a monthly payment had been declined - after some consideration, we both said at the same time, "Because the Card assigned to the payment is in dispute" (we are disputing overcharges by 2 Resorts - 1 Resort never even had our Card Account Info, so how they even got into the account to tap funds - funds we never authorized - is questionable, to say the least). With that understanding, Holland contacted the business and sorted a new payment plan out, online. We'll get new Cards when we get back to WA.

Following on the heels of that … Holland got a text saying "the people who were scheduled to occupy your current Park space have canceled; and would you like to rent it, as you requested this morning?"

OF COURSE!

We have stayed here before, and like it - it's a smaller Park, but there is a space for us here; and we like the host & attendants' attitudes. It is very busy here: but it's peaceful here, too :-)

The Pit Stop RV Park: (425 N Central Blvd, Quartzsite, AZ 85346)

Elohim is good - and He has turned our Day around, allowing a peaceful Shabbat Rest to settle over our humble Home 🙂

Holland made Supper for us; fried spam on raisin bread w-mayo, lettuce & Colby-jack cheese. YUM!