SEASON 7 OF OUR LIFE~Coastal Tsunami Advisory In Effect; Ocean Park-WA

I had planned a fish supper with all the trimmings for today, so ramen noodles and a protein drink was put aside until tomorrow 😉

But I did do my toning exercises 👌

When he woke up, he got busy with the microwave; and I finished drinking my morning coffee, thinking of my brother Sam - remembering him as a youngster, and mentioning some of those memories to my husband; and feeling the sadness that comes with wondering how a life with such promise can tilt sideways with alarming speed when bad choices enter the sidelines of one's life. Holland can relate: he often wonders the same thing when reflecting on his siblings' lives that were also cut short.

Holland adjusting the new microwave to fit the original opening; & securing it to stay put, while Independence is in motion.

Memories … and texting between my niece & I, yesterday; if not for FB, I would have not known of Sam's death.

This song fits the mood today:

Deep Purple - 'Perfect Strangers' Lyrics: 

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMly6D0nrgA)

This is not a music genre Sam would approve as a backdrop in memoriam of his Life - but it is the one I choose, because it fits the relationship between him and me; due to the choices we both made for our Life Path. And I'm listening to the song with headphones on, because my taste in music is not my husband's choice either: our tastes in music, movies, podcasts, and news sources are very different; headphones are a staple in this Redmill relationship 😘

I don't talk a lot about my parents or siblings. They never dealt with reality, and always twisted situations and circumstances to fit their tweaked versions of what really happened: it was a perpetual pity party I was thankful not to be invited to once I left my mother's house, and set up a home of my own. I did try parodically to interact and connect with them … and at times even took several of my siblings into my home until they could get back on their feet; but the drugged out, and/or drunken convo's and social mingling's tinged with new age religiosity, were so often combatively toxic, that eventually I just quit trying - and moved on to bluer skies and greener pastures: and unless things drastically change on their ends, I don't think Holland will ever meet any of them. All 4 of them have throughout the years of distancing, told their version of the disconnect, and people in their circles will believe what they want to believe when they hear it - or what they read on FB posts designed to garner sympathy. BUT, Elohim knows the truth of matters, and He can't be fooled or swayed by the self-serving tweaks.

And with that thought, I got off of FB because reading what he had posted about Holland & I after we got married, was making my head hurt, sorting through all the bullshit: he doesn't know my new husband - and he didn't really know my first husband: he had no right to make comments about either … and he just flat-out lied about me. It was time to let go and walk away, again.

Normally, I don't allow my Past to take up too much rent space in my thoughts.

But, my baby brother recently died … memories come unbidden; and I entertain them for a little bit, to allow them their due process. But, I no longer let those memories hamstring me, or beat me up emotionally.

After Holland had secured the microwave, I started Supper using a recipe I had found online (no recipe will be posted because Holland didn't like it - and if he didn't like it, it's not worth passing on to anyone else):

Supper prep …

Tonight we feast, for tomorrow we Fast for the next 3 days = not a religious undertaking, more of a calorie curbing event.

Following Supper and dish washing, I engaged in some back & forth texting (1) to let others know of Sam's death (2) to learn about an approaching coastal tsunami possibility directly affecting our immediate area (3) sharing updates with family & friends …

Text to Rita, following Supper, tonight.

Text with Karen.

Laptop Updates.

We are currently located where that little white circle is.

Alert: Coastal Tsunami Advisory In Effect * Jul 29, 2025 Updated 20 mins ago:  (https://www.triplicate.com/news_free/advisory-coastal-tsunami-watch/article_3b65319d-d753-57b0-af1f-229fe244e226.html)

Oregon & Washington Under Tsunami Advisory After 8.8 Quake Strikes Off Coast Of Russia * Updated Tue, July 29th 2025 at 7:08 PM: 

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

Text with David.

2 years ago, when we first heard the Warning Siren go off in a testing event, I researched the protocol here in the peninsula … and was angered when I read comments by people who were evacuated for the tsunami after the 1986 Alaska Earthquake: {{With 1 road out, it will be a death trap for any evacuation. We went up to a friends house by North Head Lighthouse. They don’t actually allow you to get off the peninsula. The roads are shut down to prevent people from being on the road along the river}}. This action just won't do! The parking area around the North Head Lighthouse is very skimpy - and with everyone fleeing to that one safe place, it would be suicide to chose that escape route. Holland & I will morph into renegades and risk infuriating local law enforcement - we will not be forced to die by an enforced mandate 🤬 that borders in political lunacy. THERE WILL BE HELL TO PLAY IF they try to stop us.

Betsy is a beast and we won't have any issue at all with ramping her GO POWER into gear and pushing past the barricades. Let's all hope it won't come to that, at any time.

According to the National Weather Service in Portland, waves from the tsunami can be expected between 11:40 p.m. and 11:55 p.m. on the Oregon and Washington coasts, tonight around midnight. Wave heights on Long Beach, Washington are expected to be less than a foot.

And, we have the Willapa Bay at our backs, with a rise in tide about the same as the Pacific Ocean in front of us: we are literally surrounded on all sides with water as we are parked on the upper end of the Long Beach Peninsula: people who love us are justifiably concerned for our safety, over the next 12, or so, hours.

We are staying up through the night - if things get dicey we don't want to be raised out of slumber by the shrill Warning Blast, wide-eyes and hair standing on end 😉

No joke; this entire year has been weird, weather-wise.

We expect things to go smoothly, viewing all the "Updates!" popping up on our laptop screens, on the hour. And our cell phones have activated alert warnings, also.

Holland knows tides, and says he's pretty sure we'll be safe, despite water all around us:

Holland knows tides, and says he's pretty sure we'll be safe, despite water all around us.

I trust my husband.

I trust Elohim's faithfulness.

BREATHE~The Baby Sibling; Ocean Park-WA

I woke up, and was "at it - to get it done"; jumped in the shower, trimmed my bangs, & scheduled a hair trim for next Wednesday, because my hair ends are looking kinds shabby and ragged … 

My left hand & arm hurts today (too much crafting lately), so to keep inflammation backed down, I used 5-lb weight Dumbbells, today.

Breathe in and out as relaxed as you can, during the workout …

And when Holland woke up and was alert enough, we drove into Long Beach to grab a couple Shrimp & fries meals, at "The Corral" Drive-In: I did a double-take and busted out laughing when I got back to the 4x and saw that the dollar bills Holland had handed me from the ATM withdrawal, sparkled with enough glitter to match my eyeglasses 😂🤣

Even my money glitters. LOL!

Hot Shrimp Supper from 'The Corral' in Long Beach-WA; you really get your money's worth of food, here - and breathe in and out quickly to cool the hot shrimp as you much and crunch 👌

Then before we came back home, we went to the beach for about an hour, since the Day was so warm & sunny - there was a little wind, but not enough to whip sand up 😊

Pelicans & seagulls covered so much beachfront 😳 and air space: they were everywhere, in extensive flocks. 

Salmon, Steelhead, Chad, Herring, and possibly Smelt were swimming close to shore … and being picked off by dive-bombing pelicans & swoop-diving seagulls - and we saw what we think was a possible gray whale, also foraging the abundant schools of fish swimming through the gentle ocean waves:

It was so peaceful at the beach today, everything and everyone was in slo-mo mood - breathing easily in and out, enjoying the sunbeams and pleasant salty breeze.

Picked over empty crab shells littered the beach, and were tangled in beached kelp & seagrass masses.

Discarded bony fish skeletons were gorged on by seagulls.

Pelicans were everywhere along the beachfront, today; Ocean Park Beach Access-WA

I could watch pelicans on the wing all day long; they are so graceful in the air.

The flocks were very large, very thick - and very dark against the blue sky as they passed by …

Herring & Smelt.

Pacific Salmon.

Pacific Steelhead.

Shad fish.

We saw a large, dark, shape breach the waves - which we figured was a whale; but it never appeared again 😒

It was still pretty warm inside Independence, so I opened the door to let the fresh air waft through the screen door - and turned the overhead fan on to circulate …

Betsy & Independence; Ocean Park-WA

This fan is surprisingly quiet & effective.

Then, I repotted my houseplants, so they can spread their roots and sprawl prettily:

I repotted the Golden Pathos Ivy … and the Baby Spider plant.

And when I logged into FB, I was informed that my baby brother has died. For a brief span of time I had to remind myself to breathe in and out in a controlled manner as I informed my husband of a man's death, who for all intents and purposes, was basically a stranger to both of us. Holland is a good man - he listened attentively and let me ramble on about childhood memories he wasn't privy to (my husband is a good man). I fielded text messages with FB Messenger & my phone. A few tears fell - not because I was overwhelmed with grief … we were basically strangers as adults … but I am sad for all the missed opportunities, and the missed possibilities. I am sad for the wife he leaves behind. I am sad because I do not think I will see him again, in the afterlife.

The Baby of my siblings has died.

He was my mother's coddled baby, all his life (he was born very premature and she pampered him - he could do no wrong, in her eyes); and I am sure they are together, again.

I just breathed, and let it be.

SHABBAT BLESSINGS ON OUR HUMBLE HOME~Shalom Aleichem; Ocean Park-WA

Shalom Aleichem: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP_y5j6AoAM)

Translation: Peace upon you, ministering angels, messengers of the Most High,

of the Supreme King of Kings, the Holy One, blessed be He.

Come in peace, messengers of peace, messengers of the Most High, of the Supreme King of Kings, the Holy One, blessed be He.

Bless me with peace, messengers of peace, messengers of the Most High, of the Supreme King of Kings, the Holy One, blessed be He.

May your departure be in peace, messengers of peace, messengers of the Most High, of the Supreme King of Kings, the Holy One, blessed be He.

BUTTERFLY FLEET & Desdemona Sands Lighthouse~Astoria-OR

July 24th: Today we had some shopping to do in Longview-WA, so we left in the early morning hours to accomplish what needed to be done … and get back home before the sun started setting. It's about 1-1/2 hr.s driving both ways; and we had several stops to make in between.

A misty morning as we passed from Ilwaco-WA to Chinook-WA

Crossing the Astoria-Megler Bridge … WA side; even as the Day unfolded, the gray clouds never did disappear.

Last Century pylons -  remnants of The Desdemona Sands Lighthouse; Columbia River reveal ebbing on the Pacific Ocean out-going tide.

The Desdemona Sands: 

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desdemona_Sands_Light)

Location of the Desdemona Sands.

Antique picture of The Desdemona Sands Lighthouse; the lighthouse was built to aid navigation of the Columbia Bar, and while it was close to the border between Oregon and Washington, it was situated on the Oregon side of the River.

The Desdemona Sands Lighthouse: 

(https://shipreport.net/2020/01/06/the-desdemona-sands-lighthouse/ & https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desdemona_Sands_Light)

Holland says this extensive silty sediment sandbar running under this low-lying portion of the bridge, is Cowlitz River fallout muck; following the 1980 Mt. St. Helen's eruption. The river is constantly being dredged because the silt is continually being stirred up and relocated by the strong under currents.

Doing research for this posting after I got back home, it dawned on me that given the timeframes for the dismantling of the lighthouse, and the event of the Astoria-Megler Bridge … my friend David - and my 1st husband Bob, would have seen the lighthouse in the middle of the Columbia River before it was dismantled. I know for a fact that Bob watched the bridge being built, and was among the very first travelers to cross it when it opened for business: Bob told me himself, that when he worked for the Charter boats in Ilwaco-WA, he was ferrying fish scraps across the river to Warrenton-OR to be processed there. He was happy when the stinky business was shortened due to the quicker pace of driving across the river rather than the slow crawl of the ferry 😉

My family arrived in WA State in the summer of 1965, & I didn't get the beach explorations until I married Bob in 1974 and we started making annual trips to Long Beach with the kids. By then, the Bridge had been doing steady business, and the Lighthouse was long gone.

1965-1966 timeframe Bob (my 1st husband) was a teenager, working his first ‘mature job’, that was not family-related – he started work on Ilwaco-WA Charter Boats … and was one of the first vehicles to pass over the Astoria-Megler Bridge, when it was opened to the public. Before the bridge, traffic was hauled from shore to shore by ferry.

Astoria-Megler Bridge.

Construction And Impact Of The Astoria-Megler Bridge:  (https://www.centraloregondaily.com/archives/central-oregon-daily/destination-oregon-construction-and-impact-of-the-astoria-megler-bridge/article_ec9ef636-1a20-5f81-8dcf-1a43973a3e5a.html)

Crossing the bridge today with my current husband of 30 months 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨, I am learning new things about the river (Holland was a fishing junkie, and has fished up & down this river extensively; from Portland-OR and downriver, stopping short of Buoy #10 = the mouth of the Columbia River where it meets the Pacific Ocean) - and he is learning the History of the Bridge (I'm a History junkie 😘).

Driving through Astoria towards Rainier-OR (where we would collect our mail, & cross the Lewis & Clark Bridge into Longview-WA) … I snagged a pictures of this mural; & researched it when I got home. What I read was interesting - and the fishing boats must have been a beautiful thing to see 😁👍 when their sails were set.

We exited the Bridge & followed Marine Drive out of Astoria, towards Longview-WA; via the OR side of the Columbia River.

Butterfly Fleet Mural; Astoria-OR

Columbia River "Butterfly fleet" commercial fishing boats, circa 1800's; Astoria-OR

{{By today’s standards, the salmon fishing boats of those days were small, perhaps 26 feet long, although they feel big and heavy when you stand next to them. One of them rests inside Astoria’s Pier 39 near the coffee shop, another at the Columbia River Maritime Museum. They were powered by sail and by oar, and were manned by two men — the captain, who tended the net, and the “boat puller,” who rowed.

When their two sails were set, they reminded onlookers of butterflies dancing across the river. In 1878 Nellie Megler wrote in the Astorian, “It is a pretty sight, in the early twilight of a pleasant day to see the boats, with sails all spread, skimming along the water, on their way to the fishing grounds.”

Gillnetters fish for salmon with long “gillnets,” woven nets suspended vertically in the water between a rope suspended at the top by cork floats, and weighted at the bottom with lead. The nets, perhaps 250 fathoms long and 20 feet top to bottom, were laid out across the incoming tide with its incoming fish, who swam into the nets and were caught by the gills. Then, as now, the fishing was generally done in the evening and at night, so the salmon couldn’t see, and avoid, the net. In those days, boats were generally owned by the cannery.}}

Crossing the Astoria-Megler Bridge again later in the afternoon, on our way home - I saw that the tide had come back in & the pylons were nearly submerged again.

We came home with most of what we set out to bring back with us; we're satisfied that when we leave here in September for Brookings-OR, we'll be pretty much "set" for the duration there.

Where the good Lord Yeshua leads us then … only He knows.

The incoming tide now covering the Desdemona Sands.

But whatever happens, we'll be riding the tide and going with the flow - trusting that Elohim will keep our head above water 🙏❤️😊👌

3 DAYS OF R.I.P.'S; Ocean Park-WA

Headline after headline 😳

Ozzy (76) & Chuck Mangione (84), the same Day; now Hulk (71) today; what a week the last 3 days have been!

Hulk Hogan Death: https://people.com/hulk-hogan-death-first-responders-spent-30-minutes-attempting-revive-11778706

It's hard to stay upbeat today 😔

Ozzy Osbourne: 

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozzy_Osbourne)

Chuck Mangione: 

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Mangione)

Hulk Hogan: 

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hulk_Hogan)

GOOD; Ocean Park-WA

Holland really is good for me ❤️ & I know I'm good for him 😉

I'm glad he's getting past his Past angsts (serious Redmill familial dysfunctions), & sticking around to make US work; for the benefit of us😘

********************

Honest.

I never believed I could ever love anyone again, after Bob left earth to walk with Yeshua beyond the clouds.

Those of you who have been on my Page since that horrible Fall/Winter of 2018 went through the baby steps of my Solo Lobo growth - the learning how to live without the man I had loved since I was 10 years old; the man I married at 17, and shared my life with for 44 years.

Then, 30 months ago, Elohim led me to the Oak Point Grange meets … where Holland and I met and became fast friends. I was still missing Bob & wasn't interested in romance: I talked about my husband all.the.time.; sometimes I cried when speaking about the missingness.

Holland was there through it all.

I knew he was flirting😉 But, he never crowded me - he waited patiently while pursuing my heart 😍

I'm not even sure when I fell in love with him … love snuck up on me 🥰. But I knew, when he ended up in the hospital, that  eventful November of 2022, that my life would be empty without him in it; if things went south. I waited on pins and needles for the hospital to release him - and as soon as he got home, he sent me a text saying, "We need to talk."

Talk led to coffee. Coffee led to Reno, in January 2023 😁😘

I really never thought I'd fall in love again.

I'm glad Elohim had other Plans for this portion of my life. Holland is the BEST thing that has happened to me since my life with Bob ended the morning of December 14th, 2018.

I'm glad Elohim kickstarted my heart the Fall of 2022.

Newly married~January 2023

I'm happy Holland is in my life, loving me through the messy parts (marrying a widow is not easy - widows come with baggage labeled PTSD, and it is hard to deal with: for them, for their new spouses) and encouraging me through the rest.

Elohim has given me another chance and a second shot at true love. I swear (with hand on heart) that I WILL BE the best wife Yeshua will help to me BE for my loving husband, Holland 😍🥰

He waited a lifetime for me 😁

Life in our small corner of the world is good 😘