EVENING DRIVE: Woodland-WA

July 10th: We had planned to drive to Rainier-OR, to collect the mail following our business at the Scan & Print Office … but, instead we ended up back at the motel cooling our heels for a couple hours.

The drive to Rainier had been officially scrapped.

At one point Holland asked if I was miffed that we hadn't gone to pick up the mail, and I laughed and said, "Nope. I'm understanding your routine now - you like to get stuff done and out of the way early in the morning … and be home by 1:00 in the afternoon. I pretty much know that if that time comes and goes and we are hunkered down, we're not going anywhere until morning." He quipped, "That's not so." And I laughed some more, and said, "Yes, it is" with a wink.

He must have been annoyed with that interchange, because around 8 PM, he shut his laptop down and said, "1 o'clock my ass … how about we go for a drive?" I blinked my eyes, and asked, "You want to go for a drive, now?" And then I couldn't resist … I threw a little sass into the mix … "are we going to be driving around until 1 AM? Goodie - I like long drives" ;-)

Holland just rolled his eyes and said, "Com'on smartass; let's go. Baby needs her drive; I thought we'd go down to the river and watch the sun go down - then explore a little more on the way back; bring your phone in case you see something you want to get a picture of."

I laughed all the way to the passenger side of Beast Betsy.

The evening air was balmy.

It was a fun drive.

We revisited his past fishing haunt, and enjoyed a golden slipping of the sun below the horizon.

We took a different route back to the motel - this route was scenic, and we both were glad we turned right instead of left :-)

There appears to be a lot going on with this couple … roosters & gargoyles ;-)

Watching the sun set at Martin's Bar County Park; Woodland-WA

St. Helens-OR, across the Columbia River.

'West Coast Training' Yard; #3805 Dike Rd, Woodland, WA.

West Coast Training~Heavy Equipment Yard; Woodland-WA:

 (https://education.costhelper.com/heavy-equipment-schools.html)

Austin Point County Park; Woodland-WA

Osprey nest with 2 nestlings.

Ospreys:

(https://www.daysatdunrovin.com/ospreys-101-nesting-mating-chicks/)

Holland has the eyes of a cat, and in the twilight duskiness, he spotted a bridge spanning the Lewis River; it took my eyes a little longer to see it.

The Lewis River Railroad Trestle Bridge was built around 1908, and is a 265.0 ft swing span bridge. The bridge was constructed as part of a railroad project to directly connect Portland, Oregon with Seattle, Washington.

Neither the swing span, nor the tender house, has been operational for some time.

This train bridge is referred to as 'The Ghost Bridge', because there have been many deaths on the tracks as people try to cross the rails - or climb to the top of the bridge to jump off as a summertime lark. No matter how fast you may think you are … you cannot outrun a high-speed train; and jumping into a river filled with debris is a foolish undertaking.

Railroad Trestle Bridge~dubbed the 'Ghost Bridge' - located at Dike Road and Kuhnis Road; Woodland-WA

Tender House center top of trestle bridge.

History of Woodland: https://www.pacific-hwy.net/woodland.htm

I'm happy my husband is relaxing more in this marriage, and is back on track with the building up of US.

I'm glad he is understanding that annoyances aren't always negative: sometimes annoyances can spur people into action … which can in turn, lead down enjoyable paths ;-)

We will both be annoying each other for the rest of our lives ;-)

SKIN

July 10th: I was up before Holland this morning, so I tackled skin protective measures first thing:

Covering the button shank metal & protecting my skin against allergy rash.

Weighing the glued patch for adherence.

Then when Holland woke up and was awake enough to accompany me on another {'skin' related} venture, off we went :-)

About 5 years ago, I drafted and printed a medical paper concerning my life decisions should I end up in the hospital during a crisis, or fatal situation: I have a standing DNR Order on file at the Peace Health Hospital in Longview-WA.

I live with life-threatening issues.

I am comfortable in my skin.

But I am also aware that at some point my spirit will step out of my skin - and my new husband will be faced with medical dilemmas - Holland knows what my wishes are … and I don't want him to have to wrangle with doctors, nurses, or ER personnel to have my decisions carried out.

DNR Update …

Since remarrying I have been trying to get my Life Decisions updated, but have not been able to until this afternoon. Holland noted that online information about the local Scan & Print Business can also give a Notary Stamp: BONUS :-)

I keep this paper in my purse at all times; and Holland knows where it is,  if he has to fetch it in an emergency situation.

Basically all the general information remained - the only change that was modified before heading to the local Scan & Print Office was that Holland is now the only Contact Person mentioned. He knows my wishes, and will honor them if and when the time comes to do so (I have talked extensively to him about my wishes). The previous contacts were Bob's siblings, and my granddaughter; these people are no longer in my life on a steady basis, and it is pertinent to the present that changes be made, so that my new husband is placed first and foremost in crucial decisions that will directly affect both of us.

Especially since the asthma flareups, and angina episodes have been so concerning over the past months.

I do not want Holland to go through the hellish nightmare I went through with Bob when doctors, kids, his mother and his sisters wanted to overstep his DNR wishes: I want Holland to do as I wish - and this paper will help him do that.

There will be no ER forcefulness; no doctor override; and no familial kidnap plans to bully and ignore spousal authority.

And a Notary Stamp to make it {Official}.

This update was an important undertaking.

I'm glad this was finally taken care of, this afternoon :-)

WINDSHIELD VIEWS

July 9th: The Wal*Mart here in Woodland is getting a remodel, and it's a maddening mess … so, we drove to the Wal*Mart in Vancouver, and then to WinCo; along the way to, and fro, our windshield view was interesting :-)

I needed to purchase a spiral notebook, scissors, and a sewing kit: I already have these things - but they are all in storage :-(

When I entered Wal*Mart, I was thankful to notice that Office/School Supplies, and Sewing/Crafts items were in the same corner of the store; pretty much dove-tailing each other: I made a beeline for that corner of the store.

I had bought a couple of jeggings the other day: but I am allergic to the metal button shanks, so I need to cover the backsides that touch my skin. I bought a sewing kit; intending to nab one of Holland's ratty ended bandana's to cut a patch to sew over the shank metal … and then I spotted a pack of heavier weight pre-cut patches, and thought those might actually work better. I grabbed a tube of fusion glue, too.

I'll cover all the shank metals tomorrow when the temperatures will be a bit cooler and the glue will set up better.

Then we moved up the street about a block, and bought some groceries at the WinCo store.

Walmart, #9000 NE Hwy 99 in Vancouver-WA from Woodland-WA; 18 min (16.5 mi) via I-5 S

We saw through Betsy's windshield going to Vancouver, a windmill blade … it could be being ferried to Yakima, or California.

Sewing Kit, Patches, & Fusion Glue.

The afternoon temperature as we exited WinCo, reached a hot 100-degrees - the sun's heat felt good.

As we moved down the freeway back towards Woodland, I laughed when I saw through Betsy's windshield a car that practically shouted my name :-D

I nudged Holland, and jokingly said, "Babe, I want a car like that!"

He started laughing, and said, "Yep; that's you, alright."

"Oh look Babe! That car is SO me!! And eyelashes, too ;-)

And we smiled at each other because we remembered the first time I had worn my cheetah boots & cheetah sweater to the Thursday Jam Sessions; I received a shy text from Holland as soon as I walked through my front door later that evening: "You looked nice, tonight." This was a small move about a month before his bold, "We need to talk" move, in November.

And recently when clearing out the closet in Independence (culling and keeping only a few things to store while Independence is getting repaired), I held up those boots and sweater and asked Holland "yea" or "nay": he said, "Keep them Baby - they are YOU." So I did: everything I culled can be replaced … and in truth, my closet needed updating, anyway ;-)

And when I looked through the windshield again, I saw another sight I liked:

I like seeing Old Glory on display.

Normally freeway traffic bores me.

But today was a good day to view life moving forward, through the windshield :-)

FOUR WEEK DEADLINE; Vancouver-WA

Living in Woodland for a few months is actually an answer to prayer … I like Woodland, and off-n-on thought it would be kinda nice to live here; Elohim answered that musing of mine, by putting Holland in my life - and arranging for me to live in Woodland; I'm grateful.

BUT

We want our road gypsy home back.

The first week of motel living was fun. It was a new experience for me, and Holland was liking the open room environment. The Insurance representative had called, and we were assured he was "on it".

The second week wasn't bad either; but communication between RV PRO in Vancouver, us in Woodland, and Joel on the east Coast had come to a dead halt with the approaching holiday - phone calls and texts were blatantly ignored, so we were not being informed about progress in Vancouver. He had driven up there twice during this week, and couldn't get information out of anyone: the Office girl was no help, either. Holland was not happy.

The prospect of this week's stay is wearing thin - we are paying a hefty rental fee with a limited income (all other motels are steeply out of our budget): so, last night, Holland decided to drive to Vancouver this morning to fetch Independence … and take it where someone may actually get busy settling accounts & working on repairs issues (he had already spoken to two other RV Shops, this weekend, that were willing to help), so we can get back to living in our home again.

Hopefully down South. He is not keen on PNW winters spent in an RV - and I agree, having lived through several winters in another 5th Wheel RV from 1995 to 2001 with my first husband and granddaughter, during her infancy through 6th year. I don't mind the RV life … but I, like my new husband, do not like the body aches or constant chill of PNW winters.

We need the road damage to (and our towing concerns about) Independence to be satisfactorily addressed so we can get on getting on, instead of living in expensive and clueless limbo.

Neither one of us are good at waiting - and neither one of us like being jerked around.

I am 100% behind Holland concerning this issue.

Vancouver-WA from Woodland-WA; 19 min (17.5 mi) via I-5 S

When we arrived at our destination point to hook up … the battery was dead. Holland hunted someone down to jazz the battery back up so we could hook up and haul away. While waiting, he received a call for Joel saying RV PRO had sent him memos with repairs costs that included roof and pin box work. Holland said, "How can they possibly give repairs quotes when they haven't even removed the nose to inspect the pin box! I'm standing right here looking at my RV, and the nose is still intact - it hasn't been inspected, at all. They've had our home for three weeks and all we've gotten was motel room fees. If the roof and pin box aren't scheduled to be repaired, I can't safely tow my RV: these are my main concerns." Joel said the motel fees could be reimbursed, and he'd get back with RV PRO as soon as both men hung up their phones; letting Holland know something one way or the other, by the end of this week.

3 weeks of sitting & waiting; we planned to kidnap it, but the battery was run dead.

As we were leaving Vancouver, Holland received a phone call from RV PRO, assuring Holland that the roof and pin box would "most assuredly be  taken care of, as requested"; and telling Holland "the nose would be removed this week, inspected, and a notation sent off; I'm gonna call Joel right now." Holland then said, "Fine. I'll drive up towards the end of this week to see how things are progressing."

Holland was establishing a four week deadline. And I'm in agreement: this needs to get underway and wrapped up.

Hopefully a fire was kindled under RV PRO's butts, and things will start moving along.

When we got back to Woodland, the outside temperature was hot, so we let the day cool some, before Holland suggested a drive.

We took a drive around the backside of Woodland; Holland has fished the river here, and passed through jetting between jobs … and I had visited a Tulip Farm & a Lilac Garden solo lobo, a few years back; as well as passing through the backroads on my solo lobo drives to my Messianic Fellowship in Vancouver - and had done Winter Bazaars here for decades: but neither of us had ever actually explored Woodland, before today. Our individual ventures here were always with a specific destination in mind, and we never deviated from those destinations.

Today we broadened our recent explorations: and Holland gave me another peek into his Life :-)

Holland had spent a lot of past fishing hours here … and he shared this place (as well as the fishing stories) with me today.

Deep waters - 50 ft deep shoreline; 90 ft deep by the pylons.

Green Mountain in the distance - for decades I spent a lot of time driving backroads, up there.

Heat Wave on 'til tomorrow evening.

Back at the motel again, I dug into the food cache and tried something new:

Something new; it sounds interesting; soba noodles, beef bits, cabbage, cilantro … a definite repeat ;-)

Today was informative.

Today was filled with curiosity.

Today was fun.

TURNING PAGES

I slipped the breakfast Holland bought me into the microwave before starting a new read. The breakfast was welcome - and so was the thought behind it; Holland is always thinking of me no matter what, and I appreciate that. The book, on the other hand, I bought a few days ago at the Goodwill Store in Salmon Creek, and it is painful reading: very slow and full of silly ramblings that make the author appear simple minded, regardless of how important her father was (the other half of the Simon & Schuster Publishing Company), or how wealthy she was growing up (and still living) on Martha's Vineyard. It's a boring 376 page 'memoir'. But I'm going to force myself to keep turning pages until I finish it because I hate wasting money.

I like her songs, but her book - not so much.

Maybe some people think my Blog entries are boring too.

I know some think they are too revealing.

But others thank me for being open and sharing my struggles, because they have found strength in my humble victories.

And still others like the in-depth Thursday Bible Studies I post.

Breakfast was as good as it looked; Holland is always thinking of me, and surprising me with love offerings.

Carly Simon became famous in her own right, as a songwriter & singer.

After breakfast, Holland suggested we get out of the house for a while - I happily agreed. Summer had finally arrived, and a sunny drive would be most welcome :-)

First, Holland cruised Main Street Woodland (very short); and I was interested in what I could see of the Park, so I asked Holland to drive down that way - I like it. It's a nice small town Park with a tranquil lake, and walking trails: perfect for a local 'out of house' sunny retreat, when I feel the 4-walls-squeeze.

Horseshoe Lake Park: 

https://www.ci.woodland.wa.us/publicworks/page/horseshoe-lake-park

After that short cruise, we drove to Longview to get Betsy washed at the 'Wash Me Car Wash' and was immediately met with a guy who directed us to one of the several self-wash-bays, because "we can't do this truck - it's a long bed". What a line of B.S. So, we pulled in and washed her. We needed the exercise, anyway.

As I was washing my side of Betsy, I spied a penny on the ground, and picked it up with a smile. Finding a {lucky penny = penny from Heaven}, represents a new beginning/the start of a new chapter in Life/a fresh start: I privately cheered for that.

Record Breaking temperatures today …

A Penny from Heaven ;-)

We deposited $20 worth of quarters in the fee box; and Betsy looks like a new truck, now.

Pulling out of the bay, my eye caught sight of the houses Holland worked on, on 'Snob Hill': his family business is dry wall & interior plaster work - and Holland and his brothers each have application techniques that are unique to each of them, and is in great demand when businesses or private homeowners want a tasteful finish. Holland and Scott are both retired now, but Mark is still working; but he is in his 60's too … and none of Scott or Mark's sons are interested in construction. That's sad. I've seen their work and it is artistically awesome (the ceiling sunburst Scott & Holland did was beautiful) - it's sad to know that the beautiful work will come to an end when Mark retires.

Holland did the drywall work on the pillared house - and the one in front of it, too.

When we got back home, I read through previous years' Blog posts to gauge how far I've come - and my Life's growth process since the winter of 2018. As I reread each post through the years, only I knew the unmentioned people who shared their stories with me: stories that bolstered me, and prodded me forward with words of encouragement when the dark days threated to swallow me whole.

Bob Seger- 'Turn the Page' song: 

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3khH9ih2XJg)

Turning pages is key to moving forward.

Turning pages is key to growth.

Commitment is unconditional love in action; sometimes it's very challenging.

Turning pages is key to manifesting your destiny