Thank Gosh for Seals

The last few days of sun have been shining brightly and so I have taken to doing my morning run down the beach. It is cold, which makes me run faster or sometimes turn around and go home faster. Either way it is faster.

The only other nutcases out there are the shell gathers and other joggers. Sometimes the surfers if the waves are doing what they need to do to be ridden. And seals.

The last few days, seals have come to lay on the beach. They catch some rays. Watch the birds. And nap. And watch joggers. I feel like I am in a movie. Jogging next to the ocean, beautiful sun, hard slightly wet sand and now seals. It seems so unreal.

This afternoon I took the dogs down to the beach for their annual frenzy of the day. They yank me down the rocks. They deposit all sorts of dead, smelly things in front of me, in the hopes that I may be up for a game of catch. They chase the waves and bark at birds. The seals were unimpressed, though I had leashed the dogs up before we arrived on the seals. Still there. Still sunning.

Herbie marched on by and didn't even make eye contact. Olive, well, she is quite the loon. Olive is afraid of many, many things. Things that make absolutely no sense to be afraid of. Opening of the bag cupboard in the kitchen will require a mad dash of flight to the safety of the couch. Boxes of any size, empty or full, and she is gone like the wind. The bird eating his seed. Her leash touching her tail. The dude on the Mentalist tv show. The broom. My coat. Oh, the list is varied and really just endless. Today, the seal. She almost ripped her head off her body leaping backwards. The seal didn't move. Olive howled. The seal didn't move. Olive threw her body on the ground. The seal didn't move. She looked around. Herbie marched over and growled at her. She closed her eyes. Open. Seal. Closed. Open. Seal. You could almost see the wheels in her head turning. I was laughing. Finally, I picked her up and set her on her legs. Started to walk. She followed.

The entire rest of the way home, she was certain we were going to be devoured by a seal. She was the most well behaved dog I HAVE EVER SEEN.

I am going to get me one of those seals permanently.

A weekend

I would love to give you a post of the meaning of life and some beautiful rambling prose of the oceans wild, instead I have been dealing with home ownership crap. Which no matter how you write it will never sound beautiful.

I know I am luckier than some to own my home and in such a spectacular setting, that being said, it is hard work to keep this sucker up and trying to hold its own against the elements. We are losing. Though after this weekend, we have made up some ground.

This was a weekend/summer home. If there were problems, people came and fixed them, I just wrote the check. That has changed. I could write the check, there are just no funds to cover it. Plus, since I now live here full time, I want to learn some of this stuff. Though not ever the gutters, AGAIN. Seriously, this is a disgusting job and I really felt quite faint throughout the ordeal. Also, I got all wet. And cold. And covered with goo that I DON'T even want to know its origins. It ended up with a little bit of the gutters that I can't reach, even with a ladder and now the weeds that are flourishing there, have been taunting me all day. ALL DAY I SAY! And for some small weeds they can really talk smack. I tried putting the hose on the super powerful stream and was promptly rewarded with a face full of goo but the weeds are standing tall.

I moved on.

Moved on to washing the deck. This deck is very slippery when wet. I have floated across it many a time in my flip-flops, hoping that I won't take a header over the edge before I gain some sort of traction. I bought the 30 second cleaner at the hardware store, that I went to totally forgetting I still had a face full of goo from the gutters. I know that the guys in my town can hardly wait to start dating a chick that leaves her home with wet moss on her face. So the 30 second cleaner, cleaned just like it promised. What it forgot to say was that your deck will become more slippery than anything ever seen when applied. Good news, the railing stopped my free fall. Deck cleaned.

Today I spent the morning applying the stain. I bought a tool that made it easier, supposedly. Of course being such a genius, I first stained my feet, my shoes, my pants, and a good portion of the lawn before getting the hang of the on and off switch. Tonight it is drying and looks ok.

None of these things are amazing events. They won't make the paper or the news, but tonight drinking my latte and staring out the window at the deck, I am proud. I did this. I saw. I conquered. Sure the gutters can say they kicked my ass but they would be wrong. I am strong and powerful and those weeds are GOING DOWN.

Early afternoon buffet

So here at the coast we are yet again having some sort of fish run. Earlier in the summer we had herring and anchovies. Now it is something larger and equally as gross as the early fish. The birds love this and that makes me happy. They leave a trillion disgusting fish skeletons with the heads still attached EVERYWHERE, this makes me not happy.

Now you might say to yourself "why does this have anything to do with you, birds need to eat too, you selfish horrible hater of nature?"

The reason would be that since I own the bird brain of dogs (cute, the way I threw in bird there! just keepin' ya on your toes) Olive will eat the remains, free of charge, happy to do it.

Not just one, or two, or twenty, or 100 but every single one she finds. I've yet to see her not eat one. Again no need to explain that fish bones are not good for dogs. I'm all over that page. Explaining it to Olive, a whole different ball game.

Yesterday I thought it was a fluke. She saw, she scarfed, she waited until she got home to puke, she is kind that way.

Today, same thing, only now she is on to me and while she can't remember we have a dining room wall and runs head first into it every morning on the way to breakfast, she can remember that if you get to close to me I will put the leash back on and that will close down the early afternoon buffet. So she dances and prances and wags her tail all with a horrible fish skeleton dangling from her mouth. Luckily I have a heavy constitution, even so it is truly one of the most disturbing sights you will see.

These are remains that not even CROWS will eat and I thought they ate everything. Yet, there is my dog chowing down and hoping to find some dipping sauce to go along with the meal.

We cut our walk short. We will not be walking on the beach until whatever is vacationing here is gone. Soon I hope.

Of course, walking home a gull flew overhead and dropped a skeleton in front of the worlds dumbest dog. I think I may have a dislocated shoulder from her lunging for the dessert that plopped right from the sky. Now she sits in the front yard, scanning the heavens, in the hope that a small evening snack will appear.

Beach

Tonight the kid and I took the two dogs for a walk on the beach.
The rest of the state is having a huge heat wave, but here on the coast it is foggy and chilly. I like the cooler weather but I hate the fog. I don't like the feeling of not seeing anything. Most of the time I can see the ocean and all the lights of the town. During the summer months, in the evening, no ocean and no town. Just gray. For some reason it gives me the willies and I pull the blinds closed and read.Since it is cloudy and chilly, the tourists enjoy the beach from the warmth of their hotel rooms, which leaves it wide open for the locals to walk around on. And to let the dogs run wild and chase tennis balls. Olive chases Herbie. Herbie chases his beloved, the green tennis ball.
Herbie lives for his tennis balls. He knows where they all are at any given moment of the day. If one so much as thinks about moving, he immediately brings it right back to his side. He sleeps with them, sets them by him while he eats and guards them faithfully from Olive. If one rolls under a chair where he cannot retrieve it. He will lay there and cry his little pitiful cry until someone moves the chair. They are a way of life for him. Olive on the other hand, couldn't care less about a tennis ball but she is always up for a game of lets send Herbie head over heals in the sand. She achieves this feat of wonder by just running smack dab into him and a tumblin' he goes. As long as she doesn't make any contact with the beloved, he is fine with taking a sand bath. If she inadvertently touches the beloved, Herbie turns on her like a mama bear defending her cub.

So tonight Herbie ran his little fireplug of a body all over the beach. Olive danced and pranced her way into every crab carcass she could find. Herbie carried his ball with delight. Olive rolled in seaweed. The kid took pictures. I breathed deeply and looked for my inner peace, then Olive stomach punched me and I decided "screw inner peace pay attention before she ruptures a kidney or two."
We walked and ran and caught our kodak moments, then turned and came home as the heavy fog descended upon us. The dogs are tired. The beloved is wet and covered with sand. Now we shall eat guacamole in front of the fire. Perfect!

Catch a Wave

Most nights I sit outside on the back deck and enjoy the evening. I watch the waves and bask in the remaining sunshine. The dogs run around and act poorly. I mostly watch the surfers.

I LOVE the surfers. I have no idea what is a good wave or who makes the best board or anything else surfer related. Hell, I can't even tell the girl surfers from the boy surfers. But every day, there they are, surfing away.

Sometimes there are a whole bunch and then a few days we will only have one or two out there. I guess they didn't get the surf memo for the day. We have these goofy ones that stand on the board and have a giant paddle that they use to maneuver themselves around the water. I make fun of them. We will have people in kayaks or canoes and sometimes we have those very loud and annoying jet ski people.

I am convinced that surfers use the ocean much like women use their phones. It is a gab fest. Some days if the wind is blowing just right, I can hear them talking out there and it is not about waves, I can tell you that. Yesterday, someones rack (yep, that is how they talk here, could be about a women or an elk, you decide) was mighty fine. Everyone laughed and about 4 waves drifted by that no one rode. One surfer stuck his foot in the air and everyone looked. I have no idea what exactly was going on with said foot, but another few waves shot by with no one on them.

I can hear them telling their significant others about their need to "catch some waves" or "work on their boards." It is a scam people, they are bobbing around sittin' on those boards comparing stories. Enjoying their "water lunch time." Laughing and joking and totally not catching a wave. Oh sure, one or two will shoot up and stand on their board, ride the wave for a while. The other surfers consider him quite the show off, I'm just thinking he is not in a relationship yet, so he still really likes to surf.

Just wait, once he bags a babe, a bobbin' he will be.

Snapshots

I have found the camera cord! I know I rock. So in honor of that amazing event, I have gathered some snapshots of my life these days. These are in no particular order.

Dinner. Wine and a plain cake donut. Judge away.
My beautiful book room. Or the depository for all the miscellaneous crap I have no idea what to do with.Herbie being a deck dog. This is his look of total disbelief that his life has taken such a horrible turn for the worse. A deck and the OUTSIDE, seriously man, how much abuse can one dog take.
The delightful kid and dogs on the beach for the Fourth of July. This was Olive's first beach walk and Herbie's 900th. Both drank a gallon of sea water, rolled in seaweed and generally acted like major gomers. The dogs, not the kid. Though he was cranky because Olive touched him with her wet paws RIGHT ON HIS NICE CLOTHES. *Sigh* teenagers, such a joy.
Me doing my first BBQ! yep, I was a BBQ virgin. Took a whole bag of those charcoal things and a squeeze bottle of liquid flames but the end result were hot dogs. I need to practice on some other meat products but that will be later in the summer. Thank God! donuts do not need to be grilled.
I'm now going to sit on the back deck, take in the view and enjoy this glass of wine.

Musings from a small town by the sea

Posting from the small town.

What I love:

1. The garbage men emptied the garbage cans and CARRIED them all the way back down the drive way to put them away by the garage.

2. I missed the fridge repair guy because I overslept. He swung back by on the off chance I was up. I was.

3. The pharmacist apologized for my prescription taking some extra moments to refill.

4. Safeway will special order my delicious wine. Have it here by tomorrow and give me a discount. They will try and make room to carry it full time.

5. The cops wave to me every time they drive past my house. Since my road dead ends at a park, it is a lot. I like that.

6. The neighbors came over and said that they had extra room in their garbage can if we needed it. They explained that moving sure does cause extra garbage and no sense in paying for an extra can, we can just use theirs. They rock!

7. On our walk, people were friendly to both the dogs, not just the cute puppy. Herbie appreciated it.

8. The drive thru's all give dog treats.

9. Our bank has free bagels and coffee in the morning.

10. Almost every house had Fourth of July decorations up.

For right now, this town is da bomb!

Fun

I finally have a free moment. One of my not-so-nice traits is that chaos makes me crazy. I hate mess. And that is how I live now. A mess!

I decided that before the Fourth, I work SO much better under a deadline, that I would have a room not filled with boxes. Tonight I have such a room. Don't open any cabinet with doors or a closet, you may be killed with falling stuff, but at least from where I sit, no boxes are in my line of vision.

This has been a hard fought war. The kid has no qualms about chaos, bring it on, I'm good to go! So we comprise, he picks up lunch and drives to Home Depot. I putter. He brings me lattes. I put away. He goes to his room to watch tv. I clean. It works.

The dogs have been a giant pain in the butt. The fenced yard, not so tight, both dogs can escape at will. Herbie is the instigator in this endeavor but Olive is right fine with the plan. We have bought a lot of chicken wire. I have no idea if they can still bolt for freedom but I do know we can now raise poultry if we desire.

This morning I had coffee on the back deck. The whales were out and frolicking. The pelicans showed up and for a moment I really thought I was on the nature channel. It was simply wonderful. And I am no nature girl, so you know it was something!

My kind of food is hard to find down here. People drive very SLOW, add in a bicyclist and we were almost at a dead stop. I have not been to a book store in a whole week and the donut shop ran out of donuts. Little quirky things. All in all, fun.

P.S. - I just did spell check and one of my words was misspelled and the only choice I had was "bestiality" the coast, it is changing me.

All is good.

Well I am here, such as it is.

I am totally and completely embarrassed about the amount of stuff I own. The books are their own separate problem but it is the little collections that are a killer. So I sit here surrounded by boxes and boxes of stuff.

The kid and the ex went yesterday to get the end of it. The plants, the outside stuff and the bird. Yep, the hated bird is going to reside with me. I think I have sucker tattooed on my face. The ex was going to see if he could sell it and that just seemed sad, so I traded something for it, soon it will be here.

This house is so much better for the dogs. The yard is huge and fenced. Olive of course, found her way out and into the neighbors yard. She can't remember the difference between the command "sit" and "down" but can be the Houdini of dogs and lead Herbie down the garden path. Tomorrow I will be buying chicken wire and outlining the fence. The fun times they keep on comin'

I went to the local grocery today and it took all of ten minutes to shop. It really helps that there is only one grocery store and they carry none of the food I am use to eating. I missed garbage day because I didn't know what day it was. The mailman says we don't have a mailbox though it is right there on the sidewalk. The actual postmaster drove over here and said "Why yes, we do have a mail box and mail will start" You get rock on great service in a small town,

The neighbor invited me for a taco party this weekend. I'm not sure exactly what that is. I know it involves tacos but how do you party with a taco? That sour cream must be a real crowd pleaser. I think I may go. I like tacos. And I love parties. Could be a good match.

The pelicans are feeding in the ocean tonight and they are beautiful. The whales are here. The sunset is stunning. The dogs are tired. I have unpacked the wine and the fireplace is keeping me toasty. All is good.

Good Night, Mary Ellen, Good Night, Elizabeth

Today it is a gray and slightly misty day. I have included your daily ocean photo complete with surfers.We have a new Internet connection and so we feel very "big city" You can get it in the kitchen and everything! Though I'm not sure why I would need it in the kitchen, just nice to know it is there.

I do have to say the repairman was super nice. In the big city, everyone is so rushed that the day to day pleasantries are nonexistent. Here, always time to chit chat about everything and anything.

Plus, the job is well done. Maybe because everything is far away but they bring all the products you may need. No, we will need to order that and come back at a later date to install it, they just have it.

Everyone multi-tasks. Our stove fan that leads to the outside, rusted shut. I called the dealer and ordered another one. The stove dealer, as it turns out, is scared of heights and ladders, so he just dropped it off. One giant roof fan and me. Now not knowing anything about installing a roof fan, or for that matter any other kind of fan, walked around this giant box for a few days.

Meanwhile, the furnace broke. That is the kind of luck I seem to have, breaking down luck. The furnace people came out and fixed the furnace. All in one day and in one trip. I'm going to let Seattle in on this little secret when I head home. Also, all under warranty. As they were heading out the door, one of the repairman asked about the fan. I explained the situation. Good news, he knew the stove dealer and everyone finds it funny that he fixes nothing high in the air or anything that involves ladders. Small towns, they are such cards.

Anyway, he offered to come back and install the fan for me. And he did. A totally unrelated company climbed up on my roof and installed the new fan. They didn't even charge me!

It is like an episode of the Walton's. Imagine what it will be like when I live full time here. I can become the "new big city snob" or "the tragic divorcee" or "the crazy old bat that lives in that haunted house with wicked dogs." The possibilities are endless.

I am going to be a hoot down here. I bet they can't wait.

Sunny Days are Here Again!

So again from vacation. Our photo of the day are surfer dudes and probably some dudettes!
We headed into the big town today. Astoria. We have exhausted the food options at our local Safeway. Yesterday they ran out of deli turkey, which I seriously didn't know was possible, so we were forced to load up the wagon and hit the Oregon trail.

Astoria has a fancy new Safeway. They had turkey. Such a show off is Astoria. They also have organic food. We are eating well tonight.

Actually we are going out to dinner tonight. At least I hope we are. The restaurants down here have the most unusual times to be opened and closed. The cafe, closed on Tuesday. The bakery, closed on Sunday and Monday. All restaurants stop serving any food at all at 9:30. No ordering baked potatoes, rice, or pasta until after 3. I swear I will need to keep a small laminated card in my wallet for restaurant dining.

Plus, being near water and all, shrimp come on everything. Salad, toast, pancakes, oatmeal. It is a constant battle to not have those little disgusting pink things touch all of my food. The conversations always involve the words No! not on the side, No, not on a separate plate. Just No Shrimp Anywhere. It is a lot like trying to get your dressing on the side. It seems to not make sense down here. I actually prefer no dressing, but that is incomprehensible and so not worth the argument.

There are no light options except for the cottage cheese plate, which is just frightening to behold. Even asking for dry toast involves some sort of discussion. I am so stuck up about my food seems to be the thought that travels through every one's mind. I just feel with all the calories I'm saving on stupid things, like dressing and butter, I can have a cupcake instead. I adore cupcakes.

Our home is the turnaround point for the Coast Guard Helicopter. If you look closely in the picture, you should be able to see it. A few times a day, the big orange and white helicopter heads down the coast. It is keeping an eye on all things sea related. Over the years we have seen some rescues. A few boats broken down that needed help. One summer a baby whale swam into the cove area. This worried his mother to no end. She wouldn't enter the cove but the baby frolicked in the nice warm water without a care in the world. It also started to worry the town for if the mom entered she would be hard pressed to get back out. The helicopter flew over lower and lower but it didn't work, that baby was toasty warm and was in no mind to leave. Finally, the coast guard boat came into the picture and drove the baby back out to sea much to the relief of his mom. I'm sure there was some whale scolding that went on when that baby got home.

Well that is all the beach news for today. Tomorrow, same bat time, same bat channel.

Oh Wild One!

So, the vacation is going fantastic. The weather was perfectly horrible when we arrived but now it is lovely, so we have forgiven Winter for being such a giant pain in the ass.
It is a different way of living down here and it is always such an adjustment when I first arrive. Things are very slow and since I move at a fast wicked pace, it takes time to sloooooow down. After a while, you can't move fast even if you wanted to. Your body becomes accustomed to a less frantic pace. You breathe deeper and find that you can daydream for longer periods of time.

The first few nights I don't sleep well. The city noises that soothe me, are not here. No city buses, or cars, no airplanes flying over, no house parties. Here it is the waves crashing on the beach and until morning, that is it. The morning is a different story altogether. Here the day wakes up alert and anxious to get a move on. The gulls start out by screaming their wishes that the catch of the day will be heavy. The cars and trucks carrying the surfers arrive and laughter about the size of the waves carry up to my bed. Parents on vacation take to the beach in search of shells and groggily follow behind happy, energized children. Happy voices ring out. Dogs bark at kelp, crabs and a multitude of birds.

I pour a cup of coffee and contemplate my day. The ocean is mesmerizing and soothing, back and forth, in and out, it goes. Always the same and yet, always different. I make a list and forget it. I sit on the back deck and think Jimmy Buffett songs in my head. I drink more coffee and watch the dog sleep in the sun. I watch him twitch and wiggle in a dream about the time he found a deer in his back yard. How he had wanted us to let him keep it but how we explained to him that he was not up to the arduous task of deer maintenance. His face registered disappointment when we opened up the back yard gate and it bounded away. He has never really forgiven us.

The ocean is beautiful, wild and oh so therapeutic. It restores me. Gives me faith, hope and peace. I like that.
We walk into town and shop the little shops. Eat lunch and enjoy each others company. I see the moment and am happy that I am here. Even with the bad stuff. Even with the uncertainty of the future. Even with the changes that are coming at me fast and furious. I feel blessed.

I feel sadness that the man I married threw all this away so easily. He didn't see the wonderful life we had built. But I did. And I do.

I think that being down here has reminded me how truly fortunate I am. Because when the wild, stormy weather hits, it makes you appreciate the sunny, calm days that will follow. Good and bad, it all flows together. I know good times are getting ready to flow my way. I will appreciate them all the more this time around.