After three weeks in Washington and Oregon, I’m back in Minnesota. I had so much fun, seeing friends, visiting my favorite places, and getting in plenty of beach time.
The weather is so much better than when I left! Instead of lows of 7 degrees and snow on the ground, the weather has been mostly sunny and in the 50s and 60s since I got back. Until today at least; it’s raining now and it is supposed to rain off and on until Monday. There are worse things in life.
The grass is green from the recent rains, and once the rain stops I’m going to be getting out into the yard to work on pruning and trimming back the dead foliage. The lilac bushes are starting to leaf out, so there will soon be the sweet smell of lilacs blooming!
Cora and Yellow were of course happy to see me, and have forgiven me for being away. It is so nice to see how bonded they are; they regularly snuggle and sleep in the same puff, even though they have lots of options. At the moment, I can hear Yellow snoring in the other room; they really have a good life!
Mom was kind enough to think of me when she went to the library book sale for the next town up the road, and she got me some books on the Civil War. She’s always so thoughtful! There is also an upcoming book sale at our town library, so I’ll be helping move books from storage next week to get ready for it. I’ll be considered the young person with the strong back among the other volunteers I’m sure. It reminds me of helping mom to purge her books before the move last year. That was a lot of boxes of books!
On my way home from Washington, I spent a couple of days on the Oregon coast, camping, looking for agates and just enjoying the beach. I did get rained on a little, but it was pretty good weather for the most part! After I left the coast, I spent a few days getting home, doing a little bit of sightseeing on the way. A winery along the Columbia River Gorge, and a few museums in Montana and North Dakota. After leaving Oregon, it got too cold for camping, so I splurged on a few nights of hotels.
Along the way I had a few lovely chats with people I met on the beach, at the winery, or in the restaurant bars – I like sitting at the bar when I’m dining alone, it just invites more social interaction.
Of course, now that I’m back I’ll be able to write more regularly again. Not much driving to interfere with my downtime!
I hope everyone is well – and enjoying spring!
Wine and History Visited 