Mainland Adventure

 

[I warn you now. Blogger is doing some inexplicable thing where it will not let me put a punctuation mark at the end of a sentence when the sentence is at the end of the paragraph. It moves the period to the beginning of the line. Go figure. So, please excuse the absence of that final punctuation.]

 My Saturday plan started with one goal: to buy shelving brackets and boards for a wall in my sewing room. I knew I could make the 40 minute drive to the Home Depot in Oak Harbor, on the north end of the island. But it occurred to me that because I am on the south end of the island and less than 10 minute from the Clinton-Mukilteo ferry, I could get to the Home Depot in Everett in about the same amount of time, plus there would be other fun places to explore there. 

Suddenly a Saturday shopping adventure was formed. 

I was on the 9am ferry - that was my view up above. I love riding the ferry, I really do. From my house I can hear the distant horn of the ferries and it makes me happy every time.

Anyway. Once off in Mukilteo, the GPS Genie led me to Costco, where I arrived at 9:30 just as they opened. Remarkably enough, I was out with a full cart of my Costco staples (you know, toilet paper, paper towels, olive oil, etc) by 10:05 am. I could hardly believe it

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This display of Fisher scone mix stopped me in my tracks. Did you know that scones and raspberry jam are a must-have when you go to the Washington state fair? I did not until my friend Dori, a Seattle-area native, gave me a box of the official Fisher scone mix and a jar of the companion raspberry jam. I used the mix and made the scones and they were quite delicious. I heartily endorse them

 I was ridiculously pleased to see a big display of bulk packages of Fisher scone at Costco. Isn’t that the fun of cruising Costco? You never know what you will find. You will not be surprised to know that a box came home with me. You see that empty space in the display up there? That was where my box came from

From there, I hit Home Depot and after some frustrated wandering, found the shelving supplies I needed. At this store, the only registers they had were self-service ones, which surprised me. Usually I don't mind those, but this time I had some long boards and it was cumbersome and annoying. I think I should have gotten an employee discount on my purchase as I did all the work

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And from there, to Target… another very fun place for roaming. The only “must have” on my list was their Everspring Geranium and Herbs hand soap. I love the delicate scent of this soap and keep it at my kitchen sink. So now I have a back-up supply

But more roaming ensued. I checked out out the dog toys because Target carries Bark brand toys which are clever, funny, and impressively durable. I didn’t find any that Starlie and Rosie needed, which was fine as I am still parceling out their old dog toys from the move. They greet them as if they have never seen them before

A visit to Target also requires a stroll through the Magnolia Hearth and Home section, to see what Chip and Joanna Gaines say the well-appointed farmhouse needs. I bought a few pieces from their collection when I was staging my Healdsburg house and needed to add some neutral elements. Back then I’d fallen in love with this wooden cake stand, but was being strict about not adding unnecessary items that would need to be packed and moved

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Well, there it still was on the shelf, which seemed like fate. (Or good retailing, but I prefer to think that it was a sign that I was meant to have it.)  I could see it on my kitchen island to show off vegetables or ripening avocados, or even a plate of scones. 

A friend told me that there is a Homegoods store in Lynwood, the next town over, so as long as I was having a retail adventure day I headed there. It’s another great place for wandering. I was hoping to find a narrow cabinet to fill a weird space in my bathroom, but despite a careful search I did not find anything anything suitable. Instead, I found a whole lot of pumpkin and Halloween decor. 

Which made me think that a pumpkin would look wonderful on that wooden cake stand when fall arrives. Which it has not. It’s not even Labor Day, people. Am I the only one annoyed at how many people want to rush from summer and leap to fall without savoring the last beautiful days? Maybe it's the weather here, which is sunny and perfect

As I left Homegoods, I drove by a Hobby Lobby. I have never been in one, and I never will. How a store that caters to crafters and decorators, and whose customer and employee base must surely be female by a large margin, can take the anti-women and anti-choice positions it does is simply beyond me. I think they felt my strong disapproval as I drove by. 

Then I discovered that I was near a big mall with - gasp - a Nordstrom. Nordstrom is the best of the best department stores, as far as I am concerned. So of course, I stopped. As a new Washington resident (and Nordstrom started in Seattle), it seemed like the proper thing to do

I realized that I have not been in an indoor mall since the "before-times." And this was a bustling, happy mall with nary an empty storefront. I wandered, even bought a new pair of earrings at the Brighton store (which is sort of funny as most days working at home I forget to put on earrings). But they were pretty and a shopping adventure requires at least one impulse purchase, don't you think? I do

From there, it was time to head home. This time, I got a window spot on the ferry so I could watch the water as I headed back to my little island. Did I already say how much I love the ferries? s

Living on an island with limited resources makes me appreciate the wonders of the wide world of retail in more populated areas. But I was happy to leave it behind and return to my bunny-filled island retreat

A Line of Amazons

My mom and my aunt had a long standing joke that they were Amazon women. Years ago, they had gone to a yard sale where outdoor umbrella bases were for sale. When my mom and aunt declined help in carrying them to the car and hauled them off themselves, the seller exclaimed that they were Amazons. And both women proved, time after time, that they were amazingly strong.

My mom displayed that remarkable strength over 92 years and through various medical issues. Several times my family had doctors tell us to be prepared, that women her age don’t usually survive whatever medical issue she was presenting. But mom kept on going. 

Last week, it became clear that the Amazonian strength of her heart couldn’t go much longer. I flew back to Sonoma County just after she’d been released from the hospital under hospice care. After several peaceful days at home with my dad, my sister and me at her bedside, her heart just couldn’t go any longer. She passed away on August 17.

It was as good as it could have been. She had the people she loved around her, and she knew we were with her. She was calm and in no pain. I’m convinced that she was greeted on the other side by my brother, her lifelong friend Cathy, Misha the devoted Kuvasz who was surely waiting with a tennis ball in her mouth, and so many other friends and family members. 

I’m back in the Pacific Northwest now. The dogs greeted me with wagging tails and comforting nuzzling, and my daughter  gave me a tight hug. It feels good to come home.  My heart is sore, of course. But  I come from a line of Amazons. I'll think of my mom often, and keep on going.