Oof.

We have not been sleeping all that great lately. And what with jet lag, uncertainty as to whether or not I had any clients this morning (nope, but had to be up and caffeinated by 8:30am just in case), and late-night...umm..."couple time", today I'm more tired than usual.

I'm also slightly amazed at the number of things one can accomplish if one actually gets up early and gets busy:

Seedlings set outside for some sunshine; laundry washed and dried; bedroom closet purged; trash put out; bedroom partially dusted; car loaded; library card acquired; three trash bags full of clothing, one large box of stuff, and one stack of books donated to thrift store; chia seeds, kombucha, and local milk purchased; book finished; seedlings brought back in; coffee ingested; two clients treated. Not to mention the showering and the food-eating. Dinner will be reheated homemade chicken soup (with tomatoes and cream), with a couple handfuls of baby kale thrown in. Lunch was takeout fish, shrimp, and coleslaw, nomnomnom! The young gay man at the drive-thru had the Righteous Babe symbol tatooed on his forearm; we were both giddy about it, lol!

Also, the produce guy at the natural foods store keeps giving me free pieces of fruit. Today it was an orange. I am excited.

E and I went to the beginner orientation at the Still Point Zen Buddhist Temple in Detroit on Sunday. E mostly went because I was feeling shy...and I went because I'm very drawn to Buddhism lately, would love to attend a few services, but wanted to know what they consisted of before bumbling through them. It was really interesting, and as daunting as 20+ minutes of meditation sound to someone with ADD, I'm going back this Sunday to try it out.

I'll leave you with a pic of my favorite achievement of the day - tossing an old non-functioning stereo, clearing off the dresser, and finding a way to display my agates and heart-shaped rock collection:

Happy Tuesday!

14 and 15/52: 52 Weeks of Happy!

 Tomato, basil, and alpine strawberry seeds, freshly planted and in their little improvised greenhouse.

 The gorgeous orange ranunculus we bought at Eastern Market in Detroit.

 Look whose car is finally fully legal!

 Oregon Cherry Pie (and an iced mocha in the background) with my love at Random Order in Portland! YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!! (And I took a piece of Coconut Cream home and had it for breakfast the next day!)

 The Random Order sign - pretty much my favorite sight in all of Portland.

 The 405 bridge - one of my other favorite sights. I love crossing it at night, you can see the whole city lit up.

 The 405 bridge, looking west.

 Crossing the Broadway bridge...

 Beautiful Portland day!

 405 again, lol!

Waiting for takeout at the Marrakesh restaurant...wonderful Moroccan food!

 Little V! What a big (and snuggly) girl!

We stayed at the Coho Inn at Lincoln City on Friday night, right on the pacific ocean! We did not get the romance package, but were sorely tempted (and extremely entertained) by the "locally handcuffed artisan chocolates"...

 Our favorite agate-hunting spot - the Little D river, and the stretch of beach to the right. We found a lot of things, and my rare-things-finding-abilities remain intact - I discovered two blue-black agates that got the fols at the local rock shop pretty excited!

 My love, exploring the beach at low tide.

 Beach ice cream always tastes better!

Can you see the rainbow? We saw several as we drove back through the coastal mountains. E has much better pictures, as I was driving and screaming "Rainbow! Take Pictures! PLEEEAAASE!!" lol. She snapped away out the back window, I'll share a few when she gets them uploaded.

 Azaelas outside a home in the Mississippi neighborhood. They were huge and bushy and cascaded over the retaining wall. Absolutely stunning.

 E and I had lunch on Sunday at Pine State Biscuits, on Alberta St. We both ordered "The Reggie" - fried chicken, cheese, and bacon on a biscuit, with gravy - and it was the best biscuit sandwich either of us have ever eaten. I found my hypothetical "last meal".

 The Reggie. Look at that deliciousness!!!

 The local motto! And boy, do they live up to it.

 Voodoo Doughnuts! Maple Bacon Bars for all!

 Seedlings! And in only a week!!! The leggy tomatoes have been re-potted, and I've been getting them outside every sunny day.

Bare feet in the soft grass for the first time this year!

Not pictured: the whale we saw in the distance while gazing out over the ocean; the mole enchiladas Roomie and I made, per the secret recipe it took us two years to develop; the thunderstorms I've enjoyed in the last couple days; the turbulence (I love turbulence!) on the flights to and fro; howling with laughter as the ocean sent us running full-tilt back up the beach with a surprise wave; the great catch-up time with friends and family; and the Buddhist book I found on sale (I'm really drawn toward Buddhism lately - especially since the realization that Buddha mind is Christ mind).

Six Months, and a few other things

It just dawned on me that I've been back in my home state for six months exactly today.

Wow.

Six months with the love of my life. Six months of being back where I belong, of building a new life from the ground up.

I've never been happier.

And in a few days, E and I are flying to Portland, OR for a visit! Officially, I'm going because my ex-roomie (and one of my best friends) is having a medical procedure done, and her parents will be out of the country, so they offered to buy me a ticket if I could take care of Roomie for the week. I, in turn, bought E a ticket, because our dear friend S (another Detroit native) lives in Portland, and they haven't seen each other in over a year. And then of course there's the bonus attraction of my sister, bro-in-law, and Little V, who turns one whole year old on the 22nd! Sooooooooooo, yeah - first trip together!!!! So excited!!!

Because of the nature of the visit (fertility treatments are not an exact science), everything is pretty much up in the air...we know that E and S will get to spend a couple days together; that I will get some family time; and that we will most likely be staying both at Roomies' parents' house just outside Portland, and Roomies' apartment in Salem (which was my apartment too. So strange to go back so soon...). We will probably be going agate hunting at the beach, depending on how Roomie is feeling (she desperately wants to make that happen, so it most likely will, no matter what, lol). I would like to take E to Random Order Coffeehouse - my favorite place in the entire pacific northwest, and the first place I learned to get to on my own there - for a coffee and pie date. (I plan on eating one piece of pie, and taking another home for later, just because I know it will be so hard to choose just one kind! They seriously have the best pie in the world. No, I mean it. If there is pie in heaven, they get it from Random Order!) Otherwise, we don't plan on doing very much. Just a nice, relaxing vacation with no fixed plans. We are so thrilled to be traveling together!

 I also finally, finally started seeds for the garden! Just Alpine strawberries, sweet basil, and Cherokee Purple tomatoes for now. We'll probably start the Roma tomatoes this weekend, and the other stuff will just be direct-sowed when it gets warm enough...which, in the case of the kale and lettuce, is technically now...hmmm....