I have a few photos to share with you, from my first organized race of the season, and a beautiful spring hike with my man, a long overdue report from a writing workshop with a blogger I recently met, and a super silly video about our beloved Portland Airport.
Let’s go chronologically. The middle of March I was reading a blog post from Dede Montgomery at Dede’s Books and Blog. Her post mentioned an upcoming writing workshop that was free and somewhat close to where I live. I am always thrilled to meet bloggers that I have followed. So here was a way to do that and also work on my writing. The workshop was well attended and brought some great personalities together.
Dede encouraged us to find and write a story from our own lives. We wrote from the brainstorming session and it was soon evident that much of our group already knew what we wanted to write about, and were looking for inspiration to either start, or keep going, or somehow move on to the next steps. There were also people who had recently come to the conclusion that our life stories should be set down for those after us. Dede was the perfect host for this goal, because she has published several books that tell her own family stories, primarily about her father, and then another about her mother.
You’ve already seen this fun photo from our race on April 12 called Run With the Wild. It’s a fundraiser for the Wildland Firefighters Foundation that we heard about from our Belle Brigade racing team member, Judy, who is a federal employee. It was a chilly morning, but early clouds cleared quickly and we were soon engulfed in sunshine.
I have not spent much time in the Columbia Gorge since I lived over on the East side of Portland, since before I moved to Rainier. It’s matchless beauty and recreation opportunity out there. I tried so hard to buy a home that direction back in 2015, but there was nothing for sale, and I was forced to move West instead. But oh, every time I get a chance to go out there again, I am reminded that I’m in love with the Gorge.
We rode the shuttle back to Hood River, and met Pedro who had been reading a book about Python programming (for fun) while he waited. We all went to a Native-owned restaurant in Cascade Locks and ate Salmon for lunch. What a great day.
Oh…I published this morning, then checked my email and I have some updates from race organizers. They said that 600 people attended officially, and that they raised $37,000 for firefighters. That’s so awesome.
Last week we were engulfed in the warmth of a fake summertime, and everyone went outside and wore shorts and smiled for days in a row. My flowers burst forth and opened up and things below ground remembered life again. I bought some flowers and built up some pots for the deck, just to add some colour against the house. It was lovely. The pleasant weather is now gone again, but I remember.
While the weather was still amazing, I talked my man into actually turning off his computer at 5 pm one evening, when he is supposed to, and going for a walk with me. We headed out to Cooper Mountain and I ruined what could have been a hearty workout, by stopping every 4 minutes to photograph wildflowers. The variety was endless and I finally gave up trying to spot them all because we actually did want to get our heartrates up, and flower photography really isn’t enough activity to do so.
This may be the last you hear from me for a while. I’m getting ready to be gone, so I’ll be bustling around the place this week, getting my ducks in a row, and packing. Sunday I leave for Annapolis, Maryland, to teach for VFW like usual. Then I’ll fly to Heathrow right from Baltimore (in other words, without going home first). My travel friend Margaret will meet me at the airport, then we will begin a brief exploration of southwest England. My first time ever, not hers! I get to meet TWO more blogger friends, Derrick and Andrew. The day after I return home, I am going camping with Kellen for our Mother’s Day tradition, and Saturday, May 10th I’ll be in the Hippie Chick race that I like to do every year. Then we will have Mother’s Day brunch and make our way home. If you haven’t heard from me at that point, I imagine I’ll have a lot to say.
I spotted this video the other day, and got a laugh out of it. A couple of local artists made the video for fun. It’s not meant to be advertisement, although it could certainly be some. If you want to imagine me in the airport Sunday morning, this is where I’ll be: beneath the wooden roof at PDX.
Love you all. Keep smiling. Enjoy the shift in weather. Wish us safe travels. I feel fortunate and privileged to lead such a life.
Conscious Engagement 
Have a safe and enjoyable trip, Crystal!
Thank you, Lou! I hope to have some great classes in Annapolis, and smooth flights, smooth itinerary in the UK, and most of all, I hope to pass back across the border and return home without incident.
Just WOW! There is a lot here and more coming! You are amazing. I think I’ve been too settled in my life now that I see how you have lived yours. I am going to look at the writing workshop thing. The one I tried here was a bit snooty. I was “just a blogger”. Sigh. I love the flowers on your porch. Have fun teaching your classes. You usually do a good job. I hope they let you back in the country after you enjoy the fresh scenery of the UK. Maybe my next lifetime. 🙂 Stay safe, have fun. Love and hugs. m
Marlene, I hope this is the comment that WP told you was lost! All is not lost! ha ha. My activity has been a lifelong strategy of distraction, to keep me from thinking and feeling things that are hard for me. Though it is fun, it is not always healthy. Since 2009, I’ve been getting my head healthy again, and for the past couple years my strategy has been to reduce the stuff I do. You have spent a lot of years cultivating your inner life and becoming strong in spirit, while also developing habits to protect yourself. I think we are doing the same things for the same reasons, but it looks different on the outside. I do admit I have a lust for activity, and now I have stories to tell.
I hope they let me back into the coutry, too. This trip was planned 6 months ago, and the world was a different place back then. We have come up with a couple of strategies to help me at the border. On my side, of course, is wealth (so I can afford Global Entry) and whiteness. I’m sure I’ll be ok, but I have a list of rights and demands for the border, if I get stopped.
I wrote a long comment, then they wanted me to log in again. It disappeared. Love you.. Stay safe, have fun, You are impressive as all getout.
WP glitches can be so annoying. I think your comment may have made it through after all. Love you, too, my friend. ❤
Wow, go for it indeed Crystal. Get Pedro moving is a good idea but I would be taking photos too. Can’t go out without a camera lol
Enjoy your travels and work 😀
Thanks Brian! I agree that I can’t go places without a camera. It’s physically painful when I forget. But thank goodness for the phone camera when I do.
Another happy set of race pictures. See you soon
I guess being in races is part of who I am now, huh? You helped me think about how my life changed in that way when I joined the Belle Brigade. See you both so soon! ❤
I’ve been without internet and WOW, so fun to see this blog and eager to hear about your travels. I’m grateful to have met in person. Oh, yes, the power of connection. And all those things we have in common only because we took the time to connect. Thanks again for joining me.
I am so grateful to have had the chance to meet you, and hear your writing journeys, and to hear how you encouraged and supported the people at your workshop. I think connecting with other writers with similar experiences will be good for me. It must have been fun to randomly open up the Internet and see your own smiling face! ha ha!
Bon voyage to the Old Country. Be prepared to wonder whether they actually speak “English”. The variety of accents in the UK is impressive… (I had a bit of the same shock when I landed in the US (Alabama) for Grad school. Spent the first 3 weeks wondering about the local language…😉
Oh you are so funny, Brian. Yes, the variety of accents here in the states is wide, and local terms are common too. I have to assume this happens in a lot of places. When I first moved to Vermont and our National Weather Service office had forecasters that came from all the different New England states, I was astonished to find that each one of those tiny states has its own accent! I look forward to discovering a variety of accents in the UK. Margaret and I will spend all of our time in the Southwest though, and not even a moment in London, so I’ll miss out on a lot of accents I’m sure. I’ll just have to go back some time.
Indeed there are many “accints” in the US. New Jersey and New York accents are different.
In the South? Them “good old boys can tell if someone is from Texas, Geawgia, Alabamer, etc… In Alabama, folks can tell if you’re from North Alabama, or Mo-beele… 😉
Enjoy your trip…
That final video also put a smile on my face. What a lovely airport to have as a home airport. Safe and happy travels and teaching. I do admire your energy, especially as it is something I completely lack, although I don’t envy it, as I most definitely prefer my slower pace. 😁 Pedro definitely reminds me of Michael. The things he reads or researches for fun simply hurts my head.