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I Needed an Adventure

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When I woke up this morning, I felt myself going to that dark place – that place of fears and worries and dread.

I needed to get out of the house and go for a walk and smile at people. I needed an adventure.

A couple of weeks ago, a friend I’d met in the Seeing Bellingham group – a friend I’d never actually met in the person – invited me to join her and her friends for coffee at the Way Cafe in Birch Bay. Julie told me that they meet every Thursday morning there. She invited me again a couple days ago. I was kind of nervous about sitting around a table with people I’d never actually met – but, this morning when I started going to the dark place, I realized a drive to Birch Bay and joining Julie and her friends was exactly what I needed.

So I googled and made a list of directions for myself – exit here, turn right there, take another right here, and then a left – and I set out for the Way Cafe.

Oh, my friends! It was so fun meeting these women this morning! Tricia and Nancy, Jean and Julie and Carol, were welcoming and wonderful. I needed the laughter I found with my new friends, and I soaked up their kindness.

When our time together came to an end, I decided I wasn’t done, yet, and headed up to Blaine with L&L Bakery macarons on my mind. I love the L&L Bakery! Lili, the owner, was there today, and it was so good to see her again. Lili radiates kindness and good will and makes the world a better place. She and her staff also make really good baked goods. I snagged myself a couple of macarons, wished Lili a good day, and headed down to Marine Park.

When I got to the park, I could see workers setting up fences around the perimeter in preparation for the “Scottish Gathering” Blaine is hosting this weekend. Liam and Joe let me snap their picture as they helped set up the fences. (When I introduced myself to them, Liam said his mom is named “Karen,” too – which brought me a smile. Karens rock!)

I walked on down to the pier and took some photos of Semiahmoo across the water to the west, and Canada across the water to the north. An AmTrak train came through Blaine, and I watched it make its progress past the Peace Arch and on into Canada. I wished everyone on board happy adventures.

I had happy adventures myself today. I’m so glad I talked myself out of the house, and up to Birch Bay and Blaine today.

Turtle Magic!

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I followed my nose and ended up at Lake Padden today. On my walk around the lake I stopped to sit on Wendell Holboy’s bench. I feel connected to Wendell and his bench – his wife, Noemi, had been one of my mom’s friends in the last years of her life, and his granddaughter, Emily, had been one of my 8th graders. I always smile when I see his name on the plaque by the bench, and think of Mom and Noemi and Emily.

As I was sitting there, this sweet little family passed by – Papa, Mama, infant in a stroller, a toddler on a balance bike, and a smiling pup. The toddler fell off his bike just behind me, and I could hear his parents talking with him – turning his fall into a game. I loved their approach – and I told them that. The little boy got a big smile on his face and started scooting his bike to me – he recognized right away that I was a friend. He footed his bike right up next to me and gave me a big grin. My grandma heart melted.

I learned his name was Max, his parents were named Thomas and V, his four-week-old baby sister was named Phoebe, and the smiling pup was named Potter. I saw that V had a climbing rope attaching her to Potter, and asked her if she was a climber. I learned that both she and her husband were climbers, and that she’d climbed Washington’s “five peaks.” I told her I’d climbed Rainier, Baker, Adams, and Hood with my dad when I was younger, and we talked about climbing for a bit.

Thomas and V gave me permission to take photos of their family, but the one that I think works best here is one of their family from the back – Max toodling along on his balance bike.

There’s this place between the two docks on the east side of the lake where I’ve sometimes been able to spot turtles lined up on a log. I remember my surprise the first time I spotted those turtles maybe a decade ago – I’d never seen turtles in the wild before. I don’t think I saw turtles on the log last summer, though, and when I didn’t see them today, I felt my heart sink. Maybe, I thought, turtles don’t live at Lake Padden anymore.

I was almost back to my car when I saw a big brown lump ahead of me in the middle of the trail. At first I thought it was a turtle, but then I laughed at myself: “Karen, you’ve got turtles on your mind.” But as I got closer and I saw a head sticking out of the brown lump, I realized it WAS a turtle!

I didn’t think the middle of the trail was a very good place for the little guy to have placed himself, so I picked him up and told him I was taking him to a better place. As I walked him back to the spot where I’d seen turtles before, I passed the sweet family I’d met earlier, and little Max reached out and touched the turtle’s shell, a look of wonder on his face. Mickey saw the turtle and started grinning – she and I took turns taking photos of each other with the turtle. Chuck passed by with his pup, Bella, and got that same look of wonder that Mickey and Max had gotten when they saw the turtle. I put the turtle down on the shore next to the water, and, after a few minutes – when he felt safe – his legs poked out of the shell, and he darted into the water too fast for me to snap a picture. MAGIC!

On the way back to my car, I passed Alaena with her paddleboard – I told her that I needed to try that someday, and she got a big smile on her face, and told me I absolutely SHOULD try it! She said it was totally worth the 100 bucks for the paddleboard, and graciously agreed to let me take a photo of her posing with it.

Blue dragonflies flitted around in the bushes and landed on the trail in front of me; and a family of ducks swam around near the reeds – mama, papa, and two fluffy ducklings. Awww…

“This Place Attracts Kindness”

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May 31:
Today when I landed in Fairhaven, I got there so early that my car was the first one parked on the block. It came to me that I hadn’t been to the Cafe Blue in a while, and I decided that that’s where today’s adventures would start.

Even that early, the cafe was brimming with happy people when I walked in. Micah, the owner of the cafe, looked over and saw me and greeted me. He remembered me! – and thanked me again for the book I’d given him last year. The counter person who was taking my order asked about the book. I told her that I like to write stories about the cool people I meet on my adventures, and Micah is one of those cool people and he’s in one of my books. She grinned and wrote down my name so she could find my books at the Bellingham library.

The Cafe Blue is one of those places with an abundance of magic.

Micah and his cafe are magnets for kindness and good will. When I was done ordering my mocha and a strawberry pastry, I found one last table that wasn’t occupied, and settled onto a bench there. The young man in the line after me wasn’t going to be able to find an empty table, though, and I told him to feel free to share my table with me. He smiled and thanked me and settled onto the other end of the bench to work on his project.

I watched people come into the shop and greet each other, laughing and enjoying their time together, while soft music played in the background. When it was time to go, I stopped to say good bye to Micah. “This place attracts kindness,” I told him, “and you’re at the center of it all, Micah. Thank you.” Micah smiled his wonderful smile and thanked me for coming back to his shop, and we wished each other good days.

I wandered down to Marine Park from the cafe. A couple coming out of the park told me that they’d been watching a fledgling osprey learning how to fly, and told me where I could find it, if it was still there. Alas, it was not. But I did see my old friend, Dan, and his pup, Jakada – it’s always good to see them. A rousing game of kayak polo was going on in the bay, too, and I stopped to take a couple photos.

I decided to check out the heron rookery and see how the chicks were coming along. The chicks have GROWN since I was last there. Every now and then one would stretch its wings – like it was preparing to fly. That was cool to see.

I went through the dog park, and through the woods for a while, and then, when it was time, back to my car.

I met new pup friends today: Elmer and Hoby and a sweet little blue-eyed pup whose name has slipped into the ether. I met new human friends, too – Luke (the blue-eyed pup’s human), and the couple that told me about the osprey; and about half a dozen people at the rookery who shared the heron magic with me. Bill was there, too, feeding peanuts to the crows he met along the way.

I always leave my walks in Bellingham with a smile on my face, feeling good about sharing this planet with such beautiful earthlings – two-footed, four-footed, feathered and furred.

Reminders from the Cosmos

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Fairhaven was all green and sparkling this morning. Everything looked fresh and new. I found wonderful magic up there today.

I got up there early enough that I could get free parking for a couple hours. I parked near the Village Green and then – because the trail is still closed between Fairhaven and Taylor Dock – I hiked up a block and then over and down to the gateway to the boardwalk.

There was a gentleman sitting on a bench there with a big backpacking pack and a couple bags, and, as we watched a little bird flitting around under the gateway, we struck up conversation. I learned his name was Mountain Wiserd. He noticed my amber necklace and told me about the rocks and fossils he’s found on his travels. He told me about a piece of amber he’d once found that had a mosquito in it – the mosquito made the amber special, and a museum had bought it from him. He’d also found a fossilized tooth from some kind of dinosaur with a duck bill – and his find had led scientists to the site, where they’d found a whole skeleton, as well as a prehistoric nest.

Mountain asked me if I could buy him a coffee and some food. I told him sure, and we walked together down the boardwalk and to Wood’s Coffee shop in Boulevard park, where I bought Mountain a coffee and a sandwich, and bought myself a lavender green iced tea. We hugged and parted there – Mountain to go to the second floor of Wood’s to eat his sandwich, and me to continue on my walk.

As I was beginning my walk back to the boardwalk, I saw that the new picnic table that’s been roped off while the baby grass grows around it, is now officially available for use. I’ve long been awaiting my inaugural use of the table, and headed that way. Two of the maintenance crew sprucing up the park were standing nearby, and I told them how excited I was to finally use the picnic table. I asked them if I could take a picture – “I’m a Boomer, so this will probably end up on Facebook.” And they laughed and graciously agreed to let me take their photo. I asked them their names – Kyle and Armando – and introduced myself to them. “I am a Boomer AND I’m named Karen.” They started laughing, and posed for me in front of the picnic table.

I settled into the picnic table with my tea and scrolled through the notifications on my phone. I could hear Kyle and Armando chatting in the background, and at one point I heard Armando tell Kyle that “Leo” was his brother. I perked up when I heard Leo’s name. Leo is the man who keeps Boulevard Park and the Village Green clean and functioning. I told Armando that I’d just seen Leo getting the restrooms above Taylor Dock ready for a new day, and I told him that Leo is one of my favorite Bellingham people.

After I’d sat at the picnic table for a bit, I got back onto the boardwalk and headed back to Fairhaven. I met little Charlie pup and gave him a pet, and my old friend, Dan, appeared with Jakada pup. Dan and I hugged and wished each other a good day, and I went on up the ramp from Taylor Dock, up a block to by-pass the trail closure, and back down to my car.

My entire walk I felt like I was enclosed in this peaceful bubble of Love – greeting Leo, meeting Mountain Wiserd, chatting with Armando and Kyle, giving sweet Charlie pup a pet, and running into Dan and Jakada.

I’m so grateful for these reminders from the Cosmos that the world is still a beautiful place.

Tearing Up at the Sweetness of It

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I just have to share this quick glimmer I experienced today in Fred Meyer’s. I put myself in line behind a little family – a mother, a girl of grade school age, and a little boy sitting in the seat in the shopping cart. The little boy was shaking a tube of candy and making it rattle, and he was having such fun with that, I found myself grinning as I watched him. I asked him how old he was – and I held up two fingers and then three – “Two? Three?” He held up three fingers in response, and said, “Three.” I told him my granddaughter was going to be three in a couple months, too. The little boy’s mother turned around and smiled at me then. She knew she was looking at a grandma.

I asked the little girl if she was a big sister, and she smiled and nodded her head. I told her I was a big sister, too – I have two little brothers, and I know what it means to be the “big sister.” I told her I could tell she was a good big sister, and she smiled.

The mother and daughter talked in Spanish for a moment, then I saw the little girl get out her own wallet. The mother had already paid for her groceries, but now the little girl was going to pay herself for her own art supplies. Her mother patiently helped her count out the money – one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten – the total for the purchase had been $9.93 – so now the mother and daughter counted out three pennies, so that the little girl would get a dime back. They carefully put the cash and pennies in the cashier’s hand, and the cashier smiled and placed a dime back in the little girl’s hand.

And I can’t even tell you what there was about this exchange that so touched me, but I found myself tearing up at the sweetness of it.

Six Decades of Friendship

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What a wonderfully surreal and fabulous day!

I drove from my home near Bellingham down to Olympia to visit with my FIFTH GRADE TEACHER (!!!) and two of my fifth grade classmates – people I’ve known for almost 60 years, but only reconnected with seven years ago. We hadn’t seen each other in the person since our visit with each other back in 2019 – separated by seven years that included the death of my dad, the death of Sue’s mom, Susan’s marriage to Sam, a new granddaughter for me, and a world-changing pandemic.

And oh! It was so good to be with my grade school people again!

I got to Olympia about an hour early, and thought I’d check out the Olympia Farmer’s Market. I met Talbot, who was selling cool artsy candles, and who, I learned, was a friend of one of my Bellingham friends. (I love these connections!) I bought one of his candles – a little snail – which I plan to light only sparingly. It’s too beautiful to let it melt away.

When I got done exploring the Farmers Market, I gave a call to my brother, Dave, who lives in Olympia. I hadn’t called him before because I’d assumed he’d be doing some ultra marathon running thing this Memorial weekend – but, when he picked up, he told me he’d just finished up shopping downtown and could meet me at the Farmers Market in, like, five minutes! So not only did I get to see my old fifth grade teacher and friends, but I got to have a quick visit with my “little” bro, too! (He suggested I stand on a rock for our picture because he is, like, a foot taller than me.)

A couple of fun people things I have to share:

When I got to Lacey, I exited to make a stop at the Safeway for a mocha and a restroom break. Something happened to me there that I don’t think has ever happened to me before – I stepped out of the women’s restroom at the exact moment a bearded and “flanneled” man of about 40 stepped out of the men’s restroom opposite. We looked at each other and spontaneously grinned. It was one of those awkward moments where you find out if someone has a sense of humor or not. He had a sense of humor. I really appreciated that grin.

I’d parked my car at the Farmer’s Market. When I got back to my car after my visit with my friends, a young family had just arrived at their car, too. I asked the father if I could get back on the freeway by going that direction, and I pointed east. He smiled and came over to me with his phone. He opened up a map on his phone and showed me what route he was going to take to get back on I-5. He was kind and helpful and treated me exactly as I hope my sons treat other lost women of a certain age. I shook his hand and thanked him, and asked his name. He told me he was Maurice. He asked my name and I gave my standard line, “I am, of course, Karen” and he started laughing.

I’d found an old Simon and Garfunkle CD before I’d left home this morning, and now I listened to it on my drive back to Skagit County. “Bridge Over Troubled Water” got me through the traffic jam in Seattle. Simon and Garfunkle’s magic still works!

P.S. Do you see the watercolor in the group photo? That was a painting Dad gave to Sue Lyon’s mom years ago, and Sue gifted it back to me yesterday – she thought it should be reunited with my family. That really touched me.

“I Really Need a Smile Today”

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Okay, so I was a little obnoxious yesterday. (But what else is new, right?)

In the last week, I’ve noticed that people aren’t as quick to exchange smiles with me as they used to be. At first I took this personally – thought there might be something wrong with my appearance in some way – but I quickly rid myself of that notion – I mean, I’m as glorious as ever, right?

It occurred to me that maybe folks are really struggling right now and that smiles are just really hard for them to summon up. I decided it was time to bring out all my weapons of kindness.

I made a quick stop at one supermarket to use their restroom and see if they had a couple items I was looking for. There’s an employee storage room kitty corner to the restroom and I smiled at a man standing in the door to the storage room and he… well, he didn’t smile back. And then another employee came out of the restroom and I smiled at her, and again, nada. I smiled at a third employee who was stocking stuff, and got nothing. So I asked her – in just a chatty way – “People don’t smile any more, do they?” And SHE SMILED A BRILLIANT SMILE, and said that she’s noticed that, too.

I found the items I was looking for and went to the self-checkout. I smiled at the woman who was overseeing the checkout, and got nothing. So I scanned all my items and paid, with her in the background watching. And then I asked her about the bag I’d brought in for my groceries – it used to be when I’d put it in the bagging area after I’d rung my items up, that I’d be tagged by security as trying to steal the bag – was that going to happen now? She SMILED and said they’d changed things, so that wouldn’t happen anymore. I told her I’d known I’d be okay because she’d been watching me and knew what I was up to, and she laughed. I thanked her for doing such a good job, and she smiled again, and pointed at my shopping bag. It says “DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS” on it and she wondered if I was a traveling doctor. I told her no, but I donate to the group. And she thanked me for doing that.

I wheeled my groceries out to my car. I noticed a man of about my age, wearing a safety vest, was cleaning up the parking lot with one of those stick things. I wheeled my cart to the cart corral, and then got in my car and rolled down the window to speak to him. “Thank you,” I said. “Thank you for keeping the parking lot clean.” He looked surprised that I’d even noticed him, and smiled. He told me he was actually a store clerk, but his hours had been cut recently, and he’d been off work for a while. He’d just gotten called back to do what he was doing. I thanked him again for doing such a good job, and he smiled.

Now in another superstore, I smiled at a woman of about my age, and got a blank stare in return. I decided to try a different tack. “Hello,” I said to her. She turned and looked at me then, AND SMILED. “I just needed someone to smile at me, and you looked like someone who would do that,” I said to her. She grinned then, and nodded, and gave me a beautiful smile.

Maybe in these interesting and challenging times, when it comes to smiles, sometimes I just need to be explicit: “I really need a smile today.”

“During this final conflict, wicked minds will endeavor to find means by which to accomplish more evil; but those who discern Christian Science will hold crime in check. They will aid in the ejection of error. They will maintain law and order, and cheerfully await the certainty of ultimate perfection.”
Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 97

Happy Earth Day!

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Happy Earth Day!

I celebrated Earth Day in Fairhaven today, and it was glorious! My day was filled with green paths, spring blossoms, and happy earthlings – a squirrel, a robin, a towhee, a couple of deer, and some way cool humans.

I parked in front of The Landing at Evil Bike store, and took the trail up to the path that goes to the Post Point dog park and the heron rookery. There weren’t any pups in the dog park, and there weren’t any herons in the rookery, either. But there was a towhee on a branch, and a robin in the crook of a tree, and a hummingbird on a fence three feet away – flexing his wings, and posing – who flew away as soon as my camera focused on him.

I walked on down to Fairhaven Coffee, where Lauren fixed me a honey and cinnamon latte, while we chatted about her experience as a scuba diver and her hope to one day do underwater photography. She made me an excellent latte, and I sat down with it at one of the tables.

At the table next to mine, three gentlemen were talking about subatomic particles, how they relate and communicate to each other, and what it is that defines life. Whoah.

“Are you talking about quantum physics?” I asked, intrigued.

They nodded their heads, and one of them explained that they were talking, specifically, about consciousness. And then I threw in my thoughts about a universal consciousness of Love, and, to their credit, they did not laugh at me. We talked about teaching, and science, and outer space, and the viability of colonizing Mars, and species going extinct, global warming, glaciation, and how the land is slowly rising after being flattened from years of being covered in ice. Marshall, Mitchell, and Larry were fascinating. They seemed the perfect people to be chatting with on Earth Day.

I walked to the ferry terminal, and then down to Marine Park, and headed back to the Post Point rookery and dog park. At the sign leading into the rookery, I paused to ask a gentleman about the Arroyo Park trail that was listed on the sign. We got to chatting, and he learned I live in Bow. Bill said he used to go to the Edison Inn all the time, but he hadn’t been for a while and he wasn’t sure if everything was the same. I told him Edison is a foodie heaven – we have the Edison Inn, Tweets, Mariposa, Terramar for pizza…

… and Bill said, “And Breadfarm!”

…and I said, “And Slough Food!”

Bill was fun. He was wearing a hat that said: “It’s weird being the same age as old people!” That got me cracking up. I could relate.

Bill continued on his walk, and I continued on mine.

A runner went by me at a good clip. My sons had been x-country runners in school. I’d gone to a lot of their meets, and I could recognize good runner’s form when i saw it. This runner was good!

When I got to the dog park, I could see the runner was doing laps around the park, and, as he went past, I snapped a couple photos. I knew I probably wouldn’t be able to use the photos, though, because – even though the runner had grinned at me and my camera as he ran past – I hadn’t officially gotten his permission.

I continued on my walk and, when I got back to The Landing at Evil Bike shop, who should I see running towards me from the opposite direction but the runner I’d seen in the dog park? He stopped and chatted with me – I learned his name is Ian and he ran for WWU – but he said he was now “retired.” He said it was fine to post his picture.

I decided to take Chuckanut back to my home, and this is when I saw the deer casually grazing on the lawn in front of Fairhaven Park. It seemed fitting that they should be there on Earth Day.

“EARTH. A sphere; a type of eternity and immortality, which are likewise without beginning or end.
To material sense, earth is matter; to spiritual sense, it is a compound idea.“
-Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health, p. 585

Apple Blossoms, Birdsong, Raspberry Pie, a Baby, AND Live Music!

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I rode my bike to the post office to mail off a card to a friend whose husband has just passed, and then went on into Edison to stop by and see another friend, Maggie, who’d recently lost HER husband. Even though Maggie and I live just a bike ride away from each other, it’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other. It was good to connect with her again. We hugged, and Maggie invited me into her house for a quick chat. I love Maggie’s home – as she said, it has “ambiance.” It’s one of those houses that’s probably 100 years old, full of history and cool side rooms.

As Maggie and I talked, her cat wound through my legs and then hopped up on Maggie’s lap and curled into a ball. Maggie has a bird feeder hanging from an apple tree outside her window, and I watched goldfinches, red-winged blackbirds, and red-hooded house finches flitting around in the apple tree. Every now and then a bird would stop and peer in the window, and it looked to me like the birds were asking to be fed. Maggie laughed and said she has to fill that feeder up daily to keep those birds happy.

After I left Maggie, I saw that Tweets Cafe was open. I decided to park my bike in front of it and get myself a treat.

A customer in front of me had ordered a raspberry pie with cream, and, once I saw that, I knew what I was going to get.

I took my pie out to a picnic table in the little green between Tweets and the Mariposa Restaurant. Oh, my friends, it was so peaceful there. I sat on the bench and listened to the birdsong and watched the sparrows hopping around in the apple blossoms above me.

Pretty soon a little family came out to the green – mama, papa, and four-month-old baby. I learned that Louie’s parents – Ali and Stephen – had come down from Bellingham, and that they were both nurses at Saint Joe’s. They let me touch Louie’s hand and he wrapped his little fingers around my finger. Awww…

Apple blossoms, birdsong, raspberry pie, AND a baby! Life does not get much better than that.

As I was leaving Tweets, I saw that a duo of musicians had set themselves in front of the restaurant and were playing a lively tune with a fiddle and guitar. I found myself grinning. Apple blossoms, birdsong, raspberry pie, a baby, AND live music!

I left the duo a tip in their hat, and then got back on my bike for the ride home – feeling refreshed and soul-filled from my excursion into town.

Edit: David Holzemer on violin/fiddle. Still hoping to learn who’s on guitar.

Here’s a link to the video I took of the musicians outside of Tweets: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuFLuYnpjNE

What Are the Odds of THAT?!

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So this really cosmic thing happened today on the boardwalk. I was walking along, enjoying the sunshine and the people and the pups – my old friend, Baker pup; Archie and Buddy; Blue and Maverick; Murphy (who did his Buddha pose for me); and my old friend, little Daisy – and I had to stop and snap a picture of sweet Baker greeting someone on the boardwalk with his paws on the man’s chest – it was just so typical of friendly Baker. Baker always puts a smile on my face.

When the man caught up to me, I showed him the picture I’d taken of him and Baker, and asked him if it was okay to post it publicly. He smiled and thanked me and told me it was fine to post it. I asked him for his name, and he told me he was Ve. “Is that a Vietnamese name?” I asked him. Ve looked surprised that I would recognize a Vietnamese name, and I explained that my Australian daughter-in-law is of Vietnamese heritage, and that she and my son and granddaughter are all learning Vietnamese. Ve asked if they’d ever visited Vietnam, and I told him they’d gone a year ago to visit some of my daughter-in-law’s family who still live there. Ve told me then that his wife was there right now visiting her family while he stayed here and watched the children.

Then Ve said he was a “street photographer” and took pictures of people he met – and we realized we had that in common, too! He said he’d taken a photo a while ago of a pup named Bear and he’d made a card for Bear’s human. He’d been been looking for her for a couple months, but hadn’t run into her again. I asked him to describe Bear, and he took out the card he’d made and showed me Bear’s picture. I instantly recognized little Bear, and told him Bear’s human, Rebecca, was a good friend of mine! (What are the odds, right?!) I told Ve that I’d actually met Rebecca on the boardwalk several years ago (via little Bear), and had run into her again when I’d gone up to Mount Baker for a hike, and we’d become good friends! Ve’s face lit up in a big smile. He said he could totally see the two of us as friends, and asked me if I could get the card to Rebecca.

So on the way home, I stopped by Rebecca’s house to give her the card. She happened to pull into her driveway just after I got there, and I was able to deliver the card in person and get a hug, too!

Cosmic magic, my friends!