by Margie Senechal
 
It's another day, another week, and another time where I have to admit, I have nothing. Nada. Zilch.
My mind has been everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Anyone else having this problem?

 At the end of June, one of my best friends had a heart attack and then he had double-bypass surgery a couple weeks later. He's doing well, but still working on his stamina. We've spent a few of my days off over the past few weeks taking walks in Portland.

That is how much I care about him. I'm willing to white-knuckle drive in Portland traffic to spend time with him and then take a walk on my day off. We skipped a couple of weeks because of his doctor appointments and then 100+ in temps. 

Yesterday, we walked in the Mt. Tabor Park which looks down over Portland. We did the East side and I got this view of Mt. Hood. Wildfire smoke is the haze you see in between the range and the mountain. 

Eclipse mania has hit the PNW. There's already traffic pile ups in central Oregon. Nuts. Just nuts. I went on Amazon to see about buying glasses and a five pack is close to $300. How crazy is that? Talk about jacking up prices--did those vendors get advice from the epi-pen people?

I finished a really good book this week. The Simplicity of Cider by Amy E. Reichert. As a Washingtonian--I know, you all think I live in Oregon because I talk about Portland so much, but actually, I live in Vancouver--just across the border. Anyway, as a Washingtonian, it was great to read a book about apples. While I have two apple trees that came with my house, I don't harvest them or do any sort of maintenance, so it was kind of cool to read about that side of orchard growers. Plus, the book has a bit mystism/magical realism in it as well. I love those touches. So, win-win, all the way around.
 
And now, I'm going to end with this beautiful picture by my life-long bestie, Chris Medearis. Her family has had a horrendous year with several deaths and tragedies, but still she can find the beauty in the world around her. This picture just fills me with a little peace and serenity. And I think we could all use a piece of that.

Happy Thursday!