I have noted in previous posts that I am not much of a planner. I have short term plans … and thoughts about what I think I might do, but I have never been a real long term planner.

There is a saying: “If you fail to plan, plan to fail” … POPPYCOCK !! The saying assumes that there is some predictable nature to the universe. I do not think that there is.

See 2020-2021 COVID-19 Pandemic as the latest example.

Additionally, see the varied ramifications of the Pandemic: economically, financially, socially, emotionally, spiritually.

About plans.

The pandemic and for me, 2019’s work hiatus … what plans would help/survive either scenario.

But, here I am, coming out the other side of all, in what today, feels like a success. And it has not a thing to do with anything I thought or even sort of planned. I have just been fortunate.

There is a new “term” in the Mountain West: “Zoom Boom”. It refers to the boom in property values and visitors and buyers from cities, having discovered that they can work remotely (Zoom) and so are free to pursue lifestyles outside of the big city.

The Zoom Boom has fed into a frenzy of big city folks, with big city $$$, buying property in semi-rural/rural locations. The impact on me, personally, has been to give me some options in my pre-retirement/retirement that I did not expect and could NOT have planned for. Even at the beginning of the pandemic, I had no visionary idea that things would evolve as they have.

I have and am benefiting from a totally unforeseen circumstance.

So much for plans :) I am just in a lucky position.

The downside in my area is that there is a lack of affordable housing for “front line staff” at restaurants, hotels and other tourist venues as well as many, many “unskilled laborer” kind of jobs. There are help wanted signs everywhere. There are signing bonuses for these jobs.

It is a crazy juxtaposition of positive and negative ramifications of the Pandemic.

Who could plan for any of this?

Bottom line, I am grateful for my decision to work remotely, in this area … 27 years ago! I made the decision based on how I wanted to live my life and was just lucky to have the work that allowed me to continue. Any “planning” was solely on the basis of how I wanted to live, vs a financial plan.

And I bought a motorhome which I thought at the time was a tossup as to how it would work out financially, i.e. a rapidly depreciating “vehicle” … but surprise, it is now a desirable item also.

Holy Darn Cow.

I don’t know what tomorrow might bring.

Ultimately, none of us has the guarantee of seeing another sunrise … and it takes just one incident/accident/bad news from the Dr. to throw a spanner into the works.

So.

Enjoy today is my motto. Yesterday is done, tomorrow has not happened, we only have now.

Cheers!

Somewhere in the vicinity of 21-23 years ago, living in Whitefish, MT … newly single and involved in a local church and reaching out to someone in a kind of mentoring capacity …

One evening, I was on my way to a local eatery to pick up a pizza and a bottle of red. So, a “supper” that was maybe $22-25.

On the way, I stopped to see the person I was helping … mostly with her computer. We dealt with the computer and then she showed me a local sales flyer for art supplies. She was very excited because something she wanted to do her art was on sale … for $6.00. She thought she would be able to come up with the $6.00 while the sale was still in progress.

Holy Cow.

I can only say that I have never forgotten how that affected me. I was on my way to glibly pay 4x as much for a single meal … spur of the moment, i.e. I had a craving for a specific pizza and a specific bottle of wine to go with.

Perspective.

I know! We all have our personal budgets and regimes, etc. etc. I sometimes see home renovations that are huge compared to what I would like to / hope to do on my little spot.

Fast forward to today.

My little “SPOT” is suddenly worth more than I hoped for when I thought I would sell at this point to help fund my retirement.

AND, I have a “spare house” … Wild Thing … the motorhome.

There are many who would LOVE to be in my position of being able to sell my house, clear all debt, bank a goodly sum and take off in a very livable RV.

Right.

This afternoon, my internet slowed to a crawl and while waiting for it to recover, I watched a saved youTube

Perspective.

YIKES.

It is 22 years ago all over again.

Not sure where I am going with this except to say … it gives me pause. It makes me think HARD about the decisions in front of me: house, rv, what and where.

And it makes me incredibly grateful that I have the choices that I have as well as some background “guilt” about feeling a little sorry for myself that I cannot “DO.IT.ALL”

Perspective.

We had a good weekend: some work, some chores, some walks, some play, some smoke, some gardening and some ice cream!!

A smoky, hazy sunrise. There are no fires close to me, but the valley was smoke filled this morning from Western fires. Every day, I pray for the fire fighters who work in crazy heat and dangerous conditions to control the fires.

It is scary dry and the woods is starting to reflect that…

Although the lupins turn to seed pods normally and dry a bit, you can see that the foliage is also drying out.

The woods grasses and bushes are starting to dry and die also. Typically, we do not get much, if any rain from now until mid-late August or early September.

On a somewhat brighter note …

I made another trip to the nursery. My local nursery issues “Swan Bucks” (Swan River Gardens is the nursery) that are redeemable as the season goes on. July 1-15 the “bucks” can be used for vegetables and annuals. I am feeling all (mostly) green-thumbed with the tomatoes doing well in their cloth containers … in the wheel barrow … so I bought 2 pepper plants: sweet bell and a jalapeno. Both have several peppers already! Hopefully they and the tomatoes get along in the wheel barrow. I had enough Swan Bucks to kind of make the veg plants free!

The spinach has been struggling and kind of looking like it was not going to make it so I bought some herbs: thai basil and tarragon, an impatiens that likes a bit of sun and some autumnal fuchsia (no blooms, but gorgeous leaves) … to fill in the rolling planter.

I had enough potting mix to move the spinach to what is actually a disposable cat litter box, but I thought would be ok as a planter vs completely giving up on the spinach.

So … some replanting, some shuffling of position in the tiered planter and we will see how it goes. Note to self: the tiered planter seems best for herbs and flowers vs vegetables. The spinach container is maybe not that aesthetically pleasing, but if it grows food, I am good with that!

It is a bit hard to see, but there are 3 tomato and 2 pepper plants in the wheel barrow. When Emmett and I go out, I move the wheel barrow into the sun, if needed so it gets full sun all day long. So far, so good!!

Bonus: I am having so much fun planting and watering and keeping an eye on things … plus enjoying the front porch. Some years, it has felt like a chore. I am not sure what is different … maybe it is the new (and RED!!) front door :)

I made strawberry ice cream on Saturday. And ice cream cones were on sale this week so HOO RAH and YUM!

Emmett gets a “puppy cone”!

You can see that he is still a bit damp from the latest play in the sprinkler outing … and ice cream!!

We had a good weekend.

Last night, I wrote about my summer-time sleep habit of afternoon (late afternoon) nap and then enjoying the evening into the late (for me) hours.

But, Emmett and I are still up and outside early, enjoying the cool morning. Margaret noted in a comment last post that I am adopting “Mediterranean rhythms” – she lives in Greece. Interesting!

This morning, after our first walk, I told Emmett that he could stay outside while I made coffee … if he wanted to.

He did, but he kept a somewhat worried looking eye on me through the kitchen window. Usually, he follows me inside and I left the door open so he could, but it was so nice out …

Still waiting…

Finally! Coffee in hand, Emmett with a treat and I had a look at the tomato plants…

THAT!!! That is the first Manitoba tomato!

Some baby Husky Cherry tomatoes!

The top largest tomato is the Husky Cherry that was on the plant when I bought it. The rest are new and look good.

I don’t know if any will have time to grow and turn red, especially the Manitoba, but the good news is that the plants are thriving, i.e. I haven’t killed them yet!!

Happy Friday to all from Emmett and me!

I am typically an “early to bed, early to rise” person, i.e. NOT a night owl … more of an early bird.

But, from childhood, I have loved getting up in the middle of the night to see the moon and the night sky.

Two years ago, when I had an unexpected work hiatus (30 days turned into 4.5 months) from July through October, my sleep/wake behavior got a bit topsy-turvy. I often napped late afternoon, and then up middle of the night … sometimes doing some baking in the wee hours.

As a 1 human household, there is no need to worry about disturbing anyone’s routine/sleep … I LOVE this and would find it challenging to accommodate another human …

Fast forward to now and this hot summer and work/living situation being on my mind … and I find myself again going upside down/topsy turvy with the sleep and work cycle. And I LOVE it.

It is approaching 10:30 p.m. as I write this :)

I napped this afternoon from 4:00 ish until 5:30.

Emmett joined me … he LOVES afternoon naps!

So, now … it is cooling beautifully, I had a 2nd wind of work time, it is time for a new moon …

Working in the night …

Shutting down now, thinking about a bit of a snack … then a last out with Emmett and then to bed: Embracing the night!

*** a post script for me so I can refer to this date … Emmett had an allergy/anti-itch shot today. Last year, I tried various remedies before finally taking him to the Vet (in September). This year we were proactive: skin/allergy shampoo … but in the last week, the itching escalated so … the shot which inhibits the itch/scratching so protects his skin as well as making him more comfortable. We continue with the shampoo. I have “bath” type as well as a leave in type (foamy mousse kind of thing) so we alternate.`

And a time for everything under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 3 … King Solomon)

No definite information or decision(s) yet.

I continue to counsel myself every morning, to let all rest and enjoy the day, moment by moment.

I still do not have a preference … no definitive “I want to stay or sell” desire. I am still excited by either option.

In the woods, I look at the familiar progression of wildflowers, grasses, bushes and trees. (AND, I think of Autumn!!! … it is not near as hot as last week, but still hotter than I prefer.)

The front porch is a lovely oasis of beauty and peace in the morning.

I am loving the colors and variety and more than any year before, I am enjoying taking care of everything.

A time for every activity under the sun … we play!

“To everything there is a season. A time for everything under the sun.” I am unsure what brought those verses to mind, but it was good to think on them this morning … and let those words be my guide for the day.