While this past week has been a busy one, it has also been not so typical. But I’ll start with the weather. Way too hot and way too muggy. It started early this year and looks like it’s still going to be around for a while. No rain in sight, not around here. But last night there were quite a few lightning strikes in other parts of the state that triggered wildfires.

The USA had issued a Level 4 Do Not Travel advisory a couple of weeks ago to certain states in Mexico, one of them being Sinaloa. It looks like this will be the second winter in a row that I will be unable to visit with my Mexican family in Culiacan due to all the cartel activity and violence. And I fear for the safety of my five nietos.

Here in Washington I met a woman when I was doing volunteer work. She is currently going through an ugly divorce and has decided to change her name. Okay, I get that. Once I’m legally divorced I also might do that. But I doubt that I’d turn it into a three day reclaiming celebration involving wineries and parties. And there’s also the matter of the invitation to attend the official hearing at the Court House in Wenatchee. Nope. That’s a little too bizarre, even for me.

Last night I heard from a long lost friend in Mazatlan asking me to transfer money to her Mexican bank account. When I lived in Mazatlan I had helped her out before with a few pesos from time to time. After all, we used to bake some awesome brownies together back then.

Here’s another not so typical. Linda and I went to Costco earlier in the week and I didn’t buy a single thing. No groceries. No clothes. Not even a hot dog. Very unusual.

I was sitting sipping coffee out on the patio at Weeds in Cashmere yesterday when I struck up a conversation with two women from Quincy. They had a beautiful, exceptionally well-behaved dog with them. I’d love to have a dog again. But then there is the matter of my constant travels between countries that pretty much rules out pet ownership.

The other day I went out to Lake Chelan with a friend from my writing group. Donna had grown up there decades ago and it was interesting seeing this area through her eyes. So many changes. Buildings torn down. High volume of tourist traffic. A street of condominiums where her grandparents’ house had once stood. Her childhood home gone. A very different view from the Lake Chelan that I’ve come to know in the past few years.

And now it’s Friday. I wonder if this will be a not so typical weekend too.