Tag Archives: The Lincoln Lawyer

Dec6

On The Shelf Now

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On The Shelf Now

Today is Saturday and it’s the first gloomy day since I got here in October. I was just outside throwing out some trash and noted the cloudy skies and the cool temperature. Rain is on the way and the forecasted high is only 62 degrees, well below the norm for this time of year. It’s a good day to hibernate indoors.

I watched a movie earlier. And now it’s time to do some reading. I’m in the midst of John Grisham’s new book, The Widow. I enjoy his books and I admire him as a writer. His background as a lawyer and politician enable him to realistically portray courtroom battles as well as the injustice that often rears its ugly head in the legal system.

I grew up watching Perry Mason. That TV series now seems like a fairy tale compared with what goes on today. Grisham presents it much more realistically. You may argue that the times have changed and our society today isn’t what it was back in the 50s and 60s. While that is true, greed and ambition have always been there along with the arrogance that appears to be synonymous with the legal profession.

The Lincoln Lawyer. Matt Haller has his own take on the legal system. He doesn’t sit back and watch injustice repeat itself. He meets it head-on, desperately attempting to fight for change while aiding his clients. He gives loopholes a new meaning, when they’re actually used to defend the innocent instead of protecting the guilty.

And now it’s time to get back to reading The Widow by John Grisham.

Oct6

Last Post From Washington For A While

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Last Post From Washington For A While

This has been a very emotionally draining week. Every year it gets harder to say goodbye to friends for six months. This is my eighth year here and my close friends are my family. The ties grow stronger with every year that I’m here.

Steve came over on Monday and we reminisced a little about Mexico and how I wound up becoming a snowbird between Mexico and Washington state. Of course that first visit back in 2016 wound up stretching to four months instead of the intended two weeks. The snow chased me away that year.

Connie, Joyce and I went out for drinks on Tuesday. We taught fitness classes together in Leavenworth. Joyce moved to Wenatchee, I’m in East Wenatchee and Connie is still in Leavenworth. The three of us don’t see each other nearly as often as we used to.

Joanne and I went out for dinner on Tuesday. She is the reason why Cashmere was selected as a home to Spirit of America. Joanne corralled me as a volunteer at Apple Days for several years and this year at the 9/11 service. She wanted me at Octoberfest and Pioneer Days this coming weekend but I had to bow out as it’s my last weekend before I leave for Mexico. But Joanne already has other volunteer opportunities lined up for me when I return in April.

On Wednesday I bid a fond farewell to Lisa at Shears. But the good news is that she already has me in her appointment book for when I return in April. Flights booked and hair appointment made. Let’s get our priorities straight here.

Yesterday Linda and I got together one last time and we finished watching the last three episodes of The Lincoln Lawyer. Linda and I go back to our days of doing craft and play at VBS. And I even got her out to a couple of Tai Chi classes this year.

Tai Chi. Now this was a really gut-wrenching goodbye today. I have taught a lot of fitness classes, participated in a lot of fitness classes, but never before have met such an amazing group of people who are so positive and so encouraging. We show up long before class starts just to schmooze. We compare war stories about cataracts and other surgeries. Our fearless leader is eighty-nine years young and it was quite emotional as we hugged each other goodbye this afternoon. My Tai Chi buddies presented me with a farewell card, a Thanksgiving card and a vase of flowers. And of course we all hugged and I admit my eyes were welling with tears.

Other goodbyes were to places. Last trip into Leavenworth where the trees are beginning to change color. Last visit to Cashmere to see my tree, scarecrows and Halloween decorations. And I guess it’s really time to go because I picked up my annual Kinkade calendar. 2024 is coming fast.

This is my last post from East Wenatchee. I won’t be posting again until I get settled back in Aguascalientes.

Take are and remember…life is for the living, so live!

Sep30

Tedious Tasks

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Tedious Tasks

Just over a week left and so many last minute things to do.

For example, Crumbl Cookies opened up in Wenatchee last week and we just had to try them out. Yep. Made the mistake of looking at the website and was drooling. There are six flavors and we opted for a box of four to share including milk chocolate chip, pink velvet, brookie and banana cream pie. Cookie butter white chip and pumpkin cheesecake will be for next time.

Then there was the day Linda and I continued our binge watching of The Lincoln Lawyer. Only three episodes left and those are coming up on Wednesday afternoon. When I’m in Mexico I watch very little TV and it’s primarily in Spanish not in English.

Charlene and I finally got to the golf club for lunch again. It was a rainy day in Leavenworth but the view and the food are excellent. Somehow that wound up being a three hour lunch. But it will be our last one until I return in April.

And of course I had to visit my tree in Cashmere. The leaves are just starting to change color but I doubt that the red maple will be in its full fall glory before I leave next week. That’s okay. I have wonderful friends who visit my tree and send me pics when I’m in Mexico.

On a more serious note, I spent all day yesterday sorting through documents, packing up artwork, going through clothes, deciding on what jewelry to leave and what to take as well as bubble wrapping some breakables. One of my leave suitcases is fully packed. Yes, I now have two suitcases that I leave. The first year I came here all I left behind was a ski jacket. I’ve accumulated a lot more since 2016. And I travel with only one suitcase and a backpack.

Today’s projects include organizing passwords, online banking and buying travel health for Mexico. Next comes figuring out how to burn music to my laptop and back it up on a drive. Then I can leave the external disc drive and all the CDs behind. While I do adore Spotify, there are some things that just aren’t available. And they’re not on You Tube either.

Que tengas un buen fin de semana!

Sep20

Countdown

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Countdown

Less than three weeks and I’ll be back in Mexico. I finally booked flights the other day. While I prefer to fly inland to Guadalajara, the direct flight to Puerto Vallarta from Sea-Tac caught my eye. A bonus is that I can fly out of Pangborn here in Wenatchee so I can avoid TSA at Sea-Tac. Now we just hope there is no hurricane barreling up the coast.

This morning was my last writers’ group meeting until April. I’m really going to miss this group while I’m gone. I know. I’ve said that before. But everyone is such a great source of encouragement and inspiration. Two of our members are currently on the verge of publishing books. New people are coming to our meetings and our membership is growing. And we all write in such a variety of genres too. Today’s pieces ranged from science to memoirs and everything in between.

I spent the weekend with friends in Leavenworth. On the agenda was binge-watching Virgin River. This season isn’t quite as riveting but it is addictive nonetheless. Now I need to finish off the second season of Lincoln Lawyer and I’ll be ready to head south. In Mexico I tend to watch very little TV. When I do watch, it’s primarily in Spanish. Many of the programs and movies I watch are geared towards kids. I’ve never been able to get into the soaps that people recommend for practicing vocabulary and grammar. Of course I’ve never really gotten into soaps at all up here. The only exception is Guiding Light. I got hooked on that when I was pregnant and on bedrest and watched it until the show was cancelled back in 2009.

Today is a rather dreary rainy day and I think fall is here. The timing is actually perfect because I need to sort through clothes and decide what to take to Mexico. So I’ve gingerly moved my fall clothes to the front of my wardrobe along with some warmer hoodies. It will be hotter flying into Puerto Vallarta than into Guadalajara so I’ll have to figure that one out. Footwear will be easy. I’ll have to choose between pairs of New Balance. I think back to the days when I had a walk-in closet with shelves full of shoes. Now it’s just tennis shoes and sandals.

I registered for an online writers’ workshop out of New York. It happens next week and I remembered to put a reminder on my calendar for it. The topic is about writing powerful emotions. Now I just keep my fingers crossed that a conflict with the time won’t arise. New York is three hours ahead of Washington. I am sent a copy of the recording if I do miss it but doing it live is always better.

The Autumn Leaf Festival happens this weekend in Leavenworth. I’m debating going to the parade on Saturday but that will depend on the weather. I’m not quite sure how she does it, but Alexa seems to forecast better than the local weather apps. I’ll have to check with her later.

Happy Humpday!

Sep9

It’s Friday Again

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It’s Friday Again

I really should be practicing Spanish on Duolingo or researching flights to Mexico but I’ve been in writing mode most of the day. This morning I actually slept in despite the fact that there is a war zone outside my window. They’re putting in new water pipes and the whole street is torn up and there are piles of dirt everywhere. There are also at least a half dozen pieces of heavy equipment clogging up the street. But that extra hour of sleep was most conducive to writing today.

I sorted through mounds of poetry I found when I was back in Canada last month. Apparently I used to write a lot of it. But somehow I stopped when I got pregnant with my son and then I never wrote another word after. And I still don’t write poetry. I wrote exactly one poem about fifteen years ago for an artifact for one of my college courses.

This afternoon I wrote a story about my experience renewing my passport this summer. It needs some editing and then will be ready to present to my next writers’ group meeting. I’m really going to miss this group when I’m in Mexico over the winter. I plan on keeping in touch with some of the members. We always go out to lunch after the meeting where we continue our discussions. I will really miss those while I’m gone.

Yesterday was Chelan County Fair. My American friends tease me because I still get excited about going to a county fair. They all grew up with them but I never had that experience. I love looking at the animals and fruits and vegetables and quilts all vying for ribbons. However, I must admit that I’ve tried funnel cake and don’t see what all the fuss is about. Just give me a good old American Hershey bar and I’m happy.

I watched TV for a while today which I don’t do often unless bingeing on Lincoln Lawyer or Virgin River with friends. Today was two episodes of The Rifleman. Both were from 1960 in the days of black and white. Chuck Connors was very young back then and the story lines were corny. And the shows are a little on the violent side with lots of shooting and killing. But back in the day those were considered fine for kids to watch. Brace yourselves… I’ve mentioned before that I was a tomboy but I actually had a cap gun which was one of my favorite toys growing up. Toys? Hmmmm.

Duolingo is calling.

Have a great weekend!

Sep1

Friday, My Day

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Friday, My Day

This morning I was lazing in bed with coffee playing word games on my tablet, music by Phil Wickham in the background. It’s the first chance I’ve had to do that since I returned from Canada. Usually I’m up and out the door early. Saturday was Waterville, Sunday was church, on Monday I was out with Ann, on Tuesday I had a workshop with my writers’ group and then Tai Chi, on Wednesday I was off to Linda’s in Leavenworth and yesterday I was off to Leavenworth to teach a fitness class and then back to Wenatchee for Tai Chi. It’s so nice to have one day this week with absolutely nothing on the calendar.

Of course there are things I need to do today, among them online banking and catching up on emails. I also need to come up with something for my writers’ group meeting next week. And it’s also time to start checking out flights back to Mexico. So much for nothing on the calendar today.

My street looks like a war zone. New water pipes are being installed. Piles of dirt and heavy equipment make traveling down the street an obstacle course. They’ve been at it since back in May. We have the same two seasons here in Washington that they do in Winnipeg…..winter and construction.

Linda and I have been binge watching The Lincoln Lawyer. Last night I caught an old episode of Perry Mason. Those were the days when lawyers actually got innocent people off rather than getting guilty people off on technicalities. Our world has changed.

I’ve been watching the crazy weather and have pretty much decided to stay away from the coastal airports when I fly back to Mexico next month. I’m leaning towards Guadalajara again. I detest Mexico City anyways and have been reading about all the expected cancellations due to cutbacks on the number of daily flights allowed. I’ve been in Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta when there have been hurricanes and it wasn’t fun.

Have a safe and enjoyable long weekend!