Tag Archives: Walla Walla Point Park

Never A Dull Moment Around Here

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Never A Dull Moment Around Here

Last night I did something I hadn’t done in over 20 years. I played board games with kids in my Bible Study group. I say “kids” because they’re all in their 20s except for one other and myself. The one other is my friend Clairesse who is 31. We first met a few years ago when we were renting rooms in a house in Dryden. We went to church together, went out to eat together and sought out garage sales and estate sales. Clairesse attended a youth group at a local church and then a few of them broke off to start a smaller Bible Study group. When I was here last summer, she told the others about her friend Karen. They encouraged her to bring me to group. So I came. They welcomed me warmly and I was hooked. It’s exciting to see kids that age in a Bible Study……and also very accepting of a woman in her 70s. Some of us even kept in touch while I was away in Mexico over the winter.

Now back to the board games. Last night the group met at Treasure Trove. This is a store with hundreds of different board games. You can buy them, or you can come and play them. And play them we did. We played King of Tokyo and Escalating Quickly and more than 2 hours flew by and the store was closing. I have to tell you, this group keeps me young. I can’t wait to see what we will do the next time we get together. However I did draw the line when we met at Walla Walla Point Park. While they chased around a frisbee, I was quite content to take videos of them.

Wednesday was a Cashmere day. I volunteered at a church, toured the new library and then took in the music and food trucks at the farmers market. And yes, I visited my tree.

I was out for coffee this morning at Pybus in Wenatchee. My friend had an interesting story to tell. She was in a research group years ago for GLP-1 injections. At the time she was thrilled with her weight loss. But now she regrets ever doing it. In order to maintain that weight loss, you can’t discontinue using the drug. The weight just comes right back and then some. And then there are all the side effects and the potential damage to every vital organ in your body. Despite all the warnings, people are only too eager to lose weight this way. The drug companies and the medical system are the real winners here, not the patients.

On a happier note, I went to my book club meeting yesterday. We meet at a bookstore in Wenatchee which has a meeting space for us where we can enjoy our pot luck lunch as well as discuss books. The last book we read was a rather dry historical fiction, but the next book appears to be more interesting.

Sunday night is another Gladsong concert. I can’t believe a month has gone by since the last one.

July is off to a good start. Hope yours is too.

Things Look So Different Now

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Things Look So Different Now

I’m usually here in the summer, not in the winter. I haven’t spent a winter in snow since 2009, and even that year I escaped to Cuba for a while.

On Friday I went to my friend Ann’s home in Leavenworth. When I first got back in September I stayed in a cabin on her property. It sure looks different in the winter.

The view from the deck has changed as well. Too cold for rafting on the river although it has not frozen over.

Less than a half hour away I’m still walking around in track shoes, not boots. There is no snow on the ground yet.

I took a walk through downtown the other day and decided to take photos of sculptures rather than buildings.

I also got a shot of an old bridge I’ve walked across that connects the downtown area with the Walla Walla Point Park loop trail and the miniature railroad.

Winter has always been my least favorite season of the year. My memories of winter on the Canadian prairies are of getting up in the dark in the morning and returning home from school or work in the dark. And then there were the freezing temperatures and bitter windchills.

Although I much prefer my winters in Mexico, I really can’t complain too loudly about the weather in Wenatchee. I just pray that the mild temperatures continue and that there isn’t too much snow in the near future.

What Happened to May?

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What Happened to May?

I left Mazatlan on April 29th and it seems like yesterday. May was a blur of traveling and suitcases until I arrived in Leavenworth on May 16th. Then it was finally time to actually unpack a suitcase and settle down for more than 3 or 4 days in one place.

I’m still in awe of the beauty of the mountains and the rivers and streams around here. Spring is here. The pungent aroma of budding lilacs fills the air along with the scent of pine from the towering evergreens. I went to visit my tree in Cashmere the other day and it is completely green with no evidence of the crimson glory displayed last fall.

 

A friend and I were sipping Mack n Jacks at Igloo in Wenatchee the other day when I remarked that I felt like I was at home, as though I hadn’t been away for six months. Everything was so familiar and very little had changed. It’s comfortable and relaxing and it’s good to be back.

I haven’t even pulled out my laptop all week. I’ve been out and about and too busy to write. I’m back volunteering at the church again and it’s so nice to be back with my church family. Vacation Bible School is fast approaching next month, and as a co-director I am only too aware of all the planning and organizing that needs to be done this month.

I also joined the Leavenworth Senior Center. I’ve met some lovely people and enjoyed lunch and an afternoon of bridge the other day. Next week I start an exercise program and I plan on attending some of the daily lunches at the center. There are other activities offered as well including a monthly trip to a casino.

I took Link Transit into Wenatchee and rode around on the trolleys to the various shopping areas. And I got an ID card as I’m at that wonderful age where public transit is now half price for me.

I visited Spirit of America in Cashmere. This tribute to 9/11 is a must for any traveler.

I’ve also joined a bible study group in Cashmere and am only too delighted to have yet another excuse to visit my favorite town in Washington.

The public library system in this state is amazing and I have been at both the Leavenworth and the Cashmere branches this week. I have lots of reading material to catch up on as John Grisham and Danielle Steel are difficult to find in English in Mexico.

Also on the agenda this past week was a walk in Walla Walla Point Park in Wenatchee. The path is alongside the river, peaceful and tranquil. A few people were in the water on rafts or in boats as it was quite a warm day.

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I start a course next week from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. The course is titled Emotions: A Philosophical Introduction. It’s wonderful to have the time to take courses that are of interest rather than courses that are compulsory in order to obtain a degree.

I’m also indulging in another favorite pastime while in Leavenworth. I love to cook and bake and both the kitchens and available ingredients are certainly lacking in Mexico. I am overwhelmed when I walk into grocery stores here but I eagerly make my purchases and return home to bask in the glow of an American kitchen.

No wonder it’s June already!