Sun - it does a mind good!

I made it through the rain! The cloud of heaviness that was part of my experience last week has passed. Perhaps it is due to the fact that the sun has been shining all week. The first thing I see when I wake, is beautiful blue sky. I even canceled my gray coverage appointment because the sun is doing a fine job on disguising the gray.

I am still feeling a bit off, but I think that is more due to still feeling a little off center in my new environment and allergies! I now fully understand those who suffer from allergies and I am sorry if I was not empathetic. WHAT a miserable feeling. I had a sleepless night last night as my ears & throat were on fire, my nose and eyes were like a fire hydrant, and I could not stop sneezing. This combined with the fact my face and hands burned. YIKES. I think some of it was attributed to brushing out thousands of small green burrs from Cody's coat. He was covered head to toe. The little things were matted into his ears and chest area. He basically has no hair on his tail due to my butcher job. I definitely won't be going into dog grooming anytime soon. Thank God he doesn't care.

So how did he get this way? I spent the Fourth in Yamhill,OR. The wine country of Portland. It was absolutely beautiful!! And, Cody got to be a dog and shake off a seven day cross country drive and being cooped up for the last month and finally work those legs. He was the Golden Retriever version of Born Free. He rolled in the grass, hopped through the tall fields, ate poop, barked at horses, jumped in the pond, ate sticks, and ran and ran with his new Blue Heeler friend, Stone. A Golden Retriever's bliss. So despite being a mess, I am glad he got be a wild & crazy dog for a few hours.It was a wonderful way to spend my first Fourth in Oregon.

Last night one of the guests asked, "what does Fourth of July mean for us?" Or something to that effect. Given she was from Poland, I assume most of thought what does it mean for America, but that isn't what she meant. I found myself pondering that question this a.m. I am not sure I can answer it in the global sense, but last night felt like a lot of new beginnings. I sat on the deck with a friend of a friend whom I never met until last night. He and his relatively new wife are starting a new journey with a new home. Albeit it has been the root of a lot of stress for them from an outsider perspective it looks like new opportunities and a new chapter in their lives. I brought a friend from college with whom I reunited on Facebook and it turns out all these years later, we are at similar places in our lives. I believe there are no accidents and the night was full of new experiences, new beginnings and opportunities. I felt a warmth and excitement for the future. Something that has been lacking in my life for quite some time. Overall, I had a wonderful evening and was glad to share it with new friends.

Oh, my friend Jason started his journey from OR to VT today on a road bike. GO JASON!! I am sorry I missed connecting with you. Think positive thoughts for him!

The week
I love dog parks! My favorite names thus far are Cheesy, which is short for Cheezit and Stumper. Cracks me up!

This area is so dog friendly. I LOVE IT! The gas stations have treats. Water dishes line the street. Dogs are allowed outside where restaurants have outside seating. A friend & I took advantage of this and Cody was lavished with attention. I do believe Cody has had more contact with people in the last four weeks than the last five years of his dog life in VT.

Summer blows the cover on pleasant ville West Linn. With the windows open I can hear the couples fighting and parents yelling at their kids as I walk Cody.

I got a little over confident and didn't use my trusted navigator, Tom Tom going to work one morning. YUP. Got lost! I do use it less and less though.

I am still getting used to ramp lights. I can't tell you how many I have almost blown through, only to slam on the brake at the last minute with the realization,I have to wait until the light turns green. I see a ticket in my future for that or speeding.

When I move into my own place, I am going to have to spend a week at a coffee detox place. I spend far too much time at Starbucks and now they have this clever strategy to keep you addicted. Purchase a cup of coffee in the a.m. and get a receipt for a $2 iced drink after 2! Yeah, I see what you are doing Starbucks!!

BIG NEWS! I saw a Reach the Beach t-shirt on a cyclist this week. I was so excited!! I wanted to yell out, but he was on a bike and I was in a car!! After doing three, I would never do another, but GREAT memories!

Not much to say about work this week. I am enjoying it thus far, but I am still climbing the learning curve and building relationships.

Overall, I had a great week and even better three day weekend. I met new people and also spent some time just being a bum reading books and magazines. I haven't done that in months so I am feeling more relaxed. Today I am off to buy a new computer. I am going MacBook!! I figure the money I have saved living with my mom should be spent! Doing my job to stimulate the economy!

HAPPY FOURTH!!!


Photo credits: The first two Yamhill shots taken by Lynn