Interrupted

My Life Thus Far
2016-03-09 06:45:55 (UTC)

The Vegan Drama

I've felt incredibly unsettled all day. Almost like I'm not feeling well, but I can't pinpoint exactly what's wrong. I'm just... off. I didn't wake up feeling this way, but it didn't take long for the feeling to set in. Actually I woke up on fire. Not literally, but might as well have been. One of the kids messed with the thermostat, and it was 86 degrees in our bedroom (our bedside lamps have a thermometer on them, hence the accuracy). For whatever reason when you turn the heat on in this house, it ONLY heats the master bedroom. Well, eventually it heats the rest of the house, but not before baking our bedroom. I love the heat in general (Hawaii, summertime, laying on the beach, etc.), but not when I'm dressed for warmth and underneath a fleece comforter, laying on a fleece body pillow. I wasn't ready for 86 degrees. So that's what I woke up to. I got out of bed and turned off the heat, but by that point I was awake and not going back to sleep.

Snookums woke up soon after I got back in bed. I'd stripped off my sweatshirt and sweatpants (due to the heat) and was laying in bed in just my bralette and panties. He saw this as an invitation, and I wasn't entirely against the idea. Late morning after the kids have gone to school seems to be our favorite love making time. No interruptions, we're not tired, and I think I read somewhere that for women it's our body's preferred time, but who knows if that's true.

I should have gotten up after that, but no. I made the mistake of opening Facebook and got sucked into the vortex that is social media. I'm really thinking I need to take a break. Just to level set myself and get me back on track. I'm increasingly spending more and more time staring at my phone screen, instead of doing the things I truly love. Reading books, going to the gym, getting out into nature. I still do all those things, but I'm not devoting as much time as I could. The only thing I'm not sacrificing is time with the kids. I get so little of it this time of year (I work weekends, they don't get home from school until 4:40pm when I am off).

Eventually I did pried myself away from the vegan drama that is my online life (and from noticing that more of my old "friends" have unfriended me) long enough to do what I said I wanted to do last night. Partly, anyway. I chose to go to Fort Ward first. On my way there I passed Gazzam Lake Preserve, so I know where it is next time I go adventuring. There is a whole other world on Bainbridge Island I never really knew existed. I guess I always took for granted that there was more to the island than just what flanked the highway on the straight path down to the ferry terminal/downtown corridor. I passed several little municipal parks, I found another little town (Lynwood Center) with shops and restaurants I never knew were there. I also got to see all of the adorable little cottages and bungalows (along with a fair number of mansions) Bainbridge Islanders call home. I've always wanted to live there, but now I do even more. Of course the housing market is astronomical, but a girl can dream.

Fort Ward is a decommissioned Naval site. I think at some point the Army occupied it too. It's since been abandoned by all branches of the armed forces, and the parks department takes care of the facilities (bathrooms and the labyrinth of bunkers tucked away along the coast and in the old growth forest flanking the shoreline). It's a lovely park. I wasn't planning on staying long because I wanted to see Gazzam Lake, too. But I needed up following a 3 mile trail that took me longer than anticipated (it was steep in some places). So, I enjoyed my time there and accepted that Gazzam Lake was for another day.

A friend nominated me for a nature photo challenge on Facebook. I think I mentioned it. At first I felt a little put out by it. It's a week long commitment, after all. I have to post a different nature photo each day. It can either be one taken at some other time, or a current photo. The first two days I scrolled through the half million hiking pics I have on my phone, but by the third day I wanted something new. I tend to always go to the same places, so this silly little Facebook challenge actually did challenge me: to go out and find new sights to see. I pulled up Google maps and got the brilliant idea to pan the area (Olympic and Kitsap Peninsulas) and see where there are green patches. Green spots on the map indicate parks. So, that's what I've decided to do from now on when I'm ready for someplace new. Google panning. From what started out as a minor annoyance has come something positive. I enjoy posting what I get to enjoy. I'm so lucky to live in such a beautiful, photogenic place. Tonight's photo was the bright orange sunset over the sound, filtering through old growth trees covered in moss and ferns. It was pretty cool, if I do say so myself. I definitely plan on taking the kids back there. The bunkers alone will keep them entertained for hours. It appeared that they go underground. I didn't venture in, but I know the kids will want to!

I open tomorrow, and that means I should be taking myself off to bed. I always regret it when I stay up late the night before opening.




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