December | 2020 | Temporary Sanity ...

Tomorrow Diane will be 74-years-old for the first time in this life. She has devoted all but 22 of those years to the feeding and caring of me. I’m profoundly grateful that she’s done that and do my best to reciprocate but, sadly, I know I fall short most of the time. Still, I try.

Her one wish to celebrate this event was to have lunch at Norma’s Seafood & Steak in Seaside. So, that’s where we went yesterday. It’s just an 83 mile jaunt to get there, but that’s OK because she drove. I never drive when we go places unless the weather is incredibly bad.

It was supposed to rain a lot yesterday but God helped the celebration by holding off until the day was done. We had clear sailing all the way and, thankfully, pretty much everyone else stayed home like they were supposed to. That made the drive very relaxing for both of us.

We were pretty hungry when we got to Norma’s and were only a little upset that they weren’t allowed to have inside dinners. They did have take out, though, so we placed our orders knowing exactly where we would go to eat.

That would be at the southern end of Seaside Beach, where all the seagulls go for fun. If you want to look it up on Google Maps go to Seaside OR and change the view to Satellite and find Sunset Blvd. There’s a small stretch of the blvd where you can park and watch the ocean. In the summer there are always lots of surfers doing their best to dodge the occasional shark. Just a few days ago a shark caught one of them. The surfboard was DOA but the surfer only suffered a few puncture wounds.

If, after browsing Google Maps, you can return here and see what we saw …

This is the view from the car looking north. You can see some of the residents scrambling to get a good seat in case something fell out of the car that needed their attention.

This was the view through the windshield. It wasn’t raining, but the wind was blowing making it more than a little chilly. Beside, we had food in our laps that needed our attention.

Diane got the 4-piece halibut fish and chips and I got the crab salad. Mine was a step down from crab louie – it didn’t have a boiled egg or tomatoes, just lots of crab and lettuce. I also had a cup of Norma’s chowder. So far hers is my favorite of all the places we’ve eaten on the Pacific Coast.

I’m sorry I failed to capture a photo of our eating arrangements. All I got was one of a local citizen who chose to keep an eye on us in case we needed anything, or if we came across something we didn’t want …

He looks like a Nigel. He never looked directly at us with both eyes but we knew he never missed a move, and he got really excited when Diane rolled down the windows a bit so we could enjoy the sound of the ocean.

After lunch we made our way north along Highway 101 to Astoria. On the way we stopped at Costco to get a few essentials. That stop brought the cost of Diane’s lunch trip up to around $400. That’s not a complaint, just a casual observation. We absolutely needed everything we bought, especially the toilet paper. Really, we did.

While at Costco this caught my eye …

… I couldn’t get my head wrapped around the picture of a beef patty in a field eating grass. Still can’t. However, now that I’ve shared it with you, I can let it go and reclaim that memory space for something equally confusing. Thank you.

From Costco we stopped at the Warrenton DQ for dessert. Diane wanted a slushi but the slushi machine was broken so she settled for root beer. I got my standard chocolate malt. That’s pretty much the only thing I ever get when we visit DQ. I love those things!

My malt was all gone by the time we got through Astoria. From there it was a relaxing drive home, past all the familiar places we’ve seen a hundred times before. It never gets dull.

The rain held off until just before we got to St. Helens. This ensured I would get wet because Diane makes me get out of the car before she parks in the garage. Thankfully I only got a little bit wet so it was OK. It would have been OK had I been drenched, too.

Diane and I both agreed that it was a really good day. But, isn’t any day at the beach a good day? Yes, it is.

I hope you are all well and staying safe.

Wear you mask everywhere whether or not you think they work.

The above sunrise was provided to me on 12/07. What a gift. Totally unexpected. This is the time of year when the sun rises almost directly behind Mt. Hood. This view is about 30 minutes before the sun becomes visible, taking all the color away in a slow fade. I’m always amazed at how vivid the colors are before the transition to various shades of gray on a blue background. Or, more often, various shades of gray everywhere. So, the early morning color is special and I’m happy I can share it with you.

I know, Hawaii has sunrises and sunsets equally stunning, but over there it’s a “ho hum” event. Happens all the time. Here in the Great Northwest it seems to be a little more special.

The day of this sunrise, Diane bowed to my wishes and gave me a haircut. I offered the job to all of the kids but they declined. Before she started, I asked her to “make me look like Jim.” I sat down to watch TV and took a picture for you …

How did she do?

The head band, by the way, is used to keep the hair out of my eyes while I work. It doesn’t get used much because I don’t work much. It’ll be more useful if my hair grows back.

Speaking of work … Jeff and I did some work in the master bathroom recently to fix a leak that just sprang up out of nowhere. Actually, it sprang down into the basement. It was the toilet, but it was clean water causing the problem. That work is still in progress because we had to replace some of the underlayment which involved shopping, measuring, and cutting of wood. Diane found the linoleum at the Restore Store for $8. It’s been a fun project but is taking far too long for Diane’s liking. She watches a lot of HGTV shows where those guys do a simple little job like this in a couple of hours which just isn’t in the cards for us. There is a lot of learning involved for us to do the same thing in 2 weeks.

During this process Jeff commented to his Mom that he and I worked together all day and didn’t fight even one time. We’ve both learned tolerance, I guess. I think we both enjoy working together now. Before it was a battle of wills as to who knew what and how things should be done. Now it’s all about me just stepping out of the way while he lifts all the heavy stuff and makes decisions. I’ve learned that if his decisions are bad ones, I’m in the clear because I didn’t do it. So far he’s been making really good decisions.

The toilet job involved removing and replacing wood, and making a template for the sheet linoleum to ensure it’s semi-straight. It’s to the point now where I need to remove all dust from the surface so I can put down the adhesive and pin the linoleum down forever. Then I’ll have to procure some baseboard and shoe molding to finish it.

Going slow has revealed that doing so results in a safer work environment and I don’t bleed nearly as often. Lately, I’ve only bled a little when I bump my hand on something. my skin is so thin that it’s pretty easy for me to breach my water-proof barrier. They are easily sealed with a small piece of duct tape.

Gonna quit, now, and get that floor finished.