I arrived safely at my friends’ house last night, just before the sun finished setting. We stayed up a bit and chatted before heading to bed. The last time I slept in this guest room bed was in 2023, and Ambrose was with me. It was right before the trip where I tried to do the next Selway section of the Idaho Centennial Trail, and I ended up leaving my mug at the house, not noticing before it was too late to turn back for it. I felt a little sad to be in the bed all by myself, but at least I could sleep without the ear plugs in since Ambrose was not there to snore in my ear.
I slept very well. I only got up once to use the bathroom, and while I’m pretty sure I had dreams, I don’t remember any of them. That usually means Ambrose was in them, and he didn’t want me to remember them quite yet. A lessoning dream that will percolate through my subconscious instead of an adventure dream that I’ll remember and turn into a story.
I woke up to birdsong just after 6, which is just after 7 my time since Moscow is on Pacific time. Felt like sleeping late and getting up early all at once. I had poundcake and coffee for breakfast, and then Bill and I went to the Moscow Farmers Market. It was bigger than I expected. I ended up picking up some cherries and apricots.
All of us went to lunch in town together. Well, not the dogs; they had to stay home. Good food, better company. A short walk with the dogs after we got back home. And Bill and I went to a store in town where I’d gotten some really good socks two years ago. Unfortunately, they no longer carried those socks. I don’t know if I’ll ever find them again. I should have bought more than one pair!
It was a good day, spending time with friends. I even got to meet and converse with a son of theirs who I hadn’t met. He is into electronics, so it’s sad that he and Ambrose never got to meet.
It was good to spend time not only with friends, but with friends who knew Ambrose. Who knew us as a couple. Who could share stories and memories of him.
I have the urn. It’s a work of art and love. It will be good to put Ambrose’s remains into such a vessel, and to have that vessel in my home. I do plan on scattering more of his ashes, but the urn will always have some of him inside. It will be his marker.
I’m up later than I usually am, but I’ll be sleeping in tomorrow. I’ll probably leave soon after breakfast so I can get home in time to relax a bit before I have to get set for Monday. I might do some mowing or hoeing. There’ll be a family zoom and I can tell them about this trip.