I had some very cool adventure dreams last night. One had Ambrose in it, but we weren’t having a connection. He was just part of the story. Which was still nice. Another one felt like the beginning to a story, and I tried very hard to keep it in my memory so I could write it down.

Today was a rest day, and I started it off right by sleeping in until 8. Then I spent some time drinking water on the couch before heading into town. I decided that I wanted to get a hoe from the lumber store, and a coffee from the coffee stand. A decaf, but even decaf has a bit of caffeine still in it. I figured it would help me stay awake through the day, but not hinder my sleep too much at night. We’ll see how that works out.

I got Ambrose’s old typical order of a decaf Americano with cream. When I got home, I tried the hoe out. My plan with it is to try and chop up the divots in my mowing area to make it easier to mow. Not only are there divots from the cows that used to live here, but I also pick rocks out of the ground and those leave holes, some bigger than others. The rocks interfere with the mowing just as much as the holes do, so I choose to remove them when I can. The hoe worked well enough. It’s going to be work, but it’ll be good work. An investment to make mowing easier down the line.

It was getting close to lunchtime, and I decided to have a reduced calorie day. Not quite fasting, as I had the cream in the Americano, but not taking the kind of meals I have been typically. With today being about rest, it should be easier to go without eating.

I walked to the mailbox. No mail for me, just a piece for folks who must have lived here once upon a time. I left it in the box. Then I made a trash run. I finally decided I wasn’t going to be doing anything with the pieces of the garage that Ambrose and I initially purchased and had to tear down because the winds up here warped the metal frame. I think if he were still around, we would have figured out something to do with the stuff, but I’m not going to. So, off to the transfer station it went today, before the wasps can build a nest in it. I also remembered to bring the shredded tarps I’d taken down from the shed. Quite a load for me today.

I took the scenic route both ways, listening to an audiobook, Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones. I used to check that audiobook out from the library on cassette tape as a child. It’s not the same narration, unfortunately, but it is the same book. I felt compelled to listen to it again. I’m not sure I’m going to finish the other audiobook I checked out. It’s just not holding my interest.

After the trash run, I had a bit of time before I headed over to my neighbor’s house to play cards. It was nice to play games and catch up with them. I’ve been so busy mowing and hiking and doing all the things that I hadn’t taken time to socialize, and it was nice to do that. Plus I got to pet a kitty.

When I got home, I drank more water, and then did my Move U exercises for the day. I finished up the week 3 exercises from the manual. I may start week 4 tomorrow. I’m feeling a lot stronger with the week 3 movements, having worked through them for more than a week. Then I just watched some TV and relaxed. I had a protein shake for dinner. I hope the liquid diet day does my digestive system some good.

There’s a storm headed in, but I think I’ll be asleep before it hits. I’m going to take a bath after I post this. With Epsom salts, and more water, and a book. I’m nearly finished with The Martian by Andy Weir. A friend recommended that I read it, and it’s quite engaging. Lots of problem solving and plans going awry.

I’ve been planning a couple trips in my head. Memorial Day weekend is coming up quickly, and I’ve got to get my meal plan fleshed out for that. Then get the gear together. I’ll want to have a shakedown backpacking trip before 4th of July weekend. That will probably be an overnight up towards Cuddy. Then 4th of July weekend I’ll head up to the Cascade Needles area for a few days. I’ll need to have my InReach reprogrammed for the people I’m going to want to reach out to as I hike. It’s good to think about those trips, but the moment I start thinking about next summer, I’m crying. I think that my mind doesn’t want to think past the one year anniversary of his death yet. Like, it can’t get past that. and that’s just going to be the way that it is. I need to survive this year first. Then I can think about next year’s trips.

I’m planning on going to Snowslide Lakes in late July, out towards Mountain Home. The trip where we definitively learned to never, ever, ever go past a trail junction without waiting for the other person. Such a fun trip, even though we lost each other. Lessons are good, as long as you live to tell the tale. That lesson served us very well through the years. I think that will be a good place to get back to for me during that week. And I’ll go from there to Big Creek for a short visit before heading back home. That might end up being my first trip to Big Creek of the year. But I hope to do a September Big Creek trip as well. Maybe an August one, too. I’ll be bringing some of his ashes up there for sure.

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