Monday May 6, 2024
Dear Diary,
I woke up at 6:30 am. I prayed my thanksgivings.
- Thank you for this time in Idaho to be with my sister up in the mountains.
- Thank you that my sister is recovering well.
- Thank you for hot springs and cold clear rivers.
- Thank you for friends and family.
I wrote my blog until 8:30 am. Angel crawled in bed with me and I slept again until 9:15 am. I could have slept longer but Trish had bought me a massage to thank me for coming to help her and the appointment was at 10 am. I got up and got dressed. I let Angel stay asleep in the bed. I went downstairs, unloaded the dishwasher, switched laundry, made tea and a smoothie. Angel had gotten up and was laying on the couch playing on her phone but Trish was still asleep. It was almost 10 am when I got ready to leave. I asked Angel to stay quiet until Trish got up. I looked up the address and saw it was 15 minutes away. I thought it was closer and was now going to be a few minutes late. I didn’t have the number for the massage therapist to let her know I would be late but I figured it would be fine. Just as I got in my truck, I saw Trish open the front door and motion to me. I got out and she gave me more detailed instructions on how to get there and said she would text her masseuse and let her know I would be there a little bit late. I thanked her and put the address into google maps before heading out.
Google maps took me up a steep dirt road that did switchbacks up the mountain. Everything seemed in line with what Trisha had told me until I made a right hand turn and arrived at a house at the end of the road. Trish said it was the last house on the road but I wasn’t sure this was the house. It didn’t feel like it was the right one. I called Trisha and asked her if it was a log cabin with a big barn. She said it wasn’t and to stay to the left on the main dirt road. I went back to where I had made the right hand turn and followed the main dirt road all the way to the last house at the end. This still didn’t seem right but it was the last house and there had been no other roads to turn on. I got out and went up to the door. A friendly faced man answered and I asked if this is where to get a massage. He said it wasn’t and told me to go to the house before this one. I thanked him and drove to the other house.
The masseuse answered the door and she said she had seen me pass by but wasn’t quick enough to made it outside to wave at me. I said it was ok because I found it. It was a really cute wood cabin on the side of the mountain with an amazing view of the valley and the mountains on the other side. She had me take off my shoes and had me follow her to the massage room. The room was set up really nice and smelled amazing, like essential oils. She had me sit down and asked me about any places in my body that needed special attention during my massage, I told her a few spots. Then she left the room while I undressed and got on the massage table. The sheets on the table were deliciously warm. She came in and gave me one of the best massages I’ve ever had. We chatted during the massage about relationships and diet and religion and good books and energy. She is from Tennessee and understands how it feels to live far away from where your roots are. It’s amazing how much information we shared with each other during the 90 minute massage. We had an instant bond. I love connecting with people.
When the massage was over, I felt amazing. She definitely is gifted in massage. Her hands did incredible magic on my body and our beautiful conversation was healing as well. She gave me a couple of books to borrow and I wrote down my website so she could follow my blog. I told her I would be back in August and would for sure be booking another appointment with her at that time.
On my way to Trish’s, I stopped at Dollar General to see if they had bicycle hand grips for Angel’s bicycle. When I walked in the door, I was surprised to see fresh produce. I looked at the produce and they had ripe bananas. I went and got a basket and filled it up with bananas. I didn’t find any bicycle supplies but I found a nice soft cooler for my 64 oz. jars. My other cooler is getting worn out and I was glad to have found a new one. It’s not easy finding soft coolers that are tall enough to fit 64 oz. jars.
When I got to Trish’s, she was doing schoolwork with Angel and they were having fun together. I asked Trisha what she was getting our mom’s (“real” mom and “step” mom) for Mother’s Day. She didn’t know so I told her I was going shopping to look. I walked to the gift shop and called Trish on FaceTime. Trish, Angel and I all picked out gifts together through FaceTime and it was a lot of fun. I love picking out and buying gifts.
For the next couple of hours I did laundry. I started washing Angel’s bedding so it will all be fresh and clean when we leave on Wednesday. At around 2:30 pm, Brett came over to help my sister Missy move into her place. Trish and him talked for a while about going mushroom hunting in the future when Trish fully recovers from her surgery and can walk again. She hasn’t been able to walk very far for years because her ankle hurt her so much. She broke it playing basketball in high school and didn’t stay off of it like she was supposed to when it was healing and it never healed right. She’s had several surgeries over the years to try to fix it and none of them worked. This last surgery was an ankle replacement surgery and it’s a fairly new type of surgery but it’s gotten great results. We are all hopeful that this will be Trish’s final surgery and that she will be able to walk again without being in pain all the time.
When Brett and Trish were done talking Brett went with me to Missy’s. When we arrived, the U-Haul was already there and it was pouring rain. Mike and Linda (my “real” dad and step mom)(I wrote about the history of our relationship last week) were there and it was great to see them again. My uncle Pat was also there with my cousin Alicia and I hadn’t seen them for a couple of years. Missy and my niece Maya were there it was great to see all of them. We all stood around talking until the rain let up. I brought in Linda’s Mother’s Day gift from Trish and I. It was a hanging pot with beautifully flowers. She was surprised and really liked it. Then I let out the chickens and Missy got to see her chickens for the first time. They are so cute. We watched the chickens for a few minutes, then we all started unpacking the u-haul. I went back and forth between unpacking the U-Haul and keeping everything organized in the house so the walkways stayed clear and helping Linda fold packing blankets. It was a lot of fun and just about the time when everyone was feeling like they needed a break, 3 strapping young high school boys with peach fuzz mustaches showed up. Those boys were obviously raised in the country and used to hard work. They got started right away and did a great job. They had the rest of the u-haul unloaded in less than an hour. The very last thing to unload was the baby grand piano. Mike backed the u-haul van up to the front door and set up the ramp. The piano was securely strapped to the inside wall of the u-haul, it was up on its side with the legs removed. The 3 young men, Mike and Pat all tilted the piano up and I slid a flat dolly cart underneath it. They strapped the piano to the dolly and slowly rolled it into the house. Missy found the bolts for the piano legs and I put on 2 of the 3 legs. Then the men gently slid it upright onto the 2 legs. While the men held up the side of the piano without a leg I quickly put the 3rd leg in place and secured it. Missy got the piano put in its place and raised the top. It looked so pretty and now we were done, everything was unpacked.
We all stood around laughing and talking. I had been thoroughly enjoying myself and still was. Missy tried to order everyone pizza but the restaurant was closed on Mondays. She paid the guys for helped her and the strapping young peach fuzz mustache men left. Missy had gotten their phone numbers so she could hire them to help her in the future. I talked to Missy and my niece Maya about their schedule for when I leave. I wanted to make sure Trish had someone there to help after I left. She won’t be able to put weight on her ankle for another month and will need help during that time. I was going to take Trish to a doctors appointment in Boise on Wednesday afternoon and then drop her off at her boyfriends before heading to Salt Lake City to start my journey home. Trish’s boyfriend works nights and he needs to sleep during the day and it would be hard on him to take Trish back up to Council without getting much sleep. So while talking to Missy and Maya we decided that Maya could take Trish to her appointment in Boise and bring her back. Then Wednesday morning I can leave earlier to start my journey home. Missy and Maya will stay at Trish’s as long as she needs them to for the rest of her recovery. It was a good plan.
Brett and I left Missy’s and we were hungry. Brett wanted to go to a Chinese restaurant in Cambridge. I’m not a fan of Chinese food because they don’t have good salads but I was fine with going where Brett wanted. I ordered a veggie dish that was ok. The owner of the restaurant was a friendly guy and since we were the only ones there, he sat and talked to us while we ate. He was really talkative and funny.
When we arrived at Trish’s, Brett headed home and I talked to Trish about what Missy, Maya and I had decided about future plans for her care after I leave. Trish thought it was all great. She is enjoying having her sisters and nieces and sons come stay with her. She called Missy to confirm everything. They decided that Missy and Maya will come over starting Tuesday night so they won’t have to drive there early Wednesday morning. Trish and I talked about where everyone will sleep. Trish and I decided it was time to change her bedding and get everything washed before Missy and Maya came to stay. Tuesday night, I could sleep with Trish, Angel could sleep on the couch. Then Missy and Maya could sleep in the beds upstairs. We stripped Trish’s bed and put clean bedding on it. Trish was excited to have clean bedding. I know the feeling, I love clean bedding. My bed at home has clean bedding on it waiting for me when I arrive.
Angel took a bath and I got in after her. Then we bathed Little Bit who had gotten dirty playing in the rain and mud with Missy’s dogs while I had been helping her move. We all cuddled in Trish’s clean bed and watched Black Beauty. I wrote my blog while the movie was going. When it was over, Angel and I went to bed. Angel got in bed with me since I had washed all the bedding for her bed and I wanted it to stay clean. I finished writing my blog and read it to Angel. She had me add a few things that were important to her such as seeing 5 deer and her thinking she saw a bear when we were on our bicycle ride.
I turned out the light and put on a guided relaxation sleep meditation. The meditation didn’t work for Angel. She was restless and squirmy and I was having trouble falling asleep with all the thrashing about. Finally I put her on the couch and fell asleep at around 11:30 pm listening to the meditation.
Thank you for reading my blog and being a part of my life. I dearly appreciate you.
Love,
Victoria
P.S. This blog post was inspired by the Holy Spirit.