Saturday, July 12, 2025
Morning prayer :
Good morning God
- Thank you for this day.
- Thank you for books.
- Thank you for thrift stores.
- Thank you for understanding.
- Thank you for love.
I love you!
Dear diary,
I awoke at 2 AM. I wrote my blog and posted it. At 5:30 AM, I went back to sleep at awoke again at 8 AM. I got up and made Angel breakfast. I made myself tea and a smoothie. Then I put clean sheets on my bed and started packing everything to go camping. I drove over to my friends and started washing my sheets. While they were washing, I drove to Aaron’s to get my camping supplies I had left with him after our camping trip last week. This time we are taking separate vehicles because Angels friend is joining us and there’s not room for all of us and the dogs in one vehicle.
I got my canning supplies, went home and packed some more. I switched laundry at my friends and walked to M&W to get some last minute supplies. Aaron was there doing the same thing. When I came out of the store, I started to pack up my gratitude sign to take home while I’m gone camping. Just then, some kids I knew began setting up a lemonade stand out front with their mom. I asked them if they wanted to use my sign for their lemonade stand. They did want to use it and I told them to put it next to the stairs going up to my apartment when they were finished. They said they would and I walked home.
As I was packing up our food, I noticed that half of a watermelon I had in the fridge had gone bad. I sent Angel to take it to my friend Camille’s chickens and it was nice having her out of my hair so I could finish packing. I started carrying our supplies downstairs and putting them in the truck. Angel came home and we were getting ready to leave when we couldn’t find Sweetie Alabama, our cat. We looked all over inside and outside and couldn’t find her. I found myself feeling angry at Angel for not shutting her in her room while we were packing to go. Aaron showed up and joined in the cat search. I needed to take a break and be present with my anger. So I drove to get laundry and pick up Angels friend.
On the drive, I realized that I was as much at fault for losing the cat and that everything would be fine. When I got home, Angel had found Sweetie under her bed and all was well. Yay!
We left to go camping. Aaron led the way and we followed. He took us up Cabin Creek road and we arrived at the campsite sooner than I expected. We started setting up camp. I hung up my hammock and got the girls tent set up. Then we walked down to the creek and waded in the ice cold water. The girls played while Aaron and I finished setting up camp. Then Aaron and I hung out by the creek together for a while, enjoying nature and the beauty all around us.
Later in the evening, Aaron started a fire and I cooked dinner for the girls. While they ate, I read out-loud some of the Tornado Jones book I had found at the thrift store. It’s a really good book. The girls finished their dinner and roasted marshmallows for s’mores. I sat by the fire and silently read my book I had brought for myself called The Alchemist.
When it started to get dark, I cleaned up the dishes by washing them in the creek and we all went to bed. I put a hammock blanket under the hammock to stay warm when the temperature dropped in the night. Then I crawled in and got snuggled into my sleeping bag. Little Bit crawled in with me and we blissfully rocked to sleep in the hammock.
Sunday July 13, 2025
I awoke in the night and had to pee. I was barely warm enough in my sleeping bag and didn’t want to get out of the hammock. The hammock blanket was working to keep the bottom of the hammock insulated with my body heat but it felt really cold out. My -20°F sleeping bag with a wool blanket on top of it was keeping me just barely warm enough to not be cold. Finally, I talked myself into getting up, I unzipped the sleeping bag and flopped around while getting out of the hammock. Little Bit jumped down and I quickly pee’d behind a tree. I straightened up my sleeping bag and blanket and crawled back into the hammock. I scooted into my sleeping back and quickly zipped it up. I called Little Bit back up and tucked him in under the wool blanket.
The moon was really bright and beautiful and it was shining right on me. I had no idea what time it was and I enjoyed not knowing. I watched the moon for a while, feeling warm and cozy. I laid there a long time, eventually I drifted to back sleep.
I awoke again right before dusk and pee’d again and went right back to sleep. Later on I heard Aaron moving around. I knew he was building a fire and I dozed in and out of sleep into the sun came up and I knew it would start warming up soon.
I sat around the fire with Aaron. Angel’s friend woke up and joined us and later on Angel woke up. I cut up a couple of orange honeydew melons to share with the girls. They ate it while playing Sorry and Guess Who. I ate half of a melon and another half later. It was super hydrating and refreshing.
While the girls played board games, I read them a chapter from Tornado Jones On Sentinel Mountain.Then they played on an obstacle course rope that Aaron hung up. They got tired of that and played by the creek and came up later to eat some oatmeal I had made for breakfast.
I chatted with Aaron and read my book The Alchemist for a while. I was feeling tired and brought a sleeping bag next to the creek. I laid on it and read my book until I drifted off to asleep. I woke up when the sun was shining hot on me. I moved to the hammock and slept more. It felt good to be getting a lot of sleep.
Aaron had left to look for firewood and he came back just as I woke up. He fixed the obstacle course for the girls by raising it up higher. They played on it some more and were much happier with it being up higher. When they got tired of it, they took turns sitting in the hammock. I played a game of Guess Whoand What’s the Point with Angel. Then I read a few more chapters of Tornado Jones out-loud.
In the late afternoon, I walked over to a big pool in the creek and swam for a short while. The water was really cold and it felt amazing. I explored a little around the creek and it was beautiful and amazing and great fun.
I walked back to camp and told everyone about the swimming hole I had found. We all went over there and the girls thought about getting in it but the water was really cold. Angels friend gave up on getting in past her ankles but Angel kept trying to talk herself into going under completely. Finally I offered to go with her and we walked out to the deeper water together and went under. Satisfied that she had gone in at least once, Angel played in the shallow water with her friend for a while. I jumped in a few more times and Aaron jumped in a couple of times too. The water felt so icy cold and refreshing, it was healing and rejuvenating. I loved it.
We all went back to camp and the cat was missing again. We had taken her off her leash so she could explore and forgot to put it back on her when we went to the swimming hole. She likes to stay near camp and I couldn’t imagine her wandering too far. We searched and searched but couldn’t find her anywhere. Finally I resigned myself to the fact that something might have gotten her, though I had searched the dirt in and around camp and saw no trace of wild animals. It could have been a hawk. Deep down, I knew she was sleeping somewhere and would show up when she woke up.
We had been at when swimming hole quite a while and it was getting later in the day. Aaron started a fire and I made the girls dinner. Suddenly I looked over and saw Sweetie crawling out from under the truck. Boy were we glad to see her. She was sleepy from just waking up, we cuddled her and then put her on her leash with some food and water.
The girls roasted marshmallows for s’mores and I read some more of Tornado Jones out-loud. Then we all got ready for bed. I secured my hammock blanket better so I would stay warmer through the night. We all went to bed, the girls got in their tent with the cat and Aaron set up his sleeping area. I crawled in the hammock and fell asleep immediately snuggled up with Little Bit.
Thank you for reading my blog and being a part of my life. I appreciate you.
Love, Victoria
P. S. This blog post was inspired by the Holy Spirit.
P. S. S. This was Saturday and Sunday. A lot has happened since then. Stay tuned.