Tuesday July 29, 2025
Morning prayer:
Good morning God,
- Thank you for this day.
- Thank you for bats.
- Thank you for connection.
- Thank you for swimming.
- Thank you for love.
I love you!
Dear Diary,
I awoke at 2:30 AM to use the bathroom. I got out of the sleeping bag and used my phone flashlight to find a good place to pee. It was so nice and quiet out and the milky way was incredible. I sat on my lawn chair and wrote some of my blog. Angel woke up and joined me. She said that she got scared because her friend told her about a giant person that is taller than trees. I told her that person didn’t exist and was made up. Angel said, “but what if it is real?” I told her that if a giant person showed up, we would offer them food and give them some blankets. Angel scoffed at that and I told her it was time to get back into bed.
I walked Angel to her tent and tucked her in. Then I crawled back into my sleeping bag in the hammock. I wrote some more of my blog until I was too tired to stay awake. I drifted to sleep and slept soundly until 8 AM.
I got up and noticed the fire wasn’t started yet. I heard Aaron in his tent talking to Little Bit who went in there to say good morning. I peeked in and Aaron was lying on the ground on top of his flattened air mattress. I asked him how things were going with his air mattress. He said it was flat. I told him, I noticed…lol.
I sat by the fire pit and watched Aaron build the fire. It’s nice not having to built it myself and I think Aaron likes to be the one to get it going. He gets to see how good his homemade fire-starters work. Once the fire was going strong, I made myself tea and cooked Angels breakfast. Angel woke up and ate, then I read a few chapters out-loud from the National Park Mystery Series book 5. I read for quite a while and it was late in the morning when I stopped to take a break.
Angel and I walked over to the swimming hole and Aaron joined us shortly after. We all swam and had a good time. Then Aaron hurt his butt on a rock when he jumped in. He was in pain and sat in the water a while and then went back to camp. Angel and I swam a while longer and joined Aaron at camp later on. Aaron said that he was still in pain but he had it under control. I made lunch and we slowly started breaking down camp.
After everything was ready to go, Angel and I went to the river and sat in the water a while. The water was a perfect temperature. Not too cold and not too warm. It was water from the reservoir so it was much warmer than the fresh snow melt water. Aaron joined us and we sat and enjoyed the river a while longer before heading home.
On the drive home, we took the long way over to Lost Valley reservoir. We stopped right before we got to the reservoir to let the dogs run. I saw a path and followed it quite a ways. It was a fun little adventure and when I got back, Aaron didn’t seem to be concerned at all with my random spontaneous disappearance into the woods. I’m grateful he is not a worry wart and gives me the freedom to explore and do my thing. He has faith that I know what I’m doing and I appreciate that.
I stood talking to Aaron when suddenly he tells me that I am beautiful. I wasn’t expecting that and I sort of stuttered a thank you. He explained that he meant more than just physical appearance, it went deeper than that. He told me that my fearlessness and free spirit encompass part of the beauty he sees in me. I listened to him explain himself and was still in stunned state. I had not been expecting Aaron to say that at all. We do not do mushy ego boosting talk or texting. We don’t hold hands or kiss or cuddle. We hug every once in a while but we are taking things very slow in all areas of our budding relationship. Regardless, I was really flattered. I think he is beautiful too and I’ve become quite fond of him.
We came to highway 95 at PineRidge and they happened to be open on a Tuesday. Usually they are closed early in the week and open on the weekends. We stopped and got some ice cream. While we ate, we sat outside and chatted with the store owners and other people sitting out front. Then we continued on to Council. Aaron stopped at my camper and I put all my camping gear in there. At home, Aaron helped bring my stuff upstairs to my apartment, then he continued on to his house. I put everything away and Angel went to a friends.
I drove to an overnight pet sitting opportunity that I was starting that night. I checked on the animals and fed the dogs. Then I went to my friend TJ’s, fed the baby chicks and cleaned her house. I went home, walked to the bank and cleaned it. When I finished, I got Angel from her friends and we went to my overnight pet sitting opportunity. I closed up the chickens for the night and we went to bed. I fell asleep right away at 10:30 PM
Wednesday July 30, 2025
Morning prayer:
Good morning God,
- Thank you for this day.
- Thank you for pet sitting opportunities.
- Thank you for hammocks.
- Thank you for love.
I love you!
Dear Diary,
I awoke at 5 AM, to an alarm going off. I jumped out of bed and found the source and turned it off. I wrote my blog notes and got up and let the dogs out. I let the chickens out and fed them but I couldn’t figure out how to turn on the water. I messaged the owners but didn’t hear back from them right away, so I got some buckets and hauled water out to the chickens that way. I went inside and cleaned part of the kitchen. My client called and told me the trick to turning on the outside water. I started the sprinkler going on the plants in the backyard, then I hand watered all the plants in the front yard.
After watering and feeding the dogs, Angel woke up and we went home. I fed her breakfast and made her lunch. For myself, I made tea and a smoothie. Then we went to a cleaning opportunity. I chatted with my client for a few minutes before I got started. Angel did her schoolwork while I cleaned and when I finished we went back home. Angel went to a friends and I went over to my neighbors and cleaned for her. Then I walked over to the thrift store. I found a blanket for one of my clients. He had asked me to find one for him. I also found a small barstool that will fit better in my apartment than the big ones I have. I wheeled the shopping cart with my stuff in it a block away to my apartment. I brought the little bar stool upstairs and carried the big ones down. I put them in the shopping cart and started wheeling it back to thrift store. When I got to the corner, I saw my nephew Christopher walking home from M&W. I laughed about him seeing me pushing a shopping cart around town. We talked for a few minutes, then I continued on to the thrift store. I carried the bar stools around back to the donation area and put the shopping cart away.
I walked back home and took a nap. When I woke up, I checked on the animals at my pet sitting house. Then I went and cleaned the Assembly of God church. After I was done, I went to get Angel from her friends house so that we could go swimming at Zim’s hot springs. Her friend wanted to join us and her parents said she could.
On the drive to Zim’s we listened to an audiobook called The Adventures of Jerry Muskrat. We also stopped at PineRidge and got ice cream. When we arrived at Zim’s, the swimming pool was fairly busy. Angel and her friend hung out in the deep end. I stretched and floated on my back, fully relaxing my body. I got out and sat in a lawn chair next to the pool and made a few phone calls that I’d been wanting to make. Then, I got back in the pool and floated around some more. After swimming for a couple of hours, we got out and played the claw machine game. I won a stuffed rabbit that I want to give to Aaron and Angels friend won a stuffed pig.
When we got back to Council, Angels friend wanted to stay the night. Her parents said it was ok and we got her overnight clothes from her house. Then we went to my apartment. I walked to the bank and cleaned it but the power was out for the entire town so I wasn’t able to vacuum.
On my walk home, I talked to Aaron on the phone and the power came back on. I got the girls and we went to my pet sitting house. I fed the dogs and chickens. I closed up the chickens for the night and got the girls settled in to sleep on the couch. Then I went you bed. I wrote my blog notes and went to sleep at 10:30 PM.
Thursday July 31, 2025
Morning prayer:
Good morning God,
- Thank you for this day.
- Thank you for hot springs.
- Thank you for electricity.
- Thank you for sunshine.
- Thank you for love.
I love you!
Dear Diary,
I awoke at 2:30 AM and wrote my blog. It was after 5 AM by the time I got finished. I attempted to sleep more and dozed lightly for an hour until it was time to get up.
I stripped the sheets off the bed and started them washing. I let the dogs out and the chickens out. I gave them fresh food and water. Then, I thoroughly cleaned the kitchen. By the time I finished, Angel and her friend had woken up and were playing on their phone/tablet. I switched laundry and cleaned the bathroom and the rest of the house. When the sheets were dry, I made the bed and did the final cleaning touches. I started the cleaning rags washing and we left.
I dropped Angels friend off at home and went to my friend TJ’s house. I checked on the chicks and gave them fresh food and water. Then I washed a bunch of dirty chicken feeders and water containers that had been sitting in the big hen house for a couple of years. When I got everything washed, I pulled weeds in a couple of garden beds and ate a bunch of blackberries and strawberries.
I drove back to my pet sitting opportunity and put the cleaning rags in the dryer and checked on the dogs. Then we went home and I made Angel breakfast. For myself, I made tea and 2 smoothies to take with me to church camp. I will be working in the kitchen at my mom’s church camp starting tonight through Sunday.
Aaron came over to get Little Bit. He is watching him for me and checking on Sweetie Alabama while we’re at camp. I was difficult for me to see Little Bit go. I’m kind of attached to him. It felt like part of my heart was being torn off as I watched him go.
Angel and I continued packing food to take with us and we loaded it all up in the truck. I walked to M&W and got a few last things. Then we hearted (headed) out. We stopped at TJ’s again and I got sleeping bags from our camper. We stopped at my pet sitting opportunity, got the cleaning rags out of the dryer and told the dogs that their owners would be back soon.
The church camp was at Warm Lake and I decided to get there by going up and over the mountain on the dirt roads rather than take the highway through McCall. The drive was a lot of fun. I stopped at the Granite creek campsite we had camped at a few weeks ago. I stripped off my clothes and jumped in the pool of ice cold water. The water felt amazing and rejuvenated me.
When we got to the other side of the mountain. I followed along the west side of Lake Cascade all the way to the town of Cascade. I pulled into a gas station and filled up my gas tank. The gas station was crazy busy and I had to wait in a long line to pay cash, which was a great opportunity to do some good people watching.
From Cascade, I drove up Warm Lake road and it took us all the way to the church camp. I had done the entire trip without taking the highway other than a few miles to get to the dirt roads. I pulled into camp and was greeted by a nice man who told me where to go. I went in the kitchen and introduced myself. Angel came in and told me that she was locked out of the truck. I had left the keys inside the cab and ran out there to see if it really was locked. It was. I went to unlock it from my phone app but I didn’t have any cell service. I went inside and asked the man who had greeted me if there was wi-fi. He got me connected but I still wasn’t able to unlock the truck from my phone app. The man walked out to my truck with me and we saw that one of the back windows was cracked open a little. He got a short pole and tried reaching the inside door handle with it through the cracked window. He wasn’t able to get it. I tried and Angel tried and the man tried again. This time he got the door handle to open. Yay!! Yay!!
I checked out the room we were staying in and my mom was in there making the bed. The lady in charge of assigning rooms came in and told use that all 3 of us might have share that one room. It was a tiny room with barely enough room for the one queen bed. I had brought my hammock to sleep in but it was raining out and I didn’t have a tarp for it. I had also brought a small cot just in case but there was no space to put it. The lady said that we might be able to have another room and she would check. Later she found me working in the kitchen and said that we could have 2 rooms. I was glad about that and put my stuff in my room. I was attempting to rearrange the room to put the cot in the for Angel when my mom came in and said that Angel could sleep with her. I abandoned my rearranging efforts and put the bed back in its original spot.
The rest of the afternoon and evening, I worked in the kitchen, getting ready for the evening meal and doing tomorrow’s breakfast prep. I had a great time and helped the head chef figure out options for people with dietary restrictions. I’m one of those “dietary restrictions” people so I’m well practiced at figuring out other food options.
Right before we were about to serve dinner, the rain storm knocked a tree branch onto a power line. The branch was still connected to the power line and it touched the ground causing sparks to fly and then the power went out. The people in charge of the camp jumped into action. The power company was called but it would be a while because there were power lines down all over from the storm. People strung up some solar lights and dinner was served right on time.
After everyone was served, I ate a bunch of stuff that hurt my stomach. I helped with a lot of the clean up. Then I laid down in my room. It was only 7:30 PM but I fell asleep. I slept all evening until my mom and Angel came into their room next door to go to bed. I looked at the time and it was 10:30 PM.
We talked and joked around through the wall while they got ready for bed. They finally went to sleep at 11:30 PM and I wrote my blog
Friday, August 1, 2025
Morning prayer:
Good morning God ,
- Thank you for this day
- Thank you for community.
- Thank you for beautiful drives through the mountains.
- Thank you for good care for my pets.
- Thank you for love.
I love you!
Dear Diary,
I woke up at 5:30 AM. The power was back on. I laid dozing for 20 minutes. Then I got up, got dressed and walked to the camp kitchen. The two people in charge were already there starting breakfast prep. I use the bathroom and then joined them. We got breakfast ready and served on time. Then we cleaned up and I went to the chapel for service. Angel had been playing with friends and she wanted me to sit up front with her and her friends. I really really enjoyed the singing and left right as the service was starting so I could get a shower in before starting lunch prep.
My shower was wonderful. I stayed in a long time and got squeaky clean. By the time I got dressed, it was almost time to start lunch prep. I went in the dining room and sat relaxing, listening to the conversations going on around me. Many of the conversations going on around me were about all the things wrong with the world, all the things wrong with “non-believers”, all the things wrong with peoples family members that are not “Christian”, all the physical health problems that people are suffering from. Not one conversation was about joy or thanksgiving. It reminded me of when I was a kid and would listen to people at church talk.
Here’s a little history about me and church:
As a child I would listen to people at church talk to each other. They would talk about what so-and-so wore to church last Sunday or who was living in sin or how awful the world was, etc. I didn’t know about faith then or living in love, all I knew was that these people were being hurtful to others and had a lot of fear. My mom was always preaching Christianity and she was very mean to me. If I questioned anything she said, I was told that I had demons inside me (that terrified me so much that I slept with a light on until I was 19 years old and got married). I was never a good enough Christian for her, in the mean time she was cheating on my dad and calling him a sinner for not being Christian. You can see how my young mind got very confused about things. As an adult I kept going to church because I really wanted to be a good Christian and I wanted to be loved by my mom. Things changed when I was 23 years old. I stopped going to church. I’d reached my limit of tolerance when I was harassed and shunned by the church I was attending. My first husband and I got divorced and I was seen as the bad one and the church glorified my ex husband. I had been a stay at home mom and my boys were young. My oldest was 2 and my youngest was 3 months old. I had been married for 5 years and I was miserable in my marriage. My husband was very controlling and had the money and the lawyer. I had no where to live, so I asked my mom if I could stay with her until I got on my feet. She said no because I was living in sin by divorcing my husband. I told her that he filled the divorce papers but she went on about how I was in the wrong and wouldn’t help me in anyway unless I repented my sins in front of her and asked for forgiveness. In the mean time she took my ex-husband to lunch and told him what a horrible person I was and that he was better off without me. So I rented a room from a guy friend. The boys and I all stayed in that one room. People from the church called and wrote letters telling me that I was living in sin by living in the same house as a man I want married to. I was told that I needed to find somewhere else to live. While talking on the phone with one of the church elders, he went one and one about my sinful living situation. I asked him if he would be willing to help me find another place to live and he told me to go to the homeless shelter. In that moment I was done, I wanted nothing to do with Christians or church ever again. They were the most unkind, mean people I knew.
I got a job delivering pizza on the 3 days a week that my boys went to their dads and I started attending college. Eventually I was able to get into section 8 housing and moved into an apartment.
Years later when I was 34, my faith in God was restored after praying for guidance on how to heal my 250 lb. sick body and God gave me the answer to eat a raw plant based diet. I didn’t want to but I tried it because I was so incredibly sick that I could barely walk. I was willing to try anything and the doctors weren’t helping me, they kept giving me pills that made me sicker. I changed my diet and got so healthy that I lost 120 lbs. and started riding my bicycle 30 miles a day for the fun it. I had so much energy I had to find a way to burn it off.
One day while bicycling on the Boise greenbelt, I stopped to help some ladies with a flat tire. They saw my cleaning sign on my bicycle trailer and asked if I would be willing to clean their church. I was happy to and I was surprised when the church hired me without questioning my beliefs in anyway. The churches I grew up attending would have required you to sign your name in blood stating that you believed in Jesus in order to let you clean their toilets. I started cleaning the church and sometimes the pastor would be there. She was a female pastor which was another no-no in my past church experiences where women were not allowed to preach and were seen as “less than”. The pastor and I would talk and she seemed so real and human and non-judgmental. Eventually I began attending the church and realized that not all churches are the same. I was loved and welcomed in the church and never once was I treated unkindly, even when I “sinned”. The church strongly taught the message to love on another unconditionally and to let God be the judge. I attended that church faithfully until I moved to Texas and I have attended church regularly ever since and have found many churches that teach the message of Gods love rather than the message of fear and judgment.
Back to current events:
Lunch prep started and when it was time to serve everyone, I had fun introducing myself to people going through the line and chatting with them, shining my light. After we finished lunch clean up. Angel went with a friend to swim in Warm Lake (which is not warm, it’s freezing cold). I had a 2 hour break and I drove a few miles up the road to Trail Creek hot springs. The hot springs was busy, so I went exploring to see if there were any other hot water pools down steam. I walked along a steep incline above the creek until the path ended and was blocked by rocks and downed trees. The only way to go was down to the creek or back the way I came. I slowly made my way to the creek and found a big log blocking the way. I climbed up onto the log but to get back down the other side I had to slide on my belly. I could feel the log scraping my legs as I slide down. I checked out my scrapes when I reached ground and they weren’t that bad.
I waded down the creek a ways until I saw an opening in the brush to get out on the other side. The other side of the creek had lots of well worn paths. I followed a path back to the hot springs pools. They were still full of people but I got in one anyway. Within a few minutes, everyone had left both pools and I had the place to myself. Pretty amazing on a Friday afternoon.
I soaked for a while and basked in the beauty of the mountains. Then it was time to get back to work in the kitchen. I had been fasting all morning because I received a message from the Holy Spirit to fast when I had prayed for guidance on how to heal my jaw, which hurts anytime I bite down to chew. Plus I was clearing out all the junk I ate last night and the days before. I broke my fast by drinking a smoothie I had brought with me from home. It was super yummy and I felt the amazing power of fruit surging through my body.
I got started in the kitchen and was given the task of cutting up fruit and salad, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Dinner was served and I started doing clean up. I took a short break and called Aaron to see how Little Bit was doing. Aaron said he was doing good but he missed me. I missed him too and I was grateful Aaron was taking such good care of him.
When I got off the phone, I was headed back to the kitchen when Angel came up to me and said that she’d had an accident in her swimsuit. I got her some clean clothes and we went to the shower room. Angel got all cleaned up and by the time I got back to the kitchen, clean up was almost done. I helped finish up, then I sat in the dining room resting my feet. My feet were really sore and my right knee where I have scar tissue from skin graphs was aching from standing on concrete floors so much. My light was shining bright though, I had some great conversations and it was fun getting to know people. One lady brought me some extra blankets when I told her I had been cold last night and another lady brought me a space heater. I was very grateful to be shown such kindness and said thank you. I felt humbled about my judgmental thoughts I’d had toward these people earlier in the day and my heart softened.
I was feeling really tired and went to bed at 9 PM. Angel was still running around playing with the kids and my mom said she would get her when she went to bed. I thanked her and I went to my room. I was almost asleep when Angel came running in asking if she could play hide and seek with the other kids in the dark. I told her that it was fine with me but her grandma was in charge because I was going to sleep and she needed to ask her. A few minutes later, Angel came back crying saying that Grandma said no and was being mean. I gave her a hug and told her that she had to do what grandma said because I was in bed. Angel calmed down and asked if she could tell the kids she couldn’t go. I said she could but to come right back.
Angel came back right away and got in bed next to me. We were talking and laughing when my mom came in all upset saying that Angel had thrown a fit and stomped her foot and started crying when she was told no. I told my mom that Angel had calmed down and was in for the night and everything was fine now. My mom went on for a while about how she didn’t like Angel telling her no and wouldn’t put up with me overriding her when she was the one in charge. I assured my mom that I had confirmed that Angel couldn’t go with the kids like she had said and it was all ok.
My mom wanted to keep up her rant but it was getting late, so she went next door to her room. Angel and I continued enjoying our cuddle time. Then I wrote my blog notes and went to sleep at 11 PM.
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 by the Holy Spirit.
P. S. S. This was July 29 through August 1. A lot has happened since then. Stay tuned.