Monday September 23, 2024
Dear Diary,
I woke up at 3:30 am. I attempted to go back to sleep but after a half hour, I decided to stay awake and write my blog. I had to get up at 5 am to get ready to go kayaking and I was too excited to go back to sleep. I wrote my blog and posted it just in time for me to get up, let out the birds and get dressed in my bathing suit. Angel was still asleep and Christopher was still in bed when I went in the house. Christopher had gotten up earlier and turned on the burner to heat the tea water. I was grateful to have hot water ready. I made tea, packed fresh-squeezed OJ in my cooler and grabbed a bag of nuts with dried fruit. Lastly, I fed Bits and left him inside to stay with Christopher and Angel.
I drove to the gas station in Milano to meet my friends Alan and Peggy. They were already there when I arrived. Alan and I were going kayaking and Peggy volunteered to be our driver. We mingled in the gas station and bought some last minute things. I had left my water shoes in Idaho so Alan had brought some shoes that he thought might work for me. I tried on a pair of sandals but they were way too big. Next I tried on a pair of canvas shoes and even though they were too big, I was able to make them work by cinching up the laces. Once that was settled, we all hearted (headed) out in Alan’s truck. I left my truck locked up in the parking lot on the side of the building.
It was about an hour drive to where we were getting in the Brazos River. We had fun conversations and enjoyed each others company. When we arrived, Alan and I scoped out the best place to put our kayaks in. We unloaded the kayaks off of the rack and Alan made sure we each had everything we needed. Alan is great about that kind of thing. He plans out the trips, checks the water flow, checks the weather and find the put in and take out points. He also provides the kayaks, paddles, life jackets and finds a driver. I am very grateful for all he does to make the kayaking trips happen.
The water in the Brazos was low and we had to walk our kayaks off of a rock shelf before we could get in them and start paddling. We were going 13 miles downstream and Alan figured it would take us 5 or 6 hours. Neither Alan or I had kayaked this section of the Brazos before and we were excited to explore new territory.
Here are a couple of videos:
The sky was gray and the clouds formations were beautiful. We were grateful that the cloud cover kept the temperature comfortably in the low 80’s. It even sprinkled on us a few times which felt perfect. The river was peaceful and flowed along nicely even though the water levels were low. There were only a couple of times that we had to get out and walk our kayaks over shallow areas, the water was just high enough to make the river ideal for kayaking. We saw a lot of egrets and herons, turkey and black vultures and a couple of hawks. There were little birds, swallows, killdeer and others I did not know the names of. We saw one beaver and a few turtles. Both of us got startled several times by big alligator gars lurking beneath the surface of the water right next to our kayaks. They would unexpectedly move quickly right under the surface of the water. One time, I was coming up on what looked like a stick poking out of the water, as I got closer I thought it looked like a shark’s fin. Suddenly it moved and an alligator gar jumped up out of the water. I screamed and thought I was going to have a heart attack 😂. I bet that fish swam off laughing.
We didn’t stop the eat, we snacked along the way and took pee breaks the few times we got out to walk our kayaks. It took us 5.5 hours. As we were on the last stretch, the clouds cleared up and the sun came out. Perfect timing. That would have been a hot trip if the sun would have been beating down on us. It has been a wonderful kayaking exploration adventure. It couldn’t have been any better. Everything went perfectly.
Peggy was at our take out point waiting for us. Alan and I dragged the kayaks up the steep bank and got them up on the rack. Alan strapped them on and we were ready to go. I called a couple of people back who had left me messages about pet sitting. I was curious about why I was getting so many people wanting me to pet sit right as I was moving away. I thought maybe it was a sign that I was supposed to stay here in Texas but that didn’t quite feel right. Then I received clarity that what it really meant was that I was in the energy of creating an abundance of opportunities wherever I was. Both people wanted pet sitting after I would be gone but I told them there was someone else I could recommend to them. I messaged the other person I thought would be interested and he was. I passed his number on to the people needing pet sitting and it felt good to be passing on the abundance to someone else.
Alan and Peggy dropped me off at my truck and we hugged goodbye. I thanked them for making the kayaking trip possible. When I come to visit in March we will do more kayaking adventures. I drove to Christopher’s and greeted him and Angel when I arrived. I sat by the fountain and chatted with Christopher. Then I laid down in the banana hut for a half hour until it was time to leave to meet with people that I am pet sitting for September 26-October 6.
Angel went with me and we arrived right on time. We met their 2 adorable little dogs and outside cat. I had Bits with me and within a few minutes the dogs were all playing together. The pet owner showed us around and had all the care instructions written out. I will be taking care of the plants as well and I was shown where all of those are. It is going to be a fun pet sitting opportunity.
Angel and I listened to the Goosebumps audiobook on the way back to Christopher’s. There was 10 minutes left of the story when we pulled up in the driveway so we sat in the truck and finished listening to it. When it was over we went in the house. Angel ate her dinner and I went to bed early in the banana hut. I was tired, I had been awake since 3:30 am. Just as I was about to fall asleep, Angel came in and wanted to sleep in there with me. She got in the trundle bed and I turned on a sleep meditation. I fell asleep right away at around 8:30 pm. Angel kept waking me wanting to talk to me. I told her to let me sleep and if she wasn’t tired she could go in the house with Christopher. She went in the house and I went back to sleep.
Tuesday, September 24, 2024
Dear Diary,
I woke up at 6 AM. I laid in bed until 6:30 AM. I got up and let out the chickens, ducks, and geese. On my way in the house, I noticed the hose to the outdoor sink had busted open and water was spraying everywhere. I went in the house, Angel was still asleep and Christopher was in the bathroom. I told him about the water hose through the bathroom door. He said to turn off the water at the faucet. I did that and we talked for a few minutes after he came out of the bathroom. I wished him a good day and went back to the banana hut. I laid in bed and wrote my blog until 8 am. I made my bed and went back into the house. Angel was up and eating her breakfast taco that Christopher had made her. I made tea and a smoothie. My smoothie was nine bananas, a handful of strawberries, cacao, turmeric, fresh almond milk fresh orange juice. I prayed my gratitudes: Good morning God, I am grateful for kayaking trips. I am grateful for rest. I am grateful for audiobooks. I am grateful for rivers. I am grateful for birds. I am grateful for clouds. I am grateful for love. I am grateful for pet sitting opportunities. I am grateful for friends. Thank you. I love you.
Angel got ready to go and waited in the truck while I gave the goats fresh water and put clean water in the duck pools. On the drive to town we listened to a Goosebumps audiobook. We drove to a house I was scheduled to clean, it was wonderful seeing my client and I got Angel started on her schoolwork. My client helped Angel with her schooling while I cleaned. Angel really likes it when other people besides me help her with school work and she got 4 pages done by the time I finished.
Next, Angel and I went to Moon Brew so that I could do a video interview to be a caretaker and grounds keeper at a Hot Springs Resort in Idaho. Angel watched YouTube kids on her phone while I did the interview. The interview went great and I feel confident that I will get the position. When I got off the phone, I visited with some of my friends that were there. Rita was working and I was supposed to go do some organizing in her pantry later that day but I was feeling sore and tired from kayaking yesterday so we rescheduled for Monday. That would work even better because she would be at home then and I could get her input on where she wanted things.
Angel and I went to Christopher’s and I sat with Angel and helped her finish the last 5 pages of her school work. Then I went in the banana hut and took a nap. I slept hard for 2 hours and had crazy dreams about Nikacado Avocado. He is someone I know from years ago. He used to be a raw vegan and then started doing muckbang videos on YouTube because he got a lot of views and wanted to be a famous YouTuber. He did become famous and gained over 300 lbs. doing it. Then just the other day I saw a video of him pop up on my YouTube feed. He was skinny again and then proceeded to eat 5,000 calories in food. Non of it made sense to me but I had a crazy dream that we were hanging out a lot and he would be show up fat one day and then the next day he would be skinny, I never knew what size he would be when we got together. It was a funny dream.
When I was fully awake. I went in the house and Angel was in there playing with her toys. Christopher had left and was out in the woods drinking with his friends. I started a bath and brought in the clothes off of the line and put them away while I was waiting for the bath to fill up. I got in and took a nice long bath. Right as I was about to get out, Angel got in with me and had a quick bath.
We got out and got ready to go to town to my friends birthday party. We listened to another Goosebumps audiobook on the drive. We had left early and stopped at the store to get a few things and go through the car wash, my truck really needed washed. There were a lot of my friends at the party and it was great to see everyone. It was at the Eastbell Tap House and they have a pinball machine there. Angel and I played some pinball which I seemed to like more than she did. I visited with people and mingled for a couple of hours. Then we went back to Christopher’s, listening to the Goosebumps book on the drive. When we arrived, I talked to my older sister in the phone for a while. Then I closed up the birds and we went to bed. I put on a children’s sleep meditation and we fell asleep at around 10 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 the Holy Spirit.