Soapstone - 12 JAN 2010

Very stormy last night.  The rain pelted down on the roof and windows and rattled the trees and walls of the little cabin.  Nature is definitely closer here.  You don't have to find her, she'll find you...

I wrote a good bit today, read the first chapter of a new book on Antarctica ("Life on the Ice," by Roff Smith -- great so far!), and drove into town briefly.  I had to stop at the Post Office in Nehalem, and then decided to drive around a little.  I ended up picking up a few groceries in Mohler, stopping at the Nehalem Valley Winery across the road and buying a couple bottles of wine (from a fellow whose other job is cooking for NASCAR drivers, interestingly enough), and finding the elusive town of Manzanita at last.  H Street was the key, not the city of Mohler, as I had previously suspected.  The 101 does a little dipsy doodle, right there in the middle of Nehalem, and the signage is a bit confusing.  Or I'm just confused.  But at any rate, it was easy enough once I figured it out.  (A warning to you, fellow traveller: the order of streets in Nehalem is D Street, followed by C Street, followed by B Street, followed by H Street, where their one traffic light is.  Just go with it.  Follow H Street up past the Post Office, over the hill, and you'll find yourself on the 101 again, or still, and with the opportunity to go north to Manzanita if you so desire.)

I pan-fried my fish fillets tonight for dinner, after breading them with something called "Pride of the West."  A most excellent meal, and it will make another for tomorrow.  I've really been enjoying my Garibaldi seafood!  The crab legs were divine...

I leave on Friday.  It seems impossible that two weeks has already passed here.  It's been wonderful, and I'm feeling very good -- rested and energized, and high on the play I'm working on, and full of ideas.  But so very soon, I'll have to be back in the world...

It's all right, though.  I have written.  I have rested up.  I have refocused myself, here in the green and verdant Nehalem Valley. 

When the time comes, I'll be ready.

I miss my cat...

Mist meets clouds over the hills near Nehalem on this very rainy day.

Green and verdant pastures.

A tree farm near Mohler.  One of these might be yours next Christmas...

Manzanita!  I found you at last.  This is the main street,

which turns right at the end, where you can see the ocean.

The Cloud and Leaf Bookstore was calling my name,

but I resisted.  Maybe Thursday?

Person walking dog on the rainy (but beautiful) Manzanita beach.

Soapstone - 6 JAN 2010 - trip into Nehalem

I went into Nehalem today. Had a nice cup of clam chowder (served with a pat of butter on top!), walked through several of the little shops, dropped off some letters at the post office, and picked up my package from Powells. My books have arrived at last! (And sending things "General Delivery" actually works, I can now report!) I'm looking forward to delving into the books -- they're all research for one of the new plays I'm working on.

I stopped briefly at the Fish Hatchery on my way back, but not too long -- I wanted to be sure to be back before dark. Highway 53 is narrow and winds its way around in such a way that you can't see the logging trucks barreling toward you until the very last moment. Sometimes there are precipitous drop-offs where the edge of the road is crumbling a bit, though usually not all the way in to the fog line...

I picked up kindling outside when I got back, as it hasn't been raining today and I figured it would be a good time to fill up my basket. I also hauled in some wood and cleaned up my little stove area a bit. Had a nice dinner, and am now tucked into my loft with my Harry Potter novel. (Harry has now arrived at Hogwarts and been selected into Gryffindor.)

I didn't get much writing done today, but I'm very glad to have had an outing. I was ready to go out and about a bit! Will buckle down again tomorrow.