Saturday, 06-Jan-2024


It started at Pine States Biscuits. Because obviously I love Pine State, and need my biscuits and chicken.

I’m at a crossroads, in life. 2024 rolling around has kicked off some major changes – things I’ll get to in detail, here in this blog, when the time comes. Suffice it to say that I’m excited, terrified, manic, and crashing. It’s a lot, and it’s made getting out of the house to go on trips rather challenging.

When that happens, we do our best. I try to be gentle with myself, and reward small achievements. Like, for example, getting out of Wilsonville and going into Portland for a simple walk in the park.

Forest Park is… unique, among parks. The Wildwood Trail, the one that I picked, is 29.5 miles long. I’ve mentioned it in this blog before, but not for quite some time… and, of course, I wasn’t aiming to hike the entire trail. No – instead, today I was aiming for a much more modest (yet still quite respectable) 9 miles.

I parked, I walked. It rained a bit, and I put my hood up. I planned on stopping for a snack… but then the Sun started setting earlier than I’d expected (thanks, rain) so I pressed onward. The Sun set, my ring glowed creepily on my hand, and I made it back to the car.

I had a solo picnic in the passenger seat. 

It was lovely – the rain pattering off the soft-top roof, the car lights passing by… it was excellent.

I got pizza for myself. I grabbed a few language books from Powell’s books, in preparation for the changes coming, and relaxed. I drove home, proud that I’d gotten out of the house and finished an adventure… no matter how small.