Rainy day thoughts

It's been raining hard for days, and snowing equally hard in the mountains. Skiers are ecstatic about powder snow at Snoqualmie Summit, a pretty rare occurrence at this altitude. Snowfall has been measured in feet these past few days, not inches, and the snow levels are already up to normal for mid-February (after a very late start to winter around here).

Since January 1, we've had more than 8 inches of rain at the farm. Down here in the foothills, our creek has overflowed its banks, burying our county road in 6 inches of swift flowing water. Where the creek goes back into the park, the water is so high it won't flow under the bridge, instead it flows around the bridge abutments and over the road at both ends. Down the hill from our place, the creek in flood used to close the road. A few years ago the county raised the road to remove the low stretch of pavement, and we don't get trapped by high water anymore.

Today I took a break from quilting, and met a friend for lunch. The last time we planned a lunch date was the day her mother passed away. She got a panicked text from her father, saying simply "Come now." She called me to cancel our lunch, and grabbed a flight to Ashland where she met up with her three brothers. On the flight down, she knew the moment when her mother was gone. That was a few months ago, and she's come to terms with losing her mom to Alzheimer's.

We spent a good couple of hours together, planning to get together for a yoga class in a couple of weeks. As we stood outside our favorite Mexican restaurant, we looked across the parking lot to where a new Trader Joe's is going in. Finally, we're getting a store close to home.

That brought smiles, laughter, and hugs as we said goodbye. Sometimes it's the little things.