Dec21
Posted on Dec 21 by Ruth Davis
As you may know, I am in the process of closing my Mac training business after 30 years of helping people love their Macs. I’m doing it for all of the right reasons and it feels good. I’m excited about whatever is next, and I know this is what I really want for myself. Yet, this in-between time niggles me. I used to spend a lot of my working time gathering content and publishing the weekly Mac Tips and sharing the Mac love on Facebook. Now, without that busy work, I twiddle my thumbs and wonder what I’m supposed to be doing with this time. One day last week I even considered continuing to send out the weekly tips, because folks really do enjoy them. I thought about charging for the yearly subscription to make it worth my time. And then I caught myself. This is not where I want to grow my energy. This is no longer the relationship that fulfills me and shines a radiant, glowing future. I need to stick to the plan...
Dec14
Posted on Dec 14 by Ruth Davis
Our new volunteer job at the Umpqua River Lighthouse includes giving tours AND selling tickets to the museum, which means using a cash register and making change. My first real job, scooping ice cream, included ringing up sales on a cash register. And in college I was the assistant manager of a recycled clothing store where I learned how to run a credit card through the machine to generate three carbon copies, cash out the register drawer, run daily reports and fill out reconciliation sheets. So working the cash register at the Lighthouse didn’t scare me, though I knew I’d have to learn a new system, a new sequence of buttons, and how to use a chip-reading credit card machine. Marika, on the other hand, has never worked a cash register, never made change, and is not tech-savvy. But even though she was terrified of the job, she wanted to try a new thing. The day before our first official shift, we hung out with our co-hosts, Jackie and Ray, to learn the ropes of closing the...
Dec07
Posted on Dec 7 by Ruth Davis
Last week I shared how much I enjoyed the litter picking part of our job, because we were outside, walking trails, and driving in the golf cart, singing and making a game of it. I had even said to Marika, “I want a litter picker upper for Chanukah.” Because everywhere we went, I honed in on all of the litter that needed to be picked up, and I never had a bag with me. Marika, the ever money-conscious part of this team said, “New raingear, new shoes, the radiator and the dehumidifier?” You already got your presents.” And I let it go, realizing I could simply carry a plastic bag and wear rubber gloves. And then, during our first shift at the Lighthouse Museum, Marika found a litter picker in the hall closet, next to the cleaning supplies. It was even nicer than the one I used at the campground, with two rubber circles at the ends of the grabbers for better pick up accuracy. I took it home, along with a plastic yellow bucket and...
Nov23
Posted on Nov 23 by Ruth Davis
It’s hard to believe that we’ve been on the road, living this life, for seven months. Each experience seems to open us up just a little more, to who we are, what we love, and how we can serve. We really loved our time working at the Cape Blanco Lighthouse last month, meeting people from all over the world, sharing the specialness of the oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the Oregon coast. And we realized how much we enjoy having a schedule, being of service, and staying in one place for a month to settle in, spread out, explore the area. This month our volunteering has us cleaning yurts at the Umpqua River Lighthouse Campground in Reedsport, Oregon. The deluxe yurts are octagons, twenty four feet in diameter, with wooden floors and thick, vinyl fabric that has been stretched over an exposed wooden frame to create a sturdy, weatherproof shelter. Each yurt has two queen futon sofa beds and a three-person bunk bed, built-in shelves, and a coffee table. There is a kitchenette with a fridge and microwave,...
Oct12
Posted on Oct 12 by Ruth Davis
(Note: I wrote this six years ago, in September, 2010. Seeing the life I have created since then, I know it’s because I committed to a plan.) I was never one for having a long-term plan. When people asked “what are your goals for 5 years, 10 years?” I’d look at them blankly. I had no idea. I would tell myself, I live in the moment, I can’t possibly know what I’ll be doing in 10 years. And yet, in the deep of my heart, I DID have a vision of what I wanted to be doing, where I wanted to be living. I just never shared it. Not even with myself. Because some voice inside of me said that, if I wasn’t doing it NOW, then I must be a failure. I only knew how to have short term goals. I didn’t know how to create a long term plan. And so I tucked my secret dreams deep and away and continued to believe that the only long term goal I needed was to just be happy doing...
Oct05
Posted on Oct 5 by Ruth Davis
After years of dreaming about it, I finally bought an inflatable kayak. It came with two deluxe seats, two paddles, a carrying case and a repair kit, big enough for two for when Marika wants to join me. We inflated the kayak on the asphalt next to the RV to try it out. It was easy to inflate and comfortable to get into. But it had a small tear in the skirt of the bow (front of the boat). I called the manufacturer and they said they would send a replacement skirt. Meanwhile, I was anxious to try the kayak out, even without the skirt fully inflated. So we folded it into a manageable 2’x5’ bundle, and hoisted it across the backseat of the RAV4. I chose to take my maiden voyage in a small lake at a city park, instead of the river or slough where I’d have to deal with the tides. And this way, Marika could walk the trails and look for birds, while I was on the water. I cried on the drive...
