Oct03
Posted on Oct 3 by Ruth Davis
A story about my father, from 2001 Parallel lines are lines that never intersect. For infinity. Or maybe they intersect in infinity, I can’t remember. So I ask my father. “The definition of parallel lines must consider whether you are in a plane or in three dimensional space,” he says. My father’s answers are never simple. My father is a mathematician. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from Carnegie Mellon, earned the prize in Solid Geometry when he was in high school for proving an answer incorrect on the New York State Regents exam. He can perform long division in his head, calculate the square root of any number and convert decimals to fractions and back again without hesitation. My father is the only person I know who actually knows how to use a slide rule. I, on the other hand, have always struggled with math. Not the memorization of simple arithmetic, but the intangible concepts of numbers and exponents in space. In high school my father helped me with my algebra and geometry and every time, I was reduced...
Sep14
Posted on Sep 14 by Ruth Davis
It’s that time again, when we are leaving one place and heading to another. We’ve been here in the safe, quiet, perfect temperatures of the central Oregon Coast since mid May, before the official summer season began. Besides losing Cody, it’s been a bit of a dream come true time for me. There’s no sales tax, I get fresh, wild, smoked salmon at the fish market across the street, we buy bread and produce at the weekly farmers market, and there’s a dispensary on every corner. And there are three quiet walking beaches, all within five miles of home. I’m riding my bike every day around the marina, sometimes singing as I pedal, sometimes talking out loud as I prepare for the week’s Heart Sparks coaching circle. Yes, three women said YES to the circle, and it’s been expansive and inspiring for all of us. I’ve sold all of the remaining Make Your Own Prayer Flags, and the last of the first edition copies of my Heart Sparks book. And I’ve sold even more decks of Heart Sparks cards though my Etsy shop. I’m writing...
Aug13
Posted on Aug 13 by Ruth Davis
Can you believe it’s already August? We’ve been here on the central Oregon coast since mid-May, our longest time in one place without volunteering. When I see the summer temperatures around the country, I can’t imagine being anywhere but here, where it averages 60° every day. Sometimes it’s sunny, sometimes foggy, sometimes gray and overcast. They are all my favorites. We are adjusting to life without Cody. It’s the first time in our thirty one years together that we don’t have a dog. And now it’s just us. I realize how much time and energy and attention went to his care, and how I relied on him for my own regular moving and walking. Sure, now we can go away all day, with no time restraints, but we haven’t done that yet. But it was a blessing that he did not have to endure the week we spent living in an RV repair shop parking lot last month. We drove 140 miles inland to Grants Pass to a highly recommended company for help with our suspension. Because we were parked...
Jul03
Posted on Jul 3 by Ruth Davis
Before we even got to the coast, I was thinking about getting a bicycle so that I could ride around the area right from our spot. Marika and I used to be avid cyclers, sometimes riding fifty miles in a weekend. But my twenty year old bike had seen its best days, so I left it with the rangers at Fort Pulaksi two years ago. The only bicycle store in town sells mostly high end bikes, and, because of the virus, Walmart had limited stock. I looked on Craigslist with no luck, but kept envisioning an inexpensive fun bike to ride. And then I found a community bike shop in town listed on Facebook, where folks could share tools and work on their bikes. They also sold refurbished bikes, and they had a yellow Spalding mountain bike that fit my five foot, three inch frame. It’s not a fancy bike, but it’s got fifteen indexed gears, a kickstand, and water bottle cage, and it fit me like a glove. I paid seventy dollars, put it in the back...
May30
Posted on May 30 by Ruth Davis
We have always planned our routes and volunteering gigs based on where the birds are. Once we choose an area, we check out nearby food shopping, restaurant options, and proximity to things to explore. Now, we also consider where Cody can get his acupuncture treatments. After we heard that our summer volunteering job was officially cancelled, we were excited to spend the summer in Florence, Oregon where Cody’s favorite vet is. But when we found out she is no longer in practice, panic set in. I extended my search beyond Florence and found two vets in Coos Bay, a coastal town an hour south of Florence. They offered acupuncture and cold laser therapy, and there was even a mobile vet who serviced the area. We love the Coos Bay area. With a population of 16,000, there are several supermarkets and lots of restaurant choices, so I started looking online to see what might suit us. There are high end resorts and very low end RV parks in the area. I considered staying at the Charleston Marina, where...
Apr30
Posted on Apr 30 by Ruth Davis
It has gotten too hot, too soon here in southeastern Arizona. It’s going to be 101 today, with 90’s for the next week, at least. And it’s just too warm for us. But we are here, waiting, sheltering in place, until our next volunteering gig happens. And then I realized we have other choices. We could still go up to Oregon and PAY for a campsite. I looked online to see what might be open and available, since all of the state parks and forest service campgrounds are closed. I found a great place, on a lake, for $550 the month of June, and there was one spot left. Marika was out shopping, but I called her and asked her to consider this new idea. I studied the picture of the camp site, envisioning us there, and got excited about putting my kayak in the lake. When Marika got home we unpacked the groceries, she had lunch, and finally, we discussed things. We can afford to pay for camping. We don’t need to wait until our gig opens up....
