“This fancy rice is good,” I said. “So nice to eat something besides food bank rice.”
Ming agreed.
Don’t worry –I am still dumpster diving, and free is my favorite flavor. But the jasmine rice with such long grains felt like a fragrant treat, with salt and the fancy vegan butter.
Willapa Bay
We are at a swank hotel in Nahcotta which is trying to pretend it’s from the 1930s. Rich people at the coast. Yes, it’s the perfect place to eat fancy rice.
I’m in the dining room downstairs, listening to someone use a loud power tool outside. Earlier, I was embroidering.
We’re in Washington state. I fell in love with the Willapa Bay this afternoon.
There are huge piles of oyster shells. I asked Ming to put their foot on the pile and see if it made a crunchy sound. Yes, it did. Ming saw a smooshed starfish.
I am holding Bunny in the crook of my left arm antecublitally as I type. Bun is wearing my favorite necklace. It looks sooooo cute on him.
dream come true
When I was a kid in California, we said “Washington state” to differentiate from Washington DC. Now I live in the Pacific Northwest. This is my home, a green dream come true. Washington DC is like a vapor, mere fantasy. We don’t need to account for it unless we want to.
But adding “state” or “DC” is second nature.
Earlier at the library, I glimpsed that Ming was reading a wikipedia article.
“What were you reading a wikipedia article about?” I asked Ming.
“I dunno,” Ming said.
“Looked like a pope or something.”
“Oh, that conservative sect got excommunicated,” Ming said.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said.
Ming explained how a conservative sect of Catholicism was excommunicated for consecrating Bishops without the pope’s approval. Ming explained how they were not going along with Vatican 2.0.
“So we like that because we’re radicals who want Dorothy Day to be canonized?” I asked, kind of a joke. We hung out with Catholic activists for a long time.
precipitation
“Is it raining or fogging or misting?” I asked Ming.
“Misting,” Ming said, looking out the window for a moment, then back to their phone.
It reminds me of one of my favorite jokes– I tried to hug the fog, but I mist.
“Will you touch me?” I asked Ming.
Ming set down their tech, came to my side, and began to gently touch my back in a circle.
I don’t enjoy getting anxious at this low energy point every day. It’s almost time for me to brush my teeth and start my bed process. I look forward to being kind to my body and setting myself up for rest. Fancy rice in my tummy, Ming by my side, Bun perched nearby like an angel.
