Five Simple Things (July 30)

Hello.

This week we had to do some extra watering of the plants around our house and extra watering of the grass. The wildfire smoke was quite heavy this week, but not unbearable. I am a bit anxious about the end of August and start of September here because that's about the time the wildfires close to us started. Hopefully, everyone is prepared more than they were last year and can either prevent them, or at least get ahead of them. With having a large wildfire already burning south of us, it does make my anxiety a bit more high. We took a quick trip over the coast to Cape Kiwanda to get away from the heat for awhile and enjoyed the cool ocean water. It was a nice break from being stuck in the Willamette Valley and breathing in the hot, smoky air. We did a quick photoshoot with a product I received as a testing product and I can't wait to share it soon. On out way out of Cape Kiwanda we noticed a hitchhiker with a large backpack with her thumb out. This isn't the first time we've encountered hitchhikers and decided to pick her up. We found out that her name is Olivia and she is hiking the Oregon Coast Trail. She was looking for a ride into Lincoln City to get some supplies before continuing on her hike. We've picked up fisherman in Newport, Pacific Crest Trail Hikers form Czech Republic, and a few others. Hitchhikers around these parts are mostly distance hikers along the many trails and mountains around here. We've met a lot of fantastic people doing this and I hope they don't ever forget us. A few other things we did this week include, making lemon bars, enjoying the first watermelon of the season, and working with insurance adjusters to get our car fixed. Overall it was a pretty good week. Here are five things this week.

1. These Rainbows.

I love seeing random rainbows places. I like to think of the rainbows as signs from Baz, or Meia, so they give me a lot of comfort. Some days when my mental health is not 100% seeing a rainbow gives me a lot of good vibes and helps me. There are times when I've been disassociated from my trauma issues and anxiety and seeing a rainbow has brought me back to the present moment. We should all have something that sparks some joy in us and helps us through hard times. When it's raining here and we look across a field and see a rainbow, somehow it just put joy in our hearts to know that we're going to be okay, and everything we're dealing with will eventually pass. That's what I call, "Life at a Swell's Pace."

2. This Honeybee.

Jeff sent me this honeybee picture from his work parking lot on his break. I always feel bad for insects during the wildfire seasons here. It has to be harder on them than it is on us. He said this honeybee didn't look like it was injured, or struggling, and when he got out of the car to go back into work he said it took flight and went on its way. Sometimes, even bees, need a bit of a break, too.

3. This Sign.

While cleaning out the garage to prepare for our move, we found this sign. It's from many years ago when we started neighborhood watch around our neighborhood. We were part of the Neighborhood Watch group that marched in a parade through town and it was also when Baz was still alive and wore his own saddle bag sign that read, "We're taking our neighborhood back." Heavy narcotics use was bad around our neighborhood when we first moved here, and down our street alone we had several drug-related crimes. I've witnesses a man get stabbed repeatedly in our front yard, watched drug deals happen on our street, and even had a drug addict offer Skylar crystal meth when he was only four years old. We've had things stolen, our house broken into more than once, and drug needles on our property. It was awful, to say the least. The stabbing, I still carry some PTSD from that and will never forget every detail of the incident. The man recovered, and the assailant was charged with attempted murder. The house next-door to the house we currently live in and the duplex across the street from us were drug houses, at one time. There were raids on the houses with city, county, and state police using our yard as a staging ground for their raids. Looking out and seeing law enforcement with long rifles pointed at a house, while they hide behind your vehicle is something I don't ever want to see again. The duplex has since been sold and bought by a developer and it has been cleaned up a lot, but the house next-door to us still has drug activity due to the landlord. A few years ago it caught fire from heroin addicts getting revenge and we were hoping it would burn completely, but the landlord was able to repair it enough to put new tenants in it. We try to keep to ourselves, but we still have had issues with the house. The turnover in tenants is close to 100 now in just the last eight years. We are so happy to finally be getting away from all of it. I'm not sure how much patience we have left in us to continue another year of putting up with so much. We honestly feel very sorry for the next people that will move into this house we are in. They will have such a hard time dealing with it all, like we did. But, I do hope things change for them and aren't as bad as we had it. I wish them the best.

4. These Pelicans.

There's been a lot of pelican activity on the Pacific Ocean the last few times that we've been surfing. We enjoy watching them bob up and down across the waves catching unsuspecting fish. Pelicans always make me think of Jurassic Park when I see them. The last scene of the first movie when they are flying back from the island where a flock of pelicans were flying next to the helicopter.

5. These Products.

Kiwi Eco Box for June and July

Mightynest for July.

Did you catch the moon below Jupiter and Saturn this week (25), or the Aquariids Meteor Shower (30)?

Positive affirmations this week:

Being humble is the best gift you can give yourself in this life. It takes practice, but it's worth it to keep your focus on the right things and your mind more sound.