An Open Apology to the men of the Northwest

I've been known to say that there is a distinct lack of chivalry in the NW.

Having grown up here, I can say from experience that outside of my Dad and a handful of other men, it's not often that a man opens the door for me or passes to the outside of the sidewalk, or any of those other benchmarks for chivalry (if there are benchmarks of chivalry).

Truthfully, I don't think I realized the lack until I moved to SE Kansas. When I transplanted myself to heartland I was taken aback and at first a little bit uncomfortable by the number of times a door was opened for me or held open for me, and the lengths to which men would sometimes go to be chivalrous. I had more flat tires in Kansas than I'd had before or since and they were all changed by different guy friends who insisted, even though I'm perfectly capable of doing it myself. And I found it nice.

After 6 years in Kansas, when I moved back to the NW I was again taken back, but this time by the LACK of courtesy displayed by men and often people in general. Hence, the bad mouthing of men and chivalry in the NW.

That was a long explanation to say that over the last few days I've noticed several men who have opened doors for me or other women and sometimes even gone out of their way to do so. So, men of the NW I apologize--there are a few who have redeemed you all. It appears NW chivalry is not dead; maybe it was just lying dormant for awhile. To those of you who are still practicing it you've encouraged me this week.

Lest everyone think . . .

I'm ready to crawl in a hole and never come out, my life is not all doom and gloom as my previous melancholy post may lead you to believe.


Here are some of the sweet things in my life:

• sitting and visiting with my parents in the shade of their lovely backyard when I got home last weekend
• enjoying the ease of deepening friendships with the Gathering peeps (and watching Baby David grow)
• making muffins
• eating strawberries . . . i love this time of year when strawberries are cheap and prolific and fabulously ripe and sweet
• having a very grown up conversation with my 12 year old neice about how she's going to spend her summer swimming and visiting with her friends
• having my 10 year old nephew put a whoopee cushion on my chair and laugh uproariously when I sat on it
• holding my new 2nd Cousin Justin last Sunday
• sitting and visiting with my grandparents on a summer evening
• hanging out with my sisters discussing the ins and outs of American Idol, going shopping, going to watch a ridiculous movie, and speculating how "That's Not My Name" by the Tings Tings came to be popular
• Swimming in the evening in the outdoor pool at my apartment complex

Nothin' but ache.

News Flash!!!

I don't like things I can't control:

--when people leave me out of conversations of which I think I have a right to be a part.
--when I get speeding tickets (and didn't know I was speeding).
--when my car gets broken into and people steal my money and my favorite lipstick.
--when people I care about decide they don't want to be a part of my life anymore.
--when my car breaks down and I'm stuck in the valley for an extra day.
--when my health goes haywire, especially after a year of trying REALLY hard to be healthier.

News Flash!!!

My heart is black:

--I want to demand to be part of the conversation of which I've been left out and force others to listen to me.
--I want to throw my speeding ticket back in the face of the Milwaukee's Police Department and throw a royal fit . . . you know, the whole crying, fist banging, yelling kind.
--I want to hurt the people who broke into my car--maybe with a hot fire poker stick, or a branding iron.
--I want to force the people I care about to care about me . . . or when that doesn't work I want to hurt them as much as they're hurting me, or maybe tie them up and hold them hostage.
--I want to kick my car as hard as I can when it breaks down and then throw yet again the before mentioned royal fit.
--I want to give up on taking care of my haywire health body and forget that it's the only one I've got . . . I want to be lazy and gluttonous.

*Sighhhhhhhh*

News Flash!!!

I need God's grace:

--He listens to me when no one else will.
--He keeps me safe from harm while I'm driving, even if I'm speeding.
--He provides the stuff to be stolen in the first place.
--He gives me people that love me and care about me.
--He gives me a car to drive that's pretty reliable overall.
--He gives me breathe in my body.

And I don't deserve any of it.

And I'm so ungrateful.

And even though I know these words are TRUTH my heart doesn't want to believe them. It wants to elbow it's way to the front of line and demand to be served its own way!

You are relegated to the back of the line heart . . . you bring me nothing but ache.

Silence . . .

Sorry for the silence . . . some things going on in the life of Angela I'm just not ready to tell the world about yet . . . good things . . . but I'm keepin' 'em to myself for now.

The Holly & The Ivy & The Beach

I know there is more to tell about the Louisiana trip, but I'm still processing that. So for now . . .

Today was a crazy long day.


First, I left my house at 8:30 am to head to West Linn to help eraticate holly from a City Park. (Seriously, I'm not normally this philanthropic!)





Here we are! My friends and I after we'd been pulling holly out of the ground for an hour and a half.

And here's the pile of Holly we chopped, pulled, and tore from the ground . . . well . . . really, us and about 55 other volunteers :)

Then, as you may know, I love to be spontaneous and so does my friend Alyssa. So, on our way across town to drop her at her apartment we decided to go to Target . . . in Sherwood. As we were leaving Target we realized it had become a sunny beautiful day . . . one that should not be wasted inside. That was all it took to convince us to turn around and head to the Coast.

Here's Alyssa and I at the Coast. It was crazy windy and cold and we were crazy grubby and dirty from frollicking in the forest all morning.

It was beautiful. But seriously, we were only near the water for about 15 minutes. The wind was so cold my fingers hurt everytime I took them out of my pockets for more than a few minutes.

We also discovered this rock, which looks suspiciously like Haystack rock but isn't. It's located near Pacific City, OR. Does anyone know the name of it? It you do, pass it on. Alyssa and I would like to know.

Lessons Learned on this fabulous adventure?

1. Holly is a prickly, viny, infiltrating, non-native plant to the woods of Oregon . . . and with enough girl power you can pull big ol' stumps of it out of the ground!

2. When you decide to head to the beach, you should look at a map. You're probably a lot further south then you thought you were.

3. There is a crazy big a** airplane hanger just south of Tillamook, OR. What is that about?

4. The Pirate's Cove restaurant in Garibaldi, OR has some fabulous clam chowder, fantastic seafood fettucine, and even better service. And the view is spectacular.

5. When you leave for the Coast at 4 pm, you DO NOT have enough time to make it all the way up the coast to Cannon Beach AND get back to Portland at a decent hour.

6. Spontaneity is good for the soul.