I don't even want to talk about how much I spent. I went away to Portland to tour it with a Vancouver BC friend. I rented a car, got free breakfasts, went to Voodoo Donuts and Powell's (two locations) and the Saturday Market. We watched the Rose Festival Starlight Parade on a local news channel. I slept beautifully: blackout blinds, quiet floor, lots of room to stretch out on both the sofa bed and the kingsize bed.

My English Castle was correct: it was good to get away. When my friend came in on Fri/Sat @ midnight, I babbled about the shooting, apologized and said I didn't plan to be a downer this weekend. And I apparently wasn't.

My friend told me about the Toronto shooting -- I have had it up to HERE with shootings, and it turned out her train back was replaced by a bus owing to mudslides so rather than return to Vancouver on the bus from Portland, she went with me back to Seattle where we had some nice espresso (you'd think I would give up coffee since Wednesday) and biscotti and croissants. She's on a bus departed from Seattle back to Vancouver. I am happy in retrospect to have driven down rather than taken the train. My time in a 180-mile jaunt is 2.5 hours, including ten minutes jammed in Seattle Sunday traffic: very pleased!

I have a spiffy cloth large tote, three fragrant soaps from Rileyville, progesterone cream, two boxes of Shreddies for the boy, Games World of Puzzles, a copy of Anna Karenina for book club, a Haruki Murakami novel, a book for my friend whose birthday list would have led me to Cinema Books and Scarecrow Video, a few blocks south of Cafe Racer) so I told my travel companion if she wanted she could think that she saved my life by giving me the option to shop at Powell's Books.

I'd do the candle walk/dual service for the Cafe Racer victims but despite my fractured toe we walked several miles yesterday. My toe didn't act up but the soles are complaining.

Life is precious and fleeting, I see that now. Thank you for all your kind thoughts and fellowship.