Leaving the Ledge for a day in the city

Yesterday was a city day. We live on a ledge that is such a leap from Here to There. The city we called home as we built VARDOFORTWO is now a two hour commute ... driving and riding a ferry to cross Puget Sound to Seattle.

These are full days and with MCS the possibility for a toxic exposure is ever present, we prepare ourselves as best we can carrying a jug of sweet well water for drinking and dousing my mask against pollens and fumes, pack the coolers with ice that will keep our delicious slabs of salmon cooled (we continue to eat salmon thanks to our friend Dylan from Loki Fish ...click on this link to find out more about this terrific NW Washington family business), bring extra clothes for the exposure possibility, say a hui hou to Jots and say our prayers.

Along the way and while in the city we are always drawn to the trees. Above is a precious reminder of the Tall Ones who were here in times not long again. This giant fir is perhaps the largest of the Tall Ones left in the area not far from the Ledge. We stopped to take this picture showing the size of him next to the old building still left in the fields. Oh my. Tree cutters came to get him, the story is told, and one man stood in front of it and would not let it happen. The man is a hero passed on to another life, the tree stands and we thank that man.

Pete and I were in the city because I had an NAET treatment with Chulan Chiong, I needed her attention and her skill to help my liver detox the leavings of toxic intake. Chulan did that and I remain thankful for NAET and the level of well-being I experience with these treatments. A two-hour drive once or twice a month for these appointments keeps Mokihana going.

Another reason we came to Seattle was to visit our dear friend who lives in a Seattle neighborhood. G. is one of our friends who lives with MCS as well. The photo above was taken from her luxurious urban backyard, a rarity of spaces in Seattle this backyard is truly an oasis. The ambling cedar fence that you see along the left needs a bit of attention ... the sort Pete can give. So along with a delightful sit and chat with cups of sparkling water Pete walked the fence line with G. and has a plan for repair with conscious and care.
This is a picture of tree skin ... tree skin on another magnificent Tall One ... a Black Locust growing in G.'s urban oasis. B e a u ti full.

Wild dill and skinned, water-worn limbs from trees that washed up on the beach, the same beach I used to walk every morning while we lived in Seattle.

That possible toxic exposure happened when I was least prepared. It's one of those incidents partners who accomodate a mate/spouse with MCS may recognize. A trip to the bank: Pete enters to simply deposit a check, within minutes he is covered with the smell of every fragrance in there. I am exposed and sick within another few minutes. We had no baking soda to neutralize his hair although he was able to chance his shirt. Fortunately, there was the beach air and my appointment was scheduled an hour from the exposure.

The daily twists that make a pleasant hour poisonous are difficult and happen within seconds. I feel ill and guilty for the shift that takes place in my brain capacity, temperment and disposition. Pete is doing everything he can to make the daily needs and challenges level-out. The NAET treatment was timely, the stress of the exposure existed and yet we worked through it and have learned something again ... bring baking soda and don't go into that bank again. Partners as precious and I appreciate Pete everyday. If in my haze and panic I lose my grace ... I level out sooner today than in times past. Apologies are important, and amends work, too.

A lot happens on the way to the city, and then that too passes.

Hope yours is being a day graced with the bliss of it.
Mokihana