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Recently, I have been driving back and forth from the valley to Lynnwood, so much so that it took me a second to remember where I was every morning. This happens for me in August, and every year I go back, I find myself more disconnected with what is going on there.
So, what is going on there? Every person has their own story. This is one snippet.
Girl Scout Camp: 160 Acres of Bubble Wrap
Since moving to the valley, my daugther has maintained participation with her Girl Scout troop in Mill Creek. This year, it included attending a Girl Scout Camp in Mason County, where Girl Scouts of Western Washington (GSWW) owns 160 acres.
Parents weren’t allowed inside the camp during drop off, but were allowed to observe the closing ceremonies seven days hence. I was a Girl Scout many years ago. I fondly remember horseback riding, sport competitions, crafts, and camping under the stars. For a city girl, it was like being on another planet.
When I stood around a circle with other parents on the day of pick up, I noticed something peculiar. Half the kids at camp were overweight. This can’t be, I thought. This is a Girl Scout camp.
I looked at the ground, reset my vision, and looked up again. Way too many kids, more than I remembered at my Girl Scout camp, were overweight. If these are the Girl Scouts, I couldn’t help thinking that we are going to have a health crisis on our hands. Gen X is going to have to pay medical bills for Gen Alpha.
I asked my daughter, who is a cross country runner, if she did any running at camp.
“No,” she replied.
“No?”
“We weren’t allowed to run.”
“What?”
“They didn’t want us to trip and fall so we weren’t allowed to run.”
Huh, I thought to myself.
“How about hiking?”
“There were no trails, so we weren’t allowed to hike. Plus, we needed a buddy to go anywhere.”
GSWW owns 160 acres with no trails and where kids aren’t allowed to hike or run. What kid of camp is this? I thought to myself.
“What did you do at camp, then?”
“Crafts.”
It all came together. I don’t know what’s happening to GSWW. I just need to stick to the Girl Scout camp I knew during the Reagan administration to keep my sanity.
Run, Kids, Run— But Not Here Either
Our cross country coach sent an email to parents encouraging their children to run twice a week during the summer, even if it’s an easy run.
No problem, I thought.
I went to a local high school track in Lynnwood to find it locked- full circle fenced in and locked. I went to another high school. Same thing. We ran on the sidewalk around a school next to a busy road. My other option was to drive to the woods and let my daughter run on trails out of sight, but I decided against that.
So, no running in Lynnwood.
Earl Grey and Sidewalk Rants
On more than one occasion, I found myself in Everett. It has a gritty but also a sophisticated feel. The brick buildings are old by west coast standards. The city kind of reminded me of Philadelphia, except for some eccentricities. If the woman walking down the sidewalk yelling to herself bothers you, you can step inside a cafe and enjoy a sophisticated cup of coffee.
By sophisticated, I mean seasonal menus for coffee. For summer, how about adding orange oil extract and vanilla syrup to espresso with milk?
Or espresso and organic vanilla ice cream?
Or how about this- Earl Grey with rose, lavender, simple syrup and lemon juice with a lemon peel garnish.
That’s the beauty of advanced cultures- someone has time and ingenuity to experiment with these things. In Slavic culture, we bought whatever tea we could find- usually black tea, put some sugar in it and called it a day.
Window Placement and Other Things That Excite Me
If I had a superpower, it would be interior design. Good interior design elevates my soul. Take, for example, the location of these windows. I get the window above the door, but the one above the oven is too high for a human. Was that space designed for an oven, as indicated by the recess, or would placing the window lower make the wall look off balance?
These are the things I think about as I drink my sophisticated cup of coffee. That and the choice of wood on the stools, the placement angle of the book case, and how all the colors collectively beautify. It’s simply eye candy.
Million-Dollar Postage Stamps
The Puget Sound region continues to build… and build. I drove around Kirkland and saw houses within arms reach of each other. There is a new Sound Transit rail line, which is great, but traffic during the wrong time is still an issue. Aggressive driving has become a norm. I can sympathize about why it happens- too many people crammed into a space turns everyone into an adversary. Over time, people think this is normal. I know a lawyer who lives in a million dollar home with a yard the size of a postage stamp and neighbors five steps on either side of her, and she thinks I’m crazy for living where I do.
This is a cautionary tale for what could happen to the valley. Methow Housing Trust, Methow Conservancy, Room One, Methow Valley Citizens Council and Winthrop and Twisp Town Councils have all supported high density housing in the valley. Stay tuned.
Coffee Without Garnish
Methow Valley doesn’t have coffee with citrus garnishes, but I look out my window and don’t see anyone. This spring, I saw a bear. Occasionally, deer. When I see someone I know in town, I’m present as a whole person. I don’t feel under pressure. We are in a symbiotic relationship with the environment. Let’s cherish and protect this place so it doesn’t turn into what we moved away from.
