Poof

I am sitting in my kitchen. The big one. The one with the incredibly beautiful myrtle butcher table and stainless steel counter tops. The one with the 6-burner stove of my most wished for wish and a view of a back yard garden full of potential. I love potential. I can hear the hum of rubber on asphalt through the open back door. It comes and then goes in syncopation with the traffic light on my corner.

I have emptied the car and then the boxes. Most everything has found its way back into its place of origin. Most, not all. I have to finish this evening. I don't want this hanging over me. I don't like clutter, it really offends me.

Day one of the trip was not as they say, clear sailing. You see, I have this sense that rules and laws don't apply to me. Not only Human Laws, but the laws of nature and physics as well. I needed a ferry at 7:50 on Sunday morning, so of course there would be one. Did I take the simple step of looking at a sign on Saturday afternoon when I was right there or read the schedule I keep in my car or look it up on the internet while sitting right there on my ass? No, I did not, because RULES AND LAWS DON'T APPLY TO ME.

Well, this mild case of insanity dashed the plan to be on the mainland in Washington and heading south at 12:30. It just fell away like the "Except Sunday" sign in my rear view mirror as I tore out of the first ferry launch area. I jackassed my way to another SSI ferry terminal waited an hour for the 9 am and then tried to beat the laws of physics by driving 35 miles in 40 minutes through traffic light filled suburban Vancouver Island traffic. I gave up with 15 minutes til launch and 15 miles to go. I ended up driving back north to catch an 11 am ferry to Vancouver which would add 2+ hours onto my mainland drive. Too bad I missed it by 5 minutes and ended up on the 12. Add 4 hours plus 2 more for hitting the mainland in Vancouver instead of Port Townsend, Washington. I made it to Eugene close to 10. Thankfully I had plenty of snackrels.

Monday was easier. Malcom Gladwell and his outlier theory were incredibly entertaining. I was so engrossed that when I abruptly swung out through the commercial truck lanes to avoid passing through the agriculture checkpoint to enter California, I was genuinely surprised. I thought it was a truck weigh station. Seriously, I swerved out right and went through the un-barricaded far right lane and just kept on going. Hmmm. This is the 21st century and perhaps they took a snapshot of my license plate. Hmmm. I pulled onto the shoulder and backed up 1/4 mile, got out of the car and went to face the officer who had jumped up and waved at me on the first pass. I denied having plants and fruit and animals and was back on my way.

The contraband now sits in jars and zip lock bags next to the mammoth apothecary jar on my counter waiting to be transformed into a SSI terrarium. I lied. I had plants in the car. I won't put them in the ground outside. See, I am a reasonable law violater type. I will arrange them artfully in this jar on my counter to keep my connected to the forest. Some day I will return them to their rightful place.

PS. Chinese food, lovingly and ravenously desired, tastes so, so fine.