Come Fly With Me

Well, yesterday I had the idea of taking my camera with me, and taking pictures of the places I went, and food I ate and all of that. Like a what I did, or come with me, or whatever. I figured it would be something different, and I need to practice taking pictures in public without feeling like a wank. It was also an unexpected sunny day, so everything lined up. Almost everything. I need to stop worrying about how self conscience I feel, and actually practice taking pictures! I salvaged a few that I took, but most of what I took looks like a total mess. I mean, I need a lot of practice!
I went to Trader Joe's first, and the picture I took of the outside of the store is maybe the worst picture ever taken I didn't take any of the inside because I know it's a no no. I do have a picture of my haul which I will show later!
As I was walking from Trader Joe's to the bus stop, I passed by this bar that I used to work in back in the day. When I worked there it was called The Bit Saloon, the name has changed but the building is the same.

I made really good money while I worked there, but man was I ever unhappy and also unhealthy. I felt like it wasn't worth it to be that unhappy just to make decent money. It's in an industrial part of Ballard, so a  lot of crusty men made up the customer base and they sometimes took issue with a "girl" telling them they had enough to drink, or needed to shut the eff up, or whatever I was saying. I remember I had to yell, like a lot.

This is not the greatest picture, but I have been wanting to show this for sooooooooooo long, because it really shows me how far I've come in life. The building on the right with the brown awning is a coffee shop. I believe it's called Ballard Coffee, or something like that. The building on the left with the green umbrella in front is, you guessed it a Starbucks! Literally across the street from each other! And those aren't the only coffee shops on that street! That is something I missed about Seattle, the complete overabundance of coffee shops! I really laugh because In Erie PA. that is what you see with bars. I much prefer too many coffee shops to too many bars.

This is the Ballard branch of the library. I love having such a modern looking library. I spent a lot of time here when I was a nanny, they had the best story times with the least amount of judge-y mothers. In my experience as a nanny, moms can be aggressive with their need to make you know you aren't "one of them". What they don't stop to think is, some of us don't want to be "one of them".

This is in front of a little candy store. I love that quote so much, it is so true. Reading saved my childhood for me. I believe that my love of reading is one of my best qualities, and I'm so grateful to love books. And how cool is this box? Such a great way to create a little community. I was proud of myself for taking this picture, because someone inside of the candy store was looking at me, and I got super self conscience, couldn't turn the camera on, almost dropped it, it was awkward.

Close-up of my spices and the cat scratches!!

Here's my little Trader Joe's haul. Plus a couple of cat toys and feet! Trader Joe's had that bag of blood oranges for $2.49! Blood oranges are a rare treat for me since they are usually much more expensive than regular oranges. I missed their tahini garlic sauce so much.
I was going to make fresh spring rolls for dinner, I bought mint and cilantro especially for that purpose. I was craving them, and also imagining a beautiful picture. My rolling game was off, and I think my wraps went bad. Do they go bad? I don't know, but they weren't pretty, but I was going to eat them anyway. But they had a funky taste, and a super gummy texture that felt wrong. UgggHHH! So much chopping of vegetables! So, no pretty picture of spring rolls. I did have some delicious miso soup for breakfast today. I always feel really good when I have miso soup in the morning.

I've been taking this Holy Basil for about a week now. I feel like it helps with calmness. When I lost Dylan, I got an herbal supplement called Happy Camper and it kind of helped me. I went to a very dark place and I feel they helped me when I couldn't help myself. I recently finished the bottle, and didn't know if I wanted to continue taking more, so I decided to compromise and try these. I've read about the benefits of Holy Basil for quite awhile. I do feel a certain sense of calmness. I feel like calmness is something I've been desperately wanting my whole life, in one way or another.  When Animal got sick, the stress I felt made me sick. I could feel it in my body, like a cancer. But she's on the mend, and I have Holy Basil. Now, I just have to learn how to take a picture!
Happy Tuesday!