Going with the flow

Yesterday we left home around 3:15 to catch the 3:50 ferry to Seattle, planning to stop for some art supplies on our way to a gallery opening in Kirkland. We were warned that the ferries were running behind schedule -- something that rarely happens here -- but we took advantage of the extra wait time to grab a lemonade and a cookie from the ferry lemonade stand. So that was good.

In reality the ferry was more like half an hour late, so when we got into the city we decided not to stop for art supplies and just headed straight for the gallery. We found a perfect parking spot despite the crowds (Saturday evening in downtown Kirkland can be very lively), but it had a 30 minute limit. So we spent a marvelous half hour chatting with my two friends whose work was being celebrated and drinking in their glorious amazing paintings, and then left town and went to a favorite Thai restaurant in Issaquah, where we used to live (the food was delicious, as always, and we pretty much had the restaurant to ourselves). So that was good.

After dinner we discovered there were not one but TWO art supply stores just around the corner, so I got to pick up my supplies after all -- plus some beautiful new shades of blue paint (inspired by the paintings I'd just seen.) So THAT was GREAT!

And then we headed for the ferry dock, thinking we'd catch the 8:10 ferry back. We were running a little late, but luckily so was the ferry, so that was good. We made it in plenty of time -- only to learn that actually the ferry was running not 30 but 50 minutes late. But the sun was setting, they had turned on the lights on the the Great Wheel, the Sunset Cruise sailboat was crossing the Sound and heading home for the evening, and I had remembered to bring my camera. So that was good, too!

In the end our brief visit to the show turned into a much longer outing than we had planned -- we finally arrived home a little after 10 pm, and our animals were desperate for food -- but in fact it was a glorious day, and my dreams were filled with paintings and golden light. So that, too, was good -- and I'm so grateful we were feeling flexible enough to adapt our plans with every little shift that came along.  I'm not always that gracious when things don't go my way; it felt amazingly peaceful to just relax and go with the flow...