Kimberly KG

Life has been busy lately so I’m just going to post some pretty pictures. I love my yard in the spring.

My son texted to say not to watch any trailers or look up anything, just run to the theater as fast as possible to see Sinners. “The less of your life you have to live without that movie the better.”

While this is not usually my kind of movie, I’m sharing that advice too. The movie is incredible.

I’m not going to give any details away, but I’ve added a new musician to my Spotify playlist as well. I think I might just go see the movie again next weekend too.

One of my favorite things this time of year is seeing the new growth on the various plants. This is the only place I’ve lived where I noticed the color was so starkly different.

Japanese Aralia - The plant is bizarre looking - out of some fantasy world or something.

Madrone

Deodora

Rose

Apple trees

Spring in our yard is colorful. We have several rhododendron bushes that bloom at different times. One of the neighbors mentioned that she counts the white rhodie in my backyard blooming as the start of spring, regardless of what the calendar says. At the moment however, this pink one is the star. People in the neighborhood have said they plan their walking routes to include our street just to see this one plant.

The rhodies aren’t the only colorful thing though. This corner of my yard makes both me and the bees happy.

As it’s Easter, I suppose I’ll include this bunny that startled me (and then itself) earlier this week.

While I’ve had summons for jury duty in the past, until last week I had never actually made it to the courthouse for this purpose. Leading up to this, everyone I mentioned it to tried to give me their advice for how to get out of it. I didn’t want to. I want to do MORE civic engagement, not less.

Sitting in that crowded room with 300-400 (I’m guessing) other potential jurors on a typical gray Portland morning, I was rather moved by the judge’s description of how important it was for all of us to be there, regardless of whether we ended up being picked for a jury or not.

It wasn’t too long before my name was called. Once we were all settled in the courtroom, the judge explained the process and started reading the charges.

Charge 1. This person has been accused of this crime with these specific details against a person matching this description.

Oh boy.

Charge 2. This person has been accused of this crime with these specific details against a person matching this description.

OH BOY.

Charge 3… Charge 4…

OH NO.

And on and on it went. By about charge 6, I had started to feel sweaty and claustrophobic. Sometime around charge 11 I lost track and was sure I’d missed a few. About charge 13 I noticed more than one prospective juror was audibly fighting tears. And finally…

If anyone finds these charges particularly disturbing, please raise your hand.

Who WOULDN’T find these charges particularly disturbing? I didn’t raise my hand. In hindsight, I probably should have as I honestly don’t think I really heard at least half of the charges.

I wasn’t chosen for that trial and was dismissed for the day.

Day 2 I was eventually called into a second courtroom. After explaining the process and thanking us for being there, the judge explained the charges.

This person has 7 charges against them. 3 charges along these lines and 3 charges along these other lines and one charge which I’ll read directly.

The charges were still rather awful, but the quick summary reduced the emotional impact significantly. I wasn’t selected for this trial either.

Lots of things to ponder. How many prospective jurors does the Multnomah County Courthouse see in a typical week/year? How many trials? What factors into a decision to spell out all of the charges in great detail instead of the quick summary? How does that decision impact the trial, the selected jurors or the outcome of the case? Were others thinking the phrase “particularly disturbing” is too subjective? Do judges keep a list of all the silly things people say when they are trying to avoid serving on a jury? Did that woman really mean she couldn’t be unbiased against anyone of that racial background when she said couldn’t be unbiased against someone of that racial background accused of that crime? How does that lawyer being THAT attractive impact their trials? How did the person that mentioned their 50 years past charge for possession of marijuana imagine that might impact them?

While I’m grateful that I don’t have all the details of those trials rattling around in my head, I still wish I had gotten to see the whole process. I like to know how things come together.

I’ll share some photos from the courthouse in a different post. It’s a beautiful building in a stunning location.

Finished reading: Leviathan Falls by James S. A. Corey 📚

I suspect it was about a year ago (probably more) that I started this series at the recommendation of a neighbor. He suggested it one evening at trivia and then showed up at my house with the first 3 books the following day. He was pretty serious about the recommendation.

I rather hope that we, as a species, survive long enough to get to a point where it’s feasible to live in space long term and explore beyond our solar system. Beyond the thrill of imagining the possibilities and empathizing with all the struggles they face, stories that include well-intentioned people with kind hearts stumbling through life’s challenges pull me right in.

I’ll make a plan to watch the show soon. The same neighbor that dropped off the books said he may have enjoyed the show more.

I’m looking forward to reading something different though. I’m rejoining my old book club and I’m already behind on the reading for this month.

Yesterday evening, we had only our second storm this winter. This one came in the form of an atmospheric river along with some wild wind. We (the neighbors and I) anticipated losing our power and indeed we did. With above ground power lines and tall trees, the wind does that apparently.

While making dinner, something fell on the roof above me and I found myself side stepping away from the rapidly simmering sauce while my brain was screaming that I had no idea if I was safer over there and I shouldn’t be walking away from the stove. It was kind of amusing after the fact.

I went out to survey the damage this morning. While there were branches strewn all about, nothing other than the trees seemed to be damaged. I’m rather grateful this winter has been so mild. The neighbors all report some lingering signs of trauma after last winter.

Signs of spring are popping up though and our neighborhood Sunday evening happy hour this past weekend was the first that started in daylight this year. With how dark the news is these days, the extra light is certainly welcome.