Holy shit, it is windy! Like "I am so pissed off I am going to throw air about furiously like a raging lover' windy. The cats are totally freaked out! Smudge is cowering under the bed and Misty is alternating between wanting comfort and wedging herself under something. Pug strikes out when he is this upset, so every time one of the girls bolts (or even breathes), he chases them and whacks the crap out of them. So, on top of the horible wind, we have horrible cat noises, too. Wee. Unfortunately, this kind of wind hits all my panic butons as well, so it's not like I am much good to the furries. I creep around like some anxious ghost, whining and begging the cats to let me snuggle them; for their own good, of courseI feel like such a sissy, but wind this hard has always freaked me out. Always. The sun is up now, and although Mother God has decided to extend her hissy fit, at least it's light out and not so scarey. Moving on. My closet shelves are in, and so I will paint them this afternoon/evening. Now that they are in, I want them to be blue. I just don't know that I want to atke the time to do that. Probably not, since I just want to freaking unpack, already! I will drive into town today and visit the NCAC co-op store and chat up the people there for info on teaching crafts. I have a great idea that kinda evolved from something I saw on pintrest. Might be a fun first time craft class. If I can't do it there, maybe I can do it somewhere else. Hopefully, I will get the last of my carpet, too, and finish that up.

The blue walls in my room have a second coat, and the closet ceiling is painted. Can't do the room until the carpet is down, which happens this weekend. Then the handyman needs to come and put in my closet shelves so I can put my clothes in it. Diana's mom has been packing to move, and has filled the upstair with boxes and stuff. This gives me very little little room to work. So, if I can get my closet done, then I will have a little more space to work with. But until then, I will go to town and run a few errands and get my hair cut. I will feel better with it out of my face. Bleh!

I have managed to keep more than busy. I am a bit overwhelmed, but I guess that is my own fault. I did enjoy a nice cup of coffee with a potential new friend today, and that was fab U lous! So, tomorrow I will start and finish the blue in my room. When that is dry I will have to remove everything that is in there so I can lay the carpet. A pain in the butt, however it will be so nice when it is done. the carpet is 9' x 12', and the room is 9'2" by 15'3". I am not going to worry about the 2" , but will need to do something about the 3' plus end. Pretty sure I have come up with the awesomest solution. Ever. Seriously, I am THAT good! When it is done, I will be all posty with pictures, both before and after. If it doesn't turn out, I'll post some before pictures, and then an after picture of the Oval Office or something. Just cuz. Work is fine. There is a part of me that still dreads going there. I was wondering when that was going to surface. My immediate boss is pretty cool and fun, so that helps. The lady that works with us as regular morning replenishment is super kewl, too. We've been yaking a bit, and share a lot of the same opinions on the downward decline of Michaels and the treatment of employees and what is going wrong. Unfortunately, Michaels is Michaels, and so I will never be completely happy there again, unless I win the uber-mega-super lotto and can buy it and make them run it my way. Except I wouldn't waste my money.

So, my commute has gone from 50 miles one way to 17. So, instead of filling up every 2.5 days, I'll probably be filling up once a year. LOL! Okay, it will FEEL like once a year! Had my first close shift in ages last night. It was great. Why? BECAUSE i DIDN'T HAVE KEYS! Yes, you will get tired of me saying that. I put up plastic dividers and did label maintainence. For 8 hours. I helped customers and learned the store layout in the process. It was fabulous! So, today Diana and I do some shopping, and I will start painting my closet. Yeah!

I had a glorious first day at work! Their truck is TINY!!!!!! We had 23 shopping carts of repack merchandise. 23. The average in Beaverton was 60 to 70. The staff was about the same size to work this tiny truck as we had in Beaverton to work a truck 3 times the size. I would say something is wrong with this picture, but since it no longer effects me, I gayfully dance a jig and move on. My day was great. I had no keys. I repeat- I had no keys. So, I was not a garbage running, return doing, truck recieving, answer a billion stupid/repeat questions person today. And ya know what? I will have no keys tomorrow, either. Or the next day. Wash, rinse, repeat. Did I mention that I had a glorious first day? I should have stepped down from management a long time ago.

Another lovely day here. I am again on the sun porch with my morning cup of coffee and Pug, listening to the breeze tickle the leaves, and the birds chitter away the early morning hours. I adore this sunporch, and will hate to have it closed up for the winter. Good thing about it is that it will be open for business again next year! Today I will spend time painting my bedroom and seeing what little spider and bug entrances need to be plugged up. Once I have those things done, I can start looking at what I need to make the place unpackable. No shelves means my stuff stays in boxes. I want it out of the boxes. So, I will stay home today and play homemaker and see what Diana has that will help me accomplish the basic prep work for buying shelves and such. Tomorrow I will work my first shift in the new store. I am stressing out about it, but not because I can't do it. It has been so long since I have walked into Michaels as an employee and not a manager that my mind and body can't snap out of Manager Mode. A few days there should take care of that. I found a crafting Co-op store that I can do some volunteer work at and join, and they teach classes. So, I want to go check them out next week and talk to someone in charge about giving some hours and teaching some classes. Keep your fingers crossed. If I could suppliment part time at Micheals with teaching, I'd be thrilled!

Day one alone.

Yesterday I finally felt like my normal self again. Hard core road trips sure have a way of slappin' ya down with their own brand of jet lag. Esh! I just saw Bill off this morning. After 8 days of straight social, I am looking forward to a day of quiet. I have an errand to run later, but am going to spend the rest of my time on the 'puter and going for walks. Word up! The kitties did great on the road trip! Smudge had the hardest time. She hates not being outside or having fresh air, and the drive really wiped her out. Misty wanted to look out every window, and would poke around on and off on the trip. Pug would occasionally look out a window, usually chatter a bit about what he saw, but then would go snooze in his carry case. I am so proud of my little ones! They did me proud!They are adapting very well here. Today is the first day they have been allowed downstairs, so I am keeping an eye on things. Pug is way more interested in exploring the house than even bothering with Faith or Justice. He doesn't even give them the time of day at this point. Misty came downstairs and poked about a bit. Now she is snuggled up next to smudge in a sunbeam on my bedroom floor. A friend asked if I had taught Pug slug-bug to spice up our long days. Didn't do it, since he puts some serious effort into his physical activities and I didn't want shredded upper arm syndrome. However, Bill knew it, and after I started a game of it, we had a blast socking each other randomly. Fun road trip games! I was able to get a little hiking in yesterday with Bill. Took him to Black Pond, which is a bird refuge/wildlife observation area a few minutes down the road. It is located in some dunes along the edge of Lake Ontario, and is absolutely beautiful! We walked the sandy beach and enjoyed the sunshine and waves. A very nice way to help make this change feel more real. So, I will eat lunch, run my errands, and then call it a day. My brain is starting to get a little fuzzy, so I think I am not as over the trip as I thought. Bummer.

Well, I am here! It's a bit surreal, and my brain feels a little soupy and fuzzy. I have only every been here during my yearly vacations, so my mind is doing the whole "July, yet not July. Whaa?????" Yeah. The last I left you, my gentle readers, I was working out various aspects of the trip, and still in my apartment. I found a single mom with three kids that needed furniture, so she took the rest of what I had. My landlord found tennants willing to paint, so that saved me a heap of last minute work. Dad came back down and helped me wash the walls. TSP doesn't even remove kerosene smoke. Go figure! So, we did the best we could. After a long last night on the 31st, I was fed a wonderful breakfast by my dear friend Ruth, then gathered up the kitties and headed to Seattle. Smudge, Misty and Pug didn't care for 4 hours in cat cages, but other than the occasional outburst (Pug would rattle his cage bars like an inmate), they did well. They also behaved very nicely at my parent's house. Misty, who I worried about the most, was a big trooper! She was the first to explore and discover the upstairs. She loved going up to see if Dad was watching TV. If he was, she would pounce on his lap as if it were her last chance, and sleep as long as he would let her. Then he would carry her down to my room and set her on the bed. She is the master manipulator! LOL! Dad rigged up a great setup in the car to separate the front from the back, and all three occupants settled in quite nicely. They spent most of the time sleeping. Occasionally Pug would place himself so he could look out the front window between the two seats. Then he would talk to us for a bit. Misty liked peeking out the side windows, and occasionally would view the scenery by looking over the driver's left shoulder. Despite the good riding behavior, I know they are all glad to not be back in the car today. Bill was a great companion. He loves to drive, so he did most of it, and we chatted like gangbusters. We also sang horribly together and made really bad jokes. It was a fabulous trip in all, even if the days were long and our butts were flat and sore every night. He likes it here in New York State, and Diana likes him and has already extended him the invite to show up and stick around whenever he'd like. The scenery was amazing! I think I want to live in west Montana next. It was so stunning I could barely peel my eyes from the scenery. I-90 may not offer the best view, but It offered me more than I had seen before. I crossed the Missisippi, got a tour of the navy pier in Chicago, saw Lake Erie, Lake Michigan, beautiful high country and barren desert. Spotted lots of cows, ground hogs, hawks and beautiful antelopes. Bill has seen many of the places we drove through. He could even say, "Hey. There is this great resturaunt up here that I eat at whenever I head out this way. Lets do lunch there!" Um, can you say awesome? Yeah. Me too! Now I will spend a couple days showing Bill around, and then I will start job hunting. He is thinking about driving to New York since he is so close. Me, I will rent him the car and wave goodbye. I am a country girl at heart, and I want to sit here on the sunporch for the last few weeks of fall and listen to the crickets sing to me with their New York accents. To each their own.

Things are moving along quite nicely. Mom, Dad helped me do a huge amount of packing and purging. My friend Tamara came down this weekend and helped me get more of the little stuff done. I have found homes for about half my furniture, and my neighbor is offering to sell whatever I nee in the city wide garage sale next week! Friends and acquaintances are coming out of the woodwork, helping me in so many ways. Finally, all that "I'll help you move" karma is rolling on back! Thank you everyone! I mailed another 3 boxes today, and the rest will have to be Greyhound or Amtrak. Dad and I will figure that out next week. I am surprised at what I ave been able to let go of, and what has been hard to say goodbye to. I am also remembering how much crap you need to just make it from day to day. Bleh! I hope to have the landlord over in the next day or two so we can chat about what I will need to clean before I go. I am hoping the $250 deposit buys me a lot of leeway, since it is non-refundable. I am excited. So far the only thing I am dreading in the drive. My friend Bill will be helping me with that, but I am still not excited about me, him and 3 cats in a car for 5 to 6 days. Gotta start working out that puzzle next.

I'm in a New York State of mind. Henderson, New York that is!

I am moving to New York State at the end of the month. Things have been falling together, so I know it is what I am supposed to do. At this point, I have someone to give my things to, but I am looking into other options for quick disposal of items I cannot take with me. Those items being anything I cannot pack and mail via the post office or Greyhound. So, There will be a lot of purging. One more cup off coffee, and I need to get to work!

I am sitting here trying to think of what it is I have been doing on this trip. Time has gone by so fast. We re-arranged a bit of the furniture upstairs yesterday to make way for the beautiful antique dresser we found at one of the sales we visited. That took up a few hours. I almost finished the painting. I need to get the high up edging with the special high up edging tool. A coat today and a coat tomorrow, and I will be done. Then it's clean up the upstairs, since we kicked up a lot of dust bunnies and moved a lot of things around yesterday. I got my postcards done and mailed. Spent time reorganizing one of Dianas jewelry displays. That took a few days, as I had to card most of it and figure out how to get it all in the space, while having it make some sense. I love merchandising! Lots of kitty playing, too. Justice and Faith are forming a tentative friendship. It's funny to watch them 'air box' with each other. They sit back on their haunches and gentle paddle at the air in front of them. Each thinks the other is closer than they really are, so they pretty much biff the air with about a foot or so between them. Funnier than all get out! I didn't really go anywhere, or even take any walks. It was simply nice to hang out and not have to go to work. Might have to take a stroll about town today to make up for it. But first, I need lunch!

Here is the Facebook album link. I will be adding more as the days go by, so keep checking it! https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3028665694274.101680.1791798792&type=1&l=8d10206488

Today was a 'run around and get it done' day, but we didn't get it done. Le sigh. Tomorrow we will have to pick up where we left off. Such is life. We went swimming in the lake last night, which felt fabulous! There were not that many people, but there was quite a bit of ink running about, and nice ink at that! So, how about a few pictures? Okay? Great! (BTW, I will start an album on Facebook and post a link here you can keep checking.) So, we have a picture of Dianas house with Diana doing her Toyota pose. Justice,one of Dianas blind cats, snoozing on the porch. Then There is the jewelry booth and new sign. We had Color Guard show the colors. It was a touching ceremony, with a great singing of the National Anthem. Then a picture of me, showing off my porcelaine skin.

Tomorrow, we finish the errands and do some things about the house. I like those kind of days!

The Art in the Park craft fair was amazingly sucessful for Diana this year. Over $500 in profit. W were both writing ou sales slips for a while. She has a Cube, so that also helped to bring in business she would not have otherwise gotten. I am sitting on the sun porch, drinking coffee and enjoying the morning breeze and sun. Everyone is still sleeping, so I have the place to myself. I am waiting for it to be late enough West Coast time to call Mom and Dad before they head off to church. Then I will download some pictures, and help inventory sales from the show. I love that my organizational skills are appreciated here. I love being able to help Diana get reorganized after a show. I was having fun trying to get a short video clip of Faith, running around with a crinkle ball in her mouth. She is a sweet, energetic little fuzzball, and she makes me miss my babies. Back to coffee and quiet morning surfage. More later!

Well, I am in New York State for my yearly vacation. I am working on a banner for Diana's new craft both and listening to music. It's cool, cloudy and beautiful out. Vernonia was much hotter and more humid than this, but the weather report promises more Vernonia-like weather in the next few days. Yeah! I have two people to meet up with while I am here. I am looking forward to meeting and chatting with both. I also plan on Geocaching while I am here. Apparently this is a hot spot area for caches, so it will be fun to see what I can find. Well, I am going to make some coffee and get to work, but I promise there will be posty goodness and pictures to come!

After a semi productive morning and afternoon, I laid down for a snooze, and was awakened by a call from mom. She is an alarm clock I don't mind hearing! We chatted a few minutes, and then I got up and had a little ice cream and some apples for dinner. Yeah. I know. But I am an adult, and sometimes that's just what I do. As soon as I sat down at the 'puter, Misty climbed up on my lap, so I think I'll put in a little time here before wandering outside with my sketch pad and doodling markers. I am in the mood to doodle, and sit in the evening air. I should do something a little more structured, but I can't bring myself to even think something more structured up. Must be a sign. I have all day tomorrow to get things done, so I think I will enjoy the rest of today. I did hit a few garage sales. I bought a pair of bootie slippers at one for $1, and the other was a "free; take it all" pile on a tarp and table. I made off with a beautiful green windbreaker from Cabelas! Score!

Well, after posting my eye injury adventure, I realized I have been quite absent here. Sorry about that. Sometimes I forget that there are people in my life that are actually interested in my life. It simply doesn't seem all that interesting to me. I'm glad to know that to others, it is a train wreck they simply can't look away from! Last you were updated about anything significant, I had a sweet man in my life. However, for reasons due to his past, he split. It hurt me in a way I have never been hurt before, and I simply curled up like a potato bug ( Rolly Polly to you other folk) and slept/ate/cried away 2 months of my life. I am struggling to get out of that place, and thankfully am down to the occasional cry and a few good days. I have acquired a new friend, and he is actually willing to call and chat, as well as do occasional things, and that helps. Also, the continual support of my friends and family help. Life would so suck without you! I skipped the garden this year. Work has been tough, as usual, and I just don't have the energy or desire. I planted snap peas, pole beans, lettuce and a tomato in my front flower beds, and they are doing quite well. My Nasturtiums are exploding all over the place, and I have my first flower on them! Yeah! I have spent most of my free time in the last few months removing things from my home that have negative emotional attachments, or that I simply feel 'meh' about. 7 boxes have left the building, and I am into the 'room by room' deep purge. My spring cleaning is going to wander into summer, but I don't care. It feels good, and that is a feeling I love to have. I thumb my nose at you, Bad Feelings! Take that! I going on my annual trip to New York to visit my dear friend Diana for 2 weeks. Then I will come home for a few days and take another short vacation to Whidbey Island to hang with family, and maybe see a couple local friends there on the island. I am trying to find 7 more days to pend at home with family before the holiday season ramps up. Did you know Michaels already has: Fall bushes, flowers, wreaths and other home decor Halloween wreaths, ribbon, and-wait for it- the crafts will be arriving next week. Joy. Back to School grids??? Please! The kids have only been out a week! Other than that, the kitties are fine, I had Mom down for a fun Mothers Day, and Dad down for a Fun Fathers Day, and I and going to spend the 4th of July with friends in Estacada. There ya have it. Now, go do something fabulous!

Pole: 1 Face: 0 My face 40 hours after head-butting said pole. It's stil swelling and bruising. I give it another 12 hours before it's done.

I guess I need to take Talk-n-Walk 101 again. I obviously have issues. LOL!

What's that I see? Is that spring?

I am bundles up, sitting on my front door step, listening to the morning take shape around me. Robins are singing their hearts out, and I am pretty sure the lyrics are "It's about flippin' time, Spring! Now get on with your bad self!" I am enjoying the flowers in my front beds, the sun rising in the sky, and the crisp chill in the air. I am dreaming of winning the lotto and having a small place of my own to fill with misfit animals and non-misfit garden beds.

Work is work. Up and down. I can feel myself getting vacation fever. Yesertday- the first full beautiful day we have had- had me craving to hit the road and never come back. I truely have a severe case of the 'Get-me-outta-heres" that I WILL need to remedy soon. Dad.

'nuff said.

I will toodle into REI with Eli today for a new pair of hiking boots, and take care of Ruths cats, since she fell down yesterday and split her forehead wide open. I could see bone. It was big and gross and deffinately 'ride to the ER' worthy. Five stitches for her. Not the way she was planning to spend her easter, but it could have been a broken bone instead of broken skin, so I consider it a stroke of love from the Gods.

Other than that, not much to tell. I have had 2 small, quick, and dirty logo design jobs, with 2 more on the burner, which I will start this week. Eli has been enjoying the new found freedom money brings. He's been gone, helping friends and visiting his sisiter for the last week. I feel a little abandonded, but like I told my parents; if I think that after a year and a half of him being 100% dependant on others he isn't gonna go crazy for the next few months, I'm an idiot.

I'd post a picture, but I want to sit her for a bit more, then I will need to wander over to Ruth's and check in on her. Til then, I will sip my coffee and be still a while yet this lovely spring morning.

Tiddley bits.

So, some sweet local decided to syphone a full tank of gas out of my car 2 weeks ago, so I know have a locking gas cap. Annoying, but healthier on the pocket book. What can you do?

Had to finally take Corn Dog in for a isit with "The Shovel" last Saturday. He had lost over one thrid of his body wieght in a couple months, and wasn't eating. He was also going in and out of the house a lot. I followed him on one of his longer trips and found he was loking for a way under the house he originally came from. He was ready to call it a life, so I made the appointment. He's a happy cat now, and I am pretty sure he is the one jumping up and down on the clouds, knocking all this snow out.

While we are on the topic of snow...What the red snapper is going on with this? My poor daffodils were all like "Gee wiz!" and trying to stand up straight with the mantle of snow weighing them down. Snow; the albatrose of the flower world.

Work is going a bit better. They revised how we unload and process freight trucks. All the things I was doing BEFORE the new truck program was implemented are now okay to do again. All those things that made the putting away of thousands of little, bitty pieces of frieght go smoother...go figure.

All is nice on the home front. Things are easy and relaxed with Eli. I really enjoy his company, even after all this time. The family likes him, and so do my friends. The true 'friend' test will come when Diana meets him. If she gives a thumbs up, all will be well.

Two owls and a pussy cat.

This has always been my favorite poster from Despair Inc.

Arty stuff.

My first ever Mandala!

when randomness strikes.

I feel a bit guilty for doing nothing last month. It's not like any other January has been different, but somehow I feel I should have been going like a cat on fire instead of collapsing and recovering from the holiday debacle-um, season. I mean season.

I love my kitties. Their purrs are the best symphony.

I finally made it to 4 weeks paid vacation with Michaels. Granted, a few of my years were only part time hours, but damn! 20 years = 4 weeks??!! Glad to have the extra week, though, because Dad and I will be doing another road trip this year, and it will certainly help getting paid to take that time off.

I have discovered (actually, more like finally realized) what it is that I hate about libraries. Time limits. That, and other peoples holds on the book you are reading forcing you to have to turn it in before you are done. It makes me all "Why bother". Oh well. Maybe if I stick to stuff no one else finds interesting...

I awoke to this view this morning and had to share.





Be happy I did not share the view of me, freshly out of bed with bed head, hot pink fuzzy robe, and owl hat, clutching my cup of coffee for my morning facial coffee steam treatment. I was even quite a sight for ME to see this morning. Thank goddess I only own one mirror.

Misty really enjoys the kerosene heater we purchase. Usually she is sprawled out with her belly facing it, seeing how long it takes to melt. Today she was being a bit more lady like about the whole 'morning warming' process.

Yucky water.

I am not going into a detailed explaination on this one. In short, I have learned that this is an old building, and that damp air, heat, and cold makes parts of its insides sweat. This phenomenon created a small, hidden pool under the head of my bed, and some rearranging needed to be done. The rearranging resulted in my loft bed being assembled and used as a place of storage. This has turned out quite nicely, and I have been able to open up so seriously needed cupboard space. I will cover the new storage eyesore with some white sheets when I can get my hands on some, and call it a day.



My new storage digs.

More art.

I found these three pieces I painted back in collage while I was going through some old boxes of stuff.

post snow update

We recieved 18 inches of white glory here in Vernonia, and now we arre recieving who-knows-how-many-inches of rain. I satyed in town for 5 days while Mother God rained the white stuff down, and I have to say

I LOOOOOVE MY HOME!

I am so happy to be back whith my man and my kitties. It's heaven!

Corndog has kidney failure, and I was going to take him to the vet and have him put to sleep last Wednesday. The weather changed that, and now he seems to be doing better. So, until he suffers a relapse of the badness, I will give us both a chance to enjoy each other and life. Might as well put off hitting him over the head with a shovel and buring him in the back yard until I have to.

G.G. Corn Dog

A new name.

The cat that adopted us recently finally has a new name. My neighbor was calling him Grey Ghost, but that just wasn't a fitting name. The new one is way cooler.
We recently finished a costco-sized box of corndogs, and we used the lid as a place to roll dice while playing a board game in bed. Of course, we left the bottom half of the box on the floor, and G.G. took up residence almost immediately. Why not? It's small, has high sides you can just peer over when curled up in it (for safety and stealth) and it smells like corn dogs. What's not to like?
He spent so much time camped out in this box that Eli put a blanket in it for him. Every time I would ask, "Where is G.G?", Eli would respond with, "Where do you think he is???".
A couple days ago I told G.G. we would just start calling him Corn Dog, and it stuck. He is now G.G. Corn Dog, the Cat in the Box. I have a picture of him, but I am to lazy to download it. Use your imagination.

What a beautiful day! It's sunny and my day off. I have had coffee, kitties, and quiet surfing. Very nice.

Up and down and up and down...

Holidays are hard for me. Retail has a way of sucking it right out of you. Crabby people, hours all over the place, not enough cookies. But as I told my crew yesterday, we are in the home stretch. By the end of January, the huge trucks will be done for a while, and spring will have taken over the store, visually booting Old Man Winter and that hussy, Christmas, right out of every retail shoppers life.
Unfortunately, that goes hand in had with hour cuts and having to let people go. I failed to mention that part to my peeps, since they really need to concentrate on the next few weeks.

I am hoping Eli and I will wander into the woods Sunday and fetch a little tree. I want to be done with Xmas cards by then. My list is long, so I am going to have to prune it from 'want to send' to 'Most important' send. Life. I has it.

So far, the best part of the season has been my Christmas/joy lights. A new string of LED c7s that look somewhat like pinecones, except unnaturally colored for my viewing pleasure. Those puppies will stay up until the sun makes it pointless. So I should have several months of joy from them yet.

My DSL bill is going to get jacked up soon, so I will be canceling Netflix and my little monthly donation to greenpeace in the next month. Things are getting really tight money-wise for everyone. I know I am no different here. I need to seriously look into finding new and creative ways to save a little so I can continue to pay off my debts. I guess I will finally have to learn to cook. Le sigh!

My kingdom for a chain saw. Stuck at home because of a fallen tree. I'll try and head to work again soon. Daylight is a-wasting!

Winter has wintered.

Our first snow of the year *que awwwwwwing* fell and we recieved 3 inches. If this is an indication of the winter ahead, I see days spent in town at my friend Susie's house. At least with Eli here, I won't have to worry about the kitties!

Also, I was able to find a home for one of Ruth's kitties! Yeah! One down, 5 to go.

The unveiling.

Well, I think it is time to let ya'all know I have a new boyfriend. His name is Eli, and he is wonderful (of course)! He has fit quite seamlessly into my life, and so I thought I'd come out of the closet about him.

PS: I am a bit tipsy

I made an art journal for a swap on swap-bot. check it ooooooout!

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1853197988316.76552.1791798792&type=1&l=3d8b69650a

It feels like Sunday.

I had a friend come down Friday for a visit, but I broke her this morning and had to send her home. She got dizzy and fell down and really hurt her shoulder. I think she got dizzy because of all the excitement from hanging out with me. I'm really THAT cool! Anyways, she just called and is on her way to emergency so she can get it checked out. She thinks she broke something. THAT would make me feel bad. Maybe I should post a warning on my door about my causing excessive fun and being a hazard to your health.
In other news, they had a huge rummage sale up the street today, so I had to go. $2 a bag! I came home with 2 bags, and in them was this gem of a napkin holder! OMG!!!! Love! Had to share. Done torturing you all now.

All I can say is I am glad Dad and I decided to leave the Bend area. Freezing warnings? Seriously???!!! Wow. The coast was MUCH warmer, and today we flew our kits and walked the beach in the sun! I believe I have mentioned I like the sun? And heat, too.
I am home, with a cat on my lap, and dad in the comfy chair doing a sudoku. Bed time draws near, as we must be well rested for Vernonia's City Wide garage Sale tomorrow. Big day!

Day 5

Man,we were tired last night! We slept 11 hours, rolling out of bed about 8am. We had a delicious egg scramble with bacon,cheese,onion and zuchini. I whipped up some pancakes, and we ate like kings! A good thing, too, because we burned it all off hiking along the Crooked River in Smith Rock State park. It was beautiful as I remembered, but I am getting ahead of myself. On the way to Smith Rock, we stopped to check out the Peter Ogden Memorial. The old bridge spanning the Crooked River couldn't handle the amount of traffic going over it, so they built a bigger bridge next to it. It was fun to walk out onto the old bridge and look down about a bazillionty feet to the water. It was also interesting to see the sign in the parking lot telling people to leave their dogs in the car because they have several deata a year due to doggies jumping off the cliff. Go figure.
After spending a while putzing on the bridge, we continued to our destination, stopping at the post office to mail a few postcards. We passed a sign for deer crossing on the way that had been defaced in a manner that made you understand why the dear was jumping (apparently for joy, and we will leave it at that). We passed another that had 'y' strategically placed so you would know that the specific part of the road you were on was patrolled for litter by The Mountainer Orgy. These things are good to know. It alerts you to the dangers of small town living. If we were to stay, we would know to avoid happy deer and mountainers. Just sayin'.
By the time we pulled into Smith Rock and determined that no parking spot would end up in the shade later, we hauled our cooler to a picnic area and downed some lunch. Luck for us, I had spied the a lady using one of the tables as a dirty diaper change station, with no sanitation barrier between Poopers but and the eating surface. I was able to direct us to the non-poop table for safe eatings. Food and water downed, we broke out the cameras and headed down the trail to the river. Our hike lasted about 3.25 hours, and was...fantabulously spectacerifous!!! Trust me, it's in the dictionary that all the cool people use! We saw butterflies, Canadian geese, fresh water clams, a falcon who entertained us by catching himself a fresh fish lunch, deer, wrens, magpies, and a few other birds we couldn't identify. We hiked down to the horse crossing, where you have to cross the river by wading through it. That was so nice and cool on the feet! We climbed up on rocks, hiked the smaller side trails, found a huge eagles nest on the face of one of the cliffs, and only saw 3 other hikers. It was like breathing in fragrent, warm serenity, and breathing out stale, cold stress. So relaxing.
We eventually wandered back to the car, and stopped in at the Terrebonne train depot for some pie. Except they didn't have pie. They had warm brownie sundays, though, so we suffered and split one. Washed it down iced tea, watched a train go by, and just enjoyed sitting on our tired little butts. Back at camp we made the dinner of champions; baked beans and wieners! Tonight, we stay away from open flame and leave the tent flap open. On the way to the dumpster, I was telling dad how I was going to slather myself with hand lotion after my shower, and pretend I was a big hand. That made me think of the Hamburger Helper hand, and so I told dad I could be hamburger helper! Apparently, only I think that would be a cool thing. Le sigh! Of course, I also told him that a good punch in the face makes you forget how cold your feet are. I know I am right, but he didn't want to find out the scientific way. I guess it is still a small dialog victory.
Now I am sitting here, smelling like soap, feeling like a big white hand, and getting ready to hit the sack. Last night was a vitual nightime zoo. Deer, quail, owls, a wild cat, and bats. Tonight I will sleep with a flashlight so I can investigate the awesome sounds of the wild on my way to the restroom. Might just save myself from a happy deer attack.

I have been watching the lady camper across the way, looking at all the full pockets on her cargo shorts. They remind me of my mom's jean jacket. She took it when we went camping, and it doubled as a back pack. However, it seemed to have all the things a backpack didn't. Gum, wet wipes, tissue, paper and pen, the kitchen sink, trail mix, nail clippers, etc. I am pretty sure my brother and I counted about 50 pockets on that thing, and that was just the ones on the outside. I was always impressed with how she knew exaclty what was in each pocket. It was amazing!
Dad and I have just finishesd a nutritional dinner of bacon, pasta, and beer. Burp! Dessert was a fruit cup, where everything tasted like pineapple. We made a postcard from the top of the pasta box, which we are sending to one luck person. See, you CAN craft anywhere! We are exhausted from our previous night of so-so sleep and our day of glorious back road exploring and caving. Originally, we were going to revisit the Lava Bed visitor center, but apparently it is closed on Tuesday and Wednesday. Figures. We laughed, and consulted the oracle (which looks strangely like a Dechutes Forest map) and headed for the Lava caves. They were closed. We laughed again. We headed farther down the road to the Boyd caves. It was open. The entrance called to the bat in me, and I was down the ladder like a shot, looking for my fine flying friends and saying "Kewl!" about every three seconds. Unfortunately, it very quickly became a crawl space cave, and I don't do those without better equipment and at least 3 people. That way, when I am pinned under the cave in, or have snapped my ankle in 5 places and am unable to move, some one can go for help while someone else stays with me and tells me how great it has been knowing me.
After our short but awesome trek in caveland, we headed for the Skeleton caves. Not only were they closed, but they had been barred shut with bars that looked as if they could hold in King Kong. Feeling a bit glum because my caving desires were not being fullfilled, we got back in the car and kept going, keeping a keen traveler's eye out for the ice caves. Apparently, that is where Bend got all it's ice in the days before ice trays and freezers. It had been closed for the last 10 years because ice had blocked the entrance, but was once again open to the curious passer-by such as my Dad and I. After what seemed like to long a drive through dry, sunny, hot, beautiful high desert, we found a shadey little pull off, and had some lunch. This is when the two cute guys in the Forest Service truck came toodling down the road. They stopped to see if we were alright, and we took the opportunity to ask them if we had passed the ice caves. Actually, Dad asked, I made flirty eyes with the tastey one behind the wheel. Sure enough, we had past, back we went, this time armed with the knowledge to find the unmarked road needed. The caves were closed due to 10 years of ice blocking the entrance, thus causing a massive cave-in that crushed the stairs leading down. I think I might send the God of Spelunking a scathing letter about his slacking off on his godly caving duties. Why follow the leader if he's simply going to lead you to a bunch of unaccessable points of interest? Seriously!
So, after 5 hours of back road discoveries (including free range cows, chipmunks, and non accessable tourist stops) we headed back into Bend for gas, cool drinks and a snack. A quick consulting of our trusty oracle pointed up north toward Redmond and the Palasides. It was as beautiful as I remember, and we found a lovely spot with no little rain cloud, and no side kick wind. We have paid for two glorious nights, and tomorrow we will go to Smith Rock and hike the creek trail. This is one of my favorite spots in central Oregon. My last visit was disapointing because the company was bad. This time it will be great because the company is good, and the weather is amazing, and we have trail mix bars for snacks!
Oh, by the way, breakfast was pretty good. Fruitloops and waffles and orange juice! Yum!

End of the day update.

Those of you who know my Dad and I know we love sun and heat. Today, there was no heat. We waited, and waited. We drove into La Pine for gas and a frying pan, and still no sun or heat. We hiked to Pauline falls. We took pictures of the little bitty froggies at the resort. All with no sun or heat. Then, the thunder started. So, being smart campers, we grabbed our cameras and hiked up little crater trail. As we went up, it became colder, and started raining. Determined to tough it out, we kept going. The veiw was amazing, the thunder close, the rain and wind- persistant. We were wet by the time we finished the mile and a half loop. And cold. And there was no sun. We drove back to camp to watch our tent. Again, it was trying to fly, so I looked at Dad and suggested that maybe we should hit a hotel, get some weather information, and find the sun and the heat. So, we packed up, and are now settled in at a Budget 8, watching tv, and looking at our maps. Apparently, we were camping under the only little tiny rain cloud in all of Oregon. Go figure! We think we will be staying close to Bend, since there is a ton of stuff we want to see that isn't under that mini cloud-with-an-attitude. But for now, we will shower and have dessert, and read/look at maps/watch crappy tv/and internet it up. I am looking forward to the free breakfast. They will have waffles and fruitloops!!!

Day two

Today started at 6am, which is actually quite late for me. It's was a beautiful sunny morning. It promised candy and rainbows and unicorns. It delivered coffee and shopping and wind. Oh, and a whole lotta smoke from a 7000 acre wildfire nearby. And where there is smoke, there are cute firefighters. Yum!
We headed towards Sisters, and stopped for a couple of hours to play tourist, pick up some gifts, and by a cup of coffee. Then we headed into Bend, picking up a cooler, ice, and a bottle of wine. Now that our supplies were complete, we continued down toward our goal; Newberry Volcanic National Park. I had been here once before with 'the man who's name we shall not speak' and it had been a disaster(of course). It was nice to drive in with Dad, who doesn't mind seeing where the road goes, and doesn't freak out if there is no plan beyond seeing where the road goes.
The nice Ranger told us which campgrounds we were still allowed to have a campfire in, and then we hit the visitor center for a quick peek. That nice ranger told us it would be worth our while to walk the Trail of the Molten Land. She was right. The view was spectacular, the trail was easy, and the informational markers were informative. Plus, there was a crap-ton load of adorable little chipmunks everywhere, making my squee meter read off the charts! After our little jaunt through the now not molten lava beds, we headed up the road to find a place to camp. Found a lovely spot right on Lake Pauline. Set up the tent, took a few pictures, and finished following the road up to the end, which was about another 5 miles. Chatted up the girls at the resort to find that everything was closing down for the season. This waa fine with us, since it meant no crowds. We drove through the last campground on the road, which had over 100 sites. They were all very lovey, and I think I would feel safe enough coming up here on my own. Might have to do me some camping next year.
We headed back to camp and started getting supper ready. That was when the wind decided to pick up. It was warm and felt nice after a day in the sun. However, it was on a mission, and that mission was to see if it could launch our tent into outer space like a kite. We spent a lot of time holding onto the tent for dear life (and this is with our stuff IN the tent, mind you) and laughing our asses off. We finally used a break in the wind to empty the tent and move it behind some trees. That made absolutely no difference. Dad pulled the car in front off it to use as a wind break. The wind simply laughed. We dragged the tent across the road to another site away from the lake. The wind said, "Ha!" We finally figured out that if we took the rainfly off, the tent became a tent again. We positioned it in the best place we could find, staked it down, and lined the inside with rocks. The wind got pissed off and invited the rain to join in the game. It started raining. We put the rain fly up. The rain would stop and let the wind have at it. We'd take the rain fly off. The wind would hoot and holler as the rain would get us. We finally decided that those two hoolagins were NOT going to vote US off the island, and we took the rain fly down for good and went back to making supper. Apparently, this decision annoyed them both, and they wandered off to torment some other souls. We had a good laugh and decided that we would tie the tent to the trees in the morning in case they both snuck back when we were out. Dinner commenced, followed by a few games of dominos, and then we took ourselves to bed and away from the hungery mosquitos. But not before I found and held a cuuute little froggy! Squeeeeeee!!!

Day one

Fabulous first day on the road. Beautiful drive down highway 47, through Forest Grove, Gaston, and all the beautiful country side between , until we hit Hwy 99 west. As we approached Salems' River Front Park, we saw a feild of flags. Curious, we stopped to find a memorial honoring the fallen from 9/11, and the local military persons who had served in the war after that day. It was quite well done, really making it easy to comprehend the loss we suffered. We wandered around for a while, remembering, like so many others. We also peeked at the river boat and indoor carousel, and I was able to get a few postcards for my Postcrossing habit. Driving through Salem, we picked up Hwy 22, continuing southeast toward Bend and Sisters. The farther we went, the smokier it became. It made us a little nervous to see all the cars heading the other way, so we wisely stopped at the Detroit Ranger Station to chat up the employees about the fires, where they were and if we need worry. Of course, I added to my map collection, and have been amusing myself ever since by finding little treasures on them. For instance, did you know the Devils Garden is right next to Christmas Lake? neither did I! There are cool back roads, campgrounds and trail heads everywhere we looked on the maps. We kinda wanted to get to Crater Lake, but I seriously don't think we are going to make it. There is so much to see!

Shorty after Detroit, we pulled into Whispering falls to set up camp. Truthfully, I see no falls, and there is no whispering, so I am not sure what is up with that name, but whatever.
However, the cars are quite loud, and if our site was any closer to the road, we'd be road kill. But we have a beautiful fire, over which we roasted the worlds largest marsh mallows and I have thuroughly killed Dad in several games of dominos, and teased him mecilessly about making such brilliant comments like "When I put my head in a bag of vinegar chips and breathe in deeply, it about gags me" and "I'll poop tomorrow." Those last statement make me excited as to see what tomorrow will bring in words of wisdom. For now, I am amusing myself with the typing noise my little Android is making. Dads thinks he is hearing squirrels. Hehehe!

PS: Dad was able to get me to stick my head into the bag of vinegar chips and inhale deeply. I have no idea how he came up with the idea to do this in the first place, but he was right. Man, does it make you nose close and your eyes burn! My doing this proves we are related, and share the "mentally challenged" Hoffmann gene. I want to point out, however, that I am a good daughter; I obey my parent even when I don' t understand my parent. So, I am thinking that kinda balances the ' weird' factor out. Shut up.

As soon as I got off of work, my vacation started. I flew home to find dad was waiting there already. I still had a ton of stuff to do to get ready, so I settled him in front of the computer and introduced him to The Bloggess and Telling Dad. While hey giggled and laughed, I got my house in order, and packed for the trip. We took a nice evening walk before bed, then crashed early so we could rise with the morning and and get the hell out of dodge.

What I did today; the long but funny version.

So, I woke up this morning and had some tent snuggle time with my 1000 year old cat. She has taken to wanting under the covers. I don’t mind, except she won’t lie down. She sits there, far away from me, purrs and falls asleep sitting up. My arms tend to get tired during these ‘don’t touch me’ snuggle moments. Today, I grabbed her and pulled her up close, petting her and forcing purrs from her. Once I was tired of torturing her with love, I got up and made coffee. I logged on, visited my usual sites, drank my 3 cups, ate my vitamins, had toast, and started sweeping up all the cat-fur dust bunnies in my house. I did dishes, which I attempt to only do once a week. I have discovered that if you rinse the dishes AND stack them, you can fit more in the sink, thus allowing yourself to put the whole dish washing activity off longer. After dishes I lint-rollered a bunch of surfaces in my house, moved the cat box outside to clean it, emptied my recycle bins and garbage, and moved the rest of my messes to my crafting table. I have discovered if I contain my messes in this manner, I can put off dealing with them a lot longer. Kinda like the dishes, but less smelly. I occasionally peeked in online, putzing around various sites, sending emails and making sarcastic and witty comments to various unsuspecting early risers such as myself.

I finally went out and watered the garden, and tied up my tomato plant, because plant bondage is really hot. Then I did a little harvesting, ate some strawberries and a nectarine, chatted with my neighbors, pet the kitties, including one stray that is finally letting me give her scratches. Pug (another stray) came in and amused me by playing with his catnip mouse. I sat in the sun a bit, and finally decided I should get out of my pajamas. Not like you could tell I was IN pajamas. My jammies are t-shirts and sweat pants, and are perfectly acceptable to go to various public places in. However, my morning hair is a whole other story, and I felt it about time to stop scaring the neighbors. I showered and decided to wander down to the local market for that brownie mix. Even though it would cost 3 times the amount there because I live in the middle of nowhere, I decided to splurge. I also wanted to buy the winning lottery ticket. But first I brought the cat box back in for Her 1000 Year Old Highness. Don’t want any kitty accidents in my house. I passed the park on my way home from the store and thought about stopping to watch the birds, but some butt head had just smoked a big bowl, and the smell was awful, so I opted to go home. On the way there I started thinkning about how wonderful it is to be single. I can go when and where I want, do what I want, without having to worry about forgetting to tell someone exactly where I will be and for how long and then being late and having to explain I wasn’t trying to hurt them and that I wasn’t cheating on them with the neighbor or some rot like that.
Then I started thinking about how much it kinda sucks to be single because there is no one to say, “You were gone? Oh. I didn’t notice.” And then grin when I smack then on th back of the head and stick out my tongue.

Once home, I proceeded to start refilling my sink with dirty dishes by making 3-bean salad and starting a big pitcher of ice tea. More poking about the Internet, making sarcastic comments, etc. I was getting pretty tired, so I took a nap. 2 hours later I arose refreshed and ready to do absolutely nothing. Instead I cleared my pile of crap off my table, watched a Farscape episode, ate dinner and desert, talked to my mom and dad, amused the mail lady (who is also my friend), trimmed up my peas after picking them, and sat in the sun some more. I started another craft project, cracked open a beer to wash my two microwave smores down with, and am now thinking about trundling off to bed. It’s rather late for me, and I still want to read a bit before I crash from my Very Exciting Day.

I was dreaming I was choking to death and awoke to find my cat trying to strangle me. Except she fell asleep because she's about 1000 years old and sleeps 23.5 hours a day. Her little, pointy paws were still jammed into my wind pipe, put she had tipped over onto my chest in the fetal position. I think she was dreaming about finishing the job, though, because she was purring.

another facebook album

Mom and Dad came for a visit this July, and I have finally edited the pictures for your viewing pleasure (and my stress levels and to do list lenght).
Enjoy!

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1736511391224.72576.1791798792&l=d71d473dc3&type=1

Jamboree Parade 2011

We had our yearly Jamboree parade last weekend, so I wandered to town to snap some shots. It's a big thing here, and is the only parade i have ever like. Proabably because it's small town, and it's my town!

Enjoy!

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1723829154176.72017.1791798792&l=7632b23083&type=1

Art from under my bed.

This is the last of the stuff I have been hauling around since high school.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1722475480335.71955.1791798792&l=7a04437b42&type=1

Enjoy!

Vacation pictures from Henderson, New York.

I had a fabulous time, as always. I miss my friend already. Here is a link to my facebook album, if you'd like a peek.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1711147437141.71459.1791798792&l=65c5742a59&type=1


Here is a link to my friends Etsy store. She makes great jewlery. Check it out!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/LadyMockingbird