nuffin

Not much to report for today. Woke up early and sat in bed watching TV on my computer.

Dad made me an omelet and some bacon. We watched Coraline on his computer. Took about three tellings for him to believe that yes, it was indeed hand animated and not entirely CG. He then spent 5 minutes trying to figure out why the other side of the disc wouldn't work. Eventually he noticed that the disc was not double sided. The DVD menu just lied about saying there was content on the other side.

Mostly sat about. Nibbled on food. Watched stuff. Relaxed. Not all that warm.

School starts August 31st. Just over three weeks away. Suddenly it is so very close. I can't wait though.

Mom went out with her gal pals for the day. She saw Julie & Julia. She said the parts about Julia were much more interesting.

Time to rest. Recline. I think there are some family plans for tomorrow.

thursday/friday

Thursday:

Another cold day. Totally sucks. I keep getting the sniffles. I don’t know if it is attached to dander or wool or dust or what. After an orange juice and toast breakfast I helped mom move books around. Found a great old two volume copy of Grimm stories illustrated by Sendak. There is a nice volume of Bradbury short stories. Lots of dusty paper backs and a few moldy volumes. Pretty extensive collection.

The dust got to me really bad and I had to escape and just stand and breath fresh air. Mold and dust is not good at all for me. Lunch was poached eggs on English muffins with cheese. Mmm. I’ve been sifting through those massive Phaidon art books. Getting inspired and all that.

The radio is set to this great station of mostly 60’s and 70’s generic hits.

Mom won Settlers of Catan. We went out in the kayak’s. I eventually managed to get really warm and toasty while exerting the effort it took to get my wimpy arms paddling. Then when I was warm I wanted to swim but by the time it took to get my swimsuit on, I had cooled off enough. So I just took a bath.

The So You Think You Can Dance finale was awesome! So many great numbers. So much dancing can happen when you don't have to critique it. I voted for Jeanine. Go Jeanine!

Friday:

Woke up early to Mom's ringtone. Dozed a little more. Eventually got up and went with mom to run Port Townsend errands. Recycling. Goodwill. We went through the drive through for breakfast/early lunch.

Another dreary day. We went to QVC and picked up some staples for the house. Flowers.

I went right to bed when we got back to Pulali Point. Neglected to help mom put the groceries away. I slept for about two hours. Or maybe three. A long while. It is hard to get a good night sleep in Pulali.

Dad had arrived and made us dinner. Burgers! Delicious. At dinner mom said that we were going to spend another night. I did not want to stay in Pulali any longer. It was cold and emotionally heavy. I wasn't sleeping. Mum agreed to go home tonight. Packed books into a suitcase and stuffed my clothes in the bag. I went home with dad in the truck. Talked about silk screening.

It's nice to be back in Seabeck. Big cozy bed. Basil.

grandparents & bug bites

8 minute blog because we have to get over to the other house to watch So You Think You Can Dance!

Managed to get some good sleep once I dug out the comforter. Nice and snug. Dad went back to Seabeck to do some work there. Some prep work and all that. I went through the New Yorkers and looked for interesting illustrations and articles. Found a David Sedaris short.

Ma debated going home for the rest of the day. Take a break from the emotional weight of Pulali. We decided to stick around. Mom is going to sleep in the tent most likely.

We visited Grandma Pedersen. She folded and unfolded her blanket and was generally quiet. She walked over to the couch and fell asleep. It wasn't a long visit. She doesn't look like the Grandma I remember. Not anymore.

Afterwards we went to Shanghai Restaurant and met Grandma and Grandpa Spencer for lunch. They had eaten recently so they didn't quite dig into their Egg Foo Yung so much. I had beef with broccoli and mom had the salmon special which was served sizzling. My beef was tender. It was a good meal.

Some drinks and other things were bought at Safeway and then Pulali Bound we were once again. Hard to believe the round trip was over 60 miles. So much driving is required. Portlanders whine about driving five miles. But city miles are, obviously, different than country ones.

I set up my computer outside Celia's cabin and she and mom took a dip. I relaxed with my old friend the Internet for a while. Dinner was pasta with sauce that included bits from the burgers from two nights ago. Now for dancing! Mom says she bought four tickets. Exciting!

the old fashioned way

Got up early. It is hard to sleep in when people are moving about and working. Jeanette and Liam came over for a visit and some cocoa. The day is cold. And I don’t have pants. Boo!

Breakfast was cider and cheerios. Ma and I took a quick trip to Brinnon to pick up some things. Standard little tiny store with just name brand, cheap grabs. No vegetables or other things that could be marked as healthy. After all that we played a little game of Settlers of Catan. It was hard to keep mom at the table. She wanted to be productive and all that. I ended up winning just by having development cards with points and the largest army. I didn’t have very fruitful settlements. Mom and Dad both had huge roads and plenty of cities.

First up was the bathroom. Cleaning to paint it. I browsed through the books in the upstairs room. Plenty of Shakespeare. A lot of 60’s paperbacks. Found a 1941 Silk Screen book. Fascinating to look at the older, far more complicated procedure. Also a 1961 hardcover of James and the Giant Peach. It might be a first edition. Beautiful.

When the paint needed time to dry, Dad and I got out the little onesie sailboat. Pretty easy thing to rig up. It is a converted row boat I believe. It took a little while for me to remember how to do the sailing thing (I took a class a few years ago). It came back and I went up and down and up and down. Waved to Kirie. Waved to Mom. Celia came back from work and put on a swimsuit. She got on the inner tube and I attached her to the boat and towed her around for a while. That was quite fun. Got some good breezes. Ma and Pa went out in the kayaks for a little bit. I tripped coming out of the sail boat and got wet. Dad traded with me and mom and Celia swam. I showered.

Dinner was a second feast. Celia made a clam soup and heated up the leftovers. I filled up on bread unfortunately. What I had was quite good. Mark, Kirie, Mom, Dad, Celia, and I enjoyed it all. Num num. The mosquitoes feasted as well.

It was a relaxing day. I’m undefeated in all my Settlers of Catan gaming. Bwahha.

mmm cake

Most of my morning was occupied with packing. Taking the stuff in my suitcase and putting it in a smaller bag. For the week I shall be over at Pulali Point, my grandparents place. Mom and pop are doing some repairs. I will be swimming and reading and relaxing and taking hikes. All that.

Pulali Point is on the Puget Sound. It has a little beach. The grounds contain four structures; the grandparents house, a two story garage, Celia's log cabin, and Kirie's house. They are spread out through the woods and all have a beautiful view of the water.

The water was perfectly beautiful when we arrived. Just calm and fairly clear. Hugged Celia and gave her a Milagro.

I really took some of these views for granted. Being in Portland for so long and returning. So beautiful. So quiet. Just the water and the rustle of trees and the occasional animal.

Celia, Mom and I took a dip in the water. Not very cold. Perfect for swimming. The shadow of the land stretched pretty far over the water but not far enough for us Pedersen swimmers. We heard people from the mainland. People that were soon revealed as Kirie, Mark, Jeanette, and Liam. Dinner was ready to be underway! We didn't even have to lift a finger.

Ma and I showered and when we came back most of the burgers were done, the chicken was ready, corn was available. A big fresh delicious omnivore feast! I was full on bread and corn before I got a chance at a burger. Oh well. It was good. After it all, we kicked back with some tea. Tasty tea. The mosquito coils were rearranged. Photos were taken.

After dinner, it was time for walkies. The girls and Liam got their hiking shoes on and the boys took naps. It was a long trail through the woods. One I don't think I have walked for a while. Mom and Celia left a little early because Oggie was having trouble walking (Oggie is a doggie). I continued on. We talked about Loch Ness (Liam is a believer) and school (Jeanette thinks I'm popular).

It was about 9pm when we got back. It was that time where it is dark but you can still see and everything is blue and gray. Quite nice. Hauled my computer over to Celia's because she has wifi. She served me cake and ice cream. Good aunts never change.

goodbye matty

Back again in a train station waiting and writing.

Had a restless night sleep. Got up with the alarm which I am pretty sure I turned off. Uh oh. Anyway, showered and got dressed. Found some cool pants in the free pile yesterday so I am wearing those. They fit pretty well though the length is suspect.

Breakfast of oatmeal and tea. Cuddled Luna. Finished my packing. I left at 1:30 to catch a 1:44 streetcar. Arrived at Subway right at 2 to meet Matt.

Matt is going back to New Jersey on the 12th. Won’t see him again unless I am in the New York/Jersey area. I strongly doubt he will return to Portland. He bought me my sandwich and drink. A farewell lunch. We talked about hypothetical stuff. I muttered and rambled in the way that I do. We walked to the station together. He was very nice about lugging my luggage. I didn’t want to bring the big blue bag. Need a slightly smaller one for short trips that can double as carry on.

Hugged Matt goodbye. Now I sit and wait the hour out.

*****

The train was a double decker. It is extra wobbly and there are no power outlets for computers. Napped and read and thought. The train was about 20 minutes late and all the toilets went out. It took a while to get off the train because of a lady. The conductors were asking if everybody was off and we cried out, "No!"

Mom and pop were waiting. Hurray! We hugged and waited for my bag to unload.

Drove straight home. Mom reheated some chicken and rice. They both sifted through the Applicant book. After dinner we played Settlers of Catan. I won. I got some really good rolls that gave me plenty of wood and I had a port so I was able to trader pretty effectively and often. I won, hahaha! Had a huge road and a couple cities. Next time, we shall see.

It is warm but not as hot as it has been. Basil is still obese. Tomorrow we go to Pulali Point for a chunk of the week.

♥ stormy

Stayed in bed till noon. Past noon even. Had a dream I was on Britain's Next Top Model. I came in half way through and all the judges loved me. We had a challenge where we had to decorate a mannequin display. To do so we had to locate the pieces of clothing by shifting through this pile of parchment. Most of them contained DaVinci's drawings or food recipes. I couldn't find the one that listed the directory for wigs. I tried to imagine my mannequin turning into Al Gore to keep me in the dream but alas, I still woke up.

Showered, tidied a little bit. Gabe made eggs and hash browns. Almost done with Dead Like Me. Taking a really depressing turn, still enjoy it. Not quite as charming as Pushing Daisies.

The day went by really fast. Staying in bed really late helps for that. Packed things up. I don't have that much to bring home but when it comes to having to lug a few big bags versus one suitcase, I went with the suitcase.

Katie's sister K...Katherine. No. K-something. Shoot. Anyway, she came over and so did Luke. We four went out to the southeast. We went to Devil's Point. A strip club. Now I know mom doesn't quite approve. Says they take advantage of women. I don't know about that when it comes to Devil's Point. Those ladies seem to know exactly what they are doing. Stormy, Rocket, Piper, and Gwen. They danced and scores of people tossed money on the stage. Gwen played with fire. It was really cool the first time but after that it became evident she only knew the same four tricks. Still, pretty cool thing to watch. Stormy is the notorious dancer. So notorious that I had heard of her through the Portland comic scene. She was a flirt. Danced mostly with the audience. When the large crew of lesbians came in, wow they went wild for her. Hard to get a spot at the stage near the end. Rocket had some sweet moves. Very energetic. These ladies are in shape. It takes a lot to do some of the moves that they do. Anyway. Yeah. I had fun. It was a pretty cool place. Only one stage. Small. Kody, of Kurt and Kody, showed up. I sat at the stage for a couple numbers. Stormy was friendly towards me. The girls dug her, the guys were more reluctant towards her charms. None of the dancers looked emaciated, which was nice.

So yeah. Had fun there. Probably will catch Mom's evil eye tomorrow for it but whatever. This ain't Kitsap.