baby party

 Thanks for the info about the propane lamp, mum! I only burned it for an hour but that's good to know.

Work on Thursday was good. Ginger and I busted out three turns, two fluffs (someone tucked in two stuffed frogs in their bed it was very cute) and laundry and floors. Ginger managed the laundry and I folded what remained at the end. A busy, productive day! I helped halfway check a couple in (the room wasn't quite ready). After work I went to Goodwill and browsed for some time. I found a cute dress, a green track jacket, and a cowboy print shirt. Nice finds all in all. Also there was a totally ridiculous dress that scootched so high up and didn't fit right in most places.

After Goodwill, I went to my coworker Erin's for her sons 1st birthday. A shindig I wouldn't think I'd attend a few years ago but I ended up having a great time! Her husband Ben (who looks like Anthony Roberto) made some very good beef & elk burgers and I talked to lots of nice people. There were lots of around one year olds, but they were all pleasant and happy and almost no crying. The babies were Fred, Henry, Lily (different Lily), Forrest, Anders, and..I think that's it? I met Erin's brother Paul and Erin's friend Dan who delivers mail. And there was cake! It was nice. I asked baby questions and no one seemed like a hyper psycho parent. Odd how one grows.

At home I took a nap and just fell asleep super hardcore.

I have a three day weekend!! And I'm not planning on going anywhere. Today I dozed fitfully, played lots of Faster Than Light (did I mention I beat the Rebel Flagship??? That's the boss! And I beat it!!). My computer kept overheating. I worked on dishes. I made a to do list. Took out the compost. Watered some plants. Have other organizing to be done. I can probably thin my closet a bit because I won't be needing the heavy coats for many months.

doggy kisses

 Yesterday was deep cleaning with Ginger. I tackled the bathroom and scrubbed the fan and shower and all sorts. And tried to scrub the heating vent but got a shock while cleaning the grime from the part that said warning high voltage. Oops. I moved chairs to prepare for doing the floors the next day and did pre-flights and closed up.

I walked down to The Rose and saw The Lobster, which was weird and good and not something I'd recommend save for a select few. Like, it's very weird and acutely violent in a few parts and just...bizarre. You gotta be open to those kinds of movies. I got popcorn and a nettle syrup gin fiz. Decorated the popcorn with hickory, yeast, a bit of cheese. Super good. But yeah, the movie. Beautifully shot, darkly funny and also dark, and a great cast. I had a ... good isn't the right work but I certainly had a time that I was glad to experience.

After the showing I walked around the Orlando Pride gathering at the fountain. There were rainbow flags draped over the rim of the fountain making an O shape. I didn't stay for the vigil or whatever it was, but I did look at the posted list of names. They were so young. It's not right.

Back at home I drew the comic and neglected my dishes.

I was solo this shift, and by myself for most of it. I did a thorough go at the floors top to bottom, and did a little bit of laundry, and doubly checked the rooms, and watered plants on the veranda, and pet Liesl. After lunch I did a few deep clean items on Study and there were SCUFF MARKS ON THE CEILING! How???

After work I went and forked over the cash and got two new tires stuck on my car. Went to Les Schwab which was slightly more expensive than I remember Wal Mart being but has the benefit of NOT being Wal Mart, in town, and had more free things included with the purchase of the tires. It wasn't a catastrophic amount and now I don't have to worry about my two Oklahoma City bought tires skidding out. They'd be unable to get a grip and two rainy stop signs thus far.

At home I played FTL, watched telly, drew comic, and now I'm tired so nighty night.

Oh, and I'm working the 4th of July.

punk rock wedding

I'm tired! But for the reason of my arms being sore from whipping cream by hand, which is not advised to do TWICE but I still did it. Anyway, day before yesterday I had a disaster of a day trying to get biscuits/shortbread biscuits to work. Only one recipe is edible, but it was this square one that yielded nine and I made it at the end of the day (the third recipe, or was it fourth?) and didn't have enough ingredients to keep going. There were too many factors and I didn't know what I was doing wrong. No clue what to do with a ton of dry icky biscuits. Mulch? Beyond that I assembled stuff for the wedding trip and talked to Celia a bit. At the end of the day I decided to just chop the strawberries, add in sugar and some orange juice and serve that with whipped cream for a little dessert.

Got a later than I'd like start to leaving for the wedding, but it all turned out all right. Packed in tent and cooler and food and clothes and water and I headed on down. An easy drive down, little traffic. Listened to NPR and it's truly tragic what happened in Orlando, and legislators just keep saying thoughts and prayers instead of taking action to stop gun violence. Why is it so easy to get guns in this country? It's horrible. Horrible to attack people in a sanctuary where they can be themselves with their people. Uhggg.

Glad I could spend today celebrating love. Or yesterday rather.

I set up a tent in one of the adirondacks clusters, but outside away from them. Some people had set up tents INSIDE the adirondacks, but I guess it does help keep the bugs away. I ran into Sivonna and Matt right as I was done, and joined them in getting to the lodge for the ceremony on time. But the ceremony started a bit late. We all had a beer and chatted. There were not as many people as I recognized at the wedding (Heather and Daniel couldn't make it, and the PNCA print cohort was few in recognizable numbers) so it ended up being a bit awkward for me because I only had a handful of people to chat with. There were lots of oddballs and punks and goths and alternative people. It was a very diverse crowd. The venue was a campground and there was a lodge that opened out with a view of the lawn, which was large and went down an incline. A large open space, really great. And the weather was hot! The ceremony was short and sweet. They came out from around the large fireplace in the lodge to the theme from 2001, and the officient gave their shpeal and vows were read and a cute toddler kept asking "NOW???" in wait for her ring bearer cue.

It was great! After the ceremony, food was on. It was a massive potluck with a huge array of food from vegan to a lamb that was slow roasted over a fire (seriously, it was on an iron cross over a bit and it was brutal looking and oh it was SO delicious!). I whipped up my cream and got in line. I just piled my plate with carbs and veggies and lamb and sweets and more and more and more and just stuffed it in my face all together. It was scrumptious. And I went back for dessert which just about did me in. I talked to Yoshi and Christy and Abra and Palmarin and...I think that's the people I knew that were there. Had another beer or two and did my second whipping of cream during the speeches (which I was in earshot of). People got a kick out of me whippin' it. The speeches were funny and moving. Really just great. The weather cooled a bit and I put on my jacket. The first band was Satanarchist and it was ... not to my taste. During the second band I went to my tent and had a bit of a nap (the band was death metal and I could hear it just fine in my tent). I got up for the third band and decided to go home, as I wasn't cut out for ~3 more hours of shindig and music and socializing. Especially since the majority of people I knew had left/gone to their tent. I just wasn't blending with the crowd and I didn't (early on) feel like getting so drunk that I overcome it. But I did catch (after my nap, before the third band) the pinata being burst open. And the third band, Vice Device, was awesome! I was only intending to stay for a bit, but I ended up sticking around for their whole set. Really great sort of...I dunno...synthy music? I can't describe tunes but they were great. Then I hugged the couple goodbye, packed up the remainder of my food (I used the yellow serving dish with the lid) and returned to my car. Packed up and headed out. Glad I did set up the tent, as I had a place to nap and retreat to. And glad I went home at night because it was clear, both the road and the weather. It was rather stormy today.

Still, I had fun!

And today my arms are sore from the whisking. So sore. I dozed. I cleaned up a bit. I... oh I forgot to empty out my car. Oh well, it's nothing that can't wait. Just camping supplies. I got three days of work, then three days of not work, then four days of work again. Ready to get back into it!

too little cooks

Yesterday was a fun bout of errands! I returned that player with no fuss, went to Seabeck and rifled through the house while talking to Ma and Dad let me borrow his player. And they let me have the Far Side collection! Yay! And I picked up my box of Trilly Stuff. Then I went to Bremerton and hung out at Bremerton Letterpress Company with Karen and Marit and Lily. Cute little baby. We cuddled a bit and she didn't wail and was generally a good little baby. Gave out a couple zines. Swung by Trader Joe's and bought supplies for my potluck dish for the wedding. Going to try to make strawberry shortbread! Spoiler alert: the biscuits didn't work so now it's strawberries and whipped cream.

At home I drew the comic and chilled and played some vidya games.

Today I dozed and talked to Celia and tidied house a little and did laundry and failed at making biscuits. Tried three recipes! But I think my cream substitution was sabotaging me and it was too late in the day to go buy milk. But I think strawberries prepared with a dash of OJ and sugar, topped with fresh whipped cream would make a nice little side dessert. There might be a pie for it to go on top of. I'd rather that than show up with storebought biscuits.

Now I've drawn out the map (I'm taking the exit you suggest pops) and made note of what to do tomorrow. So it's off to bed with me! Don't want to get out of here too late. There's a two hour window to arrive, set up tent, and get to the ceremony. Which is pretty good, but I don't want to risk it. Who knows what Sunday traffic will be like? I'm happy I have a portable phone charger. My a/c charger in my car never seems to work.

See y'all on Monday!