journey to 42nd

Yesterday:

The Internet went down and no one is in the office on Sunday to get around to fixing it.

So I slept in. Took a nap. Read my book. Played with makeup.

Today:

Internet returned! Still, read a little. Stuffed drawings of Luna under Katie's door.

Later in the afternoon we, that is Katie and I, went grocery shopping. But this wasn't any ordinary shopping outing, we went to the Grocery Outlet! This required getting on the max and taking it to 42nd and then walking about 10 blocks. Grocery Outlet had super deals! Pasta, bread, mayo, creme cheese, M&Ms, shampoo, soap, a bottle of Riesling if a special occasion happens, bagels, sunscreen, conditioner, and chocolate milk! All for a pretty good price. Tomorrow I plan to walk to Trader Joe's and pick up vegetables. I'm a Granny Smith apple snob.

It was a nice warm day. Not so hot that you suffer, but certainly a nice heat not to be avoided.

We put away our groceries. I poured my M&Ms (I got a big bag) into the tiny cookie jar for everyone to sample. Made myself a little creme cheese and bagel lunch and sat back and watched the new episode of True Blood. Eric Northman, the 1000 year old Nordic Vampire, is played by Alexander Skarsgaard. He also played Meekus in Zoolander!

Dinner was more starch. I'll have to also get some sauce at Trader Joe's.

Summer is winding down. Played with makeup some more. Trying to find an ease with application so that when I feel like tidying myself up, I can do so with minimal mess ups.

I told Katie about Tuna Claus and she regarded my family as crazy for having such a tradition. Whatever. She's just jeaaalooouuus.

Today's word is: femlans. Ullans, Northern Ireland. Means the remains of a meal. As in, "Trillian, if you don't eat your femlans, you won't get dessert!"

needs more gore

Soap Box Derby!

Woke up and Katie said she and Tom were going to the Adult Soap Box Derby thing. She was going to leave in 10 minutes so if I wanted to join them, I had to do it quick. Showered and dressed in record time. Thankfully we stopped by Safeway on the way. Picked up a rice bowl with beef and broccoli on top. Mmm.

The Adult Soap Box Derby was the 13th. It is only adult in that the people driving are adults (this isn't some Devil's Point thing). Some classes in speed, some in creativity. We got a fairly good parking spot that was only a little walk up a steep hill to get to the track. We sat for a moment but the screaming kids were, well annoying. We moved farther up the hill and got a good spot in the shade. I sat on a blanket, Tom and Katie sat in foldy chairs.

There was a lego car, a car with people in a giant cauldron, a Flinstone's car, and soapbox with two barrels for the wheels. It went slow but it was awesome! Several of the passengers had squirt guns or water ballons.

We sat and drank and enjoyed the day. Jim sat near us but didn't come over to say hi. Tom's friend Joel stopped by and we exchanged bad jokes. Liz, and her friends William and Amy also sat with us. Later on I recognized Thom sitting up the hill from us, so I went to say hi. BT and BT's friend and partner in the moustache wax making business Evan were also with him. Sat and chatted. It was Evan's birthday.

At around 4:30 we decided to pack it in. The derby was held at a park on Mount Tabor. Past 55th on the East side. Tom drove us back. The two of them debated seeing a movie and I suggested Inglorious Basterds. Katie found that a 5:30 was showing at Cinemagic so off we went, back over to the other side! There was a line but not so big. The theatre was decently crowded and we sat nearer to the front.

Inglorious Basterds had more action in the trailer. Seriously, all the action in the movie would take up about 7 minutes worth of footage. It was brief and sudden when it happened. Still, having a little violence punctuates the power of the moment. A lot of talk but good talk. Some random moments occurred that are clear indicators that it was a Tarantino flick (HUGO STIGLITZ!! comes to mind). I enjoyed it though I might not watch it again for a while. Good shots, good black humor.

Katie and Tom left for Yur's. I stayed behind. I'm not much for cheap, nasty beer. Sure sometimes I feel like I am being judged for not wanting to partake in the constant consumption of booze but whatever, I'm saving money by not settling. One nice drink rarely still comes up as cheaper than many constant bad drinks.

good kitty

Katie says that I misrepresent Luna with my art and the photos I post of her. So here are some pictures of Luna looking small and fluffy and sweet (as opposed to fat and angry):




Finish Time Traveller's Wife today. The last 50 pages were just reading the inevitable. While sad, it was not that interesting. Defiantly has a better first half than second. Can't wait to dive into my new book!

Watched TV, slept in. Did not have any real adventures. Bought some chocolate milk. Gabe is working on moving out. He'll also be gone all of October on a job in California.

Katie's friend Amanda was over. I read from my book about foreign words. I'm excited for Sunday afternoon. That's when Katie and I are going to see Inglorious Basterds! I need to work Thirst into my schedule as well. One week left of summer.

I filled my tire up with air to avoid damaging the tire (as per dad's suggestion).

I'm a sucker for anything Tomer

Today I took a walk.

I'm avoiding fixing my bike tire. Really need to get it sorted out as school will be starting soon and like hell am I walking.

Not a long walk. And not an irregular walk. Just to Powell's and no farther North. I couldn't find a copy of Dead Until Dark that didn't have a hideous TV cover. I picked up a book about words from other cultures and their specific meanings. Such as the Czech word litost which is defined as the state of torment created by the sudden realization of one's own misery. It was half off. In the new books section I spied a cover that I suspected was illustrated by Tomer Hanuka, who is one of my favorite contemporary illustrators. And it was done by him. The book had a cool description so I decided to take a change on a first novel (the book is Alive in Necropolis by Doug Dorst by the way, it's about a cop and some ghosts and such).

Books stuffed in bag, I went to Starbucks and got a venti iced tea lemonade. I sat under a window and read Time Traveller's Wife for an hour and a half. I am determined to finish that book so that I can see the movie, good or not. I don't have far to go now. It's been a good read thus far though sometimes the characters are rather painfully cultured. I moved from Starbucks to the Park Blocks and read some more.

An obese lady in a motorized cart scooted by me and stopped and asked for a dollar. I said no. She asked again saying that a dollar was not much and I said no again. As a rule I only give money to the Street Roots people. Specifically the guy outside Safeway on 13th and Lovejoy. His dog, Balthazar, is really sweet and he (the man, not the dog) always points out an article of interest. Anyway, the lady went on her way. A dog belonging to the third person she asked for money barked and scratched her. The young woman who owned the dog yelled and hit it and tied it tighter behind her. She gave the woman some tissues for her leg, which was bleeding. The woman didn't give a cry of pain so I don't think it was too serious. The young woman continued to whack her dog on the head. The lady on the bench next to me tried to tell her that abuse will get her nowhere, but she wasn't paying attention.

At 5, I went to Fox Tower. I felt like a movie. Went to see The Goods. As I went in I saw a line. The dude behind the counter said it was for Thirst. I wish I knew they were playing that as a special preview because I sure as shoot would have seen that instead. Park Chan Wook Vampire movie vs Jeremy Piven unknown comedy? Yeah. Anyway, The Goods had a few laughs but was overall lame. It also had a random absurdest quality. It wanted to be bigger but it just wasn't.

Finished True Blood when I got back. I like reading.

Also, today is the two year anniversary of Trillobite! 730 days and still going strong.

evil fabio: drabio!

Had a low key morning. I was planning to waste another day and say my farewells to Karen later on when Katie walked in and invited me to come with her and Liz to Sauvie's Island. Swimming! It was said to get to 100 today. Perfect weather for a dip.

Sauvie's Island has a lot of U-Pic-It farms. And farms in general. Really beautiful drive in Liz's Jeep. There are two beach options on Sauvie's Island: clothing required and clothing optional. We went to the latter. It wasn't crowded and there were no kids. I kept a swimsuit on, but it was a comfortable beach to be on. No worries about keeping up appearances and all that. It was nice, aside from a few creepers.

Well, it was just one creeper: Drabio. A tall, muscled man. Very tan with dark wavy shoulder length hair and a bright white necklace that really stood out. He just wandered up and down the beach. He never got in deeper than his knees and just splashed the water on himself to keep cool. We call him Drabio because he was this dark, evil version of Fabio. Drab is not Fab. Every time he was near we quickly turned the other way and just waited till we felt it was safe to look around. Eye contact could have brought a horrid encounter.

Everyone else had good humor. Lots of jolly happy folk. And a few hippies.

Later in the day we heard the telltale chime of the ice cream truck. Katie said it was just a ringtone. But the sound got closer and to my utter joy it was an ice cream boat! These people were just putting along and stopping every so often and selling ice cream out of a few coolers. When they came near, I dashed through the water and towards land to get a few dollars. I gobbled up a drumstick and bought Katie a little treat as well. Just perfect! Ice cream vendors must have it made.

We went in and then went out and sat in the sun. Then went in and came back out. We continued this cycle for four hours. We splashed, we swam, we threw seaweed at each other. Katie and I swam out very far and some dude in a boat told us to go back in because the current got strong. I wanted to be snarky because I felt like he was treating me like a city girl. But I held the snark at bay.

It was a really nice day. Full of new experience. I had never ridden in a Jeep before!

Back I went. Karen called to see if I wanted to hang out. I said sure. She said she wanted to meet for pizza. Then she called again and said she would meet later. Then she called and said she couldn't get the pizza. Then she texted and asked if I wanted to help her move her stuff to her car. So that's when I saw her. Got a few more posters. Took her stuff down. Said our goodbyes and woosh, off she went into the dusk.

Speaking of dusk, oh man do I like True Blood! Almost caught up. I find myself liking the secondary and tertiary characters as much, or even more, than the primary ones.

good ol

Almost went to bed without writing. Oops. Don’t have much to say today though. Mostly watched HBO shows.

Breakfast was a hash brown cheese vegetable mix. Tasty. Dinner was pizza. Also tasty.

Picked up my keys. They changed the locks so I had to exchange for fresh ones.

At 9:40, I went to Diana’s. She, Karen, and I were going to get together and go see District 9. Karen arrived just in time.

It was a fine walk to Pioneer Place. We passed through a pack of drippy looking teens.

District 9 is really good. Paced wonderfully, well acted, good effects that are also not trying too hard. The metaphor of the whole movie is really obvious but of course, still executed brilliantly. Highly recommended, even though quite a few people get violently splattered.

It was a lovely night walk. I only hung out for a little bit. Traded Dar! And Otto Zeplin for Scott Pilgrim. Good ol’ Diana with the good comic stuff.

goodie goodie goodies

Woke up to my phone’s alarm. My dream was reaching an exciting point, so I was disappointed that I couldn’t see it finish. I came with one suitcase and I am returning with three. One of them is packed inside the other in a Russian Nesting Luggage way of being. The other is Grandpa’s old suitcase. It has books in it.

Dad stayed behind. Basil was nowhere to be seen. I have a sliver on the back of my hand. I have not received a sliver in ages.

The drive to Tacoma was relatively uneventful. The traffic got tight around some construction but we made it perfectly on time. Checked my two suitcases and sat with mom. I rifled through my New Yorker clippings.

They say it is a fully book train. I seated myself with three other strangers. We have a table but I prefer having my laptop in my lap. It’s a nice day.

I’m thinking up names for my Jade Plant. It seems to be doing really well with its new soil. Sookie the Succulent? Jade Pinkett Smith?

Katie and Gabe were waiting at the train station. Waiting for meeee! It was so delightful. Gabe brought the hand trolley, even though it wasn't entirely needed. Luggage took a while but it eventually came out. The Max was only one train segment and it filled up fast. Then it got stuffed. It looked like Leverage was filming downtown as well. It was a shove to get off the max but we did it. The apartment is pretty much how I left it. That is to say it is still messy. Next four hours were a relaxation period. Mmmn. Dinner was rare cooked steak with goat cheese mashed potatoes and nice garden grown green beans. Mmmm. And it was arranged in a tower.

At 8pm it was time to head to Diana and Robin's for that is where Karen will be during her stay. She wasn't there so Diana and I chatted while Red Dwarf played in the background. Eventually Karen rolled in. We hugged and I was all happy about the short return of Karen. Yaay! And she brought posters. She brought a nice poster for each of us and a pile of cast offs to pick through? Guess what person my poster was promoting?

Ahhh it's such an amazing poster! It is above my bed. I want to put it in a better spot. The night was just Diana, Phil, Tabitha, and Tabitha's boyfriend Tim. We chatted and gossiped and caught up. Shared some stories. Shared some swag. I have some posters to give to other people, those who could not be at the sweet party.

Now it is late and I must sleep.

so long grandpa john

"Don't take me to a hospital, just take me to a mortuary!"



Saturday:

The memorial.

Brynne, Dan, Ben, Averie, Mom, Dad, Nate, Rubie, and myself all got off to a slow but steady start. Coffee was foraged. Showers were taken. As I was in the middle of mine, the power cut out. I finished it in the dark. The power came on within thirty minutes but still, it was a bit of an inconvenience. Food was laid out. Chairs were gathered. Brush was cleared for parking spots.

Averie and I took parking duties with Kirie. Greeted people and told them where to park. Rolfe, Alison, and Justin came. Doris, Mary, Eric, Steve, Sandy, Cathy... a long list of family and friends. Some people I've met a handful of times. Some not so much. But it was a good turnout. The weather held and it was a wonderful day.

Ben and Nate helped escort people to the house. Jeanette and Liam also came. I'd say around 30-40 people were there in total. So many drinks. So much food. Rubie's lumpia was a hit.

At a little after 2pm, we gathered and the memorial began. Brynne started with a beautiful eulogy. I held hands with mom and cried a little bit. Kirie, Bill, Doris, Ben, Celia, Averie, Mark, Milo, and others spoke. I rambled about the endless artistic support the family has. Grandpa was a member of the Order of the Silver Marmot. It was love at first site when he met my grandmother. They were together for 60 years. He was a lover of the wilderness and of art. It was a wonderful memorial.

People left but many people stayed. The numbers dwindled ever so slowly. Desert was cake and cheesecake and cookies and just piles of sweets. We gorged and conversation went on.

Chatted with Liam, who got progressively hyper as the sugar set in. He never quite got that he should leave Honey Bear alone (Averie's dog who isn't good with anyone under 10) and had to be consoled when she finally snipped at him.

At the end we (that is Celia, Dave Olson, Brynne, Rolfe, Alison, Justin, Nathan, Rubie, Mom, Dad, Kirie, and myself) went to the beach and ignited a bonfire. Dave went for a night swim to see the phosphorescence. Old songs about murder were sung. More and more people called it a night (amazingly it was Dan, Ben, and Averie who were the first to call it a night). At the end it was just Dave and myself. We talked about comics and art. He slept in the tent.

Sunday:

The morning after! Light breakfast. Mom divided up huge portions of left overs for people.

Cleaning was a long process. When the Garman/Edwards left, it was time for a beach break. The sun was out and I traded jeans and long sleeves for my very much underused this summer bikini. I lounged. Mom kayaked. Dad snorkled. Celia swam. I flipped over and lounged some more. We feasted on left overs and cool soda. Dad and I tossed shells and tried to land them on a rock. After I put some rocks back on the seawall to replenish what I tossed.

Then back to packing. Food, clothes, buckets, chairs, cooler chests. It was a lot. Mom drove the motorhome, dad drove the truck, and I took the Prius. I haven't driven in a while but I did just fine. Listened to Louis Armstrong and some NPR stories about pinball championships and the photographer Mike Disfarmer.

When I got home, I noted and felt how pink my belly was. I'm a little bit sunburned but not that bad. Just my front bits.

Ate a burger. Looked at slideshows.

I return to Portland tomorrow. 12:05.

drinks and drinks and drinks and drinks

Thursday:

Time to return to Pulali and get it sorted for Grandpa’s Memorial.

Dad made me scrambled eggs for breakfast. Mmmm. I gathered together some weekend things into Grandpa’s suitcase and put it into the Prius. I was slow getting ready to leave but mom still took longer. Dad will be coming tomorrow for some fixit things.

First we stopped at the bank to do bank things. Then we went to Costco to do Costco things. Bought a huge pile of various drinks (Perrier, cola in glass bottles, Thomas Kemper, San Pellegrino, water, and Izze) and some generic food platters. I picked up a hot dog while mom went through the line. Costco has those awesome hand driers that actually get your hands dry. The kind that forces the air down and off as opposed to just generally warming it. I first saw those driers in Japan (2005 suddenly feels so long ago).

Met one of Mom’s buddies and then we played Costco Tetris with the groceries. We couldn’t have fit much else. Trunk was packed, the back seat was packed. The suspension couldn’t have handled much more.

It rained for most of the day. Sometimes it was rain, sometimes it was a mist. Sometimes it was just damp. The air when it rains smells so nice. So clean.

Helped haul things out of the car. Lit some incense. Looked at photo albums. Helped haul some trashcans down. The day went by really fast. Before we knew it, it was 6pm. We drove into Brinnon and picked up some ice and milk. Watched a little TV. Looked through more photo albums.

You know how some kids have an ever changing face? Well mine has kinda stayed the same. I’m very easy to pick out in photos. It’s lovely to look at old photos of Mom and Celia and Dad. Lots of photos. It’s really nice. Celia stopped by and we looked through the photos again.

Tomorrow is the big hard labor day. Lots of bushes to be pruned back. Vacuuming to be done. Brynne & co are coming by later on, so that should be swell.

Friday:

Slept okay. Slept on and off. It was okay. Had some dreams.

Had a bowl of Cheerio's for breakfast and hot cider. Did a lot of cleaning up and chores with mom.

Trimmed back the trees.
Raked the madrona leaves off the path.
Moved the firewood.
Trimmed more trees back.

Mom, pop, and I all sat and drank a coca cola from the glass bottles. Quite fun, even though there were plenty of needles falling from the tree.

Nathan and Rubie showed up. Rubie rolled lumpia. Nathan shared in the trimming.

I don't really do this much labor.

After all that, Nathan and I put on swimsuits. Nathan got in up to his knees and then fell backwards and got in up to his neck for a second. I went all the way in, eventually. Did a lap around the buoy. After the buoy I grabbed onto the kayak Nathan was in and got a little tow.

I took a very hot bath to recover from the water and got dressed. Once I sat down I felt so very tired. I did a lot of labor. Even broke a sweat! Nathan, Rubie, Mom, and I played Settlers of Catan. Nathan got a good lead early on and Mom got fed up and left. We removed her pieces from the board and then Dad came in and replaced them and played. Nathan won by a very big majority.

Celia and Lisa mum went out in the kayaks. Nathan, Rubie, and I had a little internet party at Celia's. Kirie came by and together we took the Citizen's test that Rubie is going to take soon. We didn't do so well, but Rubie did.

game art (if you can call it that)

Slept in even later. No one was around so I had to fend for my own dietary needs. No fun not having Gabe around. Booo! Gabe is also cool to just hang around with and talk about Hung and Breaking Bad. Booo being in Seabeck and not having any friends.

Nathan asked for some quick graphics for a Zombie game. Just a small overhead view of the player, some zombies, and some fences. Didn't take too long. Was fun though.

The neighbor Bill stopped by and gave us some crab. Dad made pot stickers. MMm. Not much happened. We go back to Pulali tomorrow.

darn you poland and your awesome poster design

Uhm. Yeah. Nothing much happened today either. Here are some cool foreign movie posters to fill up space:






Found my long lost cousin Justin on Facebook. We talked and caught up and all that.

Mom and I walked to the end of the driveway and got the mail.

Brushed Basil.

Dinner was spaghetti and pasta. Mom made a fuss about how unfunny Conan O'Brien's monologue was.

Finished season 6 of Buffy and season 3 of Angel. Only one season left of Buffy now, and two of Angel.

ah ah ah ah stayin' indoors stayin' indoors

Slept way in again. Way way in.

Ma, Pa, and myself gathered around for another game of Settlers of Catan. It was a slow start and it picked up steam with mom and myself tied at around 7. Then mom started wandering around avoiding playing the game because she was tired of it. Eventually I won.

Then mum left for errands. It was a gray day and I stayed inside. Munched on various thing throughout the day.

Dad and I dug up some more potatoes for dinner. Some were quite hefty. You could break a window with them, provided it was a thin window. We had chicken for dinner. I'm getting rather tired of chicken.

Mom says I keep referring to the water near Seabeck as the Puget Sound, when really it is the Hood Canal. I say, seeing as how it is all connected at the top of the peninsula I can call it whatever I want.

Kinda just sticking to myself these days. Might hang out with Mariel on Wednesday.

+2 triva bonus

Finally had a really good sleep in today. It takes a lot of work to catch up on sleep. Now my sleeping schedule is out of whack, but at least I am not so darned tired.

Sun came out today. It was nice. Not all that hot but still warm.

Did I mention that Holly, the dog, has received a haircut? She looks like half the dog she once was. Almost regular sized. Basil is still a behemoth.

Dad made orange rolls for breakfast. Mmmm.

Mom gardened. I wasted time.

Later in the day we went into town. Shopping! I wanted some more jeans. My other pairs are getting a bit tight from Gabe's cooking. It's easier to just go up a size than to exercise. Heh. None of the shirts really sparked my fancy, but I have enough shirts. I first picked up some skinny leg style of jeans but they were far too long and a bit tight (though jeans should always fit a bit tight when you get them because they loosen up as you wear them). When looking for some pairs that were shorter in length, I noticed a big glob of snot on a teeshirt. Gross!

Anyway, two classic rise short length size 6 pairs of jeans later, we were out the store! Mom picked up a pair of corduroys. I had tried on the style but it didn't suit me.

Dinner was steak and potatoes. We dug the taters out of the garden. Some nice sized ones had grown, and some smaller. Boiled and delicious, they were. It was very scrumptious. After dinner, we all gathered round and watched Pleasantville. I noticed that both Marc Blucas and Danny Strong were extras. I have watched way too much Buffy. Oh, and the actor who plays Pete Campbell in Mad Men played Connor in Angel! Neat!

So that was a nice evening. I think mom goes back to work tomorrow.

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.