four days for days

 Sorry, way behind in updating. Internet was slow one night. Then I got lazy another. Then it was late on the third! Anyhooooo.

Thursday! Thursday I worked. Laundry shift I think. It was a good day. Worked hard. Did good work. Ate curry. I think that was the day we were super duper efficient too. Everything got done with time and labor to spare.

And so I scooted over to Silverdale to kill time till I picked up dad at the airporter. I went to Target and suffered through over an hour of swimsuit shopping. Some had back clasps that were way too big and not adjustable for my sizing, so I had to pick one that tied. And I did find a super cute one that has a razer back, so it actually is a suit that doesn't dig into my neck like all the other bikini tops! And I tried on a bunch of bottoms and found one I liked. It was still a miserable experience, even though I like how I look.

Then I hopped over to Kohl's to see if they had anything that would work as a bridesmaid dress, and you know what! They did! In the 80% off clearance section too. I had no idea their clearance sales were so good. Okay they had a lot of awful stuff, but I found one great marine blue dress that's very smooth, and one that has this electric pattern that a new pal dubbed "energy demon" so now it's the energy demon dress, and I look so good in it (see above). It was also from JLo's line, which is hilarious to me. It's stretchy and still comfy and machine washable. And it doesn't ride up. And the two dresses totaled in at $30. Major deal. I will have to come back because at this point I was pressed for time. Seems like a good place to round out the dress part of my wardrobe.

The airporter arrived and Dad and I went back to Seabeck. We chatted and snacked and I saw pictures of the adorable baby Kaylee. My niece Kaylee!! YAY KAYLEE!!!!! I need to get a picture so we can have the two space ladies of the Spencer clan in one photo.

And at home I drew and went to sleep pretty tired.

Friday! Surprise party for Karen day! I slept a bit. Washed my new dresses. Ate curry for breakfast. Dolled myself up and headed out! The surprise was at Bremerton Letterpress Co. Marit had decorated with Ashley but Karen didn't know there would be a surprise party later. I drove in and parked RIGHT as Karen and Rob and Lily were walking in to the shop and I was like OHHH KAREN DON'T TURN AROUND AND SEE ME, and she didn't! I got in right after her when she was still all OH MY!! in happiness at the people there. She even cried a little bit, she was so happy with the party. The cupcakes were delicious. And the cookies. Mmm. I talked to Ashley and...I've forgotten her husband's name! Oh no! They are travelling around the US in an RV staying for a while here and there. We talked 48 states routes and National Parks. Great people.

A year ago Karen turned 29 and told me she was pregnant. She's gone from Nordstrom's to partner in a letterpress studio in a year! And there's a three month old baby and husband and house too. So much change and she is doing so well, I'm so proud and happy for her!

I hung around at the party for a while, even after it had died down. I changed out of heels into clogs but still looked fly in my dress. After we said our goodbyes, I got food at Central Market and went home.

Saturday! Actual Karen's birthday day, in which we made plans to hang so that I wouldn't let on there was actually a party happening. But of course I was going to stick to the plans.

I didn't leave till later in the day, so I had time to do my comic and chill and whatnot. I met Karen in Silverdale and the tail end of her birthday lunch with her family at Origami Sushi. Nice to say hi to her parents. They are a sweet folk. Then we (Karen and I) relocated to Goodwill for some walking, browsing, and chatting. I carried Lily in a carrier and she was as delightful as could be. She made some peeps, but all I had to do was bounce her a bit and she quieted down, and eventually fell asleep. I bought some earrings. Karen got some baby clothes. I made a quick Trader Joe's pit stop and then we went to Thea's parent's house (where Thea was). Thea is a friend of Karen's and we've met a few times and I think I forgot her name in previous blog posts, but now I know it! For sure! Thea!! She made a tasty dish with beef and potatoes and onions and carrots and other stuff. It was really good and just the right amount of spicy and we ate it on tortillas and all was awesome. We played some Cards Against Humanity with Masa and Mavis and Alonso. I pulled an early lead and then stalled. I got home very late.

Coworker was ill and I took her shift.

When I showed up, they were a bit surprised to see me. Oops yeah we are supposed to be all "hey I'm covering so and so's shift!". Anyway, I was on laundry and the weekend crew has a slightly different vibe. Cool people though, I really like everyone there. And someone used a glittery lush bath bomb in the tub and that was awful. I put a note on the board to inform people to watch for glitter in the washer, just in case it starts showing up in laundry after I washed the rags. Bluuuhhh. There's a reason why people say glitter is the herpes of the craft world.

And I did some weeding too, and headed home! Well got some food and gas and then went home! Dad helped me (well I helped dad) change my transmission fluid. It didn't look bad, but it was good to change it! Oil will need a change soon too. I put so many miles on my poor car.

We nibbled on chicken and I heated up a small portion of my curry for dad to try and he really liked it! Hurray! He said I didn't need to change a thing.

Then we retired. I drew a comic. My computer continually overheated and shut down. Argh.

But here is what I've been up to! Awesome, huh?

it's fine to age

Well the previous two days I worked. Did a day of toilets while Ginger handled the rest, then today I did most of "the rest" while we traded off different floor and scrubbing duties. One couple did not leave till right before my shift ended, so I got in and made a little bit of extra money finishing their room. But we got all the other fluffs done in record time. I made a different coconut curry chicken recipe and it is THE BOMB. So juicy and a nice peanuty flavor. Needs more heat though. Next time I'll amp up the chili powder.

And today after work I drove over to Silverdale and spent like a while hour in Target suffering through trying on swimsuits. I did find a really cute bikini that has a racer back, so I can do away with the tops that dig into my neck. But most of the styles had a clasp back, which is no good for me because the large sizes had no support that way. But I got a cute bikini. First swimsuit I've bought in.... six years? And then I went over to Kohl's to look at dresses and I found a marine blue one that Karen approved of as a color (supposed to be navy for bridesmaid) and I might still keep looking because the dress was on major clearance markdown so if I find something cute that's navy then I'll have two bomb blue dresses! And there was a second dress in clearance from JLo's line that is hella funky and was also super marked down that I got. Did you know Kohl's has 70%-90% clearance racks? There's a lot of not good stuff, but damn these two dresses marked down saved me $110 if I had bought them at full price. Ridiculous.

I read an article that warned drinking with a straw will give you wrinkles from, the suction I guess?? And it was just so frustrating like yay, more behavior to monitor in order to avoid the ravages of age!!



After shopping I picked up dad at the airporter dropoff and brought him home. We chatted and I saw super cute photos of baby Kaylee. What a little darling!

Back home I drew the comic and now it's beddy bye time.

clean house, clean nose

Spent the last two days hanging around the house. I tidied. I did laundry. I washed all my hankies, new and old. Did dishes upon dishes. Lit a fire because it was actually blustery and cold. Lots of wind. Thunder rolled over yesterday. Played Faster Than Light. Really nice to not go anywhere. I've been moving around a lot the past month and a half. Time to simmer a bit.

And now to have five days out of the house getting about & doing things!

I think I'm going to take another crack at curry tomorrow.

And the hankies were a really good deal for the quality and quantity! I only have two modern bought hankies and they are awful.

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!

disaster

 Kinda depressing more personal comic to start the blog off on, yes?

But sometimes you can't be all goofy. Sorry for lack of blog but I've been working and didn't feel like it. Uhm. I worked a medium shift, then a short shift, then a longer shift! I turned rooms, I pulled weeds, I double teamed with Ginger and we got five rooms done in under five hours. I got a bahn mi because I was lazy. Love that sammich. Weather got hot then chilled off for a few days. I drew. I played vidya games. I ate otter pops.

And yesterday I had my mp3 player in my pocket and I accidentally washed it in haste to get my sweater in the washer. And now a good replacement is hard to find. That player had excellent options and could save places in podcasts and audiobooks. Turns out few players do that these days. I got one on the way home (well I went out of my way to Sequim to get it, and a portable phone recharger because I don't want to get caught with a dead phone) and it has a pedometer which is cool, but the interface is garbage. The music stops if you exit the music menu, there's no shuffle or play all it's just....really bad. So I'm going to return it on my errands run today. I hate returning things but I think I can hold out sans mp3 player for a week or so (and use my phone for driving tunes).

Unless Ma still has that one I gave her (which isn't so great but better than other options).

So today: return player at the Poulsbo Office Max. Go to Seabeck and pick up my mail/maybe mp3 player. Go to Bremerton and get comics. See Karen for a bit. Go back through Trader Joe's and get food. Home! Chill!

sweet frozen sugar water

Back to work! And I was on laundry, the most brutal of the shifts. Lots of stairs, lots of time minding, lots of constant go go go because if you're not go go going, you've done the timing wrong. Still wound up with the duvet tumbling wet at the end of my shift. Needed to get it into the wash sooner. I could also delay sheets a bit? Towels didn't start coming out till the end of the shift. There were six sets of sheets to be washed! And six rooms worth of laundry! SO MUCH!

And my curry is a'ight. Chicken a bit dry and the rice is undercooked, but it's still edible and tasty.

After the exhaustion I took a long nap at home and planted this lavender I got at work and spread out some mulch on the front porch garden. Drew. Watched the new three part adaptation of And Then There Were None. Relaxed. Now it's nighty night time.

comfortably busy

Almost a week behind at this point, I think barring my road trip I've never gotten this behind.

So where do I begin? Oh! I think I'm going to get my own internet because it's much too difficult to troubleshoot when I'm boosting it from Celia's and a reliable connection would be awesome, and then I can move my wifi booster to the garage so that it extends up there for guests!

Work was fine. Did I cover that I double teamed rooms with Ginger? We did it so fast when we worked together! I also did some gardening. Simple weeding. And a deep clean on one room and now it looks so good. The main offender was removing scuff marks. I need to learn how to make spam musubi. It's so good.

The power went out, and I remembered after the fact it was scheduled. The batteries in the big lamp are dead so I got the propane going no problem (barring maybe turning it up a bit too much to start).

I decided to go down to Portland for Bridgetown Comedy Fest. I want to see more comedy this year and the shows seemed fun and there were some people I wanted to see perform (Eliza Skinner mostly) so I thought, why not take a day and go see a few things? And then since Doug Fir was close to Mel, I asked if she wanted to see a thing with me and she said yeah! So I left at 3 and got to a very warm Portland at 6:30. Parked in residential, met up with Mel and off we walked down Burnside to the Doug Fir, which is a venue I've been to before for a Violent Pink show.

The first show of the night was Baked! which was a combo music and standup thing. Steve Agee and Brendan Smalls fronted a band and did some jokes and there was a bassist and piano guy and drummer and they jammed and I left the program I grabbed at Mel's so I can't double check the names. So they played songs and mashed some up and joked and had doughnuts as it was National Doughnut Day and an audience member tried to stuff one in her face on a dare and she couldn't do it.

Eliza Skinner killed it. She was hilarious and she sung a song with the band and it was AWESOME. Sara Schaefer also killed it. Both excellent hilarious ladies. Julian McCollugh wasn't such a great follow up, though it's interesting to see someone not do totally well. But hey, Portland isn't the best city to make moderately racist jokes in. He wasn't booed but he did get the light (the timing light) and I wonder if that made it so Jonah Ray couldn't do a set. He stilled jammed with the band and was an excellent drummer AND singer. But I'd have liked to have seen him do a set (limited time at the show, ya know). Still, it was excellent and I was happy to have Mel there with me. She's an awesome person!

We hugged and I hoofed it down to Yamhill to see the Competitive Erotic Fan Fiction show at Refuge PDX. A bigger space and I met Evan Dumas there (one half of Man's Face Stuff) who had a pass to the show and is such a great guy that he'd be willing to see a very filthy comedy show with me. The eight comedians were divided into two rounds. One half had prepared material, the other half had suggestions and went on later in the show. So they read out loud written fan fictions about different topics. Slaughterhouse Five, DB Cooper, Party of Five, Star Wars...and it was raunchy and gross and hilarious and awful and amazing all at once. Sabrina Jalees won for her Party of Five piece (which was well deserved and I hollered for her the loudest). Star Wars though, by Dan Telfner (Tenfler err I could Google but I'm lazy) was a close second.

The next round had Gus from The Simpsons by Bill Dwyer. Jurassic Park by err... John F D'Onnell. Another guy did Pantera and he'd obviously not heard of the band and had wikipedia'd them and it was a pretty brilliant piece of writing with lots of references to their song titles followed by "like our song?" "yes, like our song". And Moshe Kasher, you know...from NPR, closed it out with an eloquent narrative about Cthulhu that was...yeah. It was pretty gross and visual. He won. Tried to get Madeline to come to the show but she was tired.

From there, Evan and I walked back up to Burnside for the late show at Doug Fir. We had a nice chat and he ended up not watching the show due to being tired. But it's all good. I sat in the front and sketched and had a blast. Zak Toscani was MCing and he had a nice jacket. Matthew Brossaud Brossard Browhatever is MY AGE and recorded a special. He had really nice hair and a few good jokes. Andy Wood informed us that Ali had died. The murmur of us not knowing rippled through the audience. Bill Dwyer had kinda basic marriage material. Wasn't into it. Nick Youssef was hilarious and had a very tight and well paced set. I tweeted the drawings I did of him and he's retweeted him so he's pretty much my favorite right now, haaa. Sabrina Jalees was on this set too and she was great! My alarm went off during her set and thankfully it was timed well. I felt bad though. Totally forgot it was going to go off (it's a daily regular alarm reminder). Brooks Wheelan was drunk but in his defense it was after midnight in a fun city. And while he also got the light, he wasn't a total mess and did get some good jokes out. Dwayne Perkins closed it out with some kinda dated material about Americans not knowing the PM of Canada. Now they've got that dreamboat Trudeau...we know who their PM is. Still funny. A great set to end an amazing day on. I walked back to Mel and Alain's and we chilled for a bit then went to bed (they have a guest bed). In the morning Mel made AMAZING oatmeal with coconut and bits of apple. And her coffee was great.

After breakfast and chatting, I got in my car and headed north. I used the spare change of clothes I've had in my car for emergencies for several years. Always good to have a spare, and the pants fit better now than when I decided they would do in an emergency pinch (they were a bit tight at that point but not something to be thrown out). So in full pants and a black shirt I drove north and melted and got sweaty and gross and hated everything. I swung through Silverdale and ran errands and went home and stripped down and stood in the Hood Canal for a while to cool off. Then I napped and drew and cleaned house and went to bed.

So I think that brings us to today? Yeah Sunday. Baby shower day. I tidied up a bit. Did some laundry. Went up to Port Townsend for Raechel's baby shower. Coworker, ya know! She had the baby very quick. Early by a few days. I got to hold him for a second. The shrimp I gave to the boss were turned into the meal at the shower. A nice sort of ... shrimp thing to put on toast. Mixed with basil and tomatoes. Really good! Got compliments on the quality of the shrimp. Glad I could contribute. Cake was lemon curd and raspberry and was yummy. It was a nice turn out of most of the crew and everyone was nice. I like my coworkers and bosses. They're a good bunch. AND they said I could put stickers on my work bucket, huzzah!

I helped tidy then I went to QFC and managed to remember all the ingredients for the curry I want to make (I left the list at home). Took me a while to find the coconut milk. At home I got that crock potting, and I washed the car because it was getting a bit dusty and bug splatty. And now my curry is smelling pretty good. So I think on that note I'll go have a bit for a late dinner (actually I need to get the rice going) and tomorrow starts another work week. Then a four day weekend that includes a wedding!!! Then more work. Then might go to Seattle to see John.

My life is comfortably busy and I love it.

I know I'm many days behind but I've been busy having fun.

bye bye bodi

And my internet is back in the game! I had my system scan going all day. Hopefully that cleared it up? But it's late and time for bed.

Yesterday I worked! And was on laundry so it was ... well laundry. Pulling sheets, making beds, pulling towels, washing towels, getting my order of operations mixed up...it was a lot. But today was a deep cleaning day so whatever was left had time to get finished today. I turned one room and started a deep clean on another. Got the espresso cleaned through and the scuff marks gone and the toilet seat removed and cleaned. Tomorrow will be a ho down on the grout. The hard scrubbing part of deep cleaning. The windows look really nice. As I told boss, it's amazing how dirty an immaculately clean room can be.

I dropped Bodi off tonight instead of tomorrow. It was more driving but it also spared me from doing more driving straight off a shift, and leaving Bodi alone when he needn't be. And I was able to pop my dogwatching money into the ATM so that's going into my account, yay. Stopped by Central Market and got another bottle of my beloved Kewpie mayo. And they had spam musubi in the hot case! Yum! Snacked on that.

Ma and Pa were still home when I got home yesterday. Shrimping wasn't so great which is a bummer. We ate hot dogs and I said bye to them.

Now it's just me again. Like always.

best idea ever

Mom and Dad are visiting for two full days and part of a third! Alas on the first day, the weather was too bad for Dad to safely go out shrimping so we had other fun instead. They admired the tree in its new home in the planter box. Inside we...wow I've forgotten what we did. Well we took Bodi for a walk down at the Dosewallips! He pooped and I had to pick it up. I don't wanna pick up Bodi poo, but I will be a good dog pretend owner. The roads were legit crowded today (well Saturday)! Like actually enough traffic to have to wait a notable amount of time before turning. We cleaned up Grandma & Grandpa's gravesite. Pulled weeds and other growth. We had soup and salad. We took naps. I drew and relaxed. In the morning when I went up to see Ma & Pa they were watching Star Wars! Without me!!! No wonder they were taking so long to get down to the house. Bodi was a good cuddly puppy in the morning. We cleared brush, made sure Bodi didn't get eaten by the eagles which were more present overhead than usual. We made teriyaki chicken and fries and THEN THEN

WE MADE S'MOREDORS!! We made our own doughnuts and then made a fire and roasted marshmallows and put those on the doughnuts and put chocolate on that and it was amazing. Best idea ever.

And I cleared the rest of the old books from the bookshelf. Now there's even more space! So I can move some things into there. That'll be great. After s'moredors we watched an episode of Kids in the Hall which was less funny than I remember and omg it had actual BLACKFACE! In the late 80's!! At that point we knew that stuff was not cool. Like dang...

Then it was bed time. I drew my comic and now I work tomorrow so I should tuck in.

turquoise + red pen = maroon

After reinstalling my Anti-Virus of choice and several long system scans and changing my internet from a "home" setting to "work" it seems to be functioning fine! But also I spent large portions of the past few days just not wanting to be bothered with fussing with the internet, so I just walked Bodi and played FTL and drew and whatnot.

But what have y'all missed?

Bodi did fine with me being away at work. No accidents in the house, he was just happy to get a walk and some company and lots of cuddles. Didn't seem resentful at all.

Work I lagged behind on Wednesday. Someone broke a perfume bottle in the bathroom of one room, and that stank wafted like nobodies business. Lots of pans and coffee grounds in a tray to absorb the scent (don't know how that works) On Thursday we changed up the system and Ginger and I double team cleaned two rooms, the two most involved rooms to clean (tubs + glass showers = extra work) and we did it in two hours! Helped to just grab the new sheets off the racks and with two people the beds get made in almost a quarter of the time. We're a dream time, go us!

And I did the floors and other bits and bobs. There's a lady who will be a part time innkeeper while the bosses are away so I did a bit of training of her on kitchen stuff.

I'm sick of this crockpot meal. It tastes weird. Maybe I can make mom and dad eat it. I don't like olives as it turns out. And I probably used the wrong basil.

And Friday was my day off! In fact I'm on a three day weekend, but not the same one everyone else has.

So today on my day off I slept in, had a little breakfast, went and got dirt for my planter box, and went to Falls View to take the loop hike. With Bodi, of course. It was a nice damp day and a family was chilling by the water. I said hello and carried on my way (Bodi is so eager to move about, he doesn't really sit for pets). It was a very nice hike and Bodi got very muddy but he was good and stayed put while I toweled him off. And I tethered him a bit till he was fully dry because I did not want mud tracked around. The house is a bit messier than I'd like, but nothing a modicum of effort won't alleviate.

And I put the dirt in the box and put the tree in the dirt and watered it and put mulch on top. I have lots of extra mulch! So I'm sure we'll put that to good use somewhere. Where's a good place to mulch? Maybe the peas bed.

And I fussed with my computer and drew and now it's time for bed. See you (Ma and Pa) in the morning!

slugs

Sorry about the gibberish of the last post. But that gives you more reason to talk to me about what great fun I had in Portland!!

And now slugs have eaten my other dahlia. I should buy another bulb and just grow it in a pot. Bummer! What are pretty flowers that slugs DON'T eat??

Back at the grind today and it was a pretty good day. One full turn became a fluff so my work load was lighter. I did a good scrub out on the fridge. Set the tables. Made everything look nice. Did a good clean on the floors. I got a crockpot of this basil pesto feta olive chicken thing going last night and it's okay. It'll be fine for the next few meals but I'm glad it's a small portion. It is nice to have it ready for me in the morning. I like doing this crock pot thing.

After work today I went to Poulsbo and picked up the wonderful amazing BODI!!!! And I saw Christa too, who is going out of town for a wedding. Hence me picking up beloved Bodi. He was so happy to see me! Jumping up and down in the car seat. What memory, I haven't seen him in months! Back at home I walked him and he pooped three times! And he ran about with Corbie.

I somehow got my internet up and running after a router unplugging and resetting and several thourough virus checks and mucking about in settings. Seems to be working again?

OH! And I got to sector 8 in FTL!! Then was totally annihilated. But a new high score, that was awesome.

Yeah. Dictated not typed.

I just realized I could do voice to text and write my blog that way and yeah. So Portland was awesome I strain my voice well by the end of the day my voice was strained because I just talk so much. Talk to friends talk to my friends old friends just talked the whole bunch. So I slept in a bit and I ended up not getting down to Portland as early as I would have liked I got I woke up I packed up but I packed up my car and I was out of here around noon. Getting the drive down was nice there was some rain but it wasn't bad and I stopped at Olympia to photocopy my comic to get it all ready to go. I stopped at the Kinkos in Olympia because that is the closest copying place on the way down and then so I commandeered a printer or a copier and I ran off a bunch of copies and took those copies and put them back in the printer tray and printer the other side and then I had 75 copies of my comic. But it took awhile to get them all stapled and folded and chopped that took longer than expected I might have had a chopper or a binding stapler but I didn't ask. Note to self look into how much those things cost. Sweet I drove to Portland and I drove straight down to Norse Hall where linework Northwest was being held in right as I rounded the block of where the main entrance was someone was leaving and so I now have a spot right at the entrance. And because of the parking it was a free as long as I wanted and it was awesome so I was able to just like go straight into the fest and it was packed and hot and there were so many people. In right away in the front was Dominic and John in so I was able to make a semi-interesting up and have any NyQuil and it looks like I'll have to correct some spelling errors. Or rather text to speech errors. Yeah it's so right away I was seeing old friends and giving them comics and say hello and it was awesome and yeah the hall had three rows of tables of people on each row of tables or on its side or maybe was too big rolls and then I know it had a lot of people and it was awesome. Yeah Linework they do an interesting thing where they have a different line up of people each day that our table and there's a few people that are there both days but there's a new crowd which is really awesome because then people aren't stuck at a table for the majority of a convention and they can't get around them yes so I ended up being there for 2 days usually I was only going to be there for one yeah cuz I didn't know that they had different lineups. I bought a lot of comics both days and it's because of those I also traded some things I had my little bit to get out and everyone was super stoked on the comic like just really happy and well received and everyone liked it and people were still together and people I didn't know we're stoked to get it. And a lot of great artists as she go and other trillian was there and Mollie Mendoza and other people just so many people. Yeah it's hard to get these Comics elsewhere because people would have to have an online shop to sell them in a lot of people would but then you have to pay for shipping I was I wouldn't even know how to find these people and so it's good to go to these things because you beat the people that you see they're working it's great because sometimes doesn't show up on your internet.

Anyway so I got there at around 5 I think I was there till 7:30 ish I know and yeah I didn't go to any panels I just walked around talk to people said hi to morgaine call BT call Beth call trillian call trillian friends it was amazing and also really really warm like the hall any fans.

I ran into an old friend Travis on the way out and I got some ice cream and then I headed over to Northwest Portland to meet Heather and Daniel for dinner and it was a very nice raise something something place and I got the pot pie and it was delicious and we all chatted and talked and it was wonderful.

After dinner I went over to the apartment with them and hung out and everywhere you look in the apartment you can see some artwork of mine up. But they have collected so much of my stuff over the years and it's a lot of it is in frames it's really nice and so the stuff I even forgot I sent them there's just so much work.

I met Heather's cat Emma and Emma the kitty was very sweet to me until it bit me a little bit was a feisty kitty. And after hanging out for a bit there were plans to meet up at a bar with some the other crew and so I said goodbye and left to go to Hilt in Northwest Portland. I was there first I got a table in a little whiskey and I drew the comic for today and waited for people to show up and right as I got the comic done Dominic showed up. And then Kristen and Alain showed up they are down from Canada and I saw them too linework. And jon joined us too and it was a great old time talking about art and process and Commercial Art and just posting work online and brakes making and getting back into making them it was wonderful. And I found a sweater well I should have turned it into lost and found but I decided to keep it but yeah it's a really nice letter I mean not so nice it's not like Louis Vuitton or Valentino or something anyway.

After that I went over to Madeline and crashed there I got in a bit late and we didn't talk much in the evening we just went to sleep and I fell off the couch because I forgot to extend the couch little recliners yeah but then I remembered and I slept very well. In the morning Madeline made me bacon and eggs because she is wonderful and we talked life and developments and working Comics I'm glad I brought my comic Sketchbook because that the easiest way to show people with big body of work that I've been doing with the comics. Yeah and we walked in and I got some coffee and we got rained on a little but it was fine it was really nice and we just spend time together and at around 1:30 we parted ways. I went back to linework for the second day sorry you're coughing yeah the second day when I got there it was a mad house and but Daniel was in the little dining chilling area so I sat with him for a bit and talk to waited for it to die down a bit because it was hard to Elbow your way around people to look at the work when there were so many people around. So I did early on say hi to other trillian and her friend Anna and I bought their comic switch for very good yeah and Sophie Franz Daniel it was able to track her down and so I can get her, cuz I really really wanted and I missed her yesterday. Yeah and I saw Beth again and her boyfriend Chris so we all sat and talked in sketched and I gave Comics out to people and at 4 p.m. I went to a panel discussion about gender expression and comics and that was really nice to listen to it big. And by that time it had the people die down a bit so is able to go around and buy more comics I saw opal and Conoco BT was table in the state that the guy from coffee beer and that's not a typo it's not it is actually called quote coffee beer and the quote. Yeah there is so many nice people and I traded my comic for other like little stickers Overlook comics with people and some people give you discounts on comics and I was like here's my comic here's my comic was a little bit and everyone was really happy to get it and read it and I got lots of good feedback in I'm so happy to be Candice is going back into this to see all the great people and the one was me know it was a joke everyone was just very very supportive. Yeah it was great and I'm still just feeling so happy from the experience and the positive responses from everybody and there were a lot of people missed two door and windows availability closing I love that Portland is a city that I can visit because it's a great city with a lot of the best city there's a lot of bad things going down in it but there are still some of my favorite people live there and it's pretty easy for me to go visit.

Yeah and I bought a lot of comics that we could have them wore autobiographical day-to-day things like what I've been doing and then there are a lot of people that do daily comics in that practice and help it was going to come talk about that with new people and get my name out there again yeah it was wonderful. It at the end of the day I think at around 6:30 I said my final but by two people with hugs and lots of hugs and I saw you at his cooler coffee food truck place and he spotted me a coffee in the mug I need a muffin if I still keep them yeah he's a good guy.

And it was a pretty easy drive back if there was some rain but it wasn't so bad I stopped at the last rest stop before Olympia stretch my legs and was going along with it pendants loves the sun was setting and the views are beautiful my when my headlights is out the other one that wasn't just put it so I need to buy a new bulb and get so that can be repaired soon.

Can head home I sketched and ruin all bad and it went to sleep at a good hour and in the morning I got up made a little mediocre sandwich because I'm not that much food left I need to go food shopping and I went to work it was a pretty mild day just a few rooms to turn of the two people wait until 11 to check out so there's a little bit of a delay in getting the rooms done things are good. If I stop by QFC on the way home and got food fixings and I have the crockpot this will basil chicken feta chicken thing going so that should be helped by meals for the next few days be nice and easy will tomorrow I get booty I pick up Cody from Krista after work if that'll be exciting to have a little doggie friend and I could draw him to the comic that be nice.

You know yeah I'm trying to get my computer I don't know what's going on like I don't know if it's a problem Celia said for the internet because there was some trouble shooter that said there's something about the IP address that is invalid so maybe it's something with the firewall yet there's also a computer isn't installing these updates things but I'm afraid to show all updates actually get Windows 10 maybe I should get it soon.

I wonder if the other computer would connect the internet I'll try that out because then I will know if it's the internet or the computer computer so I think I'll review what I've written here or dictated and then I can see and then correct all the weird weird typing errors and then get up and you'll have a weird block that's written verbally vs. How I type things out and so this is the pattern speed so you can see how I dictate things okay.

Internet down wth

So my internet is back to being spotty and weird. I'm posting this from my phone. Here's what I drew in Portland :

I'll do a write up to post when it's back up to snuff.

comic completed

Current Mood:

In 72 hours I sketched and inked and polished an eight page mini comic collection. And it looks really good! I've very pleased with the results. It took a lot of work. Hours at night after long days.

First chunk of sketching happened after Dad's visit. He showed up at 8:30ish and put the shrimp pots in. I made coffee. When he got them the first time I had my breakfast and got ready to face the day. A jerk in a big boat almost dragged his pot down because they were clueless about line management!

I helped (slightly) cut some metal for my new large glorious planter box. We snacked. I made tea. For the final shrimp collection, I joined Dad on the open water in the smaller kayak. It was quite the paddle out to the bouys, and the big jerk boat saw me coming and they motored away. They knew backup when they see it!

I got lots of good photos out on the water and photos of Dad. A boat was headed our way and I did the Tusken Raider cry and they turned away. I'm a force out on the water!

We got the shrimp limit. Cooked them. Set them aside to cool. Assembled the planter box. I need to buy the dirt for it, but I've been occupied with my comic.

So LineworkNW is this weekend! Indie comics and stuff. I wanted to have something new to show and give out and I managed to get it made! There were two nights of sketching and two nights of inking (one night overlapped between the two). It's all black and white because I didn't want to futz with shade and copying shades. It looks good! I did eight hours last night after work (a five hour shift which was pretty packed with turns and laundry) and stayed up way too late doing it. I was thinking I would have them done last night and copy them today, but alas I assigned too much work to myself and at 3am it was obvious I would have to copy them on the way down to Portland (I'll stop in Olympia or some such). Today (Friday) I was running on empty but I still got everything done in just about the right amount of time. One room was finished slightly after 3pm but they didn't (early attempters at check in) come back till 3:45 so it was all good. I took out trash and ran laundry and generally tried to stay composed but man I was feeling it. I had coffee in the morning. Coffee with lunch. And after work I called in an order to the Pho place for pork bahn mi and spring rolls and I had a cold can of assam black tea with that (I ate the sandwich on the way home, it transports well). And the spring rolls were a good later in the day sustaining snack. I knew I wouldn't quite have the time to set aside to make a big meal (nor the ingredients) and I needed some veggies. I'm glad I got those because I pretty much, after a power nap, worked from 6:30 to 11. With some pauses. Still. Yeah.

I'm tired. But proud of myself. I'll see y'all on Sunday night because tomorrow I pack up and go to Portland!! I'm only staying the one night though.

that tub is cursed

 Bonked my elbow something fierce on the tub at work. Big tubs are a pain to clean! And that tub proved to be trouble because turns out there was a drainage problem and now there's a bunch of drywall repair that is going to have to be done in the room below it. Major bummer!

Trained a little more on check ins and mostly did turns and fluffs and stuff. Not a bad day but I was really tired when I was done and took a hearty nap, then drew some, then had a hard time getting back to sleep due to the nap.

Arrived to find out about the room being out of commission. Turned two rooms, forgot about my pre-flights (that's my task weak point, I tend to forget them), did laundry, lots of folding. Stretched a few tasks out. Did the bathroom for the room that is temporarily not available, so when it is ready it can be good to go!

Then at home I played some FTL (getting better at it all the time, it's a fun game) and worked on my comics scripts and got the pages set up to draw. Just have to sketch them out now, and ink them, and color them. I wish I had more ready access to a copier because I don't know the best way to color them. Well subtle things get lost in Xerox? Hmm. I'll ask Daniel. I'm very pleased with how today's comic turned out because I drew it with no pre-sketch. Compare it to the one about the tub that was more sketched out. Both very different in gestures.

I really like how cool I look in the driving panel.

Time to go to bed I am up way past when I should be.

drawing on a countdown now

Worked today, and left Mom and Dad at home to not burn the house down. Hustled to get a few rooms fluffed fast, and then turned a room, and watered plants, and unloaded/loaded the dishwasher. Not such a heavy day. Swung by QFC and got s'mores fixings and other things.

Back at home the house was not burned down! Ate shrimp, rested my eyes, ate a burger, said adieu to M&D. Drew comic. Relaxed.

Today was a lethargic day, though I still drew a comic and roughly planned out a comic for LineworkNW. One that will be photocopied and given out to people, whee!

Played vidya games. Lots of FTL. Ate carbs. The uze.