hi

hi

Friday, April 24, 2015

how is it a week till may already??

Thursday:

Did some work. Did some sleep. Ate some food. Read a bit. Put a few more things away, but generally kept chill. Watched TV.

Friday:

Slept in a little bit longer than I ought. Did a much needed food run for carbs and starches and a couple veggies. Got a big bag of green beans, can't wait to fry them up! Mmmm. Had noodles and avocado cream cheese sandwiches. Didn't get up to much of anything, though I really oughta. Not sure what my weekend plans will be, but probably some work and hang with Aaron or something.

Blaaah.

Oh, I watched Sightseers which was awesome. Violent, dark, funny.

Thursday, April 23, 2015

onk kronk

Monday:

I slept in as long as possible, and packed with no minutes to spare. But it all got in the car and at 11am off we departed for the great North. It was sunny and warm and the traffic was good. Just past Sacramento we stopped at the Colusa Wildlife Refuge Place, and spent two hours counting birds and peeping through scopes. There was a bird with a barfing dog type bird. Dad snapped some good pics. Onwards we drove. I read Seconds and had The Chambers of Secrets going on the radio. We stopped for the night in Mt. Shasta. A little motel room. Very little. Not much room. Room for two beds. We had dinner at Lily's. I had pasta, Dad had steak, Mom had beet salad. It was all tasty and filling and good to eat after such a long journey (I had a gas station hot dog earlier).

Dozed to sleep.

Tuesday:

Left earlier than the latest allowed by the motel. More Harry Potter. No nature reserves. We stopped for lunch in Eugene. Specifically at Ninkasi Brewing, where the tasting room allows you to bring in outside food. So Ma and Pa got some quesedillas and I got a taster assortment and got to tasting. None would be my favorite beers (not like Sleigh'r) but it was fun to have that sampling. And it aided in me taking a good ol' nap after Eugene. We finished Chamber of Secrets. We listened to other things. It rained when we got into Washington, but it cleared up enough for us to get burgers at Big Bubba's in Allyn. After that break, it was home! Unpacked. Put on jammies. I went to bed and started watching stuff till late o'clock, then I slept.

Wednesday:

Breakfast included hash browns, bacon, toast, and eggs. Mmm. I interneted for a while, then packed up to go home. I left my blanket though. Boo.

My house wasn't as cold as I expected it to be. I unloaded my car. I'm about 90% unpacked right now. I lounged. I nibbled. I relaxed. I tried to relax.

Lots of stuff going on in my life right now that I can't get into on my blog.

Sunday, April 19, 2015

Helen & Nathan

Friday

Ma and Pa went to the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, and I opted out to have some me time. I put on a dress and grabbed the AirBNB free pass to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I took the buss, the Jazz B line, downtown. Easy peasy. The aquarium had clusters of school kids on a field trip, but it was nicely not packed. All the kids were well behaved. No runners or screamers. I could take my time with the exhibits. Had a wonderful time. I saw the otters get fed, saw the puffins get fed, saw the penguins get fed. Saw many jellyfish, which are my favorite exhibits in aquariums, and cuttlefish, and a hammerhead shark in the big open sea tank. Very nice! I had lunch in the aquarium. Ma and Pa picked me up from the front (after I helped people take many photos) and we got ice cream, and then headed out to see cousin Annie and Paul at their hotel. We had drinks in the hotel bistro and caught up.

Then it was back to the hotel to get some rest before the big day!

Saturday

The wedding! The big day! We had our little breakfasts and I took my time getting all lathered up and spackled and false eyelashed. I put my hair up and then took it down. Put on my pretty dress and shoes and then off we went!

To Wendy's! Because dinner wouldn't be for a while. Then up into the hills to the ranch for the wedding. We got there early because we were part of the procession. Hung out in the games room with the groomsmen and the groom, who looked swell. People arrived. Family. Ben, Erin, Muchim, Averie, Dan, Brynne, Celia, Annie, Paul, Carmen, Josh... New family too! Janet! A new Janet in the family. I walked down behind Nate and Ma and Pa with Ben and sat in the front row. It was a nice, quick ceremony. OH! I also was the witness to the marriage signing thing. So that's nice and official.

So the ceremony was nice. Helen cried and Nathan held the tissues for her. Then they were married! Whoooo!!

Photos happened during cocktail hour. I was in a few of them, then I went to join the rabble and drank some lemonade and a glass of wine and talk to this person and that person. The weather was perfect. Warm, with a minor breeze. It cooled down in the evening. Dinner was consumed at a long table, with plates going back and forth. The Carmen and Josh way. I had a bit of everything. Yum! I was seated between Carmen and Garth and across from Nate and Helen, so a prime location indeed. I ate and chatted and the dance floor was opened up, as was the donut machine!!! I had several and they were very good. Fresh, hot, sprinkles. Mmm! I played large jenga, danced a little bit.

The night wore on and I opted to go hang with Garth, Danny, Mike, and Sarah after the shindig, but the drive down left me sick and I ended up just crashing at their AirBNB instead. Oops. Oh well.

Sunday:

Called Ma and Pa and they came and picked me up (an alternate driver wouldn't have been available for a while, and Ma had tickets to this birdwatching kayak tour on the Elkhorn Slough. So I groggily showered back at the place and off we went!

I was tired but it was a wonderful trip. It was just us and the guide, Rachel, out on the water. Ma and Pa had their kayak, and Rachel and I had our own. Oh! And we had wetsuits as part of the tour, so that was nice. I was very cozy and snug. We saw Bonaparte Gulls and and Oystercatcher and a batray, well the fins of a batray, which was very cool! And otters and seals and sail jellies and lots more birds that Mom is better versed on than I. The weather was good. A bit of sun, a bit of shade. No rain. I eventually felt less groggy, though I was looking forward to a nap.

After the tour, we returned to the house and took naps. I stayed behind and vegged and watched TV and got caught up on the internet. Mom and Dad brought back chicken, artichoke, anchovie pizza. I'm not keen on fishies on pizza.

Tomorrow we head back. It was a lovely wedding. Only happy tears.