I did my duty regarding the septic system

Monday:

Cleaned house and got up early, expecting Dad to arrive before noon but he showed up at like 12:35! So late! I didn't have any work from home to do today so I was able to help out. I helped get the boat in the water and load the crab traps up. I pulled bait out last night to use for today. A mix of scraps and giblets and salmon eggs from September. It was a perfect day for being out on the boat. We dropped two pots in a secret spot and puttered around the bay enjoying the sun. I stretched out on the bow of the little boat and got sunburned a little bit. Not much, but I did get pink. Dad and I hollered enthusiastically every time we saw a bald eagle, and we kept eye contact with my friendly neighborhood raccoon. Also I dug out some really good pink and white beach shoes that someone left here once upon a time. They fit wonderfully. No more loosing flip flops in the water!

We snacked out while waiting to pick up the crab pots. Sat out on the porch like champs.

A tree fell down on the beach. A big one! But it didn't wreck anything.

The waters were rougher when we went out to retrieve the pots, and I got damp up in the front. The first pot had three lady crabs, so they had to be sent back. The second pot had three boy crabs and they were all above the minimum limit size so yum nums they were ours!

We tied up the boat and hauled up the crabs. Dad got to boiling the water to cook the crabs. He chopped them right in half, cleaned out the guts, and in they went into the water and fifteen minutes later out they came all smelling of goodness. While they cooled down I got rice going and washed dishes. Dad showed me how to clean crab, and only a few bits of shell have been found in the crab since! It's time consuming but worth it for good crab. Yum.

I made a "deconstructed sushi" and Celia came over at just the right time to partake. I had the little seaweed rectangles from TJ's and on top of those we would plop rice and crab, and maybe a bit of soy sauce or tartar sauce or cocktail sauce if we fancied. A lovely little appetizer.

Celia departed and So You Think You Can Dance was on and Dad made burgers and we ate the burgers and watched telly. Some good dancing on that show, fo' sho.

After Dad went to sleep I worked on a little project that I shant go into detail with here, but I stayed up way too late doing it.

Tuesday:

The tide was super low and Dad and I walked along the beach and looked at what was left behind. There were a few clam spurts, and fish under rocks, and a few starfish! We picked up those starfish and flung them out further to sea. Maybe should have instead left them high and dry for the eagles. Gggrrr starfish. Decimated our oysters! No sign of Rocket the Raccoon.

We finally faced the music and checked the septic tank. Smelly indeed. Dad poked at the "scum" and "sludge" with a stick and I wrote down the measurements. It needs to be pumped. I washed the filter with the hose and we put the top back on tank, and we were free! Free from poking the poop container with a stick! Hurray! We celebrated by trimming the tree that fell. Trimmed off branches and cut off the good firewood pieces and put them on the seawall. The tree is still there, but it's less of a tangle hazard.

More burgers were consumed. I moved the potted pumpkin to a better spot, I watered the garden. Dad did stuff too. Then left. I'll see them all again real soon.

I had the remaining hot dog for dinner and got to working on some presents. Have a gift to give, but I gotta make it. So I finished watched Orange is the New Black (I really liked this season, it was less hectic and more just character driven) and worked on personal projects. It felt good to work on what I've been wanting to work on.

So a busy couple days, but a good busy. Got guests coming up soon, multiple guests! But I'm also working on site tomorrow and I'm already up far too late for that.

Shrimpfest 2X15

My body hurts. I did a bunch of walking today and I'm tired. Whewww! But uhh Friday:

Friday:

A really, wholly do nothing day. I had eggs and bacon and toast with jam. I had coffee. I watered the plants a bit. I watched TV. I lounged a bit. Read an essay on Tinder. Tindr. That app. It was a really good essay, Chris linked me it. Then I climbed back into my warm cocoon. Oh, I did some laundry too.

Saturday:

Set my alarm so that I wouldn't sleep through half of Shrimpfest. Got up, had some fluids and coffee and crumpet with jam. Got dressed in the clothes that I would wear in a cartoon: black jeans, Palladiums, black hoodie, graphic tee, leather jacket. The graphic tee was the Anadrill one. Representing at Shrimpfest!! I did my makeup in the purple & gray style. Looked like this:

I try to look distinct.

I opted to walk to Shrimpfest because exercise is good and I figured I'd have a few beers and I didn't want to pay for parking (though now I know that parking is free, still the second point stands). I grabbed my umbrella (white for best visibility) and strode out. The initial hill was tricky and my ankle was feeling jammed (like it was a year and a bit ago at the end of my time in Santa Cruz, I should get it checked out by a doctor) but as I started going down the hill it loosened up and started feeling much better. It was raining, but not intensely so. Still my shoes got a bit damp (I need proper walking rain boots). There was a decent line at Shrimpfest and I joined the credit card line and paid my way in. Struck up a conversation with this guy Larry in line, I would run into him a couple times over the fest. Nice fella, and his son was named Nathan.

I hit up an ATM once inside and bought some shrimp beads to represent. There was a band playing some cover songs, and they were fun. I got a garlic dog with onions (ordered it right after Larry & Nathan) and consumed it under a mounted umbrella. Very delicious and warm and filling. I did a circuit of the vendor booths. I filled out a form at the Habitat for Humanity booth, smelled soaps, looked at sand blasted glass mugs, and bought a whoopie pie for first dessert. Yummy! At this point I entered the beer garden and grabbed a beer and a seat and got to something sketching and much needed sitting. I can only be on my feet for so long. Larry joined me for a second and I sketched him and he told me "I'm made of old leather" as a way to discourage me from drawing him. His son also studies art as it turns out, and we chatted briefly across the Beer Garden barrier about brush pens.

Had a second brewski and drew more by myself. I walked around a bit more. Wished there was some cotton candy. I like cotton candy. There was popcorn but ehhh I don't want popcorn all the time. Bought a little nice smelling soap and a doggy treat for Banjo. Penultimately I consumed a funnel cake with powdered sugar and maple on top. Last funnel cake I consumed was in Marietta (Mariette?), Pennsylvania with Rainbow at that stormed out Seven Bridges concert in the park.

Finished the whole cake and stuffed and tired, I dragged myself home. Woof that was an exhausting walk. Did not like the up hills, but eventually it was all downhill. The rain has stopped by then, and the clicker at the gate said 2000 people at visited! Good turn out. Tomorrow is the belt sander races, but I'm not returning.

Celia stopped by and we chatted. I went pajama mode the instant I got home. I'm stuck on a really hard level in Bubble Fins. Jooosshhhh help!!!

Oh and one of Rachel's friends is doing a Highway 101 bike trip, so I may do the kind host thing like so many people did for me a year ago.

Here are more photos:

quadruple

I feel like I'm starting every entry with an apology being slack in my posts!

Thursday:

Worked on site pricing antiques. I wore tights and a red dress under my gray sweater, and I looked super cute. And I volunteered to help hand out candy on Halloween. It was rainy and dark. I saw Nightcrawler afterwords, and it was awesome! So dark and psychopathic and filmed so wonderfully. Jake Gyllenhaal was awesome. Got home late. Had some udon. Tucked into bed.

Friday:

The rain has let up a bit, but not exceptionally so. I got up early and did full vavavoom makeup. Brows, eyeliner, blush, tons of stuff. And I packed my vintage dress so that I matched the shop for handing out candy. I priced more antiques and stamps, and at 3:15 I left to hand out candy in Poulsbo. It was rainy but the parents had umbrellas and the kids had raincoats, so all was good! Tons of kids going up and down old town Poulsbo. Little babies, teens, I denied no one candy! At first not many came down the alley to Red Plantation, so I was being very generous. But we ran out at 5:45 (the hand outs went from 4-6) so it's all good! Saw several Boxtrolls. Many princesses and superheroes and Gryffindors. There was a cute Harry Potter across the street at Cups. A good time all around, and the Boss treated me to hot cocoa.

Got home and got a fire going and warmed up and texted another Homeaween celebrator.

Saturday:

Slept in! Hurray! Had coffee and my signature scramble and helped Celia un-wedge her boat off the beach and lift it onto the seawall.

Later on, Ma and Pa came over with food and fun. We hung out with Celia and friend of the family Linda, then dinner was salad and garlic chicken and garlic bread. I showed Dad my Aero Press. After food and conversation, we three relaxed and watched Chef. That movie needed less of a first and second act, and the third act should have been the movie. Not enough food truck or editing.

Sunday:

Ma and Pa and Celia showed me some hikes in the area. Hikes to take my visiting friends on. It was a nice damp day to hike and see some waterfalls. We got some clams at Hama Hama and that was dinner (with salad and broccoli). Ma and Pa picked 4 pounds of chanterelles in the morning. Their gluttony and greed knows no bounds! But dang did I like the fritata that Dad made. And I made coffee. And had dad make coffee in the Aero Press. A very nice day. Nice to tromp in the woods.

Oh! And we saw tons of elk! 30? Plenty. Big critters. And we visited Grandma and Grandpa's grave and cleaned it up.

And we told a few grim jokes through the day.

Now I'm painting my nails gray to match the weather.