otter apologist

September 10th: when everything stops being busy. I can't wait. After the wedding there is nothing in my calendar in terms of things being done.

Today was Karen's bridal shower! I gave her a jade plant from my master jade. Not as nice as some of the cookwear and storage solutions she got, but appreciated. I have yet to give her a cutting from my master. There was pink champagne cake and coffee and tea and lots of good company. I broke in my heels a little more. Afterwards I helped paint a thing for the wedding that is super cool but I won't go into too much detail, You'll just have to wait and seeeeeee.

Heather and Daniel's visit was perfect! They brought me good food to eat and share in eating, I bought some dessert which I forgot about one night and then we ate on the raft the next day for a sweet lunch. We sunbathed and swam and Daniel cleaned the otter poop (called spraint) off the raft, and the seal afterbirth. Always with the afterbirth. He still loves those otters, and in the last hour of their visit three of them climbed on the raft and he watched excitedly through binoculars. We talked art and people, and drank the french wine I had been given by Brynne, and Jeanne and Brynne were at Celia's one night and they made tacos and we had that.

H&D did the dishes too. Such wonderful company. It's nice to have people you can talk easily with, but also spend some time reading in a quiet group. Heather got a kick out of the Far Side collection.

And we threw seaweed at one another.

Work has been good. Lots of turns, lots of warm weather, lots of hard work and getting it done. We did the whole run of weekly chores in one shift just to get everything REALLY nice.

Now I'm tired and I got work tomorrow. Not till 10, but I need to focus on getting better nights sleep.

tony bobby aly

Karen visited on Sunday! But she got caught by the bridge being up, so she took the long way around. What a pal! I made this cranberry chicken in the crockpot and mashed potatoes from the garden. The chicken tastes better microwaved. The gravy was supposed to be sticky but it was more...liquidy. I dunno. But it was great as leftovers and Karen cleaned her plate. Lily was cute and had plenty of smiles and she puked on me a little bit. Nothing too bad. Earlier in the day I talked to Celia and we ate raw snap peas. So tasty! And my iced coffee turned out pretty good, though I think next batch I'll grind it finer. That yellow ceramic dish with the lid seems perfect for cold brewing.

Nice to have Karen over because I cleaned prior to her visit so I just had to tidy a bit more for Brynne and Casey's. Right now Celia's is more tidy. For the 4th she did a major cleaning. I haven't had the time or the energy to do another big cleaning/organizing push. I have a three day weekend coming up. I don't think I'm overworked but I am not being smart about my sleep schedule.

Today I did breakfast shift and I feel so not confident on breakfast. There's too many little things I don't know, but I'm learning. I want to be a good employee. After that it was six turns and two preps for deep cleaning. Did three bathrooms and vacuumed an other room stuff. I was very sluggish and out of it. 8am start times just fry my noodle so much.

But I've been using the clock radio set to classical to wake me up because the alarm app is unreliable, and that's been nice.

I made up the king guest bed with sheets and I did it like I do at work and I put a Hershey's on the bed (wrapped). Ma and Pa, if you're nice I might do the same for your next visit. You're pretty nice. I bet I'll do the same.

And it's probably good you didn't come on Sunday as the bridge was down.

double comics, because I'm a generous God

Work was tough. It wasn't an unusual shift. Three turns, four fluffs, refills, napkin ironing. I just felt rough. Very tired and light headed. I had a scone leftover from breakfast and after my PB&J I started feeling a bit right in the head. Still, it was tough. I did food shopping and got gas and at home I took a nap. Festivities were happening at Celia's but I needed a little buffer between work and people. So I drew the comic and took a nap. Then I was good to go and I had a blast! Linda, Brian, Amy, errr I forget Amy's husband's name, Taylor, Reed, Dustin were there! And Kathy and two of Celia's friends whose names I now forget. Nice group. Good meat was on the grill, and corn and veggies and other food. We sat outside. We talked. Safe fireworks were let off and Taylor got the Pagoda. We had marshmallows and a good time was had. I missed Averie, Muchim, Brynne, and Dan due to napping.

and I didn't break a shovel this time

I had a pretty full and busy and productive day today! Ended up not leaving the house, well I did go to Quilcene but not further errands.

I got up earlier than usual and got through my internet rounds at a good hour, so I got to being productive. I washed and put away the dishes. I went to Henerey's in Quilcene and bought three bags of potting soil. I did flower seedling starts in the seedling tray and repotted one of the jades and the pretty flower. I don't want to throw that little flower to the garden beds just yet. It can look nice in a bigger pot for now. In the garden I dug out the back bed. Anything that looked like a nice plant was relocated to the perpendicular back bed, and the rest was tossed aside. There were oodles of not nice looking mushrooms in the bed too. I dug it, turned the soil, added turn, turned it some more. I removed the carrots from the bean bed and put soil in there and added the peas. Put carrots in the open bed spaces. Put the catnip in the spargle bed and the anemone, candytuft, tim curry plant, and the two dahlias in the refreshed flower garden bed. I sprinkled the poppy seeds in the open areas. That'll be Trillian's Pretty Bed provided everything grows and looks nice. I finished up right as it started to rain a bit. And in a few weeks I can move in the seedlings!

From there I took on the upstairs. I filled boxes with books and the two shelves are all cleared out. I sorted through the clutter and got a fire going and burned the burnables. There's still a lot of sorting to be done but it looks SO MUCH better. I just need to figure out the sorting system, and I already have a few designated areas (like the sketchbook pile and I repurposed the inbox esque tray as a place to put my unsorted art that turns up in the piles. I'm making real steps to reshape my space and it feels great. I think now that I'm aware I have a higher stamina for things, I am more wont to get things done. Like I know I can garden for a few hours and not be totally wiped out.

Also my Swatch is available for $25 less on Amazon than on the main Swatch website like...??? why is it so low? I think if I can't get mine fixed, I'll just save up and buy a second one because I wore the watch today for old times sake and was reminded of just how great a watch it is in terms of simple readability, fit, weight. All that. I just can't trust other watches to fit comfortably nor do I like any other watch face as much as this one. And the Amazon price is barely more than those Timex's I was looking at, so like...why get something you maybe like when you know you'll like something else? So yeah. Once PUD is paid and rent is paid and phone bill is paid...I'll see where I'm at.

Also I need to save for Linework. But I know the watch style isn't suddenly going to be discontinued/was discontinued. So no rush.

ALSO I start a lot of paragraphs in the same way, huh?

AAALLLSOOOO I seem to be writing more in this blog than I did for a long while. I guess there is more to report on as I'm getting my life together and doing different stuff everyday.

despite not being in the comics, mom was here too

Spent my weekend working on the garden! Woohoo! Though yesterday was pretty mellow. Ma & Pa visited and stayed the night. Dad went oyster shucking and I stood out in the water eating chips. Nice level of warmth and cooling. We grilled hot dogs and it was pretty nice. After a dinner of salad and chicken and cauliflower and hollandaise sauce, we played Careers! A game from 1965 where you come up with a formula for success and try to achieve it. And I won!! Though it was tricky to get the fame points in my formula. The game had some old timey sexism but it was pretty well balanced.

Morning was PEOTWHAMC and coffee Trillian style, which is to say undrinkable if you're mom but good if you're dad. Then we got to gardening! We pulled the weeds out of the bean trellis bed and out of two more beds, really over turned the soil! I planted some potatoes that had gone to seed and now one whole bed is the potato bed. Afterwards we went to Whitney Gardens and walked around admiring the rhododendrons and ... other plants. Rhodys are one of the few I can really identify. Then we picked up a catnip and an anemone and a cottonpuff ball and a marigold and... one other. Bee friendly plants! I need to get some dirt to top dress the planting beds, and I want to go back to Whitney and buy a Golden Spirit Smoke Tree. It needs a special custom raised box because there's oodles of not good dirt on the property, but that's good because then I can put it wherever I want and I want it out front so I can get a nice seasonal plant among the evergreens. It'll look so pretty!

After the plant field trip we ate sandwiches and hugged goodbye. Dad has been working on the stairs. Good hard working dad!

I took a little rest, then dyed my hair and watched telly and drew a comic. Now it's to sleep with me because I work tomorrow. And the 23rd is free but I plan to garden and maybe go see Karen and stuff. Oh that reminds me, I need to update my calendar with my new work days.

one hundredth comic yo

 Yesterday was nice. Perfect spring weather where the heat burns off the mist and it turns into a beautiful blue day. Brynne and her friend Lisa stopped by for a day visit. I helped haul a kayak down (with help from Brynne) and they brought the other one down when they decided the one was too tippy for two people. Brynne brought her own paddles and life jackets, which is good because when I got out some seat cushions there were hella spiders in the life jacket box.

I chilled and drew and when I was outside I heard a crashing through the trees and a bald eagle had dropped their fish food on my driveway!!! It was still flopping a bit when I went to scoop it up. YUCK. Eagles don't like rockfish I guess.

Dinner was mixed greens and salmon and rice and clams and yum yum yum. We four (plus Celia) ate outside and all was well.

I printed my cards, though they still need a lot more work. Printing is hard work. Lots of labor!

Today (Sunday) was a work day. I was on laundry duty. Five rooms needed the beds stripped and sheets washed and then the beds made again. Erin had gotten a start on two of them when I arrived. Took me four hours to get all the five done and done, but I didn't wind up sitting around with nothing to do waiting on a laundry machine to finish. That's good time management! Then I got to the towels and then rags and napkins. Booyah. I started to bid adieu at 3 then double checked my schedule and oops I was there till 4! But the bosses also didn't know I was there till 4 initially, because there was a moment of "oh it's 3! Have a good day". Hehhe. So that was just enough time to vaccum and mop the main floor, and finish folding all the laundry save for the rags which were still flopping in the dryer when I left.

Boss had left over pancakes when I arrived!! I ate two and Erin had the other two. And I ate the leftover yogurt parfait that was accidentally made extra. Can't say no to free food, even if dairy doesn't agree with my tum tum.

I took a nap after work. Still not in no nap land. Then had udon and egg and drew my 100th comic!

Now to go play on my new computer. Errgg still need to give ma & pa back their monitor.

girl power

 The past 48 hours have been exhausting! Work had me turning two rooms and doing the usual downstairs sweep and vacuum. There was more scheduled but the howling weather prevented me from doing it (outdoors stuff). I was tired from the time shift too. But not as tired as I was expecting to be.

Wind bustled me on the drive home. I went slow and steady and all was good, till the turn off 101. Then branches were down. I stopped to pull some out of the way. I did not pull the downed powerline out of the way. I just verrrrry carefffuuullly drove around it. And it took nearly 25 minutes just to get down my driveway. Lots of stopping to haul multiple branches out of the way to free up the road. And I still had to pull a few from my undercarriage when I was done. The road was covered. And the power was of course out, and obviously would be for a while. I got a fire going, had the one beer remaining in my fridge, snacked and settled in. I went to bed early hopeful that the power would come on at 4am and wake me, but no such luck.

At 9ish I brought the generator down from the garage and got it going on the second pull. See comic:

Now you've seen the comic. I sat outside for a bit and charged my phone (after plugging in my fridge). This is the first time I've bothered with the generator. I'm generally fine with allowing my fridge to warm up a little bit. So I got it going, got the fridge chilling, I did unplug it to make rice to make my "deconstructed sushi" snack (rice plopped in seaweed snacks, a carb loaded filler meal) then I plugged it back in. I made another fire and went through I think four loads of wood, maybe three. I walked (with Corbie) up the road, clearing more branches. Higher up it was pretty good, but there was a lot still to pick up and toss to the side. Power chugged back on at around 3 in the afternoon. 23 hours!!

I had to turn off the septic alarm, but there were not many lights left on. I had pasta for dinner, relaxed, helped Celia, drew a comic. I did one by the lantern light last night, but obviously I could not scan it.

So now I'm going to go to sleep. Tomorrow is a long day. I got a 10-4 work shift and then I haul over to Silverdale for Bee Class 6-8. I'm not going to be able to get a hive going this summer. It's too much financial commitment for me right now. BUT I can learn and can get space ready and learn more, and the class tuition covered membership in the bee society so I can go to their meetings. And maybe I can help someone with their bees and learn that way? Anyhoo. Yeah. It's too much for me to do right now. But that's okay. I'm glad I took the class as a primer.

Mom & Dad, will you be home 5:15ish? Maybe I stop by real quick and get my mail before class? Text me.

baby bird

Ma & Pa are staying over! We are continuing to pull out the back end of the porch. I brought the old planks up to the space under the shed. And I trimmed some of the brush. And I drew a comic. Pretty casual day. Working, had a salad and soup and popcorn. Yup.

back to winter

Saturday

I packed my things into the van, and the five of us went in Nate's car to Palo Alto to get a pre-leaving brunch! Nice to stuff one self before a long drive. Parking was found in the exact same place we parked a few days ago when Nate was picking up his mail. The brunch place, Crepevia or something, had a line but it moved along pretty fast. You ordered once you got to the front of the line, paid up, and then were seated. Pretty efficient system. No waiting for the bill and all that. I had the black stone eggs benedict, Helen got pasta, Mom got a salad, Dad got a different eggs benedict, and Nathan...I forget what he got. I was the only one to get coffee. I tucked my napkin into my collar and devoured the eggs. It got over my fingers and face a bit, as it typically does when I consume eggs benedict, but I used my napkin and wasn't too much of an embarrassment. What can I say, I get into my food. After brunch, I got a bunch of pastries to eat on the road from Paris Baguette or something. Tasty looking ones, too. And I got two things of Blue Bottle New Orleans Iced Coffee. The stuff with chicory in it! I need to find out how to make it at home, because it's my second favorite coffee next to, of course, Courtney Coles' iced mocha.

Dad got a Stanford Dish light hoodie and then we returned to the car, returned to the house, said our goodbyes, and then North we went! Didn't have too hard of a time getting out of the city. Some traffic, sure, but it wasn't too gnarly. I put on Harry Potter, I snacked, I worked on my crossword puzzles. We got into Yreka once again and stayed at the Miners Inn once again. We watched tv, had some wine and food, and went to bed. It was very chilly with the heater off and I didn't think to grab my blanket from the car so I got a bit chilled.

Sunday

Long hauled it! Had our hot hotel breakfast and off we went. It was below freezing and the stuff in the car was cold. But eventually we warmed up. I had one of the BBNOIC. The pastries I got were a strawberry sponge cake, a creme cheese mini doughnut, a chocolate dipped chocolate filled pastry, and a strawberry turn over thing. I didn't eat them in that order, but I did eat them all. The turnover I think was the best.

We stopped at the Oregon Gardens near Silverton. We walked around the Gordon House that is designed by Frank Lloyd Wright (which was also at the gardens) and went into the gardens proper. We did a bit of a figure eight and checked out the different gardens. A lot of things were cut back and dormant, but there were still some nice trees and features and things. I took lotsa pictures and it was good for all of us to stretch our legs because we had 4+ hours of driving left.

Prisoner of Azkaban was finished, and we listened to two episodes of Mystery Show. The Kotter and Belt Buckle episodes, specifically.

We swung by a QFC and I got a couple things. Mom got some wine with birds on the label. We probably all looked a bit bedraggled.

Home was chilly. I got a thank you card from Mel in the mail. Mom heated up left overs. I stayed for a bit and ate some of the left overs and then returned to Pulali.

There were some major branches down, but nothing I couldn't easily move. The plastic chest on the porch had been blown about five feet over. The tarp from the grill was blown off, but I found it stuck but the wood pile and put it back on. I didn't do much clean up, just gave everything a looksie before going inside. The internet wasn't working. So I just went to bed and was very cold. I turned on the heater but didn't make a fire and in retrospect I should have put my blankets in the dryer for a few minutes right before bed, ya know...to warm them up.

Monday

But I did eventually warm up! Slept in a little bit. Got up. Started a fire first and foremost. Showered, fed, tidied up. The internet had been reset with a new password given to us by CenturyLink due to something about the rapid fire power outtages that I missed. I just had to reset the wifi booster over at Celia's, give the extension a new name, and I was good to go again.

Celia made a tasty turkey pot pie and I had some of that. Also got my new wreath! So pretty.

I sat in front of the fire, I thawed out the house, I got the branches out of the way, I moved my summer dresses into the garage closet and pulled out my winter coats, and generally was cozy.

I go back to work tomorrow and we are doing some super listing on eBay in this coming week! So tomorrow I'm busting out photographs. I'm excited! And I'll be happy to see precious Bodi.

Back into the fray.

how much wood could a woodchuck chuck

Both Saturday and Sunday have been much of the same. Slept in a bit, woke up to parents, got work clothes on and helped chop wood! Dad brought over the hydraulic chopper, and my main duty is pulling the lever back and forth. Dad mostly put logs on the chopper, and Mom stacked. Celia also helped haul wood to and fro'. We chopped my wood, cut larger pieces down to size, and helped Celia with her wood on a "I get half" share in exchange for using the chopper and our labor. Good trade, and there's been more than enough wood piling up! In the two days we got rid of the pile at the top of her driveway, and got a good chunk of the pile behind her house. So many stacks! My pile is now three rows deep, and in the past year I've only burned two rows. We've got some trees to cut down too. With firewood, you really need to think multiple seasons ahead or else you're stuck with buying it pre-cut like a chump or it's too green to burn. Boo.

Anyway, fruitful labor days! On Saturday we had a sandwich break and dinner was cabbage stuffed with rice, tuna fillets, and salad followed by a viewing of Men In Black. Always hilarious. Sunday we had an egg vegetable thing for brunch and Ma and Pa left for home and I cooked up some green beans and folded laundry I'd washed during the day. Then I headed over to Seabeck in the evening, skipping Seahawks traffic. Helping Ma out with some stuff over the next few days, so I'll be here.

I'm getting a lot of use out of my leather travel bag, that's for sure!

city feet and forest friends

Sorry I have missed many days of writing! Friends were in town and I was caught up with spending time with my lovelies. Then the internet was down last night.

The first morning of Finn's visit, I made coffee and toast which we put the plum amaretto jam on. We sat on the porch and talked and gazed out across the water. I looked through my binoculars and saw that Celia was home, so we went over to say hi to her and Corbie. Then we hauled out the blue kayak and went for a cautious paddle, due to it being so tippy. But we found a rhythm and didn't tip over! There were other kayaker groups out, with their lighter and less tippy modern kayaks. We went down to the lagoon by Camp Parsons and snacked and drifted and looked at seals. The sun was out, the water was calm. Wonderful! We sat out in the water a bit and cooled off, then took quick showers and went out for lunch! BT was on his way, but we had time. Time to go to Hama Hama Oysters for some fresh grilled oysters and cole slaw.

I don't think I've ever had oysters out of the shell. They were so good and I licked the shells clean. Very much a meal to savor. We swung by Halfway House too for some carbs. I watered Grandma and Grandpa's grave and BT arrived at Pulali about five minutes after we did. He and Carnegie! A convergence of people. We trekked through the woods out to the point to give Carnegie a walk (as well as a chance for BT to stretch his legs). Dan was on his way too, but wouldn't be around till 7ish. I picked some greens for a salad (carrots and green beans from my garden and tomatos from Heronswood). And Dan arrived!! Woohoo! We hugged and were joyous and utilized the wall mounted beer opener. The salad featured greens from Central Market, cut up tomatoes, cucumber, hard boiled egg, and quality salad dressing. It was delicious and we ate it all almost entirely! It's awesome to eat vegetables sometimes. Post dinner we sampled grog and sat in the living room and talked and drew till late.

The second morning, many coffees were made in the AeroPress and I cooked up bacon and eggs, Trill style, in the cast iron. BT brought fresh ground & roasted coffee from Courier Coffee in Portland. Good stuff. I said "pick a mug" and they did. BT favored the Welcome To Night Vale and Sears mugs, Dan went for M&Ms, and Finn liked the Beaton mug,

We coordinated with Karen for a Port Townsend rendezvous, and at 11 we loaded up into my car and north we went. Beautiful drive up with plenty of trees. Parked just off main street, and Karen showed up right as we were crossing the road (and didn't run us down). Hurrah! Carnegie had some words with a fake dog outside a store front. First up was a pizza lunch at Waterfront. We sat on logs and ate our slices and drank soda and caught up on the news. Coffee was procured from Better Living Through Coffee and later some ice cream from Elevated. Dan bought some books from the second hand shop. I love the malted chocolate flavor so much.

I drove us (including Karen) up to Fort Worden for some bunker fun and beach walkies. The aquarium was open but not free, so we didn't partake. We stuck around at the lower bunkers, and did a bit of spooky fun. I found a bit of bull kelp and stuck shells in it to make a face and tried to present Karen with the dolly "Kelpie". She rejected Kelpie. So I spun kelpie in a circle and tossed her out to sea.

We returned Karen to her car, ran an errand on the way home, and returned to Pulali. There were some backseat nappers on the way back.

I had removed Casey's casserole from the freezer to thaw it for dinner, so I got that cooking. Finn drew. Dan had a coffee. BT prepared a peach cobbler. The casserole was devoured. Dan packed up to go and was hugged. The seals were not welcoming to Dan and he was unable to swim with them like he wanted.

There was a double feature of Mrs Doubtfire and Moulin Rouge, and the peach cobbler was gone in an instant. So delicious! After the movies we played a new game: you open up Tinder and go to your matches and read name and age and their "about me" and other people make guesses at whats going on in their main picture. You can give hints if you want, such as "it's a selfie" or "they're with other people".

The third and final morning was time to say goodbyes. Coffee was made and english muffins consumed. I offered to drive Finn to the airport. Yeah it is a drive, but I'd rather spend more time with my friend and get them to the airport than save ~45 minutes and drop them off at a ferry where they have to cross and get to the train and that takes time. It was an easy drive, and two hours isn't all that bad. The drive was over all too early and we hugged at the drop off and I headed back home. Swung by the library. Stretched my legs. Finished the drive. Listened to podcasts.

My house needed no cleaning or tidying or any post-visit tending. The power cut out at around 8pm, which was very inconvenient. A fire took down some lines down in Skokomish. A brush fire, so not a huge one. That is worrisome that there would be a fire so close.

Power came back around 10ish.

Today the internet hasn't been reaching my house all that well, so I'm at Celia's doing my work. Listing stuff on eBay and all that. Tomorrow is a big day!!

internet down

11/28/2014

Remember my complaint about not being able to blog while in Google? Well Nate gave me a tip to remedy that. But now my problem is my computer is failing to connect to the Internet. Is the signal too weak? What’s the deal? Uhg. Hopefully it remedies itself because I’d like to get more job work done over the weekend.

But Friendsgiving was a success! Amanda arrived at around 3, which was perfect. I introduced her to Celia and we peeled potatoes and got things ready and had some brewskies and chatted and played Yotta Know Birds (we don’t know birds) and Getting To Know You…Better, and we got to know each other better. Amanda is an absolute sweetheart and I hope she visits again. I’ll have to see her again sometime because she forgot her slippers!

We got up at around 9/10ish and she made coffee and I made eggs and we had a very protein breakfast to start the big day! First up was bread. We got that rising by the stove. Then cranberry sauce, which had to chill. Then potatoes. The three dinner guests: Heather & Daniel, and BT were all stuck in the same traffic, but arrived at 4 which was perfect! The table was set and food was brought out and Celia arrived with the turkey and we dished up and gorged and had seconds and ohh the potatoes and gravy I think were my favorite but all (yams, green beans, bread, stuffing, turkey, apple juice) was really good! And we let our belts out a loop and sat in the living room to chat. Celia returned to her cabin and fell asleep, like should happen on Thanksgiving. Karen came over with a pie for dessert and we all got a game of Cards Against Humanity going. It was the perfect crowd for such a despicable game. Phil arrived too! Which was awesome. He came up in the dark and through the rain! I was joyed at that. So much company. Amanda won the game. Karen departed for the night to go back home, and Phil crashed on the couch, BT took the garage bed, and Heather and Daniel took the master bed.

I was first up in the morning and got coffee going. BT made the bacon. Daniel made the cheesey eggs. We gabbed and woke up. The Portlanders (sans BT) all departed at around the same time to get back at a good hour. BT is staying another night, and we spent the day lounging and chatting and eating leftovers and taking a night hike with Carnegie (his little dog who is sweet but not keen on other dogs). And we finished with sitting by the fire with more conversation, which is just ideal. My DVD player refused to work, so that was a bummer for some mild entertainment, but I did get some drawing done.

It’s raining and dark and cold and snow is anticipated, but it’s not declared a storm. Hopefully come the morning, I’ll have Internet.

 11/29/2014

My Internet is back! It was reset over yonder and it now makes it over the water. Time to catch up!

A high tide and a rough storm has made my beach ladder vanish into the canal.

I had leftovers for breakfast and tea, BT had some banana bread and tea. We got a fire going and lounged by it whilst getting warm. The winds are VERY strong. Hopefully there are no trees on the roads. BT is off to hang with Meghan in Tacoma.

Now I get the weekend to mellow and nosh on food and it is back to work on Monday!

I AM THE KRAKEN!!

Friday:

Worked on site taking photos! Thought only a few hours of photos because I was also tasked to tidy up and add to the store displays. Photos so we can make the store look nice and pretty and all the items can be listed with the proper photos. I like taking the photos because I just listen to podcasts and snap away and I reacquaint myself with the merch I've spent so long pricing.

It was a drizzly, dreary day. Tried my best to keep the stuff dry, but it was still got some raindrops as I hauled the stock boxes to the antique stores.

So. The date? That date that I went on. We met at the Slippery Pig (points to him for being open to relocate at short notice because I thought I was going to end the day in Bills Point, not Poulsbo). Slippery Pig is just a place that I've seen next to Red Plantation. He arrived right on time (another good point) and it was a very nice first initial date meet up thing. Had a couple beers and a crowd formed and there was Friday night karaoke, so our conversation got drowned out a little bit but still it was enjoyable. And it was good enough that another meet up is to happen, but after Thanksgiving due to busy schedules. So yay! Nice it all went well with the Geologist.

Saturday:

So a half sunk paddleboat was drifting by, and while the coast guard was called to, I dunno, be let known that there is a boat in the water, I decided to go out and get it for my own. And I couldn't be bothered to haul a boat down, so I threw on my swimsuit and got in to the water an immediately regretted my decision because the Hood Canal is COLLLLDDDDD in November. Still. it was close enough that I daren't quit, so I swam and swam and hopped into the paddle boat and waved to the people who had showed up on shore. It wanted to capsize forward, so I had to lean back while maneuvering it it towards shore. Eventually I was able to hop out and walk it in. Orlando of the coast guard gave me my bathrobe (which was on the seawall) and he helped drain the boat and haul it onto the wall, but he didn't get wet and I did. My teeth were chattering when I got up to the house, and during my ample shower I let the tub fill so that my feet could properly thaw.

Warm and washed, I drove into Silverdale and got some tights and lipstick and eyeliner and hairdye and toilet paper at Target and I got a haircut at Great Clips. Just a quick trim. Trying this whole "regular haircut to reduce damage and let hair grow long and healthy" thing. Last time I dyed my hair, I had product already in it so I feel like it faded a bit too fast, so in the evening I dyed it again but on hair that had only been shampooed. I'll see how it looks in a month this time. Anyway, after Silverdale I went to Seabeck for a salad and soup dinner, and some lounging about. Mom found a fitness ball on the beach. A good day for scavengers! The layout of the house has been redone and the floor is hard, instead of carpet. It looks very nice and warm indeed! Good job Mom & Dad on the floor!

So yeah, returned home and did my hair.

Sunday:

Worked 1-7 on site, so I got to sleep in a bit. I was mainly by myself continuing to photograph items. I've got a good chunk done now, so tomorrow I'll start labeling and loading things. We'll launch the store real soon! I gave the Boss a teaser of my sea adventure on the phone, and she was eager to hear about it upon my arrival. So that was fun. Two days of uber work and then it is off to cooking and friendville!

waarrkkkk says the seal

I really need to get back into the habit of blogging.

So! Tonight is my first night at Pulali all by myself. But that is getting a few days ahead of myself.

Friday:

Went into town with dad and did some shopping and accompanied him when he got some new glasses. Earlier in the day, I helped Ma and Pa make many quarts of apple juice. I fell right into the rhythm of putting the slices into the cuisinart and pulping them, and then putting the pulp into the press. It seemed to go faster, though we did spend many hours making the good stuff. Many manys make light work I suppose.

At 7ish I departed for Tacoma to see Meghan for her birthday! I arrived early when she and her boyfriend had gone to grab some stuff for the party. She didn't anticipate people arriving on time (only three other people were on time like I was). Met a good amount of people whose names I've forgotten, but they were all really nice and easy to talk to. My trip now gives me so many frames of reference for places people are from and various things. I.e. "what exactly is Wall Drug?"

I saw a bit of the northern lights. It was just a few tendrils of green. Not totally epic, but not too shabby.

I got very congested by the smoke of the fire. It really made my eyes water and my nose run something awful. Meghan has loaned me a nice hankie, which I will hold as ransom till she comes and visits me at Pulali.

Saturday & Sunday:

I packed up my clothes, my technology, my girly soap, and all my other things. Mom and Dad drove off first in their Prius, and a little bit later I drove off in mine. I put some gas in the tank. Nice to not be filling up every day. My first unpacking wave will be the Santa Cruz stuff. That is a nicely paired down assortment of my stuff. Fewer clothes, fewer books, though a jumble of organization. Once I get that sorted, then I can work on the stuff that didn't make the Santa Cruz cut. More books, more clothes, more this and that.

Celia made a spicy lamb stew for dinner. It was good, though very hot to eat. I'm better with spicy though not that much better.

Linda and her friend Barbara joined us (and Celia of course) for breakfast. French toast, bacon, many juices, fruit, cheese. Lots of good stuff and conversation about Cape Verde, where Barbara was a Peace Corps leader.

In the afternoon, Ma and I got in kayakas, Celia in a row boat and Dad went trawling for fish. He didn't catch any, just puttered back and forth. Dinner was early and was several salads and meat discs (disc of meat? what was my quip again?) and Ma and I made a food run to stock my pantry for the near future. Then we three chilled out with books till it was time to go to bed.

Monday:

Ma and Pa departed early and I slept in a bit more. Then I got up, made a to do list, had a muffin and some tea, and got to to-doing it! Organized more clothes, set out the printer and scanner, folded laundry, organized towels, unpacked this and that, more unpacking, put my old work hoodies in a plastic bin, had pasta for a late lunch, hung a few pieces of art work...it's coming along. I have my Tetris shelves up, in a high vertical arrangement. I commandeered a little bit of a mostly unoccupied shelf for the initial books I've pulled out of storage.

Just gotta keep working on it, and keep an eye on my phone while I wait to hear about getting an interview. I think I'll write a new to do list with things undone from today on it, and some new things, and keep working at crossing off those things!

I need to make up a chart of regular house & estate chores. Like watering the garden every few days, doing this thing every day, this thing every week. It's a lot of responsibility!

my favorite rock

I've been having a lovely time sitting out watching hood canal and reading Me Before You on my Kindle. I sat on my favorite rock with a cuppa coffee that Celia made for me for a good hour at least! And I helped a bit with cleaning the garage. Swept down the cobwebs, vacuumed the stairs, mopped the floor. Celia went in to Chimacum and did the farmers market and food shopping. Celia made an amazing dinner of spaghetti with home made sauce, made from local tomatoes and other fresh local ingredients. SO GOOD! And the leftovers tonight were amazing. We had melted chocolate over ice cream. Celia is wonderful like that. Today I put seaweed from the wrack into buckets that mom spread over the garden beds, and they all taught me to hunt for mushrooms and I found several beautiful chanterelles. Nothing to compared with Mom and Dad's haul, but they are pros. But yeah, it's nice out here. Looking forward to moving in and finding a job and being here. It's quiet, it's peaceful. Yes it is a bit out of the way, but then hopefully that'll incentivise me to get out there and do stuff!

Plaid is back in my wardrobe in a big way.

miss fisher and friends

I’m at Pulali Point for the weekend. I’ve put some things away in the drawers and bathroom cabinets. I have books to unpack here and there. I wonder how long it’ll take me to get settled when I get my stuff from Santa Cruz. Books, clothes, art, things, this, that. It’ll be good to have someone living here.

Didn’t take all my stuff from Seabeck. I’m not soloing it here just yet. Sounds like there are job prospects here and there. Hopefully it won’t take me so long to get a job. I like working and I like money to buy things.

Maybe Celia and I can start some bee hives!

I unpacked and had two bowls of tasty chowder for lunch. And salad and burger and s’mores for dinner. Celia came over and brought ice cream. Now Ma, Pa and Auntie are watching Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries. I’m working on my first blog at Grandma and Grandpa’s desk. I’m not sure where my main studio space will be. I guess this area will be my dry sketching computer space and the garage will be the larger space for my skuzzy desk and chair. I want my books to be in a place where they will stand all pretty and not get musty and mildew. I wonder how this place will be to me as I’ll be living here.

It’s so gorgeous.

Eglantine & Emelius

I went to bed before 11, and then woke up restless at about 5:30am. My body wanted me to watch the sunrise, so I indulged it. I wish I had brought ma's new camera. There were some great photo opportunities as the sun came up. Breakfast was the rest of the eclair, some tea, some chocolate treats courtesy of Celia, and something healthy (hahah nope).

Ma and I spent the rest of the morning cleaning the over garage space. Sorting books for Goodwill or for shelves. Dusting the books. Stirring up dust and mold. Found some lovely books among the stacks, and found some rather outdated ones. We watched two more episodes of Hamish MacBeth. Mom isn't that keen on it. I like it all right. Eventually we got many boxes filled for Goodwill and for our personal shelves, so we called it quits on that project. Celia came over and we three (plus dogs) took a walk and cleared the trail a bit. It was a clear, blue, brilliant day. Not all that warm, but very beautiful.

After the hike, we packed up the car, and I drove us into Silverdale. We made a recycling run, then a Goodwill run, then filled up the car, then went to Walgreen's and I got some shampoo and hair dye, then we realized we had another box for Goodwill, and dropped that off. Then we finally went home.

The dye I put in my hair was a lovely mahogany shade. Very similar to what mine looks like now, just a little bit more on the auburn side of things. Not a big change, it just evened it out (no more lighter bleached bits on the end). And now I begin the permanent dye cycle again...well, we shall see what it looks like when my roots grow out. How big the change is and all that. Haven't dyed it since August. Time flies! I was thinking about going darker, but I like it like this.

Ma and I watched Bedknobs and Broomsticks. Love that movie! Adding Eglantine to my baby name list. Hahaha.

ach aye

Up at Pulali Point for the night. I've done quite a bit of travelling these past few days. Going here and there, instead of just staying at Seabeck. Tis nice.

I slept in today. Slept way in. Didn't even set my alarm clock. But eventually I did get up, shower, and eat some food. I packed an overnight bag, we put Holly in the kennel in the car, and off we went in the Old Prius to the land across the water.

We stopped by Mats Mats and visited with Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Joyce. I took some quilting supplies. Joyce has been cleaning the quilting room and it looks really lovely. That is a lot of hard work! We watched part of the Super Bowl, and departed after the Half Time show (which was quite good). On the way to Pulali, we stopped at a lovely little market and got some fixings for dinner. Fancy sausages! Mmm!

Pulali is nice. Bryan, who stayed there for a couple weeks, rearranged some things but it is otherwise fine. He didn't set anything on fire or leave rodent carcasses on the grill. Overall, a good guest.

Ma cooked up the sausages and with those we had pasta and apple juice and carrots. Lovely dinner. Celia came over with some sweet treats and we watched the first episode of Hamish MacBeth, starring Robert Carlyle. I enjoyed it, even though they kept making comments about how it was different from the books.

Guess I'll tuck into bed early. I left my headphones at home so I can't watch anything. Oh wellll.