yup, still a squeamish movie

Summer still hasn't arrived. It is the longest, soggiest spring EVER. It did clear up and get sunny but not really hot. It continued to dribble here and there. I entered in some more books for mom. Had a simple breakfast. Forget what I had for lunch. Uhhhm. It was something. Left overs? Snacking?

Later in the day, I helped ma and pa haul wood from the wood pile into the truck, then from the truck into the pile by the house, and then helped fill the truck up with wood from the piles up at the garage. There were many large snakes hanging out in the pile. Felt bad to be dismantling their home, but they can move on.

Dinner was a tasty chili that mom assembled. Yum yum! We then settled in to watch 127 Hours. It took place in Canyonlands! It does manage to capture a bit of the overall vast emptiness of the place. That movie really is best in theaters though, it is filmed so well that seeing in large really helps the beauty. Though it also amplifies the moment when he cuts off his own arm. Yeah.

We are going to try to move the reupholstered couch into where the old futon was. That was a perfectly good couch, I don't know why we gave it to Nathan. Oh well.

I read a bit. No quilting. Now I'm going to read more!

Todays Portrait Is: Nick Offerman.

not much of anything II

Another less than stellar weather day. It is mid July! It should be at least 75 degrees. It is going to be a wet winter I bet. Booo.

I made up a scramble using last nights left over turkey. Added more Tabasco to the meat as it warmed. Yum. One of my best scrambles yet. Very good. After that I did some portraits.

Hmm forget when I did for a while. Nothing? Yeah. No book or quilting. Lazy day.

Made some gingerbread dough with mom.

Early dinner of pasta and sauce. Did more portraits. I'm now almost a week ahead! I want to get really ahead so I can finish the month with awesomeity.

Will do something tomorrow. Now I'm going to curl up in bed and read.

Todays Portrait Is: Amy Poehler.

two perfect records, ruined!

Had to get up before nine. boo. Brushed my teeth and hopped in the car and zoomed off to the Silverdale Dental Clinic to get a cleaning. Haven't gotten one in a year. It is hard to keep up with health when you are away at college. It was a nice little place. I was in one room to get really intense awkward x rays and then another room to get cleaning and gum/bone density check and a flossing. The hygienist said that I was the first patient who said that they had tightly packed teeth that ACTUALLY had tight packed teeth. It makes it really hard to floss. And because of my inability to floss, I had three cavities! Boo! Still, after so many years of sweets to only have cavities NOW, that is pretty good. But now we need to pay an arm and a leg to get them filled.

From there I went to Trader Joe's and got some groceries. Then I swung by Target to get some shampoo and a hot dog. I gobbled down the hot dog and pulled into what I thought was a double turn lane, but as the cop pulled me over I was soon made aware that it WASN'T a double turn lane and that I should have just been more patient. Anyway, Nathan didn't know that he had kept the proof of insurance with him and not in my Contour. So I couldn't prove the insurance. But the cop was super duper nice and waived the traffic infraction and gave me a ticket for not having insurance, but the ticket would be waived if I mailed in my proof. So yay! First time I get pulled over and it ain't so bad. Thankfully I found out this way that I didn't have the proof with me, and not, say, a car accident. Still, sucked.

Filled up my gas after that. Went home. Figured out how to send in my ticket. Made a check out for the twenty five bucks for the courthouse fees and popped it in the mail box. For dinner I made tacos! But with turkey meat, because mama don't eat beef. I added douses of tabasco into the meat, toasted the shells, and mom shredded the lettuce. We ate outside and it was scrumptious! We have never been much of a taco family, but I think we are converts. Simple, easy, and tasty!

Dad fiddled with the antenna. We watched So You Think You Can Dance. The people I voted through got through. Yay! Jess!

Now I am watching A Very Potter Musical. I'm not ready for Harry Potter to be over with! It all ends. But I'm not watching it till Sunday.

Gotta do a bunch of portraits tomorrow.

Todays Portrait Is: Yvette Nicole Brown.

salad: so good with the right ingredients and dressing

The weather has yet to get decently nice for long stretches of time. It just poured rain for a long long time. I want to soak up the sun on the lawn. This is ridiculous!

Entered more books for mom. Snacked a whole bunch. Sat on the futon and read my massive tome. I twisted my wrist hoisting it with one hand. Ouuuuch. Then I started feeling warm and took a nap till mom got home.

Dinner was healthy healthy salad. Yum! It stopped raining long enough for us to eat outside.

Then we watched So You Think You Can Dance! The choreographers are not as good as they once were. They need some of the biggies back. I'm really starting to like Jess as a dancer.

Tomorrow I have a dentist appointment. Then some errands. Should get to quilting some more. I reckon I'll stay up reading tonight instead of staying up watching television.

Todays Portrait Is: Donald Glover.

dragons!!!!

Woke up to a new pile of books outside my door. As long as mom keeps finding books, I'll keep entering them on Amazon.com for her. Yup yup.

Had some oatmeal and tea. Went into town at about one to go to Barnes and Noble. The book I needed to acquire was George R.R. Martin's A Dance with Dragons. The fifth installment in his A Song of Fire and Ice series. Fans have been waiting six years for this book, I've only been waiting a few months since I finished the last audiobook during my thesis. The book is over a thousand pages long and is quite hefty. A mammoth tome that will hurt my hands to hold and read. Oh well.

Returned home and entered mom's books into Amazon. Drew some portraits. Then satisfied with the days tasks, I sat on the couch and read read read. Darn good reading thus far. Read till mom came home and read some more. I stopped to walk with her to get the mail and then later in the night we went to pick up dad from the airporter drop off. He seemed to have a lovely brief time in San Jose.

It started raining later on in the day. Boo!

On Sunday I'm going to see the final Harry Potter movie with Meghan (a PNCA grad who lives in Kitsap and is quite cool). Whee!

Didn't do any more quilting. Don't know how much I'll get done as long as I have this book to read.

Todays Portrait Is: Chevy Chase.

not much of anything

Didn't participate in any quilting today. Had other things to do. Lunch/breakfast was mac and cheese. I helped mom put books on Amazon for sale. A lot of them were not selling for much, competitively. It was a gray day with some drizzles. Mom and I caught an earlier showing of Bad Teacher. The editing wasn't so good, but it had some good jokes. The supporting cast was pretty darn good. Ma and I got chicken teriyaki afterwards. Back at home we watched Hot Fuzz, as the actress Judy Punch was in Bad Teacher and we wanted to see her in another thing.

Not much went on this Monday. Really need to clean my room and get it in order. Tomorrow. I'll contemplate doing that tomorrow.

Todays Portrait Is: Alison Brie.

the contour returns

Woke up and got out of bed and found everyone off somewhere else. Well, I didn't try hard enough to find them. When I tried a little bit, they were uncovered under the arbor talking about Nate's apartment layout. Dad made me breakfast. I helped a little bit with moving some of Nathan's stuff. Then I went into town, in my newly returned to me Contour. Nathan has been using it for the past four years. Now it is mine again! Mine to drive! Whoo! Mine to pay for gas...yeah. Went to Joann's and got some more fabric. Went to Trader Joe's and got some snack food. Put $20 worth of gas in the tank. Then went home for burgers! Yum!

Nathan and Dad left for San Jose soon after. Left early to drive through the night and get more time to unpack and move and go to Ikea. Ma went to work doing things around the house. I went to the Girl Cave and started in on a new quilt. Ironed the fabric. Cut up lots of little pieces. Sewed a lot of it together. The squares are a lot larger than I was expecting them to be. And there will be so many of them. This will be a massive quilt. Hopefully it will look good.

Worked till after midnight. Will work more on it tomorrow. Yaaay!

Todays Portrait Is: Danny Pudi.

fabricating

My sleep schedule is getting dangerously close to the territory of "being out of whack". If I keep trying to get up before noon, I should be good.

Had a simple breakfast while mom and dad went to rent a Uhaul. Nathan is hauling his stuff down to San Jose in a couple days. Then I can move my stuff back into the house. Hurray, living with my parents is neat! Really need to get my act together...soon.

I spent a little bit of time in the sun.

I unpacked my sewing supplies and quilting supplies and fabric and quilting books. Poured through them looking for a good pattern for my next quilt project. Found a good pattern. Later on, ma and I went into down and I bought a pile of fabric. It should look AWESOME, this quilt. I say I bought, I mean mom bought. Tomorrow I will go in with more coupons though, as I don't have quite enough to get started. I just need one more fabric, but that one is the one that I need the most of.

After that we wandered around Barnes and Noble. I was unable to find the book I wanted, so Mum and I went to Origami Sushi. There we bought a bunch of sushi for dinner and went home. We gobbled down the delicious variety and we three watched us some Doctor Who. Ma and Pa went to bed and I watched some stuff.

Nathan spent all day driving up from San Jose. He arrived at about 10:20 and we chilled and played Wii and watched stuff and he showed me what he is working on and had me play a scary game. I hope I don't have nightmares now.

Todays Portrait Is: Gillian Jacobs.

saying farewell to a super woman

July 7^th:

Another Pulali day! All though just one night and two days. Originally I was going to be here on my own, but the plans changed and mom and dad tagged along. But their tagging along meant that they had to over pack. Lotsa food and all that jazz. So we didn’t leave till 4:40ish. In the meanwhile I drew some portraits and helped dad get one of the boats off the boat trailer. It was a rainy icky day. Yesterday was so hot.

The ride over was decent enough. I spent the rest of the afternoon with my cousin Averie, who is leaving for Cape Verde by way of the Peace Corps in a few weeks. She is a super woman. Making me have thoughts about trying to sign up. We visited with Kirie and Mark for a while as well. And then the dinner hour rolled around and I headed back to the Pulali house for chicken and corn. Ma and pa are watching a movie I have no interest in, so I’m on my computer and going to watch something or other.

Today’s Portrait Is: Olivia Wilde

July 8^th:

The day started out quite bright and warm. Ma made French toast for breakfast and we enjoyed it out doors. After that, Dad got the raft on the boat trailer and we three went down to the boat launch to launch it. Mom and I were the boat towers. We were in the little dingy with the outboard motor and towed the Pulali raft behind it, going very verrrry slow. If it went too fast, the vibration from the motor rattled us.

We snacked a bit. I had some soup at Celia's and then all of us (Ma, Pa, Celia, Averie, and I) settled in for some beach relaxing. We caught a marginal amount of sun, and then it went cloudy. And then it went windy. Totally not good swimming weather. Dad swam, the loony that he is. I changed back into clothes.

It was then that I gave my final hugs to Averie, who has joined the Peace Corps and is off to Cape Verde for 27 months! Super woman, that one is.

After that, we packed up our stuff from the night stay and headed off to Mats Mats. We got some gas and some food at QFC and then it was dinner with the grandparents! It was a belated birthday for Eleanor. The steak was delicious and Holly was really well behaved. The cake that followed was very rich. At around 8ish, we headed back to Seabeck. It was a quick unpacking. The weekend is upon us now. I don't know what exactly we have planned.

Today's Portrait is: Joel McHale.

sweatin'

If I continue to set an alarm, I'll maintain some semblance of a sleep schedule.

Got up before 10. Had some oatmeal and toast. Ma went to work, dad worked on the pieces for a grape arbor. Drew a bit. Watched telly. Didn't get up to much. Dad made burgers for lunch. Yum! After that I helped him assemble the grape arbor. Lots of holding of beams in the hot sun. Nailing boards to different boards. Dad milled the cedar from our property. It is a nice looking arbor. Strong design. It should look good as the grapes grow up it. Now they won't wrangle the plants around them.

Ma came home right as we finished. I just realized I didn't really eat a dinner. Had a bowl of ice cream with So You Think You Can Dance though. Mmm. It was a good show. Voted this time around. Tomorrow I am going to Pulali to see Averie before she is off to Cape Verde (Peace Corps).

It is warm.

Todays Portrait Is: Jennifer Morrison.

the do nothing days commence

Set my alarm, though I hit the snooze a bazillion times. By the time I finally got downstairs for breakfast, ma was long gone at work and dad was on an errand. So I did my laundry and watched TV and sat on the lawnchair and read all day. Had some macaroni and cheese. Oh I cut my bangs yesterday. They were quite long and I chopped them short once again. I do look better with bangs.

Ma came home. Dinner was a lovely salad with ice cream for dessert. We three watched The Hudsucker Proxy, though Dad went to bed part of the way through. It is a charming odd little movie. Tomorrow I shall draw portraits. Do something with my day.

Todays Portrait Is: Jesse Spencer.

boom

Normally, in the Pacific Northwest, summer doesn't get really nice till the fifth. Imagine our surprise when today turned out to be really nice!

Had my usual toast and tea. Ma, Pa, and I played bocce on the lawn and then I rolled around with Holly for a bit. I'm getting really attached to that dog. If she didn't smell, I would have have her at the end of my bed.

Made myself a sandwich for lunch. Mmm. After lounging about and watching stuff, at 5:45ish I went over to Chris's house for the Fourth of July festivities. We swung by the Chevron and picked up some oil for the deep fryer and I got a nice beer for myself. Dark was a ways away, but Jason (Chris's sister Beth's boyfriend) made some lovely hot dogs, which we enjoyed with our respective beers. But soon night fell and people around the lake started shooting off their fire works. Some were large and some were okay. It was a good selection. Chris, being the fantastic singer that he is, sung the national anthem. Some people nearby applauded. It was a nice night.

Todays Portrait Is: Omar Epps.

First Weekend of July

June 30^th:

Set my alarm a little earlier and got up before noon. Hurrah! I resolved the problems my blog was having and got it up, as well as some more portraits. I packed up clothing for the weekend, and art supplies. The art stuff takes up more room than my clothes, ha. Ma was nagging me and I got all ready to go, but of course there was much stuff the parents needed to do. I helped Dad haul some bricks onto the truck bed. Then we hauled the doggie up and into her kennel. She was coming along with us on this weekend expedition.

We got some fast food in town on the way to Pulali Point. The weather as dreadfully chilly. I only brought my sweater. I was wanting warmth and sun and swimming. Now I need more layers. Boo! I helped the parents move some stones and switch out a light. Some spiders kept me away from certain areas. Then I stoked a fire in the fireplace and settled in to read. Someone has to watch the fire place, ya know. We took a soda break and watched some Horatio Hornblower. Dinner was chicken and rice for me, lasagna for ma and pa, broccoli for one and all. We watched the results show of So You Think You Can Dance. I’m not attached to any of the dancers yet.

After that, we went over to Celia’s place to look at the developments. Some nice new windows were put in, and her cat Lou Lou is HUUUUGE. A few years ago the kitty nearly starved itself to death. Her spirited puppy Corby has also grown sizably. I am randomly allergic to certain pets. Robin’s dog Emma? Yeah, totally. Holly, Corby, Lou Lou, Panda, Teddy, Miss Pie (Celia’s other cats)? Nope. Hmmm.

Today’s Portrait Is: Rachel Hagara

July 1^st:

Ma and pa let me sleep in. How nice. In the morning, Ma, Pa, and Celia were clam digging on the Pulali beach. A nice low tide. On a public beach you can only take 10 pounds of clams, or so. Here we can be as gluttonous as we see fit. After clamming, we had bacon and eggs and toast. Mmm. After that we went to get dirt from a dirt farm. The dirt is for some of the plant beds. We will unload the dirt tomorrow. Lunch was hot dogs and s’mores. That was followed with a quick swim in chilly waters. I paddled on a paddle board. Did not want to submerge fully. It was much warmer today, and sunny, but not that warm or sunny.

We showered off and got the fire pit stoked and the grill going. I read my book. I haven’t gone through a book this fast in ages. Wild Cards, edited by George RR Martin. Quite good. I haven’t had the time to read for pleasure in ages. Normally I do the audiobook thing, or the research material things. Dinner was clams followed with burgers followed by mushy rice and vegetables. I had the first two. Celia joined us. Having a fire pit up at the house is nice. Normally we have a beach fire, which is nice, but since the sea wall washed away it isn’t so nice to sit down there. Anyway, ma and pa have made so many changes to Grandma and Grandpa Pedersen’s house at Pulali. Good changes.

After dinner we finished the episode of Horatio Hornblower that we started last night. Good watching. Tomorrow will be more manual labor and more clams.

Today’s Portrait Is: Hugh Laurie

July 2^nd:

Dad made shape pancakes for breakfast! One was shaped like a clam. After that, Pa and I headed down the beach to go clam digging. We ran into Kirie and Mark and Paul and Debbie and chatted a bit, before going along our way. We didn’t have as much luck today and Ma and Pa had yesterday, still we brought up some good clams; steamer and butter.

After that I helped with some manual labor. Hauling dirt around and dragging branches. Pa and I headed down to enjoy the beach in those precious times before the tide has come up and the shadow casts over the beach. I didn’t swim, just read. I found out that about 40 pages of my book were misprinted. I’ll read them somehow, either by borrowing another copy or acquiring some pages through the internet. Still, bummer that paid for material isn’t good. Anywaaay. Caught some sun but didn’t burn. Ma came down and sunbathed a bit. Pa cut his hand on some mussels. A pretty big cut too. But we patched it up and put a plastic glove over the bandage. He cleaned clams and I read. When Ma came up from the beach, I hauled the remaining dirt out of the truck bed. We arrived at Whitney’s Nursery about eight minutes after in closed. So we visited Grandma and Grandpa Pedersen’s grave and swung by Yelvik’s and picked up some stuff.

Dinner was a feast! Clams! Celia’s tomato, sausage, chicken stew! Claw chowder! Garlic bread! S’mores! MMM! So good. I made a nice fire in the fire pit to accompany the meal. I’m designated pyro girl it would seem. After dinner we took a walk (we four, Celia being the fourth) and pruned the trail a bit. And followed that up with a full episode of Horatio Hornblower. Such a damn good show. We should get the DVDs. Tomorrow is more labor and then we head home.

Today’s Portrait Is: Robert Sean Leonard

July 3^rd:

Breakfast was two fried eggs and three halves of toast with a glass of orange juice. Mmm! I walked over to Celia’s after that and hung out with her and ma for a while. Back at the house I sat and read for a while until it was time to head to Whitney’s to pick up flowers for the garden by the garage. Ma let me pick out a color scheme and I went with pink and reds. Got plenty of pretty plants and promptly placed them in the ground. That was the last Pulali task before we packed the truck up and headed home. It was a nice trip. Didn’t go on the internet once, even though I had the option to do so over at Celia’s. I’m liking reducing the multitasking I have become prone to doing. Internet breeds doing lots of things, and slowing down is nice.

Back at home, it was a quick unpack. I went about my Internet rounds. A nice salad was enjoyed for dinner. I watched about a third of Paint Your Wagon. July isn’t burdened with as many plans as June was. Hmmm.

Today’s Portrait Is: Lisa Edelstein

slacking back, even more

Blogger was having issues last night that I couldn't resolve till this morning, sorry about that.

Got up a bit earlier, but still at my own speed. Dad was working on business stuff and mom was gone for the day, so I settled in for a long day of snacking and television watching and portrait drawing.

And that was pretty much it. Watched some Pillars of the Earth. Some MI-5. Centurion. Played a bit of Wii. Ate gold fish and chips and soda and oatmeal and cheese and corndogs. I can feed myself really well when I'm familiar with the ingredients on hand. This kitchen has too much food and odds and ends. Whine whine whine.

After So You Think You Can Dance, I did some portraits. Going to Pulali Point for the weekend, so I have to be on top of them.I'm at the hump of the project, where it has lost some of its magic and I just have to keep with it. I also need to start getting my portfolio in order so I can start getting an internship or job or something.

So yeah, another few days with no blog posts. Keep doing this, though it is nice to take a break. I've been at this for four plus years now.

Todays Portrait Is: Carly (tumblr)

slacking back

Slept way way in today. Needed to catch up on rest after all those futons and such. I've never been good at sleeping in unfamiliar beds.

Had toast and tea for breakfast. Watched some telly. Then had a small lunch with cheese and chicken nibbles and read Wild Cars while lounging in the hammock for a while. That was nice. Wish it was warmer out though.

Watched more telly (Top Gear, Luther, Wilfred, etc.) till mom came home. Then we had dinner (lasagna and salad) and watched The Shining. What an incredibly long film. Scary and nice sets. Just feels as long as it is. Jack Nicholson is so freaky.

Nice casual day. Gotta draw more portraits. Going to Pulali for the weekend.

Todays Portrait Is: Tiny Art Director

weekend fun time

Back from my lovely weekend in Portland. I didn't have take the chance to write anything down, so this will be a pretty quick sum up of a couple fun filled days.

Thursday:

Got my bags all packed. Ma and I swung through town and ran a couple errands and arrived the the train station with plenty of time to spare. I worked on some macrame. On the train I started and completed a necklace for Heather. Off the train, I got some sunblock for my foot tattoo (need a small bottle to always have on hand) and went to Powell's. At Powell's I picked up the first book in the Wild Cards series. Daniel Williams met me there and from Powell's we went to Utrecht and met up with Heather Birdsong when she got off her shift. We had dinner at Little Big Burger. It was delicious. We wandered around down town a bit and had a beer and dessert at Bridgeport. It was a nice evening with two awesome people. Rollyn picked me up downtown and we went back to his place, where I spent the night.

Todays Portrait Is: Matthew Inman

Friday:

I left Rollyn's fairly early. Madeline picked me up and we went back to her place for late breakfast and hanging out. At 1ish we went to run an errand and meet her mom Kate at the NW Film Center to check out Madeline's little brother Jackson's animation that he made during a summer program at said Film Center. His stop motion video was totally great.

We four returned to the house. Madeline and I watched some telly and when Tina arrived we all went to Gustav's for dinner. What a nice treat. I had the Shepard's pie. Mmm, good! Jackson, Madeline and I walked back with full bellies (it was a nice day for walking and they live near to Gustav's). We finished up the Life on Mars series and started Ashes to Ashes, and watched some Doctor Who and also the Michael Fassbender film Hunger, which was amazingly directed. We watched half of the 8th Doctor Doctor Who movie before falling asleep.

Today's Portrait Is: Tavi Gevinson

Saturday:

I wasn't set to meet up with Karen till much later in the evening, so I enjoyed Madeline's company for much more longer. After breakfast, I taught Jackson how to macrame. Madeline had to run an errand for her parents, so Jackson and I took a walk and got some candy and frozen yogurt (he is my kind of kid, excellent taste in sweets). We all got back from our excursions at the same time. We took Madeline's dog Pepper for a walk as well. Our time concluded with a cheap matinee of Source Code at the Laurelhurst. It was solid, nothing too exceptional but well made.

Madeline dropped me off at The Grand at 7pm. Karen is a bartender there and was also having a bit of her birthday party there. I ordered a few drinks from her and tipped her well. She made my drinks very strong. Mel, Phil, Lacey, BT, Tony, Asha, Robin, Abby, Jim, Sivonna, and Jon all showed up. Tabitha was the karaoke disc jokey (or KJ for short). I sipped my booze heartily and danced. Karen returned home with Jim and I before the rest of the people arrived for the after party. I took a bit of a nap upstairs and woke up at 1:30am, when it was time for me to go to my prepared futon. Missed the rest of the party. Oops.

Today's Portrait is: Wil Wheaton

Sunday:

I was the first to wake up in the house, so I lounged about and read comics. Karen made a lovely breakfast scramble with tortillas. Mmmm! I finished the comic while she took a rejuvenating nap. We headed down to the studios and I took down my thesis show. Ran into Beth, Dom, and Morgaine and gave them all hugs. All that work and my thesis fits in a crumpled paper bag. Hmmn.

Karen and I sipped orange juice and 7Up in the park and chatted about this and that before deciding that we should go to Ikea. We swung by her house, picked up BT and his things, dropped BT off at the IPRC (Independent Publishing Resource Center) and off we went for meatballs! Yum, the meatballs were soooo good. Karen got some camping stuff. I got a little something something. Back at her house, we watched some Futurama and Sherlock. At 5:45ish she dropped me off at Robin's house.

Robin lives in such a beautiful place, though it is intimidatingly immaculate. For dinner, her parents made pizza. As in...a pizza stone in a grill with home made crusts (five crusts, six slices each) with home made sauce and tons of elegant and delicious toppings. A couple family friends were there as well. Since I had eaten a big meal not too long ago, I could only manage two and a half slices. Good eats though. Very good. I patted my stomach heartily. After dinner, we went for a walk with her dog Emma around the neighborhood. Robin and I both own similar styles of Palladium shoes. Just in different colors pretty much. I knew they looked familiar! A bed was made for me and we had some tea and made her birthday cake. We watched a bit of Poirot but we were both very tired so we tucked in early.

Today's Portrait Is: Adam Ellis

Monday:

I got out of bed at 10am. Probably the best night sleep out of the weekend. Breakfast was fried banana and toast and tea. Mmmm. We took another walk, sans dog, down to Broadway and roamed the shops. Back at the house we chilled, had some cupcakes that were made from the extra cake batter, and then got to making a birthday dinner. Burgers! Except I wouldn't be able to eat any of our efforts. Diana came over as well to help out. I had to leave to catch the train before dinner came on. It happens, oh well.

Portland was very muggy the last couple days. But I packed just the right amount. It was certainly weird being in Portland. Being a guest means being on other people's whims and schedules. And not having a home in a city you've lived in for four years is odd as well. Hmm.

On the train I read Wild Cards (edited by George R.R. Martin). Ma picked me up. We got in quite late so the parents went to bed right away. Pretty soon I'll be getting my wisdom teeth out, I reckon.

Today's Portrait Is: Beppe Grillo

ohh wolverine, you so funny

Didn't take mom into work, and dad has gone off to Washington D.C. for work, so I spent the day at the house. Worked on my macrame. Made some stuff. Drew a bunch more portraits. Ate toast and pasta and drank tea and stuff. A nice laid back day. Worked on packing for my weekend visit to Portland.

There are a few birthdays this weekend and I have to take down the art show, so I'll be there Thursday to Monday night. I'm not bringing my computer with me, so I'm not planning on blogging and the like. I just wanna hang with my friends. I'll keep a journal though, and write it up upon my return. I'll be staying with Rollyn, then Madeline, then Karen, and finally Robin. It will be a fun time that I am sure will pass by really fast. Hanging out, eating food, gabbing. All that good stuff. I have my clothes for the weekend packed but am still missing a few odds and ends. My train doesn't leave till 3, so I have time. No biggie.

Ma came home and we had corn dogs for dinner and watched some So You Think You Can Dance. New season!! We've missed quite a few episodes, but those are normally just the audition ones that have weird bad dancers. Now it is the top 20 or so.

I had to leave early because Chris and I had plans to see X-Men: First Class! Hurray! Went over and chilled for a bit before we left to see the 9:15 showing. Got their right on time. I really really enjoyed the film. Great actors, good action, effective use of effects. Really liked it, will totally rent it. Michael Fassbender is such a great actor.

Afterwards we went to Sharis for a late night pie and cocoa and milk shake. Chatted for an hour and then went home. Chris will always be a good friend. We will always be total nerds together.

Todays Portrait Is: Neil Cicierega.

macramania

Trying to keep a good sleeping schedule. Got up bright and early at 7:50am, showered, and drove mom to work. I wanted use of the car during the day, and taking mom in and then picking her up is the only way to do that. After that, I looked for a bead shop but the one in Bremerton had not opened yet. So I went to Michael's. My friend Mel had taught me how to macrame, so I felt like continuing and making a couple things. At Michael's I got some nice pendants and what seemed like easy beads to work with. I dabble in so many crafts. Swung by Walgreens for some other stuff and went home. Did a little craftwork task with dad in the garage.

I spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out with Chris Peeler, one of my longest friendships. We snacked and watched Doctor Who and caught up on the going ons of the past year. He is in Silverdale now for the next couple months, so we will probably be hanging out a bunch. Alas, all too soon I had to go and pick up mom from work.

It is a superb day here in Seabeck, WA. Sunny but not too hot just yet.

Dinner was a tasty salad with my favorite dressing from Trader Joe's. We watched some episodes of Tales from the City, but I think we are tired of the show. I worked on my macrame. Tomorrow I think I'll be staying in for most of the day. Gotta pack for Portland!

Todays Portrait Is: Nicolas Winding Refn.

da da duh duh DA DA duh duh DA DA DUH da daaa

I haven't quite had a long enough time to rest since school finished. It was packing and graduating and moving and then the motorhoming trip. This weekend I'll be down in Portland for some birthday parties and stuff. July will be the lull. Just gotta keep drawing.

Almost forgot about getting some portraits done today. I'm in such a bad habit!

I put my hair through another henna process today. Four hours of nourishment for just a slight, but lovely, change in tint. Dad kindly loaned me a work shirt of his, because the dye application is quite messy. Wrapped my hair up in plastic wrap and sat around watching television and catching up on all the internet that I missed. Dinner was served early and it was salmon, rice, corn on the cob, and this zucchini that I didn't touch. Tasty.

After dinner we went to the theater and caught a showing of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Mom and dad were given senior discounts without their ages being asked. Dad was given a senior discount at the museum in Baker City as well. Anyway, we all enjoyed the movie. It fit well with the first two (of the now four total Pirates movies). The new characters were good, the action was followable, and the story wasn't a mess like the third movies. No need for it to be in 3D.

Ma and pa tucked into bed when we got home, I obviously have stayed up later. Tomorrow I'm going to run some errands.

Todays Portrait Is: Kathryn Bigelow.

kolinsky and joe(s)

Last night I went to bed without writing my blog post, and I almost did the same this night. Bad habits are starting to form due to my trip!

Except I got up at about 10am, which is amazing. I'm on early time still, because waking up early is unavoidable in a motorhome, where at 6:30am you hear "shhhh be quiet". I've noticed that my writing gets ahead of me from time to time and that I put in wrong words because. So if I ever use a weird word that doesn't fit, it is a mistake I didn't catch.

Anyway, mom made waffles for breakfast and thus began Father's Day. I didn't have a gift. Or a card. I'll draw him something when I have the time (which is forever and forever now that I live with my parents once again and am unemployed).

After breakfast we soaked in the hot tub. That was nice.

Then it was off to Mats Mats for further Fathers celebration. We picked up some dinner on the way there. I drove! And did quite well. It's nice to let the parents, who drive everywhere, have a break. Plus it is good to be in driving practice. Hopefully Nathan gets a car soon, so I can have some wheels.

Anyway, Mats Mats! Visited grandma and grandpa. Told them tales of the road trip, and of graduation, and had our chicken dinner, and looked through a slide show of pictures from the trip. During the visit I inherited my great grandmother's furs! One is a fur collar that is so elegant and soft, the other is a link of Kolinsky's where the mouth is a clasp. They drape over ones shoulders in a magnificent manner. I want to make a nice display case for the pelts, though for now they are being safely placed in a chest. Such a wonderful gift, thank you grandma for trusting me with them!

It was a lovely little visit, I find it odd to go into a lot of detail about it because the main readers of my blog (my parents and grandparents) were all there with me today.

After the visit, we stopped by the marina because the Lady Washington and Hawaiian Dream (or breeze or fantasy, Hawaiian something) were docked there. The Lady Washington was a ship in the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie. It is a lovely recreation of a ye olde ship that you can ride on. We took a ride years ago, my family and I. It was fun. Before the ships, ma and pa looked at this other boat and found out it was built by their friend Donald "Donnie" Latimer. Funny how things end up coming together like that.

On the way home, we swung by the new Trader Joe's that opened in Silverdale. It was so comforting being there. The food was familiar and I knew how good some of it was. All the Portland treats that I love were there. And priced the same (except in Oregon there is no tax). Ahhh, such a beautiful store. Hope it lasts in Silverdale for ever and ever.

At home we watched another episode of Tales From the City. I did my laundry. Mom and dad went to bed, I watched Game of Thrones, which was AWESOME.

Todays Portrait Is: Danny Boyle.

Midwest Motorhoming Trip - June 14th to the 18th

June 14^th:

Uhg. Yosemite.

At 8am, we were out of bed for pancakes and bacon. Got everything packed into Nathan’s car, because Nathan would be driving us today. Dad gets a break, yay! It was to be a hot day.

There was some bickering about stopping at certain spots. And a long wait in the park due to road construction. And a long line of cars for pretty much anywhere close in the park. Anyhoo, our first major stop was Bridal Fall. We parked right at the entrance to the parking lot, on the shoulder. There was a steady crawl of cars going in trying to find spots. This was our first glimpse of the Yosemite crowds. Just hordes of tourists swarming the path. A stream of water was coming down the trail from the area of the fall. As we were fast approaching, the air became misty with vapor from the falls. Then it became a light rain. Mother and father stopped before they got too wet, but Nathan and I continued on. Our feet were totally soaked by the inch worth of running water that covered the lookout area. And by feet I mean sneakers. We were also fairly damp, but it was quite the misty site. Lovely.

Then we spent some time struggling through traffic.

We parked at the cathedral and walked about. I made a postcard. We walked to another waterfall, which was considerably less damp making.

Then a picnic was attempted, but we became bug bitten in less than a minute, so we ate in the car with the A/C running.

Then we became very frustrated in traffic trying to navigate through the “Yosemite Village” but we did grab a spot, which became where the car stayed for the rest of the day. We wandered through the crowds at the Village area. Yosemite is so much more a resort with crowds and hecticness, than a docile park. Some of us were becoming unnerved and stressed by it all. Still, we got our stamps and saw a video about the park, and went to some museums, and kept hydrating and eating ice cream and getting some souveniers. We did a lot of wandering around the paved area, and eventually were exasperated and decided to leave.

We drove to a couple hiking points and hiked at the first one for about fifteen minutes. Saw some deer. Totally frustrated with all the day and the crowds and poor access to hikes and views, we went back to the RV Park and had dinner.

Today’s Portrait Is: Eugene Mirman

June 15^th:

The dry heat of Utah is great because you are warm but not sweaty, the muggy heat sucks because you sweat and it doesn’t evaporate. It is much worse here, all though probably colder by 10-15 degrees.

We arose bright and early, had hash browns and bacon and eggs. Yum! Then we packed up our site, and went down the hill. Mom went down the narrow winding road in Nathan’s car (with Nathan) and waited at a historical marker in Chinese Camp. Dad and I descended in the motorhome, a journey which made mother too scared. It actually was a lot better going down than up. We kept a steady pace, and as we were near the cliff side and not the cliff edge, it was less frightening. There was a road construction stop and shortly after that, we pulled off to let people pass. Then for the rest of the journey down the hill, we had no pressure from the presence of people behind us. We ambled along at fifteen miles per hour and before we knew it, we were picking mom up and saying goodbye to Nathan.

And thus began another long day of driving. We are headed home through Northern California and Oregon now. First stop: Lake Shasta and the caverns. We tried to find the Hersey’s Plant, but it was closed. Got some groceries from a semi-open area grocery seller. I took a nap. I read the latest Ryu Murakami novel, which ended almost exactly like another one of his novels. Time creeped onwards, as did I-5. We stopped for sandwiches.

Soon we were going down another winding road and found ourselves in an RV Park next to Lake Shasta. We got popsicles and ice cream before dinner. I took a shower. Mom made a stew with lots of tidbits from the fridge. After dinner mom and dad went Kayaking. I am scratching at my numerous mousquito bites. Another reason why Yosemite isn’t all that great.

Today’s Portrait Is: David Lynch

June 16^th:

Woke up nice and early. Dad made me a fried egg with toast. Mmm! We didn’t set right in to driving. We moved from our RV Park to the Lake Shasta Cavern tour place. It’s a pretty cool tour system. You park, and they take you on a boat across the lake to a place where a bus picks you up. Then you go up a special one way road that is mostly inaccessible to everyone else. Up this narrow winding road, you get a tour guide and go through these really awesome caverns. You can get really close, but can’t touch, to all sorts of cool rock formations. And you wind through the mountain on these numerous steps. Hard to take pictures though. Oh well.

It was 80 steps up to one cavern part, and our tour guide pointed out lots of interpretive formations, like this saber tooth tiger looking cluster. It was fun. I wonder how many cave systems like these are hiding out waiting to be discovered.

From there we headed for Crater Lake National Park. We stopped at this middle of nowhere grocery store and picked up some provisions (and the ever present ice cream). As soon as we started climbing another mountain side, snow became present. Long fallen snow, and the roads were clear. However, it was well packed many feet deep. We stopped for a view point and I chased mom and dad with a snowball, and dad tripped over a log. He scraped his leg up but took the fall with good humor.

The Crater Lake Visitors Center was closed, due to still being stuck in snow. But the gift shop, with a snow entrance, was open. So we got our stamps and souveniers there. We walked around the snow and took pictures and had a light dinner. I made another post card.

At around 8pm we set out for a campground. Back down another mountain. We arrived at Silver Lake, Oregon a bit after 9pm. Tomorrow we head for the border, and camp there. Day after we might return home a day early.

Today’s Portrait Is: Werner Herzog

June 17^th:

Everyone woke up cold. Where did this chill come from? Boo! Poached egg on toast with melted cheese were served for everybody and we took off bright and early. Stopped for some propane and candy and post card drop off.

Just before Bend, Oregon we stopped at the High Desert Museum for a few hours. It is a combination museum with historical reenactors (which I’ve since found freak me out a bit) standard historical item recreations and exhibits, AND indoor and outdoor live animals. There were also a fair share of children, something that also freaks me out. Anyway. The ye olde exhibits were neat, though a bit repetitive by this point. I’ve seen some wagons on this trip. The bobcat and lynx were awesomely adorable. Big soft things behind glass that had once been pets and were neglected. We saw the special raptors of the sky performance thingy. They had several sizable birds come flying over head (outdoors). They came to perch at different trees and I got some good photos of the Harrison Hawk. There were some owls and eagles in closed in exhibits, and dad cooed at them. We ate lunch in the museum and picked out some things from the gift shop. We spent a good 3-4 hours there, which broke up the rhythm of all day driving that we have been accustomed to.

We headed to Timberline Lodge for a quick visit after that. The exterior of the lodge was used in The Shining. We saw some Buddhist Monks. I picked up a patch at the gift shop. It is a lovely place, I’d like to return and stay there for a weekend some time in the future. It smells fantastic.

We migrated onwards for another hour and a half, and have arrived at a campground near the train tracks, hurrah! Mom has reheated her soup and put some chicken in the oven. Yum.

Tomorrow we return to Seabeck.

Today’s Portrait Is: Wes Anderson

June 18^th:

We managed to sleep fairly well, even with the trains going by so near to us. It was a soggy pacific northwest day that greeted our return to home. It rained heavily on us all the way back through Oregon, but it let up when we stopped by the Mt Saint Helen’s Visitor Center. They have recently imposed a fee on the center, so we didn’t look at the exhibits (besides, we already have seen them in the past). So we took a loop walk to stretch our legs a bit and see the marshy land.

It is amazing how 4 hours on the road feels like a light driving day. The original plan was a late Sunday return (but we skipped Zion and didn’t do an extra day at Yosemite) and had a late afternoon Saturday return, which was lovely.

We unpacked the motorhome, started laundry, mom got Holly doggie, Dad ordered pizza from Seabeck Pizza and when the long day was over, we watched some tellie and enjoyed food. After all that time together, we don’t hate each other!

It’s been a wonderful trip, now to get back to life.

Today’s Portrait Is: Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Midwest Motorhoming Trip - June 11th to the 13th

June 11^th:

We got a generally early start for Bryce Canyon. We arrived at Rainbow Point, the farthest point in the park, at a little bit after 9. It was quite majestic, and we could see quite far. But after a days worth of Hoodoos, and many days of the same colored rocks, it was obvious we were a bit tired of it all. Still, I made another post card and off we went down the road. We stopped at a couple more repetitive sights and parked at Sunset Point for the Navajo Loop Trail. I had to beg and pressure mom and dad into taking the hike. Neither of them wanted to. Weird how it was the child asking the parents to hike, and not ‘tother way around.

Anyway, we geared up with first aid and water and snacks and down we went. The first part of the hike descends from the lookout point and into the canyons. It does so not by one steep path, but by thirty (we counted) switchbacks. A steady stream of people kept the pace nice. It was quite fun to descend and look back. At the bottom, the hike goes for a while between two steep walls. It is beautiful to be at the bottom and look up at it all. Mother and father soon agreed that it was good that I forced them on the hike. We emerged from the canyon walls and went to the end where the trail went off on much longer trails. The other half of the loop was sectioned off, so the return trip would be just the same way we came from. Before going up, we took a rest in the shade, I produced another post card, and we snacked. Then back up we went! We passed by many families and counted the number of turns on the hike back up the hill. It was exhausting but well worth it.

Back on the motorhome, we swung by the Visitors Center, and then zoom off we went to Zion. It wasn’t until ten miles till Zion that we found out there was a height restriction on the entrance into the park due to a tunnel, and that it would be a special fee to escort us into the park (for larger vehicles, they would have to make it one way. Would have been nice to find this out before hand. We decided not to pay the fee and headed West for Nevada, and ultimately, Yosemite.

We climbed up to 10,000 feet above sea level in the motorhome. Over this mountain and towards Nevada. We decided to camp high up at Cedar Canyon. The campground has been ravaged by wind and not quite cleaned up. Sure the paths are clear and all that, but there is still mucho debris laying around. And no ranger. We had hot dogs and mashed potatoes and cabbage. I made another postcard. Now we settle in for the night.

Tomorrow: Nevada! And then hopefully Eastern Yosemite.

Todays Portrait Is: Zach Galifianakis

June 12^th:

12 hours on the road, sure with some stops, but mostly 12 straight hours.

The day started at around 7:30am. I was still in bed when the motorhome started shaking and moving and driving. I luxuriated in the gentle rocking for a while long, and then climbed down. We stopped for gas, I bought some candy, and then we were off across Nevada. We were not going through Las Vegas. Instead we were taking the route across Extraterrestrial Highway. There would be no gas for 150 miles, and indeed none for 200+ because that was the mileage we racked up when we were finally able to refuel across the California border. Nevada was one long straight road after another. And not as hot as we were expecting. Still, it went on and on. Near the end there were two summits we had to cross. The motorhome accomplished the efforts it was forced through, though it will likely need some care and repair after this trip is done. We got ice cream across the border, had sandwiches earlier in the day, but generally we just trekked on and on. In California, at Mono Basin, we discovered the route into East Yosemite was closed (still snow on the pass) and that we would have to drive all the way around tomorrow. I bought a patch and we got dinner in town. I had the beef dip, mom had the fish, dad had chicken. It was good to just sit down and get a meal away from the motorhome and driving and all that. The . campsite was about 45 minutes away. We are back in woods and trees and reasonable elevation.

Made a fire, had some s’mores. Tomorrow is Yosemite, where Nathan will be joining us. We might just stay outside of Yosemite and relax. But we’ll be there, and then Nathan can do the rest of the driving! Ha ha!

Today’s Portrait: Eddie Izzard

June 13^th:

Another day where I awoke to a moving motorhome. I scrambled down from my motorhome loft at 8am and had 7-11 breakfast. Mmm. Ma and pa headed North to go West. Leaving really early makes 6-7 hours worth of driving not seem like much when you arrive at a campsite at 2:30ish. But before that, we were on our most harrowing drive yet. Before the harrowing part, we stopped at Angel’s Camp, California to get food and have a light lunch. Angel’s Camp is where my Great Grandpa arrived at when he first came to America. We had a lovely sushi snack.

The day passed by fast for me. But then we got on the pass to Yosemite. The truck road is still very perilous. Narrow, with no shoulder. Windy. Every ten feet it wound around another corner. Steep. We could go no faster than 20 miles per hour, not that we would want to go any faster. There was even a one way car to help us past road construction. It was five terrifying miles that they need to include in their guides to Yosemite National Park. Once you start up, you can’t go back.

But we made it up in one piece, in two days we’ll have to go down, but right now we are up.

We checked into an RV park, and decided to spend the rest of the day relaxing. We hopped in the pool. Sun bathed. Showered. I played badminton with dad. Mom got dinner ready: chili, corn bread, and steamed cabbage. I had the first two. And the great thing is: Nathan drove down from San Jose to join us! He will be with us for Yosemite, which will be all of tomorrow and then we all depart the day after. Nathan had dinner and marshmallows and now we shall tuck into bed. Tomorrow will be fun, and as Nathan’s car is here, the motorhome can be left to rest.

Today’s Portrait: Richard Pryor

Midwest Motorhoming Trip - June 9th and 10th

June 9^th:

Right now it is 9:19pm, and we are still looking for a place to camp the night. Goblin’s Creek, which was down a 25 mile or so road, was full. This little itty bitty national park was full. Only the undesireable places nearer to Canyonlands than Bryce Canyon had availability. Looking back on it, we should have dry camped at Goblin’s Creek. Still, the night sky is looking lovely.

We were pretty exhausted from yesterday. Got a lateish start from the Arches National Park Visitors Center. We watched a little program about rocks and I sent off some post cards. We departed for Canyonlands, ready for another day of sights and sun. Canyonlands was mostly full of scenic views of the vast expanse of canyons upon canyons. We were viewing from Island in the Sky, which was one of the three main features of Canyonlands, the others being The Needles and..uhm…the third thing. Canyons. At Upheaval Dome, I made a card. It struggled to get away from me. The drop offs were staggering. I’m not one to be afraid of heights, but I was scared. In Arches, if you fell you didn’t have far to go. Here you had a long time to think about your life before you went splat. I made a second card at the Grand Viewpoint. I liked that one a lot more. Some of these cards are a textural mess, while others are quite majestic.

Canyonlands is a place of short hikes and extremely long hikes. We didn’t take any long ones.

At fiveish we departed to find a campground. Stopped for gas and dinner at Burger King, and as I said, we are still looking for a place. Might illegally camp for a time being, lest we get booted.

Today’s Portrait is: Mitch Hedberg

June 10^th:

So, we managed to spend the night illegally at a scenic spot without a ranger coming by and kicking us out. We moved the motorhome from the spot to the Visitors center at around 7:15ish, and as the center opens at 8, that wasn’t strange at all. Mother and father went for a bike ride as I slowly got to waking up.

We stamped our stuff in the visitors center, I bought a book and some stickers, ma bought a haul of goods and dad got a shirt and a mug. Then off we went for Bryce’s Canyon! While last night may have sucked, all that driving did put us just a mere 100 miles from the National Park. So a shorter drive than the ones we have been making.

After driving at terrifying heights really close to the edge with brakes that were smelling funny, we took a detour at this Anasazi museum in Boulder, Utah. It was a lovely little constructed museum, devoted to speaking about the things that were uncovered at a dig site (where there were once houses and stuff). You could also get really close to the original dig site, though obviously no touching was allowed. It was a nice rest, and soon we were off again.

Instead of trying to find a site at the end of the day, before even entering the park we checked into an RV park. Having a pool and laundry on site is fabulous. We got our spot, I got a magnet.

The great thing about Bryce’s Canyon National Park is that they have a shuttle bus that picks up people from outside the park and brings them around the park on a loop, and the busses come every 15 minutes or so, so you can get off, hike, buy stuff, get on and go to another place and hike. So today the motorhome stayed in its place and we just hoofed it. Well shuttle bus and hoof.

We took the whole shuttle bus loop and then disembarked at the visitors center. We got our stamps (all the national parks have little ink pad stamps) and some post cards. Watched another video about erosion and rocks. Then it was back on the shuttle bus for hike time!

Bryce’s Point was the start of our path. Bryce’s Canyon has such wonderful special spire mounds called Hoodoos. And they are quite epic to behold. But after hiking around the rim for an hour, it gets a little repetitive. Still, the light changed as we hiked and that gave us some new views. Really beautiful when the sun casts shadows through the Hoodoo formations. We got to Inspiration Point, and it was inspiring. And then Sunset Point. From there we took a bus to Sunrise point, got some ice cream (I squashed a souvenir penny) and waited for the next shuttle bus to take us out of the park.

We got back at around 7ish. We took a dip in the pool and hot tub. Perfect thing to do after a long days hike (several miles worth of hiking along the cliffside path). I showered. Mother worked on dinner. Father and I took our dirty clothes to the RV, Campground, Inn, etc. Compound’s Laundromat. We were much in need of some clean clothes. I was just about out of shirts, and when we eventually meet up with Nathan, none of us want to be that smelly. Dinner was consumed, then we went and threw the laundry in the dryer. Dad and I worked on crosswords till the laundry time was up. Some of it was still damp, so we rigged a clothes line in the motorhome.

Tomorrow is Bryce’s Canyon Part Two and then Zion.

Today’s Portait Is: John Hodgman

Midwest Motorhoming Trip - June 8th

June 8^th:

Arches!!! Arches National Park!

I got out of bed about when I woke up, because there would be no sleeping in today! We were set on spending all day in the park, as we paid for another day here in Moab. We’ve spent a lot of time on the road anyway, a day to walk and rest and enjoy some sites was much needed.

At 9:30ish we made it into Arches and right away it was magnificent. Just expansive and mostly untouched. Rock formations and plants and space as far as the eye can see. There were not many roads throughout the place, mostly just one with several loops. Would be easy to get lost and never found in there, if one wandered off. Still, with the impressive arch landmarkers, it would be hard to stay lost. Just walk towards one and there is sure to be a trail. Every single arch seemed to have a name.

We stopped at a scenic spot and this was our first of three run ins with a nice young guy named James. There were many people I saw multiple times through the day, but James was the only one with which we made conversation.

Between each scenic spot we took a rest of various lengths, were we nibbled on food and hydrated.

North and South Windows was probably the highlight of the park for us. My second post card of the day (my first was at Courthouse Columns or something of that nature) was in the shade of North Windows. They were the perfect balance of hike and view. Some things that were obviously pretty required a heck of a trek (the iconic Delicate Arch was a three mile hike which we did not take).

After Windows we had sandwiches for lunch and then walked down a ways to see some more sites.

Balancing Rock was neat, though a lot smaller up close. We walked around it and took pictures. I’ll upload pictures of the trip at the end. I ended up with about 50-60 pictures from today alone.

Dry heat is nice because you don’t get so sticky with sweat, but it is also really easy to get dehydrated. And the water tastes funky in Utah. Not nice Pacific Northwest water.

We trekked the Delicate Arch viewpoint, which gives a nice view of it from the distance. I did my third postcard there. I used sun block consistently; Dad did not and ended up with a red neck. Mom slightly did, but is still a bit pink in spots. I think I got some color but I’m not burnt, all though the back of my arms are a tad pink. Because I worked with my back to the sun, they were the most exposed.

I wore sneakers so I didn’t have to worry about my tattoo getting exposed. Gotta take care of that. It is almost fully healed.

At the Sand Dunes Arch, I sat on the sand and made my fourth and final watercolor post card of the day. A cute little girl named Anya was playing in the sand. She was very pleasant.

We took a small section of the Devil’s Garden hike. There were some Austrian biker men on the path, that was neat. Such great views. I wish I could spend more time painting them. Too bad it was easily 90 degrees. But I did quite well with the heat, all things considered.

All in all, Arches is very beautiful. We spent eight hours exploring it, which seemed to be just the right amount of time. Took many breaks and didn’t push ourselves. Just allowed enjoyment of the natural beauty of the world.

I got a “you have a real talent” and a “that’s no paint by numbers!” in regards to my postcard making. Love it!

We returned at 6:30 and promptly took a dip in the pool. Dinner was burgers, vegetables, and rice pilaf. Delicious! I gulped down juice. We followed it up with an episode of Last Chance to See, hosted by Stephen Fry. Tomorrow we leave Moab and go to Canyon Lands!

Today’s Portrait is: Tim Minchin

Midwest Motorhoming Trip - June 6th to the 7th

June 6^th:

Today required a lot of on the road time to get out of Idaho. Woke up early, because of motorhome time lag (yes, that is a thing). Had some hash browns and toast. Everything is cooked for me, it is lovely. Plus I’m probably eating a bit healthier because we consciously try to get all the food groups.

It was warm. We rode our bikes down to the Lewis and Clark Center Thingy. Took some pictures with ye olde covered wagons. We went past these tents that were for an Idaho State University thing, according to mom and dad. Saw an old fashioned ferry. Road back, got on Wifi and uploaded a blog entry. Then off we went for Utah!

Well, we had to stop for fudge on the way out of Glenns Ferry, Idaho. Fudge and ice cream. Naturally. Then we were off again!

On the way, we stopped at a ranch supply store. Dad got some fittings. It was a wonderful place. Ranch supplies, guns, camouflage, two aisles devoted to cowboy hats, all the toys were hunting and ranching oriented, fishing tackle. Completely unapologetic about its devotion to animals, both in the raising and killing of them. There were even coyote traps. And everyone was so friendly and had a lovely slight accent.

Lunch was served at a rest stop: tuna fish sandwiches. The wind and rain picked up for a miserable strip of road. The wind was so furious that dad had some series driving to do. Had to keep the motorhome on all four wheels. It was swaying back and forth and it was very scary. Ma and I sat on the other side for a bit to help with weight. I don’t know what we would have done had the motorhome tipped all the way over. That would have been quite the crash. Still, we made it safely into Utah. Where it was gray and rainy and windy. BOO!!

We will be headed further South tomorrow.

Today’s campground of choice was Antelope Island State Park, Utah. We drove through Ogden to get here. We paid at this little booth for our campsite. The way to the island was a road built on a manmade strip of land. It was lengthy and pretty, though the weather wasn’t so sunny. The island was a lot larger than we expected and it loomed up at us. The campground itself didn’t have much privacy between the sites. I worked on a postcard outside and the wind almost took my hat away, and it snatched my postcard twice. But I learned to listen for the incoming wind to defend against its wrath. There were buffalo on the hill and I went up and waved at them. Later, the two buffalo came down the hill! Into the campground! They grazed in the unoccupied spaces as people took pictures. I got within about 20 feet. I am so in love with buffalo now. Adorable, huge, lumbering things. They moved so slowly but without a care in the world. No wonder they were so easy to nearly wipe out. They were great entertainment, even though they didn’t much. Just ate and looked around.

Dinner was chicken and last night’s soup. And fudge.

Today’s Portrait is: Steve McQueen.

June 7^th:

It was windy all through the night, but the motorhome didn’t tip over. I had a bite of weird oatmeal in the morning and some cocoa. Then off we went…to the visitors center (and a stop off at a view point). I bought a stuffed buffalo toy. So cute.

Shortly after Salt Lake City, we stopped at Costco. Dad bought the new Clive Cussler book and some jeans. It was weird. The layout of this Costco was the same, it was just a mirror image. Everything was backwards and didn’t make sense.

We also breaked for ice cream and I dropped off my postcards. Six in the mail, headed for lovely people!

It was another long six plus hours on the road day. There was traffic and then there was just road. Plateaus to the left, expanses to the right. Maybe some mountains in the far distance. It just went on and on and on, and so much sky. Rocks and sky. So very different yet lovely.

We almost spent the night at Green River State Park, but the town looked positively deserted and the park was very unappealing. The whole place was odd and we decided to spend the extra 30 minutes and go straight on to Arches National Park and Moab.

Unfortunatley the campground at Arches was full up. So we got our stamps and some stickers and went to Moab to find a place. And luckily grabbed the last available spot at an RV Park. They had a pool so, after we got situated, we took a lovely dip in it.

Dinner was hot dogs and mashed potatoes. Tomorrow: ARCHES! HIKING!

Today’s Portrait is: Harrison Ford.

Midwest Motorhoming Trip - June 2nd to the 5th

June 2^nd, 2011

Had a nice sleep. Got up around 10ish and had some toast and tea. Took my sweet time getting ready and getting to the portraits. Then at around noon I found out that we were leaving for Utah TONIGHT! Dad had told me Friday. Egads! I had errands to run. So I hopped in the Prius and drove to town. First swung by the bank and deposited a check for mom and my Odd Owl moneys. Then I went to Game Stop and picked up a copy of Pokémon Black, because I felt like reveling in some nostalgia. Then I swung by Artist’s Edge to get another stack of watercolor postcards. Art stores out of Portland get so expensive, boo. It was raining furiously and then tepidly and then not at all and then ferociously. I was hopefully dressed in cut offs, but reasonably wore a sweater.

Once home I got to packing. Dug some shirts out of my storage tubs as well as a couple books. I powered out about 10 more portraits all while ma and pa were nagging me. Then WOOSH I got it all done and online and set to autopost. So long as we return by the 19^th, all will be well.

I loaded my stuff into the camper, grabbed a hat for the sun, and off for Rainbow Falls we departed! About a two hour journey. I played my game as the sun went down. We are the only ones in the campground tonight. Dad made ravioli and theres some buttered bread for dipping. I think we shall watch some Doctor Who. Tomorrow there will be exploring by bike and then on the road. I promised Karen to draw her a picture from the Arches.

Today’s Portrait is: Bruce Willis

June 3^rd

Woke up a couple times before I actually hauled myself out of bed. Had some cocoa with a slice of toast slathered with Nutella. It was a nice day, and the weather maintained.

We three rode our bikes down to look at the VERY underwhelming Rainbow Falls. It was barely a 10 foot high fall. Hardly worth naming a camp ground for. Satisfied with our early day excursion, we hopped on the road and headed for Mt. Rainier and the Ohanapecosh camp ground. It was a pretty quick journey, no longer than a couple hours. We arrived at another mostly empty campground at around 3:15ish. We paid up and had a lovely lunch of green beans, chili, hot dogs (that were chicken dogs)and some soda. I worked on a postcard and fought the mosquitos away. Fully sated, we road to the trail head by bike, locked them up, and set off for Silver Falls. Well, first we did the 30 minute loop, and then we decided to additionally hike the 1.2 miles to check out the second batch of falls. It was mostly uphill but worth it. The falls were massive. Legitimate falls. Not dinky, no way jose. The loop was also mostly uphill on the way back, and was 1.3 miles. After half an hour of huffing and puffing, we made it. Thankfully it was a nice day with no rain. Just sun and mild warmth. Dinner was not needed, so we roasted marshmallows on the fire and then watched an episode of Tales Of/From the City. Ohhh some of the actors are so young! Tomorrow we leave Washington for Oregon, camp there and do some stuff. We are also crossing the rockies. Dry land, here we come! And the day after that, we shoot for Utah. Whoo!

Today’s Portrait is: Jean-Claude Van Damme

June 4^th

It’s weird how sleeping in doesn’t really happen when camping. All though mom and dad beg to differ that 9:30am is not early. Had some bacon and tea for breakfast. After we vacated our spot we swung by the Ranger Station Placey Thingy. I picked up a WPA postcard featuring the National Park we were in and mom got one of those National Park passport things. National Parks all have little stamps that you use in these passport thingies, I stamped my notebook. It had the date and said Ohanapecosh. How neat. It’ll be fun when we get more stamps over time. Anyway, we moved on to Oregon from there. The Rockies were effortlessly passed and soon the landscape flattened into the dull tan-ish green with shallow hills and hills that only thrive because of irrigation. That went on for a while. Amazing that people don’t go crazy from the repetition.

We stopped by a Safeway and picked up food. In the parking lot we had a lunch of bread, turkey, and a cornucopia of cheese. Brie. Feta. Goat cheese. So much cheese. From there we moved on, and didn’t go quit as far as planned.

At five thirtyish we arrived and Emigrant Springs. This campground had cabins you could rent and was about half full of people. Early June continues to be the best time to camp. I remember when I was younger and how much I would sit in the truck as we toured around trying to find a campground with an open site.

The Ranger lady had a cougar pelt on display and really nicely taxidermied bob cat. She lamented the decreased budget for preserving critters. I remarked “due to these harsh economic times, funding for taxidermy has gone way down” or something along those lines. Such a shame. Taxidermy is so cool.

Dinner was hamburgers, corn, potatoes au gratin, and asparagus (for the parents). After that we ventured to this scenic spot the park ranger mentioned. The spot was an overlook of this vast valley. Two rangers and a bunch of other campers showed up (because the ranger mentioned the place to us) and under the guidance of the rangers, we looked for bears on the side of the mountain. It was tricky because they were so far away, but with the aid of mother’s zoom lens Dad found a cinnamon colored on. Mom failed to locate it in the view finder, but I did. We wandered off from the group for a while and came back to listen to the ranger talk about bears (she had a taxidermied bear on hand, a smallish one).

Back at the camp site we stoked a fire, had some beverages, and watched the second episode of Tales From the City. Tomorrow it is destination Utah! Hopefully.

Today’s Portrait is: Errol Flynn

June 5^th

Pancakes for breakfast! Yaay! They were delicious.

We took a little bike ride to check out the rest of Emigrant Springs. We found this historical marker that Ezra Meeker placed there to mark the original Oregon Trail. Pretty nifty. At 11ish or so we left the camp ground and headed east once again for Idaho, and ultimately Utah. Today was a long driving day.

Though we did have a stop in Baker City. I posted two postcards and we checked out this museum. It was a bit of a glorified knick knack museum and some of the exhibit displays left a lot to be desired. Still, there were some impressive rocks. Some cool old timey materials. Some old guns. And a lot of trust on the museums part to not have the attendees mess with stuff. There was an old letterpress and type catalog. Such a shame that perfectly good lead type is just gathering dust in this way out in the middle of nowhere museum.

Lunch was served in transit. Mother made crème cheese on rice cracker snacks with turkey breast. We listened to Lord of the Rings, but it was more a theatrical rendition than a full on audio book. We crossed over into mountain time. The tan green landscape just extended out forever. So endless. And far far away.

We made it to Three Islands State Park in Idaho at around 6ish. The motorhome was having some troubles but it was probably just very tired. We set up camp and have a gorgeous view of this wide open plain area thingy. Mom and dad took a bike ride and I worked on some post cards. Dinner was salad and stew. Healthy.

There is limited wifi at this campground, so I’m taking the time to get stuff up.

Today’s Portrait is: Dolph Lundgren