heal darn you!

My leg now only really hurts if I put stuff on it, like aloe vera. Don't know why it would help a scrape Mom. Oh well.

Did my laundry. The machines are nicer but about .25 more expensive than The Goose. Watched some Mad Men with Kristen. Washed my hair. Folded my laundry. Watched stuff. Ate noodles. Put away laundry. Watched more stuff. Took it easy generally.

A little over a week till school starts. Yipes! I don't really feel the senior year terror yet.

Still can't find my missing suitcase. Really weird.

Tomorrow Mel is getting a tattoo, so I might tag along on that.

I wish I could be out and about and helping with that installation more, but my leg has put a stop to that. I can't go about working on my knees and risking getting old paint in my wound. It is healing well, but I don't want to risk it.

I heard that one of the editors or something for Bitch magazine will be teaching us, and that they'll be getting someone in to help with type. And I think the animation class will be super.

I'm doing a good job making my own meals and not needing to eat out. I did that a lot in the Goose. Well, I just ordered wings. Being in a more upscale neighborhood keeps me eating in. It is a nice place though. An oasis of peace.

Six String Samurai with Pagans and Christians

Thursday

Slept with my leg out of my sheets. Which sucked because the weather went colder so it was a night to sleep under covers. And since the weather sucked we called off the Sauvie's Island trip. Oh! I set out some chocolate croissants over night to rise and they were delicious in the morning. mmmm! But yeah, no sun or whatever. Tabitha and Kristen got some tickets in the nosebleed section to see Lady Gaga tonight. Mel, Karen, and I went to the Goodwill Bins. Now The Bins is this Goodwill of all the neglected Goodwill stuff that is not bought. You pay by the pound, not price. It is amazing. I got three pairs of heels that fit really well (two brown, one purple) and a pair of flats. I got three coats to hang in my studio because I know it gets cold. Also I can loan them to other studio people and if they don't come back, no biggie. So two suit jackets and one larger tan one. I also got a grey jacket that, because The Bins doesn't have mirrors, I couldn't see how INSANE the shoulder pads on it were. They are huuuuge! But it is sort of great at the same time. I got a floral romper that fits pretty well and a dress that ended up being a couple sizes too big (can't really try anything on there either). Also got this ceramic turtle. I paid about twenty bucks for all of that. Niiice.

The leg is doing better slowly but surely.

We had Mexican food after. It was good. Filling. Didn't need a dinner afterwards. I came home when Kristen and Tabitha were all dressed up for Gaga.

They left and I put my leg up and watched Project Runway and then sat in bed and watched True Blood and got drowsy and didn't feel like moving my leg more and went to sleep.

Friday

Leg getting better! The soft sensitive patch is hardening up and being less sensitive. It has also stopped weeping fluid. It looks considerably worse, but in healing things look worse before they look better.

Yeah another gross picture for you guys. But I can go bandaid free on the knee and hydrogen peroxide hurts a lot less. It is a constant soft hurt, but not so bad. I get injured so rarely.

Finished up the lettering and logo for Ben's business card and sent him some compositions. It needs some cleaning up and refining of letters. Then I got ready for another date with Kevin.

We went to dinner at Melt, this sandwich shop on 21st. Drinks and coconut prawns for starters. I had grilled cheese and soup, he had the crab cake sandwich. All in all it was really, really good! The place has a great atmosphere. We got some gelato after but the Green Tea flavor I got lost its appeal really quick. Then we went to see Valhalla Rising at Cinema 21. It is a movie about Vikings and Christians coming to America in 1000ad. IT WAS INTENSE! The atmosphere was really well played out. It is the type of movie where you have to really get into the scenery as narration. Mads Mikkelsen, a Danish actor who is a personal favorite of mine, was awesome as a viking warrior with one eye. It is a movie I can see someone with no patience not enjoying, but I got engrossed. Very powerful. I was glad that Kevin liked it too because sometimes when you pick a movie then you get worried if the other person isn't liking it and resents you for picking it, you know? But no, we left the theater going "that was intense!". We wandered around 23rd and got a quick final drink of the night at Ram's Head. I showed him my Japan photo album back at my place and with that we called it a night.

Yeah. It was a nice date.

ouch! busted

Forgot to mention that yesterday the hinge on my phone broke. It will not close, well it can close and open but it makes it so much more likely that the top will break off the bottom and I don't know if it will work if put back together. I really like this phone. It is reliable and no frills. It is old of course, pushing six years. Which is four years more than the life expectancy of any phone. Booo.

Today I ran some errands. Went to Powell's. Got Packing for Mars by Mary Roach. Space travel! Yay! Also picked up a Crunchie Bar, which is pretty much a Violet Crumble labeled differently. Went to the Bike Gallery and dropped off my bike for a wellness check up. Walked down to Finnegan's to look at their Playmobil. They had a woodshop class set! With a bearded teacher, drill, clamp, students, and first aid kit. It was amazing! Talked to Dad on the phone for a bit about phone problems. Walked down to Verizon to see what sort of phones there are. Basically if I want to replace my phone and not get a new plan or anything, I am looking at spending $150+ on a new phone. Yeah. No way. I don't get at all why phones still cost so much. Everyone has one, so why haven't they gone down in price? Why are there no cheap no frills phones? This is crap. Oh well. Tape for now. Went and got my bike back. I was crossing the street to get in the far right lane and crossing the street car tracks I didn't have my tire slanted enough and it got caught in the tracks. I didn't flip over so much as twist and hit the pavement. Thankfully I fell in an empty parking space and not in traffic or into a car. I skinned a large bit of my shin and my knee isn't too pretty and my shoulder aches. The passers by stopped and were really nice but I wasn't in too bad of shape. I paused for a minute to catch my breath and I got back on my bike and rode home. My bike seems unharmed. Wheel isn't bent. It rode just fine, though the rider wasn't in as good as shape.

Here is a gross picture of my leg before cleaning:

Ouch! Kristen didn't come home till 8ish, which was good. I needed to be alone while I howled and cried as I washed out the scrape (now my slight tan will have a bit missing, nooo!) and the knee gouge. I then sat and watched cable while I patted at it with a damp towel. Just patted and patted. When I was feeling better, I hobbled over (this is the right leg, which has been twice sprained and was once kicked in high school and still is a bit wobbly from time to time) to Walgreens to get hydrogen peroxide and Neosporin and other assorted medical stuff. IT HURT SO BAAAD to sanitize it. I just had to suck it up and do it really really fast and then pause and then go again. Then I lathered it up and let it sit. I took a tumble on my old bike about a decade ago and at that time it was just a chunk of flesh that lifted up on my left knee. Now my right knee might get a matching scar. I can't remember getting a scrape this size before. Still, three years in Portland as a biker and this is the first time I've been caught by the tracks and the second time I've fallen on my bike (the first time I missed the curb when propping my foot up, but nothing really got injured).

To distract myself I did my hair up in Heidi braids. Like a milkmaid. Whee! Tomorrow we girls are going to Sauvie's Island to swim. I'll probably lounge in the sun more than swim. I don't think water will favor my injury.

Also having the Crunchie Bar on hand for comfort was really good. Lovely distraction.

keys and bottles

I have a headache. Ugh. Heat.

Chatted with Madeline for about an hour. Ate some good.

I went down to school and dropped off my health insurance waver. Swung by student services and said hello to the people there. Everyone is getting new hair dos and cuts and looking festive for the season. Went to the library and scanned some stuff. Rented Mad Men season one to watch with Kristen.

Swung by REI to grab one of those things to attach my keys to a belt. Not sure if the proper name. Cariban? Anyway, got that and a proper water bottle. The little one I found just isn't cutting it for my hydration needs. Plus it will probably be good to have one on hand in the studio. Or biking. Anyway, got those. Returned home. Sweated. Ate a salad. Watched Ninja Warrior.

Ben asked me to design a business card for him (for some cash) so I'm working on that. Sent him some font tests today. Will write them out proper tomorrow and play with compositions.

This heat is just...bahhh. It is supposed to go to 70 soon.

day off

Yay a day to do nothing! Just to check out and watch TV and put my still sprained ankle up.

What Not To Wear, Top Gear, Police Academy. I really gotta get rid of cable before school starts. It is just too damn easy.

But tomorrow I have some tasks to do. Whoo!

Uhm yeah. Did nothing. Put away nothing more. But it felt good.

School starts in two weeks. Damn summer went by. I got next to nothing accomplished. Oh well.

directions, poo, and reading

Saturday

Soap box derby! Tabitha picked Kristen and I up and we swung by and got Mel as well. It was a hot hot day. Shorts and bikini top were too much layers. I got some snacks and lemonade so we wouldn't starve on Mount Tabor. It was a nice drive over and we got parking near enough to one of the entrances to Mount Tabor. Unfortunately it was not the entrance near the better entrance. We walked up to where the carts were and what, if we had looked around more, would have been actually the starting point. I got confused with directions and went up the hill and ended up near a drum circle (Mel & co. stayed behind to find their own way). Oh! We were trying to meet up with BT, Liz, Phil, and other people. But yeah, I got lost and called BT three times but none of the directions got me anywhere close (I suspect he was drunk and unable to visualize where we were in relation to him). But I ran into my three girls again and we decided to just park it off to the side of a path and relax and snack for a bit. Tabitha's friend Matt was there in husky colors. He had a soap box car, or one he was helping with. After putting up our feet for a while, we went back to try and find our people once again. We made our way down the track and on the final loop there they were! We whipped out the snacks, I popped a beer, and we settled in to watch the semi-finals of the soap boxes.

One crashed into hay bales and an ambulance came later, but that turned out to be for a skateboarder. All in all, it was really hot and lots of walking around a huge mountain, but it was fun. Then we went back down the mountain, Karen gave us a lift to our car and we went to our apartment. Kristen, Tabitha, Mel, and I sat in the dark, drank cool liquids, and watched cable TV till about 8pm.

We gathered our stuff and got in the car and headed to the north east for Karen, BT, and Phil's housewarming party. They are now living in a nice little North East Portland house. Still moving in a bit, but it will be a sweet place. Karen's bathroom is very pink and BT's is nautical themed. Blues Brothers was playing. Diana, Robin, Alison, and a bunch of sort of unfamiliar people were there. Andy came over. Justin and his Dad. Evan and Holly came. Evan brought a card game called Poo where you play monkeys flinging poo and once you get 15 poo, you are out. It was A LOT of fun. I think I'll have to pick it up at Powell's. Liz, Robin, and Kristen played their ukuleles on the porch. It was adorable. Tabitha needs some sort of award for being an awesome designated driver. She got the standard trio (Mel, Kristen, and I) home safe and sound. I winded down with an episode of True Blood. Then went to sleep.

Sunday

Woke up. Had bacon and eggs. Watched a cable show about cake, then White Collar, then some Ninja Warrior, then more White Collar. Around that time Tabitha showed up. She was doing a staged reading of a friend of hers' play so she drove us to University of Portland with her. (Us being the standard four: her, Kristen, Mel, and myself). U of P is in an area where all the streets are named after Ivy Leagues. She got right to a practice reading. We watched the first half of it. Mel and I played some paper games. At intermission we wandered around to find some sort of food or vending machine but ended up out of luck all together.

The play out of rehearsal flowed pretty well. It was about this guy who murdered this guy but denied it because he was going crazy and had broken from it. It had some good parts but was too heavy with Kevin Smith influence. Tabitha played a girl in one scene. And played it well. The writer wasn't much older than me and I salute that he just wrote this play and edited and got it to test reading stages. A lot of effort and putting yourself out there. Good for him!

Karen snuck in later and she, Tab's friend Kara, and the rest of us went to Nepo 42 to get dinner. Tasty sandwiches! And Karen got a magical free sandwich through missordering. We girled it up and went whooo! It was a great night to sit outside. We made plans to go to Sauvie's Island on Thursday. Exciiiited! Sun and swimming!

Now to curl up, watch True Blood, and rest!

Jason, Chevy, and Kevin

Jason & Chevelle

Went over to the East side to help Jason and Chevelle with their TBA installation. I arrived at 2 and just missed them when they made a supply run. Tesar let me into Washington High School and I loitered for a bit for them to show up. I deconstructed some boxes and explored. Even on a bright sunny day, a silent empty school is very creepy. There were some artists on the other floors but the noise didn't carry.

I helped them haul stuff up three flights of stairs (I got a lot of exercise, dang). Cut up more boxes. Made some sand paint mixture and slathered those boxes up. My knees and hands and bare feet got covered in the stuff. I was quite gritty. But it was fun. We listened to surf music and Jason bought pizza. At 5:30 I left. At 6:30 I arrived home sweaty and painty and took a second shower.

Kevin

Second date with Kevin tonight. After I got majorly cleaned up. We went for Korean Barbecue on Hawthorne. It was quite a lot of meat. But it was good. We caught up on the past month or so. After barbecue we went down to Clinton Street and grabbed a drink at Dot's. It looks like The Matador: Lite. But it was nice. The day was really hot but the night cooled off just the right amount. I was wiped after the long day of actual manual labor so we parted after Dot's (well after he took me home, he didn't ditch me on the East side). So that was that.

Today is Adult Soap Box Derby (adult as in age not adult as in naughty) and Karen, BT, and Phil's housewarming party.

Bleh I'm tired, I'll sum up in the morning.

PILGRIM! YEAH!

SCOTT PILGRIM! AWESOME! YEAH! I went to the midnight showing with Madeline. The audience was nerdy and enthusiastic and awesome and the movie was totally awesome and fun and not totally perfect to the comic but it was all the better for it. Great Thomas Jane cameo. Wonderful action sequences. Music. AHH! SO GOOD! I maybe missed parts by being AHHMYGAWDAWESOME through the whole thing so I totally need to catch a matinée.

Okay back at the start of the day. I set my alarm but it didn't go off because I set it for PM instead of AM. Silly me. Oatmeal. Tea. Cable television.

My drapes were starting to frame so I hemmed them. Now they hang about an inch above my windowsill. If my blinds are open you can sort of peep into my room. Haven't seen what it is like with them closed.

Kristen and I went and got boba tea. Mmm. I called Jason and I'm going to help him out at noonish tomorrow. Called Madeline and asked her please to see midnight showing. She showed up at 9ish. We left at 9:30ish after I made popcorn. We wandered around the Lloyd District for an hour and sat for another wonderful hour chatting as the nerds filtered in.

I'm sure I do more with my day. Oh had a sandwich for lunch and the final bit of my bacon cheeseburger pasta for dinner.

I'm glad Lauren won, even though I missed it.

I'll have stuff to talk about tomorrow. If I try to get on with blogging before 2:30 am. HA!

spooky dusty crinkly potato chip

Abdi won! Yay! He had a really great final piece though I was worried because it felt like they were praising Peregrine's artwork more. Miles produced a good show but it did feel really work in progress.

I voted for Lauren. She did so well on the So You Think You Can Dance finale.

Had leftover cheeseburger bacon pasta for dinner. Mmmm! So good.

Tidied up. Put my art supplies in a plastic tub instead of a box for better transportation. Assembled my new Ikea stool so I can easily reach up for stuff. Technically it isn't a "for standing on" stool but it can support 220 pounds, so I think I'm good for the time being. Just have to be careful. Forget how I filled up the rest of my day. Something.

Saw Lacey's apartment when Karen and I dropped her off after our day trip. Nice little studio. Almost poked her cat with a rod though. Sweet little Murmur.

Karen, Lacey, and I went to Ikea. The average time spent at Ikea is 3-5 hours. Such a big mistake to try and rush it. I saw so many things that I missed: 4.99 tabletop ironing board. Cute 5$ brackets (there were cheaper ones, but these brackets are stylin') with cheap blue shelf boards that almost match my walls. Handy little bathroom container for makeup. Stool. And a couple other things including a cute cut of cloth. It was a good, lengthy trip. 11-2:30 about. Lacey got curtains and rods galore. Karen got some little things and some Christmas gifts for her nieces. It was a long slow wander. Oh I got some tea lights as well and a super discounted holder set. Oh and naturally we started with meatballs and cake. mmmmm!

When I was picked up BT and his friend Liz were in the car. Liz is nice. They were dropped off at Jam and didn't join us. Boo on them. Oh well.

Sluggish start to the day. Knee hurt all the way through along with my ankle.

I need a level to put up my shelves. I'll wait though, I need to organize my books.

there goes the ankle again

Slept way in with no alarm. Got up. Did some dishes. Tabitha came over. Did more dishes. Karen came over. We girl talked for a while. Then she and I wandered up to William Temple House and over to 23rd. A little walk. I gave her back her boxes, and plus some.

Tabitha and Kristen left for the day. I puttered around. Haven't put anything away yet. Tomorrow. I'll do it tomorrow.

Went to Lush and got a little foot slightly pumice stone for exfoliating my feet and a facial scrub. My face feels so soft. Right now I'm on operation perfect skin. I have pretty good skin, but I'm trying to figure out what works best. And I want to clean my pores properly. The salt scrub is nice because the salt gets smaller and smaller as you use it (but it doesn't dissolve in the scrub bucket, wonder how that works).

I offered Jason some assistance with his Time Based Arts installation so at 6:30 I headed over to the east side. It was a lot of prep work. Just tearing boxes down and painting this sort of stucko onto them. He is making a beach scene for his bands TBA performance. Lots of things need to get made. We didn't get a big start today. He drove me and my bike back and I gave him some of my left over boxes. Oh! I twisted my ankle coming down a step. The same ankle I twisted at BT's birthday. It was still hurting on and off and now it won't improve any fasted. My right leg has really bad luck.

So now I'm just putting up my feet and watching television. Going to Ikea with Karen and Lacey tomorrow. Mostly just want meatballs. Don't really need more storage solutions it appears.

bacon

Errands! Got up before 11. Had a little breakfast. Went to Fred Meyers for some more extensive grocery shopping. I kept overlooking the baking soda for like 10 minutes. Drove me crazy that I couldn't find it! And took forever to track down an employee to help me. Ran into Agnes as I was leaving.

Made some cookies. The first batch was okay but they improved. Tidied up and crushed boxes as I baked. The apartment is really coming together. Still can't find that suitcase though. I didn't really get a chance to eat a lot of them because I ran an errand to the East side. Broadway bridge is closed so I rode to the Max and took that to Lloyd. Alyson had left some art frames out on her closed foyer for me to have. It was a fun little excursion. I left her some cookies. Came back at 6:30 and went straight to cooking.

I made my first recipe out of the bacon cook book auntie Brynne gave me! Up first was bacon cheeseburger pasta. Basically ground beef, ketchup, mustard, BBQ sauce, crumbled bacon, cheese, and pasta. Mel came as I was half way through cooking. For a first run through, I thought it turned out really good! Kristen, Mel, and I stuffed our faces then lounged and played Old Maid. Mel brought a little rhubarb berry pie thing for dessert and guess what: I ate and enjoyed it! But don't tell mom.

Karen bailed on us for summer school work. Laame. Melissa joined us and I dished her up a bowl. Tabitha came and I combined some ravioli she had with the pasta. We sat around chatting and we looked at our (Kristens and Mine) yearbooks from 2006. Melissa left to sleep. Then we did makeovers and Tabitha made this facial goo for her and Kristen. Mel and I ate Fun Dip. Girly time lasted till 1am and they said goodnight.

I think I'll watch an episode of something and go to sleep.

organizing further

My smaller blue suitcase has gone missing. I pretty distinctly remember lining it up with my tan suitcase on the truck bed and Kristen hauling both inside, but now I can't find it at all. Odds are it is still buried, but where? It had mostly shirts in it, and I like my shirts. And it was a lot of the long sleeve layers.

Slept in and had a bagel with creme cheese for breakfast and a late lunch/early dinner that consisted of pasta, sauce, and a cucumber. Yum!

Today I worked on my clothes. I hauled out bit by bit the clothes from my suitcases and tubs and sorted the winter coats and other thicker pieces of unseasonal clothing. It will be nice to keep a smaller fashion circulation for a while. I emptied my drawers into another tub and put my clothes into it. My closet has light coats, button shirts, and dresses on hangers now. It looks quite organized.

I emptied another box and most of the ones that remain are mostly full ones waiting to go down to storage. I have a couple half full tubs with knick knacks. But in general, I think one more days work will put me at "moved in".

Tomorrow I plan to make bacon cheeseburger spaghetti. I've invited Mel and Madeline over for dinner. Going all host lady!

True Blood had a very shocking episode. Just the scenes were so...wow!

Tabitha is over and she and Kristen have been playing dress up.

My books also need organizing. I think I'll have the thinner bookshelf be the comic book shelf, and the larger one be everything else.

hooties come together!

Awww yeah, got some more boxes unloaded and shifted a few things into boxes to go into storage.

Oatmeal and tea for breakfast. Ma and Pa came over and put up my curtain rod. It looks really nice and during the day, it casts my room in a vivid orange glow. It goes really nice with my blue walls and red wood trim. All in all, the color scheme is really coming along. Nice to be in a place that isn't gray carpet and white walls.

I talked Ma and Pa into staying the day and going to see Odd Owl with me tonight, instead of driving home and seeing them tomorrow in Seattle. So I made Dad take a nap so he'll be well rested in the night. I unpacked and packed and sorted. I think I'm just a couple days away from being settled. It is mostly organization left to do. Organization and putting things in storage. Though it feels every time I turn around there is a little bit more to do. Oh well.

A little later on, I prodded Dad awake and we three went for a little walk up and down 23rd. We looked at 3 Monkeys. There was a Ford Fiesta promotion going on for the new models (that look nothing like our 1978 one...1979?) and they gave us free soda. Ma and Pa went into Lush while I held the soda outside. Ma came out with a bag of goodies. Powders and lotion and a little gift bag for spending a certain amount. I grabbed the lotion massage bar out of the gift bag. Yoink! We stopped at Pizzacatto and got two pizza and salad lunch combos. Mmmm! Then we got cake and cheesecake at Rose Bakery. MMMMMM!!

We returned home and I made mom and dad take a nap. I tooled around on the internet while they dozed. At 6ish they started to wake up and we got ready to go to see Odd Owl (Carmen's band) at The Waypost. I put on my Odd Owl shirt and an owl pendant.

It was a short drive over to the other side, that became elongated when we had to find an ATM. But we found one. Carmen looked adorable, Phil was his same self, and their new bassist was scruffy. Ma got us some root beer and cookies and we settled in. The opening act was a lady guitarist. She was charming and played well. A friend followed her and was also good, though admittedly nervous. But she did fine. Ma bought me a shirt and a CD. Speaking of shirts and CDs, they used my artwork for their second shirt! And added some color for the CD cover! Awesome!

My friend Jon showed up! Yay! He arrived right as Odd Owl started so we didn't get to talk all that much, but he did get to meet my parents. They were great! They had more songs and played some covers and my old favorites. It was lovely and fun and I bopped my head about. Afterwards Mom bought herself a shirt and a CD. Jon left and I hugged Carmen goodbye. Ma and Pa drove me home and off they went into the night. Returning to Seabeck.

I snacked on snacks. Kristen came home. Time to sleep in.

can't beat that price

Still have quite a few boxes left and less idea of where it will all go.

Woke up slow. Put on my robe. Had some tea. Unpacked glasses and dishwear. Started a bin that will be for things to bring home. A couple pans went into it. Ma and Pa called right as I finished showering and came over. I felt I didn't get so much accomplished, but they seemed impressed that I got my shelves up.

First of many little round trips was Trader Joe's for groceries. Got some of my diet essentials. Pasta. Sauce. Toblerone. Apples. Bananas. A cucumber. Picked up an Aloe Vera plant as well because those are good to have around. Unloaded the food at home. Had some chips and dips for snacking. Then we went to William Temple House. WTH is a thrift store that has a greater chance for finding higher end furniture stuff than a Goodwill, but worse chance for clothes (though I did get a nice pair of shoes there). Anyway, lo and behold a bed frame! Head board, foot board, side bars, and the little things that go under box springs to support them! In lovely wood. It was part of a bed, vanity, chest of drawers, and end table set. And it was just $25. For the bed. Not the whole set. The vanity was impressive. People don't seem to have vanities anymore. Less vain? Anyway, we carried the bed parts the four block journey home. Upon assembling the bed, Dad found there were some bolts missing and so we took a trip to Ace Hardware. Picked up some bolts and other things and swung by William Temple House and grabbed the end table before this other group of people could blink (they were eyeing it). The bed was assembled and it looks great! It dominates my room but looks more elegant while doing so.

My room set up right now is as follows: the wall with the door also contains the closet. Entering the room, the wall on the left has the headboard of the bed and the matching end table. Straight ahead is a wall with a gap between the bed and the wall, but in that twoish foot gap is a combination of my smallest cubicle shelf, drawers, and just open shelves. These are shelves that you can assemble in different combinations. Next to this three unit, is my double stacked dark bookshelves. These fold up for nice storage and are sturdy. They also are designed to stack. There is a gap between the shelf and the wall to the right. The wall to the right contains the lone window that looks out into the courtyard. I have a desk positioned parallel to the closet and shelve walls (as opposed to pushed up against one). It is better feng shui to not have your back to a door, desk wise. Further down the wall is my red metal Ikea bookshelf and my chest of drawers. In the nook by my closet and door is another stacking dark wood bookshelf. This one is half the width. It is a cozy room. I think once I get everything squared away, I'll feel really good here.

While mom and dad sorted stuff out, I made a run to Laughing Planet and picked up lunch. Two burritos and a bowl. Dad seemed to really enjoy his Thai inspired burrito. Mom liked her tempeh thing. As always, I enjoyed my burrito. After lunch it was time to run the driving errands. First up was to get my last two things out of storage: my chest of drawers and a low boxy cabinet that I don't know what I'll do with yet. It went quick and took only one elevator trip. Closed out my storage unit and thanked them for their good service. We dropped the stuff off at my place and then headed out again.

Fabric Depot!! We were in 5:30 traffic almost all the way there. I was surprised that mom didn't buy a lot of fabric. She only got a bit of two fabrics. I got some fat quarters and fabric to make curtains (as well as a rod, some clips, a thread sampler, some black and white thread that was on super sale, a rotary cutter, and some pins). It was a nice haul. We then went to Fred Meyer where we purchased the smaller stackable shelves (buy one, get one half off) and some hubcaps for the motorhome, and a laundry basket, and some miscellaneous stuff. They dropped me off at the curb because there was no parking and we parted ways for the night.

I finished off my burrito from lunch. Put away more books. Put away plates and bowls. I also went around and looked at most of my boxes to try and find really obvious "send home" stuff. Right now it looks like a lot of things might end up in the storage unit downstairs. What I'm thinking will happen over the next couple days is that I'll go through everything I packed and if it is something I want up here, I'll set it aside, but if it goes into storage, I'll put it in a box and make a list of which box has what so that if I need to find it, I don't have to dig so hard. I should adopt a more minimalist lifestyle. Really. Books and clothes and art. I have so many knick knacks. Oh well.

too much stuff, not enough space

So apparently mom and dad were up at 6, because when I said "I'll be up early" they thought "really early" when I really meant 9ish because I didn't have that much to pack.

I got everything in bags and hauled it down. I filled a bin with fabric and the small rotary mat. Dad played boxes tetris with the truck and got everything magically sorted away. So much stuff fit! Wow! Mom took Holly to the kennel for our trip duration. We left at around 11:30 and went through Belfair. We took a couple detours for the hydrolizer in the truck and depositing a check. We didn't hit traffic till just a couple miles out of Portland and since we transferred to 405, we got out of it quick. A car pulled out right as we got to my new apartment and we got a perfect spot! Kristen helped us unload. Hauled the bed in. Ma and Pa seemed to like the new apartment.

The new place has a lot more living room and dining space, but less cabinets, smaller closet, and a sort of smaller bedroom in general. But with some creative sorting and organizing, I think I can get it to work. We also have a downstairs storage space, which some of my dishes might end up in and maybe some winter clothes that don't need to be in circulation yet. Maybe it is time to embrace the habit of only having season appropriate clothes in the wardrobe and shifting it out. I have plenty of plastic storage bins.

My new apartment also has the possibility to paint the walls, but the walls already have some nice color. And there is generally more freedom all around. Whoo!

After moving in the stuff from Seabeck, we took a Martinelli's break and then we three went to my storage unit. Backed the truck in and ma and pa hauled several loads down and filled the truck to the brim with boxes. So many boxes. It looks like less stuff in the unit, but then it was just really compacted and upright. Makoto, a nice neighbor, helped us move! In exchange for nothing! He just hauled some boxes (he was really strong) with a smile. What a great guy. Everything went into the place quite smoothly.

Ma and Pa treated us to a high class dinner at Lucy's Table. One of those hip and fancy places but not so fancy as to refuse business to some people dressed a little casually. I had the home made pasta in a light sauce with some beans, mom had halibut, Kristen had the goat cheese ravioli, and dad had the buffalo steak. We had a little pate appetizer followed with bread. Mmm good! Not really a huge meal, just enough.

Afterwards we three made the poor decision to go to Ikea tonight. The GPS gave us trouble and we were tired and stressed upon arrival. I liked this nice rattan bed frame but after we powered through the store (to the anxiety and stress of us all) we found that the sideboards were out of stock and no one was around to help us. Boo! I did grab a hamper, clothes organizer, multiple outlet thingie, and a new pillow, but didn't locate a bathrobe. Dad picked up some food from the market and very tired from the busy day, they drove me home. I felt bad about encouraging the trip after so much activity. But what is done is done.

Got home at 9:30 and started sorting and unpacking. Moved boxes out of the way and changed my bed orientation around. This allowed space to put up my shelves, which allowed me the chance to empty a couple book boxes into them. I'll still need another book shelving solution but for now just gotta work with what I got. It looks almost cozy if you ignore the many many boxes that I still have to sort through. Maybe this next week will give me a chance to minimize and organize my life and lifestyle.

burgerday

In 24 hours I'll be sleeping in a bed in a new apartment and I will be there for 10 months at the least. Wooooah.

Anyway. Got up. Toast and tea. Ma went to work. I chilled. Dad organized stuff around in the truck and all that. I finished another quilt (the Amish Shadow one, it looks good though I need to lint roller it). No pictures at this moment. Got another one pinned (the pinwheel). I had just enough batting and backing for it. Barely had to cut it down at all.

Dad made burgers for lunch and mom brought burgers home for dinner. Good thing I was wearing my burger shirt.

The finale of So You Think You Can Dance had some amazing routines. I voted for Lauren, mom voted for Robert. Kent was good as well. I smacked a hella huge mosquito while we were watching. It splatted blood. Ha!

Anyway, we watched Work of Art afterwards and laughed heartily. Ma went to bed and I finally got on with my packing. It is really just clothes and books and toiletries. I didn't have a whole arsenal of art supplies or anything of that sort. Most everything is packed up and almost ready to plop in the truck save for: cookies, plants, fabric, quilts, and mattress. Ohh I can't wait to go to Ikea!

errand runners/cabinet getters

Oatmeal and tea for breakfast. Whee!

At near three Dad and I went into town to run errands. First stop was the dump. Since we are good recyclers, a weekly trash pick up hasn't been necessary. Cheaper to take full cans now and then, than pay for the service. After the dump we went to Joann's so I could use my coupon and get backing and batting and border fabric. Then we ran to Costco for drinks and cheese and mochi ice cream. Mmm. We had some hot dogs as well. It was quite a nice day.

On the way back we stopped by Kristen's and picked up a cabinet and table to bring down with us to Portland. And some boxes and bags and things. If dad says there is enough room for all our stuff in the bed of the truck, there is enough room in the bed of the truck. I just have a suitcase, my bike, mattress and boxspring, and some books. Some of that (not the bike) can go in the back seat with me. It will all get sorted out. I'm sure if dad thought none of it would fit, he would have said so.

Anyway, we went back and put the mochi in the freezer. Ma came home and we got the mail. They watched a Yahoo Serious movie and I watched a few episodes of The IT Crowd. Dinner was chicken, potatoes, and beans. The chicken was a bit dry from being reheated so many times.

Tomorrow I have to pack! And finish my quilts! And pack! Ahhh going to be in a new apartment in just a few days!

Pilgrim in the Northwest

The power went out last night and I was forced to go to bed at a reasonable hour. Boo!

For some reason I got out of bed before 10am as well. Dad made poached egg on toast with melted cheese and I had some tea and watched my True Blood and Mad Men.

I FINALLY got the call from Barnes and Noble telling me Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour was in! Ma dropped me off at the mall at 4 and she met her friend Cathy for lunch. I scooped up my copy of the book, bought an owl necklace at Forever 21, a hot dog and drink at Orange Julius and took a seat far away from the noisy children and read!

And I read when mom took me home and for a little bit longer after that. Scott Pilgrim books are fast reads but get to the point in a way that doesn't feel light. Some parts of the art felt more rushed and I don't know how I feel about the ending. Waited a good long year for this comic. I'll read it again tomorrow naturally. I think I rushed through it too quick in my excitement.

Anyway, mom and pop went to a concert and I toodled around on the Internet. Then I put Storm Front, the first Dresden Files audio book, on play and went to finishing another quilt front. And when they returned and mom came up to the barn, I was sewing the last strip on. The middle is a 7x5 pinwheel square flanked by two 2x7 strips of pinwheels with a narrow 2xI dunno 20? smallest pinwheels. I dig it. Long and narrow. Now I just need to get the material to finish it up.

So yeah, doing nothing, reading, quilting. That was my day.

pulali party with family

Welp, three days and two nights of Pulali fun. Better get the blogging on the road. Even though I may skimp of the exact details.

Friday

Ma and Pa packed up the camper (not the motor home) and Nathan hung behind to do a phone interview. It was a nice day. We swung by Silverdale for some shopping. Barnes and Noble did not have Scott Pilgrim volume 6! But World Market did have McVitie's chocolate biscuits. A family favorite. Then we were on the road.

Ben was already at Pulali when we arrived. I quickly put on a swimsuit and joined him on the beach while the sun still shone on the beach. The parents joined us eventually. I forget if I swam or not. I probably did... Nathan and Rubie arrived with Carlo and Joy (Rubie's niece and nephew). Dinner was ravioli and watermelon and water which Nathan spilled over half the table in his efforts to pour it for people. I beat Carlo and Nate at games of Battleship. We had s'mores and lit some fireworks when the sun went down. It was nice.

Saturday

Breakfast was hash browns. Mmmm! Lunch was hot dogs. Hans arrived early. We lugged kayaks down and went for a hike. Rubie, Mom, Ben, Nate and I went for a hike that is. It was a steep hill down to a river off the camp grounds nearby. Then we trekked on down along the river, and hoofed and wheezed our way back up. When we got back to Pulali, Brynne, Averie, and Averie's friend Tony were there. It wasn't a day for swimming, but people paddled around in the many kayaks (Brynne brought her new ones) and the mini sailboat. I went out for a bit but the wind wasn't making me comfortable. I stopped by Kirie's and we talked a little bit.

Dinner was a feast! Salmon! Chicken! Watermelon! Beet salad! Carrot spice cake! Veggies! And so much more! Brynne is a top chef and Dad a great griller. I came from Kirie's after the burger course. Which was probably good as I wasn't full by the time the gourmet salmon was put on the table. Linda Harris was also there. Jeanette and Liam arrived. It was lovely. Everyone was crowded on the deck of Grandma and Grandpa's house. Mmm. So good. Dessert was amazing as well. I felt stuffed three times over, and for some reason I decided badminton was a good idea.

Brynne, Nate, Ben, Averie, Tony, Carlo, Joy, Rubie and I all wandered over to the badminton net Mom, Dad and I had set up earlier on the drainage field. It took a lot of rope tying and scheming to get the net up but it was a good field. Badminton is a great game. Doesn't take a lot of skill or strength. We all maneuvered the field after the sizable meal. Nathan was agile. Joy won a prize for her skill. Then Celia peer pressured us into dusk swimming. Not all of us, just the crazy ones.

Nate, Ben, Averie, Tony, Dad, Brynne, Mom and I all threw on swimsuits to join Celia in the water. In fact it was Nathan and Ben who were first in. I bounded in not wanting to suffer slow adjustment to the cold. Nathan was first to dive under, I was second, and Ben a close third. This was the same order we arrived at the raft. I regretted more the exercise with my full stomach than the chill of the canal. Mom and Celia hooted but came in, as did Tony and Averie. Dad made a lap to the raft, jumped in, and called it good and headed back to shore. Brynne came out to the otter poop stained floaty in good time as well. Swimming is great once you warm up. We jumped and dove and swam around, but eventually all went back in to change and dry off. A fire on the beach was started and we roasted s'mores as it got dark. People retired to bed one by one. And at 10:30ish we all went back to our respective sleeping spaces.

A day well spent.

Sunday

Breakfast was a large pile of small pancakes. The first round of people gobbled them down and filled up, and a second round came in to take their place. A hike was organized and I opted out, only to find that when mom said everyone was going, she meant everyone. So I wittled away a couple hours listening to Sookie Stackhouse and glueing googly eyes on things. People returned and leftovers made for a delicious lunch. Then Brynne, Tony, and Averie packed up and left. Nate and Rubie and Carlo and Joy had left for home instead of hiking (or maybe on top of, I don't know). Hans and Ben left. Ma and Pa started packing up. I hung out with Celia and we chatted. By the time I returned almost all our stuff was packed up and it was time to depart. It was a nice, no traffic ride back (getting to Pulali was plagued by a big line of cars at the bridge). Holly the dog was very glad to see us. We had left the camper at Pulali, separated from the truck.

And leaving out a lot of little details, that was my weekend. It was nice. Pretty soon I'll be packing and then heading down to Portland to start my new apartment life with Kristen.