Kiera, Fass, and Viggo

I found out that there is such a thing as too much Nutella on toast. Well, not really.

Ma and I left at around 3:30 for Silverdale. Got some suet for the feeders, and then we drove off to Bainbridge Island to see A Dangerous Method at the Lynwood Theater. One thing I like about the long drive back from Lynwood, is that it gave mom and I plenty of time to discuss the film. There was a lot to discuss too! About the differences in privelage between the portrayals of Jung and Freud. About Spielrein and her growth. About the sets and what they denoted. All this stuff. It was a good movie. Well acted, nice costumes. I think the trailer makes some parts of the movie to be more dominant than they really are.

Back at home, I made burritos for dinner. Yum! Then mom tucked into bed.

I spend so much time in bed, and so much time doing nothing. The problem with a blog is that it really makes it evident how little I'm focusing on certain things. Gah.

get yo' self together already!

(an image from one of Grandpa's textbooks)

Damn! Blast! Hoots! Crikey! Cripes! What did I get accomplished today? NOTHING! Boo, Trillian. Boo. I had so much fun but then WOOMPF back into nonproductiveness. GAAH.

Sent off a letter with a portrait in it.

Watched Oz. Totally addicted to that show. Thankfully the seasons are short, and the show has stopped running, so once I watch it all, there will be nothing more.

Kept the fire going. Cuddled Holly. Made myself a sandwich. It was good. Watched someone live draw online. That was cool.

Mom went to her Audobon Meeting and was gone most of the night.

new day, different hair

A picture of what my hair looks like, now that I've dyed it. A bit more auburn, and even. No light bits. No brown bits. I dig it. Am I just posting filler because I didn't do much today? Yeah...maaaaybe. Kept the fire stoked. Talked online with friends. Ate food.

Ma made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. We watched Beetlejuice. Good night.

telly & stove

Ahhh back to the usual. No long drives, or unfamiliar beds. Just Seabeck and keeping the fire stoked.

Caught up on my telly. Jeffrey Wright was on House! Love that actor. Skins was good. Oz is good. Call the Midwife is good. Kept the fire hot. Snacked on this and that. Lots of snacking. Bundled up in a blanket.

Glee was borderline (okay, actually) offensive. It was an uncomfortable episode to watch at times. Raising Hope was silly. Not the best episode. Ah, oh well. Nothing is perfect.

Ma said she'd help me with a lighting set up. Going back to the photography stage of things.

Eglantine & Emelius

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

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

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

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

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

ach aye

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

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

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

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

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

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

nuns!

Had some doughnuts and tea for breakfast. Yum. Good ol' Madeline's house. She, Jackson, and I watched the first episode of the Granada production of Sherlock Holmes. The series. Yeah. Madeline totally dug David Burke as Watson, but who wouldn't? He is fantastic!

At 11:20ish, I bid the Conn housefold adieu. It was a lovely visit with them. I drove down to 14th and Stark and found parking on Alder, and met Heather and Daniel at the very Portland named food place: Meat Cheese Bread. Or was that Meat Bread Cheese? Anyway. I ordered the steak and egg sandwich, with a Coke. I managed to eat most of it. Daniel presented me with TWO lovely drawings of Martin Freeman, and Heather gave me a lovely owl charm that I can't wait to turn into a necklace. Ahh such lovely people. At 1pm I hugged them and then hopped in my car, told the GPS to go to Seabeck, and then off I went.

It was hardly any effort at all to get onto I5. I was right near Morrison, and that practically turned into I5 and then I was zooming my way up north. Filled up just past Vancouver. Twenty bucks got my tank near to full, which was awesome. Love driving a Prius. 40+ miles per galllllooooon! Makes popping down to Portland affordable.

Got home ten after four. Just over three hours from Portland to Seabeck. That is rad. Closer than it seems.

Stretched. Unpacked from the car. Hugged Holly. Talked to mom.

At a bit after five, we hopped in the new Prius and headed to Port Orchard. We met Auntie Brynne and Dan at the Bay Street Bistro (or something to that title). Later on, two of their friends joined us. The appetizers were yummy. I drank plenty of wine. We had our meals boxed because we ran out of time to eat, and had to get to a play. Still, the food we had was yummy. And the wine was very good. Mmmm.

The play was Nunsense at that little Port Orchard theater that I saw Guys and Dolls at. And it was HILARIOUS. So well performed. So well hung. Just utterly delightful.

At home, ma and I watched Portlandia and Parks and Recreation. Then it was beddy by time. We might go to Pulali for next night.

Lovely wonderful minibreak. I had much fun and loved hanging with my pals.

Friday in Portland

BT, Karen, and Phil's couch is quite nice. And they have a super warm blanket. And since they have no pets, I don't suffer from allergies. Not that allergies keep me from pets. Some cats and dogs make me sniffle is all. Hardly what I'd call a serious allergy. Just take a Benadril and all is well.

Anyhoo, I am writing in the morning from the couch of those three. It is 9:41am. Setting my alarm for 9am, no matter when I actually get up, is a good thing. Keeps me in a slightly better sleep schedule range. Don't know why I'm starting today's blog in the morning. Maybe to just get a jump on things so I don't spend longer in the evening working on it?

Madeline will call me in a few and we'll figure out when we are getting together. So either I'll hang with her in the day and then go to Dom & Serenity in the evening...or hang with her all day and night and head out. Who knows? Well you reading this will know when I finish and post this entry. Yup.

*****

Karen made me a breakfast of tortilla and eggs and spicy goodness. We watched the first episode of Sherlock season 2, because she hadn't seen it yet and because Sherlock is awesome. Then we watched the features for The Hobbit, and then half an hour of the second episode of Sherlock. But I stopped myself, because if I didn't, I would just watch it all with her. Hahah.

Called Madeline. Got her address. Put it into my GPS and off I went! It was a brilliant day. Very blue with clear skies. Quite windy though. Madeline and I took her dog Pepper for a walk, and it was very gusty. The dog stayed on the ground though.

We spent most of the time hanging around and chatting. Jackson, her little brother, joined us as well. We gabbed about Cabin Pressure and did some word games and caught up and it was awesome. I joined her on a quick grocery run, and I assisted her in dispensing of some left overs. Yum!

At 8pm, I went to Beulahland, on my own, and met BT, Karen, Phil, Dominic, and Serenity. I had a whiskey sour at the start, and it twas lovely. I ate everyone elses left overs. I'm such a mooch. Did some photobooth photos with Karen, and with Serenity and Dom. We all drew in sketchbooks and in each others sketchbooks. I just drew on a loose leaf of paper, because I neglected to bring supplies. At 10:30ish we departed from the bar. I gave them all plenty of hugs, and BT is a great hugger, then I fled into the night.

Drove back to Madeline's. Now we are chilling. Tomorrow I am having breakfast with Madeline, then Lunch with Heather and Daniel, and then I shall get back on I-5. I'll need to get some gasoline first. Still, this has been a very affordable trip. Lots of food has been provided for me. Huzzah!

Portland Mini Break

Suprise! I decided to go down to Portland for two nights! Have car with good gas mileage, will travel.

Had oatmeal, packed some clothes and jammies, had tea, packed the car, hugged mom, and at 1pm I departed Seabeck for Portland. I need some practice with long distance driving if I plan to drive to California and start my life there and stuff. I stopped just after Olympia, and just before Portland to stretch my legs and, ahem, relieve myself. Still, the drive was good! Not all that stressful, I don't feel too tired from it. I just wish there were better stations to listen to.

I felt a little bit anxious pulling into Portland, as I'm really unfamiliar with city driving. But the streets were familiar, the traffic was light, and all was well. I found a parking spot on Johnson, between 22nd and 23rd, and parallel parked. I haven't parallel parked in yeaaars, and I did it flawlessly. Go me, go me. I put on cooler shoes and this smashing jacket I found in the closet, and trotted down to PNCA. Like a boss.

Danny Frazier was at the front desk. Said howdy to him. Hugged Asha, who became an American citizen yesterday, in the print lab. Also hugged Heather and Heather. The lab has been updated and it looks nice and pretty. New table tops, new shop vac. Real swell.

Daniel Williams had quite the mustache. Surprised Serenity and Dom in the library. They gave me lovely hugs. Chatted with Martin French a bit as well. It is First Thursday in Portland, so lots of people were milling about. More unfamiliar faces than familiar though. Ahh how time changes.

Heather, Daniel, and I went to Bridgeport for dinner. Drank some tasty beer, I finished their remainders. AHh I am such a mooch, but I adore them. I kept it pretty secret that I was coming here. Those two knew I was coming, and I texted a couple others. But made sure to have people not let on to Karen that I was there. That was the big surprise! To see her at her Courier Coffee Art Show.

And surprise her I did. She went "AHHHH!!!!" and hugged me, and went "AHHHH!!!" again and hugged me again. She was so enthused. It was awesome. Feels great to be so adored and to have my company appreciated like that. Coming to Portland was a very good idea. Feels really good to be here, and to be around so many great lovely wonderful supportive people. Saw BT, Jim, Phil, Andy, Morgan, Jon, Sivonna, Lacey...got hugs! So many hugs! I just drank water because I knew I'd be driving later on.

Jon, Sivonna, and I walked to the Hellion Gallery and looked at the stuff there. Some nice collaborations and wire craft. Saw Morgaine and got more hugs. Saw Chase. No hugs from Chase, but that is okay. Went to Grass Hut and met Bwana Spoons and chatted. Went to Compound...or no the gallery at Upper Playground. We were not that impressed. Swung by Pony Club, and the show there was quite superb. And the artist was very cute. Erin McCarthy was there, and we chatted.

Sivonna dropped me off at my car, which was good because my cool boots were starting to hurt my footsies. Drove to BT, Karen, and Phil's house and parked. BT clued me in to their wifi. Karen was asleep already. BT and I had a lovely conversation, and he went to bed.

Now I'm blogging and unsure what tomorrow has in store. Madeline? Dom and Serenity? Who knooooows? But it is rather exciting. Randomly showing up in Portland has worked out very well for lil' Trill.

something is in the works

I'm scheming. Something is in the works. Ohh la la.

Today I deposited my ye olde savings bonds. Whoo! Then I went to Office Max and looked into how much scanning would. Answer: way too much. And how would I know I was getting good scans? It also only goes up to 11x17", after that I'd have to roll my pieces through a large scanner, and that would likely be bad for the art and who knows the quality of that scan?

Anyhoo. Went home. Ate some microwave food. Watched telly on my computer.

Ma came home and we watched Cold Comfort Farm. Really charming movie.

Mmm hmmm.

progressing bit by bit

Tidied up my website a bit. Worked on my photo set up and took some pictures. Some sort of decent pictures. I think tomorrow I'll go to Office Max, or the equivalent, and look into the scanners they have on hand. Would be easier, but need to see how much it costs.

Ma was off at work. Didn't have to keep the fire stoked.

Toasted my sandwich today. It was good. Very good. MMmm.

Had ice cream and cucumber open face sandwiches for dinner.

Glee had some great routines with fun dancing and nice singing. Some plot, but no one really cares about the plot anymore. Hahah. During the break, Ma and I watched music videos. Raising Hope was nice and silly. Just as we like it.

ho hum

Mom had a tea lunch thing with her friend. I mellowed at home and ate some oatmeal and tea.

Proof read some of Ma's legal document stuff. Gave her feedback. We watched Galaxy Quest and ate ice cream.

Hmmm. Odd to write a daily blog when not much happens in my daily life these days. Need to change that. Simply must change that.

Flora Book and Friends

Today was an outing day! Had some toast and tea and then off Ma and I went to Tacoma. I drove today. Gotta get used to all the long distance driving I'll eventually be doing.

It was tempestuous. Rainy. Stormy. Really not good to drive in, but I did it!

It was a free day at the Tacoma Art Museum. Hurray! The Mexican Folk Art exhibit had a lot of various items, but it didn't have a lot of breadth within the different art themes. A couple skeleton sculptures, some milagro, some jugs, some puppets. Really cool stuff, I just wish there were more. Lots more.

There was a little Flora Book, among others, jewelry exhibit. That was lovely. Really dynamic silver pieces.

And then there was the At Home Across America: Scenes from the 1930s to 1950s in Print exhibit. And oh how it was beautiful. Detailed, varied, intense prints. Etching, lithography, engraving, wood carving. Emotional and sweet. Just really great art work. Really various. Ahh. I got so close to them to see the work. Albert Winslow Barker, Thomas Hart Benton, A. Hugh Fisher, Karl Max Schultheiss, Otto Wackernagel, Peggy Bacon, Henry Pitz, Doris Lee, Gene Kloss, Reynold Weidenaar, and Douglas Warner Gorsline among others. So damn good.

Then mother and I walked into the final exhibit. The biennial. The goddamn inevitable contemporary art exhibit. Guuhh. There were some...interesting pieces. But neither of us were really intrigued. We just love illustrative art too much.

After the museum we went to Two Koi for dinner. Sushi for both of us, tempura for mom, tempura udon for me. The sushi and tempura filled me up, so I couldn't finish the udon like a good udon eater would. Without Dad to finish our leavings, we have to adjust how much we order at places.

Annnnd back to Seabeck we went. I drove, and did a good job of it. Go me!

We watched the first two episodes of The Mitchell and Webb Look. As always, there are some great skits and some sort of awkward ones.

Mom is planning various things for us to do. Museum trips. Plays. Stuff like that. S'all good.

but Holly loves me

Watched the American version of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo...and I'm going to be one of those "I liked the original" types. Sure it was good, but it was sort of..by the books good. Exactly the type of film making you'd expect from Fincher. Well shot, good actors, tense scenes. I think Rapace was the better Lisbeth Salander. Mara played her a little too vulnerable. Also I think it was a little bit kinder than the Swedish original. Less brutal, if one would think that is possible.

Had tea and doughnut while I waited for mom to come home. We watched a very weird episode of Portlandia. It does have some good scenes, but it is a bit stretching for the humor in this second season.

Did my nails. Kept the fire warm. Mom went to see One For the Money with Celia. I stayed home.

Another sad sack day. Guhh. How does time just go on like this? Totally bizarre.

have a doodle

Tried to work more on the lighting set up, but it just isn't take photos like it ought! I have put out the call to my photo friends for tips and advice. Slept in again. Need to get back on the before noon ball. Ma watched Mr. Popper's Penguins. I watched other stuff. Kept the fire stoked and toasty. It is only 8pm, but it feels much later. Day sort of drifted by me. Every now and again I look back at some of my during college posts, and I wrote so much more about the goings ons, even the mediocre and little things.

bang!

Ended up not fiddling with the lighting set up. Slept in a bit more than usual. Had my toast and tea.

When ma came down from meditating, she made me a grilled cheese sandwich. What an awesome mother! The weather has warmed up just a bit and it has been raining, so almost all the snow is gone. Just a few packs here and there, but it is safe to drive. We still took the old Prius when we went in to town though. It has a tape deck, so I can use my adapter to play things from my MP3 player. Eventually I will leave and ma will have no choice but to drive the new Prius. Put some miles on it.

We ran some errands in Silverdale, then off we went to the Historic Lynwood Theater on Bainbridge Island. Haven't been there in a good four, five years. I saw Pan's Labyrinth there, and Kinsey, and Half Nelson. All sorts of great movies. Absolutely wonderful little one screen place. Seventy five years old now, too! Appropriate to go to such an old theater to see a movie like The Artist. A modern movie, but a silent one. Mostly silent, except for a few fleeting moments. Just sound track and great actors. Who needs a heavy script when we all know the lines. Just beautiful. Well shot, great actors and characters, talented dog too. All around fun.

Afterwards we went to the Treehouse Cafe, next to the theater. We shared a That peanut chicken pizza and it was absolutely fantastic. Perfect blend of textures and flavors. Highly recommend it, if you are ever at that restaurant. We had dessert too, though neither of us could finish ours due to being properly full.

I drove home and we listened to The Unbelievable Truth. Funny show, many laughs were had on the drive.

Back home it was time to retire in a relatively cold house.

the show had a character named Oregon, though it wasn't her real name

Worked on the lighting set up. Dad rigged an old door to rest at a diagonal, so it would catch the light, but not lay flat in such a manner that the camera shadow would show up in the photos. Anyway, worked on taking pictures and stuff, but I need to do it when the lighting is better, and not so late in the afternoon.

Did my laundry. Put my laundry away, instead of leaving it in the basket. Well I put most of it away. Slowly tidying things up. Need to do more tidying. My rooms a bit of a mess.

It is a good thing that British shows have so few episodes. Really easy to watch whole seasons and not feel like you've lost that much time to them. Been enjoying Fresh Meat. Though now I've watched it all. Time to get cracking on other stuff then. Yup.

here are some cute photos

Today wasn't all that eventful. Lots of rain. Kept the fire stoked. Ma and I watched Mary Poppins. I need to start making goals for myself.

movies with ma

I just realized that mom will be gone for most of tomorrow. Aww. All alone in Seabeck. Oh well.

Got up. Had some toast and tea.

It was just ice outside. Guh. Melted and then froze all over. That sucks.

Had some cucumber in rice vinegar. Made popcorn. Ma and I watched Beginners. Absolutely lovely movie, through and through. Nice sets, well acted, just all around wonderful film. It never got too melodramatic, or twee.

Another unmagic day. Need to write a list of goals and the order in which to do them.

snow 2: go away!!

Dad escaped to Houston and then more snow came in. Mom got a Costco trip out of the way and got home just in time. The new snow stuck in a slushy inconvenient way. Sort of trapped us, but tomorrow Mother shall break free.

Had some tea and a sandwich for a lateish breakfast. Mellowed around the house.

Watched this fanmade version of Star Wars where people reenacted all the scenes in 15 second increments. Different people. It was amazing, though a bit visually overwhelming.

Ma and I listened to some Unbelievable Truth. Ate last nights chicken and cake for dinner. Talked to Nathan.

Read some Petrograd. Yup.