Itchy!

I'm going to Seattle tomorrow for a conference. Yes, yet another LDS singles conference. I promise I'll attend at least some of this one. I signed up to be in the choir :) While I'm there I'll be seeing a dear old friend, and in an effort to look my best I decided to splash out and go with my bff for a girly afternoon at the local beauty college yesterday. The mani and pedi were fantastically relaxing, but something that was used during the facial treatment has not agreed with my skin and now I look like Freddy Kruger. OK, that might be a slight exaggeration, but my face is red and puffy. And itchy. Very itchy. Happily, I'm reasonably certain that this friend loves me no matter what I look like. He's seen me in every stage of hideousness, from the Lucille Ball orange hair disaster to stomach flu ickiness to dishevelled tramping through the rain drippiness. He hasn't shunned me yet, so I suspect we will survive this new hideousness just fine. It's just so typical though, isn't it? The worst possible time for an allergic reaction. I'll be the belle of the ball at the conference :D

Rah...

I had to leave for church in the middle of the game and so missed the winning goal, but it sounds like it was a pretty dirty game. I started out pulling for the Netherlands, but after some pretty appalling behavior from the Holland side I'm glad Spain won in the end. It leaves a bitter taste on the tongue, that the top level teams resort to violence instead of relying on skill. I guess I'm a sports idealist. I think talent and dedication should win, not a willingness to do anything, legal or not, to secure a win. And just because everyone does it doesn't make it right. Disappointing and unsatisfying experience.

Football

I'm getting ready to watch the FIFA World Cup Final. Normally I would be at church, but I was supposed to be out of town this weekend, at a conference in Portland, so I got substitutes for my RS lesson and for leading the music in sacrament meeting and it just seems like it would be rude to show up and be like, "hey, thanks for doing my job for me". I will attend 3rd ward instead, and in the mean time, I see no reason not to watch the final, since I'm home and all :) I didn't go to the conference because I twisted my ankle a few weeks ago and it hasn't healed right, so I went to the doctor and he told me not to drive for a week. Hooray for sick pay! It's been nice to have a few evenings free. I went to a single adult activity last night for the first time this year. I generally have to be at work when they are going on. Ooh, Nelson Mandela just arrived at the stadium. I think I'm pulling for the Netherlands, although frankly I don't care who wins. I just want it to be a good game.

Coast... again

I know we are boring creatures of habit, but like true Oregonians, we do like the coast. My bro is here for the 4th, so earlier this week we drove to Newport with Jonah and Coral in tow :) It was PERFECT. The weather couldn't have been better. I don't think I've ever seen the water so blue here. Usually it reflects the grey of the typical Oregon sky, but on this day it was brilliant caribbean blue.

These are from the Devil's Punchbowl. We've been there several times before together and have always managed to arrive at low tide, when the punchbowl is serene and placid. This time was no exception. We arrived 3 hours before high tide and there was no action, so instead of shooting off to another beach, we decided to hang around and see what was to be seen.

There is a stairway down the cliff side that leads to a lovely sandy beach, where apparently the surfing is quite good because I always see a few brave souls out on their boards when we come here.

Alex and Jonah and Coral used the stairway and had a fantastic time exploring and playing. I stayed up top because I sprained my ankle a week or so ago and didn't want to chance that many stairs.

I'm glad I stayed because I had a birds eye view of this:

This just makes me smile :D

Alex also etched BOOGER in huge letters under the names, but thanks to the edit tools on my computer I don't have to look at it on my blog if I don't choose to. Hah! Here is Alex intrepid explorer. It looks quite precipitous, but in reality he is only 20 feet or so off the ground, and could walk upright if he so chose.

It was quite windy, as you can see :)

Can't believe how blue it was. We hung around for the 3 hours till high tide, at which point we eagerly approached the punchbowl viewpoint only to see that there was no discernible difference from any other time we had seen it. It must need to be a particularly high high tide. Perhaps it's more impressive in winter. At any rate, none of us regretted staying. A splendid time was had by all.

What a waste of time!!

I hate technology. Really. Life would be so much simpler without all these 'time saving' gadgets that really just mean there is more and more meaningless drivel with which to fill our time. Of course, without technology I wouldn't be here ranting to you tonight.

I just spent the last 4 hours trying unsuccessfully to install a webcam on my computer. My dear friend's birthday is tomorrow/today, (he is in Finland, so he's 10 hours ahead -ish) and he's been after me for months... years to get a webcam so we can skype. I have no desire to be visible while we are chatting. I like being able to loll about in my underwear and stuff my face and multitask and mostly to react to things privately before deciding how to respond publicly, so I have been dragging my feet. I thought it would be nice to give him his wish for his birthday and to call him before he left the house for the day. Hah! Not going to happen. Ah, well, it's the thought that counts, and as he didn't even remember my birthday this year I feel no guilt for my failure. Poo poo poo on microsoft and their stupid poopy technology.

Can I See Some ID, Please?

I went to a bar. I didn't know I was going to a bar. I thought I was going to a restaurant. I read in the paper that my favorite local musician, Dave Plaehn, the best blues harmonica player ever, would be playing at Big River, (yes, the same restaurant where I had lunch with Obama ;) I arrived at the designated place and time only to discover that Dave was playing not in the restaurant proper, but in the bar out the back. It was actually a very pleasant experience, although MILES outside my comfort zone. I rarely go out and never alone and never to a bar. I arrived half an hour before the music was scheduled to begin because I wanted to have dinner and I didn't want to be rudely stuffing my gob while the band was playing. Most of the tables were already full, so I took the last low table and felt like a selfish cow sitting at a table for 4 all by myself, until a lovely woman called Erica asked if she and her friends could join me. Yay Erica. I felt much better not monopolizing so much prime real estate. She and her friends were very gregarious, lovely people. Everyone looked familiar to me. I think they must all ride the bus, everyone in the whole bar - particularly my waiter, Carl, who I'm certain rides the route 6, and who was responsible for handing me the biggest laugh of my day when he carded me for a glass of water. Bless the boy. I'm 39. Dave and his mates are playing there again next month. I think I'll go again, but next time I'll try not to go alone :)

News

I haven't posted because there's nothing new in my life but these:

I made the stand out of a clothes hanger with a pair of pliers :)

The following are 3 versions of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. The town's used book stores are now vacant of illustrated copies of this book :O

Currier and Ives' America. I felt no compunction in mutilating this book. Some of the paintings were pretty un-pc to the point of being offensive, mostly the ones dealing with Native Americans and with women suffragettes. I know it was the mindset of the times, but Grrrrr! It's better as sculpture :)

This understated beauty is perhaps my favorite.

Sadly, many people are looking at my site, and even liking it, but no one is buying :( Boo hoo. But I'm still hopeful. It's only been a few weeks since I opened shop.

It's not strictly true that there is nothing new in my life. I am going to be a great aunt. WooHoo! My niece is pregnant and the world rejoices. My mum is so happy she could burst and my sis in law is going to need cheek replacement surgery because she's going to wear hers out with grinning from ear to ear. My brother strenuously objects to being called Grandpa by anyone except the actual grandchild, and at 43 one can hardly blame him.

Also new - my Dad and his lovely wife are moving to Hawaii in August. Yeah!! I've always wanted to go there but never had a good excuse. He got a job at the university in Honolulu, so it's goodbye snow and hello sun. Grad school in Hawaii... hmmm.... Well, since Lost is done filming there there's less of a draw to live there ;) Lost. Don't get me started.