Update

I suppose I should probably do some sort of update about actual life events.  Let's see... 

Eclectic NW:  that retail shop that was going to sell my book art that I was so excited about turned out to be a complete fiasco.  They were only open for about a month, they didn't return any of the 3 months worth of rent all the 200 vendors paid to get the thing started, they destroyed about half of my very fragile inventory.  I will never do retail again.  At least not like that.  I so appreciate Paige at Pegasus Gallery here in Corvallis.  She has always been very gentle with my stuff and very respectful and supportive of me.  

The flower shop:  A little over a year ago, I sold my half to my business partner's husband and now they run it together and are doing very well.  It was just too much for me to do that and have a full time job.  I was spread too thin and shortchanging everyone, most of all myself, so for my own health and sanity, I happily walked away. 

Bus driving:  At the end of last year I quit driving city transit and took a training course to become a driver education instructor.  I've always liked the idea of teaching people to drive, particularly a defensive driving program that makes the roads safer for everyone.  I know what it's like to lose someone to a car collision, and if I can keep that from happening to just one person ever because they were driving defensively, my life will not have been in vain.  I now do behind the wheel instruction through Linn Benton Community College.  Yay :)

Gall bladder:  a little over a month ago I went to the ER with severe abdominal pain and all the fun excretions that come with that situation.  They did an ultrasound and found a MASSIVE gall stone.  They admitted me to the hospital, where I languished for 4 days while they bumped my surgery time and again for more pressing cases that came through the doors.  Gunshot wounds, exploding appendixes... I guess I'll allow it.  Anyway, they finally removed my gall bladder and the enormous stone it contained.  Did I mention that it was big?  The doctor said it was the largest he'd ever removed, so yay me!  I win :)  If you want to see a photo, go here: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153172910754106&set=a.10151107844949106.460369.559219105&type=1&theater

Bryant Book

I haven't been doing much book folding lately because frankly, I don't have anywhere to put them.  But I was missing it, and also the gallery that shows my work has a poetry in art exhibit every April, so I produced a few new ones.  I tried something new to me and I think it turned out pretty cool, if I do say so:

 I love the top view too.  You can't see it in the photo, but the edges are gilt and shiny :)

This is a pseudo-replica of a book folded by a fellow etsy dealer, who I greatly admire.  She doesn't do much folding anymore, but is concentrating on her watercolor art, which is beautiful and which you can see here: http://rhymeswithmagicart.blogspot.com/

Tulip Farm

My brother and our niece and I went to visit a tulip farm in Woodburn last week.  We got lucky and happened to be there during the only sunny 45 minutes of the entire day.  (We were there longer than 45 minutes, but we also got rained on and very windswept.)  We all took many photos.  Here are a few of the best of mine.  

 

 

These tractors are wood fueled.  That means as you sit and drive your tractor through the fields, periodically you are required to reach behind you and grab a log out of the box to your right, open the door to the furnace, which is RIGHT BETWEEN YOUR LEGS and throw the log on the fire in order to keep the tractor moving forward.  Yikes.  They say these machines are all still operational and they fire them up every weekend. They don't make them like they used to, eh?

 I love this photo of my niece :)  She's adorable.

Pink tractor.

These look like peonies, but they are in fact tulips.  Want.

 I think a good time was had by all, in spite of the 15 degree drop in temperature and gale force winds that eventually drove us from the farm to the more sheltered confines of the chocolate store at the outlet mall 5 miles away :D

Alaska Photos part 1

I promised photos, so here they are.  Most of them are the same ones I posted on Facebook, so if you've already seen those, sorry for the repeat.

When I thought about going on a cruise, I never really thought about the logistics of it, the huge number of people, the ordeal of getting to the ship, on the ship, through the ship to the cabin, etc.  I'm not an impatient person, I don't think.  I understand that sometimes you have to stand in line for something worthwhile.  I look at it as an opportunity to people watch, so I actually enjoyed the process of boarding the ship.  There were long lines of amusing people.  Every one was in a festive, pre-holiday mood.  I did not enjoy the hour long runaround my GPS gave us before we found the parking lot.  Luckily, we left the hotel in plenty of time, so we were still over an hour early for our boarding time.  

Our floating home, the Golden Princess.

The ship was worth the wait. The Golden Princess was luxurious. I didn't photograph it, but our cabin was actually bigger than I thought it would be.  

One of the many pools. Our cabin was just down a corridor past the stingray sculpture.

Seattle skyline as we left port.  The tents you see on the shore below the Space Needle were Hempfest, which we did not attend. 

Ship interior, the Atrium.



A string quartet playing Strauss in the Atrium. They played nearly every day, from classical to Beatles tribute songs. 



This is the Princess Theater, where the uber cheesy evening entertainments were perpetrated. In the day they had lectures and other things. The guy down front was my favorite member of the bar staff. Instead of taking drink orders like he was supposed to, he'd wander around the room flirting and playing with all the little kids, showing them tricks and telling jokes and stories. He was adorable.
I say the on board entertainment was cheesy, but I have to give the performers props for being able to dance around on a stage in heels while the ship was listing and rolling.  They looked as though nothing was amiss, but when the audience stood up to go after the show ended we all lurched around like a Star Trek fight scene.



My awesomely fabulous friend Gabrielle.

Formal night.  Do I look uncomfortable?  Because I was.

 Let's talk about the food, because frankly, you could eat 24/7 on a cruise.  You hear stories about cruise food, about people gaining mega poundage while cruising.  All the stories are true.  The food is amazing, our waitstaff was just the best ever, there were so many options and too many things to try.  Here is a sampling:

Our waiters brought me gluten free bread every night :)

Salmon, veggies, mashed potatoes and I think parsnips?

Flourless chocolate cake.  SOOOO GOOOOD!!! I wish they'd had this every night.

Caprese salad.

This looks disgusting but it was so good.  It was stilton mousse and cucumber slaw.  Drool.

Beef medallions and veggies.

Crab legs.  I should have ordered 3 plates.  These were the best food I had on the cruise.

Beef, veg, potato.

They made me gluten free pasta as an appetizer one night.  It was sooo goood, but so big for a starter.  I had a hard time eating the rest of my dinner. 

This was disgusting.  Mushroom soup.

Roasted pork, asparagus and potatoes.  I would have loved this if it hadn't come right after my pasta starter. 

Neapolitan ice cream cake.

Cheesecake.  I didn't eat the crust...

Juneau
In Juneau Gab and I took a raft float trip from Mendenhall Lake, past Mendenhall Glacier, down the Mendenhall River.  I'm sensing a theme here.  They were all named for Thomas Corwin Mendenhall, who was responsible for defining the boundary between Canada and Alaska, among other things.  Hah!  I did listen to our guide. 
 On this trip we weren't sure how wet we were going to get, so I took my phone, but only took a very few photos and then tucked it away during the river part of the excursion.  Gab didn't take her camera or phone, for which I am immensely grateful, because I looked like an ass clown.  They gave us wet weather gear, which was awesome, except that as a very girthy person, the pants didn't quite fit.  They were way too long to begin with and then I couldn't pull them all the way up, because, you know, belly.  So the crotch was down by my knees and I was waddling around like a penguin.  Add boots that were literally 5 sizes too big, a huge rain slicker with a hood, and a life vest.  I could hardly move.  If the raft had flipped I would have drowned, dragged down by the 127,000 lbs of rubber I was wearing.  When I went to get into the raft, I sat down and tried to swing my legs over into the raft, but I fell over onto my back and was stuck there like a turtle, waving my rubber clad limbs in the air, gurgling for help.  Gab pulled me in and we were off, but I have rarely felt so foolish in my life.  The guide just laughed and said, "best part of the trip!"  Thanks, dick.

This was taken from the raft in the middle of Mendenhall Lake, just before heading down the river.

Mendenhall Glacier

After our float trip, Gab and I had planned to take this tram ride, but when the time came we didn't think we'd have much of a view from the top. 

Skagway

 In Skagway we arose at the crack of dawn and took a jeep ride to the Yukon to go off-roading.  It was awesome!  The drive was gorgeous.  There really aren't words to adequately describe the beauty  and the enormity of Alaska.  Every description falls short of the reality.  And photos never really do any great landscape justice because it's not just about the view, is it?  It's the smell and the feel of the place.  The wind and the sounds.  It's magnificent.  You should go.



Jeep caravan.











TMI alert: When we got to the off roading part all the bumping and jostling around made me horribly aware that my bladder was near exploding so I was forced to do something I generally avoid at all costs. I've never been good at peeing in the woods, but I did it here. Yukon Territory - I came, I peed, I conquered.

Proof that we were there. I think that's Montana Mountain behind us?

Carcross.  I love the art on the buildings.

Our guide pointed out that this statue is anatomically correct. 

After the jeep trek, I took the White Pass Scenic Railway excursion.  The next bunch of photos are from that trip.  Sorry about the weird reflections off the glass. 



Glacier Bay

There's not much to say about Glacier Bay.  The photos will speak for themselves.  It's just magnificent.  I will say though that I haven't edited these photos at all.  The colors are true life.  Also, I have to mention how totally, utterly lucky we were to have such clear, sunny weather.  Everyone kept saying everywhere we went how the last 10 cruises before us all had nothing but rain and fog.  We. Lucked. Out. 

That's it for the first half of our cruise.  I'll post the rest later.

I've been thinking more about the disconnect I feel about this trip, like I haven't really been to Alaska.  I feel as though I've been to the zoo and seen Alaska through the glass, you know?  I think it might have to do with the fact that we didn't actually STAY in Alaska for more than a few hours at a time.  We didn't sleep there.  We didn't eat one meal there.  We came, looked, and left.  We didn't touch.  We didn't play. 

If visits are like relationships then I have a long term, committed relationship with Oregon, I had a torrid love affair with New Zealand. I met Paris at a party, we had a conversation, held hands.  I hope we meet again someday. Alaska - I saw Alaska across a crowded room.  I thought it was beautiful, but it didn't notice me. 

I'd really like to go back... in a car.  I'd like to drive there, sleep there, stay in one spot for more than 3 hours.  Eat local food, meet people who have nothing to do with the tourist trade.  See places that aren't on the cruise line.  Apparently it's a 32 hour drive...