This is still Trampling

I am in Virginia.

Really.

I am here.

Though, I will be heading out on Thursday to head home where I shall remain for about 5 weeks until my brother is married (!!!!) and I am off to New Zealand again (!!!!).

Now don't get me wrong, I am thrilled to be going back to New Zealand, but I am a bit nervous.

I think I'll get too homesick at some point, that I will miss my dad too much. I've never missed a Christmas before and I hate to think about having a Christmas without my family and them having one without me. I mean, I had a hard enough time missing Thanksgiving with them this year. But that is the beauty, I suppose, of doing whatever I want to; I can do whatever I want to. If I want to com home, I can come home.

But enough on that.

I am in Virginia, did I mention that?

If you are at all a regular visitor of this blog, you will know that I don't do well-constructed, fluid paragraphs.

I do lists.

I have a few here for you today because I can't make all I want to convey fit cleanly into one list.

*Differences between Virginia and Washington*

-They have the southern accent down here (ya'll, etc.).

-A lot more road kill down here.

-Few to no evergreen trees here in Virginia

-Really good home cookin' down south.

-Washington had 7 inches of snow while I was enjoying 65 and sunny in Virginia.

-Church goin' is a much more common practice down here.

-Everyone and their brother in Virginia (well, southern Virginia anyways) hunts.

-Sweet tea is a great treat while down here as it is not so commonly found in Washington.

But I am getting ahead of myself here.

I flew in on a Red eye.

I left Seattle at 10:30 p.m. on a plane bound for Charlotte, NC next to a woman with a 20 month old son.

Upon first feigning interest in the baby, the woman said to me, "Don't worry, he's been flyin' since he was a month old, he'll be fine." A pause, while she fiddles with the squirmer. "Although, his father did give him a thing of coffee right before we left the house"

Arriving in Charlotte at 6 in the morning with about a half an hour of sleep holding me up, I walked the 35 miles from gate B2 to E31. If you ever get the chance to have a layover in Charlotte take it. They have rocking chairs.

So, I made it to Lynchburg, VA at about 10:30.

I had a fun afternoon with my cousins and aunt and, when he got home from fishing, my uncle.

The following day, Monday, I borrowed the Ford Fusion and the tomtom and set out north!

Destination: Reston, VA.
4 hour drive. It was beautiful though, it was kind of the tail end of the changing of the fall leaves.

However, around noon I was patiently waiting for my friend Brian at his workplace.

*Over the course of the next two days I, with the company of Brian, I:*

-Was given an obscene amount of food at Charcoal Kebab.

-Got to see and spend some time at his cool stylie town house and meet his nifty housemates and their dog Layla; the sweetest and dumbest boxer.

-Went, for the first time, on the DC Metro (I felt a little like Mr. Weasly when he goes on the Muggle Underground in London to get to the Ministry for Harry's trial.) (Also, the design of the tube-like inside of the terminal as we waited of the train, reminded me of the movie Metropolis.
-Went to the Natural History Museum. I love that place but Brian was getting annoyed/frightened by all of the Trilobites so we had only a short visit.

-We saw a fair few art museums. The National Portrait gallery (home to a HUGE and very bright picture of LL Cool J), The Freer Gallery, The National Art Museum (Brian really enjoyed a work called Free Candy which was a pile of candy in the corner of the room, meant to be eaten), and The Modern Art Museum. I never really went to any of the art museums when I came with my family so it was nice that Brian was in to it. And the National Archives which neither Brian or I had been to so that was very cool to see. (did you know that the Declaration of Independence hung in a window for 8 years?)

-Had wonderful pizza.

-Braved the mall in Tyson's Corner where we split up and I tried on about 178 dresses as possibilities for my brothers wedding.

-Ate lots of really great food (Drunk noodles, pizza, vegetarian breakfast sausage, kebab)

-Got to meet Brian's girlfriend, Stacy. She was very nice and.... super? (I spent about an hour with the girl, I really liked her but can't really say I know her)

-I enjoyed it all thoroughly. It was great to see him.

On Wednesday morning, I went into work with Brian and, from there, set out to Frederick, MD to visit Grandma.
It was a fairly short and sweet drive and I surprised her by being 6 hours earlier than she had expected. oops.

*While in Frederick with Grandma I:*

-Accompanied her to the pet store for assistance with heavy lifting (cat litter and stuff)
-Assembled a self-cleaning litter box
-Got to see Uncle Bruce.
-Accidentally ate some chicken
-Asked an Indian man how to say "box" in Spanish at Fajita Grande.
-Got to visit with Dot, the neighbor of forever.
-Made my Grandpa's Aunt Ina's Jam Cake recipe.
-Got to see where my Grandpa is buried for the first time.
-And got to spend some quality time with my Grandma.

On Friday morning started back down south towards Lynchburg. I made it home in plenty of time for my cousin Kesi's 18th birthday dinner at Olive Garden.
On Saturday, we had a catered party for Kesi and I got to meet their whole side of the family. Grandma and Uncle Bruce came down too. It was very fun and I got to see what it would be like to have more than 2 cousins.
We did Thanksgiving at my Aunt Charlotte's Mom's house. It was pretty much the same crowd as Kesi's party and there was sweet potato casserole so it was a success. Fun bunch.
The rest of it has pretty much just been time to kill. I read The Importance of Being Ernest and A Woman of No Importance both by Oscar Wilde. And am finishing up Eat Pray Love.

And the movies, good lord the movies:
(* indicates that this is my first time seeing it)
-Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
-Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
-Iron Man*
-Sherlock Holmes*
-Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
-Two Weeks Notice
-Die Hard*
-Die Hard 2*
-Die Hard with a Vengeance*
-Live Free Die hard*
-Letters to Juliet*
-Mean Girls
-Final Destination*
-And on Wednesday we saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 at the theatre. It was awesome. That is why we watched all of those other Harry Potter films, in preparation. But I really have no excuse for some of those other ones. Some mindless vacationing I suppose.

On Saturday I got to spend a day around town with my other cousin, Gabrielle. We rang the Salvation Army Bell outside of Kmart for a couple hours and then did a standard mall crawl and some other shopping, had lunch at Panera, bought crickets at the pet store, and other activities. We both got some Christmas shopping done, but mostly it was just a fun day out. It was a great day, we had a lot of fun.

This is the longest post ever and I can't imagine anyone would possibly care that much about my trip to Virginia.
In summary:
-It was a really great trip. I hardly ever get to see this part of my family and I have never actually been to their house before this.
-I was really happy to spend some time with Brian. I don't get to see him much what with the continent of separation and all. And it was great of him to take off work and play in DC with me. So great.
-Had some good quality time with Grandma.
-Bonded with my cousins.
-I am no longer a Die Hard virgin.
-I went to a church service for the first time in like 4 years (and I think I am good for at least another 4-6 now)
-Also, my uncle is a vet, so I helped out at the clinic one day. And on a related note, this house is also home to 5 cats, 5 dogs, a bird, a lizard and about 25 fish. And 4 horses and 7 chickens just a hop away. So there is always someone around to talk to or play with.
-It has been a really great trip and a relaxing 3 weeks.
Thank you Uncle Scott and Aunt Charlotte for having me!

I enjoy the film The Man Who Knew Too Much.

When I was just a little girl
I asked my mother, what will I be
Will I be pretty, will I be rich
Here's what she said to me.

Que Sera, Sera,
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be.

When I was young, I fell in love
I asked my sweetheart what lies ahead
Will we have rainbows, day after day
Here's what my sweetheart said.

Que Sera, Sera,
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be.

Now I have children of my own
They ask their mother, what will I be
Will I be handsome, will I be rich
I tell them tenderly.

Que Sera, Sera,
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be.

I think I've stopped biting my nails, but every now and then, I'm not so sure

It sure has been a while.

But I'm not sure that I have enough loyal followers for that to matter to anyone besides me.

Since my last visit here (in no particular order):

-I have been working as per usual

-I have, for the first time in 17 years, not started school in September.

-My rabbit died.

-I saw the Tallest Man on Earth in concert in Vancouver.

-My dog was sprayed by a skunk.

-I have been living in the midst of a highly intrusive remodel for about a month now.

-I have planned and booked a three week trip to Virginia to see some family and friend characters.

-I have booked my one way ticket to New Zealand!

-I have not figured out how to compile my eclectic arsenal of skills into something practical.

Regardless of anything else however, I work in a beautiful/magical place.

*Really?*

*Purple produce is thrilling*

*Oh Nature, you slay me.*

Still here

I am still here, just have not been burdening the interwebs with my mundane life details.

But in case any one was wondering, since I last posted, I have:

- dropped out of college and had a party to seal the deal

- done more hikes (Alpine lakes trail, Poo Poo Point (twice), Rattlesnake ledge (twice)

-done jury duty, been selected for a jury and sat through a trial

-turned twenty

-traveled to Port Orchard and participated in a swim meet

-hosted my teenage cousins from Virginia and gone camping with them, played in seattle and taught them the west coast ways

-dabbled in professional cake baking and decorating

-read Steinbeck's East of Eden

-started my five week housesitting marathon

-toiled at the farm

-and experienced various other accomplishments and disappointments

Plans now are to work trough October, grin and bear November and December and head back to New Zealand in January.

That's it for now I guess.

Lost lake

Shall remain lost.

After stopping at REI, where Mark and I got fancy new boots, Mark, Eric and I set out to do the Lost lake trail.

Theoretically, it is the Fragrance lake trail to start off and then some more.

But that was not the case.

We did the Fragrance lake portion then continued on a trail that eventually lead to a disappointing access road.

We sat at the lake for a bit and then, defeated, began our descent down to the car.

On a positive note, the Salmon berries are here!

Excelsior Mountain Hike

Though were down a man, Thursday adventure day continues.

Mark and I set out towards Mt. Baker at about noon.

After driving for about an hour, and being about half an our more away from our destination, we happened upon a trailhead just of the road and decided to peruse.

2500 ft elevation gain over 4.5 miles.

After carefully examining the poster differentiating black bears paws from Grizzly bears we set off.

It was a pretty gradual climb with a lot of switchbacks.

About 15 minutes we encountered "the hole" on the side of the trail.

*Alice in Wonderland time!!!*

Because we couldn't see the bottom, we threw some rocks down.

We could hear them bouncing down and down and down and when we stopped haring it we weren't sure if it was because it had reached the bottom or it was just out of earshot.

We continued on and encountered an awesome creek, yellow fungi that looked like gumdrops,tons of other fungi and then, after about an hour and a half on assent, snow.

Just patches here and there at first but then patches here and there over the trail.

Pretty soon it was patches of trail here and there in the snow.

We trekked on through the snow that was pretty hard due to the too-warm-for-snow weather we have been having.

About one in every twenty steps we would loose a foot through the snow.

At first in to the ankle, then later to the knee, then thigh, then hip.

One PB&J sandwich, half a loaf of banana bread, four scraped ankles, ten five gallon buckets and one and a half hours later, we decided to give up on our dreams of making the summit and turned back down the mountain.

*A good part of the trail was just creek*

After an hour of following our tracks through the snow and knee jerking down hill, we stopped at the hole one more time and with soaking wet feet, we made it back to the car very ready for the relaxing hour ride back into Bellingham.

We got home at about 6:30 and then both head to the pool for swim practice where we both focused on pull a good bit more than kick.

And I slept very well Thursday night.

I went to Georgia

For the Masters Nationals swim meet.

It was at Georgia Tech University.

There were 11 of us form the Western swim team.

And Brian came down from Virginia to swim.

He stayed with us at a place that really must have been in the top 9 seediest motels in Atlanta.

Tiny, dingy beds; smelled of mold and cigarettes; light shining out of the bathtub drain.

But we are better people for it.

*Andrew, Ben, Eric, Mark and Brian after the 100 free*

The swim meet was fun.

I met a few good people.

Exchanged a few words with Cullen Jones.

Got to swim in the 1996 Olympic pool.

We enjoyed Atlanta out side of the pool thought as well.

It was pretty hot an muggy the whole time we were there, but it was nice to be in the warm weather.

Mostly we just ate at a bunch of different places.

We tried to avoid any place that we could find in Washington

On Monday, before our plane left, we went to the Atlanta Aquarium.

It is said to be the worlds largest aquarium.

While it was a little disappointing for its title, it was still a very nice aquarium.

I saw fish.

The tip was a success.

We were all happy to be back in Seattle, though, breathing cool, non-liquid air.

Last day as a family.

Shona has left us.

She caught a ferry up to Alaska on Friday.

But we were still able to squeeze in a frisbee event on Thursday.

We adopted Ben.

Mark, Shona, Ben and I went to Lake Padden where the sun is shining and the grass is squishy.

We had cookies and two frisbees.

We played frisbee.

For two or so hours.

It was a lot of fun but there is really only so much I can say.

So, thats all.

Oh Canada

On Saturday, I accompanied Mark, Sue, MJ, Danny and Lexie to Canada. Though we were in White Rock, so it hardly counts as Canada. You can still see mostly Washington but you can drink a honey lager at the age of 19.

The Mark, Sue, MJ, Madeline car did not have anyone in it that forgot their passports so we got parked in a timely fashion.

We changed our clothes and head out to the low tie beach for some skim boarding.

*Sue, skimming it up*

We were about an hour in by the time the Danny, Lexie car party arrived.

We stayed on the beach for about 20 more minutes then were driven inland due to wind and cold times.

We rinsed off and got changed and set out in search of a dining establishment for dinner.

We found one with snooty waitresses that looked like Barbies.

And apart from extreme salt conditions on my halibut burger, the food was very good.

Also, they messed up on several items on our order resulting in some free food for us.

Yay Yam fries.

Upon returning some found keys to their owner, I received a large hug from an extremely skinny and glittery woman in a tiny denim vest.

We finished up and moved on to mediocre ice cream.

While eating we walked along the pier and then parked on some benches to listen to the two-high-school-boy-Beatles-cover-band.

*Mark and Sue*

They were fun and we all sang along a little to Hey Jude (Which was played per Mary Jane's request).

We then made our way back to the cars (where I accidentally swore in front of some small children) and set off back to America.

It was a supremely pleasant day that ended in lounging and mojitos.

On a separate note, it is clean sheet day.

I don't care what your viewpoint on anything is, you can't deny that clean sheets are just great.

It has been far too long since my last celebration of this holiday....

I am going to take clean sheet day for all it is worth and not disrupt the festivities be getting out of bed to get my camera. I will add pictures tomorrow.

Also, I made vegan chocolate chocolate chip walnut cookies again as they are the only kind of cookies that I make these days. They were wildly popular among the swimming community.

My raw cookbook (well, I suppose recipe book would be more appropriate) came in the mail today. I am excited to try out some of this stuff. It's gonna be weird!

Sweepstakes

After we found out that the boathouse was closed and we could not go kayaking, Mark, Shona and I were faced with the task of thinking up another Thursday adventure.

Because of general footwear unpreparedness and Shona's overall human weakness, we decided against a hike.

Walking to the car with our thinking caps on, we were determined not to surrender to defeat.

Mark suggested skim boarding.

And after some discussion about the exact time of peak low tide we set off.

We stopped at Mark's to pick up the boards and at the fruit stand to pick up kumquats then set off to the beach.

It's weird to think that our last adventure was snow sport.

We got to the beach and ditched our shoes and excess clothing.

After the first fall, you've got nothing to loose; you fall into warm water and soft mudsand.

And fall I did.

*I can't do it with my arms down*

Only a few times, then I got the hang of it enough to be able to stay on my feet.

Shona took some pretty epic spills and I was lucky enough be able to document some of them.

*Shona doing summersaults*

She will have sand in her hair for days.

Mark on the other hand decided to be no fun, being quite good at skim boarding and all.

*Cruisin'*

He did however provide for the family in being an excellent teacher.

As the incoming tide put increasingly less distance between our playground and the barnacle covered rocks, we decided to call it a day.

*Shona going out to sea*

Sand covered and soaked (some more than others), we got into the car.

So, skim boarding is quite fun, i will do it again.

I think it would be fun to try on Pah Beach.

Happy Thursday.

The Tallest Man on Earth

I love this guy.

*Photo Credit*

I have been listening to The Tallest Man on Earth's album, Shallow Grave for about a year now.

He has now come out with a second album, The Wild Hunt this month and I just cant get enough of it.

Here is a sampling of some favorites:

The Wild Hunt - from album The Wild Hunt

The Gardner - from album Shallow Grave

King of Spain -released as a single and with album The Wild Hunt

Swedish Kristian Mattson is The Tallest Man on Earth.

He is playing a show in Vancouver, BC next Wednesday, but sadly it is sold out and I will not be seeing him

If anyone has any connections that would make arranging my marriage to him easier, please let me know.

Weekending

Happy weekend end.

Sad. I had another great weekend.

Friday night I went to a Surprise party for my friend George (Lots of the same kinds as the camping trip). It was a wild success and was very fun.

Saturday, I got up at about ten, which is earlier than I maybe would have, had I not had hiking plans.

Skyline Divide was the plan.

Mark and Shona and I set out and drove for about 40 minutes in the direction of Mt. Baker.

Stopped at a friends house and picked up some snowshoes.

Set off up a gravel road that we had to follow for 13 miles to get to the trail head.

It was a pretty rough road.

Whit the snow line and that was fun. There was more and more snow the higher we went.

Then there started being snow on the road in some places.

Then there was about two feet of snow on the road and we couldn't drive any further.

*Family Portrait*

So we parked the car on a little pull out thing and, as Shona had the most appropriate footwear, Mark and I put on snowshoes.

We hiked up the road for a bit, snowshoed around and played in the snow.

It was great fun.

*Mark in the snow*

It was snowing the whole time we were there.

That was my first time seeing snow all year.

*Shona doing a cartwheel in the snow*

Afterwards, a bit soggy and damp, we went to Graham's for lunch.

Good day.

Sunday.

I had a weird sleeping in- stiff neck morning, went to the co-op to get eggs, and had an awesome egg sandwich.

I them met up with Mark and girlfriend Sue and we head down to Fairhaven for the Dirty Dan Day's Chowder Festival. We met up with Shona and Emiko and some other friends.

*Mark and Sue*

$10 to sample 17 different types of chowders from different restaurants and get a bowl of your favorite.

Lots of good food.

My favorite was the Pumpkin and Corn chowder from Avenue Bread but they ran out at the end, so I got a bowl of Skylark's clam chowder, my second favorite.

It was so sunny and there was good music.

The Gallus Brothers played for a good bit and I particularly liked them.

*The Gallus Brothers*

It was splendid to sit in the grass in the sun with my friends and chowder listening to bluegrass music.

Such a pleasent Sunday.

Tonight I made Banana Bread. 'Twas delicious.

Now, I've got a touch of math to do and them have to mentally prepare myself for the week ahead.

Happy Earth Day!

I can't believe how hard of a time I had finding some one to go on a hike with me on Earth Day.

But, in the end, Shone came trough for me.

We did a repeat of our last week's hike, the Pine and Cedar Lakes hike.

This time, we more thoroughly explored Cedar lake as we covered Pine Lake pretty well last week.

Cedar Lake was much easier to explore the perimeter of as it actually had a trail all the way around it.

We saw a few ducks, one of which was doing some sort of splash dance in the water while we observed.

We met a stump and Shona almost took a spill in the lake.

After a few cookies and sufficient photo documentation, we set off for our descent.

The way down was enjoyable.

We saw a huge Wood Pecker doing a number on a tree.

He really was not at all phased by our presence so we took a lot of pictures of him, got very close to him, and talked to him. Not a superb conversationalist.

Next we ran into our friend Emiko. It was surprising and joyous.

After about 15 more minutes of knee jerking down hill fun, we reached the car.

As Shona has never experienced the pleasure of a stinging nettle and has been complaining about it for some time now, we decided to check that off of her to do list.

For support and because she was a little nervous about her first time, I also indulged in some nettle.

I gently brushed the back of my hand on the underside of a leaf while Shona raped her forearm with an entire plant.

It was more nostalgic than painful for me, but I don't think I can say the same for Shona.

All in all, a lovely day for a hike and a happy Earth Day.

Camping!

I love camping.

Last night I set out on a vaguely structured camping trip.

Paranoid about failure or arrest I was a bit wary at first.

There were nine of us. Most of us lived together in the dorms last year and a few we adopted.

Our destination: Oyster Dome.

This is the same hike that I did with Mark and Shona last week.

I was a little concerned about potential freezing, snow and wretched conditions but my fear was for naught as it was a clear, beautiful and dry day.

*Colin preparing for flight at the top of Oyster Dome*

The way up was a bit tough, especially for those who were carrying things like tents and 24 packs. I just had a bunch of pants, so i did not have too much trouble.

*Sunset*

We finally made it to the top and looked for a place to set up the 8 person tent.

But, as there was an abundance of trees, there was no such place.

We resolved to just sleeping on the ground in sleeping bags.

We made a fire, ate hummus and were merry into the night.

*The gang: Kyle, Riley, Evan, Meghan, Colin, George, Nathan, Austen*

We had some small adventures and managed to stay away from the cliff edge for the most part.

The night was quite chill for sleeping, especially in my "warm to 55 degrees" sleeping bag. But I survived, we all did.

*Antics. Austen, Meghan and I*

Saturday we got up and indulged in a little fire, played catch phrase (good thinking Nate), ate what was left of the the little, random food that we brought, packed up and set off down the hill.

We stopped off at the bat caves on our way down. There was a cool view looking up form the bottom of the giant rock face that we had just spent the night at the top of. But i left the jumping around on the slippery rocks and logs to the others.

We got to the bottom happy to see at out cars had not combusted, been towed/stolen or had suffered any other traumas.

It was a highly successful trip and it was really good to see the gang again.

An event to have a sequel for sure.

Pine and Cedar Lakes Hike

I got out of lab today and went, again with Mark and Shona, on a hike.

Today, we did the Pine and Cedar Lakes trail.

It was about 5 miles round trip, except we took a detour circumnavigating Pine Lake which added a bit of time and distance to our stats.

We made friends with some dogs on trail.

We saw some Elk/giant deer tracks, some mystery poop, a blue heron, an abandoned jacket, a toilet and lots-o skunk cabbage.

I don't find the smell of skunk cabbage offensive; it is more nostalgic for me and makes me think of spring time in Preston.

It was pretty vertical for a while which proved daunting in the beginning but was fun for galloping down on the way back.

Overall, good hike, pretty lakes, tons of skunk cabbage and once again, wildly agreeable company.

Good day. Math test tomorrow.

Oyster Dome

I had my first Biology lab today.

It was fine, I'll go back next week.

But lab day means I get out at noon so, I went on a hike with Mark and Shona.

We did the short version of Oyster Dome.

It took about two hours.

*Shona in the snow on the way up*

We started in the chilly sunshine and when we got to the top we were in the snow and wind.

It was a good hike with an awesome view and a wretched cliff that inspired much fear.

*Mark and his success face at the top*

There were many potholes on the drive in (and out) which were kind of fun.

It was nice to do a nice hike on a nice day with good friends.

On a different note- Here is what I am digging lately:

-Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

-Christmas TV by Slow Club

-Edmonton by The Rural Alberta Advantage

-Animal By Miike Snow (not the video though)

-Easter candy

Also, I am rereading The DaVinci Code and digging it.

Thats all for now I suppose.

I have math homework.

-MB

I am a productive procrastinator.

It's Monday.

It is Ryan's and Tel's birthday. So happy birthdays to them.

Got up and went to Biology where I toyed with how to take notes in that class.

Then I went to Math where I struggled through a quiz.

To the bookstore to get my Biology Lab manual.

And home for the 3 hour break in my day.

I went to REI and spent my dividend/coupon/gift card and money on some new pants for all of the hiking I am doing.

Then off to latin.

I came home and did a little of this and a little of that.

I looked in o the homework that I should and will do and the didn't do it.

And then I made vegan chocolate-chocolate walnut cookies.

I like to share them.

Now I am going to swimming.

Bye.

Also, I just remembered, i made broccoli potato soup yesterday. It was fabulous and there is a lot in my freezer for later. Just thought you should know.