Home Sweet Home

Here in the Northwest, we don't get out of school very early. Late June is when we finally kick the kids out the door for the last time, specifically, June 22 in our district. But....to break up the loooooooooong stretch between Christmas break and summer break, we have a midwinter break in February (one week off) and a spring break in April, which is another week long break. So this week is mid-winter break and I am here for a few days with my parents in Oregon. Just to taunt you a little more, here are some pictures taken from the backyard of my parents house this evening.

Well, ok, this one below was actually taken out the window of the car. I may or may not have been driving at the time. Heh heh.In addition, I had to bring one of the cats down. NOT BECAUSE I AM A CAT LADY. But because this particular psychotic feline, if left to her own devices, will eat all of her food in 24 hours or less, then throw it up all around the house, lock herself in the bathroom, shred the toilet paper, and do all kinds of mayhem as punishment for me leaving her. So, I brought her down. And this was her contribution to the four hour trip:

No, I did not shoot this while driving. I stopped for gas before leaving Seattle and while waiting for the guy in front of me to quit maneuvering, I shot this. She did get louder and softer, depending on how rough the road was.

Have a good day everyone, while I enjoy home cooking and free maintenance on my car!

Sardonic Small Town Editors

While I was home this past weekend, I was reading my hometown newspaper. My town has a population that is growing steadily, and right now is about 35,000-40,000. The editor of the paper is pretty moderate and really works hard to present both sides of most issues, and he has a pretty sly sense of humor as well. So when I was reading the paper this weekend, there was an article which I will reproduce here that made me giggle. I've highlighted the punchline, but otherwise it is reproduced as it was printed.

"The increased cost of operating the aging Buena Vista ferry northwest of Albany is forcing Marion county officials to consider the ferry's long-term status. Last December, the county held a meeting to explain the problems associated with running the ferry and asked for ideas on additional funding options. The people with ties to the money, however, did not attend so nothing was concluded."

Biker's Butt

My sister has a pretty nice mountain bike, but since she moved to Missouri without it, it has languished here in the garage for about 10 years without being ridden. Since gas in Seattle is above $4.36 a gallon (ARGH), and I am more than a little out of shape, I would like to work on the bike thing, so dad helped me get new tires and get it cleaned up and I rode it around a little bit this weekend. Let me just say that the first investment I will make bike-wise is a seat that is designed for a woman. Sheesh.

Home is a nice place to visit

I have been needing to get my eyes checked (yearly contacts exam, fun times), my eyes are really dry and my contact are about a month overdue to be changed, but my eye doctor is in Oregon and this is the first chance I have had to come home when there was an available appointment, so I drove down early this morning...thanks to the cats, who still believe that 5:15 am is the appropriate time to play "Wake the human." Punks. As money is particularly scarce this month, my dad kindly lent (lended?) me some money and filled my car with gas. So sweet of him....