Friends with Style

I'm not stylish. If i had to describe my style, i would say it's simple, classic and goes with everything. That translates to simple bootleg jeans, a colored tanktop and a black sweater. It's a combination that looks good on everyone, so that's what i wear every friday, sat and sun. At work i have slacks, two black one grey, that get paired up with solid colored knit shirts of varying arm legnths. Since Boyfriend Jon has known me...i can count the number of times i have left the house in a skirt or dress on one hand.

But i'm headed on a trip with one of my best Gal Pals who is the sharpest dresser i know. She has been dubbed my "Cute Expert" because she really has a knack for discovering cute things that i just kind of look at her and blink over. Lindsey is not super girly, but she has great style. And perhaps my next sentence won't show that she's not girly, but in the array of girly girl people in my life...she's at the bottom. She's already tanned, gotten a haircut and painted her nails for the trip. I'm sitting here with dirt under my nails from working in my mother's garden and i wouldn't be surprised if my hair smelled like sawdust from the shop.

TANGENT!
The end tables are BUILT! Done! I won't have to put in a single other screw anywhere, or use the nailgun or make any more cuts. All that's left now is to add the edging, fill the nail holes, sand, stain and put the finish on.
I estimate that if i took a solid week, i could have it done (except for the curing part).

OK, back to the regularly scheduled brain purge....

While i don't feel like it's a competition, I certainly don't want to look frumpy next to her. And because there is a dinner in which no jeans will be allowed....I had to ask her for help. Somehow this turned into a girls night in which not just Lindsey, but my other gal pal Naomi will be going through my clothing and putting together my outfits. All i have to do is make dinner and provide some wine. (which means i'm stealing it from my parents cupboard)

Part of me is just dreading this. To be dressed, analyzed, have my wardrobe scrutinized, and to wear clothes outside of my comfort zone. The other part of me is thinking "I don't have to choose outfits for the trip. They're doing 90% of the packing for me!" which i am so cool with!

Also, Lindsey alerted me to a free spray tan coupon. So i think i'll give that a shot so i don't look completely pasty white next to her. Never done a fake tan before, fingers crossed.

Either way, Lindsey is an awesome friend to hang out with. Everything is low key, no drama, and no stress. We work well together and don't get on each other's nerves very often. I'm looking forward to traveling with her. We'll see if we're still friends after.

In other news...i'm making more changes to the apartment. The dining room table is leaving. It's nice that it folds up to half its size, but i don't have a designated dining room space anymore and it's taking up part of my living room. Also, I've used it twice since i moved in. Once for a romantic dinner for Boyfriend Jon and I, and once to hold all 200 of the cursed cupcakes. The chairs for the table don't fold up and i really don't have room to store them. They alone take up half my storage closet.

Instead, i intend to get a 6 foot folding table and four folding chairs. The table will slide under my couch when not in use, and the chair will take up considerably less room in the storage closet. Also, having a six foot table will double for board games, dinner for more than just me and Jon, and even a craft table...which i really need. The DVD rack will be moved in it's place.

I'm excited for the change.

Good Planning, aka Luck

Its hard for me to believe it, but i started building my coffee table and end tables just after Valentines day (aka single awareness day)

This project has by no means been the most complicated of my projects, but yet it has taken the longest. My father is certainly feeling his age, and I've confronted my uncomfortable emotions and frustrating setbacks. He has readily admitted that he can't work like he used to and i've been too timid to work without his help.

Last night, dad agreed to get to work on my drawers, the final bit of building that needed to be accomplished. But when i showed up, he was nowhere to be found. Instead, he was helping one of his friends with something complicated and wouldn't be home for hours and he was very sorry but I would have to wait.

I was ticked. Nailing him down to a time and place has been difficult to say the least because he's been very busy helping my sister. I tried not to impose but, with her project also several months over-schedule....it made life harder on everyone. And now, with her project finally down to a few punch list items, i thought i finally would have time to whip through the remainder of the building steps which i need dad's extra set of hands for. Yet when it came down to it...i was alone...

In dad's shop...

With all the tools i could possibly need....

With the knowledge of how to do the drawers...

I was just ticked off enough to be in my "Well, i'll show him" mood. Defiance and rebellion as my ally, i seized a hold of the plank of maple which had been plained down to 1/2 inch and quickly measured the gap that the drawer would need to fit into. I cut boards an inch over the right measurement  and then ran them through the jointer to make the edges smooth and even. Then i ripped them to the right width and cut them to the right size since i could now be sure of a good 90 degree cut.

In two hours, i had the frame of the drawer. So i started casting about for paneling for the bottom of the drawer. I didn't want to use the one dad had pointed out because it had a laminated side that i wouldn't be able to stain it. it would have to be painted or horribly mismatched. I went out into the wood shed and looked through would that had been put in there when i was still a teenager, Most of it was un-usable for my project.

It wasn't until i started looking through the scrap bin that i came across a piece of paneling that i instantly recognized. It was the exact same material i had used as the backing for the DVD stand and the TV stand. It looked rather small, but i pulled it out to see if i could get at least one bottom for the drawers.

As I set up the frame, i began to realize, hoping against hope, that i might have just enough for both drawers. When everything was set up, i had literally 2 inches to spare width wise without ever trimming the paneling.

I cut groves for the paneling to slide into and it's perfect. The groves were not as deep as i would have preferred, but with some wood glue, they'll hold up just fine. Besides, these are going to be holding relatively light things and serve as a general junk drawer for scissors, glue, stamps, ect.

When dad finally showed up, my mood had dissolved out of sheer disbelief at the perfection of the size of the LAST piece of the same paneling i had used for the other pieces in my living room. So i showed him what i had accomplished. We both had a good laugh as he analyzed my handiwork and gave me a stiff nod...adding that he hoped i didn't make any mistakes without him there. I confidently replied that i doubted i had, but if i did, it wouldn't be anything that couldn't be fixed.

Good Planning or Pure Luck? Who cares...the drawers just need to be glued and nailed and the end tables are ready to put the finish on.

Saving Money via Ingenuity

On Friday when i dropped the wallet thief off at my sister's place (LOL stories below) my sister was watching a TV show called "Extreme Couponing" which i caught towards the end. The woman was checking out and had a $1200 bill which ended up being an extraordinary $103 after she went through a stack of coupons. Amazing right? and then i started looking at the amount of stuff she had. 4 shopping carts, one of them containing over 70 bottles of mustard. Who in this world can eat the contents of 70 bottles of mustard even if it takes their entire lifetime? It goes beyond absurd. I asked my sister what she does with the stuff, and she rewound to show me the part that showed exactly that. Showers stacked full of paper towels, pantries overflowing with cans, even the room for the water heater was filled to the brim. It was another form of hoarding and just as disturbing in my eyes.

I love saving money, and I've been doing a lot better with using coupons lately, but i would certainly balk at buying things i had no need of within the next three months. Even if they never spoil.

My most recent money saving technique had to do with the Kindle. I wanted to throw it in my purse without it getting scratched up by my keys. But i also didn't want it to weigh the kindle down and not be able to fit into my purse because the cover was so bulky. So i decided neoprene would be a good idea. But have you looked at the cost of those things???? Kindle covers themselves cost no less that $35 and Neoprene covers go up beyond $50. I tried to find a cheap one while i was walking around Staples for another purpose, but inevitably, it was more than i wanted to spend.

And then something interesting caught my eye.

It's was a leather notebook cover haphazardly placed on an endcap standee. It was red, which since its my favorite color, was probably the reason i stopped short. Upon further inspection, it was just barely too small for the kindle. I almost walked away from it not once, but twice. But something kept making me think about it. I analized the seams and looked at what was making it too small. I concluded if i cut out the flap where the notebook was supposed to slide in, and then trimmed off the business card flap (as seen in the left of the picture) to just a strip in the middle, it could work. I looked at the price. $12. Certainly worth a shot at that price.

So i took it with me to Boyfriend Jon's place and while he played Lego Indiana Jones, i got out a pair of scissors and my knife and got to work. I carefully trimmed out the flaps, which eventually will need some kind of edging. Boyfriend Jon then got out some strips of velcro that he had laying around and i cut them to size and placed them. One for the new closing strip. and two for the back of my kindle to keep it in place in the cover when i wanted to read. With the extra flaps out of the way, the Kindle fit like a glove.

Here's the results, of which i'm rather proud of. Still in the process of cleaning it up though.

As for LOL stories for Miss Molly, aka the Wallet Thief...She was pretty content to just lay in my lap while i read The Girl Who Played with Fire. But she did catch sight of a crow and just about plowed through my screen door trying to say hello.

Also, i may have accidentally have given her brain freeze, by giving her some ice cubes made out of tuna fish juice. She gobbled up three of them in the time it took Rusty to eat half of his. After that, she sat looking at me  squinting her eyes as her lower lip quivered.

But as far as Molly stories go, it was pretty calm and quiet for life around her.

The return of the Wallet Thief

Molly helping with construction

Molly the Wallet Thief will be staying with me today, and i'm sure i'll have more "adventure" stories tomorrow. We're still trying to get this silly dog acclimated to my place for when Noreen is out of town so that i can help take some of the load off my parents. She's pooped, she's peed, she's thrown up, she's tried to eat just about everything from a tea light to a roll of Tums. But this dog....i'm sure will figure out something new to drive me insane with.

For all that i gripe, Molly is a wonderful dog. It's hard not to laugh when she gets into some of her quirky moods. And then she has her Eeyore droop when she knows she's in trouble.

I'm starting The Girl that Played with Fire tonight while i'm watching Molly now that I've completely finished first book and movie in the series.

I really hate watching subtitles. But i hate dubbing even more. Especially bad dubbing. However, i don't think that American filmmakers have the monopoly on great movies. So subtitles are a necessary evil.

Comparing the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo book with the movie, i stand by my old saying: Books are better than movies. There are a few rare occurrences where the filmmakers are able to capture details in ways that the author has to ramble on for several pages to accomplish. The only movies I've come across that were better than the books were the LOTR series. I just don't personally care for Tolkin's style of writing.

Warning: Minor Spoilers

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo book was well thought out and had multiple characters weaving back and forth, in and out of each other's lives. The movie, immediately changed a key character by saying she was dead instead of abroad. This didn't change the complete outcome, but just how they arrive at the conclusion. And also, in the book, Mikael discovers Lisbeth after confronting the lawyer Frode. Not, Lisbeth helping Mikael out of the goodness of her heart. It seemed to break with her character for me. The other thing i liked in the book was the dynamics with her boss and her job which was alluded to, but not displayed in the movie. Her boss only showed up in the beginning and then you never saw him again. That was unfortunate, but again, it didn't really change the end game.

All in all, the film did a great job of following the story as written, but took minor liberties here and there. It was also 2hours and 20 minutes long. So for the sake of not making it a three hour movie, i can understand some of the omittance was necessary.

More furniture plans

I honestly don't think i can help it. I see a piece of furniture and immediately start thinking about ways to customize it. Perhaps its because i'm a 20 something on a limited income and can't afford the furniture that makes my mind go blank in sheer admiration of the craftsmanship and functionality.

My friend Lindsey has recently taken the time and money to replace all of the crappy furniture in her bedroom with a nice matching set. With the exception of the headboard which wasn't available. So she has a cheap ikea frame for the moment which completely clashes with the rest of the furiture.

For starters she's going with what she has deemed "Country Bumpkin" kind of feel while her bed....looks like it has a simple oriental theme to me. Either way, she was going to get rid of it. Since i was looking for a queen bed frame anyway......i started analyzing it.

It was low to the ground, (Ikea mostly has beds that are about a foot off the ground) and she had it up on bed risers from bed bath and beyond so it would be a relatively normal height.

It worked just fine. But i don't trust plastic especially when it comes to strength and stability. So i started thinking about ways to make it stronger and more stable. I figured if i did a wrap around wood frame made up of long pieces with the sides cut at 45 degree angles...i could screw into the original legs and make them longer, but still strong.

For the non-craftsmen or people who can't read my mind:
If you were looking at it from either the top or bottom, it would look like this with the middle square being the original leg:

Also, i don't like the idea of my pillows falling through the back so i'll tack some simple paneling onto the back to fix that problem.

For probably a maximum of 20$, i'll have a great customized bed set to replace the bed I've had since i was 15.

I probably should finish the coffee and end tables before moving onto this project....but it's just sooo exciting!

Book Review- Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The first book to be read on Kindle that I am temporarily calling mine....was the international best seller The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (translated into English of course).

I read about half of it between adding wood to the campfire and snuggling into my sleeping bag so that all that could be seen of me was my forehead, eyes, and the tips of my fingers occasionally as i pushed the page turn button.

This book started off as a relative enigma to me. My friend Annie from Nano had read it and briefly sung praises about it. But it was in the middle of Nano when we're all actively concentrating on our own novels to be. So i didn't pay it much mind at the time. Not to mention...i'm not into paying $20 for a book. That's just not me. I have to have already read the book and be totally in love with it for me to want to spend that kind of money for my own copy.

The last book that was an international best seller that i caved to the hype on was the Harry Potter series. And i was very pleased with the results. So when going through the list of 55 books, i pause and thought to myself "what the hell?" and pressed the OK key. I only vaguely knew that it was a crime drama, but i had no idea as to the details of the crime.

Pacing wise, the story took a long time to gear up to give the reader an idea of what the story was going to be about. However, without much of that, you wouldn't understand the motives behind the characters later in the story. The main male character Mikael Blomkvist, seemed very human. No amazing talents of deductive reasoning, or x-ray vision. Just a normal every-man, caught up in something that's bigger than he realizes. The main female character, the one everyone thinks of, Lisbeth Salander, was complex and faceted, and at the same time, well...logically created...is the best way i can describe her. She is definitely NOT an every-woman. And the roles they play in the story help weave what could be a simple crime novel, into a intricate creation that i honestly couldn't predict. Short of halfway through the book though, i was riveted.

The voice used for writing was very matter of fact. It simple explained how things were and what was going on without adding additional drama to the thoughts of the characters. I was surprised that everyone was referred to by their last names by the writer, but not by each other in the dialogue.

A small point of warning: This story is not for the faint of heart. The translated title for part one is "Men who Hate Women" and it is very much fill with misogynistic themes. I don't know if the author feels that way personally, but many of his characters treat women with varying degrees of mistreatment, as i would define it. There are brutal descriptions of scenes that made me angry and horrified, and at one point, i had to stop and remind myself this is fiction.

I'm going to stop reviewing this book now because i don't want to inadvertently ruin it for anyone. All i have left to say is that this was an excellent find, and i can't wait to get my hands on the next books in the trilogy.

Meanwhile, i'm starting the Swedish movie with Michael Nyqvist and Noomi Rapace on my Netflix to see how it compares to the book. I hope anyone who reads it finds it as interesting as i did.

Back from camping

I'm pleased to report that i survived camping in the pacific northwest this weekend. By that i mean...it started raining Saturday at about 5pm and didn't stop....ever.

Jon on Friday before we got the tarps up and
during one of the few brief moments of sunlight

Between the crows pillaging our campsite twice, the showers eating the tokens without giving hot water, the absurd prices of firewood (3 bundles for 17$), and the tarp AND TENT leaking.....we should have had a miserable time. Yet, i can't think of any single point that i was unhappy. Even picking up after the crows...wasn't a big deal. We learned a couple lessons but for the most part, our advance planning saved a lot of frustration. There's just a bit more planning needed. There was bound to be some trial and error period.

The first problem we noticed was the grill that i had brought was HORRIBLE for cooking on. The eggs we made took forever to cook, and water took at least a half hour to get to coffee temperature. It's a great grill, i'm sure, but it's a horrible camp stove. But it was free so i didn't worry too much. The Boyscout in Boyfriend Jon came out and he started talking about all the gear he wanted to buy for himself. Perhaps for this entry i should refer to him as Boyscout Jon. He decided that now was a good time to purchase a Coleman camp stove and we were saved. After that, we had no more meal related problems.

But the rain wasn't going to let us off the hook. We got our tarps up Saturday Morning after some creative roping and using a few of the telescoping poles i had borrowed from my dad. I even managed to remember a few of the knots i had learned several years ago, when i taught a knot tying class. But when it came to a spot were we had different sized ropes, my brain went blank. I could see the image in my head, but how to do it or what it was called was completely eluding me. Boyscout Jon came to the rescue with a sheet bend.

Sometimes it got a little too cold to sit next to the campfire with our e-readers. So we retreated into the tent. There, we quickly bundled up into our sleeping bags and kept reading with just our eyes and a couple fingers poking out of the bags. Every now and then we would look over at each other and start laughing over some line in the story we were reading or the fact that we were bundled up like Eskimos. But the important thing was that we were throughly enjoying ourselves. I'm sure our neighbors got a little tired of us starting to laugh hysterically for no apparent reason to anyone outside our little world.

We probably should have noticed the warning signs earlier...spots of water at the bottom of our sleeping bags, or the small puddle forming at the tent opening. But it wasn't until the middle of the night that we started realizing we were slowly being soaked. The pads we were sleeping on were foam and quickly absorbed the water and it started creeping toward us. Our clothes and gear in the tent, had to be moved to higher ground and we had to pull our pillows away from the walls.

My only real gripe was the mats we decided to try for sleeping on were very uncomfortable. I'm still an air mattress girl. But given that Jon had trouble waking me up one night, i still slept soundly. Oh yeah, and i managed to not be a controlling, freaked out, nut job. Go me!

Things we'll do differently:

1. waterproof the tent BEFORE leaving. 
2. buy a new tarp and new ropes
3. buy camp cups...the one thing we both totally forgot. 
4. figure out new sleeping pads/cots/air mattresses. 

But in the end, every problem that arose we had a solution for. Every issue got dealt with. And we left the camp soaking wet, freezing cold, tired as hell, and holding hands.

Geeking out in time for camping

I have an opportunity to play with a Kindle for a few months for free. I'm just as excited to be playing with a new piece of technology as i am to start a few new books. I think I've downloaded about 55 novels to it already. Mostly that i haven't read in years, Science Fiction, and Fantasy novels with a few oddballs thrown in for some flair. It will be a great addition to the camping trip.

As a teenager, with no bills, no work, no obligations...55 books would normally pose little challenge to me. That was a standard summer. Of course they were young adult novels like Anne McCaffrey, Tamora Pierce, Piers Anthony, and Mercedes Lackey. Not...Frankenstein or The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I read like my dad, who's been known to plow through a  Tom Clancy novel or Clive Cussler thriller in less than a weekend. My mom on the other hand takes somewhere near a month to read a 300 page novel.

The geek in me is also really excited because it looks like a PADD from Star Trek!!!! I will admit I've daydrempt a little that i was wandering the corridors of the enterprise and might run into Captain Picard. (I'm a geek! Daydreams like this really do come to mind and make me smile).

The same time i got a hold of the Kindle, Boyfriend Jon got a Nook-Color. Which, in comparison...is SOOOO PRETTY! Given the choice between the two, i'm much more interested in the Nook. But the Kindle is free for now. Not to mention i have much better battery life and it's lighter. Now if only i could stop accidentally hitting the keyboard at the bottom.

My future e-reader will probably be color, small, light, with wifi and a minimal amount of buttons. And while i'm busy day dreaming, it will connect with the enterprise main computer and respond to voice commands too. Just kidding.

Our camping plans are moving along a lot faster now that Boyfriend Jon and I are taking the time to sit down and collaborate on meals,  equipment and how to pack everything into my tiny economy car. I feel a lot more confident knowing that we're already on the same page. On the menu is egg, sausage and potatoe hash combinations for breakfast, grilled cheese and soup for lunches, and Mac&Cheese plus hotdogs and Hobo style for dinners. Also going to try my hand at making popcorn in an pot (not my dad's super cool old fashioned popcorn maker with turn wheel and not an air popper). Oh yeah, and the making for smores are a must. Right now, i feel like this weekend can't come fast enough.

I'm so thankful this week is moving along quickly. It's been two and a half weeks since my counterpart left for a trip to Hawaii. And two and a half weeks since I've had a day of work not accompanied by a migraine as everyone tries to convince me that their work has highest priority even though it's not due for a week. The two of us, normally cover an array of jobs that used to be covered by five people. It's just not feasible to expect one person to do the job of 5!

So, i look forward to her return later this week. Mostly so that i can dump HER work back on HER desk and then escape to a world that has neither work nor desks for a long weekend with Boyfriend Jon to celebrate a year and a half long relationship that is composed of frequent Geekery.

The Mario Box

I'm definitely a crafty person. By that i mean i like working with my hands..in case you couldn't already tell that from the carpentry I've been posting lately.When i'm feeling stressed out and need to collect myself, I do origami. I've done sketches for tattoos for friends and co-workers. But pretty much anything crafty...i'm a useful person to know.

This is probably why my friend Kenny came to me with a project. He does some minor cosplay and wanted to go as Mario this year. He got the costume together and looked like a great ...blonde... Mario. But he wanted a Mario brick to go with his costume. "Easy" I told him....and began making plans. I'm not sure who came up with the idea, but eventually it got revised into a portable carry-all for the cons. It even got touched by FELICIA DAY and AMY OKUDA of The Guild!

Awesome except for the glare from the flash. This picture makes me SO HAPPY!

I recycled the interior of old broken binders for their cardboard, and made a cube. I then attached hinges so that the top would open and close. Then i made it so the lid was magnetized closed. With some free foam on the inside, the cube took life. Three sides became Question Mark sides, complete with gold glitter borders, and three sides got Brick. The effect was that when taken with a picture...you wouldn't be able to see the other sides. But the best part, according to Mario/Kenny is that he can stash his camera, glasses and any other loot from the con...inside and walk around with just the box.

He says the box gets a lot of attention at Cons. He has been pulled out of hallways to go participate in photo shoots, and many many people want pictures with the box. It is a One of a kind for sure. No other Mario's have ever been seen with a box like mine. :D

Never mind the scantily clad Yoshi...look at the pretty box! (that's Mario/Kenny btw)

Anyway, the year of Con's is over for Mario/Kenny, and he brought me the Mario Box in need of some minor repair. We started discussing some of the differences he would rather have, and features that would be really cool if we could pull off.

Next thing i know..i'm designing a new pair of boxes. One to fit inside of the other. The outer box will be the Question Box. It will feature fishing lines that are able to be pulled out to suspend the box. Stored in the bottom of this box will be tent poles that unfold and form a rod which the box can be suspended from for photos. The other box will be a duplicate of the original box (in the pictures above) but covered only in brick. Or if i can talk him into it, the rainbow colored question mark from Mario Kart. This will also have a lid, and foam padding for storage of Con Loot.

It's another of the projects to add to my ever growing and rarely shrinking list.

May the 4th be with you!

To all my fellow geeks, nerds, brown coats, wanna-be Jedi's, and people who would be first in line if there ever is a Starfleet Academy.....

May the Force be with you.

ANNNNNDDDD

Shiny :)

Camping plans

Perhaps Boyfriend Jon and I have an odd relationship. By that i mean instead of going the traditional route for our year and a half....doing things like dinner at a fancy restaurant, dancing, wine on a bear skin rug kind of thing....Nope, our idea of fun and romantic is going camping.

I started camping when I was seven years old. My uncle invited my father to join him at this thing he called a Rhondevous (Ron-day-voo). It was a pioneer day re-enactment. Similar to a Ren-Fair, but in the days of Mountain Men and Indians. We started out with hardly any proper camping gear, and i remember that we had a lightning storm the first night. My mother made us get off of our aluminum cots and sleep on the ground because she was concerned about us getting electrocuted. I still don't understand why she did that. We were in the middle of a forest after all. The tent leaked, our feet turned to prunes, and we spent the second night in my uncle's tent, crammed in with all five of them, plus four of us, and their smelly dog. Since then, I  think i can count the number of times my mother has joined us on one hand.

I'm not sure how, but my father got hooked and so did my brother and I. The group of people that went to these Pioneer days were just plain cool. They told incredulous stories, taught me everything from beading to how to start a fire with flint and steel, and dad let us run basically wild. We caught newts, wandered through the woods, bought things in 'Traders Row". He never had to worry about us. Everyone kept an eye on us. I remember smashing my finger and a random woman that i didn't know at the time, bandaged me up. I even acquired a nickname: Skirts Afire. I'll let you guess how i got that one. It became a second community in my life as i grew up.

Me at the 2003 Women's Rhondy
(skill training weekend)

And quickly, dad purchased proper camping equipment. In later years, when my brother no longer joined us, my dad and I got to the point where we could set up and tear down the camp in a matter of a half hour. Granted, by then, we had a pop up camper.

But eventually i had to grow up. My father would get testy whenever i mentioned wanting to camp on my own, not with him. Especially if I had a boyfriend at the time. After one particular blow up when i was 20, i quit and for five years since, i hadn't gone camping. Our relationship mended and life otherwise went back to normal.

The last attempt Boyfriend Jon and I made at going camping was not well planned out. It was overnight, we were cold, and we ended up eating out instead of making up the food we bought. I kept trying to get into my normal groove and got frustrated by Boyfriend Jon not instinctively know what i needed him to do...the way my father did. I'm very accustomed to doing things a certain way, to always having the proper tools available to me. But living in an apartment doesn't leave much room to store a plethora of camping supplies.

So we borrowed my father's camping gear and additionally i was freaked out about the extremely remote possibility of things getting stolen. We weren't surrounded by the community of Rhondevous people...who have been known to return dropped wallets without a single penny missing. These were strangers! Yes it seems very silly now, but this is how i reacted. And single handedly, I made the trip be rather miserable.

It took me quite a while to realize why i was acting so controlling, but eventually i managed to explain to Boyfriend Jon. We agreed that we would try again, and we would do things very differently, next time.

So the changes changes we're making this time:

1. We're staying two nights, not one. 
2. We're not going in October (another big mistake)
3. We're purchasing our own camp gear. Chairs, possibly our own tent, and we bought foutons, not an air mattress.
4. My dad gave me a coleman grill. Not that i can't cook over an open fire, but just that it's easier to do so over a stove.
5. We're making a menu and sticking to it. 
6. Oh yeah, and I will NOT go freakishly controlling again. 

Here's to hoping for a smoother trip this time. 

Quite frankly, I consider where we're going to be a luxury anyway. Its a state run campground. They have hot showers! Now that's just plain ole FANCY! 

Sunshine at long last!

We had an absolutely gorgeous sunny day yesterday. Spring finally came to the Pacific Northwest.

We never made the bike ride. It turns out that our bikes were in sore need of repair, but we had no way of transporting them to my parents house where there were tools like an air compressor.

Early in the day, Boyfriend Jon proved (again) how sweet he is, and helped me wash my car, clean out the trunk and vacuum the whole thing. It was so nice to get that done, and I instantly felt better. We then went for a picnic to the nearby Kirkland waterfront....which was jam packed with families, couples, dogs, ducks and seagulls. We turned our be-sunglass-ed faces up to the welcome warm rays, and shivered at the breeze coming off the water. Just a few more degrees, and everything would have been perfect.

We threw Ritz crackers to duck pairs, who got a little amorous nearby. They weren't shy of us at all, even waddled right under the nose of a spaniel who was sitting up on the bench with his owners as they tried to keep the squirming and woofing dog from pouncing.

Eventually, Jon and I had separate tasks to do so we each went home. But the sunshine still called to me. Even when i should have been folding laundry, or cleaning my kitchen, i found every excuse possible to walk outside. I even made three trips to the mailboxes and back...on a Sunday.

I hemmed the translucent curtains i put up and finally got around to cutting the board to stop my sliding glass door from opening. I refilled my bird feeder even though i know the chickadees and juncos will make a mess all over my patio again. I was able to sit there still enough while i was sewing the curtains with just the screen between me and the birds. They were so close i could have reached out and pet them. And they sang for all they were worth as happy as i was with the sunshine.

A pair of brown wild rabbits jumped and hopped all through the swamp, back and forth as i watched them...a foolish grin on my face.

Saturday, I spent with my dad, finally overcoming the problem that had been plaguing us for days. The drawers. I hadn't counted on the fact that the shortest full extension sliders that were available were 14 inches. I thought i might have been able to get away with a 12 inch set. This didn't work because the drawer was meant to be 13.5 inches deep.
After trying to figure out a way to make it work with the existing side pieces for two hours, I finally resigned and cut new ones with the additional half inch. In the end i'll loose a half inch on the front and back of the lip...but that's hardly noticeable.

The full set so far. Not finished yet.