8-10-19

We flew home today.

But first, we visited a National Historical Park, Fort Vancouver, in Washington state.

There we saw a couple of anvils in a blacksmith's shop, so I took photos for Squirt, who likes anvils! 

8-9-19

Today we left our cabin and took a ferry to Bainbridge Island from Seattle. There, we had lunch (crepes) and I visited a yarn shop. The drive off the island down to Portland was very long because of traffic. We spent the night in a nice hotel (it was great!) and prepared to fly out the next day.

8-8-19

We were determined to see the Cascades National Park since we were so close, so we drove as close as we could and hiked in, dropped a geo marker, then checked the map when we got back to the car. Yep! we made it into the park.

8-7-19

We drove up to Bellingham, WA with Jes and rented this cabin for a couple of nights. We took Jes to see her friend from high school and we had dinner with her and her husband and their two adorable daughters. We ate at a Beer Garden in Bellingham.

I had a hard time sleeping because the hot water heater made a noise- a very high pitched noise. You would think that in a cabin in the woods I wouldn't have trouble sleeping... but then there are these electronic things!

8-6-19

The crew came back from backpacking today and i was so glad to have them back. We went out to dinner.  The first restaurant we went to had a great garden (see picture above of me and Jes) but it didn't have a table for us, so we went to a different restaurant which was pretty good. Jes was giving dating advice to Willy and Squirt, and the waitress enjoyed the conversation.

Afterwards we drove out to the spit and took some pictures looking back towards the town of Port Angeles.

This one below is looking away from the town towards Canada.

8-4-19

I finished these today after the crew left again for another backpacking trip. After they left, and after I took pictures of these socks I got sad. I ate a bunch of doughnuts and watched two episodes of The Handmaid's Tale and looked at Instagram and Pinterest a lot... pining for clay, thinking of all the things I want to make and the studio I want to have one day.

I used to dream of the luxury of being alone in a cabin. Now I have that luxury and I want to be home. I have books to read, the Internet, yarn, Netflix, Hulu, HBO, and a creek and a swing outside.... and a car and places to go if I want.... but being alone gets old. Being alone gets old. It's nice in small chunks but not bigger ones. Especially when there is no clay. It's amazing how much I do NOT want to work, to do anything related to my JOB, the one I get paid to do. I'm possessed by clay and being away from it is hard. I bet my mom feels this way about cooking.

8-3-19

Today I finished a business card design for my pottery business and ordered 100 of them from the company, Canva.

I also reviewed an article and finished my syllabus and Canvas course assignments.

Then I went berry picking and then went to the store and made a blackberry/thimbleberry crumble for the returning backpackers, and also made them dinner.

It was SO nice to have them back in the house.

8-2-19

I didn't leave the cabin today. I designed a business card for my pottery business using Canva (I think it looks great!), I worked on my Canvas course module and syllabus for Methods class, and designed and ordered a book for my mom. What else..... Hmmm..... I knit and listened to podcasts!!!

8-1-19

Malabrigo yarn... my favorite.

Making socks... my jam.

Today the crew left on their backpacking trip. I was determined to overcome my fears and get out of the house. So, I drove Squirt's car into town and parked and went to the yarn shop and bought some yarn... and had a nice conversation with a couple of women there. Then went to an art gallery where I met a potter that I'd been conversing with. Next week she's going to show me her studio. We talked for a long time and I bought one of her mugs.

Feeling victorious over my anxieties, I came back to the cabin in the woods and made a big tall glass of iced decaf, listened to The Potter's Cast, and knit. 

Things I want to do while I'm alone in the woods...

1. Get my class ready for fall

2. Write my sabbatical proposal

3. Review that article

4. Design a pottery business card

5. Pick blackberries and make a cobbler for when the crew comes back

6. Design Mom's book

7. Drink decaf lattes, listen to podcasts, and knit

8. Not be scared

7-31-19

 Today we left Olympia, Washington and drove to Port Angeles where we found our new home for the week. On the way we picked up DaveBon and Tonester and Willy, and after we arrived, Jes and Squirt showed up! On the peninsula where Olympic National Park is, we are where the orange dot is below. The house is in a town, but it's as if I'm in the middle of nowhere because it's a house in the woods with a creek on a dead-end road. Really off the beaten path. I burned pizzas for dinner for the crew as they packed up their gear for their hiking trip with begins tomorrow.

7-30-19

Today we left Astoria and visited the Lewis and Clark National Park. Big trees! It's where a reconstruction of the camp they built to get through the last winter of the expedition.

Then we headed for the state capital of Washington, Olympia. We visited the capitol building then went to dinner at a brewery.

Tomorrow we meet up with the family— my brothers in law, and nephew, and Jes and Squirt.

7-29-19

We left Eugene this morning and stopped after my car nap in Salem, the capital. We walked to the capitol building and arrived just in time for a guided tour to the tippy top where the gold plated frontier man stands. Unfortunately I was in a bad way and the building had a terrible sound echo problem so I had a mini melt down. Low blood sugar? I dunno. But after that experience, which was cool, but which I likened to a visit to a haunted house at Halloween, we had a fabulous lunch at a restaurant downtown and I felt better. Then we drove to Astoria for our AirBnB and the town proved to be really cool. After a pizza and salad dinner at a brewery, we climbed up this tower on a hill and had the most amazing view of the rivers and the Pacific and the mountains and town.

7-27-19

Crater Lake! We woke up early and picked up Squirt and drove a couple hours to the ancient Mount Mazama, which blew 7700 years ago, leaving behind a caldera that filled with water. We hiked down to the water, which was easy. Dan and Son went swimming. I got my feet wet. We ate lunch on some rocks. I felt very peaceful until I had to climb over the rocks with the ground that was basically dust/cinders and very slippery. We hiked back up out of the caldera and I was doing great until my brain decided it didn't have enough oxygen and started to forget stuff and feel dizzy. From then on, we stopped periodically so I wouldn't pass out. Made it to the top,  and the two guys decided they needed another hike. So, they dropped me off at the lodge, and went to climb another peak. I got a few blissful hours to myself knitting in a rocking chair looking over the lake.

On the way back to Eugene, we stopped at a pub for dinner and had fish and chips.

7-26-19

Today while Squirt was at work, we went to the Museum of Natural History on the university campus. I saw the oldest pair of shoes, made from sage brush that was first softened and twisted into rope, then woven and knotted into the shoe shape. They were found in a cave covered in dust from the Crater Lake volcano eruption 7000 years ago. They found 100 shoes.

Then we went to a yarn store and I got MALABRIGO SOCK YARN!!!

After Squirt got off work, we went to dinner at the Beer Stein and then had ice cream. The mandarin orange was really good!

7-25-19

I got a window seat and slept for the first two hours of the flight.

The scenery flying across the country was amazing. I used to remember flights where all you could see was clouds, but I got to see the landscape from Kansas to Washington State as if I were a bird.

I later found out that the volcanoes in Oregon were once islands in the Pacific Ocean! 

 

 

We arrived so tired, but we checked into our little apartment (it's so nice and quiet and smells great!) and met Squirt after work for dinner. This is his house. It's so nice!

I was tired and hungry and crabby so we didn't wait the 45 minutes that the hostess at the GOOD restaurant said it would be. Instead, we went to one across the street that had NO customers. I thought, good, we can eat soon. But NO. They did not have their act together and it took an hour for me to get a sandwich and for Dan and Squirt to get the saddest looking fish tacos I'd ever seen. My mom would have had a conniption fit. 

After "dinner" we went to a brewery and Squirt and Dan got a flight of beers. I got a photo with my boy. Priceless! 

We talked about this blog and how I have not been keeping it up, and I made a renewed commitment to do better because IT HELPS ME REMEMBER MY LIFE. I WANT TO REMEMBER THIS LIFE, THIS PRECIOUS LIFE. That's my boy. It took 23 hours from my house to his... but I would walk 5000 miles to see him.

7-24-19

Today I went to the studio to pick up things to ship out, and got there early. So, I glazed a bunch of stuff then got these goodies.

I boxed up the turquoise wine coaster, packed up Teensie's stuff and took her to my mom's, and sent off the coaster.

We left town at 6pm and drove to Atlanta. We got to spend the day packing thoughtfully.

Unfortunately, the hotel was a bit smelly (feet, cigars, Indian food) and I didn't sleep well because of it. Dan didn't sleep at all. Our flight is in the morning at 8am.

7-23-19

Just look at those uniform handles....

And I strung up a planter today too. 

Tomorrow we leave for Oregon.

7-22-19

Today I went with Dan to the coliseum to walk the stairs. I felt strong. Walked the bottom level twice around. I also put handles on my mugs.... 

7-21-19

Just as soon as I got back from Asheville, I had to practice my new techniques. So I made all these mugs. I had to center differently, pull the sides differently, form the lip differently, and get them off the bats differently. It took me from 9-2 to make all these! The pottery studio was open this afternoon so I went to glaze in peace...

7-20-19

Saying goodbye to our big house in Asheville. We are driving home today. It looks like Sta is fussing at Fossie but I don't think she is. Maybe. They were looking for a lost ball.

On the way home we stopped to visit one of my former middle school students in Greer, SC. Such fun!!! She painted the mural behind us of the Alaskan mountains we visited and flew over near the town of McCarthy. She has a new baby, and it was such fun to meet her and their other child.

7-19-19

Today I finished up my two-day class with a potter at the Odyssey. I learned so much and can't wait to try out all the new techniques before I forget them. I went to Highwater Clay before this lesson, and after it to purchase all the new tools and clay I'd learned about. 

Later in the afternoon, my cousin came over to meet the rest of us. She's in the middle next to my mom, her closer cousin. Dinner was eating up all the leftovers in the fridge.