New Lawnmower!!

I heard from Brian that I am getting a brand new (used) lawnmower. I am very excited and just wanted to thank my parents.

Thanks Mom and Dad.

Pet story part II

I forgot about my other pet story. It is short and sweet.

Last night Quark climbed up the porch to our bedroom and brought a live baby shrew that he gave to Miles to play with. He is such a good big brother. This is only one of a number of live animals that Quark brings to help Miles learn to hunt. Miles just batted around the shrew and I scooped it up and set it free outside. However, I am getting tired of live critters running around my house.

Successful Jamming?

So did you all get your jam made? Who turned out to be the most inspirational jammer and MVP jammer? Greyson managed to sneak a jar home and said it was very tasty. I believe that was from a Traci batch.

It was very nice to be home alone for a couple of days to recover from our travels. Greyson's parents arrived yesterday and took us out to the Skamania Lodge for dinner which was very nice. They have a very nummy desert bar where I sampled the cheesecake, lemon pie and some other chocolatey goodness. We are also talking about going on one of the riverboat dinner cruises one night during the week they are staying with us. They also want to see Mount Saint Helens so we may drive up there next weekend. I wouldn't mind doing a south approach as I have never been that way. Has anyone else driven that route, is it nice? They are staying in there 30' travel trailer with pop-outs. I was amazed how roomy it really was when it was all set up. After traveling with it for awhile they think they might go to a regular motorhome next year. I offered to take the truck off there hands for them. I think if it wasn't such an expensive vehicle (40K) they might have considered it.

Pet news: We left Ada and Miles in the utility room to sleep together last night. When Greyson went to let them out this morning he said that they were curled up together on Ada's bed. Isn't that cute. We will have to take a picture to post.

Girl Talk: The only other exciting news is that I went looking for a strapless bra so I could buy some cute summer clothes. I was having a terrible time getting one that would stay up and fit so I finally reached out for help. One of the nice ladies at Nordstroms came in and measured me and told me what size I really am, and for the first time in 10 years I am finally wearing the right size bra. It is just amazing, it is as if I have started a whole new life. I bought one bra there to be nice and then high tailed it over to Meier & Frank where they were having a buy 2 get 2 free sale. I haven't felt like they looked so good in years.

Work Talk: I am back in the office working (on what it is hard to say). I am waiting to hear what other work they have for me this summer. I hate not knowing just because I can't plan very well.

Well I guess I better get back to "work".
-Mel

quark-king of the mountain

As I sat at my desk upstairs blogging, I heard chattering of cats behind me. They were biting and wrestling, I didn't look back, but the noise was getting increasingly intense. Then, BOOM something hit the bottom floor so hard that it rattled the flatware in the kitchen. I looked back, and there Quark was, sittng alone, looking at me. I peered over the railing, and saw Miles seated below, looking up at us. He then sprang off with a purr-meow towards the food dish. Yes, he fell the entire story, and from the sound of things, he didn't land cat-like on his feet. I would compare the sound to dropping one of the lighter pieces of firewood from the pile onto the carpeted floor below.

Almost on vacation

Well I should be heading home Wednesday, the same day Greyson is done with his finals. We are still somewhat unplanned for this "vacation" of ours. I am thinking about taking my mother up on her offer of the truck. I just don't see how we can camp out of our car for a week. I would like to take our bikes but I hate strapping them to the bumper.

So far we are considering hitting Hells Canyon and saving money by camping so we can go rafting, jet skiing and what ever else we see that interests us. We may also head up to Jasper, Canada for a couple days. Greyson used to go there camping when he was younger and thought it was beautiful. Does anyone else have any vacation ideas.

I need to check the weather soon and make sure it is going to cooperate with us.

Have fun "jamming".
-Mel

a rough spring

Not sure what it is. Maybe it's the incessant rain, my desire to finish this school term, and pressure, but I've been in a funk lately. It was nice to have Traci over during another long spell without my wife. Traci doesn't meow a whole lot, and doesn't claw, or chase cats and terrorize chickens. She even likes to watch my old war movies. Ada loses interest about the time the credits roll. Martin sheen on his back, looking at the blades of a ceiling fan, going insane waiting for his next mission. Ada drops her head to her pillow with a prolonged and impossibly bassy groan. Maybe it's that this movie has been on so many times, that even she has memorized it. It started raining the day after Traci left. The new grill and lawn furniture got soaked. And the cats and dog were of course shut inside with me while I tried to work. I've taken to locking both cats in the utility room and tucking 2 towels underneath the door to shut out their screaming, their pain. They suffer, and it is not condicive to creative thinking to be reminded of this. What kind of parent am I, that can't endure the joy of being a human scratching post, and allergy med test subject with a big grin on my face? So the sun is out today behind the clouds. It peaks out every now and then, and the cats have had the thrill of the great outdoors with my loving encouragement and limitless patience. I'm finally smiling. Play little kitten. Play.

News from the road

Hey all,
I had another long day at work today. I only had about 15 minutes all day to sit down and try to stuff some food in my mouth. I am pretty exhausted tonight and will probably go to bed as soon as I can get out of the shower.

I am sorry I am missing the big Jam-fest 2005. Is Jen going to be joining you. Traci said she would come pet sit for us once she is done jamming. I am just worried that she will try to sneak Miles home with her. She seemed to hang out with him a lot when she was up here.

Not much else new with me. I have some work emails I need to do before I can get to bed so I better get to them.
-Mel

On the road again

Yes, I am gone again for a couple weeks and thought I would check in on all the great blogging activity to liven up my dreary life here in the hotel (or should I say prison cell). But alas, no news. You must all just have extremely boring lives since you can't come up with one single thing to write about. How sad for you all. Maybe you just need a few more pets to liven things up.

The study is going fairly well but the boss is driving everyone crazy. He can't just leave things alone and let everyone do there job. But he is leaving on Friday so hopefully things will smooth out. We had a very bad day yesterday as we arrived at the dam to find one of our boats sunk. Luckily it was on the shore where we could haul it out to take to the repair shop and they fixed it for a very reasonable $400.

I had a chocolate milkshake with half a burger and some onion rings. And now my stomach hurts. I guess that was too much grease and sugar.

Time for me to take my upset stomach and head to bed. Let me know how the jam party goes.