Ashland again

Today we survived a long drive south, leaving Olympia behind, maybe forever!

Now we're in Ashland at a cottage owned by a friend's folx.  It's nice and cool in the cottage.

I saw a cat lie on the floor in rectangles of sun.

I heard a friend's dad opine and joke about many things.  I heard the friend's step-mom agree and sympathize.

On the way here we stopped at a botanical garden called Oregon Garden.  We rode a tram with a nice driver who explained things to us.  We were sometimes the only people on the tram.

It was hot.  He told us the popular wedding spots as if we were considering marrying there.  He showed us the resort, which he said's open to anyone, forgetting you have to be rich.

A gardener asked, "How are you two hearty souls?"  I looked at yellow and pink flowers.

nature day

I expected moss growing on the moss, in the rainforest.  We walked a third of a mile to the world's largest sitka spruce.  I was not impressed when a white guy there said something about a lot of cords of wood.

I didn't expect clams under the ground to spit up water at the edge of the sound or little brown crabs to scuttle.  Well, I just looked up the word scuttle and it actually means to sink your own ship, among other things.  I mean a combination of skim and shuffle.

I was surprised when a friend said she could see us, but I didn't get her message until just now.  I wish facebook was not so necessary.  I mean, it's not necessary but seems that way sometimes.  I hate on facebook but it's been important in the formation of certain relationships.

So we had a good nature day.

olympia zine library

ming's drink

Olympia

Well, we made it to Olympia.  We are staying in a stewardess' studio.  One wall is all maps and travel stuffs.  It's hot in there.  The two fans don't really cut it.

Media Island is fantastic and there's supposed to be a lunch this afternoon.  We're at a cafe for the wifi and I got some iced mint tea.  The smallest size.

The cat Brigid is nice and Myrtle the turtle (at Media Island) fascinates Ming.  He watched the turtle at least an hour, no joke.

We watched our friend weave a belt or something long, pink and white, and it was comforting.

We have nothing to do this morning but I want to walk by a body of water.  I'm trying to figure out how I feel about Olympia.  I can't tell if I like it.  I need more info.

portland

mt shasta sunflowers

boba

I was just napping.  It felt luxurious.

I went to the Quickly around the corner for chocolate boba tea.  It was pretty good but they had a choice between small and large boba.  I chose small, the wrong choice.  Oh well.

Still don't know if a friend is hitching a ride north with us.  He's out of touch.

animals go to heaven

Today we saw lotsa people.  We just got home from seeing E.  We walked to Naked Lounge and I got an iced decaf mocha thai.  We spoke of many things.  He's so thin.  He got new glasses.  I almost wouldn't recognize him.

He gave me some Japanese candy that he got sent free in the mail by a matcha company.

Our trip is winding down.  Well, this leg of it, anyway.  We leave for Oregon on Saturday morning.

at anna's vegan cafe

freaky

bam

vacationland

Well, life is good in vacationland.  Today we saw Swami and some friends.  Tomorrow we'll see Ming's mom and another friend.

We bought some delicious Iraqi bread.  I ate a super nutburger.  Etc.

So much fun it's disorienting.  Also I'm getting the feeling that I'm having my cake and eating it too.  Like--we moved away.  Do I really deserve to see all these people again?

But Ming's kids are here, so we gotta come back.

Flags halfmast--another shooting.  I don't talk about current events on my blog.  But it seems like a lot of shootings.

Well, I gotta go to bed.  A happy thought before bed?  If your animals cookies sit in a hot car and melt into a block, you can pry cookies off with your pink frostinged fingers.

catsitting

We're here housesitting cats.  Catsitting a house.  Yesterday we were afraid they escaped, but they were just hiding.  I howled loudly and woke them up.

This morning we went for a walk.  We didn't go far, just to the lightrail station.  I cleaned the cat pans, as Ming calls them.

Yesterday we saw our friend J.  We had good conversations about family, books, art, Las Vegas, community, our peeps.

Ming's making phonecalls.  Maybe it's too early.  I'm waiting for a text.  Tosca is eating her food.

fun

Yesterday in Berkeley we saw Ming's relatives, walked the marina, ate delicious foods, and I tried some lavender-flavored boba tea that was pretty good but couldn't touch the kind from Purple Kow.  We also visited Berkeley Bowl West, which we'd never been to before.  It was big, and I liked the produce.  We bought some fruits.

This morning we went to Fox & Goose with friends.  I had a big meal and Ming had a short stack.  We will see those friends this afternoon too for writers group.  I want to go to the SPCA thrift store and buy some cheap cards there for the political prisoner letter writing group, which is misnamed and should be called the political prisoner little notes in cards writing group.

Lotsa fun is happening here.

mr ming

reflection

We did fun stuffs today like walking at the best park, lunch with friends, and Zelda's for dinner. Unfortunately there's a dog here that sounds like a demon. I'm very tired--it's past my bedtime. Gnight. 

Oh but I wanted to say I was taking a shower at my friend's house using her delicious smelling conditioner thinking, "How did I get here?" It was a moment of deep vanilla scented reflection. 

ghost cows

Last night we slept in the woods in the Sierras.  I usually sleep horribly while camping, but last night I slept okay, I guess because I wasn't cold.  We saw a zine friend of mine I've known about ten years through the mail.  We finally met in person and had some good conversations.  I'm thinking about how quickly information can be shared in person.  And hugs.

My mosquito bites itch.  The meadow was beautiful.  The feral cows were beautiful but somehow spooky.  Like ghost cows.

Tonight we went to Ethiopian food with my old friend K whose house we're staying at now.  It was fun and we have tons of leftovers.  She had questions for us.  I like her curiosity.

father's day card

holy crap

Holy crap, I forgot to blog yesterday.  We were busy nonstop until the evening, and even then, I responded to a ton of emails.  We walked, got camping stuff out of storage, picked up a prescription, bought some foods for the trip, demonstrated against the rad lab being moved (standing for an hour in the sun waiting for some trucks to pull out, holding a sign, talking to the press, which I hate), went to a pool party, and then I had therapy.  And we went to Jamba Juice.  I got a peanutbutter smoothie, my favorite.

Today we're going to Mt Charleston.  I phoned a friend for his birthday.  I printed out directions and typed up some info for cooking for Food Not Bombs so I'll have it future months.

At the pool party I didn't swim, but I did dangle my feet in the water and get a sunburn.

I need to pack, back up my computer, clean up a little.  I lost my packing list.  I wrote a poem in the middle of the night.  I want to email it to myself.

big cook

Ming's doing all the chopping.  Right now he's doing the three huge bell peppers.  Last night he did the seven white onions.  And seven carrots.

A friend advised me to put ginger in the beans and it would mean less gas for the eaters, which I don't know if I believe, but we happen to have a ton of ginger.

We need to clean out the fridge.  We need to do a lot of things for our trip.

My Spanish studying has fallen by the wayside, which is sad.  I was telling a friend that I don't want to be the person who does the first ten pages of a workbook and abandons it.

Maybe I can bring it with me and study in Sacramento.

Last night's meeting was great, and then our friends went out into the desert for a big all-night party with drumming and dancing and a bonfire.  We came home where Ming sorted the rocks out of five pounds of pinto beans so kindly.

I am not anxious at all about this big cook, and I don't know if I should be.  Maybe my body is not worried because everything went so well last month.

But there's a lot to do.  Ten pounds of potatoes need to be chopped, for example.  It will take almost an hour for the beans to come to a boil on our wimpy stove.  We need to pick up the kale and do that, do the rice.  Do all the garlic.

the crazy bean

$3.18

We went to Mariana's and spent $3.18 on all the veg we need for tomorrow's big cook, besides the potatoes we already have and the kale we're getting donated.  A bag of carrots was 50 cents.  Onions were three pounds for a dollar.  (We got seven onions for $1.08)  Green bell peppers were three for a dollar.  We got two cukes for 34 cents, two bonus plums for 26 cents.  Anyway, it was amazing.

Before that we went to my favorite Las Vegas Indian food place Mt Everest.  It's got the best spinach I've ever tasted, anywhere, ever.  They deserve an award.

This morning we walked and served.  I rinsed dishes.  We went to a meeting.  I ate graham crackers and wasn't afraid to do a long check-in.

Also this morning I reserved a campsite in Ashland, Oregon for our roadtrip.  It was a little nervewracking.  Maybe you've shopped online for campgrounds before and know what I mean.  How much one costs vs another, location, reservation fees, tent sites vs RV sites, availability.  What a pita.

But it's good to have a little certainty to hold onto.  I mean, we have a lot of certainty.  But sleep spots for a few of the nights are still up in the air, so to speak.  If only we could sleep up in the air.  But we'd need to be tethered so we wouldn't float away.

letter writing night

coffee

Up sleepless--I had caffeine yesterday recreationally, or at least tactically--my energy has been so low, lately, and I knew I needed to facilitate the political prisoner letter writing night.  So I had a cafe mocha late morning after researching how much caffeine is in a shot of espresso vs a cup of coffee.  A shot of espresso has less, according to my research, which surprised me.

I am tired but restless and awake.  I ate a delicious sandwich.  I'm drinking cold brew mint tea, mint tea with other things in it, the dollar store kind.

Ming and I are getting ready to go on a long trip north then back south then east.  It will be amazing, I predict.  If I can just keep my energy up, and if I can be social enough.

Last night was Las Vegas political prisoner letter writing night #2.  I did a good job facilitating it, I think, though two people complained there were no women prisoners on the list.  I don't make the lists fresh myself--I take them from the internet.  So that's not an excuse but is an explanation.

Anyway, the coffee or caffeine or something made me sick to my stomach, but was it worth it to be awake and functional for political prisoner letter writing night?  Yes.

it's official

I don't like almond milk.

93 degrees

Everybody is happy it's not hot.  The reprieve is lovely. 

DIY microwave popcorn

On the internet a while back I saw you could pop popcorn in a paper bag, DIY, and we had this untouched popcorn for a long time sitting on the shelf.  So I decided to try it out.

Guess what?  It worked.  The microwave even has a popcorn setting.  There's none of that weird oiliness or bad microwave popcorn smell.

So here's what I did.  Ming gave me a smallish paper bag.  I put in a fourth of a cup of popcorn and folded the bag-end a couple times so the bag would stay closed.  I put the bag in the microwave and hit "popcorn" and stayed close by so when the pops slowed down I stopped it.

Then I carefully opened the bag, poured the popcorn into a bowl, and chowed down on it--Ming wasn't left with much.  "Pretty good, huh?" I asked him just now as he was eating some.

free

crumbs

This morning Ming went on a bike ride.  I talked on the phone with a friend for almost an hour.  I ate a little brownie.  Ming had a chocolate croissant.

Then we saw friends.  We talked about Catholic Worker stuff, clearing out messes, their plans.  They want to have a baby.  Ming got an important phone call and was outside part of the time.  When we left, the dogs ate the cookies.

I am so tired it's not interesting.  But I made a new zine!  I want to copy it.

kite dream

This morning our friend BB had a trial.  He didn't know if he would go to jail, afterward, or to Colorado on a camping trip.  He prepared for both.  Luckily, he is off to Colorado now.

I've been writing a lot.  I have a draft of a new short zine: Laura-Marie's Master's Degrees.  It's funny.

Today Ming is picking up sandwiches from G's house and delivering them to the park along with water.

It's very cloudy here, which I love.  We walked early, like usual.  Cicadas are outside.  They like the courtyard's trees.

Last night I dreamt I was flying a kite at the beach and it lifted me.  I was lifted up over the ocean and realized the wind would die down, dropping me into the water, and my cell phone would be ruined.  I was trying to figure out what to do when the dream changed.

master's degree in ants

We got to the goddess temple yesterday afternoon later than planned.  But that was fine.  We relaxed.  We slept well.  Ming did some more painting in the bathroom and the hallway of the guesthouse.

This morning we walked in the desert--we walked to the spring.  We startled frogs.  "It's there, where that clump of trees is," Ming said.  We found it.  

Then Ming did some work around the property.  I handed him screws while he was up on the ladder.

I remembered a long time ago when I was young, a college student, and I hiked to Pt Conception, I think.  It was the longest hike I had ever done, maybe seven miles on the coast.  It bruised my feet.  A few days later, I was by a river, and the water was icy cold.  I thought it might feel good to put my feet in the river.  But it made them hurt more and I could barely walk afterward.

I told Ming that story.

I got to sit in the temple itself this morning for a while and write in the little book.  I asked the Goddess to give me faith and help me get rid of the problems I'm so attached to.  And to be good to Ming.  And I expressed thanks for all my blessings and all of creation.

At first there were no ants.  Then we saw some.  "Come crawl on my foot, ant," I said to one.  "I want to see if I can feel it."

Cactus Spring's spring

desert animal Laura-Marie

We were warned that tonight in our neighborhood, there would be fireworks and gunshots all night.  So we decided to leave town.  We're leaving here in 45 minutes.  We're going out into the desert.

It's nice and cloudy today, and it's only 99 degrees.  A nice reprieve.

I wanted to tell you that last night we tried to experience a little First Friday.  But I was feeling fragile and didn't want to plunge into it completely.  It was hot.  We ate at a restaurant in the arts district.  I was anxious yet glad to be there.  We walked a little through a kind of fair, or a place with booths and people selling stuff, which was not so interesting.

But I liked watching artists paint on huge pieces of wood.  And I saw that nice snake lady street art I posted last night.

Overall I just got my feet wet in First Friday, which is an ever-evolving thing, and maybe in the winter it'll be better for me.

I am changing to a desert animal.  Either the swamp coolers have been working better, or I'm learning to sleep in the heat and how to be happier in the heat.

new blog about learning Spanish

I decided to make a new blog for learning Spanish.  It's here.

http://lauramarieslearningspanish.blogspot.com

first Friday

mall mistake

Today I made a mistake.  I decided we should go to the mall.  I thought it would be worth it to get a big soft pretzel.  Wrong.  It was a walk from the parking garage to the shop.  Quite a walk in 107 degrees.  By the time we arrived at the pretzel shop, I was very wet with sweat.

When I ordered my pretzel, the worker looked at me weird.  There was nowhere to eat in the store, so we had to go back outside.  But we found a spot at the packed food court.

And the story has a happy ending because Ming went for the car and picked me up near the food court.  I was sitting on the edge of a planter in the shade, but the planter was still hot enough to burn my butt.  A taxi cab pulled up and the driver stared at me for a long, long time.  I don't know what was so interesting about me.  Maybe he was messin'.

hotdog day

Last night it stormed.  Today it's muggy.  We served the hungry--it was hotdog day.  I mostly did buns.  Then I was stuck with a pot of hotdogs, somehow, and J said, "Look at those poor vegetarians over there!"  Ming and I were the last ones serving hotdogs.

We went to Costco and peace vigiled.  I talked to my friend R.  We spoke of faith and trust.  Innocence Mission, a band I like.  We spoke of his sister.  She is pregnant.  "Is she happy?" I asked.  He said she's happy and they know it's a boy.

Walking back to our car, I saw a landscaper clipping flowers off some plants.  They are long flower spikes with pink flowers, very common here, but I don't know their name.  I asked him if he was going to cut off all the flowers.  We had a hard time communicating because of a language barrier.  But I'm working on it.

I ended up breaking off a small flower spike and taking it with me.  So here it is.

flower spike

Fred

famous

http://lasvegassun.com/news/2015/jun/30/anti-drone-protesters-make-pleas-las-vegas-judge/

Here is an article about yesterday's vigil / rally with a picture of me and Ming.  It's from a newspaper called the Las Vegas Sun.