Kingfisher Cove

Payday

I thought I might not survive June. Not only was it the month of buko birthdays and graduation and major Durango transmission repair and minor but non-warranty VW New Beetle repair, it was also the month that begins the new era of not receiving child support anymore. Ouch. We made it, but I've surely been looking forward to the last day of this month when my Company magically makes some money "appear" in my checking account. I feel somewhat "flush" again, that is until the bills go out IMMEDIATELY. Like, tomorrow....

And then speaking of that -- it'll be JULY!!! Wasn't it just Christmas? Didn't I just begin this blog (in March?) Woohoo, 4th of July weekend coming up. And do I ever have a lot of work to do before that happens -- both at that Company (who makes some money -- never enough -- magically appear in my checking account), as well as here at home as in GETTING READY TO GO CAMPING AT HARSTINE. That's a job in itself. Ugh.

And... once again I'm royally pissed (and worried) because my son left to go see a "movie with friends" last evening, and he hasn't been home since, and we're talking approaching 24 hours. Not answering his cell phone, not returning messages. I have no idea. Yup, it's time for him to head to Phoenix. Outa sight, outa mind, right?

Koontz and Jamie

I've always loved Dean Koontz. I believe I've read every single one of his books. (My favorite? "Watchers"). I finished this one today -- his new one -- and I was disappointed! The story line was rather intriguing, if a little "over the top", but what I had a problem with was the writing style. Normally his characters are at least somewhat dimensional with quirks and lovability (or ick-ability), but I think he spent the entire duration writing this book with a very worn-out Thesaurus at his fingertips, using every synonym there can possibly exist for "luminescence". And, somebody needs to remind him that bigger words are not necessarily better words. It read as ..... stuffy. Full of itself. Kind of psuedo-literary. He needs to go back to not trying so hard.

On the other hand, I've made another musical discovery. Heard about him on The Mountain (my favorite radio station), and he makes me think a little of a male Norah Jones. His name is Jamie Cullum, and he's young and British, and edgy-jazzy. He's also a heckuva piano player. Check him out at Amazon and listen to some snippets.

Lost Dog

MISSING DOG

Another example of my caustic (sick?) sense of humor.

Popeye

Oh, the magic of spontaneity! I realize that I haven't done anything spontaneous in eons, that life is pretty much routine, planned, unchanging. That's not really a bad thing, because I'd probably go nuts if life was utterly spontaneous (chaotic, unplanned). But there's something magical about deviating from the norm sometimes.

Yesterday (Saturday) started out basically routine -- (JDub went Hardware Store Shopping, I attacked laundry and shampooed the upstairs carpet) -- except for one thing: The weather was beautiful, and all week we'd been told it was going to be cool, cloudy, and rainy. About 3:00, JDub and I were on the way to Lowe's and Petsmart to find a doggy gate (so that I wouldn't have to shampoo the upstairs carpet so regularly...), when I said: "We should pack up some quick stuff and head down to H*ars*tine and spend the night in the tent." So JDub turned the Durango around and we did just that. (Doggy gate will have to wait -- but not for too long!)

But that wasn't the end of our spontaneity. After we arrived and got set up, we drove to a Native American casino about 40 minutes away, that had recently opened. We'd driven by it on previous trips and thought it looked interesting. Casinos are known for good restaurants with decent prices, and that was what we were seeking, considering that we were both tidy and clean, which we typically aren't when we're at H*ars*tine. And did we ever score! We had the buffet dinner ($12.95 each) that included all the prime rib, steamer clams, salmon, oysters, various steaks, plus an array of side dishes, salads, spuds (you name it) -- that you could eat! It was marvelous! Plus, I had a Bloody Mary that only cost $2.50 and it was so nummy. Brought back memories of family trips to Reno when we'd have Bloody Marys with breakfast. (Yup, I said breakfast!)

The casino itself was very alluring, as they are psychologically intended to be. It also brought back Reno-memories, except that you don't hear the clanging of coins dropping into the aluminum catch-bins from the slot machines. And that's odd. It's a lot more hushed. You hear voices and squealing (at times), and lots of electronic sounds, and typical craps call-outs -- but no clanging. It's rather eerie. But JDub and I decided to partake. You get a "card" from the cashier cage that you take from slot machine to slot machine, and it keeps track of your "credits". We put $30 on it and took turns with a Popeye slot (so cute!) I actually won $18.00 at one point. Slowly, but surely, we lost it all. But it took a while and it was a lot of fun. We always think of gambling as entertainment -- that you pay for. Unlike any other entertainment, there's a remote chance of getting some of that money back (or maybe winning a nice fat jackpot!) But we ultimately look at it as money being SPENT (not necessarily "lost") and so we don't spend more than what we feel is reasonable. $30 seemed reasonable. Bye Bye!!

I said to JDub at one point: "No way would I have ever thought this morning while I was carpet shampooing that I would be spending the evening eating prime rib and steamer clams, and GAMBLING!"

And then today was perfect, waking up in the tent to the birds on H*ars*tine (including that owl we keep hearing but have never seen), and the weenie dogs ready for the day to begin, and sunshine and agates and all the things we love and appreciate. Totally magical.

We had a special little office bridal shower for Little Things after work today! She received a lot of nice, well, little things! Fun foods, champagne, good people. She's a sweetie, that's for sure. I'd sure love to attend her wedding next month -- in HAWAII!!!

Afterward, I departed for ANOTHER party with my tight group of girlfriends who have all known each other since the dawn of time. (Man, the crap we've all been through together!) We celebrated several of our birthdays. Fun foods, nummy wine, good people, great conversation.

I love Fridays! For any reason!

My Portrait

Hey! It's me! (Eyes aren't quite that blue, though...) Have your portrait done!

It was so much fun, I had to do Nate's portrait, too! (Thought the wrench was fitting, since he'll be learning how to use one!)

It's the whole fam-damily! (Not so sure about that one hair sticking up -- JDub might have an issue with that, but there weren't a lot of "bald" choices...) UPDATE: I fixed it in Photoshop. Much better!

via.....Beancounter

Ducks

Nature Photo Sequence of the Day

I know, tasteless. Had to wipe coffee spray off my keyboard, though. (I've been assured that Photoshopping was involved here).

via... Dave Barry's Blog

Grumpy Gus

I actually miss these days....

OK, no, that's not really Nate. In fact, he was actually a sweet, mild-mannered baby. Even as a young kid, he wasn't "terrible". A tantrum here or there, but I can count those on one finger (I mean hand!). He has always been pretty moody, though. And when he turned 13? Eeeww.

I love him dearly, but this mama bird is ready for her baby bird to spread his wings and fly. I'm really, really tired of the grumpiness. Of the need to walk on eggshells around him to keep the peace. Of the dishonesty on his part, making me feel like a chump on my part. The love-beam of graduation day is now a week old, and we've reverted back to pre-love-beam 'tudes.

He tells me that UTI is definitely on track -- and that he and his buddy leave on July 26th for Phoenix. This boy-child (OK, young man) who has barely ever lifted a screwdriver, learning how to fix cars. OK! Well! I've decided to embrace it, at least emotionally. I will support him in his choice -- 100%. And if he can prove to me 6 months down the road that this isn't just an opportunity to PARTY AWAY FROM HOME, then I'll support him financially as well. He's made his decision, and it's NOT the military. For that, I am most thankful. (If it wasn't a sucky time, the military would actually be good for him, but it's most definitely a sucky time). But I've made a choice, too. I am excited for him, for the fact that he HAS made a choice, and he certainly has had a lot of time to think very seriously about it, knowing all along that he's had options. Community College? Nah. A local voc/tech school to learn the same thing for 1/3 the price? Fuggitaboudit. A chance to learn wildfire fighting, maybe even smoke jumping? Don't think so. Work for a while, save some money, and have some time to think about things? No Way Hosay. OK, so. I'm excited for him. I really am!

And I'm thinking about making his bedroom into a stained glass studio! Hmmmm!

Father's Day at Camano

Spent a heavenly weekend at Camano Island visiting my parents and celebrating birthdays (Dad's and JDub's) and Father's Day. It was a *HOT* weekend, even near the water! We spent a fair amount of time chasing the shade, if you can believe it. (I guess that's the result of being native Washingtonians). I started blogging by hand (fine-point pen, college-ruled paper), but I opted to go heavy with photos instead.

We actually got a little kayaking in, too. My brother and his family spent Saturday there, and they had an opportunity to try it out, and I think they really enjoyed it. There is something very calming and pristine about kayaking. The tide didn't cooperate very well, though -- it spend the major portion of the weekend heading way out, staying way out, and then taking its sweet time heading back in. And at Camano, low tide means barnacles and then mucky mud, so kayaking is difficult until the tide comes in. We saw bald eagles galore (they really are mean creatures, harrassing all the other birds -- but they're majestic, too), and two kingfishers spent the whole weekend hunting fish and chasing each other. (Either fighting or mating -- sometimes you can't tell which!)

AND.... we had Dungeness crab! OH YUM. Nothing better than sitting outside in the sun eating cold cracked crab as fresh as you can imagine...

My Bad

I'm supposed to be writing an article for our company newsletter that we send out to clients each quarter. I have actually begun it.... several times, in fact. I have most all of the information I need to write the damned thing, including quotations from "important people", the facts, the figures.... OK, *YAWN*.

I think that's the problem. I was going to blame it on my noisy cubicle here at work, where I hear every manner of conversation all around me (like that commercial: "I have a rash? A rash. It itches?") It's true that I absolutely can not concentrate. I can also blame the weather. It's just beautiful outside (I know this, even though I don't have a window). I keep daydreaming.... about beaches, kayaks, Dungeness crab, agates, winning the lottery, blue skies through windows I don't have....

So I think the crux of the problem is the subject matter. Hellaciously boring. And with all this angst and boredom going into the attempt to write about it, who in the world will have any interest in reading about it? How do you balance dry, technical, ho-hum, boring with a bit of animation and readability without sacrificing professionalism (and technical accuracy)? *YAWN*.

I'm hoping that simply blogging about what's bugging me will knock down those stubborn doors, expose the well of creativity, inspire the muse of dry-subject-matter prose, and MAKE THESE #%&*! PEOPLE IN THEIR NEARBY CUBES SHUT THE F$#@&*! UP!!

There. That's better.