two months, what?

I guess that was the last time I logged into my blog. I'm back. Not that I've really been gone. Having a furlough day today, one of the many benefits of working for the state of California. Crafting and hope to get back on more of that soon here.

We're staying local for a few weekends, after being gone for many weekends in a row, chasing our musical crush, Gov't Mule, from Jacksonville, OR to Bakersfield, CA. Back in Sonoma County, this is prime time for the grape leaves to turn, our version of fall. Dave thinks the peak will be this weekend, i'm holding out for next weekend.

jan-level supplies, finally

dave and i always collectively marvel at how much fruit my mom (aka jan) has on hand on any given day. since i started eating and loving fruit about a year ago (after a lifetime embargo against it) i had yet to reach what could be considered a jan-level supply. but - this week - i think we did it! thanks to our weekend exploration of different produce stands in the area. the best part is - i know we'll eat every last bit! i'm now a fruit convert. it took me a while, but i'm onto you fruit.

my brothers' littles

they literally break my heart, what can i say?

t.t.wife - the movie, finally

Not to be dramatic, but i literally could not read any fiction for a very long time after finishing the Time Traveler's Wife. Nothing could capture my head the way that book did. i'm not alone in this, of course (i mean, in the enjoying part - not the non-reading part). so i had to read it again, and again. So, needless to say, i was awaiting the movie with excitement...but fully ready for it to be disappointing.

so, i emerge from the theater, red-eyed, very pleased and as devastated as when i finished the book each time. i loved the movie. i have just two complaints. First, they don't show henry seeing claire when she was old (which i think is a major omission). Second, i really love in the book the descriptions of Claire in her studio, and in particular, when she's making the huge paper bird-structure-thing for henry. I thought this would be beautiful in image, but it did not make the movie cut.

i think i might be cracking its spine yet again, as i go to sleep tonight.

angel island and whatnot

for dave's birthday, we took the ferry to Angel Island and rode around the island. It was generally pleasant, but we decided not necessarily a "must come back to" situation.

on other notes, we were a-travelin' again up to Oregon and Washington. My absolute favorite part of vacation was our ferry ride from Keystone to Port Townsend, WA which has sent me on a revolution to plan our all-ferry trip. i simply cannot wait. this (all the ferry rides, not the planing) will be pure bliss for me.

workwise, finally submitted my credibility & freshmen article to College & Undergraduate Libraries, now it sits in their hands, or maybe just in their inbox, as far as I can tell so far. I'm onto my next article which is talking about reading departmental program reviews (exciting, i know). this was a grant I got and i loved it - learned sooooo much about how departments view both the library and information literacy (through departmental eyes). Which is mostly to say that information literacy is not at all present when it comes to department curriculum level...shocking, i know. ha.

happy fourth

we went bumping around the central valley again this morning. dave had a feeling the massive sunflower fields would be in bloom. my favorite road for today was Pleasants Valley Road which, windows down, meandered through a quiet little valley, despite being so close to Fairfield.

we cruised out to Bodega Bay to see the fireworks last night, but they went straight into the fog, so it was a little humorous. we'll try again tonight in Petaluma...but the fog is looming close.

complete numbers

I did finish onchi's table numbers in time for her fantastic wedding a couple weeks ago. happy times. happy times. dave and I are currently revamping our summer vacation plans. So far we have two nights in Sunriver with the fam, one night in the Dalles for josh's wedding, one night in Seattle. i want to take the ferry in Seattle, so we're going there. now for the rest of the days...

why is this weird?

we came across these cows with mega horns this weekend. one had horns so big that he couldn't hold his head up. are these real?

we've been cruising the central valley. fresno to chico on the little roads. we were counting crops and checking out the towns. building landscape tolerance.

i may be back

oh, the drought. where have i been i wonder. no answer. i'm working on the table numbers for onchis wedding, which is a good project for me. i have a couple weeks left to finish them all up. we took a little trip to japantown, san fran to get her oragami paper and whatnot to match.

its possible we've been traveling around lately, maybe that explains my absence.

travel log

i'm off this week. first half of week in arizona, second half in pdx. as a pacific northwest girl, i admit to being anti-desert for many years. the glory of the green, what could possibly compare? like most people who hold views too strong for their own good, i've done a 180 on deserts over the past several years. love them. love the plants. love the air. love the empty.