Whoa ..

Okay - we're back. Actually, we were back last night, but my brain wasn't quite out of 'recovery' mode.. ^^

Anyway - we hit the road Friday afternoon, in the truck. The truck has a canopy, so basically, Andi and I wound up in the back in a little 'nest' made up of couch-cushions and soft camp gear. Sleeping bags, pillows, extra blankets. Stuff like that. Other gear was two large tents, two air mattresses, our 'bed pads' - quarter-inch thick dense foam. Not really effective for sleeping on, but they softened the ground a lot. ground-sheets, two coolers, enough firewood for about .. four, five fires? four, I think and more kindling than we needed. Also a huge bin of cooking supplies and two boxes - one with tools, the other with dry/canned foodstuffs.

I was actually awake for the trip for a change - mostly keeping an eye on a slightly motion-sick Andi - and got to see the interesting experience that is watching what's going on as you pass it. *blink* That was new. That was slightly disconcerting, because I couldn't see where we were going... I'd been on the route before, of course, so I had an idea what was coming, and I did do some minor napping.

We got there before Jon and Eva did, so we took the time to sort out our campsite and figure out where the hell to stick two large tents. Ours theorectically sleeps three - or four, if they are /really/ friendly. Mom and Ladd's new tent sleeps four to five and is big enough that Mom and I had no problems standing up in it... it's a Eureka Sun-something 9, and it's a /very/ nice tent. My little Eureka (Tetragon 4) is also a nice tent - but Andi's too tall to sleep in it comfortably. Oh well. We did eventually get the tents set up and sorted out - then we had dinner.
A little later, Mom discovered the curb with her shin and took a bit of a spill (She's okay - she just lost a little skin...) and dumped the cooler out. Amazingly, the only loss was the buttermilk (biscuits!) and one raw egg. We got everything wiped down - there'll be raw egg on the truckbed forever, I missed the garbage when I went to throw the thing out - and put back and Mom gave Eva a call, hoping to find out when they planned on leaving. They hadn't left yet, and so Mom asked if Eva'd pick up some buttermilk on her way. They did, so we got to have biscuits in the morning. ^^
Jon and Eva didn't turn up until sometime after nine, so we got to watch Jon set their tent up by lantern and flashlight while Eva kept an eye on Cherry. Cherry is their dog, an 11 week old black lab puppy. She's /real/ cute. ^^

We did biscuits in the morning, and bacon and eggs. This is fairly typical of our camping trips, and it's one of the reasons we prefer to take wood along rather than depend on the stuff they provide. For one thing, it's cheaper, and for another, it makes better coals... *chuckles* It was funny though - we decided to build a fire the first night, since it looked like we might wind up sitting watch half the night, and one of the pair in the next campsite noticed that we were having trouble getting it started and hurried over to offer us a firestarter. This is a packaged thingie, and probably works pretty well, but we declined on the grounds that that took half the fun out of the job. It was nice of her to offer, though - but we had a bit of a laugh over it all the same. The /really/ hilarious part was, when they built a fire, they had this great big bonfire, ten feet high and blowing sparks for another ten feet. I was a little surprised they didn't wind up with a toasted tent...

We hit the beach the next day and flew kites. Mom's roto-box finally went up with her there to see it fly, and Andi and I got to fly the trained Trlbys - he's better than I am at doing stunts with them, but he's had a lot more practice. ^^ However, I figured out how to do spirals with it, after I challenged him to fly my bitch-stunter (so called because it's a bitch to get airborne... there was too much wind for it that day..). I left off when I dropped one of the handles and dropped it into the Spiral from Hell /right/ into the ground. *sighs* If I'd had someone to grab the handle for me, I probably could have pulled it out of it and got it straightened out again, but I didn't.. *sigh*
Mom tried flying the two-line stunt kite - the little delta. Too much wind for that, too, so she went back to flying the box. I think we got pics this time - I need to look. Yes. Pics of the Trlbys /and/ the box. I should poke Mom and see what she's got, and email Eva for copies of the pics she took.

Andi and I went wading - there was an advisory against bacteria, so I didn't really intend to do any /swimming/ - I did anyway, 'cause I got knocked off my feet by a wave... I wasn't the only one in the water, so I feel a little better about it. We rinsed off though, since it seemed like a good idea. Yep, they have showers there. ^^

The next day we made breakfast and got started breaking down the tents and packing again. We got out /just/ under the wire, and headed home to unpack and do laundry and wash dishes and stuff...

Generally? We had a /really/ good time. It's always fun to camp with Jon and Eva. ^^
I'm debating suggesting Cape Lookout next time - getting either two small sites ajacent to each other or one big site.. I /like/ Cape Lookout. More so when I can get a site that's back in the bushes with a serious lack of immediate neighbors. ^.~

Got the backlog in, and the new stuff, most of it anyway ...

Now I'm going into 'Camping' mode, and probably won't come out of /that/ until Monday.
Actually, I'll have to come out of that Sunday evening - Monday is 'Kick idiot doctor' mode. Tempted to leave that to Andi, but if he needs/wants someone to help, I /will/ volunteer. ^^

In the meantime, I have various and sundry other things to keep busy with.. like finishing my mittens. Maybe I'll take the mitten project with me when we go - it'll give me something to do if it rains and Mom doesn't feel like teaching us to splice rope. I already know various nifty and useful knots, so learning to splice rope is the next step....

Gotta card some wool too. Has anyone ever suffered from /too many/ hobbies? I cook/bake, sort of knit/spin/weave and do bead work, origami - I also fly kites, swim and occasionally ride my bike, nevermind hike/walk and like camping. I also do some crafty sorts of things like paper-cutting and card-making. I'm also a writer and an artist, /AND/ I'm a role player! If I wasn't terrified of falling from high places, I'd probably be interested in climbing, too - and hang-gliding! Oh - airplanes. I like to fly little model airplanes, too. Glider and rubber-band driven - not the big ones with the engines... I also have been known to /sing/, nevermind dance - I don't really play an instrument unless you count the zills - although I've played around a little with the recorder and guitar. My music tastes wander all over the shop - as you can see if you have been visiting The Creative Vortex lately.. ^^

Well, you can't accuse me of a /lack/ of interests... Heh.

*boingboingboingboing*

EEeeeeeeee!

*grin*

Got a commission! Now all I gotta do is get it drawn up and sent out ... ^^

In other news - I got as far as making a list of the backlogged stuff. I need to add the new stuff to that - including the commission, when I get that far - but there should be an update /real/ soon now.
Yeh, I know, I said that a week ago. I've been sidetracked lately.

Um. This weekend we're going camping - we've solved the tent issue and the mattress issue (A half-inch thick foam pad is /not/ a comfy thing to sleep on. It /is/ an improvement on cold ground, though. However, it's no substitute for a good airmattress.)

We /finally/ got an appointment made for the mandatory physical that INS insists on. The clinic in Mac waffled so much that Andi finally flung up his hands and called around, looking for someone who'd do it a little sooner than September... finally, he got to Newberg's clinic and got referred to a guy who's /in/ and will do it. Yargh. Bloody medical people.... >.<
(Might want to skip the next paragraph.. ^.~)
Nearly as good as the woman who put my IUD in - she does something that comes up /worse/ than the worst cramp I've ever had, and says, "We talked about this, you knew.." Oh, shut /up/... I was /not/ expecting you to do something that felt like you were poking a /hole/ in my gut! Thankfully, it didn't take very long....

Okay, you can start reading again now..

Looks like it's time to drag my bike out again - and see what it'll take to get it refitted. Again.
I /know/ it needs new tires/tubes, and damnit, I am /not/ riding that bastard again without a new saddle. I also want a rack for the ass end - and fenders, if I can find some, for the back wheel at least... The rack is practical. The fenders are probably practical too.
New brake lines, should probably check the chains and gears and the derailluer (whatever..) and all that stuff.. >.<
I'm /really/ hoping that's not going to be a screamingly expencive project....

Oh, and GRAAAAAH! for the navbar.

*sighs* /really/ wish they'd quit tweaking - it WORKS and it works just fine, far as I'm concerned!

Actually, if I could make the navbar fit my blog so it's not so damn /obvious/, it wouldn't be so bad, even if I /can't/ get rid of the @#%!!!*&$ thing.

*points* New blog link - Donna Barr is both a stunning artist and an amazing writer. She also has some pretty sharp opinions.
She hasn't updated since last month - I'm not sure what that means, but she's still worth reading.
I'm seriously in awe of this woman sometimes, and I'd like to think that some of my work and style is influenced by her. ^^

Fish are fine - I haven't been so distracted by my new husband I forgot about /them/. ^^
And yeh, they go with, whenever we finally are able to move - that promises to be highly entertaining, all things considered.. Heh. I haven't been able to extend the molly project yet, but I'm still hoping to be able to do that...

I'm back..

Despite me coming down with a mild asthma attack the first day, we had a good time at Cape Lookout. Did a lot of walking on the beach and stuff - Andi's got pics, and I probably ought to see where he stashed 'em so I can post one or two.

Weather was /not/ conducive to kite flying, very little wind, even the first day, and the day we /did/ have wind, there was a fairly thick fog laid down over everything. Eh. It was nice to walk in, though - and there was a lot to look at while walking. It's a nice beach, all told. ^^
We saw a gorgeous sunset the first day, and probably would have seen a couple more, if we'd thought about it. ^^

We came home early though, cause I was feeling like stone-fried shit and still coughing crap up. I still am, but it's not as bad as it was. Methinks it's time to stock up on thyme again....

Next trip is next weekend - we're going to Beverly Beach. We'll have the whole family, plus a couple of friends who live in Corvallis and their black Lab puppy. Andi and I will have to acquire a larger tent though - my little tent isn't really effective for the two of us. He's /just/ that little bit too tall to sleep in it comfortably. We'll deal with that this weekend, in between harassing the bloody clinic and trying to file the thrice-damned paperwork so I can keep him without having /someone/ breathing down my neck.

I neglected to mention all of this - you see, Andi's from Germany. We met online, naturally enough; as we're both Portalites (players on Rondak's Portal - a site popular with online Role Players.) and struck up a pretty firm friendship a couple of years ago. Recently - like last March - he arranged to turn up on my doorstep for a month. And we got along like... well, two peas in a pod. Putting him on a plane to go back without me was... highly unpleasant. Words really don't describe it well. Anyway, after he got back we started discussing his /next/ visit. He managed to get that settled, and the arrangements were made for round two.
He turned up late July (And wasn't /that/ a bit of a fiasco - we got him off the plane alright, but Mom left the lights on in the car, and the battery was dead when we got back out. We sat there for about an hour waiting for the tow guy, who finally calls looking for us from .. you sittin' down? Birmingham, Alabama. This is a bit far from PDX in Portland, Oregon. Anyway, we get that sorted out and finally get home around 3 AM. Good lord, what a mess.) and I put my foot down - putting him on a place without me /once/ was bad enough, and I was /not/ going to do that again!
So the arrangements were made and followed through with.
We're still leaping through hoops, of course - I'm starting to feel a bit like a circus lion.

I'm happy though. Despite all the various hoops and snags, I wouldn't trade /any/ of it. All I've got to do now is get caught up again! ^^

Also, I wanted to thank all you guys who's offered congrats and well wishes - you know who you are - that really means a lot to me. Thanks, guys. ^^

Whoa..

I'm still way behind on updates.

I'm aware of this. That's gotta count for /something/. ^.~

And now, we're going camping next week. Four days at the beach. (Tent, for the interested folks - and yes, they have bathrooms and showers and taps with water at the sites..) I'm going to see who's camera I can borrow for the trip, and Andi'll have his, of course. And yes, that /is/ the same Andi with the ACP&P blog over there. *points to menu-box at right* ^^

We're a sneaky pair, us. ^.~
Actually, sending him 'home' the last time was so unpleasant I decided I wasn't going to do that again this time, and put my foot down. Fortunately, he had pretty much the same idea. Great Minds.. ^^

Lots and lots of art in the upcoming update. I've been writing a little, but nothing I intend to upload, unless people start asking for more of my character histories.. which is possible, I s'pose. (Unlikely, but possible.. o.O)
Some tweaks might happen in the uploaded stories themselves - I /did/ say, a long bloody while back, that I was going to change the format to match the Gallery coding - Anyone besides me remember that? ^^

Anyway, I'm going to haul off and start the oven - it's freezer lasagna tonight, and I need to get the oven heating up. And find the empty H+H cartons.. Gotta be around here /somewhere/. ... .......

*shaking rice and birdseed out of hair*

As of 5 o' clock yesterday evening I am now Mrs. Kimberly Turriff.

It was a nice, quiet ceremony, officiated by Judge Collins (Who was pleased as punch to do it) - I wore white, with roses in my hair. Andi had his suit - he apparently had a hem untucked, but I didn't notice that. ^.~ Actually, I didn't notice a hell of a lot until it was all over but the damn paperwork details. My parents and one of my Uncles were all there as witnesses. A very subdued little gathering, as compared to the weddings I've been to, but a lot of fun, nevertheless. At least, I think it was. ^.~

We then went and had dinner at Tina's (Recommended - pricy, but /damn/ good) and ate a hearty and delicious dinner before wandering off to a little bed and breakfast for the night.
The toilet backed up. Water /everywhere/ - but that was the worst of it.
No, you ain't getting details!

Breakfast was lovely, but I was very glad to get home - ain't no place like it.
That said, if any of you lot are ever in the area and have cash to burn, I recommend the Avellan Inn bed and breakfast - they're worth it.

Anyway. I'm back. There're pics around here somewhere, but I'm too lazy to root them out and post them right now.

Website updates are on back order - I'll get 'em when I get around to it. ^^

.. and now the LJ is doing it.

Damn, I hate Modern Tech sometimes...

I'm probably going to be various shades of incommunicado for the weekend because I'm.. you're sitting down, right? Getting married tomorrow evening. *says this with complete calm*

No, I'm not kidding, either. I'll probably have pics or something by Monday. By which point I might even have regained some hope of coherency.. ^.~

I'll also have the full write up (blather-fest?) of this little ambush - again, presuming I'm coherent enough to type by then! ^^
*hands around smelling salts and chocolate as needed* It's okay - I'm not moving to the far reaches of Alaska or something... (Not that I ain't tempted - it's lovely country out there, and the temps are within tolerable range.. At least, for me. ^.~)

Anyway, I'm going to bed - it's late and I've got a lot of crap I need to get done tomorrow.. *boingboingboingboing* Eeeee!