Top Reasons to Go Home for Your Birthday

Mom and Marty… my mom and I had a full week of collaging, watching Mad Men and Dog the Bounty Hunter, swimming, antique flea market shopping, and shopping in general. Marty hung out with us when he could, but he is not a big fan of collaging or Dog the Bounty Hunter, I don't know why…

The Sistas… Let the photos explain this one…

Barney (the dog) …So what if I spent most of the week calling him “Monster Booger” or “Schmooger,” he’s still the bestest doggie in the whole wide world (well, most of the time…)

Fleamarkets and thrift stores… My mom and I spent a lot of time scrounging antique flea markets and thrift stores for vintage clothes, pictures, knick knacks, and more. I found an awesome white with black polka dots vintage dress and some people’s birthday presents that I can’t disclose publicly.

Collaging … My mom and I spent several hours collaging at an art co-op booth at the Fremont Solstice Festival in Seattle earlier in the summer. Now she has got us both hooked on the free form craft where “don't throw that away! everything can be recycled!”

Mad Men… My mom also got me and Nicole hooked on the AMC series Mad Men about sleazy advertising executives on Madison Avenue in the early 1960s.

Bowling … Despite my tragically embarrassing score (I have my list of excuses ready if you would like to see them), North Bowl is an awesome place. Too bad the second floor lounges were closed for renovations. I really wanted to see their Barcelona chairs and couch. All the more of many reasons to go back to Northern Liberties.

In the Sign of the Leo

I read horoscopes in magazines...

especially yours...

in the sign of the Leo...

the regal one...

but man you let your claws show

~from Third Eye Blind's "Palm Reader"~

As you may know Third Eye Blind is one of my favorite bands. Other “favorite” bands have come and gone since I got my first CD (Nsync) in 1998, but Third Eye Blind (first 3eb CD also received in 1998), has stuck. Their self-titled debut album has also always been my favorite so I am excited to hear that their new CD Ursa Major (released yesterday) is a “back-to-basic return to the group's core sound.” I had the pleasure to dance to a couple of these new songs at their concert in May and personally can't wait to get my hands on this CD!

Tombolos and Starfish

Have I expressed how strange Charleston is yet? A little while back I found someone trying to blow dry their cat-dog with the hand dryers in the ladies restroom here on the marina. A marina employee drives around in a little rusty golf cart with a painted owl manequin on the roof, perhaps for good reason, but still comical. Even the seagulls here are "different." They like to hunker down in the middle of the parking lot or the middle of the road infront of Seahawk Seafood and aren't the least bit moved by you and your car trying to get past them.

But that being said, the area around Charleston is beautiful; full of geology, vegetation, and wildlife. I had the chance to share all of this with my AmeriCorps gang last weekend. We met up at the Bastendorff Beach overlook and then did a 4-mile geology and wildlife exploratory hike from Sunset Bay to Cape Arago.

We learned about sea stacks, tombolos, concretions, and synclines. It was a special day when we could hear the seals and sea lions from over a mile away. Once we reached the Simpson Reef overlook, I knew why. There must have been twice as many seals and sea lions there than I had ever seen before. Plus, we saw [gray?] whales spouting and splashing surprisingly close to the shore. We joked that they were having a conference becasue of all of the racket they were making.

A day of hiking was followed by the traditional camp party spiced with tofurkey skewers and acoustic guitar playing. And Saturday we all traveled to a secluded park along the Umpqua River and swam and rafted to our heart's content. I hadn't realized how much I missed swimming being so close to the freezing Atlantic. Despite the scratches on my feet, it was definitely a highlight of the summer so far.

(Top to bottom): the gang on the cliff, the gang on the rocks, the gang on the tree.

Llamas for Laughs

Although llamas are still used as pack animals in South America, here in Oregon they seem to be more of pets and guardians of sheep. Driving through rural, coastal Oregon, you cannot go far without seeing a sheep herd. And many more times than not, there is one tall llama sharing the green grass with the herd of sheep. Apparently they have been used in this capacity as a guard animal in North America since the 1980s.

Recently, at the Coos County Fair I had the opportunity to observe the creatures at their best... eating hay and staring back at me. Here are some of my favorites.

There is also an extremely adorable picture of a llama on their official Wikipedia page.

Have you ever been directed to your parking space by a man on horseback?

The Coos County Fair was last week. In addition to my recycling project going amazingly, I was able to pictorially document this little gem of Coos County culture. One of my favorite things was to visit the llamas each day, but they deserve their own blog entry...

There were no lumberjack competitions but there was a chainsaw carver. The artist is also the executive sous-chef at a local casino where he does lots of fruit, bread, and ice carving as well.

The Coos County Fair had the usual carnival rides and games. Think the Ferris wheel looks cute? Well, be ready to cough up $5 for one ride!

On a trip through the 4-H arts building I discovered this lovely, actually I have no idea what this is made out of, but it definitely isn't what it looks like.

Amidst the fried scone vendors and airbrush tattoo artists, is a small trailer where you can summarily learn if you are going to heaven by answering two questions.

And on a final note... (notice one of my recycling posters dwarfed below this banner).