I’m a professional artist now

Actually, I don’t know if I’ve sold anything yet, but I’ve joined an artist’s co-op/gallery/market in the Fishtown section of Philly. A lot of the artists there use retro graphics or repurpose things like vinyl records into bowls or bottle caps into earrings (oh wait, that’s me).

Be sure to check out my new artist’s webpage: http://piranhabettys.com/marleybice.html and come to Piranha Betty’s Christmas Eve Eve party Wednesday. You can also find me at some of the Sunday afternoon arts and crafts group meetings and free tarot card readings.

Remember, upcycle, recycle, and support your local artists!

Cross Country Chronicles: Part III

Now for the most boring section of my trip.

Day 5: Independence, MO to Dayton, OH
Another night of falling asleep infront of the TV and a crappy continental breakfast and we're on the road again. We got to St. Louis faster than I had expected but unfortunately it was bucketing rain on us, so we just drove around the arch and took pictures.

We then headed across the murky Mississippi and were momentarily on Old Route 66. I think I slept through most of Illinois and Indiana thanks to a yummy lunch at the St. Louis Bread Co. (actually it is a Panera but with a different name... weird) and a new road surface made of old rubber tires. Smooth sailing...

Welcome to Dayton, Ohio, home of weird-smelling hotel rooms and over-priced pizza (but their Wal-Mart did have a good plastic doggy gumball machine).

Day 6: Dayton, OH to Philadelphia, PA
So, guess who woke me up at 4 am to get on the road and beat the beastly traffic on the Pennsylvania Turnpike? That's right. The one and only. But it was my idea that she lie to her husband all day to make him think that we were stuck in traffic in western Pennsyvlania when we were actually already home. Typical shenanagins. "But, honey, I'm looking at the Google traffic map right now and it is all green." "Well, they're not here are they? Maybe I should call and tell them they are wrong." She is such a good liar. Scary.

See there's really not much to tell about the mid-west, but boy were we glad to be back in Philly!

The Cross Country Chronicles: Part II

Day 3: Brigham City, UT to Denver, CO
We woke up to find that the motel we had arrived at in the dark of night, was actually right in the shadow of a huge reddish rock outcrop - a pleasant surprise. After breakfast at a lovely truck stop, we headed south towards the shimmering Great Salt Lake on the horizon. We watched the looming Wassatch Range to the east warily but our highway ended up winding through a low point in the Range. And you know what else was in the low point? A wind farm. We were looking across at enormous wind turbines as we followed Interstate 70 towards Colorado. I couldn't help but feel like Don Quixote as I was hypnotized by the seemingly slow-moving blades.

The distance between the Wassatch Range and Colorado was relatively bare but we were excited (yet dissappointed that we couldn't visit them all) when we saw signs for Moab, UT; the home and/or gateway to the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, and Arches and Canyonlands National Parks.


As we were reminiscing on past Four Corners vacations, we recognized an upcoming town on the Colorado map; a little town called Fruita. My mom thought she could remember a sandwich shop there that we had eaten at a decade ago (although she couldn't remember if it was any good) - so we took that exit. We think we did find the elusive cafe in a building with a painted cut-out dinosaur welcoming us, although it was closed on Sundays. But other highlights of Fruita include a giant T-Rex eating the Grinch and a giant bicycle.



From there we continued on towards the snow-topped Rockies - a trek my little 110-horsepower hybrid was not too happy about - and she didn't keep her unhappiness quiet either. Despite my worries about never having heard my car work that hard before, she got us safely over the monoliths of Western North America and landed us safely in a sprawling Denver suburb for the night.

We headed out on the town for German food and ended up seeing many more bunny rabbits roaming the streets than we had seen anywhere else in recent memory - go figure.

Day 4: Denver, CO to Independence, MO
Now, you may think this would be the most boring stretch of the entire trip, but I'm pretty sure it was the second most boring. There were two things in particular that made eastern Colorado and Kansas interesting: wind turbines and hawks! We saw a massive wind farm in central Kansas and did an analysis of hawk density per linear mile of I-70. We came up with an average of 2.0 hawks per mile and a maximum of 3.6 hawks per mile. Oh, and the tumble weeds. Counting the number of tumble weeds that hit us (one) or that we hit (two) also kept us from going crazy.

Chronicles to be continued...

The Cross Country Chronicles: Part I

Day 1: Charleston, OR to Trout Lake, WA
I got up early and headed north. But first I had to do the hardest thing, say goodbye to my doggie friend in Oregon. I said goodbye to Lily at my house and Raven at Heather's house and for the first time felt a little choked up. I had to put in the mix CD from Heather and Tyler and get a chai latte with soy milk to make it out of town without losing it.

It poured rain on me almost the entire trip so I am glad I had already seen the I-5 scenery many, many times before. But 84 through the Columbia Gorge was gorgeous despite the rain...yellow cottonwoods, green pine trees, brown rocks, dark water...

Once we were all gathered at the MAC, we were buzzing with well wishes and hugs. After filling out a large stack of paperwork we headed to Hood River for a wine tasting at the Naked Winery and dinner on the River at the Hood River Inn. Back in Trout Lake we had champagne by the fire with dogs at the Trout Lake Inn. A few us headed back to the Commons for a slumber party with When Harry Met Sally.

Day 2: Trout Lake, WA to Brigham City, UT
I woke up the next morning to an inch of snow on my car but with a little help from my friends [hehe] I got out of the MAC and on the road. I took the northern/Washington route to The Dalles and took these great shots of the early morning Gorge.
My drive continued west along the Gorge and past a big wind farm under construction. Along this route I also saw three individual wind turbine blades on trucks. They are each about 150 feet long - quite a sight to see. I made it up and over the Blue Mountains and into Idaho where I picked up my mom in Boise.
Southern Idaho was quite the adventure of the senses. For miles and miles we wondered what smelled so bad when we came upon a quite disgusting cow feedlot. It was a shame that it got so dark so early, I'm sure there was a lot more going for southern Idaho and northern Utah besides the lovely smells.

Chronicles to be continued...

Farewell Oregon!

I feel like my yearbook quote for the Mount Adams Center sums up how I feel right now:

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Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,

committed people can change the world.
Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.
~Margaret Mead

That was the quote I chose to represent why I became an AmeriCorps volunteer on that freezing cold Martin Luther King, Jr. Service Day trip to the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center. Little did I know how much we would change the world, and how much we ourselves would change in these short ten months.

We converged on a snow-buried Mt. Adams Center in January for snow shoeing and hiking, star gazing and caving. But after we departed to our service sites… me to the desolate and foggy southern Oregon coast… the stories and adventures continued in full force.

My accomplishments at work and new skills acquired will certainly go with me, but it is the other less tangible, more spiritual experiences that I have had here in the magical Pacific Northwest, that have really changed my life forever. In ten months I have snow shoed, skied, and caved in the Cascades, swam in the Umpqua River, rafted the Rogue River, explored Crater Lake, Oregon Caves, the California Redwoods, and dozens of state parks, climbed Mt. Adams (well, most of it), adventured in Seattle, Portland, and Victoria, seen marine creatures great and small, from gray whales to sea splurge, hiked to the top of Multnomah Falls and Beacon Rock in the Columbia Gorge, made friendships that are guaranteed to survive distance and time, volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, Court Appointed Special Advocates, South Coast Food Share, and Star of Hope, started a recycling program at the local county fair, and so much more.

I would like to think Oregon will remember me as long as I will remember her, but that’s not likely. Like the iconic bumper sticker on my water bottle; Oregon will always have a special place in my heart.

---

Now I am off on a cross-country adventure that should bring me home for Thanksgiving. I will be travelling through Oregon-Idaho-Utah-Colorado-Kansas-Missouri-Illinois-Indiana-Ohio-West Virginia-and-Pennsylvania. I've never been to several of those states and think I should eat pancakes at least once.

See you on the other side of the country!

Atlantic Ocean, Marley is coming home!

So Pretty (when you speak your mind)

So, I finally sat down and transcribed the lyrics on the back of one of my third eye blind concert t-shirts. I had never read them before because they are written in tiny cursive in light green ink on a green t-shirt. I just knew I liked what the front of the shirt said ("So Pretty (when you speak your mind)") when I bought it. But I like the rest of the lyrics too. It’s not on any of their better-known albums; it came out on a 3-song EP a year ago. Interesting…

the police high-beam froze her pretty face
in white glow for a while
the politic bureau’s on high alert and
her name showed up on file
there’s trouble with the war effort
and she’s been speaking out
check point charlie’s radio-ed in
she’s compromised in doubt
there’s trouble with the war effort and she’s crossed the party line
you were so pretty in the days you spoke your mind

you were so pretty hiding out
the files have been filled
the regime won’t be undermined
you were so pretty in the days you spoke your mind

quiet now don’t make a sound
the system shut us down now we find each other in the underground
she had the voice once of the people
now she’s timid as a mouse
I would kiss you on the mouth in a safe house
cause you were so pretty hiding out
so walk on by, you’re a red star

tell me how did you let them in
we were silent secret agents
but the resistance is wearing thin
dissent is now illegal
she must pay the consequence
in the thriller mystery baby
you are my suspense
cause you were so pretty hiding out
you’re a red star

My November 3rd

Last night, I (as the effective face of the Friends of the Coos Watershed group) hosted a permitting workshop that brought together seven federal, state, and tribal agencies to discuss their permitting processes and the importance of permitting programs to protect the natural resources of this unique part of Oregon. The event was a great success (35 people filled the room) but not without some goofy mishaps on my part.

Firstly, I forgot my grocery shopping list, so I was wandering around Grocery Outlet chanting “chips… salsa… bread… cheese… veggies… juice…” and probably getting some weird looks. Then, even though I got to the meeting place 40 minutes early, people started pouring in before I could set up the tables, food, projector, and get the coffee made. Needless to say, I ruined the first batch of decaf coffee by (1) not knowing how to make coffee because I don’t drink it myself and (2) not reading the directions that were right in front of me. Later, I was notified that I had made a typo in someone’s phone number on the agenda, but not before I had scattered all 51 plastic spoons, knives, and forks out of a bag that exploded in my face when I tried to retrieve one spoon. Then, after all that, only seven people filled out my evaluation.

So, that was my November 3rd. How was yours?