All aboard!

I'm interviewing with the state next Wednesday for a bilingual office position. Through an interesting series of events I'm employed but.... not entirely. I'm taking this as a sign from God that it's time to move out. If I keep waiting to feel like I'm capable of handling a change, I'm never going to do anything, and something needs to be done. I haven't told Becky yet, since she's working on Bryan's reception tomorrow, sooooo, um, please don't say anything to her! There seems to be a hefty dose of denial about me leaving, even though I've told her I'm planning on pursuing another job.

I've also been on a crazy cleaning binge, thanks to carpet beetles (!!!!) somehow having found their way to my yarn/knitting. And also thanks to How Clean Is Your House, a wonderful BBC show that inspired me to take a really good look at how I was living, and then clean some of it up. Apparently a small space crammed with lots of stuff plus woolly things/yarn stored out in the open combined with a poorly functioning (read: burning and sparking) vacuum cleaner leads to the appearance of carpet beetles. I've vacuumed all the carpet I can reach, moved furniture, cleaned up boxes, taken a box of sheets to St. Vincent de Paul, culled the books, completely wiped down a bookshelf.... dude, I am on a roll! Which is, of course, going to be sadly interrupted when I head to Sacramento this weekend, which means I will probably be completely out of the mood by the time I get home! But, I am planning on conscripting some friends (and a steam cleaner) at some point in the nearish future and doing some serious spring cleaning/re-arranging. It's just so weird, I almost feel like an adult!

A little excitement

We had some yesterday in the form of a forest fire that ripped through the area above my house. And I do mean ripped! It was something like 100 degrees with decent winds from the south, so perfect fire conditions. I always thought my parents were the ones in forest fire danger what with being in the middle of the forest and what not, but apparently I was wrong! I did find it kind of funny that the cops told me twice that my street had been evacuated when both times I had just gotten off the phone with my landlord.... who was up at the house. At least I now have a concrete idea of what needs to be grabbed if we have another fire. Something along the lines of: violin, computer, pictures, tax records. And possibly yarn if I have enough time. I would lose all my books though, which would suck. And my spinning wheel.

When I came home tonight I could still see spot fires on the hills and the command center was still set up in the empty parking lot on Lone Pine. And I can still smell the smoke. The burned area actually isn't all that different from the scrub oaks all over the hill. All in all, an interesting experience to have gone through and I'm very thankful that no one was injured and no one lost their home!

Perfect Summer Day

I wish I had my camera because today is seriously about perfect. It's 81 degrees and sure to get hotter, but for summer, that's not bad at all. The sky is beautifully blue, no forest fire smoke blowing into the valley and there are wisps of cloud hovering over the hills that ring the valley. It's the kind of day where one wants a burger from Jasper's, along with some sweet potato fries, so that was lunch. Although I really wish I could be outside enjoying the weather, even getting to drive in it is absolutely lovely!

Autumn in summer

I love the strange, unpredictable weather of Southern Oregon. Last week it was blisteringly hot, enough so that pretty much everyone was in a foul mood, and today it was cloudy and rainy, with temperatures reaching for the upper 70s. It was a great day for tea, cucumbers and New Moon during my lunch break and red Thai curry for dinner with a little Buffy and Twilight... and maybe some Ray Kowalski. Yesterday was a day for clips from LotR on YouTube, the last episode of North & South, and Penelope, not to mention a used bookstore in the evening. It's been kind of nice to have two days in a row to myself in the middle of the week. My biggest dilemma this week is between the Sock Summit and the Tioga rendezvous. I can't leave before three on Friday and I have to be home before Sunday morning, so either one is going to be a short visit, but I'm going to do one or the other, and I just can't decide!

Klamath Falls

I really like Klamath Falls. I went over last night to watch Aunt Leann in the community theater production of "Music Man" and it was so much fun!! The theater was packed and it was so lovely to feel a sense of community and support, rather than whatever it is we have here in Hometown. Aunt Leann played Eulalie and did a fabulous job, as did the rest of the cast and crew (Jeffy).

I spent the night not on the couch, a change from usual, and dreamed of zombies at Campmeeting and then Edward Cullen and LOTR (no, I really have no idea where any of that came from, minus the LOTR), then got up and had breakfast with Katie at a wonderful little place called Nibbley's Cafe (amazing food! Homemade bread! HUGE cinnamon rolls!). After that, we stopped at the mountain man store so I could check out the powder measures, but I think I'm going to keep looking for the one Dad and I think I got for Christmas, since they cost about $15, and then Katie took me on a lovely drive along the base of the foothills. I just love how open and wide the Klamath Valley feels, and even though it's so barren, there are all kinds of trees just lurking in unexpected places.

I spent the rest of the afternoon with Aunt Leann, watching Jeff at football practice as the thunderstorm that eventually followed me home began to brew and break. Made for some interesting driving on the way home, not to mention the evening light show!

Klamath Falls just seems like a wonderful escape from the Rogue Valley, so close and yet far enough away that everything is different. Maybe I will move there someday, we'll have to see....

Summer in SoOre

Summer has long been, if not my least favorite season, then definitely the season that I have the most issues with. For one thing, I am currently trapped in my apartment with the windows closed and the AC on, when it has been my wont for the last month to sleep with the windows open while enjoying the night breezes. Unfortunately, this is a little difficult to do when it's only supposed to get down to 70 degrees tonight. However, as uncomfortable as this might be, it is also the cause of long drives out into the country (not so easy in the winter when some of the roads are quite snowed in) and up to the steeps of Mt. Ashland:
It is also the time of gardens and flowers and evening picnics. And the Fair. Which this year was greatly improved from years past. They actually had a flower competition! And although the tatting guys weren't represented (a great loss, I have to tell you. The gentleman and his son have been doing it for years and have produced some of the most amazing stuff I have seen in any handicraft.), there were actually a couple of rather nice pairs of socks entered. I went with my parents on a Wednesday evening, the lowest forecasted temperature for the rest of the week. We actually went to the pig auction, since my parents' neighbors' kids were showing/selling their pigs this year. My dad knew the Grand Champion's dad, too. The GC sold his pig for $10,200!! That's something like $40 a pound. The pigs that we watched being auctioned were between $3.50 and $7.50.

As we wandered through the stalls I couldn't help but think that we really missed the boat not getting me into 4H. I totally could have married my farmer!! I probably would have had to reconcile myself to a life of country music (gak!), but I might have gotten to have a horse of my very own, which would have made up for it.

Yellow Submarine

This is the song going through my head right now. It's very awkward because I'm on the phone with tech support for an email problem through our business software and I have the insane urge to start humming "Yellow Submarine." But the the guy I'm on hold with is not at all chatty. Like, minutes are going by without ..... jumping jackrabbits, I've been on the phone with this guy for 22 minutes and we've exchanged maybe 10 sentences!!! I could be watching CSI (again) or actually getting stuff done! Speaking of getting stuff done, I must go get my hair cut, get a pedicure, buy the chiffon wrap and find some underpinnings before Katie's wedding next week. Not to mention her socks. Of which, one is partially done. Whoops! Email problem solved, off to the next issue!

Allergies

As much as I love this time of the year, with it's glorious flowers and rainstorms and warm-but-not-ridiculously-hot sunshine and perfect shades of green, I'm not a huge fan of the allergies. Mine aren't bad enough to require medication, which is good, but that also means that I don't get medication and instead get to sniffle my way through a couple of weeks before the oak stops blooming. However, I get things like the rhodies blooming in Lithia, so I suppose it works out. This photo is from last year, but I know they're blooming right now, so it seems appropriate!

Pi Day!

I totally forgot that today, March 14th (3.14), was Pi Day until someone mentioned it on NPR! It seemed quite appropriate to me that I should be drinking from a round-mouthed glass and eating a round-topped muffin at the time. I celebrated Pi Day by really not doing much except going to the library and doing laundry. I also layed around listening to West Coast Live and World Cafe, which I don't often do. The weather today, rather than being the promised rain, was the dull flat gray that drains all motivation and willpower from me, resulting in the muffin purchase. But hey, I finished The Five Red Herrings after a ridiculous amount of time, so I'm thinking I got at least something accomplished. Not to mention reading this month's Real Simple. I'm wondering if the toothpaste trick really will work on my faucets, since they're kinda mineral-marked. If it works, I'll let you know.

Road Trippin'

I love road trips. I love packing for them, I love the anticipation, I love getting started, I love the zoning (most of the time) and I even love the arriving. Did I mention the gratuitous stops at Starbucks? I have most of the stores between Medford and Sacramento pegged, and I'm getting there with the northern trek as well.

I'm trippin' north this weekend for my cousin Natalie's wedding, which will be fun, and I also get to see my Nan and LaDonna, not to mention various and sundry other family members and friends. It sounds like I might also be getting to go up in two weeks with my parents for the second weekend of special meetings in Portland. I have to say, it's just nice to get out of the Valley and the "norm" of boredom and stress. Have a good weekend, everyone!

Job Security

I hazn't any right now. It's kind of hard to keep one's chin up when one's employers are talking about negating one's job. Fortunately Becky is fighting tooth and nail for me, but I can't help thinking it's just a matter of time before it all goes bad. Positive thinking, hurrah!! I've been looking for another job, but they're rather scarce on the ground right now, at least in my areas of expertise (sitting around, doing nothing, surfing the net, etc.). But at least I have a job!!!! And I am thankful for it!!

My beautiful cousins!

My beautiful cousins!
Originally uploaded by geekgirl365

I'm trying out a new aspect of technology, this time my Flickr account + my blog. This is from two Thanksgivings ago, when my family met up at the Running Y Worldmark Resort in Klamath Falls.

Merry Christmas!

I know I'm a day or two late, but the sentiment should be the same year-round, correct? Moo made it down for Christmas, which was wonderful, since he's moving to Spokane in two weeks, and I'm not sure how long it'll be before I get to see him again. MY Christmas gift came in the form of not getting anything terrifically wrong during the Christmas program, thank the good Lord. I also got the gift of illness, for the first time in three years, but I'm pretty sure that wasn't from God. Dorothy made me lovely little lime-green lace wristlets and I've been wearing them as I sit in front of the computer with my Thera-Flu and knitting, watching Eureka, a very entertaining show that Moo, Inc. is loaning me. Anyway, I hope that everyone else is doing well, and again, I wish you ALL a Merry Christmas!

Thankful

I'm thankful:

- that I have a job. Even if it drives me nuts, at least I'm employed.

- for the Community Health Center! Maybe getting my hours cut was a blessing in disguise.

- that I can knit. I don't know what I would be doing for Christmas presents this year otherwise! As it is, I'm not sure everything is going to get done in time and I can only stay up so late and still function in the morning!

- for friends and family. In my case, they start to blend a lot!

- that I have a place to live and very warm flannel sheets.

- that I have enough food to eat, and it's food I like. A lot.

- for enough self-control to usually get most of my bills paid before I go crazy with my money. Because when I don't have it, I get into plenty of trouble.

- that I have luxuries in my life like tea, books, expensive yarn and a computer that works.

- that I'm alive and able to walk, see, hear and speak without any help. It seems like a no-brainer until you think of how many people don't have that ability.

I thought perhaps it was time to just remind myself of how good I really do have it!

Medford Mail Tribune..... questionable intelligence

So, I just heard that our own, beloved Medford Mail Tribune wants to print a list of all of the people in the county who have a concealed carrier's permit. First thought in my head?

"Now there's a good reason to not get my concealed permit and just carry illegally."

I mean, honestly, what on earth are they thinking?? There is no reason at all that a list like that should be made public knowledge in such a blaring way. I'm sure they're going off the whole "public safety" angle based on the high school teacher case, but believe me, the people they need to be worried about carrying concealed aren't going to be on that list. I would go so far as to call this behavior harassment of people who have enough belief in our government and its policies to admit to carrying a handgun.

What are they hoping to accomplish? Do they want to shame (ha!) gun owners into changing their ways? Do they know where they are? This is Southern Oregon, and no amount of froufy vineyards or wonderful arts programs (I love Britt and OSF) is going to change the fact that the Rogue Valley is still populated by loggers, construction workers, hunters, rednecks and their children.

The Medford Mail Tribune, if they continue to pursue this, are stepping waaaaay out of line in their pursuit of "journalism." This isn't journalism; this is persecution.

Fog

I have ambivalent feelings about fog. It's cold and wet and repressive and very, very depressing sometimes, as those of you who live around here certainly know. But other times it's alive, mysterious and lovely. I especially like it when it's blowing in shreds around the trees or when I'm in the mountains and the fog is sitting in the valleys. This morning, though, I had one of the really good fog moments. I was driving in to work and the fog was burning off in one area and the sunrise was apparently coming over the mountain, because the fog I was driving through was rose-colored. Instead of being cold and oppressive, it was (from the interior of my car) warm and inviting. I think that even if I'd been outside, walking through the pear orchards, it would have seemed warmer. And it was lovely.

I got a new plant!

This one is special because it's staying with me at work, attempting to bring a breath of life into the windowless box that is my office. We also have an orchid that we have managed to not kill, although its sibling died tragically, and the survivor has yet to bloom again. In happier news, the Christmas cacti are beginning to bloom and a couple of plants got re-planted yesterday. Yay! And yeah, other than my hours at work getting cut, these are some of the more fascinating things going on in my life right now. Well, unless you count Chicago... and the mad rush to get presents made and cards figured out. This year's design is particularly challenging. Not sure what exactly I was thinking, but if I pull it off they're going to be fab! Katie suggested I emboss part of the image, but that would add, like, money and more time to the process, neither of which I currently possess! So, anyone else get a new houseplant lately? (Shout out to my girl, Mandy, for that idea we talked about and I'm attempting.)

Bored

Bored, bored, bored, bored, bored. I am bored. Work has slowed waaaaaaay down, a sure sign that I need to find a second position, so there isn't all that much for me to do. And I'm feeling antsy and bored anyway, so this is not a good combination. In weatherly news, it is drizzling and foggy.... which would be fabulous, except I'm not at home sitting on my couch wrapped up in a comforter with tea and a novel with music playing in the background. I don't even have windows in my office. So I'm watching Brotherhood 2.0 videos and blogging, with some paperwork thrown in here and there to spice things up. But I'm still bored.

What do you guys do when you get bored at work?

Ha!

I can't recommend the rest of the strips, but this one is great for the knitters in my audience! Particularly the knitters who also like physics. It's like scarves meet particle physics. And it looks like we haven't been sucked into a black hole yet, either! Also, I think some applause for Mandy is appropriate, as she has decided to attempt the NaBloPoMo 08. I will be looking forward to seeing where her novel takes her!

PS Except, it's not a novel. She's blogging every day for 30 days. And I'm a noodle brain.

I love the Rogue Valley...

So, we've had the most incredibly beautiful weather here for the last several weeks. Entertainingly enough for me, however, we natives can predict with wicked accuracy when it will be changing. I direct your attention here. Makes me kinda happy that I don't have small children to make all cute and take from door to door. It also make me even happier that I'm not going to dressing up in revealing clothing and dancing around the plaza in Ashland!!