What a Baby

Yep, I'm a big baby. I have never enjoyed storms. I do not like lighting, I hate wind, and thunder makes me want to crawl under my bed and hide.

Now, a few weeks ago, a severe wind storm (no thunder or lighting) knocked out our power, and it was out for three days. The experience was not fun, not exciting, even once we got a hotel room. I am a creature of habit and I like my comforts and routines. If I decide to shake things up, fine. But when it's out of my control? Not fine.

Anyway, with Mom and Dad out of town I have not been watching the local news much. Actually, at all. So I did not know that yesterday's rain showers would turn into major wind during the night. I did not know that I would wake up at 3:00 am, terrified, and with a blinking alarm clock. That I would remain awake until finally dozing off at about 6:00. For about 30 minutes. Needless to say, I'm sleepy this morning.

What kept me awake? Several things. The wind was noisy but had enough lulls to let me settle down a bit. But I'm also home alone, and having three freaked-out cats all over me didn't help. Every little jerk of their heads made me start and think, "What was that?!"

No, storms are not fun for me. Some people love them, are thrilled by them. Not me. Even without thunder and lighting, I was a wreck this morning. And my biggest fear? Not the boogey man. Not a tree crashing into the house (not likely, as they're all too far away to damage the house). My biggest fear was, "Oh God. What if the power goes out again?"

Sunday Headlines

The latest news brought to you by Meg of the Little Pink Blog

Harry Potter Set Pics!

I got really excited when I saw this on Google but it turns out the two set pics from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix are just of the frame of Hagrid's hut--which we've seen before.

Still, it's worth a mention, as I'm sure people will get more pics as time goes on. So here's the link.

These People Want a Civil War

Nothing the U.S. does seems able to stop it. When stuff like this is happening, where does the U.S. play in? How? Should we really be focussing so much effort on a country that seems to want violence and mayhem?

Jurassic Beaver!

It's always interesting to hear about new discoveries, especially when they pertain to what inhabited this earth before us. It's pretty exciting that scientists are finding some of the missing puzzle pieces.

Expect This to be Big

South Dakota is going to be in the news for a while, I suspect. Actually, I hope. Whatever your thoughts on abortion, this is something we all should keep an eye on.

The measure would ban abortion if a woman was pregnant as a result of rape or incest, or if giving birth would damage the health of the mother. It would allow an abortion to save a woman's life.

In other words, if I lived in South Dakota, and going through with a pregnancy might very well kill me, fine, have an abortion. But if it might damage my health, "Sorry, sweetheart, just live with it." Okay...where do women who suddenly need chemotherapy treatments fall into this?

And if I had a 15-year-old girl who was raped and impregnated, I can't allow her to have an abortion?

I am not a proponent of abortion when it is used irresponsibly. Could I have one myself? Only if my health depended on it, and let me tell you, it would still be traumatic. But I strongly feel that taking away a woman's right to choose is a step backwards in women's rights. What's next, no more birth control pill? That's what scares me.

And I'm Still Using CDs

I am the most technologically stupid person around. Before I left for England, I had a cell phone straight out of the Jurassic period (I'm sure that beaver must have had something just like it). I lived in mobile-mad England for a year and no one could ever understand why I didn't have a mobile of my own (money issues, people).

Now in WA, I finally have an up-to-date cell phone with bells and whistles. It does not have a camera (I have a perfectly good digital, thank you), but I did once check my email on it (I prefer the computer--it's faster).

Anyway, the point is, I'm slow to embrace new technology. Which is why I don't have an iPod, or use iTunes. Yet. I'm sure I'll come around eventually.

The big news this week is that iTunes has reported their one billionth sale. Pretty impressive. I think the biggest draw for me would be buying only the songs you want, not a whole CD of mediocre tunes so you can have that one catchy song you love. I've done that a lot lately (Gwen Stefani, Natasha Bedingfield...).

Cool! When Do We Get One?

A female leader, that is.

Hell, I'll be happy to find a good male prez, as long as he's...good.

But congratulations to Portia Simpson Miller, first woman leader of Jamaica.

Awww...

Aliya the beluga whale can blow bubbles! How cute.

Fun little video.

Disgusting!

I simply typed "Robbie Williams" into Google News Search. This is what I get: A cannibal wants to murder and eat Rob.

So disturbing--especially because his first victim was willing to let this guy...oh, you'll just have to read it for yourself. And Rob, hire extra security.

*shudder*

Book Review

After a near-flirt encounter last weekend, which I stupidly messed up, I decided I need to take matters into my own hands. Yesterday I found Superflirt by Tracey Cox, and it is fabulous so far. All kinds of tips about body language--both reading it and giving it. It's witty, funny, and true-to-life. This woman knows her stuff.

My favorite part is when she explains that men are biologically attracted to bigger butts. Woohoo!!!

Speaking of Butts...

It's time to think about getting mine in the shower. I have a NASCAR race to watch, and potato soup to cook. And a house to straighten up--Mom and Dad are coming home tomorrow evening.

Cheers!

It's Friday Night...

...and I'm sitting on my duff at the computer. Hey, it's been a long week. I'll party tomorrow.

Just Take Psycho Path to Divorce Court...

Found this headline on Yahoo.com: The wackiest street names in the U.S.

I think Farfrompoopen Road (only road up to Constipation Ridge) should have placed first, but who am I to say?

The American Dream

While I'm linking things, I might as well, post a link to the BEST Super Bowl XL commercial. I emailed this to Kathy, a life-long horse-lover, and she watched it six times in a row. : )

How's Meg?

Meg's fine. Tired--I've been working hard this week, what with hauling all those boxes of crap around the house and subbing. My choir kids have been feisty as hell, too. I'm not exactly winning Most Popular Choir Teacher (and I'm the only choir teacher at the middle school!) but that's not what I'm there for. It's too bad they don't like getting referals, 'cause that's what their behavior is warranting.

But it's the weekend, and I don't have to wake up to my alarm clock tomorrow morning! I might spend some quality time at the book store, and I'll definitely be spending some quality time being lazy.

Cheers!

Oooh...Harsh

...but funny.

Paper Napkin

What is it? Click the link and find out!

Hey, Who's in Charge Here, Anyway?

Me! Yes, me. The one with the bachelor's degree.

Eleven-year-olds. They know everything, you know. And suddenly I'm an evil, evil woman because I gave someone a pink slip (referral) for eating in my classroom. One little busybody calls out, "But you didn't give him a warning!"

Smile. "I don't have to give him a warning. It's been on my posted expectations these six months: 'No food, drink or gum in the classroom.'"

"Yeah, but--"

"Right, class, 'New York, New York,' from the top!"

But there is some good news. One child, who has some extreme behavioral problems, has been removed from my classroom permanently. That's one down, 45 to go. I'm kidding. Most of my kids are great. But boy, they have their moments.

The best news of all, however, is that I have an extremely supportive administrator. Unlike England, where I could never find a Head or Deputy Head when I really needed help, here, the one person in charge (Mrs. Principal) is on top of things. She's great.

Meanwhile, I came home and got everything I didn't finish yesterday (boxing my Snoopy stuff, music stuff, etc.) finished. Then I vacuumed the craft room, the bridge, and my bedroom. It looks great up here. Next step: The rest of the house.

Stuff

I have a lot of it.

When I graduated from Chico in 2001, I moved home with Mom and Dad, and ended up staying there for three years. In this time I went from having a storage unit for all of my furniture, to gradually getting rid of it and keeping a bunch of boxes in Mom and Dad's garage. And there they stayed until Mom and Dad moved to Washington. They boxed up all of my things in the house (I bought a lot of Snoopy stuff in those three years) and things got mixed up.

Monday, I finally got to sorting and weeding. I spent much of the day hauling every box out of the storage room, and started going through each one. It was a big job, and when I stopped late in the evening, I was exhausted--and not finished.

Yesterday I subbed all day, so there was no way I'd get to those boxes, which were stacked in mad piles all over Mom's craft room. Today, however, I was feeling up to getting in there and getting it done. I'm almost finished now, after about 5 hours of work. I just have a few things to wrap up tomorrow, then I have the fun job of loading all the stuff I hauled down to the garage into my car and taking it to charity, used bookstores, etc.

I discovered something today.

I have an amazing Snoopy collection. It's easy to forget when some of it's been packed away for a few years, or when I've been galavanting around England for a year. But I have mugs, glasses, posters, books (galore), toys, figurines, plush toys, lunch boxes, candy boxes, holiday decorations (I could have a 6-foot Christmas tree and decorate it entirely in Snoopy), kitchen stuff, bathroom stuff, bedding, pillows...the list goes on and on.

A lot of my collection actually goes back many years--the vast majority of the mugs, books and plush toys are remnants of my childhood. Some belonged to Aaron, and he graciously let me have them when we got older.

But then, a lot of this stuff comes from Ebay, antique stores and the like. I've banned myself from Ebay because of this. I have a harder time resisting antique stores, though. I've found some great things--for example, the jars I bought last week.

One of these days, when I have my own place, I'm going to devote my office to displaying most of my collection. I'm also going to sit down and make a list of my collection, and approximate values.

And, yeah, I'll keep on adding to it. I can't help it--Snoopy just makes me smile!

Cheers,

Meg

Fuzzy Tummy! Curly Feet!

More kitty pics, if you can stand it.



Lady Fuzz, Duchess of Ludlow. Isn't she adorable? She is all hair. We recently had to bathe her hindquarters (don't ask why) and it's amazing how little she is under all that hair. Walking around, she's a big puff of hair. We call her the Fuzz Explosion.



Then there's Bella Blue, the undisputed leader of the Terrible Tortoiseshells. She's as sleek as her sister is fuzzy, but they both have the same two-tone chin marking, and matching pink hearts dangling from their collars.



What is really nice is that all three of our cats get along so well, and are able to share the "Sweet Spot" without fighting. There they are: Lady Fuzz, Duchess of Ludlow, Millennium Joy, and Bella Blue. Aren't they gorgeous?

Clorox and Cat Vomit

*shudder*

I had a busy day today, what with a full-day sub job and getting formally observed by Mrs. Principal. The subbing was typical--a bunch of apathetic high school math students not doing the assigned work.

The observation went well. My kids were particularly silly and whiny today, so Mrs. Principal got to see my classroom management skills on TurboPower today. From the typed notes she gave me, she was overall quite impressed. We'll sit down for a more in-depth chat tomorrow. I have my strengths and my areas to be improved, just like any other young teacher. I'm eager to see what kind of advice she can give me, especially because I respect her as an administrator.

Anyway, none of that has anything to do with the intriguing (and disgusting) title of this post.

No, the title of this post comes from what happened when a weary-but-satisfied Meg came home from work around three o'clock 0 this afternoon.

Side note: Before you sit there thinking, "Three o'clock?!? I was at work 'till 5:30!" please keep in mind that school starts at 7:45 in my district, and I had to get there early to get some things ready before my observation. I got to school at about 7:10. That's early.

I walked in the house with two bags from QFC, the mail, today's newspaper, my briefcase and my purse all dangling from various arms, hands and fingers. I rushed to the counter in the kitchen to set everything down.

Nice. There's cat vomit on the kitchen counter.

I am a lucky woman. I have an absolutely adorable, loving, sweet, intelligent, beautiful cat. She really is all these things and more. Unfortunately, she comes with a delicate stomach (and maybe a small amount of eating disorder). Millie will sometimes pass on Tuna Time or cookies, but today she dug in with gusto when I set out that bowl of Fancy Feast.

And there it was, regurgitated with gusto on the kitchen counter.

I took about 12 paper towels and picked up what I could, then grabbed a rag and a spray bottle of Clorox CleanUp.

For my British friends, Clorox is a popular brand of bleach in the U.S. Anyway, I sprayed a bunch of the stuff on the counter, and...

Gag.

The smell of Clorox and tuna was...I can't describe it. It made my toes curl. Horrible. Awful. Nasty.

Of course, is something is worth doing, it's worth doing right, and Millie had left a bit of "after-dribble" on the floor in the hallway, and some regurgitated plant on the stairs.

Good times to be had at my house!

Hope you all had a lovely President's Day. I cleaned my bathroom, bedroom, and hauled a large number of boxes out of storage so I can go through my stuff and sort out what to keep, dump, sell, etc. Every once in a while I need to do a good weeding out. I have a long way to go with that project. I'm supposed to get to some of it tonight, but I might just take a rest instead. All that cleaning yesterday combined with cleaning up after Grouchy Tummy today has exhausted me.

Oh, Happy Day

No more retail!!

That's right. Last night was my last shift at Mervyn's. I'm done! I'm now just a teacher, not a teacher AND retailer. Oh, the bliss.

The subbing jobs are coming in quickly--I'm in high demand at the middle and high schools. Also, the drive to Silverdale was getting to be a pain in the butt. I had to leave extra early "just in case" the Hood Canal Bridge was opening up. It made every shift about 2 hours longer. For example, for last night's 5-hour shift, I was gone nearly 7 hours.

Adding to my joy is that in just under three hours, I'll be watching the Daytona 500. Go Junior!!

And that is all, my friends.

Cheers!

Oh, For Heaven's Sake

Don't eat the G-D French fries in the first place! Everyone knows they're bad for you.

I Call It...Girl With War Paint

Self-portrait. February 2006.

Had fun last night. No conquests, sadly, as the bar was seriously slower than it should have been. There was one possible flirtation but I was too tired and too stupid to realize until I'd left and thought, "Damn!!"

While I'm uploading pics to my online account...what else is exciting me these days?

Snow!!

Here's a few more pics of the beautiful snowy morning we woke up to on Tuesday. This first one is the view from my bedroom window.


As we drive out of the neighborhood, there's a drainage pond-type thing that was fozen over, so I took a pic from the car:


I was creeping down Oak Bay road at a snail's pace in the ice, so I stopped and took a couple of quick shots through the windshield(no one behind me, don't worry):



Poulsbo and Antiques

Went to Poulsbo on Wednesday and took a couple of pics. It was really cold, though, so I didn't stay long. Popped into an antique mall and found those wonderful Snoopy jars, circa 1965. A great find!!

Poulsbo is a Scandinavian-type village:






New Shoes!

The answer to all of life's problems. : )



I can't wait to be able to wear these.

Hood Canal

I was riding along with Mom and Dad a few days ago, rolled down the window and took this pic while Dad was driving across the Hood Canal Bridge. : )



Would've taken more but my batteries died. : (


Glass

This is my collection of blue glass, along with some cute stuff--a Parisian perfume bottle, a Snoopy ornament that I just love, and a little green frog prince.



I just love this little display and wanted to share it.

And that's that. I've been thinking about some bacon and eggs for an hour now, so off I go to the kitchen.

Cheers!

A Boy and His Dog

Much as I love the boy and his dog above, they're not who I'm talking about. : ) See this next pic:



Niiiice, eh? That boy just might win the Daytona 500 this weekend. I'll be watching from my living room and rooting for him.

Speaking of boys, I'm going out tonight to a Navy bar. It's just about time for me to scrub, pluck, polish, shine, smooth, lather and get my war paint on. My chosen top is being "fluffed" (dried with cool air to avoid shrinkage and fading) in the dryer (had to do a load of laundry so I'd have something to wear!) and I'm going to pair it with jeans and sassy shoes. Still deciding about my hair--big, feminine ponytail or flowing down my back, softly curled? The ponytail is less work, but we'll see how I feel when I've dried my hair.

Hmm...time for that shower.

Oh...P.S. The subbing wasn't so bad today. The kids were pretty good, even in my own class. I envy those 6th grade teachers, though. They get 15-20 at a time, whereas I get 46 at a time! Oh well, they're making slow but sure progress.

Cheers!

Home Alone

First order of busness: Make a mess.

Well, it's only my laundry, piled on the bridge outside my bedroom, sorted into groups by color (whites/pastel pinks/yellows, black, greens/blues, reds/purples). I'll probably get around to actually washing them on Saturday. Yeah, probably Saturday.

Mom and Dad left this morning on a two-week excursion to Arizona. They're meeting up with their friends John and Kathy in Sacramento and then driving to AZ, with a one-night stop in Las Vegas. So here I am, holding the fort down and making messes. My grand plan for the weekend is to watch the Daytona 500 (Goooo Junior!!) on Sunday, with no interruptions and the volume cranked way up.

My chief duties while Mom and Dad are out of town include: Poop Patrol (a daily project with three kitties running around), Tuna Time, Doling out Cookies, feeding the birds and squirrels (outside), collecting the newspaper and mail, and keeping the house relatively clean and liveable.

Right now I'm enjoying the solitude. By the end of the two weeks, though, I'll be missing Mom and Dad. This house is too big for one person--even with three cats.

In other news...Saturday is my last day at Mervyn's!! I had changed my availability in the hopes that I could get about 15 hours a week on weekday afternoons and the occasional Saturday, but it turned out I was working only Saturdays and Sundays. Between teaching and retailing, I was not actually getting a weekend, and this pissed me off. So I turned in my notice and I will supplement my income by substitute teaching as much as possible. Including a full-day gig tomorrow. The guy I'm subbing for has his prep time during 4th period--my choir lesson. So I'll be teaching non-stop 6th grade tomorrow. Pray for me.

It's okay, though. They were on a field trip today, so I went to school and cleaned my office for a couple hours, then came home.

Other than that, there's not much going on. I'm going out tomorrow night to flirt with Navy boys and have some fun. Still don't know what I'm going to wear. Maybe I should do some of this laundry tonight...

Then again, maybe I'll shower, tuck up with a good movie, and rest. The calm before the storm, so to speak. : )

The World According to Megan

Okay, it's not Sunday, but I feel like posting some news headlines (of world import and Meg import) and commenting about them.

Move Along, People...

Dick Cheney shot his hunting buddy. The media sets up the Big Top and invites Barnum and Bailey to the show. I am by no means Dick Cheney's Number One Fan, but this whole brouhaha about the shooting is getting out of hand. Why didn't we know sooner? Well, if I'd accidentally shot a friend while hunting, my first concern would be staying by his side and making sure he's okay. And, let's face it, I'd be a bit embarassed. But I'd tell everyone eventually.

Meanwhile, while American news pundits worry and gnash their teeth about the timing of the big "I shot my buddy" announcement:

1. All Hell is truly breaking loose over political cartoons depicting the Islamic prophet Muhammed in an unflattering light. People are dying in the fracas caused by this, and a lot of anger is being directed at America, even though it was not an American who penned the cartoons.

2. The high court of New Jersey is hearing arguments about gay marriage.

3. Europe is gearing up to fight bird flu.

Can't we get our priorities straight?

At Least We Have Some Good News

TomKat are not breaking up. Yet. What a weight off of my mind.

Faux Pas of Olympic Proportions

You have to laugh when the mens' figure skating has more costume drama than the womens'.

My favorite quote:

An Austrian skater appeared to be wrapped in silver duct tape in Tuesday's short program. A Belgian was dressed as a computer game. And a Swiss costume elicited this reaction from NBC commentator Dick Button: "Looks like a distant family relative of my dining room curtains."

Johnny Weir in his infamous swan costume

Heh...Well, This Could Prove Useful

Bill Gates is at it again. He wants to do away with passwords. This would be great news for people who forget their passwords on a regular basis. I'm not one of those, because I use one of 2 passwords for everything. And I ain't telling you what they are!

Oooh, Kathy Will Be Thrilled

She loves Gary Oldman. I have to say that he makes a fabulous Sirius Black, so I'm happy about this.

In other Harry Potter news, there is more casting news here. The Dursleys are returning!

No, No, No

James Blunt won Best Male Solo Artist at the 2006 Brits. James Blunt, as in the guy who sings "You're Beautiful" (guy on subway sees beautiful girl and proceeds to croon in a girly voice that it's "time to face the truth...I will never be with you..."). Yeah, that James Blunt.

You're beautiful. You're beautiful.
You're beautiful, it's true.
There must be an angel with a smile on her face,
When she thought up that I should be with you.
But it's time to face the truth,
I will never be with you.

Now, I'll admit to listening to this when it comes on the radio, but I cannot, by any stretch of my imagination, figure out why this guy beat out Robbie Williams.

Humph.

And while I'm complaining, who nominated Kiera Knightly for an Oscar? She is beautiful and a good little actress (I love Bend it Like Beckham), but from all reports I've read and heard, she was a terrible Lizzie Bennett. I haven't seen the latest Pride and Prejudice, but Heather's negative review was enough for me. Kiera's no Jennifer Ehle (and I don't care to see that guy playing Mr. Darcy when everyone knows that Colin Firth is the only man alive who was born to play Darcy).

Aww, Man...

Yesterday I had a really rough day with my choir. We had a 2-hour delay to the start of school, Valentine's Day, an after-school dance, and a full moon to contend with. In short, my kids were shits yesterday. Really bratty and rude. My favorite moment was when one child said, "This is gay, especially you." (He's been suspended for that one).

You can imagine that after 50-odd minutes of this, I was not the happiest teacher on the planet. But what really put me over the edge was when a student told me that I have my favorites who never get in trouble.

I stopped the class then and there and said, "What makes me really mad is that anyone in here would think that I don't like some of you."

Then the worst part--I got tears in my eyes. I've never cried in front of students!

I went on to say, wildly pointing my fingers at the class, "I like each and every one of you. I don't like your behavior sometimes."

They got really, really quiet. I got really, really embarassed.

Today, they were a bit subdued, and seemed more willing to listen to me. I apologized for losing control and told them, "I'm an adult. I don't like to lose control like that. But I'm human, too, and I have my moods just as any one of you." They sat there and listened.

What was really heartening was the number of kids who came to me, yesterday and today, to apologize. Kids who suddenly realized, "Whoa...I was a bit of a brat just now." One girl brought me a small bouquet of flowers.

Progress? Maybe. They're 11. I don't expect miracles, but I do expect them to try.

And that, my friends, is all I can find for today. : )

Cheers.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Your Candy Heart Says "First Kiss"

You're a true romantic who brings an innocent hope to each new relationship. You see the good in every person you date, and you relish each step of falling in love. Your ideal Valentine's Day date: a romantic dinner your sweetie cooks for you Your flirting style: friendly and sweet What turns you off: cynics who don't believe in romance Why you're hot: you always keep the romance alive

What Does Your Candy Heart Say?

This little linkie came from Sarah, and it cracked me up, I got 15 in my first try, 24 in my second. Have fun!

Oh, and the snow's almost all gone. : (

Oooh, Baby, Baby, It's a White World

I woke up at about 5:30 this morning because I am supposed to sub at the high school for a couple of classes before going to the middle school (next door) teaching my choir bunch.

I had my life-saving morning shower, then went downstairs for my customary bowl of Raisin Bran and a cup of hot chocolate. I brought the chocolate back upstairs to sit down at the computer and check my email. It was while I sat here at the computer that the phone rang--at about 6:30 or so.

I thought it would be someone in the school district begging me to sub, but it was the lady who is ahead of me on the middle school phone tree, calling to let me know that we are having a two-hour delay to starting school due to snow.

"Snow? Really?" I asked her increduously.

"Yeah, I can't see it, either. But I guess the really rural areas are pretty heavy with it," she replied.

Looking out my window, I could not see anything in the yard or streets.

Thirty or so minutes later, Dad got up and I told him about the call. He said, "Wow, snow!" I looked outside again, and saw that it was, indeed, a white world out there.

Of course, I had to throw on my boots and my coat and run out there with my camera.

Here's Rosie the Protege, covered in snow (I brushed most of it off to make defrosting easier when it's time to go to work):

The front yard

A piece of driftwood in our yard:

To the right of our house, looking up the hill:

To the left of our house:

Mom's little metal duck:

The view from Mom and Dad's bedroom window:

And our back deck and the forest behind:

See my Snow Cat? : )

Guess we won't be dining outside tonight.

Behind our "yard"

And finally, for Shae...my Snow Man and Snow Cat. They're pretty rough around the edges, but hey, I grew up in a not-so-snowy part of the world!!

Between Valentines Day and the snow--not to mention the shortened school day--I have a feeling the kids are going to be hyper today.

Let's Go Racin'

This weekend marks the start of Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway--a week of racing, practicing and qualifying culminating in the famous Daytona 500 next Sunday. NASCAR is funny in that it's "Big Game" comes at the beginning of the season instead of the end. The Daytona 500 is a much-sought after win for any driver involved in NASCAR Nextel Cup racing.

Of course, my favorite driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr. (known to many as simply, "Junior"), has won this event, in 2004.
And he has a GREAT car this year, so I'm crossing my fingers that he'll be up there in the front and racing for the win.

So now begins thirty-six weeks in which I will be unavailable on Sundays. Sundays will be reserved for cheering for the Red Bud 8 car.
Bring it on.

Beautiful Day

It's a beautiful day
The sun is shining
I feel good
And no-one's gonna stop me now, oh yeah

From Queen's "It's a Beautiful Day"

It is absolutely gorgeous out there! We have had a few straight days of sunshine and blue skies. Fantastic.

Today I took my trusty Vivitar on the road with me, stopping to take some pics on my way to work, and making a trip over to picturesque Port Townsend after work.

Thought I'd share 'em.

First, I stopped at the village of Port Ludlow for some candy bars (I do a Friday drawing for well-behaved students in my class). So this is the village of Port Ludlow...consisting of a few tiny shops, a tiny post office, a Chevron and a mini-mart. That's Rosie the Protege in the lower right:

The next few pics are of Chimacum, and the school I work for:

Finally, lots and lots of waterfront pics of Port Townsend...


Huge tree trunk driftwood:

The Port Townsend-Keystone Ferry:

Mucho driftwood and a lovely seagull:

Ahh, sunshine!!

I drove up to Fort Worden (filming site for "An Officer and a Gentleman") and on the way, I had to stop for three does. Here's one:

Now, some pics of and from Fort Worden:

Can't you just see Richard Gere? Gah, he was hot in that movie!

Anchors Aweigh!

Then I look at you
And the world is all right with me
Just one look at you
And I know it's gonna be
A lovely day…
…lovely day, lovely day, lovely day…

From "Lovely Day" by Luther Vandross, feat. Busta Rhymes