Goodbye 2010!

Wow, I just can't believe it is December 31st already. This year seems like it just flew by. The last couple of months especially have gone zooming by.

I wish I could say I've been doing interesting things, but really, I haven't. Work has kept me busy since the end of Summer when the administrative assistant assigned to accounting took another position. Since then I've been doing her job and mine and simultaniously some internal staff changes landed me with support for the IT manager and the budget manager in addition to my support of the finance director. For a few weeks there things were absolutely crazy. I did get some temporary help and hope to get a temp in next week for a couple of months.

The house is coming along. We still have a lot to do, but that's what happens when you get the "While-We're-At-It" disease. My dad and Greg yesterday finished taking the stairs apart and fixing them so they were level and within code. We've got the floors done along with the trim, the laundry room painted and redone, the kitchen, spare room, entry, family room, and dining room all painted. The upstairs hall just needs some quick cutting in and it is all done. Next up we have cleaning the garage, finishing the painting, putting together all the storage stuff we bough from IKEA, cleaning the office (me especially), putting the bathroom back together downstairs and about a zillion other little projects. Guess I'd better stop spending so much time on Facebook.

Christmas was quiet. Greg & the girls and I went to my Mom & Dad's for Christmas Day. We didn't exchange gifts, which was fine, but it was nice to spend the day together and play a game.

REally, that's about it for news from the Leibrand house. Could we be any more boring? Happy New Year anyway!

Another Public Service Announcement

To all travellers:

If you choose to travel at all in the month of December, please be aware that there may be weather-related delays and plan accordingly. Granted there was a whopper of a storm in the Mid-west and East and South (okay, everywhere but the West Coast) that delayed things more than usual this time, but still. Quit whining about it!

To all media people:

Find some other news already!

Thank you.

A Public Service Announcement

People, if you have to have your windshield wipers on, you have to have your headlights on, mmmkay? It's not that hard.

By the way, headlights are not only to help you see the road, but to help people see you (Mister-Silver-Honda-With-No-Lights-On-In-The-Pouring-Rain, I'm talking to you).

Simon's Cat...Again!

Oooh, an extra treat! A Simon's Cat advertisement. Love his trip through the back yards.

Hallelujah Chorus

This is so cool. On Nov.13 2010 unsuspecting shoppers at a Canadian Mall got a big surprise while enjoying their lunch. Over 100 participants in this awesome Christmas Flash Mob. Can you imagine sitting there munching on your lunch and have this amazing group start singing around you?



I loved singing this in A-Choir. As a soprano this song always gave me a head rush.

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of listening to Sandy High School's choir sing this wonderful song at a gorgeous cathedral at the Grotto here in Portland. It brought back happy memories.

Christmas Pictures 2010

I'm sure this is what you all have been waiting for...Christmas pictures with Carmen & Sophie. Please note their lovely collars, which were handmade for them by their grandmother Osborn. Aren't they cuuuute?

Ah! A New Christmas Simon's Cat

Funny Bumper Stickers

I saw this bumper sticker last night:

Hi! I m the Dread Pirate Roberts #72377. Ask about franchise opportunities in your area!

Gotta get me one!

Name the Christmas Carol

Okay, Thanksgiving is over and we can now post Christmas things. Just to show you all I'm not a big Scrooge all the time, here is a little quiz for you. How many can you get correct?


1) 288 Yuletide Hours

2) Exalted heavenly beings to whom harkened

3) Removed in a bovine feeding trough

4) Embellish the corridors

5) The Christmas preceding all others.

6) Proceed and narrate gossip from a high location

7) Omnipotent supreme being who elicits respite to ecstatic distinguished males

8) Older female relative who became aerodynamic venison road kill

9) May the Diety bestow an absence of fatigue to mild male humans

10) Hush, the foretelling spirits harmonize

11) I’m fantasizing concerning a blanched yuletide

12) Twelve o’clock on a clement night witnessed its arrival

13) An emotion excited by the acquisition or expectation of good given to the terrestrial sphere

14) Diminutive, masculine master of skin covered percussionist cylinders

15) A B C D E F G H I J K M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

16) The apartment of 2 psychiatrists

17) Approach everyone who is steadfast

18) That exiguous hamlet south of the holy city

19) Nocturnal time span of unbroken quietness

20) Argentous chimes

One of the Funniest Things I've Seen In A Long Time

New PJs

Carmen & Sophie have been really cold the last couple of days around here, so I got them some PJs to keep them warmer. Aren't they cuuuute???

Alive

Yes, I'm alive. I'm swamped at home with house renovation stuff and swamped at work with work stuff. I've sadly neglected my little blog and let down all of my faithful readers (all two of you).

When things calm down I'll get back to semi-regular posts.

Clean!

I finally got my new washer and dryer put in this weekend. Wow! They are so awesome. I'm enjoying doing laundry (which is a good thing since I have a ton of it to catch up on). I know that sounds weird, but it is nice to do laundry in a machine that actually gets stuff clean and I don't have to climb inside to get the clothes out.

Another One Bites the Dust

I lost another fishy today. Lefty is with us no more.



I love having fish at work, but I hate loosing them.

RIP, Lefty. You were a good fish and will be missed.

Progress At Last!

Guess what? We are making progress on the floors! AT LAST! The flooring guys (David & Larry) have been at our house the last two days putting in the vinyl. They finished up with the actual installation last night. We still have trim and a few other things to do, but I have flooring on my floor! I'm not walking on subfloor or underlayment anymore! Woot, woot!

These pictures aren't very good, since I took them last night when it was dark and there isn't much context. What do you think?

Looking in the kitchen/dining area.


Looking into the family room and towards the living room and bathroom.


Entry/living room.

To Be A Good Dog

Dear God: Let me give you a list of just some of the things I must remember to be a good Dog:

1. I will not eat the cats' food before they eat it or after they throw it up.
2. I will not roll on dead seagulls, fish, crabs, etc., just because I like the way they smell.
3. The Litter Box is not a cookie jar.
4. The sofa is not a 'face towel'.
5. The garbage collector is not stealing our stuff.
6. I will not play tug-of-war with Dad's underwear when he's on the toilet.
7. Sticking my nose into someone's crotch is an unacceptable way of saying 'hello'.
8. I don't need to suddenly stand straight up when I'm under the coffee table.
9. I must shake the rainwater out of my fur before entering the house - not after.
10. I will not come in from outside & immediately drag my butt.
11. I will not sit in the middle of the living room & lick my crotch.
12. The cat is not a 'squeaky toy' so when I play with him and he makes that noise, it's usually not a good thing.


My whippet-inspired additions (with assistance from my whippet friend Debbie):

13. I will not stretch my legs out as far as I can against my owner’s side when sleeping under the covers.
14. I will not “accidentally” fall into my owner’s ice cream dish or drool on them until they are so grossed out that they just give me the ice cream.
15. I am not dying when someone cuts my toenails. No one will cut off my foot either.
16. I will not eat wildlife on the living room couch (or any indoor furniture for that matter!).
17. I will not chase and catch and attempt to eat seagulls at the beach in front of Mo's Restaurant again.

Seven Years

Today is the 7 year anniversary of my first letterboxing experience. I can't believe I've been doing this crazy hobby for seven years! I can't believe I've been doing this crazy hobby for seven years and still can't carve a stamp worth a darn!

My friend Rinda (aka Sleepy Whippet) told me about letterboxing one day when we were having lunch together. She took me out for my first letterboxing day on September 1, 2003 to McIver State Park, where we did the Making Faces series and the the Jurassic Park series. I think we got about 15 boxes that day and I was hooked. Now I don't even know how many boxes I've found. According to Atlas Quest it's 893, but I suspect it's higher than that.

I have made so many wonderful letterboxing memories in these past 7 years. Walked lots of miles, met lots of people, admired lots of art, experienced so many new places that were right in my back yard. I think I am a better person because of letterboxing.

Letterboxing Here I COME!!

So this weekend is the Gather Around the Campfire Stamp Camp at Battleground Lake. I can't wait to go! I can't wait to have a couple of days off of work and away from everything that is waiting for me to do at home!

See, Good Things Can Happen

I had to stop at the grocery store this morning to get cookies for my meeting tonight. While I was there I decided that I should restock my work "kitchen" with snacks and lunches. I was feeling weathly and decided to buy a case of diet Coke. While I was putting it in my cart, I decided to grab one for my friend Ritha just because she's wonderful and I knew she'd like the surprise.

So I finished my shopping and got in line. Just as it was my turn a lady came up behind me with just a coffee, so I told her to go in front of me. When it was my turn the cashier said, "I think that the soda is buy two, get two free. Let me go double check." She came back with two more boxes and said, "Yep. Buy two get two free. Do you want two more the same?"

Score!

Wasn't that nice of her? So I did two good deeds, even though they were little tiny ones, and I got something nice! Wow. Karma isn't usually that kind or that quick for me.

New Simon's Cat!

House is Done!

So the outside of the house is done. What do you think?



I took these pictures at about 6:30 in the morning to try and get a better idea of the color. It's still not coming across well in the photo, but it gives you the idea. It's a deep green with black doors and shutters and a creamy white trim.

We put in new light fixtures, replaced the door hardware (doorknob, deadbolt, kick plate and house numbers), and put in a new doorbell. I think it looks really nice. We only need to do one more thing and that is paint the bottom of the doorframe the same color as the house. For some reason the painters painted it white, but we think it would look better being green.

We've had some setbacks on the inside and are still working on that. We'll get there - eventually!

Relay

Relay is tomorrow. Hope I'm ready!

Woo Hoo!

I just got the results back from IAAP on the test I took in May. I passed! Passing score was 450 and I scored 709.

You may now address me as Kristine Leibrand, CPS/CAP.

Pretty soon I'm going to have as many letters after my name as Sophie.

Relay for Life 2010

I will be participating in the Relay for Life again this year on July 10th. I've joined the Cascade Heights Falcon's team with some dear friends and I think it will be a blast. If you are interested in making a donation to the American Cancer Society I would love it if you did it through me. Here's the link to my page...

http://main.acsevents.org/goto/Kris.Leibrand

I hope you'll donate. Every little bit helps!

Painting the House

Hey! The painters finally came out today and started painting the outside of the house. Progress at last!

So what do you think?





The light was pretty crappy, but the house is a dark green, the front door and the garage door are black. The trim will be a creamy white. I think it will look great!

Here's a sneak peak of the flooring we picked out. We're using the lighter color swatches that are sitting on the big piece.

Middle of June?!

Somehow it got to be the middle of June without me realizing it. My apologies to my faithful *cough* readers for not doing a better job of keeping up on my blog. I can't say I've been doing anything exciting lately and I didn't think you wanted to read things like...

"Moved stuff out of the blue room today and wrapped all the furniture in plastic."

or

"Went to look at flooring again for the 999th time. Still haven't picked one."

or even

"Had 756th panic attack today. There is just too much going on!"

which is pretty much all I've done for the last month.

About a month ago our hot water heater had a hiccup and leaked hot water everywhere. Well, to be fair it wasn't all the hot water heater's fault. See, hot water heaters are supposed to have two seperate drains, one that is connected to the relief valve and drains outside the house and a second one for the drip pan that drains SEPERATELY to the outside. Some nimrod set ours up so that when the relief valve popped the water drained into the drip pan - NOT to a seperate outside drain. That same nimrod (or one similar) also buried the drain pipe to the outside under about 6 inches of dirt. Can you see where this is going? So the relief valve did what it is supposed to do and blew when the water got too hot in the tank. The drain from the relief valve worked, except it looped into the drip pan which is not designed for a lot of water under pressure at once. The drip pan couldn't drain quickly because the open end was buried under dirt, so it couldn't keep up with the flow of water. So the water took the normal path of least resistance and leaked out. Out into the hall, down into the ceiling of the laundry room below it, down inside the walls below it and scurried under the laminate flooring on the main floor.

It was a mess.

We called our insurance agency right off and they sent out a restoration company to evaluate the situation and start drying it out. We ended up with all the flooring and part of the subfloor torn out in the laundry room and bathroom; about 1/3 of the laminate flooring in the blue room as well as all the trim on the door frames and along the floor; about 1/3 of the flooring in the family room (also laminate) and about half the flooring in the hall upstairs.

We had heaters and dehumidifiers and fans blowing in the house for 3 days straight trying to dry everything out. At one point it was 96 degrees downstairs and 85 upstairs. I don't even want to see my electric bill. We did get it all dried out eventually and the workers came in and stripped out all the damaged/wet flooring.

The insurance company came out and looked at everything and wrote us a check and said "see ya!" Leaving us to figure out how to get it all fixed. We ended up calling another restoration company that coordinates everything to have something like this fixed (they do flood, fire and crime scene restorations). We are waiting to get the estimate on that still.

As per usual things have not gone smoothly for us. It's been a month since the flood and we are still running around on bare floor and haven't made any progress towards getting it fixed. Well, that isn't entirely true. We did finally choose a flooring we like.

That was another long story, but my meeting is about to start so I'll have to catch you up later. I'll try to add some pictures next time.

Happy Towel Day!

So did you all remember to bring carry your towels with you today?

Sarah forgot hers. I guess she's just not a hoopy frood.

I found a great link that will allow you to create your very own Vorgon poem. Here's mine:

See, see the sickly sky
Marvel at its big tangerine depths.
Tell me, bryan do you
Wonder why the aardvark ignores you?
Why its foobly stare
makes you feel icky.
I can tell you, it is
Worried by your ***** facial growth
That looks like
A butter.
What's more, it knows
Your intercourse potting shed
Smells of snot.
Everything under the big sickly sky
Asks why, why do you even bother?
You only charm dog doos.

Pac Man

Happy 30th Birthday, PacMan!

I sure spent a lot of hours and a lot of quarters playing you as a kid. What a pop icon.

If you haven't seen it yet, go check the Google page for today. They put a working version of it up.

I did not know until today when I went and looked it up (using Google, thank you very much) that the ghost/monster guys have names. Did you?

Red = Blinky (aka Shadow)
Pink = Pinky (aka Speedy)
Blue = Inky (aka Bashful)
Orange = Clyde (aka Pokey)

Huh. The things you learn.

I Want One!

Oh my gosh, you guys HAVE to see how cute these baby sloths are!

Meet the sloths from Amphibian Avenger on Vimeo.

Who knew there was a sloth orphanage? I've got to go visit!

Hot Water

Oh, hot water, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

1. You are hot.
2. You are wet.
3. You are in my shower.

I will never take you for granted again.

More St. Helens

Mount St. Helens was a Blowin

Linda & Jessica Storey | MySpace Music Videos

Where Were You When The Mountain Blew?

I can't believe it has been 30 years since Mt. St. Helen's erupted. I was 10 when it happened, and I have to say I don't remember it that well. I do remember some of the songs, though. I'm trying to find more on line, but here is one to start:

A Bit Better

Things are a bit better 'round here today. The floors, wall, ceilings and everything else are now dry. The fans, dehumidifiers and heaters have been removed. It is once again quiet in the house. The temperature is slowly going down. It's only 87 downstairs and 84 upstairs now. I'm not even sweating! And, most importantly, Zinger has come out of the closet and is checking stuff out again. He's still pretty freaked out, but he's not cowering in the back of my closet any more.

Tomorrow the insurance guy comes over to look at everything. Then we'll see what happens next. I'm really looking forward to actually talking to someone that knows what is going on and what the game plan is.

Things Could Be Better 'Round Here

So today's MTTS song is "Jeanette's Broadway" from The Full Monty. She has this one line that she keeps saying throughout the song...

Things could be better 'round here

Uh, that's us.

Last night, after a rather rotten day at work, our hot water heater decided to leak. Our hot water heater is on the second floor.

Need I explain further?

MTTS

My friend Leah finally nagged me into listening to Wicked. I had this mental block against it because I didn't really like the book and just figured the musical would be the same. I've had the cast recording for ages and just never really put any effort in to listening to it (which means listening to it with no distractions). I ran out of books on tape to listen to last week and keep forgetting to update my iPod with the other books I have to listen to, so one day on the way to work I decided to listen to it.

Wow.

I'm an idiot.

It is so good! The story is really kind of sad, but the music is so great! I've been listening to it endlessly for the past week. I love it when I have a new musical to break in. The only bad part is you wake up with songs in your head that you don't know all the words to, so you find yourself shouting out things like "Good news! She's DEAD!" and "Loathing, unadulterated loathing!" at odd times. Or you mutter "Eleka nahmen nahmen ah tum ah tum eleka nahmen" to yourself at the copy machine.

This does make your co-workers look at you oddly, even when you sheepishly explain it's a tune stuck in your head from a musical.

I think I have a diagnosis on this now. I think I have Musical Theater Tourette's Syndrome (MTTS). It's a disease that mainly effects musical theater enthusiasts and manifests itself in the odd non-sequitur of lyrics being shouted/sung at odd moments. As far as I can tell, this is not fatal, but can result in embarrassing moments.

Are there enough other MTTS sufferers out there to merit a support group? If so, I'm going to see Curtains at the Lakewood Theater this Saturday. We could meet up there.

P.S. Just so you know Wicked isn't the only musical that this happens with. You have to be careful with lines like..."Being on the elevator when somebody shouts "Hold the door!" and then what follows!

I love Jasper Fforde Books!

"It's simple. If you go to see 'Saturday Night Fever' expecting it to be good, it's a corker. However, if you go expecting it to be a crock of shit, it's that, too. Thus 'Saturday Night Fever' can exist in two mutually opposing states at the very same time, yet only by the weight of our expectations. From this principle we can deduce that any opposing states can be governed by human expectation - even, as in the case of retro-deficit-engineering, the present use of a future technology."

"I think I understand that. Does it work with any John Travolta movie?"

"Only the artistically ambiguous ones such as 'Pulp Fiction' or 'Face/Off.' 'Battlefield Earth' doesn't work, because it's a stinker no matter how much you think you're going to like it, and 'Get Shorty' doesn't work either, because you'd be hard-pressed not to enjoy it, irrespective of any preconceived notions."
— Jasper Fforde (First Among Sequels)

Soda

I didn't make a big deal out of it this year, but I once again gave up soda for Lent. It gets easier and easier every year. Why do I drink this crap again? Anyway, Monday was the first day I could drink it again and I was totally anticipating a nice cool diet Coke. I scrounged $1.25 in nickles and dimes out of my change purse and headed for the soda machine, imagining that first taste of diet Coke and the way the bubbles tickle my nose.

I got to the soda machine, plugged in all my change and hit the button. "SOLD OUT" scrolls across the screen. WTF????

"Okay," I think. "No big deal. I'll just push the change button and go to the machine downstairs." I push the button. Nothing happens. More pushing of the button. More nothing happening. CRAP! The damn machine wouldn't give me my last $1.25 back!

So I had to have regular Coke. It still tasted good, but it just wasn't the same.

It's April

You know what that means...budget hearings! Yay!

So I'm putting all my friends and family on notice. I love you but you won't be seeing much of me until after May 10th. I'm not accepting any invitations, probably won't call you back or answer an email. Please don't take it personally...it just means I'm putting in a bazillion hours at work.

I might get on Facebook and complain about how busy I am and feed my zoo animals, but that's about it.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone!

You all HAVE to go check out the Peep Dioramas. Some of my favorites are:
#27 - Where Peeps Go When They Die
#37 - The Brady Peeps
#47 - Phantom of the Peeps

Here's another link to this year's finalists and winners.

Oh, oh! And the Seattle Times has some more. Got to love Peep Peep Jonrowe at the Ididarod Finish.

I had no idea I appreciated peep humor so much!

Just Stuff

Nothing too exciting to report. Just thought I'd type a quick note to catch you up for the week.

I've been home sick two days with a bad sore throat and nasty cold. I still feel like crap, but I have too much to do at work to stay home another day. Guess I'll go and infect everyone.

It was sunny and for a bit I felt better yesterday so we took the dogs up to the CASEE center for a run. I planted a letterbox. Carmen rolled in a dead frog. Eww.

Then we took the dogs to the self-dog wash and got their nails cut and gave them their first dog-wash baths in their lives. Wish I'd taken my camera in because they were pathetic. Seriously, they were really good, but they were NOT happy. I told them this is what happens to dogs that roll in dead frog guts.

This morning I heard a crash and got up to find Greg crumpled at the bottom of the landing. He's okay, but has lots of bumps and bruises. He was knocked out for a few seconds, poor guy. I think Zinger pushed him down the stairs. He's really hurting today, but I bet tomorrow will be way worse.

So that's it. See ya!

Quote for the Day

We, the unwilling, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much, for so long, with so little, we are now qualified to do anything with nothing.
Mother Teresa

That Mother Teresa was a smart cookie.

Happy Birthday!

Today is Stephen Sondheim's birthday. He has been describe as "the greatest and perhaps best-known artist in the American musical theatre."

He has written some of my favorite musicals of all time. I just pulled the following list of his works off of his website:

Alphabetical View

All That Glitters
Anyone Can Whistle
Assassins
Being Alive
The Birdcage
By Bernstein
By George
Candide
A Celebration
A Celebration At Carnegie Hall
Climb High
Company
Dick Tracy
The Doctor Is Out
Do I Hear a Waltz?
The Enclave
Evening Primrose
The Exception and the Rule
Follies
The Frogs
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Gold!
Getting Away With Murder
The Girls of Summer
Gypsy
Happily Ever After
Hey, Love
High Tor
I Believe In You
Illya Darling
In an Early Winter
Into the Woods
Invitation to a March
The Jet-Propelled Couch
The Lady or the Tiger?
The Last of Sheila
The Last Resorts
The Last Word
Library of Congress Concert
A Little Night Music
The Mad Show
The Man with the Squeaky Shoes
Marry Me a Little
Mary Poppins
Merrily We Roll Along
Moving On
A Musical Tribute
Pacific Overtures
Passion
Passionella
Phinney's Rainbow
A Pray by Blecht
Putting it Together
The Race To Urga
Reds
Ring Round the Moon
Saturday Night
The Seven Percent Solution
Side by Side by Sondheim
Singing Out Loud
Sondheim Tonight
Stavisky
A Stephen Sondheim Evening
Sunday in the Park with George
Sunset Blvd.
Sweeney Todd
The Thing of It Is
Topper
Twigs
West Side Story
Where To From Here
Wise Guys
You're Gonna Love Tomorrow


Wow, that's a list, huh?

Thanks, Stephen Sondheim, for the many hours of listening pleasure you have given me. And for the cool idea for a letterboxing series. Coming to a "Woods" near you soon!

Moods

I marvel at the way the brain works sometimes. I’ve been having a crappy week. Too much work, too little sleep, night meetings, deadlines, crabby co-workers, the whole thing. Not to mention my massage was canceled for Friday...AGAIN. I’ve been bitching and moaning to everyone who would listen about how bad my week has been. So yesterday I was listening to Forbidden Broadway – Special Victims Unit and enjoying this song where the singers were making fun of Sondheim musicals (Forbidden Assassins) and I realized I hadn’t listened to a Sondheim musical in a while. So this morning, I decided I didn’t want to listen to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and deal with THAT drama, and instead spun the dial on the old iPod to find something else. I landed on Assassins.

Now, I know you non-Broadway nerds won’t fully appreciate this without having listened to the soundtrack, but that’s okay. Assassins is a musical about men and women who either killed or attempted to kill various Presidents of the United States. Cheery subject, huh? Kind of makes you wonder what the heck ol’ Stevie was thinking (drinking?) when he came up with this idea. Anyway, it’s a weird soundtrack to listen to because it has a lot of loud yelling parts and lots of quiet talking parts along with loud singing and quiet singing all intermingled so you never know which is coming next. Oh, and there are lots of gun shots, too. So you can be going along in a song all nice and quiet, la la la, and all of a sudden BOOM! A shot rings out. It’s an eye opener, I tell ya.

So this morning I’m driving down I-205 and listening to this soundtrack. I listen to Lincoln get assassinated, FDR live through his assassination attempt, McKinley bite it, and a lovely duet with Squeaky Fromme and John Hinckley singing about their love objects (for those of you who don’t remember that would be Charles Manson and Jodie Foster, respectively). Every once in a while there is a really loud gun shot that wakes me up. And you know what’s weird? I’m in a good mood when I get to work.

Huh.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Lance Mackey, winner of the 2010 Iditarod! Nicely done, Lance!

Scary ... But with a Happy Ending

I just heard on the radio this morning that a couple Greg and I know from lure coursing have lost two of their Pharoah Hounds. They were up in Auburn at a lure coursing event and staying with some friends when two of their dogs went on a walkabout. I've seen Pharoah Hounds hold up a lure coursing trial for an hour while their owners tried to catch them, so I know these are not easy dogs to catch.

This morning I heard they had caught Luna, but her daughter Io is still out there running. Everyone please pray that Bill & Cynthia get both their dogs back safely. These dogs are loved like children and need to go home where they belong.

UPDATE:

I just read an article that said both dogs have been safely caught and are fine.
Whew! That is every sigthound owner's worst nightmare!

Forgiven

Okay, you’ve all been punished enough. Thank you for your comments and for letting me know that people actually read my blog. You are forgiven.

We will speak no more of this.

Pout

Okay, after all the crap I got from you people, I don't have a single comment on any of my posts! I'm not posting anything until I hear from someone that they are reading this blog.

So there.

A Sunburn in February

I know that I need to finish my San Francisco trip posts, but I have to sneak in this one about Saturday. I went on a power boxing trip with some of my favorite letterboxing friends: Maiden, Der Mad Stamper, RaqsEnigma, and Hunter. Maiden was kind enough to plan our route and drive us around and keep us on schedule. They picked me up at 5:30 and we headed up to Long Beach.

I forgot my set of clues, my camera, my sunglasses, and my pedometer but that in no way spoiled the day. RaqsEnigma and Maiden were kind enough to document the day for us and gave me permission to share their photos here.

Maiden actually let us have a bathroom stop on the way to Long Beach and she caught this lovely moment of Raqs and DMS.


We were at the first box at the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge and on the trail by 8:30.

I love this sign. On the left side by the three hiking figures it says "Caution, from October to May you may encounter water as high as your waist!" We took our chances and the trails were nice and dry...no water in the way or mosquitoes!


Here's me and Hunter stamping in.


The tide was out and there were all these really cool ripples along the water line.


Here's part of the group looking for the rest of the series. Unfortunately they weren't there, but we enjoyed the walk anyway. We even saw a blue heron here!


We toured historic Oysterville, which was really cool, and the old cemetery and picked up a couple more boxes.

We stopped at Loomis Lake State Park and picked up a couple more then headed for Discovery Trail to pick up a bunch of boxes in various places along the trail. No, we didn't walk the whole thing! We drove in between. We enjoyed the boardwalk and the lovely views along the way.

Dolphin sculpture


Looking down at the box finders


Clark's Tree


Pretty beach


Searching for an elusive box.


Riding on the sturgeon.


Psycho Pstampers (our team name for the day) minus Raqs who was taking the picture.


Whale skeleton.


We tried for one in Long Beach at a kite store, but the store clerk couldn't find it and we had to go away empty handed. It was okay though, because Maiden gave us 10 minutes at Marsh's Free Museum. This was an historic moment because when you are power boxing with Maiden, there are no side trips. You are there to box and everything else is ignored. But the kite store was closed for another half hour because the clerk went to lunch and she let us explore a little.


We even got to see Jake the Alligator Man in his Christmas attire.


Then we headed out to Black Lake for four boxes. What a beautiful spot! And we got some lovely images here.

Psycho Pstampers minus Maiden at Black Lake.


Pretty lake view.


Look how gorgeous this is!


After Black Lake we headed to Cape Disappointment State Park and found some more amazing boxes and beautiful countrysides.

This is a hidden grotto area by Beard's Hollow.


Hunter was kind enough to climb up to the box and then pose for a photo.


We had to navigate around this huge puddle in the middle of the path to get to the grotto area and the box.


Raqs and DMS are so photogenic!


Here's the group again.


Here are some shots at the North Head Lighthouse. I love this spot...it's so beautiful!





We did a few more boxes then headed in to Astoria. By then it was starting to get dark. Got some great shots of the sunset.




I was too tired to climb back down this sand dune after getting a box, so I took a shortcut.


Even though it was dark, we kept on boxing. We drove up to the Astoria Column and found a really great box.



Boxing in the dark!


Here are the Psycho Pstampers at the Rogue Brewery in Astoria. We ended up with 39 finds, 6 attempts, 3 geocaches and a whole lot of fun. I think we walked about 10 miles yesterday and the hill at the last Washington box was a killer.


Along the way we saw elk, bald eagles, deer, a blue hering, many dogs of various breeds (no whippets or greyhounds, though), some cows and horses, and a dead crab.

Boy, did we have fun!