(no subject)
Dreamed that all the bridges in Portland had collapsed (except one, which wasn't in fact a real bridge), so people were resorting to speedboat for transportation. I was there with Todd, and we had a boat, and that was cool. There were also frogs, crocodiles, and Mark Lenard. (Mark Lenard is an occasional recurring figure in my dreams. Not sure what that means. Perhaps that I am a geek.) I told him what a fabulous character I thought Sarek is/was - exactly the sort of father figure someone like Spock needed in his background.
Yeah, geek.
Speaking of which, I'm off today to a game store to buy dice and figurines for the D&D campaign that's starting today. Exciting! I have dice, but I'm buying Sarah a set so that she has her own. I might buy myself another set as well, just because there is nothing wrong with having oodles and oodles of dice. If they have any particularly cool ones, I'll definitely go for them.
Yesterday was something of an adventure. Some folks (Jesse, Robert, Sarah, me) decided to plan a slightly impromptu picnic on Powell Butte, in spite of 20% chance of showers. It was perfectly lovely in the morning. We even brought sunglasses and sunscreen.
And it was lovely for the walk up - interesting sun-and-cloud formations, beautiful shadows on the hills all around, and Powell Butte, as always, showcasing her lovely tall grasses and scrubby trees. It was an excellent prelude to afforementioned D&D campaign, of which all present were a part. I, as befits a ranger, took point.
We reached the top, found a nice area to sit where the grass wasn't too tall, and sat down to enjoy our picnic. A few minutes later, however, the dark threatening clouds rolled in overhead. We had just finished our chicken when we felt the first drops, and we made haste for the trees. Soon it was coming down in buckets, and it was a mad scramble to assemble a makeshift shelter out of Jesse's poncho and the string from inside Robert's paracord shoelaces. (I will never again mock that man for being overprepared.) Under this we huddled in our summer clothes and enjoyed the rest of our picnic in laughing mockery of the elements.
By the time we'd all eaten our fill, it was still pouring down with no sign of stopping nor a break in the cloudbank. We decided to brave it back to the car and make all due haste to Robert's house, where we would enjoy hot cocoa and s'mores. The trail was a stream in many places and a bog in others, and by the end we all resembled drowned rats and were freezing cold. Robert's house had not only s'mores and cocoa, but warm, oversized pajamas and a dryer. So we spent an afternoon in Robert's pajamas playing video games and watching things on Youtube. It was a fun day overall, in spite of the adventure in the rain.
My philosophy on rain is that if it's really raining, you're going to get wet, and there's very little you can do about it. You'll survive. May as well enjoy it while you can. (Unless, of course, you really are in the wilderness and rain could lead to hypothermia when the sun goes down. Then, you might start to plan your escape route.)
I scalded my tongue on the hot cocoa though. Everything tastes like ow. XP
Later, after getting home, it turned out that Todd would be in town for one night and one night only - passing through to get his truck on the way to Seattle. So we went out for midnight Denny's with him, which was fun. It's good to see him. (I still maintain that my mom prooooobably should have married him instead of Ben, but hey. What's the use of saying so at this point?)
And on the way back, while Todd was dropping us off at home, there were a pair of fucking COYOTES roaming around Corbett! COYOTES!! Now, raccoons, I'm accustomed to. And birds of prey are par for the course. But coyotes are far more wild wildlife than I'm used to seeing in the city.
This has reinforced my resolve that Simon should NEVER EVER GO OUTSIDE AGAIN WHILE WE LIVE HERE. EVER. My kitty will NOT be coyote snack. :(
And now... TO THE GAME STORE!
Yeah, geek.
Speaking of which, I'm off today to a game store to buy dice and figurines for the D&D campaign that's starting today. Exciting! I have dice, but I'm buying Sarah a set so that she has her own. I might buy myself another set as well, just because there is nothing wrong with having oodles and oodles of dice. If they have any particularly cool ones, I'll definitely go for them.
Yesterday was something of an adventure. Some folks (Jesse, Robert, Sarah, me) decided to plan a slightly impromptu picnic on Powell Butte, in spite of 20% chance of showers. It was perfectly lovely in the morning. We even brought sunglasses and sunscreen.
And it was lovely for the walk up - interesting sun-and-cloud formations, beautiful shadows on the hills all around, and Powell Butte, as always, showcasing her lovely tall grasses and scrubby trees. It was an excellent prelude to afforementioned D&D campaign, of which all present were a part. I, as befits a ranger, took point.
We reached the top, found a nice area to sit where the grass wasn't too tall, and sat down to enjoy our picnic. A few minutes later, however, the dark threatening clouds rolled in overhead. We had just finished our chicken when we felt the first drops, and we made haste for the trees. Soon it was coming down in buckets, and it was a mad scramble to assemble a makeshift shelter out of Jesse's poncho and the string from inside Robert's paracord shoelaces. (I will never again mock that man for being overprepared.) Under this we huddled in our summer clothes and enjoyed the rest of our picnic in laughing mockery of the elements.
By the time we'd all eaten our fill, it was still pouring down with no sign of stopping nor a break in the cloudbank. We decided to brave it back to the car and make all due haste to Robert's house, where we would enjoy hot cocoa and s'mores. The trail was a stream in many places and a bog in others, and by the end we all resembled drowned rats and were freezing cold. Robert's house had not only s'mores and cocoa, but warm, oversized pajamas and a dryer. So we spent an afternoon in Robert's pajamas playing video games and watching things on Youtube. It was a fun day overall, in spite of the adventure in the rain.
My philosophy on rain is that if it's really raining, you're going to get wet, and there's very little you can do about it. You'll survive. May as well enjoy it while you can. (Unless, of course, you really are in the wilderness and rain could lead to hypothermia when the sun goes down. Then, you might start to plan your escape route.)
I scalded my tongue on the hot cocoa though. Everything tastes like ow. XP
Later, after getting home, it turned out that Todd would be in town for one night and one night only - passing through to get his truck on the way to Seattle. So we went out for midnight Denny's with him, which was fun. It's good to see him. (I still maintain that my mom prooooobably should have married him instead of Ben, but hey. What's the use of saying so at this point?)
And on the way back, while Todd was dropping us off at home, there were a pair of fucking COYOTES roaming around Corbett! COYOTES!! Now, raccoons, I'm accustomed to. And birds of prey are par for the course. But coyotes are far more wild wildlife than I'm used to seeing in the city.
This has reinforced my resolve that Simon should NEVER EVER GO OUTSIDE AGAIN WHILE WE LIVE HERE. EVER. My kitty will NOT be coyote snack. :(
And now... TO THE GAME STORE!