/hibernation

I have been extremely lax in my blogging these last several months. You know how it goes: Busy doing fun things. Not organized enough to put photos on Flickr. No photos = no writing about fun things. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. I shall attempt to remedy that this weekend by doing a massive upload of photos. I’ll be doing them in installments, starting with last August.

It’s March. Pretty soon we will have ploughed through a quarter of the year. What have I been up to this year? What’s coming up? Hey, look! A list!

1. Coming up on Friday, I have a phone interview for a Project Archivist position at an area library. The lovely folks at MIT have offered to do a mock interview with me on Thursday to help me prep. I’ve also expanded my job search to include positions back in the DC/Baltimore area.
2. I had a whirlwind trip to Maryland and Florida last week. I left Boston for Baltimore on the 20th, caught the Riveters/CCRG bout, spent several days among friends and family in Maryland (met the BFF’s girlfriend, she’s rad), left for Florida on the 24th, spent a few days on the Gulf Coast with my seester and JeT’s dad enjoying the 80 degree weather, caught a Red Sox spring training game, then landed in Boston just as the snow began to fall Sunday morning. It was a bit of a wild week: one morning I woke up to broken glasses and raw patches on my hands and face. I try to tell people that the raw skin was due to extremely dry skin, and the glasses were on their way out anyway. There are some, however, who refuse to believe this and assert that I must have been in a bar fight.
3. I now have new glasses. They are red. And shaped rather like my pair-before-last, slightly cat-eye. Did I mention they are red? And awesome? Yes.
4. PRD is gearing up for the 2009 season. Our last batch of newbies joined in January, and there are only a couple left who haven’t yet passed their assessments to claim their name. This is really exciting! It’s going to be a fantastic season! I shall be continuing as the Rookie Wrangler, and I’ll also be taking on the job of League Archivist. I’m also going to be playing in two away games. In Canada! Also, PRD is playing host to several travel teams this year. The first Riveters home bout is against Harrisburg Area Roller Derby (HARD) on April 11 at the RICC. The Killah Bees are hosting the Skate Free or Die girls at a scrimmage next weekend, and then we play them at a NH bout in April. I’m not going to be playing in that one, though, as I’ll be playing in Ottowa the following week. It’s going to be a derby-filled summer, indeed. (Check www.providencerollerderby.com regularly for the most recent updates.)
5. I haven’t been very crafty though. I did finally finish my SIL’s hat and scarf, delivered only two months late. The BFF has a birthday coming up and I’m working on something for him. I started a hyperbolic plane in blue and white cotton, which was supposed to be a bath pouf. I ran out of the white, half way through the last round. I might just knot it off and call it done, though, since the whole reason for making it was to do a bit of stash busting. I also have to make another Jayne hat for myself, since I lost the one I made last Fall. Once I actually get going on something, I’ll feel better.
6. I have severely neglected my pen pals these last several months. The end of the derby season in September ate up all my time, and then it was fall, and then winter, and now here it is nearly spring and some of them haven’t heard from me in ages. It’s not due to lack of caring, but rather to severe lack of organization. I just need to cart around my little notebook of writing supplies, then I can write while I commute, just like old times.
7. Saw They Might Be Giants a while ago. They were super great, as usual. They played so many songs! And many many were ones I’d never heard them play before, or hadn’t heard in a long while. We made some concert friends, which was fun.
8. We have a new car: a 2008 Kia Sportage, silvery grey. It’s awesome. We can accelerate. Uphill! And it’s big enough to fit my legs! And passengers!
9. Though I have been bringing my lunch to work nearly every day (thanks to JeT who actually prepares and packs the food), I miss bringing super fun bentos. I shall endeavor to remedy this. We’ve been making some new foods, though, so we’re slowly edging out of our food rut, which I’m very happy about. More new foods to come, and of course bento photos!
10. I’ve recently discovered Wild Turkey’s American Honey. If you’re a fan of whiskey or bourbon, you need to try this. Even if you normally hate the stuff, you need to try this. It’s golden awesomeness in a bottle. Highly recommended.
11. Speaking of imbibing, my librarian friends and I came up with a blog idea to help us broaden our beer horizons. We plan to sample a different kind of beer each month, and report our findings on the blog. We’re still thinking of a name, though. I was all ready to go in January, and then I sort of just forgot about it. This should be quite fun, once we get going!
12. I would like to go bowling. And ice skating. And just go out more often. Maybe stay in town for a bit on Fridays or something. I just need to get my act together and play cruise director, I think. I’ve just been so disorganized; I haven’t felt like myself for months and months. I think I’m finally coming out of my stupor, though. I think the sunshine did me some good. I’ll work on my schedule this weekend, and will start planning some outings. I wonder where my planner is… probably under the laundry somewhere.
13. First outing: This Friday, March 6th! Watchmen! Who’s in? JeT and I are going to see it in Boston (on the Common). We’re buying our tix tonight, if anyone’s interested.
14. And then there are a couple of concerts coming up: OK Go! and The Pogues! So excited!

Country girl at heart

Hi! Remember me? That person who used to do fun stuff and then post about it? Yeah, well, I still do fun stuff (derby), but don’t really have much to say other than: fun. sore. derby. sore. fun. bruise. skates. sore. derby. fun. And that gets a bit redundant, yes? But wait! I did something else! I went to Colorado for Andrea and Bill’s wedding! It was so much fun!

And, wow, did I need a vacation. Even for only a few days. Mountain air. Hiking at 8,500 feet. Watching two awesome people be awesome together. Hanging out with GSLIS folks who have moved away (to Baltimore and Austin). It was a great time, indeed.

As soon as I came back (yesterday) I started looking at job options and living arrangements beyond the Boston area. Originally, I hadn’t been looking for anything outside of this area because of Jesse’s promotion, but then I got to thinking. If I still have to work part-time, temporary jobs in the interim, I can look for full-time stuff elsewhere, and make it a two-to-three year plan for getting out of the area. I need mountains. Or at least not paved-as-hell urban/suburban sprawl. I need air not completely tainted with smog. As Bilbo said “I want to see mountains, Gandalf, mountains!” Hell, I even pre-applied for Canadian permenant residence to keep my options wide open. I looked at the listings for Memorial University (in St. John’s Newfoundland), but nothing came up so far. They do have a several-person archival staff, so there may be hope getting in on the ground floor or something. But that’s a digression for another day. I’m still applying for stuff around here, because, well, I need to move beyond my essentially student-level jobs. But, a fire has been lit, and I’m keeping my options for the future WAY open.
We’re already planning out trip back to the Frying Pan River Valley area in a couple of years. As soon as we began the four hour drive from Denver into the mountains, we knew we had to come back to see more of it. They have a hot springs, too! And who doesn’t love an outdoor bath?

Anyway, all this is a rambly way to say, “I’m back from Colorado.” Photos and details of the trip forthcoming.

Welcome Autumn! (or apples and quilts)

apples

A little bit early, perhaps, but I couldn’t wait. Last weekend was super fun. Kristen celebrated her last year as a twenty-something in the usual manner: with apples, beer, and friends. I had a blast. I love apple picking, and look forward to it every year. Tasty! This year was a bit soggier than years past, due to the rain that morning, but we didn’t see much of it while out picking apples because most of us were quite late to the gathering. See, it pays to be tardy!

I’ve never been apple picking at any other place, but I can’t ever see us wanting to go anywhere other than Russel Orchard in Ipswich, MA. It’s perfect. You’ve got your hay ride up to the orchards, farm animals roaming around, pumpkins gathered for sale, a big barn store filled with produce, honey, (and here’s the best bit) several varieties of fruit wine. After sampling nearly every variety of wine, we settled on their black currant. It’s a sweet dessert wine, but still has a bit of a tart/dryness that keeps it from being overly sweet, in my opinion.

After apples and fun at the orchard, the caravan traveled to Salem for dinner at the Beer Works. Food and beer were excellent as usual. Salem businesses close down quite early, so we didn’t get the opportunity to check out the apothecary, unfortunately. After that, we headed to Kristen’s and watched the Rev’s game (woo!), played Scene It, and had some more food and drink. We ended up leaving rather early since we had to be somewhere the next morning. I wish we could have stayed over and chatted some more, though.

Sunday morning was Patti’s quilt show. Her guild (the Silver City Quilt Guild) has only been around for a year or so, and this was their first show. I don’t even know how many quilts were entered into the show, but by the looks of it, it was a complete success. I hope the vendors fared well, too. Each program had a ballot included so you could vote for your favorite quilt. JeT picked one of Patti’s and I picked one of the three hand quilted ones. Which brings me to the following conclusion: I’m a craft snob, I think. Some of these quilts were quite beautiful, and as I’m marveling at the skill with which they are put together, I notice a comment in the accompanying description indicating that such and such a quilt has been machine quilted by so and so (often a different person than the quilter at hand).

I found it jarring that so many quilts in this guild’s show were quilted by machine. Yes, it does take skill to execute complicated stitchery using a machine, but still, what I find most impressive about quilting is the time devoted to the creation of one object. My mother hand quilts everything she makes. It takes her months to finish one quilt. We’re talking hundreds of hours. A machine takes, what, a couple of hours at most? And the fact that they’re being sent out to be quilted. I don’t know, I guess it seems a bit like cheating. And to top it all off, the ones that were hand quilted were done with very little skill. Again, I’m comparing them with my mother’s work, where the stitches are minuscule and perfect. The emphasis was certainly on the piecing of the quilt top, and the quilting was a sort of after thought. In having so many machine quilted items, it’s like they were missing out on half of the craft. See? Quilt snob. And I’m not even a quilter.

That being said, most of them were stunningly beautiful, and it was difficult choosing which one I liked the best. There were some really lovely color combinations. I walked up to one, and went “ooh, I love the color in this one.” Of course, it was one of Patti’s, and she creates her quilts using fabric that she dyes and paints herself. It’s breathtaking. I also learned a couple of new techniques, which are making me want to take up quilting again. Alas, that’s one craft that’s going to have to wait. The crafty back log is already staggering.

We LoVermont (and merkins)

mossy stairs

H and E invited us to share a house in Wilmington, Vermont for the long weekend. We (MO, JeT, and I) went up on Friday evening, arriving at the house in Wilmington around 10:30 pm. Our hosts and the rest of the gang (M, R(rrr), and the Bohninator) were already there. The house was quite cozy with the eight of us, but didn’t feel crowded. We got to sleep in the way awesome loft. We stayed up way past our bedtimes playing games, talking, knitting, and playing with Serina the kitty. Silly me didn’t take photos of the inside of the house, so you’ll have to depend on R(rrr)’s photos for that (here and here), and all the other stuff I missed. (She also gives a great re-cap of the weekend.) As usual, click on the photo to see the others in the set.

Saturday was spent at a farmer’s market (where I bought an awesome hat) and shopping in Brattleboro. We walked around town, browsing the bookshops, the thrift stores, etc. I bought a wicked awesome umbrella, that didn’t leave my side all weekend, and which came in quite handy. The weather was gorgeous: cool temps, blue skies, sunshine. It really was perfect. Even in that nice weather I’d wilt in the sun, though. I also bought a cute little bead in the shape of a mouse, which I will make into a stitch marker. After dinner we played games and (again) stayed up way too late chatting and laughing and what not.

On Sunday we walked down to Wilmington center and browsed the shops. I bought a necklace made of amber beads at an antique shop. It was only $15! It’s lovely. I love amber. Some might say it’s because I am a tree. Thank goodness I had my own shade on the walk back because whew! uphill! out of shape! After we refreshed ourselves back at the house, we got in the cars and drove to the park with the lake (I don’t remember the name… I’ll have to look it up and edit the post). Basically we just took pictures by the water, and then laid in the grass attempting to avoid the goose shit. After dinner and some games, we had a fire in the pit out back. E, Bohninator, and JeT kept it going quite nicely, indeed. Hooray for boy scouts and their hangers on.

While relaxing by the fire, we had a lovely round of “The Merkin Game,” where the goal is to replace one word of any film title with the word “merkin.” (ETA: link not work friendly.) JeT had some of the funniest (it’s always the quiet ones, eh?). I can’t remember them right now (knew I should have written them down), but post in the comments if you remember them. We had just learned the word that weekend, and it never stopped being funny.

Monday afternoon was spent at the park with the lake, where we had a lovely picnic lunch. We left the park around 4 and drove home from there. We got back in to town around 7 and were greeted by a highly agitated kitty. Once we picked him up he was perfectly content again, though. The Bean kept an eye on him while we were gone.

This was one of the best short vacations I’ve ever had. Nothing went wrong: the weather was perfect, the house didn’t explode with all of us in it (though I did catch the garlic bread on fire, but that was minor), no one injured themselves, cars behaved as they should… all in all a fantastic weekend. Thank you to all of our friends who made it so wonderful, and thanks again to H and E for inviting us to Vermont.

I should mention that we did pick up a few real estate catalogues.

A crafty weekend

Arrrrrrgh

This weekend was quite fun. And productive. I love it when a plan comes together.

Throughout the entire weekend, I finished M’s bridal shower keepsake book, pictured here. I think it came out quite well. I have to do one repair on it, and let that set, before I can pop it in the post to be sent to its proper owner. I think she will like it.

Click through for more photos of the book, and for photos of all the other stuff (crafty or otherwise) that we did this weekend. The photos have all the crafty details, etc.

Friday evening, MO came over to watch LOTR with JeT and I. During that time, I finished the yellow skirt that I had been planning for ages. (I never did get around to making the green one, nor the apron, that I had wanted to make this weekend, but oh well. Sewing always takes longer than I anticipate.) After I finished (and modeled) the skirt, I worked on the knitted bonnet. I finished the head portion that evening.

Saturday morning was absolutely perfect. I love waking up to crisp, clear, blue skies, and slightly chilly. A little taste of autumn to come. We packed leftovers and went to Massasoit State Park for a picnic and a lovely walk. It took us a while to actually find a trail, because the trails don’t really match what’s on the map. They sort of do, but it’s the difference between the trail going behind campsites, as they appear on the map, or going through campsites (with people camping in them), which was the reality. After several apologies, we found a trail whose relationship with the one depicted in the map was fairly consistent. It was a fun afternoon, though.

That evening, we had a couple of friends over (MO and Rrrrr) for brownie icecream sundaes and a fire. It was quite unplanned, hence only two friends were able to attend, but fun nonetheless. I love building fires. It’s one of my favorite things to do. Luckily for me (and everyone around me) I have a stable enough personality that my fire love doesn’t tend toward the criminal. Pyrophiliac? Is that a word?

On Sunday we had another not-so-secret-anymore meeting to finish the post-wedding gift for M and the Bohninator. We got off to a slow start, so I was able to finish the neck portion of the bonnet, as well as one of the I cords. We have our next meeting tonight, and hopefully that will go more smoothly, now that we kind of know what we want to do. Sunday night I finished the other I cord, and did all the finishing work for the bonnet. I didn’t bother washing and blocking it, though.

I’ve made a list of all the stuff I have to make for Christmas this year. It’s really long. And there are only 18 weeks until Christmas. (Don’t panic.) By my calculations I have to finish at least one or two items each week to make the deadline. And that’s not even calculating shipping times. EEK! Next year, I’m starting in May.

Berries, games, and music

Bountiful harvest

It was another busy summer weekend, hooray! The weather this month has not been horrible, and I’m super excited about that. August usually has numerous stretches of unbearable days, but luckily this year we’ve had several good days in between the icky. Today is possibly one of the nicest days ever.

Saturday was pretty nice, too. JeT and I went with my old college roommate and her parents to pick blueberries at Eastover Farm in Rochester (owned and operated by the Hiller family since 1912). Tons of berries everywhere! We picked 6 pounds and pretty much stayed in the same spot the whole time. (I went back today and picked a few more pounds. In the hour and a half that I was there, I only picked from three bushes.)

Saturday was also M’s birthday party (her actual birthday was Thursday), which was a lot of fun. We played a pop culture trivia game. I am no good with trivia. I don’t know anyone’s name. Under the pressure of the competition, I nearly forgot Alan Rickman’s name for goodness’ sake! It was a super fun game, though. Thanks to The Bohnsternator (I’m trying to come up with blog names for you all) for putting together the questions and for moderating. Rrrrrr (you know, like pirates?) made us all wear hats with our team names on them, and photographs of ourselves, in case we forgot what we looked like. Our team was called The Noblets, after the character Chuck Noblet, played by Stephen Colbert, in Strangers with Candy. (See more photos of that evening here.)

Leaving the party was a bit of an adventure. Unfortunately someone’s house a block over was on fire. The streets were filled with police cars and fire trucks. Our car was not parked on the same street as the house fire, but it was just around the corner. Near a fire hydrant. So, we were blocked in. One of the neighbors came over to move her car so I could wiggle out of the space between the curb and the fire truck. I ended up having to back up the hill, maneuvering around the fire truck, and a police car. I panicked a bit because all these people were on the sidewalk watching me. Weird. But I’d rather have to do some awkward driving than have my house burn down, so I’m not really complaining.

Sunday afternoon we drove out to western MA for a Great Big Sea concert. They are from Newfoundland and they rock! We picked up Blake (can’t think of a good name for him), picked up SEA from the Eric Carle Museum where she volunteers on Sundays, got some dinner from this great restaurant in Northampton, and made our way to Look Park, where the concert was to be. We parked and then began the trek to the outdoor theater.

We started walking towards one particular pavilion only to find that there was only a handful of old people listening to Kenny G type music. Didn’t seem like the type of crowd, nor the type of opening act appropriate for the awesomeness that is GBS. So we asked the uniformed folks in the golf cart where we should go, and eventually made it to the correct location.

The concert rocked. They played all the hits. (Or as they say “all the hit.”) I danced until my feet were dirty and sore (no shoes! plushy grass!) They are so much fun, and this venue was a great way to showcase their talents. They fit perfectly in an outdoor place or in a pub. They make me want to go back to Newfoundland. The opening band was pretty good, too: Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers. They did this great pop culture medley set to one of their folky tunes. It ruled.

All in all a fantastic weekend. I’m seriously enjoying this summer. I usually hate summer, and I’ll probably hate it again before too long, once this gorgeous weather goes away. I don’t mind the rainy, overcast days, but hate, hate, hate! the hot, humid ones. Days like today, though, are absolutely perfect.

“There is too much; let me sum up.”

The last couple of weeks have been rather crazy. Some upsetting things, some wonderful things, and everything in between. Chronologically, earliest to most recent, this is what’s been going on:

1. We still don’t know what killed Phoebe. Rather, we know she died of internal bleeding, but do not know its cause. The Shanks has had many blood tests and will continue to take Vitamin K until his blood coagulation rate is back within the normal range.
2. In happier news, Miss Kitty and 007 got married! We’re so happy for yous! Yay! I was a bridesmaid and had a fantastic time. JeT was the DJ and rocked the house. My favorite dance was the polka with the best man. Our “secret meeting” dance was a hit. We performed our version of OK Go’s C-c-c-cinnamon Lips, and kicked quite a lot of arse, if I may say so. Interested parties can find photographs of the event here, and here. (The latter has amusing commentary.)
3. We went to Maryland to visit my family. It was great! Some of my Canadian family came to visit my parents at the same time, so that was a treat as well. My little cousins aren’t so little anymore. My nephews are growing up, too. You know, when these kids aren’t being terrors, they’re quite funny.

   We played a Newfie game called 120. I’ll have to show you all some time. I learned it when I was 15, and am finally getting the hang of it. Really, it’s not so hard, but I only play every few years or so. I actually won a couple of games this time! Much fun was also had playing darts in the garage and bocce in the lawn.

   I also brought home a ton of books from my parents’ house. ‘Cause, you know, I’m really short on books. Mostly they’re the Harvard Classics, which my mum read while they were stationed in Spain. And some of my old books from when I was a kid, which were given me by my Great Aunt Eunice, to whom I bear a great resemblance. Speaking of my aunt, I also brought back this mechanical bird/music box thingie she left me. It’s rad. It’s really old and still in fantastic shape. If ever we should encounter an “Antiques Roadshow” event, I’m taking that.

   MO was kind enough to watch the Shanks while we were gone. He was happy to see us when we returned, and I’m not ashamed to say the feeling was indeed mutual. Poor little (ok, not little, but still) guy was left on his own without The Phoebes for a whole week. We almost didn’t go on our vacation, but since he didn’t look to be in imminent danger, we decided to go. I’m glad we did.

4. There was a fantastic party at BlogSEA manor last weekend. Muchos foodies and drinks, though despite my best efforts, sober I remained. Gathered ’round the firepit (which was, of course, used for cooking, why do you ask, officer?) ’til the wee hours of the morn.

   We received a late night visitor. Stranger’s name was Andy, i think. Looking for someone called Mitch, was it? I don’t know. I couldn’t understand a word he said. I don’t do well with mumblers. He chilled for a bit, and then left. Then in the middle of the night, there was a bit of a hullabaloo in the parking lot across the way. Many officers, a bit of yelling, someone kicked our car in frustration (no damage done), a car being thoroughly searched (not ours). Bunch of savages in this town. An eventful evening, though.

   The next day was spent riverside, enjoying the sandy beach and swimming. I need to live near clean, moving water. NEED! It was wonderful and relaxing.

   On the way home, the alternator broke, and we were stranded on the side of the Mass. Pike. Apparently, our Kia Roadside Assistance doesn’t serve that particular highway, so we had to pay $80 bucks to be towed 5 miles, so that we could then phone the Kia people again to tow us the rest of the 30 miles home, which cost $13. I must mention that this song began to play just as we were being picked up by the first tow truck guy. Hilarious. The second tow truck guy was wicked funny, and laughed heartily at JeT sitting on my lap for the ride home. I told him that I was not laboring under the misapprehension that I am a small person. We finally got home more than six hours after we had left.

   I should also mention that our vet was kind enough to pop by the house and give ‘Shanks his meds and a bit of food. He’s a friend of the family, and is very good to us and our kitty.

The rest of this week has been uneventful, thank goodness. Just enjoying the not-so-hot days and eating popsicles. Tonight we resume our secret meetings for some wrap-up filming and whatnot.

Tomorrow is HP day in Harvard Square!

Home again, home again, jiggity-jig

(As my Grandmother used to say)

Well, we’re back. A day earlier than we thought we were going to be home, because I can’t read itineraries, apparently.

We had a fantastic time in Newfoundland. I’m exhausted, sad to leave Canada, but happy to be home. The cats missed us terribly, I think. Well, Crookshanks did. Phoebe just scarfed down her food, and meowed to go outside. ‘Shanks hasn’t left our side since we got home.

We took tons of photos, and I’ll post the highlights once I have a chance to sort through them all. I tried to send out as many postcards as I had time for, but some might not come for another day or so, since I just mailed a bunch of them from the boat Wednesday night/Thursday morning. They probably went out in the post from Cape Breton.

Now I have to shift my brain to get ready for school in a couple of weeks. Argh. After traveling about 3000 miles (round trip) I don’t want to think about much of anything, really.

Anyone who has a chance to see Newfoundland, though, should take the opportunity. It’s absolutely beautiful and wonderful. Long live The Rock.

Lee Ving…

… but not on a rail train.

We leave tomorrow for the Great White North. The forcast for our destination is 60s and drizzling. Ah, refreshment! We’ll be there for the Blueberry Festival, I hope. I could go for some awesome Newfoundland blueberry jam. Oh, and bakeapple jam, too. (Also known as cloud berries.)

I won’t have access to the internet while I’m gone, but I’ll retro-post when I get back. I’ll take a ton of pictures, I’m sure. I’m determined to actually see a moose close enough to get a good photo. (Though I’d rather the moose were far away from the car while we’re moving. Scary business, those moose accidents.)

See you all in a couple of weeks. Look to your mailbox.

How Mt. Monadnock Kicked My Ass

On Saturday, some friends came over for an impromptu gathering. When Louisa was on her way out, she mentioned that she and Jeremy were going hiking the next day… I asked her if we could come along since JeT and I were planning on going to Purgatory Chasm for a bit anyway, and it would be much more fun to go with other people. She said they were going to Mt. Monadnock, a place that I have heard of quite a bit, but had never actually gone. Back in the Outing Club days there had been several trips, none of which I had attended. So the plans were set.

The next day, Louisa and Jeremy arrive with Frank, Jeremy’s brother, and his girlfriend, Christy (or is is Chrissy… darn, I’ve forgotten… oops). Travelling in two cars we get to Monadnock State Park on a very drizzly, foggy mid morning. What began with a desire to get my butt off the couch (or away from the computer) resulted in much panting, huffing, puffing, and alternately sweating and freezing and soaking wet. And that was just the trip up. My legs were doing great, woo hoo for strong legs… my heart and lungs however were appaled that I ever had that urge to get off the couch. But dammit it was for their own good.

We reach the top. In ideal conditions, this would have been the point at which we all stood at the summit in awe at the beautiful view and marvelled at our strength to huff and puff our way all the way up. Instead, I crawled to the place where the little commemorative “coin” thingie is imbedded in the rock signifying the highest bit (crawling for the wind was quite fierce, and the rocks quite slippery from the drizzle) and proceeded to crawl my way to where my friends were hiding– behind a little boulder area, a shelter from the wind. There we ate lunch. yum. The only view was of the rocks we were standing on and the grey surrounding everything.

By the time the meal was finished, the cloudy foggy stuff had completely surrounded us. It was pretty neat, actually, if bone chilling and soggy. We began our slow decent. Most of the time was spent sliding down on my butt,sometimes voluntarily, most not, since everything was quite slick. . We were all quite thankful to be back under the shelter of the trees. If my heart and lungs were put to the test on the way up, my legs got the most of the burden on the way down. By the time we reached the area where we parked the cars, if I even stood still for five seconds, my legs turned to jelly and began wriggling uncontrollably. Rather amusing, I’d say.

Feeling exhausted, but whole heartedly fulfilled, we climbed into the cars and headed home. I had apple pie for dinner, and an early bedtime for dessert.

the end.

Replies: 2 comments… woo hoo!

Joelle and me have a psychic connection…we’re just a lil slow sometimes. Joelle! I’ve been thinking about heading to Purgatory or Mt. Wachusett sometime this weekend or next week.

We should plan a gathering!

Posted by EvillMonkey @ 10/14/2003 04:32 PM EST