Since I had such a great time exploring the deserted amusement park with LaidOutInLavender a couple of weeks ago, I've been eager to go snooping around other off-limits places* looking for photo opportunities.

Yesterday, I visited my excellent friend K2D2, who lives on a lake not far from Seattle, and we walked with K's dog to the secret cove where she had recently discovered some nifty graffiti.

We passed many beautiful and interesting things in the woods.

K's happy dog enjoyed herself in the most doggy way.

We found a couple of signs.

K lives right beside the lake, so we also spent time hanging out on her deck and the waterfront. It was a very enjoyable day, even with the booming firecrackers exploding non-stop around the lake and the powerfully amplified karaoke from the party across the water.  Thank you, K2D2, for the lovely day! and apologies for plagiarizing** the graffiti name plus the concept for all those dog-in-water shots.

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*My trespassing adventures actually date back to the summer after 10th grade when neighbor Tina and I used to sneak into the horticultural therapy rose garden on the grounds of the hospital where my mom worked and, um, liberate roses from their bushes.  I believe these are the only things I have intentionally stolen, though my brother would disagree for reasons I will not discuss here.

**Yes, I realize plagiarism is a form of theft.

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Show us something you can't explain.

25 km

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The next installment in what appears to be an ongoing series of firefighter barricade art:

this is not a fire hydrant

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Today's gripe:

• The shoulder, which had gotten apparently all better after eight weeks of not doing big right arm gestures in dance class and five weeks of physical therapy, is very unhappy again after only one class of regular use.  Noooo.....

The good stuff:

• All of a sudden, I am travel-happy.  I actually want to get on a plane and then do road trips!  Next week is a too-short vacation where there will be good company and fireflies, followed by a drive to Oregon to interview a transit operator for work, followed by a visit to a friend in the Bay area who I haven't seen since her wedding five years ago, followed by a drive to Idaho to interview a transit operator, followed by a family trip back over the mountains ... and I am actually looking forward to all of these, especially the first one.  I'm now making noises at the home office back east that I want to come out again soon, and maybe somehow I can finagle a trip to the Austin office (around the time of Austin City Limits would be nice, though unlikely).  It's like some sort of switch has flipped inside of me.  I hope it lasts.
• Work has gotten much busier.  For the first time since I started the current job, I actually feel like I need to maintain a calendar.  (I prefer to be busy at my job, but on the down-side it is kind of getting in the way of my Vox life.) 
• Started Miranda July's No one belongs here more than you yesterday while waiting for my last p.t. session, and finished Italo Calvino's The Baron in the Trees this morning at breakfast.  I am smallstoryhappy.  (I can't seem to articulate that any more accurately right now.)
• Waiting for a good thing, possibly a tremendous thing, but trying not to think too much about that because it will only result in anticipatory fear.  Right.

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Further evidence that we just don't have enough fire activity here on Capitol Hill:

by order of the fire chief!

do not look to the right

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My lovely neighbor and friend Kitty tagged me, and I've been straggling with answering.

1)  What was I doing 10 years ago?

Working as a customer service wage slave in a high-tech sweatshop for an online retailer named after a very large river.  Still mourning the loss of my mom the previous year.  Having my first mid-life crisis.  Painting, though, and dreaming of going back to school (art school).

2)  What are 5 things on my to-do list for today?

• Clean the bathroom.
• Either shoulder-limp through Wade’s class or get my lazy self on to one of the moving machines in the gym, followed by shoulder exercises.
• Take a more leisurely walk outside after the heat of the day has peaked (it is actually hot today for a change) and pick up some books on hold at the library
• Water my wee garden patch. Harvest the second strawberry if it is ripe.  (The first one was kind of sour.)
• Call a friend out east who I’m looking forward to visiting soon.  (Because there is nothing even remotely chore-like about this, and he might not even be home when I call, I'm not counting this among the five.)
• Work on the transit system brochure I slacked off on during the week. (This is fun work, though.)

3)  Snacks I enjoy:

Right now I’m addicted to strawberries and cherries and anything else that is ripe.  Cheese, olives, nuts, dark chocolate, Clif peanut butter Builder’s and mixed nuts Mojo bars, Stonewall’s Jerquee (teriyaki is my favorite).  If I'm extra hungry, Amy's pockets, especially the broccoli and cheese variety.

4)  Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

I can’t really fathom this.  After paying off my debts and my brother-and-sister-in-law’s as well, I suppose I would retire to a life of painting somewhere with old trees and old buildings and gardens and a vibrant walkable downtown and an arts community.  Endowing an animal sanctuary would be good.  I would cook more and read more and sleep more and probably even travel more.

5)  Places I have lived:

With the exception of my current tiny home in Seattle, they are all listed here.

6)  Jobs I have had:

• Babysitter
• Indexer of a someone’s personal collection of film reviews
• Toll collector
• Salad bar girl
• Dance teacher
• Bus driver
• Bookkeeper
• Airport limo driver (lasted 1 day)/airport limo desk clerk
• Dance performer
• Stagehand/sound board operator for a small theater
• Researcher/writer/planner-type for a three different small transit consulting firms
• Department store cashier
• Freelance graphic designer/illustrator
• Planner/administrator-type for a small urban/rural transit system
• Bus stop planner for a large urban transit system
• Mural painter
• Customer service provider for an online retailer
• Newsletter and website (or rather Web site, per style guide that I balked at following) editor and publications designer for a nonprofit

7)  Bloggers I am tagging who I will enjoy getting to know better:

Here is where I get all shy about asking.  If you are so inspired, please carry on!

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Vox Hunt: Share a song you listened to in 6th grade.

I might actually have been in early 7th grade when this song was popular; both grades spanned the calendar year in which this song was released. 

Elton John & Kiki Dee: Don't Go Breaking My Heart

What I really wish I could share is the song "Painted Lady" from this ...

Makes You Blind

... though I can't remember if my brother received this record when I was in sixth grade or seventh grade, and it was so bad that, after a few weeks of playing, he decided we should destroy it.  First we tried scratching it until it was unplayable.  When that didn't work to our satisfaction, we glued glitter onto the vinyl.  When dry, we returned it to its cardboard jacket and then left it on the front porch of the house across the street (the Wootens) when no one was looking.  I wish at least one of us had seen the reaction of whoever found it. 

Just for kicks, I looked, and lo and frickin' behold! the song is actually on YouTube.  Bro, this one's for you:

The Glitter Band: Painted Lady

Postscript:  My brother has informed me that the Glitter Band record entered our household in 1977, or maybe as late as 1978.  Alas, I am old enough to have lapses in memory.

Post-postscript:  I actually liked "Painted Lady" and was secretly sad to destroy it.  Hearing it again after all these years, I still think it's quite catchy, lyrics aside.

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On Sunday, I had the great pleasure of meeting my lovely new friend LaidOutInLavender and sharing a photo adventure.  The lure of the cute, the macabre, the antique, and Barbie led us to the doll and teddy bear show at the Puyallup fairgrounds.  It was great fun to browse the variety of creepiness and kitschy charm of the show, which I enjoyed all the more in the wonderful company of Lavender’s playful sense of humor, delight in discovery, appreciation for weird cuteness, and her all-around delightfulness.  

Charmin' Chatty records

grilled cheese and potato salad

Though I was too timid to take many pictures of the dolls, I couldn’t resist the miniature records, as well as our decorative lunch platters.

After we made the full tour of showroom floor, we strolled out into the sunshine, trying to appear nonchalant while heading off into the closed-off, deserted fairgrounds.  Amazingly, no one noticed us climbing on to the boarding area of the Coaster Thrill Ride.  (Lavender shared some history on this wooden roller coaster as well as link to a nifty fact sheet in her post on our outing.)  Like Lavender, this is the roller coaster on which I had my first ride (and hopefully last).

We also explored the base of the sleeping Jumping ride, which looks like it probably spins crazily in addition to jumping, and started working our way into the ground-level framework of the Monster Mouse, snapping pictures until a macho yet kindly security guard caught us and gently warned us of the safety risks ... and the fact that we really weren’t supposed to be out there.  (Who, us?  Golly, we didn’t know that.) 

We next roamed the neighborhood around the fairgrounds before heading back to the Lavender home, where I got to meet Mr. Lavender, the kittycats, and the turtle.  I felt so at home in her home, like I did just being with her that afternoon, as if we have already been friends for a long time.  I am so glad we overcame our mutual shyness enough to meet, and look forward to spending time together again soon.  Thank you, LaidOutInLavender, for such a wonderful day!

Lavender in the tall tall grass

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I'm not going to make an unhappy list today.  If I did, the only thing I would mention is that Seattle is chilly and gray again.  However, since it was sunny and blue-skied for the previous three days, I won't mention it.  (Have you noticed that I never mention the greater problems of the outside world?  Occasionally I do manage to pull my head out of the sand and listen to the radio news which wakes me up on workdays.  What I hear almost always belongs on the downer list.)

The good stuff:

• joining LaidOutInLavender for a photo stroll this coming weekend
• three of her lovely photos will soon brighten my home
• my shoulder is getting better
• I'm working on a route map for a transit system in Maryland (I have a secret fantasy of being a cartographer, which now is no longer a secret.)
• starting to think about travel plans, even of they involve airplanes
• revealing truths, as scary as it is to expose my soft underbelly
• moving beyond the vestibule of my sometimes disabling insecurities

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