Color me a slacker...
It's always so depressing to me to see a highly neglected web page. You know those ones that haven't been updated since about 2004 and you come across them on occasion while looking for something obscure? So I guess I shouldn't make this one of those...
Still, there's not enough hours in the day to get everything done. I remember days of being bored, and they seem long long gone.
So what's new?
I moved some time ago into a quaint apartment in Tacoma. It's across the street from Wright Park, something I should take advantage of more often. Still, I have a nice view of Mt. Rainier and some of town.
Belle likes to hang out on her big scratching post and watch the people go by. I think she thinks they are all bugs because they are small from up here, and she likes to chase whatever lands on the windowsills, anyway.
I was sad that I would not be able to grow a garden for the first time ever (not including the two years in the dorms) until I realized that there was no reason I shouldn't. I bought a lot of plastic pots and potting soil, and have had at least moderate success. The peas didn't get very big before they bloomed and produced a few tiny pods. They like much colder weather than I can manage inside, especially with my hibiscus liking warmer weather.
It didn't take well to the sudden change in temperature (about 90 in the greenhouse on a hot day to about 40 over that night at my apartment) but seems to be coming back okay. It's sort of a rescue plant.
The corn shows a small amount of promise, but I have found that Belle likes to lie in those pots when I'm away, so some of them have suffered. The cucumber and pumpkin vines seem to be doing okay, and may produce some sort of fruiting bodies from the 20 or so blooms between them. Belle's started lying in the cucumber pot, too, though.
I am most pleased, however, with the sunflowers. They were what started the whole idea, since I thought I'd bought the smaller variety I'd grown in Bellingham a couple of years ago. My mother finally read the package and asked me if I knew that they were supposed to get up to 5 or more feet tall. I figured that if I'd gotten myself this far, I may as well go further. A few buds have formed, and one has even begun to bloom.
They are doing well with the eastern exposure and require LOTS of water. My window box required too much water and would wilt to near death every time there was a hot day and I couldn't water it several times, so I've given up on it for now. I'll have to find a plant that can do with the occasional hot day and the cold ones, too.
Work has been taking nearly all of my time, lately. Other than scattered drilling and piling jobs that others do, I'm just about the only geological field tech who does actual field work. The rest have ended up in the office. This means I travel about 1,000 miles per week, though, since the jobs are typically anywhere from Gig Harbor to Grand Mound, an hour and a half apart in moderate traffic. It gets confusing, but it's rather nice to see a lot of things and people throughout the day. I certainly never get bored.
This is at the Wolf Lodge convention center and water park being constructed in Grand Mound just off I-5 south of exit 88. They had to place two concrete structures one Saturday a while back at about 10 feet below water table. Placing fill in that so it doesn't pump is a challenge, but they got it figured out. Shoring was an issue, since people had to get down in a hole about 15-20 feet deep.
They are building a new seawall at Spanaway Lake Park, since the old one is tilting over into the lake. This was also well under water, since the lake is right there next to the work, so they had serious water to pump out. I had to climb in and look at the subgrade, and I have to say that's nearly the dirtiest I've ever gotten...I fell in halfway down. I ended up with mud caked all over my left leg and arm. It was a warm day, though, so I just let it dry in the sun and brushed it off. My boots still kept my feet dry, too, which surprised me. I was ready to get a new pair...
I did a test pit job down the street from Snoqualmie Falls a few months ago, then took some time afterwards to wander around at the falls. There weren't many trails, which was a little disappointing. I'd hoped to get some different and interesting views, but I didn't have much time to explore, either. I did buy some "Salish Seasoning," which smelled fantastic. It's a lot of peppers and onions and garlic, but there's far too much salt in it. It might be better used on veggies or something, but I haven't managed to experiment with it yet.
I have managed some time, however, to do a few things with friends. Kelly's birthday was a while back, so we went to an Indian restauarant and then Chopstix (dueling piano bar) here in Tacoma.
(Me, Kelly, Katy, Mayli, and Madonna)
Mayli's bridal shower was the weekend before last, too. She made out like a bandit. Here, Boris' mother explains that Croatian custom is to give the bride jewelry, particularly pearls, on the wedding day.
To meld the cultures, Boris' family bough Chinese jewelry for her and his mother gave them to her at the shower. In all, she received about 10 sets of necklaces, earings, bracelets, and some other items.
The wedding is in two and a half weeks, and she's being so funny about it. It's a lot of planning for one comparatively short day, but she's set all the pieces in motion and I know she's going to have a fabulous time.
After that very busy weekend, things should die down quite a bit. I'll not be attending this weekend's letterboxing gathering due to some extreme misconceptions on the part of the main organizer, so it's freed up this weekend, as well. I'm looking forward to just getting done all the things I neglect as not being absolutely necessary most of the time, and to planting the dozen or so boxes that would have been planted in Kenmore. It should get a lot less stressful pretty soon.
And, by the way, the Transformers movie is awesome!