A list.. A long long list.

I found this list on the blog of one of my swap partners, sounds like a lot of fun, and no reason not to have some fun late at night... well early morning.

1. Started your own blog (I hope so, or this is one freaky figment!)
2. Slept under the stars (not recently, we had a tent.)
3. Played in a band (Well, orchestra in sixth grade, but still. Multiple people, multiple instruments)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower (Josh and I just did this. We caught the Persieds while camping on the Olympic Peninsula.)
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland (Not only once as a kid with my aunt Carol, but also for my senior trip. Which was awesome since it was after midnight with the entire park closed save for teenagers and their respective chaperones.)
8. Climbed a mountain (Thank goodness for Girl Scout camp)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea (On a cruise in the Caribbean, it was amazing!)
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train (I love the Coast Starlight Express!)
21. Had a pillow fight (Heh, I do this more often than I should really admit.)
22. Hitch hiked (never will)
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (Who hasn't?)
24. Built a snow fort (About two years ago when we had serious snow.)
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset (This is a requisite for being human isn't it? Who doesn't witness them on a pretty regular basis.)
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise (Quite awesome.)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke (Nu uh.)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight (Just before Labor Day weekend, the moon was full and gorgeous!)
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (In the Caribbean, I even have pictures!)
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud (he he he he he)
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies (I even have the badges to prove it!)
62. Gone whale watching (Depoe Bay and Orcas Island)
63. Got flowers for no reason (Thank you Josh, I love you too.)
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (Sleep bear is around here somewhere, and I have some of my FIRST toys.)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone (Chipped yes, broken no.)
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person (A couple of times by land and by air.)
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (Fish so count!)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Got a tattoo
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Well, 45 out of 100 isn't too bad, considering I've only left the country by non-air means.

Late night musings.

It's late. Two twenty-one in the morning to be exact. It's a kind of late that only certain types experience. Musicians, Those who like to Party Hard, Taxi Drivers, Late night truckers, Graveyard shift workers, and Bartenders, just to name a few. It's a time of night, or morning that I tend to get to myself, even if I'm not alone. Even as I type my husband is snuggled in bed with what can only be described as a pack of cats. I do envy his snoring sometimes, it means simply that I am awake, and he is not.

I'm always surprised when I end up at this time of night all by my lonesome. There is no rhyme or reason, no formula that predicts which night I'll end up glancing at the clock and realizing that a "reasonable hour" has not been seen in a while. I could have woken up early, woken up late, felt great all day, spent the day in bed, had a lot of caffiene, or even had no caffiene at all. Amazingly enough, on the rare occasions that I attempt better sleep through over the counter pharmaceuticals, I still don't always sleep. I have to say that there is very little in this world that I find more odd than taking a sleeping pill, and never falling asleep.

There are not as many options as one would think at this time. Driving is straight out, since I do actually WANT to sleep sometime, I'm just unable at the moment. Watching a movie or two is an option, but I never seem to really enjoy them, and just end up fiddling the whole time. Once in a blue moon I'll go out with a friend who keeps odd hours as well. (a musician who works in a bar... see above examples) But most times, I'm left with myself.

I do make some inconvenient decisions at odd hours. I made a promise to myself just last week in the wee hours to read the "Twilight" series, as I make fun of them so often, that I felt the need to make sure that I wasn't unjust in my mocking. I'm not. I'm finished with book two, and feel the need to read the others, not for enjoyment mind you, but almost as bit of self flagellation. It's almost like running a marathon. I test myself with how much bad book I can stand in one sitting, and find myself angry at the author's conjugation, as if mine was better. I also bought a serger off of Craig's list this week on a late night whim, though I don't think it was a bad decision even if it was a bit rash.

So what to do with a late night. Well, I've folded enough stars my fingertips ache. There's no one to call and talk to, even though I could really use it. I had more mad thoughts of doing laundry at this hour, but I worry about the quality of everyone's sleep. So after ditching the idea of cleaning the laundry room, or folding towels, I toddled off to my chair to glare at my bookcase in case something new had shown up and I'd want to read that to bide my time until I can lay in bed, and possibly drift off to dream land.

Wouldn't you know it, no new books. So I go for an old friend, Robert Fulghum. Now don't get me wrong, I've never met the man, but I still consider him a friend. I've been reading his books for almost two decades now, and I feel a strong pull towards his writing. Over the years, I've battled with depression, got married, went to school, had friends, managed to lose a few too, and all sorts of in betweens that lay somewhere between boring, and too much for television. Whenever I read Fulghum, I feel that he has too. I feel... I guess that's the most succinct way to put it, I FEEL. I'm always caught off-guard by the sentiment in his work, weather it's an impending MOTB (Mother Of The Bride for those not in the know), or his story of Nicolai Pestretsov. No matter how many times I've read a story before I'll still be laughing, crying, or smiling to myself in that odd knowing way. So I'm sitting here, recovering from a good cry, not the kind that leaves you wrung from head to toe, but one of those times you're better for it since tomorrow WILL be a better day, and thanking him in my own way.

I guess it's odd to think of some author as a friend, someone who will always be there for you, but I know that on my bookshelf, he always will be. I can pick it up at any time, and not be quite so alone in this vast world. When the world is asleep, words are still alive.

A new kiln load

I managed to complete a new kiln load of fused glass cabachons. It was a nice quiet day after the excitement of last week. I managed to even get some peices with this really cool tribal thorn pattern, The last time I tried I screwed the pooch on the kiln load. Luckily I will have pictures later, and update the post with them.

My stepdad is off to Seattle and I am free to have a nice really quiet day at home. I've decided to watch Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason. She really is a dumb woman. She is just the type of "girl" that I don't like, and I feel that she really gets everything she deserves when things go wrong, but that she is undeserving of any of the positive things that happen to her. I think that's just it, they all happen to her, not that she goes out and in the change she wants to make in the world. She's just there. It's kinda like Will and Grace, they are horrible people, and things go well for them and their fabulous lives... it's just wrong.

Moving on, I am going to finish my movie about the whining cow... mooooo.... moo moo. How do you make it sound like a cow is whining? Moooow? mwooew!

Portland After Hours

I love my hometown. I wouldn't live anywhere else in the world, even if paid. I am fond of the way Portland sounds, smells, feels... everything. I have realized recently though that I am most fond of the times when I have her all to myself. Maybe a confidant by my side, traipsing around, and feeling all her splendor. I was lucky enough to get that kind of opportunity last night, and would like to share some pictures from it with you.

Portland when it's empty is full of art and light and angles. You may not see the stars, but you see yourself.