Day Three Hundred and One, Postscript

But oh hey! I am at exactly 2500 views on my blog! So that is kind of cool, in a not-really-doing-anything kind of way.

Day Three Hundred and One

Well, hmmm. This could sort of count for #48 (train for and run a 10K race) or for #49 (go on a hike of 5+ miles), but I am not going to count it for either. The reason I am blogging about this not-progress is that I have not written in two weeks, since I am in a profoundly lazy mode right now, and I'll take any topic I can get.

This is me finishing the Go Girl Trail Run 10K, picture shamelessly stolen from the event photographer's site and cropped down so you can't see just HOW little progress I have made on Item #56 (lose a bunch of weight). I am pretty cranky about that, especially since I know perfectly well that eating less and exercising more would knock that item off the list.

I am not counting it for #48 since I didn't train very well for it, nor did I run it (finish line jogging doesn't count). I am not counting it for #49 either since it was sort of a hike (much up-and-down trail walking and trees and mosquitoes and sharp pointy rocks), but not really because I didn't bring a) a nice snack, b) a journal, or c) a camera, all of which I consider essential for a REAL hike.

You can see my progress on #92 though!

(stopping to consider what I just typed)

Blah. The only thing I have done on this list in the last two weeks is Grow My Hair. That level of laziness takes real commitment, folks. Tune in next week to watch me cut my fingernails and maybe (if you're lucky) blink my eyes a few times!

(blink)

(blink)

Day Two Hundred and Eighty-Seven

I am trying to finish a quilt so I can start a quilt (Item #15).

I wonder if that will still make sense in the morning ...

Day Two Hundred and Eighty-Five

I am trying to figure out which would be the best list items to work on today, after a morning in which not one but TWO really great potential job offers fell through.


Learn French? I don't think I have the energy.

Try a recipe? Not hungry.

Visit a new state? Tempting.

Go to a Shakespeare play? Might be a good distraction, but I think the kids would hate it.

Put $1000 in an education fund for each child? Better not right now.

Work on a quilt? Maybe ... better for me than eating chocolate, anyway!

Day Two Hundred and Eighty-Four

Well, there's Item #54 done. I went 30 (actually 31) days with no chocolate.

I did not magically lose five pounds. I didn't lose ANY pounds.

My skin did not magically clear up - well, it did this week, but that has more to do with an accidental sunburn, which always has that temporary effect on me.

I didn't actually even miss it all that much.

I am underwhelmed.

Day Two Hundred and Eighty-Three

ROAD TRIP!!

Item #20 is now officially off the list. Buddy, Boo and I set out on Tuesday afternoon (a bit later than we intended, but oh well) and started off down I-5. Our first stop was at the McDonald's in Cottage Grove, where we drank sodas, played on the toys, and Boo learned to play checkers. (Photo compliments of Buddy)




At the recommendation of my friend Christine, we stayed in a tiny little nowhere place that's not even on the map - which is fine by us, because it meant the awesome little hotel we stayed in was cheap! Adorable little A-frame cottages with one bed on the ground floor and one in a loft, pretty view out the back, bathroom, fridge, microwave, and plenty of floor space, for $55/night = WIN.




Sunset ... ahhhh.




On Wednesday morning we headed south again. We'd never been to Roseburg and we needed a bathroom and a RiteAid, so we stopped. We parked in the little downtown area, and among other things we visited the utterly delightful Country Lady Quilt Shop. We asked for and received a tour of the back half of the store so that Buddy could see the machines - a few antique sewing machines, the machine quilting apparatus, and the huge quilt frame that was currently displaying a quilt top of a king-sized quilt in the Log Cabin pattern. Boo picked out a few fabrics of her own - that's my girl!



Wednesday's main event was a trip to the Wildlife Safari in southern Oregon - what a treat!













We stopped at a bridge over the South Fork of the Coos River. We got barked at by a very enthusiastic dog and decided that it was time to get going again.



We spent a quiet half hour on the porch and in the side yard of a country store in Bridge, Oregon. It said it was a town, but I am starting to suspect otherwise since a list of the smallest towns in Oregon (including Green Horn, OR, pop. 3) does not include it. Anyway, it was a perfect afternoon and stands out in my recollections of the trip.


We drove a little too far on Wednesday night in a frustrating search for a hotel (they all disappeared about the time we wanted to stop), but finally found one just outside North Bend. Thursday morning we walked from our hotel partway over the Coos Bay Bridge (built in 1936 and about a mile long). It was amazing!!







The rest of Thursday we drove back up the Oregon coast in no particular hurry. It was cold and windy, but beautiful as always.

My sweet girl.

There was a lighthouse somewhere under all that fog.

Look! Sea lions!

This covered bridge (built in 1926, a replacement of the original structure which was built in 1893 for the railroad) was a lovely surprise on the side of the road.




Boo snapped this of me when I was sitting on the railing of the bridge. It was such a beautiful, perfect evening that I hated to get back in the car!




And one last shot on the side of the road crossing back through western Oregon. This state never fails to amaze me!

Day Two Hundred and Seventy-Three

I did another one of Item #27, the picture-taking expeditions. This time I went to the Washington State Capitol grounds in Olympia, which is just a few miles from where I grew up. I spent an hour or so walking around and taking pictures, and realized that I could easily have spent at least that much more time if I'd allowed for it! I restricted myself to the parts of the grounds that were between the fountain and the Capitol building, but I hope to come back another time and take more pictures of the rest of the grounds.

Here are a few of my favorites. (Some of these will also go into the Windows & Doors project.)

Clearly built when buildings were buildings, men were men, women were women, and small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri were small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri.

half of a self-portrait?

Hello lamppost, whatcha knowin'?
I've come to watch your flowers growin'.
Ain'tcha got no rhymes for me?
Doot'n'do do, feelin' groovy.

I do love stairs.

looking up into the rotunda from as close to the center of the building as possible without standing on the State Seal, which is (needless to say) frowned upon

the floor of the rotunda as seen from the balcony in front of the Senate chambers

The pillars at the front of the Capitol, which apparently are also holding up the sky.