#(rainier is 36 for context)

[space-writes]

heads up 7 up

tagged by @oh-no-another-idea this time, thank you! have 7-ish lines from claws, wherein Holly has finally met Vivien and is chewing Rainier out about it:

“He gets you,” Holly says, rolling her eyes. “Which just means he does whatever you want and tells you how wonderful you are because he doesn’t know any better because he’s nineteen and you’re almost forty!” “Easy on the almost, Holls.” Rainier presses a palm to his chest. “I’m not that close to the grave yet. He’s an adult. Just because he looks young—” “He is young! You are a fully grown man—though goddess knows you refuse to act like one—and he’s a baby. Did you even check he was legal before you stuck your tongue in his mouth?”

no-pressure tagging @andromedaexists @serenanymph and @sam-glade this time

claws taglist: @belovedviolence @foxboyclit (ask to be +/-)

[youstartedoutrandom]

rules: complete the survey and say who tagged you in the beginning. when you finished tag 5 people to do this survey. have fun and enjoy!!!

tagged by @sarah-crewe

01. are you named after someone? yes. i’m named after my grandmother, josephine jane. my family lived with her when i was little, so my parents started calling me jj to differentiate between the two of us. she’s one of my all-time favorite people, so i like being her namesake.

02. when was the last time you cried? despite what i say in my tags, i don’t typically cry a lot. occasionally, i’ll get teary---usually when i hear about or experience really nice things---but not like full-on cry. the last time i had a legitimate sob was probably on the anniversary of bru’s death last year or the year before or something.

03. do you like your handwriting? i know it’s not the best, but i don’t really stress about it too much unless a student complains.

04. what is your favorite lunch meat? idk. probably ham.

05. do you have kids? no, and i very much don’t want them.

06. if you were another person, would you be friends with you? it depends on what kind of person i was. i tend to be a “let’s sit down and talk for hours” companion more than a “let’s go out and paint the town” one, so i probably wouldn’t be an attractive friend to someone who was more outgoing or activities-oriented.

07. do you use sarcasm? depends on the audience.

08. do you still have your tonsils? yup.

09. would you bungee jump? probably not. i mean, i’m not scared of heights or anything, but i don’t find the notion particularly appealing. i’d prefer to get my thrills in other ways.

10. what is your favorite kind of cereal? i was really big into honeycomb for a while, but then post changed the recipe, and i am not digging this “bigger honey flavor” nonsense. i’ll probably switch over to honey smacks soon because i am thirty years old and an adult™.      

11. do you untie your shoes when you take them off? nope. i’m pretty sure i own some pairs of shoes that have not been tied anew since the early 2000s.

12. do you think you’re a strong person? physically: for my size, probably. i can lift some pretty heavy things, to the point where when i used to work at a warehouse bulk store, my manager called my “mighty mouse.” however, i am 5′3″ tall and fairly scrawny, so it’s not like i’m a tank or anything. i just do okay propotionally. emotionally: i’m not sure. i’ve endured some experiences that, for me, have been difficult, but i know that, comparatively, my life is pretty cushy, so it’s not as if i’ve often had my mettle tested.

13. what is your favorite ice cream flavor? i don’t know that i have one flavor that’s my absolute go-to. i can’t eat anything with chocolate because i’m allergic, so barring that, sometimes i go for caramel, sometimes peppermint, sometimes fruity stuff. my only hard preference is soft-serve over regular ice cream.

14. what is the first thing you notice about people? depends on the context in which i encounter them.

15. red or pink? pink is my favorite color.

16. what is the least most! favorite physical thing you like about yourself? probably my lips.

17. what color pants and shoes are you wearing right now? blue shorts. no shoes.

18. what was the last thing you ate? flatbread sicilian pizza.

19. what are you listening to right now? "helpless” from hamilton.

20. if you were a crayon, what color would you be? olive green, maybe.

21. favorite smell? sandalwood.

22. who was the last person you spoke to on the phone? my mom.

23. favorite sport to watch? basketball. i’ve been an nba basketball diehard since i was a kid, and this summer i’ve fallen deeply in love with the wnba, too. i even got to go to a lynx game while i was visiting my folks, which was rad. i also enjoy watching women’s soccer and the olympics big time. 

24. hair color? brown.

25. eye color? hazel.

26. do you wear contacts? nope. no glasses, either.

27. favorite food to eat? i could eat dolmas and korma curry pretty much every day. i’m also very partial to my family’s typical “summer meal”: teriyaki chicken and corn on the cob from the grill, cucumber and strawberry salad with vinegar dressing, fresh rainier cherries, and lemonade.

28. scary movies or comedy? comedy, for sure. scary movies usually underwhelm me.

29. last movie you watched? i watched the new power rangers movie with my brother who has autism. he was so excited when we explained that billy was on the spectrum. he kept flapping his hands and getting up close to the screen, saying, “blue ranger!” #representation matters, kids

30. what color shirt are you wearing? my t-shirt is black. the sweatshirt that i’m wearing over it is white, gray, and pink.

31. summer or winter? SUMMER.

32. hugs or kisses? hugs.

33. what book are you currently reading? john milton: the self and the world by john t. shawcross.

34. who do you miss right now? my brothers, even though i just spent time with them. also, brutus, always.

35. what is on your mouse pad? i haven’t one.

36. what is the last tv program you watched? i watched some er with my mom while i was home. and the other night, i caught the last quarter of a lynx game.

37. what is the best sound? music.

38. the rolling stones or the beatles? beatles.

39. what is the furthest you have ever traveled? alexandria, egypt.

40. do you have a special talent? i’m super good at hula hooping. i can go for hours.

41. where were you born? utah.

42. people you expect to participate in this survey? i think most of the people i know have already done this survey or at least been tagged by other friends.

i tag anybody who wants to play.

[breakfromwork]

November 5th-22nd, Washington-Oregon

After making a run to Seattle for Gae to have a couple ingrown toenails fixed on the 4th, we drove back to Daniel and Melissa’s in Enumclaw for another visit and to deliver a ceramic lamp we’d found abandoned from Seattle Pottery Supply. We stayed with them until the 10th, enjoying meals and doing a little work for them while they earned money.

I put up Melissa’s bird feeder to provide some work-time entertainment to her cat.

The view of Mount Rainier from Daniel’s neighborhood is very nice.

This prune-job I saw on a walk through the neighborhood gave me a laugh… just to be safe!

We left Daniel and Melissa’s on November 10th after Gae attended church. Our drive landed us west of Portland at Gales Creek in Tillamook State Forest for the night. On the 11th, we continued to the coast south of Tillamook, where we stayed at Cape Lookout State Park.

We stopped at Wilson river for a bathroom break, where we checked out placards about the settlers who once called the spot home.

The moss covered trees were spectacular, as always.

Gae took a picture of some jelly-like cup mushrooms on our walk in the woods near Cape Meares.

We took a short walk to the beach north of the lighthouse where a steep trail took us near the waters edge, with this view north from Cape Mears Lighthouse.

By the time we reached the lighthouse, the sunset was lighting up the view.

Just a spectacular night.

November 12th we drove to Lincoln City to do some laundry and visit my Aunt Daphne, who recently remarried at 91 years old. We met Stan Anderson, her new husband, for lunch at their place where we had a great visit getting to know Stan.

Here’s Daphne and Stan, loving each other and life.

We continued south after lunch, stopping for the night at Beverly Beach State Campground.

Luna barked for a quick walk on the beach.

A dense fog covered everything in the distance.

The campground is just east under the bridge from the beach, providing a nice silhouette against the glowing sunset.

November 13th we made a slow start to Corvallis to visit my college roommate and his girlfriend Diane.

Gae opened the glove box on Luna’s head, to get her some treats… eye contact is oh-so-important for proper begging:-)

When we arrived Dave was on his roof, cleaning gutters and pine needles off, and commenting on just how great home ownership was;-)

I got up on the roof to see if I could help, and took this picture for context… he’s about 3 stories up from the back yard.

We stayed at Dave and Diane’s through the 17th, enjoying their company and their expert cooking. We warned them that we might be back with such resort-like treatment!

Dave took us for a tour of downtown via the free local bus service on the 14th, when we posed for this picture in front of some awesome fall color.

Gae and Dave climbed a local installation of modern monkey bars (ropes and connectors), before we stopped at a local brewery to sample some beer.

November 15th Gae and I walked to the awesome local Co-Op where Dave and Diane usually shop.

We ran in to Dave on the way there, sporting his new rain jacket he picked up the day before.

A flock of turkey’s 20 strong stopped us on the sidewalk on the way home with gobbles and feather displays to keep us back.

We took a walk to a nearby park with Dave and Diane on the 16th, looking for edible mushrooms among the heavy leaf litter.

Gae took this nice shot of a hollow ball on the underside of an oak leaf, one of thousands on the forest floor.

I had to include this picture of one stump in the forest… awesome!

Here’s Dave and Diane, relaxing in the evening after a fantastic dinner of locally caught cod and wild mushroom’s we’d picked the day before.

Here I am trying to show how little the drinking has affected me!

We took another walk on the 17th through the OSU forest, while Gae stayed home to gather some energy after church.

Here’s Dave and Diane at a rest spot in the forest… beautiful trails within walking distance of their home.

We left early on the 18th and drove to Costco in Eugene to have 4 new tires put on the van. Always a bit of a hazard, as what else do you do with yourself while you wait, except shop? We tried to contact my cousin Robin, and eventually drove to Fern Ridge Lake to get enough miles on the van to have the lug-nuts checked, as required by Costco. The number of mushrooms at the closed county park was amazing.

Amanitas by the hundreds.

I didn’t know many of those present, but the color and variety were great.

We drove to my Aunt Audie’s after having the tires checked, and luckily caught her home. She treated us to a wonderful middle eastern meal, where we enjoyed visiting with Audie, her daughter Robin, and Robin’s brother Rhodec, who Gae hadn’t seen since he was 7 years old. He’s 24 now!

I didn’t think about my camera until after Rhodec had already left… damn!

We stopped by the local YMCA on the way out of town on the 19th to watch Audie play one of her twice weekly tennis dates, but just caught the last point.

Here’s Audie at 90, just after following through a return… awesome!

I decided to drive to Florence on the coast via Route 36, which runs by Audie and Uncle Mel’s old farm.

 There is a series of waterfalls, pools and rock slides that I remembered from my childhood visits just west of Triangle Lake, that we checked out along the way.

The last slide has a 5 foot drop into a pool where I spied several salmon gathering strength to run up the fish ladder I’m standing on here.

We drove through Florence on the coast to Jessie M. Honeyman State Park, where we stayed until November 23rd.

The campground is 2.5 miles from the ocean, mostly covered with huge dunes and a couple of lakes.

Gae and I didn’t know it was so far, but we made it to the top of 2 dunes and realized the hike would leave us in darkness.

We returned to Florence on the 20th to do some laundry, and checked out a wayside just north of town after a nice salad on a bun at Subway.

The Darlintonia Californica Pitcher Plant thrives in the local swampy environment… hard to beat carnivorous plants!

We drove out Jetty Road to be one dune away from the ocean… beautiful in the sun, but with a biting breeze coming off the water.

I had Gae pose with Luna so Luna could show off her flying nun ears in the wind.

We tried out Luna’s pack on a little mushroom hunting expedition before dark… does she look as nervous as me?

Bounty from the hunt included Sparassis and Chanterelles… yummy!

Gae spent some time once we were back in the van to sort and admire her bead purchases she made in Florence.

I went back out hunting on the 21st, running across some beautiful mushrooms.

I also ran across this salamander doing the funky chicken to get away from me.

I added some hedgehog mushrooms to my bounty during the hunt. We made another run to Florence after my morning hunt to return a Redbox movie and for Gae to get some more bead supplies. In the evening I prepped and cooked my mushrooms with a chicken breast in a light cheddar sauce… oh my! Gae took a tumble trying to take Luna for a walk around midnight, scaring the bejesus out of everyone.

We headed south on the 22nd for Coos Bay, not really stopping for anything before settling in at Sunset Bay State Park for the night.

We stopped for the view from Umpqua Lighthouse, where we watched some Coast Guard ships practicing wave driving, cool!

Sunset bay was small but beautiful and a bit noisy with crashing waves.