Wooo hooo! I'm here in Portland at my friend Janet's house after a beautiful drive in the sun and on the spotlessly dry roads yesterday. (The only problem is that the windshield squirter seems to have broken, so the windshield was covered with a fine dust of snow that glittered.)
Here's Janet and Eliza-->
One scary moment (don't freak, Scott): I was coming up on a huge moving van when a terrifying and immense chunk of ice broke loose off its roof and smacked my windshield. Luckily, no cracks or anything, but it was one of those suddenly-everything-gets-slow moments. Trucks, ugh!
As I drove, I started listening to The Oregon Trail by Francis Parkman, written, I think, in 1846. What a great book to listen to for the trip! His descriptions of the Platte, of the open country, and, scarily, all the desolation already wrought, was quite a contrast to my van cruise but a nifty one. The PT librarian kindly made my books on tape due the day I get back! Cool, huh?
Getting out of the House
I was flabbergasted that I slept well the night before, but getting out was a little crazy. I almost drove off without my bag (purse) and coat, in true ADD fashion. And of course Scott was trying to help me velcro the insulation to the windows at the last moment. He will be truly appalled when he sees my pathetic job at doing the other side window and the back, which, it turns out, also needs something to help it stick in the cold.
Oh, and I have to say that those quilt storage bags with zippers are no good in the cold; they crack. So I'll have to go get a few more boxes.
Finally, I waved goodbye to Scott and T-Lou, stopped to get a stash of Market Spice tea (my morning addiction), got gas, and was off!
Janet's House and Janet
Janet lives in a fabulous and huge old house in NE Portland, right near the Old-Time Gathering, where all the old-time fiddlers and banjoists do their manic thing. She stays with us for Fiddle Tunes, and I stay with her when I'm down here. For one thing, she has great wireless! And she is a wonderful and generous hostess!
I got to her house and played my banjo and read in the van while I waited for her to come home from work. I was working on Wade Ward's "New River Train," a piece I've loved for years but now find I have to sing in E or even F. It has that cool bar at the fifth fret--mmmm. At least, in my delusion, I think it does. (Comments?)
Janet and, at the same time, her lovely daughter Eliza (who is on break from Bennington), both got home at the same time in a flurry of bustle, with Eliza apologizing breathlessly to me and her mom about the state of the house, as if I would notice!!! Eliza is hooked on Chinese and settled down to watch a Chinese movie with her dad, who was visiting her, while Janet and I headed out to an awesome little restaurant with some major vegan choices. (Some of you will know why this was important!) I had some very strange cous cous that looked like barley, but it was yummy, and we split a piece of mint chocolate cake that was a little over the top. Then we headed out for the OT festival.
Last night was a concert. It's at the Norse Hall in Portland, and the whole place is just packed and swarming with jams, talking, reunions, etc. I was immediately sucked into a jam with Forrest Newton, Kevin Cavanaugh, and Mark Gaponof, among others, all holding forth in the bar and singing up a storm. Then I tore myself away to hear The Tallboys (fabulous banjo player!), Cliff Perry & Laurel Bliss (ahhhhh! incredible vocals with a lot of Carter family stuff), and finally, the stupendous Uncle Wiggly. Dave Mount is one of the best fiddlers I know of--his bow arm is really worth watching, and he just gets that sound. Back up for him was stupendous.
And now, the part you've all been waiting for....
Sleeping in the Van
I admit, I was a little nervous. Would this really work? Even though I'd done it before, it was freezing out last night. I set the heater on full blast and went in to check on my myth class and drink tea. When I came out there, the place was toasty! I plugged in the Christmas lights and stuck them in a net and hung them up--it was gorgeous! (I know I need a picture, but I have to figure out how to load pix. It's coming.)
I ended up having to turn down the heater several times. I was really comfy, though the bed is sort of too soft--I'm thinking I need to find a firm, thick piece of foam somewhere around here. I didn't sleep deeply, but I slept well enough to have a weird dream about wandering weird Puyallup streets that were like a frontier town in the old west and making the discovery that Chinese Rice Beer was the beer for me!
On that note, I go to the full-gore festival today. I'm going to try to at least take some pictures, even if it takes me a while to post them!!!
One scary moment (don't freak, Scott): I was coming up on a huge moving van when a terrifying and immense chunk of ice broke loose off its roof and smacked my windshield. Luckily, no cracks or anything, but it was one of those suddenly-everything-gets-slow moments. Trucks, ugh!
As I drove, I started listening to The Oregon Trail by Francis Parkman, written, I think, in 1846. What a great book to listen to for the trip! His descriptions of the Platte, of the open country, and, scarily, all the desolation already wrought, was quite a contrast to my van cruise but a nifty one. The PT librarian kindly made my books on tape due the day I get back! Cool, huh?
Getting out of the House
I was flabbergasted that I slept well the night before, but getting out was a little crazy. I almost drove off without my bag (purse) and coat, in true ADD fashion. And of course Scott was trying to help me velcro the insulation to the windows at the last moment. He will be truly appalled when he sees my pathetic job at doing the other side window and the back, which, it turns out, also needs something to help it stick in the cold.
Oh, and I have to say that those quilt storage bags with zippers are no good in the cold; they crack. So I'll have to go get a few more boxes.
Finally, I waved goodbye to Scott and T-Lou, stopped to get a stash of Market Spice tea (my morning addiction), got gas, and was off!
Janet's House and Janet
Janet lives in a fabulous and huge old house in NE Portland, right near the Old-Time Gathering, where all the old-time fiddlers and banjoists do their manic thing. She stays with us for Fiddle Tunes, and I stay with her when I'm down here. For one thing, she has great wireless! And she is a wonderful and generous hostess!
I got to her house and played my banjo and read in the van while I waited for her to come home from work. I was working on Wade Ward's "New River Train," a piece I've loved for years but now find I have to sing in E or even F. It has that cool bar at the fifth fret--mmmm. At least, in my delusion, I think it does. (Comments?)
Janet and, at the same time, her lovely daughter Eliza (who is on break from Bennington), both got home at the same time in a flurry of bustle, with Eliza apologizing breathlessly to me and her mom about the state of the house, as if I would notice!!! Eliza is hooked on Chinese and settled down to watch a Chinese movie with her dad, who was visiting her, while Janet and I headed out to an awesome little restaurant with some major vegan choices. (Some of you will know why this was important!) I had some very strange cous cous that looked like barley, but it was yummy, and we split a piece of mint chocolate cake that was a little over the top. Then we headed out for the OT festival.
Last night was a concert. It's at the Norse Hall in Portland, and the whole place is just packed and swarming with jams, talking, reunions, etc. I was immediately sucked into a jam with Forrest Newton, Kevin Cavanaugh, and Mark Gaponof, among others, all holding forth in the bar and singing up a storm. Then I tore myself away to hear The Tallboys (fabulous banjo player!), Cliff Perry & Laurel Bliss (ahhhhh! incredible vocals with a lot of Carter family stuff), and finally, the stupendous Uncle Wiggly. Dave Mount is one of the best fiddlers I know of--his bow arm is really worth watching, and he just gets that sound. Back up for him was stupendous.
And now, the part you've all been waiting for....
Sleeping in the Van
I admit, I was a little nervous. Would this really work? Even though I'd done it before, it was freezing out last night. I set the heater on full blast and went in to check on my myth class and drink tea. When I came out there, the place was toasty! I plugged in the Christmas lights and stuck them in a net and hung them up--it was gorgeous! (I know I need a picture, but I have to figure out how to load pix. It's coming.)
I ended up having to turn down the heater several times. I was really comfy, though the bed is sort of too soft--I'm thinking I need to find a firm, thick piece of foam somewhere around here. I didn't sleep deeply, but I slept well enough to have a weird dream about wandering weird Puyallup streets that were like a frontier town in the old west and making the discovery that Chinese Rice Beer was the beer for me!
On that note, I go to the full-gore festival today. I'm going to try to at least take some pictures, even if it takes me a while to post them!!!
3 comments:
Should I have some Chinese Rice Beer in the fridge for you when you get home?
Love, Scott
Well duh!
This is hilarious! Who da thunk those nifty plastic quilt bags you raved about would do that!?
It's still cold here and snow and ice on the ground. Hopefully you are running away from it as I will soon to Hawaii!
Hope you find a nice firm foam pad!
Enjoy!
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