Time for an update from the right side of the country, no not the correct side, the...nevermind...

How are y'all doing today? I'm doing pretty well, thanks for asking. Just finished visiting with Papa Miguel, briefly, and walked back across the city to J's apartment, that I might write this blog post, and inform you all of the fun and exciting things I've been doing.

Spent the day and an evening in Seattle prior to flying across the nation, and had a good time behaving like I was younger than I actually am. What did I do in whilst in the city? Well, I drank some really fine coffee, and I checked out the Seattle Public Library, which is an interesting building, which seems massively non-functional.

While I was there it rained more vigorously than I've ever seen in that part of the world; maybe it wasn't actually as heavy as it seemed, but it was fairly horizontal at any rate.

That evening I went out to a went to a show with a couple of guys I met at the hostel. It was a fun time. There was a German college student, and a Canadian vacationer, and several bands one of which at least, was awesome. There was poor-quality domestic beer, and of course there were uncountable hipsters. The hipsters seemed less antagonistic than usual, though, and seemed to actually be enjoying themselves rather than the irony of the situation, which was odd, but refreshing.

I've been in DC for a week now, and have gotten to do many of the things I love to do, in this city. I've been to my favorite museums, some more than once. It really is fantastic to be able to pop into the Smithsonian American Art museum, or the protrait gallery, and check out an exhibition in the ten or twenty minutes you have to spare while downtown. None of the possibility of art fatigue you can sometimes get when you're trying to fit too many museum visits into one day.

Some scenes from around the city, including my some shots from the mall:

The Natural History Museum:
Carousel:

These guys, outside the Hirshorn, are favorites of mine. They make me think of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader:

This piece of Korean pottery is in the Freer, my favorite museum, and is an image of turtle a representative of the dragon king of the sea, who Maggie and I are all too familiar with:

What else have I been up to? I know this will come as a shock to many of you, but I've been pickling things, and sprouting things, and baking bread, although I couldn't bring my starters with me from Washington, so have been restricted to baking with commercial yeast. Curtido and flax seed bread, anyone?:

Produce from the farmer's market:
Spent a lovely evening with Sarah, eating dinner and having several of J's cocktails at Rasika. My favorite was the nutty rickey, but the gingersnap was pretty delicious as well. He really knows what he's doing, as I'm sure many of you know. If you haven't had a chance to check it out, make the time if you're ever in town. Have eaten some other pretty fantastic meals while here, including going out for Ethiopian food for lunch one day, which apparently means that It has become the ethnic food I eat most often...seriously; once a month for the past three months.

The walls and statuary in DC often have words of wisdom to share with us:

I get into Atlanta on the eleventh, and have a show to go to that evening, cause that's just how these things work, but other than that I'm really excited to see you all, and get to spend some quality time with you(without the stress of an impending wedding).

Well, family and friends, I leave you with this image, which sums up how I'm feeling pretty well at this time:

Ajourney again...

I'm a travelin'. You? If you are, I hope you're safe, and enjoying yourself half as much as I am. I am posting this from the infamous Green Tortoise Hostel, a block away from pike's Place market. I caught a ride to Seattle with the Athairs, who Maggie lives with, and who I've been spending lots of time with. They're pretty fantastic people, and I've no doubt you'd get along with them just fine(Mindy, this means YOU). We rode the ferry into the city, which was a fun new experience for me, and a great view, but one I didn't bother to take any pictures of, since I was busy crying from the cold breeze, and just enjoying the sight for myself.

I spent the ride from the peninsula sewing a carrying case for my knitting needles, because I'm apparently a big old nerd...who would have guessed? As you might have figured from my last post things are slow these days, and until I have more definite plans for my future, they'll continue to be that way, and frankly, I'm OK with that.

What sort of things have I been up to since last we spoke? I finished that hat I was working on, only it was so large I turned it into a bag to hold my knitting projects.

I went out to Lake Crescent this week, the first time I've had a chance to get out there in a while, and boy am I glad I took the opportunity. Storm King was covered in snow, as all the peaks were, and it made for some fantastic viewing. Take a look; these shots are all from around the OPI campus:

A couple of shots from the trails around the campus, proving once again my theory that all you have to do to take a beautiful picture in the PacNorWe, is to point your camera in any direction, and hit the button:


What's that? Have I been fermenting things no normal person would even consider? Come on now. This is me we're talking about. Of course I have. I give you parsnip wine:

In the further adventures of Aaron and the Olympic peninsula, Maggie and I went out onto forest service land, and got technically lost, although we were in no danger of not finding our way back to civilization there was a period of time(an hour, maybe two) when where we thought we were, and where we actually were, didn't exactly coincide. What were doing out in the hinterlands? We were finding, and killing, a Christmas tree. My first non-plastic tree in as many years. We call her Lucille(Maggie is the one wearing boots. Lucille is wearing branches):

I'll see what I can do to get a picture of her all gussied up for the holiday for your edification.

What have I done since I arrived in Seattle...Not a whole lot. Hung out at a coffee shop(this being Seattle, after all) that I like, earlier. Did some research, and failed to find a show to check out this evening. Failing that I got all gussied up, went to a fine dining establishment, and ate expensive and refined food, and drank cocktails and had a wonderful relaxing evening. We will not discuss how much I spent, or whether I could afford such luxury. Spur Gastropub, check it out. When my meal was done I emerged from the restaurant to find the city streets awash with rain, which as you all must know, brought me great satisfaction. I walked back to the hostel, grinning like an idiot, wrote this blog, and once it's done, I'm going to do some knitting, and then hit the hay.

Going to see if I can do a little more adventuring in the morning before I head to the airport, but even if I have no time for it, I'll call this leg of my trip a success. I can't wait to arrive in San Diego, and I can't wait to see you all...in the meantime hope all of your journeys are safe, and as satisfying as mine has been so far.

Is it dark where you're at?

Because apparently, this far north? It gets dark, right early, and it's only November, I shudder to think what it will be like in January. Despite that, I have to say this place is incredible. Even on a gray drizzly day, perhaps especially on a gray and drizzly day, this place has a beauty...you know what? I'll shut up and let the pictures speak for themselves.

From my trip up to Hurricane Ridge today.




It's not really that snowy; in fact, those are pictures of every square inch of snow there was.

What kind of Mushrooms are these? I don't know. They looked delicious, however. Also on the mushroom front...pickled chanterelles:




I've not been doing a great deal, you know, the usual:

Knitting and crocheting:

Baking(roasted potato fendu and peanut butter cookies):


Also in the kitchen, the controlled spoiling of foods, the powers of fermentation...cider in the process of hardening, and milk in the process of seperating, that I might use the whey in further fermentation projects, and the curds in the name of cheese:

Farmering, which this week mostly involved planting garlic:



Also harvested the last of the apples, this week:

Pink pearl...yeah:

I've been doing really well, but I'll freely admit that the early darkness can be a little wearing. It's fine as long as I have my friends, but when they're not around it can be a little...frustrating.

I'm enjoying the opportunity to work market on Saturdays. I'm getting to know my regular customers, and my fellow vendors, and it makes for a nice change of pace from working on the farm. We are rapidly approaching the time when farm work become very difficult due to the weather, but despite that fact we seem to all be in good spirits.

I like the story I'm writing for NanoWriMo, I think it will probably turn out to be a novella, actually around fifty thousand words when it's complete. I hit the halfway mark today, right on track. All I can say is that it's a good thing I'm not trying to do this in July. That would have broken me. I've got a lot of stories to edit once this is done, and I'm giving serious consideration to taking another crack at rewriting my first novel, given the experience I've just had, I feel like I could write it a more authentic voice, and I have an idea of how to fix the ending, but all of that will have to wait until December at the earliest. A preview:

That's my life, these days. Hanging out with Maggie, and the kids down the street at the Lazy J, who, after an incredibly productive summer, are quite justifiably exhausted. I'm doing my best to reward them all with cookies, and my company, although whether that last qualifies as a reward is up for debate.

I've made my reservations for Christmas in California, and since I'm not driving I guess I won't be able to haul a tree a thousand miles for aesthetic reasons, but it just made more sense to fly. Truly excited to see everyone again, and to celebrate with Grandma Pooh and Saba. Sunshine might be nice, as well.

I've got preliminary plans for Thanksgiving that I'm totally jazzed about More on that when I know for certain what's going on, or I might just leave y'all in suspense, and share after the fact...let it suffice to say you needn't worry I'll be alone and depressive on the holiday.

I hope you all have big plans as well, and I hope you're enjoying your lives, and if you want to talk, feel free to call or e-mail, and if you have, and I haven't gotten back to to you yet, I promise I'm working on it, but the allure of the yarn is becoming hard for me to resist. Not sure what that's all about. Love you guys. Miss you, and hopefully I'll get to see at least some of you, soon.