TEETH.

Oh, goodie.

And now I've BROKEN a tooth.

What in hell is going on here?

FareStart

Last meal I ate in Seattle was at FareStart. It's a hotel/restaurant that gets homeless back on their feet by helping them to be chefs.

A pretty nice place. Cool, pleasant, sleek black furniture.

I had the Gypsy Soup and Sourdough Bread. Both very good.

The coffee was awful, but it was Starbuck's, and they'd donated it. So put up with the bad coffee, or order the tea.

Good prices, nice people. If you're going to be downtown, eat there.

If I hadn't had that tooth problem, I would have tried one of the scrumptious-looking deserts.

They feature Seattle-area gourmet chefs once very week -- reservations recommended. August 14, it will be David Bramer, from the 35th Street Bistro.

In Seattle, go to:

1902 2nd Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101

11 am to 2 pm, Monday through Friday. Clean kitchens and restrooms.

206 267 7601. And they do parties.

I'm HOME!

Yup, made it home on Olympic Van Lines. Oh, what a pleasure. A break on the Kingston Ferry, and 45 minutes between the dropoff and the Forks bus. Took me not a moment more of travel time, cost very little more than driving and all that gasoline and wear and tear on a car. From now on, I leave the area, I'm taking the bus.

Left the car at Bugmasters in Seattle. We're negotiating. I'm done with cars for a while. Seattle's bus system is stupendous, and the Clallam County system ain't half bad. I can do anything I want without owning my OPTMI (Own Personal Three-Mile Island, or car).

And let's face it, with oil prices going up, America will have to do what it always does -- face the music and improve. We always wait until the last minute, when it's much more expensive, but we always manage to do it.

Teeth are still horrible. I wasn't sure if it was an abcess or stress, but now I'm pretty sure it's the former. Had to get home and rest and sleep with my bite guard to make sure. Of course, the free or sliding-scale clinic in Port Angeles (What health insurance? I'm an artist -- and is this Canada?) is being renovated until September. We'll see if we can't hold off with pain-killers and antibiotics until then. I've done it before -- let a root rot for 8 months, and then just had the dentist flush out the clean cavity, with no intrusion or scraping, and nothing to heal. This was my last dentist's idea, and a good one. Doesn't work for kids, of course, but an obsessive adult (know any of those around here?) does it fine.

And we have a new fridge. A little mini apartment compact. About 4 feet high, 3 feet wide or so. The old one had a lot of wasted space. This one has room for ice and my cold packs and a few hot dogs. What else do we need? First thing we put in it was a 6-pack of beer and mussels off the beach.

I showed it to the neighbor: "Hey, look! Bait and beer! A fisherman's fridge!"

She thought that was pretty funny. And this thing does about $32.00 a year on power. Scaling down on everything.

Got Spuds to the vet for antibiotics and steroid shot, on the bus, just fine.

So, things are working out. Cross your fingers we won't have to cut off an arm for dental fees...

Goin' Home.

Well, I hope I am, soon. On the Olympic Bus Line.

Car's gas tank utterly blew. Peterson's Automotive had it ready to go Tuesday -- my flight day to San Diego.

Picked up the car ($500.00!!) and on the way it began to struggle on hills. Barely got it to a friend's condo, where I parked it while I was gone.

Got back (trip report will be on another site). Towed car (AAA) to Bugmasters in West Seattle. I'd asked Paul there to find me a truck.

Have not been able to contact Paul and my bug sitteth in Seattle.

I'm going to put it on Craig's list -- in hopes of finding an enthusiast who can take a basically sound bug and cherry her up.

I think I'm done with cars. Considering that the oil shortage will force us to develop our public transport, I'm doing busses and my bike. And occasionally giving somebody a few $$ to borrow their truck.

And a scooter. Anybody in Forks or Port Angeles with a scooter for sale?

Still stuck....

Still in Seattle, working on getting home.

Friend's slow MAC.

More horror stories latter.

Sneezers

Aw hell.

I knew I shouldn't have sat on the beach and watched the fireworks at Fun Days the other day.
Across Clallam Bay, you could see them in Sekiu.

But I was surrounded by kids. Nice kids. But - somebody had germs. Don't they always?

Now I have a bad head cold. Dan has offered to help me get the suitcase the 1/4 mile to the busstop.

The car is still in Port Angeles, but it's ready to go. So I ride the bus to get it.

At least I'm not trying to drive around Lake Crescent with a headcold. You want to be in good shape driving that road. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/66547_car15.shtml Oh, and they did find fragments of Russell.

Lyndon Gets HIS.

What? Lyndon Larouche is back out of jail, huh?

Oh, I just had the greatest moment on the phone. You ever been wanting to chew somebody's ass and out of the blue a victim shows up?

Witness:

Phone rings. Dan picks it up.

Dan: "Hi. Well, she's kinda got her hands full right now."

Me: "I'm making salmon patties! Who is it?"

Dan: "Somebody political."

Me: "Tell 'em just a minute while I get these in the microwave."

By this time Dan has found out it's from the Lyndon Larouche gang. And you should understand I've got beer in me. So I put the patties in the 'wave, and wash my hands.

Me: "Hello! Whatcha need?"

Larouche Woman: "Hi, I'm calling from Larouche (something). Have you heard of us?"

Me: "Oh, yeah, I've heard of you."

LW: "Well, you know that for the last 30 years, LL has been warning everyone how our system will collapse, and now it is -- "

Me: "Well, d'uh! What do you expect, if you follow capitalism?"

LW: "Well, exactly --"

Me: "I mean, capitalism is based on cheap or free resources and cheap or free labor, and once you run out, it is goin' to China!"

LW: "Yes, and we've been talking to members of the senate -- "

Me: "The SENATE? I'm hoping everybody on this continent will dry up and turn to ashes and blow away."

LW: "Well, that's not very Christian of you."

Me: "Damn right it's not. Do NOT get me started on Christians!"

Pretty soon Missy Right-Wing Serf Twat is trying to get off the phone.

Me: "Yeah, you people think YOU're radical, you haven't met ME!"

Oh, there are just some days it feels GOOD!

Flu dee doo

Remember Penny came up here with the flu?

Now I have it. I've spent all day in bed, too weak to move, on a heating pad. And we're praying to kitty gods that Dan is well enough Monday to take Spuds to the vet. The steroids are holding off on the rodent ulcer, but it still looks ugly.

We SHOULD have the car by Tuesday -- or it's riding about 6 busses and the ferry to Sea-Tac for San Diego. 4-5 hour trip. Oh, well, it would be 4-5 hours with a car, anyway. And at least on buses I get to SLEEP all the way if I want.

I like buses. Sit and read and pay no attention to anything but the scenery. Earplugs are great against mouthy riders. Admittedly, one of my worst memories is riding from Arizona to Seattle on a Greyhound with a migraine most of the way -- but that wasn't The Dog's fault. And other than wanting to put my head through the window and PULL, it was a pretty good trip. It was also the trip where my meals consisted of coffee and pie -- I'd decided to sample pie at all the stops, and didn't feel like anything else. Huh. Migraines ARE supposed to be linked to diet, aren't they?

Does this column sometimes read like Life Of The Scarlet Idiot?

(But.... speaking of things as they stand....I've had proof again that my bestest friends in the world are my readers and colleagues.

Well, WOULDN't they be?)

HALLELUJAH!

The nice lady's husband said, ya know, we got 90K on that Subaru...

and she said, yup, can we split the costs on the clutch 50/50?

Somebody's prayers to Bastet must be working.

Holding up little paws over my head and saying many kitty thanks.

(No, MY little paws. It's not like I'm holding a cat over my head and using it as a prayer puppet or anything. Then I WOULD go to hell).

Gods On Steroids

Okay.

Chapter two (or is it 22?):

While surfing for "rodent ulcer" on the net and thinking, yup, that's what Spuds has, I saw the name of the steroid usually used.

And remembered Belle had needed a steroid for a mouth infection and we'd bought two syringes with dosages, but we hadn't needed to use the second shot...

And went and read it on the site and it was the same steroid...

And the still-useable steroid syringe was in the failing fridge...

The gods must be fucking bored today.

Just Shoot Me In The Head

Tuesday I have a plane to catch from Sea-Tac, to make it to San Diego Comicon. ONLY 80,000 people in one room for a week. ONLY the biggest convention of any sort in the western hemisphere (2 years ago we topped the Republican convention). A booth to run. My books to turn over to the San Diego State University. People to see, signings to make, face to put on and KEEP on.

So this week, the car's gas tank collapses like its water broke. The 2-hand refrigerator's freon unit failed. Spuds, the oldest cat, gets a rodent ulcer on his nose, from baking his pink nose in the sun for years -- hell, the damn grey cat bleaches BLOND every summer. The nice lady who does the kite-flying says at the last minute she needs a guest room (NOT a huge problem but... we have a newly-spayed wild cat, "Iki," in the guest bathroom, and you can imagine she thinks people are out to gut her, because we nearly did.).

It's not quite a Sherman Alexie novel, but I just emailed his site www.fallsapart.com and hoped the Indians would not only not stop dancing now they'd started again but that they would KEEP DANCING REAL HARD. Which you have to read Indian Killer to get the reference.

Let's just say that between treating this like I was fighting snakes and refusing to lay back and be patient, I managed to end up wasting two whole days on the bus system AND blowing the clutch out of somebody else's car.

Which is weird, because I've been driving automatics and sticks and loaners and trucks and tractors all over the country for the past 5 years and not having any problem. But trying to sneak around the Fun Days parade up a steep hill and having an excited cop trying to talk to me through my window while I tried to find the gear in a Suburu Outback kind of blew my concentration...

And I admitted what I did to the nice lady who trusted me with her car (Oh, the kind and foolish people among us), so when the smartass drunk I drove 400 round trip miles to Seattle for biopses last month began to get on my case, I buttonholed him and said, "You got about 500 laughs on me you don't get to have after what I did for you last month. You OWE me."

But -- I only had a few minute's cursing stomping fit across one non-populated parking area and one crying jag after I got home. Which is pretty good for me.

So....

Dan says he's taking the cat to the vet Monday on the bus (poor Spuds!), because if I do it the day before the Seattle trip -- which may or may not be on a series of six buses and a ferry -- I will get shell-shock in somebody else's living room in San Diego AGAIN. Just a fact of life. Sometime in my life I blew out my lymbic system, and it barely takes being glanced at, let alone pushed. So we're praying the car is at least something I can pick up by next Tuesday.

We've cleaned out the fridge and we're just going to turn it off and buy a new one, because it will cost about the same anyway. I swear, when I get older I'm just eating out of cans. If I want ice cream, I'll pick up a cone. I do now, anyway.

The spayed cat is getting used to people. All that fish we had to thaw and feed raw to cats -- well, that didn't hurt any feline feelings, Spuds's and Iki's included.

My kite-flying friend got the flu and had to go home. Which is probably just as well, I was ready to beat my head against a few walls. I hope she's feeling better, in her own bed -- you don't want to be sick in somebody else's, lemme tell you.

Okay, okay, so everybody else here is dealing with funerals and I'm not -- I don't care, I was still looking to do some short-term cradle-head-flattening.

I'll pay for the damn clutch. And if it blew it's because it was about to blow anyway. So she gets a new clutch anyway. I'D be happy....

AGH. And now they're blowing up London. Well, like my mom used to say, "And what did you do to the CAT?"

Oh. That's right. Iki says she nearly got gutted. So she's been sitting in that bathroom for a week HATING US.

Very mad cat magic.

That explains THAT.

Showin' Off Eagles and Gay Support

Over at www.straittalk.blogspot.com, one little comment or two has people pouring their hearts out all over the place. Man, you touch people and they just burst like pimples.

Eagles.

Okay, for those of you from Alaska, you probably won't see this: but on Bear Kill Ridge there's only room for so many eagles. One major nest. Mated couple. And one horny young male.

He's been flying around with headless greenling now and then, but nobody's noticed him, no matter how much he screams and shows off. Nobody's leaving any nests for dipweed.

Then.... he hit the water off Slip Point, and when he came up this time, what he had glinted silver in the sun.

About a five pound King salmon.

Oh, the screaming. Oh, the flying in circles around the nest. Then the crows' nest. Then dipped down to fly over OUR heads. He got the top eatin' fish in the area, and he wasn't too proud to show it.

You'd think he'd found diamonds.

But then, maybe he'd found the eagle equivalent.