A Bed, a Book, & a Skunk

If you were to walk into our apartment at any time this past weekend, there was a great chance that you'd encounter this scene, only with me in it as well. Reading the book.

Skunk spent the entire weekend cuddled up to us readers.

Oh, and by the way, the book was awesome, for those of you who haven't finished it. And for those who have no idea what book I'm talking about, you should read the news now and then. :)

It's all about class.

Last night I had the wonderful privilege of making dinner with Hubby. We took a trip down to the Portland Farmer's Market and got fresh, organic onions, basil, apricots, raspberries, locally farmed sausage (the pigs were farmed, I guess. Not the sausage), peppers, tomatoes, and olive ciabatta. Then we got some fresh linguine, fresh Parmesan, and soft black peppercorn & parmesan Rondele to toast on the bread. Several hours later, we had a delicious spaghetti sauce made! I also had Cuban Oregano in the kitchen, which was also added to the sauce. I didn't take a picture of the apricot-raspberry "crisp", because it was more of a "soggy." Still delicious, even if it was soupy. And I must add, that I think the sauce was one of the best tomato sauces I've had in a really really long time. I think it was the Hubby that made it so good.










And this morning I slept in with the skunkie. Can you see how his back feet are flipped all the way up to his head? and his little front paws are tucked up by me? I love him I love him!

Finally, I have some good news to share. After much deliberation, I decided to go the "classy" route with my car. We purchased this gem on Monday evening.










Notice the absence of hubcaps--a real nice touch. And the tape that's been baked into the windshield.










No car would be incomplete without a bashed-in trunk missing its lock! This beauty can only be opened by climbing behind the back seats and pulling on a cord.
I would have also had a picture of the gaping hole in the dash with the wires hanging out of it where a radio would be, but I quickly installed an actual device that plays music. I DO have an hour commute, after all.
The ignition has a special "trick" to it, the driver's side door can't be unlocked so you have to go through the passenger side, and there's a couple places on the dash where buttons used to be but aren't anymore. At least it has power steering.
All this, for a mere $800!!!!! Actually, for as great as the engine runs, that's quite a "steal." Get it?
Oh, and now I've been doing plenty of reminiscing about Waffles, my old '88 Mercury Tracer. This one doesn't look a bit like it, nor does it have the same engine, but it's a manual as well, and handles quite similarly. Oh, Waffles! This one I named "Joey Lawrence."

And here they are!

Hubby and I went to Yellowstone, Island Park, and Driggs for a week. First, we stayed with seven of my college friends at a cabin in Island Park. Two of those days, we drove into Yellowstone (it's only about 30 minutes away).

This is us on our last day of vacation in Driggs. James got to meet my grandparents for the first time, and he now understands what the big deal is when I talk about Driggs.









Hubby had the fantastic idea of having an "Iron Chef" contest amongst ourselves. This would guarantee great food. It was only because of Janeal that there was even a prize (which I won, btw, not like I'm rubbing it in or anything).
This is me making sushi the first night we were there.









And Hubby and I in front of the Firehole River, one of our first stops in the Park.









From left: Steve, Brent, Danica, Janeal, Dave, Katrina, Blair, me, Hubby. We stopped to look at some really beautiful falls.









These are the really beautiful falls, with Blair and Katrina.









Brent and Danica at Great Fountain Geyser.












Brent and Danica again, only not kissing. They're preparing themselves to enjoy my most delicious sushi. They were also part of our "Iron Chef" team, and made a most scrumptious dessert--brownie with caramel and walnuts oozing in the middle.









Brent, on the boardwalk over the Grand Prismatic Spring.












The mud pots: majestic, beautiful, stinky. And they make funny farting sounds.

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Check out all that Thermus Aquaticus! This is where it was discovered--this very spot!










Despite multiple slatherings-on of sunscreen, I think all of us ended up with burns or terrible farmer's tans--or both. Mine isn't as impressive as Steve's, but it's definitely a doozy.









Our last night, we ate at Big Jud's in Ashton. Nothin' like eating a ginormous 18-lb burger at a restaurant-slash-gas station. Welcome to Idaho! Dave got his picture taken for eating the whole thing. This is his second time. Are the servers trained in CPR?












The brilliant orange of Grand Prismatic Spring.












Danica said, "Can I have all the guys line up so I can take a picture of the 'Guys-er'? Get it?"









The Grand Prismatic, and a few others, drain right into the Firehole River.









Puff n'Stuff Geyser

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A big "Hello!" from the smelly mud pots!









I think this was the first pool we saw. I forget it's name.









Grand Prismatic Spring. Look at all that life-saving bacteria!









Some creepy pools.












Echinus Geyser. It erupts randomly, and we didn't get to see it... but I have, several times, sat on a bench on that platform and gotten sprayed with water!









This beautiful elk backed traffic up for a good 10 minutes.












Lower Falls, I believe? In the "Grand Canyon."












Standing in front of the Firehole River, where the Grand Prismatic, et. al., runs into it.

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What I like about Yellowstone is that you walk right over acres of geothermal activity.








Grand Prismatic Spring--soooo eerie. You walked right over the runoff.









There was so much wildlife! And even more idiot tourists who walked up to it to take a picture, and blocked traffic!









Steve overlooking the "Grand Canyon" of Yellowstone.









Does this dad not care that this boy has broken through earth's crust and exposed his weak flesh to boiling water, acid, and giant crocodiles? And what's with the chick, just standing there, useless?









Bones! This is what fate awaits that poor young man pictured above.




















Great Fountain Geyser: our first geyser, and home to Thermus Aquaticus!









Ah, the Mud Pots...










Our spot to watch Old Faithful. crowds and hot sun were replaced by comfy chairs and ice cream.