Crunch mode

I didn't think I'd have time to blog today, but I'm wide awake early. We have entered crunch mode for MJ's wedding--T minus 12 days--and my brain has apparently switched back into work mode. (One of the reasons I burned out, I swear, is because intensity in my life translates to an inability to sleep more than seven hours a night, when normally I do eight to ten.)

The reception area in the barn is emptied except for wedding goods, so MJ has been stringing fairy lights. It's SO pretty when she tests them!

My job is to, at intervals, help her move the scaffolding that lets her reach the rafters. Between intervals, I've been bouncing from task to task, but mostly I've been shoveling. There are still some blackberries to remove from an area that will soon be a flower bed, and I've been working on cleaning up the fire pit (which will probably be a big bowl of flowers at wedding time because the entire West is under a burn ban).

Joe got the barn floor pressure-washed. A previous wedding out there involved some golden glitter, so the puddles from the washing looked good for panning. 😀

A friend is bringing us hundreds of yards of white tulle from her daughter's wedding, so we need to figure out where that goes.

Yesterday we figured out the best spot for the porta-potties, which means we have one more spot requiring blackberry cleanup. I'm starting to enjoy it--it's very satisfying destruction--so I'm probably losing my mind.

There's a lot left to do, and our collective anxiety is rising, so I've put together a big Beach Club work party for today. Many hands make light(er) work. I think we'll all feel better after a crew of 8 spends a few hours out there.

Yesterday, in between work parties, we squeezed in MJ's family shower. Chelsea hosted another lovely event, and it was wonderful to see seven of the eight girl cousins (4/5 of my mom's grandkids) together, especially since Megan leaves in a few days for her internship in Bahrain.

Okay, that's all the time I can spare. Onward!

Sunset last night

I'm testing a workaround for a Blogger app bug. If it works, this post will be accompanied by a photo of our stunning sunset last night. 😊

Long live Big Stinky

Tacoma, Washington, has something of a smelly reputation. I can't remember what was the cause of Tacoma's smelliness (it was pulp mills here in our town), but it was distinct and unpleasant, and residents of our fair state knew it well. That reputation went briefly national when Arsenio Hall did a series of jokes in his monologue that all began, "Tacoma is so stank..."

But when Toyota was putting their new pickup into production and conducting market research on names, they found the name "Tacoma" was associated with stank only in the Pacific Northwest--relatively small potatoes, market-wise. They gambled that we would buy the truck anyway.

And we did, back in 1995. But the city's reputation lives on in our minds, and we christened that truck Little Stinky.

Fast forward to last week, when we made ourselves the proud owner of another Tacoma. It's white like our first truck, has a double cab instead of the legless-children backseat of the access cab on our '95, and has the increased heft, horsepower, and height of this generation of Tacomas, so its name was obvious: Big Stinky.

We're pretty excited. The tow capacity is a staggering 6,500 pounds--literally 3,000 pounds more than the van--so we're abundantly covered for our little trailer, and we have some cushion if we ever want to upgrade. And it's cute in a manly way and kind of fun to drive once you put your brain in truck mode. My favorite feature is the tonneau cover, a nifty contraption that folds forward in sections so you can access the whole bed without having to crawl. Slick!

Other than car shoppingand starting to prep the van for sale, the week was devoted to clearing out the house. I took a big load to charity and sold 1000 paperbacks to HPB (for a whopping $10--I should have given them to charity too). All of the art and tchotchkes are either packed up or gone. And last night I sorted and stored my collection of office supplies and am officially banned from ever shopping a back-to-school sale again.

We have bare walls and empty shelves all through the house. It's a little surreal to look at, and I absolutely love it.

What's left: the furniture and the contents of the kitchen cupboards (most of which we're keeping at least until after the wedding houseguests leave), the garage (*shudder*), the music gear, the electronics, our personal clothing and belongings, and all the things I won't be able to see until all that is dealt with.

Sending off July and Koyo

I finished up July by sorting books and belongings and shoes. We're single-handedly supplying Value Village with inventory for the rest of the year.

All of the memorabilia I've squirrelled away, we're keeping. Maybe someday I'll have a stonier heart and be able to part with these things. But, as a for instance, I have the journal my great-grandmother kept while she was away at boarding school in her teens. I saved this stuff for a reason, you know?

We got home yesterday from sending Koyo off on his roadtrip east. We went with him as far as the Icicle River and hiked the Gorge in the wonderful dry heat and camped one night at Ida Creek (in the best site! wh00t!). He called it Camping 101 and he seemed to have a great time. It was hot enough that he and I both went swimming in the very cold river, with a big initial kiai from him and much whimpering from me. But it was great once we got used to it.

Yesterday, we waved each other off in opposite  directions on Highway 2. It was hard to let him go on without us, both because we've gotten very attached to him and because the road was calling us. But we'll be following him easterly soon enough, and he's hoping to come and see us someplace warm at winter break.