Time for a new roommate!

I've been thinking all night long about how to address the situation before me. Truthfully, I'm clueless, and I don't expect a revelation anytime soon. I do know that this is a shitty situation, and I don't want to talk about it. But in order to answer the questions that I'd rather not answer when I meet up with my friends, I thought it best to tell it here. My Mother has been battling cancer for a couple of years. She has a type of cancer that attacks the blood. It is aggressive, unrelenting and apparently deadly. Doctors have been very aggressive in dealing with her treatment. She has participated in several studies, and through her effort, we might someday find a cure. Unfortunately, I spoke with her tonight and she informed me that the doctors had nothing left in their bag of tricks. She's being released from the hospital in Seattle and will be moving in with us at my home. We have a room for her, and I'm excited to spend more time with her.  We don't know how long she'll be with us, and we're not sure what the future holds. We do know that everybody is concerned, and that we all love her very much. So, I thank you for your concern, and I appreciate that you care. Please stay positive and hope for the best.
cheers,
E

Kiln is loaded

Firing for four days
Pouring molten bronze on Tuesday at 6pm
You're invited

oh the horror

Haven't posted in awhile. A lot has been happening, but I'm not allowed to talk about most of the really interesting stuff. Instead I'll just give an account of my morning.

7:09am : Got out of bed and yelled at the dog for barking in the back yard.

10:06am : Got out of bed and climbed into the shower.

10:11am : Got out of the shower and put my underpants on.

10:16am : Left the house to go to the hospital.

11:04am : Doctor Brock gingerly placed two 4 inch long pieces of foam, soaked in some sort of numbing agent in my nasal passage.

11:17am : Doctor Brock repositioned the broken bone in my nose, using a stainless steal tool and his very strong hands.

12:11pm : Arrived at work 11 minutes late.

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Aside from that, I've had a nice summer. My job is pleasant, the weather has been nice and I like my friends. I've played some music, and ridden my bike some.

I bought a kiln and am in the process of constructing a studio at the house. I'm converting said kiln from 208v 3phase to single phase 240v and running the necessary wire and plug to run it.

I will post pictures of the first batch of pots.

Smith

Last week was rough. I was so glad to get in the car Saturday morning and drive away from it all. Todd is the only one of my friends that likes to camp. Others say they do, but realistically, given the choice between hiking up a huge crag and going to bed when the sun sets, or staying in town, they'd rather hit the bars and sleep in their own bed. I appreciate that as well, but I don't want to do it all the time. Also, I've been really into rock climbing lately and having used my REI dividend for a new rope, I needed to take it out for some action.

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We got a late start and I was worried that we might not get a spot in the Bivouac area at Smith Rock. The cool kids call it the bivy. As we drove up

and over Hood, however, and the sun began to shine, I wasn't worried at all. Instead I was just happy to be doing something awesome. The drive was beautiful, with blue sunny skies and beautiful clouds. We stopped in Terrabonne to check out the local climbing shop, where I picked up a new locking biner and a cheap hat. A german guy was hanging around trying to get a ride back to the park, so we took him with us. He had been in the states since October and had travelled across the country climbing at all the major spots. Smith was to be his last stop before heading back to Germany this Wednesday. Shaking his hand was like lifting a stone.

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We parked and quickly set up our tents to secure a spot in the bivy. Luckily the crowd hadn't arrived and we managed a good spot near the cliff. Smith towered above us across the river. I was feeling really excited and completely overwhelmed. As we loaded up our gear, refilled our water bottles and started towards the crag I was feeling pretty great.

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The park sees a lot of traffic, but it was clean. There were hikers, young and old; mountain bikers politely passing with a calm "on your left"; and there were climbers everywhere. The rock is formed of tuff, which is volcanic in origin. It's red and brown and looks amazing in the afternoon and evening sun. We hiked a couple of miles and found a nice secluded spot where I could hike up and set up an anchor. Without a bit more gear we were relegated to top-rope climbing, which was fine because Smith offers plenty of great beginner and intermediate top-rope-able routes. I showed Todd how to set up an anchor, tie in and belay. Then, before we knew it, we were ready to pack it up and head back for dinner. We hiked the rest of the loop up and over, past Monkey Face and back to camp. By the time we arrived, the sun had set and the temperature dropped considerably. We quickly ate dinner and hit the sack.

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The next morning, a breakfast of oatmeal and peanut butter provided the fuel for several hours of climbing. We hiked a bit and found a large boulder that wasn't overpopulated. It's called Rope A Dope Rock and offered easy access to anchors and some fun, short routes. I set the anchor and rappelled down, then Todd tied in and had a go. After an unsuccessful attempt at the Crack, I convinced him to try my shoes. Sure enough, with a little bit better traction, he sent it. It was a step up from the previous day's climb. I tried a route called Sting Like a Bee. It had a really cool flake undercling and a reach over shelf near the top. Thankfully Todd proved to be a competent belayer. I fell more than a few times but eventually finished the route. We climbed a few more routes on that face before a short hike and, unfortunately, the journey home.

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I can't wait to get back!

Worked on the yard

We did some yard work this weekend, finally. Flowers, a raised bed
which will hold herbs and leafy greens, and I pulled about 400lbs of
concrete anchors out of the ground. It's awesome that when they
removed the fence, they left the concrete down there. Also awesome:
they did it twice. We have a lot more landscaping to do. It should be
fun.

Louie is in the house.

Tiffani's birthday is this month. She wants a puppy - badly. I've wanted another dog for awhile now. We attempted to pick up a new dog on my birthday. After thinking it over for a few hours we decided that we wanted to go pick him up. We were bummed to hear that he had been adopted in the meantime. The sadness we both felt at missing the opportunity to raise that cute puppy affirmed that we were indeed emotionally prepared for the adventure of puppy-hood. So Saturday, we adopted a dachshund/terrier mix. He's adorable. I took him to the vet this morning and all is well. The vet confirmed that he is indeed a dog, and that he is a healthy one at that. He runs and clumsily falls all the time, annoys Gus and shits the size of his head. I'm sort of beginning to think that half of his body is made up of his bowels. I was up every two hours last night to let him out to pee. It was a bit rainy, but every time we went out, he was quick about it. When we got back inside, he laid down in his crate and went right back to sleep. The dachshund in him has him creeping into the darkest corners of the house. Right now he's under the ottoman grumbling in his sleep.

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Gus is nervous. He doesn't know what's happening. He paces and bites harder than usual while playing. I'm really hoping that in the long run, this is good for him. I think he'll get used to it as the routine becomes more, well, rout

ine. In the meantime he's gaining a bit of weight from all the positive reinforcement we're throwing his way. So it goes.