A weekend at home. Time to write.

Work has been really busy over the last month. Never a dull moment.

There is another pregnant woman at work. I had a dream the other night that I was pregnant and in the hospital. I was waiting and waiting. There were no labor pains. I was getting impatient. Interesting.

To celebrate Kelley’s birthday in the beginning of July I went with Kelley and two other friends of hers to Arnold, a small town on Highway 4 in the Sierra’s. It was a great, very relaxing weekend. We ate, drank, talked (and talked and talked and talked), slept, ate and drank some more. It was hot as Hades up there. I loved it. For some reason the heat doesn’t bother me.

Last weekend I was in Tahoe, Soda Springs. It wasn’t as hot as I expected. And the water in Ice Lakes (Serene Lakes) felt very cold. It wasn’t hot enough out to warrant getting into freezing cold water. The company was great. Again we did lots of eating, drinking, talking, and fucking around. On Friday my friend John and I took our mountain bikes out for a spin. I hadn’t been on mine in years. As we made our way out the dusty access road, I kept thinking, “I am going to have to climb back out of here.” But it was well worth it! And getting out took about half as long as I expected. The next day, Saturday, when the others arrived, we drove down the same road and did a little hike along a ridge. We had planned to find a private lake to take a dip, but couldn’t find one that wasn’t on private property. Next time. I have more information now. I have been told that most of the land out there labeled “private property” is actually public land. In any case, after our easy hike we drove back out and over to Ice Lakes, which really are icy right now. I got some sun and walked back to the house. On Saturday night we actually had dinner before it was dark out! That never happens up there. We had a feast of grilled (some charred) veggies and chicken, tortillas, corn on the cob, refried beans, cabbage salad, and red wine. It was all delicious. For dessert I baked “no pudge fudge” brownies – Trader Joes special! So yummy.

Thursday I finally had my 10 year old, very faded tattoos re-colored. I have a beautiful new pink lotus and a blue and green butterfly. Getting a tattoo feels something like a red-hot butter knife digging into your flesh. The closer it is to the spine, the more it seems to hurt. The black outlines are particularly painful. Fatty deposits don’t seem to temper the pain what so ever. So, don’t ever let anyone tell you it doesn’t hurt. But it is all worth it! I am now going through the icky dry, scabby faze of healing. I have been putting cream on it three or four times a day. I think it helps a little. I am happy to be though the painful periods.