Dental Work Blues and Political Correctness

I went to the dentist this morning and got two sides of my face numbed up. My coworkers cannot refrain from laughing at my puffy face, which makes ME want to laugh, but my mouth is not cooperating AT ALL! The left side of my face prefers to point down, and the right side of my face can only point up. I’m happy on my right side and sad on my left side. I’m a living representation of the Comedy and Tragedy masks merged as one on my face. Answering calls at work has been a comedy, and my pronunciation of “West Yost Associates” has been a tragedy!
I tried eating a soft breakfast burrito this morning, and it really creeped me out. Without actually being able to taste anything, I wasn’t entirely sure what I was chewing. Was it the burrito? Or my cheek? Or my lip? Same consistency, as far as I could tell! I guess I’ll find out later when the numbness wears off.
In the meantime, I wished I’d had the foresight to bring a straw to work with me. I’m sipping my coffee and dribbling it down my front like an invalid.
Oh! That’s a horrible word, I just realized. “Invalid,” as the noun. It implies, the person is invalid (the adjective). Wow… the subtle differences between pronunciations and the uses of each word somehow eluded me until just now
It reminds me of when I was a little girl; I used to call people “retarded” for fun, as a name-calling thing. I remember the very moment when I realized that it was totally insensitive and rude to use that word as derogatory. I was playing at the “big kids playground” after school with a few friends (I was still a “little kid” and could only get away with playing there after school). I don’t remember who I was playing with, but a child with a mental disability joined us on the playground and we all decided to play with her. I remember being fascinated by her and trying especially hard to be kind to her, but I was also a bit shy about her apparent mental disability. I was trying to play normal with her as I would with anyone else, and one of my friends made a joke to us all (I don’t remember what it was about – something innocent), but the disabled girl didn’t understand the punch line, so I told the girl, “Oh, don’t worry about her, she’s just being retarded!” referring to my friend who made the joke. And then the realization of what I said just struck me. If I were to replay this scene in a movie, I would make all the sound go completely still, and all the children in the playground would stop everything they were doing – drop their bats, trip on their jump ropes, swings would screech to a halt – to stare at me like I was a monster for what I’d said. The sad thing is, the girl actually did understand the word that I’d used, and maybe she’d been teased with it, I don’t know, I can only imagine, but she was upset by it. She must’ve thought I was calling *her* retarded, and anyway, she left the playground upset. I felt like crap. And I learned a very valuable lesson in political correctness.
Seriously, what kind of world was a raised in? I remember going “nigger knocking” at neighborhood houses. Did I even *realize* what that meant? And the other day, someone actually described something as “cotton-pickin’.” Okay, I’ve heard that many times before, but now I actually hear the meaning of it and realize how derogatory that really is. So much of what we say in casual is actually quite inappropriate! I guess awareness of this sort is a step toward social progression. And while I’m at it, please, people, stop calling things “gay” as though that’s a bad thing. That really grates me. That’s something I always hear in Utah. I realize that a lot of what we say, we say without thinking. But we should think more than we talk. And, hey, I’ve started to gain sensation back in my tongue! Just in time for me to start watching it. Perfect.

The birthday fun has already begun!

Last Sunday, I coordinated a small birthday get together at Hopworks with some of my friends here in the northwest. It was Father’s Day and most everyone had other plans, was sick, or had to work, so it was just me, Mandy and Keith: the Trio of Trouble. Actually, we kept it simple with pizza, pints, and chocolates from Moonstruck, and were done by 7:00.
Last night, Mandy (whose birthday is coming up on July 3rd!) and I went out to get our fortunes read. We’ve been talking about getting that done for well over a year now, and we came across a place that seemed decent, not-too-expensive, and had good reviews: Mademoiselle Noelle’s Fortune Tea House . The name is over-the-top, but I guess, for a place that deals in fortune-telling, it should have a bit of that theatrical quality. It was a quaint little place, with a painted red door, homey décor, and charming French parlor music circa 1930. Mandy and I order a fantastic tea (something with “dragon” in the name), which was served to us in a vintage teapot shaped like a pineapple. We sipped our teas in delicate china and shared a slice of Raspberry Rosewater Cake (yum!). The dessert and tea menu was excellent! They also had a fortune menu, so we could select which type of divination we wanted. They offered runes, tea leaf readings, palmistry, tarot, a few others (I forget), and even past life readings. I was tempted to get a rune reading, since I’ve never done that before (not counting the time I bobbed for apples carved with runes), but I opted for tarot, since that is the one I’m most familiar with, and I always enjoy the art on the cards. Mandy chose a tarot reading as well. We both *loved* our readings, and the woman who gave them to us, Christy Noelle, was just very sweet and amazingly perceptive. Mandy and I both came away with a bit more clarity and a few new things to think about. It was a really fun way to prepare for our new years.
It seems to me that people often focus the importance of birthdays on the amount of attention we receive from others. We give significance to the date of our births to celebrate the days we enter the world and eventually into the lives of our loved ones. But birthdays shouldn’t be just about everyone else’s perspectives and opinions of us, because there ends up to be a lot of unfairly disappointed folks on their birthdays. How many times have we been bummed out because someone forgot our birthday, or chose to do something else rather than show up for our birthday party? I’ve been there. I’m sure we’ve ALL been there. But that really isn’t fair to our selves. People are going to have opinions and perceptions about us that are, in large part, beyond our control. Only we (and the Divine) know the significance of our worth on this earth. Only we know the truth of our individual intentions and purpose. Only we know and can truly appreciate the importance of our birthdays. No matter how many friends and family wish us a happy one, or how many gifts we receive, birthdays should a big deal to us individually and personally.
Today, on my 28th birthday, I’m celebrating the significance of my Self and am proud of the ways I’ve grown, succeeded, and improved in my last year. I look forward to the ways I will grow in my next year. I’m thankful for every one of my years, because Life is amazing, powerful, and beautiful. With this perspective, I think I’ll actually gain more from my birthday than anything anyone could wrap up for me in cellophane.
And, also, I have some amazing friends and family. I don’t know how I ever got so lucky to befriend such incredible people, but that does bring me joy beyond words. I love all of you!!! I have some big birthday kisses to go out to the following amazing people who’ve played significant parts in my life, and without which, I’d not be who I am today (in approximate order of appearance):
Mom, Dad, Emily, Heather, Natalie, Aaron, Grandma, Granny, Grandpa, Aunt Ellie, Lisa, Kelly, Amy, Leah, Big Jeff, Little Jeff, Carol, Erin, Becca, Jacque, John, Missy, Emily B., Chris, Andy, Shilene, Jimmy, Keith, Suzanne, Dawn, Misty, Maria, Matt, Joanne, the whole Crew at City Rep, Sandra, Millcreek Coffee Roasters, Dustin, James, Nikki, Genie, Butch, Jennifer, Grandma S., Zara, Kristen, SGO, Trish, Rachael, Matthew, Anita, Meg, Theo, Sika, Mandy, and Dawn…
I’ve been blessed with happiness, thanks to so many people, and I’m looking forward to the future! Happy Birthday to ME!

Can it get much geekier than this?

I completed my general chemistry classes last Monday! We all took a photo together as a class. Can we get any dorkier than this? LOVE IT!

Visitors!

Dio (Heather) and Nate visited us at the end of May. They drove up and stayed with us for a few days. Unfortunately, I had to work and go to school most of the time that they were out here, but we did manage to all hang out together on Friday the 30th. The Rose Festival had just started up that weekend, so we went to the waterfront carnival for some good ol' fashioned corny fun. We crammed into a photo booth ( me, Keith, Mandy and Dio) and got some goofy pics.

Then we went on a few carnival rides before slinking to an underground bar, called the Shanghai Tunnel. The time spent at the happy, bright, fun-fest carnival, follwed by the dim, gritty bar was a memorable contrast.

We toasted over Hobgoblin Dark English Ale, played Mrs. Pacman, and pinball, and then Nate and Dio retreated early to their room at the Hotel Lucia (a little wedding gift we gave them). Keith, Mandy and I stayed out and watched the fireworks over the river from the Burnside Bridge. We ran into our friend Sika who joined us for the fireworks.

We went to breakfast at Wild Abandon the following morning and then Nate and Dio hit the road back to Utah.

So much fun! So little time...

Cedar Waxwings

We noticed Cedar Waxwings in our backyard for the very first time, since we've lived here.

They raided the holly trees in huge flocks!

Birdathon 2008

Keith and I participated in a fundraising event called the "Birdathon" for the Portland Audubon Society. The goal is to track and count as many bird species as possible within a 24 or 48 hour period. We decided to dedicate all day Saturday and most of the day on Sunday to the Birdathon. We left at 5:30 in the morning on Saturday (we planned to be out the door by 4, but you know how that goes...) and went to Tryon Creek State Park searching for some owls that we knew were nesting there. We heard only the saw-whet owl, but lucked upon a pair of band-tailed pigeons that we did not expect to see. Next stop was the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge, where was clocked a TON of birds, and developed some really good sunburns. Then we drove southwest toward the coastal town of Lincoln City. We chanced upon a prairie falcon (which was totally random and rare) near a quick stop at a small farm for some fresh strawberries.

Our time on the coast wasn't as fruitful as we'd hoped. The day dragged on and we were getting pretty burnt out. Not to mention that we were worried we wouldn't be able to find a place to camp, seeing as how everyone and their dog was at the beach that weekend. It was 90-degrees in the Willamette valley, so the breezy coast was where everyone wanted to be. As sunset came around, we made it to Cannon Beach for dinner. We were so hungry that we missed out on viewing the beautiful ocean sunset for the alternative of a decent meal. Night crept in and we chanced a drive further north up the coast toward Fort Stevens State Park, where we lucked upon an open camp spot.

As we were setting up our tent, we heard loud crunching sounds coming from the neighboring camp spot. We snuck over to investigate the sound and caught, red-handed, a theiving raccoon pigging out shamelessly on the clueless campers' food.

On Sunday morning we stopped over by Cannon Beach one more time to see if we could spot the tufted puffins that nest on Haystack Rock, but the morning fog wouldn't dissapate soon enough, and our Birdathon clock was ticking, so we accepted that loss and headed back inland toward Portland. We did get some really cute pictures of some northern rough-winged swallows just before we left Cannon Beach.

We stopped in Forest Grove at a small city park where we knew there to be Acorn Woodpeckers nesting, and sure enough, after five-minutes, they appeared.

We then went to Fern Hill Wetlands and chalked up a couple more species and deepening our sunburns.

Tualatin Hills Nature Park was our last stop and where we finally threw in the towel. After 333 miles of road travel, and countless miles hiking through parks, we only counted 83 species. For us, that's a good amount, but we hoped for 100. Maybe next year...

If anyone would like to donate, we will be collecting donations until June 1st.

This is a collage of all 83 species we found

Isabel Hope

My sweet sister Natalie gave birth to her stillborn daughter, Isabel Hope, on May 9th, 2008. The heart-break at the loss of Isabel is tremendous. I become speechless in moments like this, but I was there to support Natalie in her time of sorrow. Whether the right words came to me - or any at all - I am not sure. The sadness clouded my mind (and still does). The least I could do was be there for Natalie at Isabel's burial. I flew out to Utah on Tuesday, 5/13. Mom, Emily, Severin, Helene and I drove down to Natalie and John's family cabin near Capitol Reef National Park. Isabel was buried on a beautiful hilltop with expansive views of the ranchlands and rolling hills of the small town of Lyman.

Tumbleweeds rolled through the parking lot of the church as we drove in a silent procession to the hilltop where Isabel resides today. An impressive windstorm swept through the town after the burial. A friendly kitten that no one had ever seen before greeting and purred for every one at the cabin. A family of great horned owls nested in the trees on the front yard. Camoflauged statues with great yellow eyes that gave them away. Everett, Alton, Severin and Helen - carefree cousins - all played together, making the most of the time.

I looked for signs of Isabel in everything around me. And I found signs of her in everything. The beauty of a fragile song bird in the tree. The wisdom and grace of the owls. The drama of the dust, spinning and dancing in the hills. The freedom and innocence of my nephews and niece playing in the yard. Natalie's beautiful face. Although I grieve that I never got to know her, I don't think I'm missing out on her presence.

So despite the loss of her life, I am happy to welcome her as my newest, and very much loved, niece.

Quick Seattle Trip

Keith and I went to Seattle for just a day to see Elbow in concert at the Showbox. The concert was really good!


We stayed at Aaron and Sandra's that night. They were too kind to let us crash at their place, showing up at midnight on a work night. Their new condo is really nice. There is a lot of greenspace around their neighborhood business park. The following morning, after Aaron went to work, Sandra, Keith and I went on a walk, checking out the birds at the wetlands areas. We had so much fun! Aaron met us for lunch, and then Keith and I had to hit the road and head back to Portland. It was a very quick trip, but worth it for a fun concert and even funner time with my brother and his cute wife.



Sandra gave us some very belated Christmas gifts, which included an amazing hand-made blanket, and some beautiful earrings and a necklace to match.

Mt. Tabor Park

Keith and I got out for a bit of birding on Mt. Tabor. It was a beautiful day and the park was packed, but we managed to spot several first-of-the-years (FOY) there.
FOYS included Olive-Sided Flycatcher, Western Tanager, Black-Throated Grey Warbler, and, most notably, a pair of young Great Horned Owls that were perched in broad daylight, just above the trail. Keith and I were scoping out some maple trees for a good look at a Black-Throated Grey Warbler, when Keith noticed the owls. I’m amazed at his luck of just looking in the right spot and, behold, there are owls! We could not (for the life of us) get any really great photos of them, because the sun was casting bright light from behind, but we gazed at them for a long while. We even shared the view through our scope with a couple random hikers who were curious what we were gazing at. It was amazing how many people walked right underneath the owls and didn’t even sense them.

Can you spot the owls?

Maybe look a little closer?

Closer?

That’s as good as it gets.

Too bad you weren’t there to see it through the scope. They were SO cool.

Ivy Pull

Keith and I volunteered to help pull English Ivy at Mary S. Young Park in West Linn (which is a town just west of us, across the Willamette River). The only people there to do the job was a troupe of Boy Scouts and then Keith and myself (and the few event coordinators, of course). Seriously, where would this world be without the Boy Scouts? We worked from 9 to noon, and it was a dirty and tiresome job (in other words: very glamorous!). I actually really enjoyed crawling around in the duff and caking myself with dirt. I literally had to put a towel under me during the drive home, I was so mucked up after it all.


The Boy Scouts seemed to have the most fun. Little boys love anything destructive. They were yelling, "DIE, IVY, DIE!" And pretty much ripping up anything green (not just the ivy). There was one tender Boy Scout, who discovered a pair of salamaders on the forest floor and he went completely soft over them. He hand-delivered them to a small, trickling stream, out of harms way, and talked softly to them, as if they were kittens. It was too cute.

Most passerbys on the trail said nothing to us, but seemed mostly curious about what we were doing. For the record, the section we were working on clearing would be a future "bird sanctuary." I'm not sure if that's true, but that's what the even coordinators said, and it was enough to motivate us. That's what mattered.

One guy walking through the park barked at us as if we were up to no good, "What ARE you doing?!" When we explained, he seemed confused (and still mad) and wandered off without a response. But it was not an entirely thankless job. Two polite hikers said, "Thank you, volunteers!" as they marched past us.

My hamstrings hated me for several days following, but it felt good to help out in an area we cared about. All the work we did was a drop in the bucket, but every little step toward improvement helps.

Very short update

Keith and I took advantage of one very hot weekend in April (it got into the 80's) to work on removing the scar that was left on our front yard where a tree stump was ground down last summer. Here are some photos of our work. It took us two days to remove 75 square feet of grass. We'll be putting in some ornamental plants, mostly natives (of course), such as red flowering currant, wild mock orange, snowberry, and camas. For now, we've only got the garden plotted and dug out. It's covered in landscape paper today, but we're hoping for good weather this weekend so we can put some of these plants in. Our neighbors gave us a young lilac tree from their yard, as well as some rhubarb. We harvested the rhubarb and made an excellent rhubarb crumble last Sunday! I'm hoping to plant it in my yard and see if it takes to our soil.

Our Yard Before:

Our Yard After:

This Saturday, we'll be volunteering at Mary S. Young State Park to get dirty pulling up the English Ivy that has run rampant throughout the park. The first time Keith and I visited that park, we were depressed about the apparent ivy invasion, so we're very happy to be a part of the park improvement efforts. Hopefully our work will make room for some diversity in the plant life there.


Speaking of all things Nature, there has been a changing of the guards at our bird feeders as spring migrators move in. We are seeing a rush of American Goldfinches, and the Pine Siskins and Oregon Juncos have tapered off in the last few weeks. The Tree Squirrel, Song Sparrows, Spotted Towhee, Scrub Jay, House Finches, House Sparrows, and Anna's Hummingbird are staying put as they have been regular customers at our feeders throughout the winter. Our newest arrival was the Rufous Hummingbird pair that appeared last week. We now have a resident Cooper's Hawk which seems to have taken on the task of picking off some of the European Starlings. I'll post some photos of our little backyard birds later.

Midterms were this week! Five weeks in the term DOWN, five more to GO!

Girl’s Weekend

Last Sunday, Sika, Mandy and I went up to Breitenbush Hot Springs Resort for Girls-Only Getaway. (Keith stayed home and took care of the kitties and probably walked around in his underwear all day – bachelor style.) When we arrived at Breitenbush (just two hours south of Portland), it was raining and a bit foggy. The parking lot was surrounded in snow piles taller than we were!

We had arrived a bit early for check-in, so we toured around the property and noshed on blueberry scones (Thanks, Keith!), and had a little snowball fight. Finally, we checked in to our cabin, which we lovingly dubbed Camp Tri-Titty-Boo-Boo. It was a snuggly little cabin with geothermal heating (energy harnessed from the heat from the earth). We unpacked our stuff, made ourselves at home, and quickly ran out to the hot springs for our first dip. We chose the “Silent Pool” at the end of the open meadow with the river view. It was amazingly therapeutic to sit in that hot spring with rain falling all around us, looking out into the foggy meadow. The only obstacle was trying to find the right nook amidst the stone-lined tub for optimum relaxing. At the Silent Pool, we were expected to be silent, but we three couldn’t resist being silly and gabbing as long as no one else was there to be bothered by us. When other bathers arrived, we knew we were expected to harness our giddiness and be quiet. Knowing full well our limitations, we politely left to a different pool where we could be chatty again.

The shenanigans started when I grabbed someone else’s pants from the clothes hooks by the Silent Pool. We walked down to a different pool and I looked at the pair of Levis in my hands and suddenly remembered I wasn’t wearing Levis that day. “Whose pants are these?!” I asked. They weren’t any of ours! Embarrassingly, I had to walk back to the Silent Pool to return the Levis to whomever they belonged. I sheepishly looked at the strangers in the Silent Pool and (trying to respect the oath of silence) theatrically pantomimed that I had taken someone’s pants and was very sorry. Ha ha! The silent meditation was broken, we all laughed, and I slinked back to the other pool with my friends, totally embarrassed.

Dinner was at 6:00. We gathered at the Lodge after the dinner gong was sounded. The meals there – oh – the meals… They were divine! Better than any of us could’ve expected. Buffet style, but definitely gourmet vegetarian (and mostly organic) cuisine. We gorged ourselves, since we’d had very little for lunch. Those scones only got us so far. After dinner, the rain persisted, so we didn’t feel much like being outdoors, so we tried to find a nice place to cozy down and read, or play games. The Forest Retreat is sort of a large yurt, tucked in the forest, with skylights and glass doors opening out to face the river. It was empty – we thought – so we tried to settle there, until the previously unknown inhabitants scared us out – large black ants. We retreated to our cabin.

Breitenbush is a no-alcohol environment. We respected that rule – but decided to break it anyway, and cracked open a bottle of wine to share between us. We played the “drawing game,” which, anyone in my family knows what that is. Our stupid drawings made us laugh, and then we all finally settled down and went to sleep.

Monday morning, at the signal of the breakfast gong that rang out over Breitenbush, we dragged ourselves out of bed at 7:30 am, with more enthusiasm than ever should be expected; especially coming from me (I don’t do mornings). But breakfast was at 8:00 and the food was, of course, delicious.

After breakfast, Sika went back to the cabin to chill out, and Mandy and I took our cameras and toured about, photographing everything we could. We came across a small family of deer (there were three that we could see) resting by the Massage House. So we were taking photographs of them, when someone or something spooked them from the opposite side of the trail and they all suddenly got up and bolted toward us. My first reaction was to jump out of the way, but I pushed back that urge and instead lifted my camera to take pictures as they rushed toward us! I imagined being trampled, but figured I’d probably survive, and it would be a pretty cool story to share (“Oh, this scar? I was trampled by a herd of deer…”), and so I stood my ground. Luckily, the crowd of four, maybe five, deer veered out of our way and ran up the path to our right. The adrenaline of that moment gave Mandy and me legs of jello for a little while after that. We walked (or wobbled, seeing as how our legs were jello) to the bridge and took photos of the river. I insisted on carrying my binoculars with me everywhere, in case I spotted something interesting with feathers. This must’ve horrified people, because there is something fishy about a person carrying binoculars around in an area where there are a lot of naked people bathing in hot springs. Well, tough, I figured. I’m a bird-watcher, and I can’t help appreciating the wildlife. I was mindful not to point my binos at the naked folks. But I did earn the nickname “Peeper” for obvious reasons. Well, Peeper got her first, very good look at a Western Meadowlark that day, and she was pleased.

We ran into Sika in front of the lodge and she had her funky old camera with her and was ready to go around and take photos, so I joined her in more exploring, and Mandy went back to the cabin to chill out. Sika and I walked around and took photos, but didn’t see the deer this time around. We did, however, step all over in the evidence that they left as proof that they were once there. Sika earned herself the camp nickname of “PoohFoot” for that reason. We milled about practically until lunch time, when we met up with Mandy and stuffed ourselves at lunchtime after the call of the lunch gong.

After lunch, Sika went off and did her own thing, and Mandy and I took an afternoon dip in the hot springs. We showered at the Bathhouse, which had an amazing window that looked out to the river, and then gathered for a yoga session at 4:30 the Lodge, while Sika went to the Massage House for her massage.

Patches of blue sky gradually expanded throughout the day, and snow fell now and again, but at the end of the yoga session (which, for me, was a pitiful reminder of how out-of-shape I am) a most beautiful sunset spread out over the sky. I’ll have to take Sika’s word on that. Unfortunately, I was facing east, in “corpse” position, closing up the yoga session as the sunset came and went. I did notice the entire room turn golden at the end of the session, but assumed it was because all my chakras were finally in line (kidding).

Dinner happened at 6:00, as scheduled, and we feasted like queens! After dinner, Mandy went back to the cabin to hang out, and Sika and I immediately got ready for a hot spring dip at dusk. Actually, we had not yet tried out the sauna hut, so we headed over there first. Everything outside had a ghostly blue shade as night crept in, and a bat swooped in front of us as we walked to the sauna hut. The doors into the sauna hut were tiny, like a hobbit’s home, and we ducked inside. The sauna was completely dark, save for the little bit of muted light that came in from the small windows around the hut. And there was a crack between the entrance doors, and from outside, a green solar light sent a laser beam of green light into the sauna hut, which was filled with foggy steam. It looked like the effects in a dance club and I did my best J-Lo impression (Sorry, Sika. That was probably a little scary.). Through one window, we could see the family of deer, grazing outside in the dusk. After we steamed ourselves into potential brain-boiling, we skittered over to the coolest (104 degrees) of the Sacred Pools. We stared out into the meadow as the sky fell dark, and stars started to peek out. We were inexplicably lucky to have a visible sky at night. We migrated up to the hottest of the pools, the Silent Pool (108 degrees), where there were fewer trees blocking the night sky. We stared at the constellations, knew only a couple, so we made up as many as we could. Sika was much better at it than I was. She saw a giraffe and two snakes fighting, and I saw a breadbox. I haven’t seen a sky of stars like that in a few years, I’m sure.

We spent a long time out there, but couldn’t shake the thought that it was a shame that Mandy wasn’t with us to experience it all. So we pulled ourselves out of the steaming water, reflecting the night sky, and we hiked back to the cabin to drag Mandy out of her comfy bed. Poor girl was sleepy and delirious, but we assured her she would not regret it, so she came out with us. She admitted she’d attempted to find us at some point earlier, but her wind-up flashlight was feeble and she gave up fumbling in the dark.

We all went back to the sauna hut, and out to the warm pools for more starry-skied bathing. The fog was beginning to settle, and the stars had dimmed, but the night was still enchanting.

Tuesday morning, we felt sorry knowing we had to leave that day. I’d laughed so much over the last couple days that my stomach hurt! And, maybe the yoga also had something to do with my muscle soreness… but we truly did have a great time. Breakfast was amazing, and we took in as much of the whole place as we could. I had my morning coffee all alone out on the meadow (see last blog post), then we packed up our things, sang some silly songs from the musical we’d been “working on” during our time there, took some final photos, and bid farewell to Camp Tri-Titty-Boo-Boo.

Peeper, PoohFoot, and PoohShy (that was Mandy’s nickname and the story of its origin will not be disclosed - ha!) left Breitenbush after one final and delicious lunch.

Two hours later, we were back in Portland, stinky and delirious.