Inky Paws

White Water Rafting

Just a few days ago we went white water rafting with my grandpa and aunt Cheryl because it was her last day visiting us and we wanted to do something interesting.  I'd never gone rafting before, so I wasn't exactly sure what it would be like, but I'd always thought that it might be fun.

When we arrived at the place where we'd be picked up and driven to the river, everyone was trying to decide what they were going to bring.  Hats?  If they won't fly off.  Watch?  Only if it's water proof.  Camera?  Definitely not.  Of course the people doing the rafting thought of that, so they had a person out by the river with a camera, taking pictures of everyone who passed by.

So anyway, our ride finally arrived.  It was a rickety old bus that had a door that had to be manually pushed open and some very uncomfortable seats.  It also smelled a bit, probably because of all the soaking people it transported every day.  Luckily the ride was short, and after everyone got a life jacket we left the bus and walked down to the water.  Immediately, the mosquitoes zeroed in on us.  (Ugh!)  Our soon-to-be-guide said hello and gave us some information before we started.  Though obviously young, he seemed like a perfectly seasoned rafter who'd been doing it since he was two years old.  He had a way of talking that made him sound a bit bored, and he did look a little bored in the beginning, but once we started actually going though the rapids he warmed up.

After the classic safety talk about what to do if you or someone else was knocked out of the boat, we floated downstream to our first set of rapids.  It was a minuscule little thing, just a level 1 that barely shook us up at all.  Everyone seemed to think that that was nothing, and we could quickly move on to a higher level.  Sure enough, up came a level 3.  That was definitely more fun!  By then we were getting used to following our guides instructions.  ("All forward!  Hard forward!  All stop!")

But then we found ourselves being steered to the bank of the river, and everyone got out.  Coming up was a level 4 and our guide was going to show us what it looked like and what we were going to be doing.  We walked up the trail a bit and then stopped at a bend.  Below us, lying on the rocks, was the camera man.  (An obvious sign that the scariest and most fun section of the ride was coming up!)  Our guide gave us the run down then we headed back to the boat.

Before everyone had been feeling pretty brave about everything.  (A level 3?  That's nothing!)  But now that we had seen the choppy waters that we were facing, we weren't so sure.  Those waters looked like they could flip a hummer over a couple times and kick it on the way out.  (Almost.)  But, as they say, there was no going back so we had to keep going.

Though admittedly scary, that level 4 was fun!  We did have to paddle through it in places, but that was kind of hard because half the time the water was too far away to paddle in!  (I don't know if anyone else had that problem or not - I might just have short arms.)  Having survived the ride we were all pretty proud of ourselves and full of excitement. 

We went on a few more lower level rapids and then came to a stretch where the water was completely calm.  Previously another raft had been following us, but now we were level and the guides starting showing us their different jumps into the water.  Our guide did something he called a Mc'twist and the other guide actually ran through the center of his raft and jumped off the other side.  I was the only person, other than the guides, to jump into the water.  It was freezing!  Enough so that I completely lost my breath for a minute.  The only thing our guide nearly lost was his sunglasses when he did a backflip, but he managed to catch them before they sunk.

Finally, we came to the end.  We rode the smelly bus back to the main building and looked at the photos that were taken of us.  We liked them so we bought the CD with all the pictures on it.  (Once we get them I'll definitely post them up here!)  Those of us who brought changes of clothes got out of their wet stuff and we headed off to lunch.  (Everyone a little more brave, I'd like to think.)

And now for something completely different

You've probably seen Monty Python in one form or another.  Maybe you've seen the Holy Grail or Monty Python's Flying Circus?  If not some of this post might not make sense to you but oh well.

So, we got these Monty Python videos somewhere - maybe it was the library book sale?  Not sure.  Anyway, before we watched some of them the only Monty Python I'd seen was the Holy Grail, and some sketches on TV.  (At the time I didn't think it was funny at all, just very weird and a little demented.)  But now, despite the fact that half the time I'm not sure what they're saying (those dang accents!) I find most of it pretty funny.  (Still a little demented though.) 

We haven't watched all the episodes yet, but so far I think my favorite sketch was probably the Story Time one.  Or maybe the Nudge Nudge one.  You can look them up on Youtube pretty easily if you want to see them.  I just love this sentence from Story Time: "Rumple Tweezer ran the Dinky Tinky shop in the foot of the magic oak tree, by the wobbly dum-dum bush, in the the shade of the magic glade, down in Dingly Dell."

It's too bad they just don't make shows like that anymore.  Or if they do, they're reeeallly bad.  Sigh.

And now for something completely different...

Is Cowgirl

I really like this photo I took of my friend last month during a sleepover at my house.  I mean, doesn't it make you think of a cowgirl?  (Yes, I know, it's not a cowgirl hat but still.)  And that 'is' up there makes it even cooler.  So I've named it "Is Cowgirl".  And by the way, the 'is' was cut out from paper and taped to my wall because I got bored of the other stuff that was hanging there and decided to put a quote on my walls.  I used "Art is never finished, only abandoned" by Da Vinci.  I think that lasted maybe two weeks on my wall and I'm currently thinking of things to hang up there that you might not normally see.

As you might have noticed there is quite a bit more writing here than usual.  This is for a reason.  Number one mostly being that I am stiiiiillll completely annoyed with the photos here on Typepad.  Number two is that I figured it might be fun to try writing a little more.  I know personally that I rarely readblog posts.  (I usually look at the photos and then skim through part of the post, but I almost never read the whole thing.  Unless it's Qacei's blog.  (I can't notread her posts - they're so fun to read!)  So anyway.)  Hey, are you allowed to do that?  Parenthesis inside parenthesis?  Ah well, who cares.

Hmm, this is actually kind of fun.  Like writing a my journal, which I do every night usually, except not so private.  (Obviously.)

Of course, I'm notoriously famous for not doing what I say I'm going to do on my blog, but at the moment I think I might be making lots more posts like this.  I might change my mind tomorrow or the day after, but I guess we'll see won't we. 

Trips to the Library

A few days ago I decided to bike to the library by myself to get some books and have lunch in town.  So, I went!  I picked out some books then headed to the crepe place.

I got a cream cheese and raspberry crepe.  Yummm. 

 

It was a nice day so I walked around a little and went into a couple shops.

I took a few too many pictures of my feet for some reason...

Down by the river the geese were standing in the shallows.  I said hello.

The boffer people were out staging pretend wars.  They always seem to be at the park by the river.  My dad finds them quite entertaining. 

Yesterday I was at a friends house and we decided to bike to town and meet at the library, just like I had done.  (Except it sounded much better because I would get to be with my friends!)  So today I met Shayna and Skye outside the library and we looked at books for a while.

Then we got a marionberry and cream cheese crepe.  We were still hungry, though, so we got another crepe - this time feta and spinach. 

After looking around a few shops and wanting to go see a movie at this little theater but not being able to because nothing was showing at the time, we biked out of down town and went towards the Old Mill.  (It's a part of town where these three giant smokestacks that aren't used any more stick up into the sky.  There are some restaurants and different shops, as well as a Ben & Jerry's and a movie theater.)

That picture above is from the side of a bed and breakfast that's on the way to the Old Mill.  Glued to every available surface there are all these old-looking copper pans, plates, mugs, keys, doorknobs, and tons of other metal things.  It's a really cool-looking place that we drive by all the time so we had to stop and look at the things on the walls.

There are a few of the mosaic kind of things in the ground around the bed and breakfast.  There's even a mini statue of liberty! 

Down at the Old Mill we looked at the chalk art that was done a few days ago during a festival.  This one was DEFINITELY our favorite.

 

After looking at the street art we biked over the amphitheater, which wasn't being used at the moment.  We rode our bikes up the ramp onto the stage and glided around.  (That's gotta be one of the coolest places to ride a bike - so smoooth!)

 Finally we decided to go back downtown and swing on the swings for a little before Shayna and Skye's dad came to pick them up.  (They decided not to bike home.)  I waited with them until their dad came and then I biked home.

We all agreed that we should definitely meet in town again.  Next time we'll probably try to go when we can see a movie (after all, kids are only $1 - that's really cheap!) and we'll probably bring our own lunches and eat in the park.  We're hoping we can do it once a month.  I can't wait!

A Meme... And A Grumble...

Okay, Typepad has changed the way you make posts and it's REALLY, REALLY annoying me.  They way they do photos has completely changed and the quality is awful now!  Plus it takes forever to get the photos uploaded, and now you can't write your post while you wait.  I keep trying to finish my half-started LIFE Is Good post that I have saved as a draft, but everytime I go to it I really don't want to.  The photo quality is really bothering me.  (Did I mention I hate grainy photos?)

So here's a meme.  Because I don't have to put in a bunch of photos to do it.  Grr.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago? 

I was being 5.  I don't really remember but I was probably playing in sand, runing around a lot, drawing, making up stories, playing dress up, and things like that.

2. What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order)? 

Go to my friends house, play a game of online Scrabble, figure out what to make for dessert when my friends sleep over tomorrow, water the avocado pit I'm trying to grow into a plant, finish a knitted bowl I made.

3. Snacks I enjoy. 

Cheese.  Cheese and apples.  Cheese popcorn.  Prince De Claverole cheese.  Other types of cheese.  (Oh, and raspberries.)

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire. 

Donate lotsa money I'm sure.  Buy a train for Ryan.  Buy a giant private library for my mom.  Buy a fantasticly beautiful Scrabble set for my dad.  Buy a lifetime supply of cheese for my friend Katherine.  Buy a really cool snake for my friend Shayna.  Buy good quality art supplies for my friend Skye.  (Okay, maybe I wouldn't really do all of those ones that involve buying something, but it would be fun.)

5. Places I have lived. 

California, Hawaii, and Oregon.

6. Jobs I've had. 

Babysitter, Etsy seller, animal watcher.

I don't like tagging people so if you really want to do a meme, tag yourself!