the great northwest.

i woke up this morning to the sound of somebody playing the flute near the creek behind my sister's house. but this is what vacation is about, right? experiencing something other than everyday life. i didn't know how hard it would be to retrain myself not to flush the toilet after i pee and not to run away - screaming - from the spiders looming over my head in the kitchen. that's right. spiderS. of which there are many. and they are big.

but i am enjoying seeing how my sister lives. right now i'm watching her barista (can that be used as a verb?). very impressive. and later today we're headed to yoga. so far the trip has been interesting and eventful. and the boys. oh ladies, the boys here. beautiful. i have no words.

after she picked me up from the airport we went right to olympia, stopping first to get water from the artesian well. it's a pipe that sticks up from the ground in the middle of a parking lot. it spews water constantly from an underground spring and there's almost always people there filling up jugs of this magic, healing water to take back home. we did the same. and as we were filling up our water bottles i got hit on. the guy wasn't exactly citizen of the year, but nonetheless, it's good to get compliments like that every once and awhile. he was smitten. i almost brought him home with us.

yesterday morning we picked blueberries and blackberries from the garden in the backyard. then we made blueberry pancakes with blackberry sauce. from the blueberries and blackberries we just picked. from the garden. in the backyard. my head nearly exploded from the idea that you can grow food yourself. and then eat it! we've also eaten zuccini and tomato sandwiches - from the fruits picked minutes earlier. i've never tasted such fresh, delicious food.

then we went on a 5.5 mile hike through a wildlife refuge. we saw a squirrel. and a frog. my sister swears she saw a snake. not exactly the wildlife we had hoped to see, but it was nice to get out for some exercise. last night we went to the brotherhood (the bro ho) for drinks with a few friends, including lucas, her transgender ex-roomate and friough (pronounced "free"), her super butch lesbian co-worker. also joining us was eamon, who so closely resembles jack black (both in character and physically) it's eerie. that's one thing i've learned while here. you must must must not have a "normal" name. amy? get lost. bill? i think not. tom? you're not allowed within 1500 miles of this place, do you understand me? welcome only are hava! and tova! and meta! fortunately my name is strange enough to allow me entrance to the great northwest.

it's really beautiful here. so many trees you wouldn't believe it. and it seems like wherever we go, mount rainier is the backdrop. stunning.

oh my god! phil collins just came on the radio at the coffeehouse. take, take me home... good song, but i'm not ready to go yet.

tomorrow we get the final sister from the airport and then we take over seattle for the next 2 days. should be interesting.

horror is.

horror is... driving in the car at night, catching the silhouette of a spider directly above you, inches from your face, praying (in vain) to hit a red light to get him out, when he begins to lower himself...