Chewable Vitamin C

Man! I was doing fine. Richard was sick, but I was cruising. And then this afternoon my throat started feeling sore and now my glands are swollen and sore and I am EATING Vitamin C. Here I was thinking my immune system was kicking butt! Damn. Have to help it along as best I can. I do not want this crud that is going around.

Come on immune system. Kick in baby. I'm counting on you.

At The Reptile Zoo

I took a couple of postcard shots of an iguana and of an emerald boa. These are beautiful creatures. However when the staff rolled out the dead animal cart with dinner for the snakes, the show was less about beauty than it was about the mammalian-reptilian food chain. One of the mamba's actually forced its way out of its cage at the sight of the cart, or maybe the smell of it, which was really rank. All of a sudden, there was a moment of panic as all attention turned to the problem of the mamba out of its enclosure and headed for the plate of dead mice. Before it could be contained and returned to its habitat, it inflicted three bites on the hand of the staff person attempting to corral it. Meanwhile the boas were methodically crushing their dead rats to make sure they were definitely dead before eating them and the cobra was swallowing a large rat whole. Tre really got into the display of reptilian table manners, "Eat the head first, eat the head first" he chanted, much to the chagrin of those of us who felt there was no way to deny we were with him.

Anyway, we had a good time at the Reptile Zoo in Monroe. The sun was shining and nobody got seriously injured. The kids got to handle some snakes and even a tarantula. But the discussion of the relative merits of cockroaches as pets was way too far around the bend for me.

Burning Man Update

Today I heard back from a burner I contacted about maybe joining their BM camp. All I knew from the information I had was that they weren't a "noisy" camp. I was looking for a relatively quiet burner camp, so I wrote to the guy. It turns out they call themselves TRIBE OF ELDERS, and the core members of the group that sets up the camp each year are burners in their 60's. They have an enclosed shower, they take turns cooking for the camp, they have two guys who do massage, and they are not into loud music. They basically circle the trailers and carpet the middle area, and that's where the tents set up. It sounds great. Wow. I want to be adopted.

The only problem I can see is if Vince and Wendy don't want to be in this camp with us, since we are meeting them there and I was expecting we would be camping together. I don't want to have to choose between my brother and TRIBE OF ELDERS.

I'm clear Richard and I would be comfortable with TRIBE OF ELDERS, however.

I'm going to bring my massage table and my Tarot cards, along with a folding table and chairs so I can give readings. I already told Paul (Sparky) that I would be happy to cook Italian for the camp one night as part of our participation in the camp.

I'm wondering how they will be with both of us being retired from Corrections. All I said about us was that we're retired. All of a sudden I was uncomfortable saying that we are retired parole officers. Like I'm afraid it will put people off, make them uncomfortable with us. Sigh. Have to get over that shit.

In The Pass

There's hardly any snow left in Snoqualmie Pass. The clouds are right on top of us, and it's doing that Washington "trying to rain" thing, producing an annoying drizzle but no more. I'm glad it's not snowing, which is forecast for tomorrow. We definitely don't need to try to pull this old trailer through the snow. Tre is doing great, but he's such a typical five year old, asking every few minutes if we're there yet. I think he finally dozed off. Sleeping will definitely make it easier on him. We should get to Yelm in time for dinner and before dark. Richard isn't feeling well, and he wanted me to drive for a while, but I chickened out. Pulling a 28' trailer just makes me nervous.

We passed a military convoy, several tanks in the lead. Tre loves all things military it seems. We had a long discussion about how to succeed in life, with the emphasis mainly on getting a good education. He says he wants to be a scientist when he grows up, not a soldier. I heartily approve.

It does seem strange to leave Spokane and go to the WET SIDE when the sun was shining at home. Oh well. Ah, life in the Great Northwet.

It's all good.

New Blog: Soul Visions

Okay, I started a new blog for spiritual discussions called "Soul Visions." It would make me really happy if it became interactive. I would love to have a dialogue with other people about their spiritual experiences and beliefs. To me, there is nothing more interesting. Come over, take a look and don't be shy.

Just like waking up

This afternoon my diet kicked in. I started the Adkins a few days ago, so basically I haven't had any carbs for a couple of days. Last night I noticed I was feeling really hungry, which is part of the process of getting to the burn stage, where your body converts stored fat into energy, basically back into the sugar from whence it originally came. When this diet starts working, you get more energy than you are used to having. You can feel your body cooking. Wow, what a jolt! It was like waking up from a state of dozing off. I immediately turned up the radio and started singing. Whew! Energy to spare. And knowing that I am burning stored fat and getting rid of it just makes me so happy!

Yay!