Pea Soup Fog and Periwinkle Sky Days

Following is a blog post containing random spurts of thoughts from Sarah’s mind, intended to be an update on all going-ons at Mount Rainier for the last several days, and full of trivial details which the reader is not obligated to find important…

Hello all.

The weather seems to be following a general pattern of several days of pea-soup fog, followed by several days of pure blue skies that outline the mountains beautifully.

The webcam for today - oh just look at that beautiful mountain!

I feel sorry for the visitors that come during the former type of days – one woman joked to me that she had determined Mount Rainier was a hoax and we made it all up. It is amazing how the mountain can completely disappear – even when the Tatoosh Range in the south is visible. If I could make the weather clear for every visitor,  I would!

I think my favorite “mood” for the mountain is not when it’s invisible (obviously) or even when it’s silhouetted against a periwinkle sky (oooh look I must be feeling poetic, just used periwinkle in lieu of blue. XD), but when there are several clouds around it… in that instance I feel like there should be dramatic orchestra music playing… and a helicopter taking a sweeping air shot… Ha ha, just kidding. But really that’s the time when I think the mountain is at its most glorious. Next time I will attempt to capture in a picture, to show you what I mean.

My week of work ended up being extended, and I worked Sunday, which is normally my day off. Both Saturday and Sunday were gorgeous, which meant excellent news for visitors and the cafe business, but 7+ hours of non-stop rushing around and endless dishes for us employees. I cashiered all of Saturday and some of Sunday and have developed a good steady rhythm – although sometimes I feel like a robot saying the same script to every customer.

“Is that everything? Total is $12.88. Thank you. Please sign. Do you want your receipt? Thank you.”

At first it was strange being switched to cashier instead of being behind the line, but now I rather like it. (I’ve grown attached to my register, ha ha). And it’s always a good feeling at the end of the day, especially a busy day, when the cash balances or comes pennies close.

Here’s my list of what I love/dislike in the customers (I’ll come back and add more as I think of them…):

Love:

• All of the different accents, of course!
• The foreigners that don’t know the currency, and hold out a handful of coins, or even a wad of bills, and I just take out what I need. (The other day I got to use the few words of spanish I knew, telling some Mexicans that the quarter was worth “veinte-cinco” cents, “de nada” to their gracias. The boy asked “Where is the… and made a sucking sound,” and I pointed to the straws. “How did you say that?” he asked and I repeated the word straw. Just very fun to teach English to those that want to learn.)
• When they just use my name (from my nametag) as though they know me and are good friends with me.
• When they tell me to keep the change.

Dislike:

• When I ask “Is that everything?” and they reply “Yes… and four sodas and a hot chocolate.”  ….
• When I put up the chairs to close off a section… and they pass right by the tables that are still open and take down the chairs to sit in the “closed” section… so I can’t sweep and mop until they leave… grrr
• How they don’t understand when pizza is two for one. “Ohh, two slices for one dollar?” Yeah, you wish. XD

The good part about working on Sunday when I normally wouldn’t, is that my next work week is shorter. I have Monday and Tuesday off, and leave around noon on Saturday to go home for several days. My birthday is in a week and I’m using it as an excuse to take a slightly longer weekend – I’ll get to spend 2 days at home. I’m so excited!!

My time off today was so exceedingly boring, you would fall asleep on your computer just reading about it. The fog was too thick to go hiking. Tomorrow I’m hoping it will be clearer, as it will be the first day my roommate and I have the same day off. We’re planning on hiking to the top of Pinnacle Peak.

I have now run out of witty and amusing things to say – oh wait, I never did have any :0)… so I’ll sign off.

That’s all, folks!

Sarah

Time is zooming…

Sorry – I haven’t posted in a while! Just wanted to let you know that a post is upcoming, wherein I will update you on my marvelous life.
Thank you for your patience, you deserve a chocolate. Go enjoy one.

Busy, busy… more than a bumblebee, more than an ant…

I have another reason for being excited to travel to Mount Rainier and get settled – I won’t have to worry any more about all this packing!! I’m surprised my head hasn’t exploded yet from holding a million things to remember and do this past week, two weeks. The list is slowly parring down, but still… I have only 12 more hours to get everything I’ll live with for 4 months folded and packed into my trunk…

But once I’m on the mountain, my worries will be so much less. At least, I hope.

I have so many more posts I want to do before I leave home. But I just don’t have the time. Once I”m settled and figure out the wi-fi (which I hope truly does exist) I will be posting and uploading pictures like crazy. Count on it.

Sorry for the scattered-ness of this post, just wanted to let you know I’m not dead, just riding this crazy river of time and headed for a rapids and about to go oveeeeeerrrr… to a calm, smooth stretch. Hopefully!

Sarah

Copyright Veggietales for title.

Managi & Otawa, Pt. 2

On a lighter note, here’s a draft from yesterday:

Another slow day at the library! Here, dear readers, is the continuation of our friend’s adventures.

Two silhouettes on a lone tower, Managi and Otawa stood side by side, staring out on the swirling blue.

“It’s so beautiful,” Otawa said, smiling happily.

Managi stomped his foot, irritated. “No, no, no! It’s not beautiful!” he shrieked, then rolled his eyes. “All right, maybe it is. But I did not come out here to admire blueish mist! I came to find kiwis for a delectable breakfast, and instead I end up stuck… with nowhere to go.”

Managi tiptoed carefully to the edge of their pillar, peering down at the edge. “No magical ladder or flying walrus, waiting to transport us away? What sort of supernatural tower is this?!” As he finished his disgusted rant something nudged his toe. He nearly toppled over the edge, but for Otawa grabbing the collar of his vest and gently setting him back on the groun.

A long, slender bridge swayed in an invisible breeze before them. It glittered as if spun from spider silk and stretched far into the distance before disappearing altogether into the ethereal mist.

Managi clung to his large friend. “O-O-Otawa, do you see that?”

Otawa nodded, his eyes huge. “It’s so beautiful…” he murmured. He took a step forward, onto the bridge and it swayed beneath his feet.

Managi shrieked. “Otawa! Get back here! We are not walking on that thing.”

Walking back, Otawa put his large hand on his friend’s shoulder and smiled. Then he picked him up and effortlessly set him onto his shoulders. Managi clung to Otawa’s head.

“O-O- Otawa – no!”

They started across the bridge.

Brrrrrr!

The temperature has been hovering well below 30 lately – this morning it was in the teens. A large tub filled to the brim with rainwater sits in the pasture, so frozen you could ice skate on it! We are mainly untouched by the freezing cold indoors, our house kept (fairly) warm by our wood-burning stove. All of the wood-chopping my older brother has done through the summer is now paying off! Unfortunately our water system’s frozen right now… Upside? I don’t have to do the dishes! =D

With all of this cold my mind turns to the future. One year in the future, to be exact. I wonder how warm it will be in Missouri, where my college choice resides. It’s more south, but will probably not escape from the cold drafts and snow of winter!

This Christmas will probably be the last (for a while more, at least) when our whole family is together as well. My brother leaves end of January to start BASIC training in the army. I will (hopefully) be gone around July/August next year as well, starting to work hard to pay off my college room and board. There probably won’t be many presents under the tree – not nearly as many as in previous years. But I still hope our entire family cherishes this time together.

I hope your family has a marvelous Christmas as well. Cherish it, enjoy it, and display the love that you have towards one another.
=) Merry Christmas!

Home again, home again, jiggity jog…

Ah, it warms my heart to see all the people stopping by my blog – even when I’m gone! =) It turns out that I had my laptop, but no internet. Ack! So I was unable to update all of you lovely people on my slow progress… but I was able to sort through millions of pictures of relatives when they were younger (and had hair!!) as well as pics of my mom – as well as spending some awesome quality time with my grandmother.

For the return trip home I took the train and spent the entire time with the notebook closed in my lap, soaking in the beautiful sights. Did you know that WA is extremely beautiful!?? Much more than a humming computer or the paint of your bedroom wall. And it smells better outside. So make it a point to step outside this week and inhale deeply. Especially if it happens to be snowing, as it did this morning here on the hill!

So yes, the novel is progressing but slower than I had thought it would at Nana’s. I am still maintaining an average of 1,000 a day (which means I currently have 13,000 – having been too busy to writ today). I will post some more updates – maybe I could even get a pic or two up of when everyone in my family was either extremely cute or youthful-looking. Til then, ttfn!

Sarah

And so it begins… (really random sentences on NaNoWriMo)

Yes, it has now officially begun. NaNoWriMo is on – from here the word count needs to jump and jump and jump and…! Yesterday I had a severe case of procrastination – not helped by the fact of church in the morn, drama practice then lunch then a hike (for more than 2 hours – we almost got lost), dishes, animals, and Soulfire later on. So I had a chance to write a total of 412 words yesterday – most of which I know I won’t keep in the final drafting! I crossed out tons and restarted every paragraph about three times. But really really I AM shutting down my inner judge. I’m just working down to shutting it down all the way… it’ll take a while.

But for every certain word count I reach, such as 1000 or 5000, I’ve given myself a treat – like one of those Reese’s I gained during Hungerbusters, or an hour of computer time to play games.

Sigh…. all right, no more putting it off. Time to write on today’s! =) Nah, I really do feel excited about writing. I know it’s not my best work… but maybe I’ll actually finish a book this time!

Managi & Otawa

While at the library a few weeks ago I was brainstorming on my Nanowrimo novel. The internet was going EXTREMELY slow, so I started playing around with Word. So here, faithful readers, is my jottings.

Managi clung to the root desperately, staring in disbelief at the swirling blue nothing below his foot. Without turning his head, without moving a muscle he snapped at his fellow hiker.

“Otawa, there’s no kiwi trees out here! And you never mentioned this cliff,” he continued complaining as he felt his large friend reach out and easily pull him back to the comfortingly solid ground.

He turned to find Otawa’s eyes as wide as saucers, staring at the vast dropoff before them. Managi allowed his tone to soften some. “You didn’t know this was here?” His heart was still pounding and he shoved his hands into his vest pockets with an irritated air to hide the shaking.

Otawa sturred, clearly at a loss for words.

Managi turned and studied the periwinkle fog. “Well then, it must be a new phenomenon, since you know every rock and bump in this region. Come on, we’ll just have to go back and forego kiwis this breakfast.”

He turned and took another step and let loose a high shriek. Otawa’s huge hand darted out and grabbed his friend’s collar, pulling him back onto their now circular tower in the middle of the etherly ocean.

Managi couldn’t hide his violent shaking now. “W-w-we’re surrounded.”

Otawa’s fear was erased as he chuckled at his friend’s obvious shock.

And here ends what I wrote! Perhaps I’ll add some more, so stay tuned. =)

A Small “Jot”

At the library, my favorite place to be (besides God’s presence)!! (This is a different library than the one that rejected me =( And I felt like blogging… turning into an addiction? I think not! =) Facebook may be, but I don’t think blogging or journaling could ever get addictive. Necessary to my life and impossible to stop doing, but not addictive! =)

And since I have nothing amazing to say, I’ll sign off…

Sarah

Quick Post… some more lyrics =)

Speak in this close communion
Though this hour seems timeless still
I wait for your words that bid me come

Breathe in me, Holy Spirit
The will when my tomorrow comes
To follow when this song is gone

Shape me with words of wisdom
Free my torn heart from this world
Renew my mind and form my will

Teach me to wholly offer
More than words that I can sing
So I become the song I bring

So I await the words that you say
I open my life
I am longing just to hear these words
That you say, that you say

Can I be an instrument of praise
And here pursue your heart
So my life will tell of who you are

Can I be a channel of your love
A reflection of your light
And live to bring You praise and serve You, Lord

So I await the words that you say
I open my life
I am longing just to hear these words
That you say, that you say