We flew in late Friday night. Saturday my partner-in-crime ran away to a day-long bachelor party (yes, we were home for a wedding, didn't I mention that?) while I went shopping (hurray, Saturday Market!) with family and then headed to my parents' place to assist in last-minute wedding prep, as the wedding was going to be held on their property. What I actually did for the rest of the weekend mostly was kid wrangle while everyone else did the remaining landscaping, etc. I did manage to dust all the bookshelves though, and if you've been to my parents' place, you know that's impressive. So, I had loads of playtime with my almost-four-year-old niece and my approximately-fifteen-month-old nephew. Monday was more last-minute prep, followed by getting ready, followed by the wedding! It felt a little like a high-school reunion. It went smoothly, and a good time was had by all. There was dancing on the carport, including a gaggle of children who were all under the age of five. My godchildren were in attendance. The weather was perfect.
Tuesday was cleanup, and then late in the afternoon my sister and I went to The Parlour and got new tattoos! She got a scarab on her arm; I got a hamsa on the back of my neck. It's all blue line work, and I'm really happy with it. After the tattooing, my partner-in-crime and I had dinner at the home of a married couple we're good friends with in Eugene. It was really lovely to catch up with them, especially since we hadn't seen them during our previous couple visits. And a shout-out to them for making AMAZING chai liqueur! Someday I need to do that.
Wednesday was a bit scattershot. We slept in, then visited my partner-in-crime's grandmother in her assisted living home. After that we went to my favorite local cemetery so I could take a ton of pictures as research for my next novel. (Also, I just love that cemetery. It's always felt a little like home to me.) Following that, we went to my godkids' house so I could see everybody and say hello to their grandfather, whose health was severely failing. It was a little intense but I'm glad I got to see him. Then dinner with my partner-in-crime's parents and best friend.
Thursday morning I had a little alone time, so I went to my favorite used-CD store and my favorite used bookstore. Yes, I bought a couple items at each place. No, I didn't go hog wild. After my shopping, it was time to do some grocery shopping and then head to my parents' place again for a pig roast. We did a thirty-five-pound piglet. There was SO MUCH FOOD at this party, leftover from the wedding and supplied by my parents and other people. It was great. And really just a good party! Lots of good company. We slept in a tent that night, in the field below the house, which was fun but very damp. The next morning we threw ourselves together, picked up my oldest goddaughter, and hit the Oregon Country Fair for the day. If you've never been . . . well, it's hard to describe. If you've never been, I suggest you click on the link and go flip through the photo gallery. There were eight or ten of us all loosely wandering the fair together, and we really had a great day. I got a new hoodie with art from Trumbly Designs, who I adore. I ate good Fair food. My goddaughter and I went on a quest to find her a necklace with a fairy on it. (Yes, we found one.) We saw the married couple from Tuesday evening. We also saw my partner-in-crime's good friend K and his girlfriend, who we only see once every couple years, so that was a fantastic surprise. Ran into a college ex of mine; he was as intense as always. It was nice to catch up. And I had a brief moment of reconnecting with my friend P, who I was pretty close with before I moved to NYC. After all that, we found my friend/ex-boss/mentor who I see on nearly every trip home, and had a quiet beer with him at his tent before his band performed. Then we all headed back into town. We took my goddaughter home, and then went for another ramble in the cemetery (this time it was me, my partner-in-crime, my sister, and her boyfriend) before heading home and collapsing into bed.
Saturday morning we had breakfast with my parents and my partner-in-crime's best friend at the airport, and then spent the whole day flying back to New York.
There you have it; the vacation in full. I'll be back soon to talk about more books, and possibly about the next novel I'm about to write. Happy Thursday!
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