Labor Day

This long weekend was so great. We got to spend a lot of time with my folks doing laid back activities. Jason hadn't had time off in a couple weeks, with his regular work and the lost hiker search (see post a little further down), so he went leisure-crazy with my dad, shooting arrows with their bows, riding horses, Jason getting thrown from a horse (it bruised up his knee and thus slowed him down quite a bit, ultimately rendering it leisure), and looking at maps of hunting areas.


On Friday I walked upstairs to the living room in a bit of a grog and was awakened to John McCain announcing Alaska's Governor, Sarah Palin, as his running mate. What a shocker. We had followed and voted in the race for Governorship back in Alaska a year and a half ago, and had attended a debate in Anchorage between Palin and the two other candidates. I called up to some peeps, and everybody there was in equal shock. It was and still is surreal seeing her and her family in the national limelight all of the sudden. Alaska has this weird relationship with the rest of the States. Lots of people there tend to feel removed from life down here, because frankly, geographically and fashion-wise, they are. So having all eyes turned that way for a minute, whether or not you agree with Palin's politics, brings up these feelings of "Hey, cool! Alaska is in the news!" and then, "Stop looking at Alaska! Go back to whatever you were doing before."

On Friday evening we ate Chinese food with my grandparents before they headed out on a month-long travel about, and last night we watched "Squidbillies" with Luke and Heather (bro and sis-in-law). Um, I could be really out of the loop, but I hadn't been aware of the existence of a cartoon about hillbilly squids. It is South-Park-esque and sacrilegious and ridiculous. The characters are horribly drawn. It is also riotously funny from time to time.

Today, Heather, Mom, and I went to a pottery shop in town and painted stuff. It was so much fun!! Naturally I chose to decorate a deviled egg platter. Mom painted salt and pepper shakers, hoping that after they are fired they will be the colors that the examples showed, rather than staying what they are now, a light blue and purple that she dislikes. Heather painted a snack plate.