ironymaiden | run away! run away! SLGC retreats

i had a tremendous weekend. getting out of town to Seabeck was just what i needed when i barely understood that i needed it. SLGC just keeps stunning me with collective talent and tremendous heart. i feel like we made a great foundation for the upcoming concert and set the stage for tighter functioning as a group.

scarlettina snatched me from work Friday, and we played Fluxx on her car until it was time to board the Bremerton ferry. from there it was a whirlwind of rehearsals, hikes, parties, an amazing talent show, and way too much homestyle food. (this year the food service staff discovered spices, so the food was tasty as it was filling.) i got more sleep, drank less alcohol, went on a hike, sang better, and maybe even bonded more than last year.

i'm depending on my compadres to post pictures as i, as usual, had no camera. favorite mental images include:
myself on the porch in a rocking chair with paper and fountain pen, by Carolyn and

scarlettina with their laptops
a tree that had grown around a tombstone
a house with the dresser drawers built into the wall and stained glass insets in the interior doors
Carolyn with her arm around her partner Jude, wearing a t-shirt with a parody of the Lucky Strike logo - Lucky Dyke "It's Tasty!"

julesong in tears of joy at the gift of a poem
whitecaps on Hood Canal
comparing leg hair with

crooked_hill

kyooverse in 20 hole Docs and a blue flowered housedress at Sunday breakfast
too many to list here on the Bainbridge ferry home, in front of a perfect panoramic view of Mt Baker, the Seattle skyline, and Mt Rainier, the middle ground dotted with sailboats

Seabeck has poor cel phone reception and no ATM, but does have free wifi and an espresso hut across the street. i <3 western WA. global warming makes for stunning views of Mt Rainier and the milky way. if you told me even a year ago that i would be teaching diaphragmatic breathing and visualization to a group of singers i would have laughed my ass off. but now i've done it. if i haven't learned to avoid the word "never" yet, i need a CAT scan.

more and better stuff on the weekend here, here, here, and here.