Chelsea Margaret

I’m going to come out and say it, although I know I’ll sound like a depressed seven year old. So here goes.

My fish died yesterday. Perhaps I’m overly sensitive, or too empathetic, but I’m really sad about it. I loved that little guy. Little blue-ish purple beta fish named Jackson, after my favorite Johnny Cash song, would swim circles all around his bowl on the table while I had my coffee in the morning. Sigh.

The worst part is… I think it was my fault. I’m a fish murderer. I thought he might be getting bored in an empty glass bowl, so I got him some sweet shiny blue rocks, and as I’ve come to realize, the food that he didn’t eat accumulated under them, raising the ammonia levels in the water, which ultimately poisoned him. I feel so bad. I had the best of intentions.

It might be a little while before I get another fish. Maybe I’ll get a plant first, and if I manage to keep that alive, maybe I’ll try fish again.

And now for something completely different.

Didn’t get to making the snowglobes, mainly because I have no ideas for them. What do you put in a snowglobe that isn’t completely cheesey, yet still funny in an off beat kind of way? I’m open to suggestions.

Next random point of interest…..

Andy and I went back to the hotsprings on Wednesday! You may not have read that last entry about the crazy naked hippies we encountered last time, with their drug probabtions and tacky converstations, but let me tell you, that was quite a story. One of my best I’d go so far to say.

We took the highway through Lewiston and towards Missoula to hit the string of natural hotsprings that are sprinkled along the highway. The last time we went, we went to one of the unmarked ones ( Weirr Creek? ) that required about a half mile of hiking into the forest to get to the little pool.

This time, we went to the marked ones ( something about Johnson? Lots of j’s in the name, I’m so good with directions, I know ), with something of a parking lot across the highway, and a beautiful wooden footbridge across the river.  It was all snowy, and this time, I actually wore snow boots instead of the skate shoes I wore last time. A drastic improvement.

( From last time.. notice the hippies in the background? Haha! They were CRAZY.)

Here’s a little secret about natural hotsprings. They attract the strangest variety of people. You have the weekend warriors, don-ing their swimsuits, bringing towels, and pretty much avoiding talk with anyone else in the pool, even if it is only 6 feet in diameter.

Then there are the real nature goers, stark naked, and are not ashamed of it at all. Those are my favorites. Because they’re the ones who bring a few beers, and candles to put along the rocks, and are really friendly to every one else. Generally always wear earth tones.

This time, Andy and I were the naked hippies. It was fantastic. There was another couple, about our age, that got there at the same time as us, and of course, had their swimsuits,you should have seen the look on their faces. Ha ha! I doubt they could have been more uncomfortable. We came prepared, a couple red stripes, some crackers and cheese, and the beautiful forest! I really couldn’t have asked for much more. What a wonderful day off.  I only wish they were closer. A three hour drive is a bit much for me. In this case though, totally worth it.

Stopped at a little place called Jilinda’s on the way home- a perfect halfway point. Killer huckleberry pie, and the strangest clientele. Saw Harry Potter there. No joke. There is no way in hell this kid didn’t know he looked EXACTLY like the guy. Yikes. I lack the words to describe the rest, but let me just say that Andy and I concluded that it was probably the time for the secret KKK meeting, and since we were there, which they hadn’t anticipated, they were forced to talk really loudly about meaningless things. 

“DID YOU SEE THOSE BATHROOMS? THOSE WERE REALLY NICE. REALLY BIG BATHROOMS.”

That’s a real tid bit from their conversation. In caps, because, well, they were’nt exactly quiet. Maybe they were speaking in code. That was probably it.

And lastly. Life without a car rocks my world. Andy has saved my ass a few times with his van that can, but for the most part, my own two feet and bicycle are treating me well.

I highly reccommend the car- free life. It’s the most liberating feeling ever.

A parting thought….. did you know that most young people spend 20% of their income on car-related expenses?