NYE and all that it enatils

[howeird]

After setting up my PC to scan drive C for errors (a 5-hour operation) I took my pigs 'n blankets, grey poop-on and a box of toothpicks, my sleeping bag and a pillow, and a wee little gift box, hopped into the car and made the trek up the hill to farmount's cabin. The route sounds simple, but driving it is not. 85-->17-->Bear Creek Road exit-->Black Rd. -->Gist Rd.-->Skyline Dr., turn right and in 30 seconds you're there. Black Road is a typical mountain road, a relatively steep grade with lots of turns and twists. Most of the road has a reflectorized center line, and it's plenty wide for two vehicles. Gist Road, on the other hand, is like this:

Imagine a ladder.

Twist that ladder into a moebius strip.

Pave the strip.

Slop some tree branches, mud and rocks on it at random intervals.

It's the hairpin turns at 90° in pitch darkness which annoy me the most. It is amazing how many of those they pack into 1.6 miles of road.

The party was well worth the trip. When I walked in, they were playing a DVD of a fashion show in which nevynn and his cohorts were modeling kilts. mastersantiago broke out his flea circus and used the gathered throng as guinea pigs for his first ever performance. It was twenty minutes of magic and comedy excellence. I still wish he had lit the flaming hoop, but I guess kalanasse, whose arms formed the hoop, was glad he didn't.

It was pretty cold outside, so I didn't brave the hot tub, though many others added themselves to the "people soup". I am lousy at names, so if I saw you and don't mention it here, that's my excuse. It was good to see seamoose, unseelie23 and maestrateresa again. seamoose, that Dickens family link I mentioned is This one here. And I was happy to meet and get to talk with numerous others whose names I either did not catch, have forgotten, or just didn't want to post 'cause I don't know their LJ handles, if any.

After midnight, makellan gave an amazing, amusing and enlightening demonstration of human electrical conductivity, using a magic wand and a beautifully crafted glove-like object which turned his hand into something resembling a steel lizard's foot and talons. I kept my distance, since electric current and my heart condition are not good buddies. The things you have to give up in old age. ;-(

Here's where the names thing is kicking me in the butt. nevynn's sword buddy arrived with a Goddess whose name I wish I could remember because she is a professional belly dancer, and having seen her dancing to some bogus East Indian music, I would love to see her perform to the Arabic music she is used to. Amazing moves, and by her conversation she knows her art well. I've many belly dancer friends, so I know the real thing when I see it.

And it was fun to watch the impromptu partner rotations throughout the evening. And there was a lot of good food.

At about 3:30 the survivors found places to sleep, I was out on one of the couches in the livingroom, which is my usual crash site. nevynn said he would have coffee set to perk at 8:30, which was met with a round of "as if" from those who drank coffee. I was up at 8:20, saw that it was light out, so I gathered my things and stole away with a little more rustle than I would have liked, but I don't think I woke anyone up. The only reason I stayed overnight is I wanted to do the return trip in daylight. Turned out to be a good idea, since it was raining and there were minor mud slides, rocks and downed trees along the route. Instead of taking Gist Rd. back down, I drove the half mile or so up Skyline to Black Rd. and took it all the way down. I think in the future I'll use Black Rd. It isn't much longer, and coming from the north puts the cabin on the right instead of the left. And it's a lot safer.

Got home at about 9, did my morning meds and shut down the computer (disk check was done), and took a nap till about noon. It was very windy and raining all day yesterday, so I just stayed inside.

Comments

[farmount.livejournal.com]

By all means, take Black Road, although the chunk of Skyline you have to take to get to the Cabin is rather scary, in my book. Hairpin blind turns. At least with Gist the angle means you can see someone coming.