fenchurch | Home again home again...

And at least we were only gone for the weekend this time.

Portland was fun, but tiring. It was really the first time I'd been out of the house in any substantial way in about a week... since I'd hurt my foot. It was also great to see so much of my family... I got to finally meet my niece and nephews (my step-brother and his wife moved to California right before the oldest was born, and we've not been in the same place at the same time since then). My grandfather was looking pretty good, especially considering it was his 75th birthday.

We actually made it down to Powell's at one point, and managed to not spend too much money... which is a minor miracle in itself. If you ever make it to Portland, Oregon that's the one place I would describe as an absolute must-see. Unfortunately, the store is not really designed for accessibility. I mean, they've done a decent job of putting in elevators and ramps, but after going down several flights of stairs in the parking garage (no elevator, and we didn't think about letting me off at the entrance), I wasn't up for much more hobbling around. By the time I'd gotten to the Physics and Mathematics sections, I was ready to head out (which was a good thing for the bank account).

When it comes to Powell's, nowadays at least, if you're looking for a particular book, you're really much better off checking out their website. But nothing beats that store for going in to browse... and I love to just stand in there and breathe. Yes, if they ever managed to bottle an oxymoronically scented "old musty books" air freshener, I'd be first in line to buy it.

As for the foot, well, I'm ready to dump the crutches, though the toes don't seem to agree. I think I'm just a few days away (okay, I HOPE I'm just a few days away) from being able to manage without them. And I'm also ready to stop taking the medication I was given... it makes me feel tired all the time, like I'm not getting enough sleep. Not enjoying this.

And, finally, quick thoughts about tonight's "24":
They may as well slap red shirts on anyone they send out with Jack this season. Dina is the third person in a row now (okay, so Paul isn't dead yet, but he's certainly not doing well).

I'd really like to know the motivating factor behind the attacks this season. I still think it's not as cut and dried as we're being led to believe... and they've been rather circumspect about revealing what "the cause" is. Or maybe they're just doing it to be politically correct and it's actually what they've been implying.

Tonight was episode 13, wasn't it? So eleven episodes left... I'm guessing we're going to get more than just whatever is being planned out for the president's plane. I'm rather hoping there's something else behind all of this that will begin to play out soon, because so far I'm not seeing anything that connects the dots... as massive as those dots may be as plot points.