Multitudinous updates

Well, I drove solo all the way from Washington to Utah, though to be honest I think I have to credit a higher power for getting me here safely. Someone's windshield tumbled off a trailer and broke into pieces on the interstate, and we were in the right lane not to be hit by it. We didn't get into any accidents, we weren't mashed into jelly by any 18-wheelers, and despite driving through every construction project in the Western United States we managed to arrive just before midnight on the 17th. In my book, that's amazing.

On this particular trip I noticed so much everyday beauty -- the ripples of a hillside like a rumpled bedspread, the swaying patterns the wind makes across new green grass, the sudden rainbows formed in the path of an irrigation sprinkler, the tendrils of mist and fog hovering over the tops of evergreen forests, the cumulus clouds with their flat bottoms and puffy tops that always remind me of sky-galleons on which to sail the seas of stratosphere, and the incredible wide blueness of an eastern Oregon sky. I brought my camera, but I couldn't take pictures and drive at once, and Miss V lacks the patience to hold still and wait for a shot.

So instead I took a picture of some German Chocolate Crunch ice cream, picked up from the BYU Creamery on 9th.ohhhohoho, germanchocolatecruuunch... It may be a thing of beauty, but it'll be a joy for all of fifteen minutes. Nom.

Mom slept well overnight, but woke up drastically overheated and dehydrated. She was nauseated most of the morning and couldn't keep anything down, not even small sips of water. Even the smell of bread being toasted downstairs was enough to set her off. I wanted to take her to the ER or Instacare, but she couldn't even get dressed successfully and decided she would instead try to take a nap. When she woke up she felt much better and was able to keep some liquids down, but the nausea returned in the evening and she has felt terrible, although she hasn't vomited again. If she can just manage to get some good rest, her back will do much better.

Anyway, here I am in Provo, where even the mountains question my judgment.

Because my mom needs me, that's why! Stupid highly-serifed quasi-vowel! Grr.

In addition to the aforementioned ice cream, I picked up a kids' meal for V from the Creamery. V thought she'd died and gone to heaven. I also went to the store to pick up a few necessities, and to Teriyaki Stix.

Those of you who are familiar with western Washington probably know this already, but just as every California strip mall has its donut shop, every strip mall in Washington has its teriyaki joint. There's Japanese teriyaki, Korean teriyaki, and all sorts of variations on the basic theme, ranging from fairly good to delicious. Any one of these little joints is more authentic than anything made at the fast-food chain that is Teriyaki Stix. And yet... sometimes you just gotta have a spicy chicken bowl. Go figure.

I noticed this graffito as I was leaving the market. My first thought: "Do tell, O Anonymous Defacer of Other People's Property."

Mom seems to have a mouse problem. I saw one run across the kitchen floor and (presumably) down to the basement last night. I'd get her a good mouser, but Mom doesn't care for animals in the house. She's not a big fan of pets, although she let all of us keep animals while we were growing up.

Today Mom's felt a little better, though still a bit queasy in the stomach and so having a tough time with solid food. She's definitely better than she was yesterday. Her blood sugar was dangerously low this morning and we had to bring her a sugar drink to help bring it back up. I've been cleaning up, doing laundry and dishes, and am about to do as thorough as possible a clean of her bedroom as I can. I can tell the altitude and the difference in humidity are getting to me, but I'll acclimate in a while.