Six weeks of unpaid furlough is one of the deals that came with my job.  It’s not terrible, because other than the not getting paid part, I can pretty much use the time to do whatever I want.  I do split the time up so I don’t have all six weeks at once.  It’s a nice break after what happens here in the summer, too.

The other downside is having all that work waiting for me when I get back.

Screw it, I’m on (unpaid) vacation.  Not thinking about work for 4 weeks, damnit.  Booze and being lazy.

Another bonus to furloughs?  Road trips.  Griffin and I did around 5300 miles in 2014, before he retired.  We hit 17 states, both coasts, a bunch of National Parks, and got to hang with some cool people.  I also had to replace two windshields on the Jeep, but hey.  Thank you State Farm?  Yes.  Thank you, State Farm.

2015 was occupied with a new puppy.  This fall, I’m flying back east to visit family instead of driving because Griffin isn’t able to travel in my Jeep.  Old dogs don’t mix well with narrow spaces in cars.  I’m kicking around the idea of getting a beater van in the spring to head out to Olympic National Park and Highway 101.

That’s one of the reasons why.  Also, Oregon’s beaches are 100% public access.  None of that bullshit with the private beaches… you can go anywhere.  And you can drink on the beach.  There’s just no way this could go wrong.  I’d throw a futon mattress in the van, for Griffin to stretch out on, and hook Viking’s crate up too.  He’s a jerk, because 9 month old puppies tend to be jerks, and would probably see how car seats tasted if I left him loose.

If I can have Griffin be comfortable in the car, then another trip out to the coast might be possible.  It’s not as far as driving back east.  He wouldn’t have to jump into a van the way he would into the Jeep.  Still, he calls the shots.   If he can handle it and wants to go, then we’ll do it.  His unofficial birthday is April 14th and he’ll be 11+ at that point.  The 14th was his shelter intake date and 11 is his estimated age.  Old man dog gets to choose, though.  He loved the beach, as long as his feet didn’t get too close to the ocean.  I’d like to do one more trip for him to enjoy, if he’s up to it.

Shit I’m doing on furlough, other than crashing on my sister’s couch for a week-

I’m putting in 5 gallons of mead today and another 5 when I find more honey that I like.  Also doing a 1-2 gallon repeat batch of hibiscus mead and aging it.  We liked it this summer and it was drinkable after 8 weeks.  A bit on the sweet side and could probably use some aging, so I’m going to experiment.  Oh, and possibly have 1-2 gallons of mead to take on a road trip in the spring.

National Novel Writing Month.  One month, write 50,000 words.

Doctors.  Shopping for winter.  Errands.  All that jazz.  Since our roads close in about a month and my only way out during the winter is one of these:

 

Assuming we get snow.  There would usually be snow on the ground by now, but a combo of climate change and a second El Nino year means we’re getting punched in the junk twice this year.  I kid you not, I live at 8,000 feet and it’s 55 degrees out today.  At the end of October.

WTF is this?  I like winter.

Anyway, time to go get started on 5 gallons of mead.  It should be ready to go by June.