Sunday, May 27, 2007

it's the same, but different

for the long holiday, mickey and i are visiting my ma at her new house in wyoming. this thing is beautiful. what i love most is that the big, red kitchen, where currently my ma is slaving away over a pot of green chili sauce to smother some burritos. those who know me know my obsession with green chili. stay tuned for the review.

the house is located about six miles outside of town, and last night we sat on the deck watching the sun set over the sandy, scrubby buttes. it was so quiet. i forgot what it's like to be outside the city, because it's been more than a year since we were in a rural setting. i also forgot how many stars appear when there's no city lights to compete.

this morning on my walk on the country road, i saw a field that was full of dead refrigerators and other appliances. i'm going to try to sneak into the field later to take a photo, but i'm a little afraid that if i do, i'll get shot. we're talking about wyoming, after all.

Sunday, May 20, 2007

tippy or tipsy?

i had the great fortune of spending this weekend with our friend john from georgia. we met him a couple years ago through toots, and have since then had a blast when he comes through portland for conferences or other activities. what was supposed to be an afternoon of hang-out time turned into nearly two full days of QT. highlights, in photo:

day at the beach with four environmental scientists...
and did i mention i suck at biology?


mickey and john at the chinese garden

bonsai

while at the chinese garden we escaped the pouring rain at the tea house. note to self: next time, don't order tippy south cloud (a tea), because it has such a ridiculous name that none of us could shut up about it for the next 4 hours. iterations included: tippy south park, tippy south paw...on and on. one would think the tea was alcoholic for how idiotic we were about the name, but no, none of us was drunk.

it was such an unexpectedly terrific weekend, and despite the rain, we had an amazing day. back to work tomorrow....

final note: one more square done on the new zealand blanket. hallelujia. 3 more to go.......

Monday, May 14, 2007

tranquility

spring is finally here.

delicious grilled chicken, stuffed with
goat cheese and spring greens


tonight mickey and i had a great dinner on the patio, complete with an amazing bottle of wine (evolution white, from sokol blosser -- a great blend of 9 white wine varietals, which resulted in a spectacular, fruity, tropical and semi-dry wine -- the essence of a summer picnic, warm weather and light, summer breezes). my poppies are in bloom, and the hostas are growing by the day. the sun slowly set in the west, and as it did, the old fir trees near our house were cast with a golden red hue which makes them glow, a sight i always love to drink up each summer night. instead of sitting in front of the teevee, mickey and i lingered at the table talking about happiness, life, priorities, and the future.

i also got my first mosquito bite. but, for tonight, i don't mind.

Sunday, May 13, 2007

men in tight pants

just caught 'blades of glory.' what a tepid film. i did enjoy the musical stylings chosen by the skaters, especially will arnett and amy poehler's choice of markey mark and the funky bunch. all in all, not as good as other will ferrell films. i did like the scene where sasha cohen caught that jock strap. wait, no, that was disgusting.

mariners took two of three games this weekend against the crankees. it was sad to not be at last night's game (was offered tix from a friend, but had other obligations), i'm glad i didn't have to witness batista's poor showing. plus, my new favorite player, yuni betancourt, wasn't playing, either, so it all worked out.

Friday, May 11, 2007

camera's dead

but if it wasn't i'd show you pics of ena's shaved forearms from the vet. so sad. while i was there picking her up, a person came in with a dog who was sick or injured, and was shaking uncontrollably. i started crying in the waiting room. which is why i can't be a vet.

if the camera was dead, i'd also show you the three newest FOs that i finally felted in my neighbor's washing machine. a new decoration for my office. hurrah!

but, since the camera's dead, photos will have to wait. happy friday!

Thursday, May 10, 2007

torture. aka, "the office"

mickey and i had a rockin' dinner last night with double-d at encanto, a newer new mexican restaurant in no'po. delicious food, great drinks, nice service, cool space. i got the slow cooked pork stuffed in sopapillas, which had a zippy red sauce on top. their guac was really fresh, plus no tomatoes (just like i like it), and they had a queso fundito dip with homemade tortilla chips that was outstanding -- tangy/creamy cheese with a pumpkin seed salsa/pesto thing on top.

it was such a nice night out with two dear people, and and to cap off the night, i caught the 5th inning of the mariners/tigers game, in which the m's scored 6. they are all of a sudden looking like a solid team this year. with the fact that i'm catching on average about 3 games per week, i'm feeling pretty pleased about the baseball this summer.

in other news, i have two days off, so i got up this AM, dropped the pud off at the vet for her tooth cleaning ($400 -- for cat teeth), and then went for a walk. i'd forgotten my MP3 player, so as my thoughts wandered, i realized, today is thursday, and thursday is "the office." and then i got to thinking about my favorite moments on "the office," when i got a text message. the chime of my phone got me thinking about michael scott's ring tone.

and now i have the midi version of "my humps" stuck squarely in my head. it's killing me.

what's in your head today?

Sunday, May 06, 2007

yakkedy yak

last night whilst out with my friend ben for his bday, we witnessed a chick crumple to the floor right behind our table (we're talking 4 inches), passed out/fainted/whatever, then lift her head enough to yak ALL over herself and the floor. and then, someone said, "we're calling an ambulance," and she said, "no, don't, they cost $500." poor form: both for yakking all over the floor, but for also (apparently) having enough experience with ambulances to know their going rate.

even more disgusting was the fact that the bar employees didn't clean up the yak. they just put some paper towels over it, and the LEFT IT ON THE GROUND for more than half an hour. at which point, i left.

gross. i question whether i'll go back. which sucks, because they serve the bottles of miller high life for cheap.

on a more positive note, i knitted a new yarn bowl to decorate my office, and got both a walk and a short bike ride in this weekend. i love spring, because it's so nice to sit on the patio and soak in the fresh air and the sounds of the neighborhood. the only downer of the weekend was not seeing the end of that mariners game on friday, when they beat the yankees 15-11. f-ing DVR shut off at the bottom of the 7th. thank goodness mickey recorded sports center that night.

have i mentioned how much i love my DVR?