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.......

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.

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.

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!

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?

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?

overcoming guilt

i have been working on the nz blanket since last february, and i am now only 3.5 squares from being done. if i sat down for one week and knitted every night, i think i could finish it. but, for the life of me, i can't bear the thought of picking up that project. it has nothing to do with the fact that i love the project so much, i don't want it to end. quite the opposite. i don't want to look at it again. it might also have something to do with the fact that once i finish it, i'm going to have to sew it together. bleck.

anyhow, recent distractions have me even further torn away from this project. it has taken all the strength in the world (and a lot of yardwork yesterday) to keep me from going to the yarn store and buying supplies for this. ack! it's so cute and looks like a great first project to try my hand at knitting clothes. i would love to make it in a beautiful soft pink or baby blue, or maybe even a dark orange....ACK.

i've decided just now that the reward for completing the blanket will be yarn for the sweater. off i go...

the real social networking

really, a whole month has gone by with no posts? no good reason, i'm afraid. perhaps it was the new teevee that has snake-charmed me away from lappy. or, the more frequent sightings of friends after work and on the weekends. or laziness. take your pick.

at the bday party last night for semaphoria (hurrah! your triple-x is upon us!) i ran into a couple people -- one i know from a past life and one is a new acquaintance -- who are very smart, very talented. we had terrific talks about work, about web, about art, and families and friends. at the end of the evening, i realized how much i've missed being out and about.

starting today -- no more hermit!

reasons why americans are smarter than everyone else

apparently if you live in this country and you speak more than one language, you live in the ghetto. at least, so says a leader of our country. i love sweeping racist stereotypes.

meat, good.

last night's attempt at recreating steak au poivre a francais was a success! delicious, tender nebraska filet mignon and blue cheese mashed potatoes. never mind it was 9:15 before we ate. it was worth it.

spring cleaning

just arrived home from our london/paris springtime venture, and had such a delicious time. highlights:

1. the tube and the metro -- didn't get lost once!
2. caught a football match at a notting hill corner pub with the locals (man-u won, thanks to renaldo's penalty kick).
3. ate the most delectable food. in london, it was a bangladeshi meal to rival all other curries i've ever had. in paris, how do i narrow it down? the 3+ hour meal at brasserie flo, complete with french onion soup and profiteroles and a lake of chocolate sauce? brie sandwiches outside the louvre? baguette, stinky cheese and wine consumed in our hotel room after a quick shopping outing in monmartre? or, the pain au chocolat that i ate every morning for breakfast (and that i smuggled back to the states)? no way to pick. don't get me started on the espresso.
4. now knowing what it means to stand at the foot of the eiffel tower and stare upward at the massive steel structure. overwhelming and beautiful.
5. three words: big ben, parliament! (shout out to bessi, who knows what that means)
6. irreverently dedicating our trip to wandering the footsteps of diana, princess of wales -- mickey sang the elton john tribute song the entire time.
7. the one souvenir i brought home was a magnet of the mona lisa from the louvre.

photos here, if you're so inclined.

now that we're home, i'm starting spring cleaning, starting with my blog. trying out the new functionality in blogger, and also a new bit of geek candy, courtesy of semaphoria, called twitter. if i could only be so cool as she.

flowers are blooming, trees are leafing out, and the sidewalks are pink with cherry blossom petals. i'm ready for sun and spring!

life goes by

it's been an extraordinarily busy month since i last posted, but i don't feel i've got much to show (or tell) for it. i realized how disconnected i've been from my personal life today when i checked my email and noticed messages coming in from last week. not good. i have a friend who has asked us to get together what must be 15 times since thanksgiving, and every time we're traveling or otherwise occupied -- just in the last month my excuses have been conflicting trips to SF twice and NYC once. in today's email (which he sent tuesday...), he asked to get together for st. paddy's day. of course, i had to decline because we are leaving for what i guess has to be my last celebration for the thirtieth birthday -- a week in paris and london. can't stretch the ol' birthday out any further.

but, today is lovely so far -- day off, sleep in, good cup of coffee, catching up with friends and family. sun is out. it's quiet in my house, save for the washing machine whirring about like a jet engine. yep, i'm ready to relax, drink some beer and wine and eat copious amounts of croissants.

cheerio and au revior to you all, and stay tuned for reports from across the pond.

buh-bye niner

hello thirties.

busy week

off to SF today for a couple days for a big big event that we've been working on since december. needless to say, i can't wait to be done. then home for three, just long enough to take brother in law to the airport (boo!), then off to NYC for a long weekend of debauchery and mayhem with my ITK/IFT sisters and brothers. we're starting my month-long birthday celebration in NY with my college friends, one of whom is also turning 30 within days of me. i bought some new shoes to take with me -- peekaboo toe flats in leopard print. i just hope that whatever snow is in the city will melt between now and then so i can wear them!

in case i don't have time that day, happy v.d. to all of you (valentine's day, you gross people). may cupid's arrow strike you squarely in the bum.

f.o.

now that they've received it, i can share an update about one of my recent f.o.'s...a lovely baby blanket for willy and toots.

what's cuter? blanket or toots?

i knitted it on US size 8s with my new favorite yarn, cascade pima silk, which as i've mentioned before knitted up like a dream. plus, it's soft and snuggly and will hopefully be washable enough that the cream color won't be regretted. the pattern (purchased at the naked sheep knit shop in no'po') was also quite easy. after a few practice starts, i figured out the crochet technique to cast on, and the flower in the center knitted up quite easily. the only downside of the project was my cast off, which ended up being a little tight, and caused some puckering. blocking helped a ton, but i think it could almost be blocked again to shape it a little more.

now, if only that chipmunk would come out....

happy anniversary to me!

as i just posted that last item, it dawned on me that today is my one year spamiversary on this blog. hurrah for me! am i a card carrying member of the web 2.0 crowd yet? does one register at tiffanys.com for such an occasion?

how weird all of a sudden to think back on the last year and all the stuff that's happened. a year ago i was two short days away from my trip of a lifetime in new zealand, getting ready to ditch work for a month to roam around the islands in my home on wheels. in stark contrast, here i am tonight, at work at 8pm with no real end in sight, and only a glimmer of my next trip (london and paris in the springtime....) in my mind.

i dubbed this year the niner, and i must admit, the past few months i've been thinking that the niner wasn't a good year at all. ok, in all honesty, i've thought it sucked pretty royally. lots of change, departed loved ones, feeling like i'm existing rather than living. i'm so glad, though, that i started this blog, because it allowed me to look back and remember all the good things that happened to keep things in balance. whether my readers have enjoyed the blog is unknown, but i for one am glad i've maintained it (infrequently at times admittedly) because it's preserved moments in my life that will be long forgotten too soon.

after all, the niner will be over in 24 days, and i'll be a senior citizen.

glass half full

"yesssssss," she says, as she reads today's headlines. "i'll finally have that oceanfront property i've always wanted in north portland."

soon, soon...

house guest/roommate

this week our new house guest/roommate arrived. mikey's brother scottbot has stopped in for an extended stay in p-town. any reservations about having a new roommate after living only with a spouse for 7 years were wiped clean away when i arrived home to the dishes done and dishwasher emptied out. yeah. i could get used to this.

tonight's miscellaneous forms of crack

tonight's form of crack:

and

and a final FO:


and a belated hey-oh to TOOTS for her 30th bday. tell me how it goes. and i'm waiting for my chipmunk -- where is he/she???

blech

so.... very..... sick.....

i'm not sure i can stand to watch more tv. a vacation, this is not. would someone like to come take care of mickey and me? we're pathetic.

move over brokeback, we're famous for something new!

are leftover communists invading my hometown? or is it really leftover parts from a satellite launch? either way, i hope said parts didn't hit my ma's new house. that would suck.

mine was good, how 'bout yours?

just back from cornland and had a terrific time. we weren't sure we were going to make it back there, due to "blizzard 2006" [insert dramatic newscaster voice here] in denver. fortunately we flew out two hours after DIA opened and had no problems catching our connecting flight to lincoln that evening. hurray!

upon arrival at my IL's house, i found in our bedroom a baby cradle with a clock inside. was this a subtle hint from my MIL that she wants grandbabies? she denied it. i still wonder... :)

we had five days in norfolk with mickey's fam, and all in all it was great. i got some knitting done, though i have to say i'm on very displeased with the end result. the cascade pima silk mentioned previously is still a dream, but my BO skills are poopy, and i think now the blanket looks more like a parachute. i'm crossing my fingers that blocking it will help. i also made progress on my eggplant scarf. i think i have about a foot completed, and so far, so good. i did not take my cabling needle with me, so instead i used a plastic coffee stir stick to hold my stitches.

on the way home, we encountered "blizzard 2006 take deux" at DIA. we ended up getting bumped off our first flight from DIA to PDX. in fairness, i should mention we volunteered, because if we didn't, UAL was going to boot off a grandmother traveling with grandbabies and a young woman who'd been bumped twice already, and who was sobbing in the aisles. heartbreaking. we were offered free tix on UAL, but they weren't sure when we'd get out of denver because the storm was causing cancellations of several flights. we fortunately got the next flight out on standby, and aside from sitting on the runway for nearly three hours (and going through de-icing three times after snow continued to collect on the wings), we arrived home.

i can't say my fam had the same travel karma this year. my sis's flight to arkansas was canceled because of blizzard '06, so she, my BIL and my favorite nephew were stuck by themselves in idaho. hearing from my sis that my li'l guy was crying in the airport after learning he wasn't going to see his gramma, i wanted to cancel my plans and drive to idaho to see them. they ended up having, what my li'l guy called, "the best christmas ever," so i guess all is good.

my ma also had bad karma, or should i say car-ma. on their way to colorado, they hit a deer, and more than likely totaled the subaru. bad news. fortunately they are in good health, and were close enough to the destination that my uncle could pick them up. i'm hoping santa will come late this year and bring her a new subaru.

today 2006 comes to an end, and we enter a new year. it's been a rough year, so i can't say i'm sad to leave 2006 behind. too much change, people moving away, bad habits resumed and not enough QT with friends and my husbot, especially the latter part of this year. i have high hopes that in 2007 i'll swear less, take more photos, eat more healthfully, lose 20 pounds, keep in touch with people, find balance in my life, and learn to better manage my stress. wish me luck.

wishing you and yours a safe and festive new year's, and a great year ahead!

guilty pleasure

i'm watching "love actually" for the second time in two days. pathetic, but i'll admit it's my favorite christmas-ish movie of all time. pathetic, probably. but i love every sappy, chick flickish moment of it.

we're headed to nebraska in four days for christmas, and i'm definitely looking forward to a break. i am hoping for some time with my knitting, as i have two projects i think i can finish while i'm there. i've just begun this dreamy eggplant colored scarf while on my trip to dc, and i've not decided whether i'll keep it for myself or give it to a girlfriend of mine. decisions, decisions....

hope you all are enjoying the holidays, and getting a bit of christmas cheer. go have some nog!

highlights from DC

so, sadly, i didn't find albert, but i did find the new ww2 memorial, which was terrific. btw, DC is going to run out of water with how much is running through fountains and lying in ponds and pools.

WW2 memorial

i think they will get coal in their stockings, how 'bout you?

i didn't do much sightseeing, because i was busy in a conference during the day. as you can see, i was very busy. yeah, that's right, yours truly is the WOMMA rock paper scissors champion. i'm considering a career as an officiant of future rock paper scissors competitions, now that i'm qualified. thanks to the world RPS society for the fun time!

the other washington

greetings from the east coast washington! i'm here on biz for the WOMMA conference, and am having a delightful time. my hotel is right downtown, about a stone's throw (but don't tell the secret service) from the white house, and in the thick of all that history that comes with DC. i haven't been here since i was a teenager, but it's everything as fantastic as i remember it: bustling people, so much to do, a grandiose marble building of size and scale unimaginable around every corner. this trip, i've been struck by the rare feeling that i'm more than glad -- i'm proud to be part of this country, because i am reminded of the great men who came before, who shaped this nation into all the things i love, yet forget as soon as news of iraq comes on the telly or GW opens his mouth.

i walked up to the capitol today at twilight and watched the lights slowly twinkle to life inside the huge building. putting all politics aside, it's such a magnificent building -- so clean-looking and stately and powerful. at dusk, the reflecting pool caught the glinting lights of the building, and in the dark blue/black sky, that white marble gave the capitol a larger-than-life presence.

being here makes me remember my teenage trip to DC, with my fam. my dad was a history buff, and liked coming to DC. i remember the tired feet and the hot sticky feeling that july, but also remember feeling so happy being here, watching him wander around the museums and along the national mall with a look of both contentment and excitement. i have a photo of him and me trying unsuccessfully to hug a huge column at some building here. as i walked down the mall today and looked at the various buildings lining the promenade, that memory made me smile.

i have two more days here, and i'm hoping to walk to the reflecting pool between the washington and lincoln memorials, and also i hope to find the einstein statue where, as a kid, dad and my family posed for more silly photos. maybe i'll ask somone to take my photo sitting in albert's lap, just for dad.

quarterly issue of crack lovin'

knitty's here, knitty's here! as if i don't have enough fiber crack (went to the crack store tonight in fact...), seeing spanish dancer makes me fiber drool. and, how will i fit argosy into my already long list of projects in progress?

haka-rific, but what do i know?

as many of you may know, i've got a significant love affair with new zealand, and specifically with the all blacks, the country's mighty fine and also the world's top rugby team.

and of all the things i love about the all blacks, perhaps my favorite (next to first five-eighths heartthrob daniel carter) is the haka. it's the traditional maori chant and dance that the team shares at the beginning of every match. the haka, as i understand it, is an homage to the legends of the country's maori people, and is an honor within maori tribes to perform it. on the rugby pitch, before the team begins the game, it's a way for them to unify and to build up energy in preparation for the match. aside from being entertaining, it's inspiring, riveting and chilling to watch.

mickey called attention to a recent article in the times, in which the haka is under fire from an american journalist who sees it as racist and inappropriate, relating it to a football player's celebratory dance in the end zone, or a death taunt at a sporting match. has this guy really watched the haka, and does he really understand how intertwined the haka is with the all blacks' history?

unlike those gestures identified in the article, which i see as egotistical, showgrabbing antics, the haka builds team and calls upon history to give them strength to succeed. and, i'm certainly no expert, but how is it tribally insensitive for the ruggers to recount classical tales to prepare them to perform at their best? with the passion and pride they demonstrate on the field during the haka, i see it as exactly the opposite -- as an honor, not only to the country and its people, but to people like me who now appreciate maori culture more than before, in large part because of the haka.

i say, let the all blacks continue to pay tribute to their culture and their traditions. let the opposing teams choose to invoke similar gestures to respectfully accept the challenge put forth through the haka. the lions honorably did so during their '05 tour, using a blade of grass laid at the feet of the all blacks.

don't take the haka off the field and out of the eyes of people who could stand to know more about other countries' cultures and traditions.

PS: interested in seeing these guys in action? check out the thirsty lion on second ave downtown, where they show international rugby most days of the week. yeah!

tan me

happy turkey day to all! we just spent a delightful weekend with willy, toots and their li'l chipmunk in mesa, arizona, where the weather was in the upper 70s, the sky was pure blue, and the view from our house looked like this:

yes, we were enjoying cocktails at this moment...what better way to enjoy the view?

one night we decided we wanted to check out this pizza joint in phoenix that gayle (of oprah fame) had visited on her trip 'round the US to find the best 'za. pizzaria bianco is located in downtown phoenix near the ASU campus, and supposedly is the the absolute best wood-fired pie. willy suggested we get there early to get a table. when we arrived at 5:20, we thought we'd be in for a 1, maybe 1.5 hour wait, which we could easily kill at the wine bar next door. sadly when we put our names in, we learned it was a four hour wait. wha? four hours?

we didn't get pizzaria bianco za, needless to say. but, nello's in scottsdale was a delighful substitute, AND we didn't wait in line. huzzah!

it was sad to get on the plane to head home, especially after sitting by the pool for three days, but imagine the system shock we received when we arrived back in portland and had snow on monday. bah.

thanks so much to the gebys for the best, most needed weekend and the fantastic hospitality. i can't think of a better way to spend thanksgiving with our two best friends. we miss you two (and a half) and treasure the time we get to spend together, short as it was!

in other news, happy birthday to my ma today! cheers to you on your year ahead!

gettin' all cultured n stuff

quick thanks to my buddy tcb for inviting us to his delightfully non-stuffy, totally fun art salon last evening. aside from the fact that his house is a work of art on its own, mickey and i were also envious of and hugely impressed by all the art he and his fabulous wife have collected and created themselves. while talking with some of the artists featured at the salon (friends of t's), one asked me, "so do you make any art?" i tried to talk about my amateur painting attempts, and settled on knitting as my artistic outlet. i guess it's something.

check out some of t&j's photos. can't find his flickr, but maybe he'll send it to me.

thanks t!

awol

been working hard this week, late nights, whatnot. nothing too horrible, many things have slacked in the past week. blog posting, obviously. cooking another. sleeping, optional. knitting, fuggedabahdit. seeing the husbot, only in the car when he's picking me up from work.

needless to say, i'm thrilled to be home before 7 and done working by 7:15 tonight. in fact, so excited to be home at a decent hour, because i just had a chance to see TV, and noticed a commercial for the movie "the holiday" with cameron diaz and kate winslet. you better believe i'm going to see that. looks a little like "love actually" and melikes that movie, and not in a guilty pleasure kinda way.

here's looking forward to a little R&R this weekend, and to a short week next week. it's finally the holiday season, my favorite time of the year!

small victories for women and america today

observations today on election day:

• puzzling news: how did the CNN folks all end up with the same skin tone? cakey tan looks miserable on all except james carville, who looks only slightly less like an alien than normal without the pallid skin tone.
  
• funny news: love the wonkette drinking game for tonight's festivities. wish i could have participated.
  
• good news for america: santorum. gone.
  
• sad news for america: katherine/katie "bodysuit" harris lost. what, oh what will we make fun of now?
  
• wack-job news: a dude on cnn just now said his conservative listeners are concerned about a "wild eyed, flaming liberal" political scene in this country, lead by pelosi. huh?
  
• good news for women: speaking of that wild eyed, flaming liberal, how 'bout the first woman speaker of the house. and might i say, she's triple the hot that dennis 'puffy' hastert was.
  
• fabulous news for women (hoping i don't eat my words as i upload this post): in oregon we are defeating the parental notification bill for abortion, and it's looking good that the good folks of south dakota will defeat the abortion ban.
  
• iffy news for wyoming: babs is winning by 400ish votes. so close, yet so far from defeat.
• best news for me: protest vote against bush? -- pshaw, not us oregonians. while the rest of the nation is still swingin' red (despite results tonight), i'm living in a state that is so solidly blue, solidly, beautifully blue.
  

all in all, small victories, nothing that surprising, no major changes will occur. but, tonight, i'll turn my lappy off and dream happy dreams that, for today, we're a nation that has risen her head above the fog of conservativism and realized we've headed in the wrong direction.

winter has come early

the fact that it has rained around 3 inches in 24 hours (not counting the other rain we got the rest of the weekend) means only one thing: the *@!%# basement is leaking again. at least misery loves company -- a&k's basement next door is facing similar issues. the only good thing about their house is they don't have carpet and paneling on the walls.

i guess instead of going to new zealand in february i should have poured a new driveway and sealed the basement walls. what do they say about hindsight....

on the brighter side, because it's so horrid outside, i have been getting a ton of knitting done! can't post here what it is, as it's a gift for a reader, so i don't want to spoil the surprise. without giving anything away, let me just say i love cascade pima silk yarn. so soft and gorgeous, and despite being mostly cotton, it doesn't split and has great stretchiness. i'm a convert!

stay dry and warm my friends! i'm headed to SF tomorrow where it's supposed to be dry and partly cloudy.

alert: kickass happy hour joint

portlanders, i'm sure you already know this, but i've just tonight discovered a super duper happy hour deal downtown. barcode on 2nd and pine, next door to e-san, shares the thai restaurant's kitchen, and thus has great happy hour food. try pad kee mao for $3.95 and get a really solid size portion. spring rolls for $2. beers (not PBR, we're talking micros) are $2, and wells are $2-3. the service is super and the food is delicious. not being at all hip or cool, i learned that they do great business late in the evenings with the party crowd, but they're trying to get people in the door earlier. as such, their happy hour is offered from 4Pm to 10Pm. say what?! 10Pm?! you heard me right, sister.

go. eat. drink.

niner, part deux

earlier this year i dubbed this year the niner. i guess the folks at multnomah county found out, because today i was chosen as juror number niner. and i get to be juror niner for 6 whole days. yes, my friends, 6 days away from my job, which couldn't be busier. and i get to sit in a pathetically padded swivel chair listening to 42 hours of lawyer blah blah. awesome.

but it's baseball season, so i can't be too sad. go detroit!

color me cabled!

this weekend i finally figured out (with the help of the lovely folks at the naked sheep) what i've been doing wrong with my cabled christmas stocking. turns out when you knit in the round, you don't have a right or a wrong side, and thus, i was following the pattern incorrectly.

behold, my first cabling project!

100 percent pure cable lovin'

only four tear-outs required -- who said i'm not patient?

next up: learning how to knit the sock part. i'm scared.

sex and baseball

yesterday i spent 13 hours in front of the TV watching a combination of 'sex and the city' season one (and part of season 2), and the MLB division championships.

some call it lazy. i call it THE BEST DAY EVER.

gotham tavern part deux

attention portlanders: the gotham tavern on interstate ave. and albina is back open, and let me be the first to tell you it's terrific. same hip space, but new management, new menu and a new attitude makes it about a thousand times better than its original incantation. that first time around, mickey and i visited the restaurant not long after it opened. we like NW cuisine, but this was a bit too much: every dish had 20 adjectives to describe it, the experience was pretentious, and when we left that evening, we were wholly unimpressed, so much so that i vowed never to go back, even after semaphoria worked hard to convince me that their breakfast donuts were delish.

fast forward to now. mickey remembered seeing lights on in the joint earlier this week, so we decided to give it a whirl last night. when walked in, the bartender waved and said, "anywhere you'd like to sit is fine!" what? no more $50 down payment to sit in the beehive booth? we chose a seat and were greeted by the very nice waitress. i asked for a wine list. they had three options, all very good. the waitress apologized that they were still finishing their selection, would i be OK with a glass of the kason vineyard willamette valley pinot noir ($24/bottle)? funny lady. when am i not ok with a pinot?

the menus was one page, featuring simple yet delicious pub fare options. few adjectives. mickey ordered the prime rib sandwich and a salad, and i ordered the pasta special of the day (fettuccini with sausage, roasted red peppers and zucchini). we settled in with our wine, and when the food came, we were very impressed. the plating of mickey's sandwich was beautiful, and it was a huge portion, too, all for $7.50. my pasta ($10) was really tasty.

jordan, the manager/owner, wandered over, sat down and chatted for a few. he and his partner have worked at other neighborhood bars in portland. when the opportunity came to pick up the lease at gotham, they jumped on it. jordan said he's trying to make the restaurant fit better with the neighborhood than it was before. in other words, he wants people to stop in for a beer, have happy hour, and have good tasting, inexpensive food. he mentioned considering doing a discount for people who take alternative transportation, since they're on the max and bus line. they are also going to change the name (we got the preview, but i won't mention it here because it's still a secret), to get away from the brand image that gotham had before. good move, sayeth me. we finished our meal, paid our bill ($34 with tip), waved goodbye to fawn, our waitress, and to jordan and his crowd at the bar, and headed home with our to-go boxes full with a second portion for lunch.

all in all, it was a great experience, and i'm so glad we tried it again. i want to encourage all portlanders to check the place out. the food is super and at really reasonable prices, and the staff is fantastic. the grand opening will be later this month, but even now during their soft opening, it's well worth the visit. go say hello to jordan, have a beer and grab a bite!

watch your back, ena

oh, puddy, you better watch your back. a new breed is in town. best be on good behavior (no late night meyhem, scratching, or claw attacks), or else you're outta here.

tough rhetoric

i heard the most classic thing on the bus tonight from a five year old. he was arguing back and forth with a little girl he just met on the bus. over and over, they argued, "no sir!" "yes sir!" every topic resulted in the same -- "i live on the stairs." "nuh uh!" "uh huh!" "nuh uh!" "uh huh!"

just about the time when i'm laughing out loud at the two kids, the five year old says, "this is my stop. i just have one more question for you: yes."

and then he got off the bus.

i love it: i have one more question for you. yes.

classic.

chili lovin

23 chilis. a new record. props to my peeps for the best turnout yet!!!

view the chili carnage here.

favorite time of year

this is my favorite time of year, when the leaves start to fall, the weather starts to feel crisp. i've switched to the down comforter. last weekend i made beef stew in the dutch oven and a lovely apple coffee cake. i started planning my standby battery of fall recipes -- spicy butternut squash and sweet potato soup, pumpkin bread, polentas with sauteed mushrooms and roasted red peppers, mugs of hot apple cider. the staple sauvignon blancs from the summer are getting moved to the bottom shelf of the wine rack to make way for bottles of thick, hearty red wines we need to pick up this coming weekend. this is the season for knitting, reading, savoring foods and drinks and unwinding.

i just finished re-reading one of the most brilliant, delicious books of all time on the plane yesterday. it's all about enjoying a simple life in france. i read it for the first time back when i was a freshman in college for an english class on writing memoirs, and gauging from the notes i made in the margins, i clearly wasn't in a stage in my life to appreciate it. it was such a crack-up to read how naive and unaware i was. "what's foie gras?" i wrote on one page. "all they do is eat!" i wrote on another. reading the notes, it was the first time i felt glad i've grown up. i'm not wise or cultured or worldly, but hallelujia that i now appreciate the finer points in life, like stinky cheese.

cheers to you, especially all my friends who i hear are working hard, and soul searching about their futures and their life choices. may we all slow down long enough to enjoy the moments of fall.

my man, he's the tops

with my new job's hectic schedule, and the stress of fitting into a new company and a new role, i've not been the easiest person to deal with lately. unfortunately mickey gets the back end of my bad attitude. no home cooked meals, the house isn't clean, and, oh yeah, i'm pretty crabby too.

to reward me for my stellar behavior, mickey gave me a surprise shopping spree with my good friend ljc and a new camera (just like semaphoria's new one, only not sexy orange). all i got him were four stinking chocolates from my trip to SF today.

who feels like a bit of a jackass? bad wife. BAD!

needless to say, the blog is also getting the back end of my attitude, so i have nothing fun to talk about. wait, one thing: i finished a square of my NZ blanket, so now i only have 6 to go. as the leaves start to change, and as the weather turns crisp, i'm getting back in the mood for knitting. good thing, because my stash of yarn grew this summer quite nicely, and did i mention i have 6 squares on my NZ blanket left? must get that done before the year is out.

and, one more thing: chili cookoff time is nigh. we're hoping to break the entry record, which last year hit 18. my jalapeno plants are aggressively keeping up with my pepper requirements for this year's entry. muy caliente!

maybe when i get the new fancy cammy all charged up, i'll take a photo or two of our test chili recipes or the blanket. or probably more likely, of me sitting on the couch vegetating.

babies

our cat ena has this bad habit of getting into my yarn stash and hauling the skeins around our house. we think she pretends these are her babies. she walks around with them in her mouth, making this crying noise -- very cute. one time she sorted all the grey wool yarn in a pile from the fuzzy orange yarn, which she hid behind the couch.

thursday i got home to find this:




four yarns and yarn-items strewn from living room to the upstairs bedroom.

PS

all i had to eat yesterday was pizza. 6 pieces of it. nothing else.

nothing to report

6 am: shut alarm off.

go to work.

maybe eat lunch.

come home at 7.

dinner.

work.

bed.

repeat ad yaddayaddaeum.

no time even to read wonkette. what a sad blog poster.

mental atrophy

i perhaps must eat my words from my last post. partially at least. while i was right about the workload, it turns out it's not so much easy. long hours, early mornings (relative to my previous job), and really smart people kept me on my toes for five days straight. next to me at this moment, my work laptop is turned on, logged on. and this is just the first week.

but: i love feeling like my brain is being stretched. i love feeling like there's so much to do that there's not a moment to lose. i love feeling like i have to prove myself all over again.

it's true that, if not used, a brain can atrophy. just so happens that mine is back on a regular exercise regimen. i'm exhausted, but the endorphins and adrenaline feel great.

new frontier

i started my new jobbie today. it was pleasantly easy, i'm happy to report. while there's mountains of work to be done, it's either manageable, or its scope and severity is beyond my sphere of comprehension. nevertheless, i'll live in blissful ignorance for now as i learn all about new clients and company policies.

it's delightful to work for a large company for the first time -- upon my arrival, my desk was set up, the computer configured properly, there was a nice stock of office supplies available to me. they had organized a thorough and helpful orientation for me. and, they had gathered an extensive library of info for me to study in advance of my upcoming client meetings.

i got home from work and told mickey all about how very organized, very professional the first day at my new company was. and, lo, the words were not barely out of my mouth when i realized i had been wearing my shirt inside out all day long.

sigh....

haus frau tasks

i moved all the furniture out of the living room and mickey's office yesterday, because today the carpet and air ducts are getting cleaned. thus, my dining room looks like this:
i've been informed by the cleaning man upstairs just now that the funk in my ducts has plugged up his system twice. that normally happens only once during a cleaning. at any rate, i've been banished to the basement whilst they work their magic. my allergies are miserable at the moment because of all the nastiness coming out of the ducts. guess this is long overdue.

in other news, we finally joined the ranks of most mainstream americans and had cable teevee installed yesterday. so, as i sneeze and blow my nose, at least i can watch giada de laurentiis make the most delicious looking strawberry trifle i've seen.

speaking of food, i made an antipasti platter last eve that giada herself would have been proud of.

hurrah, it's fig season!

i rode my little bike to the new seasons where i purchased a variety of cheese, some salami, and some veg to grill. paired with a washington sauvignon blanc, it was delicious.

have i mentioned i love being home during the day?

if only every week was like this

i'm into my second week of unemployment. lots of stuff in the works, many house visitors, lots of stories. in lieu of a narrative, i give you my photo montage of some memorable moments:

oregon beer fest, after 65 beers. rock n roll.

our denver-friends at the farmer's market

delicious dessert at pix

fricking mariners lost, whah whah (debbie downer sound here)

toots's blast from the past

more here at flickr. suffice to say, i love not being at work. but, i am excited (not ready, but excited) to start my new gig next monday.

rock n roll

last night mickey and i had the honor and privilege of attending A.R.T's production of "hedwig and the angry inch" with friends tom and judy. the performance features wade mccollum (of PCS's "batboy" fame) in a reprise of hedwig. he is, undoubtedly, the most dynamic, talented actor to grace this here rose city, and man, o man, does he do rock n roll right. i've seen the "hedwig" movie a handful of times, and listened to the soundtrack about a gajillion times, and still, last night's production blew my little, art-starved mind. the production was infintely better than the movie, and mccollum brought a whole new personality to hedwig.

show highlights: kick-ass, complex, beautiful vocals from mccollum, singing the finest lyrics from steven trask; witty, silly, often political ad-libbed banter from hedwig; audience lap dances; and did i mention, mccollum is the most physically fit actor i've ever seen on stage? as hedwig, he mentions he does ashtanga yoga. that must be true for mccollum himself. that guy is bendy and has got the finest legs this side of radio city music hall.

enough gushing, which i could do all day. please, please go see it between now and next saturday, when it closes forever. i may go back again, so perhaps i'll see you there.

day 4: freedom

here we are on day four of unemployment. so far i:

1. drank 70 or so beers at the oregon brew festival within five hours. ok, tasted 70ish beers, but it was a lot.
2. got my new library card and perused the downtown library bldg which is very nice.
3. went to the beach, got a sunburn.
4. stayed up too late and got up late.
5. bought canvas for my art projects.
6. had an MGD and nachos for lunch.
7. exercised once.

we're off to a good start!

busybot

tomorrow is a big day for me. it's my last day at my current job, which i've had for five years. it's been an up and down time, as all jobs are, but i have to say: i'm jumping out of my skin excited to be done. i have two weeks off before i start my next gig, and i have so many things i have planned.

i hope to listen to lots of splendid table -- i have months and months to catch up.

i want to make this every night. it was delicious tonight, and worth repeating many times.

french-style shrimp salad à l'becky

french-style shrimp salad à la cooking light

i will finally visit the multnomah county library with the sole intent of borrowing cookbooks and knitting books, specifically the mason dixon book, and julie and julia.

i have painting to do -- pictures of stuff that inspired me in new zealand, but that i haven't had inspiration to recreate since.

and speaking of new zealand, i still have that damn blanket i've been working on since our trip that i gotta get done. eight more blocks to knit, but the thought of having hot wool on my lap when it's 90+ degrees makes me gag.

and, did i mention sex in the city? i have the entire series to catch up on.

it'll be a busy two weeks, but i'm ready.

holy sweatbeads, batman

it's hot. it's africa hot. tarzan couldn't take this heat.

confederacy of dunces

stand up if you are proud of our president today. nobody?

what could possibly be more offensive: the fact that the guy's middle east foreign policy is based on playground rules; or that he chews with his mouth open; or that he discusses his playground politics with a major world leader while chewing with his mouth open and leaning back in his chair like he's judging the wet tee-shirt contest at the ATO frat house? had the microphone not been so smartly turned off by blair, i half suspect dub's next line would have been, "dude, did you check out the hotties at the next table? wanna get you some of that?"

lord. have. mercy. i'm going to bed now.

mandatory fun

yesterday at a company-sanctioned mandatory fun day, we visited a bowling alley, where a coworker bought socks out of a vending machine for just $2. i had no idea sock vending machines existed, and yet how brilliant is that for bowling alleys. i'd like to find out where a purse and handbag vending machine is located.

bird's eye view

my across-the-street neighbor just took her bike out for a spin. upon her arrival home, she bailed off the bike and landed on her head in the lawn. did she mean to do this? i don't think so, because she laid there for a good three minutes. was she hurt? don't know. did i laugh at the sight of someone falling on their head? yeah, i kinda did.

just call me the neighborhood spy...

new friends

i just had dinner with a relatively new friend we met through toots a couple years back. he's a college friend of hers, and we met him during one of his trips to portland. he has the best outlook on life, and it's a treat to talk with him, because he's so positive, optimistic and genuine. it's amazing that despite the fact i've met him on two very brief occasions, i feel i've known him forever.

had some dinner at south park, which was divine. i saw a good band at noon today, national flower. it's warm out, but not too warm. i'm going to bed early, which is unusual these days. all the makings for a terrific day.

celebrity look-alike

often times mickey and i will meet someone new, and during the course of the convo, they will pause and ask, "has anyone ever told you you look like ed norton?" mickey doesn't think so, and at first, i wasn't so sure either. but as the years have worn on, the more and more he looks like him. less "american history x" ed norton, and more "everyone says i love you" ed norton. regardless, it's flattering, because ed norton is a hotty, and it's funny to watch mickey's face when a woman in particular brings it up.

he stumbled upon this tonight, and decided to see if this look-alike is a coincidence or not. turns out, they think he looks like steve buscemi, anthony quinn, or fred ward. since when did ed norton and steve buscemi look alike? perplexing at best, insulting at worst. and entirely wrong, seeing that mickey resembles none of these people. perhaps now he'll be less annoyed when people call him ed.

it is worth noting, of course, that my photo was compared with my hero, meryl streep, plus sheryl crow, diane keaton, and jennifer beals. not that any of these women look alike either, but hey, it's way better than steve buscemi.

lavvy luv

today is my favorite day of the year in portland -- the portland lavender festival. since i moved here six years ago, moniqua and i have ventured out to the fields just north of hillsboro to cut big, beautiful, fragrant bunches of lavender. moniqua's mom and my new neighbor, plus a cutie baby joined us for a gorgeous day in the sun. when we got to our favorite spot, we found out the place is for sale! if only i had $750K to buy it. what an amazing life that would be to farm lavender.

the harvest

(most of) the group

in addition to hooking up with three bunches, i also bought 12 little Lavandula x intermedia 'Provence' plants for the lavender hedge i've been dreaming about replicating since our first visit to the black barn vineyard's rush cottage in new zealand.

if you've never been to the festival, it is still going on tomorrow, and i highly encourage you to make the drive. you won't regret it when you smell that intoxicating field of flowers!

great weekend, how 'bout you?

it's wednesday, and how great is it that i got to ask everyone today, how was your weekend? see, i had monday and tuesday off, which meant four day weekend.

big highlights:
1. fantastic two days at the gorgeous home of a friend's in-laws, right on the white salmon river. totally chill, got lots of soccer watched, cooked a little, and read a lot. so perfect.
2. took a nap. awesome.
3. spent tuesday with mickey on our seventh spamaversary. seven years, no itch yet. gotta love that.
4. watched a rugby match with the aid of a projector on the back wall of my house on tuesday night, with the neighbors, while listening to the fireworks. life size all blacks = cool.
5. brewed a new batch of porter, which should be ready in 6 weeks. potential names: heavy ho, in homage to black boss porter, or something perhaps more PC. i'll consult double-d for some suggestions.

soon, very soon, i will have more time to blog. i'm also going to try to train my ma on how to blog about her new house she's building. that should be an interesting process. until time frees up, i appreciate your patience.

happy trails

i had to say a tearful farewell to toots (and willy...again) today. it's a day i've been avoiding, ignoring, denying for six years. having known the reality that they'd stay in portland only a few years hasn't made this past weekend, and indeed today, any easier. i've been spoiled to have them in town and nearby for so many years. genuinely, it's been the best six years i can imagine.

in their honor, i offer:

top five reasons why it sucks that that toots and willy moved away:

1. no one will appreciate -- or even know! -- rod yee, let alone his song, and i'll bet i'm back to justifying my love of stevie nicks.
2. now i have to pay for medical advice, massages, magnaleuvres, and don't get me started on the 243.
3. sunday dinners will be spent alone, watching "HELLOW JOHNSON FAMILY!!".
4. people will think we're odd when we order a mee-mosa at brunch.
5. neither mickey nor i ever learned how to score pinochle.

here's to you two. the happiest of birthdays to willy. a huge, heartfelt congratulations to the new doctor. a joyful hug to your growing family. a fond adieu to our best friends. we love you.

comments from this weekend

"you're a shoe whore."

no, you're a "shoe-stitute."

delinquency

i've been holed up in my basement watching world cup on the weekends and working during the week, which basically means i've been a recluse. but, the best thing that's happened all week is that i got a free ticket on alaska airlines for volunteering off a flight to san diego for work. the story for getting bumped is a funny one, though, for professional reasons, not something i can mention here. email me and i'll tell you the story.

nevertheless, having a free pass on any flight i want is like being in a candy store with 20 dollars. so many options, where to go? mexico? very tempting. new york city? always top of my list. somewhere practical like back to visit parents or in-laws? not as glamorous, but it should be considered. such a dilemma. stay tuned for the verdict!

and finally, a shout-out to toots for her last day of med school, her last clinic shift ever, and to anticipating the day -- monday -- when we'll officially call her doctor toots, medicine woman. the dedication and sacrifice, the weekends when studying had to come before anything else, when the wine, sugar and bread intake was limited in the name of health...they were worth it. you made it! as you embark on your exciting summer, remember, this could be us:

you think you know someone

i found out tonight that a friend (who shall remain nameless, to protect her hard earned cool-factor) was a member of the biology club in college. biology club? really? this is a beautiful, smart, partying woman who i know was extremely cool in college. biology club? huh.

and since i'm going to hell anyway...

in the spirit of today's date, here's something that has been cracking me up for the past few days. every time i watch it i laugh until i cry.



enjoy!

slugs of a feather stick together

sunday night i couldn't sleep. i tossed and turned for a good hour or two before i decided to migrate to the spare room (newly painted that saturday, i might add, in anticipation of many visitors this summer). as i laid there at 1:30AM i remembered i'd forgotten to lock the back door. with my mind racing enough at that point, i was sure that if i left it unlocked, a stranger would come in, steal my stuff, eat my food, and other horrible things. so, i walked down the hall, down the stairs and turned the light on to check.

sadly, i was too late. an unexpected visitor had already found his way into our house.

i came face to face with...

a...

nasty, 2-inch, black slug, stuck to the inside of our back door.

how the heck did it get in the house?! to this day, i still can't figure it out. slugs don't have thumbs. they can't open doors. i hadn't left the door open long enough for one to waltz across the threshold. have you seen a slug move? they're slow.

why, you ask, am i still thinking about the slug? because i was too lazy (ok, scared out of my mind) to touch the damn thing on sunday night, so i left it there thinking i could make mickey take care of it in the morning. but, when i went back monday morning, the slug was gone. and i've not seen him since. which means, he's leaving nasty, 2-inch, black slug trails somewhere in my house. and that is SO not ok with me.

and speaking of slugs, did anyone see what ann coulter said on the "today" show today? apparently she's got a whole book on this insanity. was it a coincidence it was the devil's day today and she was out in full force? you decide....

i-want-itis

last night over beers with a coworker friend we decided that "it" all comes down to being independently wealthy. for example, i really want to own a cheese and wine shop with my coworker locall, and apparently i don't have enough capital to make this work. i also desperately want to go to germany in a month for the world cup (not that i'm a soccer fan per se, but how freaking fun would it be there during the middle of that party?!). sadly, tickets to frankfurt are $1500, well outside my budget. i'd like to go to china and hong kong this year. not gonna happen.

if anyone has any great ideas for how i can become independently wealthy, let me know. or, alternatively, if you know where i can pick up a nice cabin in the mountains for under $80K, that'd be ok too.

it's tuesday, but really it's monday

top five best things about my weekend:

1. sleeping in until 11:15 on monday morning rulz, 'specially 'cause i didn't have to be at work.
2. it was a good cooking weekend. making green curry from scratch isn't hard, with the help of hot, sour, salty, sweet. plus, pursuant to operation kitchen clean-out, i just HAD to make some peanut butter chocolate brownies. they were really bad. i might have three more tonight after dinner.
   
3. while miserably sad, the final hurrah for willy friday night got me good -n- inebriated. to ease the pain, of course.
   
4. i got some knitting done on my new zealand blanket, aka, the longest project in history.
5. toots and i had some good girlie time, complete with mimosas and craft projects. and, mickey had two hot dates to the davinci code on sunday. the only thing better than that to a guy, i assume, would be to have two hot dates who happened to be twins.
   

and now the weekend is over, and i'm back at work.

fiber crack

i just ordered a boatload of yarn for myself and a coworker/coknitter. included in my order is some fabulous debbie bliss cashmerino chunky in celery and baby blue, which i have been drooling over for many months. not that i have any specific projects in mind for it, or the five skeins of cascade 220 also in my order. that's a minor detail. at least i have a purpose for the lopi bulky ... more cutie felted bowls!

did i mention i just finished knitting my first one this weekend?

the pattern is out of "one skein," a pattern book by leigh radford, a local portland woman. i had difficulties getting the pattern to work as-is...undoubtedly my error. it called for a 24" long needle, size 15. i tried this three times using the correct gauge yarn, and couldn't get it to stretch long enough to work. i substituted #13, 16" needles, and added 20 stitches to the cast on row (the only way i could get the two ends to join). it's much bigger than the pattern calls for in finished form, but it worked.

nose candy

no, i don't have a cocaine habit. that's just me sitting in my office with the worst allergies ever. will someone please get me oven mitts so i stop scratching?

weekend was good. going away party had just the right amount of silliness and mayhem (quarters coming out of people's noses, my new/old polaroid camera got a workout, rough bocce rivalries were formed). i finished knitting and felting my first bowl, which turned out very cute. and i won my last round of pinochle. all in all, no complaints!

update: ice wine, plus more on the neighbors and the weekend

i now know what happens when wine sits in a freezer for 24 hours. i still can't find the cork, but suffice to say that the freezer got a little bath in white wine. mmm, slushy. stay tuned for an update on where the cork ended up.

we met our new neighbors for the first time last night. mickey knows neighbor-lady's mom from work and has heard lots about them, so we felt we knew them already. it's kind of weird to think that in a town this size, we'd know something about the neighbors before they moved in. it turns out this coincidence was the tip of the iceberg.

whilst moving in wednesday, neighbor-guy was wearing a university of nebraska t-shirt. when we met them last night, mickey asked him what was up. turns out neighbor-guy is a alum just like mickey and me, (two years younger than me). he lived in the dorms near where mickey and i were RAs, so i'm sure we all crossed paths at one point or another. anyhoo, it's very funny to think we share a property line with a husker. he likes nebraska football a LOT, he says. we won't hold that against him.

in other news, we're gearing up for the last big hurrah (for now) with willy this weekend. he moves to wyo next weekend, so we're having a party at our house to send him on his way. today's his last day at work (WAHOO!). it's a big day too for toots, who's resolving a dental problem that's plagued her for years. she's going to be cracked out on vicodin this weekend, poor thing. but, i'm sure it will make for a kickin' party.

am i jealous of them because it's his last day or because she's on drugs? i will sort through these feelings today.

ice wine

toots and willy brought over a bottle of wine last night to have with dinner (lettuce wraps, cheese platter and salmon pufflets which looked like a tuffet which is something else, but not as tastee as the pufflets). so, we didn't end up drinking the one i had been chilling. in the freezer. which is where it still is as of right now.

question: does wine freeze, and if so, will it thaw out without being ruined?

in other news, our new neighbors moved in last night. i'm excited that it gave me another opportunity to move inventory from my pantry (operation kitchen clean-out continues). as a "welcome to the neighborhood" kind of thing, we're giving them a bag of breakfast fixin's -- homemade chokecherry syrup and pancake mix.

the clean-out is going well. this weekend's going to be a key time for me to re-evaluate what we have left, and decide what i can make with the remaining items. these include: kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, white beans, condensed milk, oatmeal, cereal, hot dog buns, and a crapload of condiments. any ideas for recipes?

highlight of my day

so, is it a sad thing that the highlight of my day has been the sandwich i made for myself at lunch? i mean, don't get me wrong, it was delicious -- sesame seed bread, turkey, ham, provolone, and a walnut pesto spread. but this is the only good thing that happened today. sigh.

mishmash

it's been the busiest week already, and it's only wednesday. what to do?!

last night we went to what was supposed to be a simon and garfunkel showdown between two bands. instead it turned into a hoedown, because one of the simons bailed. was quite a fun time despite his absence. i've not listened to s&g in awhile, and hearing the music again reminded me how cool paul simon's lyrics are. he's such a poet (and a one-man band, if you catch the reference).

the mariachi band is back tonight. it's so very festive outside. not to mention that the weather is gorgeous. i've got the window open and the fresh breeze is blowing in. i'm wearing my camo pants. i'm drinking a lovely cab, or is it shiraz? no matter.... life is pretty good all in all.

office space

this morning i finally set up my office at my house. it's in a small room off the main home office, which is currently used by mickey.

please note the mrs. butterworth's lamp on the table.

this morning i'm working in my space, he in his. and thus, the office jokes begin...

me: hey, can you please print this for me?
mickey: sure, just email it to me. i haven't got the printer networked yet.
me: (send the document via email, along with a lewd suggestion to start an intra-office affair.)

(a few minutes go by.)

mickey: um, yeah, you left this on the printer. (drops the document on my desk.)

(a few more minutes pass.)

me: (yelling into his office.) hey, did you read that article....
mickey: what did you say?
me: we need to get office phones so we don't have to yell.

(a few more minutes pass. the house phone rings.)

me: please hold all my calls.

it's cracking me up. i can't wait to do a staff meeting. assuredly it will be more fun than the ones at the 8-5 job. i think i'm going to go ask mickey to run out and get me a cup of coffee and a scone, just to see what he says.

lame-ass weekend

mickey, willy o'shea and rod cochrane are out today on their MAX bar crawl. they're taking the max from the dancin' bare in no-po, hopping off at each stop between there and goose hollow to have a cocktail at the nearest bar. for those of you who know what no-po is like, they are assuredly going to be shit-canned by the time they get downtown. (there are a whole lotta bars up here, folks.) the saving grace is that willy has to be in decent shape to compete at a ping-pong tournament tonight for the national college for naturopathic medicine. i'm placing bets on the chinese docs who are his opponent. nothing personal.

while they are out carousing and making general meyhem, here i am working on a lovely saturday (it's cloudy, but warm-ish, but who cares, it's SATURDAY for chrissake). it's not all bad, though. i'm enjoying the use of double-d's office today, which rules, i had a rockin' chai tea latte from foxfire, and just heard faith no more's 'epic' for the first time in probably five years. i guess there is a bright side to working.

we had a lovely dinner last night at willy's and toot's house. burritos and margs for cinco de mayo. so good. they do this thing where they combine spicy meat with sweet dates, and it tastes amazing. to top off the meal, toots made a black bean cake for dessert. sounds sorta weird but it was extremely tasty. must get recipe.

hey, where'd my legs go?

i'm the proud new owner of a pair of camouflage capri pants. i've wanted a pair for a couple years now and just yesterday i found the perfect pair. mickey likes to joke about them, of course. having been a military man, he doesn't understand the fashion potential of camo, as he only wears his air force issued pair for yard work. it's very sad, really.

i'm slowly getting my lappy configured with my personal settings, and also uploading all the software i need on it, including my camera software. hopefully this weekend i'll get it loaded, and then i'll post some photos of the camo pants and last weekend's trip to the deschutes. here's a teaser: the trip involved pole dancing, gymnastics, and drunken card games. stay tuned....

the blunder down under

last night i heard that keith richards was in a hospital in auckland, new zealand following not one, but two accidents in neighboring fiji. while on holiday, keith allegedly was in a jet-ski accident. this was immediately after .... wait for it ... he fell out of a coconut tree.

so the fall from the tree didn't phase ol' keith. it takes TWO accidents to take him down. hard core.

rumor has it he has a concussion. doctors on the case cite symptoms of a concussion as tiredness, poor concentration, irritability, dizziness, clumsiness, eye problems and headaches. my question is: how could anyone tell whether this dino-rocker had a concussion or was just being his normal self? regardless, he's causing quite a stir in auckland. sounds like there might have even been a concert in the recovery wing, gauging from reports of several guitars being brought into the ward. kick-ass.