Merry Christmas Everybody

It is 7:30am Christmas morning. William and I are in Ashland, getting ready to go over the pass to Redding to see my family. We were prepared for snow, but the roads are bare and dry, so we didn't need to worry about them in the first place. Ashland is beautiful during the holidays. The whole town is lit up with twinkle lights.
Next year, it would be fun to have both our families meet here for Christmas. The only problem....there is nothing open on Christmas Day. Only the Starbucks is open and the fast food joints. It would be a Christmas dinner of McDonald's and coffee.

Anyway, Merry Christmas to all!

Christmas, Apartment Style

When you live in a 550 square-foot apartment you have to use your space wisely. Our big picture window acts as our mantle for our stockings and displays our Christmas wreath, which we have in lieu of a tree for several reasons: 1. Cats like to climb trees, 2. We only have enough ornaments to decorate a wreath, and 3. WE LIVE IN A 550 SQ. FT. APARTMENT!

The table is a busy place in our apartment. We've given up trying to eat meals on it. As you can see a few members of our family feel as if it is their's.

Meet Ruby

Meet Ruby, the office dog at the place I work. She is a sweet girl, a bit spoiled by all of us at the shop. On this particular day we dressed her up for Christmas. Isn't she cute?

Happy Thanksgiving

Hope everyone had a great Turkey Day!

Views of a Couple

Workin Hard, Hard at Work

I have been neglecting my blog lately. I've been super busy at work and haven't had much to update anybody on. Here is the one exciting thing that has happened. I got myself a new toy. Or, I should say that W and my family got it for me for my birthday. I LOVE IT! And as soon as we get the wifi hooked up in our apartment, I will be blogging all over the place. I have named him (yes, my computer is a male, don't ask me why, he just is) "Scooter the Computer." Here I am using Scooter in a hotel in Ashland.

Look for more from me and Scooter in the coming days.

Coming Soon: Thanksgiving Day greetings, Thanksgiving bake-a-thon, and Christmas Craftiness

Happy Halloween

Funny thing is, this is probably the closest thing to a costume I will have this year. Scary though, right?

Lazy Fall Afternoons

Is there any room for me?

The Great Pumpkin

Every year since W and I met (that's four long, glorious years for those of you that are counting), we have visited Lone Pine Farm in October. Our first year together, we actually got a good-sized pumpkin and carved it. Since then, we have continued to purchase the pumpkin, but have foregone the carving part. This year, I had a coupon for a free pumpkin from another farm down the way, so we got our pumpkin from there.

Here is our appropriately apartment-sized pumpkin for this year.

At Lone Pine Farm they have goats and ponies and alpacas to look at and feed. We actually didn't get too close to the animals this year. Since W had that weird asthma attack after all the animals at the county fair, we were leary of getting too close to them...

Here are some goats that were begging to be fed.

It was a beautiful fall day. A perfect day to go to the farm. I'm glad we went, cause it started to rain the very next day and isn't supposed to stop for a week...ah, Oregon...

Here are some big piles of pumpkins from our outing.

Proof Postitive that Mustaches are Evil...

Need I say more?

Let's Get Political

So, W and I have become letter to the editor writers. Yes, we are now old enough to write letters to the editor complaining about noisy weed-whackers, traffic, and those darn kids today. No, we are just trying to get people to support the downtown Eugene revitalization measure on the ballot next month. Will had a letter in the Eugene Weekly a couple of weeks ago. Here is a letter I composed to the Eugene Weekly. We'll find out tomorrow whether it got published or not.

I’m just curious. How many of you so opposed to revitalizing downtown actually work, live, or play there on a regular basis? My husband and I live and play, and someday hope to work in downtown Eugene. We love Eugene. We especially love downtown Eugene. We’ve lived downtown going on 5 years now. We shop, play, or eat in downtown as much as we possibly can. We love our little apartment, less than a five-minute walk from the river and numerous parks. We love being next to world-class restaurants and lovely shops. We love being able to buy organic produce and attend Saturday Market every weekend. We love not having to drive a car, but when we do we love being able to park in the convenient city parking. We love the arts and cultural opportunities. We love being close to government and public services.
We also “love” watching the weeds grow in the pit next to the Center Court building in the spring and the rainwater fill up the pit where the Sears building used to be in the winter. As we walk by the empty buildings we imagine the condos and apartments above new storefronts that we COULD be living and working and shopping in, if they only existed. We imagine being able to raise our children in the downtown, small foot-print, community oriented lifestyle we want to give them—a little piece of city nestled in the middle of the natural wonder that is the Willamette Valley—without having to move to Portland like so many of our 30-something, professional friends have done. The good things about downtown Eugene will not disappear with revitalization, because the people that make Eugene so amazing will want to stay and live and work and play there.

The Last Fling of the Summer

With the first day of fall just around the corner, W and I set out on our last big trip of the summer. I had given my darling husband Mariner's tickets for his birthday way back in July, and we decided to make a weekend trip out of it. We had ventured to Seattle back in April to see Morrissey in concert and had so much fun we wanted to return and explore this great city some more.

W and I as we set out on our journey in our trusty little car, Speedy.

W enjoying a sandwich I packed for lunch on the way to Seattle. We didn't know where to stop to eat our picnic, so we took an exit for a state park in Washington. The picnic area turned out to be a little sketchy area by a river under the freeway. We quickly ate our lunch and laughed about how it was something our parents would have done.

The Seattle skyline is impressive.

Saturday night was warm and the sun came out just as it was setting (typical). We walked around the waterfront.

The next morning was cool and drizzly. Nothing a big cup of hot Seattle coffee couldn't overcome.

The flowers at Pike's Market were beyond gorgeous.

We decided to walk to the Stadium from Pike's Market. It looks really far, but it didn't take us very long, and we got to walk through Pioneer Square and some really neat parts of town along the way. We got there in record time.

I had never been to a professional sports facility. Very impressive and expensive.

While at the game I pitched in and caught a ball out in left field.
Ichiro was quite appreciative.

The next morning we tried to catch the monorail over to Seattle Center to go to the Space Needle and a record store the W is in love with. Alas, the elusive monorail was having electrical difficulties, so we decided to scrap the Space Needle and head home to our kitties (who didn't seem to miss us much when we finally did get there). It was a fun trip, but we were happy to get home in the end.

Random Summer Activities

These events happened earlier this summer, but I thought I would share them with you now.
In July (I think), we took a little day trip to the coast.

Here W pondered the glorious power of the ocean and did his best Morrissey pose.

I let my hair down!

I made W try on my hat.

In August we made our annual trip to Ashland with my in-laws. We always look forward to this trip. We get to spend time with W's Mom and Max, and we get to see fabulous plays and eat delish food. This time we took a lengthy walk in Lithia Park and explored some of the walking trails along the creek.

W and my lovely Mom-in-law.

Ain't I cute?

In the park we happened upon two does and their three babies. They seemed quite tame and were only mildly afraid of all the people taking pictures of them.

Celebrate Good Times, Eugene Style

The Eugene Celebration has come and gone again this year and I forgot to bring my camera...Alas, it was much fun.


W and I headed out Friday night to catch a band called the Brunettes. They were a cute band of Kiwis (from New Zealand) in which the two lead singers were husband and wife. They sang cute songs about love and falling in love. I just know this is W's secret desire for us--too bad I can't sing...or am from New Zealand...

On Saturday I took in the Parade with several of our friends who have kids. It was so much more fun to watch the crazy floats and people from the innocent eyes of one-, four-, and seven-year-olds. The parade is always fun.

On Saturday night W and I hit downtown again and had dinner at Steelhead (with our dear friend Becky) and then drinks at our favorite new watering hole, Davis'. At the bar we met an Irish fellow who was traveling through the US in a van and just happened to break down in Eugene during the Celebration. We have a hilarious story involving a completely drunk middle age couple accosting the Irish fellow and asking him to "say something in Irish." It really needs to be told in person, so next time you see us, ask us about it...

On Sunday, we grabbed some lunch and took in the community and craft booths and watched the beginning of the pet parade. The pet parade is mostly dogs, but there was a rat and a handful of birds to represent other species. No cats. I think that goes without saying.




All in all it was a great celebration. Until next year, when I promise I will take pictures.

When Pigs Race...

In a previous post I mentioned that one of our activities this summer was going to the Lane County Fair. We really only go to the fair to look at the animals. I can't go on any of the rides because of my severe motion sickness, and let's face it, the entertainment at the county fair is usually a few generations older than us 30 somethings--although last year Loverboy was at the fair and that was getting a little too close to being of my era. You know you are old when the bands of your youth are playing the county fair....

Anyway, we had a great time looking at all the cool animals.




The funniest thing at the fair, as far as animals are concerned, was the Great Alaskan Pig Races. This was a very contrived show of little piglets racing around a little track and jumping over little hurdles.



The funniest thing about it wasn't really the pigs--although they were really cute. No, the funniest thing was the carny family that ran the show. The emcee seemed to be the oldest son, while the two younger boys hearded the pigs in and out of the racing stalls and gave them cookies as incentive. We didn't see the parents, but I'm sure they were there behind the scenes somewhere or over in the gift area where you could purchase pig racing mechandise. All in all they put on a good show.

Finally we briefly looked at some of the art work and the vegetable and farm displays. I think I've decided to enter something for next years fair. The needlework section of the crafts was sorely lacking. I would love to say that I won first place in something at the county fair. Since I don't have a garden to grow a huge cucumber, I think I'll make some kind of tapestry or maybe bake a pie...

Chicken Romances

I have been collecting lots of embroidery transfer patterns lately. Here are two that I recently picked up. They are a variation on a pattern i already have called Chicken Romance. See here for great examples of the original patterns from this fantastic embroidery Blog:
http://mytransfers.blogspot.com/2007/05/chicken-romance.html

It is I Captain Vegetable!

I have a problem, a vegetable problem. We live in a community that is devoted to locally grown produce, farm stands, and farmer's markets. The Lane County Farmer's Market happens three times a week during the summer, and we subscribe to a once-a-week CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box. This all adds up to lots of vegetables and fruit in our home.



Here is one of our typical CSA boxes. There are usually about 8-10 different items each week. It is about enough to feed a family of 4 for the week, so we share it with our dear friends.

I supplement our box with what I buy at the Farmer's Market each week. I get a little vegetable drunk at the Farmer's Market. Everything is so pretty and colorful. I get dizzy and start buying everything.




And the fruit, my God, the FRUIT! I can't get enough of the berries and melons and peaches.

Saturday Market in particular is great fun. In addition to the vegetables, there are crafts and food and music and alot of both young and aging hippies. I like to get there early before the crowds though.

All in all, summer and fall in Eugene are great for veggie lovers.

Summer Time is the Best Time...in Oregon

One best kept secrets about the Northwest is that it really doesn't rain as much as people think it does, and the summer and fall weather is to die for. Ok, now that I've let the cat-out-of-the-bag everyone is going to want to move here. Well, everyone already IS moving here, so i think i can safely share with you the joys of our Oregon summer this year.

So far, W and I have have a really busy summer. We've had lots of family and friend events and a nice handful of small weekend trips to amuse ourselves with.


We met this little guy at the Hight Desert Museum in Bend. He's a little hard to see until you look closer. We've been to this museum twice in the last four years, and our favorite part is always the animals and outdoor exhibits.


Bend used to be a cool mix of blue collar cowboys and outdoor types, but now, with the influx of a lot of So. Cal. money and people it feels very touristy and at times fake. But it is fun to walk around the downtown and look at the fancy shops, and the parks around the Deschutes River are great.


We headed back up to the Bend area later in July when W's sister and her family came up from San Diego to visit. W's mom has a "cabin" in Sisters, Oregon--another kinda weird touristy town, but in a very deliberate Old West theme. The view of the Cascades makes up for its cheesyness


It is very relaxing there. I think this look on W's face says it all.




Near Sisters is the Metolius River. It is gorgeous to say the least. We visited a fish hatchery there. It sounds boring, but it is really fun to see all the fish, especially the little frys.


Here we are again out in the great outdoors at Shalalie Falls.

Next on our summer agenda, the Oregon coast, the Lane County fair, our yearly trip to Ashland for culture, the Eugene Celebration, and a weekend in Seattle.