Catch thinks he's a parrot...and other things about this week

Catch thinks he's a parrot-he climbs up onto your shoulder and sits there while you go about your morning routine. For me there's the added benefit of having my ponytail batted around. He's so light and funny perched up there-I just hope the other cats don't get any ideas, Quasi might actually bowl me over if he leaped from the counter top on to my shoulder.

Or perhaps a penguin...the fridge is exciting and mysterious to all of the cats, but Catch doesn't back away when the door shuts, he jumps right in. Seconds later you may reopen the door to find him nestled among the beers at the back of the fridge and you have to drag him out.

In other news the 40 hour work week is kicking my ass. The adjustment between it and my former life has not yet occurred. Time goes by with a rapidity I cannot fathom because I find myself pleasantly and continuously busy. But when I get home, I'm exhausted. Joe's been pretty good about not making fun of me when I want to fall asleep after dinner-especially considering his 10 hour day. I made it until 10pm last night :) I might be doubly exhausted next week because I'm going to try biking. Well half way that is. I was planning on using the school shuttle as I did during spring term, but they've cancelled that route for fall term-Andy says the official line is "because of the construction," but I think they're secretly thwarting my plans on purpose! In any event, I can still take the Max and then bike from the last stop up to work and then bike all the way home weather and gumption permitting. I was just hoping for a nice free ride and now I'll be paying for the Max, but I got a sweet discount for being a PSU student so my complaining ends thus.

Otherwise I'm reading a few books slouching around and enjoying the weekends. Last weekend we finally officially finished the picnic table by adding the strips to the side and staining and sealing them. We also planted some fall/late season veggies-turnips, kale, mustard greens and chard. I'm anxious to try for garlic again, but our tomatoes and peppers are still going strong so I'll leave them until they give up. Meanwhile, fall is sneaking up on us...

The (no) labor day weekend

So after many otherwise promised away weekends...finally Joe got a camping trip. We're trying out our 'hiking in' skills, since we're planning at least one more of those before the year is out and on a substantially harder trail. We restricted ourselves to cold foods when planning at the grocery store-since that's how we'll be hiking our trail in December. And Saturday morning we packed up the goods, including tent, thermarest pads (a blessing), a change of clothes and enough water to float home on and set out early in our new hiking boots (sexy sexy)--my pack weighed about 32 pounds and Joe's went up to 36 before causing our food scale to blink in error.

Even though we were only doing 7.5 miles in, we wanted to get an early start for cooler temps and because of the popularity of the trail. We hit the trail head around 9am, but parked further back at the "fewer break-ins" area and started our journey about a 3/4 mile from the trail head. I'm quite glad we had that moment because we saw this guy on our way in, which was pretty cool.Although we've hiked this trail a few times now, we've never gone past the high bridge-primarily because in our hiking guide it says this is trails end. The last time we hiked it we asked a few people who were carrying overnight gear where they might be headed and found out just how much more the trail extends. Our original and ambitious plan had been to hike up to Wahtum Lake, however, further inspection showed that this area was a popular drive in location, so we opted to stop before reaching that point at the creatively named 7.5 mile camp. The trail, as it extends past our original stopping point only grows more interesting, with curious rock outcroppings, rockfall and more waterfalls, the most incredible of which was Tunnel Falls, just a mile shy of our stopping point. The tunnel that was created to pass the falls was dripping with runoff and provided a respite from the heat. Just lovely.

We camped in an unmarked spot (rebels that we are) just before the less attractive 7.5 mile camp (we turned back after seeing it's offerings). The site we chose had access to the creek and we dipped our hot feet in the freezing (so cold it burns) water and then set up camp. We dined on bread and cheese and a bottle of Windy Point Red (acquired on my birthday wine touring extravaganza) and followed it with our one goofy ration of freeze dried ice cream sandwiches (I highly recommend them-artificial flavor and all). Most of our evening was spent creek side eating and playing chess with a small magnetic chessboard that I thought was worth the weight. The part of the forest that we camped in was burned in the early 1900's and was mostly new growth, we camped next to two gigantic trees that in stepping back and observing, Joe noticed were old growth and remnants of the fire.

Our early arrival meant a lot of time to kill, so we got in a few games of chess and then back in the tent some crouched rummy. Later, laying in our bags looking up we saw a large bug dragging a spider away to eat, through some encouraged flicking from the inside of the tent we persuaded it to not dine on our rooftop.

We were lulled to sleep by the creek running over its rocky bed and while not having had the benefit of a full nights sleep, given the varying comfort of tent sleeping, we didn't rise until 8:30am on Sunday.

The return hike was spent in isolation for the first couple of hours and then surged to parade/crowd traffic in the last one. Eagle Creek was packed to the gills, with cars parked on every available surface; we should have sold our space (in the shade and everything). People were stalking us from the moment we stepped onto the asphalt. When we reached the car I snaked out of my boots slowly and into my sandals as people salivated over our spot-I fully expected to see bruises on my hips and shoulders from where the weight of my pack was, but there were none (they still smart but have yet to show any of the glories of black and blue they deserve). Eventually, we promised our spot away to a very smiley family and glided from the scene-hot, tired and (deliriously) happy.

The weekend itself left me with a great grin on my face...and had I not wanted to get home and see the kids and take a shower I might have been tempted out to Hood River for some Double Mountain Brew (a pint of their chipotle...oh wait, stout, er...Porter)...eh, next time.

Eclipsed snoozing

Did you see the lunar eclipse this morning? I had read about it in the paper and told Joe that it would be happening on his way to work this morning-so I was gently roused out of bed around 4:30am and scuffled in my socks out to the driveway to gaze up at the mostly eclipsed moon. It was the first lunar eclipse I can remember seeing, pretty cool.

Something old, something new...

Part I

I had my last day at the bookstore on Friday...I finished my shift and crept through the door without a backward glance. So no more bookstore banter. The previous Thursday I interviewed and was offered a position in a law firm training to be a paralegal. It will be a nice chance to use the gray matter for more than the alphabet song. Yeah! The joy of the new job is doubled by the fact that the possibility of having it was created by a good friend and that I will get to work along side her once I have a handle on what I'm doing (or slightly before as she likes to joke...er I hope).

Part II

Some three years after I first met Jessica and slightly a year since I was awoken by the phone ringing with Chris exuberantly explaining that he had just proposed, Chris and Jess were married last weekend in a beautiful ceremony up at Semiahmoo. It was an absolutely incredible experience to be at their side as they exchanged vows, half a lifetime of memories flooding my brain as my dearest friend expressed his overwhelming love to another of my friends. At the reception I gave a slightly muddled version of a speech I had long prepared...in any event here's to Toph and Jess and to friendships that last a lifetime.

Part III

Toph didn't "pretend" to forget my birthday this year, but he and Jess certainly outdid themselves, rolling my birthday and groomsman gift into one adorable, fluffy and heartwarming package. We've decided to call him Catch...like the little demon he is. His energy is unmatched (despite the calmness in the photo) and the pleasure of having a kitten in the house is shared with us by Quasi alone, although I imagine after a few years, Risa will come around. :)

Pedaling away...

This was our first weekend home without plans....

So we quickly ‘planned’ to hang out with out of towners’ on Saturday and participate in the P-town bridge pedal on Sunday. Hanging out with good friends and good food on Saturday was only marred by having to leave prematurely to work an "overnight" shift-on a side note, I love being in biking/walking distance of the aforementioned. :)

The stupidity of accepting this extra evening shift was magnified by the alarm this morning and knowing that I was committed to a 25 mile bike ride, starting at 7:30am. Not wanting to rely on the Max to get us downtown to the start line we opted for the downhill into town and to our respective start lines (note to self, barreling down Greeley is as good as a cold shower if you need to wake up). I started to feel a tickle of anticipation when we approached the top of Greeley and found that it was already closed to traffic at 6:45am and then (with the permission of the gatekeeper) I went flying down the hill at all possible speed. Joe and I got one extra bridge in to arrive and then split off at the respective start lines (Joe opted for the 10 bridge which was over 30 miles and I took the 8 bridge offering 24 miles- we figured given our different levels of skill this would work out to get us to the finish around the same time.

So wearing John’s jersey for luck, I took off around 7:45 with a horde of other 8 bridge hopefuls and meandered through the closed off streets of downtown trying to see where I could break out of the pack. I tooled around to an excellent set of music predetermined by myself for just this occasion, so, soon after setting off at a quiet 10 to 12 miles an hour I was zipping along to Zebrahead over the first of my 8 bridges. There was a few minute delay at the second bridge as we merged into a smaller streamlined biking cohort over the jelly mass we had been on the first bridge and I used the opportunity to remove my cold resistant gear-- mainly some thigh high leggings that the Freed's gifted a while back and which have been lovely for the both of us on those colder days. Pretty much after that it was smooth sailing.

With the delay at bridge two, barely 8 miles and an hour already down, I smiled benignly and chugged along fueled solely by my ipod and the serving of oatmeal that Joe bestowed upon my sleepy haze an hour or so prior.... And then they let us loose on the Marquam Bridge, holy shit, if you ever want to get my attention just set me loose on a freeway with my bicycle. How fucking cool is it to have the entirety of a mile or so stretch of I-5 North out of Downtown available for you to bike on...and across the Willamette River besides. I achieved my top speed of 32.5 pressed against my handlebars with streaming eyes and elation that cannot possibly be matched. Rejuvenated I headed through the remainder of the trail with great enthusiasm and more energy than I thought I would muster after my late night and rather careless sleeping.

I was incredibly impressed with the enormous amount of volunteers that were waiting to direct us through the many twists and turns of the route and with the amount of streets that were closed or mostly given over to the bicyclists. Having the bridges to ourselves was more than amazing ...it should be noted that hitherto at least half of these bridges were mostly ‘un-crossable’ on a bike (at least the way that we were able to cross them today). For instance the steel bridge is generally crossed at river level below car traffic, however, today; volunteers had laid plywood over the steel girded vehicle passage to allow for a fret-free crossing, I-5 was open to us, and I-405. As Freed pointed out from his first recommendation that we register for this opportunity, ‘the top level of the Freemont Bridge (I-405, which I approached in sleazy truck commercial style blaring “Wicked Garden”) is open to bicyclists only,’ that’s reason enough. I was spectacularly amazed that people crowded 5 lane highways with their bikes, stopping and staring or having a bite and sip, forgetting that some of us were still passing through…there were live bands and snacks and drinks at the major bridges and I was hard pressed to get through without having to dismount. I was less amazed by the variety of bicyclists (tandem, unicycles, recumbent) because of the tales of STP I heard, I wasn’t, however, prepared for the unpredictability of the child cyclists though. They meandered about without any thought of who/what was approaching. I have learned, simply by riding with Joe, the importance of being predictable as a bicyclist. I did not realize how conscientious I had become of the blind spots, pointing to abstract objects that line the path, keeping speed, announcing passes, until I encountered these miniature bikers. With energy levels significantly higher than mine, they were still all over the place… I realized that it takes several shouts of “on your left” to a half-sized cyclist to gain recognition and then they’ll move left thinking it’s a command rather than a notice…hmmmm

Where are my stunning photos of this rare opportunity? They are simply snapshots of the mind for this adventure was sat out by our digi which will more than likely need to be replaced before the week is out. I felt a little naked without it, but then realized that even trying to capture the moment within it would not have done it justice. The barely risen sun shooting beams through the uplifting clouds, the darkened pyramided shadow of Mt Hood looming at each crossing, the slight dribbles of rain bringing splashes of relief on the longest straightaway of the day, the jocular and friendly manner of my fellow riders, the sense of accomplishment and elation that I held as I crossed my first official finish line…the air rent with sweat and jubilation.

On the road again

I got back on my bike for a 20 mile jaunt on parts of the 40 mile trail on Monday, Joe had the day off so we had a quick lunch when I got home and then headed towards the Eastbank esplanade. It was my first time going down the Greeley hill and I was disappointed to have only achieved a top coasting speed of 27- it was in all other aspects exhilarating, especially with the knowledge that I wasn't riding back up it. We took the esplanade to the springwater corridor trail and while on this nice stretch I decided to try my hand at dragging and Joe sensing this tried to keep his speed and movement predictable...so now I understand what all the fuss is about. We crossed the river and coursed back on the other side using the bottom of the steel bridge (my first time) to cross back, then taking my favored route home, the flatter Williams St. It was a chillier sort of day and perfect for riding, the 20 miles was just about right and the only aches and pains a couple of days later are from my upper back and neck-which is not wholly unsurprising, but I would have expected my legs and knees to hurt instead. Later that evening, we kicked back with an unconventional black& tan (tribute to our last weekend in the 'ham) and had dinner outside.

In other news our faithful digi cam seems to have cracked up a bit-taking purple stripe photos with no evidence of the actual image underneath. We're taking it in to our friendly expert this week, but I'm really not prepared to part with it, it better just be faking it.

Beervana

I now have two OBF's under my belt and the difference in my ability to maneuver though lines and to have a healthy buzz in between this year and last year was akin to being jumped ahead from Kindergarten to High School. We arrived via light rail and just about the time that the taps opened for business - claimed a couple of umbrella tables (sweet!) and had at least two samples under our belts before most others had even figured out what was going on.
I managed to taste everything I wanted to and to intersperse it with some local eats (I think the Horn of Africa will soon be a permanent fixture at OBF for me) the most notable beers being:

• Ninkasi's 'Believer' - double Red,
• 4+'s Wildfire - Organic Extra pale,
• Russian River's Pliny the Elder (again) - double IPA
• HUB's Organic IPA - I cannot wait for this Brewery to open for business
  

All in all it was good times with a good group-we had a pretty good show of people at our house pre and post festival and all beer drinking aside, is it okay that my proudest moment was this?:

On a side note, I think It's finally dawned on me that we are adults, really really. Something about getting together with people that you've known for about ten years has a tendency to trespass time. This past weekend though, our age and habits showed through as we were all up either by way of internal alarm clock, little critters or toddlers by 7am'ish.

A big thanks to everyone who came down to hang out with us :) Here's to next year!

Seven & Seven

So, this week I finished two series books; both I had no strong interest in reading when I picked up the first book of the series on loan and both completely took me in, capturing my heart and my imagination. I finished Harry Potter on Saturday and the Dark Tower on Monday. I'm glad all seven Dark Tower books were out when I took the series up (I imagine those who started it in the '70's are wishing they had waited too...since the final book was released in 2003)--there were five Harry's out when I gave Sorcerer's Stone a whirl and after devouring the rest, it became an exercise in 'forced' patience to wait for the continuation of the story. Having read the Harry Potter series more than once, reading each book back to back, I see them in the same light as Lord of the Rings, just one long story, so I was definitely anxious for the final chapters. I loved the endings of both of the series and now that they are done I can read them easily again and again without any anxiousness. Although I probably won't revisit the Dark Tower for awhile. I am incredibly thankful for both series-- in keeping up the fight of good and evil and in keeping generations eagerly reading. And most of all for helping me to lose myself whenever I please.

I've got a loverly bunch of coconuts...diddly dee

...well not really, but if I did, they'd be as beautiful as these. My only complaint is that they haven't had enough time to really grow...definitely starting inside next year.






















...and finally I've reclaimed the back porch, isn't it splendid? It took four giant piles of sawdust and the assisted suicide of the kitchen broom, but we had our first proper BBQ'd meal on the back porch last evening. I'm not sure we really needed to heat up the back yard the extra degrees that we did through lighting the fire to cook the meal, but it was well worth the additional sweat. And...due to the abundance of yumminess at the Saturday market, my new favorite BBQ item is artichokes- we've done three now in our backyard fire pit (alongside the other veggies in out basket) and had them with an adobe chili and mayo dipping sauce I put together...scrumptious. Ah, summer.

Bookstore Banter

A customer that I helped to find a travel guide today had some "friendly" advice for me..."always go with Lonely Planet. Every other guide is just in the corporate back pocket, all about the money...especially those Frodo's guides."

heh heh, Frodo guides...I wish.

Why wasn't Eve tempted with berries?

We made our first of (hopefully) many trips out to Sauvie Island for raspberries and blueberries this past week. Glorious. What didn't make it into our tummies ended up being about 6 lbs of raspberries and 1 lb of blueberries ($10.50)...and to quote Joe..."we'll be heading back for more soon" Our freezer will definitely be full this year. Blueberry pancakes, blueberry pie, raspberry jam, raspberry corn muffins, raspberry scones etcetera, etcetera... and in a couple of weeks the blackberries and marionberries will be ready to pick too....mmmmm cobbler.

Done and DONE.

The picnic table is finished.
Er...well, mostly. The construction is complete, but the finishing is not. We completed construction yesterday and celebrated by having a our first BBQ'd meal (very carefully) on the unfinished surface.
This morning we stained every surface--we chose a fairly dark stain hoping that it will weather nicely over the years. Going by the instructions on our stain we're meant to give it a full two days of drying before oiling or sealing. So in a few days we'll apply a coat of poly-urethane and then give it a few more days. So our deadline of OBF is certainly met.

Yeah I'm a llama again!

In an unprecendented return to the frontal lobe, I am now the Environmental Economics Research Assistant at the OEC --it's just a part time internship, but I'll be developing the material for a presentation on the business case for environmental sustainability. "Oh the thinks you can think!"

Silver bells and Cockleshells

So, what seems like just a bit ago, I went outside to take pictures of the garden to update the blog action and see how things were growing and now everything looks completely different. It's been 3 weeks and everything is going crazy in comparison. I took a photo of our first blooming poppy...now there's dozens. So no proper photo updates of the garden today.
We've been picking off the snap peas as they mature, one at a time, not much to really present even as a snack, but they're delicious all the same. Note to self...lots more snap peas next year. Lots. The strawberries are going about the same rate as the peas. We each got one strawberry last weekend :) However, some things are matured and going strong; we finally had the opportunity to snip some of our fresh herbs this week when we made some cannelloni and marinara sauce for our anniversary dinner on mid-summer's eve. The kitchen smelled heavenly.

Everything else out there is just green and beautiful and growing. I'm anxious to see how things go with the squashes...we planted the poppies with the pumpkins and have many rose bushes near the summer squash so I'm hoping that pollination won't be a problem.
As the seasons pass in our yard we've come to realize that the previous occupants left us some lovely and well established plants. This seasons surprises are putting of gorgeous flowers and equally fabulous smells. We have honeysuckle right at our doorstep...just fantastic. The fruit trees are already starting to drop unsuccessful offspring in the backyard and things are beginning to look as they must have when we moved in last July.

...Meanwhile, I'm really enjoying the long days (or at least the idea of them) and waking up with the light. There's something infinitely more exciting about a sunny day waiting outside that makes me forgo extra snoozing. Although, we missed the late sunset on the Solstice, sleeping through it...because we're old and have to get up earlier than everyone else.

We have tried to use the light and warm days well...the picnic table is coming along with one bench complete. The slow going is in part based on having other commitments or demands on our time (like work or eating or sleeping) and also in the fact that the legs of the benches and the table itself are notched so that they fit together, this has required a lot of effort on Joe's part (since our tools are limited). He's been cutting these wedges and then chiseling them out (as is directed by the schematic). It's tough work though.

We spent the better part of Monday figuring our way around the first bench. I think that bench number two will come easier having learned from bench number one. So, just the table proper and some finish sanding, staining and sealing and we'll be ready for outdoor dining! I can't wait. I've just been popping out there to sit on the bench, marvelling at it while enjoying a beer.

We have had opportunity to squeeze in some hikes too... my only complaint on the most recent one was the flies (hence the headdress) this particular hike offered the best view of Mt. Adams that I'd had yet (until the following weekend, when heading to the Yakima Valley), it was well worth dragging the SLR up with us. Hopefully the pictures will turn out.

This weekend, begins a trend where we now have something marked on the calendar for each weekend until the end of August.


...ah summer.

Cat & Mouse

I swear I didn't set this up...

The fruit identity crisis...

Beer and cake in the backyard the other night somehow spurred a conversation about foods and food markets (and I'm almost sure it wasn't me that steered the conversation there :) ) and then to fruit imports. We were discussing how tomatoes are picked before they are ripe in some production areas in Mexico and then stored and artificially ripened via ethylene gas before they arrive in the U.S. (actually I looked into it further today and found a statistic that said 80 percent of fresh tomatoes on the market are ripened with ethylene). Doing some reading today for a paper I'm working on I learned that many bananas are also given this treatment-in fact most bananas around the world are selectively bred to not ripen on their own. On a side note, it is my understanding that the gassing of fruit is done in a closed environment (i.e.: no exposure to humans/animals), however, it should be noted that ethylene is hazardous to humans -depending on amount of exposure (and oxygen levels). But you know, it's okay to use on our food, right?

Also, that evening we spied the oh so funny Jelly Belly energizing "Sport Beans" first ingredient sugar, second ingredient corn syrup...and natural fruit flavor. ah ha! ah ha!

I can see Mount St. Helens from my roof...

...and other things about this week.

For one, it has been positively fabulous weather, so as expected we've spent as much of it in the sun as possible, even going so far as chasing it up the side of our house and hanging out on the roof for a beer this past Monday.

However, most of our outside time was spent on the ground, working on the picnic table, hanging out in the garden and out on the gorge a bit. I had a field assignment for one of my classes and had to document a mass wasting event (i.e.: rockfall, mudslides etc.) what better excuse to take leave of the bike wheels this past weekend and go for a hike. It was especially exciting because we got to use our new forest pass and I got to see Eagle Creek without ice for the first time. It was a little different feeling some school pressure while hiking...I started rating rockfalls and trying to decide which one was cool enough to be photographed and featured as the required picture for my field report...nerd...I know, I know. I got over it eventually.

Otherwise, we've been sanding...a lot. I spent the majority of the weekend with the belt sander, the facial equivalent of a jock strap and the door that will be the table top for our soon to be picnic table. Joe started things off by useing a scraper to get the bulk of the paint off and then I took over--this worked extremly well onthe back side of the door. We seem to have a knack for making things more difficult for ourselves. The plans we have used as a base says something to the effect of...buy some 2x4's and bolt them together like so. But noooooo, we have to be "creative" let's get a door and some 2x6's and really fuck with ourselves, eh?! Actually, it has been very cool, but as always, has been a greater drain on time than we expected. We figured that sanding the door was going to be a challenge; the back side of the door (which will be the underside of the table top) went quite smoothly and without major error. The front (and more interesting) side of the door made up for that apparent ease by having another layer of some waxy substance that caused me to go through twice as many sanding belts. We also made the final cuts on the door and began to cut up the 2x6's for the benches. It's harder work than anticipated, but I'm just really looking forward to being able to bring dinner outside and not have to eat it off my lap. Also, it'll be nice to have when people come over, so hopefully it'll be ready before the next big group gathering (cross your fingers for OBF). I'll certainly have some more time on my hands as the quarter is ending. But here's a look at this weeks 'progress.'

We did have a bit of biking on Tuesday, checking out the local rose garden which is in full bloom and is positively intoxicating. After stopping to, er...smell the roses, we made some wide loops in the residential areas around it, just getting to know the neighborhood a bit more and admiring other peoples gardens etc.

And there were some sublime moments, like this one. We finally found a place to hang the hammock we acquired in Thailand. I have a feeling I'll be hanging out here quite a bit this coming summer...that is until the apples start dropping. For now it's a great place to spy on the goldfish and enjoy a book.

DIY revisted

While in Seattle over Cinco de Mayo we were finally able to gift our finished wine rack. It actually turned out quite well (I used some plastic wood to fill in the major scratch I gave it), the stain took to the wood nicely and the sanding, cutting, drilling and er...screwing we had done since my last post all went swimmingly. We spent two more afternoons drilling, sanding and staining and then let everything sit and dry in the shed for a few days. That just left screwing in the dowels, which took very little time and then some spot finishes and tying on a birthday bow. We finished just in time for Pat's birthday.

Now on to the summer 2007 project-to build a picnic table....

We started with a schematic from popular mechanics and then based on their construction changed it slightly to accommodate our imagined table. We took a trip to the rebuilding center which has the most enjoyable hodgepodge of building materials I have ever seen. When you approach the building from the parking lot you are met by a room that is half filled with doors...before we even made it to the scrap lumber Joe was envisioning a door table top. So we hung out with the doors for awhile trying to find one that struck us. The problem with trying to build a table out of a door (besides the fact that it's purpose is to be a DOOR), is all the design elements and differing types, closet doors, 1-panel doors, 2-panel doors, square panel doors (just imagine putting your plate on that type of surface). We did find a single panel door that might have done well, but the integrity of the main panel was questionable and there was no way it was going to fit in the trunk of the car. So we abandoned the doors to check out the lumber and eventually went home empty handed.

But a couple of weeks ago we went back determined (and with a bag of rope) and found a door which also did not fit in the trunk of the car, but looked very stylish riding on the roof, with every piece of rope we own tying it down. I imagine it was a source of great amusement to lookers on as we tied the door to the roof and then shimmied into our seats via the front windows. But we now have a very heavy and very cool door. Recently we went out to a local lumber yard and purchased some 2x6's for the benches and table supports (Douglas Fir)...which did fit in the trunk. And, we also bought some 'ginormous' bolts and screws which promise to hold the whole thing together.

Since it has been so nice we pulled out the door and I tried my patience sanding it for a little while. After a bit of rough sanding I realized out little sander was not going to get the job done anytime this decade and later that day I was helpfully reminded of the dangers of lead in paint by Andy, which means we need to add a respirator and a belt sander to our supply list. Luckily Joe has two respirators for work and his mom has two belt sanders. So we'll have to put off working on the table until we can make a trip up to Seattle to acquire the sander. Though, going to Seattle will afford us the opportunity to stop in at the Environmental Home Center to get some environmentally friendly stain and sealer to use on the table as well.

Weekends away!

I must start by saying we have had just gorgeous weather for the past week or so...sandal weather. My feet are free, once again, for the season. It has been a bit of time since my last update and I'd like to say it's because I'm so overwhelmingly busy, but that can't be right...although I'm beginning to understand how other couples in our cohort have every weekend until 2009 booked, as we've spent the last month's weekends either out of town or 'busy.'

Our first weekend out of town was to Washington for a biking loop that took a group of nine of us by bike (and two in our super support vehicle) from north of Seattle to the northern part of the peninsula and back around by way of Whidbey Island (partially by ferries-3 to be exact). We spent a lovely and relaxing Cinco de Mayo sipping margaritas by the fire and soaking our sore muscles in the hot tub after our first day of riding. The Peninsula offered beautiful terrain, tainted perhaps only by the uphills, which had me staring at the asphalt, so as to not watch the peak of the hill not getting any closer. The second day we had some rain and more hills. By the time we were entering recognizable territory I was feeling emotionally and physically drained. So I stopped. I had clocked 86 miles over two days. Some of our group went on about 10 more miles, I however, had a beer. It's fun to watch the miles accumulate but my bike computer also keeps track of statistics besides distance which can be both helpful and damning; my average speed for the entire trip was 14.6 mph (no doubt severely skewed by the high speed of 37.8 mph -on our longest downhill and the 3.5 mph I achieved while walking my bike up two of the more severe hills). All in all it was both challenging and fun with the low points being (1) realizing I was always the furthest behind, (2) my right knee hurting through half of day 1 and all of day 2; and the high points being (1) hanging out with my friends (er...watching them streak by me), (2) riding 86 miles in one go.

This past weekend we popped out to Chicago to be at the wedding of two of our good friends from DC. It was a bit of a whirlwind tour with my memory being dominated by our time on public transportation (or trying to find it...it's underground you see...). Actually, we were feeling pretty happy about our use of public transportation this weekend. We walked out our front door and about a mile to the light rail and between two trains arrived at the airport in about 45 minutes. Upon arriving in Chicago we hopped the "ell" and made many attempts to arrive at the station we had predetermined to be the one closest to the hostel we were staying at, but by some awful design of rail construction work were forced to make other plans, forgoing the transfer between trains in favor of a taxi (and instead of stopping at the hostel first, going straight to the dual bachelor and bachelorette party in downtown). The hostel we stayed at was about a mile from the wedding spot which was on the periphery of the Lincoln Park Zoo (where we spent most of the following day). I won't go into great detail about how we spent our time (meerkats and marmosets, oh my), but I will note that we were pathetically "Pacific Northwesters" when we set out for a light breakfast and coffee the next day. We bypassed two major coffee chains looking for something local. Some 7 or 8 blocks past the second one I mentioned that there may not be as strong of coffee tradition here...but we did, eventually, find a nice local cafe, which also served coffee.