Far From the Pahk

Thank You Santa!

2012-01-17T18:41:00.000-08:00

Every year my 6 siblings and I rotate who we buy a Christmas gift for. It's fun, helps all our budgets, and gives us a chance to focus on ONE person that year and make them feel special.This year my youngest sister Carol had me. I got a beautiful calendar of photos she took of Boston. It's wonderful. And she sent me a gift card for Williams Sonoma. A place I will happily window shop (or peruse online now since we live so far away from one) but rarely buy from. After much consideration, we decided on the perfect prize. It came today.

Thank you Carol, for the most wonderful Raclette Table Top Grill. Now all I need to do is get the cheese and we will amuse and amaze our friends with this fabulous and fun way to eat.

We discovered raclette on our trips to France and Switzerland, a staple at the outrageous buffets at Club Med ski clubs. We even bought a machine for our home in Lagos, but sold it there when we transferred back to the US (it was 220 so wouldn't work without a transformer). We've been raclette-less since 1997. No more. Stay tuned for adventures in table top cooking....

Saturday Night Supper

2012-01-17T17:59:00.000-08:00

My readers from Boston will know what I'm talking about. Growing up, Saturday night meant several things. Bath night. One scoop of ice cream for dessert. Hot dogs and Baked Beans with brown bread for supper. My 84 year old mother and my brother still eat baked beans on Saturday night, though the hot dogs are often replaced with turkey burgers (a little healthier).

This is the time of year when start thinking about Saturday night supper. Mostly because, it's NFL Playoff time and my way of bringing good luck to Boston teams in ANY sport is to host a New England Comfort Food party to go with the game. How wonderful that the Pats had their first playoff game on Saturday night! Perfect! A HOME game no less.

I started preparations early, because I was working at the winery that afternoon. Found my stash of saved cans for steaming the brown bread and got that done Wednesday. B&M Brown Bread can be found sometimes in grocery stores here in the Northwest, but it's a rarity. Fortunately, it's easy to make if you have cans and a big pot to steam it in. Takes a few minutes to whip up, 3 hours to steam. This link has a recipe similar to the one I use, called Brown Bread in a Can. It's an interesting read with a couple of bean and bread recipes to choose from.

Next up, the beans. Thursday night I soaked the small white beans so they'd be ready to bake on Friday. I use a recipe from Durgin Park that tastes just like the ones my Grandma Sully used to make. I will admit to liking Julia Child's crock pot version that also includes ginger...but I digress. I was using my bean pot, so it had to be the Durgin Park recipe. With salt pork, onions, molasses, dry mustard...no ketchup, no bacon, no sugar. My house smelled awesome as they slow cooked for about 6 hours. Fortunately, the back deck was as cold as my fridge, so they stayed out there to keep cool until I needed them!

Another must have for New England Comfort Food: Clam Chowder. Made the base for this from an old RI clam cookbook I've had forever. You cook some salt pork, save the bits, add potatoes and onions, flour, clam juice then throw in the clams. Save it with those flavorful bits of salt pork until you need it. When it's time to serve, you add the milk and cream, or in my case, half and half.

And where there is New England food, there is clam dip. With Ruffles (have RRRRRidges). I have a clam dip recipe from that same RI cookbook that I could eat with a spoon, it's so good.

Throw in some steamed all angus beef Oscar Meyer weiners (on sale), Gulden's mustard, and you're all set for half time. Don't forget the Sam Adams Winter Ale...and finish up with Boston Cream Pie. It's a WINNING combination.

GO PATS!

Two Years of Husum BBQ

2011-12-19T10:03:00.000-08:00

Yesterday all the locals and friends came out to celebrate the two year anniversary of the Husum Roadside BBQ. Now, anyone who has had the pleasure of consuming pulled pork sandwiches, ribs and chicken from the hillbilly smoker knows how SMALL the dining area is in the building. OK, maybe COZY is a better word. Summertime soirees mean we expand into the parking lot, but whatever could we do in winter?

Put up a MASH tent. String up party lights and install a wood stove. Run some power out there for the amps, add some chairs and tables. Voila! Husum, we have an event center for the winter.

Then you invite Joel to set up a Wind River Cellars tasting area, where the customers can buy a bottle of deliciousness to wash down their BBQ. He even had a thermos carafe of hot Bad Seed Cider to warm us up!

Add local troubadour Bob Connolly to entertain us with his ballads and bad Irish jokes.

Put the Husum Yacht Club members on notice for an All Hands on Deck meeting to coincide with the festivities.

John and friends have been working all fall to figure out a way to get the surplus tent up. Judging by the happy faces I'd say this is a huge success. Next up for the MASH tent: movie and popcorn night, showing, of course, the original MASH movie. Come as your favorite 4077th character. Details soon.

Junk Mail

2011-12-18T11:08:00.000-08:00

I was almost done writing this when Microsoft decided my computer needed updating, and closed it down without warning. I lost my whole story. So I'm trying to recreate the brilliant writing that has disappeared. I hate it when that happens. Curse you, Microsoft!

Somehow I got on the mailing list of someone who blasts Obama lies. Not exactly somehow...he found my chair@ email on the County Dem website. I like to think he is just letting me know what is going around. But I doubt it. There is a blind cc mail list. So we play a little game. He sends me his crap, and I send him back links debunking the crap, showing him how quick and easy it is to check these things our. And politely request he verify before forwarding said crap 'to everyone you know'. He shouldn't take offense. I do this to everyone who sends me crap. Even my mother has been the recipient of my little push backs. I feel like it is the least an honest person seeking truth can do in this day and age.

Today's email was a combination of disinformation. A claim that Obama is a Manchurian Candidate, that 'no one' at Columbia knew him so he couldn't have gone there, and that he uses a stolen Social Security number. Really? Faux News interviewed 400 people who were at Columbia at the time and no one remembers him? I don't think I even KNEW 400 people when I was in college, never mind 400 knowing me...some classes where so big, it was easy to remain anonymous. It's all so very silly. And hateful.

Last week a friend forwarded me a hit piece supposedly by Thomas Sowell that a prolific sender of crap sent to her. I sent her the link sorting out the truth from the fiction, which she forwarded to the sender. He agreed to check before sending in the future. Good on him.

Instead of spending so much time and energy circulating lies and misrepresentations about the President, they should think about the things that have been accomplished in these last three contentious years, with full obstruction from their party. Here is a handy site to get started. A little more irreverently named WTF has Obama done so far can also help your perspective. And maybe spend a little more time looking into their candidates, who have plenty of honesty problems themselves. Spend a little time perusing Politifact. Michele Bachmann is the Queen of False and "Pants on Fire" ratings. Learn more about Rick Perry, "retired" governor of Texas, who may have more going on in the hypocrisy dept. than they might realize. Or look more closely into one of the biggest egos and hypocrites around, Newt Gingrich. Politifact also has a nifty list of Obama promises kept.

Full disclosure, I was a Hillary supporter in 2008, but I think she got the best end of the deal and has done a great job as Sec State. I am not 100% happy with President Obama. But he has to consider more than just MY opinion. The man has a big country to run. He came into a big mess that required everyone on board to start fixing. With half of our elected representatives doing more to make him a one term president, and to get themselves reelected than working with him to make our country a place of which we can all be proud.

So keep sending me your crap, sir. I'll keep sending it back, corrected, in hopes that you will share more honestly with your blind cc list.

Comment on Comment Trolls

2011-12-06T11:33:00.001-08:00

I like a good 'discussion' as much as anyone, but if I ever read the comments that follow a news piece or editorial, I begin to fear for our civilization (or lack thereof). It's one thing to be funny, or even sarcastic, but more often than not there are any number of truly mean and nasty comments. People who write publicly need thick skins. Which is one reason I've been reluctant to put what I really think 'out there'. But my skin is getting thicker as I become more and more disgusted with the rampant ignorance and inhumanity in our society.

Today's Oregonian had a follow up piece by Steve Duin. I like Steve's commentaries. He wrote one for Thanksgiving about an eighth grader, Nikita Wolf, who was on a field trip into Portland with her class. One stop was the library. When she went to check out her books, she found out she had fines for some overdue books from her local branch she'd forgotten about. The librarian wouldn't let her check out the books. A stranger in line paid her fines. She was so surprised (after being totally humiliated-remember, she's 13). When she got back to school, she wrote

"As I walked out of the library, my new book at my side, I was reminded of a quote my mom used to tell me: 'Blessed are those who give without remembering. And blessed are those who take without forgetting'."

And so she made a promise to herself that she would help others so they could feel what she felt that day a stranger paid her fine.

Duin goes on to post some of the nastier comments written after his original post. Go here to see for yourself. Some people have way too much time on their hands and no compassion in their hearts. He was so taken aback at some of the comments, and worried about Nikita would feel if she saw them, so he sent her teacher a note. The teacher shared it with his student, who answered Duin personally. After thanking him for the first article, and how much it meant to her, her family (especially her grandmother) and friends she wrote

"I would also like you to know that I saw the stream of comments online. When I let the whole world see what I write, I expect that everybody will interpret it differently. Because of my ability to understand this, you do not have to worry about whether or not I was wounded by the sometimes harsh opinions of others. If getting some of my writing published did anything to me, it just made me want to write more."

Nikita, I hope to see your name on a byline someday. And may the classless, cynical comment trolls learn something from you.

Boston, We Have a Manager

2011-11-29T18:35:00.000-08:00

Well, THAT's a relief. Finally, the Red Sox have a manager. I personally think no one can fill Tito's shoes, and the candidates weren't fit to shine them, but hey, no one asked me. I would have hired my forever friend Karen. She lives nearby in Braintree. Hates her day job. And love the Red Sox. She also knows baseball. She's very smart. Can you imagine? The first woman manager???

Alas, I'm dreaming. We have Bobby Valentine. We'll give him a chance because that's what true fans do. We have to. But seriously, I'm thinking the vendors need to get on board and start selling Groucho Marx glasses to the fans as they stream in from the Kenmore and Fenway T-stops. It would be so much fun. Even better than the A-Rod Blonde Masks! I feel a big opportunity here...

Barney, always Frank

2011-11-29T10:26:00.000-08:00

After over 30 years of service to his district in Massachusetts, Barney Frank has decided to move on at age 71. His district was redrawn and would have required lots of campaigning and fundraising, which he admits he hates. I'm not even 60 yet and I get exhausted just thinking about what campaigning involves. I hope he stays active and outspoken on issues he's championed over the years, such as gay rights and tough financial regulation. His district certainly appreciated him, reelecting him time after time.

Never one to mince words, I love his comments yesterday on dealing with the current House:

"The Republican Party today in the House consists half of people who think like Michele Bachmann and half of people who are afraid of losing a primary to people who think like Michele Bachmann. And that leaves you very little ability to work things out."

Right you are, Mr. Frank. Good luck in your next endeavors, and may your district's next Representative serve them as well.

O My

2011-11-20T11:25:00.000-08:00

Since moving to the Pacific Northwest, it's been hard to ignore Oregon football. It's a lot like Texas that way. You know, Aggies and Longhorns hard to ignore. Here it's the Oregon U. Ducks and the Oregon State Beavers. The Ducks, with their flashy Nike uniforms, complete with duck wings on the shoulders and mallard green helmets, and push up performing mascot, were (until last night's upset by USC -I heard you cheering from here, Cami) in contention for another trip to the 'natty'. OSU, with their 'rabid beaver' mascot and Halloween color scheme, have a lot of heart and for the last couple of years, the Rodgers brothers from Richmond, TX. Until Jaquizz left for the pros and James was taken out by the knee last year. James is back, but it's definitely been a rebuilding year. Next weekend is The Civil War, when OSU goes up against the big O down in Eugene.

About the big 'O'. Fans like to make the an 'O' with their hands. Well, it turns out that most of them don't quite make a perfect 'O'. It's more like the ASL sign for 'vagina'. Many of the football players take sign language for their foreign language requirement, 29 members of the current team as a matter of fact. It's a natural choice, as they are used to signals from their coaches and teammates. Once they find out from their professor what the fans are actually 'saying', they refrain from making the 'O'.

“I did the ‘O’ once, and I never did it again,” said LaMichael James, the team’s star running back...

Which makes his teacher, Joanna Larson, very happy.

“I’m so proud of him,” she said. “We’re trying to spread the word to make the ‘O’ more of a rounded shape.”

Success Through Failure

2011-11-20T10:48:00.001-08:00

I am happy to live in a state with two strong women as my Senators. Patty Murray has been tasked with co-chairing the task force to solve our budget woes. Mission impossible. today she told Candy Crowley on CNN's State of the Union:

“As long as we have some Republican lawmakers who feel more enthralled with a pledge they took to a Republican lobbyist than they do to a pledge to the country to solve the problems, this is going to be hard to do.”

No kidding. I liked recent op eds by EJ Dionne and Paul Krugman pointing out that failure of the so called 'super committee', doomed from the start (obvious to any of us who have been paying attention), is a good thing. Both call out the news media. Dionne notes

"... genuine compromise can’t happen because Republicans refuse to accept any significant tax increases. This is not a partisan statement. It is just a description of the facts. It is maddening that the media are so desperate to avoid being attacked as “liberal” that they cannot describe the situation as it is."

Krugman says

... let me give a special shout-out to “centrist” pundits who won’t admit that President Obama has already given them what they want. The dialogue seems to go like this. Pundit: “Why won’t the president come out for a mix of spending cuts and tax hikes?” Mr. Obama: “I support a mix of spending cuts and tax hikes.” Pundit: “Why won’t the president come out for a mix of spending cuts and tax hikes?”

Hey Mr. Pundit, Obama supports a mix of spending cuts and tax hikes. So do most of the American people, so REPORT THAT. An epic fail of the committee means the Bush tax cuts will expire, as will a few others. The budget cuts, to the tune of $1.2 trillion, agreed to in last summer's deal will happen. This would add up to an over $7 trillion trimming from the deficit over 10 years. I can already hear the screaming from the GOP. Then maybe sanity and reason will prevail and we'll find the way forward. With a combination of spending cuts and tax hikes. What a concept.

It's Time for STEWS

2011-11-12T16:31:00.001-08:00

I love fall. I love it when it gets cold enough to really appreciate a nice hot bowl of soup or stew. It's here. Stew Time. Here's my latest creation, a composite of several recipes. You can leave out the lamb to make it vegetarian.

Moroccan Stew
serves 6 or so

In a small bowl, combine 1 tsp each ground cinnamon, cumin, coriander and sea salt; 1/2 tsp ground ginger; 1/4 tsp each ground nutmeg, turmeric, and curry powder. Set aside.

Heat 1 T olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook 1 chopped sweet onion and 3 chopped garlic cloves until soft, about 5 minutes. Add 1 lb ground lamb, cook another 5 minutes or so. Stir in 2-4 cups finely shredded kale (I like kale so I put in at least 4 cups) and the reserved spice mixture. Cook for 2 minutes until kale begins to wilt and spices are fragrant.

Pour 6 cups of vegetable broth into the pot. Stir in 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes (undrained -I still had a bunch of tomatoes from my garden so I used them), 1 Tbs honey, 4 large chopped carrots, 1 large peeled and diced sweet potato (I used a butternut squash instead which I peeled, cubed and roasted first), 2 diced potatoes (I used one red skin, one yukon gold because that's what I had on hand- you can use more potatoes, esp if you are making a vegetarian version), one can garbanzo beans (drained), 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots, 1 cup dried lentils (I used Tru Roots sprouted bean trio that I get at Costco) and 2 Tbs tomato paste. Bring to boil then reduce heat to low. Simmer 30 minutes or until veggies and lentils are cooked and tender. Season with black pepper to taste.

We had this Thursday night for dinner. I'm looking forward to a repeat tonight. I just might throw in the rest of that bag of kale I got at Trader Joe's the other day....

Occupy the Gorge

2011-11-12T14:32:00.000-08:00

Everyone has heard about the big Occupy Portland camp, but today's Oregonian let everyone know about probably the smallest Occupy camp in the country, in Mosier, OR (pop. 433). Unlike its big cousin in the city, Occupy Mosier had a plan for seven days of protest against corporate power, income inequality and big money politics. They set up last Friday, and yesterday, they moved out as promised. (Oregonian photo)

Mosier sits along the Columbia River, about halfway between Hood River and The Dalles. When you take the exit for Mosier, you pass a park and ride where about a dozen tents were pitched, and as you head into town, a school, then the local business area. Mosier is home to local favorites Ten Speed Coffee East, and my personal favorite, The Thirsty Woman Pub .

My friend Jamel was inspired, and decided to Occupy Wall Street Husum. Yes, there is a Wall Street in Husum, WA (pop. 6,327). I doubt the Wall family would be thrilled to have a full encampment.

Now Obama's Killing Christmas

2011-11-09T11:11:00.000-08:00

Yep. He's really stepped over the line now, taxing Christmas trees. Not to worry, FOX News is all over this one like white on rice. Except, as usual, they miss the point and get twisted up in the details. Can you imagine? In these trying times, that's some nerve, adding a 15 cent tax per live tree to support an Ag Dept program to promote live trees at Christmas. From the Federal Register:

The initial assessment rate will be $0.15 per Christmas tree domestically produced or imported into the United States and could be increased up to $0.20 per Christmas tree. The purpose of the program will be to strengthen the position of fresh cut Christmas trees in the marketplace and maintain and expand markets for Christmas trees within the United States.

Except that the GROWERS want it. See, there are people who grow, cut, transport and sell trees every Christmas season. They're seasonal, but they are JOBS. They need help because I guess too many people are buying cheap fake Made in China trees....And oh, by the way, this has been in the works since 2008, BEFORE Obama was president.

Michael Doyle, McClatchy Newspapers, reports more honestly.

By taxing themselves, growers will raise $2 million a year for ads promoting the merits of real, live trees. Or, at least, trees that once were living, as opposed to the artificial kind that have seized an increasing share of the holiday market.

"As demographics and buying habits have changed we have watched the market for real trees shrink drastically, requiring us to spend much more time and money on promotion," said Don Cameron, past president of the California Christmas Tree Association.

Kind of like "Pork, the other white meat" or "Milk, it does a body good", or "Where's the Beef?"

Where's the Beef, indeed.

You Win Some, You Lose Some

2011-11-08T23:42:00.001-08:00

Spent Election Night with some candidate friends at a house party. It wasn't hard waiting, we had pies: pecan, pumpkin praline, chocolate fudge, and good old shoefly pie (but no apple pandowdy). We had brownies. We had whipped cream. Lots of whipped cream.

We had wine. Lots of wine. You can see my refillable growlier of Springhouse Cellars Ruins Red in the middle of the pack.

We kept refreshing the computer set to the County Auditor's web page, waiting for the first tally post 8 pm. The photo is Jane Poucher, waiting patiently.

FINALLY, at 8:17, the screen changed. Mayor Poucher pretty much sealed his reelection with 71% of the vote in so far vs City Councilor Mark Peppel. Whew! Our friend Bill Werst came in with 66% for his City Council seat vs position 3 incumbent Adrian Bradford, who decided to switch to postition 1 at the last minute to try and defeat Bill. Strategy Failure. Our host for the evening, George Rao, given little chance of unseating Bob Landgren, a town name incumbent, was ONE VOTE shy so stay tuned for the late tallies. I believe a message was being sent.

Newcomers to the school board looked good. The tech industry has brought us good folks who know how to help our kids reach for the stars.

To balance the successes, we had our Port Commission candidate Cheryl Park fall short. She will be a player in improving our economic situation none the less. I have no doubt. Mark my words.

And then there were the state items. The Eyman Initiative was way too close for comfort, but it looks good to go down to defeat. Are there really so many gullible voters in this state? Costco bought its way to victory. Sadly, this probably means we'll have another empty storefront in town when the state liquor store/fishing/hunting shop goes out of business because the grocery store and probably the pharmacy will be able to sell alcohol along with all their other goods.

I have taken a bit of flack for supporting Mayor Poucher, an independent, rather than Mr. Peppel, a DINO. Mr. Peppel's votes and attitudes are much more allied with the tea party than he will admit. I'm glad in a way I did not have a dog in this hunt, being outside the city limits, but as the county dem chair, it would have been awkward to say the least. Officially, it was a non partisan race. I was rooting for the guy with the good heart and the honest soul. Not the one who said he was all of the above but whose actions said otherwise.

I wonder sometimes about party politics. I used to think being independent was good, but really, when it came down to it, voting independent meant wasting a vote, or worse, letting the other guys win. The name John Anderson comes to mind....I've voted for moderate R's in New England in my previous life. Good people who did good work. But in this day and age, they would be Ds. No doubt. There is no room in the GOP for moderates any more.

So, off to bed. This was a light weight election night. As we say in the Red Sox Nation: WAIT TIL NEXT YEAR!

UPDATE: Mayor Poucher's lead held at 72.5% after the 11/10 ballot count, taking 402 ballots to Peppel's 152. Bill's held at 66.5% with 376 to 189 for his opponent. George was holding his own, up to 51.94%, leading 281 votes to 260, upsetting incumbent Langren. School board leads held. The Eyman Initiative passed in our crazy county but King County saved us sending it to defeat. The final count will be Nov. 29th, and the election will then be certified.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T14:51:00.000-07:00

I finally went through the box of decorations and put up the candy corn light, the glow in the dark skeleton, the hanging black caped skeleton head, a few rubber bats and spiders, and the candle lanterns. We don't get many trick or treaters, so I don't go crazy.

When I was done pulling out all those scary things, I found this:

It's a poem that Keara wrote in 1996, when she was in 5th grade at AIS-Lagos.

The Goblins Three, The Skeletons Two

As I stumbled through the wood,
I couldn't have stopped if I wished that I could,
Some goblins and skeletons stepped in my way
And as tehy took me they started to say,
"We're the goblins three, the skeletons two,
You didn't watch out so we got you."

And yet as they slept I slipped away
And ran out fo the wood to a sunny day.
So if you go stumbling into a wood
Remember as much, just as much if you could
About the goblins three, the skeletons two.
And you better watch out before they get

You!

Sometimes it pays to go to the bottom of the box. You never know what kind of treasures you may have there. Below is the one photo I have from that Halloween, Keara (l) with friends Brittany Hilton and Lucy Simpson. They were scary, whatever they were.

Condit Dam Blowout

2011-10-31T14:28:00.000-07:00

It was a great day in the 'hood last Wednesday. The 98 year old Condit Dam is no longer holding back the White Salmon River. It was on all the news channels. On OPB. In the papers. On the internet. Even National Geographic, with this awesome time lapse video.Our 15 minutes of fame!

We spent prime time at Wet Planet's celebration party. There were people in attendance who have spent many years working on the dam removal. It was very emotional for them, as it was for Native Americans celebrating on the Yakama Reservation. Wet Planet had a huge tent with multiple viewing stations for the live feed, as well as guides in salmon costumes. And some well placed heaters. I found a seat near one, you betcha! It was a bit raw that day. The feed went down about 10 minutes to noon, the scheduled blow time. It came back just before noon. Someone said the 3 minute warning was sounded...and 30 seconds later, BOOM. A puff of smoke from the hole, then a blast of sediment filled water flew out and rushed downstream. If you did not click on the time lapse link above, go back now and do it!

The images were stunning. Words cannot describe it. We all sat in awe. After a while, we went to get food and beer. One must sustain one's energy, no? The predictions were for a full draining of the lake in 6 hours. Less than an hour after getting in line for the fab eats provided by Solstice, and the nice cold draft brews (that sent me inside for a hot coffee after lunch), we walked back to the screens to find the lake EMPTY. Wow.

We stayed until after all the speeches and raffles. As the A listers went on buses to the dam site, the rest of us ventured out on our own. We went to NW Lake to check out what once was the lake where we practiced fly casting. Lloyd is walking where we'd stand with our waders on! The water used to come up right to the edge of the picnic area where I'm standing to take the picture.

The boat ramp we launched our kayak from was well out of the water. The dock next to it, on the left side of the picture, is high and dry, as were all the other docks downstream of the park.

The next photo is one of the lakefront cabins that is now river view.

We hiked down the former lake shore past docks sitting dry. Lloyd liked the basalt sands so of course I had to take a picture. Weeds were already coming up from the ground in the area drained earlier. How fast nature reclaims turf!

Then we stopped to view the silty river downstream, near the mouth of the river. There was still water flowing into the Native American in lieu dock, but it was very very mucky. Just north of there, the river was clogged with silt and debris. It will be very interesting to watch how the process unfolds. No more trout fishing, for sure! A young man in a Subaru (we all drive Subarus up here in the NW) drove by and yelled out 'the White Salmon River is FREE'. He was happy.

We noticed on Saturday's drive west that sediment has definitely made its way into the Columbia. Hope to find some aerial shots of its progress over the winter.

The spawning salmon were transported above the dam a few weeks ago to do their business. Reclaiming their ancestral home. What man interrupted nearly a century ago, man has undone. It's a good thing. But I will miss the lake...

Ah Ha Moment

2011-10-23T17:50:00.001-07:00

It has come to my front brain that one of the reasons I have not been writing so much here is that the newness of my new 'hood has worn off a bit, and there are a lot of 'repeat' experiences I don't want to bore people with. When I have them, I will share them. Because I do have new ones on a regular basis.

My brain has been too full of politics. As a PCO, County Chair and a State Committeewoman, it's no wonder. I've tried to keep politics off my blog so as not to alienate some of my friends and family who don't think as I do. But then, my true friends and closest family will understand that we can disagree and still love each other. Takes all varieties to make a can of mixed nuts great!

It is not easy being a person who pays attention to and cares about politics. I don't WANT to. I would like to just live my life la ti da every day and say the hell with it. But I can't. It's not me. I care because politics, like it or not, affects that every day life. People need to think about it. Maybe if they think about it, they'll research a little more before they vote. Heck, maybe they'll actually VOTE!

So, to my dear friends who read this and do not agree with my politics, nothing personal. You can skip the politics alert entries. Or you can read them for another perspective. I just can't NOT do this any more. There is too much at stake.

Tis the Season to be Fall-y, part 2

2011-10-23T17:35:00.000-07:00

Local Politics Alert-not my usual entertaining stuff but I have to get it out of my mind so here it is on the blog...not that anyone will know what the heck I'm talking about.

Who knew such a small town could have so darn much DRAMA? It's not quite Sugar Land (thankfully) but still. White Salmon is trying.

Our current City Council is acting all Boehner/McConnell-in-your-face with the current Mayor, who one must conclude is their Barack Obama. There is one player in the game who attended a couple of our Klickitat Democrats meetings last year, but for the life of me I have yet to see him act or vote in any way like a Democrat. But never mind. Democrats come in all breeds, even Blue Dogs. We have a big tent. The positions are all nonpartisan (supposedly) so I won't waste any time on that aspect. It really isn't as important as WHAT people are doing and saying. I wouldn't even mention it, but as County Chair, people ask me if I support his run, even though I can't vote and it's a nonpartisan race, and I have to say no. If I had to guess, I'd say the current mayor is an independent or a moderate Republican, probably the latter.

Apparently this kind of nastiness is par for the course in White Salmon government, making it dysfunctional for years. Damn, I wish I could vote, but alas, I'm outside the city limits. Which is part of the problem. The pool of candidates is small and limited (some in more ways than one, but I promised not to lower myself).

Our current mayor is running for reelection. He has been a good mayor for the most part. No one's perfect. He communicates well. He supported the development of a more user friendly website (created by my volunteer of the year sweetie). He frequents the local businesses. He reaches out to citizens both in the city limits and within the growth area for advice and expertise via a variety of committees. He has an open door policy (which my husband has used on more than a few occasions). He asked for and got (after two rounds of voting) approval for an audit for 2007-2009 because things were a mess in City Hall. There has been a revolving door of mayors, council members, city clerk/treasurers, etc. which left the City open to problems. The audit was released last spring, identifying several major problems as well as the City's plan to remedy them. The auditors made clear that the report was not to be used punitively but was a tool to bring the City into compliance in a number of areas. The report was released in March, and a big front page article about it was on the front page of the paper. It is also available for all to see on the website, completely transparent. The City Council for the most part was quiet.

Ah, but now the ballots are about to arrive in our mail boxes (we are highly evolved here in OR and WA, we have vote by mail- no voter ID worries here- we just sign our ballots and mail them in or drop them in one of several locked ballot boxes around the county). Suddenly the City Council calls an EMERGENCY meeting to discuss the report. Did I mention, they knew the mayor would be out of town due to a family crisis?And that at least 3 of them 'meet' regularly at the Elks, clearly strategizing their council meeting agendas (they have been warned by the city attorney, which really doesn't scare them.) One of the City Councilors (mentioned earlier) running against the mayor and is leading the charge of the mayor's proven negatives, vis a vis the report. What? Reminds me of a certain teabagger candidate last go around (another long story I've spared y'all) who kept waving an old report on the assessors office as proof positive there was bad stuff going on, when it was totally unwarranted and any identified problems had been long addressed. Hey if it worked for her...(in a twist of irony, she ran earlier for city council and lost to the guy who wants to be mayor). Are you keeping this all straight?

There is a second City Councilor who is NOT running for reelection, but IS mounting a write-in campaign for mayor. This guy is a many generation resident of White Salmon. He has been a City Councilor for several terms. He is known for two main things: he ALWAYS votes NO (even for the audit the mayor wanted, which is why it took two meetings to pass) and he makes every 3rd meeting because if you miss more than two meetings in a row you can be recalled. He does not do his homework before meetings. He refused to be on the finance and budget committee he was assigned because he refused to sign checks. I guess the good thing is, he doesn't have much of a chance to win, and he will no longer be on the City Council.

Meanwhile, there are three contested seats for city council, two of them against incumbents who are very closely allied to the one running for mayor. They have it all figured out. When one of the reasonable councilors resigned (he was transferred), rather than fill the seat with a guy who was running unopposed so he could get the lay of the land, they filled it with another crony who has been instrumental in historical nastiness. In their little minds, when their candidate beats the mayor, and those running win reelection, they can move him into that seat as an appointee. Wouldn't that be nice??? They can rule the world!!!!!

This is all so sad. They all need to be working together. Instead, they put roadblocks in front of anything the mayor wants, mainly because he did not turn out to be the puppet they were looking for. They have run off the police chief, sent away the police dog who had already caught bad guys (druggies) because we couldn't afford it (even though the public started a fund that would have paid all the expenses for the dog, showing huge support), blocking the mayor from fixing a major road to town in accordance with state dot specifications so they could spend even more money on an engineering survey first, and many other nasty little stunts. And the Councilman who wants to be Mayor has been very generous to himself for taking any and all credit for everything that happens that might be viewed in a positive light.

There are people in town who are trying to move things forward. It isn't easy. One of the big successes has been Business Partners of Bingen-White Salmon. I'm a little bit biased because my sweetie is involved in this one and has helped move it from a non-functioning city committee to an energized group of business people in both towns. One of his business partners is running for city council. It would be nice if the balance among the attitudes in the council was slanted towards people who can work WITH the mayor in the best interests of teh city and surrounding area instead of AGAINST him. We are ALL affected by what White Salmon does.

So for my local friends, just in case you want to know who I'd vote for if I could vote:
Poucher for Mayor, Werst and Rau for City Council.

Tis the Season to be Fall-y, part 1

2011-10-20T11:59:00.000-07:00

The crush is on at the wineries. Not a great year for grapes, but never fear, there will be wine.

Leaves are turning, air is crisp, but not clear and clean. It's that time of year: the lifting of the BURN BAN! Everyone and his cousin are out burning the brush that has been accumulating all summer. Makes for some smokey air days that make the Dollar Fire smoke look like small change. I've stocked up on eye drops, and am thankful I don't have breathing issues.

It's also election time. The off year elections put local politics on full display, for better or worse. Tuesday night's White Salmon Candidates Night did not disappoint. There were only about 100 people in attendance, but it was a pretty good crowd. It will be interesting to see how it gets written up in the local paper next week.

It's always good to see candidates in person if you can. To see how they present themselves and interact with the audience and the other candidates. Paper bios don't tell the whole story.

The contenders were for School Board, Fire District 3 Commissioner, Port Commission, City Council, and Mayor. Since this will probably get too long, I'll save discussion of the most entertaining (City Council and Mayor) for next entry.

Two contested seats are up for School Board. As I don't have kids in schools any more, and never had them in school here, I don't know much about the history of the school board. The incumbents seem to be good folk who have done a good job. Tom Stevenson is a long serving incumbent whose kids are now grown. He obviously is very proud of the school district and his dedicated service. Jeffrey Cooper is the other incumbent running for reelection. The challengers have young kids in school, are involved in the classrooms and the sports fields as well as employed by the high tech industries in the area (Insitu and Google). Both have set up websites to give voters more information about them, and their visions for the future of the district. Eric Shank is a former educator who helps out in the classroom and with the band/orchestra in his spare time. Dave Karlson, a former tech director for public schools, has championed Robotics in area schools with great success. I think people were impressed. I was.

The two contested Fire District seats had one challenger and one incumbent show up. The incumbent for one seat and challenger for the other did not, unfortunately. Those two share signs around town and are running as a package deal, I guess. Both candidates who did appear were well spoken and very competent. I have met them both before, but have had direct 'fire' experience with the incumbent. Jim Hulbert has spearheaded a community education program that assesses wildfire risk for property owners along the bluffs. He came to our house at no charge and showed us what we were doing right and where we needed to improve our chances, should a fire rush up the wooded slope from 141A. He's a retired forest service guy and I believe he deserves to be reelected. The awkward thing about the race is that both he and the challenger for the other seat, Nancy Sliwa, live in the same outskirts of White Salmon neighborhood. The other two, Riggleman and Zoller, are many generation residents of the rural area. I really wish they'd shown up. I would have like to hear what they had to say. None of them has any info in the Voter's Guide.

Port Commission has an 18 year incumbent, Wayne Vineyard, versus a relative newcomer, Cheryl Park, a friend of mine with excellent business, management and communication skills. People are frustrated with the Port and its inaction or painfully slow action on vital projects. Hard to say how this one will go. Both are very well spoken and intelligent. Unfortunately, the challenger's bio and statement did not appear in the online voter's guide.

I'm waiting for my copy of the Enterprise before I write about the city council and mayor races later today. Stay tuned. It's a doozy of a small town drama.

It's a Long Way to Next November

2011-10-19T10:53:00.000-07:00

Missed The Daily Show last night due to the highly entertaining Candidates Night in White Salmon. But with the miracle of the internet, I was able to enjoy it this morning, coming dangerously close to spewing my coffee and ruining my laptop. Good thing Lloyd got his computer back, just in case. Jon does a great job of calling a spade an effing shovel, as my friend B.D. used to say. And his imitations of various politicos is hysterically funny (especially his Looney Louis Gomert). So very tired of all the hate and hypocrisy.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Protect Your Brains

2011-10-10T20:09:00.000-07:00

Back in the 50s, when we were learning to ride that big second hand balloon tire tank, helmets didn't exist. Well, I do recall one helmet, an old Army issue that my cousin Kenny wore for weeks when my Auntie Mary gave him a buzz cut and he was not cool with that. When I was a little older, and saved my babysitting money to buy a nice bike with skinny tires (a blue Phillips as I recall), I rode all over town, helmet free. That bike widened my world. Later, I bought a 3 speed Raleigh, which I rode to work and from my apartment to Northeastern University for classes. My mom borrowed it once and got in a collision with a car, broke her ankle but the bike was fine (and spent the night in 'jail' til I picked it up at the Watertown PD). I eventually bought a 15 speed Lambert, and gave the Raleigh to my sister Annie to help her get around when Liam was little. It was stolen from her apartment in Waltham, baby bike seat and all. All those years, no helmets.

When I moved to RI with the Lambert (later stolen and replaced with a Raleigh Super Course circa 1976, which I still own), helmets were in vogue. I rode with the Narragansett Bay Wheelmen, and we all work helmets. My helmets have save my head on several occasions. So when it came time to ride with our kids, helmets were required attire. We still wear our helmets when we ride. Both girls now own bikes. My first question: Do you have a helmet? Do NOT ride without one. We have too much invested in your head.

Last night I got a text from Alina in Boston, asking which hospital Auntie Linda worked at (in the ER). I was worried, as she'd had an eyelid infection. I thought, oh no, it got worse. I had no idea how wrong I was. It was much worse than that. Her housemate and fellow 2011 BC grad Mike, who rides his bike everywhere, had come home in questionable condition. He'd had a bike accident. She was afraid he had a concussion, and texted my sister who works in an ER for advice. They took him to the ER (not hers, just to clarify). Mike ended up in surgery for several house to drain a brain bleed. The doc told Alina if they hadn't gotten him in when they did, he might not have made it. Did I mention? Mike was not wearing a helmet.

Mike's parents got the phone call every parent dreads: Your son is in the ER. He needs surgery. Get here. Fortunately, they live within about 90 minutes of Boston. The roommates stayed until after parents arrived and Mike was out of surgery. It was a 3 day weekend in Boston (one place that actually celebrates Columbus Day). Alina and friends spent it in the ER. Went home to sleep, went back today to see how he was. He'd woken up, recognized his parents (good) but not his best friend (bad). His motor skills were not impaired (very good). He knew he lived in Allston (good). But it was 2008. Not so good. Hopefully the next report will be even more hopeful. This young man just graduated from college and has his whole future in front of him. It looks like he'll get a chance at that future.

The Oregonian has been full of letters to the editor arguing the merits and demerits of helmets. Bottom line: WEAR A HELMET!

update: Mike recognized Alina and Conor when they visited him last night. He was making good progress, though still disoriented, and may be moved out of the most intensive care area today.

October Baseball Blues

2011-10-10T19:50:00.000-07:00

Ah, it's like the old days. So many of the Red Sox Nation don't remember the lean years...There was something not clicking this summer. Too many overpriced free agents? Owner trying to be Steinbrenner? Who knows. All I know is: I have no time tied up watching baseball this October, which is really a good thing for me, cuz now I have a little time to write. Jacoby Ellsbury had the year of his life, after his horrible no good year last year (Beltre curse) and should get AL MVP for his efforts, and the best manager is baseball was let go. They didn't ask me, but I'd forget about spending outrageous sums on glory boys, put the bull pen on a diet and whip them into shape, lose Lackey and Matsuzaka (same same), make Varitek a coach, bring up the awesome talent in Pawtucket, and build a TEAM. And if Theo goes to the Cubs, so be it, it'll still be years til they win a pennant never mind the World Series (sorry Cubs, I do root for you, but I'm a realist). Enough on that. I had to say it. Now on to other things. Go Rangers!

It's All About The Process

2011-07-18T16:11:00.000-07:00

I tie dyed for the first time in forever, at our annual Fourth of July Husum Pride Parade Prep Party. We took the leftover "You Win Some, You Husum" white shirts with blue letters and tie dyed them red. Also our hands, and a few planks of the deck. They came out quite nice, and the four of us doing the project got more than 30 of them done in a few hours.

Fast forward a week, it's time to get ready for the Nights in White Salmon Art and Wine Fusion. Lots of boring leftover tan Event Staff Shirts. What to do? Tie dye them with chocolate brown dye. I spent a day working on them, and cranked out 34. All that experience, you know. It helped make me a little more efficient.

My dear sweet husband took the finished products downtown for safe keeping at Postal Express. Celynn liked them. A Lot. So much so that my dear sweet husband came home around 2 pm with more dye, so I could do the leftover shirts that didn't proclaim Event Staff on their backs. I guess he thought people might buy them now that I'd classed them up a little bit. Did I mention, the event was 48 hours away and that I was working the next day in the tasting room? There were about 65 or so in the box. Really. You want them WHEN????

I had to streamline my process or I was sunk. I am writing about it now, not so much to entertain, but to have it documented so I can recreate the magic. I hope I don't have to...

Prep and materials: the biggest pot you have (I used my 5 gal stainless steel brewing pot); bag of rubber bands, long idled forceps from my college dissecting kit, salt, boxes of RIT dye, detergent, plastic garbage bag to cover portable table, drying rack, clothesline, wood rods, beverages. Lots of beverages. Heat about 3 gallons salted water to about 160 or more, add a pack of dye and a tablespoon of liquid detergent. Mix it all up with a long large spoon, pref stainless or your spoon will get dyed, too. Set it on your outside table, open or pour a beverage, and begin.

Step 1: Lay shirt flat. To do a spiral on the bottom half of the shirt, pinch the shirt and start a swirl. Clamp the forceps into the center, and keep turning. Wrap the spiral around the outside with a rubber band. Add 2 or 3 rubber bands criss-crossing the spiral.

Step 2: Put a rod through the sleeves. If you need to adjust the level of the shirt in the dye, bunch up the top and use another rubber band. Dip the spiral into the dye and rest the rod on the top of the pot. Pot can do 2 shirts easily. Meanwhile, prepare next two shirts.

Step 3: After about 5 minutes, remove from bath, and hang on rack.

Put the next two shirts in the dye. Put on gloves, remove rubber bands, shake out the shirts. Rinse well with hose sprayer. Allow to drip a bit. Then go make up 2 more shirts.

Step 4: When second batch is ready, move the finished shirts to the clothesline. Then the next batch can go on the rack, the third batch into the pot, rinse, repeat....Until all the shirts are done or it's dark or you run out of beverage.

Afterwards, I did a quick cold water wash of all the shirts, then dried them in a hot dryer. Between 2 pm and 9 pm, with a short break to eat pizza and watch The Daily Show, I successfully dyed 58 shirts in various sizes.

Garlic Scapes...Who Knew?

2011-07-11T20:40:00.000-07:00

I like to think of myself as a Foodie. And I love it when something new comes my way.

GARLIC SCAPES. What are these crazy things and what do you do with them?

I love Kim O'Donnel's description:

Here's the anatomy lesson: Garlic and its relatives in the allium family, (leeks, chives, onions) grows underground, where the bulb begins its journey, soft and onion-like. As the bulb gets harder (and more like the garlic we know), a shoot pokes its way through the ground. Chlorophyll- green like a scallion (maybe even greener), the shoot is long and thin and pliable enough to curl into gorgeous tendrils.

This stage of growth is the garlic scape, folks. If left unattended, the scape will harden and transform from green to the familiar opaque white/beige color of garlic peel. Keeping the shoot attached will also curtail further growth of the bulb. So, in an effort to allow the garlic to keep growing, the farmer is getting a two-fer with this edible delectable that cooks are just beginning to discover.

There were some in our marimba band's 'food pay' from a Farmers Market gig last season. I had no idea what they were. Someone said, use them like scallions. OK. I had like TWO. I used them. The other night, during our Husum Pride Parade Prep Party, Miki dropped off a box full. What does one do with a box full of garlic scapes?

First you give a bunch away. Then, thankfully, there is the internet. Which is how I found Kim's article. And then I made her recipe for Garlic Scape Pesto.

Garlic Scape Pesto
Ingredients:
1 cup garlic scapes (about 8 or 9 scapes), top flowery part removed, cut into ¼-inch slices
1/3 cup walnuts
¾ cup olive oil
¼-1/2 cup grated parmigiano
½ teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste

Method:
Place scapes and walnuts in the bowl of a food processor and whiz until well combined and somewhat smooth. Slowly drizzle in oil and process until integrated. With a rubber spatula, scoop pesto out of bowl and into a mixing bowl. Add parmigiano to taste; add salt and pepper. Makes about 6 ounces of pesto. Keeps for up to one week in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.

For ½ pound short pasta such as penne, add about 2 tablespoons of pesto to cooked pasta and stir until pasta is well coated.

To Die For. I am now a huge fan. How did I live 58 years before I knew they existed? And now I'm heading out to the garden to cut the scapes off my garlic so the bulbs will grow bigger...

All Star Break

2011-07-11T10:25:00.000-07:00

EAST	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	ROAD	RS	RA	DIFF	STRK	L10
Boston	55	35	.611	-	28-17	27-18	482	371	+111	Won 6	9-1
NY Yankees	53	35	.602	1	30-19	23-16	455	334	+121	Won 2	6-4
Tampa Bay	49	41	.544	6	21-21	28-20	380	343	+37	Lost 2	4-6
Toronto	45	47	.489	11	19-22	26-25	426	416	+10	Won 3	5-5
Baltimore	36	52	.409	18	22-22	14-30	355	454	-99	Lost 7	1-9

Well, all is almost right with the world at the All Star Break. We sit atop the AL East by a mere one game. The lead has changed hands regularly, as usual, and will continue to do so. Keeps everyone on their toes. I said ALMOST because most of the pitching rotation is on the DL. I would like Lester and Bucholz back ASAP. Dice K can stay there a while. Lackey is giving us enough fits. I've enjoyed Tim Wakefield's solid year so far, his knuckleball is dancing and he's helped keep things where they should be. And the new kids on the block have lots of potential.

Here in the Gorge, we are enjoying all that July brings. Great weather, with warm days and cool nights. The AC has yet to fire up, and all but a few nights have required a blanket. Snow is finally starting to melt on Mt. Hood, with ridges becoming visible at last.
The Husum Pride Parade and .1k Micro Marathon was outstanding this year. (photo from the front page of the local paper, thanks Sverre Bakke.)

The Husum Yacht Club pre-parade preparation party was great fun. We tie dyed leftover shirts from last year, painted the kayak (float), ate barbecued thai chicken and drank plenty of wine to accomplish all our tasks.

On Parade Day, we had excellent participation, with a large crowd of observers, more 'floats' than ever, a growing kazoo marching band, color guard, hula hooper, fire truck, and, for the first time, a CANNON! We even found a beauty queen to ride in our float this year.

At the end of the parade route, we turned and fled for the finish line, quenching our thirst at Joel's water stop. The Husumites gathered in front of the District 3 Fire Station for the annual group photo. The band took this opportunity to play the National Anthem, and bombs were bursting in air as the cannon fired (in the opposite direction). Excellent.

The hot dogs and watermelon at the Husum Roadside BBQ were the perfect energy builders after our exhausting run. Even the sign got decorated.

The new addition to the Husum Pride traditions: a pickled egg eating contest. Even with a $100 prize offered, only two participated. The winner choked down NINE in an 8 minute period. His competition only managed a couple. Yours truly did not even think about it. I have yet to bite into a pickled egg. Take a look. Would you?

The day was far from over. We'd received this special message from the kids down the street:

We HAD to be home in time to witness the first Brislawn Loop parade. We were treated to tootsie pops thrown by bike riders, who'd taken lots of care to decorate both their bikes and their helmets. On the second time around the loop, one rider dismounted, unpacked his fiddle from his backpack, and played us a tune. As he rode away, another rider stopped, dismounted, drew her recorder from her backpack, and played us a tune. What a treat! And seriously, I can't remember the last time I had a Tootsie Pop.

Next up: the concert at the park. We brought a picnic, a little vino in a water bottle, flags and spirit. Finally, we were fortunate to be invited to a bluff house to watch the fireworks, which were being launched directly across the Columbia River. It was a great Happy Birthday America!

Slow Start at The Pahk

2011-04-12T10:45:00.000-07:00

Another year, another opening day. For this year's Red Sox, apparently they did not read the media hype that they were so good they were going straight to the World Series. I hate it when this kind of stuff happens. Baseball season is very long. Good thing.

I knew things would improve when they got home. It's hard to start your season on the road, especially when you start in Texas with the defending World Series champions. It did get better in Boston, winning the series with the Yankees. Then Tampa Bay came to town, and finally won a game. I always hold my breath when Dice K pitches. I am not a big fan, sorry bud.

Yesterday I got a big surprise in the mail from my old high school friend Caroline, who is an artist living in Boston. Not to be confused with my old high school friend Caroline who is an author living in Hoboken. Though I did see both in February. Together. When author Caroline came to town to read from her new best selling novel, Pictures of You. But I digress.

Caroline the artist lives in the Fort Point Arts Community in South Boston, and her neighbor Laura Davidson makes these very cool books. Caroline knows of my Fenway addiction, and just knew I needed my very own Pahk, home away from home. So she sent me this:

It's a tunnel book showing the third base line grandstand view of Fenway and the skyline. The artist painted the images, then offset printed them, laser cut then pieced them together by hand. Fabulous! Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Boston folks, and visitors, should check out the Fort Point scene. They have open studios events that I managed to attend a few times over the years. There is one coming up May 6-8. Visit the Made in Fort Point shop where you can buy all kinds of cool art! Go to the website for more info.

Justice for White Salmon

2011-03-05T12:33:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I get so annoyed with short sighted people. Okay, more than sometimes. And I try to keep my political opinions in a separate place, not at the Pahk. But this is a local non partisan fury.

I know times are tough. I know there's not a lot of money in the town coffers. But for the love of Pete, can our city council use their heads for something besides hat racks (thought I'd throw in some Larryisms)? Honestly, if we lived in the city limits, one of us would be trying to unseat one of these guys. Alas, we are just outside the city line, though we get our water, police and fire response from White Salmon. If a town of 2500 can't get their act together, we are all doomed.

Here's the short story. More details here. White Salmon has a police dog named Justice. He is here be the grace of a grant, arriving in Sept 2009 to much fanfare. The city council, who basically forced the chief to resign, now want to eliminate Justice, who has proven his worth as a great back up officer and even caught a criminal. Which still caused issues with the council, warranting another editorial smack down in the local paper.

The mayors of White Salmon and Bingen want the dog. The Bingen-White Salmon Police Department wants the dog. We The People want the dog, enough to open a bank account in which to put donations to cover Justice's upkeep. The Police Dept. is short handed as it is. The dog is an excellent partner. The County Sheriff's budget has been cut, so don't look to the County for more coverage. What are these guys thinking? Or drinking... easy on that tea, fellas.

Anthony Coulter stands alone on the council in support of Justice. Good for him! Stay strong!

One councilman, Bob Landgren, says he wants to hear more from the public. He says there is so much more to this that we poor huddling masses don't understand. Please, fellow citizens in the Bingen/White Salmon area, let Bob hear from you. And cc the rest of the gang while you're at it. And don't forget to thank Anthony. Here are their emails:

Anthony Coulter anthonycoulter@lavabit.com
Bob Landgren vanguardnursery@yahoo.com
Mark Peppel mhpeppel1669@gorge.net
Richard Marx richardmarx@embarqmail.com
WS Manager - Pat Munyan

PatM@ci.white-salmon.wa.us
WS Mayor- David Poucher Mayor@ci.white-salmon.wa.us

The next city council meeting is Wednesday, March 16th. Round table at 5pm, meeting at 6pm at the fire station. Pass the word around to everyone you know. Make some signs. Be there.

Stand up for Justice.

For Dad

2011-02-17T06:45:00.000-08:00

Following is the eulogy written and delivered by my sister Mary at our Dad's funeral 2/14/2011.

LAWRENCE PHILLIP SULLIVAN, LAWRENCE, LARRY, LP,
DAD, DADDY, GRAMPA, GRUMPA, POOPA, UNCLE LARRY, LEERY, LAW-LAW, BUCKY, BIG BUCK, 66, COFFEEMAN, LORENZO SULLIVANI, RORY MUNDANE, UNCLE LORENZO, SIR LAWRENCE, and my personal favorite, given to him by his grandsons, JAMAL.

It is fitting that Dad had so many names, since he gave out so many. If your name was Bill, he called you William or Willy; Lisa was Claudia Cardinale; Al was Alphonzo; Linda Corcoran was Harper’s Ferry. If you were Theresa, you became Terri; Terri became Theresa. If you were a guy and he liked you, you were Commander. After almost 60 years of marriage, it still drove my mother crazy. “Just call them by their real names!” she would say. He totally ignored her. I am sure this was the only instance in their marriage that this occurred . . . right, Mum? I think maybe he did this so when he called his kids the wrong names, we wouldn’t take it personally.

My earliest memories of my dad were how he would march all of us kids down to the nickel Pool. He was like the father Duck with his ducklings behind him . . . Lorrie, Linda, Mark, Annie, Mary, Janet, Carol . . . walking in a line with towels over our shoulders - only stopping for a dropped towel or broken flip flop. Or he’d march us down to the tracks over on Massasoit Street to wait for the train to go by. . . when it did, we would all wave and hoot & holler. I think he did this to give my mother a little bit of peace and quiet.

And way back then, there was singing . .. Always singing . . . except at the dinner table. “No elbows on the table.” “No singing at the table.” Those were the rules. Let me digress & say that my Dad said the fastest Grace on earth, whether in English or Latin, which we loved.
Back to the singing . . . Dad played his gorgeous guitar and we’d all sing: Bill Bailey won’t you please come home; Bicycle Built for Two; Irene Goodnight; Toot Toot Tootsie; Linda - When I go to sleep, I never count sheep, I count all the charms about Linda.

And then, there was the ukelele. Purchased with S&H Green Stamps about 45 years ago, it still sits in the canvas bag my mother made. It came out for every birthday - kids, grandkids, sons-in-law, nieces, nephews, other family members, and special friends. I don’t know how many messages I had on answering machines over the years with my parents singing along with whoever else happened to be at the house, and my dad playing Happy Birthday on the uke. I wish I had saved every one of those messages. For his 80th birthday, we all brought ukes and serenaded HIM for a change. We were no where near as good as he was, but he didn’t mind. He tried out every one of our ukes to make sure they were “satisfactory.”

We can never forget Dad singing with those Sullivan brothers: Bill - Willy, Jim - Seamus, and Dick - Richard. When those boys got together is was magic and there was lots of singing. As a result, all of the Sullivan kids have what my daughter calls the “Sullivan Curse.” Say just about any phrase and we can burst into a song with those words in it.

Music ran through my father’s veins. He loved it all, especially opera. He has an amazing Mozart collection, the official catalogue with his prized possessions highlighted in yellow. He loved Verdi and Donazetti, and the “Eenies” - Puccini, Rossini, and Bellini. He used to say he wanted to “See La Scala and die!” My parents traveled quite a bit after dad retired - to Germany, where my mother’s parents were born; to Austria, the land of Mozart; to Switzerland; and on many cruises. It took a while for them to get to Italy. When they finally visited Milan, La Scala was closed for renovations. My parents sat on a bench across from that famous, boarded up opera house and took in the view. But that was the closest he got. I told him, “Look on the bright side, dad. You don’t have to die yet.”

He loved Gilbert & Sullivan, Maria Callas, & “Lennie” Bernstein. But it wasn’t just opera that he loved. Django Reinhart, Marian McPartland, and Frances Albert Sinatra were among his favorites. And of course, the Bee Gees. Yes, the Bee Gees.

As he neared retirement, Sir Lawrence could be heard singing his theme song, “Ah, ah, ah, ah, Staying Alive, Staying Alive.” The only time he ever surprised my mother on the dance floor was at our friend Terri’s wedding when Staying Alive was played and Dad was out there showing off his disco moves.

'Staying Alive' was the perfect theme song for my dad. He had a good life, a wonderful wife, fantastic kids & grandkids (if I do say so myself), and marvelous friends and extended family . . . but is was never easy. He lost his father and sister at a young age. He had just about every type of ulcer there is; I remember we all went up to Waltham Hospital one time when he was in for a bleeding ulcer. Of course they couldn’t let all us kids into visit, so we stood outside and waved to him up in the window of his hospital room. At age 39, my dad had a retinal hemorrage. He could no longer work running the press at Buck Printing. He had just begun training to teach others how to run the presses. It wasn’t until I got older that I could truly comprehend how incredibly difficult this must have been on him and my mother. Imagine having seven kids, no job and limited vision. But his overabundance of tenacity pulled him through.

My dad was retrained as a court reporter and many of us kids became his proofreaders. I remember spending hours together in the cellar as he typed up transcripts and I read through them looking for grammar, spelling, punctuation, and spacing errors. Forever etched in my mind are the two words that most remind me of my dad . . . “However, Comma”.

After his retraining, my Dad went to work for the Industrial Accident Board, the state agency for workers compensation. He loved working with the insurance company attorneys . . .not so much the claimants’ attorneys. It was through his connections that first Carol and then I got our jobs at PCD&W, sending both of us down the legal career path. Dad’s favorite ALJ to work with was Roz Brooker. “Rosalyn” had polio as a child and walked with canes. They would joke about being the Dynamic Duo; the crippled judge and the blind stenographer. As you can imagine, any scam artist faking a worker’s comp claim got no sympathy from these two. One time, a man challenging the insurer’s abrupt ending of his wc payments appeared for a hearing wearing his Thomas Collar and using a cane. The Insurer’s attorney had the lights turned off as he showed a video of the man water skiing. When the lights went back on, the man was gone for the courtroom and his cane remained behind. “Look, Lawrence,” Roz exclaimed, “It’s a miracle! Let’s raise the cane to the rafters!” Dad loved that story.

Another of Dad’s favorite ALJs was Dottie “Dorothy” Antonelli, who was also a trustee at Suffolk Law School. Dad put in a good word for me with Dorothy when I applied to Suffolk. I’m sure that he helped me get accepted. Dad was so excited that I was going to be a lawyer. Right before I started at Suffolk, I went to the book store to purchase my books. Like an idiot, I bought - all at the same time- every required book plus all those that were recommended. I had three huge bags of books - I swear these plastic bags were partially made of steel. I made it the one block to back to PCDW & called my Dad. “Daddy, can you come help me carry my books home?” Of course, he did. We took the Express Bus to Carter St., then walked the mile or so home, past the Nickle Pool- only this time we didn’t stop for broken flip flops, we stopped every few blocks to put down the books and get back the circulation in our fingers that had been cut off by those steel bags!

Dad loved the law . . . and not just Rumpole of the Bailey. In his next life, I think Dad will be a lawyer. However comma, I’m sure by then he’ll just buy a Kindle and won’t have to worry about carrying law books home.

My Dad also loved the ocean. When we were young kids, the family went for two weeks every summer to Plum Island and stayed at Navassa, a wonderful old house right on the bay. At high tide, we’d swim happily in the bay. At low tide, when we weren’t building sand castles or digging for clams on the sand bar, we’d march over to the ocean side to swim. Dad & Uncle Dick taught us how to dive into the big waves before they crashed. If you didn’t do it correctly, there was always a hand to pluck you out as you tossed around in the surf. If you wouldn’t go in because the water was too cold or too rough, you were called “Chicken of the Sea.” Even though the ocean was often times too cold and too rough, no one wanted to be Chicken of the Sea. Dad gave us dolphin rides on his back and you had to hold your breath while holding on tight as he dove deep under the water.

For a while, my parents had a trailer at Brant Rock where they spent a lot of time in the summers. It never mattered how cold the water was - and it was freezing!- Dad would always get in the ocean. He would never be the Chick of the Sea.. He loved going to Aruba, where Uncle Dick had a time share. The Four Musketeers- Larry, Trudy, Dick & my mother’s sister Mary, would go every year the week after Thanksgiving. There they’d meet up with Uncle Billy & Elaine and have a ball. After Dick and Mary were gone, one or two of the kids with go with them. Even when the ocean was rough (one year Dad broke his collar bone in the waves), he made sure to get in the water, often with the help of “Larry’s Mermaids”. It revived his spirit and energized him- there he was free of all that ailed him. He was Free Willy.

Recently, Dad got to singing, “Open the Door Richard” - a song written in 1947, recorded by many artists over the years, including Count Basey. We think he was calling to his brother that he was ready. Richard, Seamus & Willy opened the door last Wednesday at high noon, and Law Law left his ever-ailing body. We will miss him terribly, but his spirit lives on in each of us.

Every night, before I went to bed, my Dad, thinking he was funny, would say, “Night Mare.”
Night, Dad. Love you madly. Period. Closed Quotes.

Is It Really February Already?

2011-02-03T07:45:00.000-08:00

The groundhog says spring is on the way. Good thing, because I am back here at the mothership in Boston, and it looks like the north pole. Before I left the Gorge, it was winter. Here is the view from Panorama Point on a wintery walk early in January.

Here is the view of my parent's house. There have been 4 storm days since I got here 2 weeks ago. Another is due Saturday. I haven't seen snow piled this high since the Blizzard of 78.

I honestly don't know where January went. I figure I'd better post a few things so people don't think I went into a permanent funk after the Patriots lost to the Jets. My biggest excuse is that my 2.5 year old computer suffered a fatal seizure after Lloyd tried to upgrade my OS from Vista to Windows7. Thanks a bunch, Microsoft and HP. Had to wait for a new laptop. Lost my emails and address book, but fortunately I did back up my tunes, pix, and docs. I do not trust anything to work the way it should. Especially with Microsoft.

We had our New Year's Day ski on the Clark Creek Trail, the best snow there in a couple of years. Check the link for some great pictures. Unfortunately, it's rained ever since.

Alina came to visit for a week after a pit stop in Sugar Land to visit her old buddies, and had the pleasure of extensive father-daughter bonding when she and Lloyd went to pick up Conor at the airport. They got stuck for 4.5 hours behind a jack knifed big rig less than halfway to PDX, with no way to exit or reverse direction. Did I mention there was an ice storm in the Gorge at the time? The normally 2 hour round trip became an 8.5 hour odyssey, with their return at 2:30 am. Now anyone who knows me is aware that I am a terrible bad weather passenger. Knowing the forecast, I thoughtfully suggested (during a mother/daughter pedicure) that Alina might want to have a little one on one time with her dad as well. Little did I know, how long that one on one time would be!

We had a good week visiting breweries and brewpubs, including a fantastic tour of Full Sail in Hood River (highly recommended), and at the other end of the spectrum, Doug showed us where he creates the magic elixirs at Everybody's Brewing in White Salmon. Conor and Alina are home brewers, so we also stopped in to taste at Big Horse, Double Mountain, and Thirsty Woman Pub to check out potables not seen in Boston.

One late night, Lloyd, Alina and Conor brewed a batch of After Midnight Porter, now sitting in the secondary fermenter. They forgot to buy ice to cool the wort, and the sight of the three of them running outside to the last remaining snow piles was pretty funny.

The return trip to PDX was mercifully uneventful. We dropped them off and were back in White Salmon by 6 am, before the sun was even up. But my plans for the rest of January were scuttled when Mom fell and hurt her hip. I was able to reschedule my Alaska Air flight for little more than the $75 change fee, and headed to Boston on the 20th. More on that in the next post.

End of an Era

2010-12-23T10:36:00.000-08:00

Since moving to White Salmon in 2007, we've participated in an annual tradition: blowing your own 0rnament at the White Salmon Glassworks. You choose your colors, shape smooth or ridges, and whether or not you want snow. The glass artists do all the shaping while you blow your own hot air through a tube into the very hot glass. It's great fun, and you get to take home a beautiful piece of art the next day (or they mail it to you if you've come from afar).

In 2008 a string of snowstorms almost caused us to miss our opportunity, but due to popular demand, Ellen and Robin opened up between Christmas and New Years for one more chance. Fortunately for us, the girls were both here to participate. Last year my niece Sydney got to make one for her Xmas present.

The Glassworks has been a labor of love by Robin and Ellen Knoke, and their building is a cornerstone of our little town. But the time has come for retirement, hastened by health problems this past year, and we're all keeping our fingers crossed that someone or some group will step up to keep the fires burning. The glass artists who do their crafting there hope so, too.

Lloyd and I each blow an ornament. My six siblings and I have a rotating Christmas gift share. Each year we've kept Lloyd's ornament, and I've given mine as a gift to a sister. (Don't worry Linda, I made an extra one this year so you'll get yours next year no matter what!). I made one to keep this year, just in case. We have enough to put one in each window along the side of the house.

I have Keara's for safe keeping while she's in Korea, so it has its own window, watching over the bird feeder. Also keeper of Alina's, which was supposed to have 'snow' on it, but it was forgotten...Still pretty though.

Here for your enjoyment are the rest of the beautiful orbs:

To Tree or Not To Tree...that was the question

2010-12-15T22:36:00.000-08:00

I recently polled my Facebook friends to help me decide whether to bother with a tree this year. We have a nice big fake tree that we've had for more than 10 years. It was fine for our houses in Louisiana and Texas but it's a little oversized for our house here in the gorge. I've been leaving off the back row of branches so it wouldn't stick out so far into the room. This year we added the fireplace, so there's a little less room for that tree. I was feeling rather Scroogish, neither of the girls is going to be here, so I was thinking about bailing on the tree thing. Just put up some decorations, hang some favorite ornaments in the windows, light evergreen candles...but this weekend we decided we just couldn't go treeless.

We tried to find a skinnier fake tree. No dice. So we drove up to the Trout Lake forest service ranger station and bought our $5 tree cutting permit. When we lived in California, we used to go to Lassen National Forest over Thanksgiving weekend, and cut a tree. It was a nice tradition, and the kids, who were really small at the time, loved it. Anyway, the weather was foul, so we decided to wait until a break. That came today. We loaded up the snow shoes, saw, and the dog, and drove up to Pineside Sno park. It was dry in White Salmon, rainy at BZ Corner, and snowing at Trout Lake. It snowed like crazy up the road to Pineside. We ended up walking in about 2 ft of fresh snow up the snowmobile road a ways before we found some possibilities.

The winning tree came down easily, but next time we'll bring a sled of some kind to make the hauling out easier. Lloyd did his best Clydesdale impression, and got the tree down to the car. It's outside right now, gotta make some room for it tomorrow before Lloyd takes off to go back up to Adams to ski tomorrow with Dean. Watch for the finished product...

UPDATE: Voila!

I'm Dreaming of a White Salmon 2010

2010-12-15T21:20:00.000-08:00

Hard to believe this was our fourth tree lighting event. We had snow before the tree was delivered, then rain, then a break to raise the beautiful 25 foot tree that SDS lumber kindly dropped at the Boatworks. Santa's elves got loads of lights strung on the tree, Lloyd climbed onto the roof and pulled while we pushed and walked the tree to a standing position. Who needs a cherry picker?

The day of the event we took our cds, marshmallow skewers, makings for over 120 s'mores, and a load of wood for the fire pit. I took a walk to the library for their annual wassail celebration, and to hear my marimba bandmate Dottie and her a capella quartet "It Takes Four" perform holiday classics. Lloyd started the fires about 3:30 and it wasn't too long before people started stopping by, but we think the 'Civil War' game between Oregon and Oregon State was responsible for the low turnout.

Michelle from D'lish Delivered brought yummy hot chocolate and an assortment of cookies, Ray at the Boatworks supplied hot cider. The kids from the Equestrian team sold wreaths. Local shops had great specials and I was able to sneak in a few purchases before I had to stand duty at the fire pits.

And then came the mini horses from Windwalker Ranch, with their antlers and striped socks (which they didn't seem too thrilled to be dressed in). They were a big hit with the kids who came early. As it got dark, the horses had to go home. There was a mini stampede as they were being loaded into their trailer but they were quickly contained.

The kids went crazy making and eating s'mores. I am glad none of them were coming home with me. Let's just say the more unrestrained noshers had more than their quota of sugar.

A bit after 5 the crowd had grown in anticipation of the tree lighting. Maybe the game was over...by 5:15 we were wondering where the mayor was...he finally took a break from interviewing police chief candidates and walked down to perform his favorite unofficial duty. He led the countdown, and another beautiful tree, complete with white salmon topper, was lit for the season!

New Project

2010-11-13T12:54:00.000-08:00

Inspired by Conor and Alina's homebrewing, I came up with a great birthday present for Lloyd this year. While I was in Boston, Alina and I went shopping at their favorite brew supply store, and chose a Scottish Ale kit for Lloyd. I'm sure the TSA inspectors were amused when they opened my checked back to see what the can of liquid and assorted powders, grains and foil packs of hops were. I was 2 for 2 that last trip for inspections.

We had all the major equipment we needed from my blackberry wine making venture. That didn't turn out good enough to repeat. Last Sunday we decided to cook up some beer. Alas, my largest pot was a mere 3 gallons, and I feared serious spillage onto my ceramic stovetop. So I went in search of a bigger pot, had to cross the bridge and found what I was looking for at WalMart. The irony of buying my husband a pot! I had a choice of 4 gallon or 5. I figured what the heck, go big. It's a beauty.

I don't know what I was expecting for hops when I opened the foil packs. They looked like something that should be fed to rabbits. They sure smelled good, though. The cooking went well, and I was glad we had the extra headroom, so to speak, as one flash boil nearly reached the top.

After cooking, the whole pot goes into an ice bath in the sink to cool it off before adding the yeast. We did not have a big enough ice supply in our pathetically small ice maker, so that involved an unscheduled late evening run to Thriftway before they closed.

The wort made it into the fermenter, and we put it downstairs in the dark storage area after checking the temp to make sure it was in range. Unfortunately, it got really cold that night and by morning, it was a tad chilly for activating yeast, so it took up residence in the laundry room. By evening it had started percolating away. Glug Glug.

This weekend we'll siphon out the good stuff into the glass carbouy for the secondary, then we'll have a little time to locate some bottles and a capper. I think it will have to stay in the laundry room. Cold weather is on its way and we don't want to kill off our yeast too soon. Good thing our technical advisor is just a text message away. Stay tuned.

Falling through Fall

2010-11-08T14:20:00.000-08:00

Once again, I'm paving the road to hell with my good intentions...Here, after long last, is the first of several updates to my neglected blog. To my readers who don't care for politics, you will be pleased that the main reason for such a long absence was politically related activity and that I spared you the agony by writing in other venues. We all got enough on our TVs to last a lifetime. I could make some smart comments here, but I will save them for another space. But fall is here in the Gorge, with winter knocking at the door. A nice rainy day makes for good writing weather!

After sending Keara off to Korea, we had some great days hiking and doing Wilderness Steward good deeds, kayaking on the Columbia and Klickitat, working up at the Tilly Jane Guard Station preparing for historical days and winter, dealing with a fantastic harvest of vegetables and apples from the garden, you know, all the usual things happening this time of year. We never did get out for another camping trip. I still hold out hope for one before the snow flies, though it's already flying at Mt. Hood. And as of 15 minutes ago, on Underwood, about 500 ft above us.

We were fortunate to have Roger and Lupe Severson join us for a long weekend, so we could show off our extended neighborhood. We've known them for over 30 years, lived in RI, CA and TX with them, and now they are looking at a landing place, too. I hope we convinced them with our waterfall hikes, wine tasting, mountain and river views, and promises of excellent nordic skiing if they come back this winter. The photo right is of Lloyd, Lupe and Roger at Multnomah Falls, after our Oneonta Gorge/Horsetail Falls hike.

A busy 10 day trip to Boston followed that weekend. The trees were in full color, as evidenced by this one in Grove Hill Cemetary (est. 1703) next to our street, where I love to walk and visit the old graves. I spent some quality time with my parents, visited with some relatives, and had some very nice Alina time, including a Fins Sushi dinner, which I always look forward to. I'll be sorry when she's no longer at BC, walking distance to this great little place. Her busy schedule of student teaching and a M-W childcare/cooking job keeps her hopping, and I was afraid I wouldn't see her at all. But a text message awaited me when I landed, so I took the green line to Chestnut Hill instead of to N. Station and the commuter to Waltham. We had oysters, chowder and salad at Legal Seafood, with Conor as our waiter. Fun, and I was back in Waltham only about an hour later than I would have been if I'd taken the train. What a treat.

My visit coincided with that of Father Bernie (a Columbian Fathers Missionary) and Una McDermott, cousins of my Auntie Marilyn (who was married to my late Uncle Bill, Dad's eldest brother). I hadn't seen Una since I was a teenager, and Fr. Bernie at my cousin Sarah's wedding in 1998. They are always great fun, and we had a wonderful lunch with them, Auntie M and my cousin Beth, at the homestead on Prairie Street. If those walls could talk...remembering the days of seven Waltham cousins hanging out with seven Concord cousins, while the adults had tea.

Another blast from the past included lunch at the Watch City Brewery with four jr high/high school friends, two I hadn't seen since graduation, the other two I've seen only once or twice in that 40 years. I was leaving a week too early for the short notice reunion being planned, so instead met up with a few people to scope out the venue for the main event. I'd been there before, and it was conveniently in walking distance on a nice fall day. Before I left, I got to squeeze in lunch with Arthur, my friend since 10th grade. But most of the time I spent helping out the folks.

We accomplished a lot. I walked with Dad daily, and starting reading him a fantastic book, Last Train to Paradise, about Flagler's Folly, the railroad built from Homestead to Key West FL, an engineering marvel until the hurricane of 1935 wiped it out. I can't wait to go back and read more. I helped Mom clean out her sewing area in preparation of moving it upstairs. Miraculous! Of course, Mom loved having a personal chef. And speaking of reunions, Mom went to her 65th high school reunion at Mt. St. Joseph's Academy, the only one there from her class. I hung out with Dad, and watched baseball (after Lawrence Welk and Jeopardy). Here she is in her reunion dress. Nice!

The day I got back, Will was here from CA for the weekend, always a pleasure. It was Lloyd's 'when I'm 64' birthday. I still need him, and I still feed him. No problem. Then Lloyd and I went to McMinnville on election day to help my sister Mary, Yamhill County Commissioner, celebrate one way or the other. She's checking the first results in the photo to the right. It turned out to be a happy ending, and Mary will have her third and final term. Turning back a tea party candidate in a conservative county was no mean feat this year, but honestly, the best candidate won. That's not biased. it's a FACT. That's all I'm gonna say.

We ended the visit with lunch at Red Hills Provincial Dining in Dundee, our favorite restaurant. Nancy even made Lloyd a yummy birthday cake! Sweet! Here is Lloyd being deliberately un-photogenic.

Stay tuned for some details and photos of recent activities. I won't make you wait too long.

What Not To Wear

2010-08-30T13:00:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love to shop. NOT. My idea of a shopping spree is using my Discover points to get LLBean discount cards and hit the Sale page for a new pair of jeans or more fleece of various thickness. I am not sad that I live an hour away from any kind of mall.

Now that we live in the NW, I fit right in. We're not in Sugar Land any more. Jeans work for 3 seasons, and cool evenings in summer. Sweatshirts and fleece jackets never get stored away. Keen makes great hiking shoes, boots and sandals. Who needs anything more?

Apparently, one of Keara's goals for her visit last week was to stage an intervention. After our Costco and Trader Joe run, we stopped at the Outlet Mall in Troutdale, where I thought she just wanted to pick up a few last minute things to wear for work. HA! We entered the Gap Outlet where she proceeded to choose clothes for ME! Try this on. This will look great with that. Your jeans are horrible, try these! Then she stood outside the dressing room door and awaited my appearance to thumbs up or down. I ended up walking out with a new pair of jeans, a pair of gray bermuda shorts, a pair of taupe colored dress pants, a short sleeved T and a long sleeved button down white shirt to wear under the purple cardigan and the turquoise shawl collared sweater, and a colorful sleeveless blouse. Then it was time to find an acceptable bag to replace my aging LLBean healthy back bag that has way too many hidden pockets. The Totes store had the answer. I had to promise to work on shoes. We ran out of time.

I went to work at Springhouse Cellars the next afternoon, in my new shorts, a pin striped white blouse that was hiding in my closet, and sandals. I had to sneak my Keen sandals into the car when she wasn't looking. I need those rubber protected toes! And I wore the new jeans, Tshirt and purple sweater to the airport when she left for Seoul on Saturday (above photo). Thanks, Keara. You were a great 'Stacey'...we didn't even need Clinton.

Hope for the Future

2010-08-28T17:03:00.000-07:00

It's been busy in the 'hood. We just finished up working on the primary election, J amba Marimba had its last scheduled gig of the summer, and my first daughter came home for a week. One week. To put the finishing touches on her preparations for her year teaching English overseas. So thoughts of 'home', our lives and the lives of many friends have been swirling around in my head.

For Keara, home is wherever we are. She spent the first 5+ years of her life in California (though my Texas friends will be proud to know she had her REAL beginning in TX). Her K-5 elementary years were spent in Lagos, Nigeria, where she learned and played with kids from 40 different countries. During those years, we visited at least 13 different countries in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. She went off on her own to the UK in 2002 for a 3 week program at Cambridge between soph and junior year in high school. She added several more European countries during her 6 months in Berlin during junior year at Brandeis. After college, she wanted to work, enjoy life in Boston beyond college, and figure out what to do next. A few mundane admin jobs later, she made a choice to get back out in the world for a new adventure, and prepare for what comes next (grad school, perhaps at UT?). Her advisor in college suggested she needed non European experience to reach her career goal of International Student/Study Abroad officer at a university. Asia was one place she hasn't been, so Asia it is.

South Korea, specifically. All her language study has been European, with 5 years of jr-sr high Spanish, a major in German, and exposure to French at school in Nigeria. Why not go someplace and do total immersion????? That's Keara. I am so grateful we had the years in Nigeria to give the kids a broader perspective. Our friend Joel, the admissions counselor at AIS-L, gave a talk on Third Culture Kids that I'll never forget. Kids who live outside their own culture and how the experience transforms them.

I think about our friends Barb and John, whose daughter Kelsey is in The Gambia with her husband in the Peace Corps, both of them fresh out of grad school. Kelsey lived in Indonesia as a kid. Our friends Tom and Mary's son Matt was a junior high student when we came to Nigeria. After law school, Matt went to Rwanda and started up Indego Africa, investing in long term skills for Rwandan women. Most of our overseas friends' kids have done semesters abroad. Tom and Leila's daughter Andrea, already fluent in Spanish, is getting some hospital nursing experience under her belt, and studying French, so she can join one of my favorite charities, MSF (Doctors Without Borders). My friend Hal's wonderful daughter Sara taught English in Egypt for several years. Other former expat friends, like Diana and Scott, have kids in the military serving overseas. I often wonder where all the kids that Keara went to elementary school with have ended up.

Some of our friends NEVER went overseas, but their kids are out there in the world doing good things, like my friend Janet's Kate, who has been working for a health care NGO in Rwanda the last several years. My cousin Steve's daughter Janna, who just finished a year teaching English in, coincidentally, S. Korea. Keara's wonderfully crazy friend Lucy from Louisiana, who just finished a year of working in Australia and traveling all over Asia, and now wants to apply for a job in S. Korea. My friend Avalon's daughter left this week for a 4 year PhD program in Dusseldorf. Others in and graduated from the service academies, all out serving us in the world.

These are only a few examples. There are more. But it gives me great hope during a time when so many Americans have gone so xenophobic that I am embarrassed for our country. We finally have a president, also a Third Culture Kid, who has restored some semblance of respect in the world but ironically, brought out the worst ugliness at home. As a second generation kid myself (my maternal grandparents came from Germany) I get very discouraged. Living in SW Houston neighborhood of 30 plus homes with only 3 Anglo American families, with neighbors from around the world. I worry how they are faring with this nonsense. I am concerned about my wonderful Muslim neighbors, who would invite us to celebrate the end of Ramadan with them. My Chinese neighbors who would bring tea for Chinese New Years. My Vietnamese neighbors who would stop by with freshly made spring rolls. Our house was bought by a Chinese family. There was only one Anglo American family left when we moved. That makes me sad.

Then I think of all these bright young people out there in the world, putting a great face on what Americans are REALLY like. It gives me hope. Have a great year, Keara. Show them what American looks like.

Best Email of the Day

2010-08-05T23:09:00.000-07:00

POLITICAL ALERT

Sorry I haven't been writing. I try to keep my political life out of my blog life. It's been difficult lately. There are so many things I want to write about. So I've spent a lot of time writing other places. I apologize, and will get back to local color when I'm done tilting windmills.

I got a lot of really annoying emails today. The most annoying was so aggravating, I responded with this.

But the best one was THIS one. I got an email from the Prez. Just because I signed his Birthday Card. Great manners. Really great.

Loretta --

I want to thank you for signing my birthday card.

Michelle told me that she was planning something a little different this year, and I was overwhelmed by the kind words I received from so many supporters like you.

This job has a way of offering humbling moments. And the support you have shown me, time and time again, has sustained me through any number of difficult days. It is more than any president deserves, and I could not be more grateful.

On my birthday, I spent some time considering what the year ahead will bring -- a new set of challenges and opportunities, some that we can foresee and some that we cannot.

If we continue to stand together, I know we will continue to move America forward and win these fights for change.

Thank you again for taking a moment to sign my card. As far as birthdays go, it is hard to imagine topping this one. But then again, Michelle always has a way of surprising me.

Sincerely,

Barack

I find myself really rooting for this guy (even though I was a Hillary supporter-still am-she's a great Sec State). He's working his butt off, swimming upstream against obstructionist Republicans who demand concessions then vote no anyway. He gets disrespected at every turn, yet he's accomplished a lot more than the previous president, with no recognition for it. He's a good person, a good dad, and a good husband, by all indications. I don't understand the hatefulness of some of the people in this country. It totally embarrasses and concerns me.

Thanks, Barack, for send me an email. You made my day.

Roaring Towards July

2010-06-22T15:03:00.000-07:00

I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that, though they got a slow start on the season, my boys from Boston are back in the hunt. As of right now, they are tied with fast starting Tampa Bay, one half game back of the team I love to hate, the Yankees (Derek Jeter excepted).

There are plenty of things to cheer about right now, with new faces, healing injuries, old work horses, and oomph in Big Papi's bat. I still have heart palpitations when they call for the bull pen. Or when Dice K is pitching. But on the whole, I really like this team.

My Nextgen Red Sox fan, daughter Keara, was at the game the other day with her old college roommates, when they beat the Dodgers in the bottom of the ninth. That girl is a good luck charm. She has a history of this stuff. Thanks for being there, doing your part, while I merely scream at the computer Game Day updates.

For the past you know how long, I've been keeping up with news on the Deepwater Horizon oil blowout. After years of living on the Gulf Coast, with a spouse who was a deepwater explorationist, it's always on my mind. My favorite source of news before it hits the major networks has been El Jefe Bob, of the Daily Hurricane. Why do I mention this, besides the fact that he's been spot on THE WHOLE TIME? I knew I liked this guy. Look at him today on his post. Check out that hat. Nuf said.

New Hangouts in Husum

2010-06-05T11:46:00.001-07:00

Since the demise of Hooba's last November, evening Husum hangouts were non existent. Weep no more, local denizens! Rumor has it that someday soon, there will be something happening at the golf course restaurant now that the ghosts of Hooba's have been busted. I hear it might even involve a deep fryer (gasp!).

The bigger news is that Shaffer and Regina are now running The Husum Ice House at the Riverside B&B. The 100 year old brick ice house-turned-wine bar is the centerpiece of the property, which was originally the Husum Hotel, founded at the turn of the century (the last one, not the present one!). The wine bar is full of local wines. Here is Regina pouring some Waving Tree Sangiovese in the Ice House.

We attended the soft opening recently, and were treated to great wines and small plates on the patio. We enjoyed the company of local winemakers, winegrowers, chefs, artists, all fans of eating well and supporting the good life in Husum.

Here are pictures of two of the five plates were were treated to. Top has shrimp and a sauce I don't recall (too much sangiovese) and a pork tenderloin with cherry sauce. The other is lamb balls with a green chutney. MMM good. By then the Sangiovese was gone and we were sipping on some Wind River Cellars reds.

I stopped in for a glass of wine and human contact on Thursday. It was rainy, so the patio was out. Instead, I got to sit at the "Chef's Table", the counter seating in the kitchen, where I watched Chef Shaffer prepare my carpaccio small plate. Nice. They are open Thurs-Fri at 5, Saturday and Sunday noon to 9 pm, and are planning on serving a weekend brunch by July. I'll double check the hours and update this info as well. You can find the Ice House on Facebook as well.

More news: The infamous hillbilly smoker has found a new home at the White Water Cafe, along with its creator and chief operator, John G. Look for the BBQ sign out in front of the WWC across from the Husum Golf Course on Rt. 141. John is open Fri-Sun for his famous pulled pork sandwiches, sliders, ribs, chicken, and combo plates. The Cafe also has plans for an early morning coffee plus shift, and a lunchtime shift. I'll update as all becomes clear.

This bodes well for the Annual 4th of July parade and o.1 K fun run. We're thinking pub crawl between the Ice House and the BBQ. If the golf course place is open by then, we might make it up the hill.

Escape to the Middle of Nowhere WA

2010-06-02T12:51:00.001-07:00

Project #3 for being MIA in May: Camping Trip with the Nordic Club gang.

Once the snow is done (though I don't think it will EVER be really done this year) we look for other sources of adventure. Last year we kicked off the 'off' season with a trip to John Day Fossil Beds. This year, we decided to follow the Ice Age Floods. Lloyd and Fred planned us a three night camping trip to Palouse Falls and environs. The weather forecast was awful for the weekend. We were leaving early Thursday morning May 20th. The night before it was COLD, RAINY (snow at 3500 ft) and WINDY. More of the same was on the way. No one was calling it off. We were taking our pop up camper, so as long as the tenters were game, so were we.

We took our time leaving the Gorge, stopped along the way in Wallula Gap for a geology lesson, then had a lunch stop at the Marcus Whitman historic hotel in Walla Walla. The old part of the hotel is neat, but the food in the restaurant was forgettable. I wish we'd gone across the street to Jacobi's, where I'd eaten last fall during the State Democrats meeting. Much better food. And less expensive. Anyway, we made one more stop at the last grocery store for miles in Dayton, then headed in to the Lyons Ferry Marina on the Snake River to set up camp. KOAs are not our first choice in camp grounds but there weren't a lot of choices, especially since the vancampers needed hookups.

The four tents were up the hill from us and the van campers next to us. The weather held, and we set up a group dining area by merging our picnic tables between the two of us.

Skip brought down the Coleman tailgater grill, and we cooked ourselves a fantastic kabob dinner.

Ole brought his trusty guitar and we had a group campfire up the hill, singing every song we could think of, and of course, his Austin Lounge Lizard standards Old Blevins and Paint Me On Velvet. We crashed at the 10 pm quiet time. It was cold. I wore several layers to bed that night, including a hoodie.

The hikes on Friday were easy but interesting. Fueled by a hearty pancake breakfast, we went first to Lyons Ferry State Park across the bridge from our camp. We hiked to a viewpoint where you can see an archaeological site, the Marmes Rockshelter, where the oldest (10,000 year old) human remains in the state were found. There's a diked area to the center right of the photo, with a cave at the waterline where the remains were found. Cool.

Then we drove to the 200 ft. Palouse Falls. The weather looked threatening, but didn't act on the threats. We were treated to great views, and some friendly marmots.

Back at the camp, we feasted on grilled salmon steaks and salads. Meal planning is very important to us campers. Then another campfire/singalong. The campground was filling up, it being Friday night. We resolved to camp midweek if at all possible. It was cold again, but not as bad as the night before. It rained a bit overnight, but cleared by morning.

Who can go out exploring without one of Yolanda's breakfast burritos (on homemade tortillas) with homemade salsa? Not I. Some crazy people ate two. Not I. Friday's adventure was to return to one of the trails at Palouse State Park and hike the steep loose trail to the bottom.

Not being one to risk life and limb for such an experience, decided to stay above and photograph the journey.

As the insane ones made their way to the train tracks, I just KNEW a train would come. Yep, one did. Just as they made it to the next part of the trail. After getting a few shots in, I returned to the park and did Ken Ken puzzles (conveniently left in the car) until they returned. Not that I'm a wuss or anything, I truly just don't like steep trails. I know it's easier coming up. But if I fall on the way down and break my neck, how the hell am I gonna get up? See what I'm saying?

The second part of the day was fantastic. After a scenic drive through Devil's Canyon, we went to Juniper Dunes and climbed to the top. Great fun, great views and great Big Sky! Actually ran into a group that was leaving as we arrived, a nordic ski club from nearby Pasco. How crazy is that? We made it back to the campground for our final dinner (chili and leftovers). It was getting even more crowded, with noisy tenters long after we'd put out the fire packed up the chairs and guitar. It rained and gusted wind all night long. I don't think anyone slept much.

An executive decision in the morning: no one wanted to cook breakfast in the wind. We'd had it. Coffee, yes. Muffins and scones, yes. Enough to get us on our way. The tenters did not take care in being quiet packing up. With quiet hours 10 pm-6 am, they were well within their rights at 6:10 am...payback for the all night partiers, heh heh. We hit the road, but had to drive all the way to Umatilla to find breakfast. A sign by the road pointed down a side street to a hotel and restaurant...it was the first thing we'd seen in hours. The Desert River Inn and Tumbleweed Saloon looked good to us. The breakfast menu was fantastic. We all ordered different things and everyone was happy.

Great way to end the trip. Several cars went to The Dalles after that, and we crossed the river at Biggs Bridge to finish the drive home on the WA side of the Columbia.

More photos can be found on the club's Picassa site.

.

The List

2010-06-01T16:29:00.000-07:00

Whenever I have a big decision to make, I use The List (apologies to Gilbert and Sullivan). You know, fold a paper in half. Put pluses on one side, minuses on the other. It usually makes the decision clear. The last time I used The List, it was when the job was taking us back to Houston. When we left Houston the first time, in 1985, after 3.5 years, the plus side for leaving was long. If you're not from Houston, it usually is. But all things are relative, so after nearly 6 years in Nigeria and 5 years in New Orleans, the plus side for Houston was pretty dang good. These days, I'd be hard pressed to find any good reasons to leave where I am. Good thing I don't have to.

There are other times where The List can come in handy, Elections, for example. You have two candidates for, say, County Commissioner of a large rural county. I want to vote for the person who has the best experience in matters financial, managerial, legal, and social and who has made a significant investment in the community. This particular race is non partisan, so the party of the candidate should not be driving the decision, even though it does. I'll call my candidates Mary 1 and Mary 2. And make my list.

Mary 1
18 year resident of county
Long record of involvement on numerous local nonprofit boards, gov't task forces, college forums
Successful fundraiser for food bank capital campaign
Former legal counsel and exec. asst to the warden, federal prison in county
Former law clerk in federal district court, Portland
Two term incumbent with experience in all areas of county management
Parent of a public middle schooler
Endorsed by both area newspapers based on her record and qualifications
Ran a nonpartisan campaign

Mary 2
17 year resident of county
No record of community involvement
No history of involvement in local government
Former tv broadcaster and radio talk show host
Failed candidate for governor
Tea Bag symbol on every sign

I've left out Mary 2's activist experience. It's at state and national levels, and not really germane to the job of county commissioner. Constitution Party politics, and you know, the hot button issues that get people all revved up but don't help much when you're trying to run a county.

Now, all things being equal, I'm going with Mary 1. But then, I'm a practical person. I like my public officials to be the best person available for the job. Lord knows it takes a special person to put up with all that being a public servant entails. Full disclosure: I'd also go with Mary 1 because she's my sister. I've known her all her life. She's smart, fair, ethical, honorable, respectful of her position and constituents, able to put herself in someone else's shoes, and damn, she's funny. She's a can-do sort of person.

You would NEVER know that judging by the 'chatter' from the haters in her county. Arrogant? Nope. Bully? Uh uh. Sore loser? Hardly. Tax and spend liberal? Why, for explaining the impact on county services should state ballot tax initiatives FAIL? For voting WITH the other two commissioners for a levy to deal with the meth problem? This is all they've got. That and the fact that she called herself a goddam liberal for caring about people, publicly taking the Lord's name in vain...someone catch me while I swoon. It's nicer than some of the stuff the other side has written online. This is the same woman who held a food bank capital campaign fundraiser for her 50th birthday, and as chairwoman, did cartwheels (a feat she'd never accomplished) when it hit $1 million. When it hit $2 million just before the election, she started working on her promised back flip. Yeah, I hate her, too. She makes me look like a slug.

The result of the primary last month was a sad commentary on the voters of that county. The sheeple couldn't look past the rhetoric and voted for Mary 2 in numbers high enough to warrant a runoff in November. I hope the 60% of voters who failed to send in their ballots change their minds in November. Maybe they thought Mary 1 was a shoo-in, even though she told them not to take anything for granted. I hope the 1500 people who voted but failed to choose a candidate for commissioner decide to vote in that race in November. And I hope those who chose write ins like George Bush and Minnie Mouse realize that their votes DO matter. That the county commissioner is more important to their daily life than most of the up ballot races they do vote for. Oh yeah, one more thing: I hope they all make their own lists, then use their BRAINS to make a good choice.

More Grapes, Please

2010-05-28T09:17:00.000-07:00

The next installment of 'why I've been away from the Pahk':
Project 2. Planting Grapes at Energeia Vineyards

We had two planting weekends where we helped our friends John, Regina, James and Lynette plant Albarino grapes at their pear orchard turned vineyard up on Underwood. The young folks at Energeia are pioneers in growing Albarino in the area. They leave their various day jobs in Portland and Husum to plant for their futures.

Unlike some retirees, we don't care to have an estate vineyard for our house wine. We let other people worry about plants, water, disease, weather, equipment, etc. We help them plant and harvest grapes. And join their barrel clubs if they have a winery. It's the neighborly thing to do.

Albarino (or Alvarinho) is a Spanish (Portuguese) white wine grape, presumably brought to Iberia by Cluny monks in the twelfth century.

Its name "Alba-Riño" means "the white [wine] from the Rhine" and it has locally been thought to be a Riesling clone originating from the Alsace region of France, although earliest known records of Riesling as a grape variety date from the 15th, rather than the 12th, century.

The first weekend we planted bareroot stock, as we did with last year's gewurtz (shown right). It's kind of like planting roses. Lloyd worked all day, and earned foreman status. I had a county convention to run so did a short 4 hour shift in the late afternoon.

We were rewarded with great burgers, and the requisite bonfire. James had a good stock of his pear cider available. Wonder where he got all the pears?

It was a pretty raw night, so the fire felt good.
Former pear orchards have plenty of wood to burn.
The embers were particularly beautiful.

The second weekend in May we reversed participation. Lloyd was off installing a watering system with Will at Will's brother's in Hood River. Will comes up from CA for these little projects. So I did the Saturday shift and Lloyd did the Sunday shift.

The plants were more fragile nursery starts, so we had to plant them carefully and set up the grow tubes at the same time. It's a little more time consuming than the bare root planting, but you have more time to commune with your grape plant.

The small plant goes into the deep hole, you cover the roots to just below the first node. Then carefully thread the leaves through the tube, stand the tube upright, push the bamboo stick down to secure it in the dirt, pile up the dirt on the sides to keep the plant cool, and finally, make a watering moat. When you're done, move on to the next hole.

The second annual seafood boil was delicious.
Chef Shaffer can always be counted on for good eats.
James' hazlenut home brew and jug of house syrah were excellent potables.

And the bonfire?
It was scary big.

The biggest yet.
Quite hell-acious, if you ask me.

Anatomy of a Fireplace

2010-05-27T16:55:00.000-07:00

Here it is the end of May and I've once again let myself get too far away from the Pahk. I looked over the file of photos for May, thinking, what have we been doing for this to happen AGAIN. Like the Red Sox, who started slow but are on a roll, I'm getting back in the groove.

Project 1. The Fireplace- Start date, March 30
Estimated time to completion: 2 weeks max

Step 1. Remove wood stove, and find it a new home. It's a good stove, but Lloyd just doesn't want to mess with wood, smoke, ashes, etc. Heck, he's retired! He'd rather be building stone walls, or skiing, or camping, or organizing a street festival, or designing websites.

Step 2. Frame in where fireplace will go. Include some bonus seating for our small living room.

Step 3. Box in, wire the outside, and basically stucco it.

Step 4. Decide it's way too tall. Cut down, repatch top.

Step 5. Insert super duper energy efficient natural gas stove unit. Hook up gas lines.

Step 6. Face the box with rock, then lay the hearth stones.

Step 7. Get someone to make the mantel. Meanwhile rearrange furniture.

Step 8. Patch the hole in the ceiling left by the stack removal.

Step 8. Get final inspection. Add mantel.

End date: May 15- Things always take longer than you think they will- Murphy's Law in effect.

Was it too warm to use? Heck no, it was cold all the next week. We used it every night!

Why Did the Turkey Cross the Road?

2010-04-23T18:31:00.000-07:00

Well, it didn't actually cross the road, it just wandered through the yard, then headed back down the hill when the dog went outside. We hadn't seen the turkeys for a while, but Lloyd could hear them early in the am when he did his yoga out on the deck. I'm thinking by Thanksgiving, we can fatten them up...

Spring has sprung in our neck of the woods. The tulips are out in force. The irises look like they might be early this year. Wildflowers galore, though I haven't been out to see them in a few weeks. And we bucked the 'rule' about not planting your garden til all the snow is off Mt. Defiance. The tomatoes are in, seeds for the cukes, squashes and melons are planted, and a few rows of lettuce are in.

We helped the 'kids' up at Energeia Vineyards plant albarino grapes on the 10th, followed by the usual pearwood fueled bonfire. Round two is coming up on May 15th. I think we'll be fully recovered by then. Lloyd was up there all day. I was in Dallesport at our Democratic County Convention until 1 pm, so didn't make it to Underwood until later in the afternoon. We got our delegates elected, our candidates nominated, and our platform discussed and approved in less than 3 hours, including lunch. I still had time to get in about 3 hours of planting. Enough to be sore all day Sunday.

Jamba Marimba is practicing in earnest as our summer schedule begins to shape up. We eagerly await Anita's return from Florida in a few weeks, then we'll be almost at full strength. Almost, because Dick is not well and won't be joining us, sadly. We'll miss our token guy. We've added a new song, and made some improvements on others. Music is seriously good for the soul.

Our latest home improvement project has been stalled due to Murphy's Law. But it should be complete by the end of next week. We decided to remove the wood stove and replace it with a natural gas fireplace. As soon as it's done, I'll get a good picture for you.

I've had two quick trips to McMinnville, one with Keara, after we helped Andrea celebrate her birthday in Portland, and the other last Sunday for Mary's re-election campaign fundraiser. It's just dandy to have a sister I can get to in under 2 hours. Keara couldn't resist Andrea's chocolate fountain and fondue party. It was great to catch up with Tom and Leila, who came down from Blaine for their youngest's 24th.

Keara hadn't been to Mary's in 7 years, and was seriously missing a visit to Red Hills Provincial Dining. Mary had a previous commitment, but Matt and Syd rounded out our table. Here they toast with their bubbly. We had a great feast, as usual. The fresh Alaskan halibut was to die for. Keara savored her short ribs, and sent the doggie box back to Lloyd, who stayed home with sick Brindle. We got up in the wee hours to make the trek to the airport for the 7:20 nonstop back to Boston. I had a private Easter sunrise on I84, and was home by 6:30 am. And dead tired the rest of the day.

Last Sunday's event was at The Horse Radish in Carlton, a wonderful wine and cheese bar. I put my sign assembly skills to good use, and had a blast meeting Mary's friends and supporters. Judging from the turnout, I'd say Mary's good for another term as County Commissioner.

So that's the story. Tomorrow morning we're heading out to a spey rod clinic, and tomorrow night is the Wind River Cellars Barrel Member Dinner. Always a great time. Stay tuned. There will be a few more pics here, but blogger isn't uploading well right now...

So Good, So Good

2010-04-05T09:43:00.000-07:00

It was quite an 'opening night' at The Pahk last night. I was watching on teevee, and chatting with both Red Sox and Yankee fan FB friends during the game. We all agree, you can never assume anything between those two teams no matter the score midway. As my dad says, "Never assume, it makes an ass out of u and me." Special thanks to Lil in Ponchatoula. Right after she made a comment about no lead being safe (when the Yankees were ahead), the Red Sox rallied. I hope Joe didn't stroke out. She said he was "yellin' and cussin'".

It was the first ever night opener at Fenway in its 98 years. The last time the Sox opened with the Yankees in the visitors dugout was in 2005, after the Sox had won their World Series since 1918. The Yankees won that one. I liked the result a lot better this time.

They pulled out all the stops, with local Steven Tyler (sans Aerosmith) singing God Bless America during the 7th inning stretch. Then, they shocked and awed the packed house when Neil Diamond came out to sing Sweet Caroline half way through the 8th. His voice is shot, but no one cared. It brought a tear or two to my eye. You haven't lived until you've sung Sweet Caroline (bum bum bum) at the top of your lungs at Fenway with 37,000 other crazed fans. Put it on your bucket list. You can practice here:

Big thanks to Juanita Jean for clipping this from the morning paper. I hope the customers at the World's Most Dangerous Beauty Salon don't mind the hole in the comics page.

It's gonna be a LOOOOONG season!

Crater Lake in Winter-CHECK!

2010-04-04T15:48:00.000-07:00

Near the top of my list of things I gotta do was something very doable, now that I live on the left coast. I've been to Crater Lake a couple of times in my life, in the summer. A winter trip has always been on the agenda. Fortunately, our nordic club chapter agreed, so a merry band of us headed south to Union Creek Resort for some mid week recreation.

Union Creek Resort is surrounded by the Rogue River National Forest, and fit our needs to a T. Some of us stayed in the main lodge (bedrooms with shared baths, sitting room with big fireplace, game room with pool table) while others stayed in small cabins. We brought our dog, so stayed in pet friendly cabin 1.

We had everything in that little cabin we needed: a comfy bed, kitchenette, table and two chairs, hot shower, and occasional wireless internet. Their excellent website has video of the different rooms and cabins. Elliot and Yolie had a cabin at the edge of the property that had a big campfire ring that came in handy on night 2. But more on that later.

After a half day's caravan drive, we checked in then headed up to the Rim to check out conditions for the next day's ski. There was plenty of snow!

We were treated to sunny blue skies, bluer water, and not a hint of wind, leaving the surface of the lake like a mirror.

Check out the reflections.

Even the jet contrails reflected in the lake. It was breathtaking.

After our scouting mission, we went back down to Beckie's Cafe for dinner. Beckie's is famous for its pies. They looked fantastic, but I must admit after that huge helping of homemade chili and cornbread, I had absolutely no room for pie. Eileen had a piece of Very Berry, and it was. Very. Berry. Our group of 12 took up half of the second service area. The waitress was excellent and cheerful. Then it was early to bed to get ready for the skiing.

I made a pot of Bob's Five Grain Cereal (my very favorite) in my little kitchen, packed some lunch munchies, and some dog biscuits for Brindle, then we headed back to the Rim. The wind had come up a little bit, so the mirror effect was gone, making us really glad we'd gone up the afternoon before.

The view was still great.

We had a good time playing in bowls just a couple miles from the trailhead. Here's Yolie, just before she crashed and messed up her knee a little bit.

Here are some of Ole's finely carved tele turns.

It was so warm, we all took the opportunity to get a little extra vitamin D. Especially Yolie.

Brindle needed a salt lick.

Some people were skiing in tank tops! (Not our group!)

We were tired and hungry so we headed back to our base. After all, the moon was rising (center).

On the menu tonight: community dinner of pasta and sauce, meatballs, salad, garlic bread, potables, and homemade desserts. It was warm enough to set up outside Cabin 15.

The hosts trucked over folding chairs and a table for us, as well as a load of firewood for our campfire.

Ole brought out his trusty guitar and regaled us with his Austin Lounge Lizard covers, including Old Blevins and Paint Me On Velvet, among others. Our goal is to learn more words to A.L.L. songs before the next campfire. We got the blah blah blah part down pat, though.

A storm blew in overnight, and it was slushing out in the morning. The more insane of our group went back up to ski in the blizzard, the rest of us put on our raincoats and hiked some of the nearby trails along the Rogue River.

Right across the street was a trail leading to this gorge-ous place.

Then we headed down the road a piece to the Natural Bridge trail, where we found a huge Doug fir. This is with my camera on the ground shooting up.

Fred and Jan stood by it for scale.

Our last communal dinner was in the 'big house'. Too rainy for another campfire. There was only one allowed by the weather gods. Again, the hosts were very helpful to our group. A big piece of plywood went on the pool table to make a buffet table, and we loaded it with burrito fixings. We had full access to the kitchen and dishes. Yolie made the tortillas, which were wonderful. We had some more songs by the fireplace, and Ole's haiku. He challenged us to write haiku about the trip to share at the next campfire. And so we shall.

Stay tuned for the weekend in Sisters to finish off this road trip entry. It's opening day (night) at Fenway, the Yankees are in town, and it's on TeeVee even here on the opposite side of the country. Gotta go!

Heading East

2010-03-09T09:36:00.000-08:00

I'm shipping up to Boston... to find my wooden leg...

no no, that's not quite it...

While Lloyd and the gang are up at Teacup skiing with the kids from the School for the Blind (the WASHINGTON School, because Oregon closed theirs this year) I'm heading to PDX to catch the early morning flight to Boss town for a little family time.

Will post from there if I get a chance. Otherwise, I'll have to catch up next week.

Have a Happy St. Paddy's Day! I'll be helping Alina turn 21...

Going Out to Play

2010-03-06T09:38:00.000-08:00

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, Inside Activities will be on hold. I'm taking my camera and going for a hike. It's also Brindle's 12th birthday today. She deserves a treat!

So today I'll punt and send you over to Juanita's Most Dangerous Beauty Salon, because she wrote about ME today! And of course, our band, Bitchin' Betty and the Sequined Backhoes (shown here incognito). I want Juanita to know that I'm keeping up on my musical practice here in the NW with Jamba Marimba so that I'll be on top of my game when we play our next gig at Yankers Bar, Grill and Whatnot.

I think Juanita has a chair free. You're looking a little shaggy, so go get a trim!

(Political warning: this entry is rated very low on the Juanita scale. It's safe to go there today, Mom).

Blue Skies, Sunshine...A Day for Taking a Walk...

2010-02-24T10:30:00.000-08:00

After all the gloom at Gorge level since, oh, November, we had a week of GLORIOUS sunshine and spring temperatures. When it looks like this out your kitchen window, you know you have to go DO something fun.

With no new snow, we ditched the skis for hiking boots and headed to our favorite spots close to home. We don't have to go far.
First stop, Catherine Creek, where the Grass Widows (Olsynium douglasii) are already out in abundance. Grass Widows are kind of the Northwest's version of bluebonnets.

They're the first ones out in late winter here in the Gorge. The term 'grass widow' was explained to me as 'a woman whose husband is away'. I found more colorful, albeit sexist, definitions on local photographer Chris Carvalho's website Lensjoy.

According to the British language expert Michael Quinion, one comes from historic use of the term "grass widow" to mean "an abandoned mistress or unmarried woman who had cohabited with several men." Perhaps these flowers symbolized the region's first settlers enjoying a moment of romantic impropriety in the gorge's lush fields. Another use refers to British colonists in India, whose wives often lived in hill stations in cool and green parts of the country, while their husbands worked in drier lowlands.

I prefer to think it was more like homesteading women being left while the husbands were off doing 'other things'. By the way, Chris also has an exhibit at the Discovery Center in The Dalles, if you are ever in the neighborhood. The Gorge Discovery Center is a 'must see' and is a great place to take kids, too. But that's another story.

It was a spectacular day, with great views.

When we were done hiking both the riverside loop we took the trail up to what I call the OK Corral.
After a snack (including doggie biscuit for Brindle) we decided to stop at the Syncline on the way home. We pulled off at the Rowland Lake end of old hwy 8 instead of our usual starting point at Courtney Road. There were only two other cars. All the mountain bikers park at Courtney Road.

This Old Highway 8 section is closed to cars. Lloyd and Brindle could each have their own lane.

To get to this quiet place from the east end, we had to cross a waterfall. I am not good about heights and narrow pathways, but this one was doable.

Here is the damp, misty path.

And what it looks like when you dare to look down to Hwy 14 below.

I was glad to be safely on the other side.

The trail up from the old road gains you elevation quickly (ie, kind of steep but not too bad).

Our favorite waterfall and snack stop is not too far along.

This was the end of our first sunny day hike. Stay tuned for days two and three.

My Favorite Olympic Ad

2010-02-18T15:16:00.000-08:00

As a mom who spent many years at swim meets, I can identify.
This is the sweetest ad ever.

Truck Day

2010-02-13T15:21:00.000-08:00

I would be remiss if I did not post about special dates important to the Red Sox Nation.

Yesterday was not your ordinary TGIF. It was TRUCK DAY. I love it. Truck Day is when they load up the equipment truck and head the gear south to Fort Meyers for the start of Spring Training. It signals spring even better than the first crocus poking out (only to get buried, usually, by a late snow storm). Forget about groundhogs. If the truck leaves Boston, it's official. Amazing what die hard fans do. No kidding, there were about 100 people there to watch the dang truck leave.

What's on the truck? Stuff. Read all about it here and here.

This year there's even a sponsor (Jet Blue) and the truck is decked out with Red Sox advertising, decorated like a rolling Green Monstah. Watch the video on the Red Sox site to the end to see it. I hope it made it through New York okay...

Good Morning Baltimore

2010-02-13T14:13:00.000-08:00

My sister Annie moved from Worcester to Baltimore last fall. Now I have to say "My sistah lives in Baltimore" which doesn't sound nearly as cool as "My sistah lives in Woostah". Worcester usually gets the worst weather in Massachusetts. When it snows, it usually dumps in Worcester, moves east, and starts raining/sleeting/icing at Rt. 128 as the storms move into the greater Boston area. When thunderstorms come across the state, they are most violent around Worcester, sometimes spawning tornadoes. Worcester people are hardy, and don't let a little storm get in their way.

So when she moved to Baltimore, Annie wasn't too worried about the weather. Baltimore is south. It should be warmer there. It must be less snowy, stormy and nasty. Right? If you live in New England, anything south of New York seems like it should be, well, THE SOUTH. The first storm of the season hit, Annie realized they might have made a mistake leaving all the snow shovels back in Worcester. Ah, but Annie is a very creative and resourceful person, so she crafted her own tool out of...a cereal box? I am impressed. I'll bet the cereal and the box had lots of fiber...

Alas, the cereal box wasn't up for heavy duty snow removal, so she took that as a warning, and before the big storm hit, Annie and Don made their way to Lowe's and got the very LAST snow shovel. The cereal box was officially retired to the recycle bin. Good thing. Because major snow was on the way, with more right behind it. Lots more. So much that there is no place to shovel it to. The neighbors were all out helping each other dig out. Nothing like a little weather crisis to bring out the best in humanity.

Annie and Don finally dug their way out. This was most important to Amigo. Amigo is a rescue greyhound. No one else can get out to do business, but for Amigo, it's a necessity. He's pretty tall and narrow, so a one-shovel-width path works for him. I'm guessing there's a privy area dug out at the end of that path.

These pictures are from the storm last Fri-Sat. There were no busses for about 5 days during and immediately after that one. They got another foot and a half this week. Their car is dug out but they can't drive anywhere yet. One step at a time. They were able to walk to the store and get some provisions today.

The plows had to stop plowing for a while this week because of white out conditions. The streets are still not ready for traffic. I don't think the garbage trucks will be coming through for a while, but that's OK. Everyone's garbage cans are buried.

Amigo, you're not in Worcester anymore!

Almost Border Crossing, Part 2: Seattle to Blaine

2010-02-12T16:16:00.000-08:00

After my meeting adjourned sometime around 5:30 pm, my Skamania buddies delivered me to Dave and Nancy's house about 2.5 miles away, where I met up with Lloyd. He drove up on Saturday for a little break from the house. We've known Dave and Nancy since Rhode Island days, over 30 years, so it's always fun to catch up. They had some great pictures of their recent trip to Paris, and we'll look forward to the next batch from Japan, where they are heading in a few days.

Sunday we drove an hour and a half or so north to Blaine, which is right on the US-Canadian border. Our friends Tom and Leila recently retired from Chevron, and landed there right before Christmas after leaving their last posting, Bangkok. Talk about a big change of scenery! We had a several mile hike around their neck of the woods, in Semiahmoo, sat on Leila's sister's sailboat in the harbor (the one on the left with the green cover) and pretended it was summer happy hour time.

Monday we walked around Peace Arch Park. The Olympic torch came through the other day so it's been on the news lately. You can see the line of cars waiting to come into the US. Leila says they're all on their way to Costco in Bellingham. And Trader Joe's, I'll bet!

Here are some pictures of the 12th Annual Peace Arch Park International Sculpture Exhibition, which will be there through April 1. Follow the link for details on pieces (and prices!). I've only posted a few. There were many more. See them all on at the website.

I just loved this Humpback Whale Tail, made of mahogany reclaimed from a landfill. My fave.

I like this one, too. "My Foolish Heart" is a life-sized version of a 4” maquette made of horse-shoe nails.

This guy is the "Dancing Fool", who spins around on his base.

Here is "Eagle Eye", very totem-like.

"On the Upside Down" was very cool. It reminded me of Cirque du Soleil acrobats.

The Midnight Stomp series imagines birds having a private party in the moonlight, with one bird choosing the Electric Slide and the others choose a Midnight Serenade.

This piece is called "Overture", with the boy representing Canada and the girl, the USA, reaching out to each other to be strengthened by togetherness.

Okay, this one's pretty cool. "Monarch Butterfly" looks really pretty from far away. Wait til you see how the artist created it.

The artist is from Fort Worth, Texas. I'm thinking he was inspired by high school athletic booster clubs. Who hasn't seen styrofoam cups stuck into the local high school chain link fence spelling out the message of the week???? I have to say, these translucent plastic pieces are much prettier than styrofoam cups, though.

I hope we go back up that way in warmer weather. I'll bet the gardens are just beautiful in spring and summer. Next time we'll bring our passports!

Almost Border Crossing, Part 1: Bingen to Seattle

2010-02-12T15:19:00.000-08:00

As people start wending their way to the Winter Olympics, I will think of them on their journeys.

I had a great adventure the other weekend. It started with an Amtrak train ride to Seattle, with one connection. Sounds easy enough. The train leaves Bingen Station a little after 8 am, with the connecting train coming through Portland after noon. Lloyd had a CPR class to go to early, so he would drop me off on his way. No sweat.

It would have been, if the Empire Builder hadn't been 3 plus hours late leaving Chicago. It isn't only O'Hare that has trouble with winter weather. Trains don't like big snowstorms either. Good thing I checked online. Now, if I was a seasoned train rider here, I'd have known to just drive the hour to Vancouver, where you can park for up to 3 days free, and meet the northbound Cascades there. But I'm not. And I didn't. Besides, I needed 4 days' parking. And I'll also clarify: it's Vancouver (NOT BC) Washington (NOT DC) near Portland, Oregon (NOT Maine).

My simple solution, put my LLBean backpack loaded with my weekend's worth of clothes on my back and hike 3.8 miles to the station. Heck, I had the time! So I got my exercise pre train ride, and was very pleased with the comfort of the backpack, which I had not yet used for its intended purpose. I got to the station and met Wilma, who'd been sitting there since the Senior Shuttle van dropped her off at 7:30 am. She was going to visit her daughter in Seattle. The train finally trudged in about 10:30 and dropped us off in Vancouver (WA) instead of Portland (OR) in plenty of time to catch the Amtrak Cascades to Seattle. If we'd gone to Portland, we'd have missed it.

The train ride was relaxing, but we were delayed along the way with track work and oncoming freight trains we had to wait for. They will be improving this corridor for high speed rail so delays will be the norm. Improvements are a good thing. And from the looks of the full cars, warranted. During this leisure travel time I learned that Wilma used to run a motel in Cascade Locks with her husband years ago. And that it was the very same motel that Lloyd lived in for 6 months back in 1976 when he worked for the Corps of Engineers on the second Bonneville Dam powerhouse. Small world.

We were an hour late getting to Seattle, but it wasn't a big deal for me. It was the end of the line, and I was hiking up to the Hilton from the train station, a mere mile. It was fun to be walking through downtown Seattle at rush hour, with darkness and a slight drizzle falling. Got my fix of city, and a really nice hotel night. My roommate from Yakima was in the resolutions committee meeting so I had the room, on the 25th floor and great view of downtown Seattle, all to myself for a bit, and took that nice hot shower I really needed after the hiking.

Friday nights at the Washington State Democrats Central Committee meetings are generally for networking. I met up with my friends from Skamania County, and we had a fantastic dinner a few blocks away at Wild Ginger. Fantastic meal, I'm already thinking about when I can get to Seattle again. We shared red curry squid, seafood Thai noodles with mussels, shrimp, squid and scallops, and Fragrant Duck with dumplings and plum sauce. We had a pot of jasmine tea with our meal, and the fragrance was amazing. We skipped the wine, thinking the hospitality suites would have offerings. Unfortunately, the only hospitality room was on the main floor of the hotel so it was hotel prices. We were one and done. It was noisy, and we decided to turn in early to be ready for the long day of meetings ahead.

Next up- Part 2: Seattle to Blaine

Who Dat!

2010-02-10T18:26:00.000-08:00

Just in case anyone was wondering, I did watch every second of the Super Bowl on Sunday. In the comfort of my own home, with the Uncle Dick Memorial 54" projection TV that takes up half of my living room (dang, it looked so small in the Houston house). I love that TV for football games. It's like you're RIGHT THERE. Having drunk the daiquiris while living in NOLA for 5 years, the Saints were easy for me to cheer for. I even made King Cakes for good luck. And wore my very best Mardi Gras beads and earrings.

It's been over for three days and I'm still smiling. It was like the 2004 Red Sox all over again. Only better, in a way. New Orleans has been through a lot worse than Boston has. Don't hate me for saying that, Red Sox Nation. I still love you.

This morning I was reading in the Oregonian about the big parade they threw in the French Quarter. Near the end of the article in the sports page was this:

In the French Quarter, Thousands streamed toward the parade route, turning Bourbon Street into a river of black and gold.

Will Kaplan, 28, stood out in a billowing white toga with a gold-colored halo and the word "Breezus" on his back.

His Jesus inspired costume, he said, was made from sheets he had in a FEMA trailer he stayed in after Katrina on the University of New Orleans campus.

"I'm the spirit of the party", he said.

I can just imagine. I've seen lots of things on Bourbon Street. Some things I WISH I had pictures of...But this sounded so totally NOLA sacrilegiously funny, I thought SOMEONE must have a picture of this.

So I checked on a friend's FB site and voila! Breesus Christ himself. Only the Breesus was on his front, and the halo? Come on, those are obviously thorns. Thank you, Celia.

New Orleans. You crack me up. Still. Always.

Worth Waiting For

2010-01-24T22:31:00.000-08:00

Let's see, hit the hot tub or download pictures and post....hmmmm....tempting to go with plan A. But guilt about my new year's resolution wins.

Today we FINALLY got up to Mt. Adams. We've bided our time, patiently skiing at Teacup and on the Hood side, with the masses. There has been no snow to speak of on the Adams side. Nothing worth skiing on. Until now.

Earlier this week, Thursday and Friday, Lloyd and Elliot tested the higher elevations, driving past SnoKing Sno Park to ski up the Forest Road 190. Saturday, Lloyd needed a recovery day, and I was busy being a good WA Democratic PCO in Ellensburg, voting on our candidate for Congress, but I digress...that's another post, for tomorrow.

Today's news was the Best Snow of the Season. Sorry, Saints, you're second fiddle to this (but I did get home in time to watch the OT and see you win).

It snowed all day. We started out at Forest Road 190, braving the snowmobile fumes in the parking area, and climbed where none of them dared to go, up to 4100 ft plus, about 2.5 miles. Here are Lloyd and Elliot leading the way up to our playground.

Had a blast practicing tele turns on the cleared hillside. Elliot was like a kid in a candy store. He lives for days like this.

Lloyd had more energy than anyone wanted to deal with (only kidding, sweetie). Note all the snow on his knicker socks...he loves falling in powder.

I took a break under a tree. This was my view.

Here I am, totally enjoying myself, under the tree and wishing I'd brought extra mittens or gloves because mine were soaked by this time.

Skip was a great coach, in between telling stories.

Janet, as always, made sure we found the best 'ladies rooms' and set a fine example for me to follow down the mountain. I'll figure out these tele turns yet.

By the time we headed back, all our tracks were about filled in. Here is Lloyd, pointing out the obvious:

There were about 5 inches of new snow to play in. Visibility was low, but the quality of the skiing was excellent!

We even did a good deed for the day, helping these snowmobilers out of their predicament with Ellliot's good ole Suburban and tow strap. Their mishap was blocking the road, so the people parked uphill from them would have been unable to leave Dodge either. NB: if it's snowing when you get to the Sno Park, turn around and head yourself in the homeward direction BEFORE you go and play.

A day of rest tomorrow, but Tuesday we plan to take advantage of 'our' mountain. Because today, we OWNED it! Now...on to the hot tub!

Voodoo

2010-01-16T11:40:00.000-08:00

Last night was the monthly meeting of the Voodoo Philosophical Society, a group of local folk who like to get together for pot luck, wine, and thoughtful discussion. We hadn't been for a while, but since the meeting was at our friends' home in nearby Underwood, and the program was enticing, I baked up a crab quiche with mushroom crust, grabbed a bottle of bargain Chard, and we headed down the hill, across the White Salmon River, and up the hill on the other side on a dark and rainy night.

Our hosts decided that we should all watch Bill Moyers Journal, which featured Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea. Most people have heard of the mountain climber turned Afghanistan and Pakistan school builder, and many of my friends have already read his first book (his second is called Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books Not Bombs, In Afghanistan and Pakistan). I'm half way through it myself, so the show and following discussion were timely for me. I was reminded of what a good show Moyers Journal is.

American humanitarian Greg Mortenson's first book — THREE CUPS OF TEA — has sold over 3.5 million copies around the world. It tells the remarkable story about his efforts to build schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan. When in 2008 the JOURNAL asked viewers what books should be priority reading for the next President, THREE CUPS OF TEA was among the top ten suggestions. Now, the book has become required reading for our senior military commanders and Special Forces in Afghanistan.

The fact that our leaders are reading or have read this book is good news.

I highly recommend this book if you haven't read it yet. The video of the interview is worth a watch, as well. Very humbling. The world needs more Greg Mortensons.

Please Help Today

2010-01-14T12:25:00.000-08:00

It's easy. Just get out your credit card, go to the website, and make a donation.

Doctors Without Borders is one of my favorite charities, and they get a monthly donation from me. But the need in Haiti is huge, and we all need to do a little extra.

Other worthy stops while you still have your card all warmed up include
The Red Cross and The Clinton Foundation. Gotta go. My credit card is starting to cool off.

When It Rains, Always Have a Plan B

2010-01-08T16:50:00.000-08:00

Remember all that lovely snow we had on New Year's Eve?Well, it's been raining on our snow for days. We tried skiing at Teacup (3rd stop) yesterday, and had a mediocre outing, so today we thought we'd try plan B.

Around these parts, Plan B in January includes a short drive to the Balfour-Klickitat Day Use area to look for eagles. We parked in the empty parking lot, joked about the crowds, and watched as our friend Skip from The Dalles drove in. He had decided it was a Plan B day as well! This property was the likely site of a Klickitat Indian village visited by Lewis and Clark. An English nobleman, Sir Thomas Balfour, developed a farm here in the 1890's, with a few traces still apparent. Skip told me about the Osage orange trees that were planted as a 'fence', when I wondered about the round 'balls' on the ground near the trees. Sorry, I left the camera in the car for this stop and I didn't have my set of keys. Lloyd and Will had walked away by then, so when I caught up to them and they asked me "Do you know what these round things are?" I gave them the lecture about osage oranges. Lloyd was speechless...I usually say "I dunno" and he says "But you're supposed to be the biologist" as if I should know what every living thing is. I shouldn't have told them I just found out about them myself...

We did spot several eagles from the trail, and decided to head down to the fishing area where we've seen spawning salmon before. It's about time for the spring chinook to start doing their thing. And, lo and behold, they were! Those are live ones splashing, obviously, and to the left. The ones on the right were spent and done. And very smelly dead.

We could see them from the top of the bluff, splashing away in the shallows, so we climbed down for a closer look. Check out the video. Brindle was fascinated.

Up in the trees nearby where two bald eagles...I know my camera zoom is pathetic, but they are the two white spots you see just up and left of center.

Even closer was an immature eagle, who sat on a limb above us. He never moved. Must have had a good lunch!We went down to Fisher Bridge and watched for salmon in the falls. We actually saw them in that carved out area in the left side of the wall. They'd make their way up, then get washed back. Then we saw some jumping in the area near the snow. I tried to time my photos to get them, but alas, it was not possible. You will just have to take my word for it. This shot looks strange, but it's taken from Fisher Bridge looking down at the water.

All together we saw more than half a dozen eagles around Lyle. We crossed the river at The Dalles, and had some lunch at the fabulous La Petite Provence. The French Onion Soup is to die for and I needed some warming up. On the way back towards Hood River on I84, I looked out the passenger window to see another eagle soaring along with the car...what a day!

Happy New Year, Twenty Ten!

2010-01-01T11:43:00.000-08:00

I've been a bad, bad, blogger. I let a whole month go by without posting. I think I hit web overload, keeping up with two blogs, facebook and managing two other group pages. When one gets busy with 'other things' like taking advantage of good snow when it's here, hanging out with my dear Alina when she visits, visiting friends in near places like Bend, celebrating with family in even nearer places like McMinnville, baking cookies to my favorite Christmas albums, well, time just flies. So my first new year's resolution is to pay more attention to The Pahk. I'm thinking this year will have plenty to write about.

My Top Ten Best Things About December 2009, in summary, are:
1o. A successful I'm Dreaming of a White Salmon event, I just love manning the s'mores table at the firepits. The tree was beautiful, including the lighted salmon Lloyd made for the top.
9. Being able to buy Food Bank bags of groceries at the register at our local grocery store. So easy to add on $10, and it's what the food bank needs. BTW, I think it's being extended thru January. I like it when I'm reminded that people aren't as lucky as I am, and can act on it right then and there.
8. Great cross country ski days with my ski buddies, lots of fun, no injuries, post ski pizza and brews at the Sawtooth, and the first cookie swap.
7. Excellent weekend in Bend, and visits with Edie, Bill, Bob and Jane mixed in with ski club business, as well as a perfect snow day ski at Swampy Lake. The drive home through a storm on Mt. Hood, not so much.
6. Getting snowed in twice. Lloyd and I never run out of things to do, outside or in. It's really nice to not HAVE to go anywhere...like work, school, pool, etc....I'll add almost getting snowed in at the movie theater the day we went to see AVATAR...clear on the way in, several inches by the time we got out. But so worth it.
5. Given #6, being able to get to and from PDX to pick up and drop off Alina without incident, with a storm 'window' new year's eve morning to get her there before the snow started. Except for that one bit about driving back through the gorge at 5 am, hitting ice while passing a semi on a bridge, and everyone sliding...that was not fun. Getting up at 3 am wasn't much fun either, but you gotta do what you gotta do to see your kids.
4. Hearing from friends near and far via cards, email, Facebook and phone.
3. Blowing glass ornaments at White Salmon Glassworks, this time with Mary and Syd.
2. A wonderful Christmas weekend in Mac, great food and wine, friends and family.
1. The fantastic present from Keara and Alina, hand carried by Alina from Boston: a gallery of framed photos of the two of them, and their sweeties, taken at Lars Andersen Park. I'll be hanging them in the living room, so stop by and see my beautiful young women who are missed so much. No digital images yet, so you'll have to wait a bit.

A Different Thanksgiving Weekend

2009-11-28T16:06:00.000-08:00

I can't remember the last time it was just me and Lloyd for Thanksgiving.
No kids. No family. No friends. Everyone had places to be this year.
I love him madly, but there's only so much two people can eat of a 20 pound free turkey. We made the best of it, though. Here I am toasting the rather damp and gray day with the first of several glasses of Chateau Ste Michelle Brut, an affordable and delicious Washington State wine.

And here is the bird, rubbed with Maple Herb butter under the skin, bursting with New England Sausage, Apple, Cranberry and Leek stuffing. Those recipes from the 1994 Bon Appetit Thanksgiving issue have become my standards.

The usual suspects for side dishes: garlic mashed potatotes, brown sugar and spiced sweet potatoes with marshmallow and almonds, freshly made cranberry sauce, green beans with walnuts, brussels sprouts, and, much to Lloyd's dismay, roasted beets with horseradish cream topped with parsley and garlic. I had beets. They were calling to me...

Needless to say, the leftovers were many, so we invited our ski buddies to a pot luck leftovers dinner after Sunday's excursion to Tea Cup. Skip and Jan, Lloyd and I, Jan and Jo were joined by Elliot (who had to make an early run to PDX) after our first loop around. The trails were well worn after obvious heavy use over the weekend. It was a beautiful day. At one point we went by some frosted trees. The sparkling snow and ice on the trees were so pretty, I had to take off my sunglasses to get the full rush. And take out my camera, so you can see something other than the post card of us with blue sky and Mt. Hood behind us.

Apres ski, Elliot picked up Yolanda, Jan got Fred (who hurt his back sweeping out his gutters), Jo got Jim (who is having a long recovery from H1N1), and Lisa and Randy came over. Everyone brought wine, appetizers and pies, and there was a green bean casserole and a sweet potato casserole to fill out my small sides. I had several beets fans present, so that dish was demolished. The event was such a hit, we just might make it a new tradition.

For Lovers of Lobstah and Little Boys

2009-11-19T11:32:00.000-08:00

WOW!

Happy Thankgiving!

2009-11-19T10:36:00.000-08:00

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Veterans Day Cactus

2009-11-14T10:51:00.000-08:00

One thing about living at a higher latitude- what are Christmas Cacti in Texas and Louisiana are Veterans Day Cacti in Washington. With a second bloom around Easter. Here are the first blooms of the season. Sorry, one's a little fuzzy, like my brain, but the color is nice.

The second one is a first time bloom from a sprig that that was replanted last spring. It likes its spot.

I need a new plant for the holidays. Perhaps an amaryllis.

The days are getting shorter and shorter, which makes it hard on people like me who hate night driving. But I sure like sleeping under lots of covers again!

The apples are all in, and I've managed to use up most of them. A couple of pies, cakes, and two big batches of apple butter did the trick. The real wormy ones got thrown over the rail for the deer. And I found a great way to do all that apple butter without a lot of standing over a hot stove. Crock Pot!!!!

Too easy. Cut up apples, fill the crock pot so the lid barely covers. Add a little bit of water. Cook overnight. Wake up. House smells great. Run apples though a food mill or in my case, the handy dandy attachment for the Kitchen Aid. Return to crock pot. Add 4 cups of sugar, spices to taste (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, clove, ginger, a little vanilla). Cook all day. If it needs thickening, take of the lid for a couple hours. Prepare your jars, fill, seal, process. Done.

Tawk this Way on Yawkey Way

2009-11-08T13:02:00.001-08:00

Number one daughter sent me this today. For all those of you Far from the Pahk, it's too wicked good not to share. Enjoy. And read the ah-ticle, too!

Busy Week in the Gorge

2009-11-07T14:34:00.000-08:00

Grand Opening: Studio Apartments for Winged Neighbors

Lloyd built several new birdhouses this week. Our resident flicker has decided to beat up his bill trying to peck though the heavy duty screens he put up to block the old holes. He's taken pity on the bird, and built him his own home. He'd better move in fast, though, the red headed woodpecker was checking it out the other day.

Weather: Rain Continues with Snow above 3,000 ft.
We've had some very rainy weather, with lulls for dog walks.
This morning the clouds disappeared briefly to show off the new blanket of snow on Mt. Hood. Rumor has it Timberline will be open today...

Burn Ban is OVER
Even in Fire District 3, ours, the last one to come off burn ban. We mostly compost our leaves, etc. But there's a lot of 'fuel' on the slope that needs to disappear so it doesn't become a serious hazard, so Lloyd had himself an evening bonfire in between rain storms, followed by a daytime burnathon. I couldn't quite catch him dancing around the flames, the hill is too steep for ritualistic dances...

We're had some beautiful evening skies, with clouds over the western gorge.
I love it now that the leaves are gone, I can see the lights of Hood River.

Apples Harvested
The two trees are bare. After some serious baking, I've finally got a batch of apple butter in progress. Trying a new tactic: Crock Pot Apple Butter. No need to stand over a hot stove all day. Cook a crock pot full of apples overnight. Run them through the food mill, add spices and sugar, and cook all day (while the football games are on) making the house smell terrific. Hope it works.

Arts and Music Abound
Last night's entertainment was a book signing, slide show and talk by the authors of Cataclysms on the Columbia at the Columbia Gorge Center for the Arts. Lloyd now pretty much has the complete collection of Ice Age Floods books. Tonight, Lori Sobrero has her photo exhibit opening at the Inn of the White Salmon, followed by the first Warm up with Wine of the season. Tomorrow night, back to the CGCA for a free concert by Vinca Quartet.

Unless we go fishing...look at what Terry dropped off yesterday: This coho now rests with the one Elliot gave us a few days earlier. If it's nice out, we're gone.

Falling Behind

2009-10-29T14:33:00.000-07:00

Oh my. October is almost gone and I haven't written a thing. Shame on me. It's not that I haven't been spending time on my computer, it's just keeping up with a website, three blogs, three facebook pages and one newsletter just can't be done. And then there's stuff like fishing on the Klickitat (shown next), hiking, marimba playing, and, and, and, I tell you, something has to give. I promise to give the Pahk higher priority.

Since the last post, my beloved Red Sox have gone on their end of season holiday, the Angels have been banished, and now the Phillies are taking it to the Yankees. It was particulary thrilling to have two former Cleveland star pitchers facing off in game one. Remember Cleveland? They were pretty darn good a few years back...maybe it wasn't such a good thing to let your free agent pitchers go...And can you believe Pedro Martinez gets to pitch in another World Series? I'm still watching, good baseball fan that I am.

What's been happening in the hood? Well, we celebrated our 28th anniversary on the 3rd at an Arts Council pot luck and gallery opening at the Inn of White Salmon. They've got some good photos on their Facebook page of all the donated art (including our big Yinka batik with the hand carved frame hauled back from Nigeria, but too big for this house).

We had harvest up at Wind River Cellars on a beautiful Saturday October 10th. The grapes were ready a week early, but the pickers were ready and we got the whole crop in by 6 pm. Jane and Bob Rossetter joined us from Bend, and we had a wonderful reunion weekend.

I had a great Sunday the 18th in the tasting room while Joel took Intern Brian (aka Ibey) back to the airport for his return to Fort Collins. Poor Ibey couldn't change his ticket, so he missed harvest. Not to worry, Joel put him to work crushing grapes. And battling fruit flies. Here's Joel showing pressing form, and Ibey ready to dive into some Tempranillo.

Want to see some crushed tempranillo up close and personal? No, this is not a jam pic.

Once the pears were done, I had apples to deal with. I've baked cake, pie, tarts, and dried six racks of apple slices. I still have apples. Thank God we only have two trees, only one of which gets loaded. I also picked 10 lbs of concord grapes up at Wind River Cellars, so had more jam to make. I think we have more than enough. Even if I give half of it away, I'll have more than enough!

We had our first snow in October. Didn't last long, but hey, it was snow! It's been rainy now for a few days, so the leaves are dropping fast. So is a bumper crop of acorns. You need a hard hat on the deck these days.

After a quick trip to McMinnville to see Mary and Matt's remodeled house, and celebrate the boys' birthdays at Red Hills, we got back in time for the arts council fundraiser for the artists who lost works in the gallery fire. Lloyd did an excellent job auctioneering those items without bids, and we raised over $3500.

I got the Halloween decorations out, and we're ready for trick or treat.

The last two years we've had NO trick or treaters. If you have been to my house, you can imagine why not. But this year we have some new families on the loop, and they promise they will come to the door. So the lights are up, the day-glo skeleton is hung from an oak, and there are bats in the bell(frey), the fine bell Alina brought back from Ireland. I'm ready.

So now I'm up to date. We'll be heading to Hooba's for Halloween Night, after the little goblins visit. I'll bring the camera and report back. Meanwhile, enjoy Rainbow Season. This one was the other morning, right off our back deck. Who needs a pot of gold????

We're Jammin'

2009-09-29T08:50:00.000-07:00

It's been a little busy here in the 'hood. I'm 'pearly' hanging in here...

It all started when Regina sent out a call on FB for anyone wanting pears. The gang at Energeia Vineyards still has some pear trees left, enough to have bountiful fruit. So I went up to Underwood and got me a load of Bartletts and Anjous. Of course, this meant I had to DO something with them all. SO...

May I introduce you to Pear Butter, cooking away merrily on the stove.

Also, Poached Pears in Red Wine and Roasted Pear Chutney.

And, Ginger Pear Preserves. I love the color of this! It tastes pretty zippy, lots of ginger.

I had to go out and buy more jars and more sugar to finish the project.

I dried three racks of pear slices in my wonderful oven, which has a dehydrate setting. And I made a double batch of pear bread. I recommend toasting it, with a slice of melted cheddar on top. The rest of the green anjous are in my garage fridge, staying cool until I need them. I'm peared out right now. This box was FULL. And I had a cloth grocery bag full of greenies...

Thank you Regina and Lynette, for the mimosa to get started, and to James and John for their entertainment in the orchard. And for all the pears. Sorry I didn't stay longer and pick more (not really), but when the yellow jackets got stirred up, it was time for me to leave. I have some jars set aside for you all.

I'd say it was a productive week. Now to deal with all my apples. Thank God I only have two trees, and only one of them is loaded...

What Happens When I Leave

2009-09-18T15:57:00.000-07:00

So I had a little vacation. I was gone three weeks. Here's what I came back to:

The new fire pit is put together down on the patio. The sunflower that didn't get eaten by bunnies or tromped by Lloyd's boots (I planted them all along the wall) is almost ready to bloom.

And the front deck was dismantled. Silly me, I thought he'd take the dog and go camping and fishing up on the Klickitat...

I'll spare you the story about Lloyd walking across one of his plank pathways like this one and having it break, sending his leg down the hole and a free end of board into his forehead. Just like in Looneytunes. He ended up at the doctor's with a very swollen leg and knee.

Or how Brindle went off the edge where there USED to be stairs, falling and hurting her leg, necessitating a trip to the vet, an x-ray (negative) and drugs. What a pair. I can't leave them alone for a minute, let alone three weeks.

Fortunately, there has been vast improvement in the week I've been home.

And here are today's shots, which include supervision by a drugged dog who cannot walk because she messed up her leg again, needed sedation and a full hip x-ray (negative) and MORE super duper (read expensive) anti-inflammatories thus increasing the cost of the deck another $400 total. But we still have a dog.

Here Brindle gratefully watches the installation of the new stairs. Lloyd told her she has surpassed the cost of a new purebred Aussie this month. No more soft tissue damage!

Everyone is 'upright and ambulatory' as my dad likes to say, and I'm glad I have such a handy husband. A deck to get from the front door to the pathway is sure nice to have. I don't do well walking the plank...

Eating My Way Through S. New England

2009-09-16T15:09:00.000-07:00

I had a great 3 weeks in Boston. I spent lots of time with my parents and brother back at the homestead in Waltham. Watched lots of baseball because it's on every night. We celebrated nephew Kevin's graduation from Wentworth, and the start of his new civil engineering job almost immediately! Here's Kevin with brothers Ryan and Patrick, his mom Linda and the grandfolk. If Linda looks ecstatic, it's because now she's down to one kid in college...

And I ate my way around town (and southern New England). You must need a restaurant suggestion list for your next trip East. Here you go.

I had two dinner dates with Karen and our college era friends, the first at Naked Fish, where my blackened scallop salad was to die for. The next week, a larger group met in the Grille at Hobbs Brook at Doubletree Restaurant where Amy and Stash were staying. They were very hospitable to our large semi noisy gang. Which reminds me, I need to send Karen a check...and thank her for my new green bumpah stickah!

On to lunches: An excellent lunch was had at Sweet Chili Thai in Arlington with Arthur, one of my oldest friends still in the area. He reminded me that we met in 10th grade when we were lab partners in Dr. Rosa Kubin's Chemistry class. We walked around the town square and checked out the rails to trails bikeway and the Uncle Sam memorial.

A day trip to RI included lunch at the infamous Twin Willows with some NMFS buddies...while I considered a traditional Bill Burger, I was craving chowder and clamcakes that day. My brother Mark drove me and the folks to the Cape one day, where we had lunch at Seafood Sam's with cousins Nancy and Tiba, and long lost buddy Janet. If you haven't had a whole belly clam plate, you haven't lived...clam strips are for HoJo's.

The four of us did another day trip to Ipswich MA, and had lunch at the Choate Bridge Pub with sister Carol and her husband Paul. The lobster rolls were enormous! The waterfront park area behind the restaurant was a good place to walk it off. The murals on the old printing company building are incredible. Even the old cellar windows had historical murals on them. The one shown here is the first of a long series, from native days to present.

In keeping with the foodie theme, we did a girls' night, with Keara, mom, Linda and myself heading over to the Embassy Theater to see Julie and Julia. Meryl Streep NEVER disappoints!

I also picked up Alina in a tropical downpour when she came back from Ireland, then moved her into her new apartment for the year. It was an exhausting day of hauling stuff out of Keara's moldy basement and up this charming stairway to the third floor of Alina's place. I am grateful to the swim team boys downstairs who helped with the bed and futon.

We celebrated with a Pini's Mediterranean pizza and a bottle of nice NZ Sauvingon Blanc on her third floor balcony.

After getting the grocery shopping done the next day, she and I drove over to Cambridge to meet John, Sue and Matt Hohenberger, our old neighbors from Lagos. They were moving Matt into MIT. We had a fantastic dinner at The Asgard Irish Pub. A late afternoon slice of leftover pizza kind of dampened our appetites so we just had salmon salads. The menu looked great, with lots of hearty and authentic Irish comfort food.

Keara, Adam and I met up at Alina's Saturday of Labor Day weekend and tailgated before the BC-NU debacle. It was a sea of gold Super Fan shirts. Except for the young man with the white "You Run, I'll Drink" shirt from Marathon Monday. My poor alma mater, though...the score was 38-0 at half time.

Thanks to Conor's dad Larry for sharing his extra tickets for the great seats...ours were nosebleed end zoners.

We left, and the three of us had a great dinner at The Sunset Grill and Tap. They have a fantastic spinach and artichoke appetizer that is like mediterranean nachos. Keara and I split a salad, too. Adam had a burrito that looked delicious...and HUGE. Unfortunately, we were all 'tapped' out by the time we got there, so we stuck to water, but the beer selection was incredible.

Sunday was my mom's 82nd birthday. She wanted a luau. We did the best we could. We had leis, we had Don Ho on the record player, I played Happy Birthday on the uke, and cooked up a storm with grilled chicken and shrimp with coconut sauce and lots of curry style condiments.

Kudos to Alina for her prep work on the shrimp skewers and to Mark for his grilling expertise.

Linda brought a pitcher of delicious white sangria, and an incredible cake. Here's mom with the cake, and her brother Billy. And yes, sure, she's 28...

Annie and Don brought Don's famous potato salad. I finally got to taste it. It lived up to the raves.

Winding down, Labor Day Monday we had tea with Auntie Marilyn and cousins Beth, Sarah and Maryanne in W. Concord. Tuesday I had a final lunch with Alina before she dropped me at the airport: our traditional Fins sushi date.

By the way, I checked when I got home: I did NOT gain any weight! Must have made good choices...that and schlepping up three floors moving the kid...

Reporting Live From Boston

2009-08-29T05:29:00.001-07:00

Since arriving on the scene, we've had two tropical storms (Bill and Danny-what's with it boys?) that to be honest have been little piddles compared to what I'm used to from the Gulf Coast. I've been shopping with Keara, helped Linda with Kevin's graduation party, seen three sisters, two of 5 Cape cousins, several old friends from college and fisheries days (with more on the schedule tonight and next week), had lunch at the Twin Willows in Narragansett (chowdah and clam cakes) and Sam's Seafood in Falmouth (fried clam plate-with bellies, god they were good). I'm getting full coverage of all things Kennedy and Red Sox.

It's so great to be able to watch EVERY game on NESN. To put icing on the cake, Rem Dawg (Jerry Remy) is back in the booth after his cancer treatment and Tim Wakefield picked up where he left off before his injury before the All Star break. Last night's game was tied in the 8th when the tarps came out for almost an hour of rain delay. I couldn't keep my eyes open after our little road trip, so I went to bed, and found out this morning that they had indeed won. But I did see the play of the game, which I will treat you to here. This is why Jason Varitek is such a big part of this team.

Now excuse me, I have to go pay my respects at Ted's funeral.

Random Happenings

2009-08-17T20:46:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy August here in the Gorge. I finally downloaded a few photos. I have no pictures of Keara's visit, so will have to steal Lloyd's when he downloads his camera.

We had some cloudy days with ominous clouds

We had some sunny days with swirly clouds

Lloyd worked on the patio

And finished it The goodies from the garden keep on coming.

The blackberries are plump and juicy, some are now jam, others are in a pie, which is now 3/4 eaten. With Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. By the two of us over the last few days.

The Husum Yacht Club met for a pot luck at Northwestern Lake Saturday evening.

Bill cooked hot dogs on his campfire

Too bad it was too cold and windy to launch any of our 'yachts'.
The rest of us drank the Official Wine of the Husum Yacht Club, and a few others

We sure know how to have fun.

THANK YOU KATIE COURIC!

2009-08-15T14:45:00.000-07:00

Finally, someone on network news has the courage to say what needs to be said.
Listen up, mainstream media...

Watch CBS Videos Online

Alpacas

2009-08-03T13:33:00.000-07:00

Recently, we were invited to a moveable feast that started at Blonde Velvet and Me alpaca farm up Snowden Road apiece (oh, about 13.5 miles). Carol and Rick's farm is part of what was the town of Snowden. They think their house might have been a general store. We sat outside with great views of Mt. Adams and had appetizers, salad and wine.

And took pictures of the very sweet alpacas. Last time we saw them, they were fuzzy. They now have their summer haircuts.

The first picture is of the mommas and babies.

Next are the 'teenagers'.

The others are my favorite young guys.

I learned that they don't like hands, as in when you want to pet one, they won't like it. They do like noses. So rather than hold out your hand, you should get down to their level and offer your nose. They will respond in kind.

Very cool animals. And they hum. They really do.

Carol showed us the bags and bags of newly shorn fleece in her TV/fitness room which doubles as a storage area for the valuable soft and fluffy fleece before it is shipped off to be made into fabulous clothing. If you are ever in Hood River, stop into her shop, The Enchanted Alpaca. I dare you to look but not touch...

Across the street at Gail and Jay's, we had BBQd hamburgers and chicken, and everyone's side dishes. And homemade cherry ice cream. Their house used to be the old Post Office!

We are getting to know some wonderful people here in paradise. Thanks for a great evening!

Bird Creek Meadows

2009-07-30T10:54:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, we had the most awesome day hiking the trails at Bird Creek Meadows. This link is cool, it allows you to click on the cameras to see the view at that spot. Our Nordic Club gang met up in Husum, and headed out to Trout Lake, past the Sno-Parks, through the Gifford Pinchot National Forest into Yakama Reservation lands. It was a hot day back at Columbia River level, but a hike at elevation (6,000 ft) was the ticket to escape the heat.

The wildflowers were blooming like crazy. We drove through a forest of Bear Grass on the way up, both sides of the road full of the interesting flowered stalks that bloom every 5-7 years. How lucky was THAT? Native Americans use the grassy leaves for basket weaving.

We parked at the picnic area, got our Yakama day use passes, covered ourselves with bug spray and sunscreen and headed up the trail. It wasn't long before we started seeing lupines, paintbrush, alpine asters, buttercups, false solomon's seal, subalpine mariposa lilies, and much much more. The gang regrouped for a photo op at the main meadow with the Mt. Adams backdrop, which you can see at the ONC website, did couples shots in front of the nearby waterfall, then we hiked up to the Hellroaring Creek viewpoint for our lunch stop. I stayed far away from the ledge. I don't like ledges.Brindle found a shady spot for her break.

It looked like it was going to storm, but nothing came of the dark clouds.

I could have sat there forever. You could almost reach out and touch Mt Adams. You could see the glacier really well with the binoculars, and hear the roaring of the creek so very far away as if it were right next to you. If you can't quite see it in the first photo, right of center. The second shot is a closeup of it.

We looped back to the parking area down a little steeper, rockier trail than we had come up. I'm glad we did it in the direction we did. Brindle is following Cindy down the trail. Brindle knows when she's 'heading for the barn' and likes to lead the way.

The mossies got really bad as we approached the cars, so we didn't dally. A little bit of rain finally came out of the dark clouds as we headed down the dusty gravel road, enough to wash the car off a little bit and so the windshield wipers wouldn't scratch the windshield! The end of hike festivities were moved to Jan and Fred's in Husum, and included champagne to celebrate Jan and Fred's 12th anniversary and Skip's 60 something birthday. Another great day in the neighborhood.

There are lots more cool photos in our nordic club album. Check them out!

Hot Time in White Salmon

2009-07-29T21:11:00.000-07:00

So I was going to write about how damn hot it is. Like hotter than Texas hot. Without the humidity, of course, so it's tolerable...I was all ready to focus on the thermometer, shown here attached to the underside of the deck railing, and the digital reading showing it was 114 on the deck at 3:53, and how the 'top reading' for the day read 127 (deck heat)...but my story shifted to the draft pile.

We went to town tonight for dinner with Will, who is visiting from California. He took us out to our local brewpub, Everybody's, which is now officially brewing its own beer. Yay. We had chips and salsa. We tried the new beers (my porter was yummy, bordering on stout). Our food had just arrived when we spied smoke out by the back deck.

I went to investigate and was met by a fireman who was shooing everyone from the deck tables. Within minutes, a hose was wetting down the deck and roof of the brewpub and the firemen were ordering us to evacuate in an orderly manner. The waitress tossed us go boxes, we transferred the piping hot food into the cardboard, chugged our beers, and exited in an orderly manner. Oh, and Will took time to pay the bill, what a sweetie. He actually carries cash!

In this picture, the pub is on the left, the gallery is on fire (yellow front) and Artisan's is on the right. Lloyd moved the car, which was directly in front of the pub, we crossed the street and sat on the benches in front of the Postal Annex where we proceeded to dine and watch the trucks arrive. After White Salmon trucks and the Husum truck and the Underwood truck were there, we were told to clear the block because the gas line might blow. No need to tell us twice...we know what happens when fire meets gas. Besides, I was done with my gyro by then. Skamania and Hood River trucks drove up.

We moseyed around to the side street to check out the back side of the fire. It was pretty amazing. Sorry I only had my cell phone camera to work with. The corrugated metal addition was totalled, with fire coming out the holes, water going in from several hoses. Firemen, fully armored with suits, tanks and helmets, had gone in the front door and were spraying from inside. The ladders were spraying on the top.

We stayed around until things were pretty much under control. It was impressive to see the quick response of all the area fire stations. We have lots of volunteer fire departments here in Klickitat County. The firemen (and women) were very professional. Thank goodness, our brewpub was spared, and the wonderful Artisan shop on the other side looked none the worse for wear. But for Blue and Roz, it was not a good night. White Salmon doesn't want to lose ANY of our shops, to the economy or fire or ANYTHING.

What's Cooking?

2009-07-22T12:23:00.000-07:00

Four dozen scrambled eggs, three pounds of bacon, two batches of pancake mix, one seedless watermelon: Tuesday breakfast

Five loaves of garlic bread, four large lasagnas (plus one small vegan), three boxes of brownie mix, two big salads, one blackberry crisp: Tuesday dinner

Fifty-one breakfast burritos and leftover lasagna (by request): Wednesday breakfast

The happy faces of the kayak campers: priceless

When we heard about the need for volunteers from the folks at Wet Planet Whitewater, we recruited a few friends to make meals for First Descents, which was hosting a weeklong whitewater kayaking camp on the Klickitat and White Salmon Rivers. First Descents, a non profit based in Vail, Colorado has been using kayaking and other outdoor adventure sports to promote emotional, psychological, and physical healing for young adults with cancer. This year they had nine programs in six states!

We've lived here two years now, and had no idea that the Columbia River Gorge Hostel in Bingen even existed. The historic Bingen School was built by the Civilian Construction Corps, and has been a hostel since 1988 with both private rooms and hostel beds. You can shoot hoops in the old gym, store your stuff in the hall lockers, write notes to self on the blackboards in the rooms, and make food in the self serve kitchen (in which we were delighted to find a commercial stove with a griddle top for our pancake feast). It's also just a few blocks' walk from the Amtrak station, as any good hostel should be!

The first breakfast went very well and we'd gauged our food pretty much on target. We did have some leftover scrambled eggs. Rather than send my cholesterol levels soaring, I thought we could turn them into breakfast burritos for the next morning, as that meal was still in need of a volunteer. It also solved the problem of what to do with a big bag of potatoes I'd gotten on sale. So in between meals I made up the burritos, wrapped them in foil and stuck them in the fridge for rewarming in the morning. Then it was time to bake the lasagnas for dinner. Lloyd went down early with the the garlic bread, salad fixings and the brownies I'd made for dessert while I waited for the lasagnas (one veggie, one small vegan). Jan and Fred brought a turkey lasagna and blackberry crisp, Janet and Skip brought a veggie lasagna, Lisa and Randy brought a veggie lasagna with white sauce and a salad, and voila, dinner for 30 plus us.

After dinner, we headed back to our house. The sun was down enough to enjoy our deck and some fabulous white sangria that Janet wanted to try from this week's Oregonian. It was a smash hit. I highly recommend it for summer sipping. Here's how to make enough for 8:

In a large bowl or pitcher, combine 1/4 cup brandy and 1/4 cup granulated sugar. Let stand 5 minutes then stir to dissolve sugar. Add fruit- 2 firm ripe peaches (halved, pitted, then thinly sliced), 1/2 honeydew melon (seeded, peeled, cut lengthwise into thrids and sliced thinly crosswise-abt 4 cups). Add one bottle of white wine (sauv blanc or pino gris, well chilled). Stir to combine. Just before serving, add 12 oz can seltzer or club soda and stir again. Serve over ice. You can keep it refrigerated up to 1 day.

It's been a busy start to our week, after surviving Nights in White Salmon (more on that when I track down some photos). I think we'll take a short hiatus from our good deeds and go fishing....we need to recharge our batteries!

TGIF and Kayak Painting

2009-07-18T12:13:00.000-07:00

Update: we did win Best Costume! The rest of the 'team' can see me at the next HYC gathering to get your official Kayaks on Wheels coffee mugs made by Klickitat Pottery! They are quite fine. We've tested them out.

For the second time this month, the Husum Yacht Club met at our house for TGIF and to paint the kayak for an event. To get our creative juices flowing, we TGIF'd first, painted later. The results were stunning.

We left the red and white strips from the 4th of July decorations, but painted the hull like a big salmon. The kayak will be perched on this wooden cradle with wheels that Lloyd designed, and pulled by four people up the main street of town on a blue chalk 'river' prior to the start of the Art and Wine Fusion I wrote about the other day.

No one wanted to ride in the kayak, even after TGIF. Probably a wise decision. So we had to recruit a friend of Alina's who wouldn't mind falling off if the 'river' got rough. We even found a life jacket to fit him. Safety first!

Our team of salmon will be costumed in hand painted White Salmon Tshirts by Mikki, with silvery capes attached. On their heads will be these fine fish hats by yours truly. I only hope that it isn't 100 degrees at 4:30 like it has been the last couple of days. Good thing it's a short run. And no, I'm not running. I pulled the thing in the 4th of July Husum Pride Parade and in the .1k run. It's someone else's turn for the glory. Also, the Marimba Band starts playing at 4:50. My talents are needed there.

I'll let you know if we get the award for Best Costume...after all that knitting and painting, Mikki and I think we deserve it!

Nights In White Salmon

2009-07-16T11:18:00.000-07:00

...never reaching the end...

Apologies to the Moody Blues (not really). Actually we ARE reaching the end. Only two more days to wrap up this year's event. Lloyd has been so busy organizing this year's Art and Wine Fusion, he'll be ready for some down time, preferably in a quiet fishing spot out of cell phone range. This week was full of Murphy's Law moments, and he's learned more than he wanted about the WA Liquor Control Board and some seemingly inane rules and regulations. By Sunday it will be in the books, with many lessons learned for the next person to chair this event. I don't think it will be anyone in this house!

That said, it will be a great family evening here in White Salmon, with artists, music (including my debut with Jamba Marimba), food and wine tasting in our downtown shops. For the cost of a souvenir glass and five tasting tickets, you can enjoy some great local wines. Take your passport into the shops, get it stamped, then drop it in the raffle box at the end of the evening to win some fine prizes. The more stamps, the more chances you have to win.

And don't miss the first ever White Salmon Slalom, a kayak street competition. You'll have to see it to believe it. I have been working on the Husum Yacht Club's costumes for weeks. Photos next week...

SO if anyone reading is in spitting distance of White Salmon, come on out and have some fun with the locals.

By the way, the very beautiful poster, by the very talented Joanna Kaufman, will be available for purchase at the event. I know I want one...

Cool Free Stuff

2009-07-10T15:02:00.000-07:00

I love FREE STUFF.

Show your support for CLEAN ENERGY with this very cool sticker! MoveOn's partnering with acclaimed artist Shepard Fairey — who designed the iconic Obama "Hope" poster — to offer a FREE "Clean Energy for America" sticker.

Just CLICK HERE, the first one is free, including postage. Such a deal!

On Africa Time

2009-07-09T16:25:00.000-07:00

I've been obsessed with learning to play marimba the last few weeks, after finding my way to a fun group called Jamba Marimba. As I try to make my hands do what my brain and ear tell them to do, while trying to match the songs with names like Chemwanyera, Nyungwe, and Siyakudumisa, I'm giving my head a real workout. So, dear readers, I've not spent as much time as usual writing. My debut with the band will be at the Nights in White Salmon Art and Wine Fusion. And I'm getting nervous, so I will be practicing a LOT in the next week or so.

One of my marimba friends sent this amazing video performance by an a Slovenian capella jazz choir called Perpetuum Jazzile. The first few minutes are astounding.

Wine Bag Failure Alert

2009-07-07T12:30:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to do my part to reduce the number of those plastic bags from the grocery store that go to recycle, and have a fine collection of reusable grocery bags. Some were free, some I bought for 99 cents. They hail from Whole Foods, Safeway, Thriftway, Petco, and Trader Joe's. I've actually trained myself to remember them, and try to keep a few in my car.

When Trader Joe's was out of wine boxes one time, I bought two handy wine bags that hold six bottles each. I use them now for TJ's, Safeway (rather than those cardboard caddies that end up in the recycle), and when I go to my local vintner. They haven't gotten too much use, which is why I was SHOCKED, I tell you, SHOCKED that my handy wine bag failed the other day.

I'd been up at Wind River Cellars, and picked up a couple of bottles of the 'official wine of my 2009 birthday' to replace some of the bottles I drank (with help) during birthday week. It wasn't even a full caddy. Just a couple of bottles that I balanced in the bag so as to distribute the weight properly. They made it safely from the tasting room to the car. From the car to the house. That's when I ran into trouble. I took the caddy downstairs to put the wine in the garage fridge. I opened the door, and suddenly, CRASH, SMASH. And the sweet smell of pinot gris. The bottom of the bag gave way for no apparent reason. I was very sad.

Had I gone straight to the garage perhaps it wouldn't have happened. But then, next time I used it, I could have had a FULL caddy, and that would not have been good (though it would have been full of $4 a bottle wine, not two $20 bottles).

Was it a fabric flaw? Did the bag break down in the hot car? If so, that really stinks because I'll NEVER remember to take them with me on a specific wine run. I don't know when I'll get to TJ's again, so I will send them a letter asking if this has happened to anyone else. I certainly don't want to lose any more wine this way. I'll let you know what they say. Meanwhile, be sure to keep your reusable bags in the shade, just in case....

Summer Solstice

2009-06-21T17:57:00.001-07:00

You'd never know it's the first day of summer as I sit here in jeans, long sleeved shirt and fleece vest. I think the Big Chill my body is suffering began last night, at Stonehenge. Not THE Stonehenge (though I did see it once), but the Stonehenge Memorial built as the country's first WWI memorial on the site of the original town of Maryhill.

The planets were in alignment, so to speak, for the summer solstice presentation of King Lear by the Portland Actors Ensemble who brought their traveling Shakespeare Show from the Big City to Klickitat County. It's a bit of a drive from our little burg (almost 50 miles and still in the same county), so we left about 5:15 for the 7:30 show. We picked up Randy and Lisa on the way, and met up with Skip and Jan for our picnic on the grounds before the show. Good thing we got there early, and spread blankets and sleeping bags on some chairs near the front. It wasn't even 6:30 and we were about 5 rows back. Good sign for the actors, looked like it would be a full house.

We enjoyed fine dining and wining overlooking the Columbia River from our perch high on the bluff. We found a spot with a wind break, which was helpful. I'd roasted Peruvian Chicken on our BBQ rotisserie, and whipped up a quinoa salad with mango, black beans, peppers, green onions and a lime cilantro dressing. Jan had deviled eggs, baked beans and coleslaw, and Lisa made a fantastic bean dip (lots of avocado) with chips. Everyone brought wine. We were stoked and ready by 'curtain time'.

The place was packed. At intermission we found out that attendance was 380 people! I don't think they expected that. The acting was superb, as was the setting of course. The sun was down by intermission, so we returned for Act 2 to find coleman lanterns glowing atop three or four of the stone pillars. We'd refueled during the break with Lisa's fabulous chocolate pudding dessert (I was tempted to start doing Bill Cosby impersonations). We needed the extra calories, because it was COLD and WINDY. We also grabbed an extra blanket from the car to put over the fleece one I already had. I was concerned for the young woman who played Regan...she had on a beautiful green gown with lots of back and shoulder exposed. Thank goodness she had a few scenes where she wore a cloak.

It was a happy carfull that joined the parade west on winding HWY 14 after the show. For my Portland area readers, try to catch the show under the St. John's Bridge (Willamette Valley's only suspension bridge, a little bit of trivia) at Cathedral Park June 25-26, July 2, 3, and 9-11. Or in Beaverton at Autumn Ridge Park on June 27th. It's a real treat. And it's FREE. But I guarantee you'll want to drop a little something in the donation box by the end of the show.

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T11:43:00.000-07:00

It's all my fault. I was the reason for your first Father's Day (of 57 so far). It must have been good, because I have six fantastic siblings. This was obviously taken well after Father's Day, because I was only a week or so old on Father's Day in 1952. We made a fine couple, if I must say so myself. Photo credit goes to my mom.

Have a great day, Dad, and enjoy having my girls there in my stead. How great is that!

Of Tall Ships, Sushi, Cake and Yankee Slayers

2009-06-12T09:08:00.000-07:00

It's been a dandy birthday week. We kicked it off on Sunday. After a lovely drive into Portland, we strolled around the Saturday Market and their new digs under the covered pavilion, then moseyed over to Chinatown, where we caught a dragon dance for the moon festival.

The smells of the food vendors at the Market and in Chinatown drove us to Stumptown Coffee so we could distract ourselves from the growling in our stomachs. We were saving ourselves for dinner at Red Hills Provincial Dining in Dundee. We drove out to Mac and saw Mary and Matt's remodel project, then we all headed to Red Hills for a feast.

Nancy and Richard outdid themselves, and started us off with a bottle of Argyle Brut and crabcakes. Mom had called in an order for a bottle of Richard's Pinot Noir as a surprise. We drank lots of coffee with our homemade ice cream dessert so we could make it back to the Gorge in one piece.

Tuesday, Alina and I got our hair done, and had a lovely dinner of swordfish and salad (with some Wind River Cellars Pinot Gris, the official wine of my birthday 2009) out on the deck. Keara sent a big bunch of sunflowers, AND a packet of seeds so I could grow my own.

Wednesday we returned to Today's Chalet for pedicures. Such a guilty pleasure. Lloyd joined us in an expedition across the bridge to tour the Hawaiian Chieftain and The Lady Washington, two tall ships docked in Hood River for the night.

You might recognize The Lady Washington as the HMS Interceptor from Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, or as the brig Enterprise in Star Trek Generations.

The two ships have been on a tour of the Columbia River for the last month, doing dockside tours, evening sails and battle cruises to raise funds and awareness for the foundation.

Lloyd had to get back to White Salmon for an arts council meeting, so we skipped the battle sail. Alina and I got sushi to go from Sushi Okalani instead. Lloyd's not a big sushi fan, so he bolted for the taco stand and got a big carne asada burrito, which he devoured while we waited for our sushi to be constructed. It was beautiful. And delicious. And it went great with the official wine of my birthday 2009.

After his meeting, we all had dessert, courtesy of chef Alina. She's been a cooking junkie since she got here. Here she is with her Chocolate Genoise Cake with Raspberry Filling and Chocolate Ganache, from Emeril and the Food Network website. It tasted as good as it looks, especially with a scoop of Tillamook Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.

Then it was early to bed, because we had to get Alina to PDX by 6 am for her 7:20 flight back to Boston. She texted that she'd boarded when we got to Hood River, and we were home by the time the flight took off. We were moving rather slowly yesterday, and it took me three tries to get the Sudoku puzzle, my brain was so fuzzy. Another helping of that cake did the trick and we're back to normal today. As normal as we can be, that is.

Now, I'm not one to gloat, but I just can't help myself...the Sox swept the Yankees (again) just for me. I was hoping for a win for my birthday, and I knew Tim Wakefield would be up to the task, but to have all three games this week was almost too much. Almost.

A New Extreme

2009-06-08T20:58:00.000-07:00

I like the fringes. I've been to the far northeast (W. Quoddy Pt. Maine). I've been to the far south points of the US (Key West FL, and Ka Lae HI. I've been to the Cape of Good Hope (Africa). Now I can add the most northwestern point of the contiguous US, Point Flattery, WA.

Last week we took a couple days off of chores around the homestead. With a clear forecast for the WA coast, we headed to the Olympic Peninsula, and stopped for the night at South Beach, an Olympic National Park campground about 35 miles south of Forks. Flush toilets but no potable water. Hand sanitizer dispenser conveniently mounted on the bathroom door. No showers. Alina was NOT happy about that. By the second night, neither was I. Note to self, no more than two nights at campgrounds with no showers. We ladies like showers. And even more importantly, we like our menfolk to have them. And I won't mention salty dogs.

But, it was a peaceful, beautiful, clear day at the coast. No wind. This was the view from our site.

We had a big picnic table, and a fire ring.

Cooked us up some New Braunfels smoked sausages for dinner, with a big salad and a bottle of wine. And contemplated the meaning of life.

The short trail to the water was right next to our site. You had to climb over some big wood to get to the beach. That is not a rock to the left, it's a LOG!

Remember, Beach Logs Kill.

As the sun went down, the moon came up.

The sunset was spectacular.

Pictures don't come close to how beautiful it was.

Thursday morning, after the sun opened all the buttercups in front of the tent, we set out for Forks, where we picked up info on how to get to our desination. The Chamber of Commerce info place was full of tween Twilight fans and their parents, looking for maps to sites described in the books. I've never read them. No one was going where we were going. Whew.

We passed through Neah Bay and picked up our pass to use the Makah tribe roads and land. The parking lot at the trailhead was pretty empty. We headed out through the thick woods, and the path turned to boardwalk.

At the end of the trail there were several observation decks to fully appreciate the view.

As we stood on the point, a bald eagle flew by us. That's Victoria Island, Canada in the background. You can't see Russia from here.

As we turned to head back, a mob of 200 eighth graders and their teachers on an end of year field trip from Port Angeles descended on the decks. Five busloads. We high tailed it back up to the car to get out ahead of the bus parade. I made Lloyd stop in Sekiu so I could get a picture of Rosie. I had to. She reminded me of the giant shrimp just across the Brazos River in Richmond. I thought Susan would get a kick out of Rosie.

Rosie's got a great view.

So then it was back to the campground for dinner (chicken with Trader Joe's Green Thai Chili sauce, jasmine rice, and salad, oh, and another bottle of wine). A mighty wind came up and I thought we were in for a rough night, but it stopped after an hour or so. We were on the edge of a front that blasted through Portland and the Gorge all night. I'm not sure the camper would have held up, so it was good that we were spared.

Four hours home on Friday to the shower. Alina beat everyone to it. And loved every second.