Where are you guys going now?

I'm pretty sure Jupiter knows what's going on. Usually we don't have the door to the second bedroom open, but this week we have since we're staging our Kauai stuff there. Tonight I caught him exploring our suitcases, looking for somewhere to hide, I'm sure. He'll be in good hands, our friends Josh and Danelle will be taking care of him in our absence. Unfortunately for you all, we're not going to be blogging for the next week, so you'll have to wait for our return from Hawaii for any updates. So, hope everyone has a good week, I know we will!

-G

Dancing Queen

feel the beat from the tambourine
you can dance, you can jive,
having the time of your life...

That song will be stuck in my head for days!
I drug Gabe out with me to see Mama Mia tonight. It was a blast! I think Gabe felt pretty out of place as he looked around and saw very few men in the audience. All of whom, we decided, were also drug there by the woman in their life. It was a great show. I think even Gabe enjoyed it. Although, I'm sure he'll never admit it.
As a reward for being a good sport, we stopped by the Kwik-E-Mart for a Squishee on the way home. For those of you who aren't the Simpsons fans we are, the translation is that we stopped by the 7-11 for a Slurpee.
-h

What's it smell like Paul?

Tonight we had a sushi feast at our house. Heidi's oldest friend Peggy and her husband Paul came over along with a former coworker of Peggy's who brought her husband and daughter. We all rolled a fair amount of sushi that ended up being the perfect amount. We sat around and chatted for a while and played with the cat using our laser pointers. At some point Paul thought it would be a good idea to stick his red pointer in a nostril to see the effect. Peggy thought it would be a great picture, so I gave Paul my green laser to use as well. Paul was very interested to see the effect, wondering if light might come out his eyes or something, unfortunately, none did.

-G

Green Tomatoes

We have lots of green tomatoes on our plants! Hopefully they will finish ripening while we are gone next week and be ready to pick when we get home. There is one really low on the vine that is about 7 or 8 inches in diameter. I wonder why all of our veggies are growing so large this year. I swear I didn't even fertilize. Crazy.
Today I picked up the last essential item of our trip to Kauai. That is, I hope it's the last thing we need. I don't have a good rain jacket. It's hard to believe, I know. Living in Oregon you'd think I'd have that covered. Don't get me wrong, I've got lots of jackets. I just don't have one that's lightweight and waterproof. Just what I want for tropical rainstorms next week. So I went over to the Columbia Outlet store to see what I could find. Boy did I score! This jacket retailed for $115. At the outlet it was priced $79.95. But I got it for 50% off that. Final price I paid...$39.98!!! Of course I got the brown and pink one! I just love getting great deals.
-h

More Flowers

This is the orange crocosmia in our back yard that we rescued from the old house. There are also some red 'Lucifer' variety in the front of the house that are about to open up. Heidi and I both really like these flowers. The intense color, the long arching stem, and even the seed pods left over when the blooms are gone really make it beautiful. The sun was hitting this one blossom making it shimmer, something I hadn't noticed before (you can see it in the large version).

Sleeping late

Or should I say, trying to sleep late. Gabe is never an early riser on the weekends but I do not understand how he does it when we're camping. When camping I find it impossible to sleep past 7. Between the birds chirping and the sun light illuminating and heating up the tent, I just have to get up. Not so with my husband. If I didn't come to the tent with coffee, he would probably stay in there all day.

Saturday morning's late arousal probably had something to do with the really late night we had. Let's just say my family is large and loud. We took up one whole side of the campground and were up well past the 10pm quite time.
-h

Bumblebee

This weekend was Heidi's family reunion (her dad's side). Since we got a leisurely start Friday, we made it down to the Foster Lake area late in the afternoon. We picked out our spot and went about setting up camp. It was nice and secluded, as all the sites are at River Bend County Park. The campground is brand new, only a little more than a year old. The weather was a little dreary, overcast with occasional fits of rain, but being true Oregonians, it posed us no threat. The poor bumblebee on the path between a couple campsites was having a hard time though. It was a little cold for him to get going, so he made a nice subject, he didn't seem ready to fly anywhere. Maybe he was just taking a rest on the nice thistle, tired from collecting pollen all day.

-G

Summer Bounty

Danelle and I spent the afternoon picking, and picking, and picking. And eating, and eating, and eating. I sometimes wonder what my consumption verses saving rate is. I just can't pick without trying a few.

I love to head out to Sauvie Island Farms because they have lots of great berries and even some veggies available for U-pick. I came home with 11lbs of blueberries, 2lbs of Raspberries, 1lb of Marion berries, and a few green beans for dinner tonight. I also put some of the blueberries to work already. I made a blueberry pie for dessert. Yummy!
I love berries!!!
-h

Welcome to the 21st Century!

Heidi has finally made it into the 21st century, she is the proud owner of an iPod. She's been wanting one for a while, but since my old mp3 player has been working for her, it's not been a priority. With the trip to Kauai coming up, she expressed her desire for one a little more loudly. She also likes to point out that she wanted one even before I did, but I got one first. When I got mine it was the 5th mp3 player I had owned and I'm sure it won't be my last.

-G

Monster Spider

I think this guy is out to get me and I'm afraid. He is the one of the biggest spider I've ever seen. The only one bigger was the one that charged me while I was in the bathroom in the Philippines. That spider was as big as my hand...I was terrified. This spider in our garden, is about the size of a silver dollar. I think he's out to get me because yesterday when I was picking the zucchini, I didn't see him until my face was right in front of him and I freaked out. Unfortunately, while I was freaking out I completely destroyed his web. Today I found him by the fence instead of in the middle of the zucchini plant. A much better place for him to reside.
I got my revenge. I think I freaked him out today with the camera. I took a couple of shots like this one of him in the center of his web and then he scurried up and hid underneath one of the fence boards. Now we're even. I'm willing to leave him alone if he leaves me alone. I don't want any more surprises next time I got out to pick something from the garden.
-H

Jack and the Beanstock

So maybe it's not quite to the level that Jack experienced, but I feel like it's close. Remember that picture I posted of the zucchini blossom? Well, it's turned into the monstrosity you see here. We've picked a couple and thrown them onto the BBQ with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, but this one got away from us. I guess we need to check the plant closely before we leave for the weekend again. This one is still good, mainly when used in zucchini bread or muffins, it just isn't what I would want served up on a dinner plate, they've lost too much flavor at this size.

-G

Party Island

The story of our weekend would not be complete without mention of the "Party Island". Since none of us have the means or the desire to own a boat, we spend our time relaxing on the lake sprawled in "floaties". Last year, Jen shocked and surprised us all when she showed up with this crazy floating island (yes, that is a sad looking palm tree hanging off the back side).
It makes for a great time. It can seat at least 6 and even has drink holders, making a trip back to the beach and the cooler nearly unnecessary.
After we packed up camp this morning we were all hot and sweaty. So heading to the lake, where the temperature is significantly cooler, was the perfect plan. The trouble came in figuring out how to get the party island down there as well. There's nothing a little rope can't hold down.
-h

Dustbowl

As mentioned before, we were camping over at Lake Billy Chinook this weekend. Dave and Carley brought their dog, Wags. He's your typical pound pup, a black lab mix. He's a fun dog, with a pretty relaxed attitude. He was a trooper this weekend, even though you could tell he didn't like the heat. He seemed to deal with it by laying in the dirt, which as people who have been to central Oregon know, is really fine pumice dust. Wags turned a nice shade of gray he was so covered with it. I imagine Dave and Carley had some bath plans for him when they got home today.

-G

The Cove

Friday we took off to the Cove Palisades in Central Oregon. We met a bunch of friends for a weekend of camping and fun. Even though it was hot, dry and dusty, we had a great time. I do love coming here because the lake is beautiful, and just the right temperature to cool off from the scorching heat.
The first picture is one I took when we were headed out of the park on Sunday. You can see Mt. Jefferson in the background and the haze in the air is coming from several wildfires in the area. It's that time of year.
The picture of Gabe is my Friday picture. We got into camp on Friday right in the heat of the day. We were soooo hot! All Jen, Craig, Gabe and I could do was set up the easy-up canopies and play games in the shade. Even sitting in the shade, sweat was dripping down my back! When Alexis and Eric arrived, we got on our swim wear and headed straight for the lake. A dip in the lake never felt sooo good!
-h

Yummy

I was going for the shot of the gooey melted chocolate chips here, I didn't quite get them, but I think you can tell how delicious these cookies are. Heidi is making them as a snack to take on our camping trip this weekend over to Lake Billy Chinook. We camped there last year with Heidi's family, and are going with friends this year. It's going to be really hot, I'm sure, but having a lake to dive in will make up for it. Back to the cookies, don't you think Heidi's a little crazy to be baking while it's still 80 degrees in the house? I thought so too until I had my first cookie of the batch, it's worth the heat.

-G

The Mercury Won't Stop Rising!

I'm so done with the heat we've had this week. Part of the reason I live in Oregon is because we don't have this ridiculous heat. If I wanted to be miserably hot, I'd join my sister in Las Vegas. It's not for me! I have sweaters in my closet...not tank tops and shorts.

I'm not sure people in other parts of the country really understand what the heat does to us here in Oregon. I only know like 2 people who have AC in their homes (one of them is my parents, who are sadly on vacation right now so I can't take my book over there). People just don't do that here. We don't have pools. Nothing. So when it's hot like this, we literally suffer. I almost went to work with Gabe today just so I could spend the day in his air conditioned office. (Good thing I didn't. He's headed home right now because the power is out at work.) It is a little bit cooler in our house. It's only about 80...for now that is. I think we'll be going out again this evening. Maybe it's my turn to pick the movie.
-h

More Than Meets the Eye

Some of you might be able to guess what Heidi and I did tonight based on the title of this post, and the picture above. For those of you not able to figure it out, we went and saw Transformers. It's been planned for a couple weeks to go see it, and tonight was perfect for it since it's so hot. Right now as I type this at 10:40PM, it's still 87 out. I must say that the movie met all my expectations, in fact, it's the best action movie I can remember. For those of you who haven't seen it, you should, just know that you're not going for the plot or the amazing acting...you're going to see huge robots do battle.

A kitchen full of dirty dishes...

not just a sink full. When I finally made it out of bed this morning, I was greeted by dirty dishes overflowing the sink and stacked on the counter. To my disappointment the cleaning fairy never came while I slumbered. I guess I don't have to say much more about what I did today. How is it that I always forget how bad the clean up is after our events? Maybe I should just hire a maid for the day after we have a party. Now there's a great idea!
-h

Summer BBQ '07

AKA, The West's Sausage Fest '07. Beer was drunk and sausages were eaten, a great time was had by all. This is Jen trying her ring toss skills. It turned out that none of us had any ring toss skills, it was fun anyway. The croquet set came out and we played a couple rounds, at some point I fell in the bushes and broke them badly. Oh well, I wanted to take them out anyway, just another excuse to buy more cool plants. Anyway, as always, it was a lot of fun to have all our friends over, and it was worth all the work we put into it.

-G

Update

Sorry there was no picture last night. Our BBQ went pretty late, so I didn't have a chance to go through the pictures. I'll try to get one up this evening when I get home.

-G

To-Do:

Yes, I'm one of those wives. I left Gabe today with a big list of things to-do. I really didn't expect him to do everything, but I was really hoping he'd get a lot done. We have quite a few things still to get ready for our BBQ tomorrow. I would have been working along side him... really, I would have been, but I had a bridal shower for my friend Kirsten to attend this morning. And I did make him blueberry pancakes (fresh blueberries from our bush) before I left. Had to make sure he had the energy!
Gabe did my least favorite things while I was gone: edged the lawn, and went to Costco. Does anyone else hate Costco? Honestly, I would love Costco if there weren't 10,000 other people shopping with me. The crowds just kill me! I can feel my blood pressure rise the moment we enter the parking lot.
So when I got home, we started cleaning the house and spread out the bark dust we got for the back yard. Neither of us wanted to deal with the bark dust. So I told Gabe that I guess we'll just have to stop having people over because it's too much work. That got him up pretty fast. We both really love having people over, and having a good time, but it's always a ton of work. Well, the work will be over soon enough, I just pulled the mojito cupcakes out of the oven. That means tomorrow all I've got left is preparing the side dishes. And having a good time!
-h

It's Hot

I guess it wasn't as hot today as it's been the last two days, but overall we made a transition to hot weather pretty quickly. I like the sunny weather, but anything over 80 and I don't want to be outside doing anything more than having a cool beverage. It's pretty clear that Jupiter feels the same way. He spends a lot of time either laying on the hardwood floors, or his new found favorite, the tile in the bathroom. I have to agree with him, when I was down on the floor to take this picture, it was nice and cool. He still gets up in the front window to check on the neighborhood, but for shorter lengths of time, he has to get back on the floor to cool down.

First of the season

This is the first dahlia from our yard this year. I was out watering early this morning and decided this first bloom needed to come inside. I forget that growing things without pesticides can be a pain. Along with this one flower, came inside a spider, a green caterpillar, and lots of aphids. I think most of you know about my love of these flowers. They are most definitely my favorite. So much that they are the #1 reason Gabe and I had to get married in the fall. I had to have these flowers as the centerpiece of our wedding. Since thinking about my love of this flower reminded me of our wedding, I decided to share this picture too.
-h
Aren't these flowers beautiful?

30 Yards

Happy 4th of July everyone! We had a great day today. First, we met my mom down at King Estate Winery near Eugene, to celebrate her birthday, which is the 5th. We had lunch and tasted some wine, it was a nice afternoon. We headed home and planned out our evening. Jennifer and Craig suggested meeting at the McMenamins Fulton Pub down off Macadam. There is a nice shady beer garden we ate dinner in and killed time before the fireworks. After dinner we walked over to Willamette Park to watch the Oaks Park fireworks display. We walked along a path where everybody else was walking, since we didn't really know where the best viewing was. As we walked along we saw a small gravel path that led down to a small beach on the river's edge. We walked down it and noticed the barge the fireworks are shot from was basically right in front of us, we thought it was perfect. That is, until the harassment began.

With the four of us on the beach there was probably a total of 12 people. The majority of those were down the beach a ways, so we felt we had a good location. Soon after I set up the tripod and camera two guys reeking of cheap beer and pot started loudly complaining about the "inconsiderate Californians," who don't know about the "30 yard rule." Apparently you are supposed to give all other people a 30 yard buffer, otherwise you are encroaching on their "aura." As most of you know, I'm not one to give in to the demands of an irrational stranger, or let harassment go unchecked. I kindly let him know that since we were all in a public space that we wouldn't be moving. At one point the ringleader got in my face and asked me if I wanted to "go." Actually he was as close to my face as he could get, only being 5'6". By this time Heidi was looking up the number for the police on my phone and discussing with some other people on the beach what these guys had threatened to do to them. The verbal abuse continued, he called me an "impecile," [sic] and a faggot, he also discussed how poorly I must of been raised since I didn't know how to share public space with others. The fireworks started and they shut up for the most part, and about 2/3rds through the show they left. They left behind a small cooler still mostly full of beer, so much for Leave No Trace. As they left I wished them farewell and that I hoped to see them next year. We didn't let it ruin our evening, it was a great show as you can see in the picture.

-G

Are we there yet?

No. But we will be in 24 days!!!! Today I decided to take a picture of something that I simply can not stop thinking about. It probably doesn't help that I've read 4 guide books in the last week. Gabe says I'm obsessed. I think I'm just planning ahead. There are so many things to see and do on Kauai. One week is certainly not enough time to see and do everything, so I've been educating myself about what the possibilities are. That way I know what things we'll want to try, what ones we can't miss, what ones we'll do next time, and what ones are of no interest to us what-so-ever. I think Gabe will thank me when we get there. I'll probably know enough to be his personal tour guide. The trip is going to be great...I can't wait!
-h

It's Not What You Think...

Or is it? If you thought it was hops, then you are correct. I put the final touches on a batch of beer tonight in preparation for our annual BBQ this weekend. It's another IPA, and I think this one will be even better than the last. I'm not sure what kind of beer I should make next. IPA's are definitely my favorite, and they make great summer beers. What do you all think I should make next?

-G

Visual DNA

My sister put this on her blog yesterday and I thought it was pretty cool. So, I gave it a try and this is how it turned out.
Yes...I am a sucker for those silly quizzes in magazines. So if you enjoy those, give this a try and let me know your results!
-h

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Mt. Hood in the Mirror

I love Hwy 26. I should clarify. I love Hwy 26 East, past Sandy. Not the gridlock on Hwy 26 that takes you to the urban sprawl also known as the west side.
The best part of this drive has to be right before you get to Government Camp. You're gaining elevation fast, the forest is thick all around you, the mountain has to be close, and you know that just around the next bend in the road you'll be able to see the mountain. And finally you are rewarded with the mountain "boom" right in front of you. It is reason #893 why I love where I live.
Well, it's not quite the same on the return trip. Most great views of the mountain require you to turn completely around in your seat, which I don't recommend if you're driving. Not to mention, if you aren't careful you miss this great view of the mountain entirely because you're cruising down hill pretty quickly. So, here is my attempt to capture Mt. Hood the best I could while Gabe was driving 60 mph. Unfortunately, there's no vista viewpoint here to pull out.
-h
Also, if you've never driven between Prineville and Madras...you should. On that stretch of road, there is a point where you can see from Bachelor to Hood. I believe that's 8 of the peaks of the Cascade Range. It's really amazing! I don't think there's a wide angle lens made that could capture all that.

The Painted Hills

As Heidi mentioned, we were over in eastern Oregon this weekend camping. Our main reason to head over there was to see the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. There are three sections to the monument, the Painted Hills Unit, the Sheep Rock Unit and the Clarno Unit. By far, our favorite was the Painted Hills. Being in that area makes you feel like you're on Mars, it so different than anything I've seen before. The picture above is in an area where you get to walk around in a small section of the hills. I thought the three distinct colors of the hills was really neat, especially next to the sky. I don't usually do this, but I'm going to post two pictures.

This is the more typical shot you see from the Painted Hills. It gives you an idea of how beautiful the area is. Heidi described the hills as looking like "dinosaurs that were sleeping."

We visited both of the other sections of the monument as well. The Sheep Rock Unit also had some interesting terrain that we hiked through, as well as a visitor center with many fossils that have been found in the region. In the Clarno Unit there was a trail you could walk through and see plant fossils in boulders that had fallen off the side of the rim rock above. There wasn't much else at Clarno, but I'd recommend everyone go see the Painted Hills and Sheep Rock.

-G

Ochoco National Forest

Lets get caught up.
When Gabe got home from work on Friday (for those of you who don't know...Gabe works 9 hour days and 1/2 days on Friday. It's perfect for taking weekend trips in the summer.) we took off to central Oregon. I think Ochoco is closer to eastern Oregon since it's past Prineville, but that's coming from a "valley dweller". It takes about 3 1/2 hours (Gabe speed that is) to get out there, so in my mind it's eastern Oregon.
We've camped in Ochoco before, when we first started dating, but haven't been back since. Camping on the east side of the Cascades is so different. It always really strikes me when we drive over the Cascades and leave the lush Douglas Fir forests behind. It's such a drastic change to the dry Ponderosa Pine. We do really like it out here so we figured it was time to go back.
If Gabe looks unhappy in this picture it's because he was telling me to stop taking pictures and help him with the tent.
-h