At the side of our patio.
This is the extent of my Halloween decorating this year. Well, that and the fact that the rest of the house is still terrifyingly messy from moving!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Frank packed these boxes...
This is pretty self-explanatory.
I wasn't even involved in unpacking these boxes, so I have no idea how they were packed. He said he just threw stuff in there. It's now all in the cupboards - and it filled up almost a whole cupboard 30 inches wide, two shelves.
We have a lot of seasonings. (But we use a huge variety of herbs and spices!)
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
More Fridge Graffiti
"BooHoo - The food is not happy. You're eating it."
Mom's lesson in manners:
Can you read the tiny green words that describe how each letter is colored in?
Saturday, October 18, 2008
The (practice) White Board
Frank bought this and a variety pack of dry erase markers for the kitchen. Before the board went up, though, the markers got some use...
Rachel tried out the dry erase markers on the fridge.
Happy Aligator...
is happy. He ate a squirrel.
Poor thing.
Lonely Monkey...
is Lonely
Yes, she knows it's misspelled. She doesn't care.
Actually, I think he's incapable of emotion if he's dead...
Rachel's drawings in hot pink and Frank's comments in green.
On the fridge, mind you...
...and he is very HAPPY!
Rachel's response to Frank's response.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Cold? Bah.
She has no idea.
NO IDEA.
We moved from Minnesota to Oregon six years ago and have since acclimated to the milder climate. Mornings like today's, though, make me wonder if you can take the girl out of Minnesota but you can't take the Minnesota out of the girl.
This morning, fall is in the air. The sun was out, the dog left a steaming wet spot in the back yard when he went out for his morning constitutional, the air was crisp and cool, and the fall haze hid the mountains to the east. Perfect. (Ok, I'd love to see the mountains every day, but they'll be back.)
I was wearing jeans, ankle socks and flimsy shoes, a v-neck t-shirt, and a thin hoodie that I only threw on at the last minute because I'm wearing low rise pants and I would be sitting all day. I was hot (Uh, temperature-wise. Well, sure... I was hot-looking, too. Never mind I skipped my makeup and hair routine today...)
Happy with the weather, I had to laugh at this lady who was walking her dog along the side of the road. They were moving at a brisk pace and she was bundled up in a winter coat, gloves, and a long pink scarf srapped around her neck, cheeks, across her forehead, and sunglasses covered her eyes. Good grief, you'd think she was standing at an unsheltered bus stop in Minneapolis on a day when the wind chill was colder than 20 below. And she was walking at a pretty good clip.
Is this some sort of freaky Oregonian sweat therapy?
I see this kind of wardrobe choice more often than I expect and it always surprises me.
Maybe these people are recent transplants from California or Nevada? I really don't get it.
I'd like to see these people at the Holidazzle parade in Minneapolis, sans skyways. The Holidazzle parade is during the big Christmas shopping season and people actually stand outside for hours to watch the floats. The parade has only been cancelled for blizzards or -20 windchill... so that means people (meaning we) have stood outside (have frozen our tushies off) for an hour (or four) when the temperature is around zero (before calculating windchill) to watch a parade (and question our own sanity - of course, it's for the children... yes, the ones who are crying and whining that they're cold. Sissies.)
For those of you who have an idea what the Minnesota climate is like, but don't know a lot about Western Oregon, here's a comparison:
Summer
Minnesota: 75-100 degrees during the day and night, often very humid and muggy, lots of mosquitoes
Oregon: 60-90 degrees during the day, 50 degrees soon after sundown, comfortably dry but not arid, what's a mosquito?
Winter
Minnesota: +20 and down to -20 with windchill, very dry, lots of snow and ice that stays on the ground from late October through late March.
Oregon: 35-55 during the day, 35-40 at night, drizzly or foggy or rainy, snow maybe every other year but it only lasts hours or days so it doesn't really matter anyway. Ok, they close down roads and schools for half an inch of white stuff and they've never seen a snow plow here in the valley...
Now you know what I know about these Oregonian wimps.
You are officially entitled to laugh at them now.
This morning, fall is in the air. The sun was out, the dog left a steaming wet spot in the back yard when he went out for his morning constitutional, the air was crisp and cool, and the fall haze hid the mountains to the east. Perfect. (Ok, I'd love to see the mountains every day, but they'll be back.)
I was wearing jeans, ankle socks and flimsy shoes, a v-neck t-shirt, and a thin hoodie that I only threw on at the last minute because I'm wearing low rise pants and I would be sitting all day. I was hot (Uh, temperature-wise. Well, sure... I was hot-looking, too. Never mind I skipped my makeup and hair routine today...)
Happy with the weather, I had to laugh at this lady who was walking her dog along the side of the road. They were moving at a brisk pace and she was bundled up in a winter coat, gloves, and a long pink scarf srapped around her neck, cheeks, across her forehead, and sunglasses covered her eyes. Good grief, you'd think she was standing at an unsheltered bus stop in Minneapolis on a day when the wind chill was colder than 20 below. And she was walking at a pretty good clip.
Is this some sort of freaky Oregonian sweat therapy?
I see this kind of wardrobe choice more often than I expect and it always surprises me.
Maybe these people are recent transplants from California or Nevada? I really don't get it.
I'd like to see these people at the Holidazzle parade in Minneapolis, sans skyways. The Holidazzle parade is during the big Christmas shopping season and people actually stand outside for hours to watch the floats. The parade has only been cancelled for blizzards or -20 windchill... so that means people (meaning we) have stood outside (have frozen our tushies off) for an hour (or four) when the temperature is around zero (before calculating windchill) to watch a parade (and question our own sanity - of course, it's for the children... yes, the ones who are crying and whining that they're cold. Sissies.)
For those of you who have an idea what the Minnesota climate is like, but don't know a lot about Western Oregon, here's a comparison:
Summer
Minnesota: 75-100 degrees during the day and night, often very humid and muggy, lots of mosquitoes
Oregon: 60-90 degrees during the day, 50 degrees soon after sundown, comfortably dry but not arid, what's a mosquito?
Winter
Minnesota: +20 and down to -20 with windchill, very dry, lots of snow and ice that stays on the ground from late October through late March.
Oregon: 35-55 during the day, 35-40 at night, drizzly or foggy or rainy, snow maybe every other year but it only lasts hours or days so it doesn't really matter anyway. Ok, they close down roads and schools for half an inch of white stuff and they've never seen a snow plow here in the valley...
Now you know what I know about these Oregonian wimps.
You are officially entitled to laugh at them now.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Pam's Confession
I have a confession to make. I hope this doesn't offend anyone.
Before I confess, I need to point out that when it comes to eating, people are either foodies or not. If you are a foodie, you know you are, and if you are not a foodie, you probably don't know what I'm talking about.
Foodies are those who eat adventurously, eat globally, and enjoy trying new things.
Non-foodies prefer to eat familiar food, dining on tried and true standare fare.
My confession: We tend to refer to the non-foodies as "White Breads."
Huh? Why? Think of bread.
Before I confess, I need to point out that when it comes to eating, people are either foodies or not. If you are a foodie, you know you are, and if you are not a foodie, you probably don't know what I'm talking about.
Foodies are those who eat adventurously, eat globally, and enjoy trying new things.
Non-foodies prefer to eat familiar food, dining on tried and true standare fare.
My confession: We tend to refer to the non-foodies as "White Breads."
Huh? Why? Think of bread.
- White bread is popular, well-known in the US, always good, always the same (no surprises) and goes with anything you put on it.
- Foodies eat white bread too, but if you peek in their grocery cart you may also see: ciabatta, sour dough, pita and other flatbreads, focaccia, artisan breads, naan, lavosh, challah, etc. Technically these breads are white but far from being "white bread."
Now-- I am friends with a lot of foodies and white breads, and really don't intend to insult anyone who is reading this and realizing I think of them as a white bread. It just is what it is. If you are a white bread, I like you for who you are and I don't want you to try to be someone you're not.
Foodies tend to flock together, getting together for foodie meals, meeting at foodie restaurants, sharing foodie recipes, and talking food in general. When I meet a new foodie friend, I'm always happy to compare notes and share tips.
Lately, I've been enjoying foodie conversations with a new friend, "G," who has not only traveled a lot but grew up as a foodie. G sent me an email today that lists his favorite restaurants. Note that none of them are here in Salem. Salem is a White Bread town for the most part. Three hundred restaurants, half of them are Mexican and most of the rest are Asian or chain/fast food. Mexican and Asian food is fine, but that ratio is sadly lopsided if you're looking for variety.
Habibi is one of my PDX favorites (although last time I was there the service was terrible upstairs, where we were sitting.) I will make a note to check out some of G's favorite restaurants next time we head up to PDX. Not big on soup, I'd still check out the two Pho restaurants to see what kind of noodl-y dishes they have. I still miss the Curried Mock Duck that Frank and I would get at the Vietnamese restaurant behind our Uptown Mpls apartment (at 36th and Colfax.) Maybe one of the PDX Vietnamese joints would have a great Curried Mock Duck.
G's list:
Biwa on 9th and Ash in Portland
Best Baguette on 82nd and Powell in Portland next to Carl's Jr
Habibi Middle Eastern food downtown Portland a few blocks up from Broadway
Chopsticks Thai/Chinese food on Hawthorne in Portland
Wong King's Seafood Restaurant (best dim sum in the northwest) 82nd and Division
Pho Hung 3120 SE 82nd Ave Portland for Vietnamese food
Pho Van for more Vietnamese food on Hawthorne and 82nd
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
The "Before" Pictures: first floor
I love Rachel's pictures. She laid on the dining room floor and shot picture after picture of Caesar. Look at his wagging tail. Funny pooch.
Yes, there is a resident family of elves living in the cupboard under the stairs.
Beyond the living room with the hideously gigantic mirror (that we asked them to take with them but I guess we bought it - anyone want a mirror?) is the 8'x8' dining room, sliding glass door to the patio, and the kitchen sans refrigerator.
We'll have to get our extra fridge out of storage this weekend.
(Yes, that is a burned out light bulb. You are very observant.)
Frank checked out the instructions left on the counter and then became his goofy self, catching my eye in the mirror and daring me to take pictures of him, then hamming it up and flexing his muscles, then lifting his shirt to check out his pecs. Yah, right. Ok.
You know that look that wives give their husbands? The one where the wife rolls her eyes and shakes her head and you just know she's thinking,
"Good grief, how many kids do I really have?!"
I do that a lot.
"Good grief, how many kids do I really have?!"
I do that a lot.
Here's a link to the rest of the photos from this flickr set: Home Improvements
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