boxes of love, trail mixes, and tuna sandwiches

...'tis all in a days... work?

Our last day we rose early, touched the Lord, and drove off drop off our trainee care packages and to get some things at Trader Joe's. Oh how I have missed that store. Austin definitely could use one. But with HEB and Central Market crowding the scene, I don't know, maybe it wouldn't survive out here... well, I certainly think Austin itself has the Trader Joe's feel. But who am I to say? After a brief tunafish sandwich lunch at home with Mom and Pauline we tore off to the airport... All in all, I have discovered that flying is soo much more fun when you are with someone you enjoy being with. So thanks, Grace, for joining me this time around.

the mecca of bookstores

Sunday we made it to the Lord's day meeting and enjoyed the Lord...giving praise and thanks for what He has done. During introductions we stood together and said we were from Austin (old family friends still think I'm 'from Portland', which I am, but hey! a girl has got to start claiming someplace as 'home'...). After greeting so many that I had been missing these past few months, we went to lunch at the Original Spaghetti Factory on the Willamette River... you know, the one with the purple roof. Then headed off to do some of the shopping that we had fully intended to do. We hit the Columbia Sportswear Outlet, and mecca of all bookstores:Powell's bookstore (a 3-4 story building that spans an entire city block downtown...way cool!) Sunday night was movie night after we packed and made phone calls.

what about bob?

Saturday was great. We woke up, drove to Bob's Red Mill... it brought back memories of honey sticks, bread, and old wooden mill-shop floors, the smell of flour and ground oats. We ate breakfast at his new restaurant and store and actually SAW and MET BOB! No joke. And Grace was sooo excited that I simply had to talk her into going up to meet him and politely ask for a photo with him. I told him that we were from Austin TEXAS and that I used to live in Oregon and that I remembered his old mill before it burned down and he took a look at me and said, "are you sure" disbelieving my age I'm sure, I should have said, "yes, I'm sure, it was right across from the little Sunburst Gymnasium that I used to take gymnastics from." Then he would have believed me. Then discovering that the weather was going to be better today than yesterday we headed out to the Oregon Coast after having Aunt J's car detailed. Together with our newly burned CDs we embarked on the twisting and turning journey that eventually lead us to 'hug point' (more to be said just ahead). The drive was again gorgeous. What can I say, I love Oregon. There is just so much variety in the scenery. Our first stop to the cheese-lover in the car's delight was Tillamook, the home of the Tillamook Cheese Factory. We toured the factory, sampled the 'squeeky' cheese curds and ate fresh ice cream until we were sick... "Mmmm this tastes like a yummy stick of butter," ... I know, that sounded gross to me too, but she meant it as a total compliment... oh the things we find out about each other... the things. After the cheese factory we headed North up the coast line to Cannon Beach stopping here and there along the way to get some photos and we discovered this little place a bit South of there called Hug Point. Awh... too cute. The sunset was gorgeous. In Cannon Beach after a quick drive/walk through we ate at a French Cafe-like place. Delicious... it seems all we did was eat, eat, eat. *smile* Then we headed home on highway 26... less twists and turns... a much smoother ride.

hitchin' a ride

The day after Thankgiving we were going to head out to the Oregon Coast, but upon waking it was drizzling rain and just plain ugly and cold outside that we settled on staying home and watching the UT vs A&M game and eating popcorn and, of course, left-overs. Totally a lazy day and one in which we began to get somewhat stir-crazy... Here I must put in a great big THANK YOU to my beloved Aunt Julie for lending us her car for the rest of the weekend. We immediately felt a huge sense of relief. We took off for downtown and after a short driving tour we drove then walked Portland's esteemed 23rd St. It was then that I found that my favorite Italian coffee house had changed owners... however the coffee was most welcomed withinthe grasp of our frozen fingers and warmed our selves from the core. With the cold weather, and the trees filled with white lights we were really enjoying ourselves. Breathing in that fresh NW air! That evening we found our way over to a friend's place in Beaverton.

delicious

Day two: we leisurely enjoyed our Thanksgiving lunch with my entire immediate family and their spouses and kids. It was by far the most delicious turkey dinner I have EVER had. Mom used the plug-in thermometer and Mr Turkey was so moist and tasty. My sister made over four complimenting dishes... Each with a scrumditiliumcious (sorry I can't even begin to know how to spell that one) taste. Later some family friends joined us for piles of pies and yummy thanksgiving desserts. Complete with a 'Happy Birthday' song and solo to my dear friend who turned 24 on this very same day! Needless to say, my nephews took a real liking to her and did what they could to impress her.

home again, home again, jiggity-jig.

Hello Blogpsphere. It's been a while, hasn't it. Be warned: The following few posts will probably be more of an event journal.

Well, Oregon was indeed wonderful, as those in my Ringo.com account have seen. It was refreshingly cold and the first day was simply clear and gorgeous. Everything was working out just as planned... I made Grace take the window seat and she was able to see the Grand Canyon, over 5 snow-capped mountains, and a view of downtown Portland with it's multiple bridges from the sky. Fittingly upon arrival after an excellent brunch at a quaint downtown Gresham cafe we headed out to the beautiful Columbia River gorge for a view of the gorgeous waterfalls and snow-topped mountains. With the high speed winds fighting us, we drove as far as Hood River, the windsurfing capital and apple orchard heaven. There we hit up a fun gelato cafe. Most impressive were the tremendous white caps on the river as we drove through the Multnolmah falls area out to Hood River... I've yet to have seen anything like that out there... It literally looked like an ocean. Strange, I know. Later that evening my family was craving Vietnamese food, so the 5 of us ventured out in my younger brother's new car... He did very well navigating us through nearly 45 minutes of traffic with three backseat drivers trying to persuade him in all directions. Unfortunately for us Pho Van was closed the night before Thanksgiving... so we drove all that way fighting traffic just to have to turn around and head to the sushi place just down the road from where we started. argh. A good 20 minute wait for a table and we had aour fill of fish of all various degrees of rawness. *smile* Mmm... mmm... Good! Topping off the meal with Mango Ice Cream we left satisfied and happy. All in all, our day was quite packed... since we woke at 2am Oregon time to catch our flight in Austin... and well,... the rest is history.

4 days and counting...

I am heading to P-town for the holidays... Wheeee! I'm super excited. With Grace traveling along with me, I'm sure to have my share of pills (hee hee) to make it through the flights (I think that both our Austin / Phoenix leg -and- Phoenix / PDX leg are on the smaller type of planes... Oh how I hate the smaller aircrafts)! You feel ever bump and dip. Not so much a "wheeee!" that I want to experience.

I am super looking forward to spending time with Grace in my "homeland" and with my darling nephews... Can't wait to see them!!!

Once again, the plight of not having my own laptop... I've got to relenquish this one back to it's owner... * frown * boohoo * (ok, enough self pity). I'll try to post from Oregon. Ahhh O-R-E-G-O-N !!! It sounds and looks so nice! *smile*

shopping indoctrination

So I've been freshly indoctrinated by LJ concerning the art of expenses during shopping... I'll tell you more later, she needs her computer back.

man kills buck with bare hands in bedroom

What a surprise to find this post on r.fuel's site when my friend Gracie just printed it out the other day and read it to me on our way home from the gym.

Man Kills Buck With Bare Hands in Bedroom
The genuine article.

Some of her favorite parts were:

"I was standing about like this peeking around the corner when the deer came out of the bedroom," said Goldsberry, demonstrating while peering around his kitchen wall.

what's in a name?

Just took a little Name Popularity test... I'm sure there are more accurate ones out there but I don't have that much time to kill to find one on the internet today (dispite what this blog might make you think). So here it is...

grace's specialty special tea

I have a flatmate (LJ) who simply adores and frequently craves a drink that our neighbor, my good friend, Grace makes. Being a form of milk-tea, it's really quite simple to make... but perhaps just having Gracie make it for you is all part of the experience. Just ask LJ, and in her sweet little squeeky loud voice she will proudly declare that she looooves Grace's Specialty Special Tea! "Look mom, no caffeine!" she would quickly add. Mmm-Mmm good.

(photo to be posted soon).

craving chocolate

Just the other day I was stunned to find that Jamba Juice can no longer cater to my chocolate cravings... I rushed over to JJ with the intense craving for their Chocolate Moo-d smoothie only to not see it anywhere on the menu... upon inquiring I was told that they have ex-nayed the Chocolate-Mood drink from their menu entirely! Oh I was terribly disappointed. The server told me that some of the "slower" Jamba Juices will still carry it until they run out of supplies... but that I was just going to have to order something else to drink that day. There were just too many drink to choose from, and not a single thing Chocolate left on the menu... Mooo-ve over Chocolate fans Green Tea has busted it's way onto the menu with more than it's share of gusto. I guess they think chocolate isn't a necessary dietary item? Hmph, and they think they know SO much.

Bring back my Chocolate Peanut-Butter Moo-d!

sign written on the inside of the door of my apartment

reads:

!!WARNING!!
!!!HAZARDOUS!!! *

Ceiling of bathroom may cave in at any moment.

Moldy /Rotting walls and baseboards near tub and toilet.

Constant dripping from cracking buldging ceiling.

*I was dripped on while peeing today.