Testing My Latent Skills

Yesterday, Slav and I set out on an adventure that all to quickly turned sour.
Mission: Keep Slav Off the Street
Objective: purchase adorable little mini-RV
Report: We set off Tuesday morning for Seattle, the location of the trailer. After just an hour of driving, at the Mt. Saint Helens exit, we received a call from The Seller warning that another buyer would be arriving before us and paying more than Slav had offered. We were in the process of regrouping and reformulating a plan when we received another call from the seller with the good news: the other buyer fell through and Slav was a little further from the brink of homelessness. Northward, ho!
Two more hours of driving and an unknown number of gallons of $5/gallon biodiesel later, we arrived at The Seller's home - a lovely little trailer park. Slav called to ask which house in the park was his, and there was no answer. We drove around a bit looking for the trailer, assuming that would lead us to The Seller. No luck, though. The park had a separate, shared RV parking area. We saw the trailer, tried calling again and were a bit stumped. We decided to get food and await a call back.
We arrived at Tacos y Enchiladas Guatemala with hopeful hearts. Would there be vegan food available? Soon after we sat down and Slav tried to order, it was clear that the woman running the place (waiting tables, cooking, cashiering for the little grocery and generally acting as a Jane of all trades) did not speak much English. My Spanish to the rescue! I certainly had some moments of trepidation, but the woman was relieved that we could talk and Slav was relieved that I could translate "no meat." It was my first time ever in a true life test of my Spanish, and it felt amazing (and a little scary)!
Unfortunately, during our meal, we got a hold of The Seller via phone and learned that he had sold the trailer! Apparently, he did not feel that it was important to call and let us know even though he knew were were driving up from Portland. ARGH! Rude and inconsiderate...

At least one good thing came of it, though.

Some Kind of Weekend

I had quite a lovely weekend here in Portlandia.
Saturday was Beth's birthday, and we had a full day of activity. We started out a little late (because of a Friday night party), but eventually we did go out to breakfast. Despite the fact that our waitress didn't think that I knew what I wanted to order and tried to convince me that an Arnold Palmer would be a disgusting drink because they only have strawberry lemonade and finding a hair in my food (and sending it back), I had a lovely time. And, I do recommend strawberry lemonade Arnold Palmers to the AP drinkers out there. The Cricket Cafe knows how to make hashbrowns and scrambled tofu, to be sure.
Next, we prepared for our weekly trip to the big downtown farmers' market. We wanted to take the cats with us, so after a little scheming...

Unfortunately, they were a little too excited once we got outside and actually bringing them along to the market is going to take some more training.
As you can see from the pictures, it was a simply stunning day, and we went to the park after returning from the market. We played doctor doctor, frisbee, basketball and sat in the grass until we realized that it was time for dinner (which was easy to realize because Beth has a mini-meltdown when hunger strikes).
We had dinner with some friends after seeking the best outdoor seating within a reasonable distance. Our meal ended with a grand finale when a lightning storm struck! It's the first one we've had since I moved here, and we (Beth and I) were squealing with excitement and feelings of home with almost every flash and rumble. While we were out, Slav came back to Portland, which is so crazy, I don't even have any commentary.
On Sunday, I helped Slav move for a little while, but spent most of the day preparing for a dinner party! I used the new cookbook (Veganomicon) that Caita got me for my birthday (thanks again!!) to prepare spinach asparagus dip for an appetizer, latke, sautéed rainbow chard and marinated portabello mushrooms for dinner and chocolate flaked ice "cream" for dessert. It was super fun! I meant to take pictures of the food, but we were hungry and I forgot.
Overall, it was a delightful couple of days!

Beth lounging in some newly laid hazelnut hull mulch we found on our way back home from the farmers' market on Saturday

Outing with Mama!

Here are some pictures of Mama and I playing on Navy Pier in Chicago. We walked around, played mini golf and rode the iconic ferris wheel.

Deep in concentration, Mom takes a crucial stroke.

In a foolish move, I chose the low road and was foiled by one of the few interesting holes the putt-putt architect integrated into the course.

Here we pose with our clubs and balls.

Mama looks off toward the city from the ferris wheel.

Me on the ferris wheel.

Walking in the WINDY city

Our beautiful bike tour booth, with Mom's new bike (though not the most illuminating view of it)

Thanks!

This post is, first of all, to send a big THANKS to Caita and Herb for the whole baby thing. You have really provided me with some primo knitting opportunities! Since babies are small, I could actually afford to make a fancy sweater for Mckenna-to-be! For those of you who didn't see it at the baby shower (or for those of you who saw it but were frustrated with the poor lighting in the Pizza House), here are the pictures: I wasn't quite sure how to arrange the hood for the photos, but I think these give a good idea of how it looks.

I am really happy with how it turned out. Dre even asked me to craft one in her size. Of course, she wanted the same yarn.
Noro (the yarn) is kinda like Patagonia clothing. You want it because you know it's great, but you don't get it because it's so expensive. Then, you get some alternative and wish you had the Patagonia version. Or, you get the Patagonia/Noro, and you're so pleased that you walk around with ridiculous pride whenever you encounter the inferior product you avoided. Or something like that. I may be a little biased because whoever designs their yarns is my color and texture aesthetic double.

Okay, I also want to give everyone some gifts - the gifts of cool internet/real life finds! Here are some awesome things I have come across lately.

1. Check out Curtis Settino, the artist that is currently showing at the local coffee shop. Here are some of my favorites: "A Bathysphere is Here" on this page, "That One Fish" on this page, "Open Comics" on this page, and lots of other sweet ones. Click around.

2. Langhorne Slim. I heard it on NPR. Make sure to listen to "The Rebel Side of Heaven."

3. Dinosaur Comics. Sometimes they're great. Sometimes I don't like it so much. Today's, though, it worth a look. Trust me.

One More Year

Well, I had another birthday yesterday!
I celebrated by not working very much, knitting a lot, going out to dinner with Beth and eating a big piece of cake! I am also going to have two real birthday parties later, one at home in MI and a joint party with Beth later this month since she was a May baby, too.
Thanks to everyone who called to wish me Happy Birthday - even Cait who kept calling when I was not by the phone.

Spring cleaning and sprucing

Spring is here, and Beth and I have a cheerier apartment to show for it. Here are the results of the art party in their full, wall-mounted glory!

artist: Me!

Artists (L to R): Beth, Leah, Me

Artists (L to R): Beth, Duncan, Alex

Artist: Beth


And... a crucial element of my spring cleaning: kitty baths!