I N T H E N I G H T K I T C H E N
Today, I'm learning Quark. It's been on my resume for ages.
What?
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You'll be overjoyed to know that yesterday I did go for a walk
and had that beer. You have to have balance in your life -- be the zen.
3:12 PM link
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ChoicesI have just come to a momentous stopping point. I have poured a large amount of energy and creativity and pixel-haggling into this design and I have sent it off to the client for judgement.
Do I:
a. Go for that envigorating walk that I had planned so as to stretch my legs and release some calories?
b. Go sit on the back stoop with a beer and a book?
I suspect I should walk then beer. Dammit.
1:45 PM link
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Yesterday we mostly ambled and wandered.We started out early and went over to Dress for Success and I donated an interview suit that I got in my last year of college and never wore. I had landed on a sale at Casual Corner and had a friend who worked there and got a 50% discount. The one I gave away still has its tags on -- originally $114, marked down to $89 and I got it for $44. I bought four suits at that time and I think this one, a 6 petite, was a little too snug in addition to not really being my style.
It's a very smart little suit, cream button-up and structured top with navy pants. The only problem is the big gold buttons with anchors on them. So, it has a slight nautical theme. I just never could bring myself to wear it.
Dress for Success is this women's charity where they accept interview type clothing (suits and dresses) to give away to women who are hard on their luck and needing a job. They do an interview makeover for the women and give them shoes and handbags in addition to the suits.
It is a great concept but they had a notice on their site that they had run out of room for clothes. I truly wonder how many women are out there who can truly take advantage of their service. I suspect it's not as many as they had hoped for.
The women who were there running the place when I brought in my suit cracked me up. They were these fluttery older ladies with the perfect amount of makeup on and perfect little Ralph Lauren pressed slacks and perfectly reasonable coiffed hair. These are undoubtedly ladies from Lake Oswego who volunteer their time as they have no reason or need to work. They belong to Country Clubs and social circles and work on the board of the Rose parade. They fundraise. They definitely mean well.
In any event, I felt happy donating it. If someone who is hard up and a size 6P comes in, I think they'll feel pretty smart in it.
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Afterwards, we went to a farmers market downtown in the Park blocks. Most of the markets don't start operating around here for another week or so. T. and I have never been so we were eager to check one out this year.
There were probably thirty stalls and a lot of munchies for sale for eating while wandering: fresh rolls and cinnamon buns, homemade tostadas, kettle corn, cheese, honeycomb. I had serious plant lust going on as they had so many lush plants for landscaping and gardening. I nearly bought a Bolivian Wanderer which look so cute and adorable but I passed. I've just gotten a second check from the client so we're a little punchy with funding but we still need to hang back if we expect it to last.
We ended up buying green leaf lettuce and a lettuce mix. We also got a couple pounds of finger potatoes and two bunches of baby asparagus. There was a stall selling various vinaigrettes so we splurged and got a Rosemary Apple Vinaigrette to have over our lettuce.
I was quite saddened that we missed the strawberries that a few stalls were selling. Apparently, you have to get up pretty early in the morning for those. We're probably backpacking next weekend so the following weekend, I intend to head out bleary-eyed to scare up some fresh berries. Yum.
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We stopped back at the house and dropped off our bounty and then went out for the second part of our day, up to Mt. Hood to scope out Timothy Lake as a possible backacking trip. We stopped at the Mt. Hood National Forest Park Center and gabbed with the rangers. It was determined that Timothy was too far under snow still to make that trip. So, we picked up a couple maps and some promo stuff on Oregon events. We also bought a Forest Park Pass so we're all set for that. Then we left and went searching for lunch.
There's quite a few cafes and restaurants in and between Rhododendron and Zig-Zag. We chose the one with the most cars in the lot: the Whistle Stop in Rhododendron. It was a good choice; a tasty greasy-spoon.
After a leisurely lunch we decided we'd drive around Mt. Hood and check out some of the trails along the way. We stopped and got out of the car frequently to check the snow and the glorious views of the mountain. It was a perfect day.
We continued on around the mountain, stopping at the ranger station on the outskirts of Hood River. Unfortunately, it was closed. However, it butted up against fields of pear trees in bloom -- I was tempted to start running among the rows in rapture. I walked out to the edge of the orchard and got a good look at a very active bee hive. Actually, it was four hives stacked (or maybe two double hives, side my side) and one of the was really buzzing. (Heh. Buzzing.)
Since I was downwind, I didn't worry too much but I didn't get really close either. Did I mention that I recently read three books on beekeeping? I'm kind of fascinated with it and now know more than I probably should about the keeping and care of honey bees.
The views from this area of Hood River were incredible -- full glorious views of Mt. Hood in one direction, amazing views of the smaller Mt. Adams in the other and rolling hills of agriculture dotted with farms left and right. We saw this this large, probably Victorian-era, farmhouse atop a hill that must have had pristine views of everything. If you lived there you'd wake up every morning, take in the sweeping, 360-degree vista and just cry.
We traveled on and stopped in the part of Hood River down by the Columbia River and watched the wind surfers and parasailers. The parasailers were pretty incredible, doing jumps and leaping into the air, carried by the power of the wind in their sail.
It was around 4 at this point so we headed straight back to Portland and had a killer dinner of grilled pork, grilled finger potatoes, and fresh salad topped with feta and walnuts and drizzled with the tasty vinaigrette.
I then polished off a bottle of Pinot Gris from the client while watching
Carrie. It was a great day.
10:00 AM link
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