Little Things

A Long Time Coming

2012-01-12T17:40:00.000-08:00

Christmas and New Years have both come and gone and I haven't posted a single thing. Well, I intend to remedy that right now.Christmas was great. We spent it with Joel's family on the 23rd, with Linda's side of the family a week prior, and Mike's family a couple days after that. I managed to remember my camera for our immediate family Christmas, thankfully. All three Christmases were lovely and Joel and I definitely had a good time.

Here is how Mike and Linda's cat, Piano, spends most of her days.

We spent Christmas in Mike and Linda's new house, which is a cute little ranch just down the street from where they use to live.

For New Year's Eve Joel and I went down to Cincinnati to spend the weekend with Will, one of Joel's college friends. He just moved into an apartment that his firm helped design and develop. Will also has an impeccable style that is very fitting to his apartment.

Since I've been without a job, I've been spending my time drawing and knitting. Most recently I knitted up these little wool baby pants for some friends who just had a baby, as per the mother's request.

And I've been working on a drawing project that has no end in sight.

Upcoming

2011-12-30T09:27:00.000-08:00

I will be posting sometime next week of all our holiday celebrations (not all of them caught on camera) once I get my laptop back. As of now, I am studying for the GRE like crazy and am looking forward to having that be done and taken. I am taking the GRE in Columbus on January 3, so those of you who pray: please pray with reckless abandon! I am understandably nervous and am hoping I only have to take it once, it isn't a cheap test by any means. I should hopefully know where I've been accepted to by March. Oh boy!

Sears Woods Walk

2011-12-11T16:55:00.001-08:00

Today Joel and I went to Sears Woods for a little hike. Everything looked very wintry and cold but still on the cusp of autumn. There were leaves on the ground that still had their shape, they weren't covered in snow or disintegrating. We saw two birds during our entire walk, but everything else was sleeping or had migrated. It was a pleasant walk, if a bit cold, but one gets use to that after a while.

The District Sleeps Alone Tonight

2011-12-08T17:36:00.001-08:00

A couple weeks ago Joel and I cat-sat for our friends in DC while they were in Japan on business. It was nice to get out of Ohio for a little bit and get back to our old stomping grounds. The two sundays that we were there we went up to Ellicot City (outside of Baltimore) to go to church and visit our old friends at Metanoia. I wish we had taken photos of everyone, but alas we didn't. It was so warm and wonderful to spend those sundays with everyone. On wednesday we went up again to go to a Bible study with folks from Metanoia. Between trips to the Baltimore area we visited the National Cathedral where they were having a retirement ceremony for the head of the American Episcopalian church. I forget the technical term for her position, but neither here nor there, it was amazing to see so many colourful vestments and beautiful people.

After we walked around the National Cathedral, Joel and I had a picnic in a park nearby. The sun felt great and we're still relishing how often the sun shines in other parts of the country outside of the Pacific Northwest.

We also got to have dinner with our friend Beth and her boyfriend Carson twice, once at Beth's parents house in Virginia and once in DC. It was lovely to see them twice. On saturday we went West of Ellicot City to see where my friend Patty is apprenticing at a pottery studio. You can see some of the work they do here . Amazing stuff and really lovely people.Then we headed back to Ohio, Joel had an interview the next day at the local German butcher/deli (which he got, and more). I've been making books and knitting. You can see more of the books on my art website.

Today I finished painting the master bathroom. I'm pretty excited about it.

I've finished my applications to the University of Wisconsin and the University of Iowa. I'm also applying to the UI Certificate of Book Studies in addition to the MA in Library & Information Science, that application isn't complete yet but we're getting there. I am probably going to volunteer at the Bucyrus Public Library. The lady in charge of volunteers seems to be kind of a grump but I suppose that's going to happen sooner or later. Oh well. Things are going well though. I'm looking forward, nervously, to hearing about grad school. Please pray for me!

In Search of a Home

2011-11-11T17:41:00.001-08:00

After we got to Ohio we chilled out from driving for a week then we were back on the road. Here are a couple photos from Ohio.

Then we drove to Rhode Island to visit Kristen and Andrew. On our way there we mentioned to our past roommate, Ryan, that we were in his home state of New York and he said we should stay with his parents. We were intending to camp (and it was 40º!) so we called up his parents and they invited us to stay the night with open arms. They fed us and let us sleep in their lovely warm beds. Thanks Ryan!Anyway, Joel and Kristen went to university together at University of Cincinnati. We also were headed to Rhode Island so that I could visit the University of Rhode Island, but alas I was not impressed with the program at all and have crossed it off my list (hey, one less school on my list). Kristen and Andrew have two very nice cats named Traveler and Rommel.

Then we headed south to Washington DC to visit Tom and Dawn, Tom is also a college friend.

Together with Tom and Dawn we went up to Gettysburg, PA for the weekend. We visited the battlefields and went on a ghost tour (sorry, no photos of ghosts!).

Then after much discussion Joel and I decided to go back to Ohio. We were tired of being on the road and feeling aimless. But Tom and Dawn asked us to cat-sit at their house (which we are doing right at this moment) so we knew we were coming back. On our way back to Ohio we drove through Shenandoah National Park, and my was it beautiful! We saw black bears and deer.

Since then we've been helping Joel's parents move to a new house just down the street from where they're living now. It's a great little place and we're happy to get to help. I'm in the process of applying to grad schools, as I mentioned above, and hopefully we'll know before too long where we'll be headed to next.

The Big Move: Day 9 (Wheeling, IL --> Bucyrus, OH)

2011-11-10T19:33:00.001-08:00

We made it to Ohio!

The Big Move: Day 8 (Wheeling, IL & Milwaukee, WI)

2011-11-10T19:14:00.001-08:00

Today we went up to Milwaukee, WI to visit the Milwaukee Museum of Art. On our drive there we stopped at a heron preserve (I think?). I got to see a lot of fantastic work, including a piece by Martin Puryear -- my favourite artist. There was also a photography exhibition of the work of Taryn Simon which was amazing. Also: I finally bought a typewriter! For $12!

The Big Move: Day 7 (Moline, IL --> Wheeling, IL)

2011-11-10T18:49:00.001-08:00

We drove the short distance from Moline, IL to Wheeling, IL, stopping in the middle to have lunch with my grandma and her sister in Peoria, Illinois. After lunch we headed on up to Wheeling to stay with my cousin for a couple days. My cousin lives very close to this fantastic (and very long) forest preserve and Joel and I took a nice walk there. Then we went to Ryerson Woods with Heather (cousin), lovely.

The Big Move: Day 6 (Storm Lake IA --> Moline, IL)

2011-11-10T18:28:00.001-08:00

Today we drove from Storm Lake, IA to Moline, IL, it was a day of mostly driving but near the end of the day we stopped at the University of Iowa (where I'm applying for grad school) and walked around the campus. We went right at Magic Hour too, which as always, makes for lovely photographs.

The Big Move: Day 5 (Rapid City, SD to Storm Lake, IA)

2011-11-10T18:09:00.001-08:00

Today we drove through the Badlands and saw lots of grasshoppers and prairie dogs. There was a lot of nothing out there. We stayed off the highways still but it was still pretty desolate, however full of rolling hills covered in golden waving grass.

The Big Move: Day 4 (Sheridan, WY to Rapid City, SD)

2011-11-10T18:02:00.001-08:00

Today we drove from Sheridan, WY to Rapid City, SD. We saw lots of Pronghorn Antelope in the morning in Eastern Wyoming, they were everywhere! We stopped by Devil's Tower but we didn't go into the park.Right outside of the park (the middle of nowhere) our Check Oil Light came on so we pulled over an checked out our oil. We were out. So we were about to decided whether we should go back to a convenience store in the town outside of Devil's Tower or to see if we should drive to the highway and find a gas station -- but how long would it take to get there? Would we be okay? Then I saw a white pick up truck cross the street and pull over next to us. The man asked what the problem was and we told him. Joel asked if the man thought we could make it back to the convenience store or if the man thought they would even be selling oil. The man didn't think so, he asked what kind of oil we needed for the car. Joel looked and told him. The man turned to his truck and pulled out a quart of oil that was exactly the kind we needed. Joel asked if we could pay and the man said no, hopped into his truck and drove away. Wow.Then my mom mentioned we should stop by Rapid City, SD because some family friends had parked their RV there and were staying there at the moment. So I called Carol and we set up to meet them at a restaurant in Rapid City and stay with them for the night. And it all worked out and we got to stay with them, what a wonderful time!

The Big Move: Day 3 (Craters of the Moon to Sheridan, WY)

2011-10-24T16:52:00.000-07:00

On the third day we drove from Craters of the Moon/Idaho Falls, ID to Sheridan, WY, and in between we were able to go to Yellowstone National Park -- two national parks in one day!

The Big Move: Day 2 (Vale, OR to Craters of the Moon, ID)

2011-10-24T15:56:00.000-07:00

Today we drove from Western Oregon to Craters of the Moon in Idaho. Our first stop was in Boise, ID and then we headed to COTM and stopped early so we could hike and set up camp.

The Big Move: Day 1 (Portland, OR to Vale, OR)

2011-10-24T15:33:00.000-07:00

Leaving Portland, OR we drove to Western Oregon and stayed the night in Vale, OR. We decided to stay away from the interstate for as much of our trip as possible. These are all from driving OR 26-E.

The Big Move: Leaving Portland (09.30.2011)

2011-10-24T15:18:00.000-07:00

Three weeks ago Joel and I moved away from Portland, Oregon, as most of you know. The next few posts are going to have little in the way of text and mostly just photos. These are photos I took before leaving. Some of these things we had to leave (yes, Orson is still in Portland -- hopefully someday we can get him back), I had to get rid of some paintings -- most of them went to Goodwill, and I left a lot of plants.

Big Post

2011-09-05T17:20:00.000-07:00

I don't seem to update as often as I'd like to which means I end up with gigantic photo dumps. With that, I'll start with the oldest information/photos and move forward chronologically if I can help myself.Firstly, Joel and I went camping a couple weeks ago. We went up to Umpqua Hot Springs near Crater Lake for the weekend and it was very refreshing. On our way up there we stopped along the Rogue River and walked down to the water.

There was a magnificent wasp nest.

This was our campsite.

We got to put our tent right next to the river and by the end of the afternoon all the other campers in the campground had left and we had the place to ourselves. The afternoon that we got there we went up to the famous Crater Lake which -- to my disappointment -- was not made by a gigantic meteor but rather from a volcano exploding and leaving a gaping cavern that filled with water and turned into a lake. I like the idea of a meteor better.

Recently we've had some pretty good meals with farm produce, last night was a delicious one that I didn't photograph but we had a major grill night with Carli and her boyfriend Jason where we had grilled zucchini (farm), hot links, corn on the cob and a farm tomato caprese, with grilled peaches for dessert. Plain grilled peaches are fantastic: cut peaches in half, brush with olive oil and grill. Done. So delicious, I highly recommend it!A couple nights previous to this we had Carli and Clara over for dinner and we made zucchini fritters from here: that we topped with smoked salmon, a poached egg and créme freche. Like so:

Our garden is doing well with tomatoes, green beans and kale.

The farm is also producing well. I finally took some yesterday when Carli and I went out to do some harvesting.

A while ago Kelley and I went to Sauvie Island Farms to pick beans and berries and flowers.

We picked about 5 pounds of green beans then while at our farm co-op I picked about 10 more pounds of green beans. So I pickled them! Yum, they'll be Zydeco beans. It turns out that in New Orleans many places will serve bloody mary's with pickled beans (or specifically Zydeco bean pickles). I forgot to take photos of all the canned beans but regardless of documented evidence, I canned about 12 quarts of beans, wow!

And that is about it. In regards to odds and ends, here is a photo of Orson looking rather dapper, and a moth, fantastic looking!

As far as moving is concerned, we have about 25 days left in Portland then we will be moving out and heading to Ohio to help Joel's parents on their new house and then from there we'll be temporarily moving to Baltimore while we try to figure things out with Philly. Or we'll just stay in Baltimore? Who knows.

Bounty! Friends! The Sea!

2011-08-13T15:35:00.000-07:00

I pulled up the second half of my potatoes in the backyard and this time we got some Yukon Golds! I also harvested the two largest raddichio heads and some yellow beans.

And for dinner that same night I made some baked potatoes with bacon, dill and garlic. Quite possibly a match made in heaven.

Other good things that have happened recently: Michael Hanes and Jen Brown came to visit! Mike was here for a conference so Jen decided she'd come along and visit us as well. While they were here we went to the sea and my, oh my, it was such a beautiful day!

While walking along the beach we found this fantastic shack that someone had built for people to hang out in. It was at least two years old and had been written all over. There were plenty of "Chris was here" type of things and amusing anecdotes. Someone had also left a glass jar full of paper scraps and pens for people to write on while hanging out at the shack.

View from the shack.

After we hung out there for a while Mike went for a swim in the ICE. COLD. NORTHWESTERN. PACIFIC.

On our way to the beach we stopped and picked up this large seedpod/fruit that was growing wild. Then a couple days after it being on my shelf it opened up and looked like this!

Then Mike went off to the conference and we literally never saw him again. That week Jen, Clara and I hung out together walking around Alberta and then made dinner together.

We had blackberry-glazed salmon with farm mixed-vegetables and a side of quinoa.

Jen, Joel and I all went to the farm co-op and got an awesome load: carrots, spinach and lettuce, summer squash, blackberries, logan berries, onions and elephant garlic!

That night we made hamburgers and more mixed farm veggies, yum!

Then Jen and Mike went home and life went back to normal, sort of. We had family dinner with our housemates last tuesday.

And then we told them we were moving to Philadelphia in October!

Farm Produce

2011-07-24T22:01:00.000-07:00

After the mildest summer weather I have ever experienced the farm has started to produce something other than greens (which surprisingly get old after four months, weird). And it is a cause for celebration! This is our most recent haul. Currants, logan berries, beets, zucchini, lettuce and young scapes (the curly heads of unflowered garlic).

And then a couple days after this photo I got some more (gigantic) beets and the carrots were ready to pull up. They are called Dragon Carrots which have a beautiful dark purple outside and an orange center. And totally delicious.

With all the currants Joel made currant jelly and Cumberland sauce (which uses currant jelly).

Joel also made some delicious berry corn muffins, yum!

Recently we had pea soup made with farmers market hamhocks, farm garlic and carrots and grocery store peas. Mostly local and completely delicious.

Last week I pulled up some of our potatoes in the backyard and they were All Blues.

And with the All Blues I made this wonderful dinner: all blue mashed potatoes with farm dill, tuna with a mushroom and dill cream sauce, and baked asparagus.

A couple days ago I made quinoa pasta with farm vegetables and herbs and a lemon-butter sauce. Unfortunately that didn't get photographed, oh well. That same night we went over to my friend Carli's for pie and cards on the front porch -- summer is here! The pie was made with farm logan berries, blueberries and marionberries. I will definitely miss the berries of Oregon when we do eventually move away. They are not only prolific but also succulent and delicious. I am very happy that they grow so well here.

And I'll wrap up with a couple animals. We'll start with the less fuzzy: slugs! This is a leopard slug that was about six inches long. Accompanied by some slug that I have idea what it is. But there are a lot of them in Oregon.

And end with the more fuzzy: Orson!

Seattle & Birthday

2011-07-24T18:15:00.000-07:00

The last month has gone by quickly and I haven't blogged a thing in as much time. I am once again going to post very little in text and a lot in photos.

At the end of June Joel's parents visited us. We met them in Seattle and stayed with our friends Rachel and Basil before meeting up with them. We decided to take a different route (other than I-5) and what a beautiful drive it was! Unfortunately we met up with this about thirty miles (2 hours) into our drive north. That's right: snow!

There were a lot of blooming native flowers that I haven't seen in person. My ethnobotany professor would be so proud!

Also, I found a mushroom the size of my head. I have no idea what kind of mushroom it was but I have never seen a larger specimen.

We got to Rachel & Basil's in spit of little "detour." The following morning we got up and had a delicious picnic breakfast in the front yard.

When we met up with Joel's parents we did a lot of sight seeing of Seattle. We went up in the Smith Tower to see the city. The Smith Tower's observation deck is the same floor (thirty-fifth?) as the Chinese room which was lovely. So much beautiful old work!

This is what you see.

While in Seattle we happened upon a knit-graffitied park. I love the warm clean colours they used for the "tree sweaters."

We also saw a couple totem poles that had been brought/stolen down from Alaska during the Alaskan goldrush.

Joel's dad was interested in seeing the Bremerton Navy Museum so we took a ferry out there and wandered around.

Last time we were in Seattle Rachel, Basil, Joel and I rode through downtown on our bikes at night and Joel tried to point out the Central Library but I didn't know what I was looking for so I didn't see it. This time we took a personal walking tour through the library. It is an amazing piece of architecture and now I can hardly believe I didn't see this thing, nighttime or not.

After Seattle we drove down to Portland and spent a few more days with Joel's parents before they left town. It was so wonderful to see them!

Then in early July I celebrated my 24th birthday in style. I had a cheese and wine party and asked everyone to dress fancy and bring fancy things (like champagne!). Never was there a better way to celebrate 24 years of life.

Catching Up

2011-06-13T11:02:00.000-07:00

It has been too long. In the meantime between posts I have managed to go to California, come back and do a week and a half of work. But now, here I am, finally getting to it. There are so many photos that I am not going to use a lot of words. A photo speaks a thousand words, no?

Let's start with the garden. This is what it looked like before vacation.

And two weeks later this is what it looks like.

Today I am going to plant wax beans and some more spinach seed and bush bean seeds. A couple days ago Kyle planted a variety of tomatoes, we'll see how those do. My third summer into the Northwest and I've given up most hope of growing them here.

While taking the first photos of the garden I noticed that Orson was playing with something -- almost definitely a mouse or rat. But as I got closer to him I saw that he actually had caught (and killed) a little yellow bird, perhaps a finch? I'm not familiar enough with the birds here.

Handsome devil.

At the end of May Joel and I went down to California for some vacation time. We visited family and some of Joel's friends from college. On our way down we hiked through the Coastal Redwoods because Joel had never seen them. They're amazing even when you have seen them several times, wow! We saw four banana slugs, a mass migration of bugs that looked like inch-long pill bugs, a Steller Jay, and a dead black mole, among many other amazing things.

That night we stayed at a bed and breakfast outside of Humboldt. Joel didn't tell me where we were going to stay, his words were "Do you trust me to find a hotel and not tell you about it?" I was a little apprehensive with that kind of a precursorial statement but he did a splendid job, what a surprise! It was a farm-stay bed and breakfast and the owners were kind and very interesting. We talked about cows a lot and they know the lady who started Cypress Grove Goat Cheeses. These were some of their animals.

Their B&B was located in this valley (and let me tell you, nothing looks better in this light, but I see why people move to California).

Before we got to the farm we stopped in Eureka for a bite to eat at Lost Coast Brewery and these were things we saw on our way through town.

Then we went down to Stockton and saw my family. On our way there the terrain switched from a temperate rainforest to an arid oak savannah.

My parents and brother came up to my grandma's house and the following night we celebrated their 25th anniversary, congratulations guys!

My grandma lives on a lake that has ducks and turtles.

Then Joel and I went to San Francisco and met up with his friend Jake and his girlfriend Danni. The following morning Danni went to work and Jake, Joel and I walked around San Francisco. We went to a bakery and got a delicious sticky, one that rivals no other store-bought sticky bun for greatness. Truly an amazing sticky bun. We did a lot of park sitting and walked a good 6.25 miles around northwestern SF. We also enjoyed some good tourist watching, wherein Joel and I were asked to take photos for some people.

Oh ya, and this is Danielle Steele's house.

And we saw a guerilla park wedding.

All in all it was a good trip and we had a lot of fun. It was nice to see all the wonderful faces we don't get to see nearly enough. Later this month we have the joy of getting to see Joel's parents and some friends in Seattle, hurray! I will also try to continue to upload photos of the garden. Good thing we're growing things that like cool weather, oh summer, I do miss you.

Spring time

2011-05-01T22:00:00.000-07:00

This was originally written on May 1 but due to frustrating internet problems was not able to post until today. With that said, I now have really reliable internet and will be posting what has happened since this post.

Sunshine in the springtime. Ryan got pullet chickens yesterday (teenage chickens). We got two Americanas/Aracunas that lay blue/green eggs, and two buff orpingtons that lay light brown eggs and a reddish/brown mystery chicken that will lay an egg, we're not sure what colour because neither Ryan nor I remember what the lady said when she sold it to us.

Ryan is really happy about his chickens.

After we brought them home Orson and I sat by them, I knitted and Orson hung out, allowing me to take a rather dapper looking photo of him.

The rest of the garden is going just as well.

Roommates 101: A Refresher Course

2011-04-17T22:05:00.000-07:00

For those of you that don't live with me, this is going to be a refresher course on who lives with me and Joel.

This, for one, is where I live.

This is Kelley, she is the roommate who has lived in the house longest aside from Joel and I.

This is Kyle, she moved in in March. Someday I will get a genuinely good photo of her.

This is me with one of Kyle's cats, Jackson, who happens to not be a.) photogenic and b.) hates flash almost as much as I do.

And this is Ryan who moved in in April. Again, not the most flattering photo. Someday.

Tonight we had family dinner. This is a meal that is set aside for all of us to talk and break bread together. Sometimes with five people's schedules it is hard to keep track of everyone and stay in touch. This is our way of getting together and having time together as a community. Sometimes it involves discussing house issues, sometimes it is just a way to catch up, but mostly its just a time to be real with each other.

For dinner this evening we had a make-your-own salad dinner. Kelley and I bought salad greens at the farmers market yesterday (red lettuce, mizuna, spinach and beet tops) and then told everyone to bring two salad toppings. Toppings included: pickled beets, bacon, a variety of nuts, boiled eggs, feta, carne asada, and pumpkin seeds. Kelley made a fruit salad which was amazing. As someone who primarily tries to eat fruits in season and close to home (localvore/locavore) I miss out on eating all kinds of things that a lot of people take for granted (mangoes, out of season strawberries, etc) so it was fun to eat something out of the ordinary. And, easily enough it was also totally paleo. Ryan can't eat gluten so it worked well for him too.

Speaking of greens and farmers markets, this is what our (mine and Joel's) haul looked like this week.

The apples in the back are Honeycrisp apples and I believe they are from the fall but good heavens are they delicious and crisp. They are a delicious treat.

And because I am so very serious about stuffed quesadillas, here is a step-by-step quesadilla stuffed with farmers market veggies. In this particular quesadilla: spinach with cheese, bacon and an egg.

Step 1: Gather your ingredients (seen without the bacon)

Step 2: Fry anything that ought to be fried before it goes inside (eggs, bacon, chard, ham, etc.)

Step 3: Pile your quesadilla in a pleasing fashion. Generally you want your cheese (or cheese-like product for vegans) to be on the outside so that it melts and acts like a glue. You could also totally do this without bacon, eggs or cheese (chard, onions and garlic? yum!)

Step 4: Grill that baby until it is the golden brown of perfection.

Okay, I'll really leave it be... This is the last time I'll speak of stuffed quesadillas.

Now for something completely different: The garden!

Kyle and I worked in the garden today, pulling weeds and doing general upkeep of the house and garden. I de-mossed the side of the house and Kyle did a number on the dandelions in the front yard. Oh yes, and the part I forgot to mention: it was *sunny* today!

I cleaned the herb bed, weeded and thinned it.

And this is what I planted yesterday.

These little guys are the chard we bought at the farmers market last week. After I planted them in big pots they look a lot happier than they did.

This is a quince that Brian brought home from a friend last summer and I planted. There are buds that are looking good. There is a good chance that there will be fruit on this young tree this year. It was rumored to have fruited before in its old home.

What is a quince? Well, it is a fruit in the apple family that is very tart and good for making fruit pectin with for jams and jellies. I think they are also good to cook with for general pie and tart making but I don't quite know the extent of a quince's usefulness.

And that about does it, however I wanted to share this photo before going.

Gardening and the Farmers Market

2011-04-12T22:26:00.000-07:00

It came to my attention that I never actually posted about having planted my potatoes, and I shall be remedying that right now.

Last week I planted peas, onions and potatoes. This is a bit early for planting potatoes for me but I think that its actually quite alright, I'll just have potatoes earlier. At any rate, I planted All Blues, Reds and Yukon Golds. This is what they looked like before going in the ground.

And Kelley did a lovely job photo-documenting the whole process.

Earlier that day I planted Cascadia Peas around some tomato trellises that were left at the house by Brian.

This past saturday Kelley and I went to the Portland Farmers Market for the first time this spring and oh how my heart soared! I bought lots of greens because, frankly, that's about all there is right now and on a whim bought Swiss Chard. Now, I've never liked Swiss Chard before and have only recently started eating kale and quite honestly, I'm not the biggest brassica fan (broccoli, brussels sprouts, kale, collards, kohlrabi, etc). But I bought chard, one small bundle of chard and how I regret only buying a single bundle! The best way that I've discovered for eating chard is this way:

I've experimented with many different varieties of stuffed quesadilla but right now I'm enjoying the basic combination of rice flour tortillas/corn tortillas (naturally gluten-free, huzzah!) with shredded cheese (a pizza cheese mix is good, swiss cheese or a mexican mix is alway good) and greens. At this point I usually add a meat/egg (bacon, egg, sandwich meat) and fry it up just right on the skillet. The first stuffed quesadilla I made by sautéeing the swiss chard with bacon pieces and onions and used swiss. So delicious! At any rate, I ran out of chard the day after I bought it but have been making spinach quesadillas (like the one above, also has scrambled egg, bacon and quattro formaggio pizza cheese). Why am I being so specific? Because you should make this for dinner TONIGHT. It'll totally be worth it, I promise.

I also bought some mizuna, mustard, swiss chard and spinach starts. Today I planted the swiss chard in gallon pots so that even if I take a long time to plant them they can still get bigger and better. The garden is going to be so good this year! It also helps that a lot of the roommates want to be involved and have made an effort to be involved. Hurray!

Also at the PFM I bought fiddleheads which we sautéed and ate with a salad of spinach, watercress and green onions.

All of which we ate with a round steak from the farm co-op. A completely loca(l)vore meal.

Recently we've been enjoying daffodils, and so many different kinds!

They're on their way out as of now but we'll be enjoying more beautiful flowers as summer comes.

Yesterday I finished one of my Toturro mittens. It's not great, my tensioning is really inconsistent and due to that the thumb is really tight. I also ended up with a hole where the thumb connects to the body of the glove. But alas, it is still finished and it is a lesson learned. I don't know if I am going to do the other partner mitten or do something different that would be better or easier to learn better tensioning. We'll see.

Turning a New Leaf

2011-04-07T22:31:00.000-07:00

We have two new roommates, Kyle and Ryan. And here I have two (mostly) unflattering photos of the two.

This is Kyle, she took Brian's place about a month ago.

And Ryan, who replaced Jennilynn and obliging donned his cyclocross racing jersey for us.

Things have been going well and it seems like we're going to get along well. The other night we had a spontaneous dance party in the kitchen. This sort of energy hasn't happened in a long time, I feel good about it.

The other day it was lovely outside and Kelley, Kyle and I worked in the yard after I got home from work. Kelley bought some flowers for her salad/flower raised bed.

She also got a raspberry to replace the one that died due to my ignorance of raspberry care. I'm going to try again this year and hopefully things will go better.

Then yesterday Kelley and I went to the Portland Farmers Market (yum!) and I bought some salad greens and swiss chard to plant in the garden.

When we were working in the garden I was digging up our biggest plot and discovered that when I dug up our potatoes last year I had missed some (as you often do). This was discovered by the tiny sprouts from the rogue All Blues that stayed our of my trowel's reach when harvesting last fall.

This is what our cellar looks like, these are a third of what they use to be after giving some away and planting another third in the garden. We have one all All Blue patch and a patch of Yukon Golds and Reds.

This is one of the Red starts in the ground.

And our apple tree leaves are coming along, opening up and getting bolder.

It is also that time of spring when the daffodils are slowly dying, as is our camellia.

Soon my peas will be sprouting, my potatoes will start producing chlorophyl and we'll have more things planted in the dirt. The tulip magnolias have started to bloom and the trees all have miniature green buds on them. The once grey trees now are shaded by a light green. I cannot wait for the hot, beating sun to bear down on us, to make things grow and brown my ghostly skin.

What Spring Looks Like

2011-03-27T22:55:00.000-07:00

I've been having a hard time believing that summer is ever going to come and been feeling very dismal regarding the weather. It's spastic to say the least, with five minutes being a black sky and hail, contrasted with the next five minutes being warm sunshine and blue skies. I kid you not. So I decided to go outside in that sunny five minutes this afternoon to photograph the signifiers of spring. They're all pretty small so most of the photos are close up. What I really see without the camera is grey trees with empty limbs, this exercise helped me believe in the forthcoming summer.

Also, Orson has been snuggly. The other day he decided to lay on my arms while I was on my laptop. Not helpful Orson, not helpful. I love him to pieces anyways though.

Iron Muffins

2011-03-17T18:19:00.001-07:00

Joel recently bought a iron muffin tin and last night we finally tested it out. The verdict? Perfect muffins!

Because the muffin "tin" is thicker and sturdier it made for evenly baked muffins that rose gorgeously. Generally in the kitchen, as far as baking items are concerned, thicker is better and nothing is better than cast iron. I highly encourage any kitchen nerds/muffin enthusiasts to hunt down an iron muffin dish. The recipe is our good old gluten-free standby, pumpkin chocolate muffins. Yum!

Our meals have still be pretty much like this.

This particular meal we made was slow-cooked pork short-ribs, creamed corn and sweet potato fries à la Isa Chandra Moskowitz. Usually dinner is comprised of a meat and two vegetable dishes. Other delicious things that have graced our table: No-noodle lasagna, big-ass salads, stir fries and brothy soups.

Also, in case you don't check my art blog here is a little something that I just posted here

Drawing Lines & the Paleo Lifestyle

2011-02-09T10:35:00.000-08:00

I'm going to finally take some time to post about my job and some of the most frequently asked questions from patrons and family members alike. First, however, I'm going to post some photos from life outside of work. First and foremost, we'll start with food. Yay!

Joel and I have been pretty equally scheduled between our jobs which means that neither of us has the upper hand at playing the "I'm tired" card at the end of the day. So because of that, we've been cooking together a lot recently. It use to be that it was one or the other of us would cook the whole meal and then the other would do dishes but recently it has evened out so that we cook together and then do the dishes jointly (you put dishes away while I wash, etc.).

Something we have been doing a lot of lately is this: Steak and green beans. It's the new fast food.

We've also been doing a lot of these lately too. Big salads with delicious, filling toppings. For a dinner salad we fried up some bacon, made Cajun-blackened chicken, added feta, avocado and chopped celery, and pecans, all on a bed of Romaine and red-leaf lettuce (I can't wait for farm lettuce again!).

And this is one I made for lunch: sun-dried tomato chicken sausage, avocado, feta and pecans on a bed of Romaine.

We've also been testing out gluten-free breakfast options. Gluten-free basically just means grain/wheat-free. So we've tried buckwheat pancakes, coconut pancakes (shown below), cardamom and apple biscuits, and chocolate-chip pumpkin muffins (also shown below).

Also part of the Paleo lifestyle is exercising in a Paleo fashion. What in the world does that even mean? It means a couple of things: slower is better -- not over-exerting yourself to the point where your body rejects what you're doing, walking/running/sprinting on unpaved surfaces, and generally exercising in a natural way (in nature, short sprints, walking, hiking, swimming). Though Joel and I are still kind of early in our Paleo lifestyle we do these things on a fairly regular basis -- though the short sprint has yet to work itself into our lives.

On Sunday we went hiking on an off-path trail along the Columbia Gorge. Joel and his parents and sister did this when they visited us two summers ago and ever since then Joel has wanted to do it again. So Sunday we were able to do it again. Its a hike that joins Multnomah Falls to Wakeena Falls, which all told is between 4 and 5 miles. You almost crest the mountain on the trail and if you so desired, 2/3 through you can join up with another trail that leads to Larch Mountain (which is another 5 miles). However, we just stuck to the fall-to-fall trail. It was really beautiful and I really enjoyed it.

The 1.8 miles is the toughest part and is the only paved part so it makes it double tough. It's a lot easier for me to do switch backs if there are things for my feet to grip on besides asphalt covered pathways. Luckily only those 1.8 miles are covered pathways and everything else is nice and grippy, rocky terrain.

Near the top we started to ascend into the clouds (or was it just really high fog?) and it made for some beautiful spooky photography. This particular photo has been doctored in no way and was simply the way my camera captured the high contrast atmosphere. Wow!

I took a limited amount of photos just cause it was pretty wet and I've photographed Multnomah Falls before. If any of you are in the area, I highly recommend this particular trail.

FAQs about Panera Cares

Like I said, I'm going to now answer some FAQs about my work and share a little about some of our daily happenings.

So, I don't get it -- how does a non-profit café work?
We are a completely community-sustained café which means that everyone is responsible in keeping our doors open. The way this works is instead of having set prices for a meal we have suggested donation "prices." This means that if you are unable to afford a good filling meal you can pay whatever you are able to. This also means that if you are able to, we love having people go over and above what their meal costs in order to take care of the costs for those who are not able to do so. But for most people it just means paying the suggested donation, which covers the food cost of the meal.

What does the profit go towards and how do I know that?
Because we've only been open for three weeks we are still learning what it takes to sustain the café. First and foremost: because not everyone is able to pay for their meal, the profit right now is simply covering food costs. We will eventually be teaming up with an at-risk-youth program and giving them job training skills. In a month or two we will have a newsletter available detailing where the profit has gone. How do you know we're not lying? Because we are a 501-C3 non-profit and we can't have profit and lying simply would do us no good in the end (specifically for legal reasons).

Do some people leave nothing at all?
Yes. Some people even abuse the system we have in place (one entrée, one drink and one pastry per person a day if you can't afford to pay for it). But we're here for the people who are not able to pay for their meals and for some people that means 30¢ for a meal or nothing at all. We also have a meal voucher program wherein people can volunteer an hour of their time to get a meal voucher if a.) they feel uncomfortable not paying anything at all or b.) if they regularly take advantage (though not abuse) the cheap meal option. When someone is abusing the system set in place a manager takes them aside and explains what we are and what other options there are to get a free meal one or more times a day every day.

Are all Panera Breads going to be switching to non-profit cafés now?
No. Currently there are only three in the whole country: Portland, OR (here), Deerborn, MI (aka Detroit), and Clayton, MO (aka St. Louis). The idea is to watch these three particular cafés for a while and see how they do and then consider one for every major metropolitan area. So, if you only have one Panera in the area: you can be rest assured that it will not be converted.

Why did this store get chosen to be a non-profit café?
The main reason is because we are in an economically diverse area where there is a large majority that can sustain the café and there are plenty of people in the area that genuinely need something like this. Our mission statement says that we are a "hand up not a hand out" to those that need it. This specifically is to allow a comfortable environment for the under-/un-employed to get a meal. Portland has a 10% unemployment rate so we're a really good candidate for this kind of café to reach the kind of people is intended to reach. The café is also located in Hollywood, a neighborhood with a pretty wealthy community but also close to bus lines and a lightrail and other neighborhoods where the average income is much lower (like my neighborhood). And the other reason that should not go without being said is simply because Portlanders love to support non-profits and other humanitarian endeavors.

Those are just five of many questions I get. If you have any more questions you would like me to answer, simply write in the comment box below or email me your question and I will add it to the other above FAQs. You can also find answers at: http://www.paneracares.org

There are lots of stories I intend to share but will save that for a later post.

Up And At 'Em

2011-01-31T23:04:00.000-08:00

I am now going to be keeping all my art separate and will be posting it to my blog that is just under my own name.

http://hstitzleinart.blogspot.com/

I will post a link every once in a while if I think what I've done is interesting enough to share.

Preludes & Nocturnes

2011-01-24T18:11:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Joel's birthday and we celebrated in style. He invited a bunch of our friends to go roller skating at Oaks Park Roller Rink which has been around for over one hundred years, wow! Certainly we were some of the oldest kids there but it was a lot of fun. I don't remember the last time I'd skated on roller skates. On sundays (which yesterday was) they have a live organist who plays for four hours. It was an experience I've never had before. My childhood skating experience was dominated by roller blades and top 40 pop hits at the roller rink, which if I remember correctly was called Roller Town. I forgot to bring my camera which was a shame, so no photos of our skating finery. Then we went to the County Cork which is an Irish pub close to our house. After dinner we came back to our house and played cards, it was a great day!

Our food endeavors are not always recorded but here are some of the things I've managed to capture.

Egg "muffins" with sausage, bell peppers and cheese with a side of bananas in yogurt.

Duck legs with All Blue potatoes, sweet potatoes and onions.

Buckwheat pancakes with blueberry puree with yogurt and a half sausage.

Mexican salad which I use to make often in college, this time omitting the rice and adding our co-op ground beef. Back then I was a vegetarian so it's something familiar yet different.

And this is the most fun I've had in a long time: a young Thai coconut. The outside is a hard husk that covers what you're used to seeing in the grocery, the brown hard coconut. The inside was encased in soft coconut meat which held the coconut water. We had to look up how to open the coconut and it was surprisingly easy. After opening it I got a straw and drank the coconut water, then scraped out all the meat. A lot of fun to eat!

I have also been drinking coffee for breakfast on occasion with a couple dollops of whipped cream (did it myself so there is no sugar in it, just the cream) and it ends up just like a capucchino, such a treat! Yum!

In other news, I've been really busy with work. All through the last two years, even though I had been busy it had predominantly been me sitting and reading, studying or creating, not a lot of walking and standing -- which is what my job mostly entails. The switch over to Panera Cares has been interesting and yesterday marked the beginning of our second week. I'll include a video here that was shot last monday at our store, and yes, I'm in the background! It also gives you a good idea of how our store works.

With that being said, I've been very tired and not terribly motivated to do much in the way of artwork. I've been knitting but even that has slowed down remarkably. However, I did a little test of my graphic illustration skills and I'm rather pleased with the result!

I'm still learning how to use the black-out pen and setting up the page but I am really happy with the first trial run. Hopefully we'll be seeing more of this in the future. And next time I'll actually scan it in instead of photographing it so the lines are clearer.

And this is the reason I didn't scan it in.

MMMMOOOOOOOLLLLLLLDDDDDDD!!!! Curses! In my studio! I had to throw out some of my work because it was so covered in mold. I had an area that I was keeping all my finished pieces which happened to be right next to the wall that has been water damaged and is now breeding mold colonies. I emailed the landlord to see what ought to be done. It would be one thing if it was just mold but now there is the addition of water damage and I'm not sure where it came from. Outside crack in the wall? Maybe I spilled a jar of water a year ago? The downspout is attached so I'm stumped.

I was cleaning, organizing and rearranging my studio and 75% complete when I discovered this awful scene. Scanning my illustration was right on the list after organizing and vacuuming the floor of my studio. I suppose it would be easy enough to bring my scanner upstairs. It is just all very frustrating.

Not That Different

2011-01-14T22:19:00.000-08:00

Joel and I have been working on this new diet and it really isn't a big difference from what we were eating before. The major difference is that we've been cooking more because we can't fall back on grocery store conveniences like frozen pizza, fries, or the ever so easy tuna melt on sourdough bread (yum!). We got really use to this kind of eating while I was working on my thesis when neither of us wanted to cook after a hard days work. But now that I've been working primarily in the day, with no homework in the evenings, I've been cooking more and Joel has been cooking more too.

Breakfast is usually not that involved except on our days off when they look a little more like this.

Lunch is generally a salad or left overs and generally not remarkable enough to photograph.

Dinner has been delicious and full of creativity. Sometimes it's pretty simple. Like this tandoori rubbed salmon with dilly baked green beans and carrots.

For family dinner tonight I made spice-boiled shrimp with brown rice and tat-soi (like broccoli), the brown stuff on top is oyster sauce which is kind of like Chinese ketchup.

I find myself often relying on Chinese cooking -- traditional, not American restaurant stuff that is heavy on corn syrup and corn starch -- that is full of natural fats, and are vitamin rich like colourful vegetables. It's also a little challenging trying to keep to eating local and eating this way. I imagine I'll have a lot of this figured out in the next five years that includes both eating local and eating well (veggies and meat), maybe having my own farm is the easiest solution? Maybe. For now I'm just trying to find out what it means to "eat well." This includes quality, quantity and what is healthy.

We've both been losing weight; Joel has been weighing himself and I haven't been but I know I have been. When you are this little, it seems like losing an ounce is remarkable enough to be noticed. At any rate, both of us are feeling good so far. It is a little hard to restrain ourselves from eating dessert but we've been figuring out good substitutes (like a satsuma orange, oh how I love satsumas!) and also keeping portion control in mind. This is a really hard one cause I can easily put away a whole Chipotle burrito or any number of other big meals, I just love to the tastes!

Joel cooked a delicious chili the other night which wasn't altered at all for this diet -- no need! And for breakfast yesterday on our day off I made buckwheat pancakes and bacon. The pancakes were kind of a splurge but still gluten-free. Breakfast is usually not so extravagant, regularly consisting of an egg or two and some bacon or sausage. I try to spice up my eggs a little with cheese, mushrooms and/or green onions. So really it isn't a big leap from what we were eating before. Our fallbacks have turned into cheeseburgers with lettuce instead of buns, or sausages with carrots, instead of tuna melts. I have been enjoying figuring out the puzzle of what to have for dinner.

In other news, my store opens as Panera Cares officially on Sunday. We'll be the third Panera Cares associated with Panera. I only say associated because we're not actually connected with Panera Bread anymore. We're completely sustained by the community which means to say that if we can't make it Panera Bread isn't going to save our asses. Not that this will actually happen. It has been received well in the previous two stores that were converted into Panera Cares. I think after they convert our store they will kind of take a step back to see how things go. They don't have any more conversions planned but would like to eventually expand to more of the big cities. I'm glad I get to participate in this at the beginning. I know it will be really difficult and not everyone is excited about non-profits but it will be good regardless. I am looking forward to this.

Kick Start

2011-01-09T12:40:00.000-08:00

Our new year has started out with a bang. I visited California, saw my best friend from high school get married, started a new job, butchered my chickens (yes, I did) and started a new diet/lifestyle. Oh ya and I went to the Price Is Right and saw Drew Carey in person. What haven't I done?

Let's start at the beginning, in California -- where it always starts. I visited my grandma and the rest of my mom's side of the family. Most of that time consisted of playing games and eating and just visiting with family.

My grandma lives on a manmade lake in Northern California and it's really lovely and peaceful there. I enjoyed seeing the sun for the first time (it felt like) since summer. In Portland even when it isn't raining it is still cloudy. So I relished the sunshine.

Then a couple days later we drove to Southern California where my parents live. This was especially appropriate since I am currently reading On The Road by Jack Kerouac and was reading about Kerouac's time a cotton picker in the Central Valley of California. Never better timing.

That same day that we drove down to S. CA I went to my friend Jenny's wedding rehearsal and bachelorette party. It was all pretty mellow which was fine by me, six hours of driving and then major people interaction is sometimes a bit much. The next day she got married to a lovely young man named Jared. I think they'll be really happy together which is a really lovely thing. Congratulations Jenny and Jared!

That was New Year's Eve, the evening was pretty chill as well. I spent it with my family and our family friends. I'm continually disappointed that the dropping of the ball is not accompanied with shattered glass and great explosions. The next day it started to snow and the Mojave Desert was pretty well covered, no more than 5 inches but that's pretty remarkable for the desert of Southern California.

The rest of my California trip was rather undocumented, partially because at CBS Studios you aren't allowed to photograph anything. So, as I said, I went on the Price Is Right. I wasn't a contestant but I was pretty centrally located in the audience so I got on the audience panning shots (if you watched 5 January 2011, I was there!). It was a really interesting experience, I went with my best friend from college, Alissa, who knew people from her church who we went with. One person of our group of thirty got picked but he was sadly not very good at guessing prices. It was really nice to see Alissa cause she'll be heading off to teach ESL in S. Korea for a year. I'm really excited for her, it should be very exciting, but I'm also sad that I won't be able to just call her whenever I feel like it. I actually know a good handful of folks who are going over to S. Korea within the next year, kind of crazy. I even entertained that idea for a while (Japan, Mexico, Indonesia, Taiwan?) but then decided: I can do it anytime, like the Peace Corps.

As for now, I just got a job at Panera which will be changing next week to Panera Cares, a non-profit where you donate instead of "pay." You're still paying but you pay the suggested price or higher or lower depending on what you're able to pay. It ends up evening out between the people who pay less than and the people who pay more than the suggested price. We will be the third Panera non-profit in the U.S. The profit goes to Make-A-Wish Foundation and the restaurant helps at-risk youth too. I'm really looking forward to being a part of this. The founder and ex-CEO of Panera, Ron Schaich will be there as we open next week, which should be cool. With that being said: I totally got a job! I may also be getting a nanny job in addition to the Panera job but that remains to be seen. Joel and I are planning on being in Portland for the next couple months and then we'll be heading back East somewhere. That somewhere is yet undecided. But it is nice to know that things are a little more stable.

Joel and I have also embarked on our new Paleo/primal diet/lifestyle. We've been doing really well at it, which I say with great relief. We've cut out gluten and sugar but not dairy which some people say is not true to the diet but is definitely in debate amongst the Paleo-ers.

The other night we made Southern corn bread (with no flour) and Shepherd's Pie with a mashed cauliflower top, filled with our farm co-op grass fed beef and in-season vegetables.

This morning I made a potato hash with a fried egg on top for breakfast. This was our first Sunday breakfast together since I've been back and we've been on the diet so it was a little sad not to make pancakes. Certainly there are substitutes (buckwheat, almond meal, etc.) but we're keeping it pretty mellow right now.

Last night we went out for barbecue ribs and that was lovely, we went to Podnah's Pit Barbecue and it was absolutely amazing. We got pinto beans and potato salad on the side. We started the meal with a blue cheese wedge salad, which is a pretty lame salad but in spite of that was still really good. We finished the meal with a little bit of fudging, we split a piece of pecan pie -- and good heavens it was a good decision! It was made with molasses instead of the all-too-common halfway-caramelized brown sugar pecan pies that are often found at church potlucks and chain restaurants. Overall though, it was a really great meal and we were even able to eat pretty close to Paleo. So very delicious.

Warning: Chicken Butchering Photos
These pictures are not really gruesome, no bloody heads, no photos of hacking, but all the same, I respect that some people are vegan and are not into this sort of thing, or have easily upset stomachs, so I have saved a little space to warn you before showing any photos. Truly they aren't that bad. Without further ado: the butchering.

It was a tough decision to make but make it we did. We decided to butcher our four chickens two days ago. They had stopped laying and we had originally decided when they were chicks that the chickens were not meant to be pets. We were practicing being farmers. So the chickens stopped laying and we were finding it increasingly hard to think of a reason to keep them around. Right before I left for California we both arrived at the decision to butcher them when I returned. This was not an easy decision but it was the right one.

We decided to do it at night while they were roosting so that A.) They wouldn't make a fuss, B.) They would already be relatively sedate and C.) They would be easy to catch. The black Australorp was the first one to be dispatched since she was roosting on the farthest side. It took us several tries before we found a knife that was sharp enough. A word to the wise: Use a utility knife, not a kitchen knife. We watched a small-scale poultry butcher do it the day after and they used a utility knife -- it would have made everything easier. We held them upside down before dispatching them in order to put them into an even more sedate disposition. What that does is it gives them a "head rush" and they kind of pass out so that when you butcher them they don't really feel much and are pretty unaware. Though the awareness of a chicken while not in this state is also pretty debatable. It was all very emotionally and physically hard since we didn't really know what to expect since this was our first time doing this. Next time should be easier and we'll know better.

We dressed them in the garage and it took a while. The main thing that took the longest was de-feathering the chickens, one of our chickens was molting (in the middle of winter? I know, not the smartest) so she had a lot of under-developed pin-feathers. You can see her in this photo, her skin is kind of blotchy because she was a black bird to begin with. We ended up not keeping much of her skin because it was so pin-feathery, absolutely impossible to pluck.

We didn't save the gizzards, heart or liver this time since we weren't positive about all the organs. It was unfortunate that we got rid of so much but as a first time I felt like it was permissible.

We did save the feet, however, so that we can make aspic later, which chicken feet are really good for.

The dressing went pretty smoothly in any case simply because we'd disassembled chickens before, though hadn't eviscerated any prior to this experience.

Overall it was an interesting experience and I'm sure we'll do it again. It would be nice to have others help us since it did end up being a lot of work, unexpectedly. And luckily now we know (sort of) what we are doing. Overall it was a positive, if a bit exhausting experience.

And reading this must have been an exhausting experience -- what a long post! More to come on our new diet and what we've been eating. What a good and rip-roaring start to the year!

Christmas 2010

2010-12-26T20:26:00.000-08:00

A couple nights before Christmas I went to my home community's (like a Bible study) white elephant gift exchange where we were instructed to spend no more than $1 on a gift. I gave away a copy of the Martian Chronicles and the Bell Jar -- two of my favourite books -- because we already had a copy of each. Needless to say, these were way cooler than a white elephant gift should be, but never the less, they got into good hands and I think they will actually be read.

So I made a little white elephant to go on the top. I had to marvel at the fact that drawing the little guy took less time than it did to tape him onto the wrapping paper.

Our little tree! Charlie Brown's tree even trumps ours. But maybe I'll get some Anthropologie points for using metal and a deciduous tree for an unconventional, yet crafty, Christmas tree alternative.

Then Christmas Eve we had several people over for dinner. It looked lovely but in the end, the netting on the table ended up not being the best idea (my shoe got snagged and I felt! A loud crash, there was no hiding it).

We had a really lovely evening. We even got the dishes done in record time.

Then we had some coffee before heading off to midnight mass at The Grotto Catholic Church.

And it wouldn't be Christmas without satsumas and carra carra oranges. Delicious citrus!

Christmas morn! Joel and I sat next to our Anthropologie-anemic-Christmas-tree-alternative and opened our gifts. These are mostly for Joel's mom to see, but at any rate, these are our Christmas gifts that we got for each other and from our families. (Click for a bigger version, as always)

Joel tried on some of his Christmas presents, one from my mom, one from his.

Cooking Christmas breakfast.

No more presents under the tree-thing.

As you'll notice, I got a DSLR for my graduation present (yay, I graduated!!!) and so I've been testing it out. So Christmas night I took the opportunity to photograph my handsome cat. Mostly there haven't been a whole of things to photograph since I got the camera. Mostly its been grey and wet outside and there haven't been a whole lot of things going on inside...

And to top off Christmas day we made a roaring fire and sat by it, relishing in the heat and the crackling bliss.

One thing that Joel and I have been talking about doing as soon as I get back from CA (I'll be visiting my family and going to a friend's wedding) is starting on the "Paleo diet." It is known my many names, the most common are the paleo diet and the primal diet. It is actually less of a diet than a lifestyle and it is in line with our philosophies on food. For those who are not familiar these are the basic tenets of the diet:

• No sugar
• No gluten (bread, cake, pizza, pasta)
• No processed food (pretty much all packaged food)
• Fat is good (saturated, and natural fats found in meat, milk, fruits & vegetables -- not vegetable, soy or canola oil)
• Meat is good
• Vegetables and fruit are good (especially ones high in vitamins, fats and protein)

Some people simplify it to simply "No white food" which then covers sugar, gluten products, [most] potatoes, and makes a lot of sense: there aren't a whole lot of beneficial vitamins and protein in many white foods.

For those who are interested Joel has been really influenced by these two sites:

http://planetary-gears.blogspot.com/2010/12/how-ive-been-losing-weight.html
and
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/

At any rate, we'll see how this goes. Along with a community center pass (pool! dance classes! yoga! gym!), this should be a good start to better eating and being in better shape. I'm looking for a nice change of pace and more conscious about what we are eating. It will also be a nice counteraction to all the junk we've been eating the last year with me being in my thesis year and feeling too busy to spend much time on a meal. Now I have time and luckily, eating meat and vegetables really doesn't have to be long or time involved. It is simply a matter of being a little more creative than we have been as of late. Here's to a new, healthier year!

The Office

2010-12-18T17:01:00.000-08:00

For the last couple months this is what my "office" looked like. If it wasn't spent in my studio then it was spent sitting at the kitchen table or on the couch in the living room. I was often accompanied by a cup of tea and oftentimes a satsuma -- whom I wrote an ode to.

On the day before I officially turned in my thesis we had a rainbow in Portland, it was a lovely double rainbow but I only got photos of the bright one. Believe it or not, in Portland we have ridiculous amounts of rain but very very few rainbows, probably because there is no promise that our corner of the world will not be flooded again with ridiculous amounts of rain. We just have come to take it in stride that part of our souls will be washed away by all the sad grey rain.

And lastly, I have started making challah for bread pudding on Christmas Eve.

We are going to have dinner with a couple friends and then go to church, I'm very excited! As for why I'm making challah instead of just buying: really it was quite expensive and there is no reason in the world for it to be that expensive. None. So I decided to make some bread since it would be a lot cheaper this way.

Can I get a Challah!!

The End is Here

2010-12-16T16:44:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was my last day of classes at PNCA and tomorrow is my last day of work and after that: Anything. I have considered trying to recap everything that has happened in the last two months but I think that I'm just going to focus on my thesis and the presentation.

For my thesis I created two tent-like structures that meant to act as meditation pods. I invited four of my friends to join me in putting them up and sitting in them.

One of them was installed at the Coast in Manzanita, OR. Clara and Joel came with me for this deployment.

And then I invited Kelley and our newest roommate JMSN (abbreviated for protection).

And then I gave a thirty minute presentation on 30 November 2010 in the Manuel Izquierdo Gallery at my school.

So as of tomorrow I am officially an alum. I am very much looking forward to spending some time in the world as a non-student. I am also looking forward to getting better at knitting, reading anything my heart desires and doing artwork that is not influenced by school.

I've already started learning how to knit better. I made a hat using two colours instead of just one which is a first for me -- or least when going beyond the realm of stripes.

I know this isn't quite a lot of words and mostly just pictures but this is what I have been working on for the last year (the thesis, not the hat). I will now commence posting with regularity. If anyone knows of a good job for me I would be most appreciative if you would pass that along to me. I am looking for jobs as of now and looking in most large cities (Philly, DC, Madison, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati -- you know, east of the Mississippi). I will keep you all posted as to what we decide -- or perhaps what is decided for us? Thank you to everyone who has made it possible for me to graduate, whether participating in, funding or simply encouraging me the whole way. It has all turned out well and I am so grateful to you all. An especially big thank you to my patient parents who have been waiting for me to graduate for eighteen years now (give or take? Maybe twenty-three?) and for my thesis mentors who have been challenging and encouraging me a lot in the last year. Thank you, thank you.

Coming Soon

2010-12-08T17:03:00.000-08:00

I will have some time to devote to a blogpost tomorrow possibly at the earliest. But here is a little something to wet your whistle until then.

Until then, I am a slave to my thesis. Please continue to pray for me or twist your fingers in good luck, I need it!

The End is Near

2010-11-07T18:22:00.001-08:00

So many things have been happening but mostly I've been working on thesis like a good girl. Right now my paper is complete lengthwise but I need to tighten it up a lot. Most of the panels to my sculptures are 80% complete. And I am so incredibly ready to have this over with.

In order to facilitate thinking clearer I cut off all of my hair.

Also, in order to get as much work time in as possible we have been eating like college students which has amounted to not one but two Chinese food delivery nights, lots of pizza and mac and cheese. I wish I could say I cooked well all the time and that it was only from our backyard or from the farm down the street. Alas, academia has forced itself down our throat on top of a frozen pizza.

Granted, this is not to say that we haven't eaten well at all. We've had plenty of home-made pizza (dough and sauce totally from scratch) with delicious toppings like artichoke hearts and goat cheese. I even made a really weird one with bacon, figs, and corn. I guarantee that the description could have been found in any Portland restaurant but unfortunately, the concept is way better than the taste. Butternut squash soup made with squash from the farm co-op also made its way to the dinner table recently. And a couple roasted chickens also somehow managed to make it to the oven this semester.

I am looking forward to being done with school so I can make bread on a more regular basis and that I can plan out dinner better. I love to cook and its been kind of sad in our kitchen without having as much time to lavish upon a meal as much as I like to.

I've also not been paying as much time on our garden as I would like to. This whole year has seen a dwindling in meticulous care for the vegetables and the chickens that we keep.

However, I have gotten a few decent-sized (and super delicious) beets from our garden and with any luck we'll have masses of Brussels sprouts for thanksgiving.

And perhaps even a cabbage will make it.

Orson keeps me company in my studio and in the garden. He has been especially needy which is great sometimes cause it means I have company, but other times, like when I using yarn in my studio, its not so great...

But the majority of my time has been spend writing and creating. I will need a break at the end for sure. But the end is in sight. I will be presenting my thesis in less than a month and I'm looking forward to possibly the biggest moment of my academic career to finally come to pass. It is so close and just about within reach.

Oh ya, and I just finished doing the biggest wedding invitation commission thus far (150 cards and RSVPs). And it turns out that they weren't that well received. Never again will I do wedding invitations at the same time as a thesis. Luckily I don't even think I have that option. *whew*

In other news, Joel and I will have been married for two years tomorrow!

THEN

© Allen Lessig 2008

NOW

Still just as in love today as we were two years ago, hurray! Here's to many more delightful years ahead!

Post-Graduation

2010-10-19T22:06:00.000-07:00

I'm starting to make a list of things that I would like to do after I graduate in December. While I don't know what I'll actually do for money I do have an idea of what I want to do instead of homework:

1.) Pleasure reading. While there is hardly enough time to read one single book for pleasure during the semester there are lots of other books I'm reading for something other than pleasure. This would be the act of being responsible. Right now, my book list is about the size of my arm and I'm hoping to accomplish reading some of those books some day. Mostly they are farming/food non-fiction, graphic novels, turn of the century fiction and contemporary international novels. I feel like I have neglected the latter category in an indecent way and I want to rectify that as soon as possible. The majority of my international fiction reading is at least 50+ years old and predominantly Russian and Latin-American (even that is primarily Gabriel Garcia Marquez).

2.) Write/draw a graphic novel. Even if said novel only ends up being the size of a zine and distributed as such I really want to try my hand at this. That or I'll just spend the rest of my life trying to make the best graphic novel ever. (not really)

3.) More big linoleum prints. Card-sized ones are cute but big ones can be much more illustrative.

4.) Photograph underwater. I've been Google searching underwater photography, especially of fashion and I've gotta say, if I ever can make underwater photography happen you better believe I will. This is all to say, that "post graduation" is from December until the day I die. I didn't say I'd be doing any of this stuff soon!

5.) Write substantially. I've been given a lot of encouragement and affirmation regarding my writing recently and I want to do something good with it, beyond just filling out assignments/a thesis and blog posts. I don't know how this will manifest itself but I immensely enjoy writing and don't want to let this fall by the wayside just because no one is grading it or even necessarily reading it.

6.) Figure out the things in life that I really want to do. Where do I want my life to head? Where do we want to live? Joel and I have pondered these questions but haven't come to any good complete conclusions yet.

7.) Spend time exploring. Joel and I do this every once in a while but not as much as we could. I also haven't found much of any mushrooms this year (part of exploring) due to the lack of rain. Apparently the sunshine won't last very long at all and mushrooms should follow soon after that. But I think in the end I'd take sunshine over mushrooms.

While this list has been compiled rather selfishly, they are the things that have been rattling in the back of my brain while I try to study art history or read about the abstracted landscape. And finally having written them out hopefully those specters will quiet their gentle whisperings. And now, back to studying art history.