anyone have an axe?

We arrived in Portland last night.  I didn't sleep well, mainly due to a late night, crunchy pillows, queen sized bed, etc.  Despite the poor sleep, I woke up eager and excited to start my day.  Jim and I headed out at 7:15 am, him to his meeting and me for a walk.  I asked for map and some guidance at the concierge desk.  I was very excited for the great walk ahead of me.

The sun was coming up and the weather was warm.  I had a wonderful 3+ miles walk.   It was a little hairy navigating the bikers.  I've never seen so many bikers before.  And it wasn't a race.  They were coming and going in every direction.  People had on work clothes, work out gear, kids strapped to special seats, big messenger bags to hold all their work stuff...my oh my...never seen so many bikers on a Thursday before.  This picture doesn't really show ALL the bikers I saw, but they came whizzing by every few seconds.  Thankfully they were nice and rang their bell, said 'on your left' and let me have my space.  Portland has to have the most bikers per capita of any city. 

The weather was grand and the scenery beautiful.  I encountered some homeless people sleeping, people heading to work, people exercising, boats heading out on the river, people just living and doing.  I loved that I had no agenda.  Here are a few pictures from my walk.

I got back to the hotel and realized I was HUNGRY.   Other than a cup of coffee in the room (from some really bad packet supplied by the hotel) I hadn't had anything to eat.  I stopped at the restaurant and passed on the buffet, opting instead for 2 eggs baked with tomatoes and spinach topped with pecarino cheese.  It was DELICIOUS!  I went up to the room, showered and set out to explore Portland.  First stop - VOODOO Donuts.  This place was first rate.  I  had seen it on food network.  Thankfully I found it with ease (got to LOVE Portland's rapid transit system - tri met, bus, max - it's so easy to get around).  After a 5 minute wait I selected 3 donuts, a maple/bacon bar, vodoo donut and a raspberry filled glazed donut.  I brought them back to the room.  Jim's timing was perfect - he came back for 5 minutes at the break.  We gobbled up these delicious donuts!  They may look ordinary, but I assure you the they are not.  Delicious goodness for $5.45.  Sadly, my foot started hurting and I decided to put my boot on (to help my plantar fasciitis) for about 30 minutes to give it a good stretch and ease the pain.

Here are two more pictures of the donut shop. As you can see in the case, very unusual donuts filled with all sorts of delicious goodies.  The menu on the right helps decifer all the choices.  The place smelled wonderful as they make all the donuts in house.
 





After fueling up with the donuts and resting my foot, I set out to the bead shop in the Nob Hill district.  It was fun walking through the neighborhoods, the quaint charming houses, the shops etc.  I didn't find what I was looking for at the bead shop but I sure enjoyed looking at all they had to offer.

By this time my foot was causing a great amount of pain.  It took me about 30 minutes to walk 1/2 a mile.  (about half my normal speed).  I could barely contain my frustration.  The pain was getting worse and I didn't know what to do.  I googled 'foot massage' and found a great place nearby that specialized in feet.  It was ridiculously relaxing.   In the 2nd picture my feet were soaking with hot stone massages between the tones and a mud mask on my calves. 

 

The one hour was heaven.  Kristin called and we chatted about her lab job, school, etc.  Always good to hear her voice and she sounded happy.  I was happy too.  But it was short lived.  The massage felt great, heck all massages feel great.  But when I stood up when done, the pain was still there.  It had never went away, it just seemed like it did because I was relaxed and not putting weight on it. 

At this point, I was over 2 miles away from the hotel, tired and hungry.  It was now 4 pm and the donuts were consumed at 11 (and hardly an adequate lunch).  I used urbanspoon to google a wine bar.  I had read they were plentiful in Portland.  I selected one along the water front (and near me via max train).  Though I only had to walk 2 blocks after getting off the transit it took me 20 minutes.  My foot was on fire at this point.  I ordered a small meat and cheese plate and a flight of pinot noir wines.  Being happy hour, the price was right.  I sat and enjoyed the fabulous view and noursihed my tummy while resting my foot.  Here is a picture of my food, my drink, my view.  Pretty sweet, huh?  Too bad my foot was still hurting.

Getting back to the hotel took 45 minutes.  I should have taken a cab, but the waiter at the restaurant said it would take over 20 minutes and I wanted to save money.  Dumb idea.  Though I didn't have to walk far, I did have to walk.  And any amount of walking triggered pain.  It felt like I was walking on sharp thumb tacks.  No matter how I stepped it hurt.  I finally made it back to the hotel at 6:30 and cried.  Thankfully Jim had some ice in a bag for me so I could ice my foot, and brought me some wine.  I nibbled on the leftover meat and cheese I had brought back.  And took ibuprofen.  3 hours later, I am still in pain.  I want to hit something, I want to cry, I want to AMPUTATE MY FOOT.  Seriously, it hurts that badly.  It's had many flareups before, so I know what to expect, but what bothers me is why.  I didn't walk up and down many hills, it was relatively flat.  But looking back on the past 2 weeks, it's been hurting off and on.  Perhaps I should have seen it coming.  I do have an appointment next Monday with the dr. (follow-up).  He mentioned surgery previously, I am afraid that's what will happen.  And it irks me.  I am doing everything he said to make it heel and it's not heeling.  I roll my foot on a frozen ice bottle, I do the exercises, I wear the boot, I take ibuprofen, I only walk on flat surfaces and it still hurts.  DAMN. The pain is so frustrating, the cost of the surgery makes me ill (we have crappy insurance).  So, this is me now, wearing the boot, while my foot throbs, twinges, shoots pain up my leg and makes me want to scream.

This ranks up there with childbirth pain.  I'm thinking amputation could solve things.  Does anyone have an axe?

Bracelet - my newest creation

While in Seattle last week I stopped at Fusion Beads.  I was inspired by one of Betsy's bracelets.  I was wanting something with silver/black and this turned out even better than I'd hoped.  And to think I made it.  Brings a smile to my face.  Can't wait to wear it!

a great day - despite the unseasonably warm temperatures

Today has been a good day.  I went to Jon's office and finished up a tax return, ran some reports and got a few things done for the upcoming tax year.  Then I had a very nice visit with Nanny and took her to the store.  She had missed her normal shopping trip due to a dentist appointment and she needed some fruit and a few other things.  It worked out well because we were out of cereal and I had no idea what I was going to cook for dinner tonight.  I picked up some nice salmon at Safeway and some fresh asparagus.

Not having kids at home is nice when it comes to dinner plans.  We can do whatever floats our boat!  I left Jim a message earlier about the choices for tonight - ice cream sundaes, salmon or cereal.   He thought salmon ice cream with cereal sprinkles would be good.  Not sure about salmon ice cream but I love the freedom of choices.   It's 5:48 pm and I haven't even started dinner.  Jim's not even home yet but I'd guess we won't even eat until 7 or 7:30 at the earliest, and I'm ok with that!

I took a long walk with Kathy today and got we caught up on life.  Then it was time to buckle down and hit the grindstone again.  Finished payroll, tax work and some office stuff for Jim.  Uploaded a bunch of pictures from this weekend to my website and shared the link with family.  Sat down with my book for 30 minutes.  I just popped in a new CD from Pike Place market and am loving the sound.  It's Jonny Hahn instrumental.  Beauitful piano music.

I am cleaning out the dining room (we had used the room as staging are Sarah's stuff for college) and will set the table with a few fall decorations. Tonight is a new episode of Gossip Girl.  A crazy stupid show that Sarah got me addicted to a few years ago.  Only wish she were here to watch it with me!

The only thing that would have made today better would have been if it were cooler (and that Sarah wasn't sick - more on that below).  I DO NOT like 80 degree weather at the end of September.  I want cloudy, cool, gray, rainy fall days.  Low 60's would be ideal.  I want to wear jeans and a sweater and my rain boots.  The forecast is warm all week so don't think I'll get my cool weather wish anytime soon.

I did get a call from Sarah today telling me she was fighting a cold.  Poor kiddo.  I'm not surprised though, with rush, moving into a new place and meeting LOTS of new people, bad germs are bound to spread.  I think she was headed for a nap after we talked.  Between airborne, decongestant, lots of fluids and ibuprofen and a nap, hopefully she'll be on the mend soon.  School starts on Wednesday!

Overall, I really enjoyed this past weekend.  I am so proud of all of my kids and I know they'll have a great year in college.  Here's a picture of my two BEAUTIFUL daughters on AGD presentation night. 

Crazy for beets

Tonights dinner - grilled salmon and a salad with roasted beets, goat cheese, bacon, walnuts, heirloom tomatoes, arugula and butter lettuce.

I am in heaven.

Lentils, Roses and Clematis

The Lentil Festival kicks off today at 5 pm!  I am really looking forward to it - the free lentil chili is great, the beer is cold and the sun is shining.  Because parking is scarce I will walk down in a bit and find my hubby.  It's a relatively short walk - about 3/4 a mile.  I will bring my camera and take some pictures.  It really is quite the gathering!

The Palouse area is the largest lentil producer in the US.  Not sure of the exact statistics but we produce/grow a good chunk of the world's lentils.  I really enjoy lentils, whether they are the star of the dish or disguised as something else.  They are very healthy, fat free and nutrient dense. 

At our culinary camp this summer we had some great Indian dishes made with lentils.  As the weather gets cooler I will be making curried chicken and lentils.  Yum!

It's still summer though and warm.  And when I was out watering the plants I noticed how beautiful the roses and clematis are.  Jim planted the roses out front this spring and I'm surprised at how big they've grown and the number of blooms.  And the smell is heavenly.

Tom Douglas Culinary Camp

Today Tom showed us how to bone a pig. I boned the left left. I have pictures of me boning but they are on my camera. When I get home I will upload lots of photos from camp.
Tom Douglas is a wonderful chef and great teacher. And all the food samples...wow. DELICIOUS! I think it's a 6,000 calorie a day week!

Food, Wine and Pie - 4th of July at Hayden Lake

 So proud to be an American!

Hayden Lake is basically the most awesome place EVER.  If you've never been, you are missing out.  This year there was a great mix of people - John, Kathleen, Will, Gen, Bob, Lynn, Jill, Robby, Cathy, Jim and Jake.  The recurring theme was clearly evident about 2 hours into the weekend.  FOOD - WINE - PIE.   Eat, drink, eat, repeat.

Thank goodness for the Pie Bible, seriously, this is a real book that Kathleen is familiar with.  I need to put it on my "must buy" list.  Bet amazon has it, they have EVERYTHING.  Anyway, her pie was awesome.  She starts out by making an incredible pie crust and uses 2 knives to cut the shortening into the flour.  Modern conveniences such as a pastry blender are non-existent so the old fashioned method prevails.  Then it was on to cutting apples.  Apple Pie = 4th of July, well, that and baseball.  Americana at it's finest.  She added some fresh cherries and craisins to the apple pie.  Oh my, it was divine.  In this photo she and John and are having a good laugh because they added a bit of special Hayden whiskey to the apple mixture. 

While Kathleen was making the pie, I was taking pictures and documenting the step by step process of crust making.  Which I think I was a good student - I made a peach/raspberry pie 2 days later and it was quite good.  That pie will be a future blog.

John and Kathleen had recently taken a trip to Napa and brought back 18 bottles of wine.  Quite the haul from the fun wine regions of California.  And guess what? They brought some to share, how cool is that?  We started off with a Schug Chardonnay.  It was freezing cold out and we were baking an apple pie, but we were at the lake and trying to do what folks who are in warm weather do while at the lake...drink white wine.  Hot cocoa might have been the better choice for the weather but this delicious chardonnay was perfect.  With 11 folks, a bottle of wine doesn't last long.  So, we opened another.  And another.  We played cards, prepped dinner, drooled over the apple pie smell from the oven and visited.  We caught up on life, work, travels, etc.  Being with family is so much fun.  :)  I am definitely blessed to be part of such an amazing family.

This was dinner.  And boy was it good.  John cooked a pork loin roast on the grill.  I made cole slaw, Kathleen made a great red potato salad, and then we had steamed green beans.  And more red wine.  It was so good and so comforting, despite the ridiculously cold temperatures.  The day had topped out at 63.  Which is very cold for this time of year.  Jake had checked the water temp, and it was a whopping 64 degrees.  WTH?  That is frigid.  The cold weather didn't deter us at all.  We have a big TV, but guess what, IT WAS NEVER ON.  We talked, played games and talked some more.  Who needs a TV when you have food, wine, pie and family?  And dogs.  John brought his dog, Jerry, and Bob and Lynn brought their dogs Tyler and Max.  Though they are nice dogs...I am so happy to be PET FREE.  When everyone was cooking and eating, the dogs were front and center - apparently their noses work well!  :)  Otherwise they were doing their normal dog things - butt sniffing and declaring dominance.

After a good nights sleep everyone was relaxed and ready to go for day 2.  The weather had not improved but that didn't deter Jill.  She is training for a marathon.  Yes, a marathon...26 miles, crazy huh?  She has a training regimen and she was to run for 90 minutes.  So, she gets on her running gear, eats a banana and heads out the door.  That's some serious discipline!  She comes back, hot and sweaty, not surprising if you've run 9 miles.  So, she decides to jump in the lake.  She may be very hot, but the lake is only 64 degrees.  And the air about 60.  She jumps in and swims frantically to the shore.  Apparently the water was quite cold.   Poor Jill.  But thankfully I was there to get a really cute photo of her wrapped in a towel when she was out of the water. ;)

With the swimming nonsense out of the way, we decided to play cards.  We started with go fish and then progressed to crazy 8's.  Oh my, the game took over an hour.  I think it was the longest game EVER.  We finally declared 2 pm as the stopping time.  Then we moved on to bridge.  Jim, Gen, Jill and myself.  Jake sat with Jill and  he attempted to learn.  He was confused though.  Gen and I were on a roll, had great cards every hand.   I really like playing cards with them, because there is table talk allowed (otherwise how do you learn?) and it's very relaxed and low key.  Nothing ruins the spirit of the game more than someone lecturing you on what you should have done/could have done etc.  You learn by playing, mistakes and all, not by being lectured at.  So, it was a great 2 hours of bridge.   So, by this time it's getting to be late afternoon and Lynn had been busy making 2 more pies.  Because you just can't have enough pies.  She made 2 rhubarb pies.  The entire cabin smelled divine.  She had also made a wonderful marinade for the numerous fillets of salmon she brought. It was clear we were going to have a feast.  By this time we had noshed on lots of cheese, crackers, sampled wonderful wines and simply relaxed and enjoyed each others company.  A great day.  Until...the croquet game makes it's appearance.  The front yard of the cabin slopes and the course was quite haphazard, but we took on the challenge anyway.  I think if there is ever a professional croquet circuit, we should sign up.  We rocked.  With wine glasses in hand, we could still rule the course! 

Here we all are at dinner.  Looking good, huh?

Not long after it was time for a bonfire on the beach AND fireworks.  

Not long after it was time for a bonfire on the beach AND fireworks.  

Our 4th of July was awesome.  Hope yours was too.  Wonderful to celebrate living in a country where we have so many freedoms.  We are truly blessed.  And I give my thanks everyday, do you?  Of course, there were lots of family members missing and we talked about them and wished them well and missed them.  Kathryn will be back in the US soon, she's been gone a long time in Japan teaching English.  She's making a beeline right to the lake and her family when she returns, and boy does she have her priorities right! :)  Nancy's family had work and other obligations, but we'll see them, hopefully in August.  Kristin is in Rome on a study abroad having so much fun (and working hard) that she doesn't even have time to communicate with us.  Sarah was working and hanging out with her Pullman friends.  Joe is traveling through Paris and Spain with his girlfriend and Liz is working back east.  It would have been great to have EVERYONE together.  But that's not feasible, and most likely never will be in the future...8 cousins are 18 or older and they have their own lives with work/school etc.  For those of us that were at Hayden over the 4th...I enjoyed it immensely.  I look forward to more gatherings with whomever is available to come.
Since we never know what tomorrow will bring...we need to live each day to the fullest.  Embrace it, love it, own it.  You'll never get it back again.  (That was my touchy feeling plug for the day.)   Oh and get yourself a Pie Bible because everything tastes better with pie. :) :) :)