Major Catch-up

Since the end of April, here are a few of the things that have been keeping me busy... and unable to keep up with blogging.

My roommate Jenny moved to San Diego with her job. We look happy in these pictures, but we're all secretly bummed...

Sarah's wedding plans ramped up... here are a few shots from one of the showers.

I've always wanted an herb garden, so here's my first attempt from seed...

Basil about 4 weeks old (before being thinned).

Basil, 8-10" high at 8 weeks -- and you can see the second planter behind it which has 1-1/2" shoots about 4 weeks along.

Sage, not from seed. But the chives in the pot behind it are...

My parents flew in for Sarah's wedding and to visit me. Naturally, we had to go to IKEA since it's so close to the airport.

In my element... a commercial kitchen. I'm assembling Sarah's wedding cake.

(gotta love the too-big chef coat : ) )

Sarah and Stephen's big day...

Practicing my solo

The handing off of Sarah to Stephen

Honeymoon picnic basket and snacks!!!

Heading down to Crater Lake with Mom and Dad.

Posing in the Pumice Desert

The famous, beautiful lake...

We hiked down to the water's edge. Very cool. : )

We hit up Silver Falls State Park on the way back to Portland

Afternoon Limericks

Took a quick break from the workload and whipped these out....

Jodi, my friend, is a writer
Who is writing a book on a fighter
The plot’s super fun
And the book’s almost done
It will only take one more all-nighter.

My friend Liz, she is very tall.
She can even see over the wall.
She likes to spy
And although I try,
I usually see nothing at all.

Ok... back to the grind. : )

Beach Weekend

We took off Friday, rented a  beach house for the weekend, and had a much-needed vacation.  There are lots of pictures and stories, but here's the Reader's Digest edition...

We started our adventures at Cape Lookout for a hike... in the rain and fog.

Anna, Liz, and Jacqi

For some reason, despite the rain, we didn't anticipate the MUD!  Most of the trail looked like this, minus the log...  (I suggested mud wrestling, but didn't have any takers.)

After the hike, a stop at the Blue Heron to see Liz's cousin, and ice cream at the Tillamook Cheese Factory, we continued up the coast to Cannon Beach.  Once we moved our bags into the beach house, Liz and I struck out for the beach a block away.  (Anna and Jacqi opted for hot showers)

This is us... on the beach... looking into the rain...

Although Anna left Beaverton with a cold on Friday, she woke up feeling much worse Saturday.  So, she and Jacqi stayed home and chilled.

Liz and I bundled up and hit the town, enjoying chai and cafe au lait from Bella Espresso, as well as salt water taffy from Bruce's.

Jenny and Jodi joined up with Anna, Jacqi, Liz, and I for dinner at Mo's.  I had never been, so it was deemed a must for me to experience this Oregon coastal tradition.  And yes, the clam chowder is great.  Jodi has the group shot on her camera, so... you'll just have to imagine.

This morning Liz and I got up early because the tide was low and we walked the mile down the beach to haystack rock.  There was no rain, just lots of gusty wind.  And of course we were walking straight into it all the way to the rock. 

Blue sky!

The famous rock...  I love the reflection.  The picture is too centered to be great, but the sky is fabulous.

Some fauna at the rock.   

The sky in the wet sand.

After breakfast and checking out of the house, we headed up to see the Peter Iredale shipwreck because Anna had never seen it.

Here we are!

Wedding Fun!

Jodi, me, Sarah, and Liz at Kevin and Carey's wedding last Sunday

We had such a great time!

Oh, and for Valentine's Day, a few of the girls came over for a fancy dinner...  I love setting the table for formal affairs.  (Probably because it's so occasional... it would get old fast if I did it every meal of every day)  The most fun part of the meal was dessert:  Panna Cotta.  I put a real vanilla bean in it... and it was amazing!!!   I'm glad it turned out.

PS.  Update on travels.  Victoria didn't work out because I couldn't round up the traveling companion(s) before ticket prices doubled.  So... Liz and I rented a beach house for a weekend in March and plan on filling it with as many girls as will fit.  Not using our passports, but it will be a worthy getaway nonetheless.

Here we go again

I still want to use my passport.

So, I was checking flights again last night in the middle of the night.

I found a flight search on sidestep.com that would allow me to give a price and range of dates  (i.e. weekends in March), as well as how many stops I was willing to make -- and it would list out the top 25 destinations that fit my criteria.

For surprisingly reasonable prices, I can go to Boston.  Or several places in Canada.  Or Maryland.  Or Mexico.  Or anywhere on the west coast.

And I would be able to do it without taking more than a day off of work.

I can't really cross an ocean in a weekend -- because I would spend my whole weekend in the airplane and not actually visiting any new places.  But... Canada has some real hope.  The flights to Victoria are especially intriguing because it's so close -- AND I would be using my passport (just barely).

And I'm hoping to get several friends to go along -- if I actually go, that is.

I haven't purchased the ticket yet ... (I may search spontaneously, but I'm not a spontaneous spender), but it may just be a matter of time.... : )