This is the back side of the hill that I grew up on. It is always nice to see it. I don't have any pictures of my house. Maybe I'll drive out there and remedy that.
This is Central Washington. When the wheat is growing, it is relaxing and peaceful. Right now it is a bit depressing, but really, that is just the potential waking up.
I went and ate lunch with Sandy in Othello. After getting done, I had to stop for this. Eventually six police cars showed up and arrested five adults that came out of that blazer. There were also two young children laying in the back. I have no idea what was going on.
Lunch! Othello may only have a few more than 7,000 people, but they have great Mexican food.
This is Sandy! We went to college together, at WWU, and became friends through Rupke. Sandy, Sarah, and I are planning a trip to Italy for next year, which we've been talking about since I left Bellingham in 2005. We said 2010, and 2010 it will be.
This is what was the typical scene whenever I stopped to get gas or stretch my legs. I met lots of people who thought traveling with cats was the _________(craziest, funnest, most horrible, wonderful) thing they've heard of. Lots of cooing at Kodak and Baxter. Lots of petting through the crack. They only got out twice in the 3,700 miles I've come so far! Not bad!
Portland!
Portland!
I'm always curious about coffee shops, logs, stories, and business ideas for coffee shops, so when I spotted Ciara drinking her morning coffee out of this mug I had to capture it.
This is the middle of the city. We are driving from downtown back to my sister's, close to Beaverton, and we go over a few hills, around some curves, though a forest, and we're there. It's great!
Ciara and I did a bit of walking about the downtown area on Saturday, and in the middle of a lawn next to the old Church of Elvis (yes, that's not a typo) there is this pretty elephant.
Ciara! My sister after the market with her pasta, pesto, and pussy willows.
This is one of the bakery booths at the market. They had these wonderful Plexiglas pieces hanging in front of their baked goods that kept the grubby mitts off of the tasty morsels, but made it completely appetizing by keeping the merchandise visible. Makes me want to go back and relive the farmer's markets in BloNo when we were selling bread at Medici. Our tables always looked so bear and pathetic. People in Portland know how to set up a farmers market table!
The pesto dude. He was great.
The Pesto dude's sign. He had interesting things like Thai pesto, along with more traditional flavors.
Homemade pasta! Boil for 2 minutes and done. We had her fetichini for dinner with the pesto and some cherry tomatoes. Simple, quick, fresh, and local.
I showed up to town on Wednesday night. Ciara took Thursday off, but Friday she had to return to teach. I stayed home and made this:
The picture is sideways, but you get the idea. It's a new bag for myself that hold the essentials: phone, camera, wallet, and book. Just the right size. The inside has this super fun orange flower pattern. I especially like the yellow button to secure the over flap. I am very proud of myself. There were significant improvements made from my last bag model, the most important being that all of the edges are finished with very little possibility for fraying.
Here is a cute Baxter shot. He's is smelling the flowers that were a prize for a game at a baby shower my sister was throwing for a co-worker on Friday.
Before the shower there were lots of projects to complete. Ciara showed me her embossing chops on those white bags below. There were also cookies to be made, frosted, and bagged, presents to wrap, and onesies to dye purple.
One of the places I wanted to visit was Albino Press coffee. Northwest Barista Champion, Billy Wilson, is part owner of this shop, along with his second, and I couldn't pass up getting a cappuccino. I chatted with the baristas while my drink and Ciara's were being made, and one of the girls was a judge at this last year's Great Lakes Regional Competition. I got to share my two years of competing, and we were happy to find that we knew some of the same people. Coffee culture is so welcoming. It got me all revved for my shop - when ever that day will come when I have my own coffee shop.
If you are in Portland, I hope you go check them out. Their new shop is located at 5012 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Go! Drink good coffee!
In the middle of all that, I got my hair cut super short, and got some rest. The puncture wounds behind my kneew are almost healed, however, Baxter's toe nail is still a mess. I was supposed to take him to the vet today to get it checked out, but the Vet needed to go to the hospital with a burst appendix. So, that will be tomorrow, again.
This is the middle of the city. We are driving from downtown back to my sister's, close to Beaverton, and we go over a few hills, around some curves, though a forest, and we're there. It's great!
Ciara and I did a bit of walking about the downtown area on Saturday, and in the middle of a lawn next to the old Church of Elvis (yes, that's not a typo) there is this pretty elephant.
Ciara! My sister after the market with her pasta, pesto, and pussy willows.
This is one of the bakery booths at the market. They had these wonderful Plexiglas pieces hanging in front of their baked goods that kept the grubby mitts off of the tasty morsels, but made it completely appetizing by keeping the merchandise visible. Makes me want to go back and relive the farmer's markets in BloNo when we were selling bread at Medici. Our tables always looked so bear and pathetic. People in Portland know how to set up a farmers market table!
The pesto dude. He was great.
The Pesto dude's sign. He had interesting things like Thai pesto, along with more traditional flavors.
Homemade pasta! Boil for 2 minutes and done. We had her fetichini for dinner with the pesto and some cherry tomatoes. Simple, quick, fresh, and local.
I showed up to town on Wednesday night. Ciara took Thursday off, but Friday she had to return to teach. I stayed home and made this:
The picture is sideways, but you get the idea. It's a new bag for myself that hold the essentials: phone, camera, wallet, and book. Just the right size. The inside has this super fun orange flower pattern. I especially like the yellow button to secure the over flap. I am very proud of myself. There were significant improvements made from my last bag model, the most important being that all of the edges are finished with very little possibility for fraying. Here is a cute Baxter shot. He's is smelling the flowers that were a prize for a game at a baby shower my sister was throwing for a co-worker on Friday.
Before the shower there were lots of projects to complete. Ciara showed me her embossing chops on those white bags below. There were also cookies to be made, frosted, and bagged, presents to wrap, and onesies to dye purple.
One of the places I wanted to visit was Albino Press coffee. Northwest Barista Champion, Billy Wilson, is part owner of this shop, along with his second, and I couldn't pass up getting a cappuccino. I chatted with the baristas while my drink and Ciara's were being made, and one of the girls was a judge at this last year's Great Lakes Regional Competition. I got to share my two years of competing, and we were happy to find that we knew some of the same people. Coffee culture is so welcoming. It got me all revved for my shop - when ever that day will come when I have my own coffee shop.
If you are in Portland, I hope you go check them out. Their new shop is located at 5012 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Go! Drink good coffee!
In the middle of all that, I got my hair cut super short, and got some rest. The puncture wounds behind my kneew are almost healed, however, Baxter's toe nail is still a mess. I was supposed to take him to the vet today to get it checked out, but the Vet needed to go to the hospital with a burst appendix. So, that will be tomorrow, again.
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