the nerd herd

Okay so this weekend up in Seattle the Penny Arcade Expo is going on...aka PAX. Kev and a couple of friends left this morning (two went up yesterday). They're going to have a rip roaring time being their gamer selves.

We (myself and the other wives) are looking forward to a full weekend of quiet. Not that the guys are loud and raucous when home, but a house to myself sounds lovely. Tonight I don't have any major plans, other than doing a bit of picking up. Tomorrow the other ladies will be coming over for dinner and drinking and the option of staying over has been put out there (there will be no ladies driving home drunk on MY watch!). We did have one friend offer to come and video tape the pillow fights we are sure to have while wearing our...yeah, right.

Sunday I have a work BBQ to attend and then they are back that evening. I am sure the weekend will fly right by and before I know it the nerd herd will be back in town. And when that happens, I am sure I will realize how much I missed my nerd.

thank you

Thank you, Ree, for setting up your readers flickr account. Because of you, I found her.

If you haven't already been fortunate enough to have found Corey and her inspirational being, go now. GO!

Everyday she shares with us the ups and downs of her life, sending her love and life to us all. She's needed our love right back this summer and I know she felt it.

The words she writes and the photos she takes are like gems, precious and unique. Her voice is soft and inspirational. Her photography captures the exact mood. Her vision is amazing.

I believe in telling people you admire them, love them, appreciate them.

Corey, I do. You are one truly beautiful human. Thank you for sharing your kindness and spreading your amazing energy.

~xoxo

the green bean debacle

I currently have sitting in front of me a container of green beans. They were picked yesterday and steamed to perfection last night. Today, cold and pre-salted, they are tasty and crunchy and perfect. What is the problem, you ask?

I am supposed to be saving some for Thanksgiving with my family. Now, I know that the season has just begun for beans and my plants will be producing more, BUT I am feeling like I need to go ahead and save some (blanching and freezing) but am having a hard time doing so. They come off the plant and my belly hears them singing their siren song.

I will be saving some because they are just! that! good! and I want to share with my family the deliciousnesses of our bounty.

Perhaps instead of calling it a debacle, I should have called it a conundrum?

the duty of a jury

Well, I was at jury duty the first three days of this week. The trial is now over, we reached our decision (not unanimous), and I can now resume my week accordingly. Today I am biking into the office and playing the game of catch up before going to The Bhaktishop for yoga this evening. I'm hoping that going to yoga will help me feel that sense of normal again.

I am pretty proud that I was not one of the potential jurors who raised their hand to the question, "who would rather be having a root canal right now instead of being here?" Honestly? I mean, sure schedules get a bit goofy, but it is our civic duty. I wasn't the only juror who felt excited to be part of the process, but sometimes it felt like it.

It was actually a very fun and funny group. I'm not sure what the defendant thought, hearing us laughing behind the closed doors of the deliberation room.

This trial should not have lasted three days, however. Monday we had delivered our verdict and were all ready to be released from our duty. Then the judge told us she needed us back for sentence enhancement. So we all trouped back on Tuesday only to find that the dude had some kind of panic attack that they feared was a heart attack so they let us go after we had been there for a couple of hours. I went over to The Bhaktishop to do some data entry for them.

The coolest part of that was on my walk home, my neighbor Bret drove by and picked me up. It would have been a long walk and I was only 8 blocks into it.

Yesterday morning we got to be to court at 10:00 (Mon- 8:00, Tuesda0 9:00) and only had to wait about half an hour before going in to hear more testimonies from another victim and police officer. We were out close to 4:00.

So finally, on Thursday, my work week begins.

refelections

From where I sit in the store I see the oddest things. I think I see a woman walking down the street only to have her disappear. An arm looks like it is sticking out of a trunk. Cars seem to drive head on into one another.

The reflections of the differently angled windows makes for some interesting views.

sitting

I'm at work. I am on the floor today, all day, at one of our locations. It's normally a quiet store, but today it is sunny and beautiful out. I am hoping for tons of people and not much time to putz around on the internet.

Last night we went to our friends house to make her dinner with another couple. Jess has major back issues and recently was laid up for many days. Jenn had suggested that the four of us (our husbands and ourselves) go over and cook her dinner. I came up with a menu and we shopped in our garden.

Jenn brought green beans (both from her garden and her weekly veggie box), onion, garlic, tomatoes, lettuce. I brought zucchini, carrots, green beans (we ended up not needing so they went back home and will be eaten tonight), and tomatoes (Jenn used ours for the salad as we've got an overabundance) as well as pasta and chicken.

We made a penne pasta with sautéed vegetables and chicken (we added to the top of our own plates) with a lovely side salad. We made sure it was vegan because Jess's husband has opted for a vegan diet to see if it helps his gut problems (and it has been). It was a tasty meal prepared with and for great friends.

I got a text message on the way home from Jess saying she would break more often if that was the kind of treatment she got (we cleaned her kitchen after cooking because it wouldn't have been fair to make Erik do it when he got home, nor leave it for Jess to have to look at). I told her she didn't have to break herself just to get that kind of treatment.

So tonight we will be having steamed green beans from our garden. The first crop. I'm quite excited about it! I have no doubt that we will be able to blanch and freeze some beans for Thanksgiving (that is, if we don't eat them all up beforehand!).

what to listen to

Every once in a while I get to bring new music into the house. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it feels wonderful.

A few weeks ago I went to see Aimee Mann with Blind Pilot opening. Blind Pilot is a local band who had amazing energy and life. Their music is soulful, energetic, and beautiful. Currently four of them hit the road for a tour. A West Coast tour. However, they did not go by van (well, except the first show) they are biking.

They set up a blog about it and I've been reading along.

I am lucky to have their album, Three Rounds and a Sound. It is beautiful.

I can hardly wait to see them in September when they are back in town (well, their back the 30th, but I've already got other plans).

the sound of cicadas

Every night since we've returned home as I lay in bed, wishing for a break from the heat so that I may sleep, I hear cicadas. I know that I'm not really hearing them, but in my heart I do. I didn't realize I missed that sound so much until we were in Arkansas where the night air was thick with their sound.

It's going to be another hot one (although they say cooler than yesterday's 100+ heat) and I think I see a slight breeze, finally. Nothing is worse than cooler air outside with no means of it making its way into your home because the air is just sitting there with no nudges into this furnace of a house.

I sit in our basement with the windows open (the only space in the house where two windows are situated across from each other is the basement) feeling the coolness against my neck as I type. I should go check on the upstairs, but I don't think I want to feel the warmth as I know it is still there.

I wish Kev was up so we could go on a bike ride, it's the perfect morning for it. Overcast with crisp air. I hate mornings like these on what will probably turn out to be the hottest day yet (I normally am an optimist, but hot makes me cranky in Portland). Their such teases.

Of course I sit with my latte that I've let cool to just shy of cold. If only I had ice...

back home

The trip was amazing. We ate much food, drank many margaritas (well, Kev drank beer), and listened to some amazing music (and made some fun music).

I think this picture sums up our trip nicely...

We enjoyed every single minute of this trip. I didn't turn on my phone unless I was going to use it to call someone. And then I only turned it on a couple of times. I felt so free!

I did check email, but I rarely responded to any.

Laundry has been started and a grocery list needs to be made. The animals all look good and don't seem to have been lonely without us here. Julia and John did a great job taking care of the trio.

So now I'm back and will be getting back to life as I know it tomorrow. I took today off so I could regroup and take care of getting things back in order. It's nice, though, I don't have much more than laundry to do today. :)

maybe, maybe not

Tomorrow morning we leave on a vacation. Ahhhh, vacation. Mine started last night at exactly 5:00, when I headed home from work. I was originally supposed to work today, but my coworker graciously said he'd work for me. After I complained about having worked who knows how many days prior to Vegas and then every single day after Vegas leading up to my trip. In my defense, he had just been gloating about getting the entire weekend off. I had to.

We are going to Arkansas to visit my mother in law (Mamasita) and her husband (Daddy Walter). We are going for almost a whole week! We'll spend many days with them and then go to Bentonville to visit with one of my closest friends from high school, Rob. It's been 8 years since we saw him last. Since our wedding and then it was only for a few minutes through the receiving line and a couple of minutes at the reception before they left. So really, it's been more like 11 years since we've spent any real time with each other. Needless to say, I'm so damn excited about this trip!! I get to see several of my favorite people.

So I might post while away, I might not. I could take some photos, I could not. You'll just have to wait and see.

forgotten

I told Kevin before I left that he'd have to keep an eye on the zucchini because there was one, for sure, that would need to be harvested before I got home, if not more.

Yeah, he forgot. I think we all know where this is headed...

The smaller is a regular sized zucchini. The other, is about the length of my forearm and about as big around. Needless to say, I am searching for a zucchini bread recipe. I think I have found one, it makes two loaves. All I need to do is go buy some sugar and we will be in business.

Speaking of business...Vegas was good. We had a successful show and saw a lot of great styles. We are starting to debate going every six months. We're thinking of just going to the fall/winter show because that is where we tend to do more business (people in Portland and the Pacific NW just don't seem to want to buy sandals...it really doesn't rain all the time here!).

So I am back and immediately am working the floor (we actually got back on Wednesday and I worked a half day yesterday). I am on the floor up until the day before we leave (it was going to be up until the day, but I convinced Chas that I didn't want to work every single day before I head on our trip to Arkansas and he offered to work Monday).

I got a cold while in Vegas and am hoping I have it knocked out of my system before my real vacation. We leave on Tuesday.