gardening in the pacific northwest this year has proven to be a difficult task.
with the plentiful rains this spring came the slugs. they gorged themselves on been sprouts, corn sprouts and zucchini sprouts. we replanted all three, but the zucchini is the only one that we've gotten any bounty. the corn is growing and there are a few ears on the sad stalks, but we're not sure they will be fully developed. it will be an interesting study when we pick and shuck an ear.
the greenie beanies have done not much. the plants are growing and lovely, but there are no beans...our neighbor (whose plants did not get eaten by slugs) has had beans for quite a while now. i am sad. i love beans.
the walla walla onions are doing really well, though! nobody has attempted to eat them. we also have had a few meals worth of golden potatoes. oh may word! home grown potatoes are the best! they have a texture of velvet on my tongue...
the moby grape tomatoes are growing and producing. although they are not as sweet as the bessers we had a couple of years ago. and our romas are starting to ripen (if all that is on the plant now ripened, i would have more than enough for salsa!). the goliath are looking good. santiem are looking a little sad, but there are many green fruit on all six of our various tomato plants so i am hopeful.
that's about all i have for an update.
last year a family who lives not too far from us lost their house in a fire. sadly, they lost their beloved dog, too. i did not know this family, but my heart ached for their loss of their dog. the pain it had to endure, the loss they felt. at times, it was overwhelming for me.
tonight kev rode his bike past the house, over to ne portland, to grab a beer with a friend. i got the following text:
"Fyi the people on 60th with the fire have a new puppy."
i love kevin for knowing that i needed that. in a few simple words i am reminded how much he really does love me. in a few simple words i am aware of how lucky i am.
it's always tough for me to figure out what to write after a slightly heavier post. i don't want to appear as callous and over the feelings, but i also don't want to wallow there either.
that being said, let the next post begin...
on sunday kev and i had a whirlwind day, okay I had a whirlwind day. kev got to sleep in and have a leisurely afternoon. anyway, i got up early, showered, and walked over to sweetness bakery to meet a couple of girlfriends. after we shared conversation over pastries and coffee, i bid jill adieu and jenn and i scooted off to pick blueberries. her family has friends who have a you pick place west of the river, where she grew up. we got a heck of a deal on some of the best berries i've ever tasted! that is saying a lot because i'm not such a fan of the plain blueberry. give them to me in muffin, pancake, crumble...form and i'm fine.
after that fun excursion, leading me to have almost 17 lbs of blueberries and owing jenn $$, she and i went back to her house. kev came to pick me up, but i told him to give me some time because i was going to walk up to close knit to get a notion i needed. that took about an hour or so. by this time i am needing another shower, the berries made my hands dirty and quite frankly the walk left me a bit sweaty.
i had a little bit of time to get cleaned up and ready for our next date, dinner with our friends christie and scott and lil' t. kev and i decided to bike down, roughly 58 blocks, and were crazy early so we tooled around this wild labyrinth part of town called ladd's addition. it was beautiful, the streets are mostly covered by tall trees making for a lovely ride as it was sunny and quite hot.
finally it was closer to time and we decided to head to the carts. there's these food carts at 12th and hawthorne in se portland that are open on sundays. man, i finally got to try poutine. holy hell, i am in love!!! kev and i shared a medium sized portion before getting a couple of mediocre tacos and ending the whole experience with the fried pies. thankfully we worked some of that off on our bike ride home, which was mostly up. happy to report, neither one of us had to get off our bikes and walk. :)
anyway, we got home from a great early evening with our friends and drop our bikes off, fed the crew and headed over to celebrate with a new ten year old and his family and friends. man, it felt good to sit still when at the house, but those boys were crazed. running, singing, i'm pretty sure they were all wearing underwear on their heads. and that was all before the cake! it was fun, none the less.
i don't think i've ever slept so soundly as i did that night. i'm still kind of recovering...
all too often we let time get away from us. we have the best of intentions to reconnect with old friends and then something happens to make it so you can't...
i learned this morning that one of my all time favorite instructors from my high school days passed away. he was only 44. i had so many things i wanted to share with Mr. Dunlap, but now won't ever get to.
memories flood my mind as i think about him and what i learned. more than just how to process film, set type, and how to debate. i learned compassion, love and understanding.
let this message be heard loud and clear by all that read it...
don't let time pass you by! tell those who influenced your life, in any way, thank you.
thanks, Mr. D! i will always have fond memories of inside jokes and oddly sung songs.
where is my moon? it's got to be in some wacky house or all akimbo somehow, because i've had an off kind of week. not remembering things at work (which is really unlike me) and feeling rather tired and lazy around the house. before anyone goes there, i am not pregnant. that's not really an option for me.
it has to be with my moon. or i'm just having an off week and it will all get better soon. it will get better because i am going to make it better. in fact right now, i'm logging off this computer and making a pie crust for a quiche i will make later.
take that, moon!
i am a person who even though i chat a lot, i really like quiet. when i get home, i often times don't turn any music or television on for hours.
the morning hours are often my favorites because everyone is still sleeping (aside from Chloe who hangs with me most of the time). there is a hush over the house, except for the clacking of the keys as i type.
at work my friends/coworkers there see me being my most 'on' self and honestly believe i am that way all the time. sure, i am that person, obviously, but being 'on' all the time is hard and tiring. between my 'on' persona and my relaxed self, it's either lots of chatter or nothing at all. the nothing at all freaks people out, i am sure. i don't think people know that i'm not 'on' all the damn time. and when they argue with me about who i am when they don't see me...it's frustrating. i mean shit, who should know me better than me?
this girl must turn herself down from being at 11 at all times. it's exhausting people!
so if you invite me out and i say no, it's not that i don't love you or want to hang out, it's just i've had a tiring 'on' kind of day...and just need to be quiet. seriously.
gardening in the pacific northwest this year has proven to be a difficult task. 
