Brew fans rejoice!!

Portland and certain other Oregon cities (such as Hood River and Bend) are well-known for their beer. It is often said that Portland is the home of the microbrew revolution in the United States. Some illustrate Portlanders' interest in the beverage by an offer made in 1888, when local brewer Henry Weinhard volunteered to pump beer from his brewery into the newly dedicated Skidmore Fountain. However, the renown for quality beer dates to the 1980s, when state law was changed to allow consumption of beer on brewery premises. In short order, microbreweries and brewpubs began to pop up all over the city. Their growth was supported by the abundance of local ingredients, including two-row barley, over a dozen varieties of hops, and the pure water from Bull Run and other drainage basins of nearby Mount Hood.
Today, with 33 breweries within the city limits, Portland is home to more breweries than any other city in the world. The McMenamin brothers alone have over thirty brewpubs, distilleries and wineries scattered throughout the metropolitan area, not including the outlining areas, several in renovated theaters and other old buildings otherwise destined for demolition. Other notable Portland brewers include Widmer Brothers, Bridgeport Brewing Company and the MacTarnahan's Brewing Company. In 1999, author Michael "Beerhunter" Jackson called Portland a candidate for the beer capital of the world because the city boasted more breweries than Cologne, Germany. A popular nickname for the city in beer appreciation circles is "Beervana."
Portland hosts a number of festivals throughout the year in celebration of beer, including the Oregon Brewers Festival. Held each July, it is the largest gathering of independent craft brewers in North America. Other major beer festivals throughout the calendar year are: in April Spring Beer and Wine Festival, in July Portland International Beerfest and in December Holiday Ale Festival.

See ya!!

The other day Emma and I noticed a very large yellow truck parked next door to us at our neighbor’s house. We joked that maybe they were moving and how nice it would be that they would move out. The landlord, Kermit King, mentioned that he was thinking about selling so that really sparked our hopes. Keep in mind this is the family with the condom throwing little hooligans! We got very excited and so I decided to peek around a bit. Turns out lots of empty boxes were stacked outside in the backyard but the moving truck was gone so my hopes had faded until yesterday. Sure enough when we left the house to go out to eat last night, the truck was back and they were moving all there stuff up the ramp and in the truck. WOOOHOOO!!! Maybe we will get some cool neighbors. Maybe they will fix up the place and make it look nicer and less run down. But then again they were really quiet at times and kept to themselves. Here’s hoping for the best!!!

Blazing HOT!!!

Well yesterday was a record day for Portland. It got up to 101 but felt like 110 without AC in the house. Luckily it wasn't actually that hot in the house but it sure felt like it. We decided to go out to dinner since cooking would have heated it up more and we wanted at least an hour or so of AC to cool off. Turns out eating in Portland and trying to find a place that actually has AC was a bit harder then we thought. We stopped by a few places to eat but with no cool air to be found we continued on. We ended up at the Laughing Planet (http://www.portlandblog.com/05-09/laughing-planet.html) on N Mississippi. The place was pretty cool and the food was cheap and yummy. They serve lots of healthy food and have a nice selection of local brews.

Just before bed I decided to hook up the window air conditioner that come with the house in our bedroom. I had to brace it in the window with the window itself, a towel, and a piece of wood to prop it up. Turns out it really works well. The room really cooled off well and we all slept nicely. Of course its not a permanent thing so it has to be taken down each day but it's going to be much cooler today and the rest of the week and will most likely not need it.

Oregon State won the "College World Series" last night in Omaha against North Carolina (3-2). Didn't watch it but sounds like it was a good game. Go Beavs!!

It's OVER!!!

The trial has finally come to an end and I would have to say that it was a nice change to do something other then work but it was almost like a second job. It really consumes you. After 3 days of trying to decide on a sentence we came to a decision. Don't really want to mention it on this site but you can ask me directly if you like. Just happy it's over and can get back to my normal life.

So last weekend we went to a great ballgame in Seattle. Mariners played the Giants and won. The game was exciting and had lots of hits and home runs. The weather was perfect and was really relaxing. Emma and I went and met up with Kari and Clarissa for dinner afterwards. It was nice to catch up on family stuff and to hang out for the short time that we had.

The next day we of course went to Ikea to return some shelves we bought in September of last year and took the credit to buy some more goodies. Emma picked up lots of containers and other fun stuff for the kitchen. We also bought all the candles we needed for a large candle holder that we bought for our bedroom. I will have to take a picture to show what it looks like and how it looks in our room.

That's all for now. No more bad images and scary stories to listen to!! Why are people so nutty!!!!!

Court Drama

Not sure how really to describe some of the feelings that I was feeling yesterday in court when the verdict was read. We all came to a guilty verdict and which was easy to give taken into account all the facts but it was the moment when we all walked back in to the courtroom that really set the mood. I was really fine and so was everyone else when they came to get us and bring us in but once I sat down in the spot I had spent for the past 3 weeks, my heart started to pound. I could almost hear it myself. The judge went over all the counts and read each one off carefully and that was it. It was over. The defendant didn't say anything or make any quick movements even though there were 3 extra officers in the court for the reading. He didn't even look up at all. We all thought it was over but then we got the rest of our instructions that the sentencing section was about to begin. This meant 2 more days of testimony and the one more time deciding the fate of the defendant. I am not sure what it will entail but we will soon find out.

Update issues

Not sure why but the Blogger website has been having problems so I couldn't update it recently. I wanted to post a quick note that my friend Todd has created a blog of his own. The link is to the right but you can also go here http://toddndave.blogspot.com I grew up with Todd and he is now far far away but we try and keep in touch when we get a moment. But of course I am bad about calling people a times and besides that I work for a living talking on the phone so it can be hard to speak at any length on the phone.

Oh and we managed to pull all the grass out in the front yard. Was much harder then we thought and I would not recommend doing it by hand. We also removed the front walkway that went from the driveway to the front door. We plan on putting in one that goes to the road instead. We will see.

Our guest Pauly and Jury Duty

So this week and next we have a guest in our home. His name is Pauly and his parents Noah and Jen are getting married tomorrow so we are watching him while they are gone. Puma and Pauly really like to play and at first would pick on each other but now they are hanging out like old pals. Of course sleeping on the bed was interesting at first since they both wanted to be as close as they could to Emma and I but they are now sleeping together and sharing the space.

This week I have been in Jury Duty which isn't all that fun but I do get paid for it so that works out. I can't say what it's for but it's supposed to last for 3 weeks. Some details of the case are a bit gritty so to speak but it's not as bad as I thought. It's actually pretty interesting to see the entire process.

Weekend Warrior's

So this weekend is Memorial Day weekend and we are in the mood to work on the front yard. Of course the weather is not working out too well with it raining but I guess it will make it easier for us to pull up the grass and get ready to build our fence.

The little boy is almost back to new. He is still wearing his cone and will get his staples removed sometime next week hopefully. He is not too excited about staying in the house and keeping his actions to a minimum but he will get over it.

Well I will post some pictures of our progress on the yard when it stops raining and hopefully it will be a fun weekend.

Rockhound

Well I just wanted to post a quick note. Puma ended up not getting the rock out of his stomach so he went in to surgery yesterday. The doctor said that it was a 90% chance that it wasn't coming out on it's own and that it could have long term affects if it stays in too long. He says that he has done this many times and specializes in this sort of surgery. So everything went well and now he has a long recovery to come. They removed the rock and stapled him back up but now he is one unhappy boy. I am hoping last night was the worst of it because he pretty much cried all night and can't lay down so he tried his hardest to sit up and fall asleep(photo explains). Today he finally waged his tail at me after going outside so a little of him is there behind all the effects of the drugs. Needless to say that any rocks that are in the yard are going to go!! Not sure if he will do it again but I don't want to increase his odds. Not the best birthday present for Emma and I!

Playing with rocks!!

Ok so yesterday I was in the backyard with the pup and he was playing with a rock that he likes to role around in his mouth. He looked up at me and POOF, it was gone. Yep that's right, down the hatch it went! It's a pretty good size rock but at least it's a river rock so it's smooth. I called the vet right away and they said to wait it out and see if it passes. He seems to be doing ok for now but if it doesn't come out then he may have to have it removed. Crazy kid!!

So yesterday I took off work to go in Jury Duty for the second time. I originally went in a week ago and they had about 200 people fill out a long set of questions and then took our picture. They called us back in groups of 8 to be interviewed. They started us out in a group and then individually spoke to us later on. I was picked to be on the panel of 50 and then once they decide to pick the 15, 12 jurors and 3 alternates, they will call me and let me know. I doubt I will get picked but who knows. The trial is supposed to start on the 30th of this month and last for 3 weeks. It's a murder trial so that will not be too fun but interesting for sure. Some of the people that were in my group drove me a bit nuts since I was the only one who brought anything to read and they had to make small talk. Hopefully I won't get stuck with any of them if I am on the jury!

The rings and other news!

Ok so it's been a while since the last post. I have been a bit busy at work and at home.

So the plans are still coming along for the wedding. Emma sent out the "Save the Date" cards which she worked very hard on. It was a long process but fun as well. I couldn't help much since I don't have too much creativity but I did get to help on the design. But all of the credit goes to Emma. She just loves doing that stuff even though she has very little time to work on them. Of course she already has plans for the invitations so that should be fun.

Sunday we purchased our rings for the wedding!!! It was a lot of fun checking out all the designs and styles that were available. The pictures above are pretty close to what we picked. Emma found just the right wrap or whatever it's called for her ring to go with her engagement ring. It turned out really nice. Too bad we have to wait so long to wear them but time is flying by. Some of the arrangements have been set up including location, who is going to marry us, an idea of who we want for the photographer and who will cater the festivities. I will post more about that once it's more final.

This weekend Emma's mom and Abdel are coming to visit!!!! Should be a great time. It will be nice for them to see the us and the house and to show them around the wonderful city of Portland!! Emma has all the places picked out on where we should go and what we they should see. Plus this Sunday is Mother's Day which worked out nicely. I don't want to jinx it too much but the weather has been really great lately so hopefully it will continue for the visit.

Mom and dad are at the Grand Canyon this week. They are taking a fun mule ride down into the canyon for the day and then back up. Should be a good time and maybe after they return I can get some pictures to post of the trip.

Well that's it for now. I will try and take some pictures of the visit and post them when I get a chance. Oh and thanks for all the comments that everyone has been posting. It's nice to know I am posting stuff that does get read. At least I hope it's a bit interesting. I will try and post more often.

Neighborly Introductions

So we have finally met some of our neighbors. Since the weather is warmer more people are out and about which has led to a few interesting introductions.

We were working on our fence to take it down on our own since we couldn't find someone to show up and take it for free and that's when the introductions began. Tom came over to ask what we were doing with the fencing and we said we were going to sell it. He asked how much we wanted for it and we asked for $200. He said he would think about it and get back to me. Shortly after that he came back as I was digging out the first post, and said "If you stop what you are doing now, I will give you $125 and pull out the rest of the posts". Needless to say the shovel dropped from my hand to shake his and say "It's a DEAL!" He pulled all the posts yesterday and the day before and took all the rest of the fencing as well. He introduced me to our other neighbor who we had never even seen once. He never leaves the house and Tom says he spends most of his time in the garage smoking and drinking....NICE!! He was nice but I forgot his name which won't matter much since I don't plan on venturing into his haven.

Another introduction happened when we were getting rid of all the bark chips in the front yard. An old man...and I mean old, stopped his car across the street and walked right up to shake my grimy hand, "I'm Kermit King" he said. We introduced ourselves and he stated that he was the landlord for our neighbors next door. He wanted to let us know that if we ever had an problems with them we could contact him to let him know. Of course I didn't mention the many items that get thrown into our yard nor the incident of the urine filled condoms that were thrown into the yard and into our house!!! Yes one of them made it into our window when it was open!! I had a talk with the father of the little hooligans and he said they were sorry and even later on wrote us letters to again say they were sorry.

Finally Tom got to talking, which he does very well, and ended up inviting us to the Big Pig Roast this summer. He said they have been doing it for 3 years now and it's supposed to be the best Pig Roast in all the land! He told me all about how they cook the pig and what is all involved. This will surely introduce us to more neighbors and all of Tom's biker friends!

That's all for now. Pictures to come soon of the front yard transformation from "Front Yard State Prison" to "Country Garden Pathways".

One exceptional day!!!

Today is the big day! Dad is retiring!!! After 40 years of working his tail off at a job he loves(most of the time…well part of the time), he has finally reached this day that we all have been waiting for.

Many years my father worked away from home, missing time with his family that he loves so much to provide a life that we all could enjoy and be proud of. Even though he was gone some of the time he always managed to be home on important days or occasions in our life. He taught me to be the man that I am today as well as teach me the meaning of a job well done. I would have to say that my father for sure is a one of a kind. Not many people these days can say they worked for one company for as long as he did and with as much pride as he put into his daily grind.

I was fortunate enough to be able to spend a day with him at work one day on a trip down to Nogales. I had always wondered what it was like and had an idea of his daily activities from his stories but on this one day I got to experience it all. I remember it very clearly since it is just one of those days that a person really can’t forget. How excited he was as well as I, that I was going to finally be able to ride along and see what it was like. This was just an ordinary day for him but not for me. Pictures in my head finally had concrete images of the engine and the tracks and even the smell of it all. He explained to me how everything worked and I even got to sit in his seat for just a short while and even blow the horn as we crossed the tracks through town on the way to our destination. Once in Nogales we had time to waste while we waited for the train from across the border to arrive so we walked into Mexico to peruse the goods that wonderful Nogales has to offer. It wasn’t a glamorous setting but it was still fun. We made our return trip back home with stories of my father’s daily adventures on the railroad. As he mentioned to me that there are times when cars and trucks try to beat the train to get across and come very close to being hit, right around the next corner, a Semi was in view going across the tracks unaware of our presence until dad hit the horn to warn them of their impending doom. Nothing happened this time but I could only imagine what it would have been like to hit it. He also described a certain section of the tracks known as “Hamburger Alley”. This was an area where cattle chose to cross the tracks and many a time they would lose the race to get out of the way. It was gross and a bit hard to stomach as we cruised on by one unfortunate bovine from the previous day’s journey. But once again this was just one day of the many that he would spend in his 40 years on the tracks.

He makes me proud to be the person that I have become. He makes me proud to be a Nowell. He makes me proud to be his son. I can only hope that I can be half the person that he is and always will be. Congrats DAD! We all love you so much it hurts and are so proud of you and the wonderful life you have provided for your family. Here’s to your last day on the railroad!! And like you said, “Tomorrow is the first day of vacation for the rest of my life!”

Bedroom Adventure!

So we finally finished our bedroom. It was a long process but the result turned out pretty well. Our recent change was the crown molding which turned out to be easier then we thought. The first picture is the final look of the closet, lights, and crown molding and the next picture is just before we demolished the wall and began the construction. Our next project is to continue the crown molding around the rest of the house starting with the office and then the living room.

The people that were supposed to come and take the chainlink fence out front and back never showed. I guess we will post again and get someone else to take it. I suppose that if we can't find anyone to take it for free we will dig it up and sell it instead. Wouldn't think that giving something like that away for free would be so hard!! Especially with so many people that write just hours after I post it to Craigslist.

The Dawg

Not the best news for this post. Puma is not feeling well. He sort of lost his appetite over the past few days. He has eaten some brown rice but that's pretty much it. He won't touch his food at all. We just got back from the vet and she said that he might have just got into something that he shouldn't but hopefully the antibiotics that she gave him will clear it all up and he can start eating again. Needless to say he isn't having too much fun and neither am I. I decided to stay home with him for a couple of days which turned out to be a wise choice since he wouldn't have been a pretty site coming home after him being in the crate all day.

The weather has taken a great turn. It's in the mid 60's with sun all around. Too bad we can't be out in it but we will soon enough.

Various Pictures

Ok so I recently updated Shutterfly with some more pictures. I have created a link to the right and will take you to the site to see it. I will update with more later and if you want to buy some of the pictures you can order straight from the site. This picture here was 1 1/2 years ago at Silver Falls. I just like it!

Well the weather here has turned a bit cold and rainy this weekend but it has been sunny off and on which is always nice. Soon enough I will be commenting on how hot it is and how hot it will be in the house with no AC! Oh well. We have finally found someone interested in taking out wonderful chainlink fence out of the front and back yard. They are coming next weekend to pull it out. It will be nice to no thave the front of our place look like the side of a school or jail!

STARING JC CONNELLY!!!

So the news with John was great! He met with the director and writer of the movie and he actually has an actual speaking part in the movie. He was told that his character is named Hans and he is a german soldier in the war after the Battle of the Bulge and I think it's called "Hurtgen Phantom". He and 11 other people are the main people in the movie and he is really excited. Should be interesting to read the script when he signs all the insurance and other movie papers.

EMMA'S NEW TOY

Today we went to Costco to buy Emma a new toy for the kitchen. It's the latest and greatest Cuisinart Food Processor. Of course I can call it my new toy too since I will for sure benefit from the goodies that she makes with it.

Well that is it for now.

Lots of News!!

So cute!!

Time for bed!

Ok so it's been a while since I posted but we have been really busy. Things are going well. Work is crappy as usual but it does give me time with the two most important people in my life. Emma and Puma. And I say people because Puma is just as much a person as anyone else.

We started working on the house again since it's more motivating when the weather is nicer. We started with finishing our bedroom and putting up the crown molding that we have been wanting to put up since we stopped. It's turning out to make the room look really different and more put together. I will post pictures on Shutterfly once we get the final details done.

John emailed me earlier today with good news on the audition that he went to a week and a half ago. Here is the email that he received:

JC Connelly,

We have made a few casting decisions, and would like to offer you a significant part in the movie. We were wondering if you're still interested, and if you would be able to meet this Saturday in the morning?

Please let us know.

Brian

How COOL is that!!! We will see what happens and what is involved. I will have more info as I get it. Congrats JC!!!

Oh and if you are reading my posts, please comment. And if Lance is the only one reading the Blog and commenting....well then....thanks Lance!! :)

Spring is here!!

The blossoms have taken hold on Portland once again. The weather is slowly changing from rainy to sunny and the grass is starting to grow once again. Camping trips and weekend excursions to the coast are upon us! Yeah for Spring!!!

John's big day continued and new Canon

Well John went to his audition but it didn't go so well. They changed up what he had to read and just wasn't as good as the one he had prepared. Oh well. Maybe next time.

So we finally bought our new camera that we have been wanting for a long time. We sold enough items on Craigslist and other money that we had saved from Christmas to pay for it. Turns out also that we happened to buy it the day after it had a $100 rebate which was very nice. I have my parents to thank for pointing out that to us. We have been testing out the camera on the dog of course but once the weather gets sunny I hope to get some nice outside pictures.

John's big day!!

So I received an email yesterday from John Connelly and he was telling me about his big audition for a movie that is being filmed here in Portland. It's a World War II movie, which is great since he loves those types of movies. I called him and he read a monologue that really blew me away because he actually wrote it. He has always been great at writing so I think it will work out nicely. His audition is this morning so we will all be pulling for him. I will update the blog with any more news on his big day. GOOD LUCK JOHN!!!!!