Oh Joy!

Oh Joy!
Originally uploaded by Ryan Nowell Photography

Well I didn't get a chance to talk about how Puma bruised his tail on our last trip. It will have to wait till we get back from our Labor Day weekend trip down to Cottage Grove Lake for which we are about to leave for!!

Have a great weekend and stay safe!!!

Vacation On The Metolius

If you have checked our blogs lately and saw some pictures in the upper right hand portion of the blog.....you may have noticed some pictures from our recent vacation to Central Oregon. Emma and I both had the week off and we decided to head on out to central Oregon to camp and go on some nice hikes.

The first part of our trip we stayed at Cold Springs Resort. It was a cool place to stay and right on the Metolius River north of Sisters. We rented a "cabin" which was really a trailer made to look like a cabin with 2 rooms a kitchen and a bathroom. It was actually really very nice and cozy. The walls were covered in wood paneling and the kitchen was filled with everything that you would need for the weekend!! We liked it so much the guy running the place almost talked us into staying a few nights longer with some big discounts. But we already had our camping gear and wanted to get out and about.

So after the "resort" living, we packed up our gear and headed out to find the perfecet spot! Turns out that spot was only about 2 miles up the road called the Gorge Campground. It too was on the river and only 10 feet away. We really had a great amount of choices since it was in the beginning of the week and everyone was at work. Crazy part is we actually questioned ourselves on whether we picked the BEST one! So glad we stayed put.

Here are some pictures if you haven't seen them already....and i know you haven't....:)


Burnt trees near Round Lake

Cool cabin near a trail we were on. On the Metolius

Our "Cabin" #28

The Metolius River

View from our campsite.

I will post more when I upload more pictures to Flickr and tell you all about how Puma injured his tail!!!

Oh and thanks Jen for giving me a hard time for not posting....it worked!

Weekend Continued.....

So our weekend continued to be filled with more activities that we had planned. thinking we would be home most of the weekend turned out to not be so. While at Flugtag Emma received a text from a co-worker that a B-day party was going to start at 4. So we all headed over to our place to let out the dogs (oh that's right.....we were watching Nina and Marco again while their parents were out of town). Anyway, we went to the party which was really fun. I took the night off from taking any pictures so I have none to post.

The next morning after recovering from all the yummy food and home brew, we finally decided to tackle our wine barrel project. We had picked up some wine barrels from another co-worker (see post) and decided we were going to make some planters out of a few of them. The idea was to cut them in half down the center and use each piece as a planter for some more veggies to grow in the back yard. It sounded easy and the idea was great since one half costs $30 each at Lowes but it turned out to be a bit harder then we had planned. Of course with anything that we decide to do on our own has to have some sort of custom modification.

We first had the idea of using the new jigsaw or reciprocating saw and just cut down a line in the middle. Well of course that worked for about 30 seconds until we found out that after you cut one board of the barrel, the pieces pinch the blade and cause it to kick back. The design of the barrel is such that it really is only held together by the bands that go around and the grooves that each piece sit in. So we stopped to think about what to do next. TIME TO GOOGLE IT!!!

We found suggestions all over with people suggesting hand saws all the way up to chain saws! Well that didn't help.

So we moved on to figuring it out our own way. We ended up using a hand saw (goodwill special) to cut a line around the entire barrel and then finish with the jigsaw. It worked well but had to wedge a screw into each board after cutting 3/4 of the way through so as to keep it from again pinching the blade.

Once it was cut in half we added holes in the bottom for drainage and placed them in the garden.

My arm is still killing me from all the hand sawing. I must be wimpy compared to the folks back in the day that had nothing but hand saws. Maybe sitting in front of a computer doesn't help either!

Flugtag Portland

So its been a busy past couple of weeks. With a wedding and many cakes to be built and delivered, we haven't had too much time to relax or just do whatever. So this past weekend with not much planned we decided to head on down to the Flugtag on the waterfront in downtown Portland. We first met Andrea, Bruce and Sadie at the Screen Door for breakfast which was really great!!! Forgot the camera in the car or I would have had pictures of the enormous amount of food that we all ordered! The portions were so big that we had enough for leftovers for a few days which is always nice!

Then it was down to join the crowd for the festivities!! I am not sure how many people showed up but it was almost too many!! We managed to find a sliver of grass for 5 people to squat down on and waited for it to begin.

Emma and I had been to the first Flugtag that came to Portland in 2004 so we had an idea of what it was going to be like. I could describe what is involved but you can go HERE for a better idea. I was fun watching all the different "floats" or whatever you would call them go off the 25 foot tall ramp.

Here are some photos from the event.







More to come tomorrow on our "relaxing" weekend!

Let Them Eat Cake

Just a quick post!

This past Saturday Emma and I worked for some friends of ours, Pete and Jen, for a party they were throwing for a wedding reception. Emma made the cake and I was hired to take some photos of the goings on. It was fun to do and Emma's cake turned out wonderful!! It was super tasty too.

Once I get a minute I will post some more photos of the event.

Wine Tasting and Education at Erath Vineyards

A couple of weeks ago Emma and I went with a group from her school to learn more about wine and how the affects of the ground that the grapes are grown in affect the taste of the wine. I learned probably more then I ever thought I would have about wine but it was fun. Afterwords some of use followed John, a co-worker of Emma's to where he makes his own wine. It was really cool to taste the different types of wine that he is producing and to see what the difference was between the wines grown at different locations. I am not that into wine like I am with beer but it was great to learn more about it.

The picture above is some of the group and the below pictures are from John's warehouse. The final picture is the press that he uses to get all the goodness out of the grapes!!!

Cell Phone Ban!

For everyone in California and Washington...good times!!

The 4th and Past Weekend

Have you ever wanted to have your very own fireworks display in your very own backyard??? Have you ever wanted to blow up so much stuff that you yourself could burst?? Have you ever wanted to "legally" burn your neighbors house down?? If so....come to Oregon where the fireworks are illegal but Washington state is just a stone's throw away and filled with fireworks stands!

Ok I admit I was being goofy but this year it really got to me. I am not sure if we have been around the house during the 4th but this year it was crazy. It was like a war zone and the streets were filled with so much smoke we had to shut all the windows to stop the smell of sulfur from getting in. I guess I was a bit more sensitive also because we were babysitting some pups for some friends. Nina and Marco came over on Wednesday night and stayed till Sunday. Luckily the fireworks didn't bother them too bad and we tried turning the sound up on the tv and made sure to reassure them that the world wasn't at war!!

Other then that crazy evening it was a nice weekend. The weather was nice and not too warm. The pups all had a nice time playing with each other and took lots of naps.

In the evenings we manged to get everyone asleep in a short amount of time. Nina joined us on the bed and Emma designated a "Doggy Lane" down the middle of the bed. Nina sometimes went under the sheets but was a bit tricky with the 70 pound pup at the bottom of the bed!!

Here are some pictures from their visit.



Puma was pretty bummed when they left. I think he is still waiting for them to come back to play.


Also, our garden has really started to spring up again this year. From what I can remember, we are growing, peppers, tomatoes, onions, Jalapeno's, green beans, peas, zucchini and two kinds of blueberries. We have a bunch of different varieties of the peppers and tomatoes but none have gotten past the flowering stage. Should be a great year for veggies.

Here is a picture of the green beans out front and a flower from one of the peppers:

UPDATE!!!

Ok so I don't have much to update about!! I have been rather lazy with updating the blog about anything. I suppose I have been so used to working on the house and giving info on the progress I haven't moved on to new subjects! Since we are out of major updates to do in the house I haven't really had to do much at home other then the normal fun stuff around the house! In fact the other day we went to Lowe's to return a piece for the drip system and realized how nice it was to just walk past everything and not be thinking about what we might do next. Ok I did see some paint on sale and Emma quickly ushered me on.

As for work....well I have been sitting her since after lunch at 5pm with no call. It's almost 7 now. Pretty normal for this time of day but the lack of work can get to me at times. I actually had a moment when I couldn't think of any websites to go visit or read. My eyes were getting all crazy and blurry. Not good!

Anyway work is slow so I should get off my booty and post some more!

Also if you read my damn blog, comment on it!! OK that was uncalled for....but hey...sometimes I feel like I am talking to myself! Oh and if you look at my pictures on Flickr....comment! And if you enjoy reading Emma's blog....COMMENT! Get the idea people! It's our only payment for sharing out lives with the world!

That goes for Lance and Suzanne's blog as well!

This weekend we have a list of things we get to do. Saturday morning we are going to some wineries for some wine tasting for Emma's work. Then, we are going to a friends for a tequila party Saturday night!! I will not touch the stuff but they plan on having brew again! Then Sunday morning.....well at 12 which is morning for some people...we are going to have brunch at a friends house! Always good to have free food prepared by wonderful chef's!!!

Ok I am done....back to um...well...working hard!!!

Hours at Work Changed

This week is the first week for me at my new schedule. I am now working 12pm-9pm which works for me!! Emma pretty much works the same shift so that is really the best part. We get to spend the morning together which is really wonderful and then since she takes the bus to the MAX, I pick her up after work downtown. The crazy part is the amount of time I do pretty much nothing. The calls stop coming in around 4pm which gives me way too much free time to surf and read. Not a bad gig for the moment but it works out well for now.

I got bored last night and had my camera. Took some pictures of the desk next to mine. He likes to collect toys....and gaming systems. Has soooo many that they fill up the cabinet above his desk.





I get bored as well as annoyed at times with the people I talk to.

San Francisco Trip

This past weekend Emma and I went to San Francisco to meet up with family. Abdel and Suzan came over from Maui. Rosie, Mike, Camille and John came over from Reno. We stayed at a great hotel called the Parc 55. The rooms were great and had nice views of the city.

Most of the time that we were there we walked around the city. Went to all the usual places like Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39 as well as the Ferry building. The weather was really great with it being sunny and cool most of the time.

We also mainly ate all the time!! I think I gained a few pounds eating all that we did but it was fun going to new places and eating whatever.

I managed to capture a good amount of photos from the trip so here are some of them. The rest are posted on Flickr.

Beer and Birthday Party

Saturday we threw a Beer and Birthday party for the gang! The cocktail party was switched to a Beer and BBQ party at our place. It went really well and we had lots of great food and beer to choose from.

Emma and I worked hard to get the house projects completed. I managed to build a table for the party as well in the morning. I was busy painting the crown moulding and finishing the moulding around the door to the mud room and the moulding on top of the back splash in the kitchen. Emma worked to get the house back to normal and clean again after being in disarray for so long.

Here are a few pictures from the gathering!

Crazy Weather!!

Not sure how warm it will really get but this was the warning that came up on the national weather service for our area. Nothing like planning a BBQ on a record warm day! Should be fun! Time to break out the pool!

...UNSEASONABLY HOT WEATHER WILL BURST INTO SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON
AND NORTHWEST OREGON THURSDAY THROUGH MUCH OF THE WEEKEND...

AFTER A VERY PROLONGED PERIOD OF ABNORMALLY COOL SPRING WEATHER
...THE HOTTEST WEATHER OF THE YEAR...MORE LIKE MID SUMMER...WILL
BURST INTO SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON AND NORTHWEST OREGON THURSDAY...
THEN CONTINUE OVER THE REGION INTO THE WEEKEND.

THIS WILL BE THE HOTTEST WEATHER SINCE LAST SEPTEMBER.

TEMPERATURES INLAND THURSDAY WILL APPROACH 90...AND ON FRIDAY
APPROACH THE MID 90S. TEMPERATURES AT THE COAST COULD REACH INTO
THE 80S BOTH THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. RECORDS AT SEVERAL LOCATIONS
WILL LIKELY FALL...AND THESE ARE LISTED IN A PUBLIC INFORMATION
STATEMENT.

TEMPERATURES OVER THE WEEKEND WILL CONTINUE VERY WARM. A SHALLOW
MARINE LAYER MAY BEGIN FORMING ALONG THE COAST THIS WEEKEND THAT
WILL BRING SOME RELIEF THERE...BUT ANY SIGNIFICANT COOLING INLAND
WILL LIKELY BE SLOW TO TAKE HOLD...POSSIBLY HOLDING OFF UNTIL NEXT
MONDAY.

WITH SUCH A RAPID TRANSITION FROM TEMPERATURES NEAR 60 TO
TEMPERATURES NEAR OR ABOVE 90...BE SURE TO USE CAUTION IF OUT IN
THE HEAT THIS WEEK. DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS. WEAR LIGHT CLOTHING.
WEAR HATS AND USE SUNSCREEN TO PROTECT THE SKIN FROM THE SUNSHINE.
SEEK COOLER OR AIR CONDITIONED AREAS DURING THE HEAT OF THE DAY.

The Refrigerator Has Arrived

Just wanted to post a quick update to the kitchen. The refrigerator came on Sunday morning which great. Lowe's had free delivery which was really nice! It just fit into the space that we left for it which was a relief for sure.

Also we have used the new dishwasher a few times and the dishes come out nice and clean. Plus it takes about a 1/4 of the time to wash them.

Still have more moulding and other details to finish but it's happening slowly when I only have time in the evening to work on it.

Another Kitchen Update

Since our lives have been taken over by the kitchen for the past month, that is pretty much all I have to talk about or even think about lately. I as well as Emma spend what little free time we have in the morning and evenings working on the kitchen. But it has really come a long way for just one month of work.

This past week we have been working on a few details that need to be done as well as installing the gas range, sink and faucet. The faucet ended up not working out after I installed it. The design or my lack of patients made the install all that more difficult. To make a long crazy bad day of a story short, we took most of one day installing the faucet to find out the next morning that the head of it leaked. Wasn't our fault since it came pre-built but we took it as a sign of things to come and decided to get another type from Ikea. It went in perfectly with no troubles so that was nice.

The range went in with millimeters to spare which was nice for a change. We joke around that most of everything that we have worked on we have had to "modify" but luckily it has all worked out.

Also installed the molding around the new window that was installed a while ago. Put it off since we were unsure of the exact dimensions of the cabinets around the window.

The final steps are some trim molding for the top of the backslash, molding above the cabinets, finish filler pieces next to the stove and wall cabinet, and the final painting after marking the walls while working. We also have our refrigerator coming on Sunday so that is exciting!! Hopefully by this weekend it will be COMPLETE!!!!

Here are some more recent pictures. The last picture is a composite of 3 pictures in one. It captures the highlights and dark areas to combine and make everything stand out.

More Tile

Once again Emma and I had a weekend of tiling on our schedule! We started Saturday morning with tiling the back splash for the granite counter that we finished last weekend. That went pretty quickly which was nice.

Then came the travertine tile for the floor. We bought 18X18 tiles and planned on cutting them in half to install them in a nicer pattern. Since our floor was pretty small it would have looked odd having such large tiles.

Our wet tile saw was on the small size so I had to build a jig to support and cut the tiles in half. It worked ok but wasn't perfect which meant that the tiles were pretty close to being the same size but still a tiny bit off which made it all the more fun for Emma to install.

Before we installed the tile we had to seal it so the mortar would not stain it during install. It took a while to dry so we had to wait to start the install for the day. Emma managed to get about 4 rows of the 9 installed on Saturday night before we decided to call it a day.


Sunday morning we got up first thing and started with the work again. It went somewhat smoothly but of course had its issues. All in all it went well and we actually managed to get done early in the day and take a long lunch break to eat and relax a bit.




We spent the rest of the day cleaning and recycling all the cardboard from the cabinets and returned all the stuff we bought that we ended up not needing which was nice since we had a good amount to install.

Earlier in the week I worked on installing the high counter on the cabinets that are outside the kitchen. It also went well but took time measuring and re-measuring to make sure I didn't make a wrong cut with the circular saw. I knew I couldn't mess up since I only had one shot at it. The results turned out nice and is really a nice addition to the kitchen.