severe weather alert

new england and the pacific northwest have profound discrepancies in their definitions of severe weather.
new england severe: Snow flurries or snow showers. 8 inches accumulated. Very cold. High 16F. Wind gusts from 25-30 mph from NE.
pacific northwest severe: Variable rain showers with a chance of snow showers. Trace accumulation. Cold. High of 36F. Winds variable 5-8 mph.
the warning is wisely issued, however. have you seen these western-types drive in ice or snow? yikes.

xmas list

1.

for Peet's sake

peet’s is my all time favorite coffee roaster. of all time.

life increased in beauty when they decided to open coffee shops throughout the western continental u.s. i can’t remember the first one i visited, but we’ll just say it was walnut creek, california, off of ygnacio parkway. because my cousin worked there and it’s my first memory of a peet’s.

and steadily since, they’ve graced the Pacific side with shops selling not only their delicious beans but coffee drinks as well. i never knew a cappuccino could be so wonderful.

did you know they have loose leaf tea, as well? black currant is amazing. so is the royal Darjeeling.

we have often thought that our future relocations should, in fact, be determined by the location of a Peet’s. interesting fact: there are no Peet’s in Montana. bummer, huh?

skip ahead several years and we find ourselves in the Portland metro area. and while i don’t expect the ‘Couve to have a Peet’s the nearest one (to our chagrin because we knew the distance could not keep us away but just prolong the travel and increase the gas bill) was in the Hollywood district of Portland.

but... as the Lord shines His rays of happiness on His children, even in the minor details of life, He has granted us a Peet’s in the ‘Couve. and all this month the festivities roll.

on fridays when you buy anything, you get a ¼ lb of beans free. (this is an invaluable event inasmuch as i have thus discovered the bean of the year: Sierra Dorado Blend. so complex you can have it as a meal all on its own. also, while drinking it you can sing “El Dorado... Reno’s shining star... feel the excitement!” an old jingle for a casino/ski resort of some kind from the early 90’s.)

free coffee is available 1-3 pm and you can choose what size you want. and yes, i get the large, and no, i can’t get through half of it. but harken to this fact, dear reader: reheated Peet’s drip coffee tastes better than the americano or coffee any other chain can offer. every time.

one important understanding must be made. don’t microwave in the paper cups. it gets plasticky smelling. but even then, it’s the health issue that’s a concern. not the taste. reheating is king.

is this necessary? is this... pathetic? is this ghetto?

to which i respectively respond: yes. probably. and most definitely.

"a blustery day" redefined

here's the view- and understand that the picture doesn't do it justice- of the coast from North Head lighthouse in washington.

the trip to this particular lighthouse wasn't a challenge. a .25 mile walk uphill on a foggy day on a trail that hadn't seen rain in a few days. that was saturday.

today's trek was very different. today was the 150th anniversary of the Cape Disappointment lighthouse so they actually allowed civilians- not just the u.s. coast guard- to climb to the top of it and gaze upon the miles and miles of ocean.

seen here (and i would've taken a picture myself had i purchased a new lithium battery for my camera) is the Cape "D" lighthouse from the shore. it's a very stunning black and white striped thing.

but back to why it was such a gnarly trek. the gale force winds (we listened to the weather band in our friends' subaru) was like, 60 knots at 9 am. i'm not sure what that means to the commoner, but we were at the top of the cliff at noon and could lean right into the wind.

the same rain that forced us to do a mach3 break-camp at the campground below forced its way into the crevaces of our clothing (the plug for underarmor and mountain hardware comes later) as we stomped in wind, rain and mud .75 miles (i know cause it was posted, thusly) on a narrow trail up to the lighthouse. there we climbed 53 freaky, slippery metal stairs to the top and drilled the docent on duty for obscure facts like "what year did they transfer this light from kerosene to a fully automated lightbulb?" riveting.

on the way down we scoped out the coast guard station and sadly noted there were no seahawks to be seen.

things we have learned about camping in the pacific northwest:

• foul weather gear is not such a bad idea... however ridiculous it may look
• always keep the firewood in the car where it will be safe and dry
• when there is a large yellow flame on the coleman stove, know it will warp yr sissy teflon camping pans
• the log cabin model works better than the tee-pee campfire
• and towels soaked in white gas work best
• the mothers that have raised children of the 70's and 80's have within them a wellspring of camping common sense.. they themselves have spent their summers in a hot station wagon and a cold canvas tent... when they suggest you bring a butane lighter... you zip yr lip and bring one
• the same applies for when she says to bring a cast iron pan

anatidae mergus merganser

notice i'm wearing a soft shell. a black one at that. in august. while the sun is up. clearly, i am not in redding.
we went w/ fam to the hamilton brach of lake almanor. i'm seen here with a super-secret rigging of lures of a clandestine nature. we were the only ones getting any hits so it must have been a ingenius combo.
the only action i got was watching a small trout nibble at my lure and swim away laughing at his brilliant avoidance of my hook.
dad, however, nailed a 18.5 inch rainbow. very nice. i got to hike up the trail back to the car with it. we sang songs. (the fish and i).

speaking of cars... ever try to fit three adults over the 5'11' mark in the back of a 4-runner? it's a hoot.
while there, we also saw two hungry osprey catching what we were after, a belted kingfisher zooming by, and a common merganser mama and her young.

¿es el coexistance pacífico posible?

vista perfecciones

does this not look like something out of one of those expensive picture books that lots of people have on their coffee tables but seldom read themselves?
but nay, we were actually here at panther meadows on the south side of mount shasta on saturday. the bubbling brook running through the lush grass was just about the most soothing and heavenly sound we'd ever heard. pam, bryan and i agreed that it was a great day to visit the mountain with the thunder and cool breeze rolling over us.

we all rawred for the camera, drank some homemade mochas, and discussed life's deepest issues like... are we going to get struck by lightning? and, should we maybe get in the car now? and isn't it cool how God made this great big earth for us to tromp in?

pursed and furrowed

that described my lips and brow as the lady at the coffee shop gave me her timid 2 cents about why she served my iced doppio in a 8 oz instead of 12 oz like she said she would. so i questioned it, of course. she replies:
"are you going to milk in it?"
(is that any of her business? i might just put a bit of hydrocodone in it, too. what's it to her? she might call the cops. this is, after all, a christian coffee shop [now there's a subject for future discussion])
"just a bit of half & half" (as i am on a breve kick this summer)
"okay, cause then we would usually charge you for a latte. just to let me know."
(didn't she see me counting out nickels to pay for this out of obligation for using their wireless service?) and (duh. the extra cost is why i asked for a doppio on the rocks. again, i only use a little half & half.)
"well the lattes are too strong" (full of milk i mean)
latte infers the heating of milk, yes? when you pour 2 shots of espresso on ice and add 2%, how can that be considered a latte? allow me to paste from the dictionary website maintained by none other than Princeton University (if we can't trust them, who can we trust?)
latte n : strong espresso coffee with a topping of frothed steamed milk
ha! at what point does the pouring of everyday (non-organic and 2% i might add) milk from a jug constitute a latte?
seems to me the extra price of a latte results from the energy spent in heating said milk under a potentially dangerous situation (every had a steam burn? ouch?) and that is clearly not what would have happened here. clearly she would add a bit of said "jug milk" to my doppio and ice. cause i know she wouldn't have heated the milk and then added to the espresso. would she have? heated then cooled milk? hm.
there's so much to learn about the barista's life. so much.

ode to a greasy urn

aside from the profound maiming potential of a standard garbage disposal, consider the convenience of said appliance. then, further consider life and regular kitchen goings on without the use of such a machine.

is the picture painted a bleak one?

it should be.

the standard disposal (as seen here... i like that it's called a badger. a rather viscious toothy mammal.) is used for only one purpose, yet its spectrum of application is worth stewing over. common knowledge is its purpose to grind nasties up well enough so the household plumbing doesn’t require the sucking snake of purification. the diposal’s execution... during the clean-up of meals, the riddance of peels and skins (except of course of particularly sinewy material in which case you would mourn the day of their sacrifice to the pit as you will surely cause its very bane), the scrapping of spoiled and otherwise inedible foods (by the by, if you leave your standard cheese sauce made from a roux that has been combined with cheddar and a dash of cayenne and paprika, you will find a cultivation of disturbing pools of magenta substance), and of course, the drainage of dishwasher ickies ...is wonderful, resplendent, nay, even pulchritudinous.

however, any machine use is machine wear. i heard that so brilliantly stated during an informational video on gasoline and diesel engines in a small machine technology class i subbed for last month, (which was a nightmare i am quite beholden to forget).

when this appliance becomes defunct it is one thing to deftly and thoroughly scrape food items into the trash can (which necessitates more frequent removal of this bin’s contents to the dumpster than normal… but happily this is not my job). but it is another thing entirely to watch the month’s decrepit protoplasm and remains seep up into the sink in a swirling cyclone of putrescence leaving its particles and slag for the world to see and smell after the liquid has slowly ebbed away.

Let it snow...

It snowed today and it may snow tomorrow. But the people of the Pacific Northwest are not of the same stuff as New England. A dusting of 2 inches and the schools shut down. Pathetic. But it's for the best. B couldn't even get to school in Portland cause there was 2 accidents on the bridge. People don't know how to drive in this stuff.

cuando tengo que comer una hamburguesa

there are many advantages of not dining out:

• save scratch
• know what's in yr grub
• don't get ill from potential gorging
  
• using yr own bathroom
• avoiding inflated prices
• eat in peace
• no annoying doggy bags to feel obligated to eat out of as seen here
  

these are things i must remind myself of when i crave a juicy cheeseburger and frothy soda.

forget gore-tex

monday, we went to the Seattle zoo. forget the space needle. this was the best zoo i've ever visited. it was raining and cold. we saw maybe fifty other visitors. it was a perfect day.
the whole place is laid out like a system of trails cutting through the wilderness. each trail head indicates entrance to another area of the world. southeast asian, african sahara...
my favorite was the pacific northwest trail. there was a pair of brown bears sleeping on their sides, their front paws propped against each other like a dreamy dance. streams bubble over rocks and pools of water teeming with salmon. a beautiful herd of elk roamed the expansive enclosure. eery white-grey wolves stood silent following us with their eyes. it was the most pristine and authentic representation of an environment i've seen.
here's perfect weather-proofing: the incessant rain rolling off one of the two bald eagles' feathered backs.

karrotesuppe
let's discuss delicious vegetarian options for dinner, supper, or even a very hearty (and maybe desperate and creative) breakfast. this soup is great even as a gespacho. no kidding, even picky kids (or husbands for that matter) will likely enjoy this bowl. soooo easy as well. 50 min. tops. ready?
1. sweat like, 3-4 chopped shallots in a bit of olive oil
2. add 6-8 peeled and coined carrots and 2 T sherry/white wine
3. add a pinch of nutmeg and toss to coat and mingle the flavors
4. add 4 cups of veggie broth ( i love Better than Bouillon)
5. salt and pepper
6. bring to boil and simmer for 30-40 min.
7. skim any scum
8. blend till smooth with 1 cup milk
grub! tastes great with cracked pepper on top.

one day this last spring, we discovered a rather unusual remedy for the incessant meowing of our dear feline. Benny (short for Benhamin. not Benjamin which means son of my right hand. Benhamin meaning son of my pain) is part siamese and therefore quite verbal. we were trying to relax after our intense days working for the good of education and electrians respectively. Benny was reprimanding us for leaving him for the day and the furball wouldn't shut it.
we enjoined two of my lovely husband's recently unsheathed not-so-lovely smelling socks and every so gently, however snuggly, tied them around Benny's neck. silence and tranquility followed.
i'd like to know the chemical properties of a sweaty sock. there couldn't be any harm in attempts at marketing such a successful barbituate.

winter (norm) breakage

everything i've ever heard about the pacific nw is that it's terribly dreary and damp raining all the time and cultivating feelings of self-worthlessness and meloncholy rooted solely the inability to metabolize calcium due to vitamin D deficiency. so... i come to sunny cali for xmas. i leave the clear sunny in-the-20s degree diapason then characterizing southern wash. and come here.

redding. "oh it will be in the 60s" is anticipated and i don't doubt this news reflecting back to the sunburn i received for thanksgiving.

we arrived amidst rain and have had but one day of reprieve since. nor cal i scoff you. you who yields 110 degree summers and forest fires attempting rivalry to hell itself. you who mocks the pac nw and then dumps its very surplus on refugees from therein. yv not seen the last of me...

here's the steelhead quilt
i made for my dad.
lookit! the red one is spawning!

squirrel watching

there are no black cats...

only cat-shaped holes in the universe