Published Article, Planned Events & a Projector

Ok, so I never posted pictures of Murph in her party hat back in the summer, but trust me, it was awfully cute. Today she is sleeping beside me sporting a very dapper Christmas sweater that her step-cousin, Max, so kindly gifted her.

Here are some updates from the last 6 months or so...

* Dan wrote an article/review about this 17th century guide to game rules for the "Lost & Found" section of the literary magazine where he interned over the summer, and they've decided to publish it!! Once they accepted it, he had to do some speed editing to get it in before the deadline, but he made it, and it's due to come out in March. Anyone interested in getting a copy can buy one from tinhouse.com in the spring. Or, if you would like yours autographed, we would be happy to arrange that for you. :) Currently Dan is interning for Tin House's books department and working on some personal writing projects, which in his words involve "bizzare, nano-rific cartoonery."

* For a couple of months, I've been planning a German-style Christmas Market at work, and it finally went down on Tuesday. It came off as well as I hoped - we sold out of vendor spaces, we got carolers & live music, and people showed up! My German friends will be happy to know that the hot, mulled wine ("Glühwein") was a hit... but that may have had to do with its being 12 degrees outside. This was the first year for the event & they want it for a second year, so I guess it's going to be an annual thing. Now that it's over, I'm working with a local theater on their annual Oscar Night fundraiser, along with the theater director, their volunteer organizer, a guy I know from Nike, and of all people, Everclear lead singer, Art Alexakis, so that's exciting.

* But perhaps more exciting than any of the above: As our Christmas gift to each other, Dan & I bought a projector. The stork brought it on Wednesday, and I think it will take some time for the novelty to wear off. We are now doing a lot more sitting. We christened the machine by watching It's a Wonderful Life & drinking wine, and since have viewed a number of music videos, episodes of Nova, the American Experience, Charlie Brown Christmas, Best in Show, parts of the Dark Side of Oz, Rudolph the Red Nosed Raindeer, & A Christmas Carol. On New Year's Eve we already have plans to have some friends in for cocktails and to watch Dinner for One, Clue & a marathon of Twilight Zone episodes on the big screen.

Please visit. :) (But not in late January, as we're going to California & possibly Bend again.) We will house & feed you!!

Over a year...

I told you I'd update this! Here are things that have happened since I last posted something:

1. We got a dog and named her Murph. Her first birthday is tomorrow. Check back in then for awfully cute pictures of her in a party hat.

2. I got a different job... & health insurance!

3. Our apartment got progressively dirtier.

4. 40-year record snows fell on Portland around Christmas time throwing off flights home, but we did make it back for a visit.

5. Dan & I were in the "worst day of the year" ride on Dan's birthday. It's an 18 mile route through Portland in February with food/drinks stops about every 5 miles or so. It actually turned into of the nicest days of the year so far.

6. Dan got a bad-ass internship!

7. I started volunteer teaching English to immigrants/refugees from various countries at a local community college. I like it.

8. We discovered that people outside of the Midwest... or maybe the Michigan/Ohio/Indiana Tri-state area...have no idea what Euchre is. (** I just looked it up on wikipedia & apparently folks also play it in the UK, Canada, Australia & New Zealand) Luckily, we also figured out that we have neighbors from Detroit & South Bend.

9. We took a trip down to Bend, Oregon & it was the best 2 days I've had in a good while. (I will post pictures once we get our "funsaver" developed. On our trip back we hiked at Smith Rock & stopped at the Timberline Lodge. The lodge has a somewhat interesting history as a WPA project, but is even more notable as the exterior of the "Overlook Hotel" in the Shining!

10. I have a round-trip ticket from here to Florida at the end of August. I will day dream every day until then about shrimp & margaritas.

So, yeah, the year went well. We both took May 1st off to celebrate the anniversary of the move. We drove by the 1st house we lived in here, went to a couple of parks, took in the city from 30 floors up at the Portland City Grill, and then got hot wings at Fire on the Mountain, the 1st place we ate the night we arrived. We tried to go see the Big Lebowski in theather, and that fell through, but we did run into some friends from earlier in the year.

That's all for now...hope you all feel caught up. Like I said above, check back in tomorrow!

And now Dan's whole family has been here

Katie makes Oswalt number 3 to visit us. She only had one full day to be here, so we didn't have too much time, but it was good to see her. We saw an Irish-style band on the night she arrived and Dan showed her downtown while I was at work the next day. Then when Dan went to work, she and I hiked up Mt. Tabor and then went back downtown for dinner and what have you. While out, we had lively conversation on such topics as death, babies, and pimples (She and I should maybe apologize to anyone within an earshot of these discussions :) ). She said she wanted to come back to visit every so often, and I hope she does. If and when that happens, we will go on some real excursions.

Here are some possibilities for next time, or for other visitors (This is intended to entice you all to visit) :

A Jetboat Trip
Shanghai Tunnel Tour
Redbull Flugtag
Adult Soapbox Derby
The Aerial Tram
Wine Country
Tillamook Cheese
Mt. Hood Dinner Train
Pittock Mansion
Brewpub Hop

4th of July

For the 4th, we decided to go to a ball game. We made the mistake of not having dinner beforehand, and it ended up costing about $45 for each of us to have a chili dog and a couple of drinks. But it was a good game that ended with fireworks. AND a character they call "Harry Canary" (Pictured above) came out and danced! Well worth the money, right?

But we will be back to PGE park, because that's where Portland's soccer team, the Timbers, play.

Sterling!

Dan's dad came to visit too! As soon as he arrived, we were walking him up Mt. Tabor. Then Dan went to work, and Sterling and I hung out for the first day of his stay. We had lunch where I work, drove to where Dan and I lived before, and then to the St. John's Bridge (my favorite bridge in Portland- 1st picture above). Then we took the MAX lightrail downtown where we went to Powell's books (2nd pic), and Pioneer Courthouse Square (the 3rd).

On the 2nd day of the visit, it was his birthday. Dan told him that he would like to take him out to lunch to celebrate, and Sterling chose a German Restaurant to do so (The Rheinlander, picture 4). The highlight of the meal may have been when Sterling, holding a beer in his hand (a rare occasion) declared, "It's a good thing I'm not drinking!" He meant to say driving.

Then I drove us East of Portland down historic, scenic "Columbia River Highway" to go on a waterfall tour. Above in picture 5 are Dan & Sterling looking at the Bridal Veil falls, and the last two pictures are Multnomah Falls.

I worked on the last day of his visit, but I hear he and Dan went to a bad hot dog place for lunch, and Sterling, per his request, got to see a real-life hippie!

The New Apartment

So, about a month ago, we moved from North Portland to the Southeast, and I love it here. We were pretty lucky to find the apartment that we did. We found the Craigslist ad for it within 15 minutes or so of its being posted, and arranged to see it a couple of hours later, and we were the first to apply for it. Our landlord said that about 30 others were interested in applying later that day. We've talked to some of our neighbors in the same building, and all of them have lived here for multiple years, so that's a good sign.

Our place is a short walk from Mt. Tabor Park, which is a wooded area on top of an extinct volcanic cinder cone. So, it's a decent walk up hill, but the view is worth it. On one side you look over downtown (see 1st picture above), and on the other side there is a good view of Mt. Hood. I've jogged to the top a few times, Dan and I have played tennis in the park, and we walked to the top with both Dan's dad and sister when they came to visit.

So our apartment is right along one of the bus lines, which is convenient, but we've mostly been riding our bikes (we've spent less than 30$ on transportation costs this month!). We also have a little table out front, though we only use it occasionally when we go out there to read, eat or play cards.

I've done a little bit of gardening out front-- mostly herbs-- spearmint & lemon balm for tea, then we have liquorice plant, dill, and I believe oregano and thyme. You can see some of them hanging in front of our door.

After some visits to IKEA, Goodwill and some yard sales, we managed to furnish the place without spending much money, and it even looks presentable :).

Finally, as you will see in the last picture, we have a friendly cat visitor every so often at the new place. She belongs to the neighbor, and she likes to be very sneaky and wander in our apartment as if invited. We call her "Creep". In the picture, she is relaxing and looking out the door, making herself very at home.

Visit from Dan's Mom

Dan's mom was out here last weekend, and it was a really nice visit. We went to dinner when she got in on Friday- and since Friday was such a clear, nice day, she was able to see Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helen's before it got dark.

Then on Saturday we went to lunch where I work before driving out to the West coast. We had heard that whatever the weather in Portland is, to expect the opposite on the coast, and that held true for our trip. The first half of the drive out there was very scenic and sunny. It was chilly and gloomy after that, but still nice. Pacific Ocean water is painfully freezing even just to wade in. We threw the frisbee around, and Dan found a crab claw which he named Sherwin Williams and took home as a souvenir. Also- we visited Cannon Beach- where the rocks from the movie "The Goonies" are. On the drive back Jayne found a place off of Route 26 to buy birdhouses, and we went to a cafe.

The Rose Festival is going on in Portland right now, so after returning from the coast we went to a parade that was part of the celebration. We found a spot on a wall looking down onto the street. Before the parade there was a 5k run that came through, which was more fun than the parade, because of the costumes many of the runners wore. The night before we had noticed that our roommates had bought goofy WWF wrestler masks, and we thought it was funny but didn't really question it. We watched the 5k run and figured out what the masks were for, as they went running by us.

Picture Descriptions
*These are also not my pictures
1. View of Mt. Hood on a clear day from just outside of downtown Portland
2. Mt. St. Helen's
3. Cannon Beach rocks, you might recognize from "The Goonies"
4. Picture from the 2007 Rose Festival Starlight Parade

My next blog entry will be pictures of the house and neighborhood where we currently live as well as the apartment we are moving into later this month! Yes, we signed a lease today, and I'm really excited about it, but right now I have to go to work. Later!