Hot Child in the City turns Shady Lady

We're watering the plants of our neighbor, Harley, while he's fishing in Alaska. We went over last night and as we were finishing, Ken looked up and saw his new 2nd floor deck and arbor covering it.

Ken: "Wow, that looks nice. Would you ever be interested in something like that for our back deck?"
Lisa: "Seriously?! I would love that. I've been dreaming about something like that but I thought you wouldn't want it because it would interfere with the structure of the house."
Ken: "Not at all. When would you like it?"

Oh my goodness. This has been my dream ever since we moved in. Our deck off the kitchen is raised off the ground about 5-6 feet, so it feels a little exposed. Dave and Kim are planting bamboo to provide more of a screen on the west side, but it will take a while until it gets established. Plus, it gets HOT on that deck in the summer. From noon until about 9 (sun sets here around 9:30 in the summer), it can be almost too hot to use. Sad since eating outside makes me happy. (This summer has been pretty pleasant, but the last two weren't). Anyway, I am excited. Ken and I discussed plans a bit last night. We'll probably start on it in October or so -- after the waterproofing, the garage and the fence -- but before next summer hits. And probably before January -- when the grapevine I'll be transplanting is dormant. Damn, I'll have moved that thing four times in a little over three years. Did I mention it's producing grapes this year though? Exciting. So I am super happy imagining what is to come. And since the grapevine is deciduous, that means shade in the summer and sun in the winter. Here are some pictures I found online of what it may look like...

Example of an arbor over a raised deck, covered with vines:


Example of how much space a grapevine can cover while still being able to walk underneath:


Example of what the grapevine would look like in the summer from the deck looking up:


[EDIT: Turns out Taryn has exactly what we want. Here are a few pics of her arbor this summer]:

Water Dog

Ken's going rafting this weekend. I'm going to the beach for Sara's bachelorette party. And Kinley?

He's going rafting, too. A friend of ours takes his dog rafting and told Ken about dog PFD's. This got Ken really excited. And so he measured Kinley and ordered him a life jacket of his very own (see picture; not Kinley, but you'll get the idea). Insert my uncle laughing hysterically while reading this. Anyway, it just arrived and Ken was super excited; he put it on the dog almost immediately. Kinley was very confused wearing it and ran into all of our doors and walls.

The cocktails are coming! The cocktails are coming!

Marsha and Brian are arriving on Wednesday for Sara and Drew's wedding the following weekend. I just read about this place and have a funny feeling that Marsha would want to try it with me. This is the girl that went bezerk for a fresh pina colada and ate the leftover toasted coconut from the bottom of the glass with a spoon. She looked so happy savoring the last bits.

This place looks a little expensive but that's why happy hours are so great. I haven't seen falernum mentioned or used since my dad's bar.

Garden Friends

I have little time in the garden right now even though it gives me a lot of peace . I love walking through nurseries -- especially after work on weekdays when it's pretty empty. I love the sunset, seeing workers watering and just meandering about. I picked up a couple new "friends" yesterday while I was there (thanks Ann and Randy!) and planted them when I got home. They'll have time to grow while I'm swamped and then I'll have time to enjoy them when they're a bit bigger. And since everything's on a watering system, I don't have to worry about them. Here's one of my new "friends", a passion flower, that will soon be climbing up our fence. Ken thought it was fake.

Other new friends include an evergreen clematis with drooping fragrant flowers in February-April, 2 kinds of lettuce, a suyo cucumber, some red onion starts and more leeks since they were so beautiful and fun this year. I love them and can't wait to enjoy them more.

2nd by a Toss

We camped on the Washington coast this weekend (Long Beach Peninsula -- about 20 minutes north of Astoria, Oregon and 2+ hours from Portland, see map). The campsite was just off the beach, protected by a couple of dunes. Last year it was perfectly sunny. This year was wind and rain. Sheets upon sheets of rain. Wind that ripped out tent stakes and broke the canopy that I got for my 30th birthday -- sad. It was staked down but the wind was too much. Most of our friends woke up in pools of water inside their tents.

The softball fields were a mess. Mud and giant puddles. A softball slip and slide. Ken's team won the first two games which guaranteed them at least 3rd place but the next day, the rain was too much and closed the fields for the first time in 30 years. The 1st vs 2nd place winners were decided by coin toss. We came in 2nd.

So now we're back. Camping trips have been completed for the next couple weeks. Things are drying in the garage. Laundry is going. Dishes clean. Check, check, check. This is the last week of dodgeball for a while and Ken's softball seasons are coming to a close. We may actually have evenings to ourselves for the first time in I can't remember how long. I am excited to garden and recup. I deadheaded flowers in my pajamas yesterday. At 7:30. Kinley has been sleeping hard since we got back. He has a gash on his head from this weekend that we're keeping an eye on.

We just ordered some more food dehydrator trays since we used them everyday last summer to process the glut of tomatoes. We ate our first cherry tomatoes last night and we have big green ones on the vine. Had a summer salad for dinner -- grilled chicken, fresh peaches and tomatoes on home grown greens. Yum.

Just found out the back property adjustment was approved by the city. They're adjusting our deed now and then everything will be complete. Meaning fence soon. I can hardly wait.

Submission #2

Resubmitted my paper today. Check that off the list.

Foster care and adoption

Not babies. Plants. Lots and lots of plants.

Our neighbors packed up their house this weekend. Their moving truck pulled away on Saturday and they cleaned up the odds and ends on Sunday. Lots of their odds and ends were plants. They're both gardeners like me and purged most of them. Since I live across the street and love plants, I got them all. I volunteered to look after whatever they wanted until they leave town in a week and a half (they're waiting for their new house to be finished and staying in temporary quarters). They gave me 5-10 plants to water for the next week, but the other 5-10 were donated to our house -- to be loved by yours truly. And I do already. I love adopting plants. They also gave me a bunch of beautiful pots, fertilizers and gardening soil, etc. I am excited.

The garden is in full swing right now. Things are bursting at the seams. The tomatoes are chest high and have green tomatoes now. The eggplant has flowers. We have 9 zucchini plants. 4 baby watermelon plants. 2 baby cucumber plants. A few sugar snap and snow peas. Two types of lettuce. Arugula. Spinach (bolted and yucky). Chinese cabbage (ditto). Purple cabbage (beautiful). And then all sorts of herbs (oregano, chives, 3 kinds of thyme, 5 kinds of basil, sage, sorrel, a bay tree, rosemary, 3 kinds of parsley, cilantro, three kinds of mint, lemon balm, and a hurting lemon grass plant). I love it. I got to extend the watering system this weekend and since Ken finished installing the siding and trim (it looks beautiful), I got to move some plants around.... including around the once neglected garage. It is so exciting.

Taryn, Paul, Taryn's mom and Wendell came for dinner on Saturday. It was wonderful to see them. Jeri loves talking about babies which frightened everyone at the table younger than 40. I've realized it frightens most of my friends -- we've all been focusing on schooling and careers rather than having a family. Now its "time" for kids and we're terrified. I am. And I know that I want them. I have lots of friends who know they don't want them. And just as many who aren't sure. Good thing Rob and Jana are having enough kids for all of us.

Went on a date with Ken on Friday. That was awesome. We went for drinks and then to sushi. Yum. We got a lot finished this weekend and had some time to relax, too. I had a breakdown on Thursday from being overwhelmed, but things are much better now. Weekends and sleep are good things. Yesterday I planted the succulents Jeri and Taryn brought and used some of the garlic Taryn and Paul grew in their garden. (I roasted two heads and mixed it with farmer's cheese and chopped up pork. Ken went nuts for it.) This week is pretty slow. Submitting a paper, sports only two nights this week and then we're going to the coast this weekend for some camping and a softball tournament. I'm actually looking forward to it. I'm going to read on the beach and play with the dog. I love watching Kinley play in the sand/surf and get filthy.

I just found out that the new neighbors across the street move in today (the house where I got the plants). Also found out that the duplex unit next door sold to a young couple -- they close today and will move in later this week. So lots of new neighbors.

Happy birthday to my brother today!

Cold poop still smells like poop

I have been singing the praises of our new air conditioner. Especially since it hit 102 yesterday, a Portland record. But around 4 am, we were awoken by the smell of something awful. Even in our blissfully cool bedroom, the smell was unmiskable. It was the smell of dog poop.

Kinley had a massive accident. And it reeked.

Enough to get both of us out of bed. Kinley politely avoided all rugs and clothes but managed to get a good 3 square feet covered. Ken immediately went to clean it up; I knew there was probably more in the chamber that Kinley was so politely holding back.

And so he and I went for a walk at 4 am. And he went. And I vomited a little. And then we all went back to bed.

In all honesty, the accident was my fault; I left him with a big, juicy marrow-filled smoked dog bone when I left for work yesterday. And he ate it. And he got sick. Which got me sick. I think we have all learned an important lesson.

The Cool Breeze of Catching Up

We spent all weekend reducing our to-do list.

Friday night, we finished most of the tomato cages. 10 more. I also transplanted the scarlet runner beans from their temporary home amid the tomotoes since they were winding their way up the tomato cages. They didn't like being moved and most of them now look like they're about to croak. I think we finished at dark before crashing on the couch in a exhausted motion.

Saturday morning, we knew what we had to do and powered through it. I've never been so happy running errands. List: check, check, check. I made my coffee while Ken took Kinley for a walk. We went to the Re-building Center first to look for windows for the garage. The plastic coverings it has now just aren't cutting it. We found 3 casement windows that we'll install vertically for $9/piece (they charge $3/pane). Amazing. I am in the process of refinishing them now: removed the cracked putty, removed the panes and stripped the first 4 coats of paint. I have one more coat to go then I'll sand them, Ken will hang them and I'll put in some stained glass panes. Sadly, I'll probably cover them in plastic for temporary purposes first. But they'll look beautiful soon. After the Rebuilding center, we went to a big box to pick up some odds and ends and wait-for-it.....

a room air conditioner.

We knew that it was going to be hot this week (102 forecasted today). And we knew that they always sell out of fans and A/Cs during the hot weather. Add in the well-documented finding that Ken and I both get fussy in the heat. So, we decided to beat the rush and got ours while it was still 80 degrees. And presto. Instant marriage bliss. Wow. What a difference. For under $100, we both slept like a babies despite the hot weather last night. And cool babies at that. Ideally, we'll put central air in throughout the house, but that is down the road. So for now, total happiness. Turn it off during the day. Turn it on right before we go to bed. Amazing.

Ken demolished the rest of the garage this weekend (i.e. removed the old siding). The rental place ran out of siding nail guns so we rented one from a big box. Mistake. Their gun worked 1 out of 20-24 times (I counted). Ken was super frustrated. Part for the gun, part for not reserving the one he wanted. Anyway, we didn't get to finish the garage and now have to work on it this weekend. However, we got the back finished and are halfway up the west side.

I installed wire mesh as a trellis along the west fence since the honeysuckle and jasmine vines are starting to take off. My goal is to have the entire fence covered in fragrant and/or evergreen climbers. Oh, and they finished the fence between our house and the duplex. Looks great. I heard someone put an offer in for the one closest to us, too. Don't know if it was accepted nor do I know any of the details. Our neighbors' going away party was fun. They have great taste in wines and cheeses and plants. Makes me sad that they're leaving. They gave me an orchid since I'm one of the few people they know who may not kill it. I've never grown an orchid before but am excited to try it. Jenner and his family always used to grow them. They're like cacti in the benign neglect part. Don't overwater. Give proper sunlight. I have a cymbidium. I hope the poor thing doesn't mind my learning curve.

Other than the above, still waiting for the city to approve the land deal in the back. Paperwork. Once it's finished, we can finally put up the fence in back. Taryn and Paul's families are coming through Portland this weekend. They got a hotel but we've offered for them to stay with us and/or come over for a bbq.

Got my hotel reservation for the neuroscience meeting. A bigger ordeal than you think. Lots of website crashing. Also, when I was getting my coffee I saw an advertisment for a knitting group at work called "Neurotrans-KNITTERS". I don't knit but I thought it was such a cute play on words.

Resubmitting a paper and making a new stable line today. It's also the farmer's market this afternoon. Ken's softball game tonight. Followed by sleeping in the cool air. I'm excited for all of it.

Potlatch and Friends

Karl arrived in Portland on Thursday night. We put him to work on coffee cake and the garage that night. Then, we left mid-day Friday for the Potlatch frisbee tournament in Seattle. It poured most of the way up but cleared by the time we pitched our tents on the field. Taryn and Paul arrived later that night and we hung out and drank some beer. Chuck and Dana stayed at a hotel the first night but joined us the next morning.

There were about 1000 people at Potlatch. Most camped on the fields. There were port-o-potties and nalgenes everywhere. They supplied bagels, oranges, bananas and apples for breakfast as well as some jars of PB & J for lunch. It was sunny, which was great, but that also meant it was a bit hot. I watched 3-4 games out of 5 before the heat made me a little fussy. I went to lay down and read a gardening magazine in the shade of our tent. I also took a nap. Both were nice. Frisbee was fun to watch, but seeing our friends from Tucson was by far my favorite part. Taryn and Karl are both super thin and seem to be doing great. Paul is having a hard time with his knee (just had surgery) so I imagine watching people play one of his favorite sports must have been tough. Chuck and Dana were specators like me. They watched some and went to do other things around Seattle, too.

Saturday night, the Potlatch organizers bring in ~1000 lbs of salmon. Insane. They have it at the redhook brewery, so it's all the beer you can drink. We got there just before the food lines started. We ate dinner, drank a beer or two and then went home to go to sleep. Hilarious. But awesome since we were all on the same page of what we wanted to do. I slept like a baby and didn't even hear folks roll in at 1-2 am.

Watched some games on Sunday. Chuck and Dana went to the fish ladders and then to return their rental car. Ken pulled his groin, so he went with me to pick them up. We went for breakfast/lunch at a great crepes place in Capitol hill. I had one with berries and brie cheese. Yum. I also drank a bowl of latte. After the games let out, five of us crammed in my car for the 3 hour drive back to Portland. We got sushi when we arrived then took our showers and went to bed. Karl left early the next morning; Chuck and Dana stayed the week.

Tuesday, they went down to visit Taryn and Paul and their new house in Eugene. We were sad to miss it, but had to work. Chuck and Dana left us jalapeno poppers for when we got home from work. Yum. Roasted jalapenos, shredded chicken mixture, a little cream cheese and shredded jack. Yum. I mean really yum. The best poppers I've ever had.

Wednesday was the 4th of July. We went to a Top Chef Potluck challenge. Chuck KILLED the competition and won the tastiest dish with 26 points. The next closest was a three-way tie for second -- at a measly 10 points (I was one of Chuck's losers). His enchiladas were spectacular. Ken won for "Most Patriotic" with his Red, White and Blueberry Ceviche. They both won Uncle Sam hats. We have a picture of them wearing them; I'll have to get it from Dana and post it.

Thursday, Ken and I worked. Then we all went out to dinner at Pok Pok/Whiskey Soda Lounge. It was absolutely amazing and super fun. They have thai street food that is served family style. Did I say it was fantastic? Because it was. Then we went to Pix for dessert to complete our glutton tour of Division Street. It was excellent and luxurious and decadent and fattening. We loved it.

Chuck and Dana had a coffee waiting for me when I woke up (oh happy joy), then I went off to work and they went to breakfast at Zells before their flight at 1:30. Ken stopped at the butcher shop on his way home for smoked dog bones for Kinley, some pork bellies for me, as well as a bunch of steaks for the freezer. Since he spent a certain amount of money, they gave him a free summer sausage. I can't wait to see it.

And so begins our first weekend at home in a month. We still have plenty to do -- the tomato cages, re-siding the garage and a neighbor's barbecue tomorrow, but they're all done from within 100 feet of our house. And that is wonderful. We're exhausted. I hear we're home next weekend, too. I am excited.

P.S. And speaking of exhausting and exciting, Rob and Jana are having TWINS! Congratulations!