Vertigo anyone??

I've had so, so luck in planning vacations for us that have involved a modicum sense of adventure. I usually overshoot the mark (by a lot) and find us knee deep in something.

Flash back to Thanksgiving 2003, we were backpacking in Canyonlands National Park over the long weekend, hiking about 20 miles total over crevices, up ladders, in the middle of no where. This was planned....what wasn't planned was the water freezing in the canisters at night. 15 degree freezing!

Flash back to Summer 2006. We were sea-kayaking in Alaska. We hoped it wouldn't rain but it did. We were soaking wet on the last of three days kayaking when we needed to paddle 12 miles to our pick-up point. This was planned....what wasn't planned was the 20mph head wind, the six foot swells, me not being able to see Lisa in the kayak behind me due to said six foot swells, and our radio call to change our pick-up point to a spot much closer to where we were.

And so flash back....to the last two days. Lisa, Kinley and I went backpacking up Eagle Creek in the Columbia Gorge this past weekend. It's a very reasonable 1/2 hour from Portland. It's 7.5 miles up the creek, camp overnight and hike back 7.5 miles back to the car. Elevation gain is about 1600 feet. This was planned...

We're on our way!
Looking up the canyon
The three of us after about 2.5 miles.
A view up the trail
One of many great waterfalls
A tired dog after 3.5 miles.
Food's a-cookin'
A very tired dog after 7 miles and a full belly!


Now, what wasn't exactly planned you ask?

The intermittent hikes through Mordor
The crazy cliffs right off of the trail
And more crazy cliffs next to and behind Tunnel Falls. Yes, you walk BEHIND the waterfall!
Here are two videos leading up to and through Tunnel Falls



And more cliffs (see Lisa in the distance)
But the view around the corner is spectacular!


Overall I think we had a great time and it was a great experience for all. I couldn't be any prouder of Lisa and Kinley. They were great troopers but I doubt I will be planning a trip like this anytime soon.

Who knew that such amazing things could be found within a 1/2 hour of our house...literally!

The entire album of photos can be viewed here.

Happy Anniversary, Wuz!

Today marks 4 years. How time flies. We're going out to dinner tonight. Is it wrong that I'm thinking about squeezing in a drywall coat before we leave? Hmmm.

I'm on the the canning area now.

Hops

I planted hops around our back deck each of the past two springs. The two year old vines happily climbed over the arbor Ken built this summer. Although they're supposed to take three years to produce cones, my second year hops are already producing! I am very excited.

Drywall Madness

I have been drywalling for weeks. Doing a corner of the basement at a time. A little bit each day. I'm working on my canning area now, but I figured I'd post some before and after photos of what I've accomplished so far.

I divided the photos into three sections. They're posted in the order that I finished each area. In order, I have finished:

Gear Room
Craft Area
Washer and Dryer

Gear Room
Sadly, there are no before pictures of this room because I was too embarrassed to take them. Suffice it to say, this room had a hole in the wall that went outside. No more. Everything is sealed up and insulated. Plus, since this room is too small to be a bedroom and too large to be a closet, we made it our "gear room". Perfect use for us since we have plenty of stuff to fill it. I installed pegboard on two of the walls so we can change things around easily as we change our gear.

After: Gear room shelves. Each bin has a dedicated use: fishing, football, baseball/softball, training gear, etc. Coolers and water jugs also fit on here. Sleeping bags hang to the left of these shelves.


After: Gear room wall with backpacks. On the right are our shelves & hanging sleeping bags. On the left are our skis/snowboard, poles and rackets of various uses.


After: Gear room wall with skis. Snowshoes hang below. Our headlamps are in the wall basket for easy access. Ken's Hood to Coast medal is on the wall.





Craft Area

Once I figured things out, I moved to my craft area. This purple was burning my retinas. And this picture was taken after thejoint compound was added. I can only tell you the horrendousness of the space. On a sidenote, in this section of the ceiling was where we found the porn and empty whiskey bottle when we moved in. This is the before picture, looking at it from the stairs (gear room entrance is on the right):


After: It still needs to be organized, but you get the idea. I like the chocolate brown color. Very fun. Bonus that the gallon of paint only cost $1.


Before, looking at it from the workshop


After




Washer and Dryer
I plowed through this area this weekend when Ken was gone. It took me a good week to finish it. Well worth the time. Although I am quite sore. There was a lot of ceiling involved.

Before: Washer and dryer area as you came down the basement stairs


After: The mustard brown is so fun. It's cheery but not too bright when you're in the space. I wanted to paint our foyer this color, but Ken pleaded with me to keep it, so I painted the area down here instead. I would do laundry in this area. The before was way too dismal for me.


Before: sink next to the washer and drier. We tore it apart when we found a leak.


After: leak is fixed and wall is patched.


Before: Laundry area from the workshop. Note the lack of drywall under the window. When you folded your clothes, you had to make sure it didn't touch the insulation. Ugh.


After: Washer and drier area, same view looking from workshop



Hooray! Drywall is fun. And so rewarding.

Backpacking in the Wallowas

Ken and Kinley are traveling to Eastern Oregon this weekend to go backpacking in the Wallowa mountains with friends. Unfortunately, I can't go for time off reasons. Sad, but I'm looking forward to having the weekend alone. My goal is to finish drywalling the washer & dryer area of the basement. It's been a long process and I'm sick of looking at that area. Ken leaves Friday morning and comes back Tuesday. That gives me quite a few days to do the work and hide the evidence (read: mess). I'm hoping to even have it painted by the time he gets back. Can't wait.

Also on the itinerary is Natascha's baby shower and going to our friends' house for games and hanging out. Should be fun. I also want to do a lot of gardening. I have some plants I want to transplant and divide.

But sadly, more than all of this, all I can think about is going to sleep in my new bed. I've been going to bed at 9:30 every night this week. I wake up at 8 am. I am still tired. I want to sleep more. I can't wait.

Corey Maynard Olympics

Our friend is very competitive and some of us are throwing an Olympics in his honor. It's taken a couple of months to plan and our first events were last night. I placed 4th in Cribbage. Levi placed 3rd in Shuffleboard. Ken competes in Darts and Scrabble tonight.

Behold, the Corey Maynard Olympics

Sleeping, version 2.0

Ken and I bought a new bed. It arrives today "sometime between 1 and 3".

We are excited. Our current bed allows you feel the springs and hear them crinkle when you move. We've been wanting a new bed for about two years but I made Ken wait until after my paper was published so it would be more of a reward.

Well, my paper was published 9 months ago so when we both woke up with aching lower backs on Monday morning, we decided enough was enough. We met after work and tried a bunch of them out. Luckily, our sleep preferences are pretty similar and we decided on one within an hour. It is dreamy. Firm yet pillow top plus individually wrapped coils so you don't feel the other person move around at night. It was so comfortable that we didn't want to leave the store. I was lusting after it last night, dreaming about its pending arrival.

I am very excited for tonight.