Sunday, July 31, 2011

Warm Days

 This was our balcony before...
And this is it after they replaced the wood on Friday.  It's much better!

Jim is at Shasta Lake in Northern CA until Tuesday.  As always, I miss him.  So does Trooper.  Trooper followed him around while he was packing, wagging his tail.  I think he thought he'd be going too.  Sorry, pup. 
I am having our friends who are moving tomorrow over for dinner tonight.  I am making chicken tacos with a green salsa.  We've decided that green salsa is really the way to go.  Tomatillos don't get enough attention.  I made the salsa from this empanada recipe and plan to coat the shredded chicken in it. I have lots of farmer's market veggies to dress the tacos with, so it should be a yummy and healthy dinner.  Just sad with their departure looming on the horizon. 
We finally put the window AC unit in our bedroom.  At night, it's very cool here (lower 50s) but from about 1pm until 8pm, our apartment bakes.  Trooper doesn't like to walk too far when it's over 80 and I can't blame him since he's wearing a black fur coat, so I took a bike ride this afternoon and he snoozed in the AC.  Tough life, puppers. 

Friday, July 29, 2011

TGIF

I'm once again ready for my weekend.  Oh how I cherish my weekend.  Sweet, sweet weekend.  After work we are helping some friends with packing and then getting sushi with them.  I love good sushi.  I am planning on taking my LS to go mini golfing tomorrow morning.  Only one day with Jim this weekend.  He's leaving for CA early Sunday morning and will be back on Tuesday evening.  He'll be visiting a friend from the Marines and doing fun things like water skiing.  I wish I could go but this working gal only gets so many days off and I'm leaving for FL in two weeks.  While he's gone it will just be me, my puppers, and my bike.  Oh, we are also getting some upgrades at our apartment soon: a new deck today (should be done when I get home; the wood was rotting) and we are renting a washer and dryer that will be delivered on Mon. the 8th.  Aside from the warm afternoons/ evenings in the living room, it will be a lil bit cozier there. 

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Lazy Days (Or Not So Lazy Days)

 Look at these beautiful heirloom tomatoes from the Farmer's Market.  Isn't it amazing how we forget what produce actually tastes like in the winter?  We eat grainy, flavorless tomatoes (and other produce) and then summer comes and it's remarkable how good the fruits and veggies are. 
 I bought these geraniums at Home Depot for $2.  I love how bright they are!  In my dreams we have a house with window boxes that I plant geraniums in. 
 Jim made this sausage and white bean dish the other night.  Rumor has it that some husbands don't cook.  Ladies,  you are missing out.
And again, if you haven't made the serrano pepper vodka, I beg you to do so.  It's quite nice with lemonade and club soda on a summer evening.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Kung Pao

I think Jim posted this Kung Pao Chicken recipe on Facebook, but I don't know if I've posted it online.  He made it Monday night.  I've been slacking on my recipe links.  I've been slacking on most indoor activities.  Our apartment feels hot and stuffy after work and all I want to do is take the dog outside in the evenings.  Last night my friend and I walked our doggies for an hour until we reached Prince Puckler's, a lovely ice cream shop near campus.  I love (good) ice cream.  Jim and I still talk dreamily about Graham's ice cream in downtown Geneva, IL.  We used to go there in the summer evenings and then walk around Geneva, looking at the beautiful houses with their nice gardens and pretty geraniums.  If you don't go on walks with the person you love, you should start.  It's pretty nice.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Spicy

We were a busy family this weekend.  After we got home from Bend, I took my LS to the park, and on Saturday evening we had a couple over for dinner.  Jim made two MSL recipes (yep, he loves Martha too) and I made spicy vodka.  I'm telling you, if you like spicy things, make this vodka.  I cut up 3 serrano peppers (seeds and all) and let them soak in vodka for about three hours.  I strained the peppers and mixed the vodka with homemade lemonade and a splash of club soda.  It was spicy and refreshing. 
On Sunday we rode our bikes to the Eugene City Bakery and drank iced coffee outside and shared a chocolate croissant.  It was lovely.  In the evening we drove to Troutdale (east of Portland) to see the Fleet Foxes.  I really love that band.  The lead singer has a wonderful voice and their music is melodic and not too loud.  It was a fun time, but a late night for us.  Luckily Trooper was at his friend's house.  We made it back to Eugene around midnight.  Pretty late for us on a Sunday. 
This evening I went to yoga with my lovely, wonderful friend.  She and her husband are moving, as he's transferring to a great school where they will be near family.  It's a good move for them, but I am going to miss her a lot.  It was a great last yoga together, as no one else showed up, so it was just us and our teacher.  It was a touching way to end our yoga time together.  I'm going to continue to go, but I'll miss her going with me.  As I told Jim tonight, I get very attached to people, places, and routines, so when they change, it always throws me off.  I guess that's all part of life. 

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Bend, Oregon

 Trooper loves going anywhere and everywhere with us.  He likes to plant his head on our seat so he can see where we are going. 
 We had a lovely time in Bend.  It's a pretty drive and a really neat town.  When I went to get us coffee at 7am, the whole coffee bar was taken up by silent people watching the Tour de France.  The downtown is very cute.  Jim said, "My mom would love it here." 
 While Jim was at work, I took Trooper to Riverbend Park.  The terrain is a lot different than Bend.  Once you cross the Cascades, it is a lot more arid. 
 Trooper liked these flowers. 

 When Jim was done working, we picked him up and did some discovering.  We ate a place called Boken, which served a variety of Asian food. 
 I told Jim that I was certain there's a direct correlation between liking your food more when you eat outside.  Especially when it's 75, sunny, a Friday off from work, and you're drinking Serrano pepper infused vodka with your husband and dog (seated below the table.) 
 Jim had green curry with snapper and I had fried rice with shrimp and pork belly.  Those are shrimp chips next to the rice.  Pretty yummy!
 You can see snow covered mountains in Bend. 
 We walked in Drake Park and Trooper really wanted to catch some ducks. 
 I took Jim back to Riverbend Park.  Trooper even got in the water!  (A little.)  My new hypothesis is that he doesn't know how to swim. 
 That dog is one of my favorite organisms. 
 We stopped outside of Sisters to takes a few pictures.  If you come visit us, we'll take you to cool places like this. 
 From left to right, those mountains are Broken Top and the Three Sisters.  On clear days you can sometimes see those in parts of Eugene. 
This is the lava rock that you see near the highest parts of the Cascades.  Another fun adventure together.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Cool Days

I don't mean to rub it in the faces of my Chicago people, but I can't believe there's a heat wave everywhere else in the country.  On the morning news, they said that Eugene has only reached 80 degrees 7 times this summer.  I believe we are getting into the mid-70s today.  I'm sure the brutal heat will hit us at sometime, probably in August. 
We are leaving for Bend after work.  Jim made fun of the amount of snacks I bought for a one night trip that will only have us in the car for 6 hours total.  Who doesn't need sweet and salty hazelnuts for a drive through the mountains?
While Jim is in court Trooper and I are going to discover Bend.  I don't think he's actually appearing in a court room.  If he was, I'd love to go and watch.  Although I'd probably giggle a lot and have the desire to yell, "I object!"  Instead I think I'll buy snacks from food courts with my puppers. 

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Wedding Dress

It looks like the woman in this etsy post is wearing my wedding dress!  I guess that's not that crazy of a coincidence.  Have you I told everyone how much I loved our wedding?

Princely Puppy

Trooper and Jim had a rough night last night.  Before we went to bed, they were best buddies.  Playing and wrestling.  Trooper was digging through his toy box and Jim even said, "I love that dog so much."  But the tune changed at 2am.  Something must have awoken Trooper and he was running around the apartment, jumping on us, and being a pest.  Jim took him out THREE times (in the rain) before he calmed down.  I think everyone finally went back to sleep at 3am.  Hopefully they'll work through their issues this evening.
We have an exciting weekend coming up.  I took the day off on Friday and we are driving to Bend, a mountain resort town, after work on Thursday.  Jim will be appearing in court there on Friday morning (as a lawyer-like guy, not a criminal) so we get to stay the night at a hotel.  Trooper is even coming with us!  It's about a three hour drive from Eugene.  We're heading back to Eugene on Friday evening.  On Sunday, we are going to see a concert just outside of Portland.  For our anniversary, I purchased us tickets to see the Fleet Foxes.  We saw them in Chicago before we moved and both really enjoyed it.  While we are at that show, Trooper gets to hang out at his best puppy friend's house.  I'm sure we'll fit in some other fun things over the weekend, but it's exciting to lok forward to our adventures.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Sweet Creek Falls

 Today we drove to Sweet Creek Falls near Mapleton, Oregon.  It was about an hour from Eugene, heading west toward the coast.  It was rainy, but we still made it outdoors. 






















 Trooper is so regal.  Sometimes I tell him that they based the Great Sphinx on him. 
When I got home, I refurbished my succulent garden.  Jim gave it to me for Christmas, but some of the plants didn't make it.  I think they got too much moisture, so I am going to have to make sure to bring it indoors in the winter. 

Friday, July 15, 2011

Friday Party

Wonder what we do on Friday evenings?  Watch PBS Newshour (check out Shields on the HD tv), eat grilled cheeses (really good with farmer's market fresh tomatoes and pesto), and iPhone next to each other on the couch.  We totally know how to party.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Summer Slacking

 I'm so happy when we can buy fresh food at the market in the summer.  The other night I made fresh pesto.  If you've never made pesto, it's so easy.  And fresh. 
 You just need to mini chop a lot of basil leaves, pine nuts (or walnuts work for those of us watching the old pocket book), parmesan cheese, olive oil, and salt. 
 It kind of looks like baby poop, but it tastes good.
 If you put it on your freshly cooked pasta it will coat those suckers nicely.  I added fresh cherry tomatoes and sauteed shrimp. 
And we had a nice, fresh summer dinner!

I have been totally slacking on both blogging and crafting this summer.  The weather has been so nice and I've been so happy to have Jim and Trooper to hang out with every evening.  On Tuesday we rode our bikes to have some drinks and last night I went with a friend to take our doggies jogging in a wooded park.  It's hard to sit down at my sewing machine or computer when there's sunshine to soak up.  The sun has just disappeared when we get ready to go to bed.

On Trooper: his itching has almost completely gone away!  I think 100 mg/ day of the cyclosporine has worked.  Once he's leveled out we can go to every other day.  His very short hair also helps to keep pollen away.  It's been so nice to see him have relief.  We've been giving him Taste of the Wild food (currently on bison) and have been giving him some "extras" as we like (last night I gave him cooked carrots.)  Hopefully he's a happy puppy.

I've also had some allergy relief.  Hopefully the grasses are almost done.  I'm not taking Allegra and seem to be okay.  I think I'll just have to move out of Eugene for the month of June next year :)