On this end of one, beginning of another

2010: You broke my heart, restored my soul, and made me see that I have grown up (some). I came, I saw, I learned, I lost, I understood. I traveled, I moved, I loved, I learned some limits, I broke other limits. I flew, I fell, and I landed on my feet.

Bring on the new year.

May 2011 bring you joy, bring you life, restore you in some way, and lead you in unexpected directions.

Thank you, readers, for keeping up with us this year. For watching this journey unfold, for not loudly expressing your doubts to us, and for encouraging us through it all.

Cheers,

Anna & Scott

Verdict

I received feedback on the first round of Christmas gifts.  I sent a package out to DC care of a good friend, Naomi. She replied with the following:


Guinness Mustard = YUM!  Smokey and thick with surprising kick and totally delicious.  I wanted to appreciate the full taste so I tried it first with a mild cheese, but I think it would be great with a sandwich too, because it's got a strong flavor that won't be overpowered by slices of bread and other sandwich flavors.


So there we go.  Experiment in mustards=successful! (at least the Guinness mustard is).


I'll post more as Naomi sends me the write up for each flavor she tries.  As she explained, "I'm pacing myself in opening all these jars of goodies so that they last and I can appreciate each one as its own entity and jarful of flavor, so more taste reports to slowly follow."


These are gifts that keep on giving...until you run out.


Merry Christmas to you all.  May your holidays be lovely, safe, and happy!

Book swap

This year I received a message to participate in a book swap in memory of Joey.  The idea was that we would choose a book that in some way reminded of us Joey. This is such a neat idea and one that allows all of those connected to him in some way to celebrate his memory and this new holiday.

Scott and I each chose different books.  I went with Ernest Hemingway's A Moveable Feast.  This book was one that I remember Joey reading in high school and going on and on about.  I explained in my note that I was into Fitzgerald at the time but it seems that I must have been reading the Russians during this phase.  It doesn't matter what I was reading.  What matters is that I remember this book meaning something to Joey.

Scott chose Herman Hesse's Siddhartha since this was the book he was reading when he first met Joey.

We went to ship the package to "JPD Holiday Book Swap".  The girl at the store printed out the label  and had me look over the label to be sure everything was correct.  What I saw was addressed to the "JPD Holiday Book Squad".  I didn't say a word about the typo, handed the box back, and told her that all looked good.  Sometimes the typos get things not only correct, but get them perfectly appropriate.  Joey would have liked that little mistake.

Here's to the cheer of the JPD Holiday Book Squad!

Slack happy

Ok, ok, I know it's been a while but I have been anything but a slacker.  I only slack on my blogging and that's simply because at the end of the days lately my eyes are so tired I can't see straight.

Since the last post, I have taken on two new jobs.  That's right, TWO!  One is actually writing copy for advertisements and the other is teaching Composition with another online university.  This is all very good for this girl.  I'm actually full-time at home and even in the fluctuations that can occur with adjuncting, this means I can float.

So my time has been eaten up with trainings, gradings, and writings and in crafting Christmas gifts.

I have much to say but I will have to find more time to say it all.

A case of the Mondays

In an effort to work today, I've found myself leaning more to procrastination.  As a result my mind has wandered and has invariably landed in memory and nostalgia.

My birthday was this Thanksgiving which also happened to be my parents' 32nd wedding anniversary.  I was born exactly three years after they were married.  This year marks that final year of my twenties.  I was  slouched on the floor the other night talking to Scott about how big of a year 2010 has been.  We made big decisions, made a big move, said goodbye to friends, and made new friends.  This has been one of the most exciting years and one of the saddest years.  My twenties were good and I'm happy with many of the decisions that have led me to this age.

All who wander are not lost

We took a fall foliage drive out to Multnomah Falls last week.  It's a beautiful sight, no matter the season, but the colors absolutely popped with the autumnal glow.  Here are some of the photos I was able to take with my phone (we had a digital camera but it died shortly after our trip).

Isn't it lovely?  I am completely enamored of Oregon.

Strangers with candy

Today I used a gift certificate to Peet's Coffee on SE Hawthorne.  While that may not seem interesting, what is interesting is that the gift certificate was from a total stranger.  A friendly stranger, but a stranger nonetheless.

When Scott and I made it up to Portland finally we already knew that we wanted to live on the southeast side of town.  We'd been research for several months just in case we did in fact move here.  We got to Portland, snuck the lizard into a hotel, and began to cruise craigslist for apartments.  Finding housing in a city you are unfamiliar with is tough.

The next day we decided to do a cold run and see what we could find.  We drove all day around Hawthorne, Belmont, and Division and found nothing in our price range.  Finally we needed a caffeine pick-me-up and wandered into Peet's.  Being friendly, the barrista asked how the day was going and I admitted that it wasn't going as well as we hoped and explained our problem.  He immediately shook his head and told us that we weren't looking in the right areas.  The trendier areas where we were looking tend to be more expensive for really terrible holes of apartments.  He gave us several suggestions of areas to look in and then handed us the coffees.  We retreated to the window with a newspaper to apartment hunt on paper (which is a weird thing to do in this day and age...it's like looking in the actual yellow pages for something).

The guy at the table behind us wrapped up what seemed to be some kind of business meeting and, obviously not having talked enough with his client, struck up a conversation with us.

Man:  How's your day going?  Are you in the market for housing?

Me: We are looking for an apartment.  We are just moving to town.

Man:  I'm Jack.  Where are you guys moving from?

Scott:  I'm Scott; this is Anna.  We were living in Chicago but we've been on the road for a lot of the summer.

Jack: Oh yeah?  Where all have you been?

Scott:  All over really.  Chicago, Kansas City, Oklahoma, New Orleans, Arizona, California.

Jack: Did you go to Meteor Crater?  I did that when I was younger.  Bought a bus, me and a buddy, loaded it up with food, weed and other edibles and just drove across the country.  We went down into the crater but I don't think we were supposed to be there.  So, now you're moving here?  What do you all do?

Me:  I teach online and Scott's in school.  We're just looking for something a little smaller than Chicago.

Jack:  (checking his watch) Well, I'm in the housing business; here's my card.  I'm not trying to sell you on using me but if you need help figuring this out here or need restaurant recommendations or anything, just give me a shout.

Us:  Thanks, Jack.  It was good to meet you.

Jack:  You too. Best of luck with the move!

As Jack left, Scott and I mused on how friendly and helpful everyone was.  A minute later, Jack came back over to the table.

Jack:  Here's a little something to welcome you guys to Portland.  It has $5 on there to buy yourselves some coffees while you get settled.  Take it easy.

Scott and I sat there, stunned.

I turned to him, grinned and said, "Welcome to Portland."

We found our apartment the next day.  Welcome to Portland, indeed.

Jammin'

I started making homemade jams last year on a whim.  My grandmother, my Nanny, always had jams, jellies, preserves, and pickles that she had made hanging around.  Growing up in the Deep South (and yes, that does need the capitalizations there...), I remember pecans off the tree, figs, persimmons, peaches, pickled okra, and all assortment of fruits and such.  My grandfather, my PawPaw, had a green thumb and could make anything grow.  I watched this man take a dead poinsettia from me, bring it back to life and raise it into tree.  No joke.  So there were always things around growing that could be turned into canned things.  That all being said, I had never actually taken part in any of that.  In fact, I had a fear of hot bubbly things because my best friend from early childhood, her mother was terribly scalded by hot liquid when she was canning once.

In my days at the office, I would kick it on the NY Times.  I particularly liked their food and home sections.  I came across this article one morning and thought, "Hey, I can do that!"  So, I promptly ordered both cookbooks and anxiously waited for them to appear in my mailbox.  Oh happy day when they finally arrived!  I took them to work to share with a friend who I do not think was as excited as I was.  I am pretty sure she was not quite sure if this could actually be done by people like us.  But I was determined to put things in jars and make them tasty.  Determined.

Thus began the search for things.  Where does one find jars in Chicago?  Why, the local Ace Hardware, of course.  I bought two cases of "quilted" 4 oz Ball jars.  A bit cutesy but no one was going to see these until I was sure that I had created edibles.  The next thing was fruit.  Fruit was expensive.  And then I found the super ripe fruit section in our tiny local grocery.  $1 got me pounds of ripe apricots, oranges, apples, and other goodies.  Excited by my treasures, I headed home.  I now had everything I needed: sugar, lemons, apricots, and jars.

Since that first batch (which was quite successful) I have made many different varieties of jams: Earl Grey Marmalade, Three Berry (raspberry, blueberry, blackberry), Strawberry Lemonade (which was handed out as we stayed with various people on our trip this summer), Spiced Pear Butter, and Strawberry Shortcake.  Scott also got on board and tried his hand at making and canning salsas.  He has had two successful batches.  The uncertain friend became a believer and has been the only other person than Scott and me to try them all.  Several of these also became part of a homemade wedding gift we gave to some good friends in Colorado.

And now that we are settled into our new home, I have begun making them again.  I've added pickling into the mix and I have pretty jars of sweet peppers with garlic and black peppercorns sitting in my cupboard just pickling away.  The wait time on these is apparently 8 weeks.  I doubt our peppers actually make it that long.

For the fruit, we have had the opportunity to go straight to the farms to get.  Sauvie Island proves to be an Eden for fruits and veggies.  We came home with 12 pounds of pears for homemade hard cider, 15 pounds of raspberries and blueberries, pumpkin and gourds, and some apples for eating.  From this, I have made a Raspberry & Star Anise jam that takes like a Jolly Rancher, Vanilla Caramel Pear butter, and a Blueberry Shortcake.  I have also taught a friend to make jams and she successfully completed a Blueberry Lemon that is quite delectable.

I'm just a happy urban homesteader.

The desert is not for me

We really had no plan for where to camp or stay that night.  We left Arches as the shadows were lengthening and our stomachs began to growl.  Our plan developed, somewhat tentatively, to head into Moab, grab a bite to eat, and then figure out where to throw our tent for the night.  Moab is a pretty little desert town, very southwest in color and style with plenty of adobe pueblo style buildings.  We wandered into Miguel's Baja Grill after peeking in and seeing the open air dining area.  The margaritas and fish tacos were a good enticement, as well.  I ordered the Baja Fish Tacos ("The traditional way of cooking fish tacos in Baja, Mexico. Breaded Mahi-Mahi, deep fried, served with a special sauce, flour tortillas, cabbage, cucumbers, and pico-de-gallo"). Scott ordered the Santa Rosalia Enchiladas with lamb ("Two corn tortillas filled with melted Jack cheese. Covered with your choice of green tomatillo sauce, molé or red sauce. Served with Baja Grill rice, beans of the day and sour cream. Available with your choice of steak, shrimp, lamb, chicken, pork, Portobello mushroom, or Poblano Chile, Onion, and Tomato.")  The meal was delicious, the service was great, and the margs were tasty and just enough.  We were pleasantly full and content when we walked out.

After consulting our map, we decided to head to Canyonlands National Park to check out campgrounds. We had done well so far with the park campgrounds and thought it might be far enough away from the more touristy campgrounds closer to Moab.  

We ended up in Horsethief Campground.  The name alone made us wonder.  For $12 we got a campground with no access to water, a campground bathroom (a fancier, non-portable port-o-potty basically which we were accustomed to) that was not terribly clean, noisy, and drunk neighbors out on their dirtbikes.  The stars were amazing that night, though, and we opted to sleep without the rain fly so we could see them and get a bit of the cool breeze.  

The next morning we were driven from the tent by the extreme sunshine beating in and the heat.  Right--it was the desert.  No water, check. Heat, check.  Dirt, check.  The minute we were out of the tent we were assaulted by clouds of angry black flies.  Bugs, check.  They were everywhere.  Even Asher was annoyed.  We packed down the tent as fast as we could, loaded up, and jumped in the car.  Probably won't return to Horsethief Campground.  The rock formations as we drove away were interesting, however.

We tried to skydive Moab but the pilots weren't flying and the tandem jumpers had the day off.  We were told that it is better to book with them a few days out because they do fill up quickly.  The guy was impressed that our first jump had been with Skydive Chicago (apparently on of the best outfits in the country) and was apologetic about the kink in our plans.  He gave us coupons to use next time we were in Moab.  With that we left Utah and began our march west.