Death by Lexan

(cue scary Jaws theme music. duh, duh. duh, duh.)

For the past year or so, customers have been coming into REI and saying things like, "Aren't the Nalgene lexan water bottles unsafe? Don't they leach a chemical?" We would always confidently respond, "I don't think any conclusive studies have been done."

Well, last week, apparently, the studies became conclusive. We got an urgent email on Friday afternoon instructing us to pull all the hard lexan, #7 plastic bottles from our shelves. It wasn't a recall, but REI decided not to sell the bottles anymore because they contain (and possibly leach) BPA, or bisphenol-A.

Ok. So, here's the thing. For years, I've been using (and selling), the glorious Nalgene lexan bottle. Now they tell me that the plastic is leaching a chemical that can cause hormone damage. Great, just what I need. (Based on what we know from the current research, PC is most likely to leach BPA during its initial use and after prolonged use. Heat increases the likelihood of leaching as well. This fact is even scarier when you consider that most baby bottles are made with #7 BPA polycarbonate plastic.) Now that have replaced these bottles with a new "safer, BPA-free" plastic bottle, how do we know that this new plastic is safe? In 20 years, are they going to find that the new "safe" bottles leach a different chemical that could be even worse?

B and I own eight of the death bottles. The things are virtually indestrucible-- we've dropped them off climbs, down trails, strapped them to kayaks and basically used them everyday. Do we a) freak out like the rest of Portland seems to be doing and replace all of these bottles with the new ones? Or b) do we just keep living our lives the way we have? My vote is b. If the lexan doesn't kill me, won't the DEET in my bugspray or the chemicals on the fruit I buy do the job? I mean, seriously, isn't everything leaching some kind of chemical these days?

My doubt and concern is compounded with the possibility that all of these bottles are now going to line the landfill nearest you. And now that the green movement has over the past months convinced everyone to carry a reusable water bottle, will they all go back to one-use bottled water again?

Lots of questions, not enough answers yet.

The Lodge Factor

It never fails. During the month of April, Oregon will give us one weekend of bright, cloudless, 70-degree sun. Of-course it only lasts one weekend and then it starts raining again, but what can you do right? Well, go skiing is what you can do.The view from the Magic Mile lift at Timberline ski area. See that second lift high on the mountain? The top maxs out at about 8,470 ft. (This lift is even open for skiing in the summer.) From there, you can ski down the Palmer glacier all the way to the bottom of the ski area, at 4,850 ft. We figured that we skied roughly 18,000 vertical feet yesterday.
Julia and me at the top of the Palmer Lift. You can see half of Oregon behind us. In this picture, I only have three layers on, half my usual set-up. I absolutely love spring skiing.
The Lodges, Geoff and Julia, and us on the lift. We all make pretty good ski buddies. Julia and I like to take our time, make some turns, stop and take some pictures. The boys? Well, the boys have a need for speed. Meet you at the bottom boys!

My Kaculia Original

I want to give a shout out to my friend Julia, who recently made me the most adorable purse. Bryan and I have both been sewing this or that over the winter and it has been really fun watching what we create. Then, Julia shows up and blows us both out of the water with her skills. Isn't this purse awesome? B asked her if she used a pattern, and she replied, "Oh, not really." She's just fantastic. And, I get to say I "knew her when."

Seattle Mini-break

I'm trying to remember the last time I had two days off work and didn't have plans......mmm, a while ago. Well, I had Monday AND Tuesday off this week and darn it, if we weren't going to make the best of them.

What was the plan you ask? Visiting my cousins in Seattle and then skiing fo' free at Crystal Mountain. Not too shabby for Gayle.

We stayed with my cousins Beth and David and their two kids Lauren and Scott. Possibly the nicest, cutest family that ever did walk the earth. On a recommendation from a co-worker, we headed downtown to the Seattle Public Library. (We wanted to go to the art museum, but it was closed on Mondays. So is the Portland Art Museum. Is there something I don't know about?) Anyway, the library is way cool. Here is B taking a picture of me while we pass through the hallway to the meeting rooms. It was the shiniest red on the face of the earth.This is B walking uphill past the 510s, Mathematics.The stacks are in the middle of the building and built on a spiral. You can walk around in a circle up four floors around a central lime green escalator.

Here is looking down to the third floor main lobby, called the Living Room, from the tenth floor.What is so fascinating about the building is that you can tell the designers took great care to design from every angle. So if you looked down, across, up or over any part of it, all the colors and elements fit together.

Monday night was spent at my other cousin's house-- Diane and Will. They have three girls, Emily, Annika and Elizabeth. Quite possibly the other nicest, cutest family that ever did walk the earth. Diane, Beth and I had a great time swapping stories and laughing about our family. Beth and Diane are quite a bit older than me so I hadn't heard most of the good stuff they were spilling. It was really fun to remember "way back in the day, when your dad didn't have gray hair" with them.

Tuesday was skiing at Crystal Mountain on the east side of Mt. Rainier. Let's just say the theme of the day was "Pow. Der." It started snowing about an hour after we got there and didn't quit. Here's a shot of me plowing my way through............and then taking a wee bit of a spill. It was definitely the deepest, softest, fluffiest snow on the face of the earth.We came back last night, exhausted, but also refreshed. Sometimes, I get homesick living so far from my parents. But, seeing my cousins made even Seattle feel like Nebraska if only for a weekend.

Free is such a good price

When was the last time you set foot in a public library?

I remember going to the Wayne Public Library when I was a kid-- the picture books were all in the basement with its clanky pipes and brightly colored carpet. I think the walls were green..... my mom let us pick out books to our heart's content.

At UNL, the library is huge. Two buildings, three floors I think. One side had these weird sort-of half floors, where "the stacks" were and the ceiling was super low. The basement was the creepiest place. Silent. But there were always Internet computers open, the copies were cheap and it was so so silent.

When I moved to Oregon almost five years ago, Kristina and I would make a daily trek to the Tigard library to spend an hour on the computer, emailing, surfing the net, etc. We rarely checked out books though. Then, we moved to Northeast Portland and I kind-of forgot about it.

Well, I have recently re-discovered the Tigard public library. I've been reading more since last summer, so for some reason I'm book-starved. I've been buying $3 novels at Goodwill and it finally just clicked that I could just hit the library. Duh. It's even on my way to work. Anyway, let me tell you what a great place it is. Books, magazines, DVDs, best-sellers, cds. I feel like I've hit the jackpot. Not only did I find the greatest book of sailboat drawings, but we also came home with 12 cds. And the best part? The price. FREE.

Happy Blogiversary!

Adventures of Hoybooks is officially one year old. To commemorate this happy occasion and to celebrate the fact that I still keep up with this thing, I present to you a new look. Or, at least, a new color.

I look forward to feeding your blog appetites in the future. :)

BFFs

(I hope the girls don't kill me for this one.)

These are some of my very best girls at our Senior Prom 1998. We're having our 10-year high school reunion this summer. I can't believe this was 10 years ago.

Circa 1990

I've been sorting through boxes of photos and have found some gems. Check out this photo of my family-- we used to play basketball for hours in the driveway. We pretty much played until someone cried. That's how we knew when it was time to quit.

If the world is my gym

Then Hamilton Mountain is my treadmill.My brother Scott is coming to visit in May to join us on a climb up Mt. Hood. I keep telling him that it really isn't a "walk in the park" and that he will need to train a little bit. I suddenly realized the other day that I should start listening to myself: "Hey, Gayle, it's not going to be a walk in the park. Start training."

So, B and I strapped on some packs and took advantage of a gorgeous Oregon Saturday to do a training hike up Hamilton Mountain in the gorge. You climb about 2,000 feet in about 4 miles. Not too shabby.That's us on the summit-- 2,488 feet. If you squint just right, you can see Mt. Adams in Washington between our heads.

We did this same hike about three years ago with our friend Heidi. Let's just say the weather was a wee bit different that time.

Proud wife sounds off

Last September, Bryan left his job.

He had been working at LaCie, a technology company, and it just wasn't right for him. The work was too straight-forward for his creative mind and the photography was really limiting. So, after several long, emotional conversations, he made the decision to leave and start his own photography business.

I have to say, it takes a certain degree of patience to be a wife to a husband who doesn't necessarily have a "full-time" job. He had lots of ideas in his mind, but was having trouble deciding where to start. Starting your business is hard work, but starting a business that relies on people finding you was really difficult. He decided to focus on weddings and then once he built up his portfolio, he could start looking around for commercial or editorial work.

October turned into November and I would leave for work in the morning and knew he was busy at the computer all day, but wasn't hearing him say those magic words, "I booked a wedding today." I was getting worried and I know Bryan was getting worried, but then, just when he was starting to think he had made a mistake, he got a reply from an ad he answered off Craigslist.

It was an offer to be an associate photographer with David Barss Studios and the rest, I guess, is history. He has been shooting with David since the beginning of the year and it has been a great experience. Bryan is taking gorgeous photographs, but now that his name is attached to a well-known photographer in Portland, his shots are going to be noticed. He has booked two weddings on his own for the studio and has been second-shooting with David for others. A couple of other regular gigs have worked their way into his schedule so it seems like B is taking a picture of something everyday of the week.

I just wanted to say how proud of him I am. Bryan is truly at his happiest and best when he is behind the camera and it shows. His gamble in September paid off. And I have the photographs to prove it.

Check out David's site here: www.davidbarssphotographer.com
Click on portfolio, then associate photographers to see Bryan's stuff.

Check out Bryan's blog where he posts his other shoots here: www.bryanhoybook.blogspot.com

The Five Signs of Spring

5. Flowers are popping up everywhere! Daffodils, tulips, etc.

4. The birds are especially vocal these days, especially in the morning. Grrrr....

3. The trees have started to bloom up the drive to our apartment. Give them two more weeks and it will be a canopy of white petals.

2. The rain is bigger, heavier and warmer. Winter rain is drizzly, quiet, constant and annoying. Spring rain has big drops, is loud, sudden and actually pretty amazing to watch.

And the #1 sign that I know spring is upon us:

1. Bryan asks me everyday if I'll go play tennis with him.

Ski day #8

We knew it had to happen sometime. We had been getting so lucky. Feet of fresh powder, calm winds, balmy temps, gorgeous central Oregon sun, no lift lines. We knew our good luck with conditions would run out someday.....We skiied in a blizzard yesterday. Well, not exactly a blizzard, but close. I mean, if we had been in Nebraska, it would have been a snow day for sure and we wouldn't have even left the house. The weather looked promising when we left Portland around 8 am. In fact, it looked like the sun was even shining on the east side of the mountain. But after our first run, it all went downhill. The wind picked up, it started to snow, then it started to snow those annoying ice pellets that sting when they hit your cold, wind-burned face. And then, the snow would hit my face, melt and drip down on my coat. I looked like I had been drooling all day. It was hilarious.

But, as it kept snowing, the terrain got better. We were making fresh tracks in fresh snow which is always awesome, no matter what the weather is like. And no one was there. No one. We skiied right up to the chair after every run.
I guess it was good training for a trip we might take someday where we might caught out in the elements and have to suffer through. But, if that's how I'm going to look at it, I'm really going to have get tougher because it was Pansy-town yesterday: Population, me.

I'm getting paid for this?

Twice a year, the management team from REI Tualatin goes on an outing. Sometimes it's a bike ride or kayaking or just out for dinner, but sometimes, it's snowshoeing. Sometimes, it's snowshoeing on a bluebird Mt. Hood day after 8 inches of fresh powder have fallen.

Since I'm not technically management, but still considered an important and integral part of the REI team, I get to go! Oh yeah, and I get paid for it.

Mt. Hood peaking out behind the morning fog.The managers trekking across a meadow. With all the backpacks, GPSs, black clothing and sunglasses, it looked like we were headed out on a covert special ops mission into the woods.

Reaching out

So, apparently, I collect jobs like some people collect cars. Or stamps, or antiques or whatever. I've recently accepted a new position at my REI-- outreach specialist.

How exactly will I be reaching out, you ask? Well, I'll be handling our relationships with the local non-profit organizations as well as the relationship our store has with the public. I get to organize and host service projects (ivy pulling, tree planting, etc.), attend and host REI sponsored events (Banff film festival, Bridge Pedal, etc.) and plan and schedule clinics and classes at my store. It's going to be a big change from my job now, but also a rewarding change. I can't wait to start-- which will be at the end of March, after I train my replacement. As if I could be replaced!

God Bless Texas!

Don't you just love vacations? B and I just spent 6 days in Texas visiting his family-- 16 relatives in all. Here's a little vacation photographic snack:

Bryan working in the yard at the house outside of Murchison.
Birds take flight out of the tree in the front yard. Who knows what spooked 'em but they all took off at one time. Jennifer and me getting ready to tear it up at the Athens roller rink. I think there were maybe 4 people there older than us and I believe they were all there because they were waiting for their kids......Me outside of Thompson + Hanson, a landscape architecture firm on West Alabama Street in Houston. My latest issue of Domino magazine included a feature on this section of Houston so we spent a beautiful day window shopping and hitting the antique stores with Bryan's mom Flora and his aunt Linda. Since the sun came out while we were in Houston, we talked Flora and Mark into driving us down to the beach in Galveston. That's me walking the beach looking for shells-- pretty much what I do when we go to the beach in Oregon. Oh, except it was sunny at this beach.Bryan with his mom, Flora and her husband Mark. Mark introduced us to Goodsen's diner in Tomball, TX-- home of the world's biggest chicken fried steak. I swear it was as big as B's face. I think Texas gets a bad rap sometimes. Must be all of that "Don't Mess With Texas" talk. Sure, it's huge, the cities are huge, the SUVs are huge, and the freeways are huge, but the sky is also huge. And the thunderstorms that roll through are huge and AMAZING. In Texas, men hold doors open and call you "ma'am". There are still dry counties-- I had to register into the "drinking club" in order to have a margarita at the Jalapeno Tree in Athens on my birthday. There is a Dairy Queen in every small town and the people are some of the nicest around. Maybe it's the accent or all of the "how y'all doin' today", but you just feel welcome you know?

Oh, I am soooo much better!

So, I had to dig deep into the archives to bring you this great photo:
This was the first time I tried sliding down a mountain on some kind of board. I was 20 years old and at a scary place called Jackson Hole, Wyoming. They had, like 4 green runs, all off the same lift. I paid $10 and road the same lift and boarded the same runs for 2 days. Let's just say that snowboarding isn't my thing. I tried skiing the year after that and well, I sort-of like it a wee bit better.

B and I headed to Mt. Bachelor a couple of weeks ago for two blue bird days of skiing. Here are my favorite shots:

B landing after a jump. Either we need a faster camera or I need a faster finger-- I tried all day, but couldn't get a shot of him at the top of the jump.
Me coming down a black diamond. Yep, that's right, I've improved since that first day on the Jackson slopes. I can follow B anywhere now.B and me and the Three Sisters in central Oregon. Mt. Bachelor is about 9,000 feet and you can ski right off the top. It's one of the best views around.And finally, the shot of the day.

185 inches

In case you were wondering what 185 inches of snow looks like:

While it practically vomits rain in P-town everyday, it dumps snow in the Cascades. These are shots from Government Camp atop Mt. Hood. This last shot is the lodge at Ski Bowl, one of the Mt. Hood ski resorts. Ski Bowl is only at about 3,500 feet so this kind of snow is unreal. And, yes, the skiing has been unreal this year too.This photo is courtesy of another blog: www.barkernews.blogspot.com.

Time traveling

You know how sometimes you smell something and it instantly takes you somewhere else? For example, anytime I smell cinnamon rolls, I feel like I'm standing in front of a Cinnabon at the airport. Well, the same thing happens to me with music, certain songs in particular.

Last week, a bunch of my co-workers and I went roller skating. I remember going to roller skating parties as a kid-- piling in the car, driving to Wakefield, skating in the basement of the bowling alley. This roller rink is a little nicer-- it's at Oaks Park, Portland's quaint little amusement park by the river. We hit the rink hard, did the tempo skate (that's where everyone jam skates really fast around the outside edge) and even the backwards skate.

And then it happened. Someone, probably one of my REI co-workers, requested "Blame it on the Rain" by Milli Vanilli. And, poof! I was instantly transported back to 2nd grade again. All I needed to make it complete was Sarah Hekmati and Carla Kemp. We were the hottest little skaters the poor boys of Wakefield, Nebraska had ever seen.

The Billy Goat returns

About two years ago, Bryan went back to Arizona to photograph a wedding for one of his college friends. He flew home early on a Monday morning and went to work. By noon that day, he was sicker than sick and was in bed at home. He couldn't keep anything down and basically slept for three days. (We found out later, that some other people from the wedding got sick too, probably something in the food.)

During one of those nights, I was on the phone with my brother. Here's how the conversation went:

Me: Yeah, so Bryan has been sick for three days. Can't seem to eat anything.

Craig: Really? That sucks.

Me: It's weird, it's as if there is something living inside of him, eating what he is eating.

Craig: What, you mean like a billy goat?

Huh? Well, yes Craig, as a matter of fact, it's exactly like a billy goat.

Well, the billy goat made a return this week. I woke up in the middle of the night on Wednesday and puked my guts out. I don't think I've ever been more sick than I was that night. Probably some leftovers I ate. I was finally starting to feel better yesterday, but now B is sick. Those gosh darn billy goats. They can be so pesky sometimes.

25 degrees! Oh, the horror!

So, it was 25 degrees in Portland last night. This town has officially freaked out. Forecasters have been describing our weather the past couple of days as "bitterly cold." Bitter cold? Seriously? Did you just play a NFL football playoff game in -4 degree weather? I think not. Let's get some perspective here people. 25 degrees ABOVE zero is bitterly cold? Really?

Yeah, I know, weren't not used to the "cold" temperatures here, but are we a bunch of wimps? I think not! B and I headed out in the "bitter cold" temps today to brave a little cross-country skiing. Gotta tell ya, it was a gorgeous day.

This first shot is of Mt. Hood. The wind was kickin' today on the mountain, probably around 30 mph. I'm not even sure most of the lifts opened at the ski resorts which is a bummer as a lot of folks had today off. See the spindrift coming off the top and west side? That's why we hid down in the trees x-country skiing today.Me on the trail at Teacup Lake.B blazing his own trail off the groomers.Me shedding layer #7. Seven layers you say? That's right. Gayle's Rules of Layering specifically state, "Always wear at least six. At least six on top. Three on the bottom."You can hardly tell by these two smiley snow bunnies that it's only 16 degrees out. They are so brave to set in out in such frigid, bone-chilling conditions.


(Ok, so in an effort for full-disclosure, I was wearing two hats and two pairs of gloves at one point today. AND, as I sit here typing this at my house, I'm wearing three shirts and I'm still cold. So, wimps of Portland unite! It's kinda chilly out isn't it?)

Dilemma in the kitchen

I've been reading the book "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan. Scott recommended it to me, and I've read another book by Pollan so I thought I would give it a try.

The back cover reads:
Today, buffeted by one food fad after another, America is suffering from what can only be described as a national eating disorder. Will it be fast food tonight or something organic? Or perhaps something we grew ourselves? As Michael Pollan explains in this revolutionary book, how we answer it now, at the dawn of the twenty-first century, may determine our survival as a species. This book is changing the way Americans think about the politics, perils and pleasures of eating.

I was hoping that this book would help me find ways to make an impact in not only the way we eat, but the way we shop for our groceries.

So far, all it has done is pretty much freak me out. B said he knew that day would come the minute I started reading. I hit a low on Tuesday night after reading a section of the book that breaks down the ingredients in a McDonald's chicken nugget. B and I don't eat a lot of fast food (once, twice a month tops), but I freaked out nonetheless. I went into the kitchen and pulled everything out of the cupboards and started reading labels. I was hoping I wouldn't find a lot of high fructose corn syrup, possibly the worst thing on the planet for you to eat. But, I found HFCS in my supposedly "healthy" multi-grain breakfast cereal, Kellogg's Smart Start. Sure, it has immune system boosting antioxidants, beta carotene, lots of fiber and is low in fat and sodium, but it still has high fructose corn syrup! And my low calorie microwave popcorn? It contains TBHQ, or tertiary butylhydroquinone, which is included to help preserve freshness, but is a form of BUTANE! Lighter fluid!

By now I was in complete despair. B and I try to make wise, healthy decisions about what we eat: we watch our sugar intake (I'm that woman at the store that is standing there comparing labels, specifically with yogurt. Believe it or not, yogurt has TONS of sugar in it), we eat lots of fresh veggies and fruits, we stay away from sweets and really fatty stuff for the most part (although B has a serious weakness for chocolate chip cookies and I looove plain potato chips), but apparently that isn't enough. I mean, seriously, what are we supposed to eat?

I'm convinced to find a solution. We live in an apartment, so having a garden is almost out of the question. We could container garden, but our deck doesn't get adequate sunlight. We're not exactly wealthy so shopping for locally grown, organic food isn't necessarily an option, because it tends to be uber-expensive. (Although as I'm reading now, the organic industry really isn't all it's cracked up to be either.) And, to make matters worse, we're active people. We just don't have time to spend carefully planning meals and shopping for key ingredients. Like most Americans, we like meals that are quick and easy to prepare, but we also want our meals to be healthy, and have a low environmental impact. Like I said, it's a dilemma.

I think the answer lies in making small changes and gradually working new ideas in. Kind-of like the "living green and eco-friendly" fad that is sweeping the nation right now. Replacing old lightblubs for CFLs. Using reusable grocery bags. Recycling everything. Maybe we just need to make some small changes in order to help the bigger picture. Like purchasing a farm share this spring for our summer produce so we know where our veggies are coming from. Or shopping at the farmer's market on the weekends to help reduce our "food miles." Or buying popcorn and actually popping it on the stove in a pot like my dad does. Or complusively reading product labels at the grocery store......ok, maybe not that one.

"New" chairs

The chairs are done! I just realized that we finished the work on our "new" chairs right before my family arrived and I forgot to post the After shots.

Under the dirty white fabric that was covering the seats was a lovely yellow naugahyde. Gross! So we ordered Amy Butler fabric from purlsoho.com and added a little cotton batting for cushion and Voila! Easy as pie.

Holiday conundrum

So, here's my question.
At what point did they stand back from their house and say, "There. Now it's finished." Was it the inflatable Elmo? Or the glowing Pooh bear?

Thoughts anyone?