Corners of the New House

Why I love Portland

Always on the alert

B went out to catch the trash guy yesterday to give him our extra garbage can and the conversation went something like this:

Guy: So, you guys had a pretty good year last year.

B (looking confused): Um, yeah.

Guy: But, you lost Suh so that will be tough.

B (finally catching on): Oh right, yeah, we did.

Guy: Well, I'm an Oklahoma fan...

B: (turns back, walks away)

Turns out, B went out into public wearing his Nebraska sweatshirt. Little does he know, that when one is in public wearing Nebraska apparel, one must always be ready to talk football. Always.

Garden Report

The garden has been a little neglected lately. "Oh, I'll get more dirt this weekend." or "I'll plant my starts next week." Linda finally stopped asking me at work when I was going to put my plants in.

Well, I finally got my act together. With Linda's help, I got some more mulch to top off my beds--we managed to complete this task while getting completely soaked and muddy from head to toe-- and I finally paid a visit to the plant store for my starts.

And, on Tuesday morning, I finally got them in the ground. Bed #1: strawberries, shallots, green onions, leaf lettuce, spinach, romaine lettuce and broccoli. Bed #2: snap peas, green beans, cherry tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, green bell peppers, poblano peppers, habanero peppers, jalapeno peppers and okra. My own little farmer's market.

The weather has been horrendous since then-- temps in the 50's and sporadic downpours-- so I'm not exactly sure if they are actually growing, but at least they are in the beds. Plus, the deer fence seems to be working. So if I could just put in an order for a week of sunshine and 80 degree temps, that would be great. Please and thank you.

May showers

I have been experiencing a lot of showers lately. But actually, for once, not of the wet, rainy kind. This past weekend, we had a double-your-trouble baby shower for Julia and I scooted up to Seattle for a uber classy bridal shower for Dacia.

And, the funniest thing happened. All of the photos from Julia's shower? Blurry. All of the photos from Dacia's shower? Well, I didn't take any. This is so unlike me.

Anyway, if I had the photo evidence, it would show just exactly what a gorgeous mother-to-be Julia is and exactly what a beautiful, blushing bride-to-be Dacia is. Two, exciting life changing events. Congrats to such lovely ladies!

A New Place for our Heads

So, B and I are moving. Nine miles east of our current apartment to a nice little duplex in Mountain Park. We've been slowly packing for about two weeks now and we should be ready to move all the furniture on Sunday.

We have had a love/hate relationship with our apartment since we've been here. Love for the first couple of years and hate for last few. Which makes this next part super easy to type...

Things I won't miss about apartment living:

1. Listening to the people above us solve their differences by what only can be described as a screaming contest.

2. Listening to the movie the people below us are watching.

3. Accidentally walking up on a guy who is peeing on the recycling dumpster.

4. This closet.

5. Jockeying for a parking spot if you get home anytime after 9pm.

6. The white walls, white cabinets, white baseboards, white doors and white blinds.

7. The guy that throws his cigarette butts on my front porch. It's the same guy that spits loogies on my front porch.

The one and only thing I will miss about my apartment:

This view.

We're looking forward to seeing you at our new place!

The Greatest of Them All

Let me tell you a little story about two people I know pretty well: my mom and dad.

At of the end of summer 1999, their oldest son was finishing up an internship in Baltimore. He needed to move back home so they decided to pack up their other two children and head east to help him out. They drove from Nebraska to Maryland and back, following behind their eldest as he towed a U-haul trailer. That was the first time.

Then, in the spring of 2004, they hitched up a trailer of their own, full of their daughter's stuff and drove it the other way. West on the Oregon trail. It took them three days and one blown-out trailer tire to get here and they promptly helped her unpack her stuff in her new duplex in Portland, turned around and drove back to Nebraska.

Finally, just last week, they arrived in Oregon one more time. Pulling another U-haul trailer of their youngest son's stuff. They helped him unload in Corvallis, drove back up to Portland for a visit to IKEA and then back to Corvallis with more stuff. Then, they took off back to Nebraska. That was the third time.

Three times, these two have gone to considerable lengths to make their kids' crazy ideas become realities. They really are the greatest of them all and we (by we, I mean Scott, Gayle and Craig) wouldn't be where we are without them.

Mom and Dad, I heart you. So much.

One more time.

One last time on the slopes for the season. Well, one last time for me anyway, I'm sure B and Geoff will find a way to sneak out for another ski tour this season. But for a year that was less than stellar, I think eight ski days is pretty darn good.

They're back!

News flash: Craig and Bridget are back in the states. They flew into PDX on Tuesday afternoon and spent the next few days in Corvallis looking for jobs and a place to live. Oh yeah, news flash: they are moving here. Whooohooo!

We initiated them properly as Oregonians with beers at Amnesia Brewing, dinner at Miss Delta, a bluegrass show at the Wonder Ballroom and a crazy backwoods, snowed in hike in SW Washington.

For those of you keeping track, that's two Olsons down. Just three to go.

Girls Night Out

The Snowball Effect

Call us hippies or treehuggers or whatever else you'd like, but I'm afraid I have to admit we have turned into those people who get all fired up about litter.

I only get really fired up about a few things: laziness, processed food, Olive Garden commercials and litter. I seriously can't stand it when I see trash somewhere other than a trash can. I've been known to pick stuff up on the sidewalk on a walk or a jog and carry it back home. B regularly brings home a bag of cans and bottles to recycle on his walk back from the neighborhood tennis courts. Last year, on a hike, we spent a good 20 minutes trying to get a mylar balloon unstuck from a tree four miles up the trail in the woods. Two guys even stopped to help us. It was awesome.

Lately though, either we have become a little more "enthusiastic" about our cause or people are just throwing more stuff out, but things seemed to have snowballed and we are also finding ourselves a bit more "enthusiastic" about recycling as well. As evidenced by this photo: B after our hike out of Bear Canyon in Tucson last week.

However, I think I stepped it up a notch last Thursday when we flew out of Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport back to Portland. With the airport security measures about liquids, B and I were left with the unfortunate situation of chugging an entire 32 oz. Gatorade before we could go through the security checkpoint. When we finally downed it, I looked around for a recycling bin and much to my dismay, there wasn't a single one in sight. So, horror of horrors, we had to throw it away. Arrgh. (Small side note: yes, I realize how blessed I am that my only worry in the world is not having a recycling bin at my every beck and call. I am fully aware of this.) We continued on our way through the checkpoint and were greeted on the other side by a whole host of recycling bins. It doesn't make sense. And you know what? I sat right there in the terminal, whipped out my smartphone, emailed Sky Harbor Airport and told them so.

Guess what happened? Ms. Claire Stern actually wrote me back yesterday:

Hi Gayle,

Thanks so much for traveling through Phoenix Sky Harbor!

You are right, we definitely need more recycling bins pre-security. I'm on a recycling committee that is working on the issue. The number of recycle bins pre-security now is actually more than we had just a few months ago - and we are working to increase that number even more. It seems like an easy fix, but unfortunately with security concerns and weight issues with blast-proof waste cans it is a little more complicated than one would initially think. We are actually getting some great ideas from other airports - including Portland's!

Please know that your concern has been heard and that this is something we are absolutely working on. In the future we hope your experience with our recycling program is much improved!

Again, thank you.

Claire Simeone Stern
Public Information Officer
City of Phoenix Aviation Department
602-683-3804
Claire.Stern@phoenix.gov

I frequently threaten to write an SWL (strongly worded letter) about a whole host of things, but I rarely follow through because I assume it will fall on deaf ears. But to do good, you actually have to do something. Write a letter, send an email, pick up a piece of trash, recycle a Gatorade bottle. This hippie treehugger wants to make a difference.

Check it out.

Bryan's website that is. It's all new and flashy. Yep, flashy.

Take a look! www.bryanhoybook.com

"The french fries are considered a vegetable."

The best show on TV right now: Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution.

Are you watching?

Sun Break

I can think of many words to describe winter in Portland-- dark, dreary, cold, wet, damp, gray, rainy, ominous, infinite. Which is why the Hoybooks plan at least one small trip, every spring, to somewhere sunny. It really doesn't have to be warm, just sun-shiny. Last year, we spent a week in Hawaii and the year before? A long weekend skiing in Bend, followed by sun on the beach in Galveston.

This year, we stepped it up a notch (for us anyway) and headed south to the desert. Three days in Phoenix with B's good friends, followed by three days in his third home, Tucson.

First stop: Tempe Diablo Stadium for spring training with Mike, Jen & Ava.

Then, dinner with the friends at Liberty Market in Gilbert.

Stop two: Scottsdale. For shopping, lunch with more friends and a real quick swing by Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright's home.

Then, it was time to head even farther south. Stop three: Tucson. Home to B's alma mater, U of A and constant 85 degree sun-shiny-ness.

Stop four: Sunset in Saguaro National Park.

Stop five: Sabino Canyon. For a little jaunt into the desert. We took the Bear Canyon trail up to Seven Falls, which involved five stream crossings. For it being a desert and all, there sure was a lot of water around...

The trip was delightful and we were welcomed back to Portland on Thursday night with more wet, rainy rain. Ah summer, you cannot come quick enough.

On the offensive

So it was time to really get down to business out at the garden. Linda had put in some seeds about a week ago and with the sunny, balmy weather we've been having, they are about ready to sprout any minute. Which means, of-course, that our friends the deer will be coming back soon to see what's on the menu this summer. It was time to install our fence.

Linda found some deer netting from one of the seed catalogs that was seven feet wide so we ordered a couple of packages and spent Sunday afternoon tacking it up to the ten foot fence posts. It's not real strong, but at least it might make those deer take a look at it and go, "dang". And maybe, just maybe they will think that jumping over it will be too much work and they will move on to another garden down the road. Can you tell I'm the optimist in the group?

Now, because it looks slightly trashy, I should explain the orange tape. First of all, it reminds us that there is a fence. The netting is so tiny, it pretty much disappears against the trees. Secondly, it's all about creating the illusion of height. The netting is only seven feet high so the netting around the top is about two feet higher.

So, deer of Clackamas county, are you listening? Bring it!

Model Release

A couple of shots from my latest modeling endeavor: trail running along the Angel's Rest trail last weekend.

Beacon Rockers

My friend Dacia and I have a similar problem. Well, I guess "problem" is not the right word. We both share an "interesting situation" with our significant others. She is engaged to a triathlete. I'm married to a tennis fanatic.

The "interesting situation" plays out like this: the triathlete spends long hours on the bike, in the pool and on the running course. The tennis fanatic spends long hours on the court. Dacia doesn't train for long hours. I don't spend long hours on the tennis court. So if you do the math. . . Dacia and I have lots of free time on our days off.

We took advantage of one such situation yesterday and spent a freakin' gorgeous morning hiking up Beacon Rock in the Columbia River gorge. Beacon Rock is the remnant core of an ancient volcano after ice age floods carved away the sides. The trail is only about a mile to the top at 848 feet, but the engineering needed to get one up there should definitely be appreciated.

And the top and the trail up offer beautiful views of early springtime weather in the gorge. Happy Spring everyone!

Equinox

I had a friend in college who used to call the first day of spring "Boobie Day" because when the weather got warm and sunny, all the girls would wear their boobie shirts. He liked to then ask them to play frisbee with him in the campus greenspace. He loved the first day of spring.

In Oregon, we don't really measure spring days by what shirts we wear but rather, by our footwear. So in honor of spring, I pronounce today, Chaco Day.

One of those days

"It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade."

Charles Dickens

I have been practicing with PhotoShop more this spring so these are some of my latest attempts from shots I took on our hike up Angel's Rest on Sunday. A chomped up Trillium, a mossy tree and the goofiest self-portrait on record.

Wow, I am really talented.

Crap Snow

Forgive my offensive language, but that is exactly what our snow has been like this year: crap.

We can thank our friend El Nino for this. He has been pushing the jet stream directly into California and then pulling all that warm air and water up the coast so we get really nice weather, warm rain and no snow. (At least I think that's how it works. We watch the weather almost every night and watch the ocean storms swirl around the California coast and then never make it to us.) Which has left us with the worst snowpack in a long time and now there are very real concerns about our summer water supply.

"Well, doesn't all the rain fill up the reservoirs?" Well, yes, it would, if it would just rain. Or snow. Or do anything but be partly cloudy all day. But you know what they say, "It doesn't have to be good snow to ski on it." OK, maybe they don't say that, but the Hoybooks do.