and some last few photos from the trip...

Finally got around to processing all these...

Anyway. Mostly food and people, now!

My first meal once I landed in Portland, at The Waffle Window. Matt had a waffle with brie, bacon and basil. Mine was a waffle with ham and swiss (I think). They were both pretty amazing. Who knew waffles were so versatile? (just an aside: I usually suspend my vegetarianism when I go to Oregon... it's just easier. Just call me a waffler. Ha!)

My perfect Portland solo lunch at The Original, which saved me from trudging around in the rain with all my luggage as I waited for the Greyhound bus to take me down to Corvallis. This was the perfect respite. Coffee, a nice salad, a biscuit, some soup (which was good but too salty), and a book. And people-watching. I was very happy for an hour or so here.

Speaking of biscuits, Matt and I went to Pine State Biscuits for breakfast before our ski day. Matt's been telling me about this place for awhile.

He's been raving about this breakfast sandwich called The Reggie.

Biscuit, fried chicken, cheese, bacon, and gravy (Matt's, shown here, also had an egg). Uhhh, wow. That was quite a meal (it was delicious). However, since we at at around 7:30 AM and didn't eat again until around 4:30, and skiied hard all day, this was actually a pretty perfect breakfast. Kept us full and fueled up for a fun day. But I won't be eating something like this again for a looooong time.

A cute, but blurry, photo of Matt and his adorable girlfriend Alison. This was after skiing. I had some great mac and cheese.

We stopped in at Whole Foods to get Matt some tea... I liked looking at the beautiful Dungeness crabs they had. They were nice enough to hold them up for me and let me take a photo.

I painted a crab pot float for my dad for Christmas and wanted to use these as a model (the photos, not the actual crabs). I forgot to take a picture of the completed float, but let's just say I forgot to use the crabs as a model. Oh well.

My best friend Erin's "pet bird." Apparently every year this little bird (or a relative of his?) stakes a claim on this corner of Erin's porch to stay out of the weather. Adorable.

Let's see.... Erin's kids at my dad's house, "collecting eggs." I called ahead to make sure there were eggs available to be collected when we arrived. :)

My dad, in the kitchen of the house I grew up in, making the Worlds Best Fish. I usually dislike fish (although I ate it ALL THE TIME growing up... which does not mean I actually liked it then, either). Dad is an avid fisherman and always has great steelhead in the freezer, and since it's the only opportunity for me to have fish that I actually like, I always request it.

He cooks it over the BBQ, with special applewood smoke, and it is absolutely delicious. You can't get fish to taste like this in a restaurant or from the store.

Anyway. I think that's it for the photos from this trip. Back to photographing lovely Oakland, CA!

Columbia Gorge and Mt. Hood

I already shared my goofy ski videos but here are some more images from the trip to Mt. Hood Meadows. We drove up through the Columbia Gorge because it's so beautiful and one of my favorite places on earth.

Got some really interesting shots out the incredibly dirty windows of Matt's car...

and of course the Gorge is always happy to oblige with photogenic green trees and mists...
We used to stop at Multnomah Falls all the time on our way to my mom's family in Eastern Oregon. We always had to peek in the creek to see if we could find any fish. Usually there were a few to be found, but none this time.
Sooooo many memories of playing around this creek and looking for fish...

And just one more because it's so pretty.

Then onward to Mt. Hood! My mom calls this "her mountain" because you can have a great view of it from where she grew up, in Eastern Oregon (a small town called Grass Valley). I think of it as her mountain now, still.

Such a gorgeous day at Mt. Hood Meadows.

And pretty, pretty mountain scenes on the way back to Portland.

Out For A Few Days

My mom is coming to visit for a few days. Yay!!

I will be taking a few days off from blogging unless I get inspired.

We're going to go thrifting, visiting, eat some yummy food, watch some fluffy movies, have some girl time. I'm really looking forward to some good mommy time, relaxing and having fun.

So, until then... we'll be snuggling with my mom and eating chocolate.

Sorry, Edna, but Charles has won...

It's always very difficult to follow up a Gaiman book. What to read next?

I have in my stack of library books Savage Beauty, a biography of Edna St. Vincent Millay, whose poetry I haven't read in a million years but remember liking. I also have Breakfast at Tiffany's, a collection of Truman Capote stories. I keep picking them up, one after the other, and although both look very good, neither is calling to me (although isn't that a pretty photo?).

Instead, I will start in on my new project of reading all the Charles de Lint novels that the Oakland library system has. I am starting with Memory and Dream, which I have a sneaking suspicion that I've already read, but which I'm going to read regardless. It's about an artist whose illustrations have a life of their own, a story which is calling to me as I try to bring my owls (and who knows what else next!) to life.

I've been having this thought lately, while pondering the big question of what I really want to do with my life. I read an article recently about Rachel Maddow. Her partner has been trying to decide whether to quit her job and become a full-time artist. She said something like, "It's not about what is 'the right decision' -- it's about the fable you want to write about your own life." This has been sticking with me. The fable I want to write about my own life. What a nice perspective.

So that got me thinking about my dad, who, at age 62-ish, is pursuing another world record in his age group, in pole-vaulting (through Masters Track and Field competitions). (He has had a few world records already) This is my dad's greatest joy -- vaulting. He says it's the closest thing you can get to flying, and he loves it so much. He's a good example of what you can do when you really devote yourself to something, no matter what the odds, no matter what the naysayers, no matter about anything except that you love it.

(here's Dad two years ago, unfortunately snapping a pole)

To me, drawing something, when it turns out a certain way, when it has life, is the closest thing to real magic that I know. It's the thing that takes my breath away, the thing of which I am most jealous, neurotic, envious, admiring, covetous, proud, humble... if I could draw the things I have in my head -- what magic that would be! Sometimes I get a glimpse when something turns out right -- and it's that edge of it being almost real, almost magic, that gets me excited. I don't know what I'm capable of -- could be nothing, could be something good. The perfect example of 'you don't know until you try.'

So I'm thinking about it. About magic. About fables, and bringing things to life.
***

Tonight has been spent curled up in front of the fire, doing nothing productive -- flipping through catalogs, reading Apartment Therapy, eating nachos, petting the cat. I feel a thousand times better than I did all day. And now, time for early bed.

When Dedication Looks Like Crazy

My dad is still, at age 62-ish, a world-class pole-vaulter. Now he's in the Master's class, but still.

I was talking to him this morning, asking if he was out skiing in all the snow they're getting up in Oregon. He said he was, but that what was really difficult in all the crazy weather has been keeping up with his polevaulting. A sampling of the conversation:

Me: So, Dad, how's the skiing?

Dad: Well, it's pretty good, but it's been hard to keep up with the polevaulting. I go out there to the track, and first it's snowing so it's hard to see the pit. Then another day, it's freezing rain, so the runway is awfully slippery. Then, it's pouring down rain so the pit fills up with water.

Me: Uh..

Dad: I mean, I'm running down the runway, and all of a sudden the pit is filled with two inches of water, so I gotta stop, dump all the water, then hurry up and run back to the beginning to start all over because if you hesitate a minute, it's full of water again!

Me: Wow, that sounds, um, difficult.

Dad (chuckling): Yep, it's been kind of tricky vaulting every day. Nobody else is out there, though! Good time for practicing.

***
Folks, this is what it takes to be really good at something.

I think I'll just stick with baking and drawing. With the occasional Olympic sleeping.