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June 29, 2006
I finally uploaded some pictures I took of our place back in March. They're over on my flickr photo-sharing page.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 06:16 AM | Comments (0)
June 26, 2006
We peaked at 101 or 102 an hour and a half ago, and now it's dipped back down to 99. I had a near-run in with heat stroke (dizziness and an overwhelming urge to vomit) and -- because I fainted last time this happened -- quickly pulled my car out of traffic. Fortunately, there was a grocery store right there, and I was able to eat cold yogurt and cool off in the frozen foods aisle.
I have no idea how I survived in Virginia, back when we had humidity. I guess a combination of air conditioning and occasional fainting spells. I think I'd die if I ever had to live in Arizona. I'm not looking forward to the continued warming of the planet.
It's too hot to cook, so I'm having chilled beer for dinner. I'll be in the basement, where it's cool.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 06:21 PM | Comments (5)
June 25, 2006
hot sun, beating down
The low '90s with zero humidity weren't so bad. But by the time temperatures climbed into the high '90s yesterday afternoon, it was definitely sweltering. I spent a couple of hours sitting on our shady front porch, reading or talking on the phone. There was a community festival a few blocks away, and the blues drifted through the air.
In our racially divided gentrifying neighborhood, even the community festivals don't mingle much. Art Hop, Last Thursday, any Alberta Street fair I've attended has been overwhelmingly white. "In Our Neighborhood," yesterday's bluesy event, was teeming with melanin. I was the only white person around when I walked by.
Today I don't think I'll be taking any walks. Yesterday's heat still lingers in the air, and there's a hot new sun in the sky trying to make things worse. The record for June in Portland is 100. Word is, that could be changing soon.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 12:15 PM | Comments (1)
June 21, 2006
The landlord patched the ceiling last night. Between the flooding, the now water-warped bed and the tap-dancing upstairs neighbors who have a party three hours after we go to bed every night, Ben and I have been feeling pretty worn down by life lately. Nothing else to report.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 07:03 AM | Comments (3)
June 18, 2006
I'm back from a weekend with Rian in Corvallis. It was great to catch up with her, listen to new music, talk about the future. Despite being in a tough situation, Rian is making some good, thoughtful decisions. It will be a while before she gets to reap all of the rewards, however.
My friends never cease to amaze me. They are all so self aware and mature. Not sure why they keep me in their lives, but I'm glad they do.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 07:56 PM | Comments (0)
June 16, 2006
kohlrabi, strawberries, calendula, oh my!
I thought I had bok choy, but it was really kohlrabi -- a totally different vegetable with which I have absolutely no familiarity. When you google "kohlrabi recipe" you get a surprising number blogs with the same refrain: "I bought this sputnik-looking veggie, but when I googled for recipes I couldn't find any."
In the end, I did find a recipe -- one that called for cooking the kohlrabi in large amounts of butter with large amounts of onion for 25 minutes, then creating a creamy sauce with flour, milk and butter. I sprinkled it with salt, pepper and nutmeg. It was good, but that was mostly the butter and cheese talking.
If we get more next week, I'm either going to make a salad with it or stir fry it. Kohlrabi has a thick outer skin, but once you peel that off it's sweet and tastes a lot like peeled broccoli stems. I don't want to drown that flavor in dairy.
Every Wednesday through October, Ben and I have signed on to get a box of mystery produce from Sun Gold Farm, through its community supported agriculture program. We paid $255 upfront, and the farmers bring a big tub into the city for us to pick up near our home.
This week, we ate the strawberries first. They were sweet, moist, bright red, and had barely just been picked when I brought them home. Hood strawberries have the shortest shelf life in the world, acording to the farmers, and can't be found commercially as a result.Ben and I have agreed are the best strawberries we've ever had.
We've still got crimson tide lettuce, sugar pop peas, garlic buds and rhubarb to eat our way through. And we received a calendula plant; I'm not quite sure what to do with it.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 06:23 AM | Comments (3)
June 13, 2006
Hole in the ceiling. Water on the bed. Cat in the corner with a soggy head.
I guess sometimes when you live in a 96-year-old house, the plumbing fails. It's happened to us twice now. Last time the leak was in the corner, and it soaked Ben's basket of freshly laundered clothes.
This time it was more severe. It made it through our blankets, sheets, mattress, box spring and floor into the basement. Fortunately, our landlord was here to mow the lawn and decided to make an unauthorized entry to find out the source of the flood.
Mister's ears are damp. He's hiding and a little freaked out. He growled at the plumber and hissed at the guy who owns our house. I have a hunch maybe he got the brunt of the leak.
It's not clear yet whether our bed's destroyed or just stained, only that one of us will sleep on the couch and the other on our spare twin mattress tonight. I'm so glad I have renter's insurance.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 05:20 PM | Comments (3)
June 09, 2006
wedding
We're in the wedding home stretch, with just about seven weeks to go, and I'm feeling alternatingly pleased and panicky about the state of the planning.
At this point, we've got enough of the basics covered that it will be a real, legal wedding. There's an officiant, a license and food for guests when it's all over. But there are still some pretty big things I'd like to do -- like getting wedding rings and coming up with music to play at the reception.
In eight and a half weeks, it will all be behind us, including the honeymoon, and then I'll have to come up with something else to worry neurotically about. Not that I've ever had a hard time with that.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 07:07 PM | Comments (1)
June 05, 2006
my new commuter ways
Finally did a practice run bike ride to my office on Sunday. It went pretty well, except the part where I rode on a 55 mile per hour road with a tiny bike lane six inches deep in water. Cars were zooming by at 60 or 70 mph, rocking my body and wobbling my bike. I walked half a mile before lifting my bike over the guardrail and riding on the roadside dirt for another half mile or so. Also got lost twice, but found myself again quickly.
On the way back, I made a phone call. I tried to ride and talk at the same time, fell onto my side in someone's grassy yard. No injuries, but the potential was there. So I walked and talked the last three miles home.
There were some hills, but none too steep. I wasn't winded or sore when it was over. So it's do-able, if I can get over my fear. Riding on the street still freaks me out.
I think I've found an alternate route that will help me avoid the crazy road. But I'm giving myself at least two more weekends before I really dive in.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 10:08 PM | Comments (0)
June 03, 2006
I bought a refurbished bike a couple of weeks ago, from the non-profit Community Cycling Center. It was built in Austria, and was owned by a University of Oregon student for a time before it landed in my hands.
It's a street bike, with low-down handle bars and gear shifts controlled by levers. I've never ridden anything else like it. I bought it even though I felt wobbly and had a hard time steering and braking after my test ride at the store.
Bicycle commuters tell me it's normal to feel uneasy when you're first breaking in a new bike.
So today I took it out for a half hour ride, from home to a park, around the park a few times, then home again. Just in 30 minutes, I became much more comfortable with the bike. Riding home was considerably easier than riding there, as my confidence on the road had improved.
Tomorrow I may practice riding to the base of the I-5 bridge and back. I'd have to ride across the bridge to downtown Vancouver in order to bike the 7 miles to work. I think it will be at least another two weeks before I'm ready to try that.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 04:15 PM | Comments (0)
June 01, 2006
Our landlord has still not come over to check out the source of our soggy ceiling and water-stained floor. Instead, apparently, he has called the folks in the two upstairs apartments and frightened them with strange questions.
The single guy and the couple knocked a few hours apart on our door, trying to figure out what was going on. Ben showed them the mess that the leak made our bedroom.
While they were here, I'm sure our neighbors also saw all the household messes that Ben and I have created -- the dusty floor, the dirty dishes, the unmade bed.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 10:36 PM | Comments (4)