Happy Thanksgiving

What a relaxing, stress-free holiday!  Perfectly planned at the last minute, of course.

First, we hiked Pilot Butte three times in a row.  Burn the calories before eating.  It was a gorgeous morning.

After a bit of football watching, Emil cooked a late lunch.  Huevos Rancheros for me, and cream cheese stuffed french toast with strawberries and ice cream for him.  So good!

 

Next, we went to a dear friend's home in Northwest Crossing.  They are our board game friends, who taught us to play Rummikub.  This time, we taught them to play Euchre.  Fun times!

Finally, we changed into pajamas, lounged on the couch, and enjoyed the rest of the evening.  It was a perfect day!

Come on 2014!

I'm counting the days until 2014.  I had several family members pass away this last month, and it's very sad.  I'm ready for a new year.

I'm also ready for some new challenges in my personal life.  Finishing the publication of my book will be great.  What type of book should I focus on next?  There are several ideas swirling around in my head.  But, I feel like I can't focus on those ideas until my book is put to bed.  Must be done by the end of this year!

It's too early for resolutions, but I do have a few goals in mind for next year. 

1.  Take skate skiing lessons.  Listen to the instructor.  Practice, Practice, Practice.
2.  Take downhill skiing lessons or snowboard lessons.  Taking one lesson when I was in middle school didn't stick.
3.  Get to my goal weight.  This means even more exercise.  Which would be easier if my heel wasn't hurt.  I'm patiently waiting for the Affordable Care Act to kick in.  I'm headed for PT, and I've already picked out the office.  Close to my house, and I know the therapist.
4.  Volunteer at a meaningful organization.  Oh, Food Bank of Alaska, I miss you.
5.  Be a better spouse.  Isn't that on everyone's list?

Well, today is Thanksgiving.  Time to cook a ton of food, gain weight, and watch football.  Wait.  This year, we're totally non-traditional!  We've planned practically nothing for today.  Possible ideas for today:  Walk the Butte, limp through the I Like Pie 5k, eat huevos rancheros, chase the cat around the house, practice uke from the comfort of our couch, play games with friends, soak up Vitamin D on a walk, eat stuffed french toast and tater tots, list stuff on eBay, watch the Ravens win, talk with family, and go to bed early.  Sounds perfect to me!

Open Mic

A few weeks ago, I gathered my courage and played open mic at our ukulele jam.  It's a new addition to our ukulele jam on the first Tuesday of each month.  I kicked off the evening, and then nine more people got up and sang/played.  What a fun evening!

Emil recorded the event.  Watch the link below.
http://youtu.be/uKwYuT9q4GA

We laugh and contemplate what our lives are like now.  Never in a million years did we think ukuleles, Oregon, and more would be our life.  What a ride!

Cincinnati Adventures

What a fun-filled trip to Cincinnati!  So little time, so many highlights, and so much accomplished!

We played ukulele with my nephew, Aaron.  He taught me the strum to "Ho Hey" by The Lumineers.  I'll practice it for open mic at uke jam.  In return, we taught both nephews to play Euchre, the best card game ever (right after Cribbage, of course!).  We also had an impromptu music sing-along with my parents, who drove up from South Carolina.  I appreciate their time in coming up to visit.

A lovely lunch with my Aunt Jayne on Thursday.  See the fun pic below of Karla and I outside the restaurant!

Thursday evening, Ted, Karla, Emil, and I went to a live taping of "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" at Cincinnati Music Hall.  Over 3,000 folks were there, and it was super fun!  A little hard to hear, but it was neat to see how they record it.  Here's the link to the show:  http://www.npr.org/programs/wait-wait-dont-tell-me/.  John Lithgow was the guest.

Lots of good food from Karla and the usual food joints in Cincinnati.  Our new favorite place is Sultan's Mediterrean Cuisine.  Yum!!  http://www.sultanscincinnati.com/.  We also stopped by to see younger nephew, Sam, at his Tae Kwon Do competition.  He did very well!

One particular highlight was visiting with my Aunt Anna and Uncle Bob.  They generously handed down my Uncle Bill's banjo uke to me.  We've ordered new tuners for it, and I'm looking forward to playing it.  Playing a few songs with them was quite enjoyable!

Scroll down for a gazillion pics of our trip!

Cincinnati airport - Chick-fil-A and Gold Star Chili!

Cincinnati Chili - Trip #1

The historic Cincinnati Music Hall

Wait Wait!  This is NPR.  So cool!

Hot sauce display at Jungle Jim's.

Huge jars of Tabasco.

I remember eating this as a kid.  Pretty sure I thought I was eating turtles.

Little Dachshund-shaped cheese at Jungle Jim's.

Aglamesis Brothers Ice Cream - Trip #1

Pumpkin, Butterscotch, and Cinnamon ice cream

Ted smoked two chickens for dinner on Friday night.

Sam in action.

Breaking boards with his feet.

Bowing down to receive his award.

Uncle Bob and I jamming.  He's a talented musician.

Me and Aunt Anna.

Uncle Bob pickin' away.

Family platter at Sultan's

Busking at Gold Star Chili for a 4-Way with beans and a cheese coney

Laundry is in, watching snow fall this morning, breakfast at Pilot Butte Drive In, and resting up to play Euchre tonight with 14 friends.  Welcome Home!

A Perfect Beach Wedding

This past weekend, Jennifer, married her best friend in South Beach, OR.  Gorgeous weather and a perfect venue.  The groom was decked out a nice suit, and I cried as soon as Jennifer stepped outside.  Took a few pictures in between tears.  Jennifer looked fantastic, and it was a lovely wedding.

I won't post pics of them since I snapped the pics kind of unofficially.  They'll want to see professional pics of the whole thing!

Overlooking the beach on a bluff

Fall colors.

After the wedding, we headed south to Florence and then over to Eugene to The Sweet Life Patisserie.  A whole Chocolate Silk Torte with Raspberry Topping awaited us.

Beach and a bird

Foggy morning

Hello Sunshine!

Quiche and goodies at The Sweet Life

The cake!

We can't eat this entire cake ourselves, right?  So, we invited some uke friends over for tacos, uke, and cake last night.  The cake is super rich and perfect to share with dear friends.

Lots of leftover cake ... hope it freezes well!

Literary Harvest

To claim my literary win, I read my entry out loud in front of 40 folks in Redmond at the Central Oregon Writers Guild Literary Harvest on Friday evening.  Each day last week, I read it out loud for Yam, and I became teary-eyed each time.  My goal was not to cry during the reading.  I wasn't nervous until five minutes before it was time to read.  When I arrived to the podium, I was sure my heart would pound out of my chest and scamper down the aisle without me.

I survived.  No tears from me, a few from the audience members, and now I'll be published in their chapbook.  Note to family members: Don't be surprised if you receive a chapbook as a Christmas gift.

Emil took a few pics of the event, and we celebrated at Sonic with tater tots after the event!

A certificate noting the win.

11 winners - poetry, non-fiction, memoir, and fiction entries.

No crying, no cookies tossed.  Phew.

So, what's going on my with my book?  Final edits.  Just need some time to do them, work with CreateSpace, Amazon's self-publishing service, and upload my book cover.  Finish and put to bed by Christmas.  Merry Christmas to me!

Pumpkin Pickin'

You know I love pumpkins!  I look forward to hitting up the pumpkin patch every year in Terrebonne.  The patch sells all kind of pumpkins, squash, kettle corn (YUM!), and more.  They have a petting farm, corn maize, and a cannon that shoots acorn squash.  Emil took some pics of our recent visit.

Pumpkin for our kitchen

Pumpkin for our den

Fun colors of pumpkins

Picking out a small pumpkin for our kitchen table

Pumpkin cannon

Target:  VW bus

Gorgeous!

Hunting for a pumpkin.  A perfect pumpkin!

I baked off some pumpkin chocolate chip bread yesterday.  Tried to make it healthy with whole wheat pastry flour, but the baked texture is a bit gummy.  Edible though.

My tendonitis isn't healing at all.  Probably because I keep using my arm in every day tasks.  So, I think Emil will make me a sling to help in the healing.  Hope it does the trick!  Luckily, I can still play the uke.

Well, gotta go practice reading my literary contest entry!  The event is Friday night.  Wish me luck!

Tommy and Fall Festival

Tommy's here!  Tommy's here!  Tommy lives in beautiful, Bend now!

I was off on a five day catering gig when Tommy arrived to town on Monday with a truckload of his possessions.  So, Emil was the welcome wagon.  When I returned on Friday, we hit the town right away.  A super yummy lunch at 10 Below, errands around town, Happy Hour at Five Fusion, and Bend Fall Festival.

Here are a few pics from the day:

A cool welder shop we stopped in to visit.

These pics are really for Emil to drool over.

The welder and anvil.

MOsley WOtta, a cool local musician.

Tom and a shake weight.

Nice bike/art sculpture.

We also stopped in to Dudley's and saw a fantastic trio, playing folk music.  Such a fun place!

Now, it's time to watch the Seahawks dominate in the second half.  Glad our antenna is holding up okay.  Otherwise, we'd be at Summit Saloon watching the game.

Because of the shutdown, my catering work is almost done.  We had several gigs confirmed at a federal facility.  Now cancelled.  Boo!  On the bright side, it will give me time to heal since I've developed tendonitis in my left elbow.  Double boo!  Not sure I can play the uke right now.

However, I do have good news!  I entered into my first literary contest, and I was just notified I'm one of ten winners!  My entry will be published in a chapbook and sold around town.  I will also read it out loud at an event in a few weeks.  Pretty sweet surprise!

Birthday Bash

Emil celebrated his 39th birthday again.  Funny how that number never increases.  We started our day with brunch at McKay Cottage.  Delish as usual.  It was nice to go on a non-weekend day and avoid the crowd.  They have a fantastic hot chocolate for $2.50.  I must remember to order it each visit.

Thank you so much to my family for all the wonderful gifts for Emil!  He waited all day to open them.  We're really enjoying the chocolate covered strawberries.  Everyone is so kind and welcoming to Emil.  He appreciates it.

Ran around doing errands and such during the day and worked off the huge breakfast.  We needed to make room for Happy Hour eats.  And, it's a good thing we did.  Five Fusion is our new favorite place for Happy Hour.  One dish in particular was the best food I've ever eaten in my life!

Filet Mignon Lollipops with Mashed Taters

Peking Duck in a Steamed Bun

Crispy Lobster Fritters

Crab and Shrimp Stuffed Shitake Mushrooms

Crispy Pork Belly, Chantarelle Mushrooms, Arugula, 68 degree Egg

Birthday Boy!

Calamari with Yuzu Sauce

We already have plans to return after my catering gig.  We'll take Tommy Boy since he'll be here.  YAY!  He should arrive tomorrow afternoon with a truck load of stuff.  His room is ready, and the realtor is standing by, according to him. 

The real question: Is 10 Barrel ready for our daily visits??