Pomp and Circumstance

Otis has graduated to a "big boy" bed and no longer has to sleep in his crate every night. We're all so proud... ;o) Yes, Mom, it's tucking in the next generation!

He spreads his own ears out like that every night. In other news, Ruby and Otis are getting along quite well and often nap together during the afternoon. I did not pose them!!

Oh Rodeo (Antonio!)

Wednesday night was Military night at the Kitsap County fair and Stampede. That meant that military families got in for free. I have always enjoyed watching bull riding on television and have often thought it would be fun to see a real rodeo. When I saw the advertisement for this fair, I double checked and, sure enough, the stampede is the rodeo! The fair itself was pretty standard with kiddie rides and some fun livestock. There was also a hypnotist performing on stage who was pretty impressive. But the real draw was the stampede.

The bleachers were high on both sides and stadium lights came on as it grew dark. The first event was the bareback bronco riding (the hook!) Those horses were so big and they were bucking hard. It was amazing to see the cowboys, who were essentially lying flat on their backs on the horses throughout most of the rides, stay on for any amount of time.

Next we moved on to the steer wrestling and calf-tying. The events were longer, less exciting and made me feel sorry for the calves. I didn't take any pictures but I was glad to see that, most of the time, the calves won the event!

Then there was the ladies' event: barrel racing! This was amazing to watch. I was on the edge of my seat as they careened around those barrels as fast as they could. I have no idea how those horses could stay on their feet, but they did! The saddle-riding broncos proved to be good entertainment too, but by then I could hardly stand the anticipation of seeing the bull riding.

I was not disappointed. Those bulls are enormous! It was both exhilarating and terrifying to watch them jumping and twisting. After the riding was over (usually after about three seconds, very few eight second rides occurred), the bull would run around the arena. You never see it on tv, but three men on horses would come with their lassos and herd the bull back into the corral. I think they have the toughest job of all. Those bulls were excited and mad and the men would often surround them, swinging their ropes, having to get right up next to the bull to get it out! They did the same thing for the bucking broncos, too, and it was equally as terrifying because the horses were so much faster than the bulls.

Bottom line: I loved the rodeo! It was exciting and nerve-wracking and I will definitely be going back next year! P.S. Don't forget to enlarge the pictures by clicking on them to see the details better.

Walnut Wazooms

On Thursday Rich and I wanted to have some ice cream. But, we have been back to our very strict no dairy, no sugar, no gluten, etc. I remembered that Mom and I had made banana ice cream while I was at home in the spring, so I went ahead and made a batch. First you slice up bananas and put them in the freezer. After they freeze, you blend them with walnut butter and a splash of milk (we used chocolate soy milk) and, poof!, you have soft serve. When I made the walnut butter, it was perfect. I've had some trouble in the past getting it to be a nice consistency. This time, I forgot the nuts were toasting in the oven and toasted them for almost four minutes. I was afraid they would taste smoked because that had happened to me the very first time I had tried toasting them. On Thursday, almost four minutes proved to be just the right amount of time and the butter came out warm and smooth and I didn't have to add any other oils to it, which was my goal. I was a little sad to "waste" it by putting it into the ice cream! It inspired me to make another batch even though we don't have much with which we can eat it! No bread, no crackers, no jelly!! And then it hit me. One of my favorite candies is peanut butter cups and I can't have them anymore because of the sugar but also because I am sensitive to peanuts. So, last night I made another DELICIOUS batch of walnut butter and then I took some of our dark chocolate bars (Lindt sea salt, orange and almond, and 70%) and melted them in bowls. Then, in the mini-cupcake papers, I put in a drop of chocolate, a ball of walnut butter, and then covered it in more chocolate. I put some in the freezer and some in the fridge and waited for them to set. Oh man, walnut WAZOOMS! They came out great. The ones in the freezer had crispier chocolate but in both the walnut butter stayed all soft between the crunchy chocolate. Of course, the only downside is that I now have yet another eating rule: only have them after supper or they'll be gone by lunchtime!

Was That a Spider or an Eight-Legged Pony?

That's pretty much all I have to say about it.

Sailing to Seattle

On Monday Rich and I went to Seattle. It was my first time and his first time as a tourist. We had been so busy unpacking that we didn't have time to plan out what we would do when we got there. Rich is more relaxed than I am (to put it mildly) and I was nervous all the way to the ferry (about half an hour) and the beginning of the ride across. Then I decided that I, too, could fly by the seat of my pants. (Didn't the Lorax do that?) Luckily, Seattle is a very easy city to get around. We arrived on the dock at about 10:15 AM and struck out to find Pike's Place. I was imagining a wide street with stalls lining both sides full of produce. I imagined that all the way up two steep hills (Seattle looks a lot like San Francisco in that way!), across several blocks, over to a map where we saw the error of our ways, and back down two steep hills. And, surprise, it looks nothing like what I imagined! In fact, it reminded me of a much bigger and more interesting Thorne's in Northampton.

We spent the rest of the morning wandering through the little shops. There were used book and music stores, jewelry stores and the stores that smell like patchouli and sell hippie clothes and other random things (my favorite). We watched the fish throwers and walked through the produce area where they sold everything from cucumbers to chocolate pasta. The flowers were beautiful too but by the time we got there it was getting crowded and I was ready to find some space and get some lunch. We had delicious New England clam chowder in a restaurant looking out over the water. I had to see what the New England clam chowder would taste like so far outside of New England. The verdict: DELICIOUS!

Once our blood sugar level was raised, we headed off to see if we could walk as far as the space needle. It seemed both close and far at the same time. At the information booth we found a map and realized it was only about nine blocks away. Off we went. We stepped into a few cute stores along the way but I had to stop dawdling because we were aiming to be back for a 3:00 ferry, which didn't leave a lot of time for stopping. Once there, we decided not to go up so we wouldn't be late for our boat (the dogs were waiting at home and, while a babysitter had let them out midday, we didn't want them to go for too long without us).

The area around the needle was fun to see too. There was an American Indian band playing and singing, a small amusement park and some kind of museum. Upon checking yet another "You are Here" map, we realized there was also a monorail. I had not been on one of these since being a little kid at Riverside Park and was excited at the prospect of a ride. It was especially exciting because it took us back the nine blocks we had walked from Pike's Place and, while it was a few streets up, it dropped us off in a shopping center. We bought our tickets and enjoyed our short ride through town.

After visiting a couple of stores in the shopping area (come on, if you are reading this you KNOW that I don't pass up the shopping!), we walked back down to the water front to catch our ferry. We arrived in plenty of time and were able to get seats on the top level and enjoy the sun and the warm afternoon. As we walked to our seats, we passed a man wearing a Cape Cod tshirt. Of course I had to point at him and ask if he was from Massachusetts. It turns out that he was from Windsor, CT, and that he had been helping his friend from Shclbourne Falls drive across the country with her dog to take a nursing job in Alaska. Such a small world. He ended up sitting with us and chatting a little bit about driving across the country on I-90. He had stopped at most of the same stops we had. We enjoyed the trip across and were glad to get our tired feet back to our car. With a quick stop at Central Market (our version of Whole Foods) to buy some Lara Bars, bulk walnuts, and gluten-free granola, we were on our way back home to our puppies.

Scenic "Beach" State Park

Rich finally has a few days off (four). We planned a few excursions and also a couple of days at home to finish the unpacking (almost there!!). On Sunday we drove to a place called Scenic Beach State Park. We were supposed to drive all the way to the coast and camp but all the sites were full and we were afraid to drive that far and wing it. This state park was only about ten miles from our apartment. We arrived at about 11:00AM. The dogs were excited and ready to explore. Off we went into the woods to find this beach... down the path and there it was! Wait, was that it? They did say beach right? Can this strip of rocks littered with thick seaweed and oyster shells be called a beach?

The people on the Pacific Coast really need to work on their definitions because this is false advertising. But, if you look up from the rocks and shells (not a beach) you will definitely see the "scenic"! I like to be able to put my feet in the water while looking up at a snow capped mountain!

The dogs were very sweet and dug up the stinkiest shells they find and proudly marched around with them hanging out of their mouths. Ruby also barked heartily at every thing that moved (and several that didn't!) Unfortunately, the rocks made it difficult to walk and it quickly became crowded. We headed back up into the woods where we wandered among the campsites. THIS is what I had in mind when I thought of camping! Nice, tall pine trees, spacious sites, a view of the mountains AND the water, and a bathroom nearby. We will definitely camp there at some point in the future. The dogs had a great time wandering, sniffing, wrestling and chewing their way around. They were then exhausted for the rest of the day, thus allowing us leave them sleeping in their crates and drive to the grocery store, which is actually a fun experience out here. I think that will be another post altogether, though! We all slept well that night and then Rich and I were up early on Monday for my first trip to Seattle and his first trip as just a tourist!

Guess what!

I am going to Seattle tomorrow!!

Feeling a Big Sluggish

Last week Rich and I were out for our walk and he pointed out one of the more lovely elements of the wildlife out here in Washington. He told me that that lately the dogs have been very interested in these black pods that grow on some little bushes out behind our apartment.

He had been wondering about it when he realized that they weren't the black pods after all, but big, nasty...slugs! Now that he's pointed them out to me I see them all the time. Except for when I took my camera out to take a picture! But, I did find some nice snails.

I have only had one unpleasant run-in with a slug. It was the supreme unpleasant, though, because I stepped on it. It popped, of course. Now when I see these guys, I tiptoe around them or prance over them. And I always try to weasel my way out of taking the dogs out in the dark (and usually win!)

(A Rainy, Boring Saturday)

What? Doesn't everyone display their rawhide and pinecone collections on their mantels?

The Drama Drawer

About a year and a half ago Rich and I bought this little file cabinet as a printer table. I thought the drawer would be a good place to put the paper and other office-type supplies. The cabinet had to be assembled and I decided it would be my project. I put most of it together and then Rich finished it when he got home. I can't remember the details but I know it frustrated me to not be able to finish it myself! Even more than that, it frustrated me that I hadn't read the package thoroughly and the drawer was just a hanging file cabinet and had no bottom, back or sides! We put the printer on it anyway and the drawer ended up being wasted space.

Since we have been in Washington, we have talked about finding something to finish off the drawer so it can suit our purposes better. We went to Home Depot and found a quarter inch board to use, measured it out, and went to cut it. No saw. No knife. No nothing. Luckily, they have a public saw at Home Depot so we managed to get it cut a few days ago. I assumed this would be Rich's project because it involves tools! However, he's been so busy with all of his gigs that he hasn't had any time. Today I discovered that my keys were locked into my new car and my plan of grocery shopping and cooking rice meal went down the tubes. Plan B: build the drawer. I put the bottom piece on with no problem. Unfortunately the first side wasn't as easy. I put the nail in the top first but when I put in the other three nails (one on each side) I realized it was crooked and hit the track along which the drawer slides (grammar appreciation!). I was SO mad! I went on and did the next side (much more carefully!) and then the back. I assumed fixing the first side was just a matter of removing the nails. Too bad the nails I used had such small heads that they were NOT coming out! I found a utility knife of some kind and hacked off the corner (good thing there aren't pictures of that, you wouldn't like it!) and BAM! I now have a drawer for my DVDs and CDs... Chalk it up to another successful and marginally productive morning!

A plan that worked!

I am happy to report that the plan worked! I did not get to start until about 10:05 thanks to Ruby (she forgot about the going outside rule!). However, I did manage to finish at 12:05...just in time for lunch! I am very inspired by the new kitchen. It's now the best room in the house and I would like to sit in the middle of the floor and just look around at it all.. Instead, I'm going to go grocery shopping and then cook up a nice, big batch of rice meal! Here are the after pictures:

A Kitchen Behemoth

I am going to try a new tactic to help me be productive today. The kitchen MUST be finished today. Who can cook when the kitchen looks like this? NOBODY! The problem until now has been the cabinet space. As I explained to the girl in Home Depot last night, they made the kitchen look really nice for a cheap apartment. I was completely taken in by the pretty colors and nice looking countertop, not to mention a garbage disposal AND a dish washer! We'll take it! However, if you look closely at the layout you'll no doubt see immediately that the only normal sized cabinet is under the sink. Who wants to store pots and pans under the sink?! So, all I could do was wander around, lost, for two whole weeks saying "but I don't have anywhere to PUT it when I take it out of the box!"

Enter my new best friend: the Behemoth! We found her at Home Depot last week and finally were able to buy her last night. Yes, Dad, she DID fit into my Fit! Sort of. We won't go into the details of how because it was a little dangerous and left me praying that no police officers would get behind us during our 1.5 mile drive home! (They didn't!) She was even light enough that I was able to help get her into the house! Anyway, I now have somewhere to put my stuff so it is off to the kitchen. It is tempting to continue wasting away the time the way I have been for about two weeks. So, I am taking before and after pictures. I am posting this post this morning at about 9:45 my time and am hoping to post the after pictures no later than noon! This way, I will feel extremely ashamed of myself if I can't post those after pictures! Thank you to anyone who is reading the blog for helping me stay accountable! The Behemoth: