After a night out with friends and an emotionally draining day, I slept in a bit and headed east on I84.
The drive was long but the decision not to take I90 across Washington was the right one. No offense Washington but eastern Oregon is much prettier; besides, I am not even entirely sure how many times I have crossed Washington so part of it is probably the newness factor.
The playlist consisted of a mix of songs I can sing along to. Umlaut seems a bit confused, but overall seems to enjoy the somewhat frequent stops and exploration of new smells in new locations.
I stopped at a Char Burger for lunch, the food was meh, but they had guns on the wall and more importantly pie.
The drive was long and I rolled into Boise around 10P and found a room at a hotel. Apparently everything closes at 10P in Boise (at least where I was) and the only thing I could find for dinner was Taco Bell. I must remember to pick up some bread and other easy to eat dinner foods, or otherwise eat dinner earlier.
Due to a need to sleep, I did not take off nearly as early as I thought I would. It was all good though since the plan was only to go so far as Portland, OR.
After a few final errands and good-byes Umlaut and I hit the road and headed south.
I made a pit stop at a Mount Saint Helen’s visitor center and at Mrs. Beesley’s for a quick late lunch early dinner. I am not even sure where it is, but Jennifer knew.
Jennifer is a friend who graciously said she would put me up for the night, but then had to go to Seattle at the last minute so she left me the key all the same so I could stay the night anyway.
I was exhausted when I got there; though the drive was relatively short it was emotionally draining. To know that I was driving away and though I would be back for visits, I was leaving the amazing friends I had made in my almost twelve years in Seattle.
When I arrived at the little white house on the corner I was greatly impressed by the amazing bathroom.
After taking some time to relax, I called some other friends in Portland whom I had not seen since college and we went to the Kennedy School House for a late dinner and a few beers. Though I was exhausted, I am glad I made it.
I managed to get to bed at a decent time; then stayed there until fairly late. Finally at nearly noon, I hit the road… on to Boise.
More photos available on flickr.
Today I made Tomato Tuna Melts, these are perfect for a hot night because you can microwave them to melt the cheese and since there is tomato instead of bread you do not get that weird gummy effect with the bread.
I took halved roma tomatoes emptied them out, the guts were chopped and added to a bowl with diced green apple, celery, juice from half a lemon, about 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise, ground pepper and sea salt and a can of tuna fish. After mixing it all together I stuffed the halved tomatoes with the tuna salad and then topped with grated cheddar and jack cheese. I then put them in the microwave and heated them until the cheese melted.
I served them on a bed of lettuce with some rosemary bread and cucumber salad from last night. It was a nice filling but cool dinner with a little bit of warmth in the tomato.
Since most of my stuff is boxed up in a storage unit my creative outlet has moved to food.
It has been a really nice summer in Seattle, hot, not too humid, not too dry, just overall really decent. That said though one of my favorite things to cook is chili and stews, it isn’t exactly the right weather so I have been trying a few other things.
Tonight was a Mediterranean inspired meal. I cheated on the falafel and used the “Fantastic Foods” brand that comes in a box, but made the rest. I used quinoa instead of cous cous on the tabouli which turned out really nice, though I could have increased the lemon and parsley (which just seemed really bland as far as parsley goes) a little for a bit more punch. The cucumber salad was really simple, onions cucumber, yogurt, dill. It was a nice cool dinner for a hot night.
Back in May I lost my job, a month later I moved out of my place, in the end I intend to move back east.
I’ve spent the last few years feeling over Seattle. It is a great place to live really and my friends here are probably the best I have ever had, but it is time. There is a difference between the left coast and the right coast that leaves me needing to return back east.
In the meantime I am trying to save money and get some things sorted out, so I am staying with friends. Though technically homeless, I have a nice home base spot with a room with a door and time to enjoy my summer and hang out with my friends.
Though I have not been terribly crafty since December, I have been fairly active with my camera... I have developed a bit of an obsession with my fisheye and animal noses…
I have also just been taking more photos overall. Except for this weekend, I had a garage sale with some friends. I managed to get rid of some stuff, but there is still a lot to get rid of. Anyone want to buy my stuff? No my fabric stash is not for sale.
My summer so far... there are worse things than unemployment...
I just realized I haven't blogged since early December... I am not sure I have been all that crafty since then (until recently).
Over the last few months I have become somewhat obsessed with animal noses as seen through my fisheye lens.
As far as craft projects are concerned. I have a sewing project that I am working on… but more exciting is the table.
I decided I must have enough bottle caps, so I have been nailing them in place. I have them all laid out. It is not quite complete yet, but I really like the way it is looking.
When I was a kid, I always wanted a pet dog. My parents aren't really animal lovers so the only pet I ever got was a beta fish and some turtles. I then bought my first puppy with an ex of mine (we split it 50/50) and she was an adorable white boxer which lived at my ex's parents so I never really got the experience of truly owning a dog (it felt more like a child support setup; visit on the weekends and pay a lot of money for vet bills and food).
When I met my husband, he owned a 6 year old yellow lab named Jeremy. Our first encounter was extremely memorable. Keep in mind Jeremy is an extremely well behaved dog but for some reason, the first time I went to their apartment, I was greeted by a leg up and urine missing my feet by less than an inch. The more I went over to their house and eventually stayed the night, the more Jeremy showed signs that he wasn't liking the idea of sharing his dad with another person (ex: making giant wet spots with drool on my side of the bed, finding poop on my side of the bed, etc.).
After Jeremy realized I was sticking around for the long run, he accepted me and we bonded in our own way. I was able to convince him to get in the bathtub for baths without the drama that was shared between him and his dad. We used to go on walks around the island we used to live on and it was great.
I have learned so much from Jeremy, more than he will obviously ever know since he is only a dog at the end of the day. He taught me the responsibility of owning a dog and at times the sacrifices one makes for them. We've missed opportunities to go to amazing concerts because it was way too hot and we didn't want to risk Jeremy having heat stroke; its just not worth the risk. He taught me what unconditional love is; one thing is to love another human, but the love for your pet is quite different and hard to explain.
Don't get me wrong, I love my other two dogs just the same. Blue is my first baby, had her since she was 6 weeks old and I probably have more patience for her than most do. Indie is my second baby and I love her just the same. But I will always consider Jeremy my first dog, my first "puppy love". He is one of a kind and I could only be so lucky to ever find another like him.
This may seem like a post as if Jeremy has crossed the "rainbow bridge" but he hasn't. He is old (12.5 years old) and has always been healthy but he has currently been having an issue with one of his legs and are trying to pinpoint exactly what is causing it. All of this has just made me realize what an amazing blessing it is to have him in my life, and all the experiences we have shared, both good and bad. I will continue taking him to the best doctors and specialist around until we can figure out what is causing this and how we can take care of this. Maybe at the end there wont be a fix and the hard decision will have to be made but I'm not thinking that far out yet. I'm taking things one day at a time and hoping for the best.
-E
Today I read an interesting article about the pursuit of happiness which got me thinking, what makes me happy? Some people are born happy while others have to really work at it or end up just faking it. Then there are some that just never are truly happy, no matter what they have accomplished, it will never be good enough.
I know I wasn't one of the fortunate ones that was born happy. I am probably like most people and have my days/moments. Some days are amazing and nothing can go wrong, and then there are moments that everything just seems to fall apart. I'm a mix of both an optimist and a pessimist which can make me a bit complicated at times.
Some of the key takeaways from the article were the following:
- Happiness is not your reward for escaping pain. It demands that you confront negative feelings head on, without letting them overwhelm you.
- Living a rich and meaningful life means you're going to feel a full range of emotions - real life is full of disappointments, loss and inconveniences
- Don't banish your negative feelings, but don't let them get in the way of you taking productive actions, either.
One of the goals I created for myself this year is to try and just be happier about life, about communicating what I feel and what is on my mind or in my heart. To the people closest to me, I tend to not do that very well and it has bit me in the ass several of times (I apologize dearly for that).
So will I end up being Little Miss Sunshine? Probably not since thats not who I am but will I try to not be as negative or critical of things, absolutely yes. And maybe then, happiness will not be a pursuit but more of an accomplishment.
So January of this year has been okay so far. I still have a bunch of house projects that I'm trying to wrap up but progress has been made. The den is complete, just needing some art work on the walls and installing the ceiling fan but other than that, crown moulding, new paint and new blinds are up and look amazing. We even set up our 55 gallon fish tank which looks amazing (I will try posting some pics soon). Then off to the master bedroom which has been a wreck for months. Again, new paint and crown moulding and the room looks amazing.
Many rooms are still left to do and of course trying to fix the giant screw ups that the contractor created is just a very frustrating experience but we will get through it and it will look amazing.
Dogs are doing well, Indie the puppy is developing this new habit of crying in the middle of the night because she wants to be in the bed with us so that is something I'm trying to figure out how to take care of. Having three dogs can be overwhelming at times and I'm trying to continue working on how to be a better "packleader" but sometimes its exhausting.
Other than that, January has been okay so far. Obviously the economy is still extremely scary and with my employer beginning layoffs, things are a bit uneasy. But I just need to continue to stay focused on my goals and make the most of this year since in previous years, I have just taken them for granted. Trying to live life to the fullest day by day and needing to do a better job on communicating my thoughts and feelings (huge self project for me this year).
