second wind

home decor: subtle changes

))))))))))))))~~~~~~~~**i wish i had a better camera to capture the home**~~~~~~~~~~((((((((((

going with a dark purple theme in the living room. lamps from ikea, coffee table and pillows from target. artwork from ikea and tea light container from target. not photographed: deep purple crinkle curtains and floral table cloth over computer desk/card table, both from cost plus.

introducing dark purple in kitchen with plateware from ikea. new elements also include dan's cutting board (a generous gift from lorri) and -already owned-jars full of pasta, quinoa, barley, rice, oats, and whey protein. additionally: a stainless steel holder from ikea for cooking magazines, embroidered owl artwork (another generous gift from christie), and wire basket from cost plus, full of red onions, potatoes, and garlic. (essentials in the herzing household.)

guest bath: new shower curtain from target, vase from goshen college art fair, wheat from our wedding, painting from indonesia (another generous gift from hattie.)

master bath: charlie harper memory cards, bamboo from ikea (i swear it lasts forever...) ceramic sushi set from cost plus, repurposed as soap and jewelry dishes.

resurrection of the summer duvet cover & pillows (pure, pure, pure luxury from anthropologie) and vases of yellow spider mums.

fifth anniversary recap: hubby's surprises

in addition to our farm stay and mini bar, i wanted to acknowledge all of the other little things surrounding the (september 4th) occasion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**** the day as follows ****~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

10:00 a.m. rushing out the door to walk rocco & make it on time for an appointment. at my feet is a tender little succulent, a type of plant that i've been wishing for since we saw some monster ones at the farm.

10:25 a.m. stopping for my usual coffee at the starbucks in albertson's. 2 of my favorite baristas hand me another succulent and card from hubby. my drink is paid for.

5:13 p.m. arriving at my register at work. another succulent and a huge bouquet of flowers waiting for me.

10: 21 p.m. opening the fridge. six pack of pbr with another card inside.

11:45 p.m. opening the cabinet in the bathroom after taking my contact lenses out before bed. another succulent on the second shelf.

;) conclusion: best hubby ever.

fifth anniversary recap: mini bar

in addition to our farm stay, i wanted to acknowledge all of the other little things surrounding the (september 4th) occasion.

on the 3rd, dan came home to a surprise gift from rocco and hobbes:

******************************//components (clockwise left to right)://**********************

     stainless steel jigger, complete with star wars wookiee and glitter star stickers, acquired by dan in college. measures 1 1/2 oz and 3/4 oz. handy little thing.

     stainless steel cocktail shaker, received as a wedding present. yet to be used.

     25 oz. bottle of pure single malt scotch whisky aged 21 years, from the glenlivet archive, received by dan before moving to oregon from his crews at mariani landscape. brought out on special occasions, this gem is ONLY served neat.

     boord's london -inspired- dry gin, served as a modified tom collins: gin, tom collin's mix, lime wedge. we don't mess around. fancy recipes are for fancy people. another favorite cocktail is gin & tonic.   

    smirnoff triple distilled black cherry vodka, a central component of my "cost plus closer cocktail." served in two shots with world market italian raspberry soda on the rocks. warning: be careful with consumption; it tastes like kool-aid. 

    good ol' jack daniel's sour mash whiskey, from the famous (and over-used) tennessee distillery. this old no. 7 brand is cheap and therefore served with (diet) coke on the rocks. far from creative yet serves up a satisfying buzz.

    addtionally, shot glasses from cost plus & black semi-old fashions from target (replacing sipping liquor glasses when this photo was taken.)

vinyl binge

having resurrected the record player, i rashly ordered three albums from amazon. and with the new car, i also impulsively bought a cd just to inaugurate the great sound system.

vinyl:

horse feathers: house with no home

fleet foxes: self titled

bon iver: for emma, forever ago

compact disc:

phish: joy

fifth anniversary

 

||*special memories at abbey road farm*||

 

september thirteenth o' nine

dan and i bought a hyundai elantra yesterday. we were not planning on it, but we had to. we drove it right off the lot, and i had to drive it because it's stick shift and dan doesn't know how to drive stick shift. leave it to us to buy a car when dan can't even drive it.

but we love it.

i'm still trying to finish up m review. i think i can publish soon, but my work schedule has been picking up and i'm running out of days to spend at school working on it.

another thing taking up my time is dbt. (dialectical behavior therapy -of portland-). i attend twice a week, mondays in group therapy and fridays in individual therapy. this is a substantial time commitment (i have "homework" every week), as well as a large financial commitment. luckily, my state coverage through omip takes the edge off.

but the edge still isn't enough. it's a chunk of change.

we celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary on the 4th, and last thursday i surprised dan by taking him to a bed and breakfast at abbey road farm, outside carlton. it was a much needed day-cation for us. we never had a honeymoon (other than staying in motels and driving across the country to live in oregon) and we have never done something for ourselves as simple as 1 night in a nice bed and breakfast. oh my gosh, did we love it. we wandered around the farm and watched the animals...pet the goats, talked to the sheep and llamas, and listened to the crazy coos of some crazy chickens. after dusk, we sat on a deck overlooking the country with 3 fellow suitemates (visiting from atlanta), and opened a bottle of champagne while talking and taking glimpses of the milky way.

it was the calm before the storm. on friday, our car crapped out. this is the 3rd time in 4 months and we realized that we can't keep taking it into the dealership to get fixed. it's an 02 hybrid, which toyota has just informed us has defaults that require (free) maintenance. only we don't qualify for this because we put over 150,000 miles on that thing. unsure whether the car would start for us again, we headed to a smattering of dealerships in beaverton yesterday and came home with the elantra.

this situation seems to be the straw that broke my camel's back. i'm dealing with a lot of stress with work, m, dbt, selling the condo and planning a move, and the general catastrophe of money. the sell/move situation has become increasingly complicated by the fact that dan has been replaced at work and the clock is ticking on our usual income. what lies ahead for him in illinois? we have no idea. and we haven't the faintest clue how we will make enough to survive monthly payments (a new car payment included) and get me affordable health insurance.

i wish there was a life manual where you open to the right page and find a bullet note that tells you what to do when you have absolutely no idea how to proceed with the way life's road is winding along. i know that this is nothing new. i realize everyone feels this way at one point or another. i know this too shall pass.

it is the wait that i have to keep thinking is strengthening.

ally's visit: westward over the mountains...

ally visited august 13th-18th and one of the many memories we have from the trip was our day on the coast. we left friday afternoon and stopped to set up our campground at elk creek campground near the wilson river. the photo above is evidence for submission to the unbelieving that allyson truly entered into nature. (no photo evidence that she slept there, was unable to shower, or used the unsophisticated bathroom.)

after establishing the homestead, we took her to tillamook cheese factory, a popular spot for visiting friends and family. basically, you watch how the cheese is made, taste the cheese, and buy the cheese. this was pure pleasure for dan and allyson. i got an ice cream cone. next, we drove north to cannon beach and walked the sand barefoot, letting the water rush around our feet while we took photos and watched the pelicans and mid-day sun. why are we squatting in the photo above? we are weird like that.

during the drive south, we pulled off the road at a new market in manzanita. the store offered food and local vegetables and fruit, and beer and wine, as well as a deck with a fire pit to lounge about and enjoy the provisions. in the parking lot, a tall man with a crab hat and bouncing boots labored under a tent to kill, boil, and serve fresh crab. for eight dollars, allyson snagged bernie the crab, and for free, we had our picture taken with the crab king.

as night fell, we prepared our night by the campfire and proceeded to enjoy life, love, and the pursuit of beer and wine, cheese and bread, quinoa salad, veggies with hummus, and fresh crab.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~****~~~~~~~~~~~~

what do you want for dinner?

"what do you want for dinner?" one of the most annoying questions we ask each other.

uninterested in our weekly grocery shopping, we ended up at schlichting century farm, only five minutes away. we got our bucket, traipsed the the fields, and made up dinner while we picked vegetables. i highly recommend this strategy. i even picked flowers for the table. what wasn't in the field, we added to our pile from the stand.

we enjoyed a beautiful and sunny day, a gratifying sense of knowing exactly where our food came from (and that it wasn't shipped across the country), interacting with fellow pickers, and plopping our finds on a scale only to fork over twelve bucks.

for those twelve dollars, we had five meals for the week:

sunday  comfort-food-day! fried green tomatoes, hash browns, and peaches.

monday  mexicana-day! veggie tacos with homemade salsa (one for dan, one for me. all of those hot peppers and jalpeños are going in his jar.)

tuesday  try-something-new day! eggplant parmesan pasta with spinach and walnut salad. (oh dear god, an eggplant. it was just too beautiful not to pick!)

wednesday  bon-matin-day!(good morning) green pepper, onion, and tomato omelets and toast.

thursday  home-made-day! veggie pizza...in whatever form it takes; toppings to be decided.

friday  farm-fresh-day! corn on the cob, green beans, and applesauce.

additional treats  blueberry crêpes and zucchini bread...yUUmmm~!

 

look who came home:

mr. hobez showed up on the patio outside our bedroom at 5 a.m. wednesday the 12th. after consulting the vet and examining the evidence, it appears that he spent those six nights hiding and nursing his wounds. after nearly four years of hanging out on our deck, he fell or jumped down. he hit a fence below and despite "cats always landing on their feet," he hit the ground, breaking his pelvis in two different places. one was a clean crack, which heals on its own, and the other was a break on the edge of bone, leaving the piece somewhere in his muscles. after two days in the closet, four days of painkillers, and some extra super duper loving, he is practically back to normal. he is barely limping and has resumed his crotchety behavior of meowing for food constantly.

~~*needless to say, we are happy to have him home.*~~

insert sorrowful tom waits song here:

hobez is gone. he ran away. he slipped out in the middle of the night and we don't know where he is. i don't know what he is doing, if he is safe, if he is having the time of his life, if he was hit by a car, met a best friend, or got in a fight with a super-freaky cat (in which he would have no chance because he has no front claws). i don't know if he has caught and killed prey, unless he brings them to our door, which i heard that cats do. but hobbes has never been an outdoor cat, so i have no idea. 7 years together, and he has never lived outdoors. will his instincts kick in? will he survive and thrive?

dan and i put food outside the front and back doors, walk and search for him every day, and today dan put up posters at the mailboxes and vet clinics. he used the photo i posted on this blog and he even laminated them so that rain wouldn't ruin them. dan is so sweet.

i can think of very few times that i have felt so powerless. especially in regards to another being's life. i find myself doing anything and everything i can to distract myself from thinking about him. his pink nose. the tufts of white hair between his toes. that gorgeous enormous belly he loves to show off when he's laying on his back. that soft but obnxious meow when he greets me. the soft padding at the door when he wants in and out. the clink of the food dish against the wall when he's really eating like a major pig.

i just hope he comes back. i hope he finds his way back, or that someone finds him and calls us.

i've been unable to maintain a good relationship with rocco. this might sound weird, but since hobbes has gone missing, i want nothing to do with rocco. i don't want to talk to him, play with him, and least of all cuddle with him. i feel guilty.