Trip to Bend to pick up Jackson (11/08)

This is a while ago, but I like the pics of the mountains so much, I wanted to put them up to share.  

We have been to Bend before and it holds a special place for us as a nearby getaway.  The reason for this trip was not only to get away, but we also went to pick up Addy's dog from her cousin.  We had been talking about getting the dog for a while and the situation had not been right, until 

then. 

We drove down after work on Friday and got in late to the Lara House.  The Lara House is an amazing B&B in downtown Bend.  It is an incredibly well maintained craftsmen home that has been a B&B for years.  You can check it out at: www.larahouse.com.  This was our 4th stay and I think we like it better everytime.  The first time we went to Bend, we were just starting to do the B&B thing and I had brought a list of the ones that were in town to check out.  The first was closed when we went to check it out, the second was called the Sather House.  At the Sather House, there was a waist high statue of a child at the door staring at us (should have been our first tip).  A maladjusted 11 yr old opened the door and led us around until his grandmother (the proprieter) finished cooking and was able to show us the rooms.  There were stuffed cats! and dolls and doilies everywhere.  The "style" was shabby chic without the chic.  It was terrible.  The lady loved her house and her decorations and we didn't want to hurt her feelings, but it was SO hard not to crack up.  We laughed so hard and long about it, when we left.  I always smile when I think about that memory.

This visit we got to meet a different innkeeper at the Lara House.  She had breakfast ready for us in the morning, which we enjoyed with a couple from California who were checking out the Pacific Northwest as a possible new home.  Then we went out to buy a gift for Addy's cousin.  She has a newborn baby and we hadn't made it down for the shower, so we went to Target to get some baby clothes.  The weather was gorgeous.  It was incredibly clear out.  The view from the parking lot was so gorgeous, I wanted to see more.  There is a hill in the middle of town that I decided we should get to the top of.  So we had a little adventure getting to the top of this hill.  Of course the houses up there were amazing.  It was fun: driving around, trying to find the best view of the mountains, stopping to admire the view or a cool house, just taking a drive.  

Next we decided to take the advice of our fellow B&Ber's and go on a hike at a nearby 

waterfall. I love it that Addy enjoys getting outside and hiking as much as I do.  It was a short hike, but it was out in the sun and it felt great.  Being outside, away from our everyday life, in the sun and outdoors, together.  It was really, really nice.  After that, we decide to go back to town and check out a micro-winery's tasting room that we had never been able to go to before, since we usually were there during the week.  Its called Volcano Vineyards: 

www.volcanovineyards.com  We were one of 3 couples in there being served by the owner himself.  He is a great host and storyteller.  We had a great time enjoying the wine and talking with him.  A funny coincidence, one of the other couples was actually staying that night at the Lara House. 

Bend is great for a microbrew drinker because there are 7 in that small town.  We headed next to one of them, Bend Brewing Co.  For dinner, we went to a great restaurant called Staccato that is in an old firehouse.  Its got great cocktails and a cool ambience.  

The next day we enjoyed breakfast with a full table for the first time.  Our usual innkeeper, Ginger, was there and we got to talk to her while enjoying her great cooking.  She makes amazing food and gives out recipes when asked.  She makes staying there even more special.  But then we had to leave, which is hard.  We went and visited her cousin and had some wings and played pool.  Then, we left for home, now with a dog.  My first dog.  

Here are some pictures from the snow the week before Christmas.  They posted in a different order than I meant for them to, but I'm new.  The bottom one is in front of our house and I'm holding a chunk of snice (snow/ice).  This is what made it so bad out.  It had snowed, and then we had some freezing rain and then it snowed some more, before anything could thaw.  It shut down the city.  They don't have the resources in place to deal with this amount of snow.  They had to have plows come down from the mountain to help deal with it.  Of course, no one knows how to drive in these conditions.  Some of the people that got themselves in the most trouble were the ones that thought they were good, because their car had 4 wheel drive and snow tires.  They thought it made them invincible.  I saw a little honda driving by a stuck 4x4 several times. 

One of the really fun days, (not sarcastically) was the day in the photos were Addy and I called in because the roads near us were closed.  It was the first snow day of her life.  She's from southern Oregon and they are usually about 5 degrees warmer than us in Portland.  Which is just enough to keep them from getting snow the rare times that Ptown does.  The second pic is just of us out on a walk down the middle of the street.  We took the dog, Jackson, with us and he loved being out and about in the snow.  We walked down to our favorite neighborhood cafe, Arleta Library, and let him be off leash and just had a great morning.  On the way back Addy and Jackson decided to make snow angels (3rd pic).  Jackson's looked pretty funny, but they had fun.  

The last pic is of me digging out when we decided that it wasn't going to melt away soon and we needed to start going to work.  The local news networks had been running weather reports for 24 hrs straight and were calling the storm the "Arctic Blast".  From them we know that this was the worst snowstorm that Portland has seen since the '70s.  The city struggled to get unburied and back to work.  The highways had wicked bad ruts in them.  The tires on your car would just stay in the ruts like you were on a track.  It was actually kind of dangerous to change lanes.  They had to shut down the highways, bit by bit, to have the plows come through and clean it up.  All I had to dig out was my spade shovel, so it took way longer than it should have and I was very sore the next day.  

Even though the snow caused us some headaches and played havoc at work, this day with Addy made all the rest worth it.  We just had a lot of fun and enjoyed this rare occurrence in a carefree way.  Hope you can tell.

Last week Addy and I spent a lot of our time working on the basement.  We had decided to put some carpet down and found a great deal on Craig's list for carpet and padding that was just what we needed.  That was an adventure in itself, but still a good deal.  Addy started painting the walls with paint left over from the previous owner, but it ended up just being a primer coat.  We picked this color out at the Depot and really like the way it turned out.  The light color is actually from the townhouse that we moved from.  Putting the carpet down was an experience.  I have seen carpet being lain before and pretty much just went from memory.  It turned out pretty good, we think.  

For those of you who have visited, you know that this room used to look like a prison with really dark grey walls and floor.  It feels much better now and we were able to rent it out the first night we showed it to people who were interested.  

first blog

so, i guess i'm blogging now.  josh and eric have inspired me to get my self together and show others what's going on with me.  (apparently the assumption is that people are supposed to care)  i'm not being mean with that statement, its just kind of weird.  all the information that people put out there now to be seen by the nameless, faceless millions.  pictures and movies and feelings about life and our lives that we might never show or express to each other face to face, but somehow feel comfortable leaving in the vacuum of cyberspace to be seen or not by whoever choses to take the time to look and read, or not.  the new world out there is really not so brave.  but who am i to judge because here i am joining in the fun.