A Productive Weekend Staycation

Whew what a weekend y'all, but although it was busy it was also relaxing and fulfilling. Much got crossed off the "need to do" list this weekend for sure! But before I get too far let me broach a few things first:

1) Last Saturdays event went pretty well. Lower turn-out than expected but everyone behaved, the food was decent, the decor and venue looked great, and everyone reported it was a good time. Even Tall D said it was much better than he ever would have expected and for someone who rarely gives compliment that should mean something! (His words, not mine.) The other plus side was that I was left with at least a dozen bouquets of flowers, which I got to bring home and re-vase for the house:

2) Tall D and a coworker of mine both also have made me think twice about leaving the world of veteran services. While I definitely need a break and the center really could use new blood to re-route it a bit more, I asked my supervisor of that position if I could extend until they actually bring someone else on. As much as I burn out, everyone tells me that I do a really good job. My original plan was to vacate as of June 20th and I still might, but extending also gives me the option to stay until the transition can be complete. Plus there are several projects that could get worked on this summer.

3) Tall D and Housemate G are supposed to be moving out this week. They spent the long weekend up at a major concert series in the Gorge and so Z spent part of the weekend here helping me around the house and making sure that we'll be able to live sanely together, as I'm not always the easiest person to live with. (Somehow, Tall D has actually been the best housemate I've ever had. We co-existed in living conditions extremely well.) With the boys moving out, Z will probably officially move in sometime mid-month.

4) Mid-week last week, I went grocery shopping....and it dawned on me that was the first time I'd been grocery shopping in six weeks. Tall D and G haven't been shopping either--how in the world we've existed over the last few weeks, I don't know. (Well okay, I take part of that back....Z brought over food for all of us on occasion.....) But hopefully this return foray into proper nutrition in the fridge is a good sign.

5) Albeit last week was also a bit harder emotionally again. As much as I know in my head that the upcoming split is the right one, some days as it approaches move out day it's a little bit harder for my head and heart to agree. And sometimes they want to agree....but in the opposite direction of it being the smartest decision....

And now without further ado....pictures and some updates from the weekend:

1) Dinner out on Thursday evening followed by an evening curled into blankets on the couch watching Blood Diamond.

2) Spring is upon us, which meant a 8-10 mile walk/hike with the dogs through Forest Park in the middle of the city on Friday afternoon. 

3) Friday dinner out with my brother, Z, and another Marine who you'll probably read a lot about by the letter of B. B will be spending a lot of time with Z and I here this summer...and has been tasked out to complete a few yard projects for me.

4) Saturday morning included a quick trip to the Beaverton Farmer's Market (the largest in the state) for tomatoes, onions, and a few other items for home cooked pasta sauce.

5) Saturday afternoon, I took my brother to meet with two tattoo artists to schedule his tattoo and to put down the deposit. Came back to clean the house, mow the lawn, and weed for an hour before my gal N, her hubby, her SIL S, and S's boyfriend came to join Z and I for dinner. Z's sauce rocked and N's cobbler was A-MA-ZING. It was great to have friends over for dinner, enjoy good food, and even to eat out on the patio!

6) On Sunday, Z and some of the center vets had organized to come over to help me out in the yard. Z and B were able to till my raised beds with a little help from B's wolf-hybrid dog, Rommel. I also spent part of the afternoon ripping out weeds and over-run berry brambles. I'd written previously that one of the guys had drawn up plans for a coop and Sunday was Day #1 for implementation. In this picture, three of them are digging the trench that will hold the gravel, cement footings, and cinder blocks so that hopefully no critters can dig under the chicken wire. B and Z are helping out my aunt and uncle by ripping out their deck for them next weekend, and some of that left over wood will be used to construct part of the chicken's actual shelter. After trench digging, Z grilled up brats and garden burgers for our work crew of 4 guys and 3 of us gals.

7) Monday was a day of errands and garden making. We returned the mini-tiller to my aunt and uncles. Then Z worked over the two chain saws in the garage while I finished my online grading. We headed out to Target (uh....CUTE dresses on sale y'all!), Home Depot, BiMart, and Ace Hardware. I picked up a pair of new work gloves because I'm not sure where my old ones ended up and I sliced the skin off a finger hauling cinder blocks on Saturday. We got a new chain for one of the saws and then Z bought materials to build a sort-of trellis for the beans/peas. When we got back, we planted the garden and then I finished weeding the front of the house. Laundry was done, the rest of my in-person grading and prepping was completed, and somehow even a work-out with Insanity was added in there last night (which felt GREAT!). 

Peas, beans, & various squashes that will run with the rhubarb in the corner.

First box: Tomatoes, the returning artichoke, a row of lettuce, two peppers.

Second box: a row of cucumbers, herbs, two rows of carrots, a row of koli rabi, and space for strawberries.

On trellis: grape making an effort and the kiwi is in full force.

Alongside the boxes: berries, rosemary, overrunning mint, and massive garlics. 

Honestly it was a great weekend and I'm so glad to have the garden in and the coop on its way. The yard has a great start to looking better as well. I worked on perfecting Tall D's blueberry waffles and for the first time made french toast from actual french bread and with my own chicken's eggs. The weekend was the perfect blend of socialization, productivity, and relaxation. However most of all, I feel so grateful to Z and to all the guys for how much they've been helping me out.....and in a lot of ways the future looks potentially brighter...

Hope each of you had a wonderful weekend too!

A Week in Review & a Friday Hike

We've had a week or so of absolutely gorgeous weather, although tomorrow is supposed to head back into a week of being overcast and rainy. Its been absolutely glorious to see so much sunshine though and the week has been full of moments of soaking up the rays interspersed with the extra chaos of our busiest event week out of the center. Earlier mornings this week and extra hours, but after tonight I'm headed into a downward slide toward exiting my job and the spring term.  There will be a week break in June before summer term (and the 11 credits I'm teaching) commences.

This week has brought some additional knowledge of the changes coming up (Tall D & housemate will be moving out by the end of the first weekend in June) and one evening this week was spent discussing with Tall D and his new apartment mates what they want/need to take from the house versus what will be staying, etc. There are a few items that are being negotiated, but the fact that "our" stuff has pretty much always been "his" or "hers" makes it easier. For the most part, Tall D and I are keeping it friendly but at times it can be a challenge. I still care so much for that man and wish that things weren't heading the way that they are, but there are also moments when I feel like it's definitely the healthier decision. Most days I just keep shaking my head that although it maybe was expected, two months ago I also never would have imagined this to currently be our lives.

Tonight is our biggest event happening this week and two of my main guys separately ended up needing to be checked out by medical providers. More than likely they won't be attending, but I'm hopeful that the rest of the crew can step it up and be on their best behavior. To say I'm a little leery of the upcoming evening is an understatement. Tall D and one of his friends will be there however and my cousin will be helping as well.

The chickens are back to laying regular eggs. My coop will be started on over Memorial Day weekend, as will some additional yard work be completed. Plus it's sounding like I will be taking bro to get his birthday tattoo. Last evening, we headed down to take my brother out to dinner and then to celebrate with cheesecake at my sisters. It was nice to spend an evening with my siblings and to rival against my nephew in Wii fit. :)

This week also granted a few moments to half-complete some Insanity work-outs and to get in one dehydrated 80 degree 5k run. I'm in conversation with one of Tall D's and my friends about him helping me train for a half-marathon during the coming year. We'll see how that idea progresses.

An afternoon laying out in the sun reading for fun and indulging in a bottle of wine and a great 7 mile hike in the forest just about rounded out the rest of the week. Pictures from the hike are below:

The dogs checking out the trail.

Beautiful tree tops.

Z checking out the creek.

Roxi looking like a dirty adorable mutt.

Me with the girls.

Pretty flowers and ferns.

The dogs checking out the spring.

Wildflowers along the road.

Backcountry Camping Time

An almost week away was amazing, and we traveled from the city to the woods to the mountains to the desert badlands to the coast and back to the city. We saw several friends, spent time with family on both sides, and became incredibly reacquainted with nature. The dogs had a blast and hub and I returned back home today with smiles from ear to ear. A great week indeed.

First day we arrived at our location in Central Oregon about 2pm and backpacked 9 miles up the trail until we hit snow prior to our desired camp location for the night. Hiked 3 miles back down the trail until we found the good spot we remembered passing and hub set up the tent and made us and the dogs some grub. It'd taken a while for me to get used to carrying a larger and heavier backpack and after 12 miles in about six hours, we were more than ready to get into bed.

Morning two we headed the six or so miles back down to where we'd left the truck. Going down never takes as long as going up, especially when its in the 30s and the faster one walks, the faster one warms! ;) It was great to sit alongside the creek where we'd started and wash my feet to put on a different pair of socks and comfy shoes.

 Along the trail we saw vibrant green moss, lizards, elk and bear hair, flowering bushes, chipmunks, and the occasional flash of a bird.

 Once we were ready to move on, we drove up to the top where there was too much snow for us to hike, and came to Paulina Lake.

 The dogs had a great time playing in the snow again.

 A view from along the road up near the top of this section.

We hope to get back there later this summer when the snow has retreated as it'd make a great 2-3 day backcountry camping trip. It's about 10 miles up to the first lake and then there's a 20 mile rim trail along the edge of the crater and lava fields. Hopefully we'll at least get back to see the obsidian flow area once the snow has melted.

More pictures from the rest of the week to come tomorrow......

A Summit Day

I'm almost beginning to think I should rewrite the purpose of this blog to be: Hiking. ;) Seems like we're doing a lot of it, but its so enjoyable, it burns a ton of calories, and we're trying to soak up as much of the beautiful Oregon outdoors as possible now that we're back!

Yesterday was intended to be a long hike day, but instead we did one of the jaunts we've done before through Forest Park--which was 8.5 miles and we ran the last mile decline back to the car. We then had enough time to get home, shower, and grab some grub to run over to my aunt's for a BBQ with my extended family since Granny's been up here in town for the weekend!

So today we got up, grabbed our bags and headed out to Elk Creek Campground, which was where we'd intended to go yesterday. The guidebook (60 Hikes within 60 Miles of Portland) that I recently got the hub had said that Elk Mountain Summit was difficult, but since we've been doing some inclines and other "moderate" hikes, we thought it might be do-able. Ha! It was like a deer trail straight up--gorgeous views, but after 1/2 mile and with encroaching rain clouds hub decided it might be too dangerous for us today. (He might go back to do it again later, but I'm passing...)

These pictures are from the first part of today's hike, attempting Elk Mtn.

Since we still wanted a decent hike, we decided to hike along the Wilson River Trail (20.8 miles in length total, but just 3.5 miles to where the Kings Mtn Summit trail met it). Along the way it started raining and hub dug a poncho out of his pack for me and a coat for him. We crossed mini-waterfalls, bouncy log bridges, and enjoyed the scenery.

Wilson River Trail from Elks Creek Campground to Kings Mtn Summit trail:

This was a large meadow/clearing in the middle of the forest. It appeared to have a natural spring and some ponds--the type of site where you usually find old homesteads, but we didn't see any indications of any here at all.

Once we made it to the Kings Mtn Summit Trail hub decided we should go up it a bit to get in some extra mileage.....and between the two of us encouraging each other on, up was what we ended up doing for the next 2.5 miles. Luckily hub and I make great hiking partners, when one of us wants to quit the other encourages and we make sure to look out for each other on the trail. At one point, I definitely had to encourage myself to keep going as I have a partial fear of heights that seems to hit most frequently on rocky areas, but I'd seen some kids and older couples coming down the trail so I pulled together my stubborn nature and told myself that I could make it too. With hub's encouragement and just focusing on my feet, we kept going until we made it to the top where we signed the summit registry (approx 3300 ft).

Kings Mtn Summit Trail:

Then we got to turn around and head back down both the summit and the Wilson River Trail, although we ran about 2 miles total of this today. Altogether we made it 13.9 miles and the views were gorgeous! We're hoping to eventually go back to overnight backpack the entire 20 miles of the Wilson River Trail.

Not too bad for two days on a long weekend together. Hope each one of you had a great weekend too!