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Cozy

Our dog has been having some chewing bouts which was successfully solved by some more toys in her life. She basically lost or destroyed all of her toys except her Kong and was obviously bored. We got her a special rope that she can play tug with, which is very exciting for her. We didn’t allow any tug play the first 3 months and she’s loving having something that is tug-able. She got some non-destructable balls which she enjoys watching them bounce. She doesn’t usually fetch them, that will take more practice. But one thing she destroyed in her rebellion to us was her bed. I think she was angry that it wasn’t as cozy as her cedar bed in the living room. I think it was just a cheap bed that all the filling flattened out. Regardless, she ripped out all the filling and I realized she should have a nicer bed. But it’s a racket what they charge for basically an oversized pillow. I got some fabric (cotton on one side, flannel on the other) and made a pillow and a pillowcase (so we have something to wash if need be) and I’m really happy with how it came out.  Luckily it was pretty basic and easy.   I haven’t sewed for years and shortly after moving into the house I bought a basic sewing machine and made a long list of projects that I’m not making time to do. But today I made her bed and I’m happy she doesn’t have to sleep on the hard ground anymore.

You can see how big the tank was on the old toilet

This winter found us busy with training the dog, working and house projects. Matt learned how to install a toilet and we ended up replacing 2 toilets in our house for free (not counting labor), which is pretty exciting. Our upstairs toilet was ancient, it must have been a 5 gallon or more flush capacity and the city has a rebate deal where you can get up to $100 off an efficient toilet. Our toilet cost right around $100, from Home Depot. Glacier Bay, 1.28 gallon flush, flapperless. It’s neat that the whole tank doesn’t fill up, just a little reservoir that when you press the handle the reservoir dumps and it flushes like normal.

Flapperless flush

It’s been a few months now and I don’t notice anything bad about the new toilet. It doesn’t leak. It doesn’t take a day and a half to fill up. It’s set a little lower to the ground than the average toilet but I’m not a tall girl, it’s fine. We also replaced the toilet in the basement because it’s better to assume that our tenant will be wasteful. The city also gave us a whole bunch of cfl’s and some flood lights for the recessed lights in the house. Those things are expensive! Most of them went in the basement but the weird thing about them is that they get really bright but are dim to start until they warm up. I had to go back and put it a traditional light at the bottom of the stairs because I found I was squinting as I went down to do laundry. I don’t need a tenant having trouble navigating our blue shag rug carpeting we’ve got down there.

Successful Disconnection

My productive house time has been with learning how to disconnect downspouts. The city also has a rebate for this! I get $53 for each downspout I disconnect (to code) and we get a discount on our water bill. Currently there are 3 spouts connected to the sewer. The first two were pretty straightforward disconnections. There’s a plan to build a rain garden for one of the front ones but I have other pressing projects before I get all landscapey. The third downspout is in a weird place in the back of our house and the city man told me my only option was to install a rain barrel. I found a guy on craigslist who’s making them as a kit and they are much more attractive than most white or blue rain barrels out there. His pricing seemed fair and he was really helpful when we picked it up at his house. His whole front yard is landscaped with native vegetation and it looks so beautiful. Maybe he can come help me figure out how to turn our grassy yard into something pretty to look at and less maintenance. I have yet to install the rain barrel. I’ll update with a picture when it happens. Once the barrel is installed I need to run a hose well away from the house (and basement) so the overflow can go straight into the garden.

Awaiting the barrel

My next projects are: curtains for the windows, hanging a door to the basement (it’s just an archway right now) and framing some photos for our walls. It’s weird to have so much space to decorate and no roommates to depend on for decorations and furniture! We ended up with a great couch for our living room (and a great deal) and it’s nice to see the house come together. I know with some photos on the wall it will make a big difference.

Logger soapbox

We had a special NRME guest visit us last weekend, for one day only, during our crazy heat wave. We enjoyed all the best that Portland has to offer (Powells, breweries, Saturday market) and a bunch of special events were happening all over the city. We went up the extinct volcano Mt Tabor to see part of the adult soapbox derby which was fun. Crazy costumes and contraptions going down the volcano at human-powered speeds. From there, we headed to the Hawthorne Street Fair where a lot of the trendy shops had sale racks on the sidewalks and there was live music and additional vendors (crafty stuff and food-we had blueberry cinnamon soup!) in parking lots. It was fun and our friend’s wife wanted to shop around, so we ducked into Bridgeport Brewery for a beer sampler. I have to say their beer is alright, nothing amazing. So far I like Rogue the best of Portland beers.

Tour de Fat

That afternoon we headed to the classic Saturday market and saw lots of handicrafts and ate Mexican food. I’ve noticed an increase in the art/screen printed t-shirts at the market. There were some really beautiful shirts for sale, but at $20 each, I’ll wait until another time. Matt and I headed to the Tour de Fat for an hour to take in the crazy circusy bike party hosted by New Belgian Beer every year. We got there just in time to ride some insane custom-built bikes, have a beer and dance to music by March Forth, a really fun live band with people on stilts and some acrobats. We’ve seen them perform in Seattle before and they are a great time. I recognized one of the stilt walkers as someone from our neighborhood who had a tag sale the first week we moved to Portland. It’s already become a small town! It was such a hot day that we played in the fountain to cool off and met back up with our guests at Powell‘s. I like visiting Powell’s City of Books but it overwhelms me. There are SO many books that I feel like I should go to every section and walk down every aisle that I end up just grabbing a book and sitting down and reading. It is an impressive place.

Bike bonanza

For dinner we were going to get Lebanese or Ethiopian food but one of the group had an upset stomach so we got Chinese. (Silly Vermonters, going all the way to Portland to have Chinese food…that’s all there is to eat in VT except pizza). We went to Vegetarian House on 4th ave and I had my usual, General Tso’s fake chicken. This place is currently my favorite Chinese restaurant (but I won’t allow myself to compare it with China Pan, the ultimate in Buddhist Chinese food). Oh, and the night before we went to the Pied Cow to have a drink and it was our first time there. It’s an old Victorian house converted into a restaurant/bar/lounge/hookah patio and they have a great outside area where you feel like you’re in someones backyard. So, all in all, it was a hot, exhausting, busy day but lots of fun.

I look forward to more visitors as we learn the city better and can take you to our favorite places.

Matt bought the board game Puerto Rico when we returned from S.A. and we were so daunted by all the pieces and rulebook that we avoided playing it because with a game that complicated, it could get exhausting and boring before we even understand the game.

Luckily, we have boardgame friends in Portland and one night we sat down to make sense of it all.  And it’s not that complicated, once you understand how it goes.  And it’s fun!  Probably because Matt and I learned at the same time, so we are both still clueless.  It’s feels similar to Settlers of Catan in some ways but it is very unique and a really good group game.  I like that there isn’t just one way to play and win, there a different ways to acquire enough victory points to win that it keeps it a fun challenge. And I am proud to announce that I have finally won, at the current high score of 50 points. So far we each have one game…

So today I sold my car.
I am sad but liberated at the same time.
I learned how to drive on that car, pumped gas that was 97 cents a gallon, went 5 times across the country with it and somehow even off-roaded on forest service roads. I used to be so dependent on my car, especially living the American culture of have about a 30 minute drive commute to work (which is horrible and I don’t recommend a commute of over 15 minutes).
Anyways, a haiku to my car:

Teal escort, my friend
We’ve been down many great roads
Here’s to your new path

I’m out of poetry practice. Hopefully my car performs well for it’s new owner and I can move forward gracefully, remembering how loyal a car she has been. I have outgrown her living in a major city, especially since we moved so close to school and downtown. I’m in a car maybe twice a week for circus class and occasionally work. It wasn’t practical to pay insurance and struggle to find a parking spot and move the car every few days to avoid a ticket. Now she’s got somewhere more exciting to go than just sitting in a parking spot collecting pollen. Can you tell I’m trying to rationalize selling my car? My only car? For 46% of my life I have relied on her to get me out and about.

Let’s all have a moment of silence as I release my attachment to Baby.
We are one step closer to Peru now.