Blog of a Newly Minted Housewife

Goin' Coastal

We had rain today. Rain. It shouldn't be so unusual in Portland that I have to actually mention it, but there you go. We've been having beautiful weather lately, mild and sunny and clear. Mild and sunny and clear enough that I played hookey from writing and job hunting and went to the coast on Wednesday.

I met my new friend Erin at her house and got to meet her roommates - two cats and a guy. Orange kitty was the friendliest of the three ;-) We jumped in her car, fueled ourselves at Starbucks (and the ATM) and hit the road. The countryside was just beautiful, and I can see all the places I'll go back to when blueberries are in season, and when friends are in town and we can winetaste. And places I might go back to just when I need some fresh air and good country smells.

We talked a lot on our wander through the country, and I found out she and I have much more in common than I knew, down to how we feel about our work and our place(s) in the world. I always enjoy spending time with a kindred spirit like that. The conversation didn't wane until late in the day, really, though we did take breaks!

We hit the beach right away when we got to the little coastal town of Lincoln City. We walked out at Road's End and wandered past shiny wet rocks and sand covered jellyfish and people feeding seagulls. I would have liked to stay longer, but the donut (donut! What was I thinking??) I had at Starbucks was long gone from my system and I needed food. We drove around looking for a place with a view. I had in mind a place I vaguely remembered from my drive down the coast in July 2002. We found it, but it wasn't what I remembered. It had a view, yes, but we were both disappointed in our meals.

What else to do in a tourist town? Outlet shopping! I don't know what it is with me lately, because I don't usually like shopping. But lately it's like a compulsion. Not a good one either. Except I feel like I looked in my closet and realized the casual clothes I've been wearing for the past three years just aren't going to cut it when I go back to work, no matter what my job is. And most of the clothes I bought are for work. And for me to feel good in ;-)

We went back to the beach after that, at a different access point. The beach excursions were ostensibly to search for glass floats, but we knew we probably wouldn't find any, and that was OK. It was enough to walk along the sand and listen to the surf. Right next to the car park was another ocean view restaurant, and we headed there for appetizers and wine. As soon as we walked in, we wished we'd gone there for lunch. Kyllo's Seafood Grill is nice inside, with an outdoor patio and a view of the world's (?) shortest river, the D River. And a very nice sunset. We got there at just the right time - early enough to get a view table, and late enough so we didn't have to try too hard to linger long enough to watch the sun sink into the sea. I went out onto the patio and took a bunch of photos. I finally figured out how to increase my shutter speed enough to catch the gorgeous colors. Aren't they gorgeous?

The ride home was both quicker and quieter than the one out to the coast. I was wiped out after a late night at Tuesday's open mike and then a day on my feet. We listened to nice music (I remember Rufus Wainwright in particular), and I spent a lot of time staring at the beautiful full moon, before we arrived back at Erin's house.

The next day, I noticed my crocuses are finally blooming. They started showing leaves (shoots?) right before the ice storm in mid-January, and I was beginning to despair of their ever flowering. I picked bulbs of varying bloom time, so I have more crocuses and all of the tulips to go. I'm so glad I have a little strip of dirt to play in. And I'm glad the rain is back today to help all my plants grow :-)

Wish I'd known...

I wish I'd know about this site before I moved to Portland. Does every city have one of these? It's so cool! I input an address - any address - and it comes up with all sorts of information, from area crime rates to any permits or claims against the property. It will definitely come in handy the next time I move! Interesting that this property was cited for a broken window, blocked access and other minor violations in 2003. I had heard the previous owner was a jerk. There are still problems here - as with any old building - but the new owners seem more willing to take care of them promptly.

So annoying

Once I settled down (you know, landed in the same place for more than a month...) I stopped using my iPod as much. And that bothered me, because there were times I wanted to listen to a particular bit of music but couldn't be bothered digging the CD out from whatever box it was still packed away in.

I started looking around for a speaker system, and settled on the JBL OnStage, a compact circlet of speakers that got rave reviews on the Apple site and on Amazon. Santa didn't see fit to get them for me, and I was bummed, since I figured the price was a little out of my league, at least until I found a job. But then I found them on Amazon for $50 cheaper - nearly a third off! I ordered them a day or two after Christmas.

And that's where the annoyances began. The was delay after delay in the shipping - whether on Amazon's part, or JBL's, I'm not sure. The finally shipped the week before Lisa, Maria, and Mary came to visit me, but of course they didn't arrive until the day after they left - about three weeks ago.

But once I got them set up! Oh, so cool, to have my familiar playlists spinning away while I exercised or read the paper or cleaned the tub, or did myriad other tasks that didn't really support wearing the iPod and headphones. And though I freaked out a little when, while holding my portable phone, I tried to turn down the volume and set off static electric shocks, it didn't seem to have an effect on either the system or the iPod.

But last night I received an email from Amazon saying that some models were being recalled. I checked my serial number, and sure enough I had one of the recalled units. I had two years to make the switch, though, so I bookmarked the page and forgot about it.

Until this morning, when I could no longer control the volume and the sound was full of snap, crackle and pop (and I don't even like that cereal!) I filled out the form, but it means being without the unit for another two weeks, probably three. At this point, I'm wondering if it wouldn't have been worth the extra $50 for six to eight weeks of extra use and a while lot less hassle.

Another weekend is upon me

Hmm, what to do, what to do? Let's check the weekly entertainment supplement, shall we? "The Wiggles" live in concert. Nope, don't think so. Ditto for the Doll & Teddy Bear Show.

Ooo, Tommy Chong in "The Marijuana Logues" Oh, one night only...and he didn't write it. Hmm. No.

Theater? Not really my thing. Well, I seem to enjoy it when I go, but I so rarely go. Too expensive for me at the moment, anyway.

The Diane Arbus exhibit at the art museum? I haven't been to the art museum yet, so that could be good...I missed the show when it was in the Bay Area, and I so love B&W photography.

There are still lots of movies I talk about seeing..."The Aviator" "Finding Neverland". Sean Astin's new film in on limited release and opens here tonight. Hmm.

Oh! Amadan is playing this weekend! Why did I not know that? Wow, this month is slipping past, isn't it?

The Home & Garden show. Now that could be fun. I can dream a little. I do miss having my own garden to tool around in. And I wouldn't mind going to that on my own, just as I wouldn't mind going to a museum on my own.

RODEO! Oh, man, cowboys in tight Wrangler's. Horsies. Good barn smells. And only $10. Wonder if they'll have a marketplace, like they do at the Cow Palace. Saddles and chaps and all things leather and yummy. Free pony rides for the kids. Why don't they ever have free pony rides for adults?

You know what I really want to do, though? Just get together with a couple of girlfriends for drinks and maybe a meal. A chance to get dressed up and go out on the town without worrying about being a woman alone in a bar. That would be nice. I miss that. Of all the things I thought I'd miss when I moved away from my friends, I somehow didn't think about this one.

Old injuries

The seal cough is still around, but otherwise I'm feeling much better. I wish my knee would get better with a little rest, but last year's snowboard injury is still plaguing me. It get a little better, it gets a little worse and in the end it's basically the same. I'm reminded this week of some of my other old injuries.

Eight or nine years ago, I slipped on the ice at the top of a flight of stairs leading down to a frozen Lake Tahoe beach. I tore a muscle in my shoulder, which didn't stop my from taking the t-bar during ski lessons the next day - hey, I was young(er)! I didn't realize I'd torn a muscle, actually, and that ignorance led to a build-up of scar tissue and a shoulder that is weak to this day.

Which brings me to this week and the hundred pounds that keeps testing that shoulder. The hundred pounds is in the form of my neighbor's big black lab. He may be more than a hundred pounds, actually. He's a big dog, friendly and mostly kind, if you ignore a little bit of territoriality. I'm taking care of him this week while his "mom" is on vacation. His routine is to go out while clipped to a leash, but to get to the leash, I have to hold him by the collar while opening the door and stepping onto the porch. And every time I do, he jerks me forward. It's only a couple of feet, and I'm learning to go with it, but in the meantime, I'm sore.

So let's see, knee, shoulder...stiff neck and back from too many days recovering on the couch. I guess that's it. Not too bad, I suppose.

But the knee really bothers me.

We're both sick

My blog and I, that is. We've both been hit by bugs. Luckily, the blog bug was easy to fix, this time. I was able to just delete a couple of lines of code and voilá things were back to normal. I'm going to try upgrading my blogging software later today, if I can remember how to access that level of my site! I'm not as confident with code as I used to be...

It's going to take more than an upgrade for me to feel normal, though. I've moved from the scratchy throat/itchy eye phase into the "don't I do a nice seal imitation?" phase. The body aches and don't-touch-me-skin are still around, and luckily so is a bottle of cough-syrup-with-codeine, so I've been sleeping nicely, thank you very much.

It's times like this I'm glad I don't have a job. I can "afford" to stay in bed all day, or at least on the couch, and if I'm lucky I'll recover faster than if I had an office to go to.

But it doesn't help with the bank balance. I had planned on finding a decent temporary agency this week. I'll have to stick with online research and planning though. If I'm lucky, I'll find a place that will at least let me start the process without having to leave the house. If I'm not lucky, it will be another week, at least, without a paycheck.