Mike's Special Birthday breakfast!

Well folks, another year has rolled by and my wonderful husband was bound to have another birthday, even if it didn't land him in his 30's just yet.  So, to celebrate the joyous occasion, we decided to depart from our vacation campsite a few hours early so we could roll into the lovely town of Hood River for a special birthday breakfast. 

 We (well, I) had seen a place in town called "Sage's" and thought it sound crunchy enough and the insides of the place looked like it might be just the type of down home "tofu scramble" kind of place where we might feel right at home.  So we left the dogs in the car with the windows down in the shade and rushed to make it in before noon because that is when breakfast would stop being served. 

Upon reviewing the menu, we noticed lots of scrambles, sandwiches, and salads.  We were both in the mood for breakfast though, so each of us ordered a scramble.  I started to have a bit of hesitation when I ordered and had a brief altercation with the owner of the place who convinced me that I did not want the avocado because it was actually a spread, NOT to be confused with sliced avocado.  I was able to divert her attention by not ordering it and things smoothed out, so I proceeded to my chair, unconcerned about the future of our dining experience....I mean, people have misunderstandings now and again right?

Anyway, a few moments had passed and I wanted to go and check on the dogs outside, so Mike hung at the table while I made my way out for a few short moments.  Things were cool and calm outside so I headed in, and when I got back to the table, the food had arrived.  Mike was sitting there with a peculiar look on his face and when I sat in the chair he looked at me and said "Babe, I think we've gotten ourselves some microwave eggs here"!!!!  Well, much to my dismay, and upon a brief inspection, I realized that he was in fact, correct and the eggs had been nuked beyond recognition with the veggies thrown in at some point.  I thought I had heard lots of beeping before, but then I assumed that we hadn't ordered anything nuke-worthy, so I didn't fret the whole thing.  As we discussed it too though, we decided that the likelihood of the eggs coming from a bag or carton instead of from a shell was very good. 

Mike ate his because he was to a point of starvation that I had yet to reach.  I, however decided that it would be best if I waited and contemplated returning the dish after a few painstaking bites, but decided against it for some strange reason.  We still wonder why we didn't do it though.  It probably had something to do with our southern charm or the need to not start the birthday with a scene.  There is however,  always thought of how we could have spent that 20 bucks better on Mike's big day, but what's done is done and at least I have a nice picture of Mike enjoying the delicious dish on his birthday morn!

Happy Birthday Mike!

Ode to the fat hairy man with very few teeth who found me attractive today....

Oh what a glorious day in Oregon!  The weather was immaculate and so I decided to get in some calisthenics by jogging around my neighborhood.   I headed out at 3:49 or so and ran for about 45 minutes!  That's pretty good considering I used to run religiously several times a week and now I only go about 1 or 2 times a week if something possesses me, like sunshine for instance.  Anyhow, when I was only 10 minutes or so away from home, I was jogging down what to some may have seemed like a rather ordinary stretch of road.  However, when I spotted my admirer down on the corner, I realized promptly that this was nothing routine.  To him, I was the most special part of that moment!  He was quite the looker with his shirt off, glimmering in the sunshine with tufts of grey hair all about his body.  There was a thin layer of grass and sweat coating his entire torso and spilling over onto his tattered trousers.  As I drew closer, he began to smile a great big smile right at me.  "Who needs incisors"?  I thought, as I noticed his smile was missing a few piano keys.  I smiled back, which to him was definitely a signal that I was mesmerized by his delightful manner and dashing good looks.  The hair on top of his head had all fallen out at some point along the way, but that didn't stop him from clenching his more youthful days with a longer style in the back.   He shut off his outdoor appliance so that he could court me as I ran past him.  He seemed to be thinking quite hard about what to say in our fateful moment of togetherness as I neared his sidewalk square.  Then, just at the perfect moment, he yelled out "Run faster little lady"!  He then followed it with a bellow of "You look even better on the backside" as I crossed the street and hopped up onto the next corner.  Wow!  What a nice gentleman!  I am so glad he felt that I was "all that" as some would say!  So to the little, old, fat, hairy man with very few teeth who found me attractive, Thank You!  And might I add, you too look better from the backside, because to me it might indicate that you are going back into your house.  I actually think that would be best for both of us since I am not, in fact, interested and you are not, in fact, going to persuade me, but I'm flattered nonetheless! Have a nice day!

Raw Chocolate Mousse with Cashew-Peach Cream and fresh Strawberries

I made this at work today...

Raw chocolate pudding

1.5 Avocado, 1/4 cup cocoa powder, 1/2 cup medjool dates, pitted and soaked 30 minutes, 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1/4 cup maple syrup

Cashew-Peach Cream

4 small ripe peaches, 1/4 cup medjool dates, pitted and soaked 30 minutes, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, agave to taste-1-2 T

Fresh Strawberries-pulsed in the food processor to "minced" texture

Make the pudding in the FP, then clean and make the cream in the FP, then layer pudding, cream and strawberries... perhaps some raw buckwheat crunchies or something in between.. and serve!!

Woo Hoo.....  It's raw and vegan!!!

Bill Clinton has soft hands.

Well, I shook hands with former president Bill Clinton yesterday!  It was all very exciting.  He and Chelsea came to our neighborhood community garden to speak about community involvement, Hillary, and other things such as that.  There is a school garden program in the school adjacent to the garden so they planted some tomato plants with the students after saying a few words.  There were only about 100-150 people there so I had ample opportunity to watch the whole thing in spite of my height impairment.  At the end, he came over to the fence and shook some hands and he happened to choose my outstretched hand for a squeeze.  He must use Palmolive or Dove because his hands are soft, but then I suppose most Presidents and former Presidents don't have the normal rough hands of the common laborer.  Anyway, I'm delighted and slightly star struck, but I'm sure that will fade, I mean after all, my brother is friends with all sorts of famous people and he seems pretty okay with it.

Our little green house in Oregon

This is our little green house in Oregon.  It was built in 1898 so its really cool.  I wish you were all here in it with us, although on second thought, that might be a little tight.  The weather in the picture is the same as it is today, but hopefully, the sunny season will save us soon!

Life on a stick.... I digress

Well, if any of you were ever wondering about the title of the blog... today we will discuss it.  Its about that idea of being a little kid with a popsicle in the summer.  Is there a greater joy?  There are so many flavors to choose from... creamsicle, fudgy pop, vanilla with the chocolate crunchy shell on the outside, or perhaps just red, orange, purple, or green.  Either way, all of it meant pure joy.  I, like my siblings and friends, often took to the great outdoors to enjoy the comforts of the popsicle.  Unfortunately, in the Alabama sun, that only meant one thing... fast melting.  Lick, Lick, Lick... it was never fast enough to avoid the inevitable.  The stick would start to show through, perhaps even at the expense of a splinter on the tongue, but it was all worth it in the end, even if I got an ice cream headache.  Why, you might ask?   Perhaps it was for that glance across the yard to see my brother doing the same with the ice cream dripping down his white Hanes T-shirt.  It could have even been because I could see my dad covertly peeking out the window watching us and smiling from ear to ear, thinking no one saw him.  Mostly though, it was the pure joy of knowing that I could wash off all the stickiness in the sprinkler with my siblings when I was finished and no one would want to go inside for a while. That is what I have to remember as I march through this grown up part of life.  It is all really very similar to those moments of childhood.  With the good comes the bad, and with the fresh new pop comes the stick.  You see folks, I figure you can choose to be in this life and feel its sorrows and joys without reason, or you can know that it is all about balance, it is all about truly enjoying the popsicle of Life even if there is a stick in there somewhere. Enjoy!

I almost got hit by a bus once.....

So, I was thinking today of how I once nearly got hit by a bus upon trying to get into my car.  I was just minding my own business walking across the street to my car.   I looked up to see the bus approaching, so I scurried over to my car in enough time.  I even waved at the bus driver to let him know I was there, but then I realized that there was no time to actually get into the car because the bus was fast approaching.  I put my back against the car, shuffled my heels under the car and took a deep breath in.  VVRROOOMMMM!!!!... the bus zoomed quickly by my face with only about 10 inches of clearance and I was left feeling a little rattled by the whole event.  I mean, it is a common vernacular in life for us as humans living in this culture to joke that we "may just walk out and get hit by a bus one day", but one never really expects that to happen do they?  So, if I DO get hit by a bus at any point, can someone who loves me make sure that it is celebrated on my tombstone in some way or another?  A little etching or diagram would do just fine.  I just wouldn't want to pass up that type of irony in this little pinch of time called Life.  Thanks!