Weekend "Adventures"

This obviously, isn't a picture of me (unless you readers who haven't met me believe me to be a 7 year old boy, then believe what you want). But, this is about how I looked like yesterday while learning to fly a kite. A short run, is good for ascent, is what I learned.

Why did I go kite flying you ask? I went as an adventure for the weekend. I was supposed to go canoeing with a boy that I met last week as a sort of date.
Unfortunatly it ended up being to cold to canoe so we flew kites at a local park when it got warmer. It was magical.
This picture and an article on flying kites are brought to you from http://www.dailycandy.com/kids/san-francisco/article/82847/Tips-for-Successful-Kite-Flying.

Aside from our kite flying adventures we went to a show on Friday together, out to get lunch the next day before my time at the Restore. We met up and watched a movie in the evening after the Restore and regrouped again for brunch and kite getting/flying adventures the next day.

We spent all morning hunting for a specific article of clothing at the mall, collecting a couple of kites (the first few places we went didn't have any), and getting chicken samples from the Mall's food court. Did you know you can do that?! I had no idea. It was weird to be in a mall but kinda fun to be there ambling aimlessly, looking at people, and eating free food. Afterwords we successfully tried to fly kites and then hung out with my roomie Sauce.

It feels like Romance is in the air. Though if could just be allergies. Don't get too excited people.

All the best,
Rachel

Bagby Hot Springs

This Sunday, as a special welcome to Oregon treat (to me), I rented a zipcar for myself and some friends and we went up towards the mountains and to a hot spring known as Bagby Hot Springs.

I have no experience at a hot spring and this was an interesting start. The place was up a beautiful hike passing the gorgeous Clackamas river multiple times and finally getting to a rustic, but developed, hot springs with a set of wooden tubs.

Unfortunately, the day that we went there seemed to be some difficulty with the water flowing into the tubs. So, it was a very long wait for a hot springs fed tub for the group. Still, the company and the trip was pretty much worth it even if we had ended up absolutely nowhere.

The trip back (some would say the highlight) incorporated a very strange safari themed restaurant in which we spent over two hours despite being one of only two tables there. It was a bizarre restaurant full of taxidermied exotic animals, a stage with a disco ball, hunting themed video games, and very few unfried vegetarian dishes (I'm talking friend zucchini, fried mac and cheese, and onions rings as a selection of the meatless options). Pretty sure the healthiest option was fettuccine alfredo.

While, there were some set backs in the operation of the adventure machine, It was still a great time. It was weirdly, invigorating to drive a responsive car through curves and up hills. And, it was really nice to see everyone that came along and admire the beauty of this state that I now live in.

Hope you all got into something fun this weekend.

Himalayan blackberry: a battle and the war

Today, I fought my first battle (since I got back that is) against the invasive Himalayan blackberry plants in our back yard. The stuff is growing like a 'roided out  Chia pet with vicious thorns and a STRONG will to live. I spend about 2 hours fighting the good fight but am nowhere near a cleared out yard. Blackberries, you may have won the battle but trust me. I'm gonna win the war. Trust Me. Here are some pictures for y'all's enjoyment.

The plants that I pulled up (I didn't want them to root down again so I put them on the table).

 The space that I cleared!!

An example of what that space looked like and some of what's to come. 

So, I've got a lot of work cut out for me, but taking out these blackberry plants will let better things grow (these plants don't really produce good fruits because they block themselves out). I'm sure it will be a continual fight as the roots try to sneak up new, evil, baby plants for years to come. But the first step is taken. Welcome to my yard better plants. Welcome in. 

Home, sweet, spring, home Again

I arrived in Portland yesterday afternoon. Starving and dirty, I was whisked away by my generous and driving friend, Dan to visit the good people of the Habitat for Humanity Restore-which made me feel like I belonged somewhere for sure.

I'll back up a minute and say the moment that I walked into the train station in Portland I was greeted by my friend, and former coworker, Nick, which really, really, made me feel loved and welcome back. I am lucky to have amassed a few people that are willing to go out of their way simply to greet me or who will take time out of their busy schedules, when I come back into town, to grab a drink and be a little silly with me.

Yesterday, I fixed up my bike and bought some potting soil.

Today, I planted the tomato plant that was gifted to me by my friend, Rachael and some baby basil seeds(because everyone knows that basil is meant to be had with tomatoes). I bought my first batch of groceries and went to my first prepaid, yoga class of the month. I walked around and explored the spring with friend Natalie reaffirming the realization that Portland is, truly, a beautiful city.

I'm about to miss the East Coast and all of the good people of the East but I am determined to take advantage of all the freedom  and opportunities that Portland (and current unemployment) allot me. Next up: Bagby Hot Springs.

Getting back attchya from Chicago

Allright, here's to posting to you all from Chicago again.
Every time that I'm here, I'm pretty sure you get a post from me. You can thank Amtrak's ridiculously long layovers for that. Still I'm thankful to get off the train and find a comfortable place to relieve myself as well as to update you on my life as of late.

Here it is. Last week Delaware and a couple of walks through springtime

Jack in the Pulpit. bitter and peppery unless cooked I believe.

This past weekend New York, NY and the visiting of some very intense museums.

pretty sure I take this picture everytime I'm in the American Museum of Natural History. You can't deny that it's Tight. Giant squid fighting whale (Whatup?!).

Even though, everything in the Financial district of Chicago (which is at least where I assume I am) is closed on Sundays except for some random tea shop, the area is still convincingly city-like and for that impressive. 

I'd love to come to the real city (not just the tall business buildings part) some day with a real Chicago friend. Shout out Natalie who will someday lead me around the streets of Chicago. Also, shout outs to my Mom and Dad who hooked it up in NY from getting us a hotel to stay in with their mysterious hotel points and finding tickets to my first Broadway show, to helping me carry my huge load of stuff to the train station on Saturday. You guys are awesome. 

Trading Up

In the past week both of my parents, independent of one another, told me I looked like a bum. For real, the terms "bum" and "bummy" were used to describe the state of my apparel.

Since I am, in no way, a fan of shopping (except of the online variety for non clothing items), they have been hard pressed to get me looking more middle class some other way.

The compromise that we settled on was that while they were both out working and earning the money to buy their own new clothes, I  stay at home and look through my mom's overstuffed closets and find some things to replace the particularly unseemly contributors to my wardrobe.

I pulled this from an online dictionary so that you all could see the irony in this set up (and possibly the reason that I really am a bum).
bum ¹  (bm)

n.

1. A tramp; a vagrant.

2. A lazy or shiftless person, especially one who seeks to live solely by the support of others.

 Here are a few of the goods:

Burnt orange shirt longish sleeves 

Replaces grey shirt three quarter length sleeves with weird fasteners on them

 Black V-neck Tee with "paint" 

Replaces Grey V-neck that shows every drop of sweet my body releases

 Lace tank top

Replaces 50's diner waitress shirt with ink marks all over it.

 Burnt orange coat dress

Replaces burnt orange "potato bag" sweater dress

White fluffy skirt and Black tank

Replace too large grey tank and nothing

I'm happy with most of my selection and they're happy that I'm trading up to clothes that I can get a real job with. Oh, a real job. That's what I'm supposed to do with my life.

I'm looking forward to my return to Oregon, new stuff or not. Yoga (at multiple studios), Whale watching, Hot springs going, Desert visiting, and $2 beers, all await me. And now that going to Oregon no longer means going back to a place where I have no one I am pretty excited to see all of my friends and housemates (the two are not mutually exclusive).

Shout outs to Mom & Dad for always looking out for me. Shout out to Oregon, I'll see you soon. Shout out to Mamaw, I miss you already.

Last one

Today was the last family get together that I get for quite a while. I'm bummed. It was really fun to see most everyone one last time before heading back west.

I'm psyched to visit up north and to see NYC. I'm even pretty excited to head back  west and do some fun stuff with good people but I am freaking out a little bit about leaving my family and especially my grandmom.

However, it is what it is. And I will move forward. Where are you moving?