VIsta & Vineyards

This summer I participated in a local en plein air art group.  Beginning in the spring we met weekly at various locations around the valley to paint outdoors and then have a critique afterwards.  This was my first year being involved in the group and I really enjoyed it.  I wasn't able to attend all the outings due to work, and was most disappointed to miss the trips to a lavender farm and a vineyard.  This year I painted at Garland Nursery; Old Mill State Park in Tangent; and OSU Sheep Barns.  Part of the learning process was figuring out how to pack your supplies so that you could easily set up where your favorite view was. At Garlands, I did pack my stuff into the nursery, but decided that was too much work for future outings.  I took a page from Kris Mitchells' playbook and worked out of the back of my car for the next locations.

Some of my past art instructors, as well as some of my favorite local artists (Tom Allen, Donna Beverly, Carolee Clark, Kris Mitchell, Lauren Ohlgren), are often seen on the outings.  It's so strange to find myself in the company of these artist, as a peer.  In spite of the talent present, the group has been supportive and friendly to us new comers.  I can't wait to do it again next year.

The view from my Garlands outing.

The view of my Old Mill State Park painting location.

My unfinished painting

How others were painting outdoors at the sheep bar.

In car painting set up at OSU Sheep Barns.

Lots of people showed up at the sheep barns.

The view I was painting

My painting as it was at the end of the day.

Just part of the paintings involved in the critique.

Joan Jett and The Blackhearts

August 27th we went to Albany's Art and Air Fair to see Joan Jett & the Blackhearts in concert.  I love the venue, the grassy hillside surrounding the lake with the stage on an island across from the crowd.  This venue allows people to picnic on the lawn with food, friends and alcohol.  We usually have a pretty big group and this year was no exception.

Those of us in attendance were Candi and Joe, Kris, Randy and myself, Jim and Charlene Burke, Joye Fukuda and Sarah Buhler.  Notably missing were the Valcenia's, Tom and Wendy.  Hopefully they rectify that next year. Not many people missed the concert as an estimated 23-25K people were in attendance, the largest ever to see a concert in Albany.  People reportedly came from California and Canada to JJ and the Blackhearts.

The food, friends and concert were all great.  Including the wonderful fireworks display after the concert, the best we've seen in quiet a while.

Time, time, time. See what's become of me....

While I look around for my possibilities.....

I need more time, that's what I'd like.  I'm thankful my life is so full, but I can't manage all that I want and need to do. My poor blog suffers because I'm so busy. I love Simon and Garfunkel BTW!

If you are a long time listener of Rush Limbaugh, cue up the old time "update" theme music...dut, dutta, lut, dutta, lut, dutta, lut......

Kitchen update:  Mostly done!  It's usable, but we haven't been here a enough to use it!  Ha ha!  When we are here, we've BBQ'd of course.  So I haven't had a chance to get used to the gas stove or oven.  That will have to be my October project.
I still have to primer and paint some new dry wall and add the tile back splash.  I haven't decided fully on the tile design and haven't had time to check out my options.  That will probably be a September project.
The refrigerator and garage are still a mess with things not in place from the remodel.  Those will be our first project, starting "soon".  :-)

The space we gained in the corner next to the refrigerator is my favorite place in the kitchen.  My Keurig sits in the appliance garage and is ready to make coffee when I get up in the morning.  I can make my cereal and coffee from that one space in the kitchen, as my cereal and raisins are in the "pantry" cupboard right next to the coffee maker.  I just have to remember to take my cup bowl and spoon over there.

Hickory cabinets with a "honey" stain.  A deep two bowl sink, in sprakly black granite.  Tile backsplash to come.  You can see some of the tile taped to the wall near the knife block. 

General life update:  Randy and I've been to Florence twice in the last few weeks and it was fabulous over there.  Warmer temps and not much wind.  Very relaxing.  There was lots of wildlife activity on the river...seals, seagull chicks and pelicans. We took another visit to Cape Perpetua, which I love.  Fun to hike the trails and climb on the rocks down to the tide pools.
We also spent a lot of time at Honeyman Nursery.  They have a very nice set up and I like looking at the plant displays and playing with the nursery's 6 cats.  George is my fav, he will climb all the way up you until he is up by your face.  What a sweetie.  This last visit we brought the truck so that we could return home with some rocks that we have been eyeing for a while.  This proved quite the challenge.  If a rock requires a fork lift to put it in your vehicle, it might require the same to get it out.  But not necessarily, it just won't be as easy.  It only took us two hours to move big rock about 25 feet.  Most of that time was spent trying to get it in the yard cart with jacks.  We ended up using 2x4's to lever it up and roll it, also some sliding/pushing on cardboard once we made it onto the grass. We were both exhausted, sweaty and sore by the end of this move. This rock is not leaving it's current location until one of us can't remember how hard it was to move.  That will be me, and Randy will say "as you wish".  :-)

One of our 2 new "glacial boulders".  Not as heavy as you'd think.

Oh yea, I want some of those...

Now THIS one weighs a lot!  They used a front loader to put it in the truck.

These guys weren't hard, they lived right here until we put them in place.

This big guy took us both 2 hours to move from the back of the truck to this location.  Randy says if we move, it's not.

Aaron Tippin at the BC Fair.  Great concert.

On July 30th Annie and I participated in our first triathlon together, the All Women's Blue Lake Triathlon in Fairview. The race was 1/2 or 1/4 mile swim, 12 mile bike and 3 mile run.  This was my first open water swim and I was very nervous about it. Especially after I saw how far I had to swim, OMG.  The swim totally kicked my butt, I didn't freestyle for very long before sidestroking.  Annie swam her 1/2 mile just faster than it took me to "swim" my 1/4 mile (my race had a shorter distance).  She rocked her swim, being the fastest in her age group.  The bike was fun, I love rocking on the bike after the swim.  Because I am so slow in the water I get to pass a lot of people on the bike. :-)  I had nothing left in the tank for the run and walked most of it, except when I saw the photographers pointed in my direction. My dad even showed up to watch the first part and take pictures.  All in all I had a great time.

A little bit more summer to come.  Stay tuned.

Kitchen Remodel 2011 - Day 24

Ok, it has not been 24 days since we tore apart our routine, it just feels like it sometimes.  Really ready to be able to find things and have a normal schedule. I have been so busy lately that I haven't had time to post. I've spent a lot of time running around trying to find things that it will now take too long to order. I stalled on my sink purchase because I just couldn't bring myself to spend $544 on a sink, no matter how cool it was.  I should know by now that when I stall on making a decision, I'm not totally happy with it.  So I took an hour in sink aisle of Home Depot and went through my "process" to find my sink and faucet.  I need to spend time looking at everything and considering the pro's and con's.  Usually I put an item in my cart and then take it out, and repeat.  After all this time and consideration I am perfectly happy with my decision and that is what took place with my sink.  I love it!  I always pictured it as dark brown or black, don't know why, just did. I bought a metallic black quartz sink that has all the features I love.  This happiness spread to other decision areas....I see the hardware color now and an overall scheme is coming together.  I can move forward with paint, cabinet pulls and light fixtures.  I'm creatively unclogged!!!!
Today the guys are here and I've had my first look at my full sized cabinets, the wood and stain.  Awesome!  Going to go pick up the cabinet pulls shortly....

I don't know why, but I can't post pictures to this post. You'll have to stay tuned for the results.

Kitchen Remodel 2011 Days 3 & 4

Day 3 I was at work, so I didn't get to watch as the day progressed.  I know that the hole in the floor was filled in.

Day 4:

• The drywall sections on either side of the family room opening were put into place.
• Proper venting for the over the range microwave was finished.
• Insulation was put in the kitchen walls.
• Ceiling drywall was hung.
• Some kitchen drywall hung.

Unfortunately the guys had to spend a long time at Home Depot getting supplies.  The store just doesn't have enough people to help you when you need it.  

Charlie the site supervisor.  It looks good to him.

Kitchen Remodel 2011 - Day 2

Yesterday was a great day, why would today be any different?  Because it is.  Because there's a full moon.  Because it's a remodel.  The guys who do this all the time know that, expect it, and go with the flow.  Me?  My stomach is in knots!  I know when things go "differently", the ka-ching factor goes up.  That's like finger nails on a chalk board to me.  I also had to make decisions on the go, without checking to see what Randy thought.  I know he'd probably have come to the same decisions, but I hate that he might not like what we've done.  Well, it is what it is.  It is what it is......breathe....it is what it is.....

Unplanned items today:
1. rotten floor boards under dishwasher.  While cutting them out, the outside hose bib line was cut.
2. Need to move the refrigerator outlet and water line out of the way of the cabinets, but there's a pocket door behind that space. Doh!
3. The last guy who put flooring in the utility room didn't patch the floor right and the patch dropped out.

The guys are good. They took all these extras in stride and are "ahead of schedule".  The prep work could be done by Friday.  : * )  Yeah guys!!!

Actions today:

• Old flooring removed.
• Hood system properly vented to the roof.
• Cut out rotten floor boards
• Fix hose bib plumbing.
• Plumb water to icemaker vault.
• Prep refrigerator electrical box.
• Frame in wall opening and doorway.
• Remove pocket door and frame in wall.




The young boys have the flooring out, now the "experienced guys" show up.  He's kneeling in front of the rotten boards that will be removed.







 


The plumbing is set and spaces are foamed in.  The hole in the floor is covered by a door and some chairs to keep the kids out of it.




That's worth a close up, beautiful work!!!

Refrigerator icemaker vault, with water plumbed properly to the pipes, and a new electrical box.





Filling in the open space and some of the family room walk way.



Kitchen Remodel 2011 Begins....

A long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away I had a dream.  A dream of a kitchen that was place that I would like to cook and people liked to hang out.  The planning is over, the wood is being cut, no more new ideas or mind changes allowed. That dream is coming to a kitchen near me, right now.  The force is with me.  Thank you Obi-wan Kenobi!

This weekend I spent two days taking everything out of the kitchen and stashing it around the house.  I tried to leave some things accessible so that we could BBQ or microwave to feed ourselves over the next two weeks.  My whole organization got blown out of the water today when the guys started demo work.  The refrigerator was moved into the dining room and lots of other things got pushed aside and into my work space.  Oh, well.  I keep telling my husband, "it's only for a few days".   Sunday night the dog found my stash of calcium chews and ate the whole bag.   He is still alive today and apparently fine for having ingested a mega amount of calcium, vitamin D3 and foil wrappers.  Damn, dog stomaches are tough!

The boys got a lot of work done today, I'm impressed: appliances moved out; upper and lower cabinets removed; soffetts taken out; some of the floor taken up. The fixtures are being donated to Habitat for Humanity so care was taken to remove items with as little damage as possible. I am very pleased with how the kitchen looks opened up to the dining room, it is going to great! 

We were lucky to find no really bad surprises.  We did find out what happened to the baby bunny that the cat brought in over 10 years ago.  The poor thing died under the sink cabinet and it's intact skeleton was found there.  Always wondered what the answer that mystery would be.  

Sunday night, it's all cleared out and ready for change.

It begins....the monster refrigerator, Alice, is prepped for the move to the dining room.

The uppers over the bar are gone!  COOL beans!

Making the rest of the uppers go away....

This was harder than it looked.  There were some adult words used at this point.  Andy orchestrated a beautiful and coordinated maneuver to get 2 whole banks of uppers down at one time.

Too bad I have to put upper back in at some point.  I like it the way it is.

Oh yeah, don't blink honey badger or all your lowers will be gone!

Get those soffets out of of there, I need that space!

I only asked for an estimate.......then he said "Yes".  Love you sweetie!

Sweetie Pie will get a new garbage disposal. Be sure to tell him how that makes the kitchen awesome.

Soffets all gone.  Left with a trench into the attic.  The boogie man will have an easy time getting into the house tonight.

They say they are done for today.  No problem sissy boys, I'll keep working. Honey badger don't need a break like you men.

Where the sink used to be.  I scraped off old wallpaper backing tonight.  See you boys tomorrow!

First Sprint Triathlon

On May 30th, 2011  I participated in my first ever sprint triathlon, the Heart of the Valley Sprint Tri here in Corvallis.  I've been planning on doing a Tri in June, the Blue Lake Sprint Tri in Gresham, with Derek and Annie.  However this spring, after coming home from my cruise, I lost interest and thought I probably wouldn't do it.

Then Lauren Ohlgren, my art & triathlon newbie friend,  pushed my motivation by doing her first two sprint tri's in May.  She was so excited about her races and spilled all her info and excitement onto me.  I was worried about losing my motivation again and wanted to do a race soon to try it out and know what it was like.  While the courage was up I paid my money to enter  the HOV s-tri. I liked that it was my "home pool" and I knew the course well.

After entering,  I had a short period of high anxiety as I realized that the race was only a week away (where the heck did May go?) and I hadn't been doing anything serious for the last 3 weeks.  The swim was 750 yds, 350 yds longer than the race I had trained for.  The bike portion was 11 miles with 6 hills and I hadn't been on my bike for longer than 6 miles in over a month and a half.  Running?!  Not so much.  I was working up to running and hadn't gotten that far yet. This course was a nice easy flat 3 miles.
 Beside the 3 "events" of a Tri, there's the "transition factor", often called the 4th component of the race.  T1 is the transition from swimming to biking and T2 is the transition from the bike to the run.  Both of these transitions are timed separately, with the goal of being as quick as possible during these changes of equipment.  There's a whole lot to learn about how to transition quickly.  Luckily for me Lauren dropped everything to give me as much information as I could stand so that I could relax some.

Before the start, with my transition area set up.  I was racer #1 because I had the slowest projected swim time.  Just for the record, I wasn't the slowest that day.  

Once settled down, I slept well leading up to the race and came to the race morning with the attitude that "it is what it is".  I was calm and ready to get it going.  Two days before the race I learned I would be in the outside pool and in the first wave, which was a relief because the laps are 50 m vs 100 m.  I would have to do 15 laps, but I could rest more often.  I needed those rests.  The swim was much harder than I thought it was going to be.  I finished in about 26 mins, which was slightly slower than I expected.  I was the last out of my pool in my wave.

Listening to the start count down (while cap).  I had only the guy at the right edge of the photo in my lane.  

T1, swim to bike.  Putting on my bike gear and drip drying.

Heading out for the ride....no rain yet!

The bike ride was an 11 mile loop up Highland Dr to the Lewisburg area and back.  I wasn't sure how those hills would feel after swimming for a half hour.  They were fine!  What's going on, this isn't that bad?  The bonus to hills is the back side where you can let it rip.  I dealt with nausea near the top of two hills, but otherwise felt great and passed 6 people.  Had a heavy downpour near CVHS, crazy weather!  Had to be careful as I flew down the south side of Highland drive that I didn't run over any painted line, else I might crash at high speed.  Came into T2 feeling good and earned a time of about 50 mins on the bike.

Back from my ride.  Hit a downpour just before the last hill back.  Feeling good though.

Took off on the "run" at a walk.  Hard to get the hips in the mode of moving that way.  For some reason my hips hurt like crazy and running actually felt better, except for the aerobic part of it.  I alternated running and walking the whole way.  I passed a couple girls, always checking to see if they were one of the 3 Athena's in my group.   I caught one of them, but not the gal who won our classification.  Candi, Lauren and the Hills were on hand at the finish line, so I ran some more.  I finished the "run" in about 34 mins.

I'm sure I'm running because I know the camera is there.

I'm glad to have it over and know what it's like.  It was a fun time and can't wait to do more.  The highlight was the bike ride, I'm ready for more of that!  I feel good about doing the race and it was fun to come in 2nd in the Athena over 40 group.  If I keeping working, 1st place isn't that far off.

Crossing the finish line!