Coffee Joy

Fresh out of our new coffee roaster. Best frickin' espresso I've had in years!

Excuses, excuses...a total downer

Oh man...I just can't catch a break this Fall/Winter. The swine flu, the appendectomy and all the complications afterward... I've been in the hospital 16 times since October, twice in the ICU. I'm only 30 years old, but feel much older!! My immune system is shot, my liver enzymes are haywire (all the meds have screwed me up)... I'm trying not to sound like a whiner. But, once again, I've been lost in the land of hospitals and Dr's, specialists and clinics...trying to figure out what the hell is wrong with me. I've been randomly spiking fevers (104 degrees F+) since mid-November, accompanied by intense abdominal pain, muscle and joint pain, nausea, delerium and headaches. So far it's all out of the realm of understanding or identifying, medically. My arms look like a junkie with really bad aim was let loose on them. I can't stand to wear short sleeves right now! I'm not rich enough to continue trying to find out what's wrong, but I also can't function a normal, everyday life. Our savings is drained, my checking accounts are nearly bottomed out...the stress of that isn't helping, I'm sure.

Has anyone ever heard of someone having this kind of symptomology, a friend, a relative? Are any of you readers in the medical field and would you be willing to point me in he right direction? I feel totally lost, and I'm teetering dangerously on the cusp of depression. At this point, not knowing what's wrong is much worse than having some kind of diagnosis. I don't like the idea of being stabbed in the back...I want to look my attacker in the eyes and unleash my rage on it!!

So, that's why I haven't been posting. It's depressing and I'm not a pity case. It sucks, big-time, all the same, not having anyone to talk to about it aside from my partner who is living through it with me.

Guh.

To lighten the mood: Christmas is rapidly approaching and I'm dying to start roasting our own coffee with the home roaster that I bought Josh, and start making my own cappuccino's (bone dry, with a touch of real butter caramel in the bottom) with the 20 bar pump espresso machine that Josh got for me. We have been very strong, and not given in to the temptation of opening those particular presents early. These are the only gifts that we know exactly what each of us bought...it just made sense because of how synergistic they happened to be to each other. I have a feeling some of it came from the NFL Pro-shop, which makes me feel very optimistic that perhaps somebody found that hat I've been trying to get my hands on for a few years now...

We aren't going to be able to make it up to Eastern Washington to visit our families this year (I shouldn't travel yet, too risky), but we have our own delightfully campy fiber-optic tree surrounded by pretty wrapped gifts, and we have our kitties to share the day with, maybe even steam them some Catsip (If you have kitties, go to your local supermarket and pick some up, I guarantee your little ones will LOVE it!) into a frothy treat. Kitticcino?

Thanks for reading. Happy Holidays everyone!

- Kelsey

Kitten Butt

Ciro is over 11 pounds now...and only 7 months old. Adorable squishy cuddly goodness.

Schön Deutsch Party

Last night Josh and I went to a German dinner that was put on by our German language class at a grange out in the "country". Sort of a weird area, because there is open farmland, people riding horses down the street...but it's surrounded by city and suburb on all sides. It's just an odd!!

Anyway, we were there a few hours early and learned how to make Spaetzle for vierzig (40) mensch!! Tedious but interesting. It was nice to be out doing something that didn't involve needles being stuck in me and hours of waiting in a über flattering gown.

It was interesting watching our professor down the beer, too. Fun times!!

Visitors

My oldest sister and my niece had a layover in Portland on their way to L.A., today so Josh and I took them downtown and we played around a bit. We went to one of our very favorite street vendors (some of Portland's most charming attractions are the fabulous, high-quality street merchants and International Food Parking Lots...hehe) and had THE BEST VEGETARIAN TORTA'S IN THE U.S. In case any of you ever happen to be in the Portland area, stop by La Jarochita at SW 5th Ave and Oak in beautiful downtown Portland. There's my plug. LOL.

Anyway. They were both delighted with the...we'll call it brunch, because it was 10:30 or so in the morning. Afterwards we hopped the train and went to Old Town Pizza (also very awesome) and took advantage of their beautiful espresso bar. We kicked it there for about an hour, sipping our lattes and mochas and chatting, and enjoying being in a warm, dry place. I love the Fall and Winter in Portland...the non-stop rain and generally mild days, but today was just cold and extremely wet.

After that we strolled thru Chinatown and stopped by one of our favorite mom and pop import stores where I found a beautiful Mah Jongg set that I HAD to have. It was a steal at $50. I love it. The tiles are the perfect size and weight (HEAVY!) and I love the artwork on them. We will be inviting some friends over for dinner and Mah Jongg tomorrow night, for sure!!

So it was a nice mini-visit! Hopefully I'm feeling good enough on their way back to visit again. It did take a lot out of me today to be up and moving so much. We'll see.

The pictures are from Old Town Pizza. One of me with my sister and niece, and the other of Josh with them. The building is gorgeous inside. It's a great example of frontier city architecture. Love it!

Where have I been??

In hospital hell!

On October 29th at 7:00AM, after a little over a week of intense discomfort in my abdomen, I got on the train and went to the ER. I got right into a room, which was really awesome, and got to put on a really snazzy gown while I was waiting for my Dr to come in and see me. What fun!

So, after explaining the nature of my pain and how long it had been bothering me, and some poking and prodding of my tummy, he ordered me up some morphine, blood-draws and a CT scan! Wheee! It didn't take long after the scan for him to come in and tell me they were tracking down a surgeon and moving me up to the OR for an immediate emergency appendectomy! It hadn't ever occurred to me that I might have something really wrong with me...I thought I had pulled a muscle at the gym or something. Here it was though...a big ugly infection staring me in the face!

So I silently freaked out with a smile on my face and nodded at whatever the Dr was telling me at the time. They inserted my IV line, put on a drip and shot me with some more morphine and I waited. Nobody except for Josh knew where I was at, and he thought I was going to be out in time to meet him at school and go to class as normal....not the case. I called him at 11:20 and said (verbatim) " I would really like it if you got off the bus right now and hop the next train to the hospital. They are prepping me for surgery right now. Please hurry. ". Which was met by a silence and then I hear "What's the quickest way to the train?" Bless him, he got there in about 40 minutes and met me in the short-stay room they had me pre-op.

Enter the cutest anesthesiologist ever. Dr. Derby. He was really bubbly and friendly/chatty and he really helped calm me down. Plus, I wanted to pinch his bum and he was fun to look at...and he had the best drugs I've ever had in my life...lemme tell ya! By the time he was done with me I was all smiles and mindless babble.

Anyway...when I woke up I had no idea where I was or how I got there and I had a brief moment of panic where I tried to rip all the wires and tubes off of me and there were strangers holding me down and telling me it was OK, I had surgery, was I in pain....it all came back about the time they administered another hefty dose of pain meds and some kind of anxiety medication. I don't know how long I was in that room...but I was grateful when they wheeled me to my suite, where Josh was waiting for me. He was really great the entire time I was in (3 full days), he came and sat with me and got bored with me and watched TV with me...and showered with my mutilated self...LOL.

It was interesting! I don't want to do it again. I've had a bunch of complications since I got out, and I spent the day in ICU on Tuesday with blood poisoning from a burst infection at the former site of my appendix. Really not fun. I'm on a score of medications for the infection and pain and I've been stuck doing nothing since the 29th, essentially.

Today, against the wishes of my Dr, I am going to school. I really need to do this. I am so bored, and I hate missing classes....even if I have been telecommuting in (I've been webcamming in to my lectures, so I can still participate, etc...pretty cool). So wish me luck!

The picture was taken a few days after I got home...you can see the three incisions they made for the laporascopic procedure...it was weird and gross. It got worse before it got better looking, too...just be thankful I didn't post that! I hate having a shaved tummy!!! It looks retarded and it itches!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway....that's where I've been. Hope y'all are having a better time of it! :o)

Mushrooming Trip 1 2009!

We went out into the mountains just East of Portland with our friends Adam and Purple this weekend to hunt for mushrooms and soak in some hot springs. We had a REALLY great time. I love this time of year because it means we get to go out on these day trips to the chilly Cascade Mountains and find all kinds of yummy edibles. We ended up with over 15 pounds of beautiful wild mushrooms on this trip, mostly chanterelles and lobsters! It was awesome!

Ze Tattoos

Hehe...taken at the tattoo parlor, still fresh and bleeding a little. We've been wanting to get these done for a long time. It was awesome! I'm the upper one and Josh is the lower one. :o) We're both getting more next term.

Slice n Dice

Josh and I are getting our anniversary tattoos tomorrow! Pics to follow...

Nightmare in Tigard

We got the boys fixed today. Ciro, especially has taken it pretty hard. Even with the sedation from the anesthesia he's been walking from room to room howling as if to ask "Where are they?? What the fuck did you do with them??!!".

Poor babies.

We got the deluxe package with biofeedback, laser and 5 day painkiller shot. When Clio had her operation a few years ago they didn't give us any options...we just brought her home and she was miserable and tired/cranky for a week. The boys are only a little sleepy and angry I think. They didn't like the 1 hour drive out to the frickin' Westside suburbs, in traffic, or the 45 min. trip back (we were at the front end of rush hour, thankfully). All that to be tortured (weighed, and examed) by a stranger and then to be woken up to missing body parts. No wonder kitties hate the vet!

Oktoberfest, scary traffic followed by kick-ass dinner

Man!! Oktoberfest was a blast! I AM a little irritated about paying 22 bux for 2 beers, but I've learned from my mistakes and won't repeat them. The biergarten sucked...then we found this awesome public house near the heart of the festival w/ no cover and cheep booze. Fun fun! Also there was a live dyke band that sounded like Indigo Girls had a lovechild with Janis Joplin...pretty good! Getting to and from Mt. Angel was a nightmare though!! It's only 40 miles from Portland, but I think half the city was going down there at the same time as us. I-5 was a snarled mess as soon as we got to the 214 interchange in Woodburn. It took us an hour to move 1 mile. Oddly enough, once we got on 214 it was mostly smooth. On the way back (*&^@#) we hit a dead stop on hwy 99e, had to turn around and hop back on 214, which was at a stand-still...so we cheated and used surface streets thru Woodburn and got around it all only to find ourselves sitting on the I-5 parking lot. So we tried to take hwy 51 up thru Aurora and hit a dead stop there too....all roads leading back to the city were absolute crap last night...it took us 2.5 hrs to get home! We had dinner reservations at 7 and skated in at the last possible moment. Dinner was flippin' killer though!! We went out for Ethiopian (again...every few months) and there was a live band playing...and a dance troupe. Very sexy and hypnotic. We all had a great time. Yummy food, good service, cheap drinks and crazy music/dancers. Nice day.

And now it's back to school!!

Oktoberfest...Beertastic!

WHEEEEE!!!! It's that time of year! We're going down to Mt. Angel for the Oktoberfest celebration this weekend. BBBBBEEEEEEERRRRRR!!!!!

I'm super-excited to see what kind of delicious offerings all those crazy monks and nuns at the abbey have in store for us this year. I'm looking for something in a vegetarian "sausage" type thing and a mountain of sauerkraut and a gallon of porter to go with it. I plan on getting tanked. Muahahahahahaha!!! TTTTTAAAAAYYYYYYSSSSTTTTTAAAAYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!

I love beer.

Full of yummy garden goodness

Feeling mostly better about things. This has been a really stressful couple of weeks. Some issues have come up concerning our home and we are dealing with them...slowly. I'm leaving it at that, for now.

This is the most delectable breakfast ever imagined. Fresh Anaheim peppers, zucchini, onion, fresh basil and oregano and savory...oh I love to garden! Throw it together with some eggs and cheese and a touch of flour and *BAM!*, you've got yourself a crustless quiche inspired by the wonderful chile relleno. Pure heaven.

Just add coffee and a cozy spot on the deck and enjoy a warm late-summer morning....ahhhhhh

Greenery

Looking forward to Fall; the rain we get in the Pacific NW is kick-ass. We'll be able to go mushroom hunting in around a month! I'm so over Summer!

Can't find a rock big enough...

Or a hole deep enough to crawl into and hide. Having a shitty week.

Sorting Day

Meh.

Today we are sorting through our business inventory as we prepare to sell off what is left of our company to a lucky buyer. Praise jebus for this woman...I didn't know what we were going to do with all of this stuff that is just taking up space in the mancave. Money is nice too.

Cutest Corn Ever

This is from our garden. Since we're wooded, we don't get a ton of sun over the entire garden, so some plants got part shade when they should've been full-sun. Our corn is delicious...but tiny. It's demicorn...lol.

Unity

Wow. Clio doesn't share anything...especially with the 'new' kittens (we got them back in June @ 6 weeks old). This just started this morning...so proud! This is all thanks to the squirrels that live behind our bedroom.

Beware the Crazy

Rolling! This is the best seizure warning ever.

It's Alive!

Yeah, I'm a loser. I've been lost in the land of Facebook. Also, I'm a full-time student and have had way too much on my plate this summer. Sue me. Not like anyone reads this anyway!! Thought I'd share a mug of myself...Mr. Teddybear. Josh and I just got back from an OSA (Oregon Student Association) retreat. HARDCORE!! Josh is on the OSERA board, they help influence policy in the legislature for students equal rights. Anyway, it was 3 days of intense board meetings and many other non-retreat like events. There was really no rest, 14 hours of sitting, followed by nightly drunken (presumably, we only attended one for a few minutes) bonfires on the beach in Newport, OR. BEAUTIFUL, BTW.

Pics are Josh (on the left in the upper pic) and myself...also I didn't realize that James' butt was captured just to the upper right of my head, it's a good butt, I'm sure he would be pleased....lol)

A little break....

A little dessert before I have lunch...hehe.

Quick note...(revised to Long Note)

I've been too busy to post since we closed the house deal. We got the call and literally moved in that night. We couldn't get out of that awful little hell-hole with a raging bitch psychotic roommate fast enough.

I've had an interesting couple of weeks! We found all kinds of crazy stuff under the house when we were excavating....a bunch of random junk that had somehow made it's way down there over the last 60 years. I think the most interesting thing was the mummified cat. Jason found her (we're just calling it a 'her', I don't know why) buried in some sand in one of the corners of the crawl-space. The Egyptians couldn't have done a better job...she is preserved perfectly. It's gross and really fascinating. It's also a testament to how good our foundation is....bone dry down there. Anyway, as soon as I find the camera tomorrow I plan to post a picture, because it's just creepy and I know some of you will want to have a look.

We've done a crap-load of work on the place since we got in. We completely re-did the kitchen, installed cabinets and a new counter, ripped out the ugly old baseboard 'cause the place has central heat and air conditioning (RARE on the West side of Oregon), I don't know why it was there. Idiots. We painted our bedroom on Saturday and Sunday, which I don't want to do again any time soon....I like the colors we chose, but it took forever and it's so effing repetitive. This stuff and all the unpacking and organizing, and shopping for new fixtures and paint and this and that....we've spent I don't know how many thousands of dollars since last week. I'm afraid to look and see just how much.

I did all this with 2 ear infections, strep throat and a flippin' staph infection (picked it up in the dirty crap we hauled out of here, not cool)....and I broke a toe running through the kitchen and smacking into a door jamb...let that be a lesson to those who run in the house. I'm a trooper, I guess. I hope that I'm all done being sick for a few years...I kind of got hit all at once and it really wasn't fun for anyone. But, whatever. We got the house, now we can move forward and get things done in other parts of our lives.

We're openeing our business back up as of today. We already have orders to fill. One lady is driving all the way from Kennewick, WA just to pick up her order (she says she wants to see Portland, 'cause she's never been here)!!! Rock! Now I just need to get out the grinders and mills so I can start blending herbs and spices again...I haven't had the space to do it in 7 months and I'm losing my flippin' mind over it.

Cheers to all!!

Movin' Along

OMFG! We are moving into our new house today! WE ARE MOVING INTO OUR NEW HOUSE......RIGHT NOW!!!

I can't even tell y'all how happy we are. We've been waiting since November to close this deal. It's done. We sleep there tonight.

HAPPY JOY!

I can't wait to get my cat back from my brother over at http://korykinnick.blogspot.com/
Him and Peder have been watching her since we went to the coast almost 2 weeks ago. I miss my kitty.

And his name is....

Janez Vermeiren. He's beautiful. He get's a lot of viewing time as my desktop.

Anyway, today we begin excavating the crawl space in the new house! I'm excited and terrified. I'm claustrophobic, and we're talking about going under the house in haz-mat gear, respirators...all that...and in some places clearance is only 14 inches...guh. I'm also only 2 days out from oral surgery, so I'm hurting and I'm supposed to be avoiding physical exertions like this....but I don't really have a choice. We want to be able to move in, and FHA won't let us until this is done! So...I'll suffer through it and keep taking the pain meds and hopefully everything will be fine. Wish us luck!

I just love this guy!

Again....I could stare all day.

Inspections and Coasting

Yay! The house has finally been released to us by the surprise second lien-holder. We do the final inspections this Thursday. Move-in is around the 18th. We couldn't be happier about it. We snuck out to the property this past Wednesday with our friend Erin and did some thorough snooping and pilfering through some things that the previous owners had left....things like a lawnmower, a nice biggish gas grill (Sweet!), a 27 inch TV out in the "Mancave" (an outbuilding with playspace, a sauna and a shower) and a brand new vacuum cleaner....plus many more things. I can't wait to start digging through it all and selling it off on eBay and Craigslist. Might as well make a little money off of this ordeal, huh?

So Thursday after we're done inspecting, I get to come back to our rental and pack for a trip to the coast. It's Peder's (my brother's hubby) birthday and the four of us are going to a cabin at the beach for a few days. Very excited.

Got yer attention?

I want to lick this guy.....

Oh My Yum! Bete-Lukas

Valentines Day rocked. Joshie took me to Bete-Lukas on SE 50th just off of Division. He had never experienced Ethiopian food before. I had limited experience, but knew that I LOVED it. Anyway...what an awesome place! We were both so impressed with not only the food, but the coziness of the place (maybe 15 tables) the cleanliness (immaculate) the ambiance...oh and the service is genuinely 1st rate. I felt like we should have been spending a lot more than we did all said and done (Less than $50 for 2 people w/beer). This is a 4 star restaurant with 2 star pricing. You TOTALLY get your money's worth and more. The food you ask?? EFFING AMAZING. The Kategna (Warm Injera with Berbere and seasoned butter) were...for lack of a better word...DIVINE. Eggplant Tibs were especially tasty also. Please....everyone....GO TO THIS RESTAURANT! I promise you that you'll be thrilled. If you like slightly (or very) spicy, highly-aromatic food and you don't mind digging in with your hands (traditional!)....this is THE place to go. We both left with full tummies and nothing but positive thoughts for this place. We'll be going back soon...with friends, with family....by ourselves....I don't know if we'll ever be able to 'get enough' Bete-Lukas!

The Prodigy Are Back!!

I can't tell you how happy I am right now. I just listened to the new singles that were pre-released on iTunes for the upcoming album "Invaders Must Die" by The Prodigy. I've loved this band for as long as I can remember. They were cutting-edge, ahead of the curve in every respect to their contemperaries ...until the release of "Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned" in 2004. OK...maybe I'm just a jerk or snobby about music. I don't think so, but I've heard it from people in the past. Anyway...I was so disappointed with that album. It was executed well....it was technically interesting...but it just wasn't the caliber I expected from the band. Take me back to "The Experience", "Jilted Generation" and "Fat of the Land". Well....that's what they did with this new album. I'm hearing all the very best elements from those groundbreaking albums in every track. I feel like a new fan all over again. I loaded the songs onto my iPod and turned the volume all the way up (Thank you Skull Candy headphones....best 80 bucks I ever spent!). I'm thrilled. So a HUGE THANK YOU to Liam, Kieth and Maxim for coming to your senses and making yet another amazing album and restoring my faith in The Prodigy. Now all you guys need to do is play a show here in the Pacific Northwest....I'd love for you to come to Portland, but I'm flexible!! Just play the U.S. West Coast and I'll be there!!

Love it!

In response to Kory's Talented Jedi....
This was kinda fun (I laughed enough) and I just LOVE my name...it's perfect for me.
You, too, can build your superhero and find out what kind of powers you have!
http://www.cpbintegrated.com/theherofactory/

More Fun Times...

Guhhhh!! My mouth sucks! I got into the dentist today with no problems. Thankfully this time they were able to get me most of the way numb...I still felt more than I should have, but it wasn't agonzingly painful in a physical way. I didn't scream or anything this time. (My Dr. was thrilled) It was mildly psychologicaly torturous...all the nasty scraping/popping/drilling sounds combined with the super-gross smell of burning teeth. I can't get the smell of it out of my brain!

Problems? Yes!! It wouldn't be Classic Kelsey if it went perfectly smooth. He was able to start the root canal on my upper-right bicuspid, but as soon as he really got in there he hit the *Surprise!* abscess. It was horrible (I mean...nuhhh...buh..). He got in there, murdered whatever he needed to, ground some more tooth away and had to stop. He said he couldn't continue without jeopardizing my life and his practice if I died from blood poisoning. Stupid effing blood poisoning. Sooooo....I have a partially finished root canal and an icky gaping hole next to it. He had to go back into the area that just three days ago was home to my sad, rotten canine and...*massive shudder*....clean it out. He said some things that I never want to hear coming out of a Dr. or dentists mouth, ever again. "Whoa...oh gosh...that's bad.....*scrape, scrape...grind*....oh man....no, that's not good....yeah....not good at all". For real. That's what he said. Verbatim.

Anyway....I'm going back in on Friday to see how the infection is clearing, then, pending a positive report card, I will be scheduled to finish this procedure early next week. I've been warned that it will be painful for the next few days, and to expect blood and....other stuff. He put me on more strong meds for pain (hydromorphone) and a new ultra-high dose of Cleocin. I hate that crap. Clyndamycin makes my stomach hurt pretty bad. Whatever though, it's a means to an end. The end is getting closer and closer, and I'm SO cool with that. I've lived with dental pain for so long that I don't remember what it's like to be able to chew, or even talk to people without it hurting....so naturally, I'm excited to get this work done!

I can't wait to blog about fun stuff.....

I'm gonna listen to Dolly Parton now (9-5 and Odd Jobs) and go to a happy place.

Fun Times...

It's just after 7PM. I just got home from the dentist and pharmacy. I'm still shaking. I'm still sobbing on and off. I have to go back tomorrow for surgery, depending on where my pain level is at in the morning. He was only able to get the canine out today. None of the anesthesia worked. They used the maximum amount allowed, and...nothing. I was in so much pain by this afternoon (the narcotics wore off around 3:30, and the little help they provided was gone by 4) that they were unable to get me even to baseline. They got me to an '8'. That's after 8 amps of Novocaine, an entire box of topical Lidocaine, 800mg Ibuprofen and an injection of Numorphan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxymorphone ).

So I told him to take out the canine anyway...no matter how bad it hurt me. It hurt me. Beyond any pain I could have ever imagined, it hurt me. Apparently the entire practice was gathered around me looking horrified and pitiful towards me. They all stopped what they were doing to pull for me. I screamed and screamed and bawled my head off and screamed and screamed some more. (Think horror movie where someone is being disemboweled by an alien or something) I almost passed out and I guess they were starting to get worried that I was going to go into cardiac arrest or have a stroke, 'cause they wouldn't allow the second procedure no matter how much I was begging to "JUST GET IT OUT OF MY HEAD". Just thinking about it is making me tearful again. It was the single most horrifying, scary and painful experience that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy (if I had one). OMG. I can't even think of a way to tell any of you how traumatic it was. I'm STILL shaking....and it's taking me a while to type this because my nerves are shot and my vision is a little blurry.

I can't talk, so nobody try and call me for a day or two.

I'm sorry if this is graphic. None of it is exaggerated, I have plenty of witnesses. I think that's why I'm sharing it with you. It seems so unreal to me, and I need to do this to help substantiate the experience in my head and make it more real, so I can get over it. I'm still freaked out, but I begged the Dr. to continue. I couldn't live with that pain for another night. They were going to try and give me the Numorphan shot, the Novocaine and a bottle of pain meds to take home tonight and try to get me to baseline by morning, but I knew that it wouldn't work out that way....which is why I made the decision to just go ahead with the 1st extraction....relieve some of the pressure so we could continue without needing to max me out on the anesthesia. I'm afraid to go again tomorrow. It's the 1st time I've ever been afraid of the dentist. When I had my wisdom teeth pulled by Dr. Taylor 2 years ago, it was cake. It hurt afterward, but the pain meds took care of it....unlike this. What a nightmare. I'm still going...afraid or not...I want this taken care of so bad that I'm willing to put myself through almost anything to see it through.

Fearless Warrior

This is our cat, Clio...she thinks she's the best thing ever. I've mentioned before that she is very bitchy, and I'm OK with that....we love her anyway.

Today she decided to take on a St. Bernard that was sniffing around in our back yard. Clio weighs 12 pounds, so while she isn't tiny...she really has nothing on the 200Lb behemoth lumbering around our garden and checking out our compost...
We have a little alleyway that is wooded running along the side of our house that our bedroom is on. We call it "The Jungle" 'cause Clio and Ladybird (roomies kitty), along with all the neighborhood hooligans (all of the kitten variety), just love playing around back there. Anyway, Josh heard a jingling noise coming in our window and peeked out and noticed the intruder, threw on some shoes and was about to head out to politely request that Mr. St. Bernard leave our garden alone when Clio decided to poof her tail and launch a head-on attack on the unsuspecting canine from The Jungle...needless to say he was out of our yard in about a second. I guess when a little black and white blur comes roaring out of the bushes at you with claws out and fangs bared, you have to respect the guts and assume it really can hurt you. I'm so impressed with our cat right now. She gets cheese tonight for sure.....Our cat rocks!

EFFING YAY!!!!

WE GOT THE FREAKIN' HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!

Sushi, Maki and More!

Wednesday's are my new favorite day of the week. There's this great little Sushi place not far from where we currently live that has a $1 track every Wednesday, all day. We went there last week and enjoyed ourselves, so decided to go ahead and try it out again this week...you know...to make sure they're consistently good. Totally. This is such a great restaurant! The place is crawling with regulars, and the owners and staff know most of the clientele by name (always a good sign at a Sushi place, you don't come back if they serve you a bad chunk of blowfish!). The service is really good, despite everyone running around a little frantically because of the sheer volume of people waiting for a spot at the bar. So...to any Portlanders reading this, go check out: Sushi Sushi on Foster at 83rd Ave. It's probably the best hole-in-the-wall place we've been to in quite a while, and I guarantee you won't get this kind of service anywhere else for this price!! Good selection of beers, too. I recommend TsingTao or Kirin for a nice clean finish.

Still waiting on the frickin' house. Boo!!

- J&K

Mondays Are...

Not so bad! I actually had a pretty uneventful and pleasant day! I rode part-way to school with Josh this morning and applied for a few crummy jobs at places I don't really want to work, then hopped the train out to Hillsboro and helped my brother Kory with some projects today. We did some mutual venting about how working for other people is dumb (I've been self-employed for several years, and I'm having trouble getting back into the groove of the corporate world...it sucks), and tried to come up with some new start-up businesses that would work for us. Anybody have a great business idea for me to exploit? Blah, blah...next.

Peder (Kory's partner/hubby) made a delectable assortment of Chinese nibbles for dinner including some very yummy egg rolls that I couldn't keep my hands off of, and I'm starting to pay the price!! We don't eat much in the way of fried foods, and my tummy is throwing a fit! (They were really, really tasty, Peder)

What goes better with Chinese food than a Chinese game? We played a quick hand of Mah Jong (the ACTUAL Mah Jong, not the matching game you often find online), before heading back into the city for our weekly Mah Jong night at our friends Joy and Bruce's house. Mondays are really special for us. Joy and Bruce are about the best friends anybody could ask for. They've done so much for us in the past few years, and we really enjoy the time we get to spend with them.

So....Yay!

Happy Monday!

Axis of Evil.....Defeated

After much hair-pulling, formatting and re-formatting, restoring and re-restoring...some sobbing, a little prayer and a bunch of screaming at innocent bystanders - I have crushed and defeated my opponent, the iPod. I have restored order to my iTunes library. My slightly SMALLER iTunes library, anyway. I'm still pretty pissed off about that. I keep finding more missing in little pockets, too. Bleh! Anyway, the point is that I have a beautifully arranged music folder that is now completely uniform and easy to navigate, and I successfully transfered most of my music to the tricky 40GB iMonster. We're friends again.

On a related topic:

I hate to admit it, but I'm really starting to enjoy Vista...it took me a year to really start appreciating this operating system. I'm a control freak, and Vista was constantly undermining my authority. I'm now resigned to enjoying it for what it is, which is pretty and flashy, put simply. Once you figure out how to 'take the power back' (it took me a few hours), it mostly runs like you're used to a PC running...it's getting more stable as the bugs are fixed to so I'm giving Vista an overall rating of '6' on a scale of 1-10. Not bad.

Unrelated topic:

Our house closing date has been pushed back, again, to the 13th....which is Tuesday. I'm really unhappy playing the waiting game with the damn foreclosing bank...anyone who reads this: Please think happy thoughts for us! We really need this to happen. Our neighborhood is scary and stabby(as in, broken-liquor-bottle-crackhead-stabby).

Sundays are OK.
- J&K

Saturdays are evil!!

iPods suck. I've been fighting with mine for a few days now....finally decided to just format and restore the damn thing. So...now I'm not so sure that was a good idea. I can't even get it to sync in iTunes now. I'm ripping my hair out. I KNOW computers....I UNDERSTAND hardware...but I don't get the iPod. I think it was designed to make me love it, then to rip out my heart and stomp on it with it's little Satan hooves and ruin my life (for a few days). It's sitting under a pile of dirty laundry in the corner of our bedroom now and it's staying there until I've calmed down and decided to forgive it for being evil. Oh....and it deleted 8 gigs of my music library from my hard drive...I cried. Saturdays are dumb.
Hugs!

- K&J

Hello!

OK...so, I've never done this before. I'm a total virgin. I mean, I've read a few blogs here and there...mostly my brothers'...but a few others. Anyway...I don't know why you would be interested in reading about my day to day life...but whatever pops your cork works for me. I kind of like the idea of you spying on me like this anyway...it gives me a kinda silly little thrill. So do it!!
My name is Kelsey. I live in Portland, Oregon (aka the Coolest City in America) with my husband Josh. I'm a guy. (Did I forget to tell you that??) We've been together for about 5 years and only want to kill each other a little every once in a while, so it's good. We have the coolest most bitchy cat I've ever met. Her name is Clio, she thinks she is a minor god and demands that kind of treatment. Whatever...she eats on the floor like every other cat I've owned and she still get's hucked out a window if she pisses one of us off in the middle of the night(I have a few stories to share about that later). I totally love her. Now...that said...I'm not a flaming, lap cat loving, limp-wristed, sassy-ass queen. I just happen to prefer the company of cats over dogs....which we will soon have also...an adorable and utterly retarded yellow lab named Butter....she's pretty cool though, I only sort-of hate her (she smells). She has the softest fur I've ever felt. You have to see/feel it to believe it. She belongs to my Ex, Jason....with whom we are buying a house. Creepy? Not really...Josh and Jason have been friends for a long time and Jason knows what he did. LOL. But, really....we all get along very well...it's a decent sized house on a HUGE lot....and Jason works a few hundred miles from here in the Columbia River Gorge and is only home a few days a week, so we can still play Guitar Hero or Halo 3 naked and drunk in the living-room if we want. It's pretty great.

The title of our blog is accurate. We are zymurgy hobbiests. We make our own beers, ciders, meads and fruit wines. It's something that we both really love doing. We also make our own cheeses, which is loads of fun and very rewarding. If you've never tried fresh, homemade ricotta or queso fresco, or panneer...you should try it out. It's so simple and tasty.

We're also vegetarian and hardcore organic gardeners. Last year we had a plot over 4000 square feet. When we were getting ready to move back to Portland in September I was really nervous about not having a garden space to go all zen in. I need the dirt to play in or I go crazy. There's just something extra special about growing your own food. We're both Pepperologists. We know all things Capsicum. Seriously...I will freak your freakin' freak...so will Josh. I love peppers from the sweetest sweet to the hottest hot, and we typically grow around 100 plants in about 15-20 varieties. Check out www.pepperjoes.com if you want to see/buy some cool peppers/seeds. He has nothing on us, but I still use his company as one of my sources....blah blah. Eat peppers, they're good for you, a'ight?

I think that's enough intro for now...hopefully you don't completely hate me yet....it'll take at least a few more postings for that. I do plan on getting all kinds of pictures on here, just not tonight. I'm tired and my butt hurts from sitting here. Have a great day and thanks for checking me out! It makes me feel special. :)

-Kelsey and Josh (even though all he did was tell me livingroom looks wrong as an un-hypenated word...like I care...May-be I sho-uld st-art hypen-ating every-thing)

Help Josh get a scholarship

Planet Beautiful Brickfish