Steve Cotton Sighting in Salem, Oregon!

Wow. What a day.

We got snow. About 2” here in Salem. And like any ordinary town or city in the Great Pacific Northwest we freaked out because that was A LOT!

And during our afternoon snow storm who shows up in my office?? Yep. A wet, cold, trim and tanned STEVE COTTON! Our visit was brief, but we hope to hook up with Teresa from Lake Stevens, WA (lurker/commenter) who is in Eugene today, planning to pass through Salem tomorrow.

More to come…

Happy Holidays from Salem, Oregon!

Last year in Guaymas with no tree...this year in Salem with a beautiful Noble Fir...whatever holiday you may celebrate at this time of year, we wish you a fabulous holiday season!

Why Are Farts So Funny?

We never talked about it much in my family when I was growing up...

And now Mike and I joke about it all the time…blame it on Sitka...laugh at the different sounds...try to make up new sounds...

Yesterday a friend forwarded to me a link to a sound board...guess what kind of sounds? Hehehe...turn up the volume and get ready to laugh your arse off...

I love Mike!

Friday, December 4, 2009 was our 11th wedding anniversary.

When I think back over the past few years I realize how lucky I am that:
1) Mike is still alive
2) We are together and back in the US working (me), living and enjoying life!

We’ve had some close calls…

In 2004 Mike’s Harley Davidson Night Train was totaled in a wreck outside of Seattle and so was Mike (almost). He was driving too darn fast!

In 2007 Mike had his first seizure. Out of the blue. No known reason for it.

In 2008 Mike had his 2nd and 3rd seizures in Mexico City. We found the reason. A cyst growing on his brain. And then Mike had 2 brain surgeries in Mexico City.

By 2009 we found our way back to the Great Pacific Northwest and Mike had his 4th seizure. We found that he needs to make sure he takes his anti-seizure meds AND that he keeps them down – that should prevent seizures.

So here we are in Salem, Oregon. Saturday night we celebrated our anniversary with a night out at Bentley’s Grill in the Phoenix Grand Hotel here in downtown Salem. It was fab! On a cold, dark night we found refuge in the warm, beautifully holiday-season decorated dining room with a fire pit. Mike had a scallops and prawns brochette and I had the steelhead trout special. Very nice. And a lovely venue to celebrate love.

Thanksgiving in Seattle

We got up early on Thursday and put the Coconut Sweet Potatoes in the oven. They baked for about 45 minutes and by 7:30 am we were on the road to Seattle. It was rainy, hard to see while driving, and generally all-around yucky. We stopped for coffee and headed north on I-5.

But we made it to my brother, Tom’s, just after noon. Tom decided to stay home so Mike and I headed to Aunt Gloria’s where we had a wonderful traditional Thanksgiving feast, including the Coconut Sweet Potatoes!

Cousins Mike, Brian and Cathy relaxed while Aunt Gloria put away the food.

After savoring Aunt Gloria’s homemade pumpkin and chocolate pies we headed to downtown Seattle for the night.

We woke and it was sunny and clear! So Friday morning we had the perfect weather to drive north to Cheryl’s new house.

After the tour of the custom-built, timber-frame house we sat down and enjoyed Cheryl’s baked potato soup with all of the toppings. It was like liquid baked potatoes – nice job, Cheryl!


Mike with Cheryl's parents, Karl and Marlene.

And then Cheryl and I exchanged birthday gifts – we have shared December 1st birthdays since we were just 12 years old! And the book we're holding? It's about all about December 1st birthdays and we have given this back and forth to each other since 1993. Cheryl is the best.

Before long it was time for us to hit the road. We got home around 8:30 pm after stopping for dinner at The Brick in downtown Salem. That was just over 650 miles there, driving around and back. Whewww...

It was a whirlwind. And it was a little emotional. There were a lot of thoughts running through my head as we drove through the neighborhoods so familiar to us. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel coming "home" to Seattle, but knowing it’s not my actual home anymore. But it was beautiful – seeing the snow-topped Olympic Mountains while looking west and the Cascade Mountains looking east. And now we’re back home in Salem...thinkin’ getting’ a Christmas tree…

Thanksgiving 2009

Well, I never called myself Julia Child...

In my recipe post I forgot to mention that you need to sprinkle Kosher salt over each layer of the sweet potatoes. And one other thing, I just finished preparing the potatoes and I used 2 full cans of coconut milk. Sorry for the confusion!

And now while the potatoes are baking we'll get ready to hit the road to Seattle!!! I am so excited. The drive should be nice since the weather is cooperating. Yesterday it was so sunny and crisp.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Julie and Julia

Last night I saw the movie Julie and Julia and I loved it! It is the story of Julia Child’s (Meryl Streep) start in the cooking profession mixed with the story of Julie Powell (Amy Adams) cooking her way through all the recipes in Julia’s first cookbook, while blogging about the experience.

It was the blogging element that hooked me. I felt so much like Julie when she was posting to her blog. And I won’t quickly forget the scene in which she is initially creating her Blogspot blog. It was exactly what I did just over 2 years ago.

And it was the love component that made me smile. The love between Julia and her husband and Julie and her husband – Julia in Paris, Julie in New York – was so strong and compelling.

If you have a chance, see the movie! And on my lunch hour today I’ll be searching for Julie’s blog...I wonder if it is still out there. Does anyone know??

12:45pm The original blog is at http://blogs.salon.com/0001399/2002/08/25.html. Use the calendar to pick a post to read.

Baked Coconut Sweet Potatoes

I found it! My recipe! I have to laugh…the person that wants me to make the dish for Thanksgiving is the same person that had the recipe – my Aunt Gloria. HA!

So here it is:

Peel 6 sweet potatoes and slice thinly
Arrange 1/3 of the potatoes in a large, lightly greased glass baking dish
Sprinkle with brown sugar
Sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of butter on top of the potatoes and brown sugar
Do another layer
And one more layer
Cover with canned coconut milk. And be sure to cover the top layer. As Aunt Gloria quoted to me from my recipe, “If it isn’t covered, it will be BAD.”

Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Yummy, yummy, yummy…

Coconut Sweet Potato Recipe??

A few years back I had a recipe for baked sweet potatoes bathed in coconut milk. YUM! Unfortunately, I may have purged the recipe while packing for our move to Mexico as I was unable to find it yestereay. Whaaaa...

Mike and I are headed to Seattle over Thanksgiving weekend to spend time with our family and some friends. And a request has been made for for me to bring my coconut sweet potatoes! Arghhh...

Does anyone have a recipe for coconut sweet potatoes??? If so, please share!

Veterans Day in Salem, Oregon

It’s a state holiday today and I didn’t have to work! Mike, Betty and I got up early and went to the new Kroc Center to swim at 8 am.


What a large and beautiful facility that recently opened in Salem! You may know that in January 2004, McDonald’s heiress Joan Kroc left a gift of $1.5 billion to The Salvation Army to build and help operate community centers across the US. In a competitive race, Salem received $35.5 million from the Ray and Joan Kroc gift to build the Community Center and it just opened in September.

It was my first visit, but Mike and Betty are new Kroc Center members and they do a water exercise class 3-5 days a week. This morning the three of us started out in a wacky-shaped pool playing with a water noodle and Styrofoam bar-bells. From there we fought our way against the current of “the river” - a curvy path of water that utilizes a mechanized current to challenge our strength! After that work out we relaxed in the hot tub. There are also waters areas designed specifically for children and infants. The water facilities are something to see!


We showered in the very tres chic individual cabanas that include a shower, toilet, sink and changing area. I was so impressed with the modern environmentally sound toilet...(click on the pic to enlarge it and the signage.)


There are many exercise machines (with individual TV monitors) that sit out in the hallway. It sorta feels "invasive," to the observer, but at that same time it must feel "open and free" to the people working out.

Once showered and dressed, we sat in the lobby and enjoyed cafecito drinks purchased from the espresso bar. The rock climbing wall is in the lobby and we watched as climbers practiced climbing.

The gym...this place is something special!

Coffees finished, Betty and Mike gave me the grand tour that included activity rooms for art, computers, books, spirituality, theater, day care and other things I have already forgotten.

After that we went home and got Ron to head to Applebees for lunch (see my post from yesterday about the Applebee’s Restaurant offer for a free entrée for veterans and active-duty military personnel.) We got there close to noon and the parking lot was packed! We finally found a parking spot and got on the restaurant’s 20-minute waiting list. We found seats in the bar and I pulled out Mike’s framed US Marine Corps picture and set it on the bar. Ron and Betty had seats across the bar from us and here they are enjoying their beverages.




Soon enough we were shown to our table. The place was fully decked-out in US military colors! And many of the veteran patrons wore hats or vests acknowledging their contributions to our country. In light of the recent shooting at an Army base, it felt very good to see these people up close.

Happy Veterans Day!

Semper Fi

Mike in 1973. United States Marine Corps.

Tomorrow is Veterans Day and we want to say THANK YOU to all veterans and to all active-duty military men and women for all the work you have done and for the work you continue to do.

And if you have an Applebee’s Restaurant in your neighborhood, veterans and active-military personnel are invited to the restaurant for a free entrée tomorrow! Mike is a Marine (once a Marine, always a Marine) and we will check it out.

Bikin' to Work

I accepted the job offer on a Monday (back in May) and bought my used beach bike soon thereafter. I took the bus on my first day of work, but since then I have probably ridden my bike on average 4 times a week. (The 5th day I wear a skirt and take the bus.)

But even though we changed our clocks back 1 hour last weekend it is getting very dark outside right after 5 pm – the time I get on my bike and pedal home. So this will be my last week of bike riding until next spring.

I can’t explain how much I enjoy biking to and from work. Even last summer when it was in the 100’s and it was HOT! Riding is fun and I get to see people from a different perspective. And I would say that Salem drivers are very courteous to bikers.

So the last 2 days I took pictures as I biked into downtown Salem from West Salem. It’s a short ride…just what I like.

The small stretch of traffic down Wallace to the trail...

The beginning of the trail that leads to the bridge...

It is so peaceful right here...

The fog was dense yesterday morning...

The Willamette River was so calm...

The bridge will soon be temporarily closed so the lead-based paint can be removed...

The end of the bridge brings me to downtown, with just a few blocks to go...

Government buildings I pass on my way...

Here is my office...

The view out my window...

Winding through the Capitol...

The creek next to our office has salmon runs...

On my way back to West Salem...hope you enjoyed the trip!

Lincoln City, Oregon

Mike and I were busy little bees on Friday and Saturday...dental and doc appointments, taking care of errands, shopping…and this morning we got up early and drove out to the coast to walk on the beach.

It’s about an hour drive from Salem to Lincoln City and we were there in no time. We stopped for breakfast and then we went to Roads End State Recreation Site. We held hands and walked along the water. The waves were breaking hard while the sun was trying to peek through the clouds. There were few people on the beach and it felt very peaceful.



It was a lovely way to wind down our weekend.

Furlough Friday

I don’t think I really understood the meaning of “furlough” until I moved to Salem, Oregon. We arrived here in late January and I remember one of the first newspaper articles I read was about a business that required all of its employees to take off a week of work while the business shut down for the week. The part that shocked me was that the employees would not be paid for that week. That was when I realized that furlough means unpaid leave. Gulp.

Who wants to take a week of work off without pay??? And why? Well, the more I heard the word the more I came to understand that a furlough is not necessarily a bad thing. The employees get to keep their jobs and benefits in exchange for what amounts to as a pay cut. Having been laid off TWICE myself, a furlough didn’t seem so bad…

So as I began my job search in Salem I was very aware of the possibility of accepting a job that may include a furlough. I had 6 interviews. Two were with law firms (ugh) and 4 were with the State of Oregon. And there was already talk that working for the state would include furlough days. I accepted a job with the state and I am very happy with it! But with my happiness comes furlough days. In the next two years all state employees will take 10-14 furlough days as a strategy to stretch the state budget. In fact, the state has actually designated 10 specific days as state-wide furlough days in which almost all state agencies will be closed.

Today is the first official Furlough Friday. I won’t get paid, but our health insurance remains intact and my benefits continue to accrue as if I was working today. I can live with that!

Betty's Birthday

If you’ve been reading this blog in 2009 you know a bit about Betty (and Ron), our landlords and new(er) friends. In fact, you may recall that Betty’s Craigslist ad for the apartment they created in the basement of their house said, “cat maybe, no dogs.” HA! I wrote to Betty as soon as her ad posted and a few emails later Betty was approving Mike and me as their new tenants – along with our German shepherd, Sitka. And we were still in Guaymas!

What began as a business relationship has gently evolved into a true friendship. Betty is always there for us – especially Mike – driving him to one appointment after another. Plus, Betty makes special treats for us and shares her fruits and vegetables. Additionally, Betty gave me a part of her cactus – it has grown like crazy and goes by the name of Betty, Jr. Also, Betty loves Sitka. And she has taken care of her more than one time when Mike and I went out of town over the weekend. Betty makes us feel like we are part of her family and we like that. A lot.

Betty had her 68th birthday this week and we were invited to celebrate with her family last Sunday at Annette’s Restaurant in West Salem. We all met at 9am and had a wonderful breakfast birthday party with Betty.

We hope you had a grand day, Betty! And we look forward to celebrating many more birthdays with you.

My Other Family

Susan’s last name began with “I” and my last name began with “J” (and still does...) I met Susan when I started the 7th grade at Alderwood Junior High…in 1967 (I think.) Lockers were assigned alphabetically and due to our last names we found ourselves “next door neighbors.”


As a coincidence, we had all of our classes together, except study hall and for that we had different assignments. Back then teachers made students sit alphabetically and…you guessed it, Susan sat directly in front of me in all of our classes. Before we knew it, we were fast friends. Plus, Susan was pretty smart so it was good for me to hang out with her!

Fast forward to high school and in my sophomore year my mom moved to Ketchikan, Alaska to fish for salmon with my step-dad. I refused to move and moved in with my dad. The following year my dad and step-mom moved to Minnesota. I again refused to move – I was so set in school, I loved it, I got good grades, I played sports, I was in different clubs and I didn’t want to move!

So guess who came to my rescue? Susan. And her dad, whom we affectionately call Albie (short for Al), allowed me to move into their house and finish high school while living with them.

Upon graduation Susan and I both attended Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington and we later lived one year on the beach in Florida. And that’s another story with Susan’s mom and step-dad, Maryjane and Andy, who were already on the beach in Florida...


Anyway, yesterday Mike and I were invited to a family reunion in Clackamas, Oregon. Not really my family, but Susan’s family that I had grown up with and spent time with over the years.

There was Susan, Albie, Maryjane, Andy, brothers, a sister-in-law, aunts, uncles, cousins…the whole gang! We yakked and yakked and ate and drank and watched the University of Washington Huskies lose an overtime game against Notre Dame.


It was one of the most enjoyable Saturdays we’ve had in a long time. It brought back lots of memories and I was truly happy to see and hug everyone that was there yesterday. THANK YOU SUSAN FOR INVITING US!

Bicycle Helmets

Well, this is a post I never thought I’d write…

I have ridden bicycles on and off throughout my adult life. Years ago when I was going to Seattle Central Community College I rode my bike to and from my apartment on Capitol Hill. It was a short ride, but one day I hit a pothole, knocked myself out, wrecked my bike, and ended up in the Emergency Room at Harborview Hospital (a pretty scary place in itself!)

A few years later I rode my bike to and from the University of Washington. Yes, I rode it downhill and walked it uphill. But it got me there and back! And no accidents that I can recall.

So when I decided to get a bike in Salem to ride to work I thought no problema…within the first couple of days I brought it into the office one of my co-workers insisted that I needed to wear a helmet. So she brought one of hers in for me and I have worn it everyday since.

Today I was very glad I wore the helmet. You see, our apartment is on the backside of Betty and Ron’s house and we have a bark-laden trail that leads to our gate into our yard. And my thrill everyday is to RACE down the trail to the gate – on my bike. Every time I wonder what it would be like to crash. Well, today I found out.

I somehow managed to swerve to the right and hit a giant tree head-on. I was thrown to the ground and my bike looked mangled. A closer inspection found the front tire turned 180 degrees and a small dent in my bicycle basket (and the fake flowers survived just fine, Linda Lou.) I managed to jump back on and finish the ride to the gate, but it hurt.

And when I told Mike what happened we looked at my helmet. We noticed that a big piece of the styrofoam lining/padding broke off and the helmet definitely needs to be replaced. The bike’s front brake pads got messed up, but Mike did a quick fix that will work until I can take it into a bike repair shop.

The morale of my story is WEAR A HELMET! It saved me from a head injury today and for that I am thankful.

Pearl Jam Still Kickin’ It

I probably first saw Pearl Jam at one of the old downtown Seattle clubs - RCKNDY, the Off Ramp, the Vogue or the Crocodile Cafe…in maybe 1991 or 1992. I was bartending for a living in Pioneer Square and nights I didn’t work I was doing the club thing…it was the birth of grunge….

I was amazed at the strong, deep voice that came out of the front man, Eddie Vedder. He’s a little guy and he had that long, long, wavy hair and those piercing eyes. And Mike McCready – the guitar maestro.
The first show that I fully recall was Drop in the Park in September 1992. Pearl Jam sponsored a free show for about 30,000 of us in Magnuson Park on Lake Washington. Eddie was crazy. He threw his microphone cord up until it wrapped around the scaffolding, then he shinnied up the scaffolding on the side, “monkey-barred” himself over to the middle of the scaffolding, sang and then slid back down to the stage via the microphone cord. The crowd went wild!

Well, Saturday night in Vancouver, WA I was not disappointed with Pearl Jam. All these years later they still have the licks, the power, and good music. Eddie’s voice is as strong as ever. The venue was perfect. Our seats were just 10 rows back, in the center section. Cousin Mary and son Jordan sat in the same row, only 15 seats away.

What else can I say. Mike had a great birthday show!!!

Sitka

My friend Steve recently lost his best friend, his dog, Professor Jiggs. And I am extremely sad because those two had a very strong bond. Just like the one I have with Sitka. It made me realize that I haven’t blogged about my girl in a long time so this post is about Sitka.

We rescued Sitka from a German shepherd rescue group in the summer of 2001. We had just bought our house in Duvall, Washington and it sat on 1/3 of an acre with a large, fenced back yard. We both had German shepherds as family dogs when we were growing up so we went searching for another one.

After doing lots of research and finding a purebred dog rescue group we applied to adopt a dog. It was quite a process with lots of paperwork. Before we were approved, and after seeing Sitka’s picture on their website, we took a ferry to Poulsbo to meet Sitka at her foster family’s large farm. Unfortunately, she was kept in a 10 x 12 kennel 23 hours a day and only was allowed 1 hour of freedom each day with her so-called “German shepherd expert” foster dad. She was on her 1 hour freedom break when we were there and she paid absolutely no attention to Mike or me. All she wanted was to chase her tennis ball when her foster dad threw it. And he spoke to her in German so she wouldn’t be distracted by people talking in English. Weird.

The foster dad explained that Sitka was raised with her sister in a human family with a mom, dad and 2 kids. He also explained that having 2 female dogs in the same home was not so healthy because they would continually fight for the alpha position. Apparently, Sitka was the non-alpha sister, only loved by the mom in the family. So the family gave her to a rescue group at age 3.

The foster dad attempted to discourage us by telling us that Sitka would never be a typical family dog…we’d never be able to touch her beautiful ears or lie on the floor with her and watch TV together. So we took another ferry home and talked about her for a few weeks while we were still in the adopting parents “approval process.”

Finally, we got the call that we had been approved. All this time I had been looking at Sitka online everyday and hoping she could come home to live with us. So we made arrangements to go back to Poulsbo and bring her home to Duvall. That first week I was able to work from home so that I could be with Sitka and help her adjust to her new home – and freedom. And Mike did the same the following week. She was wonderful. She was shy in the beginning, plus neither of us know German, but she settled right in.

She didn’t dig holes. She didn’t eat shoes. She didn’t bark. She let us touch her ears. She let us roll around in front of the TV with her. And she even slept on our bed with us. She was just perfect! And she still is.

When we first decided to move to Mexico we didn’t think we would bring her. But the more we thought about it, the more we knew we couldn’t leave without her so she made the trip with us, went missing 2 times (once for 6 weeks!), and has now settled into Salem with us in our new home.


Our beautiful Sitka.

Mike's Surprise

It is Thursday night, September 17, 2009. I did it. I kept Mike’s birthday surprise (tickets to Pearl Jam!) a secret for over a month!!!

Tomorrow morning I will give him a gift bag with some cool shirts, cards from me and Sitka, a collage I made with pictures of Pearl Jam in concert, and an email confirmation for the concert tickets.

I cannot wait!

Dinner at The Brick

It wasn’t too long ago – in fact, it was the day in late May that I interviewed for and accepted my job – when Cheryl was visiting from Seattle and we went out for a late breakfast. Neither Cheryl or Felipe liked the picture of Cheryl I posted.


So when Cheryl and husband Pat were in Salem last Friday they both HID THEIR MUGS when I got out my camera!

But we were soon joined by Betty and Ron and we all enjoyed a nice evening at The Brick on Liberty Street in downtown Salem. Mike and I love this place. It’s a sports bar/restaurant with good food and a casual atmosphere. It’s not too far from home and the price is right.


We had a good time with good friends!

Liberty

CT Scan

Mike and I went to Salem Hospital yesterday afternoon for his CT scan. The machine was different than the other ones Mike was used to. It looked like a giant doughnut - about 8 feet long, 8 feet high, 2 feet deep and it had a giant doughnut hole in the middle. And that’s where Mike’s head went.

It was not that claustrophobic machine that Mike was thinking of. I got to go in too and the tech eased a heavy protective jacket onto me. Mike laid there for about 5 minutes while the doughnut hole rotated around his head, taking a sort of “moving picture.” Soon enough he was done and we were on our way out.

While walking toward the parking garage we spied Mike’s neurologist. Mike called out to him and told him he had just had his CT scan. The neurologist invited us upstairs to look at the results. Wow – we’ve never had that kind of offer in Seattle. The doctor pulled up the pictures on a computer and compared them to the pictures we hauled with us from Mexico City to Salem.

We were a little nervous, but the doc said everything looks good. The shunt and pump that were implanted in Mike’s brain in Mexico City are working properly and there has been no shifting of the shunt and pump. (If you remember Mike’s Mexico City doc told us in May 2008 that it was URGENT that Mike have a third surgery to “repair” the work from the second surgery. NOT!) We left the hospital feeling very happy.

On another note, Guaymas and San Carlos were heavily damaged recently when Hurricane Jimena worked her way up the Sea of Cortez. See our friends' Bliss', Brenda's and Ale’s blogs for info and pictures. Our hearts go out to those towns and the people that are already struggling.

Mike's Health

I am a little late in posting this, but Mike had appointments with his neurologist and his primary care doctor last week. (Thank goodness Betty was able to drive Mike to his appointments - THANK YOU BETTY!)

And the news is good! His recent tests indicate that his body chemistry is all back to normal. He is feeling strong and eating well. He needs a CT Scan (Cat Scan) in the next couple of weeks and then another appointment with his neurologist to review the results. Unfortunately, Mike is a bit claustrophobic and he is not looking forward to the CT Scan. Poor guy…so many tests and pokes with needles. I’m still giving him vitamin B-12 injections and I just hate inserting that needle in his arm.

But at the end of the day I am much happier to have Mike sleeping in our bed instead of a hospital bed. And we are so lucky to have great medical insurance to help with the costs. Today is a day to be thankful.

Willamette Queen

Salem and West Salem (the place we call home) are divided by the Willamette River. The dock that Mike has done much of his fishing from is on the Salem side of the river and the dock is home to the Willamette Queen, an 87 foot, 86 ton, twin paddle-wheeler that sails from the dock up and down the Willamette River.

Having spent so much time this summer around the Willamette Queen, on Sunday we finally decided to go for a cruise on the paddle-wheeler. We skipped the $48/per person 2-hour Sunday brunch cruise and opted for the 1-hour no food cruise with a full bar open for soft drinks and adult beverages. So at 3:00 we boarded the boat for our tour on the Willamette. The weather was good and we got to see a side of Salem that we hadn’t yet seen. Hope you enjoy!


The boat

Mike on the outside deck


The gangplank and Mike's beloved dock


Looking south with the slough to the left and the river to the right


The giant ecological globe located in Riverfront Park




Lots of water toys


The ole railroad bridge that I ride over on my bike on the way to work


And Capt. Mike at the wheel