Fresh Herbs and Chicken

Mike and I are lucky to have a sunroom off our apartment and we have been cultivating lettuces and herbs this summer. So last night I got creative and cut from the oregano, basil and chives. I mixed them with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. I laid 2 chicken breasts, yellow potatoes, red pepper and onion in a baking dish, covered it with the herb mixture and baked it for close to an hour.

Yum! What a simple dinner with herbs fresh from the garden!

Fish Fry Fryday

Mike finally caught some rainbow trout! Aren’t they pretty?
Mike went fishing with landlord and friend Ron last Thursday and they brought in the limit – 5 fish each.
So last Friday Ron and Mike filleted the fish and that night Ron fried them up in his outdoor kitchen.
.Soon enough we sat down to a fish fry dinner
Later on Mike surprised us all with a HOMEMADE pumpkin pie for dessert. Good job Mike!

What a great night with good food and wonderful friends.

Salem Oregon Daily Photo – Jill’s Passing

I’m writing this mostly for the people that have counted on the Salem Oregon Daily Photo blog for great pictures of Salem and the surrounding area.

Before we even left Mexico I found Jill’s Salem Daily Photo blog. Soon enough I was emailing Jill and asking all about Salem. We found we had something in common – husbands with grave medical issues. Mike’s arachnoid cyst and Dean’s newly discovered cancer. Jill had also worked for the State of Oregon and she encouraged me to apply for government jobs and gave me ideas for getting my foot in the door.

Jill invited me to visit her 2nd blog, Our Fervent Prayers where she was documenting Dean’s fight with cancer. Most posts were difficult to read and digest. Jill wrote from her heart. Dean passed away on June 9th after 34 years of marriage to Jill. Mike and I went to the memorial for Dean at the end of June.

Among other family and friends, Jill and Dean’s son spoke and it was very moving. We intended to introduce ourselves to Jill at the memorial, but it just didn’t seem the right time.

We continued to email each other and I had recently invited Jill out to breakfast with Mike and me. I was concerned that I didn’t hear right back from her. Today I received an email telling me that Jill herself passed away on July 7. I am shocked. I don’t know any details. I feel so bad that we never got to hug each other. I am concerned for their son. I am experiencing so much emotion this evening.

Jill and Dean, rest in peace.

Fourth of July in the United States

We’re alive and well in Salem, Oregon. We had a wonderful three-day weekend to celebrate the Fourth of July and we reflected back on last year’s Fourth in Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico. I remember buying an apple pie and vanilla ice cream. I was so upset when I got home from the grocery store, opened the ice cream and found that ONE HALF of it had already been eaten. CARAMBA! From that I learned to always open any unsealed food containers prior to purchasing them - in Mexico, that is.

This year we didn’t have apple pie or even ice cream, but we did go to Salem’s Riverfront Park – I had the first corn dog I’ve had in years, Mike had a lukewarm hamburger and we shared curly fries that fell to the ground 3 times before we found a picnic table. Somehow bad food doesn’t taste so bad in that sort of situation.

There was a huge carnival set up, with amusement rides and games, and fireworks scheduled to be set off over the Willamette River later in the evening. We ended up going home before the fireworks, but we could see them through the trees from our apartment.

Being back in the United States on this holiday was a good thing for us. Mike is still fishing. Sitka is still chasing squirrels. I am still enjoying the challenges of my new job.

That’s it...happy in Salem. Who'd have thunk?

Salem Saturday Market

There are beautiful flowers – hanging, cut and in planters.


There is fresh fruit.


There are rules for the doggies.


There are unique custom wood signs.


There are silky scarves.


There are funky gourds.


There are stylish birdhouses.

There are traditional tie-dye clothes.

There is twig furniture - Mike was checking out the canes.

There are colorful dog and cat beds shaped like fish.

The Day Before Friday

Today was a very fine day for me at my new job. My brain finally thawed out from the training overload and I’m feeling much more confident. That’s a good thing.

Today was also a very fine day for me at my home. When I walked through our apartment door after a brisk drive home on from work on my bike I was suprised with flowers AND candles from Mike. He’s a good guy.

p.s. I got my first compliment on my bike basket today...a guy sitting on a bench with his buddies yelled, "Nice flowers!" hehehe

Father’s Day Weekend in Salem

Yesterday I thought seriously about Linda Lou’s comment regarding decorations for my bike basket so I went to Goodwill searching for fake flowers. I found some beautiful white roses with a pink tint…along with some berries that are bright red. I took it all home and wired it to the basket.

Nice, huh? With my pretty new flowered basket I biked around downtown Salem, and into the Capitol area checking out the state buildings. The traffic was much lighter than it is during the week and it was fun and safe everywhere I went.
The grandest structure is the Oregon State Capitol with the beautiful fountains out front. I lunched in this building last Wednesday with my new boss. Notice the gold Oregon Pioneer on top of the building? I have often used the Pioneer as a landmark when turned around downtown and he helps me get back on track.

And here are other pics of buildings and the landscaping.

I went a couple of blocks north and cruised by the Saturday Market. It is huge although difficult to tell from this pic. Next time I’ll take pics of some the great things to be had in the Market.

After all that Mike and I headed to Big 5 for some fishing stuff…he ended up getting a brand new rod and reel for Father’s Day and more fishing “necessities” so he’ll be ready for his next fishing date.

This morning we joined Betty and Ron’s family for Father’s Day breakfast at a great place here in West Salem called Annette’s. We had 12 people in our party and even though the waitress warned us she had never worked the breakfast shift before everything was just wonderful! The food was hot, the service was friendly and every table had a large vase of fresh flowers on it. We’ll be back there to try dinner.
We cruised west a bit and found some really nice vistas from the top of the hills.

Mike and I stopped for yet more fishing stuff today and this afternoon we’re headed to the unique movie theatre, Northern Lights, where we can have dinner served to us during the movie. We’re going to see Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey, Jr. in The Soloist. It should be good.

And then back home to enjoy a cool evening on the deck before hitting the hay…we hope all dads out there had a great Father’s Day!

Rain, Rain, Go Away

I made it through Week Three! And the week ended on a good note. My trainer and I agreed to s-l-o-w d-o-w-n and let all the new info digest in my frozen brain. By Friday my confidence had returned and we are pushing forward, just at a more relaxed pace. Next week my team is having a Welcome Breakfast for me and my boss is taking me to lunch at the Capitol. The Legislature is in so it should be quit busy and I’m curious to see the “grandness” of it all.

One thing that kept me going this week was a plan to go fishing with Mike’s new friend, Mike, on his boat. (See Bob and Mike and Mike.) I made cookies last night and we had Mike’s fishing gear all ready to go. We got up at 5:00 – after being awakened around 2:00 to crackling thunder and lightening flashes – and the rain was still beating down. Nevertheless, we showered and got ready to hook up with Mike. The rain actually stopped for a while and I pulled out the sandwich fixin’s…however, the pounding rain quickly resumed.

Mike called Mike and we decided we didn’t want the memory of our first fishing trip in a boat on a lake in Oregon to include a rain storm…so we’ll have to wait for another weekend.

Brain Freeze

My head hurts. I've learned tooooo much. I am confused. I feel like a dummy. Just when I think I fully understand a process, an "exception" is thrown my way. And then everything I have learned seems to goes out the window.

Is it okay to tell my trainer that I need a day to just do the things I understand so that I can reinforce those processes and save the exceptions for another day? Well, actually my trainer would have to handle the exceptions...

Week Three

As my third week of working for the State of Oregon begins, I can honestly say I’m happy I accepted this position as a Legal Secretary. But I can also honestly say I forgot how grueling it is to start a new job with training on each little step.

At least my team is small (just 9 people) and I learned everyone's name on the first day. I had such a hard time with the kids' names when I was teaching in Guaymas...with their long, black hair pulled back they looked so much alike and many of their names were new to me.

But I am enjoying the challenge of learning new stuff. And getting to know some new people. Plus, riding my little route from home to the office and back is quite fun.

I don't exactly know what Mike and Sitka do all day, but they sure look happy to see me when I get home. That's it from Salem!