Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang

The cow and I went to Laurelhurst theater on Saturday night for a flick (kiss,kiss,bang,bang), pizza, and vino. We both agreed the flick was probably the worst movie we had ever paid money to see. It has a narrator and I hate movies with narrators. We enjoyed the ambience of the old theater. You order at the snack bar and carry your slice and plastic carafe of wine into the big screen.

When the movie was finally over we went across the street to Tabla and enjoyed dessert and a nightcap. I really think Tabla is an awesome place but the server had an air about him. Can't really put my finger on it but when the bill came he had overcharged us by about 5.00 dollars. Keep your eye on those servers you have a weird feeling about. Your instinct is almost always right.

Ilian - Girl magnet

Ilian works at a coffee shop called "Chance of Rain." He is trying to find a girlfriend. he created this chalk drawing of himself and placed it out on Hawthorne to get the PDX girls to visit him. I especially like the goatee and the cap. Believe it or not he really looks like this - skinny, no nose, a head so large that it could make his entire body fall over. Very nice young man though. Does anyone I know need a young talented barista in their lives?

Happy Bear?

I think it is Happy Bunny in disguise.
I am just waiting for the marquis that reads,
"Stop existing please."
I love happy bunny!

Boy and Girl

Songs stuck in my head!

For the last few days ,I have had two songs stuck in my head. I find myself singing and humming them as I walk to work or clean the bathroom. They are songs of my childhood and not something I chose to listen to but rather I was forced to listen. After a few days of trying to remember the words I had to succumb to looking for the lyrics online. Watch out because if you read the lyrics you will have them stuck in your head. Don't ask who - but these two songs remind me of people that are close to my heart.

Johnny Cash
Ring of Fire
Love is a burning thing
and it makes a firery ring
bound by wild desire
I fell in to a ring of fire...
I fell in to a burning ring of fire
I went down,down,down
and the flames went higher.
And it burns,burns,burns
the ring of fire
the ring of fire.
The taste of love is sweet
when hearts like our's meet
I fell for you
like a child
oh, but the fire went wild..
I fell in to a burning ring of fire.....[etc]

Dusty Springfield (who?)
Son of a Preacher Man
Billy-Ray was a preacher's son
And when his daddy would visit
he'd come along
When they gathered round and started talkin'
That's when Billy would take me walkin'
A-through the back yard we'd go walkin'
Then he'd look into my eyes
Lord knows to my surprise
The only one who could ever reach me
Was the son of a preacher man
The only boy who could ever teach me
Was the son of a preacher man
Yes he was, he was, oooh, yes he was
Being good isn't always easy
No matter how hard I try
When he started sweet-talkin' to me
He'd come and tell me everything is all right
He'd kiss and tell me everything is all right
Can I get away again tonight?
The only one who could ever reach me
Was the son of a preacher man
The only boy who could ever teach me
Was the son of a preacher man
Yes he was, he was, Lord knows he was
How well I rememberT
he look that was in his eyes
Stealin' kisses from me on the sly
Takin' time to make time
Tellin' me that he's all mine
Learnin' from each other's knowing
Lookin' to see how much we've grown
And the only one who could ever reach me
Was the son of a preacher man
The only boy who could ever teach me
Was the son of a preacher man
Yes he was, he was, oh, yes he was
He was the sweet-talking son of a preacher man
I guessed he was the son of a preacher man
Sweet-lovin' son of a preacher man
Ahh, move me

HoY in Crisis!

Not so perfect day!

As I walked through the door last night about 6:00pm, I saw the cow standing in the dining room with a broom in one hand and the telephone in the other. The first words out of his mouth were "don't freak out!" My first instinct was Tam! He then said "someone broke into the house - Tam is still here!" Ahhhhh! Relief!
But then the feeling of anxiety, pressure, scared, and panic overwhelmed me! I still hadn't put my bag down. All of these feelings in less than 10 seconds!
As I walked into the kitchen glass shards were everywhere - they were in the sink, the floor, Tam's food & water bowls, her litter box, all the way into the dining room. Obviously, broken window means open window but Tam was too scared to try to escape. The cow found her cowering under the bed.
Out the back door and down to the basement I went. The door was being held closed by a tiny little padlock. They had broken the window and kicked the dead bolt out (tearing the door jam out from the wall) but luckily the pad lock and one of the hinges just wouldn't give. The thief did not get into the basement (bikes galore).
The next hour was spent wiping, sweeping, moping and repeating in the kitchen. The cow called the police. They arrived and basically said - these things happen and my personal favorite "maybe you should put a lock on your gates to the backyard." The basement clean up will take days maybe weeks. Even though they didn't get in the thief created a massive mess. The cow went down and swept up the first round. Then when I went down I noticed there was tiny glass pieces about 12 feet away from the door.
I went in the spare room to check on Tam and there was MUD all over the light carpet. It was obvious they had been in every room.
A young man came about 8:30 to "SECURE" the premises. This means that plywood was drilled into our 1906 house to secure the window in the kitchen and he so graciously drilled the door closed from the inside while securing the basement. Our laundry and anything mechanical we might need are in the basement so I guess we are S.O.L!
You are probably wondering what they stole. With our best assessment they loaded up (in our laundry basket) 50 CD's, most of my jewelry, and a small piece of art. As the cop said, "stuff that can be sold quickly."

Hotel

After several wonderful tapas we headed back to the Hotel Oregon. It is a McMenamins Property and it is quirky like all of the rest. The hotel was built in 1905 and used as a hotel or apartment buiding with shared bathrooms. The hotel has three bars a billiard room and a restaurant. We made our way to the roof top bar for a view of the twinkling lights. During the summer it would be a very lovely place to watch the sunset. During the winter they have put up tents and heaters so you can sit outside.
Our room was named after a girl that once waitressed in the restaurant in 1950. It was interesting with a sink in the room and a bathroom between two rooms (so we only had to share with one other couple). The walls are festooned with famous drinking quotes and ironically enough the cow and I had read "La Tache" at one of the wineries in a book of notable drinkers.
The cow surprised me with the Romance package which included a bottle of champagne, chocolates, and ........

Food

Episode two of wine tasting adventures with SH and the Cow is dedicated to food. It is always a treat to venture into a restaurant and share a few snacks with the person you love. After the bubbly flight at Argyle we crossed the street to Dundee Bistro. We ordered ourselves a nice 2001 MARKUS MOLITER Riesling, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Germany. This was a crisp cool wine and it went nicely with the Ceasar Salad and the truffled fries that we shared.
After our snack we drove to McMinneville to get settled in our rented room at the Hotel Oregon (This will be episode three). After checking in and checking out the room we ventured over to La Rambla. It was a quiet evening in the tapas bar. We chose to sit at the bar - always the best seat in the house. There we each ordered a cocktail: the cow had a hot martini and I enjoyed a whiskey sour (it had a fancy name but was basically a ws). We ordered three items and not one of them disappointed. There was Carro de Queso (three artisanal cheeses), Mejilliones al Jerez (Mussels with Jerez sauce), and deep fried green beans with aioli. We sat and enjoyed the bar for a couple of hours and walked down the street to the roof top of the Hotel Oregon. But wait...the day isn't over yet. You still have episode three - The Hotel!

Wine Day

With a long weekend ahead of us, the cow and I decided to spend the day wine drinking and end up in McMinneville to spend the night. We tried to find a place at the coast, Cannon Beach, for the eveing but it was full. So, wine tasting was our next alternative.
We started out rather lost. We wanted to drive a different route than in the past. We headed south on I-5 and past Wilsonville and then drove west. We came across Champoeg (pronounced Shampooey) and the woman behind the counter was extremely friendly. She filled us in on all the upcoming events and we believe that one Friday night in June we will head back because they have music and allow you to bring a picnic and enjoy.
The best wine we tasted all day was at Lange, but I didn't take any pictures because I was so mesmerized by the wine. The cow was mesmerized by the two hot girls behind the counter.
Tori Mor has a beautiful setting. It was packed though! I did hear one of the best comments of the day, it went something like this: "Is Pinot Gris made from the Pinot Gris grape?" The wine was good but the conversation with the cow and the sun shining through the window was exquisite.
We headed down the gravel road (literally) to Erath and enjoyed their strange but good Cabernet Sauvignon. Erath was one of the pinoeers of Oregon wine and he and a group of others are known as "the boys up north."
Our last stop of the day was Argyle in the city of Dundee. We shared a bubbly flight and most of the champagnes were very good. We then headed over to the Dundee Bistro.....but food will be my next episode.

Dinners during the week

During the week the cow makes some great meals, but usually it is Sunday night that he takes the time to create something special and time consuming. This week we have had smoked gouda quesadillas with a yummy salad that has avocado dressing, a delicious soup with pasta and white beans, red pepper risotto and last night WOW - a beautiful salad with fresh kiwi - roasted potatoes and avocado topped salmon with a grilled yellow pepper and chipolte sauce. It was amazing. I am a huge fan of the salad. We have one every night. It is always a good beginning to a fabulous meal. If you are a fan of the pappas bravas then these potatoes and sauce would make your mouth water! The salmon was exquisite. I know I am a very lucky girl and not everyone has someone cooking for them but I just want to say that I like food because of the cow and his great meals.

Rant

How serious are we about education when students are allowed to wear Pajama’s to school, cell phones are more apparent in the library than books and ipods rule the hallways and some classrooms. Students believe computers are for entertainment (my space and games) instead of research and writing. Do you think I could get away with sitting at my desk text messaging my best friend with ipod earphones wedged in my ears and wearing PJ’s that reads “hot stuff” on my ass?

Waiting for the Weekend

Every week I anticipate the weekend. Coming off of vacation and being so tired the entire week I was looking forward to the weekend even more. When Friday finally rolled around I was determined to have a relaxing couple of days.
On Friday night the cow and I picked up a pizza from "It's A Wonderful Pizza" on Belmont. We bought the large so we could have leftovers the next morning but that damn pizza had so much GARLIC on it that I thought we were going to die. We watched the movie Office Space and laughed until our bellies hurt.
Saturday morning we slept for a very long time and then walked to Pauls Market on Hawthorne to pick up the produce for the week. I love this place. Most of the fruits and vegetables are brought from the farmer directly to Pauls Tent Market. The Columbia area pears are so sweet they can take the place of a candy bar. On our walk to Pauls we noticed a house on the corner of Yamhill and 28th that has been being restored. There is a for sale sign out front and this place is fabulous. It is awaiting a paint job on the exterior but the interior is almost finished. We have been unable to find the price but if anyone wants to live 2 blocks from us I will investigate for you.
Saturday afternoon Tam was taking a nap by the fire while we read our books. It was sprinkling outside and she loves the warmth of the fireplace without getting too close.
Saturday evening we were very indecisive. We finally decided to go to Burnside and 28th. We had a cheese plate and a couple of martinis and then shared a glass of white and red wine. The server was so nice that he split the glasses for us. We hopped into LaBuca for dinner and shared a really yummy risotto. We couldn't decided if we wanted to go listen to music or try a new restaurant in the NW for dessert. We ended up a Serrato with a glass of Prosecco and Gingerbread with Brandy and a Poached Pear with Creme Fraiche.
We had a very nice evening together.

Drinks, Cocktails, Libations, Vin!

I like taking pictures of what I am drinking....I guess when I drink too much I can then add them up and see how much was really consumed! Not really, that is a joke, do not send me links to Alcoholics Anonymous or any other 12-step programs.