what's today?

Apparently it's national ravioli day. Should that be capitalized? (Capitalized upon, for sure.)

things i like to do

Saturday: x-country skiing up at Mt Hood



Sunday: Oregon coast, Cannon Beach and more



Just a few more of the many reasons I'm glad to live here.

this is where i live

What a wonderful welcome, night of our housewarming.

Before.

After.

Haley, resident dog. She drools, but it's cute.

Home brew. IPA this time, stout next.

Work in progress, but fully functioning. I know the sauna looks like it's about four feet tall, but I swear full-sized people fit. I think we've had 11 in there at once before. Still to do: tile behind the stove, put up hooks, finish the deck outside.

oh yeah

I forgot to mention (read: shout from the rooftops) that I got a job! It's only temp work, and it has nothing to do with anything I've studied or done before. But it's a JOB. That pays me $$$. Because it's temp work, it definitely plays with my employment emotions at times (read: too often for comfort. I think they secretly take pleasure in making us all sweat on a regular basis). But I'm thanking my lucky stars for something, anything.

Your daily dose of hilarity.

So funny I cried. I can't wait to exploit my future children like this.

Muir Woods

I went on a pre-Thanksgiving adventure with my friend Val to Muir Woods. It was really incredible, especially since it was my first in-person look at California Redwoods. Even though it rained steadily all day, we had a good time wandering up and around the park for several hours. The rain lent it a certain ancient air, too (once you got away from screaming kids near the visitor's center, that is), which was kinda neat. Everything was rich, rain-soaked, and lush. Like Fern Gully.

Here are a few shots from the day (my favorites from the trip, some of the only ones that even came out on such an overcast day!).Detail of a cross-section of a fallen tree, almost as tall as me (what a poet I am).

This was an incredible color of green, which the photo doesn't do justice.

Not a fantastic photo, but you can see how the bark actually spirals up the tree.


I'm standing in a tree!

A fallen tree rests precariously on another stump, part of which has been polished to a shine by... people, I presume?
[Sorry for the awkward spacing of photo captions... It looks better if I put them above the photo, but that's just not the way I like to roll.]

On an unrelated note, a shot of my Saturday morning, around 6:30 a.m. at Ferry Plaza in San Francisco. Setting up for the day's market.

hey stranger

As I suspected would happen, I've let this little blog 'o mine fall by the wayside for, oh, I dunno... a couple months? A few changes in the world since my last entry that deserve mention, I think.And guess what? On November 4th, 2008, Barack Hussein Obama was elected to be the 44th President of the United States of America. I missed out on most of the revelry because I actually worked at a local polling station that day (6 am - 9:30 pm, faithfully serving my country). But I was richly rewarded with some of Obama's acceptance speech on the car ride home.

This past week I was listening to some NPR show (maybe it was Forum, based on the call-in format? I can't remember.) with callers discussing how their lives have changed in the not-even-two-weeks (at the time) since the election. The cynical part of me was thinking, "Right, because people's lives will have been radically altered in a tangible way before the guy even has a chance to throw together a cabinet." Some people contributed meaningful talking points, while others publicly patted themselves on the back for progressing so far as to deign to talk to "that one" at work since the election. Anyway. Today I finally listened on youtube to Obama's full speech on race, given at Constitution Center in Philly back in March '08. I was once again pretty much blown away by the man's ability to speak frankly, openly, honestly, clearly, and sensitively on a subject that is taboo in so many parts of the country.

One section that struck me, especially, was the following:
The path to a more perfect union "means taking full responsibility for own lives - by demanding more from our fathers, and spending more time with our children, and reading to them, and teaching them that while they may face challenges and discrimination in their own lives, they must never succumb to despair or cynicism; they must always believe that they can write their own destiny."

Obama directed this portion primarily towards black men, but I think it speaks to everybody in the U.S. and the individual responsibilities that we shoulder to collectively create the change that we want to see. I'm no expert on kids, education, or even society. But his discussion of the responsibility to, and of, future generations in this country were, I thought, profound, and I'm glad someone in such a position of power has finally said it. And I'll leave it at that.

As for other aspects of my life these days, a quick summary. I'm still working for Lucero Organic Farms at the farmer's markets around the city, but that'll only run through the end of the primary growing season (read: only a week or two more). I'm attempting to fill some more of my time by subjecting myself to medical studies in the bay area (so far no luck on that - this really is a tough job market). And I'm learning more and more about the wonderful world of sewing! I never thought I'd be a domestic diva (and never thought I'd ever utter or write that phrase until this moment), but there it is. I cook, I sew, and I'm not afraid to admit that I love it.




I made a whole buttload of tomato sauce with very ripe tomatoes, onions, and peppers from the farm stand a week or so ago, and just this week whipped up some eggplant parm with more ingredients from my employer. And just yesterday I finished my first quilt! Ta-da!
I may still do some more hand quilting on it, but it's in working order and on my bed now (it's a little less than half the size of a queen-size quilt).

And finally, yet another major life decision. I'm movin' on up! To Portland, that is. No, I do not have a job offer up there. No, I do not yet have a place to live. But I have a plan! After I get back from the east coast for the holidays (17 Dec - 7 Jan for those of you who might be interested), I'll be on my way, probably for a mid-January start. So in the two weeks in early December before I head home I'll be packing up (again) and keeping my fingers crossed that I can fit everything back in the car with a few new acquisitions from my three months out here. And the rest of the plan? Uh... find a job. That's definitely at the top of the list. Find a place to live. Sharing a spot at the top. Perhaps actually slightly edging out the job's place. Other things on the list include finding wonderful new friends, travelling as soon as I get a penny to my name, world domination (I kid), and reconciling myself to the more homogeneous demographics of the Pacific NW.

More food

'Cause I love talking about/eating/looking at/and now selling food.

Another day selling at the farmer's market, and today I helped set up the stand. Early morning sun + colorful food = Nerissa taking pictures. I can't help it, it's irresistible.

Oh, and they're called pluats, not plumpricots. Although I think "plumpricot" is much more descriptive. I got more today, yay.

Some type of heirloom tomato that I haven't memorized yet (there are over 50 types, I need time.)

LOTS of tomaters (I'm not sure that'll read how it sounds in my head, but I know what I mean, even if you don't.)

A sea of okra, the last of the figs, and itty bitty tomaters.

One of the prettiest eggplants I've ever seen.

"Hiking"

The other day I went with some lovely Pittsburgh lady friends up to Marin County to go hiking along the coast near Rodeo Beach (I think). Due to the goat trail-like paths, we couldn't exactly manage to stay on the proper route and probably did barely half the distance we meant to, but it was nice to see/hear/smell the ocean. Highlights of the day included seeing bird poop-stained rocks (see photo below); discovering a now-decapitated seal corpse on the beach; getting marked by not one, but two dogs as we had a snack on the beach (the sand about ten feet away, not us); and making fun of/being awed by surfers.

The only thing I took a picture of was the poop, though. Enjoy.

Jackpot

I got a job without even trying today. Don't get too excited, it's only a part time, temporary, sporadic gig. But it's paid. I volunteered to help out at the Berkeley farmer's market and was put in touch with a vendor whose strawberries are famous city-wide. He needed help, so I showed up today. I sold a ton of strawberries and other assorted organic, local produce (mostly tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, melons, etc). I helped break down the stand at the end of the day. And then, an unexpected but wholly welcome thing happened: the vendor paid me for my time. And all the while I thought I was volunteering! Plus, he asked me to come back next week, and perhaps a few extra days a week thrown in if need be. So, it's not a career path, it's not even going to be enough to pay the rent. But I haven't been paid to do anything since May, people. May. So I feel pretty good today (patting myself on the back).

Oh, and did I mention the perks of the job? They include: being outside all day; chatting with lovely/weird/nice people all day; strawberries galore; greens with edible flowers tossed in from the vendor next door; vegan cookies from another vendor; itty bitty cherry tomatoes; and plumpricots (I don't know if that's what they're called, but they're a mix of plums and apricots. Apriplums?) from yet another vendor.

Behold:


(Photos taken in the very low light of my IKEA lamp on my desk at night. It's artistic/blurry.)
(I also just noticed my looming hand in the cookie pic. Apparently I couldn't even wait long enough to press the shutter before reaching for one.)

One last note: welcome home, Mom (tomorrow)!