extra xmas pics

Sicky Megs with Jessie Spanno and Charley in Chicago:



Ryan juggles 2 lemons and a Flick-a-Flame:



Hales and Autumn Q at dinner:



Random fun at Brooke and Brian's:



Out shopping downtown Ripon:

A Very White Christmas

Merry Christmas to all! After two nights in Chicago, Megs and I made it home safely on Monday afternoon. We are missing a few key players of the the Nielsen/Brech clan this year: Breezy (Colorado), Rob (Afghanistan), and Amy, Madison, Landon, and Ashlyn (Washington)... oh, and Lucy the Muffin Girl (Oregon). You are all missed and loved very much and we hope you are having the best holiday possible.

Mom trying on her gift from Bree and I:



My parents like to keep the house cold; this is my Grandma suffering from the insanity:



Herb (Dad's BFF) sent us 6 slabs of Chicago's famous Carson's Ribs for Christmas dinner. Here we are modeling our bibs right before chow time:



Thanks Herb! Merry Christmas to you and your family!

The Beautiful Life of Breezy

I promise I'll start posting my own pics again when I actually do something noteworthy. For now, though, you can check out what my little sissy has been up to. In case you're keeping track, Breezy is currently living/working in Beavercreek, Colorado. For some reason she thinks driving a shuttle bus through multiple feet of snow on the side of a mountain is a good idea.

Merry Christmas, Sis! You'll be missed this year.

Guest Blogger: Ty Sohlman

Read on for Ty's personal account of the coastal storm that just hit the Pacific Northwest:

I spent the last two nights in Astoria. Right in middle of the intense storm that hit the north Oregon coast! A severe storm with hurricane force winds (some gusts reached 125 mph). Many local residents where displaced from their homes due to trees crashing through their houses, roofs lifting off, and windows busting out. Our hotel became a makeshift shelter for some local residents. We watched from the hotel as sheet metal ripped off a nearby roof and wrapped around a telephone pole at the entrance to our hotel. Mudslides, trees and powerpoles blocked all highways in and out of Astoria, until late this morning when HWY 30 opened one lane and allowed us to follow a pilot car through. Needless to say phone lines, cell service and internet service went down on Sun. and they are not expected to be restored for several more days (even 911 emergency service is unreachable). Our hotel became the base camp for rescue workers and electrical lineman who told us that it will be several days before the extent of the damage is assessed.



The hotel manager used his camping stove this morning and fixed us a lovely breakfast of reheated pizza pockets(a guest had some on hand) and hot water for instant oatmeal.



Harley and I are happy to be home safe.

Pasta Bangs

For those of you who are fans of the local restaurant Pasta Bangs, be sure to read this inspiring article.

Here's a link to Urban Opportunities website.

Oh no

I came home last night to find our dining room table (the location of many dinner parties) replaced by this monstrosity. In case you're confused, it's a poker table clad in black and white camouflage.

Neumania rocks PDX!

Jaime came to visit and we blasted through a long list of Portland's tourist activities. We also had Sunday dinner with Jamie Ernst - how wonderfully random is that?

Trying on hats at Saturday Market:

Voodoo Donut with Oreo/Voodoo Donut with rice crispies:

Japanese Gardens:

On the bridge at Multnomah Falls:

Happy Thanksgiving

Courtney and I went to the coast yesterday (it was sunny and 50 degrees... splendid!) With the exception of Christmas, which needs to be spent in snowy Wisconsin, I think all holidays should include a walk on the beach. I made this for you, with the Chuck-It, while Court distracted my doggy:

Circus Freaks

Minnesota-raised/Santa Cruz-based band, Byron Space Circus, rolled into PDX last weekend... And I have to say, they've come a long way since I started listening to them in the basement of the First Ave house.




The Groupies:

Work in progress.

Liam is working on this painting of Lucy - inspired by a picture Brian took a couple years ago. It's the best thing ever.



Definitely check out more of his art by clicking the link on the right.

Thanks Ma!

My mom came to visit (and decorate, clean, sew, and organize - all of the things I'm not very good at). I'm not sure if I've ever had my life this together. We covered a lot of ground - from Portland to Seattle. The highlight was dinner with our family at Rainforest Cafe where we celebrated Landon's second birthday. Happy Birthday Buddy - We love you very much!

Eastmoreland Dinner Party

Here are some pics from Sunday's dinner party at Kent and Steph's place. Tim, Val and cutie-patootie June joined in as well. Val made a frozen pumpkin ice cream pie with candied ginger. Lucy and Bear gnawed the left over bones from Kent's braised ribs. My contribution was roasted corn polenta served with a roasted red pepper sauce. See recipe below.

It was a spectacular meal, fit for any respectable Wisconsinite.





Roasted Corn Polenta

2 ears corn, shucked
2 cups milk
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 ounces ricotta cheese
1 ounce shredded parmesan

Preheat broiler and butter an 8-inch square baking pan.
On a rack of a broiler pan broil corn about 4 inches from heat, turning it occasionally, until lightly browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Cool corn and cut kernels from cobs.

In a large heavy saucepan stir together milk and cornmeal and add corn kernels and butter. Bring mixture to a boil and simmer, stirring constantly to keep mixture from sticking and burning and adding water, 1 tablespoon at a time, if mixture becomes too thick 20 minutes. Stir in cheese until incorporated and season with salt. Pour polenta into baking pan spreading evenly, and cool. Chill polenta until cold, 2 to 3 hours. Polenta may be made 2 days ahead and chilled covered.

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

3 red bell peppers (18 oz)
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped basil
1 large shallot
juice of one lemon

Roast the red peppers, cool, peel, chop
Blend all ingredients
Heat and serve

The Go! Team @ the Doug Fir

I can't hear or see straight at the moment because The Go! Team just seriously rocked my socks off. Not since Arcade Fire have I been so jaw dropped by a live show. When I'm reincarnated, I hope to have the energy, dance skill, and musical brilliance of these two ladies:



(This pic was stolen from Fickr. My cam is momentarily out of commission.)

Happy Sushi Birthday

Courtney had a birthday and we all ate A LOT of sushi.

Fabulous Fall Fun

Ty, Lucy, Harley and I set out into the Oregon countryside this afternoon in search of pumpkins and cider. We also stumbled upon Lake Oswego's Community Garden, Swan Island Dahlias and puppies! I really really really love puppies.

Support Chris Koza on his national tour!

Chris Koza and his bandmates are some of my favorite people to see live. Definitely check out his site, his music, and tour dates (I guarantee he's coming to a city near you). He is also video-blogging the road trip out West, which is so giggly-great. Get ready for it Portlandians - Mississippi Pizza on October 21st at 6pm - you're all coming with me. I will buy you a ticket if you're broke.

Back in action

Thanks to all who offered up their laptops or computer services after mine "crashed" in the middle of a presentation on Friday. Once the Help Desk (convenieniently located in Pittsburgh) finally called back this morning, they informed me that running it in Safe Mode would solve the problem. Who knew? I should have just called Anton or Mader (the computer nerds) and gotten on with it.

Fun weekend nonetheless - here's a picture of whole roasting lambs at Greek Fest:



Oh yeah, I also saw Ira Glass (of NPR's This American Life) speak on Sunday. He was intereviewed by April Baer, who does [among other things] the morning traffic on OPB in the mornings. He was funny and engaging, but I'm glad we didn't pay the $28 they were asking for tickets. The Portland Convention Center is such a crappy venue for something like that.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Dad- I hope these absurd pictures I took of us in my hotel room are an acceptable replacement for an actual card. I apologize for Lucy's lack of enthusiasm. Have a fabulous day! Love, Kel

24 Hours in Seattle

Megan came to visit Nell and Cameron in Seattle, so I went up for Friday night to beat the pants off all of them in Scrabble. In those 24 hours, we managed to eat Puerto Rican, Japanese and Greek food--- awesome. Before I left on Saturday, we walked around Gas Works Park on Lake Union. Check out this photo gallery I found of the park. Of course my own camera died after two pictures.

Megan and art in Ballard:



The dark side of Lasik surgery:

Food for Thought

Since work doesn't have me on the move right now, I don't have much in the way of scenic pictures to post. I assume no one wants to see photos of the many different architectual designs of high schools in the Pacific Northwest. Another part of my job, however, is keeping up with product knowledge. This means I subscribe to Wired magazine which keeps me in-the-know about topics in the media and design fields. I mean, how else would I know that Halo 3 is being released at midnight or that the average age of a video gamer is thirty-three?

Advertising is one of our programs I find the most interesting. Essentially, advertising is mass communication and it's fascinating to learn about demographics and the sociology behind why people go places, spend money, etc. While listening to NPR this evening, I caught an interview with Cynthia Gorney who wrote an article for the New York Times titled "How do you say 'Got Milk' en Espanol?" It's an interesting look into the Latino-factor that American consumerism has tapped into.

driving driving driving out of california

It took me 11 hours to get from Jaime's house to my house today. Just when I thought I was in the home stretch out of Eugene, I was blasted with bumper to bumper traffic all the way to Portland. Good thing I discovered this incredible programming on OPB to keep me from going completely bonkers.

I can't say enough about the wonderful time I had with Jaime & Co. in Forestville. Redwoods, vineyards, wine, tapas, live music, dancing, hysterical laughter... it was perfect. I can't wait to go back in March - and then we'll be kicking it in her new pad (see pics below).

Dinner at Stella's:



The new house (front and back):




The store (old location):



For Megs: