Rasta Alex

This will probably confuse many of you... but yes, Alex does have a mustache in this photo.

Ty's Wedding

Congrats Ty and Jay!

I am trying to break your heart

My heart is still aflutter after spending two evenings with Jeff Tweedy and his Wilco boys. The two nights could not have been more different. The first, outside of Seattle at Marymoor, was an absolute riot. Ryan and I stayed at the MOST ABSURD CAMPGROUND - EVER (where there also happened to be a Microsoft benefit picnic going on- very weird). And we hooked up with Kent and Steph (who some of you may know as "my dog park friends") at the park, who graciously bought us beverages and drove us back to our tents after the show.

The second, at Edgefield outside of Portland, was ultra rocking. People in Portland like to DANCE- that's why I moved here. I was nearly in the front row and got some good pics of my main squeeze, JT. He even looked me directly in the eyes! I don't typically go to shows alone, but I do enjoy it once in awhile - if you make it to the front, you're usually there with a bunch of solo nomads anyway. I was also beverage-free at this show, so I paid a bit more attention to the happenings on stage.

Musical highlights: "Spiders" and "California Stars" (Seattle); "I am trying to break your heart" and "Late Greats" and "Outtasite Outta mind" (Portland)

World's most narrow campsite:



Steph, Kent and Ryan (with his sassy new hairdo):



At the parking lot of Marymoor at 6am the next morning, going to pick up my car:



From the Portland show. This is a pic of JT singing the intense ending of "I am trying to break your heart:"



Why can't life be one non-stop Wilco concert?

MUSIC OVERLOAD

Over the next couple of months some of my favorite bands will be playing Pacific Northwest venues in Seattle, Portland, and Eugene. For those interested in visiting, this is the perfect time to do it! Trample by Turtles, New Pornographers, Bright Eyes, Arcade Fire, Chris Koza, M. Ward and The Go! Team are [amazingly] all going to be here within a month and a half of each other. So far I have my tickets for New Pornographers (Seattle show) and Bright Eyes (Eugene), and I plan to pick up The Go! Team tickets this week. So, who's coming with me? I'm not doing all of this alone. I nominate the California folk to pull it together and get on up here... after all, I will be visiting y'all early September.

Old Crow Medicine Show at the Oregon Zoo

Here's a pic from the front row! Cameras weren't allowed, so this was taken super undercover, which is why it's so poorly shot. The wine may have also had something to do with it:

Fresh Blackberry Crisp

For those of you not in-the-know, the perimeter of the property I live on is covered in blackberries. I made this crisp for tonight's dessert (at Ty's) with the five cups I picked this morning.



4 cups fresh blackberries
1/2 cup sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons flour, plus 1/2 cup
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 stick butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In large bowl combine blackberries, sugar and lemon juice together with 2 tablespoons of flour. Pour into deep dish pie plate. In separate bowl blend remaining 1/2 cup flour, brown sugar and butter. Mix until crumbly. Sprinkle over berries. Bake for 30 minutes until bubbly

Washougal River

Welcome to Portland, Peebs! During Peebs' visit with Maia, we hit up the Washougal River - 17 miles north of the WA/OR border (near the Gorge). We met up with some other friends, and of course, their doggies. We don't roll anywhere without at least three canines.

I love this picture of Lucy swimming out to the falls:

Ai Northwest Regional Meeting

I LOVE MY JOB. I orchestrated a golf trip/bbq dinner and a sushi/karaoke night for the crew (my coworkers flew in from Canada, Seattle, and Vegas for the week)... big fun with the best people.

Pick-a-thon

There's nothing like a good ol' fashioned Oregon bluegrass festival. Trampled by Turtles, a homegrown fave from Duluth, MN, did a great job on sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, dogs were not allowed, so I didn't camp with the friends.

Second Week on Orcas

After all the first week peeps took off, a new cast of characters showed up the next weekend. Jamie, Jesse and Chuck came from Portland and Casey and Shelley (and their strings) came from their farm near Mt. Vernon. The weather was beautiful and the hootenanny was rockin'.

First Week on Orcas Island

After the Alaska trip, I crashed at the Brech's for a night and picked up Lucy from the "Pet Resort" (she loved it). Then I picked up Alex and Halley from SeaTac and we drove up to the San Juan Islands... We made it onto Orcas Island by 10ish, where we met up with Biff, PJ and Reichert at the cabin. Mandy and Ms. Bogangles showed up shortly after and Alisa came two days later. It was super rainy, but we managed to keep ourselves occupied.

August?

I'm having a hard time believing that my July vacation is over. It must be true though since I just moved into my new pad in NW Portland. I'm too disorganized to find my camera or camera cord at the moment, so the Orcas Island pictures will have to wait. Lucy still hasn't learned to unpack, hang pictures or change lightbulbs, so I'm currently doing all of these things on my own. Fortunately, I had a fabulous friend help me with the move itself... THANK YOU TY PETERSON!

I can't really complain about August, as it is packed with live music- Trampled by Turtles, Todd Snider, Wilco, and Old Crow Medicine Show... I can barely contain my excitement for it all.