Oregon, I really want to go back...

So I was selected as part of a team rewriting course material for work. I was on the review team. When I was talking to the project manager, she confirmed the reviewers would not be traveling with the authors. I sighed sadly, and said I had never been to Portland, OR. She asked, oh, you would be willing to come to Oregon? I said, of course I would. Great, she said, one of our authors is not available. Can you be here Tuesday? 

I have got to learn to think before I talk to people. 

So I let CaDiva know our plans for the next five weekends were changing. Did I happen to mention it was Thursday and this was a thirty-day detail?

CaDiva started throwing things in the travel cases and I started wrapping things up with travel authorizations and away messages.  Unfortunately, CaDiva fell ill that Saturday and really didn't enjoy the drive as much as we usually do. We made it to Ogallala, then Boise, and finally Oregon between Saturday afternoon and Monday. We found this river and follow it forever. We started to wonder what river it was when we came face to face with Mount Hood. That's when we realized we were in the Columbia River Gorge scenic route.

I don't know if you have ever met women raised in the prairie, but we have a very specific view of the world. And that view includes mounts being shaped like an inverted V with snow on the top. 

Well, Mount Hood doesn't disappoint. I so regret not getting pictures. 

We got to Portland in time for their Rose Parade, which is major. People actually go along the parade route and lay down tape boundaries to hold their place. Not all people agree with this practice. So they tend to go around ripping up other people's tape. I sort of wish CaDiva was feeling better. It would have been fun to go and just watch the people.

We did get one weekend at the world's best bookstore, but that is for another blog. 

She was feeling much better by the time we took a weekend trip to drive up the coastline. And there I got pictures.

Drive along the Oregon Coast.

Whale Watching Cruise out of Newport.

Keep on cruising folks, this is my sunny rock.

Astoria Sunday market

Haystack Rock

Shakopee, MN Renaissance Fair 2007 or what do you do with men in kilts

So, CaDiva has this thing for Highlanders. Maybe Lowlanders too. I don't really get it, she just adores men in kilts. Oh, and bagpipes. She actually arranged for us to attend a bagpipe concert...at the Historical Building. To be more specific, in the Historical Building. In-side the Historical building. Have I made it perfectly clear, she took us in side a building to listen to men in kilts play bagpipes. IN DOORS. So I shouldn't have been surprised when she wanted to take a weekend to drive up to Shakopee, MN to see the Renaissance Fair. Now, I haven't been around a lot of Renaissance festivities, so I'm perfectly happy to accept they have a lot of Highland Games. 

Besides, she found us some nice bales of hay to rest on while we waited for the men in kilts to pick up telephone poles and hurl them as far as they could. 

Overall, it was very impressive. Not as impressive as the bare backed young man in the kilt. Amazingly, the male costumes seemed to be very comfortable and breezy. While the women seemed to be bound firmly into wool and linen. I'm thinking the flagon would last a goodly portion of the event as long as you are corseted as tightly as that lady. 

Not all flagons were filled with ale or other fermented beverages. But, but they all end up in the same place.

 

 My strongest memory was the next day. We drove up Saturday morning and spent the day at the fair. We took a hotel room that came with two tickets to the fair and collapsed in the room Saturday night. When we rolled out of bed, we brought breakfast to the room and curled up on the sofa. By the time we were through the Sunday morning paper, bagels and coffee, we decided to ask for a late check out. We found a great Sunday movie, "Remember the Titans" with Denzel Washington. Yeah, we know but sometimes you just need one of those underdog sports movies. We noshed for the rest of the day and didn't even try to drive home until mid afternoon.

All in all, this was a good mini-vacation.

Iowa Caucus' are coming fast and furious

Eight years ago, we were following Hillary. And here we are again. I don't know that she's electable. But, honest to god, The Donald??? And Iowa is backing him? I have rarely been that embarrassed for my state. I'm sincerely hoping we are being punked. CaDiva actually made a shot in Time magazine while we were at Hillary's campaign stop.

It was months later when I heard Hillary was going to be at a local eatery, Palmer's Delicatessen. (If you go, definitely get the market chicken salad with the spicy brown mustard on ciabatta.) I got both Hillary and Chelsea Clinton's autographs. One visit to a frame shop and I had a great birthday present for CaDiva.

Hillary wasn't my only "get" that year. I happened to be a coworker of Cubbie Bear's mother. So we pulled a few strings to get him to visit a retirement party.  Note about gets, the woman on the left used to have Brandon Routh sleep over at her house. Just saying, I know people, you know?

Senators and IRS  Commissioners, to name a few.

Some are National Symbols...

 Some are fond memories.

Some are a little two dimensional.

And some are movie sets..."They'll come to Iowa City. they'll think it's really boring...'

I'm just saying, I know people.

HRH has a birthday...so I'm blaming her on this short blog

We all gathered at The Mom's house to shower HRH with gift, cake and gelato.  I gave her a picture of a very expensive lamp she saw at the Hotel Fort Des Moines Tag Sale Saturday. CaDiva gave her a canister of chocolate covered caramel (yes, three syllables) macadamia nuts. Little hrh was there and saw the container. She wasn't falling for the idea it contained broccoli or brussels sprouts. But when her Grandma, HRH said they had nuts...she was golden. We think she must get her aversion to nuts from Baby Daddy side.

It doesn't matter, HRH will take full advantage of her grand-baby's under developed taste buds as long as she can.

It is after 9 and dark outside. Even if it wasn't, the beautiful Pear tree (which didn't actually bear pears, so go figure) bought it in the storm a year ago. So we have no shade in the back yard now. Besides, CaDiva is convinced the mosquitoes have put a hit out on her.

So, here I sit, letting my bagel go cold, typing a blog so I don't lose momentum. Perhaps I'll have more luck with CaDiva's newly acquired tablet.  Neither of us know anything and I sincerely doubt I can manipulate a soft keyboard with these acrylics.

Which also reminds me, we are thinking of finally breaking down and getting smart phones. Anyone know a good one you can use and wear acrylic nails? Don't tell me how bad the nails are for me.  I have a bad matrix. No, I don't know what it means either, unless it is Beautician for we can charge you $19.95 every two weeks and talk you into wearing "Who thinks up these names Pink." Actually, (hrh's favorite new word by the way) I have no idea what color I'm wearing. The print on the bottom of the bottle has gotten so small I just pick the closest to mauve I can find.

In any case, Happy Birthday, HRH. These are three pictures you took. In honor of your birthday, I'm not posting any of you. And I am not afraid of birds.

Iowa State Fair in two days - sort of...so let's look back to 2007

  We are going to spend our first anniversary at the Iowa State Fair on Saturday. Which got me wondering if we had any photos from early adventures. Unfortunately, the ones we have are on the desktop from the Easy-share they weren't easy to get onto the blog. I ended up downloading them onto a Marvin the Martian thumb drive. And here we have it. CaDiva laying down a protein base with a turkey leg. 

After the Turkey leg we head to the Agriculture Building for the butter sculptures. 2007 included Harry Potter and a cow wearing round specs.

Sarah Pratt took over from Duffy Lyon as the fifth official butter sculptor for the Iowa State Fair. She apprenticed for 15-years she launched with a Superman (Brandon Routh is an Iowan) and Mr. Iowa Fair, Bill Riley. You will find his stage below. As far as I am concerned, The Bill Riley stages is the only show in town during the heat of the day. The Administration Building (Formerly the Women's and Children Building) with its wrap-around deep veranda is dryer and cooler than any place in the fair. If you get there early enough you see the Talent Sprouts, they are too young to compete. But that doesn't stop them from performing their hearts out.  The competitive performers can include teams, singles, duos, in dance, instrumental and singers, 

This is the year I talked CaDiva into taking the Skyglider in order to make it to the white tiger show. I won't get a chance to do that again. She refuses to ride in anything that causes her shoes to  touch a tree top.  

After the Tiger parade, you have to make it back to Bauders for their Fair Bar. It takes three days to assemble the layers of chocolate cookie crumbs sandwiching hot fudge and hand-made peppermint ice cream. And they only make it during the fair. It is a short walk from their stand to the fountain. Where you can sit with your dish of ice cream and watch the kidlettes cool off.