Jo's Personal Blog

Chronicles of a Chubby Runner: Coach Scruggs

2011-01-11T10:47:00.000-08:00

For those who might not know it... I have another blog where I post all things about my running... since this one is about Scruggs, I thought it was worth re-posting here...

Chronicles of a Chubby Runner: Coach Scruggs: "I know that most of us that run primarily for reasons of health and fitness don't usually enlist the services of coaches... even if, ideally..."

One of our cats has skillz...

2011-01-03T11:41:00.000-08:00

I think a picture is worth a thousand words. I walked in the bathroom this morning and there it was, balancing precariously on the edge of the litter box just as you see it in the picture. Not sure which one of the four cats is the gifted one of the lot, but thought I should brag on him/her anyway! LOL!

Wishing you the best in 2011

2010-12-29T16:35:00.001-08:00

Edward Gorey

2010-03-11T19:16:00.000-08:00

I am a fan of Edward Gorey who, for those not familiar with the name, is the artist featured at the beginning of Mystery! on PBS. He is well known for his darkly humorous black & white illustrations as well as his penchant for cats (of which he also drew quite a few).

I stumbled across this photo of him online the other day. I honestly don't know that much about his personal life, but thought this photo was a wonderful glimpse into the life of this creative man.

Jake & Elwood

2010-03-08T05:44:00.000-08:00

I really haven't decided if they're on a "mission from God" or not, but they would definitely not object to the 5 fried chickens if offered! Introducing the newest additions to our family... Jake & Elwood! They are litter-mates that we adopted back in late January. They are now about 4 1/2 months old and full of mischief.

More Lenten Recipes

2010-02-17T07:42:00.000-08:00

I had originally put this in yesterday's post, but have decided to start a new post for today.

This is a soup we were first introduced to at church. Thanks Raeanne! Since then we have introduced several other people to this soup who are surprised by its ingredients. During the rest of the year, you can add chicken to this soup, but this time of year, just follow the directions as listed. It's much yummier than the ingredients might suggest! Raeanne says she adds much more spice than is listed in this recipe when she makes it for herself, so if you're not sure, start safe and add more as you go!

Spicy Peanut Soup

1 TBSP garlic minced
1 TBSP curry powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp red pepper flakes
6 cups vegetable broth
½ cup Tomato paste
2 cups stewed tomatoes (chopped)
1/3 cup chunky peanut butter
In dutch oven heat sesame oil over med. Heat. Saute’ onions and garlic until tender. Add other ingred. Stir will to combine. Heat through, but do not boil. Serve hot.

I still was reminded of yet another Lenten favorite by my friend TJ and her bemoaning of tofu:

There's a tofu scrambler recipe online that we really like. Chris had grown really tired of the pre-packaged scrambler mix that you can get at the store, plus, it gets kind of expensive. We like this recipe much better! With tons of tumeric it takes on a slightly curry-like flavor. Also note; nutritional yeast = brewer's yeast. It goes by both names.

After the tofu scrambler is all mixed up and ready to be cooked, I make a big batch of hash-style mixture:

Fry up approx. 1/3 - 1/2 a package of Potatoes O'Brian (I go the lazy route and buy the frozen) when potatoes are nearly done add
3-4 Morningstar Farms sausage patties cooked & crumbled up
tofu scrambler mixture
top with regular cheddar or almond cheese and let melt

This recipe is easy to extend as needed by adding a few more potatoes and sausage patties.

Also, Bob's Red Mill makes a tofu scrambler for breakfast (in the Mill store restaurant) where they add broccoli and fresh tomatoes as well. I would think you could add just about any veggies that you like to this and maybe reduce the potatoes by a bit.

I hope you enjoy!

Lenten Recipes

2010-02-16T21:48:00.000-08:00

OK, I am NOT a huge resource of Lenten recipes, but I do have a few that are favorites of ours through this season of the Fast. So here they are...

My hummus recipe is basically this one. Over time I have adjusted the amount of seasonings I put in it (usually a little extra garlic, lemon, salt, pepper, cumin) and I usually add just a tiny bit of cayenne. Last year, if I must confess, we went through two #10 restaurant supply cans of garbanzo beans making hummus. Yikes!

My sis-in-law Heather has a "Wendy's" chili recipe that Chris & I really like. This time of year, I don't put any meat in it (although I usually add some cooked TVP - see my recipe below). Also, I use red beans & black beans instead of the pinto & kidney beans, but that's just a personal preference of mine - I'm not a big kidney bean fan.

Another one of my other favorite Lenten dish is Majedra. Thanks to Kh. Krista West for this recipe! It took me a long time to make the first time I ever tried it as I didn't quite get the timing down on the onions, lentils & rice. But I am getting better at it! I'm still getting used to some of the middle eastern flavors, so I cut back on the allspice just a bit.

Madjedra (The classic Middle Eastern lentil and rice dish)

2 cups dry lentils
1 cup rice (I use brown basmati rice)
3 large onions
5-6 T. olive oil (or more, depending on taste)
Salt and pepper
Allspice

To the lentils, add 8 cups water and some salt. Boil the lentils halfway until done. While the lentils are boiling, chop 2 of the onions and sauté in half of the olive oil, sautéing until a little beyond golden brown. When the onions are almost done, add ½ T. allspice and 1 t. salt and sauté a little more. Set onions aside. When lentils are halfway done, add the rice and boil until the rice is almost done (stir and add water as needed). Turn down the burner to simmer off the last liquid 10-15 minutes and add salt, pepper, and about 1/2 T. allspice along with the sautéed onions.

Take the last onion and slice it into rings. Sauté it in the remaining olive oil until very brown (almost black). Use the onions rings as a garnish when serving.

TVP Crumbles (Ground meat substitute) again, the thanks goes to my sis-in-law, Heather for this!

Prepare/soak a batch of TVP according to the directions (For Bob's Red Mill TVP: to rehydrate the granules, pour 7/8 cup boiling water over 1 cup TVP. Stir and let stand 5 to 10 minutes.)
Add a small amount of "Kitchen Bouquet" (optional) to the soaked TVP until it becomes a darker tan color (this will add some flavor & color to the TVP - it is a vegetable based flavoring agent)
Fry TVP in skillet over med-low heat with 1-2 T of oil, turning regularly until some of the excess moisture is cooked off and the TVP is closer to the moisture/consistency of cooked ground meat. I'm not sure how to describe this, as it's more of just a "feel."
Approx 12 oz of cooked TVP = 1 lb of ground "meat" in recipes

Notes:

I use Bob's Red Mill TVP as I pick up the Bob's in bulk at the Mill Store!
The TVP will stick to the pan if you're not using a non-stick pan. Don't worry if it does, just keep scrape it off the bottom and keep going!

Resident Ducks

2009-12-05T14:40:00.000-08:00

We have a ton of ducks that have taken up residency at the pond at church. As you can see, they're are some mallards hanging out, but then there are also some that are not quite full-blooded mallards any longer... these are the ones that usually stick around year 'round. I'm not sure what kinds of ducks the mallards originally bred with, but anymore, due to their questionable pedigrees, I like to term these guys "mutt ducks." At any rate, they have it pretty good living at the church. We feed them any leftover bread from services or from pot-lucks plus there is a retirement center across the parking lot. The residents there also feed the ducks pretty frequently.

Well, the downside to all this feeding is that these ducks have become very spoiled... and expectant of a hand-out. I was leaving church the other day, when the ducks started marauding me. I'm not kidding! They starting coming at me, quacking insistently. While they were busy trying to figure out if they could successfully mug me for food, I shot these pics.

Crazy Cat Art

2009-11-25T09:12:00.000-08:00

Before I go and scrub my bathroom mirror, I had to share with everyone the artwork that has appeared there the last couple of days... I'm reminded of the book Why Cats Paint. Although I'm not certain Flatt is as high-brow about her art. Not sure this picture adequately captures the smudges on my mirror, but you get the idea... The skills & techniques necessary to create this masterpiece are captured in the outline below:

Technique for kitty art:

Get drink from toilet
Dip paws in toilet - make sure they are extra wet for additional runs & smears on the mirror
Jump up on bathroom counter
Lean against bathroom mirror with wet toilet-water paws (make sure extra lint & dirt are stuck to paws for additional depth & dimension to image)
Paw at the mirror like an insane kitty trying to escape her evil tormentors
Leave artwork to dry and for kitty parents to appreciate later

2009-11-19T05:49:00.001-08:00

Thanks Chris. I love this!

Hey Heather!

2009-11-16T12:27:00.001-08:00

Today was my best workout in a long time... 3.5 miles in 50 minutes. Not quite your 5 miles... but I'm working on it! My 50 minutes did include a 5 minute warm-up and 5 minute cool-down too... :o)

Metolius River Camping

2009-11-12T05:38:00.000-08:00

I love the Metolius River near Sisters. In my opinion, it is one of the most beautiful rivers around. It reflects a beautiful aquamarine color in the sunshine which contrasts nicely with the greens, reds, golds and browns of the surrounding landscape – especially in the fall.

We camped a couple of weeks ago with some friends of ours on the Metolius. There are about 8 different campgrounds up and down the river in the Deschutes National Forest. The campgrounds are not luxurious, even by camping standards, but what they lack in amenities, they more than make up for in natural beauty. Camping in central Oregon never presents the same kinds of problems that staying overnight in the western part of the state does. The rain is far less frequent – therefore even camping in October like we did, doesn’t require the addition of rain gear. On the Metolius there are hiking trails to cruise up & down the river banks and fly fishing for those with a bent towards angling. Surprisingly, the roads throughout this part of the Deschutes NF are relatively flat and provide a good opportunity for bike riding, for those who tend toward the “kitchen sink” style of camping (bringing every amenity you can think of – including the kitchen sink). Many of the campgrounds have RV spaces available, although no hook-ups. There is drinking water available during the main camping season, but the taps had been turned off for the winter when we were there.

That being said, camping on the Metolius in October does require additional layers of clothing. We knew it was going to be colder than Portland had been of late, but we didn’t realize until I talked to my mom on the way home that we had endured record overnight low temps (overnight lows in the 20’s both nights we were there). Needless to say, a fire was required most of the time, especially after the sun went down and the temperatures dropped. Despite this, we all had a great time. The sun came out during the days and we went hiking a bit. Our friend Mark tried his hand at fishing, and we spent plenty of time just relaxing.

The Fifth Beatle

2009-11-07T14:02:00.001-08:00

Some friends of ours introduced us to a delicious pizza with an unlikely name… “The Fifth Beatle.” The masterminds behind this wonder of the pizza world are the guys up at American Dream Pizza in northeast Portland, on Glisan Ave.

This pizza has an interesting and unexpected mix of toppings that I would never have dreamed of putting together myself… Red Onions, Blue Cheese & Hazelnuts (Oregon is the nation’s largest supplier of hazelnuts). The red onions are sautéed to give the a nice, sweet flavor which contrasts with the pungent flavor of the blue cheese. The hazelnuts mellow out the flavors of the other two ingredients and add a bit of a chew/crunch to the softness of the other items. There is a red sauce on this pizza, but it is a very lightly applied sauce, so the sauce is certainly not the first thing you notice when sampling this pizza. All in all this is one our new favorite pizzas. However, Chris & I are big cheese lovers… not sure if this pizza would be nearly as appealing to someone who didn’t enjoy the strong flavor of the blue cheese on it. Still, if you’re not afraid of intentionally moldy cheeses, I highly recommend this.

That’s the upside… the downside is that American Dream Pizza is about a 30 minute drive from our house – either by freeway or surface streets – doesn’t make much difference. So delivery is definitely out of the question, and our ability to just go pick up one of these delectable pies on the spur of the moment is pretty limited as well. My solution? Make our own version of the Fifth Beatle.

I have made this pie twice now and it’s been really tasty both times. Mine is maybe not exactly the same offering as American Dream, but a yummy substitution nonetheless. I made my own dough, directly from a recipe on Recipezaar (my favorite recipe site) and then I used a jar of premade spaghetti sauce. I blend the sauce in my Vita Mix so that it is smooth and doesn’t have the tomato, pepper, and onion chunks that I might otherwise enjoy if they were in spaghetti. The sauce is applied very lightly to a par-baked crust. I use slightly more than ½ of my “normal” pizza amount. Then the mozzarella goes on. There shouldn’t be a ton of it either. American Dream claims that they apply less cheese to this than to a more traditional pie. Then the red onions are sliced & sautéed, cooled, and put on. I think I used about ½ of an onion per pie and sautéed them to a nice carmel color to bring out the sweetness in the onion. The blue cheese is put on – I used an Oregon Blue. Yum! And finally, the hazelnuts are chopped (not too finely) and put on. I baked it in a 425 oven until the cheese was light brown and bubbly.

As I said, this is not an exact replica of the American Dream pizza, but a close enough approximation when you don’t live within a reasonable distance of the original. For anyone who likes blue cheese, or who likes experimenting with pizza toppings, I highly recommend this pie. As I said, it’s a surprising combination of toppings that create a truly sublime pizza experience!

Green Smoothies... not quite a "lifestyle" yet, but we're progressing!

2009-08-20T20:31:00.000-07:00

So, I've lost count of what day this is on our green smoothie challenge/transition to a lifestyle, but we've been at it for a few weeks now. Chris & I are still imbibing 55-60 oz of green smoothie daily and feeling pretty good for it.
I'm still getting used to the more frequent trips to the grocery store to buy fresh produce and I've never spent as much time in the leafy greens section of the store as I have the last few weeks. We have been learning about how different greens work in smoothies with some surprises along the way...

Spinach: I would have figured that raw spinach would be too bitter for a smoothie, but it's actually really good in it. I use about 5 big handfuls per blender batch.
Collards: aka collard greens. These are really intimidating just looking at them... the leaves are big and leathery and you think that there's no way this would possibly be good in a smoothie, but they are very mild and work well in most smoothies.
Romaine: I always figured that romaine lettuce was mild enough that you could put it in almost any smoothie without a problem... this is simply not the case... romaine has a very distinctive flavor that isn't easily "hid" by the fruits, so unless you like your smoothie to taste like Caesar Salad, I suggest using stronger tasting fruits with your romaine... things like raspberries, blackberries or maybe blueberries.
Kale: Again, like the collards, it looks like an intimidating green to use, but it is quite mild in your smoothie and blends well with most any fruits. Kale comes in many different varieties. The ones available at our local store are green, purple, & Italian.
Chard: Same as collards and kale. It comes in varieties as well. We've been using the red chard (see pic above) mostly because it's readily available in an organic form at the store.

Lately, I've been wondering what the cashiers in the check-out line think of my grocery basket. There are huge bunches of strange greens piled up in my grocery basket along with a ton of fruit. I'd say that on any given trip to the store, my grocery inventory ise comprised of at least 50% fruits and veggies... but hey, isn't that the way it's supposed to be???

Digital Scrapbooking

2009-08-15T10:50:00.001-07:00

I have started digital scrapbooking lately in an effort to a) hone my PhotoShop skills and to b) get some more scrapbook pages done. I am a very slow traditional scrapbooker. I'm not sure why that is. I think I tend to get more obsessed about the way the pages look and making sure they all look creatively done, instead of just making sure the pictures get into an album.

Anyway, the digital scrapbook allows for a few advantages over the traditional method:

You can re-use the digital elements as many times as you want. This saves the hassle of having to purchase multiples of one element just to repeat it on a few different pages.
You can re-work the page as many times as you want - until you get it how you want it. Once your electronic piece of paper is "cut" you're not stuck with it like you are with traditional paper pages.
There are many sites on the web devoted to digital scrapbooking and many of them offering tons of freebies. My favorite site at the moment for freebies is Shabby Princess. She offers a bunch of free kits that have not only the papers but lots of coordinating elements for downloading.

To give you an idea of how dreadfully behind on scrapbooking I am, the above page, which I just did this week is pictures from our wedding... and Chris & I just celebrated our 5th anniversary this month! Agh!

2009-08-04T22:15:00.001-07:00

This cracked me up. Thanks to my aunt for sending this out. Yes, I do know people who take pictures of their breakfast and then post it up on Facebook. I won't name names to protect those involved, but you know who you are...

Scruggs!

2009-08-03T18:39:00.000-07:00

The cats love the dining table. I don't know exactly why, but I think it's just the law of cats that they most enjoy being in those places and situations that they know they're not supposed to be. Couple the love of the dining table with Scruggs' love of hanging her front end off of stuff (I think she likes the blood rushing to her head) and you get the above picture. As much as I wanted to get Scruggs down from the dining table, her look was cracking me up, so she got a reprieve while I snapped the shot.

More on Green Smoothies

2009-08-01T15:28:00.000-07:00

Today's smoothie is much sweeter than normal. Chris requested that we have a "sweeter" one today than normal, so I cut back on the greens a bit and added an extra banana (also, the bananas are going ripe really fast with the heat, so they need to be used up).

Chris came across a video of Sergei Boutenko (Victoria's son) making a smoothie on their website www.rawfamily.com. According to Sergei you should reduce the number of items in your green smoothie and stick to only one variety of green at a time. This will reduce the chance of toxicity (via alkaloids) of any of the leaves to build up over time. He suggests rotating through a series of greens throughout the week. So, following Sergei's advice, here is our recipe for the day:

Recipe for today's smoothie:
- 2 bananas
- 1 large peach
- couple handfuls strawberries
- 1/2 bunch italian kale

Green Smoothies - Day 5

2009-07-31T14:31:00.000-07:00

Today is day 5 of our foray into "green" smoothies. We were turned onto them by some friends of ours at church whose doctor recommended these concoctions after one of them was diagnosed with a heart blockage and went in for an angiogram/angioplasty. They were turned on to a book called Green for Life by Victouria Boutenko who has helped many people turn to a healthier lifestyle starting with green smoothies.

Green smoothies are a fruit smoothie with a kick... they have leafy greens added to them for additional fiber, chlorophyll and nutrients that can only be found in dark green leafy vegetables. They are comprised of approximately a 60/40 mix of fruits and leafy greens and are processed either in a traditional blender, or more ideally a Vita-mix blender - which we just happen to have!

Victoria challenges anyone who thinks they might benefit from better nutrition to try at least 32 oz. of green smoothie every day for for 14 days minimum, and ideally 30 days, to see if they notice any changes. Victoria claims that people have noticed a wide range of changes in their health in just 30 days. Anything from better nutrition & regularity (duh!), to clearer skin, more energy and sleeping better... all the way to extreme claims such as fewer wrinkles and less gray hair. These last couple of claims seem really extreme to me. However, I can't deny the fact that Chris & I definitely weren't getting our RDA of fruits and veggies, so any means of getting more of these into our diets would be a big boost for us... anyway, we decided to embark on this endeavor.

Chris & I are now on day 5 of the green smoothie regimen. And while it's too early on to notice a lot of difference in our lives, I have noticed a few changes for myself personally. First of all, I think I have a lot more energy during the day. I am also getting my digestive system back on track. Also, I have noticed some changes that I didn't really expect; namely reduced cravings for coffee and for sweets. I'm not saying that my desire for these has gone away altogether, but I'm not rummaging around the house looking for something sweet to satisfy me all the time. The amounts we are blending up makes not quite 2 quarts of green smoothie... the 2 - 20 oz. "Snapple" bottles and a 16 oz. glass. I have been drinking the glass of smoothie for breakfast, one of the bottles with my lunch and then the 3rd bottle in the evening as a dessert substitute.

How do they taste? Well, Chris really likes the taste of them. For me, I would say it's a bit more of an acquired taste. They're not bad at all... in fact, some of them are quite tasty, it's just that if you go in expecting a super-sweet straight-from-Jamba-Juice fruit-smoothie taste, that's not what you'll get. I've heard of many people struggling not with the taste, but with the color of them... they aren't exactly appealing to the eye... and when you add blueberries or blackberries they go from the green color you see above to a dubious shade of brown.

Today's smoothie recipe? While not my favorite of the ones I have made this week (the carrot taste was pretty strong initially), it was definitely better after chilling for an hour or so...
- 2 Peaches (organic - with peel)
- 1 Banana (organic - no peel)
- 1 to 1 1/2 C Strawberries (organic - with green tops left on)
- 2 Carrots (organic - with green tops left on)
- 1/2 bunch parsley (organic)
- 1/2 head romaine (organic)

Lately I've been trying to buy more and more organic products, especially as they become more available, but I haven't been really dedicated to it. However, Victoria has some charts in her book that are truly stunning when comparing the amount of nutrients in "commercial" vegetables vs. organic ones. For instance, commercial tomatoes have approx. 4.5 mg of calcium in them whereas organic ones have approx 59.2 mg. That over 13 times the amount of calcium! And this is not the most dramatic difference in the charts she hast listed, based on a study done at Rutgers University. Anyway, this was a real eye opener for me and I will try to buy more organic products just based on this alone.

Victoria and her family are raw-foodies. They eat no cooked or processed foods or any animal-based proteins at all. I can't say that Chris & I will ever end up at that point, but I think we will continue on the green smoothie path for a while longer and see where it leads.

Our trip to Yellowstone

2008-10-15T08:37:00.001-07:00

We just got home from Yellowstone last week. We had a great time there - of course we saw lots of geothermal activity, but we also saw lots of wildlife... I went there as a kid with my family and it's still one of my favorite vacation spots 30 years on...

The Velveteria!

2008-08-23T16:45:00.000-07:00

As many of you may or may not realize, some Portlanders have adopted a motto for the city of "Keep Portland Weird." You see it around town on bumper stickers and such. Well, in an effort to show you that Portland really is weird and has no worries about losing its weird status, let me present the Velveteria...

The Velveteria is a museum devoted to the art of the velvet painting... yes, that totally cheesy class of art once relegated to only the best dives in town has now been elevated to something worthy of a museum... Caren & Carl have spent the last 10 years of their lives collecting these fuzzy paintings; there is now a collection of over 300 in the museum plus, the added feature... the blacklight room!

The Velveteria hosts a variety of themes including clowns, banditos, as they call them "lovely ladies" and their current featured image is the "Unicornicopia". Alas, this image is not on their website. It is too precious to display to the unappreciative masses.

So, the next time anyone is in Portland looking for something to do, check out the Velveteria. It has made a name for itself and has found notariety from the media, including Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations and CBS Sunday Morning, as well as a segment on NPR. These shows would certainly not lead you astray...

I don't think...

The Maryhill Museum

2008-08-03T15:58:00.000-07:00

Chris & I took a trip up the Columbia River Gorge yesterday to the Maryhill museum. It's about a 1:45 minute trip from Portland, about 20 miles east of The Dalles, overlooking the Columbia River, on the Washington side. For those who don't know, the Maryhill was originally a mansion built by successful business man and entrepreneur, Sam Hill for his wife, Mary. However, Sam stopped construction on the house in 1917 and before they ever moved into this house, Sam was convinced to turn the home into a museum at the persuasion of his friend Loie Fuller. Although born in the U.S., Loie was an influential interpretive dancer whose well known friends were among some of the most influential artists in Paris in the early 20th century. She helped to amass the art collection forthe museum, including over 80 sculptures by Auguste Rodin.

Hill also enlisted the help of his friend, Queen Marie of Romania, a Scottish-born noblewoman who married the king of Romania, to assist in building the collection for the Maryhill. Queen Marie dedicated the museum in 1926, almost 10 years after construction was originally stopped on the home, even though it was not yet ready to open to the public at this time. In Queen Marie's personal diary she commented on the house/museum built in the middle of nowhere: "that strange uncouth cement building erected by the just as strange old Samuel Hill. ... I knew when I set out that morning to consecrate that queer freak of a building that no one would understand why; I knew it was empty and in no wise ready to house objects for a museum. I knew there were scoffers about me, even hostilities, but a spirit of understanding was strong in me that day and I managed by my own personality, by my words, by my spirit, to move all the hearts beating there this morning. ... I knew that a dream had been built into this house, a dream beyond the everyday comprehension of the everyday man.

Queen Marie was also an accoplished artist in her own right. She wrote several books, was a talented painter and carved many pieces of furniture that adorned her home. Many of these pieces have been moved to the Maryhill and set up on exhibit there. When she came to dedicate the museum in 1926, she also brought with her $1.5 million in paintings and statuary as well as donating the gown she wore to the coronation of Tsar Nicholas II and Tsaritsa Alexandra.

The museum has some wonderful pieces in its collection, of which only about 20% is on display in the museum. There are also beautiful grounds surrounding the museum. Apparently, Sam Hill was a big advocate of setting up new road systems and using new materials in these roads. To this end he built approximately 10 miles of road on the grounds around the Maryhill. According to some accounts, these were the first paved roads in the state of Washington.

Chris & I had an enjoyable afternoon both in the museum looking at the collections and around the grounds looking at the amazing scenery. One other item of note about the museum, the grounds are the home to many peacocks (I think I counted over a dozen of them) which were added to the museum in 1970. Alas, the peacocks had molted most of their glorious plume of feathers, but they are still a sight to see were just one more bright spot on the day.

Siberian Wooden Houses

2008-08-01T07:40:00.000-07:00

A few years back I found a graphic artist who created not only commercial art for clients, but also some great wallpapers/ backgrounds for your computer. He is a Russian that lives in Irkutsk and has a site called Vladstudio. His wallpapers/ art range from beautiful scenery to whimiscal creatures and I recommend them for anyone who is looking for a change of pace over the standard fare for desktop wallpapers.

A few days ago I was looking around on his normal site and came across a new sub-site that he had started. Apparently a while back he went around Irkutsk with his camera to take pictures of the beautiful old wooden houses around town that are falling into disrepair. These are some truly amazing houses with incredible, detailed woodwork. I have put one of the pictures up on my desktop wallpaper both at work and at home.

Each time I sit down to my desk I find myself staring at the pictures with all the detailed woodwork. My mind ends up drifting; thinking about the people who did this incredible work in a time when precision laser cutting machines weren't available. I reminesce that even if these craftsmen had jigs to aid in this work it would have been and incredible, labor-intensive act of love. Alas, I also end up thinking about how these houses are falling into seeming ruin. No one appears to be stepping up to rescue these houses from their inevitable fate.

My hope and prayer is that soon someone will step forward to save these houses and recognize the amazing gift this city has been given with these pieces of art that a person can actually live in. I invite you to also go look at these photos and ponder the talent of these amazing craftsmen of the past.

http://www.vladstudio.com/siberianwoodenhouses/

Kitty Redecorating Service

2008-06-28T13:33:00.000-07:00

The cats have put aside their cat wrestling (mostly) for a more "grown-up," sophisticated hobby - home redecorating. Our entire house has been receiving the special decorative touches that only this exclusive kitty-provided service can offer. This week, the focus was my office/craft room where the girls decided that their artistic touches were needed. So one night after Chris & I had gone to bed we heard a crash coming from the room across the hall. When Chris went to investigate, he found that the girls had knocked over a rack of 100+ spools of thread, had continued to disperse the spools throughout the room and wreaked some other havoc in the process. Of course, they thought it was an improvement. I wasn't so sure...

My office is not the only area of the house that they have re-decorated of late. They decided they didn't like the window coverings in our bedroom arranged as they were, so they generously offered their services and "fixed" them for us. They also decided that they didn't like a lamp that was in our garage waiting for repair - apparently it didn't match the decor in the rest of the house, so they knocked it over and made it so we don't have to repair it now! How lucky for us! If any of your are in need of the Kitty Redecorating Service, just let me know... I'd love to lend them out to you for a few hours or even days so your home too can receive that special artistic vision that only 10 month old kittens have. But don't forget, these fickle artists only do their best work after you have gone to bed - so don't be too disappointed if they don't get to work right away. Believe me they are thinking about your home and how best to fix it up to make it a true kitty masterpiece once you head off to bed!

My camera is MIA!!!

2008-05-06T08:43:00.000-07:00

I had friends being baptised on April 26 - an exciting time for us. I packed up all my stuff to take to church with me early in the morning and headed out - Chris was to meet me later. About an hour into working at church I realized I had forgotten the camera - so I called Chris to have him get it... about 5 phone calls back and forth and we realized that neither one of us knew where the camera was. It is not in any of it's "normal" places... OK, just have to rely on others to take the Baptism photos and look for the camera when we get home...

We get home that afternoon and I start looking in all the "not normal" places for it... and it's still nowhere to be found. We don't know what has happened to it, but it's definitely MIA. On the upside, this has given me an excuse to buy a new digital camera. I debated buying an digital SLR camera, but ultimately Chris & I decided the convenience of "pocket size" cameras that can go anywhere with us was preferable. So, this week, I took my birthday money and put it toward ordering a new camera... a Panasonic Lumix TZ5. Now if it would just hurry up and get here!

Has it really been over a month?!?

2008-05-02T11:17:00.000-07:00

OK, I admit, it's been a while since I logged in... it seems like normal "life" coupled with everything else that is thrown into the works during Lent (for Orthodox, Easter was very late this year, not occuring until just last Sunday, April 27), my life was just a blur. It seems like everytime I'd think about blogging I'd get distracted with something else and be off like a headless chicken.

Yeah, yeah, I know, it's all just an excuse....

The Three Amigos

2008-03-28T16:14:00.000-07:00

OK, they’re not pretty. In fact, they’re pretty gross(I actually had to give these guys “trims” for this photo – they all are hemorrhaging polyfill stuffing out their heads), but these 3 guys are the kittens’ favorite toys. I had to round them up to take this picture; usually they are scattered all over the house. Their names are “Cow,” “Duck,” and “Devil Cat” (yeah, I know, we’re not the most creative people when it comes to naming our pets’ toys) and were given to the girls by our friends Mark & LeAnn for Christmas. The three amigos are just the perfect size for picking up and carrying around in your mouth if you’re a kitty. Also, since they are soft, a sharp claw can grab onto one pretty easily. They can be tossed up in the air for further kitty self-amusement.

I think Scruggs might like these guys just a bit more than Flatt does. For better or worse, Flatt can make almost anything she come across into a toy… Scruggs is a little less “creative;” she really likes real toys (although milk jug rings and plastic soda bottle caps fall into the official “toy” category too). The funniest part of the girls’ self-amusement is that occasionally you can hear Scruggs urgently meow-ing away in another part of the house and at first we thought she was starving or stuck in a closet or something, but when we’d find her, she is fine but just playing with one of these guys and talking to it. We’ve since learned (for the most part) the sound she makes when she’s talking to her toys so we don’t always have to come running whenever we hear her off in another room.

Introducing Mason Rutherford Boyd

2008-03-20T07:10:00.001-07:00

This is Chris' & my new nephew, Mason Rutherford Boyd. He was born Monday March 17. He came in 10 days ahead of schedule at exactly 20" and 8 lbs. Chris' brother Michael and his wife Karri and the proud new parents. Look at all that hair!!! Both Mom and baby are doing great!

Signs of Spring

2008-03-01T11:32:00.001-08:00

First, let me apologize to my sister-in-law, Heather, who has been bemoaning the snow and the cold in Ohio of late... Here in Oregon, things are a little different.

It's always fun to see the first signs of spring around here.

This past week we had a few gorgeous days of weather - sunny and dry and warm. It has made things bloom out even more than what these pictures show. Today we're back to normal Northwest late winter weather - cold & rainy, but that week of sunshine was sure a welcome break! It gives us hope that real spring isn't too far off.

Cage Fights!!! (aka Thank You NASA)

2008-02-24T16:08:00.000-08:00

Well, those of you who have been reading this blog know that the kittens (aka Flatt & Scruggs) love to wrestle and in fact, were auditioning for CWF (Cat Wrestling Federation) a while back. Well, they have decided after a stint in the CWF that they are ready to move on to something a little more challenging: Cage Fights!

Normally, I would be the last person to endorse cage fights - at least the human variety. I think they are over-testosteronized excuses for barbarity. However, kitty cage fights are a little different as you will see.

Chris & I just purchased a new memory foam mattress topper for our bed (Thank You NASA for that wonderful new space-age polymer that has made our lives more squishy!!!) and this is the box bottom that it came in. This box was sitting in our bedroom while we laid out the topper and of course the girls immediately jumped in it and started wrestling - so Ta Da! A new cat sport was born (I feel the need here to include yet another nod to NASA without whom this new sporting event would have never come to pass).

We have since moved the box into the living room where the box can be both ugly AND unsightly, but the girls can have better access to it. After all, we aim to encourage our kids on whatever path they choose for their lives...

Additcted to Square Dancing?!?

2008-02-23T10:26:00.000-08:00

There was a square-dance last night at church. I hadn't square danced since PE class in elementary school and I'm not sure that Chris had ever square danced. There was a caller and live musicians... and a pot-luck dessert for when you needed that little extra burst of energy to keep going! There was a really good turn-out of people of all ages from a little older to really little. Many of the teens & young adults showed up and even a couple of our priests came. Fr. David, pictured above was one of the organizers of the event. (Fr. David's wife pictured in the white sweater below was, alas, the only priest's wife who came.)The caller did such a good job of explaining the dances and the "calls" associated with the moves. He was also really good at being patient with all the little kids who were dancing in the squares to make sure everyone got the opportunity to do the dances and have fun.

And it was fun. In fact, it was a lot of fun. I think even Chris was genuinely surprised at how much fun he had. He had been somewhat hesitant to go and was doing it primarily because I wanted to go and also because he and a friend of ours had a "pinky pact" that if one went, the other one would agree to go too.

There's already talk of the "next" square dance at church. Yippee and Yee Haw!

2008-02-22T18:42:00.001-08:00

Scruggs has locked on her target... can you guess what comes next???

Yep, you guessed it. It doesn't exactly take a rocket scientist...

Over a week old and still going...

2008-02-22T09:23:00.000-08:00

I received some beautiful roses from my sweet husband last week for Valentine's Day. And my mom had this great idea for making them look good a while longer... cut them much shorter, this gives the roses a fresh drink of water and packs the heads in much tighter. This keeps them from looking so over-bloomed & unruly. Here are the results: Thanks Chris for the beatiful roses! Thanks Mom for the great idea!

Our Matrimonial Icon

2008-02-21T10:06:00.000-08:00

In Orthodoxy, a matrimonial icon is an icon that is painted (we call it "writing") of a husband and wife's patron saints. It does not matter if they lived in the same centuries as they are now outside of time. Chris & I just receieved ours after over a year of waiting. A very talented friend from church wrote it for us. See it on my other blog here.

Croc-ing Up

2008-02-17T18:01:00.000-08:00

Ok, I don't usually mix my Orthodox blog postings with my standard family postings, but this time, I couldn't resist. Back in December, during the Disney trip, my mom and I were on a quest for Disney "Crocs" shoes. You know, the ugly rubbery clog thingys that are soooo comfortable. Well, neither Mom nor I emerged from our DisneyWorld excursion victorious with souvenir Croc's emblazoned with the mouse ears where the holes should be. So my fervor for the super comfy uglies kind of faded a bit.

My mom on the other hand, has continued her Croc quest, trying to decide what style she likes and what color. She called me yesterday to tell me that Costco has them available in most colors and for a very reasonable price. OK, so my Croc quest might be heating up again... we'll see...

In the meantime, I was cruising Orthodox blogs this afternoon and came across this posting by Fr. Michael Reagan who is the priest at St. Barnabas Church down in Southern CA. Fr. Michael writes a great blog called "The Abandoned Mind" that is not only educational, but also interesting and fun to read. Most of the time his blog is focusing on some aspect of Orthodoxy, but I stumbled across this one from last year that didn't... Fr. Michael had me "Croc"-ing up... so to speak. So I thought I would share it.

Croc-ey, mate!
Yeah, so I tagged along with my wife as she went clothes shopping the other day. Generally she will do nearly anything to avoid my company on such excursions, since like most men I utterly fail to grasp why it can take a woman nearly an hour to decide between two virtually identical shirts whose only alleged difference is a color variation so imperceptible to the naked eye it would likely require something as sophisticated as a NASA computer to tell them apart. If she feels rushed by me during her selection process she will invariably pick the wrong shirt, which won’t be discovered until she is wearing in front of her mirror at home with that “I should have gotten the other one” look on her face.

After many years of careful observation I have finally come to the conclusion that shifting back and forth on my feet like a spoiled five-year-old boy and whining, “I gotta go pee!” only annoys her, and thus I have tried to find better ways to amuse myself during her grueling selection process. With precious few possibilities available to me in a woman’s clothing store, this usually boils down to me grabbing some particularly gaudy and ridiculous item of apparel off the rack to try on right there in order to strike a silly pose for her and ask, “Does this make me look fat?” With an appropriately goofy hat or sweater this can often provoke a small chuckle from her. That makes it all worthwhile and I’m good for at least another several minutes as I revel in my own comedy. I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that this stunt has also resulted in my being banned for life from every store in the entire Victoria’s Secret chain. It would appear that people who work in women’s lingerie shops are not as fun-loving as one might otherwise be inclined to imagine.

At any rate, on our most recent shopping adventure, and with no lace-lined, liquid-filled, super push-up brassieres to converse with (Clerk: “Sir, why are you talking to the bra?” Me: “I’m complaining to upper-management. Get it? Upper-management? Har!”) I cast my bored eyes around the store and spotted a small display of Crocs sandals.To the uninitiated, Crocs are a sort of rubbery-resin clog-type sandal that is available in a wide range of colors, none of which you would particularly want to display on your feet. Here is a small sampling of some of the colors they come in:

Feeling fairly certain that donning a pair of these loopy loafers would produce the desired comic effect without requiring yet another call to my bail-bondsman, I slipped on a pair in so-called “Army Green” to model for my better half. The instant my feet found themselves inside these sandals, my mouth involuntarily exclaimed, “Whoa! These things are comfortable!” I’m not kidding; I have never tried on a pair of shoes that felt more heavenly than these. They make your favorite and well-worn bedroom slippers feel like a two-sizes-too-small stiff pair of rental bowling shoes by comparison. Of course Crocs aren’t as attractive as most rental bowling shoes, but hey, you can’t have everything. I left my own shoes behind on the floor and walked around the shop in the Crocs for a bit just to see if my first impression was mistaken. If anything, they felt more comfy the longer I wore them. My poor feet were practically singing for joy. I was in fact so caught up in my bipedal rapture that I failed to notice my wife had walked up to eye the grotesque things on my feet. “Nice shoes,” she observed dryly, “Are you going to get them?” “You actually like these?” I asked in astonishment, stupidly oblivious to her sarcasm. “Well they’re a bit different, but then so are you,” she said, and with that the deal was done. I left the shop $29 poorer, but with tootsies feeling like a million bucks.

I wore those Crocs for two days straight but then had to set them aside to wear something more appropriate for Wednesday night Vespers. My feet were quite unhappy to leave their comfortable new home, and so the next day they carried me back to the shop to buy another pair in “Clergy Black”, or at least that’s what I call this new color. I wonder if I am the only priest to wear a cassock and Crocs to church. This much I know: if word gets out about how gosh-darned comfy these ugly sandals are, I probably won’t be the only priest to wear them for very long.

Get a pair, mate. Croc-ey, you’ll love ‘em!

Chico

2008-02-16T12:50:00.000-08:00

I was looking through a bunch of miscellaneous pictures that I have stored up in a "misc" album on my computer today and ran across this picture.

Many of you probably don't remember or may not have even known us at the time. Chico was the cat that Chris had when I met him. He had rescued Chico who was a foster cat living about a block away, but would spend most of his time hanging out under the porch of the house Chris was living in at the time. He would come over and Chris would feed him when he hung out under the porch, so eventually Chris decided to adopt him and take on his care full time.

Chico was always a very independent and slightly "unbalanced" cat - I'm guessing from living so long on his own without being able to know where his next meal was coming from. Still, once in a while, especially when it was cold out, he would come inside and hang out with us. Most of the time, though, even when he was inside he was an independent cat.

One of the "unbalanced" things he would do is every night when he was inside we would be able to lay in bed and watch him pace from the bathroom to the living room and back, meowing the whole time. Back and forth, back and forth. It was never just a single stroll, but genuine pacing. At first I thought I was imagining things, that a cat wouldn't really pace like this (OK, maybe caged lions & tigers do this, but a cat, that has a whole house to roam through?), but then I saw this behavior on more than one occasion and Chris saw it too... even when I wasn't around... so we know that he was doing this intentionally but for what reason, we could never really figure out.

We lost Chico about 3 1/2 years ago to some kind of ailment in his lungs that he never really recovered from. This is one of the only pictures we have of him. I'm really glad now that Chris took it.

Oregon Fauna

2008-02-03T21:07:00.000-08:00

I had never heard of nutria before moving to the Pacific NW... I'm sure they have them in other regions, but it was something unknown to me previously. Here in Oregon, they're pretty much a rodent pest similar to raccoons. In fact, they are similar to raccoons in many undesirable qualities; I have heard of them taking on cats in a fight... and winning, they can often denude a pond of its stock of fish, and I don't know for a fact, but my guess is that they can also carry many of the same diseases as other rodents.

My reason for writing about them at this time is that for about the last month or so, every time Chris & I come home from work we both see nutria out in the green space down by the creek near hour house. Sometimes its not just one, but sometimes two or three of them all out munching on whatever they can find in the grass. I have never seen them in our greenspace before this year and now we see them every day. I'm not sure what in their local eco-system has changed, but it's not a change I'm especially fond of - I fear for the neighborhood cats.

From a distance a nutria looks similar to a beaver - OK, kinda cute, but then when you get up closer you notice one big difference: Nutria have giant, bald, rat-like tails. Ewww!!! Nutria can get up to 25 lbs - about twice the size of a normal house cat - no wonder they can take them on and win. When I used to live in Texas we used to always talk about rats the size of small dogs... here in Oregon, we actually have them! And see them in our green space every day!

Irving High School

2008-02-02T16:49:00.000-08:00

I spent a little time this afternoon in a nostalgic fog. I went looking for a link in an old email account that I never use and found an email from a high school friend telling about a HS band reunion that was going to take place on Jan. 3. He sent the invite back on 12/31, with only 3 days notice, so even if I had received the notice in time, I would have been hard pressed to go. Anyway, I did see that someone else on the link had pulled a bunch of friends names from the Irving High School alumni pages from Irving High's website, so I went there, registered and then surfed around for a while. I found lots of familiar names in the alumni list and I looked at pictures of the school and all the activities going on there. My old high school has changed some, but there's a lot about it that is still frighteningly familiar.

I don't have as many great memories of this school as I'm sure some people do; I was transplanted there in the middle of my Sophmore year and had to make new friends - which I'm not especially good at, since I'm pretty shy around strangers. Still, I do have some good memories of this school. Being a band geek and hanging out with all my band geek friends, my first date, working long hours on the yearbook, a few excellent teachers and some friendships that have lasted me to this day.

Cat Inventory

2008-01-28T20:34:00.000-08:00

You wouldn’t think with only 3 cats that we would have a tracking problem… that is keeping track of the. It doesn’t seem like that many cats. Still, there are some days when an actual inventory of cats is needed before we can leave the house. If you begin to think about it in terms of total # of legs running through the house, there are 12 cat legs, 4 dog legs and 4 human legs for a grand total of 20 legs treading across our floor at any given time. So, we need to make sure that all cats are present and accounted for and that no one has wandered into a closet where she might be stuck for several hours without food, a litter box, or worse yet, no play mate. The young ones have also recently started a campaign to be let outside and barring the likelihood of someone willingly letting them go out, they have started scheming on how to sneak out of the house whenever we open the door for ourselves or for Elmo… one more reason the cat inventory has become a necessary mainstay at our house. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could put bar codes on our cats and then whenever we needed to we would just scan them to make sure we had accounted for everyone.

Vesper? Check!
Flatt? Check!
Scruggs? Check!

Writer's Block

2008-01-28T12:47:00.000-08:00

Forgive my lack of blogging this month. I've been struggling with writer's block and too much self-censorship. I'm hoping to get back in the swing of things. I've had a few thoughts percolating on the back burner... so look for more from me soon!

Theophany Traditions

2008-01-10T15:33:00.000-08:00

Sunday (Jan 6) was the celebration of Theophany in the Orthodox Church. This is the celebration of Christ’s Baptism and the revelation of the Trinity. It is the 12th and final day of Christmas made famous by the well-known Christmas carol. For Orthodox all over the world it is a feast day even greater than Christmas itself. This day is the day that all of the waters are blessed by priests that the fulfillment of all Creation brought forward by Christ’s baptism can be renewed.

For us at our church there is the blessing of the indoor water on the eve of Theophany – in this celebration water is blessed that can be used to drink or bless other objects. The priests bless all of the church with this Holy Water, including the parishioners. Everyone leaves anywhere from mildly damp to completely wet depending on your level of bravery.

On the day of Theophany itself, the outdoor waters are blessed. Most churches go to their closest body of outdoor water and bless that water as they blessed the indoor water the night before. In many churches after the water has been blessed the celebration culminates in a group of people diving/swimming for a cross that is thrown into the water. For us, this is a rather murky affair as our pond is usually very cold (it’s spring-fed AND it's January) and cloudy due to algae and dirt in the water. Still, Sunday we had a group of people heading into this water to find the cross. “Diving in cold, slimy water for a cross?” you ask. Yes! Although I don’t know the meaning behind the tradition, what I can tell you is that it is a Greek tradition that dates back to about the 5th century. This tradition has spread across all of the Orthodox countries, including such chilly climes as Russia and Serbia.

The most famous cross-diving church in the U.S. is in Tarpon Springs, FL. This was the 102nd year to dive for the cross as part of their Theophany celebration! Theophany in Tarpon Springs is accompanied by a big Greek festival (it’s a Greek Orthodox Church in a heavily Greek community) and a doubling of the community's to 25,000 person population.

The celebration's high point each year in about 50-60 young men diving into the springs to find the cross.

2008-01-01T10:30:00.000-08:00

Crazy Cats!!! (and Dog!)

2007-12-30T17:40:00.000-08:00

We were cracking up this afternoon. Our many thanks to Greg and Melanie for providing today's entertainment. G & M gave the cats a "fishing pole" toy with feathers on the end for Christmas. The cats loved it, in fact, they kind of went berserk - especially Flatt who is the more gonzo of the two kittens anyway. It took about 10 seconds for the girls to realize this was a toy that they were allowed to play with and after that, Flatt took flight. She started jumping to heights we'd never seen her reach before and then, since she had no control over where she'd land, she'd often end up by landing on Scruggs or Elmo.

This frenzy of play by Flatt & Scruggs got Elmo all excited and worked up. He wanted in on the action too. Since he can't jump and reach the feather toy like the kittens (nor was he all that interested in it), he instead located the closest kitten toy he could find (thank you Mark & LeAnn for what you didn't realize was both a cat toy AND a dog toy!) and started bouncing around with it in his mouth. The small black and white item in Elmo's mouth is a "cow" cat toy, meant to be chased around like a stuffed mouse.

Once the girls started to get tired (Flatt actually started panting - something I don't think I've ever seen in a cat) and started to slow down, Elmo was still pretty wound up and wanting to play. He wouldn't leave Flatt alone. Even though he looks like he's pretty scary in this shot, it's really just Elmo in his doggy play-stance; goading Flatt on to more play. Both kittens have learned to play with Elmo and to realize that even though he's still significantly bigger than they are, he's pretty much a pansy who can be pushed around - or ignored depending on their moods.

One of the interesting side effects of playing with the girsl, especially Flatt, is that their pupils get HUGE when they start to play . Chris took this shot and it wasn't until we uploaded it that we saw the amazing effect. The stars in Flatt's eyes are not due to any special modifications on our part... that is how her eyes showed up straight from the camera's flash reflecting in her eyes. Truly amazing and pretty funny to boot. She looks like something straight out of a bad horror/sci-fi movie... attack of the killer kitten zombies!

I really can't convey well in words how funny and crazy all this was when it was happening. I just hope you all enjoy looking at the pictures - we sure had fun taking them.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-28T11:51:00.000-08:00

Christ is Born!

Glorify Him!

As Orthodox Christians, we are in the middle of the 12 days of Christmas that lead to Theophany (Epiphany as it is known by most people) on January 6.

I hope all of you enjoyed a very Merry Christmas. For us, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are always a little chaotic, but mostly joyous and fun.

The kittens had fun this year too. However, their fun was focused mostly on the wrappings and ribbons that came off the packages.

Celebrating Nativity Orthodox-Style

2007-12-24T08:05:00.000-08:00

I posted an article from Beliefnet.com to my other blog about celebrating Christmas with a more Orthodox mindset. If you'd like to read the article, you can check out my Orthodox blog.

2007-12-23T15:53:00.000-08:00

I liked this article written by an Orthodox priest on Belifenet.com - reminding us that Christmas is first and foremost a Christian religious holiday, not a secular one. I think that's a good reminder as I have lately become concerned about how many of my Christian friends only pay lip-service to Nativity as a religious holiday, but don't actually go to church and otherwise remember the birth of our Lord.

Celebrating the Nativity Orthodox-Style
By Father John Mack

"Christ is born! Glorify Him!" These words express the great joy Orthodox Christians experience each year as they celebrate the Nativity of their Lord. The wonder of Christmas is more than our minds can comprehend. And thus, for Christmas to be understood it must be experienced in our hearts. It is in our hearts that we understand, and it is with our hearts that we share the joy of Christ's Incarnation.

In the modern world, Christmas has been reduced to the sensual pleasures of the flesh. Each year, Christmas becomes less and less an event of spiritual substance. The joy of Christmas is now centered on what we eat, what we hang, and what we receive.
How different the spirit of Orthodox Christianity.

St. Gregory the Theologian explains: "This. . . is this what we are celebrating today: the Coming of God to man, that we might go forth, or rather that we might go back to God, that putting off the old man we might put on the New; and that as we have died in Adam so we might live in Christ, being born with Christ. Therefore, let us keep the feast, not after the manner of a pagan festival, but in a godly way.

"And how shall this be? Let us not decorate our porches, nor arrange dances, nor adorn the streets. . . . These are the ways that lead to evil and are the entrances of sin. Let us leave all these things to the pagans. But let us who are worshipers of the Word of God, if we must in some way have luxury, let us seek it in God's Word and in the law and the scriptural stories . . . ." (Oration 38)

This does not mean that the extras associated with Christmas are inappropriate. There is nothing wrong with decorating Christmas trees, hanging Christmas lights and enjoying wonderful Christmas treats.

What is important, however, is that we understand why these activities are associated with Christmas. Orthodox faith is worked out in the fabric of our lives and involves more than our worship in the Temple, extending from there into our homes and other surroundings.
Sadly, in our modern era, many of the connections between Temple and home, between faith and life, have been forgotten. We no longer know why we put lights in our windows. It is no longer obvious to us why we hang ornaments on our trees.

It is this division between "sacred" and "secular" that Orthodox Christians must reject. Satan would like us to leave our worship of the Christ Child in the Temple; he would like us to live disjointed lives. Our struggle must be to bring our worship home with us; it must be to connect every aspect of our lives with the Divine Liturgy and the Holy Altar.
Thankfully, we do not have to figure out how to do this on our own. Our tradition is full of wonderful customs that already do it for us.

So, for example, in the Russian tradition the fasting meal that is served on Christmas Eve is eaten only after the first star appears in the sky. It is a joyous experience to watch the children peering out the windows into the sky looking for that first star. The anticipation of the centuries finds its counterpoint in the eyes and hearts of the children as they wait.

The fasting Christmas Eve dinner is also served on a table adorned with straw. We eat our dinner with the cattle and the lambs, in the cave eagerly awaiting the coming of the Messiah. The sights and the smells take us back in time to that first nativity.

Many of the more familiar Western traditions also come to us out of the bosom of the Church. The lights that we put in our windows are signs of hospitality for the Christ child. There is room in our homes and our hearts, we say to a watching world, for Christ to be born. The ornaments remind us of the fruits of the Spirit that Christ's incarnation has brought to us. The tree itself, with its evergreen needles, is a testimony to Christ, the life of the world.

Of course, these things get out of hand. Instead of supporting our spiritual celebration, they can divert our attention. Do we really need to put lights everywhere? Does our tree have to be perfectly adorned? Should we spend less on the "extras" so that we might give more to those who are in need? These questions are very much a part of our Christmas celebrations.
Even the tradition of gift-giving has to be considered. Do our children really need to be given things they don't need? Would they not experience more of the Christmas joy if they were taught to give more and receive less? What is important is that everything surrounding Christmas be judged by the spiritual joy it gives us and our loved ones.

It can and should be fun and enjoyable, but that which is lesser must always serve the greater. Let us keep the Feast, not in the way of the pagans, but in a godly way.

The downside of travel

2007-12-17T15:34:00.000-08:00

OK, So what I failed to mention in my previous blogs on Disneyworld is that I came down with the flu on the flight home. It was a miserable trip home, I ached the whole way and was naseous. Unfortunatley (for me), it wasn't until we were only about 15 minutes from landing in Portland that I actually threw up. The good ol' barf bag really came in handy! Thanks to my dad who had one in his seat back... mine was missing. YIKES! Actually, I wish I had done that much earlier in the journey, I felt much better afterward.

However, that wasn't the end of my illness. I spent the next several days battling the bug. Even after most of the symptoms were over, I was still so exhausted; I assume this was mostly from not being able to eat hardly anything over the course of about 2-3 days.

On the bright side, I gave all those people sitting around me on the plane something to talk about with their friends and co-workers the next day! I aim to entertain!

Pictures from Orlando

2007-12-16T16:50:00.000-08:00

Here are the pictures from the trip to Disney World. My thanks to Heather for many of these!

Back from Orlando

2007-12-16T15:23:00.000-08:00

Well, we're home from Disney World. It was 5 days of fun and complete over-stimulation. It was a great trip with my parents, my brother, sister-in-law, niece, and nephew. It was great seeing my brother and his family as we hadn't seen them in a couple of years. Walt Disney World (WDW) is like nothing I've ever seen before. It's HUGE. There are 4 traditional amusement parks, 2 water parks, plus "Downtown Disney." The kid in me was tickled by all the rides, the colors, the "glitz" of the whole place. The grown up side of me was awed by the smoothness with which the entire "World," as they call it, operates and the attention to minute detail everywhere you look... this goes even down all the way to the individual rooms. One evening when coming back to the hotel after a long day of playing in the parks, my niece came home to see that the housekeepers had been looking after her "babies" making sure they had a nice place to stay along with everyone else.

Another thing I was amazed by is the amount of time we spent in the parks. Each day we were in the parks anywhere from 10 to 14 hours. More often than not, we would close the parks down each night and be on one of the last buses back to the hotel at night. At the end of every day, the kids would fall asleep on the way back to the hotel and we would all have horribly swollen and aching feet, but the next day we'd all happily get up and do it all over again. It was great fun to be a kid and ride all the rides. WDW has some pretty spectacular rides, again with meticulous attention to detail - even the lines you wait in to get up to the ride are filled with all kinds of interesting features that pertain to the ride you're about to get on. It makes even standing in lines more bearable.
It was great to be able to go to Florida and enjoy the balmy weather (in the 80's every day) in December. It was also great to be able to spend time with my family. OK, so riding all the rides and seeing all the sights wasn't too bad either.

Flooding in the Pacific NW

2007-12-05T22:16:00.000-08:00

As many of you may have heard and some of you even experienced, we had a major storm up here this week that pounded much of Oregon and Washington. In fact, it closed down I-5 which is the major north-south thoroughfare that goes all the way down into southern California. The pictures were taken by one of Chris' customers up in Centralia, which is right where the flooding on I-5 occurred. They don't think that I-5 will be open to traffic again until sometime late tomorrow or Friday. I heard this morning that they are calculating the financial impact (due to trucks not able to deliver their loads) at around $4MM per day. I've lived here for 18 years now and I can't remember anything quite like this. I am amazed at the power of the water and it's ability to push the concrete lane dividers around like they were made of plastic.

Sophia

2007-12-04T11:47:00.000-08:00

This is Elmo's girlfriend Sophia. She belongs to our friends Greg and Melanie. Sophia is another great corgi. Whenever she comes over to our house, she is always sure to make herself at home as well as put Elmo in his place... poor Elmo... always at the bottom of every hierarchy he's a part of. Still, Elmo likes Sophia and he gets all spunked up whenever she comes over. Alas, she hasn't been over in quite a while as we all lead such busy lives. Seems none of us human parents consult the "kids" when we filling up our schedules... they would definitely have different priorities. Sometimes I wonder if we should take our cues from our dogs... we'd probably live healthier, stress-free lives.

Running Man

2007-11-29T18:29:00.001-08:00

I suppose it's not really funny, after all it is a very serious natural disaster, but for some reason Chris and I find humor in these signs. They are posted fairly frequently along the Oregon coast. It shows a guy actually trying to outrun a tsunami... OK, maybe the signs wouldn't be quite so humorous if the idea wasn't so ridiculous. Me, when I hear that tsunami warning siren, I'm jumping in my car and driving to higher ground. Anyway, we've nicknamed the guy on the sign "running man."

You know you're Orthodox in the Pacific Northwest When...

2007-11-26T20:24:00.000-08:00

See the original article on "The Onion Dome" website and my additions to their list - on my Orthodox blog for today.

Scruggs - the "Animal Planet" aficionado

2007-11-25T16:20:00.000-08:00

I think the picture speaks for itself... forgive my (finger?) in the frame... not one of my finer photographic moments.

Thanksgiving!

2007-11-23T15:45:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was yesterday. As usual we had a great time over at Linda's (Chris' mom) hanging out with family and eating way too much. Mom and Dad came up as they have for the last few years. We love having them up as part of the festivities - and Mom's contribution is always Macaroni & Cheese - yum!

As usual, Jacob & Madeline stole the show. Jacob has lost his first tooth, which you can't really see in this picture (it's on the lower row) and he's not sure where it is... it's been lost. I don't think we ever had that problem as kids... not when there was cash involved!

We just met Bose(Please forgive me if I've spelled it wrong), Lea's significant other. Lea and Bose just moved to Seattle from Boston. Bose has taken a job working for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation - very cool. Alas, Bose is really used to the East Coast and is still adapting to the West Coast way of life. I really hope that he and Lea will adjust. We love having them back on this end of the country where we hope to be able to see them more often.

My journey to Orthodoxy

2007-11-22T20:26:00.001-08:00

I've started another blog... this one is about the Eastern Orthodox Church and my life within The Church. There's not too much there yet, but I hope to be adding more in the days to come, feel free to check it out here. This blog will continue to focus on on the more general part of Chris' and my lives. I will try to provide links to the other site from time to time in this blog, plus I have put a link in my links section to the left for those of you who feel like jumping over to the other blog from time to time.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-22T07:53:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends and family. I am grateful for each one of you. May God bless your day!

2007-11-19T12:42:00.000-08:00

I went to church Saturday to do my weekly altar flowers and the place was just buzzing with activity… I was there not only to do flowers but to also iron some vestments as we were supposed to change colors to holiday red on Thursday, but since I was sick, it didn't get done on time. There were also a bunch of women, men, & children making fleece hats and scarves for the homeless in the fellowship hall, (they started around 10am and were still going strong when I left at 1pm). Fr. Matthew was up in the church with another parishoner working on an extension so that the choir can stand up front in the church. Even with all of this, the hospitality committee was having a meeting in the kitchen planning the events/activities that will take place through Christmas & the new year. It is such a great church community and I feel like we all genuinely care for one another. So many people take such an active role in supporting our church and making it feel like home.

Loving Husband

2007-11-19T12:39:00.000-08:00

This cracked me up. Thanks to my friend Paula from church...

Progress...

2007-11-17T15:03:00.000-08:00

As you can see from this picture, Elmo has adapted quite well to having the kittens around... I was sick at home with a cold several days this week, so one afternoon Elmo and Scruggs decided to hang out on the couch and nap with me.

They are all still working out how to play together as Elmo's idea of play is a little rough for the kittens and he's not sure what to think of the fact that they like to play with his Floaty and his Rope. The girls, on the other hand, like to sneak up on him and bat at his hind quaters... to little effect. He has so much fur on his flanks that he rarely feels any their invitations to play.

Can you spot the cat in this picture?

2007-11-17T14:56:00.001-08:00

One of Flatt & Scruggs new favorite pasttimes is playing with the plastic "grass" that we have in our front entryway. However, Flatt has decided that the best way to really make sure to whip this grass into submission is to actually crawl into the middle of the plant and attack it on all sides from one central location. This plant, being plastic, can withstand a bit of a beating. Unfortunately, all other plants have had to be removed form the reach of kittens for their sake (houseplants are usually poisonous to cats), not to mention the sake of my plants.. which wouldn't fare nearly as well were Flatt to attack them from a central location inside the pot.

CWF (Cat Wrestling Federation)

2007-11-10T18:00:00.000-08:00

I've never had two kittens at a time before. Let me tell you it's a lot of fun. Not only do they entertain themselves, but they also entertain us in the meantime. Their latest activity is working on their auditons for the CWF. Here you see them practicing moves such as the dreaded head-lock and the required psyching out of one's oppontent.

One big happy (?) family

2007-11-09T18:52:00.000-08:00

“The girls” are finally ready to start exploring the house. They really want out of our bedroom and have been demonstrating this desire by meowing very loudly and by darting for the door every time it’s opened. So, last night was their first adventure out in to the big, wild, woolly, world that is our house. They loved going into all the rooms and sniffing everywhere… I’m sure that there is Elmo smell and Vesper smell on almost everything in the house, so they really had to check stuff out. As far as they are concerned, everything went really well; they got to see new sights and visit new places. They arched their little backs a bit when they first encountered Elmo and Vesper, but then they pretty much moved on and began exploring without too much concern. As far as Elmo and Vesper were concerned, their perspective was a little different…

Vesper: OK, this was the reaction we saw coming. Vesper was not too excited about the new kids being in her “domain.” She growled and hissed and them, but fortunately, it didn’t go any further than that. Flatt & Scruggs would have liked to been friends with her, but when they saw that wasn’t going to happen, they backed off and pretty much left her alone. My guess is that Vesper and F&S won’t ever be great friends, but as long as they can deal with each other living in the same house, that’s good enough for me. Vesper has never been one to be too excited about sharing her space with others; feline, canine, or other. To her way of thinking, it should just be her and her people – everyone else can go jump in a lake.

Elmo: Now this really surprised me. Elmo is actually afraid of these little balls of fuzzy chaos. He had wanted to meet them so badly for days and now that he has, he’s not sure what to think of them. He was in the same room with them for a bit last night and wouldn’t even look at them. He avoided eye contact altogether and basically wanted nothing to do with them. Both Chris & I were caught off guard by this reaction. We really hope that with some time and work he will get over this initial reaction. He wasn’t like this when Vesper came into the house, but then, Vesper was a full-grown cat, and Elmo has had cats around his whole life. The kittens are a new experience for him.

Treadmill Woes

2007-11-09T18:49:00.000-08:00

OK, anyone who knows me knows I’m not the world’s biggest health or fitness enthusiast. However I must admit to having an on-again/off-again love affair with my treadmill. Right now I’m back in the on-again mode with this device that simultaneously imparts both torture and cardio-vascular fitness. I have tried other pieces of equipment over the years, but I keep coming back to my treadmill; I guess it’s because I likethe option of being able to walk or run, plus if I raise the incline, you can actually work some muscle groups while doing your cardio (‘cause I’m so interested in working those muscle groups!). Anyway, the long and short of it is, I’ve had this treadmill for close to 10 years now and it has served me well, but as I was finishing up my walk last night, I noticed that my belt is starting to fray where it is joined together… this can’t be good.

I have an elliptical trainer which I also use regularly, but I still just don’t like it as much as my ol’ reliable treadmill. I know that it is probably possible to get a replacement belt for this machine, but I’m guessing that the expense of the belt plus the installation would get me a good ways towards the purchase of a new machine. This isn’t exactly a purchase I had in mind to make right now, but I guess when you consider the health benefits, it’s worth it. I’m off to check out the Craigslist offerings… maybe I can find someone who doesn’t appreciate the irony of the love-hate relationship you develop with the thing over the years and the fact that if it were gone, they might actually miss it.

The New Kids on the Block

2007-11-06T21:17:00.000-08:00

Well, we have some additions to our little fuzzy family. Last night I picked up our two orphans from the shelter. We blame my aunt & uncle who we recently visited in Nebraska for this addition. They are a 5-cat household!?! Chris & I loved being in their house with all the cats wandering around, so we decided that we too could ornament our house with more cats! We found these 2 sisters about 2 ½ weeks ago through the Cat Adoption Team (CAT) here in the Portland Area, visited with them in their foster environment and went through with a pre-adoption as they were not yet ready to be released. CAT will not release their cats unless they have been spayed or neutered. Come to find out, kittens can be spayed as soon as they reach 2 ¼ pounds… which is around 8-10 weeks. This is a lot younger than (I think) they ever used to advocate doing it, but I’m sure glad that that is over & done. One less thing to worry about.

Ever since we knew we were getting “the girls” we have been really hesitant to come up with names for them as we didn’t know if any names we picked out ahead would suit their personalities. But on the way home yesterday (about a 30 minute drive), the girls started in with a “duet” of baby squeaks and mews. From that point on, I knew that the “Dueling Catjo’s” had their names… Flatt & Scruggs. My apologies to Lester & Earl who are probably spinning in their graves about now… we're not positive yet, but my guess is these names will stick.

The girls are sequestered away from their other fury siblings in our bedroom at the moment. We are trying to acclimate them to the house slowly and we’re not sure how the first intoductions are going to go. Elmo is dying to meet them. Every time we come out of the bedroom, he’s at the door trying to peek in to see them. Vesper on the other hand has either not noticed the strange new sounds and smells coming from our bedroom or she is feigning indifference. Either way, were pretty certain that the indifference may escalate in to something more akin to loathing when she actually spies her new sisters. She will not like the idea of having to share her royal acoutrements (she is the Queen after all) with others… she has a tendency to “not play nice in the sandbox.” Yes, pun intended.

Elmo at the Beach

2007-11-04T08:36:00.000-08:00

Elmo loves the beach. He loves being able to play with his “floaty” on the beach. His floaty is a floating Kong toy with a yellow nylon rope attached to it. However, this one has long-since lost its floaty-ness. It’s more like a "sinky" at this point, but Elmo still loves it and loves to chase it until his little dog legs about collapse under him. He’s almost 13 years old, but when he gets out to the beach he will play like a dog 10 years younger. Then he has to be carried up the 3 long flights of stairs that are our beach access. After this he is usually stiff and achy for the next couple of days and will barely go outside to pee. This year we, as the dog parents, got a little smarter and didn’t let Elmo run himself into the ground. We paced him a little better and he was actually able to climb the stairs himself on the way back to the house – a good thing since carrying a squirming 45-pound dog up any stairs is a real struggle.

How Cannon Beach got its name

2007-11-04T08:07:00.000-08:00

Cannon Beach, Oregon
The story goes that in 1846 a US Naval schooner foundered and sunk on its attempt to cross the Columbia Bar near Astoria. When the ship broke up, a part of it carrying 3 cannons drifted south and washed ashore near what is now Cannon Beach. One of the cannons was retrieved from the wreckage and carried ashore by a midshipman from the schooner with the help of 3 Tillamook Indians, the local tribe resident on this part of the beach. The midshipman and the Indians pulled the cannon onto a creek bed for safekeeping. They named the creek Shark Creek and the location “Cannon Beach”. However, due to shifting tides and blowing sands, the cannon was buried in the creek bed and eventually forgotten. It was found many years later by a mailman making his rounds on horseback. The cannon was then pulled out of the bank of the creek and put on display in town. Eventually the cannon was moved from it’s original display location and exhibited on highway 101, the Pacifici Coast Highway, which runs past town. In 1989, the cannon was moved to its final resting place, in the Astoria Heritage Museum. The above picture is a replica of the cannon which is still displayed on highway 101, just outside Cannon Beach.

Our Trip to the Beach: Part 1

2007-11-03T15:06:00.000-07:00

Chris and I have spent the past week at the beach. Chris’ mom has a beach house that we love to borrow at least a couple times a year - usually once during the fall. One of my co-workers looked at me strangely when he found out we were going to the beach in the rainy season… isn’t that an oxymoron? Not for us, we love to come out here just to escape. Usually the rainier the better – it gives us an excuse to hide out in the house, light a fire, and read. OK, I admit, we do like getting out on the beach while we’re here, but for Oregonians that can be done in the sun or the rain.

This year has been sunny and really nice. Although for most people this is probably a stroke of luck, for us it makes it much harder to just sit in the house and read – and still have a clear conscience. It has been warm enough that having a fire has been difficult. The first night we tried, we ended up opening up the door and a window just to cool off. That night we ended up sleeping with the ceiling fan on high. The next couple of nights we figured out that if we wanted a fire, we would have to light just one log (whoever invented the “presto” log was a genius) and then not add any more but just let the one burn out. That seemed to work pretty well.

So Here Goes...

2007-11-03T15:00:00.000-07:00

OK, so this is my stab at my own blog site. Thanks to my sister-in-law Heather for the inspiration. I love reading her blog to see what she, my brother and their kids have been up to. It’s a great way for me to peek in on their lives and see what’s going on. So, to that end, I thought I would post up my own offering of what Chris & I (and some of the rest of our family) are doing in our daily lives.