violetismycolor

happy halloween...

I remember the good-old-days, when my children were young and loved Halloween.  I'm not saying that they don't still enjoy it, but it's different now. 

I used to make them elaborate costumes that took me a month or more to sew.  We had a dinosaur, a bat, a mermaid, a dalmatian, Batman, Raphael (a teenage mutant ninja turtle), Superman, an ice skater, a harem girl, and more.  John was usually the one that went out with them and wandered the neighborhood, while I stayed home and doled out candy. 

Now that we are nearly empty-nesters, it's so different.  Adam and Bonnie are far away and don't really celebrate the holiday anymore, though Adam said that he had a trick-or-treater when I called him earlier.  Ross has invited a few of his friends to come over and they are upstairs playing computer games.  They are too busy to even make the effort to go out.  They just grabbed some candy out of our stash, before they headed upstairs. 

I sort of miss the hoo-ha that we used to have around here.

illustration friday...broken

***click on the illustration to see it a little larger***

I made record time today, with a post of IF on Saturday! I spent the afternoon working on this and am mostly pleased with it. My little witch has broken her pumpkin and boy, is she mad! I am in the Halloween mood and wanted to get this done in time for the big day.

blogger buddy...

I had such a great time yesterday with Stephanie from Creaturebug.  We met for coffee first, then headed over to my house.  She brought along her beautiful daughter, Sydney.  We spent so much time just talking.  Steph is the sweetest, nicest person you could hope to meet. I felt like I had known her for years.   Sydney was absolutely perfectly well-behaved, amusing herself and not fussing at all.  And she has the most gorgeous blue eyes.  My online friends are very dear to me.  Maybe I'll meet more of you, someday...

Steph also tagged me with this prompt:

"Name five foods, dishes or otherwise, that were a part of your childhood, and that you sometimes miss when nostalgia gets to you..."

Mmmmm...I'll try....

1. boterkoek:  Dutch buttercookie.  My parents are Dutch and my mom cooked all sorts of yummy Dutch goodies.  Boterkoek is simply a mixture of almost equal parts butter, flour, and sugar, with a pinch of salt.  Simple, delicious, fattening. 
2. mocha cake:  We had a Dutch bakery truck that came to our house from the Artesia Bakery.  The driver would open up the back doors and the scents of fabulous Dutch treats poured out.  One of the things they would deliver were cakes that my mom would order for our 'Sunday treat'.  After church every Sunday morning, my mom would serve tea and cake.  All the Artesia Bakery's cakes were delicious but my favorite was the Mocha Cake.  I guess that's where I get my addiction to coffee with sugar and cream.
3. brussels sprouts:  Weird as this sounds, my mom made all sorts of vegetables including cabbage, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts.  The Dutch love to put nutmeg on vegetables and that's how my mom would serve them, with butter and nutmeg.  I just loved them.  My husband hates them and so do both of my boys.  At least Bonnie will eat them with me.  But I almost never make them because of all the crabby comments that come from John.  I do miss them, though.
4. meatball soup:  My mom made delicious soup with noodles, vegetables, and little meatballs (with nutmeg seasoning, of course).  We would season it with Maggi (which you can still buy in local grocery stores).  I make this, myself, and it always reminds me of home.
5. gravy:  We had meat and potatoes almost every night.  Not surprising, given we lived on a dairy farm and we had lockers full of meat from our cows.  My mom always made fabulous gravy that I slathered all over my potatoes.  I almost never make gravy.  We don't have beef often and I try to stay away from potatoes (too fattening).  But it was sure good!

Done.  Not too exciting but true.  I wonder what my kids would say, if asked the same thing.  Maybe I'll ask...

illustration friday...remote...

***click on picture for a closer view***

When I think remote, I think of how far away my two oldest kids are.  Here I am in Oregon while Bonnie is in college in upstate NY and Adam is in college in Scotland.  Now, that's remote from me!  I am so glad that they are finding happy and fulfilling lives where they are (well, if you don't count Adam being hit by a truck), but I do miss them so much.

party down...

John and I went to an 'event' dinner last night, called LIGHT A FIRE - A Celebration of Giving.

Here's how it was billed on the Portland Monthly (magazine) website:

Portland Monthly and the Oregon Community Foundation present an evening of food, fun and philanthropy to honor Portland’s not-for-profit community, as well as exceptional individuals from the business and political sectors who have demonstrated an tireless commitment to helping others.

It was inspiring...a great way to learn about so many organizations that make a difference here in Portland. AND, we sat at a very fun table, filled with interesting and friendly people (some of whom I knew and some I didn't).

One of the hosts was the publisher of the magazine. Normal. The interesting, though odd, thing was that the other host was a drag queen. At first I thought that there must be some special reason for this and I asked John about it, but he just shrugged. I surmise that maybe this is just a 'Portland' thing...a little bit out there, a little bit extreme.

It was a little wacky in other ways.

The first thing we did was toast all the 6000 area non-profits in the state with a cup of cold Golden Squash Soup. I used a spoon but apparently wasn't meant to. The drag-queen host/hostess pointed to a man near the stage and teased him for doing the same thing. We were meant to drink it, I guess.

The main course was couple of short sticks of teryiaki chicken, some zucchini, and pain-fried noodles. The centerpieces were beautiful little cakes, which we got to slice up and serve to ourselves, at the end of the meal. I was our table's official slicer but it's hard to slice a cake neatly when it is slightly raised on a platform and 3 feet in front of you. So, the slices were a little wanky.

There was beautiful music by a gospel choir and an opera singer, too. Overall, it was not one of those stuffy, you-always-get-served-the-same-thing kind of dinners. It was weird and wonderful. And, I brought home a huge slice of cake for Ross, using my program as a plate. I was inspired to think outside the box by the definitely outside-the-box event.

a bonnie weekend...

Bonnie and I had a great weekend, though the weather turned schizophrenic on us. We shopped, ate, drank coffee, went hiking (at a very soggy Watkins Glen State Park), saw a movie (Serenity), had massages, and just had a grand time. She was a little stressed at the beginning of the weekend, but by the end her cares seemed to have melted away.  They'll probably be back, but it's always nice to have a little escape.

I got to see our friend, CJ, who goes to Syracuse University on my first night out.  He's a friend of Adam's who is practically a member of our family.  We had dinner and just caught up on all sorts of things.

The good news was that the travel went smoothly.  When you're traveling on a bankrupt airline, things can always go wrong but they didn't this time.  So, yeah for uncomplicated air travel.  It doesn't happen often enough.

My iPod seems to have disappeared into the ether.  No word on where it is, why they haven't sent the promised new unit, etc....SO...I called again this morning....More time spent on hold, etc.  BUT...now they are sending me a new 30-gig VIDEO iPod.  It just gets better and better.  Can't wait till it finally comes.  They said they would ship it in about a week.  Apparently, demand has been high for these new units and so, it will take a few more days.  Go, Apple!

illustration friday...cold...

***click on illo to get a closer view** 

    

No, I couldn't leave and not submit something for Illustration Friday.  Cold...penguin...okay, not so original but oh, so cute!

I am hoping that it won't be cold when I go to visit Bonnie this weekend.  We are hoping to go hiking in Watkins Glen.  We are hoping to sit in little cafes, maybe even outside, and drink hot cocoa and gab.  We are hoping for gorgeous fall color and warmish air to surround us and be the perfect New England fall days that I just know are possible.  (Fingers crossed...)

new banner...scorpio...

Scorpio...that's me!  It even looks a little like I did when I was young. My mom used to dress me in those little sunsuits, like the little girl in the banner is wearing. Mom would also tie my hair up in rags overnight, so my hair would be all curly like that. My birthday is November 8th...coming right up.  I am putting it up a couple of days early but I really didn't like the last one and I simply wanted it changed.  And, of course, since I am a Scorpio, I was anxious to put this one up.

As to the things that it says that a Scorpio is?  I can be all of those things.  I try not to be the ones that are negative, but I definitely see those elements in my personality.

I am hurrying to get my house in order and get other chores done so that I can go visit Bonnie on Thursday, with a clear conscience.  I am really moving through the to-do list at a pretty good clip, so it should be all right. 

coffee girls beach weekend...

Friday, I headed out to Gearheart (Oregon) for our almost-annual Coffee Girls Beach Weekend.  I got a bit of a late start because Ross had a doctor's appointment...an physical.  My friend, Evelyn, and I drove together and had a good (i.e. not really rainy) drive out.  It only takes about an hour and a half to get there, and with the fall colors turning, it was pretty pleasant. 

We all brought an hors d'oevre to share and the gals who got there earlier (Irene, Julie, and Heidi) had stopped at our favorite local fish shop and picked up some smoked salmon and smoked oysters, so we had a veritable feast for dinner.  That and some nice wine...we just sat around and did what we do best together, talked.  I had picked up a few magazines that I thought might be fun...InStyle, People, Real Simple, and Cosmo.  OMG...that Cosmo!  Okay, so it has been a LONG time since I have read Cosmo, but it has gotten downright filthy!  I don't think there was one single article that was not about sex, and in the most graphic terms available.  Okay, so I am getting old and all, but OMG!  It did make us giggle, though...and then there was the running joke about the new 'position' they were talking about...something called the '77'...

Saturday, we headed to Cannon Beach for our coffee drinking, shopping, and eating.  There are some great shops there and I bought a couple of things that were pretty and inexpensive for Christmas gifts.  I just had to  buy some Salt Water Toffee for Ross and then didn't remember till I got home that Ross can't eat it now because of his braces.

The weather kept going back and forth between sun-breaking-out-from-behind-the-clouds to rainy.  It was warm, though; about 69 degrees.  We were either wearing or carrying around our raincoats.  For dinner, we had more of our super dinner from the night before, wine, and conversation.  I think we sat around the dinner table for 4 hours!

This morning, Sunday morning, we got up and went into Seaside to the Pig 'n Pancake for breakfast, then a long walk on the beach, more shopping, and then back to the condo to pack up and head home.  Very relaxing, very fun! Next weekend, I go to visit Bonnie at college...

illustration friday...lost...

***click on pic for a better look***

I was going to do an illo about a missing sock, a suggestion made by my husband.  But after Adam got his teeth knocked out in his accident on Monday, it made me think of a pumpkin with 'lost' teeth.  This pumpkin surely looks better than Adam, though.  He told me yesterday that he looks like a Gorgon.

 

Adam update: 

He is doing as well as can be expected when a person on a bike makes contact with something much larger and motor-driven.  He says that when he fell, he got gravel in his mouth and it cut up his inside upper lip pretty badly and makes it even less pleasant to eat.  He has a pretty badly scraped face and it's both scabbing and bruising.  His arm is about twice its' normal size and he can't really hold a pen and write yet.  He's hoping to go back to class soon. 

He's also having some difficulty getting prompt dental care.  He has an appointment for Oct. 31 but is hoping to find someone who can see him sooner. 

He's made a police report and has given the names of the witnesses so the police can interview them.   But he doesn't feel very confident that the driver will be caught. 

He's handling it all very well; very maturely and I'm very proud of him.  Let's hope that he feels alot better, and soon.

accident...

So, how would you like to open an e-mail from your child that said:

Hi,
OK so this is going to be a shortish email since I'm having to type
one handed.  Earlier today I was riding my bike and was hit by a
trailer of a tractor.  Don't worry, I'm alive but there were some
medical problems.  To wit:  My nose MAY be broken, I'm missing one
tooth and have severely chipped two others, and might have broken an
elbow and/or wrist...I just got back from various hospitals and am a
little shaken but other than the above ok...they did a little for my
teeth earlier (pulled remainder of one out and nerves of some i
think), but I need to go find the dentist and get my xrays looked at
tomorrow...so yeah, that's me =/

           -- Adam

That's what we got this morning from Adam.  I called him and he sounded okay.  He is taking it all very well...he just won't go to class for a few days, he's got some dentist appointments to make, he will walk to class for awhile, his bike was okay, etc.  Maybe it was just the painkillers talking...

The tooth he lost was one of his front teeth, and the two next to it were badly chipped.  He's not allowed to eat solid food for 2 weeks and the food can't be hot or cold, just room temperature.  My gosh, the kid is skinny as it is; he'll be a wraith by the end of two weeks!

But he's OKAY...nothing damaged that can't be fixed; no lifelong pain to bear; only a short-term break from his classes.  All in all, he was very lucky.  We feel lucky, too.

The thing that really ticks me off is that the guy who hit him didn't even stop.  A taxi that was right behind him stopped and took him to the hospital.  A girl (who he doesn't even know) who lives in his apartment building saw the accident and picked up his bike (that was left behind) and took it up to his apartment and left it for him.  I expect him to file a police report and I hope they catch the jerk that did this. 

But, he's okay.

iPod love...

I have an iPod that my husband gave me the Christmas of 2003.  It was something that I really wanted and I use it nearly every day.  Trouble is, it keeps breaking. 

In March 2004, only 3 months later, it had some problems and I had to send it in for repair.  Right after that, they started offering extended warrenties (another year) and I bought one.  Good thing, too. 

In September 2004, it had more hard drive problems and when I sent it in for work, they replaced it.  In Feb 2005, that one had hard drive problems and when I sent it in, again it was replaced with another.  Okay, so now I am on iPod #3 and my warrenty expires in December this year.  Guess what?  Correct, it's broken again.

When I called their Service Dept today to get it into repair again, I had to talk to 3 different levels of technician and was put on hold over and over again.  I told them all the things that were wrong with it, but also kept expressing my concern that my iPod had been totally replaced several times and machine #3 was now broken.  I said that I had a concern that if I got another one like the one I had, it would break within 6 months, it would be out of warrenty and I would be stuck.  It took an hour in total.  But the 'product specialist', who I spoke with last, finally said that he was going to replace the unit with a brand-new 20 Gig Color iPod...the new model, not a replacement of the old B&W 10 Gig model I had.  Yay! 

This one will have a regular warrenty of one year, plus I can invest in a new extended warrenty, if I wanted to.  I am so glad that they are standing behind their product and that I will get a nifty new model.

thinking...

Sometimes, when the Illustration Friday prompt is announced, I just sit there, stupified...trying to think of something that will be:

1. interesting
2. close to my ability level (in drawing and Illustrator skills)
3. resonating with me
4. pretty

This week's prompt is lost.  Usually, an image just springs to mind but this one is in the stupifying catagory.  I thought of Hansel and Gretel, but there is no personal connection...it wasn't one of my favorite stories, for instance.  I thought of the Air Supply song...Lost in Love...and I like the idea of the picture I could make but the song is sort of hokey.  I thought of all the things that I have lost and never been able to find, but I can't really figure out a way to put that thought into something visual.  So, still thinking...

John is gone for the weekend at a Democratic Strategy Conference.  A whole weekend of politics...I just know he's in hog heaven.  I told Ross that it would be as much fun for him as my Cousin's Weekend was for me.  The weather here is gray and misty, and I'm hoping that he's having better weather in Bend.  Isn't it supposed to be sunny and warm there all the time, like California?  I have absolutely nothing to do this weekend.  So, I've decided to go to the gym, do some winter cleanup in the garden, have dinner with my mother-in-law, and do some reading (I'm starting The Devil in White City by Erik Larson).  It's a nice mix of active-girl and couch-potato. 

Illustration Friday...float...

*click on pic for a larger view*

Everyone else seemed to think of floating on water or air when doing this illustration. 

Nope, not me. 

I think of a root beer float from the Woodburn A&W, where I spent quite a few of my 16- and 17-year-old hours.  I was a carhop, as were my two older sisters.  We had those not-so-attractive, brown-with-orange-accents, polyester pantsuits that were the required uniforms.  We wore money belts and carried heavy trays laden with Papa, Mama, and Baby burgers, fries, and many, many root beer floats in their frosty glass mugs.  We made coleslaw (burger baskets came with fries and cole slaw) and root beer.

It was actually a really fun job because all the other kids we worked with were so awesome.  There were kids from Canby, Silverton, Yoder, and many other of the small Willamette Valley towns that surrounded us. 

Note to Marilyn, who wanted to know how one makes root beer:  A big metal tank is filled with water.  You add a friggin' ton of sugar and mix it around with a giant spoon till the sugar is totally dissolved.  This takes a while.  Add a 5 gallon container of root beer syrup.  Mix.  Put in this little tube that adds carbonization and let it go for about an hour.  Voila.  A&W root beer.

weekend update...

We went out and saw The Corpse Bride last night...it was wonderful and weird and imaginative...so very Tim Burton.  If you like Tim Burton, you'll love this movie.

My lovely niece, Maranatha, and her husband just had their baby on Friday.  They named her Emma Johanna (Johanna is my mom's name) and they already sent me pictures.  She is gorgeous with lots of dark hair.  They look so happy with her. It reminded me of how much I loved snuggling with my babies when they were so small and smelled so good. 

Desperate Housewives has started again and it is just as good as last year. The ladies are just as outrageous and just as funny. Even my MIL and Adam are addicted. I am watching it right now as I type this. I am wondering just what twist will be revealed about the new neighbor who has someone locked up in her basement. I am also wondering just how long they can keep thinking of ways to keep Susan away from her hunky plumber.  And how cute was that little white top with the pearls sewn on that Gabrielle was wearing?  I want one!

This past week, my allergies went into overdrive.  What the heck is out there anyway?  It seems to be worse than past years.  My sinuses get all tickly and I sneeze and that whole runny nose thing starts happening.  Yuck.  Tell me it will all be over soon...