Notes from A Cottage Industry

Never had it so good.

Last night the boyfriend cooked me dinner again, and this time I made sure to take pictures of most incredible (and so easy!) brussels sprouts he roasted to go with our ribs and polenta. I must tell you, that up until I tasted Bob's roasted brussels sprouts, I hated them so much that I never, ever cooked them. (Ask my children. I do not know if they have ever even tasted a brussels sprout!)

Anyway.

Where was I? Oh yes. Dee-lish. That's what these little babies are. Kind of salty and...well, just yummy, and not at all the strong, kind of disgusting smell I recall from my days of trying to steam a batch of them for a dinner side dish. (Check out Bob's blog for the actual recipe.)

I think another great tip about the way he cooks them, as opposed to the way the rest of us are used to cooking them, is that he peels off the outer tougher leaf layer, then cuts each one in half before roasting them in a pyrex pan.

I'm telling you, they are to. die. for.

Change of heart.

One of my dearest friends from Reno called me early this morning to talk. (What a fabulous way to start my day!) I first met her at my former career job, and we became friends outside of work as well. We used to go on double dates when I was married, and she was there for me when my life disintegrated, as well as being a major cheerleader as my life has come around full circle. She and I have always been kindred spirits. And I cannot imagine it any other way.

She is at a crossroad in her own life right now, and was looking for a bit of clarity, and some encouragement. The bottom line is that she has been struggling for a few years now with what she really should, or could be doing with her life, and more exactly, her career. She wants something that is more fulfilling, more meaningful in her life regarding work. Something to be passionate about, really. I can tell you firsthand, that is stressful, and exhausting, doing something you do not love. It occurred to me while we talked, that we all go through that feeling at some point in time, on some level. It may be realizing you don't like what you do for a living, or you need to work on things at home, or you have your priorities all out of whack - whatever.

When that happens, we need to listen to our heart, and then decide if we actually have the nerve to do anything about it. My friend is at that very point. She has decided she wants to follow her desires, even though it may mean a big life change for she and her sweet hubbs. She wants more time with her growing family, and...well, she wants it all.

You know, it's okay to change your mind. It's okay to have a change of heart. What you once loved doing for a living may get old and not be the best fit for you any longer. Sometimes the rat race catches up with us. We are supposed to run our lives, not have our lives run us. I told her to pray about it first. Then I said to go with it and run like the wind. Follow your heart.

I know firsthand that life is just too short to not go for the golden ticket of happiness. To not love what we do, to not love every aspect of our lives.

Gravy.

Last Sunday, before going to the show at the Expo, we went out to breakfast. I wanted to share the curtains that were hanging in the window at the breakfast place. Are these the most creative use of old ties you've ever seen? Simple burlap and neckties used as tabs, I could see these in a den or a boys room...just so danged cute that I had to share.
The restaurant is named Gravy, (and, although none of us ordered it, you should have seen the size of their biscuits and gravy!) over in north Portland and the food was pretty fabulous, which explained the more than an hour wait for a table. I split a meal with my daughter, and I was really glad I did. My son-in-law ordered a ridiculously giant omelet that came with equally giant hash browns and we all were so stunned at it's size that I took a picture of it as well. Mmmmm, yummy.

I am thinking it will take a lifetime of Sundays to get through all of the incredible restaurants here in Portland. And just yet another reason I am beyond thrilled to be living up here, in one of the coolest cities on the planet.

An afternoon at Expo in Portland.

Wow. Thank you all so very, very much for the wonderful comments on yesterday's post! I loved reading all of them, and Bob got a big kick out of it too. I'd say he's figured out that I have a pretty vocal and supportive large band of friends out here in blogland!
I actually wasn't quite sure when I was going to share my boyfriend news with everyone, but this past Sunday afternoon Bob and I went to the Expo Center in Portland for the Antiques and Collectibles show, (which I knew was not going to be his kind of thing, but he was such a good sport about it anyway.) where we visited with Isabel and Joy. Once they had met Bob, I figured the cat was out of the bag, so to speak, and the time had finally arrived to share my happy news.
Next door to Isabel was a new friend named Maryann (sorry, she doesn't have a blog!) and her things were fabulous as well, all vintage flatware and mirror topped dressers and such! I couldn't wait to get a look at the amazing things Joy and Isabel had done with their booths. They did not disappoint. (More pictures from Expo on their blogs) So much inspiration! I am really excited now to get my booth at Camas Antiques all ready for the holidays this week.  Thank you all once again for the warm comments from yesterday, and for checking in to read my blog, even though I've been a bit...um..preoccupied and sporadic... with posts lately!

NEVER say never.

Famous last words. (Oh, you might want to get yourself a cuppa something. This post is a little long)

Those of you who have been reading my blog for a long time, or know me in person, you know I have spent most of the last three plus years restarting my life and... well, basically, the whole thing has been a pretty big work in progress. Sometime back, oh, more than a year ago, friends and family began to tell me I should get back out there, and try dating. They hinted. They suggested. They urged. They pleaded.

"Absolutely not. No way. Nada. Not going there. Are you kidding?" were my usual replies, followed with an eye-roll and an exasperated sigh. I was especially put off by my well meaning gal-pals suggesting the online dating thing, because it seemed (to them, not me) a natural fit. Even though I have plenty of online girlfriends from blogging, and many of which I have even ventured out to meet in person, this seemed an atrocious way to attempt meeting a potential suitor. I pretty much figured the odds of finding an oddball, guy with a bad comb-over, or potential serial killer were a good 1/2 ratio and I was not looking to add any further drama to my little life.

That brings me to a little story I'd like to share with you today. One evening, in early September, I was commiserating on the phone  with another suddenly single friend about the odds of either of us being known around the town as "the old spinster with house full of cats" or some equally sad title, and I was suddenly struck with the idea that, since I was moving to the Portland area, it might be prudent to take  a peek online at what there were out there, in the shape of "dating material". (I should share with you at this point in time, that while I am not a big drinker, I was having a glass of wine, and when I do have a  glass of wine, I very nearly always suddenly think I am brilliant and quite often, do things that I later regret.) I told my friend that we should go ahead and try it together, with her checking out the options in Reno, while I would check out the pacific northwest. (sounds not too half baked just yet, but just you wait.)

As I got into the online website, I realized I needed to create a "profile" for myself. Hmmm, so much easier said than done, especially after I had had a glass of wine. Well, I took  a stab at it, and read my little biography to my friend over the phone. She was aghast. She told me it sounded like I was auditioning for the Martha Stewart Show. Too many cupcake baking mentions and nothing letting anyone know I was a single woman interested in dating. (here's where you'll begin to notice that I was thinking I was brilliant)

I suddenly had the seemingly (to me anyway) brilliant idea to read some of the men's biographies. I clicked on the website. I went to "Page one" of about 100 pages of men allegedly matched for me. (I never went past page one, by the way) Within seconds, I landed upon a guy's bio that had me in stitches. Witty, smart as all get out, and pretty much all the same interests as me. Before I knew it, I rewrote my own bio,  mirroring everything he said, nearly verbatim, down to the restaurants he liked in Portland. ("And why not, I thought?" in all of my brilliance. I had been to them, after all)  a quick proof-read, and I published "my bio" and went to bed.

End of story? Oh no. Not by a long shot.

The next day I logged on the check my email and there were lots of emails waiting for me.  Only not from blog readers. From online men.

Grooooan. It suddenly came back to me. The biography I had so flippantly and shamelessly plagiarized. I glanced up and down the email list. Sure enough, there, smack dab in the middle of the list of unread emails, was one from...you guessed it...the guy that wrote the witty bio.

Uh oh.

I took a breath and kind of cringed. I opened the email and turned about ...oh, 16 shades of crimson as I read these words.."We could have written each others bio's."  Sweet Jesus. What was I to do now? !

Well, after a moment (or ten) I wrote a semi-witty response to him, not sharing my blatant plagiarism (Good grief no! What good could ever come of that?!) and before I knew it, we were online dating, long distance. Romantic Pen pals, if you will.

After a short time, I confessed my act of scandalous biography theft. He laughed. He was flattered. A little more time passed, and I made the big, long move to the Portland area. After what seemed like an eternity, we finally met in person. We have talked. We have laughed. We...have gone on dates.

So.

The moral of my story is...Another life lesson learned. (Just as I learned that the very moment I announced to a roomful of preschoolers mom's that none of my children would ever act up in a restaurant, I had a kid throw a ginormous temper tantrum at the local Italian restaurant.) I have now come to know, once and for all, to... never say never.

After telling friends and family for the past year and a half that I would never, ever make flirty small talk with a any man, attempt to "find myself a boyfriend", or heaven forbid, go online looking for a date....  I today stumbled upon this in the online dictionary:

boyfriend n. A favored male companion or sweetheart.

Oh. My. Gosh.  That is what he is.

Be still my heart. Yet another gift from God.

Words to live by - week 139

We most often find happiness right where we plant it.

Limbo.

Yup, that's where I feel I am at right now. Moving was one thing. Getting actually settled in,and feeling like I live here, really live here, is quite another. I cannot seem to quite get myself in the mindset that I am here for the duration, for good. Don't get me wrong, I am thrilled to be here. Ecstatic to have a booth at my favorite spot, Camas Antiques, and happy as a clam at the bank branch in Vancouver. And yet...I still cannot believe that I am really living here. For forever.

The reason that I am sharing this is because, if it seems I have not been posting very often, and maybe I seem to be missing in action, it is because I feel, still, as if I am on a dream vacation. I seem to get sidetracked easily, and have trouble feeling like I have a deadline or anything. I can run over and hug my grandson pretty much anytime I please, and I still have boxes everywhere. (it's hard to feel any sort of urgency to unpack when I am living in a temporary place for an unknown amount of time) i have emails to answer stacking up by the minute and still have no cable television, so I am completely out of the news loop, let alone what is going on on the Food Network.

Moose, on the other hand, has adjusted quite nicely to the move and is happy to run outside in the rain to do his business and sniff for the cat next door.

Halloween kits revisited.

I still can't believe it's already late October, can you? Halloween will be here before we know it, and then it's the countdown to the holidays. I have had many requests for emailed banners kits lately, and the the Thanksgiving and Christmas ones will be ready for online sale within a few days. Today I thought I'd remind you that the Halloween kit is available! The best part about these kits are that you can make as many as you like, for friends or for yourself, and you can get as creative as you wish, or simply copy my take on the projects.

Camas Antiques booth update.

It's getting there. Slowly but surely.

I have a couple more (three actually) large pieces to get finished up by Friday to add to the booth and then I will have spots to set more small, but it's coming along. Can you even believe it's past mid October?!

Words to live by - week 138

Home is where your heart is,even if you can't remember which box you packed it in.

Hot date.

I spent the morning working on my booth at Camas Antiques and then I hurried home to get ready for a red hot date with one of my favorite men in my new town. Yes, I am spending the night with my grandson!

It's just one of the perks of living so close by. I can pop over and see him pretty much anytime, or, like tonight, I can babysit so his parents can have a date night.

It still feels  bit strange to me that I actually live up here and am not just visiting, you know? But, at long last, it is finally so. And I am loving it.

...halfway done with the backdrop.

I shared the completely bare "before" picture of my booth space on this morning's post. When I first arrived this morning to work on my booth, here is what stage I was at. At a glance it may not look like much, but it provides such a nice vintage feel background for my pieces in the booth, and the book pages have become kind of my signature look. (You might remember the bathroom at 41 Taylor...) More updates to follow.....

Before.

Can you guess what this is?

Mmm hmm, it's my booth space at Camas Antiques. I took this picture last Monday as I was just beginning to do up my booth space. Then, I kept forgetting to take my camera with me on the next few trips, but today I will begin sharing the complete evolution from start to finish, so check back.
Check back later today for pictures of the evolving booth space!

Sunday drive.

Once the moving truck was unloaded, I began the long process of unpacking the things I need. (I am living in a temporary place right now, while I look for the perfect home for Moose and I, so I don't need to unpack everything.)

Anyway.

This past Sunday I went on the most incredible drive with a most incredible new friend from Portland. I saw areas of Oregon that I had never been to, and am thrilled to say that I love the pacific northwest even more than I imagined I would.

We had breakfast in Portland (at Mothers Bistro!) and then headed to Cannon Beach (you know, where the Goonies was filmed, with the huge haystack rock?)
After that we toodled on down the coast, through the other little beach towns, and along the way,we stopped to visit some friends at the Craftsman Bed & Breakfast Inn in Pacific City. Oh. My. Gosh. A completely restored Craftsman home from the 1920's, in pristine condition, with such attention to detail that I just had to whip out my camera and take a picture or two. (And not a doily in sight, as my friend pointed out during the tour.) Each room was done in craftsman style,and the four rooms are named for the seasons, and their color scheme reflects that. The first thing that wowed me was the most giant bathtub I have ever laid my eyes on. I mean, the thing was ginormous. And pretty. (You know how I love my bubble baths.This would be a dream come true, floating in all those bubbles!) Then, as Mike, the Innkeeper toured us upstairs, we noticed the attic drop down stairs. Mike and his Innkeeper wife, Laura, had a muralist creatively paint the drop down piece in the ceiling, so it became art. How cool is that? As we wrapped up our house tour, I admired the huge mural in the living room, and discovered that the muralist had creatively hidden the security motion detector (inconveniently located in the center of a large wall) by making it part of a light house in the mural.

Our drive did not end at the beach, but continued on to some of the fabulous Oregon wineries (at this point, with my lack of directional skills I was lost, so I can't tell you right this minute where the wineries were exactly) to taste some wine and enjoy the views, the company and the beautiful day.  Finally we meandered our way to the Wheatland Ferry, where we rode across the Willamette River and finally made our way back into Portland.

*sigh* I knew I was gonna love living here.

My move to the pacific northwest...with a delightful side trip

Did you think I had retired from blogging? I feel like it's been ages since I last posted. I finally have internet service and am settled into my new place just enough to be able to get back into my blogging routine.

Moving was chaotic, to put it mildly. The packing, the figuring out what to take, what to get rid of...oh, all of it was just...well, overwhelming. But, once it was done, the movers arrived and loaded my belongings and it was time to leave. I was more than ready for this part of the move.

The drive up to the Portland area was split into two travel days. We (the Sewing Queen of northern Nevada, my oldest daughter,  Moose and myself) drove basically halfway the first day, to Medford, Oregon. My daughter is working at a hospital there temporarily and so we stayed at her place there in Medford that night.

Once we arrived and got cleaned up, we took a short drive to the most charming little town of Jacksonville, Oregon, just about 10 miles or so away from Medford. Oh. My. Gosh.
What a little jewel of a town it is! Bed and Breakfast Inns, churches, Wine shops, Antique Stores, historic homes...the perfect spot for  a weekend getaway. (Of course, we were only there for dinner, but I will remember this for future reference)

The neatest thing about this adorable little community was that very nearly every home or shop had some sort of charming fence around it. So much so, that I took pictures to share. Here are just a few of the fences.... 

 

 

 

Oh! And the restaurant we dined at that evening....mmmmm, such good food, (blueberry and peaches foster for desert!) in a fabulous giant old home. The yard was filled with red Adirondack chairs, and I cannot think of anything more relaxing than spending an afternoon in one of them, reading and watching the world go by.

After dinner we all headed to bed, and before daylight, the Sewing Queen, Moose and I were back on the road. I must say that the best way I can describe what it's like to drive a 26 foot UHaul truck is that it felt to me exactly the way I imagine trying to steer a runaway stage coach would be. By noon we had made our way to Camas, and I became a Washingtonian.

I still cannot quite believe I am really here. For good. Somebody pinch me.

a lil' update...

   I know, I know. I have been missing in action for days. No internet service yet in my new place, and not much free time to sit and post. (But, please know that I’ve been thinking about all of you, and just aching to share my adventures so far!)

    I am, at long last, transplanted here in the fabulous Pacific Northwest and I have so much to share, but first…the ending to my cat’s tale from my last post….

     For  a few hours I thought I might be sharing the truck cab with Moose and a lil’ three or four month old kitty, but while we were helping the movers load things, my daughter decided to look on craigslist to be sure that no one had reported Mr. Luckycat as a missing family member. No, no sign of him there, but another post did catch her eye. Someone posted a lost cat that looked quite similar to Mr. Luckycat, but was 10 months old. My daughter decided to call the person anyway. When the woman answered, the very first thing I heard he say was “Hi, I saw your post on Craigslist, and I want to tell you first of all, I do not have your cat.” I did an eyeroll and wondered where she could possibly be going with this. Well, my daughter and the woman on the phone chattered on for several minutes and my daughter hung up the phone with a smile on her face.

     It seems that the woman’s cat had actually returned home the day before, but was badly hurt. She rushed him to the animal hospital where the vet told her the cat had clearly be hit by a car. Sadly, he did not survive. Heartbroken, the woman went home and forgot to remove her craigslist post.

    When my daughter shared with the woman just how much Mr. luckycat looked like her kitty, and how she had felt compelled to recue him from the tree the night before, the woman decided she wanted him. She felt it was meant to be.

     Many text messages and photos were sent back and forth through out the afternoon, and early that evening, the woman, with her son and his friend came to the house to pick up their newest family member. It was love at first sight, and from the text messages my daughter received a couple of days later, it appears that Mr. Luckycat is going to live happily ever after.

  

How's that for a meant-to-be story?

Look at the cat we dragged in.

I am very nearly done packing, and I was able to take a break to attend my grand daughter's Christening Sunday evening, with a lovely celebration party following the ceremony. (I made the dessert cupcakes!)

As my daughter and I were leaving the restaurant, we heard a very loud distressed sounding meow. My daughter immediately insisted she needed to find the cat. Of course it was dark outside and so I needed to then move my car and shine my headlights on where the distressed meowing was coming from. It was a cat (Actually a kitten, no more than maybe three months old) all right, and he was up very, very high in a huge tree next to the restaurant.

Forty five minutes later, (with the help of several other attendees to the party) my daughter emerged victorious from the bushy landscape with Mr. Luckycat. (At least we think he's a mister) This story is quite typical for my daughter (she is a nurse after all, and is all about caring..for people, for animals, for life.) We drove home and the little guy purred the entire ride. 

Monday morning I have a To DO list a mile long, and the moving truck will be loaded as I will be getting ready to leave Reno on Tuesday.

Now, we will add a trip to the Humane Society to the To Do list..

A recipe from Cat.

Mmm hmm, you know..Cat Cora. Iron Chef. (My personal favorite Iron Chef )

Okay, I'm taking a minuscule break in packing here to share a fabulous email I got back today (from Cat!) regarding this post I wrote, back on August 28th, desperately looking for her recipe.

Anyway.

She said they do all that cooking on the fly, so there is really no recipe, but sent along another of her favorites involving popcorn for party food, and I wanted to share it with all of you here.

Trail Mix Popcorn
Makes about 10 cups

1 bag (2.9 oz.) microwave popcorn, cooked according to package directions
1 cup raisins
½ cup dried apricots, chopped
½ cup dried cranberries &/or cherries
1 cup sugar
½ cup light corn syrup
2 Tbsp. butter or butter soft spread
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ cup finely chopped pecans, walnuts &/or peanuts
¼ cup raw sunflower seeds
1 tsp ground cinnamon

In large bowl sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, combine popcorn with
all dried fruits, and set aside.

In medium saucepan over low heat, combine sugar with corn syrup, and once
melted, stir in butter, baking soda, all nuts, cinnamon, and sunflower
seeds and stir until well combined.

Carefully drizzle mixture over popcorn and fruit, stirring constantly,
until popcorn and fruit are coated. Cool completely before serving.

How cool is that?! It just goes to show that if you want something, you only need to ask.