Christmas Cookie Exchange?

Anyone else up for doing a Bend-area based Christmas cookie exchange? Basically, everyone makes several dozen of one kind of cookies, then the group gets together and everyone goes home with a variety of cookies, without having to make several different types of cookies themselves. How many varieties everyone gets depends upon how many folks participate.

I'd love to do this if others are interested. Comments, baby!

16th Anniversary Dinner

Last night was our 16th wedding anniversary. Burger had agreed to watch Zippy for us, so Mr. LT and I headed out to dinner. He was in the mood for sushi, so we headed over to Mio Sushi up at the Cascade Village shopping center. We'd heard the food was good, and had been meaning to try it for a while.


So at 7:00 PM on a Friday night, we walked in to Mio Sushi, and while it was crowded, it was not packed. There were a few seats left at the sushi bar, so we chose those.


We hadn't been there before, so we carefully looked over the menu to figure out what we wanted to try. We filled out our sushi card-thingy with a ton of options - probably $50 worth of sushi, at least. We were brought water almost immediately after we sat down, but we didn't get any other attention. At all. I finally flagged down the water girl and asked for our server, and I could see her trying to get someone to come over to us, but another five minutes passed and we still hadn't even had a drink order taken.


So we left. When we got back to the car, the time was 7:34. We'd pulled in and gotten out of the car at 6:56. So we waited no less than a half hour for service, and never got any. What a shame.


Mr. LT still had sushi on the brain, so we headed toward Kanpai over on Newport. We've been there numerous times in the past, and it's always been our go-to place for sushi here in Bend. Well, Kanpai was packed, and there were very obviously people still waiting for tables. We were really hungry, so we didn't stop to see how long the wait was. No knock on Kanpai, they're reliably busy for a reason.


Well, what else should we do? We could have gone to Deep, but we were dressed very casually and Deep is nicer than we were in the mood for (sorry, Deep. We love your food!), so we decided to change directions. Mr. LT hadn't tried Thai food until recently when we visited Typhoon (friggin' YUM), and he'd been really happy with the food at Typhoon. So I suggested Thai.


We talked about going to Typhoon, but were worried it would be packed, so I suggested we try Angel Thai Cuisine over on Division. It's very off the beaten path, so I hoped we'd be able to get served quickly. I'd heard good things about Angel Thai, and had been wanting to try it, so we headed on over. At 8 on a Friday night, Angel Thai was very quiet. A large party (of 8 or so) was leaving as we arrived, and only one other table was occupied.


We were seated quickly and brought water immediately. Our drink orders were taken quickly - Mr. LT had a Thai beer, and I had a glass of shiraz - and the shiraz was actually from Thailand. They had fried calamari as a special appetizer, and Mr. LT and I both love calamari, so we ordered that early. The calamari was very good, and the dipping sauce was excellent - almost like a spicy plum sauce. Or something.


I ordered the Phad Prik Catfish (#71 on this menu - the menu at the restaurant is a little different than the website). It was very good, with some nice crisp basil leaves, and enough spice that you feel it, but not so much that you need to douse the flames. Mr. LT ordered the Panang Curry with beef. I loved this dish, although I'd probably get chicken, were I to order it, as I prefer the lighter taste of chicken (or seafood) with curry. In any case, I loved this dish - the sauce was amazing, and I got a very strange look from Mr. LT when I told him I'd be happy to bathe in the sauce. There was plenty for two of us - more than enough, really. The dishes were served family style, with rice on separate plates, so it was easy for us to share.


While we were full, something sweet sounded great. Neither of us had ever tried sticky rice before, so we ordered the mango sticky rice for dessert. While it's definitely not an American dessert, it reminded both of us of oatmeal - and I mean that in the best way possible. It was delicious, and the cold mango was a nice contrast to the warm rice. We ended up taking some of our dessert home too, because we were really full and couldn't bear to leave it behind.


All in all, we ended up with a wonderful anniversary night. While the evening didn't go as we'd originally hoped, we ended up being thrilled with our dining experience - the folks at Angel Thai could't have been nicer, the service - always at risk when things are slow - was great, and the food was great. Angel Thai, thanks for a great evening. And Mio Sushi, you've still got some things to learn.


(And Mr. LT, I love you. Here's to another fantastic 16 years. Happy Anniversary, babe.)

Sad

Our neighbor's house was on fire a few minutes ago. The good news is that nobody was home and that another neighbor was able to get their dog to come outside through the doggie door. The sad news is that our neighbor's house was on fire. :( What a sad event right before the holidays.



These aren't neighbors that I know, but it still hits close to home. When I was 13, my friend Jenny's house burned down, and I remember how hard it was on their family. While our neighbor's house is in much better shape than Jenny's house was, this still won't be easy to come back from, and I'm sure there is a lot of smoke damage we can't see from outside.



What a shame.

Pasta Feed!

Mark your calendar! There's a pasta dinner for a good cause this Sunday, November 16, at Aspen Hall (in Shevlin Park) from 4 until 8 pm. Tickets for a family of four are $15, kids are $4 each, and adults are $8 each - you can get tickets from the Bend Metro Parks and Recreation District. Their office is located at 200 NW Pacific Park Lane, Bend, OR 97701, and their phone number is (541) 389-7275. Tickets can also be purchased on-site at Aspen Hall if you just want to show up and pay.


All proceeds from this event will go to an account set up to help Jason Frieboth, who is fighting cancer and has to travel to Portland for treatment, and his family during this tough time. This type of treatment is very hard on a family - unless you've got a huge amount of vacation and sick leave available, or good disability insurance, paychecks can disappear - and Jason's wife Candy will be traveling with him when he gets treatments. The Frieboth family is lucky, because both sets of grandparents are able to watch the children when Jason is in treatment, but it still is not easy.


If you can't make it to Aspen Hall this Sunday, there are other ways to help the Frieboth family:


- Thursday, November 20th will be Jason Freiboth Day at Tony's Deli. A percentage of all sales that day will be donated to the Freiboth Family. Tony's Deli is located at 320 SW Century Drive, Suite 410. Their hours are 10:30 am to 6:30 pm. Stop by or call (647-1653) to get lunch or dinner. They offer a variety of hot entrees, wraps, grinders, sandwiches, salads and soups. They also have "Take 'n Bake" and catering platters. Enjoy some good food and support Jason at the same time!


- Make a donation in the Freiboths' name to Bend Take-Out. Their phone number is 382-8844. You can call them between 10:30am – 2:00pm or 4:30 – 9:00pm and tell them you want to make a contribution to the Jason Freiboth account. They take Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover. You can also send a check. This allows the family to order food that they enjoy, in quantities that are right for them, and get it when they need it.


- Make a donation directly to the Freiboth account at US Bank. A special account has been set up so that Candy can access it to help with the many bills they are dealing with around Jason’s treatment and keeping the family going.



Jason and Candy will be leaving on Sunday for Portland for his first round of treatments. Keep them in your thoughts. Also, a blog has been started so those interested can keep track of progress: http://jfreiboth.blogspot.com/

Really Great Things

inspired by leonie

five (really) great things on a Wednesday:



1) My family. I adore them all.

2) Peaceful, sunny days like today in my new town

3) Friends, new and old, that I love and can count on (and who can count on me)

4) Summer fruit

5) Really loving my job



Those are my five today. What are yours?

Sonic!

One thing we learned to love during our year in Arkansas was Sonic Drive-In. The food is fine fast food, but Burger and I formed a serious relationship with the drinks at Sonic. And the ice. Sonic has these little tiny ice cubes that are PERFECT for crunching. (Burger says they're more like tiny cylinders than cubes, and she's right.)

Yesterday, Bend's first Sonic opened, and of course we had to head up there to get our fix. I had my much-missed diet cherry limeade, Burger had a vanilla root beer, and Zippy got a cherry slush (while the slushies don't use the ice cylinders, they rock too. Burger loves the Blue Coconut one). Mr. LT had a boring ol' diet coke, but even that comes with good ice.

YAY for Sonic!

I'm so easily excited.

All Dressed in White?

One of my bestest Bend buddies is getting married tomorrow, and tonight is the bachelorette party. Unfortunately, I've been sick all week, but I'm going to suck it up and go have a drink in her honor.

Here's to happy weddings, and to happier marriages. May she have both.

Happy Anniversary, Bend!

One year ago yesterday was the first day our family set foot in Bend. Thanks for letting us fall in love with you, you great town. We're so happy to be here!

Last night

A big gang of us met at the Reed Pub last night to see the String Rats play - we had a great time, and enjoyed the music as always. Jen got a great shot of the band, along with the cool street sign the pub has!

(Thanks, Burger, for taking care of Zippy for us yet again. You're a gem.)

Tonight's Entertainment

Tonight, the String Rats will be at the Reed Pub! Mr. LT and I will be there with Jen and RHPB. Tonight we'll hear some great music and drink some excellent beer (there's a nice organic Oatmeal Stout on tap right now)!

The show starts at 8:30 - hope to see you there!!

(and please be considerate and leave a table for the 4 of us if you beat us there!!)

Trader Joe's - Opening Date

I'm told that the Trader Joe's that's about to open in Bend has moved their opening date up to March 22 (from March 28)! Trader Joe's will open on March 28 - my original source was wrong. Shame on me for not checking the date. I can't wait - we're in dire need of their salsa and I completely miss their frozen foods, especially the gnocci!

You won't see me there next weekend, though. I've dealt with my crowd for the month.

Full and Frenzied

This morning, we woke up bright and early (which, to me, means at 8 am) so we could meet Jen and family at the Victorian Cafe for breakfast. We've been here five months, after all (how time flies!!) and had yet to make it to what we'd been told was the best breakfast place in Bend. Well, the verdict is in -- the food was fantastic! I had the classic Eggs Benedict (as did Mr. Jen), which was fabulous (although I was somewhat envious of Jen's choice - I don't remember what it was called, but it was basically eggs benedict with spinach, roma tomatoes, and asagio cheese. To make it even better, Jen asked them to add avocado to it. It looked amazing and I think I'll try it next time!). Mr. LT had the country fried steak, one of our favorites. It was good, but not great. I think it needed more pepper or something. It was still good enough that he cleaned his plate (as did I).

Zippy had the children's french toast and scrambled eggs. I took the liberty of putting the boysenberry syrup on her french toast (because I love boysenberry syrup, and she doesn't care one way or the other) and had a few bites of it. YUM. Burger also had french toast and did an admirable job of finishing most of her food. Stinky was with us too and had blueberry pancakes. They were apparently good, but weird - the blueberries were placed between the two pancakes instead of dropped into the batter. This did not make Stinky a happy fellow. He still ate a fair amount, though! All in all it was a great breakfast.

All of the adults had bloody marys - I had the spicy one, everyone else had the regular ones. Let me tell you that "regular" generally means "wussy", but not at the Victorian!! The regular were nice and spicy - and my "spicy" bloody mary was really hot (but oh so good). I can only imagine what the "very spicy" version is like! I got about halfway through my drink before we were seated for breakfast and was a little loopy. Sigh. I've turned into such a lightweight!!

The only complaint we had was that the hot chocolate was watery. Really, it kind of sucked. The presentation was very nice, it was served in a glass cup with a nice topping of whipped cream and either cinnamon or nutmeg (Burger had the topping GONE before I thought to check which), so it was very pretty. But the taste was blah. It's not that hard to make good hot chocolate, even if you do use a mix for the base - add a dollop of whole milk or half and half, a squirt of hershey's syrup and you're good to go. Anyway, this certainly wasn't a deal breaker and we'll be back again!

After breakfast, we all went over to REI, where they were holding their annual garage sale - basically, things that have been returned (REI has a lovely, liberal return policy) are marked down and sold as-is to REI members (the REI membership is SO worth it). The place was a ZOO, and there were a number of people who were seriously out of control and a little rude (most folks were nice, though).

We scored - Burger got a nice North Face fleece jacket she's been coveting, I got a pair of Marmot gloves I'd lusted after but couldn't justify the cost of (the tag says there's a tear in the liner, but I can't find it for the life of me - so I bought them at about 40% of the original cost. Whee!), Mr. LT got a pair of hiking shoes, and Burger and I will share the pair of skis (with bindings!) we found for $100 - you can't beat that.

Before this year, I hadn't skied since Burger was a baby - I used to ski whenever possible, but it just seemed like such a hassle (and expensive) for the years when she was growing up. I learned to ski when I was three, so I used to be pretty good, but I pretty much suck now, so sharing these skis with Burger until we don't suck is at least a temporary solution. I couldn't see passing them by - I have no idea if I'll ever get back to being a good skier, and Burger doesn't yet have much experience - she's been skiing three times this year and LOVES it, but we're going to wait to invest in good skis until after we see how she does with some time on the hill.

We looked for skis for Zippy, but the kids skis apparently were snatched up very quickly - there was only one pair of kids alpine skis that I saw in the bin (and they were too short for the Zipster, who's the size of most 7 year olds, instead of most 5 1/2 year olds - I guess she received some genes from my 6' aunt), but I saw multiple people walking around with other sets of kids skis. Sheesh, we were there at 10:15 and it started at 10! For some reason, the whole event reminded me of the bridal gown frenzy at Filene's Basement, although there was no clawing and pushing in evidence. But I'm not a great crowd person unless there's alcohol involved. In any case, the deals were great and I'm glad we went.

Hoping for Clear Skies

Whee! Tonight there's going to be a total lunar eclipse! I hope the sky will clear up so we can watch it - it stinks when you can't see the sky (that's one more nice thing about Bend - the sky here is SO CLEAR and we don't get any city light to distort the night sky. I missed the stars when we lived in SoCal). The eclipse should start around 7 PST, so Zippy will still be up - I'm really looking forward to watching this tonight!


When I was a little girl, my dad used to take me outside at night to look at the stars with him. He really loved Astronomy, and while I've never had the patience to memorize the stars and constellations like he did, a few have always stuck with me (Cassiopia being particularly special for some reason), and remembering him showing me the night sky makes me smile. I sure miss him. I hope I can give a little piece of him to my family tonight while we watch the eclipse together.

Bend Bloggers Unite!

Since I moved to Bend, I've been lucky enough to get to know a few local bloggers pretty well, to meet a few others that I hope to get to know better, and to exchange e-mail messages with several others.

A new opportunity - one that will allow me to meet many of the folks I've been wanting to meet (while also allowing me to see several of the folks I've already met IRL) - has come up! Bend Bloggers (and spouses - I haven't asked Mr. LT if he wants to go yet, but I suspect he'll only come if Mr. liw(asai) comes) are going to be getting together - hope to see you there!

Details:

When: 5:30-ish, Thursday, February 21, 2008

Location: Blacksmith Restaurant

211 NW Greenwood Ave.

(541) 318-0588

Snow!

Since we left Maryland three years ago, we haven't seen but a few snowflakes. And none in the past two years. But last night we got a nice dusting of snow, and Zippy was overjoyed to wake up to it this morning. There wasn't enough to make a snowman or anything, but some snow is better than no snow!

In a year or two, you may need to remind me that I was once happy about snow. Try not to rub it in too hard, please.

Lovely Anonymous Commenter

I just had an anonymous comment posted in response to my "really good things" post. In case you missed it, here the comment is, in all its glory:

"Oh great, another California Libber coming up to screw over/Californicate Oregon."

This is exactly what I'd dreamed about when I uprooted my family and moved to a smaller town - that people would be open and welcoming, and would judge me on my own merits, instead of having preconceived notions about who I am and what my goals are based upon superficial information. I mean, really, what better kind of welcome can a girl hope for? (I'll tell you what kind - the kind of welcome I have received from 99.99% of the people I've talked to here. The kind where people are nice for the sake of being nice. The kind where folks you've never met before meet you for a beer to welcome you to the new town you've set your hopes on. I'm glad that most people have been wonderful, but then again, we wouldn't have picked Bend for our future if people here hadn't been so darn nice.)

I don't know what it would mean to "Claifornicate" Oregon, but I'll tell you what -- we lived in California for the past two years and were done there after about the first ten months. We wanted to live in a quieter place, but not so quiet that you have to drive an hour on a regular basis to find things. We wanted a family-friendly town, where there was a good sense of community, and where there were parades and other fun family-centric events. We wanted a place with a sense of humor, a sense of history, and interesting people. And we found all this in Bend.

I know there are people here who wish for the quiet town of 15,000 people that Bend used to be. I can understand that longing -- I can imagine the town with more open land and fewer cars, and wish I had been here to see that. I'm not thrilled with what I see as over-development here -- the houses so close together, crammed into the avaialble space. I don't know why it's so hard to find a 12,000 SF lot here, but it's close to impossible to find one. It's funny - we moved from Southern California to Bend and have 4,000 fewer square feet of land under our house. I don't get that at all. I imagine that it was amazing here before everyone encroached on the natives. So I get it. At least I think I do, at least kind of.

But I personally don't get the animosity toward me, the person. OMG, I'm a "libber" (I can't figure out if that means Women's Libber or Left-Wing Liberal. Whichever, both fit pretty well, although I do think I'm somewhat moderate. In any case, I don't see it as an insult. Call me closed-minded if you want to offend me.) But let's be clear, I'm not a California Libber, I'm a Maryland Libber (and Maryland is a much more liberal state than California. Heck, we lived in Orange County, California. I think I was one of three registered Democrats in the county.), and I'm proud to be me. I'm happy to be here in Bend - in fact, I'm thrilled. I felt the weight lift off my shoulders within days of being here, and am in love with this area and what it holds for my family.

I don't really have much else to say, except that you, anonymous poster, are a grumpy-pants, and maybe you should try to not be the grinch this year and should instead make an attempt to understand why people would want to move here. It's certainly not to screw up "your" town. Because it's our town now too.

Fitting in in Central Oregon

One of the first things we did upon our arrival in Bend (after unloading the insanely ginormous truck) was to go visit the Subaru Guru to buy a Subaru. We've had a Subaru before, and knew that we wanted another. We managed to get a fantastic price on an '05 Legacy Wagon (turbo, even!) and we've been happily driving it all over town.

Last night, I was talking with some friends, and they were telling me about their new neighbors, who have a two-wheel drive Chevy truck and a Mustang convertible. I'm worried for the new neighbors, as those are about two of the worst vehicles one could drive in snow. Neither is stable, neither is front wheel drive. I hope they don't have to actually leave the house most days! (yes, i'm feeling a tad superior here. i'm sure it'll bite me in the ass soon)

One thing I'm mulling over - should we go ahead and get studded tires now, or should we wait until we're up the proverbial creek before doing so? I'm guessing we should just break down and buy 'em, but gosh, I'd love to not spend that money...

Woot!

I'm dead tired, but wanted to quickly note that I went out tonight for a few hours and a few beers with a few fellow bloggers here in Bend. It was FANTASTIC to get to meet these lovely ladies - I felt like I'd known them all for years (next time we really should get a table. Maybe then we wouldn't get ignored) and I had so much fun hanging out!!

Thanks to my new (real, live) friends for a great night, and I look forward to doing it again soon!

I should be at WoTech tomorrow, but won't make COWPU. Next month I'll flip the two. Or something.

Jen, Julie, and Elise -- thanks for making me feel so welcome!

Quick Housing Update

We're still in California and are extending our current escrow to (possibly) the end of the month. Burger loves high school here, of course, and Zippy started back in speech therapy (3x/week) today. Life goes on, and we'll survive no matter what happens. We've been lucky to have some friends here who make things much better for us, and will sorely miss them once (if?) we're gone.

Right now I'm not even depressed, I'm just numb. We've been up and down so many times with this deal that we're just not getting our hopes up anymore. I can't be excited about the prospect of moving, because I cannot afford to be crushed again. Just can't. I can barely read the blogs of my friends in Bend, because I'd planned to BE THERE now and to have had the chance to meet them in person. (I'm a computer geek, and yes, I have friends I've never met. Lots of them. I also have tons of friends that I never would have met if not for the Internet, and I'm all the better for having met them - a few of my best friends are people I've met on the 'net. Yes. Geeky. Whatever.)

I dunno, I don't have much to say, but I figured a report was due. Trying to keep my chin up. And being happy that I hadn't packed a higher percentage of things in my kitchen. If I couldn't cook I'd go mad.

Short Update

No, we haven't moved yet, and we haven't closed on our house here in California yet. Sigh. We've extended to closing date to later this month, and with a little bit of luck (I need to burn some sage or something, maybe wave a chicken around my head) things will work out. It sounds like we'll be able to extend our closing date (again) in Bend, but we haven't yet formally submitted an addendum to do so.

Burger has started high school here and missed the first day of school; she was happy to get to go to school with her friends, but is not looking forward to being the new kid part-way through the school year. Again. I hope we'll be able to get up there before too much time passes, because it does suck coming into a new school when everything is already established (and by everything, I mean the social order of the school, which is of the utmost importance for teenagers).

Zippy, luckily, is going with the flow. She asks about moving every day, and we just try to keep positive, even though we're still unsure as to what the future holds. It'll all work out in the end. It'll all work out. (If I keep repeating that, it must be true. Right?)

Panic

The buyer of our current home didn't want to pay for a full appraisal and had a drive-by one done. I used to be a licensed real estate appraiser, and always hated having to do drive-bys, because all you can see is that the house is standing. If you have a neighborhood of cookie cutter homes, it's not too difficult to get a decent idea of what a house is worth, especially if the house is in a fairly new development.

Our current house is 70 years old, and is about half again as large as most homes in our area (at a whopping 1500 SF) - our lot is also half again as large as most lots around here (we have +/- 12000 SF of land - most lots are 8000 or fewer SF). The condition of the house is awesome - we renovated the house when we moved in, aside from the kitchen (which has handmade cabinets that are in amazing shape - they're NOT original to the house) and the larger bathroom, which has its original 70 year old everything (plumbers freak out when they see the toilet, as it's rare). All new systems, appliances, fixtures. You cannot tell this from driving by the house.

We also have 800 SF of workshop, which in SoCal is rare -- it's like having a basement, and amazing for storage. And a 2 car garage.

So we're at the top of the market here in our little town, we're twelve minutes from the ocean, and we have a huge avocado tree that produces more fruit than we can eat (I think I'll miss the tree the most. Nothing like having fresh avocados available 9 months of the year - for free!).

The appraisal came in about 60K lower than it needs to be. I wanted to cry, because I'm so set on getting out of this place and into Bend. Cry with me for a few moments, won't you?

Okay, now that we have that out of the way, the (I hope) good news is that we had a different appraiser come by and do a walk-through yesterday. I hope he can find the right comps - they're out there (Zillow has nailed most valuations in our area, and we're selling for less than they think we're worth - we priced under what we felt our real value was because we wanted a quick sale - and getting a contract in 14 days in this slow market shows that we did price our place well). Fingers crossed.

Moving Sucks

Who wants to come help us pack? There's soooo much to get done, and so little time! I have to get Burger registered at the new school, get the utilities situation sorted out (thanks for the advice, Jake and everyone else!), change our address, change the address for our stupidly high number of magazine subscriptions (and I know there's a website out there that can help me do it. Now I have to add "google that website" to my list), pack boxes, find out about speech therapy services for Zippy, and more more more. All while working full time and going to NYC way too many times.

The good news is that I'm really looking forward to moving to Bend. I've loved every second I've spent in the area, and people there are nice, real people. Everyone I've met there feels like they could become a friend - and there's a real sense of community there. I cannot wait to live there, so I'll suffer through the pain of the move to get there.

One side note - as I was driving in Bend on Sunday there was a guy (I assume) in front of me in an obnoxious yellow hummer (sorry, but really. Who needs that vehicle except the military?) who was being very agressive revving his engine while tailgating the car in front of him. Shame on you, Mr. Yellow Hummer man. You're one of the main reasons we're done with California and its perfect weather and great beaches after two years. Yuk.