Happy Hour at Home

I love happy hours. Tonight, we decided to ditch the Palomar. I did not know that I loved happy hours so much when they're held at my own home (or temporary abode):

The Crane Wife is expressing how much she loves nachos and Trader Joe's taquitos. Yum! Larson is showing how much he loves The Crane Wife, but who could care about that when there are fresh margaritas!

Brasilliant is basking in the sun and relaying the rigorous plant watering schedule she has set up at Jesse's parent's house. She also loves a fresh margarita and chicken taquito (or two).

The third hand found in the hallway was immensely helpful in hydrating after fresh margaritas.

Also good for punctuating conversation on grammar, indie bands, and making new friends.

Actually, who needs new friends when you have such good buddies at home?

Happy Labor Day

Today, I celebrated Labor Day by laboring:

I spent the morning picking beans and surfing the internet for pickling recipes. Tomorrow I will venture into the world of mass producing "dilly beans." I made a test batch this afternoon to see how they taste and I think they will be totally YUM! By the time we leave for Portland on Friday, I hope to have several jars ready to enjoy later in the Fall.

I also labored over the decision of which wine to bring to Larson & Serena's afternoon Labor Day celebration. Serena informed us that the wine spritzer was the signature drink of the afternoon, we decided on a classy bottle of 2-buck-Chuck. Nothing says love, friendship and relaxation like a Charles Shaw wine spritzer. Serena prepared a variety of tasty snacks (that I forgot to photograph) and we spent the hot afternoon in their back yard.

As the sun set, I labored while holding my breath so I wouldn't disturb the 2-second exposure time required to capture my friends (and husband) in a non-blurry photo. Jesse never sits still, so this was quite a feat. In that time, I also captured quite a few photographs of my very still feet.

After satisfying our hunger and thirst, we checked our clocks and realized that it was only 8:30pm. Yet, we were all ready for bed. Also, we noticed that Larson was missing and Serena thought she smelled fire. Not to worry though, he was just really tired and fell asleep on their guest bedroom futon. I labored over the idea of what one might do if s/he were presented with a half-comatose man. Maybe he would enjoy a nice relaxing ear massage from Jesse? Or a soothing wet willie?

While those were all good options, I concluded that Larson would really like me to labor over a design for his future tattoo.

I labored so hard I cried a little. I really have a gift for body art.

The Land of Insane Hills and Awesome Food

Even though Jesse and I are technically on vacation from life, we have managed to keep a very busy social schedule. During the down time in Jesse's 3-day work week we have tried to sneak in a few visits to family and friends while we're in the area. Last Saturday, we drove up to San Francisco to visit Jesse's brother, Eric (Nightrain). I couldn't have asked for better weather - a little cool with loads of sunshine.

We arrived just after 1pm and took the full tour of Eric's sweet apartment (located at the tippy top of that insane hill). I didn't think it possible, but the view from his roof is even more breathtaking than the climb up Filbert Street. After racing up the hill and nearly killing our poor little car to snag a parking spot, I realized why Eric opted for a more pedestrian-oriented lifestyle. I would probably experience some sort of nervous breakdown if I had to drive every day in that city.

Lea was in town for the weekend to visit Eric before heading down to Los Angeles for graduate school. I was so glad to see her again and hopefully now that we're on the same coast, our visits will not be so spread apart. Naturally, driving makes me hungry (and car sick), so we walked down to a local sandwich place and ordered delicious panini's to soothe my poor stomach. Following lunch, Eric led us on an epic walk up and down several hills to show us a few additional scenic spots in his neighborhood. The climbs made my legs ache, but the vistas were stunning.

Saturday's mission not only included a visit with Jesse's middle brother, but also a trip to Stella Pastry & Cafe for a few dozen cookies. The walk (mountain climb) through the city made me pretty thirsty, so we sat down to recharge and enjoy a cold drink. Stella makes one of my favorite cookies in the world, which is a round chewy almond cookie with pine nuts on top. I have no idea what it is called, or really, exactly how to make it, but YUM! I ate several while enjoying my iced coffee.

The fog started to roll in, so we stopped at Eric's apartment to put a jacket (or in my case a few more jackets) before heading down to dinner. For effect, we walked up and down a few more terrifying hills before reaching Tommaso's Restaurant for pizza. This was not just any pizza, but seriously delicious and garlicy goodness. MMM. I'm pretty sure I ate way more than I needed, but it was so tasty I couldn't help myself. For a little night cap we stopped in at La Trappe's Trappist Lounge and had a Belgian beer. I think at that point we were both a bit sad that we had to drive home - not only because there were so many delicious varieties of beer to try, but also because we had such a great time hanging out with Eric and Lea.

On our drive home, both Jesse and I agreed that if we weren't already moving to a new city and a cool apartment that we'd be pretty jealous of Eric's new life in San Francisco. I'm so glad that he was able to show us around his neighborhood and take us to his favorite places. It was a great day. I hope we'll be back for a visit soon.

Tomorrow We Can Drive Around This Town (and be the worst car stereo thieves around)

Aside from the free Gin Blossoms concert we attended on Friday, this past week was all about learning to drive (and tinkering with) the car. I'm trying to get all things car related accomplished while I have a driveway at my disposal. Larson came over on Sunday and tried to help us remove our stereo so we could wire it for our IPod.

We fashioned a sweet sweet stereo removal tool from coat hangers and some nails, but no luck. It wouldn't budge. I think at some point (as we were all sweating and getting quite smelly in the hot California sun), Larson remarked that we sucked as car stereo thieves - if only we could have been as stealth as the butthead who ripped out the Crane Wife's while she was on vacation.

As it turns out, even if we had been able to remove the stereo, there's nothing back there to accommodate a RC cable. After mulling it over, we broke down and went to a local stereo shop, where they removed our stereo in a matter of seconds and had us sold on a little digital conversion box - that cost more than our car battery, but less than a new stereo. I installed it in about 5 minutes and we sat in the driveway marvelling at what we had accomplished. We're ready to rock the 14 hour drive home to Portland!

Also on the car accomplishments list this week: removing the big, black, scratch down the driver's side of the car. As a parting gift from Boston, someone sideswiped Nightrain's (now our) car while it was parked on the street. Luckily, I found out that the damage was mostly on the surface. I was able to remove a lot of the leftover black paint with some polishing compound and a little elbow grease.

I wish I had taken a more comprehensive shot to show the black streak that ran just about the entire length of the car. Now, it's gone and looking (almost) as good as new.

Of course, my days haven't revolved entirely around the car. We've had great food, lots of relaxing, and a nice trip to San Francisco. However, that will have to wait for another post. I have errands to run and need to work on my tan - even after 3 weeks in California, my legs still look like they've been living on the East Coast.

Day of the Mazda

Last year, Nightrain decided to forgo his wheels to pursue a more urban lifestyle. We are the lucky recipients of his zippy little car. On Monday, we cracked open the garage door, pulled off the blue tarp covering the Mazda, and turned the key to start her up. Not surprisingly, the battery was dead (it had been sitting in there for over a year). So, Jesse removed the battery and we took it down to the auto parts store where they determined that it was "too hot" and "bad". Uh, ok? We bought a new one.

Tuesday morning, Jesse woke up bright and early to transfer the car title and renew the registration. Afterward, we installed the new car battery and killed a family of spiders that was living in the hood. J hopped in the car, turned the key, and the lights came on. YAY! Success! But the engine didn't start, just the noise of fans blowing. Hmm. Try again. Nope, nothing. Damn.

Totally sad and defeated, we decided that we would give it a good cleaning before calling AAA for a tow. We rolled it out of the garage and realized that there wasn't enough room for a proper cleaning (Bob and Mary Ann were having new windows installed, so the driveway was occupied by a workbench and truck). So, back to the garage for our little dead car. I pushed, J steered. This time though, I needed a little momentum to get the car over the garage bump. Every time I would rock the car, J would put on the brakes thinking that I was about to get rolled over - totally halting my momentum. I yelled and he got frustrated, but the car made it back it the garage and we both got a snack.

Since I know very little about cars, I googled "new battery, but car still won't start" and found troubleshooting guide. One of the first things it asked was, "did you press down the clutch when starting?" I had no idea, since Jesse was the driver, so I asked. And he hadn't. So we ran to the garage, he threw open the door and hopped in, and I held my breath. J pressed down the clutch, put in the key, and turned. I closed my eyes and heard the engine cough and sputter. I opened my eyes and saw some dark-looking exhaust, but it was running. Triumph!

We quickly checked the oil and took it for a drive around the neighborhood. That drive lasted longer than I expected and we ended up going straight to lunch with Larson and Serena for his birthday. After lunch, Serena came over and we went to the auto parts store (for the third time in two days) and purchased items for the car wash that never happened. I did some vacuuming, and she is quite the abled scrubber. In no time the interior shined like new.

I still haven't gotten around to the outside, but maybe when it comes back from its tune-up and smog check today I'll give it a good scrub.