Food heals all wounds

Yesterday was a bit of a rough day. We started out the day with Rupert attacking Sean's face while he was still sleeping, and it came to a close with Rupert charging around the house and leaping until his head hit a solid object, most notably my printer. It was a long day.

We were craving yummy hot subs for dinner, and decided to find a sub shop to fill our bellies. We tried Michael's on SE Sandy and 11th, since it got great online reviews for it's cheap eats and greasy goodness.

Unfortuntately, Michael's is some sort of "Chicago style" place, and they didn't have a grilled veggie sub on the menu (which is all I wanted in the world at that moment). I will warn you all now, if you go into a sub shop that doesn't have a grilled veggie sub on the menu, just turn around. I asked if they could make me one anyway, since I just wanted onions, peppers and mushrooms, with some melted cheese, but they said no. They didn't have any mushrooms. I should have known it would be bad news since they didn't serve pizza, but they kept mentioning their "pizza style" subs, or some such nonsense.

I ended up getting a sub that involved cold bread, with hot marinara sauce (which was actually good), half an inch of cold American and Provolone cheese, grilled tomatoes and one slice of grilled pepper. Too bad I don't like tomatoes.

They didn't even have eggplant parm available! This is the first time I've been really homesick for something in Massachusetts. If anyone reading this has an Italian sub/pizza shop near them, please go out there and eat a good hot sub for me. I'll be thinking of you...

Tonight, Sean was craving fruits and veggies, and we just happened to inherit a couple freezer bags full of frozen strawberries that Suzie had picked last year. They were a little freezer burned, but if you add enough juice and vodka, that isn't a problem at all.

We decided to make grilled veggie burritos, a la Anna's Taqueria from back east, since it was a gorgeously warm day, and the smell of freshly-mowed lawn made us itch to bust out the grill.

We picked up all the ingredients we needed at Trader Joe's and Limbo's (the organic market) up the block. It wasn't a cheap meal, but I'm still impressed at the amazingly cheap prices on produce at Limbo's.

We made guacamole and salsa, fired up our little grill out front and grilled up everything else you see in the photo. We added black beans, cheddar cheese and sour cream.

Let me tell you, if you've had a bad food experience, the only thing to do is massively out-cook that disappointment away. And a couple strawberry daiquiris certainly don't hurt, either.

Highlight of the week

Just another reason to live here instead of any other state that isn't Massachusetts. Visit us here during the summer.

Perhaps I've Misjudged

This may have not been the smartest decision on my part.

But he loves his toys! And my socks! How great is that? He hasn't attacked my feet while wearing the socks, but he likes to find the socks balled up and carry them around the house to play with.

I haven't had any time for knitting recently. Rupert demands attention, and it's very difficult to resist. Seriously, how do you ignore a kitten who's meowing his heart out in front of you because you're too mean to play with him?

Also, he loves playing with the yarn while I'm knitting, and I'm still trying to teach him the difference between yarn that is a toy, and yarn that isn't. He's not the smartest kitty, so this may take a while.

We' brought him to the vet on Saturday, and they confirmed that he is, in fact, a cat.

I've just updated my Ravelry projects, in case anyone is interested. I'll be posting an updated hat pattern for the Trinity Stitch hat soon! My username is HoneyBadger, if you'd like to find me on there.

If you're a knitter or crocheter, and don't know what Ravelry is, then you should head on over right away and get your name on the list to be a beta-tester! It may take a few weeks to get a free account, but it's so much fun! You won't regret it. It's social networking for fiber artists, and there are tons of fun ways to organize your projects, your stash, and your patterns. Plus, there are fun discussion groups to join, and so many other features!

Cheezburgers

In case you don't know about these essential websites, please do yourself a favor and check them out, as they are filled with cuteness:

icanhascheezburger


loldogs



CuteOverload

Kitty Treehouse

Today, I went to Etsy Tea Time and got to hang out with some of my favorite Etsy folks for a couple hours! I really love interacting with other Etsy ladies at these events. It helps with my web-based isolated lifestyle that I live every other day of the week.

Danielle of MissPurl taught us all how to fold lidded boxes out of paper! They're so exciting! This might be a great new hobby of mine that is zen-like and relaxing, since knitting has been tough with a cat who loves yarn. They make great gift boxes, and you can use any type of paper (patterned or recycled)!

I was also encouraged by Michelle of SkyIsland Design who thinks I should get a glass bottle cutter and make drinkware out of beer bottles! I've seen other folks selling unadorned versions of this (at designer prices!) and I've been wanting to do it for a couple of years now. It's just one of those things that's easy to forget about when you don't have the right tools. So. I think I'm going to find me a bottle cutter, and get my creativity on!

Now, of course, is time for kitty news: Ruperts mail-order treehouse finally arrived! He was very excited when the box first came in the house, but I think that was due to his new obsession with the outdoors. He quickly ignored my attempts to excite him with the new furniture by staring out the window after the delivery man.

He briefly investigated the enormous cardboard box and its contents, and then went back to gazing out the window. Once I showed him how to roll inside the carpeted tube, he got a little caught up in the playing. He rolled around for awhile, then sniffed (more like wheezed at, since he's still congested and stuffy) the cedar polls and pre-assembled parts.

Once the whole thing was put together, I had to bring his attention to it with bribes and tactful shoelace placement. I think the whole thing's supposed to be catnip-scented, but he clearly still can't smell a thing. He even had a little sneezing fit at one point, but that could have been from his embarrassment at falling off the top perch. (He's now fallen 4 times, but doesn't seem daunted in the least.)


The tower even comes with a sturdy toy mouse that attaches to a screwed-in snap fixture. If he were to get tangled in the string, the snap would release. He's not likely to get caught in that tiny bit of string, but it's a relief to know he won't be endangered by it.

After I stuck one of his favorite toys (a ball I knit filled with stuffing and a bell) into the tube at the top, he played aggressively and then promptly went to sleep up there.

He's now becoming quite fond of the tower. He's had a few play sessions (all by himself! He hates playing by himself when people are around!), trying out all the nooks and crannies. He's also learned that he can climb onto the fish tank from the top perch, and he spent a good deal of time investigating that. It'll probably be more fun when there are fish in there to watch, but he had a good time anyway.

Now, we're tying to figure out how to keep him from taking up valuable bed real-estate space at night. Sean and Rupert both have colds, and they're both wanting lots of sleep. Unfortunately for Sean, Rupert gets to sleep all afternoon in addition to all 8 hours of the night.

I bought Rupert a little stuffed lion (Trader Joes: $2.99!!) and I'm teaching him to snuggle with that when he's sleeping instead of our necks. As you can see from the photo, he loves the lion, but he still likes to snuggle with a person. It's totally adorable! Hopefully he'll give us some space in the bed soon though, and Sean will recover from his cold so he can be happier again. They're a handful to take care of!

Note from Sean: always remember liquid flows downwards with gravity. It does not magically suspend itself in midair.

Also, having to mop up water from underneath and behind a fish tank stand really sucks and does not make your significant other happy with you.

Life equals kitty

I'm trying to come up with something to write about that isn't kitten related, but it's a bit hard. My life has revolved around Rupert since he got here, making sure he's settling in okay and not destroying anything. He's a very good kitty, but sometimes he needs to be told not to eat the soap.

Rupert's still been sleeping in bed with us every night, but he's getting better about sleeping next to us, instead of jamming his head under our necks all night long. He's been trying to nap on me during the day, but it involves climbing halfway onto my shoulder to snuggle. Right now he's wrapped around the back of my neck by sitting on the top of the couch. What a weirdo. I'm going to try giving (or making) him a stuffed animal to sleep with, to see if that makes him happy.

[Warning: Litterbox paragraph. Skip ahead to the next paragraph if you don't care about my cat and his bathroom habits.] He still isn't using the litter box on his own. I've moved it into the bathtub with the lid off, so when he starts pawing the bathtub sides, I just have to point at the box and he'll jump in and use it. He doesn't want to use it, which is the problem. I want him to use it on his own, but he clearly dislikes something about the situation, since he's distressed about not using the box. The plan is to try some new litter, but I just really don't want that awful clay stuff! I'm going to try the wheat kind next (this stuff is made from corn), and pray that it's up to his standards.

Today happens to be the second Sunday in April, which means that Crafty Wonderland was today! We checked it out, and I was impressed the with cool ambiance of the venue. There was a great assortment of artists and vendors, (and free cupcake decorating!) and I really hope I get accepted to one in the future. We didn't buy anything, but there were some nice things that would have been worthy of our cash if we'd had some to spare.

The weather has warmed up quite a bit the past few days, so today was a nice day to go out. Yesterday it was 78 degrees! Sean and I went for a little walk down to the library in Woodstock and checked out some of the eateries there. There's a great deli/wine place and a sausage and sandwich place that we need to try. If our friends ever come visit us, I think we'll take them to one of those places for lunch. The sausage place also prepares your game for you, and will smoke your fish. Good to know!

In business-related stuff, I'm working on sending out some more press release emails. I learned some great stuff about contacting the media from Grace Bonney at Design*Sponge. I'm going to give her methods a try, since I didn't get any response from the last batch I sent out. Things are getting busier for me, which is great! I'm a lot more focused about working now that I have scheduled play-breaks with the cat. He sleeps for so many hours in the afternoon, I can get work done then or go out for an errand.

In Gin-related news, I've discovered a new type of gin that I'd like to try. It's called Genever gin, and it's a style different from London Dry in that it has more botanicals and flavorings. I just read that "The classic accompaniment to a shot of Genever is a dried green herring." Fascinating. Genever is typically from Holland, but there is a local distillery here in Portland that makes it's own gin, called Aviation. There's even a distiller's festival here! Aviation isn't the cheapest gin on the market, but neither is anything else. The liquor stores in Oregon are state-run, so they're sometimes hard to find, and the prices are exorbitant. Beer and wine are available almost anywhere, however, which seems really strange to me. A lot of the locals also seem to feel that liquor is somehow more dangerous, or something, than beer and wine. Not a feeling I share.

A note on disciplining the cat: Rupert is sort of getting the connection between getting wet and the squirt bottle. The best way to discipline him so far seems to be saying "No!" very forcefully and deeply. I haven't looked for compressed air anywhere yet, but it would probably work. I don't think we'd enjoy the added noise of a horn though, and our apartment neighbors probably wouldn't either. I turned on my filter fan while he was behind it the other day, and he tried to "play" with the air currents blowing at him. Compressed air might startle him though. If startling him is enough to get him to stop what he's doing. :)

All the photos in this post are from Kenilworth Park. I misspelled it in my previous post. Note the people in the second photo for scale. Those are some tall trees!!

...as in "Giles". Google it.

The kitty has officially been name Rupert. He's not stuffy and British, but I think the name fits him well. He just may grow into a very dignified cat, but right now he's going through his "Ripper" phase of rebellion.

Here are a couple facts about Rupert that might interest you, especially if you've ever dealt with "normal" cats. [note: there is no such thing as a normal cat.] Rupert loves hiding toys inside of shoes. He likes dry food just as much as wet. He could care less about catnip.

This is one of the clumsiest cats I've seen. He barrels across the house and almost seems to enjoy ramming his head against solid objects to slow him down. He falls off of everything he climbs on. He wants to play with computer screens. He likes climbing around on the bars between the kitchen chair legs. Being squirted with water (for discipline) perplexes him. He doesn't like treats, and does not respond at all to praise. He likes to play with the trash inside small trash cans. He doesn't play with his claws out, so even his feather toy is still completely intact. This one may change as he gets older, and he'll probably bite through it eventually since he likes to chew on fuzzy things.

He successfully used the litter box this morning! Sean found him pawing at the tub and meowing, so he put Rupert in the litter box, which he used. I found him doing the same thing later, so I took the top of the box and put him in. Success! Maybe he just doesn't like the lid. He used it again on his own a little later, which is very exciting. Maybe not to any of you, but I'm thrilled! If he keeps it up, we may even be able to leave him in the house alone without coming home to a mess. If the litter box is the only thing he's picky about, I can certainly live with that.

We read the article about toilet training your cat (thanks, Jean!), but it sounds a little intense. Since I'm not sure yet how to reward him, I don't know how to make him excited about using the toilet. Also, he has to already know how to use the litter box, and I'm still waiting to make sure he completely gets that first. He tried to jump on the toilet while I was cleaning his litter box into it this morning, and that was almost a huge disaster!

I'm in the process of knitting him a bunch of toys to play with, since they get lost so easily. I still can't find one of his fuzzy mice from the first night! He likes to attack the ball of yarn while I'm knitting though, so it's a little bit of a slow process. It's really rewarding to watch him play with the ball I made yesterday. He's really good at dribbling it across the floor.

I tried taking photos of him playing, but he moves too fast! You also can't really tell how rough he's playing from a photo. He likes to jump into the air and twist himself around so that he always lands on his back, a shoulder, or on his face. Last night he dove for a toy and flung himself belly-first into the side of the couch, arms raised above his head. Luckily, he's bouncy and never appears injured or embarrassed.

Here's the tower I ordered for him this morning. It's going to be in the same color, too. Pretty fancy. There's one sisal rope post, one carpeted post, and three cedar posts. I don't know if he'll like the cedar, but we're giving him options. If he doesn't like them, we could always put our own carpet or rope on them. He's going to be so excited to have something to climb on! Nothing in our apartment is all that tall, but he's always climbing up whatever we have.

i can has kitteh?

I am pleased to introduce [Name to be Announced], the newest member of the Siska household! This little man joined us last night, and has been keeping us busy since his arrival. Kitty has unusual coloring, and a very round, flat face. He talks when I'm in the room, and was sad when Sean left for work.

We're still working on a name for him, and we'll surely let everyone know what it is when we have it. The name he came from the Humane Society with is Mr. Peepers, but I just can't bring myself to call a living being by that name.

Sean likes the name Danzig, and I'm sorta leaning toward old man names. He started purring enthusiastically when Sean suggested the name Jayne, and I told him I'd knit him an orange hat.

So, I wasn't really planning on getting a cat last night, but I've been checking the Humane Society webpage every day, since kittens are generally adopted the same day they're listed on there. This little guy was just totally gorgeous, and I had to go out and meet him. Of course meeting turned into adopting, since I knew he wouldn't be around long.

New Kitty is 4 months old, and has chronic watery eyes, which may or may not get better over time. I think he's plenty cute anyway! We just have to keep an eye on him to make sure they don't get infected since he's still recovering from an upper respiratory infection. He sneezes a little sometimes, and sounds sort of wheezy when he's really excited, but he sure doesn't lack energy!

I brought him home at 9:00 last night, and he played nonstop for over two hours. He was bouncing off the walls in the shelter, so I figured he just needed to get it out of his system. There was nothing even remotely timid about him, and he entertained himself without our help. His two favorite toys got lost after the two hours, and I still can't find them!

When we went to bed, he jumped into the bed and climbed completely under the covers! This was the first time he really purred loudly, and he wouldn't stop. He groomed himself under the blankets for about 20 minutes, then decided he needed to snuggle with my head. He spend the entire night in bed with us, which I've never heard of a cat doing before! He moved around every few hours, from being wrapped around my head on the pillow, trying to bury himself under my neck, laying on top of the blankets between us, and under the blankets curled up next to me. This seemed like a sure-fire way to test my allergies, and the most I got was a little itchy where he'd been pawing and kneading my face. This isn't a great habit I want to condone, but I couldn't bring myself to kick him out on his first night with us, mere hours after being introduced. He was just too happy.

As soon as we got up this morning, he bounded around the apartment and checked it all out over again. He pooped in the bathtub, which is a bit of a concern. His litter box is just outside the bathroom (no room inside), and I specifically bought scoopable, flushable corn litter, since his chart said he didn't like pine. I figured the pine litter comes in funky big pellets, so he didn't like the shape, but the corn stuff is the same shape as clay litter. He's been in the litter box multiple times to check it out, and he looks like he's trying to use it, but no dice. I'm keeping an eye on him today to see if I can figure out the problem.

He's been staring out the living room window for about an hour or so, and he's curled up on the top of the couch behind my neck. When he's not playing, he seems to really want to cuddle. He really doesn't enjoy being picked up, which is fine, but he's impervious to everything else: noises, being manually repositioned on your lap, falling off of stuff. I actually thought he might have a hearing problem when I played with him in the shelter since he cared so little about my lame attempts to get his attention by talking or making noise at him. He can clearly hear fine, but just doesn't care at all. I don't think he'd be phased at all by other pets, children or strangers. Once he gets used to us and his new home, he may feel differently thought. He's moved around a lot recently, especially since his treatment for the URI.

I think I might have to knit him some mice today, since I still can't find his fuzzy toys. We're still working on getting things like a scratching post and small supplies (nail clipper, brush, etc.) too. Anyone have advice on food/water bowls? Or kitten food? I bought what the HS recommends, which I'm sure is one of the priciest brands. Since he's an only pet, I think it's okay to spoil him with good food and stuff, but I don't want to break the bank buying kibble. We're looking at kitty condos on DrsFosterandSmith, but they're expensive and hard to decide between. I think he really needs something right away, so we'll be making that decision tonight.

I have to find a vet for him, and take him in the next 10 days for his rabies vaccine and to register his county cat license. It'll be good to have him checked out again so I know if he's continuing to get healthier, but I think he looks great. Since he was brought into the shelter as severely anorexic, with tapeworm, fleas and then the URI, I think he's lookin' pretty good.

Please feel free to comment here, and offer any advice and name suggestions you may have. No guarantees that we'll listen, but, you know. And for those of you with "single kitten syndrome" concerns, you should know that he was brought in with a sibling who has been adopted, so he's had 4 months to be around other kittens, and now he's on his own anyway. It's the best we could do. There will surely be more photos in the future!

Some people just like to whine

I had to wake up a little early today, since apparently we have a "bug guy" coming to spray in the living room. Presumably for ants, since I've heard they have ants here sometimes, and I saw a tiny one a few days ago.

I'm on some kind of bizarro sleep schedule where I can't fall sleep until about 1am, and then I want to sleep in until 10:30. I hate it! Especially since the internet marketplace never closes, and relisting items on Etsy is often better around 9am EST, which I will never again be able to accomplish.

I'm not sure why I'm having trouble with the sleep thing. I tend to sleep better when I get a lot of exercise during the day, so I've been focusing on that. I've also been forcing myself to get up when Sean's alarm goes off, so at least we're on the same schedule. I think this is also connected to my stress about my business.

It was the same last year, too. Business is slow this time of year, and I work better under pressure. Since I'm not getting lots of orders to fill, I can't focus on what I should be doing and I sort of bumble around the studio and the internet, trying to "get something done", which turns out to be very little by the end of the day. I've been writing lists for myself, which is helping. Also, I need to buy a lot of supplies and sign up for a lot of events, which means spending big money. It's hard to spend hundreds of dollars when you're not making a cent most days of the week. Sigh... Life is so rough, I know.

When the alarm went of this morning, the radio dj's were complaining about the DMV. Perhaps I should preface this story with a word about the Portland radio stations and their dj's: They suck. Even the dj's who are broadcasting their afternoon shows from LA. SUCK. I miss WAAF in Boston! I miss Mistress Carrie and her angry ranting about stuff I could relate to! I miss her banter with Mike Hsu! I've tried listening to over the internet, but I couldn't get the app to work. Plus, their radio show would be on at lunchtime here, and I don't usually listen to the radio then. Grrr. The dj's here are so tame. They whine about polite things and get tons of callers to back them up. One guy (Marconi, in case you know him) was trying to be a shock jock by talking to a man and a hooker he'd picked up, but the girl kept denying she was a hooker. Yeah, that was entertaining...

So, where was I.... Oh yes! The DMV. The hosts this morning were going on about how inconvenient it is to go to the DMV when you've had your license suspended. No kidding. And the host was all up in arms because he didn't change his address on his license when he'd moved previously, and hadn't brought any other forms of ID (they want mail from a utility company that is addressed to you in your new house), or cash (they only take cash or checks). He even complained that the DMV employee tried to joke around and be friendly with him.

This brings me to my own personal experience with the DMV here. The first time we went in was to get our Oregon driver's licenses. We had to take a knowledge test, which was actually kind of hard (and had 36 questions!). We went on a Friday morning and were greeted by a friendly person giving out numbers, and we were seen right away at every window we needed to visit. The employees were kind, chatty, and each had a funny story to tell about living in Oregon. It was like the Twilight Zone. But it was pleasant!!

The next time we went in was a Saturday (not recommended) to get our Oregon plates. There was a long wait, but the atmosphere was calm and quiet in the room. Even though every seat and wallspace was taken, with numerous babies and small children waiting as well. We had actually forgotten one of the many pieces of paperwork we needed, but the person who helped us let it slide. Can you believe that? He even started telling us stories about living in D.C., and drew us a map of the highway system to illustrate his point.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that the DMV is fun, but I don't think it's worth complaining about here for a second. Especially if it's only such a hassle because of your own stupidity. Our experience here was completely painless, unlike the hell that is the Massachusetts DMV: with multiple lines to wait in with no direction or explanation, screaming children (and sometimes parents), and employees so rude and unpleasant you would think their job is some sort of punishment. No thank you. I'll take the chatterbox fleece-sweater-wearing bearded men of Oregon any day.

Air

I took a short walk over to Kennilworth Park today, which is about two blocks away from our house. I wanted to get some pictures of the immense trees over there, and I happened to get some awesome views of clouds while I was at it. Portland is great for clouds. On any given day, you can walk around and see every type of cloud there is. My favorites are the thick, chunky ones with lots of crevices. They look like some kind of yummy whipped dessert when the sun hits them right.

(Click the image to see a panorama from the lookout in the park)

While I was walking, I noticed that it smelled like barbeque today. Not really strongly, like someone was actually cooking in their backyard. More like when you go to a cookout, and you can still smell the grill on your clothes when you go home. It was like the smell of cooking food had permeated everything in the neighborhood.

It wasn't a great day for barbequing anyway, since it started raining as I walked home, and it wasn't all that warm out to begin with. It reminded me of the range of smells in the neighborhood though. Some days, it's woodsmoke. I like walking past houses burning their woodstoves on colder days. There have been a good handful of "spring" smelling days recently too. Those are the best! Sometimes it just smells like damp earth. Like when you're working in the garden - the smell of dirt.

Sometimes when I'm driving I can smell some bad exhaust smells, which is pretty normal everywhere (and especially in a place with so many very old cars). I think some of it is the biodiesel, though. All the buses here (and a healthy portion of passenger vehicles) run on biodiesel. In CA, it smelled like french fries when you drove behind one. Here, it smells more like burning oil. Interesting....

When you come visit us...

I know everyone is just dying to come visit us out here, and that's great! I've scouted out a couple accommodation options for you folks, and I thought I'd share them with the general populace.

There is a Motel6 just up the block from us on Powell, but it's really ghetto-looking. It's right next-door to a strip club (but what isn't, in Portland?), which is either a selling point, or a reason to avoid it. You are free to make that decision on your own.

If pole-dancing isn't your idea of entertainment, I found this super cute bed and breakfast place, just one mile north of us on Division. It's called the Bluebird Guesthouse, and it looks great. (See all the photos?) Here's their website which has lots of photos of the different rooms (they're all different!) and even a great calendar to check the rooms' availability.
http://www.bluebirdguesthouse.com/

Prices range from $55-85 in peak-season. It looks like rooms book up pretty fast, so plan ahead. There is a communal kitchen that you can cook meals in, but continental breakfast is also provided. Most rooms don't have bathrooms, so you'd have to use one of the many shared bathrooms, but I did that in NYC and it wasn't bad at all. It's in a great neighborhood so you could explore on your own if you wanted to.

There's also the Jupiter Hotel, if you didn't mind spending about $110/night. It's the coolest hotel in Portland, and it's right next to the Doug Fir lounge which is where the big craft fair is held every month. The Jupiter also has different styles for all the rooms, but it's more on the arty side of things, rather than quaint. There is other cool stuff to do on Burnside near the Jupiter, and you're only a few blocks from the Burnside Bridge into downtown. The Jupiter's website is:
http://jupiterhotel.com

I've heard from local folks that there are a lot of reasonably priced hotels on MLK blvd. (also known as 99E when you're looking for it on a map) near the Lloyd Center. I don't know that area at all, but it's not too too far away. It seems to be a bit more urban(?) in that area... Like, there are more chain stores and a lot of traffic. I don't think you'll be able to beat the price,
location and atmosphere of the Bluebird Guesthouse though.

Just let us know when you're coming, and we'll meet you at the airport! :)