Category: Beer

Categories
Beer Entertainment Food Movies Work

Long week, good weekend, Legend

Since last weekend’s adventures, I had another long and fairly stressful work week. The weekend was pretty fun though, despite two things: 1) a possible resurgence of some sort of virus (sinus pressure, a sore throat and a cough, dammit), and 2) a friend coming into town on Friday (I say friend, though he’s a total bastard and I hate him, but not really, I just like to pretend I hate him). Started off by going to Mash Tun for some dinner and drinks Friday night along with Snooks and L. Saturday we all met up at Kennedy School in the early afternoon for some drinks, and then went to Delta Cafe (blogged before here) for dinner. I both love and loathe the Delta… the food is really good, but the greasy smell gets woven into both your clothes and your very being. It can be a bit overpowering. The last time I was there I had made the mistake of bringing my wool coat in, and the next morning on the bus I realized that I was ‘that stinky guy’, all because of the greasy scent. This time I wore clothes I could burn later. 🙂

Intersection near Kennedy SchoolToday the nice weather returned. I spent most of my day relaxing indoors, playing a bit of Call of Duty 4, and watching shows recorded on the DVR. Kelly went to a friends baby shower, and after she got home I drug her to Kennedy School to see I Am Legend at the theater. We’d arrived with just enough time to sit in the Cypress Room for a beer before heading to the theater. The movie was pretty good, and I enjoyed it quite a bit despite the, at times, poor CGI (some of it was pretty bad, though overall I was able to get past a lot of it and it didn’t distract me). The representation of a vacant and dead city (with nature taking back what’s ‘hers’ with grass coming through the streets, deer running free, etc), and the main character’s almost super-human ability to avoid insanity in the face of near total solitude was well done. Overall I though it was pretty good, and well worth seeing on the ‘big screen’ for a few dollars, with some beer and popcorn.

Categories
Beer General Travel

Vista House & Edgefield

After getting back from the mountain yesterday safe and sound, getting home by 7, and being really tired and going to bed around 9:30pm (my sick still having some sway over me), Kelly and I woke up just before 8am this morning. We both sat around a bit, I cleaned my office a bit, played some Call of Duty 4, and then around 1pm Kelly and I decided to go do something.

Vista HouseWe left the house and drove to the Vista House at Crown Point, a spot I’ve been wanting to visit for several years now. The drive was pretty quick (I think it only took us about 45 minutes) and it was a gorgeous day (yes, there is a pun in there). Arriving to Crown Point is great, you turn this corner on the old highway and suddenly there is this great old building overlooking the gorge. Looking north from Vista HouseThe view is really quite stunning, especially on a clear day like today, looking down onto the Columbia river and over to Washington state. Vista House itself is also worth seeing. Built in 1918 as a rest stop along the old highway, it both manages to blend in with it’s surrounding environment and serve as a platform to take in the surrounding beauty. It was VERY windy and cold up there however, so Kelly and I didn’t spend a lot of time gazing at the scenery. We did enjoy wandering around the gallery area underneath though, where there were several old photos of the building from days past.

After leaving Crown Point, Kelly and I drove along the old Historic Columbia River Highway to Troutdale (rather than going back to I-84) and went to McMenamins Edgefield for some drinks. Had a really nice time walking around the property, sipping on beers (at one point I encouraged Kelly go get a nice wine at the wine cellar bar). We wandered around / sat around for a couple hours before heading back homeward. We’re now sitting in another McMenamins establishment (Kennedy School) as I write this post. Had a great day, and am feeling a lot better, however I’m pretty sure beer has a lot to do with that.

Categories
Beer Food

Valentine Moon & Hot Sauce

Louisana Hot SauceI woke up this morning, went into my office, and found a bag on my desk from my lovely wife Kelly. In the bag were some Samuel Smith’s beers (stout, porter, and India pale), and the biggest bottle of Louisiana Hot Sauce I’ve ever seen (32oz). I love this hot sauce (it’s not very hot, but it’s really tasty and goes with anything), and had recently purchased a tiny 3oz bottle a couple days ago. Kelly found this beast of a bottle, and bought it for me for Valentine’s Day. That’s right, I don’t need flowers or chocolates or wimpy cards, I need beer and a giant bottle of HOT SAUCE! Raaaawwwrrrr! Remember, hot sauce goes good with anything… soup, pasta, pizza, eggs, potatoes, salad, toast, cereal, ice cream, fresh fruit, etc. This bottle will be empty in a few days. Yes, Kelly knows me well.

Another example of Kelly’s love for me (and her willingness to eschew the typical Valentine’s Day trappings of overly-packed Italian restaurants), we went to Moon & Sixpence, where we had a few pints and some dinner (Kelly had the Ploughman’s, and I had the Steak and Mushroom pie, which was very tasty). Wonderful night, much needed after my day. Love you Kelly!

Categories
Beer General Movies Music

A Good Saturday

Last night Kelly and I had a night in. She made turkey lasagna and garlic bread, and we watched Sunshine, which I liked quite a bit.

Kelly had class today, so I slept in a bit, waking up at around 8:30am (yup, that’s sleeping in for me now, urgh). After spending a little bit of time on the computer nerding out, and discovering the band Born Ruffians (kind of an indie / folk / rock sound) and noticing how perfect their sound was for the weather outside (50 degrees and sunny) I decided to get out of the house. We had to take our car into the dealership for some under-warranty maintenance, so I scheduled a 2pm appointment, and then went down to the Bishops on Alberta for a haircut. I had an hour wait, so I walked around the neighborhood a bit. Loads of people out, which happens every day like this in the winter, people crawl out of their forced hibernation and squint their eyes at that bright orb in the sky, then wander around smiling and happy. I admit I was in good spirits too just to be out it the not freezing, not raining, not dark and cloudy weather with nothing to do for an hour.

After my haircut, I went across the street to Mash Tun for a glass of beer and some soup (the beer was their new Concordia Cream Ale which was really really good) before going out to the dealership. What was supposed to be an hour thing only took about 25 minutes and I was back on the road.

Now I’m sitting on my porch enjoying the not-freezing weather and sipping on a beer. Tonight Kelly and I meet Mr & Mrs Ghost Dog at Concordia Ale House for some food and more beer. Hooray!

Categories
Beer Food Work

More Moon (and Kelly job news)

Tonight after work I met both my brothers at Moon & Sixpence for some dinner and beers. I got there long before either of them made it, and it was a total mess… Deschutes Brewing was having a tasting event there (which I remember reading about, but forgot completely) so I opened the door to the pub and people nearly spilled out it was so packed. Eventually got a table (shortly before my brothers arrived) and ended up staying. Fortunately it mellowed out greatly after about 9pm so it turned out to be fine.

While there, Kelly called me to tell me (more like screamed with excitement) that her new employer accepted her counter-offer and that she starts a week from Monday. Hooray! We were both nervously waiting for a response to it. Always nerve-wracking to put in a counter, and then have to wait for what seems like forever for a response.

I ended up staying a bit too late (brother T wasn’t in a hurry to get home, and kept saying “oh go on, get another beer”) so I didn’t make it home until 1:30am. Urgh. Tomorrow’s gonna be rough.