Bagels, Thing and Hugo

Walked over to Kettleman's bagels this morning.  3 Garlic and One Onion bagel to go.  Separate bag for the Onion please. Honestly the bagel photo on their site looks a little gross and doesn't do them justice.

We saw this guy on the way over...

Believe it or not, this is the first bagel place we went to since we moved from Manhattan.  And we just went for the first time about 2 months ago.  Guess we were hedging on the whole NW bagel thing and couldn't hold out any longer. Mighty Fine bagels and we have been going regularly ever since.

Here is another vintage auto that is fighting to stay on the road.

Gotta love the mug on this fella.

What The Hell Have You Been Doin?

Well to be honest, we have been very busy here in the Pacific Northwest.

We dove right into a project soon after the last post on this site and this is the main reason I have not been updating the blog. I hope to re-engage going forward as most of the work is now complete.

So, you say, "What was this project you speak of?" A big one: We tore out the old back yard that was Ok but, suffering due to mud plots, cracking patio stones, dry rotten deck and an eyesore of cement table.

Goal of the project was to get us off our asses and get some real work done that would make this summer all the more awesome.

Here is the slideshow (click on it to enlarge):

Back Yard & Deck Project 2009

As you may not be able to appreciate from the imbedded slideshow here are some highlights....

• Built ramps within the debris box to ensure we filled it to the brim (if you have done this before, it makes for good theater seeing someone race a wheelbarrow up the ramp to dump debris in back and on top of the pile)
• We had an minimum load of 4 tons for the box and put in 18 tons
• The truck that came to pick it up looked like it was going to flip over on its side when it was loading up the bin. That would have been interesting and depressing all at the same time.
• Our initial paver delivery was the wrong stones
• The deck wood order was short and this is why we have yet to put on the railings
• Karen was instrumental in picking out the plants for the back garden area replanting (and effort I might add!)
  

Kudos to the following vendors for providing superior service and materials...

Lakeside Lumber
Willamette Graystone
Porland Sand & Gravel

We are off to NYC tomorrow and hope to post from there. Have fun!

Black & Blue

Headed out for Pedicure #2 yesterday with Susan at Dosha (A nice B-day present) and after we were done, the sky was a cool black and blue.

We grabbed a cocktail from the mixologist at Belly Timber after we were finished.

Day 1 @ 43

Well well well. One more notch in the belt.

Had a great dinner with friends at Toro Bravo last night. I must say my favorite tapa was the brussel sprouts with bacon. Way smokey and delicious.

Brandi did us all a favor and ordered the Churro and chocolate sauce.

Back In The Saddle

As with posting (none since last Sunday) and with the new snowfall here in Portland.


Big flakes but, too warm to stick here in Portland. Mt. Hood will be rearing to go for mountain fun after this snowfall.

Weekend Hawthorne Activities

Maria and the kids came up on Friday and we hit the streets on Saturday. We ate at Baghdad Cafe and then checked out the local shops.

Baby Back

Evil K and Jim hanging out last night. We think she might pop in March (maybe the 25th??).


I think I might have mine on the 26th. We shall see.

Recession? What Recession?

This joint was packed to the gills last night.


Ok. So, having lived (Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco, Manhattan and now Portland to name a few) and traveled pretty much all over the country and to quite a few other countries, we have eaten many a pie.


I can say with confidence that Apizza Scholls serves up arguably the best pizza on the planet. Thin to win as we like to say when cutting the Euchre deck!

Last nights savories included the Caesar salad (very good and I don't eat greens much) and in their own words the...

Tartufo Bianco - $21

Mozzarella (whole milk & fresh), pecorino romano with Truffle Oil & sea salt

This baby is a real winner and I defy anyone to say otherwise. Being the carnivore that I am, I can also testify to the delectability of the Sausage & Peppers option.



If you like Pizza and are in the hood, don't miss this experience (47th and Hawthorne). But, be sure to get there early as once the dough is gone, the party is over.

Hearts & Rainbows

We walked up Hawthorne today with Hugo in tow and we came across this double rainbow along the way.


Stopped in at Peet's Coffee (for the pot of gold) and was surprised to find a heart in my latte milk froth. Things are looking up even if the weather is not!

Berries With Snow

Well we got more winter dusted upon us yesterday. These berries are on a tree from Marilyn's hilltop at Oatfield Estates.

Inauguration Libation Tour

Our inauguration day festivities started off with a visit to the doctor for a check up.

Susan grabbed this delicious looking latte from Stumptown Coffee on Division while I was giving up some blood.


We then walked up to Bar of the Gods but, they were closed (opened later than we were willing to wait). In passing, we considered the Space Room (love the sign and the Alien) but, this was not be and we ended up at Vertigo for an initial libation. The staff was very nice and we enjoyed our visit.


As we walked the strip, we had to swing by one of our favorite stores, Elsa + Sam. If you are in the market for some cool dishware, or just looking, we highly recommend checking this one out.


Bridgeport Brewery has always been on our list to check out and so we did. Had a great bottle of Pinot Noire there and passed out a couple of Obama buttons to some other patrons. We were under the impression that these guys were stilled owned by Ponzi Vineyards (we are wine club members) and found out that they were sold off long ago. Apparently the founders of Ponzi founded Bridgeport as well.

"1984 – The Ponzi Family founds Bridgeport, Oregon's first craft brewery and brewpub." - From the Ponzi Vineyard web site

We ended our day in search of some vittles. Meridian was the choice since we needed some hearty Mac & Cheese to soak up the wine.

So goes the day of Obama from the Brown's perspective.

Bad Sam

Well this broke yesterday during all the Obama fanfare. This does not look good for Portland and this could get uglier if the liaison proves to have been with a minor.

"I've not made my mind up," Adams said, sounding discouraged and deflated. "I still haven't determined whether it's in the city's best interest for me to stay or go." - Samuel Adams

So much for the earlier post we had regarding his achievement as a top 30 cities gay first.

Feel Free To Proceed

Well, it's the last night before Obama takes the reins. As the photo illustrates, it is now time to move forward and make amends for the past.

Enjoy the festivities tomorrow and good bye to the Bush dynasty.

I Pity The Fool

Yeah. That fool would be ME. I had to go check out the liquidation sale. Laptops, Games TV's, Cameras and pretty much anything you would want bigger ticket was a mere 10% off. I picked up Resident Evil The Umbrella Chronicles as Susan and I should be able to play this together. I also noticed after I got home that I still got ripped off.

CD's & DVD's were 20% off and I picked up Nine and this seemed to make economic sense. The selection was lame but, they managed to pry some green from my warm live hands.

Oh and TV stands were a whopping 30% off! As if anyone really needs/wants one of these crappy pieces of furniture.

Another Sunny Day In Paradise

Way windy today which made it feel much colder than it really was. Not that we can complain when it's -32 in Rockford IL.

We took the pooch out for a good walk today up Hawthorne amongst the throngs of people and dogs (For Portland). Hugo embarrassed us sufficiently with his aggressive behavior and high pitched shreak/bark.

Stopped off to see Evil K and Jim. Hugo and Sly visited too (NSFW).

Left, Left, Right, Left, Right

Walking has become a priority for us lately. As such, we bought some pedometers at REI on Super Clearance for $9 bucks each. Pretty good deal we think and we find them to be motivational as well. We shall see if we can stick to it!

We walked 10K+ steps the last 2 days and 5k+ steps today. Our trip today took us to the awesome New Seasons Market (corner of 20th & SE Division). We shot this sculpture dude outside the store and got a good photo of Hugo as well.

Our other priority is to shop the local independently owned stores in our hood. With this in mind, Hugo is sporting a wool sweater from Pets on Broadway, a vegan recycled bicycle tube collar by Etta Says purchased from For Paws on SE Division Street (between 31st & 32nd).

Shop these stores for your pet(s) as they have great stuff. Pets on Broadway has a huge selection and For paws is more on the boutique side with excellent customer service.

Duck, Duck, Goose

So, it's been awhile since the last post.

We took Hugo to the park after visiting Susan's Mom (Marilyn) the other day. We stopped to check out the Geese in the park and got these photos and video.

I believe this is the Canada Goose and they are noted as pests in some cases for their abundant droppings in parks, golf courses and other open spaces that humans use. It is noted that each goose can drop up to 2 pounds of crap per day. Now, that is prolific!

Anyway, Hugo managed to wolf down his share before we could get him to another area of the park to run. Gross.

Home Again! Sly's Parents Stop By

Jim & Krystin came by to pick up Sly. He stayed at our house with the dog sitter (Christina did a great job) while we were away.
Days Spent Apart Pet Sitting

As you can see, Krystin is cooking up something that should pop around March (it's a girl!).

Hugo and Sly got along famously as usual.

Buh Bye Belize

We will miss the warm weather and the Belizian hospitality!

We will fly via Houston to Portland and arrive home around 7pm.

View From Marilyn's Porch

Very cold day today but, at least it was sunny and clear.

We also stocked up on groceries to tide us over for the next few days as we expect around 6" to 10"s of snow through Thursday.

This will be a nice contrast to the weather we should be seeing in Belize come Saturday.