I spent about six hours yesterday clearing the 250 ft wide by 5-10 ft deep blackberry nest in the backyard of our new house. I got between 1/3 and 1/2 through the yard before I stopped. I also got a nice 2nd degree burn from the top of the engine of the brush mower I rented while I was pulling out vines twisted in the machine. So it's off to urgent care today to have them check it out. I should have gone yesterday, probably, but my machine was on the clock, and I didn't really think about it. It's not very big, but it continues to hurt like hell, so it's probably worth getting it checked out.
The backyard looks MUCH better, and I look MUCH worse :). Lots of scratches and that machine is a LOT of work. It really needs a reverse throttle on it to pull it back up the hill or out of a tough spot. I'll get some pics up here soon. I also get the joy of picking up all of the debris again to dispose of it once I get a yard waste dumpster delivered...
Now, a decision... Will I rent it again next saturday and try and finish the yard or do I wait..... stay tuned... ;)
Sunday, August 28, 2005
Saturday, August 20, 2005
Some Pictures from the Beach
Wanted to get some pictures from the trip up, so here they are...
All of us at Haystack Rock friday morning:
Michelle, Jessie, and Brandon:
Haystack Rock in the fog:
Sandcastle Building at Tolovana:
All of us at Haystack Rock friday morning:
Michelle, Jessie, and Brandon:
Haystack Rock in the fog:
Sandcastle Building at Tolovana:
Beach Trip Day 5
All good things must come to an end, and today is no exception. Of course, the weather today was the best of them all, since today's when we're leaving Cannon Beach. After a morning of packing and checking out (amazing how long that takes with a family of five), we headed into town. It was a TOTAL ZOO. It took us about 30 minutes to find two parking spots and then even longer to find a place to eat that could seat us all. We tried Bill's Tavern, but they were "seat yourself" and finding seating for nine was just NOT going to work. So we headed to this pizza place (can't remember the name now... Pelatto's???) and had a beer and GREAT PIZZA.
After lunch, it was off to the Oregon Gallery so I could once again look at the three-paned picture of Cannon Beach that I've always wanted to buy but never have a wall for. This was true again today, so I looked at the picture and left it there on the wall of the gallery. We DID however, buy a nice painting to hang in the family room on the stone fireplace, once we figure out how to mount something to stone bricks :)
We got packed and headed into Beaverton and tonight we're staying at the Hilton Homewood Suites (which has in-room internet access, FINALLY!) so that I can check up on the state of the world and post my blog... We'll all be heading to Suzi's folks tonight for fried chicken and to let the kids chase the garden railway at Grandpa Bill's. Then, it's off to Seattle tomorrow to sit in traffic on another fine Sunday before heading back to work.
Oh, and Monday: AIR CONDITIONING / AIR FILTER INSTALLATION :) Woohoo!
After lunch, it was off to the Oregon Gallery so I could once again look at the three-paned picture of Cannon Beach that I've always wanted to buy but never have a wall for. This was true again today, so I looked at the picture and left it there on the wall of the gallery. We DID however, buy a nice painting to hang in the family room on the stone fireplace, once we figure out how to mount something to stone bricks :)
We got packed and headed into Beaverton and tonight we're staying at the Hilton Homewood Suites (which has in-room internet access, FINALLY!) so that I can check up on the state of the world and post my blog... We'll all be heading to Suzi's folks tonight for fried chicken and to let the kids chase the garden railway at Grandpa Bill's. Then, it's off to Seattle tomorrow to sit in traffic on another fine Sunday before heading back to work.
Oh, and Monday: AIR CONDITIONING / AIR FILTER INSTALLATION :) Woohoo!
Friday, August 19, 2005
Beach Trip Day 4
Today, we were up early (6am early) and headed out around 7am to walk the approx 1.5 miles up the coast to Haystack Rock. The tide is the lowest there it's been in a long time (according to the Fish and Wildlife Service lady we talked to) and so we got a great look at all of the tide pools. It was VERY foggy and the rock appeared out of the mist almost at the end of the walk. We saw lots of sealife and the kids had a great time checking everything out. We also found some WHOLE sand dollars on the way to Haystack, which is something I've never found before. They're usually broken. You can't collect anything at the rock itself (it's protected) but we saw some good stuff along the way.
After the walk, we were all tired and took a nap for a few hours. Suzi and Michelle then left to take on Cannon Beach shopping and Pat and I stayed back, did some laundry, had some lunch, and spent over two hours at the pool. The kids are all fishes so we had a great time there splashing around, swimming, and teaching Brandon to dive.
The women came back, we had some dinner, and then Suzi and I headed out for dessert for the 10 year anniversary. It was NOT meant to be. :) We had a nice time, but there were several obstacles in the way. One place we wanted to go had a big letter posted on it about how they don't have time to cater to your kids and if they're noisy take them outside, etc. We didn't have our kids with them, but we both agreed it was pretty rude, so we left there. The next place we found was more of a coffee shop, so we skipped that and headed to where we were going to go in the first place: Dooger's Seafood Grill. But, the service was sort of crufty, Suzi had floaters in her water, and the air conditioning vent was underneath our table and kicked on just as we got dessert and was blowing all over us (it was NOT cold). So, we called it a night, headed back and proceeded to build a ginormous bonfire on the beach and make s'mores. There were a TON of fires out and lots of friendly folks around.
After the walk, we were all tired and took a nap for a few hours. Suzi and Michelle then left to take on Cannon Beach shopping and Pat and I stayed back, did some laundry, had some lunch, and spent over two hours at the pool. The kids are all fishes so we had a great time there splashing around, swimming, and teaching Brandon to dive.
The women came back, we had some dinner, and then Suzi and I headed out for dessert for the 10 year anniversary. It was NOT meant to be. :) We had a nice time, but there were several obstacles in the way. One place we wanted to go had a big letter posted on it about how they don't have time to cater to your kids and if they're noisy take them outside, etc. We didn't have our kids with them, but we both agreed it was pretty rude, so we left there. The next place we found was more of a coffee shop, so we skipped that and headed to where we were going to go in the first place: Dooger's Seafood Grill. But, the service was sort of crufty, Suzi had floaters in her water, and the air conditioning vent was underneath our table and kicked on just as we got dessert and was blowing all over us (it was NOT cold). So, we called it a night, headed back and proceeded to build a ginormous bonfire on the beach and make s'mores. There were a TON of fires out and lots of friendly folks around.
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Beach Trip Day 3
Slept in a bit again. Suzi went for an early walk alone on the beach and I read the paper and the kids watched cartoons. Headed over to the other hotel room and had bread pudding for a late breakfast and then headed off (a whole 30 feet) for a day at the beach. We built a ginormous castle, complete with moat and surrounding walls.
Some other folks were down the coast building another sand castle and came by and the Dad (yes, the Dad) commented to Jessie and Ryan and Brandon: "our sandcastle is better. that's nice, but it's pretty small and not as nice as ours". What a total jackass. I'm really glad I wasn't there to hear it as he'd have been promptly buried underneath our sand fortress head-first. :) What a great role-model for his kids. At least his girls said nice things. Moral here: some people are just jackasses. Blew me away...
After lots of splashing in the waves, Pat, Josh, Brandon, and I headed down the coast and walked to Haystack Rock. The weather was GORGEOUS and we walked out to the rock and saw some crabs, chased the birds, and navigated the deep sand-craters under the water, trying not to go waist-deep in the water.
After getting back and showering off the sand/grit, we headed off to Mo's again for seafood. I got Suzi a "mood ring" since she joked about getting it so I could have her a ring for our 10 year anniversary tomorrow. The REAL one I bought her is still being resized and we won't have it back until early next week. When she put it on, the ring turned a nice green so she must have liked it. :)
After dinner, most folks wanted to walk down to Haystack Rock again. I was somewhat beached-out so I volunteered to take anyone that didn't want to go on the walk back to our hotel room and hang out. Ryan and Katelyn joined me and the rest are now still out on that walk. The weather outside is simply gorgeous. It's about 70 degrees with a light wind and mostly clear skies. I don't understand the
people out neck-deep swimming in the 45 degree water. It's numbing, as you'd expect at the Oregon Coast, but the folks out there today without wet suits are truly insane. :)
I'd be uploading these as I go, but wireless access in the rooms will only be "available soon" and it's currently only in the lodge / lobby so I don't have internet access without going down there. So I'm writing these up in the hotel room and I'll zap them onto the blog later.
Tomorrow, it's another day at the beach and I think Suzi, Michelle, and Katelyn are going to head into Cannon Beach to do some shopping. Tomorrow night, Suzi and I are going out for dinner for our ten-year wedding anniversary. We've been talking about going to Dooger's (great restaurant in Cannon that we usually try to make it to each time we get out here) but Suzi also suggested trying something new so we might do some exploring before we sit down to decide on where we'd like to eat. I'm hoping we'll do another bon-fire after we get back from dinner.
Saturday, we leave early afternoon to head back to Portland and have dinner with Suzi's folks who have invited all of us and Sami and Brad over for "fried chicken bake" and have the kids check out the garden railroad at Grandpa Bill's.
Some other folks were down the coast building another sand castle and came by and the Dad (yes, the Dad) commented to Jessie and Ryan and Brandon: "our sandcastle is better. that's nice, but it's pretty small and not as nice as ours". What a total jackass. I'm really glad I wasn't there to hear it as he'd have been promptly buried underneath our sand fortress head-first. :) What a great role-model for his kids. At least his girls said nice things. Moral here: some people are just jackasses. Blew me away...
After lots of splashing in the waves, Pat, Josh, Brandon, and I headed down the coast and walked to Haystack Rock. The weather was GORGEOUS and we walked out to the rock and saw some crabs, chased the birds, and navigated the deep sand-craters under the water, trying not to go waist-deep in the water.
After getting back and showering off the sand/grit, we headed off to Mo's again for seafood. I got Suzi a "mood ring" since she joked about getting it so I could have her a ring for our 10 year anniversary tomorrow. The REAL one I bought her is still being resized and we won't have it back until early next week. When she put it on, the ring turned a nice green so she must have liked it. :)
After dinner, most folks wanted to walk down to Haystack Rock again. I was somewhat beached-out so I volunteered to take anyone that didn't want to go on the walk back to our hotel room and hang out. Ryan and Katelyn joined me and the rest are now still out on that walk. The weather outside is simply gorgeous. It's about 70 degrees with a light wind and mostly clear skies. I don't understand the
people out neck-deep swimming in the 45 degree water. It's numbing, as you'd expect at the Oregon Coast, but the folks out there today without wet suits are truly insane. :)
I'd be uploading these as I go, but wireless access in the rooms will only be "available soon" and it's currently only in the lodge / lobby so I don't have internet access without going down there. So I'm writing these up in the hotel room and I'll zap them onto the blog later.
Tomorrow, it's another day at the beach and I think Suzi, Michelle, and Katelyn are going to head into Cannon Beach to do some shopping. Tomorrow night, Suzi and I are going out for dinner for our ten-year wedding anniversary. We've been talking about going to Dooger's (great restaurant in Cannon that we usually try to make it to each time we get out here) but Suzi also suggested trying something new so we might do some exploring before we sit down to decide on where we'd like to eat. I'm hoping we'll do another bon-fire after we get back from dinner.
Saturday, we leave early afternoon to head back to Portland and have dinner with Suzi's folks who have invited all of us and Sami and Brad over for "fried chicken bake" and have the kids check out the garden railroad at Grandpa Bill's.
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Beach Trip Day 2
Got a good sleep-in Wednesday morning and outside it was drizzling. I had checked the weather before leaving Portland and Wednesday was supposed to be "the crappy day" so we had some breakfast and headed out for Seaside to hit Broadway, the fun areas, and some shopping for the ladies. Got in the required bumper cars, mini golf, tilt-a-whirl, carousel, and such while Suzi and Michelle got in some store-hopping. We spent some time searching for each other and finally hooked up back at the Carousel.
I went into the "Mostly Hats" store and found some colored baseball hats with the propellers on the top for the new product team at work. We had been joking that we need team hats and we should get propeller hats, so the fact that I found them meant I HAD to pick up three: one for me, one for Erik (other dev) and one for Mona (our new PM).
Later, back to the hotel for swimming in the WAY-OVER-CHLORINATED pool, a GREAT dinner (Suzi and Michelle brought "dream dinners", meals prepared before hand) and then headed down to the beach to build a bon-fire. We got a nice roaring fire, made smores and marshmallows, and stayed out there till about 11:30. Great day for a "crappy day" weather-wise.
I went into the "Mostly Hats" store and found some colored baseball hats with the propellers on the top for the new product team at work. We had been joking that we need team hats and we should get propeller hats, so the fact that I found them meant I HAD to pick up three: one for me, one for Erik (other dev) and one for Mona (our new PM).
Later, back to the hotel for swimming in the WAY-OVER-CHLORINATED pool, a GREAT dinner (Suzi and Michelle brought "dream dinners", meals prepared before hand) and then headed down to the beach to build a bon-fire. We got a nice roaring fire, made smores and marshmallows, and stayed out there till about 11:30. Great day for a "crappy day" weather-wise.
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Beach Trip Day 1
We headed out of Seattle with the LaBordes: Suzi, Michelle, Katelyn, Jessie, and Ryan in the Yukon and Mark, Pat, Josh, and Brandon in the Subaru. South to Portland (with the standard stop in Centralia to eat at the Burgerville) and then west to Cannon Beach. Pretty non-eventful trip with no traffic.
Got into Tolavana Tuesday afternoon around 3pm and got all checked into our two suites right on the beach next to Mo's. We headed to Mo's for dinner (mmm... combo plate) and some Rogue Mo's Bronze Ale and then headed to the beach. The ladies headed down the beach for a short walk and the rest of us played in the sand. Once the sun started going down, it was back to the hotel for beers, sodas, and chatter time.
Got into Tolavana Tuesday afternoon around 3pm and got all checked into our two suites right on the beach next to Mo's. We headed to Mo's for dinner (mmm... combo plate) and some Rogue Mo's Bronze Ale and then headed to the beach. The ladies headed down the beach for a short walk and the rest of us played in the sand. Once the sun started going down, it was back to the hotel for beers, sodas, and chatter time.
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Testing Email Blogging
Ok. So here’s an attempt at blogging from email. This way, I can blog from anywhere!
Going to PDC
So, I found out yesterday I'm heading to the PDC in September. I need to brush up on my blogging so I can blog the contents of my trip while I'm there. Also, I get to experience the joy of the mountain of paperwork required for setting up travel with Microsoft for the first time. Get AMEX card. Book conference (oh wait, you don't have an AMEX yet, fill out special expense report). Book airfare/hotel (oh wait, you don't have a travel profile setup yet). Setup travel profile (oh wait, that takes a day or so to get setup so you can access booking airfare/hotel). Hope this all gets done since Friday is my last day in the office before my vacation next week and I don't want the hotels to sell out.
It should be fun though. I haven't been to Los Angeles in many years other than just visiting the airport on a transfer. The conference is right next to Universal Studios also, and the big "blowout party" on Wednesday night is actually at Universal Studios. I'm hoping to do the Saturday stayover and spend Saturday perhaps doing the tram tour or Disneyland, etc getting some goodies to bring home to the wife and kids. Gotta check with the manager for approval...
It should be fun though. I haven't been to Los Angeles in many years other than just visiting the airport on a transfer. The conference is right next to Universal Studios also, and the big "blowout party" on Wednesday night is actually at Universal Studios. I'm hoping to do the Saturday stayover and spend Saturday perhaps doing the tram tour or Disneyland, etc getting some goodies to bring home to the wife and kids. Gotta check with the manager for approval...
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