Back in Portland, bribery and first week of school.

Time to get ready for school.

First stop, Modern Man Barber Shop on Alberta. Their regular place was closed for a picnic (because it's Portland, it's not weird), and I promised Ice Cream in exchange for haircuts. This place screams manly man. Whiskey room, taxidermy, Maxim magazine, punching bag, and bratwurst - otherwise known as the Alpha Male hangout.

http://themodernmanpdx.com/

The Modern Man specializes in both a traditional and a hipster look. If your son is ready for his first shave ever, this is a great place to go. It's a ritualistic experience, as evidenced by any man sitting in a barber chair. All business.

Goodbye, Fabio jr., Hello, American preschooler.

My daughter, who was supposed to get a trim, because she plans to be Rapunzel and have hair to the ground, ended up with layers all over. I was speechless and horrified as it was happening. But had to keep a smile on my face because she was reading my face the entire time to see my reaction. All that hair, on the ground. In the end, I will say that it's super flattering and much easier to maintain. But I will not be making a wig for myself out of her hair now, and for that, the barber shop owes me big time. I also think it's time to make an appointment for myself at this place, soon. 

This is how I got the kids to do it:

First Grader gift from mom. Bought an antique entry table on Craig's List for about $150 (if you had seen the before, you would say $50 max), then had a local guy who is an expert in French Polish, refinish the table. I added some thrift store "princess" lamps and the baby blanket my sister knitted for my daughter. Pretty nice, don't you think?

I'm going to give this guy a plug. He did a phenomenal job for such a reasonable price, and he truly loves his antiques. He ironed down the veneer that was buckling, pulled off all the dull varnish and completely polished this baby. He refers to furniture as "she" and "her". No question he loves his craft. Please tell him I sent you!

Wouldn't you say this is better than new?

Bello Antico
Michael Cowan
(503) 997-5335
belloantico@comcast.net


Tried to make more plum jam, but I literally spend hours at the stove for something that ends up more like sauce or syrup. Either I need to make peace with pectin or give up.


Had a date night with some friends at Ava Gene's. I believe this is the #5 best new restaurant in America right now, according to Bon Appetit, and super hard to get into. Because our friends are regulars (as in every single weekend), they were able to add 2 to the table. Yay, Jill! I love you!

Another fabulous and successful restaurant by Duane Sorenson of Stumptown Coffee. Everything he touches turns to gold.

http://www.avagenes.com/

While we were at dinner, we saw a Blutbad (from Grimm) at the bar. So exciting! Hello Monroe! We are going to stare at you the entire meal! Poor guy, we tried to play it cool...

We ended the weekend down the street at a block party. Potluck, closed street, kids everywhere, making memories.

This land is your land, it is not my land

After a morning hike up to the grassy slope, my husband and I discovered something interesting under the tall tree at the top of the hill.

There appeared to be a plastic hunting lookout facing North with two chairs inside.

Soon after, our neighbor stopped by to show us some images from a cam he has set up in his forest. Lo and behold, images of wandering hunters, bears, elk, possum, and deer. 

When we got down the hill, there was a man who introduced himself. He informed us that he is a hunter and that he has always hunted in our forest and would like to continue.

I had a little problem with that and grilled him like a schoolboy.

"Do you drink when you hunt?"
"When exactly do you hunt?"
"How long is hunting season?"
then
"I have a bit of a problem with it. I have small children. I know people who have died in hunting accidents."

In the meantime, he was offering to take my husband through the forest, on fishing trips, on hunting trips, etc.

When your desire to do something new clashes with your ideals, which road do you take?

I was so mad. Are there going to be random bullets whizzing by us on our own property? Our idealistic version of our American dream was being shattered right before our eyes.

Here is a perfectly nice, responsible man wanting to hunt on our land that we worked hard to acquire, to kill beautiful creatures that I want to peacefully coexist with.

In the meantime, our neighbor clearly showed us that people will be there whether we agree to it or not.

Another neighbor suggested we barter for the meat.

In the end, we called and put an end to it. Please remove your hunting stand from our picnic spot. No trespassing signs will come up. Soon.

Happy Anniversary to US - 7 years and going strong and a trip to the forest

The next morning, with our friends gone, we invited our new neighbors over for breakfast. We made shakes from ice cubes, white peaches, plums, and grapes, and cooked up some eggs and biscuits.

After breakfast, we went back to plum picking. The kids are so helpful.

Then we headed up the mountain to the forest. I was ready to see what lies beyond the tree line. I was confident that there are no bears in that forest, because everyone told me so.

What they did warn me about, is the proliferation of Poison Oak. It's everywhere. If I rent some goats and set them free in the forest, will they come back?

As we were heading through the trail, I couldn't believe that we were the owners of all this land. It felt like a fairy tale. Lush, green, trees everywhere. I also felt a great need to garden it - to clear all the dead brush and make it cleaner. I also realized how much of the land we bought is extremely sloped mountainside. I guess we really didn't buy 45 acres, it's more like 20 acres with a forested mountainside. If I had hiked this forest before, would it have changed my mind? Maybe, but I think I would have been sorry if we were not here now.

As we rounded the bend, suddenly two large animals ran up from below. At first I thought they were peacocks, but soon realized they were giant, goofy wild turkeys. They stopped, took one look at us, and hightailed it out of there. I think one of them even yelled, "oh shit!"

After we made it down the hill, our favorite babysitter showed up. She was going to watch the kids that night, and do the cross channel swim the next day. A 1-1/2 mile swim across the Columbia River from Washington to Oregon. Impressive!

http://hoodriver.org/events-festivals/chamber-events/cross-channel-swim

First thing we did was head down to Doppio for some coffee shakes. Yum Yum. After a hard day on the farm, it's our go-to drink.

Then we took in a little SUP on the Columbia.

It was our anniversary and Jesse had made reservations at 3 Rivers Cafe, a very charming restaurant in an old house with expansive decking overlooking the Columbia River. It has a great atmosphere and a friendly staff. I think we would return for drinks sometime. Deckside on a summer night and the cozy bar on a cold, winter night.

After dinner, we went to a local park that overlooks the river. Under a gazebo, we sat by a trio playing old time music and singing. It was the perfect atmosphere for a romantic night out.

Then we headed down to a local bar for some live music. It's called River City Saloon, and boy did we find the party! Super awesome cover band. I wish I could remember the name of the band, but they're local and they brought the party. We watched wedding party after wedding party walk in dancing and ready to go. So fun!

http://www.rivercitysaloon.com/band-calendar.html

Plum Overload.

I don't mean to complain about the bounty of the land, but while the guys were removing the tree (no roots!), Jesse discovered another plum tree. I think between the two, we have 1000 plums. I should have been excited, but after a week of juicing, blending, canning, and freezing, I was realizing just a small bit of the work that's involved in farming.

We gave some away at the end of the road, gave some to neighbors, invited friends to come take, and came back with a cooler full to give to Portland neighbors. Next year we will be prepared!

Plums don't travel well, so I'm not sure it's the right crop to send to the food bank, but giving back a percentage of the yield will be a high priority as we get more organized.

We spent the next day with our Portland friends exploring the land and eating fruit to our hearts content. The second plum tree proved to be a great climbing tree, and we climbed as high as we could go to pick plums.

In the meantime, the farmer was getting ready for the next Harvest. D'Anjou, I believe. It's funny. I haven't had one pear since we moved here. Everything else has been fair game, but for some reason, the pears don't interest me. I like pears, I think maybe it's the sheer volume that's intimidating.

Look who I found hanging out on the trampoline...

M drew me a picture and made a shooting star from a leaf and flower...

Jesse busted up another stump,

Our friends found animal bones in the forest and my son enjoyed playing with them (I HOPE they're animal bones),

We picked more grapes,

And harvested those seeds.

Then my friend came out, saw what we were doing, and informed me that the plants are poisonous. So the kids went inside to wash hands, I prayed that I didn't poison them, felt very itchy, and googled the plant name.

Skin irritation is the worst I came up with, which caused me to feel even itchier. There's a lesson there.

Then we headed to Double Mountain with our friend Jeff, who came down for the day.

We closed out the day with smores over a firepit and said goodbye to our friends.

House full of Love

We had the pleasure of hosting many visitors this past week. With the upstairs somewhat inhabitable, it was a bit of musical beds, but we made it work. 

My parents spent the entire week with us, while Aunt Tammy stopped in for just a couple of nights on a whirlwind West Coast Tour. We stopped by Everybody's Brewing in White Salmon one day when Opa and husband went for a morning fishing trip on the Klickitat River. I would show you a picture of the fish they caught, but they were not very successful. 

http://www.everybodysbrewing.com/

Then, Aunt Tammy and I went for a little wine tasting tour in downtown Hood River.

Later, my mom and I snuck back to Bingen to find some chairs at Antiques and Oddities. I found a set of 4 bentwood chairs for $50, and another set of 4 antique ladderback chairs for $150. Finally, though we didn't need it, I felt like I needed to find a place for this table. They gave me a screaming deal, and I was completely in love with the legs.

I drove back over the Hood River Bridge with my mom, bless her heart, in the back seat holding onto the table. I thought for sure we were going to lose the table in the middle of that bridge. We just prayed and prayed.

When we returned, Aunt Tammy and my mom got in the trampoline with the kids. WOW is all I can say. These photos are priceless!

Hang on, mommy!

Check out Aunt Tammy's moves!

In the meantime, some more friends came to visit. We picked some peaches, wild grapes, and blackberries and made shakes for the kids, then settled down for a big family dinner (with Tammy en route to Vancouver, B.C.).

After a week of canning, I was pretty done with the kitchen. My mom made an amaaaaaazing chicken dish, and my friend made delicious pasta. And the kids were so happy to have friends, that they partied and played with each other the entire time.

Finally, it was time for Abu and Opa to go. As I drove them to the airport, we were greeted with the most beautiful rainbows, one after another, all the way down the Columbia River. What a great sendoff.

Hood River Fruit Loop and Baby Alpacas

I decided to take a break from plum processing to show my parents some of our favorite places along the Fruit Loop.

First we headed back to Rasmussen Farms to visit the corn maze.

They're pretty proud of their corn maze, and rightfully so. I was completely enthralled with their use of gourds and poetry to guide us through.

Inspired would be an understatement! Add corn and pumpkins to the list of produce we now want to grow, but we'll leave the corn maze to Rasmussen. 

We took a trip back to the Alpaca Farm. The guy who owns the farm is a great guy. He never seems to get tired of answering the same questions every day, multiple times a day. And each visit ends with a spinning demonstration. When we visited this time, we had the honor of meeting some brand new baby alpacas.

Meet Sarge. What a sweetie pie, huh? Just 12 days old at the time we took the picture, and more babies are on the way!

You can hand feed these guys. They're so sweet, and it's such a funny feeling to feed an animal with such big teeth.

Check out the view from this place. Amazing!

Last stop, Pine Street Bakery on the Westside for coffee and sandwiches. Pretty impressive and tasty selection of baked goods.

Last last stop, Farm Stand. Good selection of organic goods, and nice mom and pop sized shop. They also have an attached restaurant that we have yet to try. I like it. I'll be back.

Found honey bear in a glass jar. I never indulge the kids with the plastic honey bear, because it's plastic and there are other alternatives. They were pretty stoked to see a glass honey bear in the basket. 

http://www.farmstandgorge.com/home.html

Tons of local produce and packaged goods. Maybe one day we will sell our own food here.

Plum jelly, plum cake, plum milk, plum shakes, plum plums, plum beer....

When we got back to HR, first thing I did was check out the plum tree in the back yard. Yep, fully ripe and ready to go. We spent the first part of the week picking and eating plums. They were sweet, firm, and juicy, and we just couldn't get enough.

I spent most of the week trying different recipes, mostly coming up with plum syrup, because I couldn't bring myself to use pectin or granulated sugar. Just lemons, limes or honey. Luckily, there is a seemingly endless amount of supply with which to experiment. And the upside is the money I'll save on buying maple syrup this coming winter.

Aren't they pretty? I think they're italian. 

I have stocked up on every type of jar. Ball, mason, weck, you name it. One lid, two lid, glass, it's all a matter of practice. The ball jars are the easiest, but when you're trying to can something fresh and pure, do you really need to add a plastic lined lid? Blech!

The cleaner I tried to go (i.e. all glass), the harder the processing became. But I think I'm getting the hang of the weck jars. 50% failure in the beginning, but now only 1 jar per batch fails.

Mom was a great help. She is an amazing cook and offered to help, but just like my kids, I wanted to do it myself. So she and the kids came up with a list of all the things we could do with plums.

My favorites are plum coffee, plum grits, and plum beer.

I also froze quite a bit. First go-round, I threw wet, freshly cut plum pieces in jars to freeze. Second go-round, I realized that cutting and freezing on sheets on parchment paper and placing the frozen pieces in the glass jars is the way to go.

Only freeze wide mouth jars, and always leave headspace, lest you want a freezer full of broken glass!

Love you, Abu and Opa!

Sunset over the valley

Tough guys

We've been having a busy week at the farm. My parents came to visit and I put Opa right to work.

He observed that one of the trees surrounding the farmhouse is dead, so the men promptly removed it, manly style.