Randomness..
Trying to keep to a budget, CAT and I have been eating almost exclusively at home.. Something that has been slightly more difficult as of late, being as we are short an appliance. Last weekend CAT put some reruns (aka leftovers) in the microwave, pushed a couple buttons, and the heretofore dependable machine said, "I Quit!" I couldn't complain really, given the fact that I'd had it for 17 and a half years, at least 5 of that it had lived with my brother.. Knowing that I'd spend way too much money if I just ran to the store to get another one, I got online and actually shopped around.. I found one at Lowe's that would work perfectly for my needs, and it was only $60 bucks. Only downside was that it won't arrive until sometime next week.
But, by the time I rolled the 4th one I was a pro.. Ok, maybe not, but we could at least eat them with chopsticks..
And even when they weren't pretty, they were edible.. We learned a lot by making them ourselves. IE, it may take a while before we find a brand of Nori that we like, and, though we sometimes have sushi that has sprouts at the restaurant, they must not be alfalfa sprouts. The alfalfa sprouts overpowered everything in the rolls we added them to and wasn't so good..
And, before anyone questions our sanity, we did not use any seafood that wasn't cooked, only cooked scallops, shrimp, and smoked salmon.. We'll leave the raw stuff to the professionals..
Now that my leg has finally stopped itching (it was a VERY long few weeks), I have been able to get my kayak out on the lakes.. Last weekend while CAT had stuff to do, I went over to Vancouver Lake. It was very warm (it got up to 90 that day) and the water was pretty choppy, so I gave up after going about 6 miles. I did see some great birds however, including a bald eagle.. Also, the views of Mt Hood and Mt St Helens were great that day..
As I sit here contemplating the sharp rise in the price of EVERYTHING, and the subsequent shrinkage of what is left each month after I pay the bills, I am trying to find comfort in the activities that do not cost money.. Sometimes it isn't easy..
Such an adventure was had while the Taco's were here!!
And a jet boat ride..
And a trip to the coast..
And there are dozens of other pics I could post, but they should be back in AZ soon and can show you all their pics and tell the stories when they get home..
It was a super great time!! Oh, except for that one thing.... While caching the first day, CAT and I both ended up with poison oak on our right legs.. And we're both almost insane from it!!!
This is how my leg looked on Saturday..
Last weekend CAT and I decided that the weather was far too nice to be at home, so we packed up all our camping equipment (seriously, you would have though we were going for a month instead of 3 days) and headed over to Swift Reservoir. I went early to get a campsite with access to the water and he came up after work with the kayaks..
Beautiful moonlit nights..
And fish.. (they were kind of small, but they had stocked the reservoir with 60,000 last month so there were a LOT of them)
It was a wonderful way to spend the weekend.. Well, except for that one thing... There is just something so obstreperously iniquitous (it warrants the use of extreme vocabulary) with being woken up at 7:30 while camping.. Not by the screeching crows, someone's generator (those should be banned from campsites!), or the kids in the next campsite yelling, but by the sound of heavy machinery!!??!!!
The snow melt brings down massive amounts of deadwood every spring, that they have to remove from the reservoir and dispose of (remnants of the 1980 Mt. St Helens' eruption. yes, 27 years later and it's still causing a mess).. I get that it needs to be done, but at 7:30 on a Saturday???? I think NOT!!
Next adventure; The Taco's arrive tomorrow evening!! Yeah for visitors!!!! Oh crap. I better get the house clean :)