It's been a whole year!

Mike and I really need to get this baby back in working order.
We still take cheesy pics, though!

kitty, this one's for you

see that very top?? THAT'S where we ate lunch.

he was my pace-setter today. i would've died if he hadn't made me slow down.

my handsome guy, mike.

Dog Mountain

this was so hard! but it really was worth it. these wildflowers were worth the 3.5 hour hike to the summit. i'm going to be in a world of hurt tomorrow, let me tell you.

For MOM Leblanc

I just wanted to tell you that I found your french puff recicpe this morning, so I "whipped them up" as you would say. It was so easy!! And so delicious.

my little herb garden

the leaves are coming in nicely. i can't wait until the weather gets nicer, so we can spend lots and lots of time out there.

i planted some basil, cilantro, and thyme yesterday. i also have some rosemary and mint going. the rosemary will grow year-round, so i've got it in it's own pot.

this morning's farmer's market

fresh oregon hazelnuts!

baby bok choy and sarah.

mike's at work, so my friend sarah and i went to the market. the forecast was rain and low 50s, but it was actually really nice! we were much, much drier than last week. we got there pretty early, too, so it wasn't as crazy. we met our other friend sarah (she's the one with the red and white bag). we shopped and sampled and sampled some more. yum!

last week's farmer's market & grillout

this is about $3 worth of shittake mushrooms from the market. they were scrumptious!

sirloins before the grill.

lee and mike prepping the grill for dinner.

it was raining buckets at the market, so we didn't snap too many pictures. we (lee, megan, mike and i) then went back to our place and had a lovely day of watching baseball, drinking voddka/lemonades, and grilling gigantic steaks. it was sooo fun!

this was the deal-maker

there's a door that leads to the deck--from the BEDROOM. i know. i'm never leaving this place. ever.

my kitchen--it's a REAL KITCHEN!!!

it's got an ice maker, dishwasher, garbage disposal, and microwave--built in. i can't believe how lucky we are.

you asked for it!

this stereo system came with the condo. it also plays music out in the garden area. very handy.

here's what happens when you rent from a gay couple. male facilities everywhere! you are correct in assuming that mike was estatic.

my craft room. it's in the basement. tons of storage.

pictures of our new place!!!

my beautiful bathroom. unfortunately, the neighbors got an eyeful last weekend before we realized that we needed a more opaque shower curtain on the window. it's still a work in progress.

this is where we'll be spending most of our free time. it's a tranquil little garden with a great little water feature (that's the big yellow piece of pottery). it's still in it's spring stage, so the trees aren't fully "in bloom" yet.

our cozy living room. i keep the blinds half-drawn because we live in a condo community and gladys kravitz lives across the street. not that we are up to no good, mind you--she's just verrrrry nosy.

bear with us...

we're in the middle of a move. i promise there'll be posts aplenty after saturday.

love, anne

p.s. i got my official acceptance letter for grad school! woohoo bring on the debt!

And More Rally....

Nudes on bikes and dance troupes with catchy cheers happened around every corner. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday, me and my bike with camera in tow. Viva Portland and long live Peace!

More Rally...

Parents, teachers, elders, children. Nobody was exempt from this march, clothed or not. It was an impressive sight to see that many people all marching for a similiar cause. I rode my bike downtown since I had a feeling things could get ugly, and they did.

Sunday's Anti-War Rally

Nothing says spring in Portland more than 70 degrees and an anti-war rally. Around 15,000 people showed up for this march which was mostly peaceful until the end when the anarchist crowd wanted to shut down the Max/Bus lines and the bridges.

more pictures (sorry this is out of order)

we're baaaaaack!

okay, the camera debaucle is over. we can now upload pics to the bloggy blog. and up until now, we haven't had anything blog-worthy to show.

first off the news:

we're moving to a new, fabulous apartment at the end of the month. yes yes, pictures of said apartment will come as soon as we get the keys.

the weather:

oh my goodness, it's lovely. sunny and low 70s this weekend. kinda makes me wonder what the heck i was thinking living in the midwest all those years!?

and sports:

mike and i are going to attempt a climb of mount saint helens in september. in order to do this, ahem, we need to uh, get in better shape. to prove how out of shape we are, and that doing yoga every other day and calling it exercise is just kidding myself, mike and i went on a 4-mile grueling (albeit gorgeous) hike today. i feel awesome, but man, it was tough. luckily, i only hyperventilated once. after that it was smooth(er) sailing. but who cares about the details...it's the pictures you all demand.

oh, and the gnome has been named...

...gulliver.

mike's dad christened him thus.

thanks bob!

and thanks for the delicious la casa. it was so great seeing you and mary. we promise to be back soon to visit.

love, anne

shots from palmyra

more shots from the middle of nowhere

I've got some crazy pictures from last night, but they're still on my camera. Until I get home, these will have to do.

The Good Life

As many of you know, I am in Nebraska. My brother, Eric, passed away Friday from a long, painful bout with cancer. His funeral was yesterday, and it was beautiful (if a little heavy on the Jesus). His kids are so amazingly strong, and each gave an incredible eulogy. My brother, Rob made a video about Eric's life which got everyone weeping. It was so sad and beautiful at the same time.

Anyway, I am still here for a couple of days. I am at my mom's house "the farm", and Kirsten is driving me into Omaha this afternoon. Anyway. I've brought a little friend with me, and he'll show you all the wonderous sights we've been taking in.

I haven't named him, but he almost fell off the bridge over the Little Nemaha (must be the Portlander in him). Anyway, he's fine and so far no dogs have gnawed his face off.