Slowly but Surely: House Projects

We're making progress! Thanks to Anna (for painting) and Audrey (for feeding us) for their help last week - we got the kitchen painted! Now we just need to get a final light fixture and put our shelves back up - getting close!

We picked Benjamin Moore's Ozark Shadows for the grey in the kitchen. it is SO much brighter! The kitchen cabinets look waaaay better. 

old color: 

new color - I'll try to take more, and better 'after' pictures when the shelves are back in:

A Jam-Packed, Fabulous Weekend North to Visit Dad in Alaska!

We got back two weekends ago from a great trip visiting Dad in Alaska. We fit a lot in, but it was still relaxing and wonderful to spend so much time with Dad. Here's the whirlwind photo essay tour:

Friday - lunch at the Drunken Goat (is that right?) - a Kaladi owned restaurant in west anchorage. we had a great pizza with reindeer sausage on it. yum!

Friday afternoon Thor and I hit Flattop for a little leg stretch. it was SUPER windy. 

Tundra colors never get old. 

Getting out in the mountains close to town like this makes my heart ache. 

Thor is running in this picture because 'he felt like it' - I have NEVER heard Thor say he felt like running. crazy times. 

Did I mention it was windy?! check out the flag (and my hair!)

Headed back down to meet dad for dinner at Namaste Shambayla - a Tibetan restaurant near Lake Otis and Tudor. Yum!

Saturday = fishing in Seward! The weather reports were dire, but we ended up with PERFECT weather for fishing - we had a fantastic day!

I miss this scenary!

Thor with a rockfish. 

Happy sea lions in the background. 

The whole haul! We went with a guy named Jon on Inn and Out Charters out of Seward and he was the best guide we've ever been out with! Friendly, personable, and full of helpful tips. Highly recommended. 

Me and my halibut! We limited out on fish and came home with a nice cooler full to bring us through the fall. 

Sleepy, sleepy little mouse on the drive home from Seward after flailing the waters all day with rod and reel. 

Light on the mountains in Turnagain Pass. 

And rolling through the Portage area.

Sunday! After an early morning trip to Kaladis and a visit to Lighthouse Christian Fellowship with Dad for early service we hit the road to boogie down to Girdwood for breakfast. Extreme? You might ask this, but Thor had never had a Bake Shop breakfast!!! So the 45 minute drive seemed totally justified. 

Faithful Bake Shop fans will be happy to know that the interior layout and high quality food remains just as remembered! (Unlike the harbor bakery in Seward. Yuck! Don't waste your pretty pennies there). 

Smiling after acquiring coffee #2 of the day (and no, Thor still isn't drinking coffee. He's holding my decaf)

Devouring his first sourdough sweet roll with raisins. 

Oops. Thor was giving me his excited face for sourdough pancakes (amazing and as sour and thin as ever!) - but apparently I clicked the button too quickly. I think he liked them more than this!

After breakfast we headed up to Crows Pass to poke around a bit. Thor and I did a mini out and back on the Crows Pass trail, and even saw a black bear from a distance (which Dad spotted from the parking lot). 

On the way back to the highway we stopped and hiked the Winner (Winter? I can never remember) Creek trail with Dad down to the tram. 

This isn't a great picture, but you can kind of see the tram car going out over the river. It's about a 30' drop down to the water. We opted not to ride it because there were about 25 people waiting in line. 

Then back to Anchorage where we drove up to Stuckagain to check out the old house. Look at how the trees have grown up! you can barely see the house from the street. 

At the bottom of the driveway. 

From the street down by the Archeys. The red looks nice!

And here is dad's new house down off of Northern Lights. It's got a great layout and garage access from inside (a feature I appreciate WAAAAY more after living without it) - and it's a convenient walk up the street to Kaladis. Score!

Thanks Dad for being such a great, welcoming host for the weekend. We had a really good time visiting with you!

Hot, hot, HOT!!!

It has been super hot in Portland - like upper 90's. Which means it's time to stop for ice cream on the bike ride home! Fresh marionberry at the Farmers Market. Delicious!

The Country Mice Visit the City: Day 2-4

here are the rest of our pictures from our fabulous trip to NYC. They are possibly slightly out of order, but close!

Late morning brunch with mimosas before heading into the city. 

A trip to the Natural History Museum - complete with a star show (which I'll admit I slept through. so cozy and dark!)

Then off to Central Park for a picnic. it was beautiful!

Walking around the high end Upper East Side (I think I'm remembering that correctly)

Sarabeth's! We did not eat here though. 

On one of the mornings we met Cousin K's good friend at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens - and then on to brunch. 

Thor at the cheese shop eyeing all the delicious mustards.

This is the most amazing cheese we have ever had. Incredible! The truffle/cinnamon coating on the exterior is so unique!

A quick stop for the best gravy cheese fries in NYC!

Then onto the grocery to peruse our dinner options. 

But we ended up going to try 'the best' slice in NYC at DiFara's Pizza and we were NOT disappointed!  Here's the man himself still making pies after something like 40-years. This pizza was amazing. The wait is ridiculous-but if you like pizza it is not to be missed!

On our last day the weather was beautiful and warm and we took a stroll across the Brooklyn Bridge.  I can only imagine what it is like in the summer time with more tourists - it was already packed when we were there in May!

On our way to the airport we needed lunch! So we took a small detour to grab a sandwich (corned beef on rye, I believe) at Katz's Delicatessen. SO GOOD. yummmm. another delicious NYC classic treat!

Brooklyn Bridge - out of order!

We really milked our time. After lunch we decided we had time for one last stop, but only if Daphne didn't park and Thor and I ran! So we ducked into Grand Central Station to check it out before racing to the airport. The ceiling/architecture is stunning!

A great trip to New York!