Fall Foot Fashion Show

(Posted by Kyle)

In preparation for the falling temperatures, Steph has been stocking up on stockings. Socks, that is. The goofier and stripier the better.

I had been promising Steph a shopping spree at Sock Dreams since Christmas, so when that store recently opened a second location in the neighboring neighborhood of Sellwood, we headed over and I bought Steph anything in the store she wanted. Before that, we had discovered a booth selling local brand Sock It To Me socks for a paltry $5 a pair at the roller derby, which has also recently relocated to within walking distance of our home. (I'm hoping this trend of Things We Like Moving Closer To Us continues. I'm crossing my fingers for a good credit union.)

Anyway - on with the fashion show! Our models today are Stephanie's left and right feet, escorted by her enormous, cinder block calves.

Stephanie channels her inner Goody 2 Skates with these two roller derby inspired pairs. The playful roller skate pattern (top) identifies Steph as a fan, but the classic skater sock (bottom) says, "I'm ready to jam with the big girls."

Stripes and stripes forever! Steph steps it up with these sassy and brassy affairs.

This ominous "bird on a wire" pattern evokes both Hitchcock and Poe - two of Steph's favorites. These socks are definitely not for "The Birds" - people will be "Raven" about them for years to come!

Stephanie pays homage to her midwestern roots with this pair that celebrates the yearly asian beetle infestation. Box elder bugs are so 2005!

Are these unicorn pattern socks truly the last? For now perhaps, but Steph is anxiously awaiting her annual Halloween socks from her mom. Her birthday and Christmas follow soon afterwards, so you may be seeing her feet back on the runway soon.

TTFN!

Here's Cheeto!

(Posted by Kyle)

We had a busy but pleasant week. Our friend Amelia celebrated her birthday, so we went to dinner and a show the night of, and she hosted a potluck on the weekend. Our friend Toni came down from Seattle for the weekend and we had a great time visiting with her. Once again, we didn't take any pictures. We really aren't getting the hang of this blogging thing.

So, here are some pictures of our little cat, Cheeto, whose affections Toni and Amelia are currently fighting over. (I admit that that is a bit of a stretch for including the pictures, but it's all I've got.)

Here she is looking like a giant cat. Toni took this picture last summer. That makes it relevant to the post. Also, Sunday night Toni and I sat through the four hour long commercial TV presentation of Peter Jackson's King Kong, which has lots of giant animals in it, so there you go.

Another "Giant Cheeto" picture by Toni. I don't know why, but this reminds me of the Loch Ness Monster.

Cheeto has a few places that are hers and hers alone. She has laid claim to the top of our stools, the countertop by the window where she birdwatches, the area under the television which we call "Fort Cheeto," and her little condo in the corner, pictured above.

Lately she's been sleeping by the front door.

But like all the pets, she spends a good chunk of the day on the couch, usually on the back by the window. That's Toni's foot and elbow in the picture. Relevant!

More Alaska Pics

(Posted by Kyle)

Here are a few more of our Alaska pictures, plus some we have been stealing from people's Facebook pages.

Here are a couple of photos of Joe cleaning our fish for us. He informed me that next time I have to clean my own, which is only fair, and the logical next step in my years long learning curve for fishing.

Here are a few more wedding/reception pictures:

Joe is looking like Jeff's surly bodyguard as they walk into the church as the ceremony is about to start.

Sons of Norway hall, where the reception was held.

Four people contributed home brews to the reception. Jeff and Joe brewed up this wheat ale and a "Marital Bliss" pale ale, while Sunny supplied the labels.

Instead of serving everyone wedding cake, Jeff and Liz asked some friends to each contribute a chocolate treat for a dessert buffet. It was like a potluck - made out of chocolate. My 'no sweets' rule took a severe beating that night.

Finally, here is a picture of Joe and Sunny's lovable dog, Baxter, aka "Big B."

Labor Day Weekend

(Posted by Kyle)

Steph and I took advantage of the long holiday weekend and went up to Seattle. Friday evening was spent at the home of Lori Ho, Steph's best friend from high school. We went to her lovely house in West Seattle for drinks and appetizers. This was my first time meeting her and we got along just great. We forgot to take the camera, or else there would be a picture of her hairless cat posted on this entry. After Steph polished off a pitcher of cocktails and I got an earful of juicy high school gossip, we went to our friends John and Dana's house in Magnolia for the night.

Here I am standing next to John and Dana's ginormous television set. There was a lot of Wii playing on Saturday, and I've decided we probably need to get one, as neither Steph nor I have ever been into video game systems but we both love this one.


Dana realized her dream of owning Mario Kart for the Wii while we were there. Dana and her friend Stacy are driving around Mario World while John watches. It's a video game that is almost as fun to watch as to play.


Former Portland resident Toni came over for the potluck that night, and brought a delicious coconut cake for our friend Mal, who was celebrating her birthday. We stayed at Toni's Saturday night after we were able to tear ourselves away from Mario Kart at about one in the morning. John and Dana continued to play after we left.

  Dana looks a bit unsteady here as she carries in Mal's birthday cake. It was completely dark and she couldn't see where Mal was. Flashing a camera in her face probably didn't help much.

  Dana delivered the cake without incident to Mal, who got all the candles out with one blow. Watching on, from the left, are John's dog Adia, Toni, Mike, Judd, and Alex.

Sunday morning, we had a nice brunch with everyone and then headed back to Portland. To further emphasize the fact that summer was over, the skies opened up and we drove through some pretty hard rain most of the way back. Steph's corn suffered a little damage, but we propped them back up. We had a lazy Labor Day puttering around the house and watching the pilot of "Glee." Steph had her first day with her freshmen the next day, and I went back to work at the computer. So long summer! It was a good one.

The party . . . after everybody left

(Posted by Kyle)

We had a great weekend hosting lots of out of town friends, throwing a big potluck in their honor and then not taking a single picture. You will just have to imagine all the laughing, smiling people eating really good food in the picture above. Really, it was like something out of the Great Gatsby.

We had many people and dogs staying over on Saturday, so we set up tents in the backyard. Steph and I and Willow stayed in one, and John stayed in the other. It's the only camping we've done all summer.

Sunday morning we hosted a brunch potluck and held the west coast viewing premiere of "Muscatine! The Musical" in honor of all the former Muscatine, IA residents who were present. Needless to say, it was a huge success.

But the best part of the weekend was finally getting to meet Ella. She is an adorable bundle of joy and energy. Come back soon!