Month 17: New Marriage Lesson Learned

You can pick your wife,

and you can pick your nose,

and if you have a mustache and you kiss your wife,

you can pick your wife's nose.

Saturday Market Swan Song

Today was the last day of the year for the regular Corvallis Saturday Market.  Betsey and I decided to get up and make the most of it.  We needed a short list of fruits and vegetables for Thanksgiving dinner, and we could turn it into a local economy adventure.

The Market was well attended, and the winter air seemed to carry the scents of fresh produce and cooked food better than ever.  We picked up celery and parsley at one vendor, four pounds of potatoes and a couple ounces of sage at the next, and found some really great small and large onions at another.  We unexpectedly encountered some delicious rhubarb and strawberry jam that became a must have and bartered the price down a nickel so we could afford it.

On the way back to the car, I was struck by some white berries lining our path and had to get a picture.

After dropping the market items at the car, we both decided we still had some adventure left in us and decided to browse down town.  We checked out Sigg bottle tops at Peak Sports, found an awesome floor mat at Inside Out, looked at things at Donna Bella, and then happened upon a wonderful surprise when we stepped inside Avalon Wines.

Avalon Wines has free wine tastings on Saturdays, starting at noon.  It had just turned noon.  So we sat and enjoyed three wonderful dessert wines (Sedouce, Sarah's Stories, and Ten Roses) from Harris Bridge and finished it with Lumos's Temperance Hill pinot.  We talked at length with gentleman from Harris Bridge. If our family is good this Thanksgiving, we may take them up to Harris Bridge for some dessert wine.

With the East side of 2nd street fairly well explored, we crossed over to the West and started back.  

We quickly found ourselves inside the Pegasus Gallery, admiring a number of pieces of art priced slightly outside of our means.  We both found ourselves amused by a young girl who was very taken with a hat she was wearing from the gallery and whispering ever so quietly as she looked in the mirror, "So beautiful".  It was a cute hat and she was pretty cute wearing it.  Children can be so funny.

Just as we thought we'd explored every store we could have remote interest in, the tea pots in the window of Oregon Legacy Coffee Company pulled us in.  As we stepped in and the scent of fresh roasted coffee beans hit us, we realized we needed coffee for our soon arriving company.  We bought some Crater Lake blend coffee, which hopefully the whole family will enjoy.

So Saturday Market is over until next year, and in all reality, we probably won't have any adventures like today's until it starts back up.  I'm glad we made the most of today, but now, I'm ready  for a nap.

A Beautiful Autumn Day

The sky was blue, and the sun shone brightly.  We bundled up and went for a walk through the local wetland trail.  We've visited this walk several times over the course of the year.  It's been fun to see the seasons affect the landscape.  The elusive beaver have yet to make their appearance, but with the folliage off of the trees, we could finally see evidence of their exitance.  A couple trees seemed only a few bites from being felled.  The tad poles have all but left the ponds.  The summer's dry cracked ground is covered with water and looks like elephant skin just an inch below the water.  The crows sit with their partners and alternate between bathing and sunning.  A family of ducks has yet to decide to fly south, and the mostly grown ducklings are busily forraging with mother.  The last of the thistles are blooming, and a blue flower dominates one area of the park.  I can't be sure, but it looks like some late blooming pea plants.  We note that they will get their pick of the remaining pollinators and move on.  Days like today help shake off a week of rain and put a bounce in your step.  On the walk back, we use our newfound bounce to smash dry crisp leaves, releasing satisfying sounds of childhood and the memories to go with them.

Predatory Lending Hits Home

The nap fairies charge ridiculous interest rates: for a 40 minute snooze on the couch yesterday, I paid 4 hours of insomnia.

Star Trek Addicts

Star Trek on TV

Inconsistently scheduled

Resistance... futile

Betsey and I spent a good part of Sunday watching a marathon of Star Trek.  We accidently stumbled across one this evening.  We are glued.

When Star Trek nerds find each other and fall in love, it's a  beautifulsomething.

Blue States - Red Wine

No better time for

wedding wine than when the world

chooses hope... not fear.

Halloween Happenings

Friday night, Betsey and I drove up to Portland for the Sehti gang's party in North East Portland.  I went as zombie and Betsey went as a member of Clionidae, or a "Sea Angel".  Nobody had trouble recognizing my costume, but Betsey had to bring some reference art.  That being said (written?), she owned that costume.  Once people knew what she was going for, they were very impressed.  We left the party kind of early to get home and sleep in our own bed.

Saturday was a Beaver game, or as Betsey calls them, Stupid Head conventions.  Largely she's right of course, but for this particular convention, one of the smartest heads we know came down.  Andy stopped in and lodged at Chez Catchpole Saturday night.  After the game, Nate came over too and we all watched SNL together.  This was especially exciting because we're a Nielsen household this week, so we were able to add two visitor columns to our TV diary.

Sunday morning, after everyone had some tea, I showed Andy some "Endless Ocean" and then we finished up with some "Smash Brothers".  I don't like the handicapping on Smash Brothers.  I don't like being punished for being good.  Instead of starting me out at a higher percentage, they should just start out others at a negative percentage.  I just get so frustrated with getting thrown off the screen at the first landed hit.  It doesn't teach the skills of persistance to the "handicapped" that are necessary for them to actually become good.  Where's the edge of this soap box?  I need to step off.

Tonight, I drove down to Cottage Grove to meet up with mum and Kim.  We ate dinner at the "Vintage Inn Restaurant" because the place I tried to find is apparently very well hidden.  Since it was vegetarian Sunday, I had spaghetti with marinara, which came with "garlic" bread and green beans.  I can't vouch for the garlic bread, but everything else was palatable.  Mum treated, which is always nice, and after dinner, we all parted ways to our separate cars and towards our separate cities.