Blue Moon

Who needs a watch when you have the moon?

In honor of the rare Blue Moon to occur on New Years Eve this year, I decided to look up more information on the moon cycles in general.  Apparently, The Algonquin Native Americans named the moons in order to keep track of the seasons. I found the names interesting and thought I would share them with you!

The Farmers' Almanac lists these Algonquin Indian names for the full moon of each month:
January: Wolf Moon
February: Snow Moon
March: Worm Moon
April: Pink Moon
May: Flower Moon
June: Strawberry Moon
July: Buck Moon
August: Sturgeon Moon
September: Corn Moon
October: Harvest Moon
November: Beaver Moon
December: Cold Moon
Source

2010

Dragonfly, Oregon Coast 2008

Beach Crab, Oregon Coast 2008

Who knew that 2010 would come and we wouldn't be flying in space ships to accomplish our daily runs to the grocery store or gas station?  I remember the year 2000 excitement like it was yesterday. Heck, in elementary school, we were drawing pictures of the houses we would occupy in the sky. It hasn't turned out like that. None of the space ships came to pass and none of the houses in the sky ever got a green light for construction... I may have to check on Dubai's progress before you quote me on that. It's funny really... It's almost 2010 and to ring in the new year, Carl and I will be spending the night in a cottage on the Oregon Coast.  Seems so old fashioned, eh?

I never thought I would yearn for the coast that way I do now. I grew up in land locked Utah where the closest body of water to an ocean was the Great Salt Lake.  Mmmm, I can smell the brine now.

Anyhow, the Oregon Coast is amazing. It's quiet, dotted with small towns, and peaceful. It's far from modern with very few exceptions (Inn at Spanish Head, for example).  It's a quaint place where the family run businesses out number the corporations.  It's a place where maybe there is a movie theater in town and maybe not.  It's a place where people know your name. It's a place where time slows and you can catch your breath. I wonder if this was what people were aiming for when the idea to build houses in the sky come to life. Little did they know that the simpler the life, the easier it is to breathe.

This is why we will ring in 2010!  as simple and old fashioned as it gets- listening to waves crash against the rocks and seagulls fly over head while we stand on the ground, where our feet belong. 

And People Wonder Why We Don't Have Kids....

Kitty-cat Lima made her way into the ceiling space and would not come out until she was good and ready.  I'm telling you, cats will get their way in some fashion. She was protesting the fact that we covered the furniture in plastic since she sprayed the chair.... even with "No Spray" cat deterrent on the furniture. 

Let life with a cat begin.

Lima

Meet Lima (lee-ma).

We welcomed her to our family at about 1500 yesterday.  We adopted her from the Oregon Humane Society... Before her life in the kennel (luckily she was only with them four days but still has an upper respiratory virus, damn),  she was a stray kitten. Some folks had her living in a barn/shed because she had fleas, ear mites, and two other kitty companions (also taken into the shelter). She is about a year old and weighs just over four pounds. Formally, she is a short haired tortoiseshell.

In her first day with us, she has slept and explored. We love watching her get accustomed to her new home. She loves to sit in my lap and cuddle and especially loves her chin and neck to be rubbed. She actually purred for the first time this morning. We've also discovered that she loves soft material and will seek it out. We bought her a bed, but the chair and rug on the floor are softer, so she goes to those first. I suppose we will have to make sure we get her the softest bed possible.

We like her personality. She is very calm, cautious yet curious, and very loving. She plays, minimally. We believe the toys she likes the most are string, mouse tails, bird-like toys, and fingers typing on the keyboard.

She likes to lip my fingers as a gesture of sorts, and lifts her head and purrs at me when she wants to be rubbed.

So cute.

Carl Has a Cub-itchen

Carl made me lunch today, from work... from his cubicle.  We had savory homemade beef and barely soup with toast and Kombucha.

How is this possible, you ask? Carl took a crockpot to work alongside all of the ingredients to make his masterpiece.  He cut up all of the veggies in the break room.  Apparently a few of his co workers witnessed this.... and liked the idea.

Have you ever seen a person making beef and barely soup from their cubicle? The more I thought about it, the more I had to laugh about it. But I loved it. I loved driving downtown and eating lunch with Carl while we watched a movie (Netflix) and enjoyed the view from the sixth floor.

Those are the moments that I hold dear. I love them.

Holidays With Carnny: The Antithesis of Santa and The Dollar

The older I get the less I find Christmas attractive.  I am not sure at what point in time Christmas was more about money than it was about family, friends, and "the spirit of giving," but I am over it.

At the Carnny house, we would rather have friends and family over for dinner, drinks, and laughter. A solid evening of time with the people we love and appreciate is the best gift we can simultaneously give and receive.

In the meantime, we hide during the month of December while the rest of society acts as if the sky is falling.

Smoking Wire

Carl and I came home from Thanksgiving dinner late last night to a very dark house. Usually, we leave a light on to avoid this and yesterday was no exception. So, in effort to try and figure out why the house was dark, Carl went to the fuse box, reset the circuits, and wham, seconds of light and then pure darkness. Upon further inspection of the house, a smoking bare wire was discovered on the electrical line to the garage.... so we left the circuit off to avoid a fire.

Even with the circuit off, all night I tossed and turned thinking there was a fire or would be a fire and we would burn to death. Horrible nightmares I tell you. It didn't help that the culprit wire ran along the wall right next to our bedroom.

When daylight struck, Carl and I went outside and looked at the wires going from the garage to the house. We turned on the circuit and within seconds, more smoke sizzled upward to the sky.

I am still uneasy about a fire. At least Carl is savvy enough to know what he is doing. I love that.

Dim Sum

Hum Bao

Yum, Yum, Dim Sum.

Sunday has become the day that Carl and I go out for Dim Sum. It's awesome. The food is unique enough that neither I nor Carl could ever make it at home. So, we head out to step out of our culture and take a ride on the dragon over to Wong King's.

Check out some of our favorites...

Shanghai Dumpling

Sesame Balls

Mini Egg Tart

The Makings of a Movie

Carl and I went to California for a wedding last weekend.  I'll spare the details of the whole story, but know that it was a weekend crazy enough to have been filmed and become a movie....

The mother of the bride was also the maker of the wedding cake.  Carl and I were staying with her, her husband, her son, and the father of the bride under the same roof. As is the case with all weddings, there is always a need for extra hands to complete last minute tasks.  For reasons I will omit here, I decided to drive with the mother of the bride to the wedding locale to drop the cake off prior to getting ready at the hotel nearby. Just know that I am highly anxious in cars that speed, are aggressive, and have close calls while I am in them. Thankfully, I left Carl behind to ride with the husband officiator and the father of the bride.

On our way to the wedding locale, we get a call from the husband who also happened to be the officiator of the wedding saying he had been in a car accident with a motorcycle. This was two and a half hours before the wedding... Not only was he in an accident, but he was out driving around because Carl's mom had wandered from her hotel room in 101 degree heat and slightly confused.  As luck would have it, the husband's accident occurred right across the street from where Carl's mom was standing, and thus found.

The people on the motorcycle went to the hospital... and are both alive with injuries.

Amazingly enough, everybody, including the husband officiator, made it to the wedding and we kept the details of the day from the bride and groom so that they may enjoy and remember the day as the one they committed to one another and not one of chaos and near catastrophe.

The wedding was beautiful, but by eight that evening, my nerves were shot. I felt ill. Carl and I went back to the house where less than three hours later, I unwillingly became queen of the porcelain shrine and remained in that position until 0500 on Sunday morning. We had to leave for the airport by 0630 for our flight home. Needless to say, by the time I got home Sunday, I was exhausted.  We came home, shut the blinds and slept.

No more destination weddings for us for a while.... we're burnt like bad toast.

Run, Run, Run Until You Can't Run Anymore!

What happens when Carnny is constantly going for over a month? We both get sick. First me, then Carl. I'm sure I gave it to him. Lucky for him, he always gets a tenth of what I get and for half the amount of time (yeah I need to work on that immune support).

Labor Day weekend was spent home being sick nearly every second of it.

Most important items to make it through a cold, rainy, Labor Day weekend:

Kleenex

Immune Support

Pho (Beef noodle soup)

Streaming Netflix

Facebook

We hid the clocks because honestly, time really doesn't matter.

Back to Netflix.. we are watching documentaries from Swingers to Stupidity and back to False arraignments, it's been educational.

After 26 Days in the Car...

We decided to hike 15 miles. We did the perimeter hike.. a few bridges were out and we found ourselves on detours that lengthened the trail! Luckily we had our GPS tracker with us. The last sign a hiker wants to see nearing the ten mile mark is a detour sign lenthening the hike! My body still aches two days later!

Blogger: Behind The Scenes

Someone recently asked how Carl and I had time to write blogs after driving 10,733 miles and see everything there was to see... Well, Carl and I had a wireless card enabling us to blog from the road as we drove from place to place. If you looked closely at the blogs, you noticed that they were unedited. Sure, we used spell check, but when you are driving on roads that feel like roller coasters, it can be hard to read and edit what you've written, especially when you are tired. So please forgive improper grammar and half written words. Maybe someday I will go back and edit them, maybe not.

Each blog, though short, took approximately two hours (sometimes more) to produce. Mainly, this is because we had to select photos to represent our experiences from thousands of photos taken. Yes, that is right, we have nearly 8,000 photos from vacation. Sorting through these can be and will be challenging.

Another astute friend asked what we would do differently on the next go-around. Carl and I had gear for camping, hoteling, and staying with friends. Next time, we think it may be best to stay with one mode rather than prepare for three. Camping on the east coast was challenging and we had so much gear that we didn't use that it may have been better if we had brought less... I don't know about you, but this could be said by almost every vacationer I have ever met. On the other hand, we were prepared for anything and everything and did not find ourselves in a bind anywhere (except for the car trouble, which was not so bad).

Our last question for today's blog asks for cross country roadtripping advice.

Carl and I found what worked and what didn't as we went along. For example, we found that cold coffee and cold food worked best for us as it allowed us to get on the road faster and utilize our cooler to the best of it's ability. One piece of advice every road tripper should take: never ever keep uncooked eggs in your cooler. It just doesn't work.

If you find yourself looking for a hotel, spend the money and get a room that won't have you up all night worrying about a serial killer or cockroaches and bed bugs. Trust us on this one.

Finally, don't plan your cross country road trip, planning is futile. Just wake up and decide where you'll drive next.

Have more questions or want to hear more abot our journey? Ask! We'd love to share!

Home, Sweet Home

Downtown Portland, view from the East side Esplanade.

After 10,733 miles of driving, I am happy to report that Carl and I have arrived home safe and sound.

Upon our arrival into Oregon, we had to refuel. Our car takes diesel... and in Oregon, you cannot pump your own fuel. Well, the attendant put the regular gasoline nozzle in the pump. Gasp!

Worry not folks, I was so used to pumping my own fuel (Carl was in the store), I got out of the car (to hand him a debit card as we had exhausted all of our funds), and corrected him. Talk about a close call...

Let the vacation from vacation begin...We are both off until September.

What's next from Carnny now, you ask? You'll just have to stay tuned!

Denver, Colorado

Old, comfortable friends are the best friends. Carl and I went to visit Alina and Aaron in Denver, Colorado. The best thing about old friends one has not seen in a long time is that your friendship picks up where it left off.

The way we picked up where we left off was to laugh about silly happenings, go out to dinner, and chat about the life we had in Utah and why Portland is the number one place to live.... Oh, and have an ear candle party at random. Again, Google University will take you to places you never knew existed should you not know what an ear candle is.

It's always hard to leave people who make you feel your best and let you be yourself. There is something to be said about tenured friendships. Alina and I have known one another nearly fourteen years. We've both found the best of the best men for relationships who both get along as if they were there alongside Alina and I all fourteen of those years. Luckily, this latest separation will be one of our last as Alina and Aaron are planning to move to Portland (unless Aaron lands a killer job which he interviews for tomorrow) this spring. At long last, we'll be in the same city yet again!

We had such a fun time chatting that we forgot to break out the camera, not even once did we reach for it.

Alas, we head west and once again. Who knows where the wind will blow us.

We've Landed in Denver

We've landed in Denver via our space shuttle of a car. As of today, Carl and I have decided we miss home. The sweet taste of everything comfortable and all that we know is so desired that we've decided to return. Fancy that.

We can't wait to be in our own bed.

We can't wait to be in our comfortable house.

We can't wait to have an day without an agenda.

We can't wait to smell the clean air of Portland.

We can't wait to see the smiling faces of friends and family we've missed.

But first, we will visit Alina and Aaron (once they get home from work). Ever determined, we will make our way back to the Pacific Northwest where we belong and aspire to be.

I'd never thought I'd say this while on vacation, but I simply must confess, I am home sick. I think Carl might be catching it too.

Fort Collins, Colorado

Carl and I arrived in Ft. Collins just after one in the afternoon. On our drive in, the clouds were ominous and we could tell there was heavy rain near the Rocky Mountains.

Our mission in Ft. Collins was to see my sister and her family. Carter is the newest addition to the family and we had yet to meet him until yesterday.

Kristin and Bill went all out for our arrival. We had an awesome lunch from Five Guys after which we needed a nap to recoup. We played with the kids... Logan showed us all kinds of bugs, spiders, frogs, etc from the backyard while we sipped lemonade on the back deck.

Bill and Logan in the Lucho Libre masks showing off their muscles.

Logan and his Disney cars. He LOVES cars.

He loves planes too!

We had a photo shoot on the stairs. It was quite entertaining really. At first, Logan wouldn't show his smile. I had to show him the photos I took of him to prove he looked better when he smiled. He liked smiling after he saw how cute he was.

Too funny.

Logan trying to teach Carter how to walk while Kristin spots.

Handsome little guys, eh?

Sharing Tonka trucks.

Carter looks up to Logan in a big way.

Kisses.

Carter. He is such a smiley baby!

Chewing on the baseball.

Taking down the frog chair.

Kristin and Carter. He is such a mommas boy.

After the kids went to bed, we had an scrumptious steak dinner that Chef Bill made. It was nice to catch up over drinks and laugh about the silliness of life. We old folks called it a night before eleven.

We woke up to the smell of dawn (at least Carl did... the rest of us smelled breakfast) where Chef Bill had made french toast, and a yummy breakfast casserole from scratch. We won't need to eat again for five more days.

Just as the clouds caught our attention as we drove in, they held our attention as we headed

south to Denver, Colorado.

We had a great time. Thanks Bill, Kristin, Logan, and Carter for having us over!

Mt. Rushmore, South Dakota

Hello everyone!

In case you've been wondering, we're doing well. We've been on the road for twenty -three days now. All in all, it's been fairly wonderful. However, this morning we had a near miss head on collision in the Back Hills National Forest inside of Hell Canyon. If you've never been, picture this.. two lane hairpin curves with no shoulders. The road only lasts a few miles, but it's a dangerous one.

We were coming around one of the hairpins on an uphill when a Toyota truck crossed the center line and was taking up nearly half of our lane. Carl, being the defensive driver, moved as far over to the right as he could. Luckily, the truck driver corrected his mistake and did so in the nick of time. His face was filled with horror, as were ours, and our hearts were in our throats. Whoever is watching over us, thank you!

Back to the sights.

We took I-90 into Sturgis, South Dakota. In Sturgis, our sole

mission was to do a friend a favor.

From Sturgis, we drove south to Mt. Rushmore. It was surprisingly empty.

I expected to see more people.

Double Click the photo for information.

Mt Rushmore

As you walk up to the memorial, you pass through columns. At the top of each column

four state flags are attached. Near the bottom, the dates of when each state

joined the union are inscribed.

So what does it all mean?

Our Campground friend. He's a little Shy.

The Camp. Though it looks spooky and was nearly empty,

it was not haunted.

Drive toward Crazy Horse.

Just south of Mt. Rushmore, there is another memorial being carved

into a mountain.

It's still in the works, but will look like the entrance sign above.

Crazy Horse was a Native American who fought for his

tribe's rights and was murdered doing so.

Sadly, the US government failed to honor land treaties (as well as many other agreements).

The Crazy Horse memorial is being built without any state or federal funding.

The project began in 1956 and continues today.

One of many painted buffalo found throughout The Black Hills.

You know you've always wanted to camp out with The Flintstones.

Now you can.

Old farm house.

It appears that at some point in time, the Black Hills National Forest was on fire.

We're currently in Wyoming, driving south to Ft. Collins, Colorado.

Jenny and Carl have a nephew they'd like to meet and one that they'd like to see.

I must confess, once our eyes saw we were in the west again, they melted. This is definitely where we belong. This place has magic and adventure written all over it.

I do believe we are both looking forward to returning home.

I-90 South Dakota and Minnesota

Carl and I are becoming very familiar with I-90 through Minnesota and South Dakota. In case you've ever found yourself wondering what I-90 looks like, well, it looks like farm land. It looks like farm land because it is farm land. Fancy that. To spice it up, the small towns around here put up fancy billboards and crazy statues. Worry not faithful readers, I have been documenting through photos. The only caveat here... I will keep adding photos as I take them, so check back to this post every now and then.

Water tower. At first, Carl and I were worried it might be an alien head, but we took liberty in the fact these are all over the country and surely, if they were indeed aliens, somene would have notcied by now (fingers crossed).

One of many farms. Double click for a closer look.

Bull head sculpture.

The funny part about this is the placement of the sculpture.

It was in the middle of hundreds of cows!

I suppose it helps remind them to behave?!

Tractor pulling a shed. Love that.

The fun will continue shortly.