New Stuff

A package? Must be French.
It's a table! (Specifically, an industrial steel-framed, 1-1/2" butcher-block food prep table).

"It literally Triples our work space!" Paul says.

New Work Surface, originally uploaded by apkoski.

We ordered this little number just before we began investing in Mr. G's chin (which we're cautiously proud to say is finally healing). Eating bean burritos and peanut butter sandwiches for a couple months is worth it!
-A

Absenteeism

Hooray!, originally uploaded by apkoski.

Sorry for my absence. I brought a note, forged the signature: been thesis writing. This is the 'break' week between spring and summer term, so I figured it was my chance to get stuff done while nothing is being expected of me. Next week it's back to analyzing data. Anyone know how to do a linear regression?

In the mean time, production of anything creative has all but ground to a halt. I have managed to make a couple baby gift sets, and do a few utilitarian tasks such as hemming jeans and altering a skirt.

Hey, think anybody would be interested in a tutorial on how to hem jeans without making them look hemmed & dorky? If I find time, I may put one together - the www. is virtual (or is it 'virtually') free information, after all! This is the enticing "before" photo.

-A

Summer Preview

Pops In A Tray, originally uploaded by apkoski.

Check out "All Songs Considered" for some summer listening recommendations (now in the Archives, left sidebar).

Also, mark your calendars: come help us paint the house starting on July 14th -- or you could just have fun helping us select colors.
Pick Colors: click "Start Color Smart." We like the green family.
Paint the House: Click "Launch Color Visualizer." Ranch may be as accurate as we can get. Here's the house.

More in music: we were honored to be e-vited to a Pandora Get-together to talk about the Music Genome Project. It's next Wednesday @ 7 PM at Disjecta, 5 SE 3rd Ave (at Burnside - just off the Burnside Bridge). I think all local subscribers were invited, & it has to do with 'free' feedback, but hey, I still feel honored!

-A

Dun, mostly

Stride

Boy, last week sure went fast!

I finished a bag (boho or hobo? Please fill me in after I post more pix).
I warmed up my new 1" bias tape maker and love it! The thing is a luxury, but making bias tape the old fashioned way was such a pain.

THat's My Bag Baby, originally uploaded by apkoski.

Saturday Paul & I ran the Helvetia Half Marathon available here on this very cool results page. Turns out he and I about equally above average in our respective divisions. Little fish, big pond. Another (selfish) reason I miss MS. Sigh.

I'm preparing for my final final in my PSU Grad program (besides the little Thesis thing). Test is on Tuesday. Drinks are on Wednesday. ;)

Paul & I bottled another case of beer after the race Sat., 5 gallons of malty porter-like stuff. We tasted his previously bottled batch on Friday, and are absolutely loving it! It must be shared.
The Great Gatsby saga drags on, so I'm getting better at creating kitty collars (a new use for Timtex). I might be able to market them by the time this chin thing goes away.

Oh, and I made the regular Sunday Granola and tried a batch of Lime Cookies from Everybody Likes Sandwiches, a-la How about Orange. They're shortbread cookies with a lime zest/sugar topping. I also topping some with lemon frosting + zest/sugar, but they're a little too sweet.
Thanks guys -- er, girls, I think. There are bunches more food blogs and recipes links on their pages. On the topic, I must again plug the Washington Farmer's Market Lifestyle & Blog happenin' in my hometown of Washington, Iowa; for the purpose of sharing low-mileage/local, garden, organic, or simple foods and recipes, and/or sharing new sources of locally grown foods.-A

Year of the Cat

Exhibit A:
Exhibit B:
Exhibit C:

Which one worked? Ask me in a week (& cross your fingers for him!).

-A

Giant Sucking Sound

That is the sound of Gatsby's kitty acne reaching ridiculous proportions. Topical ointments, oral antibiotics, special soap, food trials, and a particular accoutrement have all been applied. If it doesn't go away, the vet wants to sedate him and get a biopsy. It's ACNE, for crying out loud! Granted, he's scratched away the fur & skin...
That blue thing is a version of the e-collar, traditionally known as the Elizabethan Collar. For Mr. G, it also doubles as a poncho, parachute, and if flipped up in traditional E-C fashion, a food trough. Anyway, that was our Saturday. When we weren't preoccupied with re-shuffling our finances and calming our traumatized cat, Paul & I spent a lot of time outside -- more specifically, enjoying ourselves and each others' company outside. I think that spot under the Pergola is my new favorite room. Last summer, the idea of sitting on the fmr. deck in the exact same spot just wasn't of interest to us. This past Saturday we sat out until the streetlights came on, about 9:30. Paul smoked a cigar, for no reason this time, and I sipped a Margarita.
The location is still a work in progress. We'd like to add a table, Paul would like a petite smoker/grill, and maybe a couple nice lawn chairs - for company -- and I really like the idea of hanging lights of some sort, maybe like this, this, or this. "When's the party," you ask? Soon, soon.Saturday after lunch, we also did a Home Depot trip where we got an axe, push-broom, a couple plants, and some paint (I know, exciting). Then, out we went. Paul seeded & watered the lawn, and I planted the flowers, pulled weeds, turned the sod pile - which is actually composing, hallelujah. Then our neighbor's daughter brought over some garden-raised rhubarb cake (just the rhubarb, smart-asses). I felt like we were living in a Norman Rockwell home, other than the kitty.

In other news, Friday was my last official data gathering appointment for my thesis. It took just over a month, but now I'm done with that! I was aiming for approx. (I love that word right now) 25 subjects, managed to schedule 28, of which 22 actually showed up to completed the workouts.
Pictured below is part of the contraption that was used to gather Oxygen uptake data. The Hans Rudolph one-way ventilation mask, complete with a 'saliva collector' (beneath my thumb), hooks up to a tube that connects to a gas exchange box. That thingamabob tells me how much of the oxygen that the person breathed in (21 %) is used, and exits as CO2 instead of O2. The fitter you are, the less O2 comes back out. It's an efficiency thing. Anyway, I digress. I like to describe the contraption below as a scuba mask/orthodontia headgear combo; and no, you won't suffocate.

AND Finally, Friday our Sodium Chloride Containment Unit arrived from Alton Brown himself. (Well, I guess his signature could have been printed.) We have been looking for something like the SCCU it in cooking stores for literally years! I guess it never occurred to either of us to check with the guy who originally tipped us off to its existence. Anyway, even though it's a little bigger than we anticipated, we are very satisfied with it (see the picture on the left-hand side; that's a glass dish in a stainless frame, with a little thumb lever lid lifter) - anything beats that darn tupperware box. Don't forget to toss some over your left shoulder.
Parenthetically speaking,
A

Make Me a Mix Tape

Non-runners, take solace. Paul & I are doing your share right now, prepping for a half-marathon in 2 weeks, and then the Hood To Coast Relay in August. I think Paul said we've been getting in 30 miles a week, but I've tried not to think about it.

So with that unfair share of running comes a fair dose of PLD music - on solo runs, anyway. As unprofessional and dangerous as it is, my 512 MB Mp3 player is sometimes the only thing that gets me through those 8+ milers. I guess that's why I've been thinking so much about playlists. I started running after I graduated from high school, during the summer I spent in Spain. I usually brought music along, beginning with my walkmans, then a now-obsolete MD player, and now my Mp3 player (love - love it, b/c my left arm is no longer that much stronger than my right - only weighs a few oz.).

My current playlist has been shuffled & tidied, eliminating some 'auditions,' and missing some over-played classics. I've also somewhat successfully tried to manipulate some songs using Audacity to match my running tempo, 90/180 beats per minute. Some only need a little tweak:

'Scent of a Mule,' Phish
'In 3's,' Beastie Boys
'Coming Back to Life,' Pink Floyd
'Classic Girl,' Jane's Addiction

Others are out of the question b/c - where's the beat? (Case in point, most of Bela Fleck.) Then there are the tracks that just make me feel like running. They're rambling songs that sound like a train chugging down the tracks, or feet pounding the cinder... at cruising speed.

'Airline to Heaven,' Wilco
'Jesusland,' Ben Folds
'God's Country,' Ani DiFranco
'The Light, II,' Mason Jennings
'Cornflake Girl,' Tori Amos
'Did you ever look so nice,' T/Samples

(notice the odd spiritual theme? Maybe thats b/c sometimes running makes me feel like I'm about to die!)

....................................................................................

Now I'm actually in the basement looking through the cardboard box labeled "Anne's Tapes." I found the one titled, "Best Run Tape Ever." I need a tape player.
I need a tape player! I realize we just threw out the last in a spring cleaning effort 2 weeks ago - Paul's Boom Box from the '80s (one of the cats knocked all 20 pounds of it on the ground & broke it). I can't remember exactly what's on that tape, but I remember playing it a LOT in college - running through the streets of Kirksville on a Sunday night study break, oblivious to the 'Jethros,' 'Blakes,' and 'Britneys' (and serial rapists, etc. - sorry Ma).

The Tape Box is actually like a photo album for me, & includes:

...the one I bought in Spain, by/called(?) "No Me Pises Que Llevo Chanclas,"
...the one I dubbed from Mimi when she was in high school (so it has the Grateful Dead, Sting, REM, B-52's, & Poi Dog Pondering.
...the one called A/M Mix, from Matt's collection, with Live, Dave Matthews, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Soul Coughing, & Bela Fleck.
...my "Hangin' Tough" tape (NKOTB).
...OTBT recordings (a late night radio show, 'Off the Beaten Track,' with Mary in the Heartland, that ended up being my introduction to Grunge & Nirvana)... dubbed over Crash Test Dummies.
... New Mexico, a mix I made for the family car ride during our summer vacation to NM. - Was doing okay until Green Day sang the f-word.
... Mom's Records, dubbed from her collection of Dylan, Joplin, Guthrie, Baez, NRPS, CCR, Hooray for Captain Jane stories, etc.

Enough reminiscing! I think it's almost time to go run.

Oh, if you're missing the whole Mix Tape thing too, check out Tiny Mix Tapes.

-A

Ubiquitous Pictorous

They're funny, they're everywhere! They remind me of those 'captured: unintentional phallic photos' page in the Maxims Paul used to bring home from his surveys (hey, if you hang out with a bunch of sailors, that's what you get!).

This one is a "what's wrong with this picture?" picture - taken from a fitness professional clothing catalog I receive.
So, what's wrong with it? (Think along these exercise-related lines).


And this one... well this one is just funny (nothing 'wrong' with it).
It would be even funnier if there was alcohol offered. Now THAT would be one happy hour.
Oh, props to Portland Picks.

- A

Get a Grip

Double & Capital WOooo-Hooooo! No wait, Yeeeeeeee-Hawwwwww!
I just signed up my 25th subject!

Now a moral dilemma - only about 20 have actually shown up to their appointments. Do I solicit for more people? Again? I've probably responded to close to 100 people. Ugh! Sigh. All I have to do next is write it up. Jeez.
There's a stack of data, a binder of 'literature,' and a pile of spit-infused towels to wash. Gross (those are clean).

In other news, Paul & I got out a little this weekend to help stimulate the economy (not that we're Bushies or anything). We visited the lovely Farmer's Market at PSU, checked in at REI (a week late - Anniversary Sale is o.v.e.r.) and the Pioneer Place Mall. Then went home and made Spring Rolls with a couple nearby friends. Then we ate 'em -- all but 2. Paul also racked his beer (a dry-hopped something-or-rather). We're gonna bottle that batch & take it to Paul's family reunion in Tahoe. Apparently they're a bunch of lushes (just kidding guys).

I still have not stitched an inch in 2 weeks, but have been motivated to cut out parts for a doll quilt, with a pattern slightly more intricate than 3x3 squares, inspired by this.

Found: One Package

Vintage button swap, originally uploaded by whiterabbit21.

Contents:
12 *vintage buttons (pictured here)
2 vintage spools of Belding Corticelli Mercerized cotton thread
1 hand & machine-stitched fabric box

Location: N. Vancouver, Canada

Finally, after 3-1/2 weeks of traveling through a reportedly "slow postal system," my Vintage Button Swap Deux box found itself at my swap partner's doorstep! And thankfully, too, because (1) I had already received her package, before the mailing deadline

(2) this was the first swap for each of us - we need good memories

(3) I hadn't documented my package contents, so it was nice to see them again (and prove that they actually did exist)

(4) and finally, I think the fun of anticipating and reading their swap partner's response is 1/3 of the reason people participate in these (plus 1/3 the adventure of shopping & preparing the package, & 1/3 the surprise of opening your partner's package). I almost missed out on 1/3 of the fun!

- A

* Had a nice conversation with the folks at the Emporium about what exactly qualifies as a vintage button. The answer? "It's all relative."

Not Nothing

Shirt, originally uploaded by apkoski.

Well, I haven't been up to much except fielding interest from research subjects, testing subjects, teaching BBC, and transporting myself to and from home-school-parks, etc.. I've amassed over $10 in parking downtown this week alone, which is huge for us - we are Public Transport. believers. I need a break from this stuff. I will say that I'm getting research subjects, though slowly.
That is not to say that I've ONLY been doing those three things over the past 2 weeks. No, I'm also taking my last grad. course; I helped teach a super-fun Mother's Day BBC class, attended by 60 moms; Paul and I test-made another 1/2-bake and freeze meal (coming later); and I made myself the shirt pictured. I forget I'm a size smaller on top (or a size bigger on bottom - which sounds better?), so yay me, I get to try again in a sz. 10. Oh, and we also fixed a special popcorn and ice cream dinner Thursday night. Sound familiar to someone?
And if you're wondering, yes, this is the famous Simplicity 3887 pattern that everybody in Blog-land is making. [Hey, let's all start Simplicity 3887 Flickr Group! ...er, maybe.] Anyway, I personalized it a bit - quilted the collar and added contrast lining - for my eyes only, I've realized.

Also, you girls who have been asking, I found that page where I learned how to make my own banner/header on Blogger. It's so easy (once you find the 'false')! http://bloggeruniversity.blogspot.com/2006/11/blogger-beta-using-widgets-for-your.html

Ok, back to not work!
-A

Good Week, Great Day

Toast & Coffee, originally uploaded by apkoski.

I'm writing with happy news about my research today: 3 subjects down, 22 to go! Really, it's going better than that (with fingers crossed). A suggestion from a guinea pig-guinea pig (my first subject) to post an ad in the FREE section of Craigslist has skyrocketed my interest e-mails.
Check it. We love a deal!

Paul and I decided to enjoy the temptations of spring today by getting out to the outdoor hot spots before it gets nice. First we slipped and slid up and down the Leif Erickson for my first 60 minute plus run of the year (yo, my legs are like Jello). On this not-quite-perfect weather day, the trail isn't too too crowded, but at the St. Honore Boulangerie, business is apparently (OK, obviously) not affected by threatening clouds and cool air. After we found parking, we got in line, which was just beginning to creep out the door We actually found a table - hallelujah! Paul and I declared while waiting in line, eating our brunch, and driving home, that any item on the menu would receive the same review: freaking amazing. He had a chicken salad and sliced hardboiled egg sandwich on baguette bread, and I had the Normandy Apple toast (which is bread pudding in disguise - jackpot!). The baguette reminded us of po-boy bread at Pirate's Cove, so crispy on the outside and soft and spongy on the inside. The apple bread pudding was moist yet firm, so I could eat it with my hands. Their drip coffee is yummy too. We SO earned that brunch!

Now it's the afternoon of Cinco De Mayo, so we're planning a little BBQ for just us two: "Mexican" BBQ pulled pork sandwiches with coleslaw on top, and brownies topped with strawberries and whipped topping for dessert.
I'm trying a brownie recipe from the complimentary Cook's Illustrated magazine we received in the mail yesterday. We're both smitten with it, as it goes into great detail about making the 'perfect' pork entree, potato salad, lasagne or brownies. Each recipe is made in test kitchen style, with multiple batch trials, adding more of this and less of that, or a different type of something else, until they come up with the ultimate recipe. So tonight we test the basic brownie recipe! Rose's brownies, "Ahora verás huarache, ya apareció tu correa."

-A

Call for Volunteers

Hello!
For all you PDX-ers: I'm looking for 25 subjects for my master's thesis research, "Self-efficacy and preferred exercise intensity in sedentary adults." Doesn't that sound exciting?!

You can be in my study if you are:

• Exercising one or fewer days per week regularly (specifically, cardiovascular exercise - so if you're counting walking the dog, to qualify as cardio., your route should be up a nice incline that causes you to pant - like a dog!).
• Male or Female
  
• Age 18+
• Not pregnant or less than 8 weeks postpartum.
• Willing to come to the Portland State U. Ex. Physiology Lab on 2 occasions and exercise on a treadmill for 20 minutes or less, take to short questionnaires, and get body measurements (height/weight/body composition).

My bonus is that you can also request feedback based on your first treadmill workout and body measurements that helps get you motivated to work out more than 1x per week! Sound good?

LotsofTalk

The Light, originally uploaded by apkoski.

So much to say....

Okay gang, expect my posts to be intermittent for a while. I have much 'ado about school and more: it's mid-term week and it's also time to buckle down and do the thesis. "Bear with me," is all I can say. School ends July 20th.

So for now I have a teeny Blog dump and some updates.

First, the results for the Button Contest are in. Thanks all who voted! There were so many great professional ones, even in "The Team" (runners up).

And, people may be talking madly about the revolution my (second) hometown is working on: The Farmer's Market Lifestyle. Now the "buy local" buzz is nothing new, but these folks are doing specifically Farmer's Market local, except for what they can grow themselves or is not offered locally (for example, there is no local toilet paper producer). Ask to join if you're interested - those Iowans are nice folk.


Last weekend Paul & I visited St. Louis to see nearly entirely everyone from 1/2 of my family (my dad's half), Paul's dad and step-mom, and our College friends -- all within <48>

Paul's parents picked us up from the airport and put us up for our first night in town. It was nice to catch up in person instead of on the phone. And the dinners they fix - grilled Ginger-Pork-Kebabs, and grilled potatoes, bacon, and green peppers (I know, sounds weird but they're awesome!).

Our friends are expecting twins any day now - she's on house arrest with a 2-year old. Can you imagine (OK, so some of you can)? Crazy that "we" used to start drinking at noon, ride bikes drunk, and slide down wooden stairs together for fun.

We were actually in town for a less-than-joyous occasion, my Grandma V's memorial. It was very nice to hear how others remember her. I hadn't known she had taught other grandchildren to crochet, and that she stored fabric scraps under her bed! I think everybody but a few family members were able to come. The last time we were all gathered at my uncle's house like last weekend was in 1985, for my cousin's wedding. They are both fond memories now. :)

-A

I'm In!

...at least that's what they say. Recognize the design? See my exciting button design contest acceptance e-mail below:

Hey,
One of your designs was selected!
It was hard choosing the top 100 or so out of 235 designs, but it is
up and ready to vote.

Tell all your friends:
http://www.busybeaver.net/soandso

Top 20 most voted for buttons will get into the machine and get 200
buttons of their design.

Best wishes and there's no "I" in team or in losers, either!

Thanks for your submission.

Busy Beaver

So Go Rock The Vote!

Between Then and Now

Rec'd, originally uploaded by apkoski.

I tell you what, I've already had my Friday the Thirteenth. Since my last post (04.09), I've experienced a series of trying events. Light peeped through at various times, such as Monday afternoon, when a little package containing vintage buttons (pictured above) from my Vintage Buttons Swap partner arrived. She also fashioned a little felt envelope - just for me! Check out her Etsy shop.
Also, I got a great workout from a friend on Wednesday, with whom I'm swapping personal training sessions - me first, then her, post-baby. Also on Thursday, some of us BBC instructors got together for a brainstorming session. If you're reading this as a participant, all I can say is get ready for some new & creative kinds of hurt!
I also got in a little a visit here and a little coffee talk there, and my usual PSU school. Not a bad week, you say?

Okay. Here's the rest:
Tuesday as I was driving to BBC class, my clutch completely stopped working; got stuck to the floor, namely. So I rolled over to the curb, grabbed my backpack and ran the 2-ish miles to class (wasn't late, whew!). After a class filled with much toddler concern over my 'broken' car, and several ride home offers (which I accepted), I called and got the tow truck and the garage arranged.
Now, I guess tow truck guys expect the driver to call immediately after a breakdown occurs, and then wait (and wait, and wait), and swoon when they finally come to our rescue. So, when the dispatcher called and said, "he's there, do you see him?," I had to defend myself. "The other dispatcher said he wouldn't be there for another half hour, which is why I'm not there yet." Miffed, he was (how dare I make them wait).

My plan was to ride my bike the 2.5 miles back to my car so I could give the guy the keys. I hadn't left yet when they called because I'd run into a problem: my tire pump was in our trunk. After banging on my neighbor's door and then remembering that it's probably the middle of the night for him, I recalled that I had CO2 cartridge 'air.' I squirted some into each tire, eyeballing the pressure, and set out.
Who knew along the way that my phone would be getting automated tow truck ETA reminders every 15-minutes (despite knowing that the guy's already there)? And then, picture this:

As I ride through the Foster/Powell intersections, an woman tears by me and then makes a right turn. I half T-bone her, half slam the brakes hard enough to fly over the handlebars. She's going so fast that by the time I actually hit her, I get her bumper instead of the side doors. I hit her, as I'm flying, and then hit the deck. Great. There goes my city cycling confidence. I actually came out with no road rash & no damage to my bike. I had a nice conversation with the crying driver, who "Totally didn't see" me. I reminded her that she's lucky that I'm not a bitch, seriously injured, or one of those people who sues over just about anything.
So then I continue on to the (totally bummed out) tow truck driver. I say hello and apologize for being late, and get a grunt & no eye contact in return. Okay, let's up the ante.
"I would have been here sooner but I got into an accident." Another grunt, followed by a poor attempt at summoning mild concern.
"Oh, really?"
Nevermind.
I handed him the key and went home. I posed the rest of the week's travels as a challenge to find alternate modes of transportation. I walked, jogged, bicycled, and Trimetted. Yay for me. Now somebody buy me a drink. It's Friday the Thirteenth!

-A

Oh, and we could have bought flatware service for 72 with our repair bill, so I'm sorry to say that we'll all have to keep holding our breath on that big decision.

Woo-Hoo!

A new ironing board!

No more breaking my back over this abomination - the "inch" squares aren't really 1", the middle is all ripply, and it's just too smushy all together. I love my new (gulp, $80) ironing board!


And we're still working on the flatware. We realized that (1) much of it looks the same, and (2) there aren't that many "service for 12" in the stores. Online shopping, baby. This was a helpful online resource.
-A

Is It Summer?

This totally makes me think of summer. (If you want more, you can stream the entire album here.)

And this does too, which we did this evening... plus fresh corn on the cob (silks were still yellow). Where was the ice cream truck?
Oh yeah, the 80-degree weather yesterday and the "humid," balmy air today also made it seem like summer. Nice tease, anyway.

Thanks a bunch to everyone's flatware finding suggestions. Tomorrow evening we'll give you an update - oh boy ;)

Happy Easter e'body.

-A

High Class

Hey, want to play?
You, yes YOU have the opportunity to be involved in making a decision that will affect Paul & I for a long time. Maybe like, more than 10 years. Here we go. Your are gonna be SO excited:

In a drawer in our kitchen, Paul & I have 4 of each of the following: floppy forks, C-shaped spoons, and mediocre butter knives. We asked for 'flatware' on our wedding registry, but alas, 6.5 years later, we're still using the (ahem, sorry P) crap that Paul had in college. Every time we have more than 2 guests over, one of us is relegated to the puny salad fork (maybe the key to the next dieting revolution?).
So... we're making a trip to the local affordable flatware store this weekend to get some. Finally. So the big question is,

"Which set should we get?"

Also, service for 8 or service for 12? We're not wild socialites, but I don't want regrets.

For matching info, I should mention that we're growing weary of our chipped/nicked/cracked china (they're Pier 1, yellow with blue flowers or something), and are looking toward getting a set of pure white, not fancy, maybe a circle, maybe square.

Happy shopping,
-A