http://ignoregon.com/rss/albany Aggregated Blog Posts From Albany Fri, 30 Jul 2010 09:54:58 +0000 en http://jens_page.blogspot.com/2010/07/watermelon-raspberry-slushie.html http://jens_page.blogspot.com/2010/07/watermelon-raspberry-slushie.html Wed, 28 Jul 2010 11:12:00 +0000 Here's my little chef (covering her ears to block the noise from the blender).The credit for making this recipe all goes to Lucy. Just like I did with my goat-cheese empanadas in Real Simple, she saw this recipe for Watermelon-Raspberry Slushies in her August issue of High Five magazine, and knew immediately that she had to make it. I don't know why this recipe; there are recipes in the magazine every month and she never wants to make any of them--but this one just looked good to her I guess.It's quite simple; mix two cups of watermelon, 1/2 a cup of raspberries and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice in the blender. Blend it, then dump the mixture into a dish and freeze for an hour or two.And now here's the part where we deviated from the recipe. You're supposed to pull the dish out of the freezer every 30 minutes and break up the ice crystals, so that it becomes (like the recipe says) a slushy consistency. Not frozen solid.But we stuck it in the freezer and then went out to play in the sprinkler and completely forgot about it.So it was frozen solid by the time we pulled it out again. However, this did not deter from its deliciousness. We just scooped out chunks and ate it. It was basically just like a popsicle in a dish. In fact, I considered making it again, and dumping it into our popsicle molds, and then we'd have sweet healthy homemade popsicles! But instead we ate up the rest of the watermelon and I haven't bought it again yet.What I loved about the recipe, besides the simplicity of it, was that it was completely delicious--you really felt like you were having a treat--but it had no added sugar at all. Just the natural yumminess of the fruit. You could munch the cold sweetness to your heart's content without feeling like you were overindulging. You could even tell your kids they were getting a special treat for dessert, while knowing that it was actually a healthy snack--nothing but fruit!Sometimes moms have to be devious that way. http://cardasphotography.typepad.com/blog/2010/07/lisa-j-carman-musician-headshots-bandon-oregon.html http://cardasphotography.typepad.com/blog/2010/07/lisa-j-carman-musician-headshots-bandon-oregon.html Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:28:00 +0000 Lisa J Carman is a fantastic performing artist from New Mexico. While she was on a big road trip she decided to stop on the beautiful Oregon Coast and gave me a call to update her promo images. http://jens_page.blogspot.com/2010/07/recipe-reviews-chevre-sadness.html http://jens_page.blogspot.com/2010/07/recipe-reviews-chevre-sadness.html Mon, 26 Jul 2010 13:24:00 +0000 When I saw the recipe for these goat cheese empanadas in the August issue of Real Simple magazine, I ripped the page out immediately. I could almost feel my mouth watering. Goat cheese! Pie crust! Two of my favorite things combined into one delicious snack. I had to have them.The recipe is very simple--it was from an article on three-ingredient recipes. As written, it said to take pre-made refrigerated pie dough, roll it out and cut out three inch rounds with a cookie cutter. Put goat cheese on the rounds, fold them in half and crimp the edges. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes, then serve with salsa. I did that almost exactly as it was written, except that I made my own pie crust from scratch. I'm a little obsessive about my pie crust; it has to be really good, and I've never tasted a pre-made one that was up to my standards. I just prefer my family recipe to any other. I'm not being snobby, I promise. It's just that good. See? Here are they are, golden and delicious, with salsa and Diet Pepsi. Do I know how to have a good time, or what?I bit into one, expecting cheesy goodness. Instead...Well, they weren't bad. They were certainly edible. But they didn't even come close to the delectable treat I had imagined. The pie crust was rich and flaky. The cheese was rich and creamy. Together (I can't hardly believe I'm going to write this) they were almost too rich to enjoy. The flavors didn't really complement each other. It made for a heavy mouthful, not a tasty little snack. I wanted them to be crispy on the outside, soft and cheesy on the inside. But they weren't. The crust was tender and flaky, as pie crust should be, but I think something lighter and crunchier would have worked better.Also, I'd never baked chevre before, but I had imagined it would get kind of melty and gooey, like most cheese does. But it didn't. It was the exact same soft, slightly creamy/crumbly consistency as normal...just warm. And that wasn't necessarily bad, but it wasn't great either. Speaking as a girl who has never met a cheese she didn't like, who loves fondue and grilled cheese sandwiches and nachos and all other kinds of cooked-cheese type recipes, I would have to say that based on this recipe, baked goat cheese ranks lowest of all the cheese I've ever baked.Maybe if I'd followed the directions and used a store-made pie crust. Those are usually kind of thin and tasteless. That might actually have been a little better than the two rich, competing tastes. Maybe if I rolled the dough out real thin so you got just a taste of the dough before biting into the cheese? Maybe if I used puff pastry instead? Maybe if I tried a different kind of cheese that would get more melty in the oven? (hmm, maybe I just need to try a different recipe). For now, all I can say is that these goat-cheese-in-a-pie-crust-empanadas were not all that I dreamed they would be. Major bummer.However--we also tried a recipe we DID like. Stay tuned for a review of Watermelon-Raspberry Slushies! A perfect (and perfectly healthy) summer snack. http://umbrellapaintingjournal.blogspot.com/2010/07/morning-grazers-well-cared-for-steer.html http://umbrellapaintingjournal.blogspot.com/2010/07/morning-grazers-well-cared-for-steer.html Sat, 24 Jul 2010 20:47:00 +0000 On the back of a used envelopeI sketched these steers. Then I continused to refer to them as I painted them. This is oil on stretched canvas. http://umbrellapaintingjournal.blogspot.com/2010/07/ona-beach-watercolor-accordion-painting.html http://umbrellapaintingjournal.blogspot.com/2010/07/ona-beach-watercolor-accordion-painting.html Sat, 24 Jul 2010 14:02:00 +0000 This is one section of a small watercolor accordion folded paper. I finishing up with watercolor pencils after it dried. One of my granddaughters was with me. We painted a little over an hour at Ona Beach on Monday. Although she had a little slide viewfinder, she said she knew what she wanted to do. She held the viewfinder up close to her eye so she saw the whole panorama. She wanted to have the grove of trees, the sand and drift wood, the bridge, the grass, the beach and the ocean. The long narrow format was a perfect way to do the whole scene. I wish I photographed her painting because it was delightful. http://jens_page.blogspot.com/2010/07/seven-quick-takes_22.html http://jens_page.blogspot.com/2010/07/seven-quick-takes_22.html Fri, 23 Jul 2010 01:16:00 +0000 1. I'm not going to say it, because I don't want to jinx us. But. You may have noticed that I posted about being sick. And then didn't post for two days. Perhaps it may have occurred to you that the sickness and the not-posting were related to each other. You would be right. This nasty illness, whatever it was, followed us home and hunted us down one by one.But...today I'm posting again. Let's not get cocky and say anything more than that.2. Hmmm, how to segue from sickness to recipe reviews? There really isn't a good way. So I'll just tell you: inbetween sick times this week, we tried a couple new recipes. One was a watermelon-raspberry slushie. One was a goat cheese empanada. One was delicious, and one was disappointing. Which was which? I'll let you know next week.3. Okay, back to a sickness-related thought. After we got home from the Camping Trip of Doom, we had a couple of pillows that badly needed to be washed. I pulled the pillowcases off, but decided that the smell had really penetrated through and the whole pillow itself needed to be washed. I followed the washing instructions, which included "tumble dry low." But they came out of the dryer as though I'd washed them not with water, but with magic pillow-fluffing steroids. They used to be a normal amount of fluffiness. Now they are so huge and puffy they barely fit in their pillowcases, and you have to crane your neck up to sleep on them. So not comfortable! What can I do about this? Is there a way to deflate them back down to normal size, or are they ruined?4. Garden update: maybe my garden isn't totally a lost cause this year. I did get a squash!(Just ignore the other random stuff on top of my table. Or, think of it as a still life: Squash with Slipper and Steinbeck.)5. I've mentioned it before, but I'll say it again: Restyle Resale in North Albany is a great store and well-worthy of a visit. I was looking for a new outfit in which to properly celebrate my upcoming birthday, and I tried on probably 20 dresses there yesterday. I really liked ALL of them, but finally decided on a classy black one that was an excellent price: $15. It's all black, so I also picked up a red beaded necklace to go with it. It's sparkly! So. Love the dress, love the necklace, already have some cute black shoes. Big question: what color of toenail polish should I wear with this outfit? Should I wear bright red, like the necklace? Or a different color? Would red and black and red and black be too matchy-matchy?6. We've had perfect weather this week. In the 80s. Hot enough for summer fun, not so hot that we're dying of heat. Love it. 7. I have a sadly neglected flower bed in my back yard. I tried to plant some pansies back there this spring, but they died because it is in full sun and I rarely watered them. (Did I mention it's sadly neglected?) Any ideas on what I should plant there? Other than a cactus garden? What are your favorite low-maintenance, drought-resistant plants?You can read more quick takes, probably with less sickness and boring garden questions, here. http://umbrellapaintingjournal.blogspot.com/2010/07/ona-beach-july-19.html http://umbrellapaintingjournal.blogspot.com/2010/07/ona-beach-july-19.html Fri, 23 Jul 2010 00:19:00 +0000 Oil on board 12"x 12" x 1 1/4" http://jens_page.blogspot.com/2010/07/big-camping-trip-part-two.html http://jens_page.blogspot.com/2010/07/big-camping-trip-part-two.html Tue, 20 Jul 2010 17:19:00 +0000 It was after midnight. The tent was dark, the girls all peacefully slumbering, when I heard the crying. The hard, choking kind of crying that comes from a truly distressed child. I raised my head off my pillow, but it took only a second for me to realize it wasn't my kid. Rebekah's voice, soothing her son, followed in a moment.Remember how I said it was a not-especially-large group camping site? Well, I wasn't kidding about that. We had six families in the campsite, and our tents were only inches apart from each other. I could hear everything, plain as day, as Rebekah coaxed her son into clean clothes and got him quieted down. Oh, the poor kid, I thought. Throwing up in the tent? That's the worst! And then, Gosh, she's being such a good, compassionate mother, I thought. I don't think I'd be nearly so sweet to my kids if they were the ones puking in the middle of the night.Of course, of course, you can see where this is going, right?I think I'd just drifted off to sleep again when suddenly I was sitting bolt upright in my sleeping bag, barely certain of what had awakened me. What was that? I whispered loudly in the kids' general direction. What was that? And then I heard it again. Then unmistakable sound of a small child upchucking an entire evening's worth of s'mores.I scrabbled around in the darkness. Where was the flashlight? Where was the stinking flashlight? I ended up grabbing my cell phone and holding it up in my hand, the faint glow from the screen illuminating Beth's teary face and the puddle of yuck on the floor. I didn't quite know what to do. I sat there, staring, as Beth wiped her mouth with her sleeve and said, "I threw up, Mom." And then we both watched as her still-sleeping sister stirred in her sleep. We gasped. "Oh, even worse! Now Lucy's rolled in it," she said.I sprang into action, scooting the sleeping kids out of the way, pushing Beth's hair out of her face and ordering her to sit still. I dashed for the door of the tent, somehow found the flashlight on the way, and started pulling still-damp towels off the clothesline I'd rigged up in the trees. Back in the tent, where I wiped and swiped and cleaned as best as I could. The nasty pillows and blanket and one poor little stuffed kitty-cat I just threw out the tent door into the bushes. I'd deal with it in the morning. I tucked Beth back in, giving her my pillow since hers was be-fouled. I found a bucket we'd used earlier in the day for making sand castles at the beach and tucked it next to her head, instructing her to use it if she had to puke again.Which, unfortunately, she did. And did. And did.And it wasn't long before Lucy joined in.More towels, more buckets, more blankets tossed out into the darkness. Inbetween times I fell down onto my sleeping bag and dozed. Sometimes I'd start awake, hearing the sound of someone puking, and shine my flashlight at the girls, only to see them both lying still and quiet, and I'd realize the noise was actually coming from Rebekah's tent. I lost count of how many times this went on.All mothers have nights like this--nights where you feel so bad for your poor sick kiddo and yet you just keep praying for them to STOP being SICK already so you can sleep. For a minute, just a minute of sleep. It's all you need. And then you feel guilty for your selfishness and stroke their poor little sick forehead tenderly, and then you fall asleep again because you're just so doggone tired. And going through this with two kids simultaneously was a new experience for me. Plus, at least usually when you have a sick kid, it's at home. Where you have the benefit of linen closets stocked with clean towels and blankets, of washing machines (or at least laundry hampers) to throw the dirty clothes in. Of sinks where you can get your kiddo a glass of water and wash your hands after cleaning up the puke. Where you don't have to breathe in the smell of it all night long. Enduring a night of vomit in a tent took the whole experience to an entirely new level.I have to say, hearing Rebekah's son through the thin tent walls was, in a strange way, comforting. Bad, in that no one wants to listen to someone else being sick, and no one wishes that on someone else, but good in that at least I knew I wasn't the only one awake all night dealing with it. Sometimes it's nice to know you're not the only one suffering. And, bad in that I was the one who'd cooked dinner that night, and so when I wasn't cleaning up vomit or fitfully sleeping I was lying awake worrying that the sudden sickness meant I'd poisoned everyone, but that's another story (we're still pretty uncertain what caused it). In the morning when Rebekah and I straggled out of our tents, both saggy-eyed and droopy, we shared a sad little smile across the campsite. Listening to each others' children puke all night: it's a bonding experience.And then I got everything packed up while the girls lay around all pale and sickly. (Except for Evie, who woke up as chipper and rested as ever, having slept through the entire thing). I shoved the disgusting blankets and pillows and sleeping bags into the plastic trash bags I'd brought and put them in the cargo container on top of the car, so we wouldn't have to smell them all the way home. The kids puked as I buckled them into the car. They puked as I pulled out onto the highway. And then...they slept all the way home. And they haven't puked since, thank God.And that is the story of the camping trip I will never forget. And that I pray I will never, ever repeat. http://jens_page.blogspot.com/2010/07/big-camping-trip-part-one.html http://jens_page.blogspot.com/2010/07/big-camping-trip-part-one.html Mon, 19 Jul 2010 20:15:00 +0000 We just got back from a weekend of beach-camping fun. Eleven adults, fifteen kids, one not-especially-large group camp site. We played on the beach and in the woods.The kids got extremely filthy.We spent lots of time sitting around the campfire. It was all lovely and perfect. Until...disaster struck.Stay tuned for Part Two tomorrow. http://umbrellapaintingjournal.blogspot.com/2010/07/iron-mt-accordion-journal.html http://umbrellapaintingjournal.blogspot.com/2010/07/iron-mt-accordion-journal.html Sun, 18 Jul 2010 16:15:00 +0000 Friday July 9, I went for a walk towards Cone Peak, Oregon with Rain and Farm Boss. In this painting I tried to tie areas together with line The landscape was a beginning point only for a look at the language of painting. I very interested now in line as a story telling element. Line like color is about emotion. http://umbrellapaintingjournal.blogspot.com/2010/07/frederick-heidels-garden-around-four.html http://umbrellapaintingjournal.blogspot.com/2010/07/frederick-heidels-garden-around-four.html Sun, 18 Jul 2010 15:01:00 +0000 Between 1962 -1965 Frederick Heidel was my painting instructor at Portland State College and again for a summer watercolor figure painting class in 1976. The gist of his instruction was learning the language of large color areas and sensitive line. He questioned us on how much the subject should be the concern in our painting or just a beginning to explore paint.Around 1885, "Garden Around Four", 63 x50 1/2" was one of his acrylic paintings in an exhibit presented by the Fountain Gallery of Portland now known as the Laura Russo Gallery. http://www.laurarusso.comThis painting made me feel happy and reminded me of weaving and mosaics - two interest I share with Heidel. I always thought of it as being primarily about paint and did not read much meaning into it other than there were two women at tea in the garden.Now I see it as a vision of the female aspects of politics. The figure to the right is like Sarah Palin wearing a buccaneer's shirt and a Peter Pan's hat. On the left is a female in a blue striped dress. Her hand has just tipped the full glass of pink lemonade. Her breasts shoot blood towards two hot peppers like two wars on the table. Where her head should be there is nothing and breaking up in cross hatched lines is an enlarged donkey's head. On the arbor above the donkey party head is zigzagging lines talking at Sarah Palin on the right who is throwing cold water on the table. http://umbrellapaintingjournal.blogspot.com/2010/07/field-photograph-3.html http://umbrellapaintingjournal.blogspot.com/2010/07/field-photograph-3.html Sun, 18 Jul 2010 13:39:00 +0000 Near Iron Mt., Oregon, July 17 http://umbrellapaintingjournal.blogspot.com/2010/07/field-photograph-2.html http://umbrellapaintingjournal.blogspot.com/2010/07/field-photograph-2.html Sun, 18 Jul 2010 11:03:00 +0000 Near Iron Mt., Oregon, July 17 http://umbrellapaintingjournal.blogspot.com/2010/07/field-reference-photo-1.html http://umbrellapaintingjournal.blogspot.com/2010/07/field-reference-photo-1.html Sun, 18 Jul 2010 10:59:00 +0000 Iron Mt., Oregon, July17 http://cardasphotography.typepad.com/blog/2010/07/family-bandon-oregon-family-portraits.html http://cardasphotography.typepad.com/blog/2010/07/family-bandon-oregon-family-portraits.html Sat, 17 Jul 2010 02:49:00 +0000 This wonderful family chose Bandon as the location for their little family reunion. They traveled from Sacramento, Grants Pass and even Atlanta Georgia! Unfortunately one of the brothers broke his leg on the beach at the beginning of the week... http://jens_page.blogspot.com/2010/07/seven-quick-takes_16.html http://jens_page.blogspot.com/2010/07/seven-quick-takes_16.html Fri, 16 Jul 2010 09:00:00 +0000 1. Beth opened up the junk drawer after my big clean-out and exlaimed, "Oh, mom! You organized it!" You should have heard her voice--so shocked, so pleased. You know it's bad when even your children notice just how much better things look when you put in a little effort.2. My race! The half-marathon went really well. In fact, it's getting better and better in my mind, the farther and farther I get away from it. Funny how difficult experiences always seem better in hindsight, isn't it?Actually, it wasn't that difficult. Challenging, sure. I felt like I was crawling along, slow and sluggish. Every time I came up to a new mile marker, I found myself saying, "Oh, no! Only mile 7? I was sure I was farther along than that." And since I didn't run with a watch or timer or cell phone, I had no idea how I was doing, pace-wise. I felt sure the altitude was slowing me down.So, I was extremely pleased and surprised when I crossed the finish line, looked at the big clock, and saw that I'd completed it in just over two hours, about three minutes faster than my last half-marathon. My official time was 2:00:45, so I had a pace of 9:15 per mile. For some people, this is not fast at all. For me, it was a big accomplishment.And I guess maybe a little bit of worrying actually speeded me up along the way.Me, post-race, triumphant, sweaty and gross.3. Check out my freezer! Getting a little bit fuller now. We've picked strawberries, raspberries and blueberries so far this summer, and I'm hoping to pick raspberries and blueberries a few more times. I'm thinking of buying green beans at the farmer's market or from a farm, then blanching and freezing them. Heather is hooking me up with some local beef. Yes, we're putting this little guy to good use.4. My garden kind of sucks this year. My tomatoes have some kind of weird rolled-up leaf thing going on. They're still blooming, so I'm kind of ignoring it, but they don't look right. My pototoes looked wonderful earlier in the year and now they are yellowing and browning and I think they have blight. You know, the thing that caused the Irish potato famine. My green beans got mostly eaten by slugs. My spinach never even grew. My broccoli got such a late start because of the wet spring, that they were just little seedlings still when the hot weather came. Then they bolted. They show no signs of actually forming heads like they are supposed to. Only about two of my carrots grew. My sugar snap peas were lovely, but they're almost done. My lettuce was okay, but kind of bitter. It's bolted now too.I've just got my zucchini and my squash left to pin my hopes on now. Surely even I can't kill zucchini, can I?5. Target has back to school stuff everywhere already. Not even a month after schools let out for the summer. Can't we just have a break, marketers of America? Just for a little while? Please?6. Up until yesterday, I had never barbecued anything, ever. Eric really enjoys barbecuing, so I just let him do it. Plus, one time I tried to light our propane barbecue, and I did something very wrong, and there was kind of a (mini) explosion and I burned all the hair off my arm (which I had instinctively thrown up in front of my face). I'm lucky I walked away with my eyebrows intact.But. That was years ago, and I'm stronger and smarter now. And my husband wasn't home that day, and I wanted grilled chicken, dang it! So I got over my fear and did it. And the chicken was moist and delightful and just as perfect as when he does it.7. This is the current favorite song in our household:Kick Drum Heart by the Avett Brothers. The girls and I have big dance parties when this song comes on; they've been known to hit repeat multiple times. It's catchy, it's fun, it's perfect for dancing to.(note that the video I linked to is a fan video of a live performance and the sound isn't great, although it's awesome to watch the band rocking out while they play it. For better-quality listening, but no visual, check out the song at the Avett Brothers official site.)For more quick takes, click here. http://jens_page.blogspot.com/2010/07/my-new-motto.html http://jens_page.blogspot.com/2010/07/my-new-motto.html Thu, 15 Jul 2010 17:59:00 +0000 Isn't that great? I love the idea that 30 does not mean "old." It means "experienced." As in, wiser, smarter, and stronger than that rookie, greenhorn, empty-headed 18-year-old. Better than I used to be.And, just for the record, I am not 30 yet. This was an early birthday present from my sister. Early. Very early. I am still most definitely in my 20s.