a little update

November 7th, 2007Tags: , , ,
| bike, dogs, farmers market, food, fun, good stuff, mmmmmmm, movies, portland, single speed | chris | 0 comments

things in portland are moving right along. deeann has settled well into work. it doesn’t seem to be too stressful at this point and the contract at this VA hospital is really going well. i had orientation last saturday and we went to blue night at the school on monday. it was so delicious! a few of the chefs that are graduating get to cook and serve the incoming students. here’s the menu: salad: beets, mache lettuce and horseradish vinaigrette with manchego cheese. appetizer: grilled shrimp on saffron risotto cake and basil cream sauce. entree: sauteed game hen on creamed corn with parsley pesto and chanterelle mushrooms. dessert: fresh pumpkin souffle with cinnamon creme anglaise.

needless to say it was unbelievable and i can’t wait for class to start.

other than that, we’ve been on a few hikes around the parks here. i also got the bike out for the first time this week. i can’t tell you how much fun it is to ride in a city that embraces cyclists. it was a good time.

to keep us busy we have been watching a couple movies, meeting neighbors dogs, eating our way through some of the local restaurants — not to mention farmers market, and playing lots of scrabble. good times. it’s also been quite nice to keep in touch with many friends and family through video chat online. if you have skype or AOL let me know and you too can enjoy the fun! (or just download either of them!!)

so check out some of the new photos and toss us an email. we’d love to hear from you! (cgrebner@gmail.com)

another beautiful weekend

October 28th, 2007Tags: , , , , ,
| autumn, beauty, farmers market, food, good food, just stuff | chris | 0 comments

Forest Park
we got a few extra hours of sleep friday, which was needed. since the weather was nice we decided to check out forest park, a local hiking park. it is only about 6 miles from downtown and provides a semi scenic drive and beautiful wooded surroundings. it was a nice little hike. friday night we went out to eat at aura, a hipsters lounge and restaurant. deeann had the grilled salmon with steamed veggies and new potatoes. on the side was a marionberry-port wine reduction that was killer. yum. i had a creole rice dish that had all sorts of seafood, along with sausage and sauteed veggies. to drink, deeann had some crazy delicious orange citrus mixer. i had the fish tale organic amber ale which is a medium-bodied beer. with a gentle sweet character, it had a zesty flavor without a bite. very yum.

saturday we did not sleep in. we got up and drove down to the portland rei store which was having a garage sale. we got there at 8:30am and the line was already around the block twice. we didn’t get inside until about 11:45. afterwards we hurried our way home to make it to the farmers market just in time. rushed through to get what we needed(one of which was ground buffalo to make a screaming good chili for tonight) and went up and unloaded everything. i cut up a bunch of fruit(apples and pears are deliciously in season) and mixed up a quick sangria to set for the afternoon. then we decided to go to whole foods to pick up what we weren’t able to get at farmers market. on our way home, on the streetcar, i forgot i left my coffee mug on a table back at whole foods. get back to the apartment, unload(again) and make our way back to whole foods. thankfully they held on to it for me. whew. by the time we got home it was 7:00 and we were beat. poured up some sangria and plopped down to watch little miss sunshine. i had seen it but deeann hadn’t. i recommend it.

today, we got up and went to imago dei. good ‘ole time with them. made a quick run(if there is such a thing) to best buy and ikea, and now just sitting here waiting for the buffalo bill chili to finish so i can send deeann to work with a full happy tummy. i think i might go for an evening run before i chow on my chili.

all in all, it was a good weekend. beautiful fall weather. now we have to start gearing up for the week.

our new home

October 21st, 2007Tags: , , , , ,
| family, farmers market, fun, good food, life, moving, portland, road trip | chris | 1 comment

we are finally settled in(for the most part) to our new apartment. over the past few days of travel, back and forth from furniture stores, and just learning the city and public transit, we have really been enjoying our new home. many things are unfamiliar still but more and more we are getting used to the flow of our new lives.

yesterday was the farmers market, which is right outside our front door. we spent the morning squezing and smelling a lot of the local produce. everything was so bright and fresh, just thinking about it makes my mouth water.

today terra and pete will be heading out to take the long way back to iowa city. i think they’re going up through seattle, then across all the way to mineapolis, then down to iowa city. probably another three day drive. after they leave, deeann and i are going to finish bed shopping and go visit deeann’s hospital. she starts work tomorrow. (yikes)

here are some pictures from the city and farmers market. enjoy.