The Siege Continues...

Ugh...I'm starting to go a little stir crazy. It's snowed even more today. There's no end to this .... I'm never getting out of this apartment. Ok, actually, it's a like a mini-vacation watching favorite moves, lazing in my pj's and making great late breakfasts. But, this place is only so big and I am getting a little restless. God, I hope this breaks soon...

Cabin Fever

Ok, I have the most advanced case of Cabin Fever ever! Because of the weather, I've been stuck in my apartment for a week and a half; I only made it into work three days last week. I decided to make the best of it and tackle something I've put off for a long while: a multi-layered cake. They look so easy to make on the TV, but when I actually try to rally and make one, I get intimidated and decided to make something else. Well, I had nothing but time and decided to challenge myself to make one. Here are some pictures of my first attempt:

The cakes cooling...

Making the chocolate icing...

Ta da!!! It was delicious >:-)

Anyway, fast forward to this morning, this is what I woke up to. My car is frozen to the street...


It snowed seven inches yesterday, then we had freezing rain all last night. So Portland is like whole city-sized creme brulee, seven inches of fluff covered with an inch of crunchy crust. All the plants and trees are covered with an even layer of ice...





My front porch. Crunch, sink, crunch, sink is what my footsteps sounded like as I walked around taking pictures.

My New Little Yellow House

This is the new house I will be renting in Silverton!!

Honey Do's...oh, wait..that's me..

Ok, so being snowed-in has given me cabin fever. I decided to do all the little "honey-do's" that I've been putting off. Damn. Every time I use Super-Glue, this is what goes through my head: "ok, I'm just going to be very careful with it. I'm only going to hold on to the tube and I'm NOT going to get my fingers in the way". So, after firmly giving myself a Super-Glue pep talk, carefully removing the cap and positioning the tube, I successfully glued my fingers together...

Sigh...

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Well, I don't have too many pictures of Thanksgiving, I was busy cooking all day, but I did manage to get the odd few. I remember helping Mommom make mincemeat tarts when I was little; it was one of the first things she let me do in the kitchen. She showed me how to roll out the dough and how to carefully cut each circle. My job was to fill the cups with the mincemeat, not too much, not too little. I hadn't had them in years so when I found the mincemeat in Mom's cupboard, I decided it was time. They were as good as I remembered...

I got this cabinet from Flo when she moved out of her apartment and decided to paint it while I was up at the house. Dad and I worked on it in between kitchen logistics; another father-daughter project! It turned out beautifully..



Someone must have found my camera after I went to bed, because I don't remember taking these photos :-) These are the projects Emma completed while at the house. Pretty good for not following a pattern, huh?

More Victoria Pics

Here are some more pictures I took in Victoria B.C. on my birthday trip that I haven't had time to post until now. The new job has been keeping me occupied :-)

Here we are at the Butchart Gardens. This is the "Sunken Garden" that was made out of the quarry...


Mom and Dad lolly-gagged and got separated from the group...

Hydrangea...

This fountain also does shows set to music on busy days. Since it was the off season, we almost had the whole garden to ourselves...

Sigh...I wonder how many kisses it would take to turn this into a prince..

Violas....


The Japanese Garden...

There's a spot in the Japanese Garden where you can go down to the bay, sit on the picnic bench, and chill, but we had reservations for tea, so onward we went!

Neil on the way back toward the tea house...

Later that night, we cracked out the dominos and here is Jan explaining the rules of Mexican Train!!

First Day on the Job, Version #3

I'm tackling yet another "First Day" on the job and already, this one is going much better than the last. They are actually taking me out to lunch today and have made up a schedule for me for the next two weeks. I've already been around to all the offices and been introduced as well as had a meeting with the Safety Manager (they actually have one here) who gave me a shoe voucher! Next is lunch with the QA team, then a Quality Systems Orientation with the QA Manager. It's all very structured and layed out. Just the way I like it....