Eco-Roofing!

On March 24th, we volunteered to help build a "green" eco-roof through a really cool friend of Dan's (Katie) that he met at this weekly lecture series about affordable green housing.

We arrived at the house (which, incidentally, was one of the houses we toured on our "Green Homes Tour") (see previous blog entry), and had orientation (rules of the project below) ...









A nice poster board describing the elements of green roofing:









...then we got to try our hand at each of the jobs in the process of creating the roof.

The process includes:
1. shoveling the substrate (dirt) into buckets (note our dirt pile below)









2. hauling the buckets up the stairs to the front of the house (the Bucket Brigade!)

3. clipping the buckets to caribeaners attached to ropes (hard hat zone below)









4. hauling the buckets up to the roof (Dan, Jessica, and Bevin)









5. sorting the buckets into extensive and intensive substrate










6. handing off the buckets to the people harnessed in on the sloped part of the roof (no, not us, we were not covered by the homeowners insurance. maybe next time!)


















7. planting the seedums (which involves a little flick of the wrist and a lot of finesse)













The March 24th Volunteer group:









We had so much fun the first time that we went back today (April 8th) to help put the finishing touches and haul up the last few buckets of substrate.

Altogether a very cool experience--I learned a lot, and I think Dan got a chance to do some things hands on that he had only read about in books before.

And, as always, Dan's favorite part of the experience was the port-o-potty on site.

Whale Watching

Sunday, March 25th we took a mini-road trip to the Oregon Coast. It is funny how back in MD we would say we were going to "the beach," but in Oregon, you're going to "the coast."

The main objective (as far as I was concerned) was to see the whales, but we ended up doing that and so much more!

Got up early for a Sunday, and we picked up our friend Angela by 7:45am..this is Dan's early morning face:









We don't have binoculars, so I had to improvise:









Along the way we saw the oldest Sitka tree in Oregon, which is about to keel over and die. The next tree we saw (pictured below) is much more vibrant. It is an "octopus" tree (also a Sitka), and the base of the tree is 50 feet in circumference, and each of the tentacles (oops I mean branches!) is 12 feet in circumference at the base. A sight to see for sure!









A view of the beautiful coast, from Cape Meares:









Now I know what you're thinking about this next picture: "but Julia, I can't see any whales, it's all a hoax!" I promise, we saw whales!! They were really far away, but we could see them spray up water spouts with our bare eyes! A kind volunteer let us borrow her binoculars, and we saw the action a little more magnified. Even though it wasn't necessarily the most spectacular sight ever, I found it really thrilling, just to think that these HUGE animals were passing by right then! On their way from Mexico to Alaska! I jumped up and down I was so excited. Then we put 3 from Maryland on the volunteer's tally, even though Angela isn't from Maryland and we didn't actually come all the way from Maryland for the migration. Had to give our state a little boost.









The day kept getting better...we found this cute little cafe in Oceanside (a few miles south of Cape Meares), and this was our view as we ate lunch:









Parasailers were floating down the whole time we ate:









And after we finished, we couldn't resist the urge to take off the shoes and run for the water...although we ran back away from the freezing Pacific just as fast as we had run to it...









Dan & Angela and their shoes:









Our final beach effort was this fine stew:









And on the way home, we stopped by the Tillamook Cheese factory for a self-guided tour and some delicious ice cream!

Now back to work for the week, but we are getting ready to move this weekend, which is exciting, and I've started to gear up for my Gallaudet interview by hanging out with friends who sign (what an awesome way to study!) OH and tomorrow we are going to see one of my all-time favorites in concert at the Crystal Ballroom, India Arie. Reminds me of college and the summer we all went to Camp Pollack and saw her perform live at this event in Baltimore. I can't remember the name of the event..its driving me crazy. The one at Maryland was called Art Attack, and the one in Baltimore was......ArtScape or ArtFest or something like that.

Anyway!

Happy Spring!

Good News..

I got an Interview at Gallaudet!

For the interpreting program :)

Why I love Portland

Lately, I've really been missing Maryland and the general D.C. area. But this weekend reminded me of why I have come to love Portland so much...

First, Dan and I went to the Portland Urban Iditarod. The description from the website captures the event much better than I could:

"The event is held on the same date the “real” race each year - the first Saturday of March. In the Alaskan Iditarod, more than sixty dog sled teams race across the frozen tundra from Anchorage to Nome. In our urban version, teams of ‘dogs’ lead by a musher will pull their sleds (shopping carts) through some of Portland’s most scenic areas. These teams of barking humans must negotiate through the unrelenting and unforgiving dangers of Portland’s urban frontier."

The best part is, each team dresses up alike and likewise dresses up their shopping cart. My favorite team was the USPS team:









Here is the mayhem at the start line (with the Hawthorne bridge and the city in the background):









And the ninja turtles team:









Then Saturday night we went contra dancing!

And Sunday my friend Jonny of PCS fame took me cross country skiing!

Here is Jonny, taking a break from teaching me the basics:









A nice gentle slope












Jonny's girlfriend Linda has a huge turtle who rode through the snow with us (it's been in the car for 12 years)









After the 3 miles or so of skiing, we went up to the Timberline lodge, which is where the Jack Nicholson version of The Shining was filmed. I loved the snow drifts piled up against the window!!












When I got home from my skiing adventure, Dan had a surprise! He bought his first road bike from a Craig's List seller, and here it is!!












We tried it out on a ride to NW Portland (apartment hunting). It is very smooth and is especially nice going up hills!! I think he should name it Gazelle, becuase it is very lightweight and stealthy. Any other name suggestions???

Feb 18 Snow Shoe!!

Yesterday we went snowshoeing for the first time! We went with a group of people through Meet in Portland, and our destination was Mirror Lake, which is on the way to Mt. Hood. (on a clear day, you can see a great view of Mt. Hood from Mirror Lake!)

Our first stop was the local donut shop in Sandy, OR. It was packed the whole time we were there (Robert, one of the trip leaders, is getting HIS camera ready in the photo):









When we arrived at the trailhead, the weather looked pretty gloomy...and it was VERY CHILLY...









But as soon as we stepped inside the forest, it was quiet, still and clear:









We carried our snowshoes most of the way up the trail, but we got to put them on when we arrived at the lake:












One of the trip leaders, Kristen, brought her dog, Shale, and the dog took quite a liking to Dan. (Shale and Dan's snowshoes):









A view from the lake









From left: Laura, Dan, Shale, me, and Kristen









I took quite a liking to my snowshoeing boots:












And it was hard for Dan and Shale to say goodbye after such a fun day together:









Dan and I want to get a dog :)

job search

Looking for a new job, and this is one of the universities I was searching:

Staff position qualifications:

• A personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
• Demonstration of an evident maturity in their spiritual life.
• Model Christ-like behavior and live "above reproach"
  as outlined in Acts 6, I Timothy 3 and Titus 1.
• Agreement with our STATEMENT OF FAITH.
• Membership in a Baptist church or a church
  of like faith and practice.

A Haiku by Dan and Julia

a Haiku inspired by the "Haiku" discussion board on Craig's List and Dan's experience this morning:

bike wheel nice and taut
springing forth to greet the day
blast! fatal glass shard

"Worst Day of the Year" bike ride and other assorted fun things...

Yesterday, Dan and I went on an 18-mile urban bike ride dubbed "the worst day of the year" bike ride. Everyone gets dressed up and rides through whatever weather we have, rain or shine. We got a mix of rain and shine, and it was an awesome ride followed by delicious chili, cornbread, and doughnuts.

My outfit and our chicken, who rode with me the whole way:









This little pod bike (very good for rainy weather)









Dan's favorite muppet: (beeker? beaker?)












Dan volunteering as a flagger after we finished the ride:









Volunteering...









Dan on the wildwood trail superbowl sunday morning:









Me and our friend Angela at the highest point on the wildwood trail, with a view of the city:









Trying to pinch Mt. Hood:












A Neopolitan Mastiff dog that Dan was taken with (he really liked the dog's jowels):









We spotted the weinermobile!!! It drove by so fast, this was the best picture I could snap of it.

Why Bank of America stinks.

Today, I shared my 5-month Bank of America saga with my co-workers.

They had a few very enticing suggestions as to why I have been having such difficulties and what I should do to remedy the situation.

What follows is a brief summary of the events, along with their recommendations.

-Moved to Portland in September. Had photo taken for card.
-Card arrived late in September, sans photo.
-October, Went to Bank of America to inquire what the problem was; had second photo taken.
-Late October, second card arrives, sans photo.
-November, went to Bank of America with a letter of complaint and was assured everything was taken care of.
-Early December, when no card received, went to Bank of America, had third photo taken and was assured they would rush the card to me.
-Late December received a letter stating that "A photograph did not accompany the request form" and they were therefore unable to process my request for a Photo card
-Yesterday took the letter to BOA and was assured that "everything would be taken care of" and he would call my phone later that day to tell me what his next step would be. (no call)

Here are my co-workers suggestions (listed as Agents to protect their privacy):

Agent X suggested that perhaps there is an old man at the Bank of America photo processing plant who loves me and steals all of my photos

Agent Y suggested A. that I punch them in the face and B. that they are exposing me to identity theft risk

Agent Z suggested that I tell Bank of America to "Get their {stuff} together."

I would hike 100 miles and I would hike 100 more....

This is a picture from Road Trip '05 when I had just finished hiking 100 miles! Just wanted to share that one again.