Before leaving

CD and I have tried to spend a lot of time together since we'll be apart for quite a bit.

He took me flying on a gloriously beautiful day:


This is Humboldt Bay. Woodley Island is connected by bridges to Eureka (right) and Samoa (the spit). You can sort of see the Samoa pulp mill on the bottom left- when the wind blows inland it can be a somewhat unpleasant smell


We then flew north to Trinidad; this is (appropriately named) Trinidad Head. There is a marine laboratory there. The aerosol group in Seattle samples the clean air here about 3 months out of the year. Can you spot the sampling station?



One of the big things I miss while being at sea is my passion for cooking. Chilean Independence day was a couple of weeks ago and I was still craving something traditionally Chilean. Here I am attempting to make 'Pastel de Choclo' (literally corn cake). I forgot a few ingredients, substited others and just sort of made it up as I went along (my typical cooking style)

Also on the menu a delicious salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, avocadoes, arugula and green goddess dressing:

Car update: Shelby experienced her first flat tire; mmmmm, donut



And lastly, we have been countering the pulp mill smell with the fragrant blossoms from our jasmines. When we first visited this house, it was the same time of year as now and the bushes were in full bloom, as they are now. It was the selling point for me. At times they seem invasive (they are taking over the gutters), but all is forgiven with one whiff of sweetness.

UPDATE: Delayed...

I flew to Salt Lake City today and after some phone calls, I decided to get on the next plane back to Eureka. The ship is without power due to a fire in the engine room (Carey, did you say something about the electricity??) Without power I can't do anything for set-up, plus that means no water nor sanitation.
So, I'm back home again. For how long, I'm not sure, up to a week's time.
After some frustration (my bags did not turn around with me, but decided to go all the way to Charleston!), I've calmed down now (it did involve lunch and a nap).
Tonight I will be enjoying the presidential debate in the comfort of my own couch with my favorite person next to me and maybe even a cold beer in my hand.
Cheers! Here's to a good weekend!

No Time for spreading roots...

I was lucky enough to sail on the research vessel RH Brown back in 2006. I look forward to starting my next journey aboard next week.

Here she is off the coast of Florida, by the Dry Tortugas National Park:

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I read this book 8 times as a child. It was surreal and full of different worlds where you could imagine things into being and flowers had feelings- Awesome!




View all my reviews.

Bird cometh early...

Since I will be leaving shortly to go on another work cruise and will miss the Thanksgiving holiday, we did our Bird early.
As most of you know, every year since college a few of us get together to celebrate the tradition of Thanksgiving dinner. This was year 16 and the event was appropiately titled: "Sweet Bird: bird does not learn to drive." It was exciting that Eunice and Maz came out, but even more of a treat was Scott! We had not seen him since the Italian Bird of 2002! He came along with his corgie Simba- a real cutie!

Here we are celebrating both the arrival of Scott and the arrival of the Fresh family (Thanksgiving mascots!):

Mr and Mrs Poppin' Fresh (aka Poppin' and Poppie) announce the arrival of two children to their clan: Baby Bun Bun and Little Poppie. These characters have a history amongst the regulars at Bird. This year saw the addition of children- oh oh!

We continued the celebration at the Shanty: Maz (Jay), CD, Eunice and Scott

The menu was traditional: Turkey, mashers, green bean casserole (aka "the Jeff and Karrie"), cranberries, gravy, yams (courtesy of randoms Stephanie and Craig) and stuffing. Pumpkin and pecan pies were also enjoyed! Lots of eating, conversing, laughing and dancing!

Maz basting the turkey:

Eunice and Catherine ready for Bird festivities:

We also enjoyed going to the farmer's market, the beach (brrrr!) and the river.

CD and Maz looking for big fish on the Trinity River:

Once again, many delicious meals with good friends = very happy!

Molly and Brandon 2008!

So glad that Molly and Brandon came down to visit for a long weekend. It was cool to have some repeat visitors, although the first (non-family) repeater was Jason! They were here last summer when the deck wasn't finished and we were still pretty new at exploring it all. This year, with a little more experience under our belts, we knew where to go and what to do. Either way, with those two, it's always super fun!

Our trip to the farmer's marked concentrated on produce versus live plants; I quickly killed that delphinium that Molly picked out last year- oops! It was easy to focus on the lovely tomatoes and peppers. Molly brought the green goddess dressing which was awesome to put on those heirlooms or just about anything! I'm extremely excited cause I just made a big batch of it myself! Delicioso!!

These goats were tied up in the back of a pick-up truck and we petted them (and thought about our goat farming friends Dan and Rebecca).

Next on the agenda, a plane ride. The weather was clear and sunny and the skies were calm, so CD took Molly and Brandon for a quick ride up to see Trinidad head just north of Eureka. Due to weight limitations I got grounded! They had a smooth ride and landing and Molly even got to "drive" it!

That evening we went downtown to see the thriving artist community at Eureka Arts Alive. The second Saturday of every month, the stores in Old Town Eureka become art galleries and people come out in droves. It's a swirl of art, people and music. Afterwards we headed to the Shanty Tavern for a refreshment.

Sunday we awoke to enjoy Brandon and Molly's specialty: Orange Challah French Toast. It was buttery and light, with just a bit of maple syrup to make every bite melt in your mouth!

Next we headed to Willow Creek for some sun and heat. As most of you know by now (as I constantly complain about it) the weather here is a bit cool and cloudy- and we needed respite!

CD looks on as Brandon and Molly take a dip:

While there we spotted someone pulling a big salmon out of the river, unfortunately it wasn't wiggling or on a hook, but looking very dead indeed. As curious as we are, we had to go and poke it with a stick!

That evening our friend Craig came by and we grilled and enjoyed the last of the green goddess dressing. We also had a fierce Boggle competition!

On Monday CD had to return to work, so Molly, Brandon and I headed to the beach and then to the woods. We had a great last day exploring, eating and laughing.

Samoa Dunes:

Arcata Community forest:

The visit felt short and we look forward to seeing them again soon! Thanks again for coming to visit!

House projects and Labor day

Since we had the garage reroofed earlier this summer, CD has been trying very hard to bring the inside of the garage up to speed. He has rewired it completely; originally there was one light that didn't even have a switch- you had to plug it in! We never minded how rustic it was before, but CD has made it lovely: lots of lights, lots of plugs and some rafters above to store all the extras. I'm really lucky I got a hands-on husband!

The rafters to store the "stuff"


CD stapling the insulation in:


Let there be light!


Switches and plugs:


More insulation (thanks Dave for the free stuff!)


Nicely dry walled:


After working on the garage, CD just needs a warm shower and watermelon (!) Actually, he doesn't like watermelon, but obviously I couldn't eat it all! I love his look of surprise (Caught!)


While CD was hard at work on the garage project and preparing for classes, I headed to Colorado for a few days to visit my family and some friends. He was sad to miss out on seeing the kids and they missed him too!
It was fun to get together with some friends from the research vessel, my friend Emily who I had not seen for a couple of years and Dave (no pictures, please!) whom I will see again when I visit him in Chile.