Boys Weekend

This weekend Emily and the girls headed to Bend for the Northwest half of Emily’s Bachelorette Parties.  I was going to stay at home but at the last moment I was left with the Prius so I decided to take the new bike and Leo to Corvallis for some riding before a boys weekend BBQ night at Kevin’s.  

After a quick stop at REI in Portland to put on new clipless pedals Leo and I arrived at the Lewisburg Saddle around 2pm.  After some adjustments to the bike and wiping all of his fur off the chain we were on the trail and Leo seemed like he knew what to do, excitedly running ahead of me down the gravel forest service road.  After again, stopping at an old quarry to adjust the shocks and settings of the new bike to my body we were off again.  In a few miles Leo began to slow down and tire, and by the time we got to the turnaround point about 4 miles through the trip he was moving very slow.  This worked out fine as we had to bike up hill to start the descent but even at the top of Vineyard Mountain he didn’t want to move.  I sat down with him for a few minutes in the shade and gave him some water.  When he stopped panting hard I got up onto my bike and headed down the trail, happily opening up my suspension to test it out.... nope.   I ended up walking the entire 3-4 miles back to the car next to my bike encouraging Leo along who seemed to then acquire a small limp.  

We headed into town to Kevin’s and Leo continued to limp around.  I had completely exhausted our new dog!  He didn’t even care as Dromi bounced all around him wanting him to play with her.  We all had a great BBQ and Jason joined us later in the evening.  It was Mischa, Colin, Garrett, Tim, Kevin, Miwa, Jason, Brian, and I.  The debauchery continued late into the night and Tim even hurled a knife into Kev and Lex’s wedding announcement surfboard!  We all played a bunch of rounds of asshole and before I knew it I was passed out in the spare bedroom.  

When I got home on Sunday I found out that it wasn’t Leo’s joints that were hurting him but instead were the bottom pads on his paws which he had shredded on the sharp stones of the forest service road!  I felt horrible!  I put bandaids on his paws and after I picked a very hungover Emily from Lindsay who drove her back from Bend we picked up some treats for him and new toys.  Definitely going to buy him booties!

Holm Opening at Bomb's for the Farm Stand String Band

Tonight I drove all the way down to Corvallis directly from work to see my Best Man open for the popular Farm Stand String Band at Bombs Away Cafe across from the OSU campus.  Jason joined me as well as Kevin and Alexa.  This was great as none of them had really seen Holm play before and I enjoyed their shocked reaction as Chris rocked out three different types of stringed instruments and blew them away with his guitar skills.  He clearly is very talented.  Near the end of his unusually long set a member of the main act joined him with her washboard on stage.  Her voice complimented his deeper voice amazingly and I hope to hear them play again together some other time.  After the set Holm hung out with his new lady Paris and his childhood friend who had driven down from Portland as well to see the set.  I had a couple more beers, said hi to Paris, then headed over to Danielle and Scotts to hang out with her, the animals and Layne until Scott got home.  I had already dropped off some popsicles for her before heading to Bombs as she wasn’t feeling well so I thought I’d go visit before heading home.  I left there place around 10:30pm and was in bed just after midnight making it a very long weeknight for me but well worth the drive.

Arley's St. Patty's Day Party

Tonight Emily and I again left my mom at home to go over to my good friend, and division lead, Arley’s place for an old fashioned St. Patty’s Day party complete with corned beef and debauchery.  There was a ton of food people had brought and flip cup was enjoyed in their spacious garage.  Emily and I brought a giant cookie from Safeway and some gold coins for the Irish there besides Em.  Nate and his roommate where the funniest part of the party, especially when he convinced us that Nate met girls secretly on Craigslist... ha!  Great party, and I’m glad to have only done one car bomb before leaving for home with Emily!

Dominique's Birthday Party

This evening Emily and I met up with Arley, her roommates, and a bunch of my other co-workers at Dominique’s place to celebrate her birthday.  Although we didn’t drink much or stay too long because of my mom in town, we had a great time and could tell Dominique was lovin’ it.  At one point I handed her a honey bourbon ginger I had made and she just stared at me with awe saying, “Jon, you just changed my whole world with this drink”... hehe.  

Mom Visiting

For the past several weeks my mom has been out to visit Emily and I.  It was a scouting mission for her to see how well she would like the Portland area.  We also used the time to meet with some wedding caterers and show her the Hood River area and our wedding venue.  She was happy to stay with us and helped us out around the house with cooking, dishes, laundry etc.  A truly awesome house guest.  Although she got lost a couple times in Portland, I think by the end of the trip she had a pretty decent idea of where all the major arteries of travel area and how to basically get around.  We aren’t sure where exactly she will move to but we are targeting the summer of 2015 to get her moved out to the area, possibly sooner if we have the time.