Published!

Oh, and Col and I just got tickets to Alaska this summer! We are going to try to go on a kayaking adveture and likely a little hiking too.

I found out 2 really cool things yesterday. I won a contest and am going to have two photos (above) published in an upcoming book on climbing, annnd the American Alpine Institute took a video I posted and put it on their blog! It feels really neat to actually be in something besides facebook! The AAI blog is a really cool feature they have now. There is a lot of entertaining video on there if you need a pick-me-up at work. I climbed Hood last weekend (found out about the trip about 2 hrs before everyone was leaving). Here's a little movie from it. Also, the Corvallis Red Dress Hash took place last weekend (yes I climbed Hood and then ran 4 very drunken miles to 10 bars than night). If you want a taste of Hashing, here ya go!

Address to Congress

I think Obama's address to congress this evening will go down in history as a turning point and one of the most important and well delivered statements in US History. I have no doubt in my mind he can lead us back to the best nation in the world. What a GUY!

a new addiction

I have a terrible new addiction. I get on craigslist, and I look for things I don't need. There is so much great stuff in the "free" category! Not even junk either; I have noticed a trend of the really good stuff being given away by estranged girlfriends. They call it all junk and put it out in the front yard and post an address. Today I found a guy selling shitake mushroom blocks. I think I am going to get one or two. 10$ a block for tons of shroomies sounds great to me!(If you are interested I can pick u up one). Craigslist will keep me busy at work. I got a blackberry and have bookmarked craigslist. I think I will call it just craig. Yea, craig and I are becoming fast friends.

Snow caving and Composting

I have wanted a proper composter for some time, but the damn things were too expensive ($250 easy for a 55 gal drum on a spindle) I looked around at plans and finally just decided to build my own. This is the result of combining a few different ideas. The whole thing ended up costing about $70 for the barrel and hardware, but I think it could be done for about $50 without too much skimping. If you are inspired by this, I recommend finding a barrel that previously contained food-grade material (not industrial cleaners), and using stainless steel in all the fittings. This one has two doors; one big one on the side for getting compost out with a shovel, and a small door on the top for adding daily material. A spindle added too much to the cost, so we are going to roll the barrel around the yard whenever it needs mixing! Easy!



I also must show off our snow cave from this weekend. It was a perfectly constructed 3 enterance, 5 person +2 dogs cave that kept us all quite warm, with almost no drippage during the night. We had a kitchen outside, a fire pit with a 5 ft wall windbreak, Cone Peak to ourselves to watch the sunset and get turns all day on, and lots of tequila and good wine to wind the evening down with.



It is currently snowing in Corvallis, and dumping in the mountains, so I am going to play hookey tomorrow, and hit the slopes! Winter is Back!

You know she's a keeper when.....

Today, I retired a pair of boxers. they were yellow, with a big smiley on them. Whats special about these, is that they were the first pair of boxers that Colleen ever gave me. (Awwww) I figure, if you have worn through a pair of boxers, and the gal is still around, she must be a keeper. (Ooooor, I have really rancid farts). Either way, Colleen is a keeper. To those of you with a significant other, I highly recommend this test as a bellwether for relationship success.

In outdoorsy news, we rocked the weekend with stuff around, but not in, Corvallis. As a famous mountainclubber once said, "the key to enjoying Corvallis is to get away as frequently as possible"(or something like that). We kayaked from Peoria Landing down to town on Saturday with a lunch stop filled with agate hunting on a gravel bar (I found a fatty crystal laden one!). Sunday Colleen ran part of her marathon course in Eugene (yes, she is actually going to run it this time) while I rope soloed and aided at Columns all day. I really can think of no better way to spend a day than nonstop climbing with tunes in your ears and rock in your hands.

Oh, and the best news I have heard in months: Corvallis is going to get a Trader Joes soon!!!! An inside source who shan't be named informed us that the shopping center on the corner of 9th and circle (Riteaid) is they are looking right now. Woot!

Carry on!