And I think it went pretty well! I got a call last night from the Hood River Library and we set up an interview for today. I interviewed with the director, a librarian, and a library assistant and it seemed to go good. I liked them and I think they liked me, so now we play the wait and see game. They are faster than most bureaucracies I've worked with, so hopefully I'll know in a couple weeks. It's only a part-time library assistant job, but the hours would work great with my other jobs, and I really just want to get back into a library! So wish me luck and keep you fingers crossed for me!
In Ika news, she is officially teething! She's lost several of her baby teeth and we can see several big girl teeth coming in. I went to the store and bought her several new teething toys yesterday, and she seems to like them! She hasn't really destroyed anything, but she did chew a hole in one of the blankets I made. She's being a super duper good girl! She had her last night at Puppy Kindergarten last night and came home with her diploma. She had lots of fun playing with all the puppies and I'm so glad we took her there. She's just so darn cute and sweet and we love her so much! Ok, sorry, enough mushy mushy over our pup. :-)
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
We didn't quite manage to make it to Abe's Plains...
But we did manage to have a terrific time! And my first backpacking trip was a success!
Abe picked me up from work on Friday evening and we headed to Portland. There was a nice surprise waiting for us - Justin and his friend Hannah happened to be traveling up the west coast and were going with us! The next morning me, Abe, Erin, Jim, Justin, and Hannah headed to the trial head on Mt. St. Helens where we were meeting Sara and Alex (who were coming from Seattle). When we got partway there, we discovered the road to the trail head that we wanted to take was closed due to storm damage. Bummer. We really wanted to see the Plains of Abraham - it's supposedly really cool - very moon like - plus it has a great name. But that wasn't going to happen, so we went to our hiking guides and tried to find something else. We found another trail that wasn't too far away and allowed camping and dogs, so we headed that way. Once again, we got up about 3 miles away from the trail head and discovered the road was closed the rest of the way. At this point we were getting a little discouraged. We thought we'd go back to a ranger station to talk to someone and find out what roads were open, when a park service van came down the closed road. We flagged them down and they gave us advice on where to go. So off we headed to Windy Ridge.
This area was at least an hour around the other side of the mountain. We started to get worried that the dogs would get sick (I wasn't feeling that great either) from the hairpin turns when we hit the closed area of this road. This time we had warning it was closed, but I thought it would be closed further up the road. Oh well, this was it - we were going hiking no matter where we were. So we put on our hiking boots, put on our backpacks, grabbed the dogs and were off. We didn't have any maps of the park (note to self - always have a map of the park you are hiking in), so we had to go by the map that was posted at the viewpoint we parked at. We were planning on taking trail 1, but as we were leaving the trail head a man told us that if we didn't have GPS we might get lost easily because there was a lot of snow covering the trail not far up. Bummer again.
So, we decided to walk the road for a little ways. There were more viewpoints and trial heads up further up the closed road, so we thought we'd walk up there and see what was up. We walked about 5 miles on the road, with some amazing views of Mt. St. Helens and the destruction it created when it blew in 1980 because we were on the Northeast side and apparently that is where it blew, before we came to another viewpoint. Here the trail we wanted to take origionaly met up with the road, so we decided to take it back toward where the car was parked. At this point it was around 4 or 5 pm and we were getting ready to find a place to camp. I was also getting pretty darn tired and looking forward to resting! But the terrain was pretty steep, so we had to find an open flat place to camp, so onward we went. At this point we were on the trail, but probably the most difficult part of the trail! And at the end of the day no less! We had to traverse a very steep hill with switchbacks, the ground was all ashy and felt like walking on sand, and there were many obstacles (like huge trees blocking the trail). I was pretty tired and my pack was getting really heavy and my legs were aching. When we finally got to a place where the trail leveled out a bit we spotted a nice flat grassy meadow - our camp spot!!! I was so happy to see it! And proud of myself for making that last little leg of the trail. I was definitely pushing my physical limits.
So we set up camp, Alex and Jim went to look for a water source, Abe and Justin hiked up a hill to check out the view, we made some dinner, enjoyed the full moon, enjoyed each other's company, and headed to bed. We actually had a really great time hanging out at camp. The next morning we got up, Jim, Erin, Sarah and Alex hiked up the hill, we made some breakfast, packed up and headed out on the trail back towards our car. I was happy to be hiking on a trail though the woods as opposed to the road - it was beautiful, partly shaded, and easier on my feet. We had a great hike (probably almost 6 miles) back to the car, passing a stream, a few waterfalls, and amazing views of the volcano. There was a section of tough up-hill hiking, but nothing near as bad as the day before. When we got back to the car I was physically exhausted! My legs were sore, my feet were sore, my back was sore, and I could barely move. It was good we got back when we did! But I also felt great - I felt great that I completed the trip - that I carried a heavy backpack up and down hills for over 11 miles - I've never done anything like that before and was pretty proud of myself that I survived! Besides a few blisters on my feet from breaking in my new hiking boots and some sore muscles, I survived!
We stopped at Burgerville on the way home and it was the most delicious burger I've ever eaten! I've been sore all today, but I can tell it's getting better. Ika did great! She was getting a little tired and whiny toward the end, but she was fabulous and I'm proud of her! She was also exhausted - slept from the time we got in the car yesterday, all evening and night long, and most of today! She didn't even want to go on a walk to day - I think that's a first!
Oh, in other Ika news, she's getting her big girl teeth! Her front two are coming in and she's already lost one of her puppy teeth and another one is hanging, waiting to fall out. Pretty cool!
Abe started his new job today. He had orientation this morning and did practice data sets to get exposed to the programs he'll be using in the afternoon. He said there is one other guy who started today that will be doing the same thing as him. And the good things are he has super flexible hours and can wear whatever he wants! :-)
Abe picked me up from work on Friday evening and we headed to Portland. There was a nice surprise waiting for us - Justin and his friend Hannah happened to be traveling up the west coast and were going with us! The next morning me, Abe, Erin, Jim, Justin, and Hannah headed to the trial head on Mt. St. Helens where we were meeting Sara and Alex (who were coming from Seattle). When we got partway there, we discovered the road to the trail head that we wanted to take was closed due to storm damage. Bummer. We really wanted to see the Plains of Abraham - it's supposedly really cool - very moon like - plus it has a great name. But that wasn't going to happen, so we went to our hiking guides and tried to find something else. We found another trail that wasn't too far away and allowed camping and dogs, so we headed that way. Once again, we got up about 3 miles away from the trail head and discovered the road was closed the rest of the way. At this point we were getting a little discouraged. We thought we'd go back to a ranger station to talk to someone and find out what roads were open, when a park service van came down the closed road. We flagged them down and they gave us advice on where to go. So off we headed to Windy Ridge.
This area was at least an hour around the other side of the mountain. We started to get worried that the dogs would get sick (I wasn't feeling that great either) from the hairpin turns when we hit the closed area of this road. This time we had warning it was closed, but I thought it would be closed further up the road. Oh well, this was it - we were going hiking no matter where we were. So we put on our hiking boots, put on our backpacks, grabbed the dogs and were off. We didn't have any maps of the park (note to self - always have a map of the park you are hiking in), so we had to go by the map that was posted at the viewpoint we parked at. We were planning on taking trail 1, but as we were leaving the trail head a man told us that if we didn't have GPS we might get lost easily because there was a lot of snow covering the trail not far up. Bummer again.
So, we decided to walk the road for a little ways. There were more viewpoints and trial heads up further up the closed road, so we thought we'd walk up there and see what was up. We walked about 5 miles on the road, with some amazing views of Mt. St. Helens and the destruction it created when it blew in 1980 because we were on the Northeast side and apparently that is where it blew, before we came to another viewpoint. Here the trail we wanted to take origionaly met up with the road, so we decided to take it back toward where the car was parked. At this point it was around 4 or 5 pm and we were getting ready to find a place to camp. I was also getting pretty darn tired and looking forward to resting! But the terrain was pretty steep, so we had to find an open flat place to camp, so onward we went. At this point we were on the trail, but probably the most difficult part of the trail! And at the end of the day no less! We had to traverse a very steep hill with switchbacks, the ground was all ashy and felt like walking on sand, and there were many obstacles (like huge trees blocking the trail). I was pretty tired and my pack was getting really heavy and my legs were aching. When we finally got to a place where the trail leveled out a bit we spotted a nice flat grassy meadow - our camp spot!!! I was so happy to see it! And proud of myself for making that last little leg of the trail. I was definitely pushing my physical limits.
So we set up camp, Alex and Jim went to look for a water source, Abe and Justin hiked up a hill to check out the view, we made some dinner, enjoyed the full moon, enjoyed each other's company, and headed to bed. We actually had a really great time hanging out at camp. The next morning we got up, Jim, Erin, Sarah and Alex hiked up the hill, we made some breakfast, packed up and headed out on the trail back towards our car. I was happy to be hiking on a trail though the woods as opposed to the road - it was beautiful, partly shaded, and easier on my feet. We had a great hike (probably almost 6 miles) back to the car, passing a stream, a few waterfalls, and amazing views of the volcano. There was a section of tough up-hill hiking, but nothing near as bad as the day before. When we got back to the car I was physically exhausted! My legs were sore, my feet were sore, my back was sore, and I could barely move. It was good we got back when we did! But I also felt great - I felt great that I completed the trip - that I carried a heavy backpack up and down hills for over 11 miles - I've never done anything like that before and was pretty proud of myself that I survived! Besides a few blisters on my feet from breaking in my new hiking boots and some sore muscles, I survived!
We stopped at Burgerville on the way home and it was the most delicious burger I've ever eaten! I've been sore all today, but I can tell it's getting better. Ika did great! She was getting a little tired and whiny toward the end, but she was fabulous and I'm proud of her! She was also exhausted - slept from the time we got in the car yesterday, all evening and night long, and most of today! She didn't even want to go on a walk to day - I think that's a first!
Oh, in other Ika news, she's getting her big girl teeth! Her front two are coming in and she's already lost one of her puppy teeth and another one is hanging, waiting to fall out. Pretty cool!
Abe started his new job today. He had orientation this morning and did practice data sets to get exposed to the programs he'll be using in the afternoon. He said there is one other guy who started today that will be doing the same thing as him. And the good things are he has super flexible hours and can wear whatever he wants! :-)
Friday, July 18, 2008
Jeep and more
Good news! We have possession of our Jeep again! We picked it up on Tuesday in Troutdale after the worst transport company ever (DAS) was in possession of it for almost 2 months. When Abe started driving it, it was making a horrible banging noise. We were really scared it was something serious. We asked the people we picked it up from if there was somewhere close by we could take it to have it looked at. They suggested a very nice transmission place right around the corner. It turns out that when we had some work done before we left FL, the guys forgot to reconnect the 4 wheel drive and it was banging on something. So the very nice transmission people fixed that for free - we were very appreciative. We got it back to Hood River with no more problems, and it even has its Oregon plates already.
We have some fun plans for the weekend - we're going backpacking on Mt. St. Helens with several friends. Our destination is the Plains of Abraham (very fitting, huh?). I'm sure I'll have lots to post about on Monday (and plenty of new photos up on flickr), so stay tuned!
We have some fun plans for the weekend - we're going backpacking on Mt. St. Helens with several friends. Our destination is the Plains of Abraham (very fitting, huh?). I'm sure I'll have lots to post about on Monday (and plenty of new photos up on flickr), so stay tuned!
Monday, July 14, 2008
100% Club!
That's what I'm in for taking the Oregon Drivers Test. Abe and I are official Oregon residents now - we got our licenses today! We had to take the written test, so we read the driver's manual and I got a 100%. Abe passed, but didn't do as well as me. :-) Anyway, I'm just glad that's done. One more thing to cross off the list of things to do. Now we just have to work on getting our cars registered.
Speaking of cars, we have good news in that department. Our Jeep is now as far west as Wyoming!! It sat in Florida for over a month, then sat in Georgia for several weeks. Abe thought we might not ever see our Jeep again, but now it looks like it's on it's way to us! We're super excited. Especially because...
Abe got a job!!! He's going to be working for the US Geological Survey in Washington State. http://wfrc.usgs.gov/labs/columbia.htm This is the location where he'll be working . Anyway, he'll be working on a fish tracking project. The bummer is that he'll have to sit in front of a computer instead of being out in the field, but at least it's a job with a biological focus. (His other option was a kitchen job.) And it's a temporary job, so hopefully he can stick it out for a few months. Then hopefully he can find a field job for next season, and find something to do in between the two. The good news is that we'll have some steady income coming in, which we're starting to need pretty bad. :-)
In Ika news, she's still growing so fast! She's getting really tall. And she's just the biggest sweetie puppy ever! She's such a lover and loves to give kisses and cuddle with us in bed. She loves going on walks and hikes, loves people and other dogs and has to say hello to everyone we pass. Luckily we live in a pretty dog-loving community, and since Ika is so cute most people want to say hi to her too.
More soon!
Speaking of cars, we have good news in that department. Our Jeep is now as far west as Wyoming!! It sat in Florida for over a month, then sat in Georgia for several weeks. Abe thought we might not ever see our Jeep again, but now it looks like it's on it's way to us! We're super excited. Especially because...
Abe got a job!!! He's going to be working for the US Geological Survey in Washington State. http://wfrc.usgs.gov/labs/columbia.htm This is the location where he'll be working . Anyway, he'll be working on a fish tracking project. The bummer is that he'll have to sit in front of a computer instead of being out in the field, but at least it's a job with a biological focus. (His other option was a kitchen job.) And it's a temporary job, so hopefully he can stick it out for a few months. Then hopefully he can find a field job for next season, and find something to do in between the two. The good news is that we'll have some steady income coming in, which we're starting to need pretty bad. :-)
In Ika news, she's still growing so fast! She's getting really tall. And she's just the biggest sweetie puppy ever! She's such a lover and loves to give kisses and cuddle with us in bed. She loves going on walks and hikes, loves people and other dogs and has to say hello to everyone we pass. Luckily we live in a pretty dog-loving community, and since Ika is so cute most people want to say hi to her too.
More soon!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
It's about time, huh?
Well, that is if you're actually reading this blog. :-) Sorry it's been so long since my last update, but I guess I haven't been very motivated to write. But I'm feeling a little spurt now, so here goes.
What have we been up to? Well, let's see. We had a great 4th of July. We went to a party hosted by one of our new friends here in town. Actually he lives a little above town on a huge property that has a cliff area that overlooks downtown Hood River, which was an excellent spot to watch the fireworks. But the party had much more than that to offer - good beer and food, a kickball game (during which I actually had to go to work, but Abe got to play), a dunk tank, a pool, horseshoes, and a barn turned nightclub. We had a great time and ended up hanging out most of the next day relaxing and playing "whirlpool" in the pool (yeah, that's right - the game you played when you were a kid and everybody ran around the pool in a circle - and it's just as fun as it used to be!). As I mentioned, I did have to go into work for a few hours on the 4th, but it wasn't so bad because it was the "First Friday" of the month when all the downtown businesses have food and drink, so I got to serve (and drink a little) wine. And we were pretty busy because right across the street from the shop is a good hill to watch the fireworks from.
Speaking of work, I just applied for two library jobs. One is an on-call librarian position across the river in Washington. The bad thing is that the system goes all the way west to Vancover, WA, which is just north of Portland, so I really don't want to drive all the way over there, but I would like to work in the libraries closer to Hood River on the Washington side. We'll see if that's possible. Also, the part-time library associate job here in Hood River was finally posted, so I applied for that too. Hopefully they'll see I have experience with SIRSI and hire me right away (since most people think SIRSI is the devil and love anyone who can use it :-). And hopefully they'll see me as a future asset to their library and they won't think I'm overqualified. So, wish me luck and keep your fingers crossed for me!
As far as future plans go, we're planning on taking a backpacking one night camping trip to Mt. St. Helens the weekend of the 18th with Jim and Erin. I'm on a mission to find some decent hiking boots since I don't currently have any and that's a pretty important thing. And I'm looking forward to having my mom come and visit at the end of the month. She'll be our first visitor!
Anyway, I suppose that is all for now. I'll try and write again sooner. Hopefully I'll have some kind of exciting news to report soon!
What have we been up to? Well, let's see. We had a great 4th of July. We went to a party hosted by one of our new friends here in town. Actually he lives a little above town on a huge property that has a cliff area that overlooks downtown Hood River, which was an excellent spot to watch the fireworks. But the party had much more than that to offer - good beer and food, a kickball game (during which I actually had to go to work, but Abe got to play), a dunk tank, a pool, horseshoes, and a barn turned nightclub. We had a great time and ended up hanging out most of the next day relaxing and playing "whirlpool" in the pool (yeah, that's right - the game you played when you were a kid and everybody ran around the pool in a circle - and it's just as fun as it used to be!). As I mentioned, I did have to go into work for a few hours on the 4th, but it wasn't so bad because it was the "First Friday" of the month when all the downtown businesses have food and drink, so I got to serve (and drink a little) wine. And we were pretty busy because right across the street from the shop is a good hill to watch the fireworks from.
Speaking of work, I just applied for two library jobs. One is an on-call librarian position across the river in Washington. The bad thing is that the system goes all the way west to Vancover, WA, which is just north of Portland, so I really don't want to drive all the way over there, but I would like to work in the libraries closer to Hood River on the Washington side. We'll see if that's possible. Also, the part-time library associate job here in Hood River was finally posted, so I applied for that too. Hopefully they'll see I have experience with SIRSI and hire me right away (since most people think SIRSI is the devil and love anyone who can use it :-). And hopefully they'll see me as a future asset to their library and they won't think I'm overqualified. So, wish me luck and keep your fingers crossed for me!
As far as future plans go, we're planning on taking a backpacking one night camping trip to Mt. St. Helens the weekend of the 18th with Jim and Erin. I'm on a mission to find some decent hiking boots since I don't currently have any and that's a pretty important thing. And I'm looking forward to having my mom come and visit at the end of the month. She'll be our first visitor!
Anyway, I suppose that is all for now. I'll try and write again sooner. Hopefully I'll have some kind of exciting news to report soon!
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