Crispy

Portland cold snap! Frosty mornings make you feel alive. And very dark, foggy nights make the world seem new and peculiar. Like, I drove home from Commonwealth late last night through the deepest foggy soup. Traffic lights hovered inside vapor halos and the streets—even right near my house—looked spooky and unfamiliar. I went inside and turned the heat on, but I left the lights low and peered out the window at the ghostly night.

Grazing

We are entering a festive season—one of rich, decadent meals that come with a range of accompanying desserts and hours of prep time. Guys, this is not something to complain about—and I promise that’s not what I’m doing. I’m just saying that there should be balance in all things, and so on those nights in between the parties and family bonanzas, I prefer a simple meal that blends a bunch of bangin’ snacks. That way, you can sit on the floor in front of your coffee table, turn on an episode of Mythbusters, and graze at will. It’s nice!

Plate One:

Sliced apples

Brie

Honey, drizzled

Plate Two:

On the fly crostini: slice a baguette, slather each piece with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and toast in the oven until golden brown.

Plate Three:

Steamed kale, dressed with red-wine vinegar, salt, and pepper.

Plate Four:

Flour tortillas, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt, cut into triangles, and then toasted in the oven until crispy.

Hummus

Spicy pesto dip: combine plain whole-milk yogurt with pesto and a smidgen of chopped jalapeños.

Something Different

I have no love for my lawn, but this is the driest, most colorless and dust-clogged box of tinder it has ever been. I am ready for a change. Let's wake up to rain rattling the gutter. Let's put our old winter jackets on and find a fiver in the pocket from the last time we wore them.

Mini-ramp-ism

There was a time when I and everyone I knew had a mini ramp. They were branches spreading out from the great skate tree, and like little birdies, we hopped from one to the other over the course of an afternoon.

But times are kindadifferent now. I have my own indoor concrete skatepark  and an office next door that I work furiously from. My garage mini was disassembled and raided for parts, the Coulon's mini was dismantled to make room for a workshop, the Dudebarn is all but unskateable after many seasons of rain, the Koerners moved, etc etc. Things change, you know.

Anyway, last night we skated till exhaustion the above ramp in the yard of Molly and Louis. I was reminded how much I do love the backyard mini ramp as a thing, as an activity, as a concept. Gathering, eating and drinking, learning new tricks, relearning old tricks, falling down, laughing, crying, pulling splinters out of your elbows. All the good things.

Molly's backyard is a little oasis of awesome. Pole beans and rows of spritely carrots, tots staggering around with plastic shovels clenched in their fists, French bulldogs slobbering on everything, and, of course, the skateboarding.

Woke up late and sore this morning to the sound of a light summer rain and was relieved that I didn't have to do anything but sit in a chair and type. Life is good.

Five Weeks

Keeping close to home for the next five weeks. Developing a little ritual, involving hard work all week, and long evenings outside watching the light fall. Fridays are my favorite, as that is my (one) day off. Wakeup whenever, iced coffee all day, roaming around the city spending money at will.

Farmer's market stuff.

Pet pig at the market. Cute, in its way, but I can't see having those little hooves clopping around in my home.

Iced americano number 3 of the day, ordered in the shadows of a dream catcher.

Regal Cougs, contemplation in the shade.