Now with more Pig Roast

Just to remind us that summer does exist in Oregon and it will come back some day, here are more photos from Pig Roast 2011.

From top: (1) Yes, it looks like a crime. A delicious crime. (2) Master BBQ-er. (3) Laurence, Kyle, and Sam went early to help set up. They were in charge of balloons, (4) and a sign for the road. (5) Down in the pasture discussing the likelihood of someone falling into the fire. (6) Liz made a beautiful pie (notice the pig on the spit).

How to Throw a Pig Roast

If I were a more responsible blogger, you would already know about this. The pig roast happened in August. But as it is, I always end up lagging on this stuff and posting whatever happens to fall into my lap, so it has taken a long time. But that's not because it wasn't extremely special.

Find Reinforcements: Last summer (that is, 2010), I asked my parents to throw a pig roast. They have this huge brick smoker, they have land, they are nice people; all the necessary ingredients are there. But it fell through due to timing and we let it go. Cut to 2011. I had backup. Somehow Kyle Arthur got involved and you know, once my parents have pressure coming from multiple angles, they just kind of give up and say yes. I feel like at some point I said, "But Kyle Arthur just can't wait for the pig roast!" So we set the date and started planning. Laurence was coming up from SLC, friends were being called, plans for setting up were in motion.

Make it Official: Nothing says official like real invitations made out of paper that are sent through the U.S. postal system. I sat in my garage for an afternoon and spray painted a pink pig stencil announcement while getting high on the fumes. Then I mailed them to people. Official.

Make it a Potluck: There was so much amazing food! People brought pies, salads, snacks, etc. There was no end to the goodness, and no one had to spend the entirety of that beautiful sunny day slaving in the kitchen. Plus, Sam managed to swing a beer hookup and we had a couple kegs. Things were really falling into place.

Entertain Them: There was a lot going on. My parents went out and got a vintage ping pong table (so cool), we got the croquet sets out, badminton was in full force, and Sam brought his bocce set. My mother (you never know what she'll come up with) set up a raffle system as well. All guests put their name in the hat and anyone who won a lawn game got to put their name in the hat again. Besides the lawn games, there was the pasture to explore, tents to set up (an aerobic feat of its own), and general wandering throughout an idyllic pastoral setting. And then the eating. And the socializing. And the drinking. And the karaoke. Yes. There was karaoke. The raffle took place near the end of the evening and most people received things of semi-value. Except for me. I went with the item that required batteries. It was a Christmas edition of Big Mouth Billy Bass.

Sing Something: So, Huy brought out the karaoke system and we all started going off on that. My dad had poo-pooed the whole thing (oh bah, karaoke) but shockingly enough, he and his friend brought the house down with their rendition of Whiskey Bar by the Doors, complete with synchronized dancing. We ended the night with a cathartic Bohemian Rhapsody frenzy, with everyone present standing in a huge huddle and screaming along.

Don't Fall in the Fire: I was a little worried someone would break something navigating the steep hill down to the fire pit, or even fall into the fire, but no one did, and we sat around the fire and told stories and whatever else you do around a campfire late at night.

Save Some Beer for Cleanup: As long as there's some beer left in the keg, there will be some people willing to stay around the next morning to cleanup and breakdown camp.

Basically, this was a magical event and it went off without a hitch. I hope everyone who attended will come again, as my dad has already planned his karaoke song for next time. I also hope it happens again because I did a really bad job of taking photos. So many photo opportunities, so few taken.

From top: (1) Balloons make it better, (2-4) Carl took like five pictures of us, just sitting there, (5) Sam wearing my french hat, (6) Colleen and Jocelyn in the old arena, (7) Captain Carl in the sunset, (8) Pancake breakfast, (9) Most Haggard Award.

Like sand in an hourglass

What happened? It seems like summer is already over. I mean, the weather is finally gorgeous but all of the sudden it's September and leaves are starting to blow around on the road and occasionally the wind wafts in that smell of must/opportunity that only really comes in the fall. I still have so much to do.

As a true Oregonian, I always feel an intense sense of guilt whenever it's sunny outside and I'm not taking advantage of it. So much guilt I can't even live with myself. I think with all the gray this summer, we're all feeling like we haven't taken full advantage of all that summer in Portland can offer. There are always a million things on my list for the precious days that the sun graces. That backpacking trip I always mean to take, the impromptu barbecues, more surfing, more swimming, more sunbathing, lazy afternoons on a porch with white wine and ice, late warm nights biking home from dance parties, flower picking, picnics that last all day, tomato eating, hikes early in the morning when the sun is just beginning to rise, evenings on the bluffs with the sunset.

Agh. I have so much to do. You do too. Let's make some last-minute plans.

Summer Cover

I spent a lot of time in the sun during  Fourth of July weekend and it was totally glorious. Two river trips and a visit to the coast. Sun all day every day. But I burned my skin. A lot. My face, my arms, my legs, pretty much everything that was exposed. It's turning to tan now and is a necessary step of Oregon Summer but I feel a bit guilty due to things like skin cancer and wrinkles. I am going to start wearing more hats to circumvent this problem. This is my new dream hat:



It's by Stetson (so classic) and looks pretty much perfect. Cool, straw, nice straight brim (didn't you hate those janky cowboy hats with the crazy creased brims that were featured so prominently in Abercrombie and Fitch ads and photos of fratboys at Shasta? I did. I still do).

Also, I have two new obsessions:

1. I am officially obsessed with surfing. Before Fourth of July Weekend I felt like surfing was something that was kind of fun, but I was unusually daunted by the whole thing. I liked it but in a really grudging, hand-wringing kind of way. The wetsuit, the carrying of the board, the paddling, the avoiding of other people surfing, the tides, the whole thing. Sam would be giddy with joy and I would be, well, nervous mostly. But that changed. We had a sunny day out there and I felt like I was making progress and popping right up and paddling into things rather than just being pushed around. I want to go right now.

2. Watermelon juice. It's amazing! You just throw a bunch of watermelon in the blender and suddenly it's a delicious cooling juice. I drank it straight. I made alcoholic beverages with it. We used it to make melon jungle juice for a jungle juice party and won a prize. I will drink watermelon juice from now until you just can't buy watermelon anymore.

Summer Food

source

Is there anything more summery than mangos? Well, maybe popsicles. Or watermelon. There are actually a lot of foods that say summer, but there's something about mangos. The golden color, the sweetness, the sticky juice. It's like eating sunshine.

I've been eating more mangos lately, mostly because they've been on sale, even though they're kind of a pain in the ass. I mean, you always have to cut them up, and that pit is slippery, and you always end up making a mess.

Anyway, the other morning I chopped up a mango and ate half and put half in the fridge for later. I ate the other half yesterday morning for a quick breakfast. As I was popping pieces into my mouth, I realized I had gotten a little chunk of skin in there. Failure at mango cutting. I spit it out and threw it in the garbage.

Now, to preface this story, I occasionally have lip problems. My lips get horribly chapped and cracked on the edges. It hurts and is generally unpleasant. Don't worry. I won't show you photos (but you can find really extreme examples on the internet if you're inclined. Google image angular cheilitis. This one is especially great because it's all mouths). Anyway, I've been dealing with a bit of that and it bums me out.

Now yesterday evening, I realized, in addition to the regular cracking, I had these tiny blisters accumulating on my lip. Like three tiny blisters. And I was seriously freaking out. All I could think was, I've got the Herp. It didn't actually look like a cold sore, but what else could it be? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Done for.

Now, I will admit to frequent internet self-diagnosis. It's never a good idea but it's irresistible. My internet research gave me nothing but assurance that I had a herpes outbreak on my lip, and then Sam was going to have a herpes outbreak on his lip, and we were going to be one of those couples with matching lip sores. Doom.

But in my darkest hour the internet prevailed. I happened upon some crazy natural remedy forum and someone mentioned something about mango being in the same family as poison oak and ivy. What? I researched further. Yes. It is true. Mango is in the same family and its skin contains the same oil (Urushiol) that poison oak and ivy does. And if you eat it (which I did yesterday morning), and you are allergic (which I am, horribly so), then you will have a similar reaction. Which I did. Tiny little blisters. Internet and mango magic. Yes, it still sucks (though it's going away), but it's sooo much better than the herp. I think this is the first time in the history of internet self-diagnosis that I've closed my browser feeling better about my life.

Wait for the Summer

I'm officially ready for it to be summer. To stick with that general theme, I'm going to do posts about summery things for the next while, until the sun finally comes out and stays out. Last week I went through my box of summer clothes and pulled out shorts (I know, total hypocrite), long striped dresses, printed skirts, and airy cotton tank tops. I tucked away my heavy sweaters and woolen scarves and lined suede boots. It's time.


This year I want my summer uniform to be white v-neck t-shirts, denim shirts, Liberty prints, bathing suit tops, and sun dresses. What are you going to wear this summer?