Friday.

my funny little man

Planning my upcoming trip to the Oregon Brew Fest tomorrow... Do you think it's wrong to bribe children with the promise of flowing rivers of Root Beer? I feel like I'm really just preparing them for a lifetime of successful brew fest attendance... The little man and I made it down to the fest for an hour today - just enough time to redeem my mug/token special, get him a leopard tattoo, and enjoy a glass of rootbeer before swim lessons... He was a freaking champ. Swerving through throngs of people, bee lining without fretting about the crowds... He's his mama's boy.

the big ol' tent at OBF!

Tomorrow, the real thing - the full on experience, complete with impromptu meetup of my pdxbeergeeks. I love these people. So freaking enthusiastic about craftbeer, genuinely nice people, and a ton of fun to hang out with. I feel so fortunate to have stumbled across this little pocket of people, and they are responding in leaps and bounds to the new PDX Beer Geeks project that Michael and I came up with over CDA vs Black IPA conversation that I didn't know was happening, and our mutual dislike for a certain beer which was neither a CDA nor a Black IPA, but was, in fact, rather awful.

this mamma jamma was in my car this morning!

The other day I was remembering not too many years ago, maybe 7 or 8, when I was so sad and depressed and despondent over my life that I had considered driving off the road. Like just, literally, steering my car off of the highway and into a tree. It seemed preferable to the life I was living at the time, and I thought about doing it more than a few times. It pains me to write this - to think about my younger self, how bleak the world looked, how lonesome I'd become and cut-off from friends, alienated from family... It's a long story, but suffice it to say, it got worse before it got better - the steps along the way to *this* point make me so grateful for the opportunities I have each and every day. The connections I make with people breathe life and love into me, and these crafty people, craft beer people, my friends from Found, the people who I meet and instantly love - this is the reward for walking through that darkness. I have my tribe. Every day, I am thankful I knew that pain, because every day, I have the chance to make a friend, to hold tight to those I love, and to enjoy life. These are my rewards and I cherish them every day.

deliciousness at Ristretto...

Sorry, that was a little heavy. But it had to be said. I really do love my people. All of them. Annnnnnnnnnd moving on. Slept 9 hours last night, better living through pharmaceuticals, thank you very much Benadryl... Awoke to a slight twinge of migraine remaining, but powered on through (ok, really, it wasn't so much powering as *coasting* on through) the morning, including a re-do on the coffee & breakfast with my little man today - headed up to Ristretto Roasters for some delish coffee (cocoa for him) and grabbed a bagel sandwich at Bagel Land. Best bagels ever.

Stopped by the office where it appears as though our garden is going great guns now that the rains have stopped for a bit - hoping that the lush tomato plants will soon yield some juicy fruit... And as soon as the blackberries come on I'll be saving some of the juiciest ones for blackberry vodka... Nom.

neglected hops are happy hops

My hops, though neglected this year, seem to be perking right along. Despite the lack of trellis, they are climbing happily along the top of the fence, and don't seem to have any powdery mildew this year! I'm expecting a good crop, enough for a mystery fresh hop beer - next year I'll have to separate out the vines, because this year I'll have an unknown hybrid of Willamette, Magnum & Nugget hops. Makes for an exciting and truly unique beer come September.

all packed up... awaiting garage sale day on Aug 6th.

That's it - the report for the day. I'm pleased to announce that aside from the separate project of PDX Beer Geeks, I'm down to one blog. This makes me smile. That, and the bittersweet fact that this weekend will mark my last as a vendor at Found on Fremont, but these decisions are all culminating in good things; more design work, less clutter, less busy work, more time with friends & family. Learning to work to live instead of live to work. And I'm loving every step of the way.

A little shout out to a few people who have helped inspire my reclamation of time & sanity... Y'all know who you are, I wouldn't be where I am without you, or the girl I am now without you in my life.

I would walk the ends of the earth for you guys, and I love you forever.