Mary and Bo recommended we take the North Little Rock side of the trail, since it was almost all through parks and thus safer and more scenic. It’s really impressive what they’ve done on the seven mile trail out to the Big Dam Bridge in North Little Rock. The bike itself was a pretty goofy ride, which made up for the discomfort of it being all around a bit too small with awkward geometry.

We rode with Mary and Bo to the top of the bridge.

Since Mary had to be at work that afternoon they left us and went back they way they came. In fact, both Dave at River Trail Rentals and Mary encouraged us to just ride the North Little Rock side of the trail and out to Rebsamen Golf Course and back rather than trying to navigate the on-road portions of the trail on the Little Rock side.

In the end we chose to ride out to the end of the trail on the west end of the Little Rock side by the I-430 bridge, which will be extended to take people to Two Rivers Park and out to Pinnacle. Construction was under way. Once out there Craig and I decided to take the Little Rock side back, if for no other reason than to see the entire loop.

They were all correct that the portion after the golf course, until you get back to river front park is not that great. Little Rock could definitely stand to improve the trail, and after being in North Little Rock the difference is stark by comparison, though in truth if they just did a better job of marking the pavement the experience could be greatly improved.

Still the junction bridge, an old train bridge converted to a pedestrian bridge on the east end of the loop is pretty great. If and when they transform the train bridge nearer to the Clinton library things will be even more exciting.

After we returned the bikes we headed over to Hillcrest to check out the antique French chicken coop that Chris had at Clement that has been taunting me since he posted the link on Facebook.

They also had a collection of truly beautiful glass beads in some awesome colors.

I know better than to buy them and expect they’d do anything other than take up space in my house, which I don’t need right now. After Clement we stopped by Leo’s and got milkshakes. Craig had been committed to a vanilla shake, but unfortunately they were out of vanilla ice cream and he was stuck with a chocolate shake.

That evening we picked up Goke and went to dinner at the Buffalo Grill on Rebsamen. At last I had my cheese dip.

After dinner we went back to Goke’s so I could look through her old photos in hopes of finding the one of Granny with her three kids, wearing the dress she’d given me. After finding all sorts of great old photos, and almost all of them well labeled, at the very bottom of the second drawer of the bureau I found the photo I’d been looking for.

After class we went to Boulevard Bread so I could get a good cup of coffee. We ran into my friend Chris of Clement . It was great to sit outside in wonderful weather and catch up with them both.

Later, we went to lunch at Za Za with my mom and Rusty and all had amazing salads.

The backstory of the two restaurants is really the gossip of Little Rock right now for those that like good food.

That evening Craig and I met up with Russ at Vino’s. It was great to see Russ after so many years and hear about Kaky. It’s funny to be so old and feel so young!

Yesterday Craig and I spent the day taking three flights from Portland to Minneapolis then Memphis, finally arriving in Little Rock after 12 hours of travel. The picture above was taken in the Memphis Blues Bar, Terminal B in the Memphis airport. Our layover was 2 hours and 15 minutes, which was longer than it takes to drive from Memphis to Little Rock, at least if memory serves. Thus, we drank $40 worth of beer, or 2 beers each.

Craig also took video of us passing each other on the moving sidewalks while in Minneapolis. I played with the “Hipstamatic” app for my iphone. Taking the picture above and several pictures of Craig, including this one:

After getting into Little Rock we went to Flying Fish with mom and Rusty and then drove past the Clinton Library and Heifer International. Wow! The river area downtown is so incredibly different from when I lived here last!

I hope you all have a Valentine’s Day filled with love and surprises.

I started out January making lots of bean and vegetable soups. The last couple of weeks I’ve been on a potato kick, though not really in soup form. My trainer, Alayne, has a book at her gym, Potatoes Not Prozac. I haven’t read it, but I suspect that the cold weather and short days may be influencing my increased potato intake.

Craig and I have also been working on purging. I still have a ways to go, but on Saturday we filled the Subrau with donations for Goodwill and Free Geek. We got to follow it up by bringing Hammy’s pizza to the Muellers and meeting their newest member, Owen.

I have some new year’s goals that aren’t yet being met, included getting better at posting to the blog. Luckily, I continue to change the start of the new year. The first of January became inauguration day then Chinese New Year. Luckily for me yesterday was the start of Tet: Vietnamese New Year.

On Saturday we will be hosting the second annual Chili Rumble. It should be a fun time and a good kick-off for the year of the buffalo.

After work I picked up some special frosted treats and then Bonzi and I met Craig, Teresa and Dave at the Lucky Lab to toast to his health. It was incredibly cold, even in their heated outdoor patio, so Bonzi was able to get some love from those seated around us.

Eventually, Simmi and Kevin joined us with their labradoodle, Sajaan. Bonzi met Sajaan when he was little, but this time it took a while to warm up to a new dog arriving on his special birthday night. The fact that Simmi had meaty treats made the process a bit easier.

Welcome to your 9th year, Bonzi. Let’s hope this is the best yet!

Craig and I celebrated the next evening by having a  great dinner out at Le Pigeon, the creators of my most favorite dessert ever (cornbread with ice cream syrup and hot fresh bacon bits), with good friends we keep meaning to make plans with. The food, the company and the celebratory feeling made it one of the best nights in recent memory.

That week-end my father, cousins and aunts came to town for my aunt Martha’s memorial. It was great to spend time with them all, and a special thanks to my neighbor Don for playing guitar at her memorial service. That said, when he and Pastor Sue played “Why Me, Lord?” I lost it.

The next week I headed off to a work site visit in St. Clair County, IL. I arrived at the hotel and learned that my uncle Johnny had passed away. He’d been fighting cancer, but the news was still unexpected. It made my planned stop-over in Little Rock for the week-end even more appealing. I arrived while my grandmother’s maple tree was at the height of its color. Pictures do not do it justice, but here are a few regardless.

It was also the 4th Anniversary (read: free admission) at the Clinton Presidential Library. We took a family trip out there, though our first stop was the Flying Fish for some delicious catfish. I managed to get a candid shot of my grandmother mid-gasp:

All in all, a great trip.

The next week I headed to Corbin/Williamsburg, Kentucky for work on another site visit. I’ve spent more time in Kentucky than any other site we work with besides Portland, and I love it there. There is so much creativity and compassion. This time there were also real tourist destinations, so after the site visit we went to Cumberland Falls:

And on the way back to Lexington we stopped at the original Kentucky Fried Chicken, where the colonel crafted his secret recipe. I even got my picture taken with the life-sized statue already posing on a bench:

The following Saturday Craig and I had the first of two great date nights seeing live music. We first stopped at my colleague Mac’s 50th birthday party celebration, which was lots of fun. Then we headed on to Cassidy’s to meet up with the crew that would be heading to the Crystal for the Drive by Truckers/Hold Steady show. I have lots of pictures from the night, but I’ll just share one of the Hold Steady and one of my clock photos with Patterson Hood of DBT.

When we got to the Crystal Ballroom our friends all headed to the bar area, but Craig and I stayed in the all ages side and made our way to the front. It was a fantastic show. Both bands genuinely enjoyed performing and both were better live than recorded.

Not even a week later we saw a fantastic show at the Doug Fir thanks to Yonna’s encouragement. I wish I could recall the name of the opening act, but suffice to say when we got there no one was standing on the floor and by the time he was done half the crowd had waltzed. Then Tom Heinl of Eugene played a super fun set. Finally, Holly Golightly and the Brokeoffs, sent us out on a high note.

For Thanksgiving Craig made a video of us rocking out to Superconductor’s “Bush Pilot”. You can find it on his humanclock channel of youtube.

Saturday we spent the night at our friend Matt’s place in Husum, WA. It was a quick trip, but lots of fun. His house is in a postcard perfect setting. And that’s how I got to December.

]]> http://www.pantiesinapinch.com/?feed=rss2&p=154 0 http://www.pantiesinapinch.com/?p=146 http://www.pantiesinapinch.com/?p=146#comments Sun, 23 Nov 2008 21:06:54 +0000 cora http://www.pantiesinapinch.com/?p=146 A few weeks ago my dad, Ed, my aunt Sarah, her husband Bruce and my first cousin once removed (thanks for clarifying, Melynn) Sandy were in tow for my aunt Martha’s memorial service. Since Sarah, Bruce, my dad and Ed all arrived on Friday I thought it would be nice to have them over for dinner. I wanted it to be a dinner that I could prepare in advance so that I would be distracted by cooking when they arrived. I wanted to make lasagne, but Ed is no fan of cheese, so I decided to try the recipe for “Classic Lasagne, Bolognese-Style” as found in Mark Bittman’s wonderful book, How to Cook Everything. His recipe calls for making Spinach Pasta, also found in the book, but I opted to instead take advantage of Pastaworks for fresh sheets of spinach pasta.

*This isn't at our house, but in the wine cellar of the Veritable Quandry (VQ for all the locals) at brunch the next morning.

My family all enjoyed the lasagne, and I told them I’d give them the recipe. It has been a couple of weeks now, but here it is.

Step 1. Make Bolognese Sauce. I tripled the recipe, to freeze and eat some at a later date. I’d recommend doubling it if you like a saucier lasagne, though you should still have enough left for dinner.

Bolognese Sauce (Ragu)
Makes about 1 quart

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, minced
1 carrot, peeled and minced
1/4 cup minced bacon or pancetta
1/2 pound lean ground pork (or use all beef)
1/2 pound lean ground beef
3/4 cup dry white wine (or juice from the tomatoes)
1 (28- or 35-ounce) can whole plum tomatoes, drained (reserve juice, if needed instead of wine)
1 cup beef or chicken stock, preferably homemade
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup cream, half-and-half, or milk
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Put the olive oil in a large, deep skillet or saucepan. Turn the heat to medium-low and, a minute later, add the onion, carrot, celery, and bacon or pancetta. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.
2. Add the ground meat and cook, stirring and breaking up any clumps, until all traces of red are gone, about 5 minutes. Add the wine or tomato juice, raise the heat a bit, and cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid is evaporated, about 5 minutes.
3. Crush the tomatoes wit a fork or your hands and add them to the pot; stir, then add the stock. Turn the heat to low and cook at a slow simmer, stirring occasionally and breaking up the tomatoes and any clumps of meat that remain. After an hour or so, add salt and pepper. Cook for at least another hour, until much of the liquid has evaporated and the sauce is very thick. (This sauce may be covered and refrigerated for a day or two, or put in a closed container and frozen for several weeks. Reheat before completing.)
4. Add the cream, half-and-half or milk and cook for another 15 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally; taste and add more salt and/or pepper as needed.

Classic Lasagne, Bolognese Style
Makes about 6 servings
Time: 45 minutes (with premade sauce)

At least 5 quarts water
1 recipe Spinach Pasta or other fresh pasta or 12 dried lasagne noodles
1 recipe Béchamel Sauce, about 1 1/2 cups
3 cups, more or less, Meat Sauce, Bolognese-Style (Ragu)
2 tablespoons softened butter (preferred) or extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Salt, if needed

1. Set at least 5 quarts water in a large pot over high heat. When it comes to a boil, salt it.
2. Meanwhile, if you are using fresh pasta, roll it out. Cut to fit the dish. (Note that since I used purchased fresh sheets of pasta, and assembled the lasagne in advance, I did not cook my pasta.)
3. Cook the noodles a few at a time; keep them underdone (if they are fresh, this means little more than a minute in cooking time). Drain carefully in a colander, then allow to rest on towels while you prepare the béchamel sauce (see recipe that follows). Preheat oven to 400F
4. Smear the bottom of your baking pan with the butter or oil, then place a layer of noodles, touching but not overlapping. Trim any overhanging edges. Cover the noodles with about one-quarter each of the béchamel, meat sauce, and Parmesan, then with a light sprinkling of black pepper (between the meat sauce and the Parmesan there should be enough salt, but if you feel it is underseasoned, add a little salt to each layer also). Make four layers, ending with a sprinkling of Parmesan. (The dish can be prepared in advance up to this point, then well wrapped and refrigerated for a day or frozen for a month; defrost in the refrigerator for a day before cooking if possible.)
5. Bake for about 20-30 minutes, until the lasagne is bubbly. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before cutting and serving. Or let cool completely, cover well, and refrigerate for up to 2 days, or freeze for up to a month.

Béchamel sauce:

1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups milk

1. In a small saucepan, heat the butter over medium-low heat. When the foam begins to subside, stir in the flour. Turn the heat to low and cook, stirring with a wire whisk almost constantly, until the flour-butter mixture darkens, at least 3 minutes. You can cook it longer if ou would like a darker color and slightly more complex flavor.
2. Stir in the liquid, a little bit at a time, still using the whisk. When about a cup of the liquid has been stirred in, the mixture will be fairly thick. Add more liquid, a little at a time, until the consistence is just about a little thinner than you like, then cook, still over low heat until the mixture is the thickness you want.
3. Season to task and serve immediately or keep warm over gently simmering water for up to an hour, stirring occasionally.

When I was young Martha, my cousin Sarah and uncle Gene all lived in Nashville. During this time we saw them fairly often. Then they moved to Portland, where Gene’s family lives. From Little Rock, Arkansas it seemed as if they had moved to the other end of the earth.

Then in my junior year of high school, as I considered colleges, The Evergreen State College was one of the schools at the top of my list. It was my aunt’s diligence that sealed the deal. She made a personal appeal by having students at the Lewis & Clark law school where she worked write letters about their experiences at Evergreen, and by getting my cousin to pick up Evergreen paraphernalia on her way to Seattle.

In the end I chose Evergreen over several more prominent schools simply because I’d have family nearby (even if I hadn’t seen them in more than a decade, which at 18 was more than half my life) and because as a state college, even with out-of-state tuition, I would not accrue nearly the debt I would have at the private schools I was considering.

I spent my first summer after starting college living in Martha’s basement in West Linn. By providing me with a chance to stay in the northwest, discover the joys of Portland and continue to cultivate my identity away from Little Rock and family expectations Martha provided me with a gift that I could never repay. That summer helped to ensure that I would make my home in Portland after graduating. I’ve been here for 14 years as of this month, and in that time Martha remained my closest by proximity parental-like figure and I will miss her dearly.

There are many, many things that Martha taught me. A few of the most important are:

• One of life’s greatest pleasures is going out for breakfast—and ordering as many beverages as you desire.
• Everyone has a great story (more than likely, many) and if you take the time to listen they will be glad to share with you.
• Helping others achieve their goals helps you reach your own.

I am honored that I could spend so much time with Martha in the weeks before she passed away. During that time I was also able to see my dad every day for two weeks, and despite the circumstances of his visit, it is a rarity and I cherish it. I also got to spend time with my cousin Sarah and uncle Gene. Despite living in the same city it has always been rare that Sarah and I see each other, possibly because we know we are just across town if we need one another. However, after being able to spend so much time with her I know I will try harder to make sure that we are together more regularly.  While my family may be small they are dear to me.

While in the hospital and then hospice, Martha said to every person that entered her room, “I hope you are voting for the candidate of my choice.” In 2006 she loaned me her copy of the audio book of The Audacity of Hope, ready by the author, Barack Obama. Craig and I listened to it as we drove to and from Little Rock for Christmas, finishing it as we passed Mt Shasta. At the end of the last CD, Craig looked at me and said, “It can’t be the end, he isn’t our president.”

This past week Barack Obama took time off from campaigning in order to visit his ailing grandmother. It only strengthens my appreciation for him that he has put family first at such a critical moment of an historic campaign. I can only imagine how hard it was for him to leave her side and return to the grind of campaigning not knowing if he will see her again. I hope he knows that Martha and others are watching out for both him and his grandmother as we near election day.

Martha, peace be to you. And dance on tables!

What I had forgotten was that Craig’s uncle Dan taught and coached at Wasilla High School. Craig read an article today about Sarah Palin where they mention her parents by name and he came to realize his uncle is good friends with her father. Which should be no surprise since it is a small Alaskan town-now-suburb.

Anyway, Friday night we went to see Tom play a show at the Nine Muses Acoustic Cafe. Craig brought his video camera and recorded two songs before his battery died.

Saturday was a near perfect day of hanging out and just catching up. Craig worked with a singular focus on the stairway to the basement. I spent my time grocery shopping, working on computer projects and cleaning up my office. Plus, Craig’s stimulus check-purchased Bikes at Work trailer (made in Iowa) was delivered.

Saturday night we used the bogo personal pizza coupon Laura gave me for Hammy’s Pizza that was set to expire the next day. As Craig said after we first had Hammy’s the night we got back from Hawaii, “we’re dating a new pizza place.” They don’t deliver to our place until after midnight, but they aren’t so far away that it isn’t worth going to them.

While we ate our pizza we used Hulu to watch Friday night’s episodes of The Daily Show with John Stewart and the Colbert Report. Truly, the best recap of both the Palin nomination and the end of the Democratic National Convention that I could have hoped to see.

On Sunday we got up early and drove 200 miles south on I-5 to attend a reunion of Craig’s extended family. It was a crisp day that reminded us that our summer like days will now be fewer and further between.

His parents, aunt and uncle and cousins were all there. Unfortunately circumstances beyond her control caused Teresa to have to cancel her trip up.

While we were there Craig lured Bonzi down the slide. Craig and I had just finished the fantastic BBQ and when Bonzi got to the bottom of the slide he realized that he was no longer being held back by his leash and bounded across the field at top speed, not stopping until he reached the table where all the food was laid out.

On Monday Craig assembled his bike trailer:

And that evening we had a small group of friends over for a Labor Day BBQ, followed by an outdoor showing of Over the Edge. In the end, there were only seven of us left for the movie and we were all wearing sweaters, jackets and down blankets.

Tomorrow Craig and I are headed north to Marysville and then Lopez Island. At least I’m a bit more prepared for it being cool out.