and what a lovely afternoon it was. i rode my
bike home through the graveyard as the sun's
warm, late afternoon rays reached through the
treetops. even in the middle of the city, i saw
two deer frozen to my left. when i got home i
went to the evening farmers' market a few
blocks away where wonderful produce, dogs,
kids and bikes abound. i garnered a large
bounty for several meals i'm planning. but
tonight called for yet another fresh and
delicious meal on the "porch."
























i made a lovely "portland" eggs benedict
{portland, i guess because it was vegetarian
and mostly organic and local}. i toasted a
wheat bagel, then sliced up some wonderful
heirloom tomatoes and a bit of onion, then
a poached egg, all topped off with a bit of
"faux" hollandaise, which incidentally
curdled because i haven't exactly recalibrated
myself to electric burners. i accompanied this
lovely bit with a side salad with yet more
tomatoes, which are so delicious they don't
need anything, not even salt and pepper.
they're perfectly sweet and firm but still
juicy. i was half-tempted to just eat it like
an apple. but only half-tempted.



















of course i washed it all down with another glass of
gewürztraminer. and look at this perfectly prepared
poached egg {thank you smitten kitchen}.



















is it just a coincidence that organic and
orgasmic are so similar? i think not.

ahhh late summer suppers on the (concrete slab)
front porch. over the weekend i picked up some
salad greens and a leek at the farmers' market.
i thought about different ways to use the leek
but then i decided to just enjoy the leekiness
of it. so i sliced it up and sauteed it with
a little butter and salt and pepper. then i added
a bit of balsamic vinegar and a few pinches of
brown sugar. then some red wine. i let that
simmer down and then finished it with a little
cream. i spooned it over some frozen chicken
and herb ravioli {this probably qualifies me
for sandra lee's semi-homade, but so help me
god, i've had some long days this week}.






















anyways, it was delicious when i made it
saturday night and i was really looking forward
to the leftovers after a marathon of classes
today. typically, a heavily flavored dish only
mature with age, and get even better in the
days that follow its creation. unfortunately,
and quite sadly, this was not the case. it
was still good, but not knock your socks off
good like it was the other night. oh well.
i did enjoy it with a salad and a glass of
gewürztraminer, a most delicious alsacien
wine that has high fruity notes and just
happens to smell like roses and honeysuckle.

oh if only portland could stay like this for the
next nine months. alas, i'm sure the rain will
be here soon.

so, as promised (ha) i'm slowly going to update you
all on what i was doing this summer, or rather what
i was making with my hands instead of my computer.



















this first project was something i had intended to do
a good two or three years ago. i had taken a pottery
class, and attempted to make a box. low and behold,
i over-glazed the thing and the glaze melted down
the sides effectively creating a nice little pool that
acted as super glue between the piece and the
kiln shelf. we had to break it to get it off, so i ended
up with all this pieces of beautifully glazed pottery.
obvious decision, make a mosaic. so i got a simple
wood picture frame to act as a base. then i glued on
the pieces and then grouted them into place. then
just painted the edges and popped in some of my
favorite pictures from brussels (which were
finally developed, a good 7 months after my
return, thanks mom) and voila.

i've seen a lot of scary things in the past week or so. like
unidentifiable roadkill, the dozen or so freshman who decide
they are going to abandon all footwear and watching the sun
rise as i make my way to my first class (i am not much of a
morning person). but all of that pales in comparison to
the frightening nature of this photograph. it is good ol' dubbya's
image displayed on the massive screen at the republican
national convention in st. paul (he decided to fore go appearing
in person for fear that gustav may turn into a katrina scale
disaster, which luckily it did not). and that little gnome-like
figure to the bottomleft is laura bush leaving the stage
after introducing her not-so-better half. so just to put this to
scale, he could pick her up and pop her into his mouth
like a pretzel. his image conjures up associations to
the wizard of oz, unfortunately in this case the bumbling
old man is in front of the curtain, not hiding to project
an all-powerful image onto the screen. i'm just glad i wasn't
there in person or near a television to see his head enlarged
to the point that i could count his blackheads or listen to
his booming abuses of the english language.

four more months my friends, four more months.

{photo by damon winter via the new york times}

dear european, mega-genius that is ikea,

in the process of moving into my new place, i
destroyed my old and dirty, cheap whore
of a bookshelf that came from the goodwill.
with boxes upon boxes of books littering
my already crowded room, something had
to be done. but never fear, because
ikea is here (in portland).

i used your handy dandy website to figure
out which bookshelf would fit, look nice,
and of course, cost the least.
enter my new best friend, billy. he's
tall and slender, unpretentious, really great
at holding stuff and fits perfectly in the little
space between my window and closet.

meeting billy was a little complicated, as most
things are these days. first, after seeing his
picture online, i had to figure out where to
find him. as anyone could guess, it was a cool,
rainy sunday, and thanks to the holiday
weekend, most of portland thought it a great
idea to head to ikea too. so, following the
masses, i searched and searched for a
parking place, until i finally conceded and
parked at the very back.

after a little stroll in the rain, i entered
the automatic doors of the giant blue and
yellow box and could almost hear the
'ahhhhh' of angels in the background. but just
almost. i grabbed a giant, helpful yellow
bag, a convenient little paper measuring tape
and off i went up the escalator.

the showroom is pretty but it's what's
inside that counts, so i headed for the good stuff
downstairs in the warehouse. after gathering
a few household items i needed, it was time for
the big search. i crossed into the furniture
warehouse with trepidation, not sure where
to look first. i grabbed a cart, as billy may be
skinny, but he is anything but light. then, to my
left, standing casually against the wall, sat billy.
it was love at first site. i had found him without
even looking. into the cart he went and i was on
my way to the cashier. no bag today, thanks
(they're 5 cents a piece, to cut down on plastic
consumption).

it was a long walk back to the car
pushing billy and all his weight across the parking
lot. i got him all loaded in, and i even let him sit in
the front seat (mostly because he wouldn't all fit
in the back seat).

when we got home, i carefully carried billy
piece by piece up to my room. he even brought
easy to follow directions that are all in pictures
so anyone could follow them, regardless of the
language spoken.
























i got him all put together, then slid him into
place. it couldn't be more perfect. i carefully
inserted the shelves and loaded up all my books.
one shelf for spanish, one and a half for french,
one for art, one for other random stuff. it all looks
so clean, neat and organized. and we couldn't be happier.

thanks ikea, i couldn't have asked for a better friend.
























{have i just made myself out to be a crazy person
by personifying a bookshelf? probably, but with
my biceps bulging from moving all of my earthly
belongings to the car, then out of the car and up
the stairs to my room, and then getting them all neatly
and nicely arranged, i don't really care.}

p.s. sorry about the long spans of no posting this summer.
i'm now settled back in portland and will start class
in a few hours. i'll be slowly posting about the stuff
i did all summer instead of writing here. and judging by
how busy i expect to be, i'm sure there will be many more
random, ramblings to come that will continue to provoke
rumors of my sanity, or lack thereof.

thanks for reading.
+
emilie.