The Benna Blog

Benna and Troxy's Tasty Treats!

2011-12-06T18:19:00.000-08:00

Awesome new food blog by Trox and myself! Go to http://bttreats.blogspot.com/ to get all our new awesome vegan recipes we are doing! Oh yeah, I went vegan two days ago, and I am doing well. I had been planning on doing so by Decemberish, so I am right on my schedule. I am doing the Engine Two diet, and I am trying to make this a lifestyle change.
ENJOY!

Yeah Facebook has destroyed my blogging!

2011-10-06T21:46:00.000-07:00

I should like to start again, but it is hard for me since I don't mind the quick posting on facebook...Anyway went chanterelle hunting today, was awesome! Look on my Facebook for the photos...

Now on Facebook!

2011-07-14T15:06:00.001-07:00

I couldn't hold out any longer...

Wow, Time Flies!

2011-06-20T10:46:00.000-07:00

It is crazy, but true. I have been working at Whole Foods for almost two months now, and it has been great. I am working steady hours, and the work environment is totally cool.
ALL my free time has been spent rocking our garden areas and trying to reseed the yard. The chicken meat bird experiment last winter was awesome, but we learned that they will eat the grass bare in those scare months. It was good to get a clean slate, but tilling the soil two to four inches deep is a lot of work. The summer weather has been pure crap so far, so been a little discouraged with all the work put into getting new garden plots put in.
With some help from my folks we payed an Arborist to fall this rotting maple tree on our property, which was also blocking quite a bit of sunshine to our back yard. It's nice to see a new back yard view.
Finally, I will blog more soon, but my computer has been "getting fixed" for almost two months now from a friend, and it has disconnected me from my usual computer activities...I have a ton of pictures to post from our yard reconstruction the past few months, so stayed tune, I know all you followers are anxious to see!

This is fun!

2011-03-16T16:00:00.001-07:00

I am so excited! I have been playing music with my buddy Seth for a number of years now. It has always been cool and enjoyable to write and preform songs with him, and I've always been proud of the music we have made.

Life tends to get in the way of band practice, so some projects got put on the side, but I always made sure to have the time to work out some shit, in our band, Russian Trio, the side project that always stayed in my mind as the band I wanted to be in, if we ever decided to play a show again. So Portland, watch out soon!
Another most exciting thing is the link to http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/russiantrio, where you can purchase our first album! Pretty cool to have that now, it was a blast making it, and the next one is going to be even better...

My New Guitar!

2011-03-01T22:57:00.001-08:00

I have been really excited about playing music lately... Trox has started to teach me musical theory and she is also giving me piano lessons! It has really fired me up. So, I decided with a portion of my tax return, I would finally go and buy myself a real nice guitar. After getting my tax shit done, I researched for what I would get as my baby. I came real close to a Telecaster '72 Reissue Deluxe, came real close . However, in the end, the Epiphone SG G-400 Custom won me over. The three humbucker pickup is too cool, and the sound is awesome. At first I was worried, but the strings were new, and had to be broken in. Which I did! I played all night, and had a blast. The tone is sweet clean, and with the overdrive pedal, it blasts! I am real glad I got this guitar. Here is the write up from the Epiphone website:

Elegant and powerful, the classic three pickup SG lives on in stunning detail - even down to the “Les Paul” script at the end of the fingerboard. Our G-400 Custom features three powerful Alnico Classic Humbucking pickups like the original but we’ve added even more flexibility with individual bridge, middle and neck volume controls to allow for infinite blending combinations.

Finally, a few pictures of my axe! Look at Trox rockin' out!

How to go from A to Z (graphic pictures)!

2011-02-27T02:34:00.000-08:00

We have harvested three of our meat birds with much success. The killing is done as most humanely as I researched it could be, and I feel very little pain is administered to the birds. Getting all the feathers off is quite a chore, and you must be thorough. After additional research, dealing with the innards and final cleaning became routine to us both. We weren't grossed out, since we had cleaned all the fish we caught ourselves in Alaska, and this was no different.

The first time we finished with a bird, we didn't allow the meat to "ripen" for over twenty-four hours, and made the meat less tender and flavorful. We roasted it whole. It was still delicious, and we ate every bit.

The second time we did two birds and decided to divide it up into sections of meat for later meals. We just tried the breast meat, and made awesome chicken strips out of them, moist and an amazing taste! It was very rewarding after all the work put in, to get a meat that was raised with love and respect, and I feel they had an amazing life before giving up theirs for mine. Still my dark sense of humor makes me post this lonely looking picture of chicken tracks in the snow, with none in frame...

More chickens?

2011-02-22T14:50:00.000-08:00

Yep, and they are absolutely adorable! We decided to get four more to add to the permanent flock, and this will be the final fill out of egg layers as long as we live on this property. We continued the old lady name tradition, with the following ladies born on February 19th, 2011:

First we have Mildred, a beautiful Ameraucana chick that will grow to be an exotic looking bird. She will lay a pastel like color ranging from green to pink, so we are excited to see when she lays her first egg!

Next we have Beatrice, a Buff Orpington. These breed are a fluffy looking bird, with a tendency to become broody, or turn into hatch egg mode, frequently. Known to be a very sweet and gentle girl.

Then we have Agnes, a Blue Cochin breed. This bird, again, is a fluffy bird with feathers covering the legs, giving her a very cool look when they are older.

Finally, we have Josephine, a New Jersey Giant. I am excited to see this bird grow, and grow it shall! A full grown hen can grow to weigh as much as ten pounds! She is just for show, however, and we are anxious to see how big she will get. She lays a brown egg said to be pretty big, so that is always a bonus.

This brings the egg laying flock to nine now, which I think is plenty for us, maybe enough to sell some back to the Craigslist community or something!

The Chicken Process.

2011-02-17T02:46:00.001-08:00

I love food. Trox and myself have started to take an interest in not only what we eat, but how the food we eat is produced. We began trying to grow our own vegetables over five years ago, in an apartment complex. We have never had a huge bounty of fruits or vegetables to eat, but it has always been rewarding and a great learning experience through the years.
Now living in Newberg, we find ourselves wanting to take it further, and include our meat into self sustainment on our property. Last November we purchased twelve Barred Rock chicks, and got to the long journey of raising chickens for meat!
It has been a pretty fun process so far. It has been great opening the coop in the morning to find eighteen birds flutter out and set out for the day's delicious pickings. We even constructed a brooder for them to live in, till their true feathers all came in. The garage stank for a few weeks, but soon the coop was home. We didn't name any of the birds, for fear of attachment, but we still enjoy watching them interact with the permanent ladies already in the flock, and feel their lives are lived with contentment and ease.
There is this great article, http://www.albc-usa.org/documents/cookingwheritagechicken.pdf, a little long, but it set our plan of attack for getting some meat done.

WTF!

2011-02-17T02:43:00.001-08:00

Okay, been awhile, and a lot of things have happened and occurred that I could have blogged about extensively! Moreover, people have been waiting anxiously for another bit of my mind...The wait is over!

Chanterelle Heaven

2010-11-13T08:56:00.000-08:00

On Thursday, my buddy Seth and I took off into the woods to go mushroom hunting. It was an awesome time in the woods with the rain coming down on us. I forgot to bring the camera, but the weather was so cool, sideways rain, and a chill wind added to the appeal of the day.
We went in search of the most tasty of fungi, the Chanterelle mushroom, and we found success at each stop, some patches were bigger than the others, but a few could always be gathered.
After a stretch, we decided to head the last miles to the coast for a beer and a walk on the beach. The walk was cold and wet, and amazing! The sea was rolling and crashing with turbulent waves, our clothes instantly wet with the misty rain coming down.
Once our beers were consumed and our bones were warmed, we set out again in search of the delicious mushrooms in the woods. Our last effort was thwarted by darkness, but we found our biggest patches of gold for the day at the last moment! Caring a huge bag of amazing tasting mushrooms home felt so good!
We set out to begin eating them instantly, and I began washing and prepping the mushrooms. It was an awesome day, and I thank my buddy Seth for taking me out there, showing me what to look for and driving us around the beautiful Oregon woods, to wonder about stuff...

Trailer Park Boys!!!

2010-10-28T09:26:00.001-07:00

Last night we went to the Aladdin Theatre to see Ricky, Julian, and Bubbles. It was a lot of fun! I laughed alot, and we had a good time all around.

A Dirty Dozen!

2010-10-01T16:12:00.001-07:00

We have been getting a steady stream of eggs coming in from Ethel, but also from Mabel, our barred rock hen.
We stopped buying eggs in the store about three weeks ago, and although we have been letting them build up the last eight days, we have been eating eggs, and still have a dozen! It just feels good after all the time is put in, you start to get something back.

It feels the same way with the tomatoes. All the work put in, you start to see some tasty results at the end of the season. Since this was such a short summer, I am glad we have got any to eat!

Since it seems the weather is holding on, we are getting ripe tomatoes on all of the plants!

Pumpkin Carving!

2010-09-30T23:31:00.000-07:00

We had a great night carving pumpkins! Mine is a dragon type thing, and Trox did Captain Jack Sparrow! We had so much fun...

Po Ta To!

2010-09-22T10:53:00.000-07:00

The season has been kind of a disappointment for our garden. We worked real hard on getting things right, and then the weather screwed us over! We have enjoyed many treats from our labors, though. Strawberries, zucchini, yellow squash, cabbage, and few tomatoes have been consumed and loved.
Last month we had a few organic russet potatoes hanging around, sprouting roots, and Trox decided to plant them to see what happens. Since the season is pretty much over, and we were so late in planting them, we decided to dig them up. To my surprise, we got some tasty looking baby russets! We are gonna treat these babies right somehow, I can't wait to eat them. Also, next year, planting them earlier and taking care of them all year!

Speaking of potatoes, Trox used to go to this website that had funny flash videos, this is one of them...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihMMw0rnKz4

E G G !

2010-09-16T22:51:00.000-07:00

Well, it has begun! I was at work this morning and Trox called around noon, very excited. Ethel, our Golden Sexlink, produced our first egg! We were so excited, and I couldn't wait to get home to check it out.
The egg was a little smaller than ones you get in the store, but it had a nice shape and real good brown color.

We decided to scramble it with a little salt and pepper, and it was most delicious, very rich and tasty.

We had a celebratory tequila shot, Ethel, here is to you!

He He

2010-09-13T09:29:00.000-07:00

I was bored last night, looking through some photos. I came across this bad boy...

I love going to Comic Cons, one of the things I love, is thinking about all the time put into making the props and costumes for these things. Some dude (pud?) sitting there, sewing a Captain America suit while watching Buffy, The Vampire Slayer.
I have gone to several of these things in the North West through the years, but never made any attempt to dress up. Below is what I think something like that would look like...

September?

2010-09-01T09:04:00.000-07:00

Man, oh man. I really enjoy summer with all its delights. It always saddens me when it comes to an end...

Wilderness Band Photos!

2010-08-25T15:48:00.000-07:00

This post is really so my buddy Seth can browse through all the pictures we took on our camera when we were taking photos at Lost Lake. I look like I am from Tron in some of them!

Bread, From Scratch!

2010-08-25T01:54:00.000-07:00

Trox made her first attempt at making bread from scratch. It was a French bread type thing. It was fluffy and delicious!

Champoeg!!!

2010-08-24T08:31:00.000-07:00

We live so close to Champoeg, that its been criminal we hadn't been there yet. We checked out the 1800's garden, and barn, then went for a bit of a hike along the river.
A ways into the trail, a fisherman came out of a little path. I asked him if the fish were biting, and he said they were. We decided to see if the path took us to the shoreline. It opened up to a wide area of sandy beach. I stripped to my boxers and got in, of course at first it was cold, but I soon acclimated and began enjoying the swim!
We are gonna head back soon, I am real excited. We are gonna pack a light lunch and some beer, and make a day of it!

Lost Lake, the Next Week!

2010-08-22T12:33:00.001-07:00

Well, we just got back from another amazing adventure in the woods! We drove around for a time, trying to see if any spots were open, and almost everything was filled to the brim. We wanted to be by the water, but all those were snatched early.

We ended up at the exact same camp spot as before, in Lost Lake! It was pretty awesome there, as always, and we set up camp fast because we had all been talking about swimming all day. We even went all the way up to Gordon Lakes to see about camping and swimming, but the Lakes are not the best for swimming. Since Big Lake is just a few miles up from Lost Lake, we took some road beers and headed out for a swim.
The swimming was so awesome! Last week, Brandon, Seth, and I swam there, I couldn't stop thinking about it afterwards. We had to go back, and back we did go. We swam awhile longer than before, and it was so much fun. I really enjoy it up there.
Camping is always a delight, and the conversations are engaging and jovial. Whenever I go into the woods, I feel so relaxed and I can let my mind wander.
Last week at Lost Lake there were tons of small toads at the shore. This week there were hardly any. We decided to head down the road to the end of the campsites, where we heard a bubbling creek. My buddy Seth was in the lead and before he took a step down, I saw a ton of movement underneath. I warned him and we stepped back to see thousands of the little guys, migrating their way to the sweet double creek ahead.

We stayed there for awhile and on the way back, Gina, Trox, and I smelled a peculiar odor coming from the shoulder of the road. We glanced at each other, and started to giggle because the smell resembled, uh, jizz.

I still don't now what these plants are, but they are nasty smelling, we all kept smelling them, and getting grossed out! What the hell are those things!
It was a great trip, and I always look forward to the next time...

I Am Iron Mountain...

2010-08-14T08:57:00.000-07:00

Where to begin! This last Thursday, Seth took me, Trox, and Brandon out to the cascades to have an awesome adventure! We ended up staying at a campsite in the Lost Lake area. The campsite was awesome. The sites are spread out enough so that you never really even see anyone else camping.
Before we got setup for the camp, however, we had spent a good part of the day hiking around some cool areas. We started out heading up Iron Mountain. This hike was too cool. The area is very unique due to changes in one of the last ice ages, it maintained a diverse wild flower population that was a wonder to behold! This article my buddy Seth gave me, really explains the wonder of Iron Mountain, http://blog.oregonlive.com/terryrichard/2010/07/oregons_mountain_wildflowers_a.html!

After we had set up camp, we were grimy and ready to swim! We waded into Lost Lake, but it never reached above our waists, and it was a muddy mess! After we got out, we decided to head up to Big Lake, just a few miles up the road. Trox stayed at camp to watch the stuff and examine the wildlife, but Brandon, Seth and I swam in Big Lake for a bit. It was so cool to be swimming around these mountain tops at over 4500 elevation! The water was amazing, and it felt so good to go swimming again!
We got back started to really get to it, had some drinks and food, waiting for it to get dark. The real reason we had come out was to check out the peak of a meteor shower! There were not as many meteors as I had hoped there would be, but the ones we saw were so cool looking. We would chat at the lake's shore, hanging out, when a meteor would soar across the sky, we would all stop and go "Aaaaaaaah" or "whoooooa". It was a great night. Thanks again to my buddy Seth, for setting it all up in the first place!

Mechanics BeWARE!

2010-07-31T16:35:00.000-07:00

Well, we were on our way to my buddy Seth's house for a sweet, sweet barbecue, when the car felt real funny! We turned around, decided to go to Seth's anyway, then turned around again, as the problem was getting worse.
We stopped at a Jiffy Lube, the only place open still, and the guy checked it out, but said it was a dealership problem, maybe four to five hundred bucks! Jiffy Lube is about two miles from my house and traveling that far almost overheated the engine. We decided we were stuck until we could find out what to do next.
The next day, I called a the closest dealership, and it was indeed going to cost a lot of money to tow and repair the vehicle.
We had an idea of what the problem was, so I called my old boss, Dave, to see if we could use his tools for the job. He did us one better, and let us borrow his truck for the night to go get the new parts and all the tools we needed for the job.
We started by taking the wheel and splash guard off, which gave us access to the bottom motor mount to the tensioner, which was the issue.

After getting the S-Belt off, we took the upper mount off, and replaced that bad boy. Trox did a lot of the work and it was great to see her get in there and kick ass.

We took it for a test drive, and it ran like new! We felt so satisfied and accomplished getting it done ourselves. Maybe we won't even get our oil changed at the businesses.

Same Deer, Different Day.

2010-07-30T16:53:00.000-07:00

I think our house is a routine stop for this lady. It's cool, she is helping keep morning glory and blackberry bushes at bay.

Deer!

2010-07-26T13:56:00.001-07:00

I was browsing the interwebs this morning when I heard a sound out my window. I looked out and saw a sweet little deer...

The Fireworks Show 2010.

2010-07-24T22:32:00.000-07:00

I took the ladder to the side of the house and went to the roof for an almost clear view of the fireworks show for the festival. The finale ruled!

Old Fashioned Festival 2010, and Kick Ass Dragonfly!

2010-07-22T19:18:00.000-07:00

Well, since the festival is held less than a mile from our house, we thought we should see what it was really all about. It had a handful of cool shops, it was really neat to see the local park filled with vendors and knick knacks. There was some band playing rock countryish music, and the food area was packed with tasty treats!
Later that day, as I was watering the garden, I came across this beautiful dragonfly! I told Trox to go get the camera, and she got some amazing photos of this guy before he flew away. Nature is awesome!

Official Naming...

2010-07-11T00:07:00.000-07:00

We have debated on what to call the silkie chickens since we got them over a month and a half ago. I think we have figured it all out. The white banded one is called Petunia, the non banded white is called Esmerelda. The black banded one is called Rose, while the other is called Myrtle.
We don't know the sex of any of these chicks, so the names could be changed to older gentleman names before long. It has been written.

HOT HOT HOT!

2010-07-10T00:02:00.000-07:00

It is a little after midnight, Saturday, July 10th, 2010. It is hot in my house. My forehead is sweaty and I am sleepy from all the work we did.
The chicken coop is almost done. We need to paint the door, and chicken ramp. Then we need to set the last section with chicken wire. So close and the chickens already love the upgrades! When we finish, a full posting will follow. I am tired, good night, Nurse!

A Lot of Time Has Gone By...

2010-07-09T22:22:00.000-07:00

Wow, we have been so busy! The last week my parents have been visiting from Alaska. It's been a lot of fun having them here with us. They came right when the weather started to really feel like summer!

The first few days they were here, I had to work. We still found time to go pick strawberries and make tasty jam!

I took some time off so that I would have time to hang out and get a lot of yard work done with my dad being here. He loves doing big chores with me around the house!
The first day of my vacation, on Tuesday, we got to tree falling! We went around Newberg looking for a come along winch, and got some supplies to finish up the chicken coop in Sherwood. We got everything we needed to get to work. We started by me gearing up with the tree climbing gear, getting the chainsaw ready, then I climbed the pine tree that had been on our list to take down for some time. The wind was really strong and getting further up, the tree swayed too much for my liking and I came down. We decided to finish it on Friday.

We moved on by taking down two real big cherry trees. One was in my yard, inside the fence, blocking too much sun for our garden. My dad did the cuts and they were taken down right were we wanted them with the help and use of the come along winch.

It was a long, hot day of clearing brush and kicking ass!
On Wednesday, we went up to Kent, Washington to visit my brother, Nathan, and his wife, Allison. We checked out their animals, and stuff, then decided to head up to Seattle for the day to check out the Pike Place Market area. It was really awesome to go an take our time and browse some cool shops and check out some unique things. We headed home and went to bed, the weather was so hot when we got back to Newberg, everyone was zapped of energy.
Thursday, we went to the coast to have some fun at the beach. We heard it was suppose to get to 96 or even up to 100 degrees in Newberg that afternoon, but looking at the coast weather, it was a cool 65 or lower. Getting to the coast we saw that the forecast was fairly accurate. The coastline was foggy from the cool Pacific. It was almost too cool for shorts! We made lunch and walked the beach, checking out things!

I posted some great soothing wave videos, go trance out... When we got back, we started a campfire, and Trox, Dad, and I listened to music all night by the fire.

Friday was time to take down the pine. I got up early and geared up, climbed the tree and took it down. Again, the video speaks for itself. It was scary and fun as always.

We cleared some brush and even started a burn pile that got the fire department called on us! So far its been an awesome vacation!

Silkie Radventure!

2010-06-21T16:25:00.000-07:00

Well, like the others before them, we let the silkie chicks run around outside on their one month birthday. They had quite a nice time running around, digging up worms, and snacking on bits of this and that. The older ones still peck at the silkie's necks and bottoms, but I think they are kinda getting used to one another. I took a section of chicken wire and ran it across part of the hen house, sectioning off enough space for everyone to be happy, but still get to know each other. I hope that works out.

Coop Partying!

2010-06-20T09:59:00.000-07:00

Well the summer solstice party was kinda weird. First off, the last ten minutes before Seth and Gina showed up it started to rain, hard! That was sorta the scene for the rest of the night. It would rain hard, slack off, then rain hard again! Everyone made the best of it, though. We had a kick ass Douglas Fir fire, the only kind I like to make, and it lasted through all the downpour and chaos.

We, however, needed a dry place to drink and party, so we decided to cram into the coop and watch and listen to the rain beat down while we chugged Hamm's and Pabst. The rest of the night was pretty cool, we all hung out and drank, and talked about stuff.

Trox and I have been getting up a lot earlier than we used to lately, and we sure felt tired by the night's end. I passed out not very long after hitting the pillow...

Wad.

2010-06-18T21:50:00.000-07:00

We have been cleaning the backyard up, and its been a tough job in some parts of the yard. One dark corner had been growing English ivy and blackberry bushes since we moved in, we didn't get to it last year for some reason. The ivy came up real easy, in one big mat of ivy and blackberry, I just rolled up all the vegetation. I started to call it Wad after awhile. Here is a picture of me and Wad:

We threw Wad on a hot bed of coals and burned the shit out it to ashes. Fun.

Seven Bro Army.

2010-06-11T22:31:00.000-07:00

On our camping adventure in Moose Lake, in the middle of the night of our fun, Dan Kohler took his head lamp, which had both red and white light, and took these sweet pictures with no flash on. Enjoy!

Time Continues to Fly By...

2010-06-09T17:16:00.000-07:00

The weather has not improved much these past few weeks, so the coop is still not finished...It really just needs the final coat of paint, and the chicken wire attached to the outside. It looks so awesome to have it all primed and gleaming! Our four new chickens are getting bigger by the day, and I can't wait to have them out of our spare bathroom, and into their home.
I wonder how difficult it will be to assimilate the babies into the existing flock...we are going to section off the hen house into two separate areas. That way they are always in direct line of sight for awhile. I will try and let them all free range, to see if they start to merge together, and it may go quickly. The Silkies are one of the most docile of breeds, so who knows?

Silly Me, Let Me Introduce Pickle!

2010-06-07T12:08:00.000-07:00

I forgot to get the blog started on our newest feline addition! We had a tough time naming the new little guy, but I believe Troxy has settled in with Pickle. I love the name, and the little shit is fun to watch terrorize the house.
We got him the same day we got the new Silkie chicks, and he was said to be nine weeks old, so I hope the little dude has a good time here.

Four More Added to the Flock.

2010-06-03T18:03:00.000-07:00

We had been searching online about getting more chickens for the flock before the ones we got were too much older. We were even going to drive into Washington today to get a breed of chicken named a Polish:

The lady called me soon after we arranged a time to meet and said her flock was starting to die, and said we wouldn't be meeting after all, she didn't feel comfortable selling possibly sick chickens.
I went on Craigslist, and found a listing here in Newberg for Silkie chicks! These are almost as exotic looking as the Polish if not more. We purchased four chicks and we are most excited! They are all straight run, unknown sexes, but we can't wait to see these birds grow to their full grandeur.
They hatched on May 20th, so they are only three weeks behind our current ladies. I hope they are accepted by our older ones, and that we have a nice big happy flock for years to come...

MGMT!

2010-06-02T02:05:00.000-07:00

We started our evening driving to downtown and getting a bite to eat at the McMenamin's on the ground floor level, Ringler's.

We were kinda bummed when we went to go wait for the doors to open, the line was getting pretty long, when this guy came up to us and said, "Hey, come to the twenty-one and older door to get in."

We walked around the other side of the building, showed our ID's and then went into the venue! We had talked about going up into the balcony of the Ballroom, so we could have a nice relaxing rock experience. It worked, it was relaxed, but we also felt it was hard to get into the music as much as when you are in the crowd, getting pushed about.

The show was awesome! I don't know who the first band was, I believe it was Tame Impala, but to be honest, I didn't even care. I just wanted to see MGMT. I posted all the videos I took on my YouTube account, I think the camera did a pretty good job of getting the band all the way up on the stage. Trox and I had a good rocking time.

Rainy Summer...

2010-05-29T08:39:00.000-07:00

I know I live in the North West, I know it rains here quite a bit. It doesn't mean I can't express frustration at this rainy season. Yesterday, we were trying to get some more stump removal done, that is some tough work in the best of conditions, and it starts to rain when we get out there... We decided to rough it out a few hours, but it got to be a muddy mess quickly. We got some good work done, but at the cost of wet feet and muddy clothes. We got inside to the warm house and called it a day.

The Roof, the Roof, the Roof is on...

2010-05-28T10:30:00.001-07:00

Well we have a long way to go still, but the coop is coming together nicely. We are having our babies spend the night in the hen house, and they seem to be adjusting just fine. We haven't put on the chicken wire around the run, so they are stuck inside.
The rain has really slowed our progress in getting the coop finished. We can't paint the whole thing, so we have been waiting till we can to even tackle it. I don't want to put the chicken wire up until we have painted, but the girls would greatly benefit from running around the coop area. We were able to get a lot of things built, even in the rain, thanks to the roof.
The installation of these panels was super easy, and we used a shaded UV protected plastic, kinda like sunglasses, but a little lighter in shade. These are light weight, easy to move, and perfect for the coop! It allows sunlight all day inside the hen house, and not a leak to be found.
Once the wood dries out, we will take a day and paint the whole thing, wire it up, and be done with this project!

The Coop Build, part 2.

2010-05-17T13:50:00.000-07:00

We got going early and started putting all the wood together. I am going to post on another website after the build is finished, with a much more detailed description of building the coop. We have been working slow and steady, so we don't make any mistakes, but it is coming together nicely.

The Coop Build.

2010-05-15T16:17:00.001-07:00

Well after a few days of research and soul searching, we came up with a design for our ladies' home. We dug and leveled the ground around a 6' by 10' area and then laid sand and paver stones down for the foundation.

We went to Home Depot and got a lot of our lumber cut small enough to fit it all in the car, and then we made some cuts at home. In order to make real nice cuts, we bought a circular saw and we built saw horses out of some pallets I got from work. We bought a piece of plywood for fifty-one cents, and used it to finish up the project, so I am kinda proud of our two saw horses for under a dollar!

After we got all the wood cut to size, it was starting to get late. We decided to call it for the night, and have our first twilight camp fire of the year!

Jogging...

2010-05-11T11:54:00.000-07:00

So, in preparation for the Moose Lake hike, I had been doing an aerobic exercise program that consisted of a lot of leg and ab exercises. I am so glad I did, because without it, I might have actually had a leg muscle blowout or something.
After coming back though, I didn't really feel like working out, but I still wanted to continue exercising daily. My buddy Seth and I had been talking about his new found love of jogging and it got me kinda fired up to try. The route I am starting with is a 1.3 mile run up and down a few hills and loops back around to my house. I am only on the second day of this jogging experiment, but who knows...

I would like to do some more hiking this summer and I am starting to do some research on a place I can go with my wife and see some of nature's beauty. Hopefully this jogging thing will help me have a fun hiking summer.

Moose Lake, or Hurts Going In, Hurts Coming Out...

2010-05-10T16:00:00.000-07:00

Well the big hike up to Moose Lake was this last weekend, and it was a great success! On Friday morning, my buddy Seth came to pick me up bright and early, and we headed off to Cascadia in search of adventures.

We spent part of the day heading up to Tombstone Pass. I had never been there and it was great to see snow in May, old snow but cold nonetheless. We attempted to head up to Iron Mountain, but the snow on the road there stopped our progress.

We decided to head over to Pipe Rock, it was a pretty awesome sight...Hiking up to the rock was very easy and quick from the logging road, and we had a nice time roaming around. We couldn't climb the rock, but I can imagine the view was spectacular.
The rest of the day we hiked around on Seth's Dad's property, checking all the sights that are always enjoyable.

I love going up to the other houses that were built by hippies on Mike's property. When Seth and I were done partying in the woods, we had Mike tell us stories about the people who built the homes, and also tell us the story of how he built his house. It was really cool, and I had a great night, listening to my good friend's Dad talk about his life.

The next morning, Alex, Seth's older brother, showed up and we headed off to the Moose Lake trail. I have posted some videos I took on the hike to Moose Lake, and the eventual getting there. It was a lot farther then we thought when Seth and I tried to get to Moose Lake last year, but after crossing a few ridges we made it to the log jammed, yet very beautiful, Moose Lake.

We set up camp, and I started a fire, relishing in our victory of arriving to our destination. We were a little worried about the rest of our seven bro army making it when out of no where Nate Standridge comes through the woods into the camp site. I was so happy to see him since I had not hung out with Nate since my wedding...He came with his dog, Cyrus, and we all had a great time catching up on life.

After a few more hours, we all started wondering when the rest would show. Dan Kohler, Joel Kinunen, and Lee Alworth were suppose to show up, but it was starting to get later and later. Nate and I headed down the trail a bit and in Moose Creek the crew were heading up scaling the creek side. We had all made it! It felt great to have all the guys together rocking Moose Butthole!

The next morning, Joel brought out some topographic and Google Earth maps that showed the area surrounding Moose Lake. After pondering the way out, Nate and I decided we would hike straight up the mountain side and meet up with the logging road, and then walk back to the vehicles. Everyone else thought it was as good as anything else, and that it might even shave a few minutes of the hike by not having to go up and down these steep hillsides. Heading out on the first slope was an intense climb up almost vertical mountain side terrain. The only thing keeping me from tumbling back down the mountain were the strong rooted sword fern and maple trees littered along the terrain to grab on for support. Not long in the climb, Alex decided to head along the creek instead of trail blaze the mountain to the road, and we lost sight of him in our trek to the top. After an hour and forty-five minutes we hiked two and a half miles to the logging road, ascending one thousand feet! Alex was already at the vehicles, and had been for over twenty minutes! I guess vertical climbing a mountain with almost fifty pounds on your back isn't going to be a speedy trip! Joel sent me the maps and it is great to see the way we hiked around the area. I am so glad I got to hang with some very good friends, and I hope we can make a more regular thing of this...

Which Came First, The Chicken Or The Egg?

2010-04-30T16:06:00.000-07:00

In our case, it is the chicken...more specifically, three chickens! We had been talking for quite awhile about getting a coop built and start having our own farm fresh eggs...Each year we move closer to our goal of self sustaining our own food supply. We thought a coop would be a great start in getting into farm animal food supplies. I had looked into goats, or rabbits, etc. and chickens are by far the easiest and best supply of food.
I also did quite a bit of research on coop designs. Trox and I both felt the one below fit our needs, style, and budget. The people who posted this coop design live near Seattle, so it should fit nicely here in Newberg.

There are a lot of added bonuses beyond the egg production, the biggest of all is helping to keep bugs off our garden! Their poo is some amazing fertilizer, and they are going to be a part of our animal family now!
We went with three different breeds of chicken, the Rhode Island Red, which we named Wilma...

The Golden Sex Link, which we named Ethel...

And, finally, we got a Barred Rock, which we named Mabel...

We begin starting the build real soon. We just cleared away the area designated for the chickens and are very excited! Start saving those egg cartons for me, because we will start producing 750 eggs annually next year! Come hungry!

Grand Theft Auto 3!

2010-04-18T14:29:00.000-07:00

So I was kinda bored with my computer games, and started to rummage through some old things. I stumbled upon my copy of GTA 3 for the PC! I was stoked, I love this game...

Time flies when you play this game...BEWARE! I had a lot of fun with it, but alas, I beat it...Onto GTA: Vice City!

Kinda funny, but will get funnier through time!

2010-04-09T13:02:00.000-07:00

We like to take pictures when we do a road trip. One of the things I always have Trox do, is take a picture of me driving, and then I snap one of her sitting shotgun.

I could only find Trox taking a picture of me on our way to the coast for our honeymoon.

These were taken on our way up to Cascadia to swim in the amazing and refreshing waters in those areas.

These were taken on our way to South Beach, near Newport, with Seth and Gina. That was a fucking awesome night...

And finally, a reposting of the pictures taken for the Muse show...

I thought I had us take more pictures this way, but scanning through all the digital pictures, I only found these precious few. I will, however, be starting to be more faithful in remembering to take these photos every trip we go on.

Hurry up, Spring!

2010-04-09T12:17:00.000-07:00

I was looking over some of my old posts from last year, and I was thinking how much warmer it was this same time last year. Damnit, hurry up, Spring!

MGMT, Steve Miller, and Who Knows...

2010-04-08T14:28:00.000-07:00

So, MGMT tickets at the Crystal Ballroom just went up for sale...That was a no brainer! I was just saying to Trox that whenever they played I would get them, and this fell into my lap! Shit, I am real excited about this show. They are playing June 1st and 2nd. I bought tickets for the first night!

Also, a few days ago, I bought tickets for the Steve Miller Band show at Edgefield! Holy shit, a rock legend that I can check off on my list. He has played Edgefield the last couple of years, and I just couldn't pass another year. How much longer can the Space Cowboy ascend?
The summer always brings amazing shows, and I have some good ones coming. Who knows what other shows are upcoming!?!

Man, oh man!

2010-04-04T00:17:00.000-07:00

So the show was phenomenal! We got there a little early, so we headed to McMenamin's Pub near the Lloyd Mall and shared a gyro and a coffee and beer.

We hung out a little longer than we probly should have. Silversun Pickups were good, but we didn't really care. I would imagine opening up for Muse is almost as bad as opening for Slayer, I wanted to boo them so we could get Muse going NOW!

Seriously...Silversun Pickups rocked, though.

When Muse started their set it was already a knock out. Besides the mind burning two and a half hour set, the song list was amazing!

The stage was too cool. Shit, besides these pictures you can also go to my YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/user/Rolandbv) page for the videos...

Rock on!

M U S E !

2010-04-03T10:11:00.001-07:00

Last December we went to Seattle and saw Muse, Vampire Weekend, Phoenix, and others at the Deck the Hall Ball 2009 show. It was amazing, but by the time Muse came on, we were exhausted from the trip and the thousands of fans pressing against us to get closer.
So, I bought their Rose Garden show as soon as they went up for sale in January. Its gonna be so cool! I have never been inside the Rose Garden before, and I just can't wait. I hope to take a lot of video and pictures for later.

Greedo Weighs In...

2010-04-02T17:04:00.000-07:00

Well, we have had our tortoise for a few months now. I just started to notice he is getting a little bigger! It got me thinking that I should start some sort of log on his growth through the years.

With this in mind, I took our food scale, reset the scale after getting a container, and set him in. He weighs in at a hearty 1.6 ounces! We then measured the length of his shell, and it came in at 2 1/4 inches long! RAWR!

Strawberry Fields Forever.

2010-03-22T14:37:00.000-07:00

“Yup, gardening and laughing are two of the best things in life you can do to promote good health and a sense of well being." - David Hobson, The Mad Gardener

The weather is finally getting nicer, and that means a whole new year of exciting outdoor gardening! We are still super new to the process, but I feel we are getting the hang of it. We tilled the earth a few days ago, and added sand, peat moss, and manure I acquired earlier this year. The soil is so much better than when we first came to the house.
Then we took all the strawberries from last year, and transplanted them to a nice corner of the garden. We actually got quite a few shoots from last year, so hopefully we can get them all to bear fruit!

More Greedo

2010-02-23T18:03:00.001-08:00

He is such a small guy right now, sometimes it's funny to think how huge he'll be.

Now that the weather is starting to warm up, we are letting him get to know the outside environment.

A snack of sweet dandelion buds would make anyone sleepy...

I should probably just create a separate blog experience for the tortoise, but I can't help it.

Isaac Has Grown!

2010-02-18T03:02:00.000-08:00

I was reading my buddy Brandon's blog (http://thelifeandtimesofisaac.blogspot.com/), and it got me thinking how much a child grows in a year! Isaac is huge now. A side note, my thirty-first birthday is coming up, the last time I saw Isaac was then. It's crazy how "busy" we get. Time flies...

More Bob White Theatre.

2010-02-14T14:05:00.000-08:00

Pictures taken at the same angle show the "remodel" and the amount of work it would need to be restored...

A picture of the booth area. It looks like an exhaust fan and other equipment still exist up there. Who knows what could still be used after twenty-five years!

Steve J. sent me these pictures and big thanks go out to him for them.

Colin From Fells Acres.

2010-02-12T05:30:00.000-08:00

Went over to Colin's house and hung out. It had been quite a long time since we had even spoken to each other. It was a lot of fun. We played cards and all caught up on life. Ian stopped by and I hadn't seen him in an even longer time. I always liked Ian, he is a cool dude. Thanks to Colin for a great evening.

Oh, I also went by the Bob White Theatre on the way home and got contact information for the seller. Maybe I can get inside...

Brandon, Stephen King, and the Bob White Theatre.

2010-02-09T23:39:00.001-08:00

Just a few thoughts. First off, Brandon is doing some amazing drawings in his classes (http://breaklightfailure.blogspot.com/). I don't want to even try to attempt a self portrait...He rocks at them as well. I admire his dedication to stay motivated in school. Learning what you want in life is important, I feel.

Been reading alot of Stephen King lately. It feels great to be reading again. I had to kind of stop reading a little bit after quiting smoking cigarettes. Collateral damage for a nasty habit. I always feel so comfortable reading his novels. I am almost done reading the entire collection. So good.

I am planning on heading to the former Bob White Theatre in SE Portland to check out the area. I have been doing alot of research on the Internet, and I have become fascinated with the idea of seeing the inside of the building. I have heard its been gutted from its original glory, but here is a picture of the inside in its hay day:

This is one of the only pictures I have found of the outside of the building now days:

Anyway, I want to see about getting a look inside, and I will take tons of pictures if I am allowed. I guess the eccentric previous owner of the property passed away. Who knows what something like that could be worth...750,000 or more? It's located at SE 65th and Foster, and I really hope I can get inside, let alone start thinking financially what we would be eligible for...

Probably all just a pipe dream, but I like to think about what could be.

Cactus!

2010-02-07T01:43:00.000-08:00

Greedo has been a real great baby tortoise. He eats the proper ratio of grasses to be healthy, and responds well to his surroundings.
A treat for a Sulcata is known to be pumpkin, but he hates that shit. Another one is cactus. I knew that Nap's Thriftway had cactus, so I asked Dave if I could just break a little chunk off for Greedo. As you can see, he loves cactus! Might be he loves it more than carrot!

Victory Garden!

2010-02-02T04:31:00.000-08:00

This year for our vegetable garden, we thought we would get a head start on the planting and make our own plant starts. With the indoor garden area, it is actually working pretty well.

Our first attempt, we over watered, and killed alot of the root systems of the first batch of seeds. With the second attempt, the moisture is almost 100%, and the soil temperature is in the ninety degree range. Already we are seeing new seedling growth in the lettuce!

Oh yeah, the real reason I got so motivated to build the indoor garden area! These clones are doing pretty good, but the front one is the runt, and it is infested with pests. This has been a non stop struggle in the grow area, and it is the biggest hurdle in keeping healthy plants. We also get white flies from the soil we buy at the store. I am hoping that after this generation is done, to start over fresh, and have pest free production from here on out.

These are the current ladies that reside in the flower side of the grow area. This generation of clones I decided to utilize the "sea of green" growing method. You create a canopy of growth that soaks up every square inch of illumination from the 1000 watt High Pressure Sodium bulb. I am very pleased with the budding that has formed and I think I have just eight or nine weeks to harvest!

Greedo is doing well!

2010-02-01T21:42:00.001-08:00

The little guy seems to be full of life, and roams around, looking for snacks.

Today was time for his favorite snack: carrots! He gets his weekly calcium supplement with the carrot, but as you can see, he doesn't care.

I also went roaming in the yard for a flat rock for him to have a place to eat, I saw tons of clover in the yard. Since it is on the list of acceptable foods, I plucked a few. He seemed to like them.

Set the Record Straight, Seth!

2010-01-15T13:32:00.000-08:00

Lately, I had been hearing alot of rumors about my buddy Seth:

The rumor was that Seth, being completely enamored with the memories of his recent Ketchikan, Alaska trip, http://thepowerofcrystals.blogspot.com/2009_08_01_archive.html, had decided to stake a claim to a piece of land up there and make a simple, yet honest way of life.
The rumors solidified into speculation and the gossip increased by the minute. The town was abuzz with talk of whether or not it was true. After a surprising blog post, http://thepowerofcrystals.blogspot.com/2009/10/moving-day.html, I was very curious myself.

After a bit of internet searching I stumbled upon a news article that was most intriguing, http://www.sitnews.us/0110news/011410/011410_feast.html, after reading it, I looked at a picture, that to me, is concrete proof my buddy Seth isn't in Oregon anymore:

A New Addition.

2010-01-03T01:39:00.001-08:00

We went and got a great new addition to the "zoo". He is a Sulcata Tortoise and they are the third largest tortoise in the world. We have named him Greedo, and he is real mellow and likes to explore. He will live for several decades and can grow to be 150 lbs.! I am excited to have him around as part of the clan.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T10:12:00.000-08:00

Holy shit I am lame! I was so tired I slept away most of the night. Trox was probably pissed off, but I couldn't help it...

It is 2010, and that's wild. It's another decade now!

Snow!

2009-12-31T03:18:00.000-08:00

DONE

2009-12-29T08:29:00.000-08:00

I am done working two full time jobs. Do not try that.
I am gonna go haul a shitload of manure to my house for garden goodness this spring.

Last Day Elation

2009-12-28T07:46:00.000-08:00

Monday night will be my last shift at Nap's Thriftway. I gotta say, I am really excited to not be working two full time jobs. It really does put into perspective how hard some Americans have to work to maintain stability.
Since I am fortunate enough to not have to work two full time jobs, I am not going to anymore.

....I QUIT!

Xmas in Newberg

2009-12-23T17:31:00.001-08:00

I think we got an awesome tree this year from a nice man outside of Newberg. The weather was stormy, but there is something endearing about that. We rooted through the attic for all the decorations, and got to it.
Last year money was tighter than this year, and the year before that we really were not that interested in dealing with getting a tree and all. It's been awhile but I think the decorations we have are delicate and nice.We have a bunch of animals that get to have gifts as well. We figured we could fill up their stockings with cat food and catnip and let them just go at it.

Great show

2009-12-21T02:36:00.000-08:00

The drive up to Seattle was rainy and uneventful. We made it into Seattle with plenty of time left, so we went to the Pyramid Brewery to grab a meal and some awesome 9% beers that tasted amazing!

The show was awesome! We decided to lose our minds and go up front to get a good view. Visqueen was the first band, and they were good. Vampire Weekend was next, and their set was great.

Then Phoenix performed, and they were actually pretty good too. The energy went up a notch when they played.

Metric was next. Trox and I both agreed these Seattle heroes weren't very good.

Then Thirty Seconds to Mars played. I gotta say they were pretty awesome. I think they played with the most passion and energy of any of the bands that night.

The crowd started to get crazy because Muse made us all wait forty-five minutes before showing up...

So, Trox and I had to get out of there, and we listened to Muse's set farther back. The camera doesn't like to take a good picture in the best of environments, so no photos of Muse. The show was great, all the bands rocked hard.

The drive home was ROUGH! I was so tired, but we made it home and passed out, ears still ringing.

Muse and Vampire Weekend!

2009-12-14T06:44:00.000-08:00

So, tomorrow Trox and I are going to take a much needed roadtrip up to Seattle and go see Muse, with Vampire Weekend opening for them!

I mean, holy shit! First off, getting to see Muse is going to blow my head open in and of itself... The luck of the draw that Vampire Weekend is one of the openers is additionally mind numbing.
The Deck the Hall Ball 2009 show is at the WaMu Theater, so I hope I can get a few photos and videos of the show.
At any rate the show is gonna kick ass!

Go to deckthehallball.com for show info.

Holy Jeez

2009-12-13T03:21:00.000-08:00

It's getting tougher and tougher to continue this scarce sleeping schedule. Neither of the jobs are hard or strenuous, however, the never ending cycle of it all is getting to me greatly.

I just have a few more weeks or months and I will be done working two full time jobs.
I really, REALLY want to work on the next music project with my buddy Seth.

I think that through the long span of our musical relationship we have made some amazing music...I think, moreover, that the music we are making now is the best I've heard us make yet.

So, the summer needs to be filled with many trips in the woods, playing acoustic guitars, and wondering about things. My priorities have been set.

Creative block. (C Block)

2009-11-02T20:15:00.000-08:00

Don't have much to say on this post. Certain events have caused me to realize I must appreciate the things I have, and be thankful for being given the chance to exist on this planet, and experience and wonder about things.

One Year Anniversary!

2009-10-01T09:13:00.000-07:00

Trox and I have had our house for one year today! Damn, time flies by so fast its crazy! We have been really enjoying our time out here in Newberg, and I think we are going strong as ever in our goal to live more off the land and trying to better our situation through hard work.

This year should be a big one for projects and I hope the garden yields even more fruits and vegetables than this last summer.

I'll, as always, post something when there is something to say.

Still alive!

2009-09-17T05:58:00.000-07:00

Well, into my second week of working two full time jobs. The job at Nap's Thriftway is actually pretty fun. I get there at 10 PM and stock shelves and face the items all night long. I listen to my Zune MP3 player and just get the job done.

The theatre is still as easy a job as ever, so I think I can make this work for now...If it gets to be too much, I guess I would have to quit Nap's...The pay just isn't enough to support myself on. Once I get that first double paycheck, I hope its all going to be worth it!

Garden fresh!

2009-08-26T11:58:00.000-07:00

So, the garden plot we worked so hard on a few months ago was a bust! Just not enough sun reached the area because of the dense tree cover.

However, we have been getting awesome results with the garden in front of the deck. Tons of sunlight is constantly pouring over our plants, and the squash and cucumber plants soak it up. The pumpkin plants are huge and eggplant are soon to follow in abundance. I love this shit!

The kids are back!

2009-08-26T11:48:00.000-07:00

My cousin Jake is back from fishing in Alaska for the summer. He brought Pixie and Cassius with him, and we have been hanging out. Always a funny thing having kids at the house.

Oh yeah....Aerosmith

2009-08-19T20:47:00.000-07:00

So, we didn't get to see Aerosmith. Steven Tyler got hurt on the tour and they had to cancel the rest of the shows...I get my money back no problem, but damn it, I am disappointed!
If they do another tour soon, and if I have the funds, we will still get to see them preform...

Cascadia...again

2009-08-19T20:45:00.000-07:00

Trox and I went up to Cascadia to go swimming a few days ago. So awesome up there, but the water was COLD this time! We still eased our bodies into the water and swam from Wolf Creek to the Cascade State Park. One of the coolest things to do ever!

Cascadia

2009-07-25T07:52:00.000-07:00

I should have written about my Cascadia trip with my buddy, Seth, as soon as I got home, but I have been lazy. You couldn't ask for a more beautiful couple of days to spend in the woods. The river was warm and inviting, and we made sure to swim as much as we could. I didn't get alot of pictures, unfortunately, but the memory remains.
My buddy Seth did get a few more pics then I did. He also got some rather humorous videos of us while we attempted a hike that was out of my league. I think my legs are still a little sore!
Anyway, I always enjoy my time up there, and can't wait to get back up in the woods. It always feels so peaceful to be out in the forest among the trees, pondering life.
We headed up to my buddy Seth's Dad's place before we headed back to Portland, and that was a lot of fun. Mike and his lady friend, Nan, showed us around the garden they got done this year and it was really inspiring for me. I realized that day that gardening takes time...years! You can't get it done in one season, it just takes time to get the things done you want.
It was a great holiday and thanks to Seth for making it happen!

Tori Amos concert

2009-07-19T23:47:00.000-07:00

Well, its been about a week since we went to the Tori concert. It was awesome. Trox and I had a great time, and for once she didn't have a tall pud sitting in front of her, or a lame chick singing the song behind us! We had great seats and the proformance was, as always, amazing.
The opening band was a group called One Eskimo, they were good. Man, the sound is bad ass at the Arlene Schnitzer Hall. It would be awesome to play a gig there!

It's starting to look good!

2009-07-02T10:51:00.000-07:00

We had some friends over a few weeks ago and had a great time starting a camp fire and just hanging out, drinking. It really inspired Trox and me to build an official camp fire location in the backyard.

We started leaveling the ground, since our backyard is all a downward slant. Leveling earth is really hard, you almost lose the perception of level even ground after standing there for so long digging...
"Is this level?"
"I don't know, I think?"

Please also note the kickass compost area Trox constructed...Nice!

After we dug a trench for the bricks to lay in for support, we started to cover the camp area with smooth round river rocks, transplated from our side yard. We rebuilt the firepit and threw some wood in there and gave her a test run.

Trox and I had alot of fun sitting there listening to music, and just enjoying the evening. The project is almost finished and should be all ready for intense party sessions soon!

Kayaking Smith and Bybee

2009-06-26T10:39:00.001-07:00

After the half session with Adam in the studio, we took my buddy Seth's two kayaks out to Smith and Bybee Lake.

We spent around five hours paddling around the wetlands of Portland. Its so funny how this little pocket of wildlife exists still. The trip was alot of fun and kayaking is always really enjoyable. So anytime my buddy Seth wants a partner out there, I'm ready!

The sessions continue...

2009-06-26T10:34:00.000-07:00

We have been taking all the tracks we recorded to a buddy's studio for mixing. It's a fun process, and it is a slow process. However, you got to get it right!

W T F

2009-06-12T20:43:00.001-07:00

Edi Buttram Update

2009-06-06T11:48:00.000-07:00

I stand corrected here. Edi Buttram never lived in Wrangell...She has lived in Haines, Alaska for nearly 30 years.

http://www.chilkatvalleynews.com/archive/2004-19-2.html

Lucky S O B

2009-06-06T11:42:00.000-07:00

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_rags_to_riches
What is AWESOME about this story, is not the lucky bastard that won the lottery, but the name of the neighbor next door...Dave Assman...What a studly name. This name is only beat out by a woman in Wrangell, Alaska...I discovered her name a long time ago in High School...Her name was Edi Buttram.

Exciting summer concerts!

2009-06-05T10:42:00.000-07:00

I just purchased our July 11th Tori Amos tickets in a presale this morning! I think I got some pretty decent seats, right in the middle. The last time we saw her, we were in the balcony way to the left.

Also, August 17th will be Aerosmith and ZZ Top in Whiteriver, WA! I am excited for both of these bands, and it will be great to mentally cross off these names. Plus a roadtrip in middle August to go see rock legends? Sounds sweet.

Ben 3, Tree 1

2009-06-03T10:47:00.001-07:00

My folks came down from Alaska the last week and it was really awesome to have them visit. I always enjoy when they come to visit, and we always seem to have a good time. They really enjoyed the house and the area around it. It was beautiful and hot the whole time they were here and we mostly stayed outside relaxing...Good times. One of the projects I wanted to get done when my Dad was down, was to get rid of some trees that were threatening to do damage to the house. In preparation for this, Dad sent down his tree spikes for us to use to get the job done. They came a few weeks before my parents did, so we tried them on. The original plan was to have Trox go up because I felt I might be too heavy for the tops of the trees. So she harnessed up and climbed a tree. The saw blade was so dull that it was too difficult to really get anything done.

We decided to just store them away till my dad showed up. When it came time for the big day I had decided to go up and get rid of the gnarly pine that was close to the house. We de-limbed the tree as we went and tied a rope to the top of the tree for my dad to pull on. The second tree was a much smaller cherry tree that wasn't even worth our time! It's going to make awesome cherry smoke flavor on all our grilling in the future.
Then there was the title fight. I knew going into it, the last one for the day was gonna be tough, not because of fatigue, but climbing this tree was difficult for many reasons. The bark was very smooth, making the rope not want to catch as well as the rough bark of the pine had allowed. Also, the tree was very curvy at the base of the tree, making the beginning of the climb and the decent difficult to manage.
We tied the rope to one of the larger branches and then had it run over the opposite branch for leverage. Then as I made the wedge cut my dad, Mom, and Trox were pulling from 20 feet or so away.
We miscalculated how large and troublesome the large branch would be, and the tree was beginning to sway the opposite way we wanted it to go...Right toward the back deck! My chainsaw began getting cinched in the tree and I couldn't get it out. I began hearing my mom yell, "Leave it, we'll buy a new one", which locked in my mind the serious need to get the hell out of the tree. As I was thinking this the tree began to crack and rotate right toward me. As I was trying to leave the tree as fast as I could, the top came barreling down on me. I ducked and brought my arm up to protect myself and it slammed into my forearm and then slid toward my hand, sloughing the skin off as it went.
The tree top came to a crash on the deck and the remaining ten feet of tree trunk that I was on top of. I stared at my forearm and the wound that was there, also I tried to move around to see about getting out. I looked down at my left leg, and it was pinned between the tree top and the base of the tree. Most of the pressure of the tree was resting on the meaty part of my thigh, pinching my leg. A small thread of panic came to me and I began to yell, "I'm stuck!". The next few moments were a scramble for my parents and Trox. My mom told Troxy to call 911, and my dad ran into the garage grabbing the ladder to get up to me. He grabbed the chainsaw and started to make cuts where he could, trying to get the large branch off of my leg.
Seconds later, three police, two paramedics, and two firemen arrived and started to try and get the tree limb off of me. After a few attempts to move the tree, I was free and I bear hugged the tree and scaled down as fast as I could.
The paramedics team asked a few questions, gave me a quick look over and we all agreed, for the most part, I was ok. All the service men took off, just as quick as they had come.
The deck railing got busted, the patio umbrella, and a few of our plant starts got destroyed, but when it's all looked back on, it could have been MUCH worse. Here are pictures of my arm, the deck destruction, and me licking my wounds...

Was lazy...NO MORE!

2009-06-03T10:24:00.001-07:00

I had a ton of stuff that I was gonna post last month...just for my own amusement I wanted to post things consistantly. So, I have some catching up to do.

First, Troxy made an awesome B Day cake for Pixie, it was from scratch and ultra tastey! We demolished it quickly.

We have a new addition to our feline family! We just couldn't pass up this little guy...We always said we wanted to someday adopt an older cat, not from when it was a kitten, and he was just too friendly. We named him Dexter, and he is a funny dude. He doesn't care much for the others, but we hope he will learn this is a cool enviroment to be in.

Keeping with cute cat pictures:

Thinking of Alaska...

2009-04-25T00:03:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking about Alaska alot lately. Seth and I are in the process of making a full length album. I often imagine how amazing it would be to just head up to Alaska for two weeks, head out to a cabin in the woods and record an album! Anyway, I thought in the spirit of Alaska themes, I would post some pics of the last time Trox and I went to Ketchikan in 2007...

Alot of the time we spent in K-Town was spent fishing out on Mountain Point on the south end of town. This used to be really boring to me when I was younger, but being there this last time, it was amazing. We caught quite a few fish as well, that spot has always been a bad ass fishing area.

One day a dog came out of nowhere and hung out with us for awhile. No one claimed the pup-pup, but it was a good dog.

One of the days a friend of the family, Gerald Byron, took us out on his boat to the North end of town, past Ketchikan into some islands where the fishing was suppose to be good. The day was amazing. The sun was out and it was warm. Anyone that has been to that area knows that when its a beautiful day there, it rivals any place in the world. The ten days we spent there it was nice weather the whole time. So here are a string of photos from that day:

We caught a whole bunch of fish that day, and it was really a fun time. I even drove the boat all around!

Just a few more awesome pictures Troxy took on the way out to the fishing...

One of my goals when we went there was to make sure Troxy got to shoot a gun. She had never done it before, and I felt that needed to change. What better way to start her off then the .44 Magnum Smith & Wesson:

The day was alot of fun. We wasted alot of ammo and felt satisfied. We ended the day after shooting rifles and pistols, with the shotgun. Here is a video of my Dad shooting...

On the day before we left we went up to Harriet Lake and took out two Kayaks my brother John Jr. was storing in Ketchikan. I feel we ended our trip on an awesome note. The day was so beautiful and we went around the whole lake trolling for trout with salmon egg bait we had cured a few days earlier. Trox was the most successful fisherman that day, but my Dad, Trox and I had a great time the whole afternoon.

Chess is hard!

2009-04-22T11:17:00.000-07:00

A recent blog (http://thepowerofcrystals.blogspot.com/2009/04/glory-days.html)from my friend, Seth, got me thinking about chess...So I did a search for a picture of chess, and this badboy came up:

Let my garden grow!

2009-04-05T20:11:00.000-07:00

Well we finally have our main garden section tilled and ready for plants! This is our first year gardening in the ground, so hopefully all will turn out for the best!

Erik Larsen pt.1

2009-04-05T03:03:00.001-07:00

Scan of the first Savage Dragon, I got all of my small amount of Dragons signed, and all of his Amazing Spider-man run! A nerd's delight!

The amazing sketch that Erik did, we gave him a challenge, but he was more than up to the task:

Emerald City Comic Convention pt.1 (Erik pt.2)

2009-04-05T02:08:00.001-07:00

I was a HUGE Erik Larsen fan when I was younger,

so it was a great experience to talk with him and share some good times.

Emerald City Comic Convention pt.2

2009-04-05T01:52:00.000-07:00

Awesome costumes! Walked around alot and I should have gotten way more pictures of each one. The next time I go, I am making sure to bring the camera again... I might even make it a goal the next year to get every costumed star I can!

Emerald City Comic Convention pt.3

2009-04-05T01:42:00.001-07:00

Pictures of Jake with some

of the cool looking costumes we saw.

Slappin' Da Bass, Mon

2009-03-31T20:29:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I head over to Seth's to lay down the bass guitar tracks...
I needed some inspiration to really get fired up:

Mission Complete

Digging in the dirt (clay)

2009-03-27T01:30:00.000-07:00

This was at the beginning of our job today...It was hard as hell to dig through layers of clay and worm casings!

This was toward the end of the day, we got farther along than even this, but we lost too much sunlight to continue, and honestly I was tired!

It's a Samalambler!

2009-03-27T01:18:00.000-07:00

After reading Seth's motivating blog (http://thepowerofcrystals.blogspot.com/2009/03/exciting-yard-work-highlights.html), I decided instead of sitting around playing video games, I should do yard work.

After digging mass amounts of earth, I came across this little fucker!

He was lethargic from being deep in the ground, but he was rotund in the belly due to the possible trillions of worms we have in our land. Yeah i said it...Trillions!