Weekend at the Kenton St. Fair...almost

Last weekend we went to the Kenton St. Fair, or at least we tried.  We went Saturday, but turns out it was Sunday.  So close, yet so far.....Sigh.  At least we avoided the crowds, and still got to have lunch, check out the shops and actually see the Paul Bunyen Statue.  All without any rain (which was not the case Sunday).  I can't believe we have never seen this statue.  We've been on N. Denver so many times and never realized it was right there....across from the Dancing Bare!  Love that name.

Hank, me, my bro Christian, my Mom and Julian

I had to post this pic because (as my Mom pointed out) it looks like I'm groping Julian (which I was not, in case you're wondering).

Later that day, our good friends Monique, Chris and their little one (Adeline aka Lulu) came over for dinner.  We were long overdue for getting together.  We bbq'd some shrimp that I marinated in coconut milk, ginger, garlic, lemon and lime, and had salad and fresh fruit.  Yummy.

Julian and the Ham (aka Hank)

Lulu with Hank...cuties.

Weekend at Jane & Colin's Atomic Ranch

Last week was a roller coaster.  The week started out with a leak in my Mom's bathroom.  We own her house, so that's bad news (work and money) for us.  We knew the floor had gotten soft around the toilet and thought we had some time to fix it, but then my brother put his foot through the floor.  Doh! 

Next....our Tercel (which I bought new in 1994) overheated the very next day.  This is the car Julian drives to work every day.  Julian tried to fix it, and instead broke off a rather important bolt.  We took it to a shop, and found out we'd blown a headgasket - double doh!  This is after spending a lot of money about a year and a half ago to have the engine rebuilt.  Luckily we found out it was still under warrenty and the shop split the cost with us.  Good news!  Unfortunately, we delayed picking our car up until the end of that weekend, and arrived to find someone had tried to steal it and busted several screwdrivers off in our ignition.  So much for a reasonable repair bill.  We had another $200 tacked on to get a new ignition.

Then my Grandpa died a few days later.  This was very sad, but he was nearly 93 and his health had been declining for years since he had dementia.   

Luckily, we had our trip to see Jane, Colin, and their beautiful son Anton, in Corvallis that weekend to look forward to.  We had a really wonderful, and long overdue, trip.  They used to live here in SE Portland, and moved to Jane's hometown of Corvallis a few years ago.  We'd been wanting to visit them ever since and finally made it!  Jane has a wonderful garden - see her blog at www.thefruitsofmylabor1.blogspot.com.  And their house is seriously amazing.  We had a really good time  atching up with them, walking around Corvallis, eating the awesome meals that Jane made, and drinking lots of wine.  They have such a beautiful (and huge!) home, it was like a swanky bed and breakfast.  Hank seriously loves Anton - we will definitely be going back soon.   

Hank in front of a bronze dog statue downtown Corvallis

Anton in his super awesome Mexican wrestling mask and cape combo (Julian was coveting this!)

Hank with his new friend, Anton.  We're in their beautiful backyard.

Jane, holding Hank, in their kitchen.

Julian, me, Hank, and Anton

Colin and Anton

Me and my buddy, Jane

Cigarran family picture: Anton, Jane, and Colin

Jane's showing us around her garden

Of course I had to include some house pics - here is their formal entry - check out that ceiling!

Here's their formal living room, where Julian's modeling their furniture.

Coppia's....Fancy

Last Friday night we went to a new restaurant, Coppia.  Coppia's is an Italian restaurant in the Pearl that used to be Vino Paradiso.  It's actually the same owners, and went from being a wine bar to a Piedmont-style eatery with good wine.  I'd been to Vino Paradiso a handful of times, and always liked it.  Our restaurant group is going there as their next dinner and we couldn't make it, so we thought we'd check it out with our friends Brandy and Dave. 

The restaurant was really nice - definitely a little updated since it was Vino Paradiso.  Now that we have a baby we're not going to many places like this.  It was baby friendly (although ours was the only kid in the place), but is a restaurant in the Pearl all the same.  It wasn't cheap...hence the "fancy" designation.  But it was good. 

We got a few dishes.  I got the bagna caoda for an appetizer, which is kind of like fondue, it's a creamy, buttery dip served with bread and veggies.  Dave and Brandy got a salami plate.  For our main dishes, I got the golden stuffed trout (very good), Julian got the fresh fettucini with smoked trout and shaved brussels sprouts.  Brandy can't have dairy, so she got the same fettucini dish but they were able to exclude the dairy (and Dave actually said he liked it better than the creamy version).  Dave got the butternut squash risotto.  Everyone loved their food, and they do have a great wine selection. 

Coppia
417 NW 10th Ave., Pdx
www.coppiaportland.com

Brandy, myself and Hank

Brandy with Hank

Julian holding Hank, with Dave

My dish: golden stuffed trout with grilled fennel and polenta with a mushroom sauce

Julian's dish: handmade fresh fettucini with shaved brussels sprouts and smoked trout

Dave's dish: butternut squash risotto, hazelnuts and leeks

Brandy's dish: fresh fettucini with smoked trout and brussels sprouts (non-dairy, custom version)

Hank is past his bedtime and ready to go

I

Mother's Little Helper...A Box Wine Review

I love me some wine....My bowling name was "Wineaux" for a reason.  I'm no wine snob either.  While I would prefer to drink a $50 bottle of Oregon Pinot Noir every night, my budget instead is more box wine.  And luckily box wines have come far.  Franzia is still sold, but it's also easy to find some pretty good stuff. 

Plus box wine runs in my family.  I remember going up to visit my grandparents and there always being a box of Franzia in the fridge.  Years ago I remember my Grandpa saying that he was looking forward to a "nice box of box wine" at a family gathering.

The first two months of Hank's life definitely drove me to drink.  He cried nearly non-stop when he was awake.  Boy, did I look forward to some wine every night!  So I've had time to sample quite a few box wines, here are the most recent ones.   Some are definitely worth buying, some are not. 

I wouldn't say they are each really worth their own review.  Instead, I've ordered them - from the one I liked least, to the one I like the best.  All of them are available at Fred Meyers and/or Safeway.  They are always on sale, and generally run between $15-25.  There are the equivalent of 4 bottles of wine in each box and it lasts for a month or so after opening (although not for me!).

Not so good.  Very dry.  Leaves you parched.

I don't remember much about this one.  Just ok.

Pretty good.  Pretty flat though.

I think I've had every Bota Box by now.  This is a new one called "Redvolution".  This was the runner up.

This is my definite favorite - it's a Spanish wine available at the Hollywood Freddy's.