Mushrooms!

Hello again! I really am bad at updating this, aren't I?

Well it's the end of October and Fall is in full swing. I'm already halfway through my first term at Lane Community College, the leaves are red as can be and all over the sidewalks and roads, and everything is pumpkin or eggnog flavored. I love Fall. Currently Erica and I are at the local coffee shop (which is inside a big yellow Victorian house). She's applying for jobs (it is seriously hard in this town to snag employment, with the 30,000 other 20-somethings with all the same skills and experience), and I'm finishing up homework for tomorrow.

Yesterday morning, while preparing breakfast and wondering what to do with our lazy Sunday, my friend Noelle invited us to go to the Mt. Pisgah Mushroom Festival. Um, yes! Directly after finishing a breakfast of spinach/mozzarella/onion/egg scramble with toast and Earl Grey, we all rushed off to a local parking lot to hop on the free shuttle to the festival, which was about 10(?) miles from town.

The festival! O, joyous day! Mossy trees, muddy grass! Tents with fresh-pressed apple cider, hand-made soaps, grow-your-own-mushroom kits, live music, scarecrow contests! What a Hobbit-like endeavor. The Slug Queen herself made a royal appearance!

Our favorite mushroom name.

I was able to snag an organic banana from this wonderful human-powered vending machine!

This house just looked pretty (on the walk home).

Erica being adorable. I don't know why this isn't her profile pic.

And, as a prize for reading this far, check out this awesome jack-o-lantern we happened upon:

BAM. Alright, I better hit the books - or rather, tracing paper, as I still have some art homework to do.

Love and pumpkin milkshakes,
Julie McFly

Peach, Plum, Pear

Hello, hello, how long has it been? Far too long. Eons. Centuries. Ages. Millenia. Days. Hours. Seconds. Lightyears.

We live in Eugene now! In an apartment, one bedroom to be truthful. Twice the size of our old place, has windows with sun, at most one mile from anywhere we could hope to go, friends at near distances.

This last weekend I was up in Beaverton visiting my family for birthday/going away parties. I turned 21 years old on the 10th, my mom turned, well, older than 21 on the 15th. My dear brother Scott departs for a year-long study in Japan tomorrow afternoon, so we spent the weekend wishing him well as well. We went bowling. We walked in the forest, amongst the mossy trees and gardner snakes. We ate food and watched my baby niece Starlynn toddle around on her fresh legs.

I rode the train. Arguably one of my favorite things to do.

The train reminds me of travelling in Germany, which is awesome. I look at all the tree-covered hills, the mountains and tiny towns, the farms and villages, the water and bushes. And I realize there is not too far from here and here is not that far from there and everything is similar and different and the mere act of travelling, of movement, of adventure, is one that comes with you, whether in Germany or Oregon or the moon.

And then I came home to Erica waiting for me at the train station, and we walked the mile home, hand in hand, and we made bread bowls with soup, and I was reminded of home and heart, and having adventure while being in one place. We didn't get up till 1pm today, and didn't leave the house till 2:30, but as soon as we passed through the front door, we were swept up in a wind of fanstasy, of passing to here, to there, to stopping and pondering, and emoting, and giggling, and loving, and seeing through heart-filled glasses.

We stopped in an antique shop and found multiple post cards from 1910, 1907. Held paper in our hands that someone over a hundred years ago had held in their hands, had bought for a penny and wrote a letter to a loved one somewhere else. I wanted to cry. I looked at as many cards as I could instead. 

This is getting long but I guess I'm just happy to be here and to be me and to be with someone who wants me to be me.

I'm going to make Tilapia and roasted yams for dinner tomorrow.

Peace and love, y'all

julieooo

Like Grains of Sand Through an Hourglass...

Is it time to catch up? I've been adventuring much lately and getting to know the neighborhood better. The rain has come back and is here to stay, I think, but it's just as well. Nothing says cozy like torrential downpours.

Preparing for a great weekend - heading over to see Devvin Trainer's band PLEASSURE tonight, then tomorrow night Erica and I are going to see live live live: the influential post-punk band The Raincoats(!), along with newer (but still fuggin awesome) SanFran ladies Grass Widow, AND my Rock camp friend Janie Black's three-piece stoner-rock death-metal queer goodness outfit Tombstalker.
I could not be more excited. THIS will be awesome! and you should click all of those links. Soak up sommadat culture.

And here's some stuff that's been happening lately:

I went to an Occupy protest. See that big-ass yellow banner in the first picture? I helped hold that for the first couple hours of the march. (Followed by so many chants my voice got hoarse:))

Finally took some pics of our apartment. (Erica channeling "virgin" Mary in that last one). Kudos to Ashley C. for the lion painting.

Some Oreos got crumbled into brownie batter. 

A friend's rat gettin' fresh.

I wore this outfit! (I know, I know, I'm basically photo-dumping at this point. BUT LOOK AT THAT SHIRT.)

And last but certainly not least:

OH MY GOD WE MADE FONDUUUUUUUEUEUEUEUE.

Have an awesome St. Paddy's day, I'm sure I will. Stay green. Stay gold. Stay red. Stay true.

Sending love from this rainy place,

Julie o

We've Moved!

It's a rainy Tuesday evening and I'm warming myself up with a cup of Chai and free wifi at the local coffee shop. This is a period of change, of knowledge-seeking, of working, playing, eating, seeking joy. Being joy.

Erica and I moved into a studio in the Alphabet district, thus vacating the previous house with friends. It is simultaneously peaceful and lonely. We do pretty well for ourselves, though, cooking up a storm, having folks over, working our tooties off, seeking new things.

We watched The Fifth Element the other night:

And I made (vegan) biscuits and gravy from scratch, using some organic mushrooms Erica's mother so kindly purchased for us from Ye Olde Grocery Outlet:

simmering on the stove

Final product, accompanied by ginger beer and a spinach salad

Yesterday we had folks over and made piiiiizzaaa!! Bombest crust EVER courtesy of Erica and Jess, who pretty much did the whole thing before I got home. Topped with homemade marinara sauce, those aforementioned mushrooms, spinach, and some expensive vegan cheese:

before

after

Savannah also made amazing cookies. Kudos.

I'm aware this post is mostly about food, but this is a foodventure blog after all, so....get used to it I guess?

I meant to have deep thoughts but then I wanted to post pictures instead. Pretty much sums up my life.

Tomorrow I start hardware classes at Free Geek as part of their Computer Build program. My nerdy heart can hardly take the electronic excitement.

We are also looking for a cheap/free Full sized mattress. Help! Us grrrls can't sleep on the floor forever!

much love,
Julie

We Went To The Feminist Bookstore Today.

I bought lesbian films on VHS. Was strongly tempted by a $36 German-American photographical account of mid-90's Trans-activism interspersed with personal stories. Bought Nicole J. George's "Invincible Summer volume 2" instead.
Then we took pictures.

We are slowly starting to pack for the new apartment downtown (with many pauses in between to ponder momentos and drink orange juice). I'm really excited for the new place but don't love the moving process. We're taking it one day at a time, and before you know it we'll be cooking dinner, drinking wine and watching Chopped on our new Murphy bed!

Unfortunately I don't have any food related comments in this post, other than the fact that we went to Vita Cafe for lunch today and I had THE BEST VEGAN CLUB SANDWICH EVER. Vegan turkey with crispy tempeh, guacamole tomatoes and lettuce and smooshed together on three toasty slices of sourdough bread. Their fries were spectacular as well. If you're ever in NE Portland, I recommend them so much! Tell them I sent you. They won't know who I am, but you will. And that's what matters.

Love and donuts,

Julieoooooo