Cherry bomb!

I'm finding that this whole "keeping up with the blogging" thing is a lot harder when I work full time than when I'm traveling in inspiring places with unforeseen adventures awaiting me... But I suppose this builds an exercise in finding the extraordinary in the ordinary of the daily grind.

The past two weekends have been great Oregonian/Portlandia weekends. Two weeks ago, Jacob and I (that's the wonderful guy I mentioned in the last post), volunteered at Zenger Farm , "a working urban farm that models, promotes and educates about sustainable food systems, environmental stewardship, community development and access to good food for all." We spent about 2 hours planting sunflowers on a new plot the farm acquired that will be used for a low-income CSA program. It is, we learned, the first CSA program to accept food stamps, and will ensure that the fresh, organic produce stays right in the Lents neighborhood that surrounds the field.

The new plot is on a tract of property that used to belong to the Furey family and is aptly named Furey Field. Zenger tracked down some members of the family to cut the ribbon along with County Commissioner Dan Saltzman. The festivities wrapped up with free biscuits from Pine State Biscuits! (Click and drool). Jacob ate 3. Gut. Bomb.

I had a serious case of unexpected DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) the next day, but nothing compared to this week's after a weekend at Smith Rock in central Oregon for a real dose of amateur rock climbing.

After a Friday evening of wine and "Bridesmaids" with the lovely ladies of my workplace, Jacob and I set out early in the morning to head to Terrebonne, Oregon for the rest of the weekend. A quick stop in Madras at a storage locker to reclaim some of his equipment from a climbing buddy left us empty handed in terms of the cams we sought but one Coleman grill richer, which made our leftover bolognese dinner that evening much easier to cook (and put the folks at the table next to us eating Chef Boyardee to shame). Camping in style!

We staked out our spot at the campground, had a couple of sandwiches, and then hit the rocks--literally. Jacob expertly lead the first climb up "Dancer" on the front face of the rock. I was feeling pretty good about m' skillZ since only a month or two earlier I had effectively dominated the novice climbs at Portland Rock Gym. And I seem to have a selective memory of my last trip to Smith Rock, thinking that it was no problemo. In my first attempt to climb, I made it about 3 feet off the ground when I slipped, scraped my knee and then....wait for it...I cried.

We figured we'd try for something a little easier and crossed the river to check out "Rope de Dope." Also too hard for me. Fail. Since we'd gotten a late start that day, we decided to call it a day after Jacob expertly cleaned our anchor as adeptly as he set it. So back to campground we went, enjoying the defrosted leftovers of my birthday bolognese, a bottle of wine, and a beautiful view of the Crooked River, Smith Rock, and the 3 Sisters.

We got a good start in the morning after some hearty oatmeal and a mile hike to what was guaranteed to be an easier climb. Success! I didn't cry! But I didn't get to the top either. We opted for a 7 mile hike instead. It was beautiful and I continued to jaw droppingly marvel at my super hero of a boyfriend who pointed out some of his "favorite climbs" aka "really scary looking seemingly sheer rock faces."

The weekend capped with giant pieces of watermelon and a pizza/brew combo at Double

Mountain Brewery in Hood River.

And now, for something completely different, I'm off to a dinner at Uptown Billiards where the theme of the night is "Cherry Bomb!" (hence the title). Each of the 5 courses will incorporate cherries in some way. Maybe it will be blog-worthy.