Holiday Letter

It's that time of year when we're starting to get those holiday letters from friends and family sharing the highlights of their year. Family trips, home repair, a few photos thrown in for good measure. Being the kind of people we are and the family structure that we have, our lives don't lend themselves to these letters. If we did publish one, chances are great that we'd alienate many of the people we send them to or at least they'd look at us ever more skeptically than they already do. But if we did write a holiday letter, here's what it would say:

Mr. Man grows into a man more every day. He began fifth grade with confidence and has found his footing in his upper elementary class. His matter-of-fact approach to chaos and challenge are an inspiration to me. He is concluding his fifth year of martial arts training and is looking for a new and exciting physical activity to keep his body strong. While he loves video games, Minecraft being the latest obsession, we believe he will be one of the rare gamers with washboard abs. He loves physical activity, loves to challenge himself and has amazing balance and strength. A pull-up bar is soon to be installed in his room.

In the fall we moved to House of Eris West 3.0. We weren't looking exactly, but a good opportunity arose and we took it. More space, same price, two floors, utility room for washer/dryer. All on our list of must-haves. It's a quirky space that took us a while to settle into. We're still working on small design and decorating elements to make it just right. It seems the cats, Mr. Man and his moms are all pretty happy with the change.

Our family grew stronger and larger this year. My wife and I celebrated our long-awaited Tipping Point and we threw a big bash. My wife's man became my man, too, and we learned new poly lessons about sharing. I added to our tribe with a man of my own, who has his own wife. For those counting, that means my wife has two partners and I have three. Scheduling is a bitch, but our family has found a constellation of people who add even more to our already beautiful and rich life.

My wife toggles between periods of really good days and challenging bits. She started having a "good spell" around the time of our move and immersed herself in Occupy Wall Street actions. She had about three weeks of largely symptom-free days and for a moment I think we forgot she was chronically ill. We were really thrown for a loop when that ended. Nonetheless, this fall has been a productive time for her, both with activism, her spiritual practice and her business. She's on the verge of stepping her professional activity up a notch and we're learning the best ways to do that, hoping that her health will continue to cooperate.

For me, this year has been about promoting the things in my life that support my mental health. I've lost weight, changed my eating habits and have become much more active. I've been regularly bike commuting since August and have developed a love for Crossfit. I felt like I had a handle on things in early fall and decided to try life without an anti-depressant medication. The verdict is out on whether I need it or not. In the time since I stopped taking the meds, my boss died, my work life exploded and we moved unexpectedly. Things have certainly felt harder in the last few months, but I'd like to hang out for a bit longer to see how I do.

This year is also the year our family kicked the sugar habit. In early January we stopped eating processed sugar as much as possible. I no longer bake and we don't buy sweets or dessert when we're out. It is actually a pretty hard addiction to curb, but we've done very well. I think all of us feel much better when we don't consume sugar, most notably Mr. Man's mood seems more stable.

There are plenty of things that haven't changed. Chester, our needy, frat-boy cat, continues to pee in inappropriate places. Pumpkin, the black cat, is his same old ornery and feisty self. We continue to live happily without a car, with Mr. Man and I biking most places. My wife has the worst lot, stuck in the rapidly-deteriorating public transit system for hours every day ferrying Mr. Man to and from school. We continue to love vegan living, and added green juices to our diet this year with the help of a new juicer. Our life continues to be wonderful, full of both joy and challenge and a healthy dose of gratitude.

Very Portland

Today was pickup day for one of our CSAs. It was also a day I rode my bike to work. I didn't realize until late morning that I would have to cart home our 12 items from the CSA in my panniers. On top of that, I had a few items to pick up at the grocery store on my lunch hour. And, of course, we absolutely needed some fresh berries from the farmer's market for lunches tomorrow. I totally geeked out fitting all of this in my new panniers (recently purchased after this month's bike theft incident.)

It doesn't look like much here. I found myself grateful that I had some bungie cords with me to affix my purse (made from recycled bike inner tubes) to my rear rack.

With some creative packing, I managed to get all of this home to the safety of my kitchen:

The aerial shot misses the fact that there are three containers stacked high of hummus, salsa and Italian vegetable soup.

Before I left the office a coworker looked into my cubicle and inquired if my produce was in a bike bag. When I replied yes, he told me I would look "very Portland" on my way home.

Indeed.

Snowpocalypse 2008

Snowpocalypse is the largest amount of snowfall our fair city has seen in 40 years. Five snow days for Mr. Man. (Yes, the last five before winter break.) Two days of my office being closed. We've been inside for days and transit has now stopped all but major routes. It's still snowing.

Here's what it looks like in our parking lot:

Yeah, few cars have gone anywhere:



Then there's our balcony. Right, my worms are in that blue bin. Sorry, frozen wormies!

The cats are the only ones who haven't changed their habits.

Chester securely in his spot.

House Lust

September is here and we're settled into our new digs. Mr. Man is back in school. I'm biking to work every day now, in part because I live in a ridiculously amazing bike commuter neighborhood and in part because September is the Bike Commute Challenge in my fair city. My route to work takes me on a bike boulevard past glorious homes. In safe situations, I'm tend to gawk--staring at the neighborhood, its quirks, and in particular, its homes.

Recently I've begun to have a serious case of house lust. Clearly I can afford none of the homes over which I drool. Yet, I'm taken with many--the porches, the architecture, the colors, the gardens. I have a running list of houses with amazing porches and decks and I fantasize about the parties and trysts that could take place in these beautiful spaces. I know the locations of at least three houses on my bike boulevard that are receiving new coats of paint and I watch each day's progress diligently. I look fondly upon the houses which have planted well, with little grass but much lush greenery that provides a skirt of privacy to the domicile.

I dream of all the houses fondly and think about the lives of the people within. People who are not us. My wife and I just graduated from living like college students with our new dresser and bed. We cannot afford such a mortgage. I would not be able to keep such a beautiful palace clean. We are the opposite of anything resembling handy. I cannot imagine the reality of living in a house again, but I definitely yearn for those I see.

Diesel Free

I'm recording this just to remind me that I can do this. I traveled 14 miles today in this city and I pedaled the whole way. No diesel fuel for me today. Perhaps more surprising was my ability to travel with all these things:

• work clothes, towel and shoes
• cloth napkins and silverware my lunch potluck (enough for the whole group)
• a plate for me for the potluck
• water bottle
• a change of clothes for after work to ride to Poekoelan
• my black gi for Poekoelan class
• my Poekoelan notebook
• my daily small pouch/purse

No, I didn't take food to the potluck. I was "lazy" and picked it up downtown. Laziness, however, is relative. In addition to my riding I attended 2 Poekoelan classes for 3 hours.

I am tired.

Recent Events in Pictures

For our 16th anniversary, my wife and I did what Oregon residents can now do - register your relationship. So romantic! The city employee in his jean shorts and sneakers handed us this lucky certificate:

Mr. Man cut off all his hair. The green mohawk was temporary, however.

One week of his summer camp was unexpectedly canceled, wreaking havoc on our work lives. However, I worked from home one day and in the afternoon I took him to the amusement park at the bottom of the hill. Even though it's in walking distance, this is the first time we've gone since moving here two years ago. It's great fun! Here's Mr. Man on the family rollercoaster. Notice the position of his hands.


Now look what he does when a cute girl asks if she can ride with him and dares him to keep his hands up the whole time!


Then came the first of the nieces. Welcome Molly Elizabeth!



Visiting Molly and her parents meant spending 4th of July weekend in Seattle. Mr. Man insisted on visiting the Fremont Troll.


and picking the troll's nose.


We played on a super cool playground.


And visited our friends J and Z where we ate at an awesome vegan sandwich shop. This is dessert.

Si, Se Puede

Yes, I can walk past my corporate office carrying this sign in the May Day March.


And yes, I did! And as I walked past the building, some people who know me saw me. I was giddy.

To the Coast

Mr. Man's 7th birthday came and he really wanted to go to the Coast. So I googled "Oregon coast nature" and I found Ocean Haven. I signed us up for the first family vacation we've taken since Mr. Man joined our family (not counting Festival).

That's the place - right there. Notice there's nothing nearby - no bustling tourist traps, no hotels. Notice that I've taken the picture from the beach. This place was heaven. And they compost our food scraps and recycled our tin/plastic. I loved vacationing at a place that shared our values.



From the kitchen with the skylight, I could see the ocean as I cooked.

This was where we ate our meals - overlooking the ocean.

This is where Mr. Man slept and where I knit. The roar of the ocean was constant.

This was the view from the bedroom where my wife and I slept.



This was the path down to the beach.



At the end there was no fence, we just walked along the rocks, holding on to the rope, then stepped down the rocky slope to the sand.


We went down to the beach in all weather, although the weather was pretty nice.


This was the closest we got to a sunset.

When we left to come back, we stopped at Cape Perpetua at high tide to see the spouting horn and devil's churn. Basically it's a very rocky shore, with channels worn in where the water comes rushing in at high tide. It was pretty impressive.


Here's the spouting horn. See that tall puff, that happens after the wave crashes, because the water has gone into a cave and puffs out the top.

We stopped by the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse as we drove home. Somewhat interesting, but a lousy historical movie that ended with a gruesome ghost story. Nice.

While only 3 days long, it was the best vacation ever.

Growing

We have much beauty outside this year. Last year there was no money for dirt, pots or seeds.

Mr. Man calls this our king sunflower.

Delicate red blossoms. Name forgotten.

Happy purple petunias.

Ripening tomatoes.

Snapshots

We had an amazing and wonderful weekend. More to be shared soon. Mr. Man and I went to the greenest place in town on St. Patrick's Day - Forest Park. After a long hike (all uphill) we were graced with a rainbow on the way back.



Today was the peace march. Much to share, but just a few shots for now. One of the sign Mr. Man made himself. Then, at the rally area, he wrote everyone's names in chalk.

Still on the Road

Last year on this day our family was en route to Portland. Specifically, we were in the town before Green River, Wyoming on I-80. It was the calm before the storm and the friendships of the adults on the trip were still somewhat in tact.

We're settled in Portland now and I am grateful. This week is our Portland-versary. We'll march in the peace march next weekend, just as we did last year, except this year we'll know where we're marching.

Mr. Man and I bum around town on warm days like today, only to return home to snuggle mountain. There is beauty everywhere I look.

Birthday Love

I am now the proud owner of these kick-ass vegan boots, thanks to love from two great Michigan friends.

My wife and son surprised me with a new iPod shuffle, a cute green one. I had a beautiful, warm, sunny birthday last weekend and was quite spoiled by a fun day out on the town. We went to Paradox, an amazing cafe with vegan food to drool over. That was followed up by a Stumptown soy mocha. Stumptown is the coffee lover's reason to move to Portland. It was a joy turning a year older.

spring has sprung!

The daffodils and crocus are in full bloom. There are bushes and trees flowering. We picked up this bloom to give to my wife.



The forecast calls for snow on Monday.

Happy Velotines Day

Here's one of the many reasons why I live in Portland.

I missed the morning commute, but I'm heading in to the office velo-style after spending the first shift at home with a sick Mr. Man. So far this morning in his fevered state he:

• lifted his legs up in the air while we were snuggling and said, "You know why this is all puffy?" Because it's your scrotum, I said. "Yes," he said. "It's a big blue whale." (He was wearing blue boxers.)


• he told me I couldn't go to work and I should just call in a sick day. I said I had work to do. He asked why other people couldn't do it. He said, "make your boss do it. He doesn't work as much as you. He just gets money."


• won a game of Contest (a card game) that lasted an hour.

My wife is up for an interesting second shift.

Points, The King and The Snow

My wife and I got back on plan at the new year and have committed ourselves to losing the weight we gained back over the latter half of last year. We're back to counting points and playing the food game, as we explain it to Mr. Man. I'm re-learning that it's tricky being vegan and counting points on WeightWatchers. The guide books that provide point values for food include everything from bear meat to squirrel meat, but it's a crap shoot to determine the points value for mochi or homemade seitan. The other thing I'm re-learning is that I'll save a lot of money by not buying espresso drinks everyday. Damn, the calories and dollars I wasted over the last year!

I've been in a cooking frenzy again since we did blowout shopping last weekend. I made my first homemade calzones stuffed with seitan and spinach. The fruit and nut bars I made turned out to be a good-for-you, no sugar version of a Cliff Bar. I finally found a vegan waffle recipe that works - and turned them into waffle sandwiches for Mr. Man's lunch. My wife made a better version of Riblets by coating our homemade seitan in BBQ sauce and baking. Yum! Tonight I made a Cowboy Meatloaf that was super tasty - a cowboy definitely worth riding. Later on this week's menu are Pigs in a Blanket and Texas Corn Pone Muffins.

We've been instituting PJ Saturdays area here lately. Pretty much only my wife gets her cute ass in the shower. Mr. Man and I alternate between cooking, cleaning and playing. This past Saturday featured the building of a ferris wheel out of K'Nex.



Mr. Man comes home from school with lots of writing practice on little strips of paper. They randomly float around everywhere and over the weekend we recycled some and put some up in his room. Mr. Man chose to tape the word king to himself.



Monday was MLK Day and Mr. Man had no school. Today we woke up to heavy snow and an inch on the ground. I slid my way into work on the bus, which got stuck behind stalled vehicles on the Hawthorne Bridge entry, so I walked across the river and into work. Fortunately, my wife and Mr. Man did not leave the house with me or else they would have arrived at school for a second time only to find school cancelled.

Last week Portland Public Schools closed school for nothing. Today there's heavy snow and PPS doesn't cancel school until 8:15am!!!! Kids are already on their way to school for crying out loud. Tonight PPS has already announced the school closure for tomorrow. I'm happy to write my tuition check for Montessori school if this is the decision-making modeled by public school administrators. Nonetheless, tomorrow marks the third day my wife is home with Mr. Man. We'll see how icy things are and how I get into work tomorrow. All the busses and almost all the cars are chained. The light rail is running all night tonight so that the lines don't ice over. It's a different kind of winter here in the Northwest.