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After a night out with friends and an emotionally draining day, I slept in a bit and headed east on I84. 

The drive was long but the decision not to take I90 across Washington was the right one.  No offense Washington but eastern Oregon is much prettier; besides, I am not even entirely sure how many times I have crossed Washington so part of it is probably the newness factor.

The playlist consisted of a mix of songs I can sing along to.  Umlaut seems a bit confused, but overall seems to enjoy the somewhat frequent stops and exploration of new smells in new locations.

I stopped at a Char Burger for lunch, the food was meh, but they had guns on the wall and more importantly pie.

The drive was long and I rolled into Boise around 10P and found a room at a hotel.  Apparently everything closes at 10P in Boise (at least where I was) and the only thing I could find for dinner was Taco Bell.  I must remember to pick up some bread and other easy to eat dinner foods, or otherwise eat dinner earlier.

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Due to a need to sleep, I did not take off nearly as early as I thought I would.  It was all good though since the plan was only to go so far as Portland, OR.

After a few final errands and good-byes Umlaut and I hit the road and headed south. 

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I made a pit stop at a Mount Saint Helen’s visitor center and at Mrs. Beesley’s for a quick late lunch early dinner.   I am not even sure where it is, but Jennifer knew.

Jennifer is a friend who graciously said she would put me up for the night, but then had to go to Seattle at the last minute so she left me the key all the same so I could stay the night anyway.

I was exhausted when I got there; though the drive was relatively short it was emotionally draining.  To know that I was driving away and though I would be back for visits, I was leaving the amazing friends I had made in my almost twelve years in Seattle.

When I arrived at the little white house on the corner I was greatly impressed by the amazing bathroom.

After taking some time to relax, I called some other friends in Portland whom I had not seen since college and we went to the Kennedy School House for a late dinner and a few beers.  Though I was exhausted, I am glad I made it.

I managed to get to bed at a decent time; then stayed there until fairly late.  Finally at nearly noon, I hit the road…  on to Boise.

More photos available on flickr.

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Today I made Tomato Tuna Melts, these are perfect for a hot night because you can microwave them to melt the cheese and since there is tomato instead of bread you do not get that weird gummy effect with the bread. 

I took halved roma tomatoes emptied them out, the guts were chopped and added to a bowl with diced green apple, celery, juice from half a lemon, about 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise, ground pepper and sea salt and a can of tuna fish.  After mixing it all together I stuffed the halved tomatoes with the tuna salad and then topped with grated cheddar and jack cheese.  I then put them in the microwave and heated them until the cheese melted.

I served them on a bed of lettuce with some rosemary bread and cucumber salad from last night.  It was a nice filling but cool dinner with a little bit of warmth in the tomato. 

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Since most of my stuff is boxed up in a storage unit my creative outlet has moved to food.

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It has been a really nice summer in Seattle, hot, not too humid, not too dry, just overall really decent.  That said though one of my favorite things to cook is chili and stews, it isn’t exactly the right weather so I have been trying a few other things.

Tonight was a Mediterranean inspired meal.  I cheated on the falafel and used the “Fantastic Foods” brand that comes in a box, but made the rest.  I used quinoa instead of cous cous on the tabouli which turned out really nice, though I could have increased the lemon and parsley (which just seemed really bland as far as parsley goes) a little for a bit more punch.  The cucumber salad was really simple, onions cucumber, yogurt, dill.  It was a nice cool dinner for a hot night.

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Back in May I lost my job, a month later I moved out of my place, in the end I intend to move back east.

 I’ve spent the last few years feeling over Seattle.  It is a great place to live really and my friends here are probably the best I have ever had, but it is time.  There is a difference between the left coast and the right coast that leaves me needing to return back east. 

In the meantime I am trying to save money and get some things sorted out, so I am staying with friends.  Though technically homeless, I have a nice home base spot with a room with a door and time to enjoy my summer and hang out with my friends. 

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Though I have not been terribly crafty since December, I have been fairly active with my camera... I have developed a bit of an obsession with my fisheye and animal noses…

I have also just been taking more photos overall.  Except for this weekend, I had a garage sale with some friends.  I managed to get rid of some stuff, but there is still a lot to get rid of.  Anyone want to buy my stuff?  No my fabric stash is not for sale. 

My summer so far... there are worse things than unemployment...

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I just realized I haven't blogged since early December... I am not sure I have been all that crafty since then (until recently). 

Over the last few months I have become somewhat obsessed with animal noses as seen through my fisheye lens.

As far as craft projects are concerned.  I have a sewing project that I am working on… but more exciting is the table.

I decided I must have enough bottle caps, so I have been nailing them in place.  I have them all laid out.  It is not quite complete yet, but I really like the way it is looking.

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I took the week off from work with the intent of sewing all week, of course after the new XBOX360 release with netflix, I got sucked into Jericho... second season was a major dissapointment, the fact that I watched both seasons in a room where my sewing machine was not very productive, but the mind escape was good.

Then I got to sewing.  I finished binding (which I have yet to learn to love) made a few dish clothes... and loaded them (well the quilts and a few of the dish clothes) up on my etsy shop.

I am even offering free shipping on quilts for the holidays!! 

Show us something you've made recently.

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Today I worked on a few pieces.  I need to do the binding, but I do not love binding so I am sort of putting it off by getting a bunch of them ready for binding, then I can do them all at once.  Eventually I will get some up on Etsy... I need to have a stack done before I do that though... getting closer.