4th of July at Pine Mountain Lake

Well, 4^th of July is my favorite holiday and I’m all about the small town Americana feel, local baseball games, barbeques, R/C airplanes, and fireworks. This year we took a chance and at the last minute decided to pack up the Jeep and road trip it down to Pine Mountain Lake and visit James, Fran, Harlean, and little James.

James had just finished doing some serious modifying to his Jeep and I was dying to check it out first hand. I certainly wasn’t disappointed, it was awesome, rode like a dream, and was fun as hell great job James.

 

 

 

As always, I manage to leave my mark wherever I go, including James’s driveway.

 

 

James wanted my help installing a new exhaust system on his Jeep. This one was supposed to take us one and a half hours but in reality it took that many days.

 

 

 

We called mechanics and even went down to the auto repair shop in town and everyone laughed and told us it was so easy.

 

 

 

This job was tough, a real bear, and at a certain point, we weren’t sure if we were going to get the job done.

 

 

 

After a lot of crying, frustration, panic, and hard work, we got the Jeep back together in time to salvage what was left of the day.

 

 

We piled into the newly modified Jeep in the 101-degree heat and headed down Old Priest Grade Road, through Jamestown, and to the Twisted Oak Winery.

 

 

 

 

We got a few bottles of wine and sat outside in the shade at a nice picnic table while Harlean drew a picture of Jan on the sidewalk.

 

 

 

 

The little artist herself.

 

 

Cheers!

 

 

Then we all piled back into the Jeep and headed into Jamestown for a little nachos at an excellent Mexican restaurant.

 

 

 

 

 

As we left we heard a band playing some Lynyrd Skynyrd at an open-air bar across the street so we stopped in for an ice cold pitcher of beer.

 

 

 

 

 

Apparently the heat was getting to people and it showed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, on some people.

 

 

We made a quick stop at the house then jumped back into the Jeep and took a well deserved dip in the Pine Mountain Lake community pool.

 

 

 

 

On the 4^th of July, we started off the day with an awesome breakfast at PJ’s.

 

 

 

After dropping off some supplies at the lake, we had a water gun fight per little James’s request.

 

 

 

 

 

After some killer pulled pork sandwiches and potato salad we went down to the lake to join the festivities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next day we had lunch at the Iron Door Saloon where thumb wrestling and arm wrestling were the sports of the hour.

 

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After gassing up we made our way to the old historic cemetery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Afterwards we caravanned it to one of our favorite local off-road spots.

 

 

Once there we took some time to pose for a few shots in the staging area.

 

 

 

We dropped it into 4-wheel drive and headed on up the hill.

 

 

 

 

Looking down at the next section to conquer.

 

 

 

If you look closely you can see a forest fire beginning in the horizon.

 

 

The Jeep preformed like a champ.  I couldn’t be happier.

 

 

 

Regrouping.

 

 

One final look.

 

 

We took a little video on our old point and shoot but the video setting was on El Crappy but you can kind of get the idea.

 

done

 

done

 

done

 

done

 

done

 

done

 

Thanks, James, for inviting us down.  Jan and I had a blast.  It was sure one to remember.

 

-Mike and Jan

The Bicycle Project

 Some have accused my blob as only a futile attempt to keep people informed on what I ate that week. Although there may be some truth to that, I felt I needed to show I can start and complete a project like normal people as well. Most of my start and complete times are separated by six months to a year (hey, I’m barbequing here!) I needed something I felt I truly could complete in a weekend.

 

I wanted to get more exercise, and with plantar fasciitis in both feet, my doctor had recommended bicycling. The problem was I had a fire engine-red beach cruiser that looked like it had been spawned by “Bozo the Clown”.

 

 

I decided instead of paying five hundred dollars for a new one I’d take it apart and paint it to match my Jeep.

 

 

Hey, how long could it take to paint a bike army green and flat black; right?

 

 

Yep, it was pretty much like building models all over again…cooooll!!!

 

 

Meanwhile a few photos from my little helpers.

 

 

 

 

 

Well, when I tried to put it back together there were some major issues like the front tire spun in a figure eight pattern and, oh yeah, I couldn’t really remember where everything went…hmm I should have taken more pictures. Oh, well. Lesson learned.  I brought it down to the bike shop and, a week later, picked up my new bike.

 

 

So I didn’t complete the project in my estimated one weekend (it was two), and technically I didn’t do it all myself, but, hell, it looks cool. AND it wasn’t about what I ate…TACOS!!!

 

-Mike

Eugene Track and Field Championships

 Jan and I went to Hayward field to catch some of the U.S. Championship track and field action but unfortunately we arrived a little late.

 

 

In fact we were late enough that we didn’t have to pay for tickets to get in.  Then we found out all of the top runners had finished and gone home and we were left observing some high school kids.

 

 

 

Jan and I didn’t really figure this out until we had been watching and cheering with the other parents for about a half hour.

 

 

Even though we missed the whole shebang, I must admit I felt healthier just being around the track…I’m sure they thought I was a coach or something.

 

 

 

Now this is how you run track, big purse and all.

 

 

Maybe next year we’ll get there on time.

 

-Mike and Jan

Eugene Yacht Club

 Shawn Melendy was taking sailing lessons all week so on his last day, the group decided to head on out and have a little barbeque.

 

 

 

There was this cool lawn golf game that Jan and Scott played like a couple of sharks.

 

 

 

It was a good day for fishing and Scott caught a couple of doozies…yep, they were a couple of keepers all right.

 

 

Stella opened up her own drive-thru window and made a killing on cheeseburgers, hot dogs, and shakes.

 

 

 

Ethan was obviously a happy customer.

 

 

Laurie then topped it off by serving her famous chocolate brownies…I don’t know why Pat had her locked up like that.

 

 

I thought it would be a good opportunity to test out the new tent and see if it was missing any parts.

 

 

It wasn’t.  But, boy, everybody was sure concerned that I was pitching a tent in an unauthorized location.

 

 

Though I have been an offender on many occasions this wasn’t one of them!

 

 

 

You know a good time is had by all when the day ends in a good old fashioned dog pile.

 

 

Thanks, Laurie and Pat, for having us out.

 

-Mike and Jan

Wildlife

Well it’s been a pretty slow week at the ole’ home front but at least it hasn’t rained…yet. It’s been warm, but really overcast until the late afternoon sun would break through much like the earthquake weather in California.

There has been a lot of wildlife activity here and tree climbing seems to be the sport of choice for Fuji and Mooch.

 Jan and I had fun feeding this guy Triscuit crackers at about 11pm one night…maybe not the brightest idea.

 

 

This was Mooch’s first deer hunt, notice the perfect stalking form.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s Fuji undercover waiting to pounce on that elusive bug.

 

 

Here’s Mooch trying to eat all Fuji’s cover.

 

 

Fuji has started to find this wheelbarrow a comfortable place to rest.

 

 

But Fuji never gets too much time alone before…

 

 

Mooch loves to climb in this tree and this is one of her signature moves.

 

 

I just happened to walk in on one of the cat’s secrete club meetings…they were smoking cigars but I made them put it out.

 

 

Mooch has become quit addicted to the cat nip and will do all sorts of tricks to get it.

 

 

Mooch being Mooch.

 

 

Jan’s orange lilies have managed to stay almost a whole week in the yard without being eaten.

 

 

“If that bird would just come down five more feet…”

 

 

Sebastian keeping an eye on the girls below.

 

 

And the last bit of wildlife to enter our yard this week was our neighbor Rich in his “Trailer Trash” costume…there’s really not enough time to explain this one properly so I’ll just leave it at that.

 

 

 

 Signing off for this week,

 

 -Mike and Jan

The Arthurs Come to Eugene

True Love

 

 

Friday, Paul and Steph arrived around 5pm with the boys in tow and a new Honda Pilot (insert “ooh” and “ah” here). We ate my special pulled pork sandwiches with pineapple rum sauce, baked beans, and potato salad for dinner while Zach and Nate had homemade chicken nuggets, yogurt, and Haagen-Dazs bars.

 

Fuji was very tolerant of the boys and hung out and played with them while Mooch hid under the bed most of the time and Sebastian simply didn’t come home the whole weekend.

 

Zach and Nate having fun jumping on our bed.

 

 

Nate trying to coax Mooch out from under the bed.

 

 

 

Zach enjoyed playing with Fuji and the feather toy.

 

 

Our ten-foot Rhodie literally dwarfed Zach and Nate.

 

 

 

 

The ol’ Frisbee toss into the trees was a big hit with Zach.

 

 

We tried to get a shot of Jan’s lily before the deer could get it.

 

 

The big event for Zach and Nate was the trip to “Bounce” even though Zach got his big toe caught in the front door…ouch!  He still managed to jump on the trampoline for 45 minutes! What a trouper!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Afterwards we stopped at “Cornucopia” for lunch.

 

 

 

When we got home, Rich tried to sell me a pair of old shoes and socks…have a garage sale!

 

 

Later that day I signed Zach’s band-aid.

 

 

Paul and I enjoyed some very tasty rum and pineapple juice drinks.

 

 

Steph relaxed on the couch with her Kindle.

 

 

Sunday, we took the kids to Skinner Butte Park where Nate refused to get off the swings and Zach pretty much concentrated his time on the slide.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mooch and Fuji expressed a sigh of relief after getting their house back.

 

 

Thanks Paul, Steph, Zach, and Nate for coming down and hangin’ out with Jan and I we had a blast!

 

-Mike and Jan

Memorial Day Weekend

 

We’ve been having beautiful weather here in Eugene so Thursday the top came off the Jeep without any fear it could possibly rain the next day.

 

Here’s a picture of Jan’s broken finger after being kicked in soccor.

 

 

Friday, Jan had dinner with Cynthia and Katy after work at Olive Garden for Cynthia’s pre-retirement party. It was girls only so I stayed home and made a dry rub for the country pork ribs and got them in the refrigerator. I also barbequed some various peppers, onions, corn, and squash.

 

Saturday, I traded my old tire chains at Les Schwab for cash then went to REI and picked up a pair of Solomon Techamphibian 2 Water Shoes for my sore feet.

 

 

Around noon, Paula and Sean picked us up and we went to Chateau Lorane for a wine tasting festival they were having on the lake. It was a great time of food, wine tasting, music and good friends.  The port wine was my favorite though I’m not much of a wine drinker.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Afterwards we went down the road to King Estates for more tasting.

 

 

Then we finished the day off with an awesome barbeque at Sean and Paula’s. Sean cooked up some chicken, pork, and hot dogs.  I tried all of it and can say it was delicious. We went to the park next door and Devon showed Scott the finer techniques of fly fishing while the kids wore us out on the merry-go-round.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday wasn’t as nice so I barbequed the four-hour country pork ribs with a fantastic pineapple rum sauce while Jan worked in the yard.

 

 

I finally finished painting and installing the cabinet doors for the spare bedroom. Mooch climbed a tree in the backyard and got stuck leaving her sitting out on a limb wondering what to do. Fuji saw her in distress and climbed up the tree right behind her then led her out of the tree by backing down. After Mooch saw that she promptly backed herself out and all was well in the cat world again.

 

Monday, Jan and I went on our offroad excursion that was about a half hour east of Cottage Grove and started across from the Rujanda campground. According to the fire ranger map this was a designated 4×4 road but I never even had to put it in 4-wheel drive which was pretty disappointing. We did traverse the ridges of June Mountain and saw some gorgeous countryside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once we looped back, Jan and I found a meadow to have a picnic and enjoyed our pork tacos and grapes for lunch.

 

 

It was a great weekend, thanks Sean and Paula.

 

-Mike and Jan

Happy Birthday Zach!-Welcome Home Paul

Thursday morning, we loaded the Jeep and headed out for Seattle for Zach’s birthday weekend but first we made a stop at the 4Wheel Parts Center in Portland. I got a quote on my lift and re-gearing which they were only willing to reduce the price by five percent off retail (not too good). I wasn’t too comfortable with them because they seemed like they only wanted my money and they didn’t have a lot of experience working on JKs (two to be precise) with poor results. They also tried to talk me out of the TeraFlex brand which didn’t make me too happy, and didn’t carry the exact parts I wanted, all this while Jan took a nap in the Jeep.

 

We encountered an accident, which we detoured around, and some traffic on the way up, but other than that the trip went smoothly. We were greeted at the door by Steph, Nate, and Zach with his Jeep in hand. We ate Mexican food, played with the boys, watched some TV, and then called it a night.

 

Friday, Paul’s plane was due in at 8:50 am from Japan, and I left early to gas up and take the Southworth ferry to Bremerton and visit David at Northridge 4×4. I set the navigation system which brought me to the ferry slightly north which wouldn’t allow me to make a left onto the ferry. There was a police officer controlling the traffic so I was forced to pass it, make a U-turn, and join the majority of the traffic back onto the ferry.

 

 

 

I paid the $11.15 round trip ticket and enjoyed the ride across the Sound.  As I saw the island approaching, I used the restroom, washed my hands, but couldn’t get the dryers to operate. Every moment I tried, the island got closer and closer and I became more frantic trying to operate the hand dryers.  I tried everything while looking like a maniac, I’m sure. There were four dryers and I pounded and struggled with each and every one. Fortunately one did go off, faulty wiring I’m sure, and I rubbed my hands for all they were worth almost losing some skin trying to get them dry in the feeble ten-second allotted dry time.

 

I ran down the metal stairs panicked I would not get to the Jeep before they started to let the cars out. I noticed there wasn’t anyone in the minivan in front of me although there was a person in his car in front of that. Now the panic increased because I could see some cars exiting the ferry.  It’s just a matter of seconds before they start to release our row and I’m blocked by this inconsiderate person and his minivan causing me to become very angry. I started cursing these people under my breath and frantically jerking around in the Jeep trying to get a look behind me to see if everybody’s eyes were upon me waiting in their cars ready to exit the ferry. I couldn’t see anybody because the car behind me had tinted windows.  In all my panic, I saw the ferry start to leave the island and I thought I was missing the stop.  Luckily an announcement came over the speaker saying they were leaving Vashon Island and Bremerton was the next stop.

 

As I exited the ferry, I quickly became aware that my GPS wasn’t working (what next?)  I had no idea where I am at, no map, and no town in sight. After a couple of miles, I found a post office and was able to spend some time trying to fix the problem to no avail. The GPS seemed to know where it was but wouldn’t give a route or turn by turn directions. The girl in the post office told me I was about twenty miles from Bremerton (which I knew) and directed me another couple of miles up the road to a gas station where I could get a map. Once there, some guy in the store figured out that the whole address had to be re-entered to clear the GPS and sure enough this fixed the problem (thanks, whoever you were).

 

At one point the freeway split and the GPS didn’t say a thing which took me in the wrong direction (then she chimed in) and I had to double back but I got some pictures of the harbored aircraft carriers which was really cool.

 

 

I finally made it to the infamous Northridge 4×4 and David’s reputation for fantastic customer service that I’d read so much about on the Project JK forums certainly did not disappoint. He went out of his way to spend time with me showing the TeraFlex parts that would be used in the install, explaining the process and the tools I would need to maintain the suspension system once installed. He even called his wife to try and have her bring their personal 4-door JK over to the shop to give me a ride but she was out on errands so it did not materialize. Although David wasn’t in a hurry to take my money, their shop only works on Jeeps, and his outstanding customer service completely solidified my decision to trust my Jeep with Northridge 4×4.

 

Getting back was issue free other than the fact that I had to pay for the ferry again even though I was told it was a round trip ticket. I also showed up to the dock an hour early so I just found a little inlet off the road about a mile and killed some time taking pictures.

 

Once back to the house we all took some much needed naps then Zach got to open the gifts from Jan and I. Afterwards we feasted on Pat’s (Pat works at Zach and Nate’s daycare, baby-sits them on the side, and is going to culinary school in New York in September) pasta and garlic bread and pretty much called it a night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday morning, Paul went jogging and Jan, Zach, and I took the Jeep to Bakery Nouveau for some goodies. The bounce house showed up at two and the guests showed up around three for Zach’s “Birthday Extravaganza”!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nate was a little afraid of the bouncy house at first but Jan eventually just threw him in leaving him no time to cry and he quickly started laughing (that could have gone either way). Steph was the first to start doing a flip and Paul was the first to do a flip and bring the house down literally!  I accidentally fell out the door burning my elbow on some Velcro, Paul and I bashed our heads together trying to do a synchronized bounce and Jan claims it gave her callouses on her feet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zach was the last to leave the bounce house and I think extreme fun was had by all who attended.

 

 

Our enthusiasm really showed because later Paul barbecued some awesome filet mignon in his sleep for dinner (he passed out on the couch and we had to wake the poor guy up when we thought the steaks needed to be turned) .  We were all pretty much asleep by 8pm.

 

Sunday, Jan and I were up at six to shower and pack and at seven we watched Zach and Nate open presents. “Happy Birthday!!”  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We said our goodbyes and were home by twelve to enjoy a sunny eighty-degree day.

 

Thanks for having us, Steph and Paul.  We sure enjoyed the weekend. Hi Nate! Happy Birthday, Zach!

 

-“Jeep Uncle Mike” and “Auntie Jandy with the Candy”

Happy Birthday Jan!

Saturday, Jan and I took the Jeep on a drive out to the country to McKenzie Nursery for some plants.  We stopped at a small cemetery that was established in 1850 to look around. Jan broke her shoe walking through the cemetery which was kind of spooky so we thought it was best to leave. Like a bunch of rookies, we forgot to put sunscreen on or wear hats so we burned our faces which left us looking like a couple of raccoons.

 

 

Later that evening we got together with Jan’s soccer team at Kabuki’s for dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

Afterwards we regrouped at Good Times to meet Jen (whose birthday it was as well) her husband, and more friends for the birthday bash.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday, I completely fell off the diet wagon and started my morning off with two McDonald’s Egg McMuffins and some donuts.

 

 

Jan opened her cards and gifts and later I cooked homemade lasagna and garlic bread for Jan’s birthday dinner. I had three plates of lasagna and a half a loaf of garlic bread.

 

It was a really fun weekend despite our burned faces.

 

Happy Birthday Jan,

 

Love Ya

 

-Mike

Beef Brisket

After having the beef brisket at Anette and Devon’s “Easter and Masters Party,” I just had to try it myself.  With thanks to Anette for passing on the recipe, I was on my way to creating some really great tacos.

 

I started with some fresh vegetables

 

 

Chopped the celery

 

 

Green onions

 

 

Carrot, and put them all in a Tupperware container and set aside

 

 

Then chop some Roma tomatoes.  Add salt, pepper, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and brown sugar and put in a Tupperware container and set aside

 

 

The day before I put the dry rub on the brisket and refrigerated for twenty-four hours

 

 

Chopped the zucchini and add salt, pepper, lemon juice, smoked paprika, dill, olive oil and put in the refrigerator overnight

 

 

 

Cut the sweet onion and add ancho chili pepper, smoked paprika, salt, pepper, olive oil and put in the refrigerator overnight

 

 

 

Take the six-pound brisket out and put it in a pan fat side up and set aside for about an hour, then cook at 250 degrees for about four hours

 

 

 

Cook the zucchini and onions. Dice the onions and add to the vegetables.  Slice the zucchini and put in a separate Tupperware container

 

 

Char the peppers and put in a plastic bag for five minutes and peel off the skin, chop and add to the vegetables

 

 

 

I heated some fresh tortillas in a cast iron pan with some olive oil, and then added some homemade hot sauce, Monterey jack cheese, and the thinly sliced brisket. I mixed some cabbage and mixed greens with two tablespoons of the vegetables, chopped tomatoes and a sauce made of:

 2 Teaspoons homemade Italian dressing

 

1 Teaspoon sour cream

 

4 Drops of homemade hot sauce

 

Mix well, toss with salad, and add the salad to tacos as you eat.

 

 

 

Mmmm…really good.

 

-Mike