Vacations

Last Wednesday, Mom and I went up to Portland for a little vacation.  We had lunch at Andina, a Peruvian place in Northwest Portland.   We got beef hearts with a tasty salsa, scallops baked with parmesan and lime, and seafood ceviche, and it was all fantastic.

 I apologize if the pictures are completely out of whack; I can't figure out how to get them to behave.

Then we went to Papa Haydn, an oasis of desserts.  They're not cheap by any means, but they're oh so pretty and delicious.  We got a meringue layer cake with whipped cream, fruit, and chocolate.  It was enormous and I ended up finishing it off the next day:

Oh, the deliciousness!  One dessert that I found beautiful that we didn't get was the Scharffenberger Bombe, which, as far as I could tell, was a chocolate dome with mousse inside and a macaroon on top.  I'm hopeful all the food I eat in Germany will be as delicious.

This past weekend the whole family went to Belknap hot springs and stayed in a house there.  It's up the McKenzie in a beautiful wooded setting.  Everything's so green and lovely.  We went for walks, when we weren't sleeping and eating and floating in the gigantic hot tubs.

 Uncomfortably third-wheeling a bestial relationship between McKenna and the bear, post-hot springs.

 Beautiful forest in beautiful Oregon.

 Mom and me on a bridge along the path.

 Me inside a burnt-out, but still living, tree.  

We all got together to celebrate Kevin's graduation from high school, and my 21st birthday, since I'll be in Israel on the actual day.  It was also the only chance we'll all get to be together this summer, which is sad for me.  Everyone else gets to go to Steelhead for cheese fries after Kev's graduation, but I'll be fast asleep in Germany.  Le sigh.

Mom got me an awesome flashing birthday tiara (too small for my head, as it was evidently designed for a 7-year-old), which I wore with great pride:

 The strawberry-blueberry pie with a cream cheese-whipped cream base had to be made with California strawberries since Oregon strawberries aren't in season yet, as they are at the end of July.  In spite of this shortcoming, the Nana-made pie was delicious.

Kevin's headed off to OSU (Oregon State) this fall for college, and McKenna's going in to her sophomore year at Linfield, so we all wore our college paraphernalia for a picture:

So this was a completely self-indulgent post.  Hopefully everyone found something redeeming in it, but don't fear, after tomorrow, I will have more travel-related tales to tell.  Until then, keep f***ing those chickens.

Doughnuts

A few days ago Kevin and I went to Voodoo Doughnuts.  They used to just be in Portland (and are the #1 restaurant on Urbanspoon for Portland), but now there's one in Eugene!  They haven't had their grand opening yet, so they have very limited hours, but Kev and I went there at 5:30 the other night and, while they were out of two of the most popular ones (the Voodoo donut, shaped like a voodoo doll, and the Maple Bacon Bar), we managed to get quite a haul of other donuts.  I generally dislike donuts, but I must say that Voodoo has won me over.  Admittedly, I got a fritter (the Memphis Mafia, to be precise), not a regular donut, but I am willing to branch out and try others, as this was no ordinary fritter.

For one thing, it was enormous.  For another, it had a ridiculous assortment of mix-ins and toppings: "Fried dough with banana chunks and cinnamon sugar covered in a glaze with chocolate frosting, peanut butter, peanuts and chocolate chips on top!"
Yes, it is truly a work of art.  I went back a couple days later, in the morning, only to find out they don't open until 2, but I am hopeful I'll be able to return before I must leave!


Tomorrow Mom and I are going for a little vacation up to Portland, because she has an appointment there on Thursday.  We'll go to Powell's (screw the Strand, this is the true master bookstore) to find some cheap awesome books, and to Andina (a popular Peruvian restaurant) for lunch.  There's a Voodoo Doughnuts not too far from Powell's, so maybe we can stop by there, too...though we'll be having dessert at Papa Haydn, where there is a fantastic meringue cake with fruit and chocolate.  Mom and Aunt Karen apparently used to eat there all the time when Aunt Karen lived nearby, and the cake comes highly recommended by both.  I'm rather offended I didn't learn of its existence until recently, but I'll try not to hold it against them too much.


This post focused so much on food, I feel it really belongs on http://nomnomfooood.blogspot.com/ instead.  But Yngvildr is getting irritable, and I'm hoping this soothes her ego.  Side note: those of you who know me will be shocked to hear that I went 9 DAYS before my first visit to Sweet Life.  That's more than a WEEK.  And no, I have no idea why it took me so long.  I went tonight with Sarah, and ate an entire eclair.  Kill me now (by making me eat more?).  Thus ends the side note.  Tschüss! 

Home, rain, and an otter

Back home :-)  I love Oregon, in spite of (or perhaps due to) never being here.  It is raining, of course, and cold.  Winter weather, frankly.  Pouring right now.  Good old Oregon, living up to its reputation...maybe this will keep outsiders from invading!  Damn Californians with their terrible driving (and terrible deficit, because I can never let an easy shot like that slide by).  But I love the rain, when I get to be all warm and cozy in my house!  Getting to sleep in as late as I want is fantastic, and waking up in my big bed with the sound of rain outside and the promise of coffee and waffles downstairs is what every vacation should be about.  I'm drinking hot chocolate right now and looking out the window at the downpour, and am happy as a clam.


Been busy getting everything ready for my trip; going to the bank later today to deposit some checks and transfer some funds.  I will soon have an apartment in Berlin!  I still haven't heard back from Haifa about whether I've been accepted into the summer program, and I emailed them a few days ago, with no response (though Jasper says he got a reply that they're out of the office until the 24th).  Serious Fail (capitalization intended) on their part.  I'm just operating under the assumption that they'll accept me, and I'll deal with figuring out what to do if they don't when/if the time comes.


I'm considering getting a twitter account, just to follow the Dalai Lama, Allie Brosh (of Hyperbole and a Half), and the guy who writes shitmydadsays.  But the idea of twitter annoys the hell out of me, regardless of the fact that it was co-founded by a Swattie.  Not cool, dude.  Although I suppose that it's an outlet for narcissism that is clearly labeled as such, and thus easy to avoid.  I do realize the irony of condemning narcissism on a blog, don't worry, but I'm choosing to breeze past it.


That's all the nattering I'll inflict for now.  As a reward for reading this far, here's a goofy picture of an otter, courtesy of dailyotter.org:

BAHAHAHA

First post!

In honor of finishing finals, I have decided to write my first blog post!  Please, feel free to not read it.  I just feel sad having a blog with no posts...I think it must feel sad, too.  Hopefully now it will be less sad.  But it still needs a name.  "The hungry linguist" refers to me, and really, my blog should have its own name.  I dub thee--hold on, let me exhaustively research names.  Or visit the random name generator, whatevs.
"Yngvildr"!  Old Norse, a combination of a god's name and the word for "battle."  So legit.
Okay, my blog is officially christened Yngvildr Abigail (in case I ever need a more pronounceable alternative).
Write blog post: DONE.
Are you happy now, Yngvildr?