Happy Easter

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Easter seems to be yet another Holiday/time of year when the supermarket shelves are lined with different types of chocolates and candy.  One type of candy most associated with Easter here in the USA is the marshmallow Peep.   They typically have bunnies and chicks.

I found this picture on the interweb.  I think I've seen it before so it isn't too recent. Someone was very creative with their Peeps.

(Peep Show)

We don't celebrate Easter but I know a lot of people do, so to you I say Happy Easter.  

- Au Revoir

"Twas Easter Sunday.  The full blossomed trees filled all the air with fragrance and with joy." - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Spanish Student

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Soupy Fields and Soup for Dinner

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Our weather hasn't been conducive to riding lately, although we have seen the sunshine in sporadic bursts.

Saturday after coffee Troubadour headed to the range to teach/intern another Team Oregon class and I headed to Salem in the car.  It was time for a Costco run.  We were almost out of their in-house roasted coffee.

I decided to take the backs roads as I was not in the mood to fight heavy traffic on the interstate.  Meandering along Independence highway allowed me to stop and take a few pictures of the flooding.

(water is only supposed to be a small channel flowing under the bridge)

(water not supposed to be beyond the trees to the right and the back of picture)

(Close up of back tree line - flooding the grass fields)

A little further and I made a right turn to the East and headed over the river to a favorite twisty road.  I was stopped short by this sight.

(Some people chose to ignore the sign and take their chances)

After snapping a pic I did a u-turn and headed further North then East onto Highway 22 before I could cross the river into Salem.

I stopped at Costco and Lowe's and a few other places.  I was shopped out by early afternoon.  The people in the stores were driving me nuts.  I am not good with crowds. The lack of common courtesy with the general public these days has a tendency to piss me off and give me tourettes.  I know when to call it quits.

I decided to head for Starbucks and then go home.  I had to dig the trusty GPS out of the center console and click on favorites until I found the Starbucks I wanted.  With an iced soy latte safely ensconced in the cup holder I pointed the Subaru towards home.

The weather could not make up it's mind on Saturday.  Sunny, rain, sunny, rain.  It made for some interesting clouds heading home on Highway 99W.

(Looks like a boot coming out of the clouds)

(Close up of boot cloud getting ready to stomp)

I got home and put everything away and Troubadour sent me a text and let me know he was on his way home.  With being outside in the elements all afternoon I figured he needed a big bowl of soup for dinner.

One of the benefits of a cool wet spring is that soup season has been extended.

I decided on one of our favorites; potato onion soup.  Not a traditional potato soup.  It is lighter and we like it better.  

(5 cups sliced red potatoes cooking in 3 cups un-chicken stock)

(3 medium onions sliced thin and sauteed/caramelized until soft)

When the potatoes are soft - about 15 minutes I break them into smaller pieces using a spoon or potato masher.

When the potatoes are soft and the onions cooked, add the onions to the potato mixture as well as 2 cups of soy milk (or cow's milk).  Add fresh ground pepper to taste  and voila.

(finished potato onion soup)

The original recipe calls for cooking bacon then sauteing the onions in the bacon drippings, but I use a little liquid smoke for the same flavor boost to the onions and then top with a few soy bacon bits instead.  I also substitute unsweetened soy milk for the moo cow milk.

(Soup topped with Tofutti vegan sour cream, Daiya vegan cheddar, fresh ground pepper, and soy bacon bits)

The recipe makes 4 big bowls.  We ate it Saturday night and then had the leftovers for dinner on Sunday.

(Leftovers patiently waiting to be put in the fridge)

Here is the complete recipe:

Potato Onion Soup

6 slices of Bacon (optional - can use liquid smoke instead)

5 cups sliced Red Potatoes

3 cups Water

1 Tbsp instant chicken bouillon (I used Better than Bouillon vegan no-chicken base)

3 medium Onions, sliced thin

2 cups Milk (or unsweetened soy milk)

Fresh ground black pepper to taste

** Sour cream, green onions, shredded cheddar, and bacon bits are optional for toppings.

1.  In large skillet cook bacon over medium heat until crisp.  Remove bacon, reserving 1 tablespoon of drippings in skillet.  Drain bacon on paper towel.  Crumble bacon and set aside.

2.  In large saucepan/stockpot combine water, bouillon, and sliced potatoes. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer covered about 15 minutes until potatoes are tender.

3.  Meanwhile cooked sliced onions in reserved bacon drippings over medium-low heat for 8-10 minutes or until tender and golden.

4.  Do not drain potatoes.  Use a spoon or masher to break potatoes into smaller pieces.  Stir in bacon, onions, milk and pepper and heat through.  If desired season to taste with additional pepper.

- Bon Appetit

"Only the pure in heart can make a good soup." - Ludwig Von Beethoven

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Handlebars and Water Vapor

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What goes up must come down.....

HANDLEBARS:

After posting last week about the Rox bar risers we decided to install them Sunday afternoon.  The garage is unheated and the floor is really cold so the first thing we had to do was put on some boots.

(My Bog Boots on the left - Troubadour's Muck Shoes on the right)

I figured I'd best take a before picture of the handlebars in the stock position.

We picked the little chrome colored  hex nut covers off and I unscrewed the stock clamps. Troubadour graciously held the handlebars up for me.

 I installed the base of the 2" Rox risers and Troubadour slid the handlebar on top.

I thought it was a good sign that the cables and lines were long enough for the bars to be placed on top the risers, but we still needed more room to rotate the handlebar into position.  As it was, the brake and clutch levers and hand guards were facing the floor.  To try and gain a little more wiggle room we had to lift the tank which also entailed first removing the seat and the white side covers.  It is nice that the Gladius comes with a pivoting tank and a prop stick.

You can't really tell in that photo but the headlight has been flipped forward too.  It is nice that you can undo a few screws and it just leans forward.

This photo is taken from the front looking under the tank.  Oh look an air box.

Out comes the air box.......

We loosened as many zip ties (aka cable ties or zap straps) as we could but still the clutch cable was not long enough and the throttle cables were too short so when we tried to rotate the handlebar they would pull on the throttle body.  Not a good sign.

We decided it was just too much hassle to special order new longer lines so we were just going to put it all back together the way it was.  Cue a Sad Panda face.

It did give us (and by us I mean Troubadour) a chance to check the air filter.  It was nice and clean.  Unfortunately the oil has a little condensation in it but Max is due for an oil change anyway.

Rather than standing around watching Troubadour reassemble everything I decided to make myself useful and went back inside.  By the time he had everything together I had a late lunch ready for him. A nice batch of homemade broccoli soup made from scratch.  Yumm.  Sorry, no pics, we were too hungry.

The handlebars went up........the handlebars came back down.

WATER VAPOR:

The water vapor has been going up and subsequently has been coming back down as rain.  Copious amounts of rain.  This time around it has been raining for two days straight.

(It was raining while I was out getting groceries this morning)

I am sure everyone has heard those of us in the Pacific Northwest complaining of the rain this year (in between snow storms of course).  To put it into perspective I thought I'd give you some statistics published in our local newspaper this morning.  The title of the article was "Heavy rain expected; flood advisory in effect."

From last night until tomorrow morning we are to expect between 1.5" to 2" (3 to 5 cm) of rain here on the valley floor with up to 4" (10 cm) falling on the coastal mountain range.  That doesn't sound so bad until you hear some other figures.

(The puddles are starting to invade our driveway)

The Hyslop weather station between Albany and Corvallis has recorded 8.78" (22.30 cm) of rain between March 1st and March 28th.  Our average rainfall for March is only 4.24" (10.76 cm) so we have more than doubled our average and still have one more day to go.

Our average rainfall from January 1st through March is 16.10" (40.89 cm).  Last year we received only 14.73" (37.41 cm) through March.  This year Mother Nature raised her middle finger at averages and sent us a whopping 23.82" (60.50 cm) of rain in the first three months of the year. We've slogged through over 7" (17.78 cm) of extra rain and our seven day forecast shows nothing but more rain.  Is it any wonder our official State animal is the beaver. 

FYI - Be careful when on Google Images looking for a cute beaver picture - you never know what you'll see) 

But on the upside - the grass is really green.  Too wet to mow and almost a foot tall in some sections, but nice and green.

In the photo, just to the right of center in the back of the yard, you can just see our Star Magnolia trying it's best to bloom.  Unfortunately the blossoms are taking a beating from the rain as soon as they start to emerge.

Water vapor goes up......rain comes down.


ADDENDUM (03/31 at 7:29 am):
The headlines in the paper this morning are  "Midvalley withstands a deluge." Apparently the storm system has stalled above us and dropped another inch or so totaling 10.40" (26.41 cm) of rain this month and it is still raining.  If it doesn't stop raining today they predict we will beat the all time record of rainfall for March set in 1904 - 11.70" (29.71 cm). That is a lot of rain for 31 days.

- Au Revoir

"He was so benevolent, so merciful a man that, in his mistaken passion, he would have held an umbrella over a duck in a shower of rain." - Douglas William Jerrold

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The Rox

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Yesterday while in Eugene returning some extra boxes of cork flooring we stopped by Discount Motorcycle Parts to pick up my new bar risers.

We figured that a 2 inch pivoting bar riser might be just the thing for making Max a bit more comfortable for me on long rides.  A little more upright and a little less pressure on my wrists.  At $81, they were cheaper than purchasing a new Bonneville T-100.

Now we just need to find the time to install them and we'll cross our fingers the cables and lines are long enough.

Oh, what's that I smell?  Breakfast is ready.  Blueberry oatmeal breakfast cake, warm out of the oven with fresh hot coffee.  

(Homemade blueberry oatmeal breakfast cake and my favorite mug filled with coffee)

Mmmm must be a nice lazy Sunday morning, the best kind.

- Au Revoir
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"Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired." - Jules Renard
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Hail Yes, We Rode......

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Saturday dawned overcast and with a chill in the air.  We needed to take Lucy down to the Triumph shop in Eugene so our plan was to ride to coffee for a while and then head out from there.

A check of the outdoor thermometer revealed it was a balmy 36˚F outside.  With that kind of temperature I decided on the following for cool weather riding:  thick knee-high motocross socks, new Sidi Livia Rain boots, yoga pants,  Rev'it Sand pants with rain and quilted thermal liners, long sleeved turtleneck, t-shirt, Rev'it Siren jacket with Tour Master heated jacket liner and rain liner, Columbia polar buff around the neck, and Fildsheer Aqua Sport winter gloves.

I felt a little bulky with all of the gear on so I stepped on the scale.  Without helmet and gloves, I was wearing over 16 lbs of gear.  Yep, it was still winter.

We rode to coffee with no problems.  It wasn't raining and only a little road spray was coming off the tires of the other vehicles.

I had the usual at Coffee Culture:

(The usual - a double tall vanilla soy latte and a lemon poppyseed scone)

We visited for a few hours and geared up to leave.  It was sunny on and off with periods of sprinkles coming down.  Nothing too serious.  We'd talked outside the coffee shop before heading out so my fingers were a little chilly before putting my gloves on. The heated jacket liner was on low and I alternated my grips between low and high depending on the hot spots.

We stopped in Cheshire for a quick use of the facilities (darn that coffee) and I warmed my hands a bit on Lucy's muffler guard.

Back on the bikes we headed south again looking at a big black cloud in the sky.  It wasn't just rain on the way, it was hail.  A lot of hail.  Not for very long, just a few quick bursts.  I remember laughing in my helmet though since I'd never ridden in hail before. Before long it was sunny again.

We stopped at the shop to drop Lucy off.  Poor Max was surrounded by Triumphs. Not that that is a bad thing.

(Which one of these is not like the others......)

Like Troubadour mentioned, we took off on Max two-up.  It was the first time we'd been two-up on Max and it wasn't so bad.  The pillion seat is angled a little to the rear though so I had to be careful not to slide off.  Well, that and the passenger pegs were quite high so I had a hard time finding them at first.

The first stop was the Cornbread Cafe.  Nothing like a little vegan comfort food on a weird weather day. We had the specials - Reubens.  Vegan of course as everything in the restaurant is. They were good, but they were no Eugenewich.

(Yummy vegan Reuben from the Cornbread Cafe in Eugene, OR)

From the Cornbread we headed to Discount Motorcycle Parts to see what kind of treasures we could find.  I picked up some earplugs for Meg as she has been having trouble finding small ones and I think the ones like I use would be a good fit.  When you have small ears it is hard to find earplugs that fit.  We also found a cooling vest for Troubadour on clearance and I picked up a pair of Bobber sunglasses.  They are 100% UV protective. I already had a pair with yellow lenses for cloudy days and like the fit.

We managed to stuff our jacket pockets like squirrels squiring away nuts for winter. Troubadour even managed to stuff the vest down his jacket to transport it back to Lucy.  Sadly Max is lacking in luggage.  That will be remedied before our first overnight trip this year.

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As we were getting back on the bike I spotted these trees in bloom behind us.

We arrived back at the shop. Lucy was still down in the mechanics workshop so Max as parked by himself on the street.

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We visited for a bit and then decided the big black rain clouds coming in from the coast were heading our way and we should probably head home.  It was sprinkling when we left.  On the way home we experienced light rain, hail, heavy rain and sunshine.

Poor Max was pretty dirty by the time we got home but he came by it honestly.  

Troubadour pointed out the back of my jacket was even a little mud splattered.  I didn't mind.  I was completely dry and warm.  It was a great day.  

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- Au Revoir
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"I am sure it is a great mistake to always know enough to go in when it rains.  One may keep snug and dry with such knowledge, but one misses a world of loveliness." - Adeline Knapp
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Happy Spring

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Last night just before 11:00 Spring officially arrived in our humble corner of the globe.

(My favorite picture that I took on campus weekend before last)

So Happy Spring.... or as they say in Oregon - "let the rains begin."

Ah, well, at least it is a warm rain.

- Au Revoir
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"No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow." - Proverb
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