Thursday, March 30, 2006

Sisters Portraits

There was a time, before my brother was born, that my sister and I wore matching dresses for Easter, and had our portraits taken. So I thought it was only fitting that we take portraits of the sisters while Ginger was staying with us. Behold their glory:
easter portraitsisters
Ginger went home this morning. AdRi was hoping to pawn off a stuffed dog toy we have as Ginger and not actually give Ginger back at all. That wouldn't have been nice. But she has been talking about doing that for several days now. Ginger is a very sweet little dog. And when I say little, I mean little. She's about half the size of her sister, Wink. We had lots of fun, went for lots of walks, and they even came in to my work with me a little bit yesterday. Wink showed Ginger how to ride in an elevator, and how to be as cute as possible for my coworkers. When Wink is happy, she wiggles. When Ginger is happy, she wags her tail. Thus, Wiggles and Waggles served as the Welcome Wagon to many.

And there's just something about this picture that makes me smile.
wink'n'ginger

Goodbye, Ginger, and tell your mom thanks!
ginger portrait

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Pardon the American Idol post...

...but can't help it with this one. There's quite a hub-bub brewing about Mandisa being a supporter of the ex-gay movement, and her lifestyle comment prior to the gospel gig last night on American Idol. Now I have loved me some Mandisa up until now, people. Shout out to the big girls, and she eminates beauty, grace and loveliness, along with pure talent. But now I hear she's a fan of an anti-gay author who decries god can save you from homosexuality, oh dear. Not the right topic for Lelo. I'm sorry Mandisa, but I am so not one of your fans anymore. Ba-bye.

Kristine's post referring to Bucky as a llama is a riot. Oh dear. Last night's American Idol sucked the big one. Hey, at least I admit I watch the show. I know some people are closet watchers! Here's the thing. Pure honest unfound talent? I'm in awe of it. When music drives you to be who you are, takes up a place inside of you? I'm moved by that. I'm also moved by great art, social justice, doing the right thing. But music? It has a special place for me. So that's my excuse. Oh I hope Mandisa redeems herself but I'm afraid I'm not going to hold my breath...

Okay. American Idol post is over. Back to our regularly scheduled blogging....

Sunday, March 26, 2006

Self Portrait Tuesday on Sunday

self portrait tuesday on sunday
Somehow it seems appropriate to be doing this self portrait on Sunday morning. While lots of folks are at church. AdRi and I don't go to church. I have church "issues." And it's probably time I get over them. But I'm angry, and sad, and pissed, that the bible is being used to justify bigotry and discrimination against glbtq people. But not everyone.

Take for example this campaign. It's inspirational to see and hear from the Christian community against those using organized religion to hurt.
Check out that website. It's a pretty cool project.

I can't get into religious talk. I can't quote scripture. And I'm concerned about the growing closeness of church and state. I respect that others have religious beliefs and convictions, but why do they have to use it in ways to judge?

I grew up going to church not by my parent's will, but by my own seeking out place, comfort, peace and introspection. I went to Catholic high school. I played piano for an evangelical church. I was baptised at 18. I've gone in and out of organized religion. And I've been "out" of it for awhile. But I think I'll probably be going back in. It's just a question of where. And when. Happy Sunday ya'll, and happy self portrait Tuesday on church day.

Left over photo from Georgia


PIgg's
Originally uploaded by Lelonopo.
So much BBQ, so little time.

Friday, March 24, 2006

Mayhem and excitement

It's all abuzz at the Lelo household. Sisters are in da howze! Don't say I didn't warn you...
Ginger and Wink
Wink has definitely grown larger than we thought she would. You can tell here in this photo, she's bigger than her sister. Yes, Wink's hair is much longer, but still...
Ginger and Wink more
They both love chewbones.
Play time
There's a whole lot of this goin' on: play!
Sweet!
And sweet times too.
getting to know you
Now let's all sing the "Getting to Know You" song together.
getting to know all about you
Getting to know, all, about you.

Happy birthday to Ginger's mom! Have a great time in Mexico.
happy birthday rsg

Now I have to take a few girls for a whirl around the block....more pictures later. I'm sure!

Thursday, March 23, 2006

Yes, it has come to this.


I blame Gretchen. First there was Dogster, but now I've found Catster. The whole family has their own blogs now. And aren't they photogenic? Go Frida! Go Picasso!

And guess who's coming to stay with us tonight for a whole week? Wink's sister, Ginger! So fair warning to ya'll who get overloaded with the sugar coated photos. Be warned. Those two together are so much fun, it's going to be cray-zay!

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Dead possum hanging on a tree on I-5

I saw it again. I knew I wasn't crazy. There's a possum, and it appears to be dead, hanging by its tail from a tree along I5 Northbound between Portland and Seattle. Muerte. Dead. Goner. I first saw it on a trip in January. It was early morning, and the sun was shining. I saw something in the trees ahead to the side of the road, and stared up as we passed. It was a possum, sleeping, and hanging by its tail. Right above the freeway! I thought it was the weirdest and funniest thing. What a place to sleep! Right above the freeway.

Well, I don't think he's sleeping. Because today, 2 months later, I saw it again this morning. And on my way back from Auburn Washington today, I saw it again this afternoon. It doesn't appear to be moving. And it's somewhat a strange, slick, grey color. El grosso! It just died up there, hanging upside down and everything?!

So beware. If you're driving northbound out of Portland, keep your sunroof closed, or you never know. He may just drop right in and continue his journey with you. But I would guess he's pretty stinky. Eeeewwwwww!!!!

Monday, March 20, 2006

Yes, there really is a Dogster

You know Friendster, right?
Well, there's a Dogster now. And of course, Wink has her own page. Go give that dog a bone! I'll let you figure out who introduced us to Dogster. She may prefer to remain anonymous. :) However, Ginger really needs to get over there and register! Speaking of, I do believe she's coming to visit for an extended sleepover pretty soon. Wink is very excited.

What? You say you need more Wink fix? Here's something recently sent my way:go give Wink a new outfit.

And if that is STILL not enough of a Wink fix, here's a photo from a recent photoshoot. Naps are a good thing.
Wink naps

Saturday, March 18, 2006

Guest blogging from my dad


Guest blogging from my dad
Originally uploaded by Lelonopo.
Oh dear, DeLo got his hands busy with Photoshop on his new Mac. And yes, his daughter has a blog so I'm posting his creation. This peeps, is my father.
Or at least, his head, radiating in light.

Friday, March 17, 2006

North Carolina sky

The sky is different here. The colors are different here. Shades of blue and purple and grey and mauve. Lovely.
north carolina day
north carolina night
click on the photos to see them better over at flickr....

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Fried fried and more fried

No, I’m not fried, but a good portion of my dinner this evening was. Oish. Not used to that. But I’m also not used to perusing a menu with Fried Okra, Brunswick Stew, Hoppin’ John, Mudbugs and Pot Likker* with cornbread. If you recognize these food items you must be familiar with southern cooking. Amazing! Now don’t get me wrong: there is no way I could possibly eat like this on a regular basis. But experiencing a culture through their food is pretty cool, and since I’m in the south at the moment, I wanted to experience southern cooking.

Mint Julips are pretty good, though they’re really sweet. Made with muddled mint and a sweet syrup, they feature bourbon, and phew, that stuff is strong. The spicy deep fried mudbugs (Louisiana crawfish) were like any other small battered and fried item. I liked to think I was eating something called a mudbug. But the sweet potato soufflé was amazing. Next time I’m going to try collard greens and cracklin’. No idea what that is but I want to try it. Whatever cracklin’ may be.

And the really cool thing was the atmosphere. At Mary Mac’s Tea Room , they continue to serve traditional southern food like they have been since 1945.

But the creme de la crème is the goodwill ambassador . An incredibly charming, retired woman meets and greets and visits with every table, talkin’ away ‘bout everything, all the while rubbing your back. Yes, vigorously rubbing your back.

I was caught off guard at first. It’s not like she’s in a uniform or has a nametag. All of a sudden she showed up, and was chit chattin’ with my colleague while rubbin’ away. I’m a pretty strong supporter of personal boundary lines, and I was a little wary. But then it was my turn. And it was so sweet. And it felt good. And here we were in the bastion of comfort food, having our backs rubbed.

We visited with her at the door, waiting for our cab. She’s a self described people person, and loves her job. She intrigued me. She doesn’t like managing, but she loves greeting. And I’d say she’s pretty darn good at it. She told me of the famous people she’s met while working at Mary Macs, including Richard Gere, the Dalai Lama, Hilary Clinton. Impressive.

Some history of Mary Mac’s:
Back in 1945, Mary McKinsey opened Mary Mac’s Tea Room. In those tough days right after the end of the World War, enterprising women in search of a living, some of them mothers widowed by the war, were establishing restaurants all over Atlanta. Calling their establishments “tea rooms” was a polite way of elevating their endeavor.
I don’t think I would be a very good goodwill ambassador. And I don’t think I’d respond very well to one in a restaurant in Portland, Oregon. But it sure is a sweet thing to encounter, and now I can say I ate mudbugs and drank a traditional mint julip. Cheers!

*pot likker is the broth the turnips are cooked in. You can dunk your bread in it. Who knew?!

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Blah blah blahgging

What do you blog about when you feel uninspired? You don't have anything new and exciting to blog about? When you're feeling void of ideas?

I'd love to know how you respond to those questions.

I don't know how much more ya'll can really take of pictures of Wink. But I just can't help myself. The cuteness bundled up in the new precious thing just makes me giggle and I have to take photos of her. Lots of photos. But you knew that already, didn't you?

So in my quest for better topics to blahg about, I found this little dittie
and then I clicked the button for "give me another" about 15 or 20 times until I found a question I liked. The creativity portal gave me this suggestion to blog about:

"What is your earliest memory? Why has it stayed with you?"

Okay creativity portal. I'm up for the challenge. Here goes.

I grew up in Southern California. The 1970's, suburbia, idealic summer dreamin' of Beach Boys, and an economy fueled by the aeronautics industry. And earthquakes.

My earliest memory is from my crib. Actually, it's from the point of view of the ceiling, or top corner of the room, looking down on my crib, and me in it, standing up and gripping the edge. And I think I'm giggling.

My crib had wheels on it, and my floor was tiled. That meant in an earthquake, it rolled around the room. And in my memory is my mom in her nightgown, chasing the freewheeling crib around the room, and me standing up, the wind through my hair as I ride that crib back and forth to the sways of the earthquake.

I don't know how true this memory is, and it's particularly odd to me because it's not through my own eyes. But a childhood of earthquakes was standard, watching to see if the light fixtures are swaying, confirming our early call of an earthquake, and then checking the crack in the dining room ceiling to see if it grew....I know what to do in an earthquake, do you? Yep, head towards the nearest doorway and stand in the doorframe. Stay away from windows. And if you're in a classroom, get under your desk. One time an earthquake hit in the middle of the night, and the books in the bookshelf above my sister's bed fell and hit her on the head. Ouch.

In college, the San Francisco earthquakes of the 1990s were devastating to many of my friends and fellow students. Most were from the Bay area, and we were glued to the television, amazed that the same reporters were staying on, shift throughout shift, giving reports in studios fueled by generators, growing more haggard and stressed as the days went on. The aftershocks of those quakes hit north along the coast, and inland I woke at 4:00am one day with the strongest jerking to my futon I had ever felt from an earthquake. And we were over 100 miles from that epicenter.

So back to my earliest memory....that's not a bad question. And looking at the path where that question led me to write about, hmmm. Not bad at all.

So there you go.

Sunday, March 12, 2006

Weekend. Over. Sleep.

Buddies...
buddies

posing

On top of the world!....
superdog!

Totally, completely, spent...
absolutely completely spent

Me, too.

Sidenote: Anyone see L Word tonight? Damn. That was a tough one.

Saturday, March 11, 2006

Guest Blogging: Duncan Speaks

Duncan
Yeah hey, what’s up. Duncan here. I’m visiting for the weekend while my daddy is in Las Vegas. It’s pretty cush and I’m layin’ low. LeLo and AdRi take me for lots of walks, we hung out and watched the Dog Whisperer and Grizzly Man today.

And then there’s the hot babe, Wink. That thing is CRAZY man! CRAZY! She’s all over me all the time, jumping, playing bitey face, I know she wants me. I’ve been trying to get it on with her all weekend but she’s just a tease. I got so worked up last night, I thought I’d grab LeLo by the arm and go to town with her. She kinda freaked out, so then I just grabbed her leg and went for it. I don’t know why she and AdRi were laughing so hard: I’m a hot stud.
Crazy doggy fun
I’m lovin’ playing with Wink. We run back and forth and back and forth. I use my butt to keep her in check. And look! I even taught her a few smooth moves….

***warning***the following photos may not be safe for viewing at work****

Uh, Wink? You're a girl!
Whoa. Wink really. Stop it.
Hey. That’s my smooth move! Dang. Wink is really confused. Maybe I should go find that arm again….
LeLo here: Duncan is SO not getting it on with my arm again. And now Wink is fully attempting to hump Duncan. All. The. Time. Hello all of you dog lovers: is this normal? They’re both fixed. Duncan is a boy, Wink is a girl. They’re attempting to hump each other incessantly. Is it possible? And why is Wink taking on the boy role?! Speechless. I’m speechless. Cesar Millan ! Help us!

Friday, March 10, 2006

Recipe Saturday

Okay so I'm jumping in and joining Recipe Saturday. I know I've posted a recipe before here on Lelo and Blu even made it and posted a photo.

I just pulled my recipe binder out to get this recipe to share with you, and I fondly remembered the time a few years back when I went part time at my job for about 3 months, a reaction to a downturn in the economy. I offered to go part time for awhile and management said "thank you so much for your commitment." Sigh. What a time that was. Glorious time! I went to the gym every day, I made new friends, I learned how to knit, I worked every day in the garden, I made fresh and healthy meals every day, and I did things like put together and organize a recipe binder. I'm glad I had that time then because it makes it easy to use now...

I'm one of those people with a hodge podge of recipes: some from friends, family, printouts from epicurious, and the many ripped out recipes from The Oregonian, Sunset, and Real Simple. I love to cook. I love to try new things and to cook Thai, Mexican, Italian, Northwest, California, traditional american, BBQ, you name it. In fact, AdRi gave me a gift for my birthday of a cooking class: how to bake and decorate cakes from scratch.

But this one is a standard of the household. Easy, classic, fast, somewhat healthy and tasty.

It's another recipe courtesy of my mom. Actually, the printout I have of it comes from my dad sent at 3:35pm on October 2, 2000.
Spinach Enchiladas
10 flour tortillas
1/2 cup green onions, sliced (I just use a whole bunch, greens and white parts all)
10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained (squeeze the moisture out of it)
1 cup cottage cheese (you can use nonfat, lowfat, whatever)
1/2 cup light sour cream
2 cups jack cheese, shredded
1 can of enchilada sauce (I really like the green sauce. You can get this in the mexican food aisle, or trader joe's carries a kind in a bottle)

Heat large nonstick skillet that has been lightly coated with pam. Heat green onions and spinach til tender and moisture is evaporated, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, stir in cottage cheese, sour cream and 1 cup shredded cheese (save 1 cup for topping).
Warm tortillas in the microwave (you can poke a hole in the plastic bag and nuke em for a minute and see if they're hot all of the way through etc.)
Pour 1/4 or so of the sauce in a 9x13 baking pan, coat the tortilla front and back with the sauce, then fill with a few spoonfuls of the filling. Place seam side down. Continue coating and filling all of the tortillas until your pan is full and you're done with the filling. If any sauce is still left, pour over the top. Top with reserved cheese.
Bake for about 30 minutes, uncovered at 375 degrees.

Enjoy peeps, and happy Recipe Saturday.

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Mexican Ephemera

IMG_4366.JPG
A few pamphlets I picked up from a church outside of Guadalajara, Mexico. There were many to choose from, and I stood there for awhile deciding which ones I would buy. Yes, you have to buy these informational and educational brochures. I think they fall into the category of Catholic propaganda. In the end, I settled on two: one about “the forgotten people.” According to the booklet (with some help from AdRi’s Translation Services) , you ought to get married because if you don’t, you’re going to die alone. Damn individual thinkers.
IMG_4365.JPG
And then there’s the fearful feminist liberation. Check out the illustration clip art circa 1972. She’s hardcore. And GASP. It looks like she’s wearing career wear. NO! Basically it’s a list of do’s and don’ts, and what duties a wife, mother and daughter have to their families. There’s quite a frightful section about adultery. Aaah. Feminism leads to adultery. OF COURSE!

For a full listing of the many pamphlets available, you can find this huge honkin’ list here .

Bienvenidos!

P.S. I had hoped to provide you with more text and transcripts but unfortunately, AdRi's Translation Services is closed for the evening.

Surprise! It's Self Portrait Tuesday.

IMG_4404.JPG

Monday, March 06, 2006

You want a piece of this?

You wanna piece of me?
Tough girl here. Learning that mom likes to take my picture. Lots of pictures. Way too many pictures. Pose me move me sit me here sit me there. Hand gesture thingy gets me to move my head just so. I have a big future. On the big screen baby. Big screen!

Saturday, March 04, 2006

Cake!

The bunny cake was something my mom and I made when I was eleven or so. It was quite exciting, and I’m sure we took pictures (though I can’t find any myself). Here’s a picture of someone elses:


It’s pretty easy. Two round cakes, one makes the head, and you cut the second into the bow tie and ears. Assemble, frost, and decorate with coconut, jellybeans, licorice, etc. You can add food coloring to some of the coconut to create different colored areas, and as a kid, it’s fun.

And I’m not the only one with the bunny cake memories.

So I consulted my mom recently for advice on what to bring to a dog themed party. Of course mom got right on it, and I described to her amazing party food I’d seen recently, including Rozanne’s sister’s March of the Penguins appetizers . (Note to self: they would make a great Academy Awards party treat: seriously, check that link out!) Within a day, mom sent an e mail suggesting a Wink cake—a variation on the bunny cake.

Of course!

Wink, the original:
Wink Satine
Wink, the cake:
Wink as a cake!

Yellow box cake (sorry, not enough time for scratch) and cream cheese frosting recipe courtesy of epicurious.com (what did I do before epicurious?). A little toasted coconut for her unique ear color, a dusting of coconut all over, jellybeans, and voila. I even remembered to use the cutting board covered in foil as the platform. Great thinking mom! Party was great and Wink got to play with lots of big dogs, hop on lots of people’s laps, and run around in a new environment. Quite fun. And then we ate her. Or, at least her cake.
If you look over the years, the styles have changed - the clothes, the hair, the production, the approach to the songs. The icing to the cake has changed flavors. But if you really look at the cake itself, it's really the same.
—John Oates

Thursday, March 02, 2006

Oh Gaiken, you're so busted now


A little Hollywood scandal is good now and then...I just particularly love it when big ol' homos who've been masquerading as gentle straight men are dragged out of the closet, kicking and screaming. I always wonder, who's next? Oh, the list is so long...