I’m alive!
It has been so embarrassingly long since I have blogged that I had to google “wordpress login” to figure out how to sign into this thing.
So, now that it’s late July, I figured I’d play mega catch up and update you on everything that happened this spring (partly for the benefit of the few people I know who still read this thing, and partly so I don’t completely forget some of the fastest months of my life). Like any good Oregonian, I’m going to classify “spring” as the time leading from my spring break (beginning of April) to the first of July, since you can’t get guaranteed sunshine around here until after July 4th anyway (although, as I sit outside writing this on July 20, it is drizzling on my keyboard, so whatever).
Because I believe this may be a long, photo-heavy post, I’ll break down the events of the last few months into a fun list, since that’s the only way we millennials read anything anyway.
1. We hiked in dreamy snow.
Technically, this happened in the winter, but it was the last week of winter term, so it felt really spring breakish. We headed to Mount Hood with some of my vegetable school pals and snowshoed our little hearts out.
2. We went to Kentucky.
If you’ll recall where we left off, oh-so-many months ago, winter kind of sucked. School was exhausting, it never stopped raining, and everything was basically a giant tear-fest (I tend to get dramatic when I’m tired and wet). I had hoped that the end of winter term, and the beginning of spring break would be a real turn around. My Christmas gift from my parents was a trip to Kentucky for my spring break. I was super jazzed, made a million plans with friends and family, and was generally pumped to relax and soak up my old Kentucky home.
48 hours after arriving, I came down with the flu and spent the remainder of the trip feeling the worst I have felt in my adult life. I’ve determined that after a super difficult quarter of very little sleep, my immune system held on for as long as it could, and then just shut down. It sucked. I actually have very little memory of this trip, as I spent the majority of it asleep and trying not to contaminate everyone else in the house. But the first 48 hours were pretty great.
There are very few photos of this trip because I was essentially unconscious for most of it, but I’m told others enjoyed their week.
3. We bought a condo!
I never thought we would be condo-buying people, but here we are. We started the home search at the beginning of the year, and quickly determined that an actual house in our desired area was pretty much a millionaire’s game. So go ahead and call us city slickers because we are really living that urban dream in a deluxe apartment in the sky.
The place is nothing fancy, but it feels like a mansion compared to our previous 600-square-foot studio apartment. And we’re living that top floor dream, which means there is no elephant above us, bounding out of her bunk bed at 3 am, and no one stomping their feet as they practice their bagpipes (this is a true apartment life story).
We’re hoping to slowly remodel the inside of this place over the next couple of years, but for now, we’re mostly just digging the view and loving having A BALCONY WHERE WE CAN SIT OUTSIDE and grow vegetables and grill and eat and stare at mountains.
Within our first 24 hours here, we experienced pouring rain, a hail storm, and multiple rainbows, so I think we’ve already mastered most weather scenarios.
4. I become an amateur farmer.
Thanks to my delightful vegetable school, I took an organic agriculture class on a real farm during spring term. It was essentially the most delightful thing you can imagine. We spent every Friday on a farm, learning how to garden, raising our own vegetables (with mixed rates of success), and generally loving every moment of having a class that took place outside. Dear outside, you are my favorite thing.
5. We went fly fishing, and it was fly.
For the first time ever, I knew exactly what I wanted to get Eric for his birthday: a fly fishing lesson. Ever since we moved to Oregon 5 years ago, Eric has been itching to attempt his retirement plan: fly fishing on Oregon’s rivers. We went to the Deschutes River Fly Shop for a full day fly fishing intensive and tried our hand on the Deschutes River. We didn’t catch anything, but we looked super glamorous, and that’s what really matters.
We also spent the rest of the weekend in Bend with some pals, so I’d call the trip all-around amazing.
6. We hiked Dog Mountain with everyone else in Portland.
Like any good crowd haters, we went to the most popular hike in the Gorge on Memorial Day weekend. #nailingit. But it was beautiful and super fun. We did the hike once a few years ago, but not during the famous wildflower season, and now I totally get the hype. Wildflowers on wildflowers on wildflowers.
And yes, I am wearing a fanny pack in these photos because I believe in practicality and I’m really stylish.
7. Our small group went coastal.
Even though we live about 90 minutes from the ocean, I think about the ocean about 0% of the time. One of our sweet small groupers planned a little getaway to the coast, where we hiked, ate, bocce balled, and had a fire on the beach at sunset. Honestly, the most I’ve ever enjoyed the coast.
8. We exercised. A lot.
We’re in full triathlon mode, so all free time has been spent swimming, biking, or running. Sometimes it’s super fun, and sometimes it just feels like the best way to build up your need for a nap. We joined the Portland Triathlon club at the beginning of the year, which has been the most spectacular decision we’ve ever made in our brief triathlon lives. Coached workouts, fun races, and friends who are all super fast (seriously, they are so fast), have made training much more enjoyable.
9. I finally learned how to spell Couer d’Alene.
We spent the last weekend of June in Couer d’Alene for Eric to do an Ironman 70.3. (Remember all that exercise I was just talking about? It has a purpose.) His parents and sister came along to cheer him on, so we spent a luxurious afternoon on a boat, Ringer-style, and went swimming in the lake. Eric exercised his little heart out while we soaked up that sweet Idaho sunshine and drank a lot of coffee.
So, that was spring. Here’s to you, summer!
-Ally
Betsy Ringer says
So glad you are back on your blog. At least for now!! So great getting a recap! And the incredible pictures! Wow!! You guys live the life! You work hard and you play hard! So glad you enjoy the outside so much! Never-ending places to explore! We are happy you are on the West Coast and that we get to enjoy some “play” time with you too!!
Mallory says
I always enjoy reading your posts, Ally. And you take the best pictures!