I'm stateside these days!
Took a trip to Vegas after I got here for a conference. It was actually cool to be in the desert. Obviously so very different than Samoa. It was a bit overwhelming though.


















Headed back to Portland for some wedding preparation and then started the journey south to the mountains and trees!
Saw a lot of beauty on the road:














And some things I don't miss:














Hope and Jim loaned me their Vanagon and I camped in beautiful Ashland (where I lived prior to moving to Samoa & where my house is). When I visit A-land I miss it sooo much. It's so beautiful. Below are some pictures of Emmigrant Lake outside of Ashland.



















































Had the best pizza in Oregon at Caleidoscope Pizza in Medford and now I'm in Mount Shasta getting ready for the big day.























There have been fires south and west of Mt.Shasta and if there isn't a wind the smoke settles in the valley. I couldn't even see the Mountain this morning, but now it's cleared some. Let's hope it's made it's way out by next Sunday!

It's still beautiful as ever in Siskiyou County! Here's Lake Siskiyou. Not where we will get married but where we'll be having a great time on our "Super Party Barge" on the 4th of July with our guests and family.

Welcome to the Mainland

Ah, summer. Well, summer by Pacific Northwest standards that is. So, I freeze at night here, I'm sure I'll get used to it-eventually.









It's nice to be home in time for fresh produce, blue skies, and happy sun deprived people.


My friend's house, situated smack in the Portland/Metro Area is becoming quite the urban farm-honey bees and weird little, deranged chickens. I can run from chickens all the way across the Pacific and they will still find me! Thank god there are no grown roosters yet, but I got my eye on that white one with the wattle!

I've always got the great food to comfort me!













The first day I was back, after a sumptuous meal of strawberry crapes we decided we just hadn't had enough strawberries!





















I went with my friends Hope, Jim and their kids Reed and Pearl and met up with other friends Leanne and Lucy to pick strawberries on lovely Sauvie Island. It's an oasis of down-home farming right outside Portland. There's a u-pick farm that caters to the alt culture & 30 somethings and their prodiginy. They pay good money to go out in the fields and pick their own produce, hang out on the grass eatting yummy food and listening to cool, local bands.




We took all our produce home and had strawberry tarts and strawberry pie. OH, ya!

What's in a Name?

There was a recent flurry of emails amongst the palagis on-island sharing funny names we've come across since moving here. I'm sure there are weird names stateside but it seems like there is more than the fair share here in Samoa. I think with the shear volume of children in families there might be some baby naming fatigue contributing to the problem. Also, Samoan names can often have literal translations, naming a child "water" is common and makes for a nice name. Unfortunately literal names in English are often just regrettable. I can assure you that these are real names we've come across since moving here. Here's what we've come up with so far. If any of you reading this has more to add feel free!
Names:
29
Abcde
Aetalo - means eat taro
Afasene (half-a-cent)
Alcapone
Anewvision
Army and Navy (Brothers)
Baby
Batchlor (spelled like that)
Bear
Beaver Ho Ching
Billclinton
Boyblue
California
Christmas
Cinderella
Clever
Conference
Dynamite
Eddie & Edwin (Two brothers, possibly twins)
Fa'afetai (thank you)
Fa'afetai Fa'afetai Jr.
Fabulous
Fantastic
Fiapapalagi
Gasoliga (remember the g=n)
Hail-Mary
Han Solo
Happy
Hurricane
Kirisimasi (Christmas)
Kuwait
Larrybird
LBJ (The hospital is named LBJ)
Lima (5 or hand in Samoan, was probably the fifth kid)
Marie Antoinette Resurrected
Moonstar
Muliei
New Year
Nixon
Omaha
Oti (dead)
Pago Pago
Pluto
Ponce de Leon
Popeye
Poti (Male Sex Organ)
Pretty
Princess
Pu'u Brown
Queen.
Rainmaker
Rapture
Rectal
Rocky and Rambo (brothers)
Roketi (Rocket---tons of those)
Saddam
Salvation
Samoa
Shaqkobe or Kobeshaq
Socrates
Souvenir
Sterchicht
Superbowl
Tajmahal
Tutuila (The name of our island)
Ultimate Warrior
United States of America
United States of Samoa