Tag: OrangeDoor

Anniversary Dinner at RingSide

Matt poses with the remains of our complementary crème brûlée from RingSide Steakhouse. We had a delicious dinner for our twenty-fourth anniversary.

There was a plan to eat at a steakhouse in Boise that fell through, so I knew I wanted a steakhouse experience for our fancy dinner out. I got a delicious steak, baked potato, roll, and both a martini and a Manhattan. Plus we got onion rings, which were just the right kind of fried.

It was a good meal!

No Kings Day, March 2026

Our day started at the corner of 39th and Hawthorne, where Matt was a corner captain. I held a sign made by the Indivisible D2 art team.

There was a really good turnout at all four corners. More than two hundred people on each corner.

This lady had my favorite wordy sign.

From there, Matt took the bus down to the waterfront, and I drove the car home, had some lunch, and then took the train down to the waterfront.

I met up with Matt who had the signs, and we caught up with the puppets. There were three puppets in our group: Stephen Miller:

Trump (front):

Trump (back):

And RFK Jr., who I was mostly walking nearby and didn’t get a picture of until the end.

Our signs were playing cards with different members of the administration on the. You can see a few of them in the pictures with the puppets.

Because I was carrying a sign, I had fewer hands free to take photos. But this yellow sign was my favorite graphic protest sign:

I also like that the woman with a huge camera is looking straight at my camera.

I’m always on the lookout for good protest fashion and this was the best outfit I saw. I love the hat, the casual skirt and blouse, the knee socks and the comfortable shoes. Well done, random protester.

It was a gorgeous day for a protest.

Our Masquerade Mystery Invite Has Arrived!

Friends Greg and Renee are throwing a masquerade mystery party for Renee’s fortieth birthday, and we have been invited! Greg and Renee are precision people and thus this is not the first invitation we received. In January, we got an electronic invitation that made us promise to show up if we RSVP’d yes. Everyone has to come in order for the mystery to work!

So now we are officially invited and have our characters. Matt: The stallion! Me: the mouse.

While I’m not super feeling the mouse character, I am super excited to assemble my mouse costume. My goals are: (1) cheap to obtain the materials and (2) as much of it as rewearable as possible and (3) mostly made by me.

I’ve already got some ideas and am excited to get started.

Linda’s 74th Birthday

Eagle-eyed readers will note right away the error in cake decorating. I did the math wrong. But my QA person also did not catch that his mother was not turning 76.

We went out for delicious Chinese food and then back to Rick and Linda’s place for cake and ice cream.

Linda voted to have the cake now, rather than freezing to wait two years until she was actually 76.

On the Way Home

We stopped for our traditional departing yurt photo. Yurting in Tumalo State Park in early March was great. I think we were the only ones yurting. There were a few camper vans, but overall, it was pretty quiet.

On the way home, we stopped at Petersen Rock Garden, and what a treat it was.

I’m not one for rocks, but when a Danish immigrant makes them into really cool things, I’m a happy tourist. The huge chunks of obsidian alone are worth a visit.

The museum was closed because they were finishing up renovation for their grand reopening in early April, but Matt peeked in through an open door, and we were beckoned in. We got to see the glow room (and the cool new glowing floors) and take in the fireplace which again, is worth a visit.

Peacocks live at the rock garden. None were feeling showy while we were there.

The garden sells cups of corn that people can use to feed the chickens and the peacocks. Matt coached a boy through feeding this pretty chicken.

Because the museum was closed, the old restaurant was serving as a makeshift museum and gift shop. This was also a treat! The counter! The wallpaper! The sign! Egg salad for 50 cents!

Our final stop on the way home was in Government Camp. I resisted the call of the house-made maple bars as long as I could, but I eventually gave in. And it was a good choice. I’ve not had such a freshly made maple bar in ages.

Shevlin Park and The Grove

We did a nice hike in Shevlin Park. It’s quite popular, even on a Thursday in early March.

Then, we headed to the Grove for some lunch. Matt ordered some Thai food, we split some tempura green beans, and I picked out a grilled cheese with fries.

We had ice cream for dessert. I got the special Peeps milkshake. Marshmallow-hating Matt did not approve.

As we were eating the place was slowly taken over by teenagers. “Are we near a high school?” I asked. Google Maps told me we were.