two unrelated pumpkins and an also unrelated dorky dog

i am a little buzzy on my favorite trader joe's red wine (washington hills shiraz, in case anyone wants to know). i have been going through some rough times lately, so i haven't been blogging. but i'm starting to feel better and starting to miss writing to my friends and whatever random internet surfers are reading this blog. i don't have anything profound or even coherent to say this time, but oh well. you'll surf away from this page if it sucks too bad.

1. on the worst of the suckiest days of the recent sucky days, matt and i went to a new place here in eugene called agate alley, hoping a new and interesting place might cheer us up or at least distract us. it worked, because i discovered my absolute favorite martini ever. if you know me, you know i do say things LIKE that lightly, but let me assure you, i never say exactly that lightly. i have been loyal to my previous "absolute favorite martini ever" since 2002, when i discovered the "ad lib", a cilantro martini served at 820 in north portland. i almost feel like i'm cheating on the ad lib by writing this. but this martini is incredible. it is pumpkin pie in a glass. it is the "pumpkin martini," made with vanilla stoli, pumpkin (real pumpkin!), cream, cinnamon, and nutmeg, with a sugar and graham cracker rim. if you live in eugene or plan to be anywhere near here sometime this fall, i HIGHLY suggest you get yourself to agate alley (and bring me with you!) to try this martini. here it is:

2. matt, troy, ashley, myself, and some other ninkasi folks went up to corvallis on saturday for the "septembeerfest" at the fairgrounds. we brought our ipa and a fresh hop beer that was specially brewed for this fall's beer festivals. (brewing "secret": it has MILLET in it! yum!) it will be on tap in the ninkasi parking lot at the fresh hop fest on the 25th. but that's not the story. the story is that next door to our booth was a booth where instead of kegs, the beer was being served from GIANT PUMPKINS! look at this...

3. the other day when i was at work feeling a little sad, matt took this picture of otis and sent it to me on my phone:

look how cute and dorky he is with his tongue hanging out! :) matt is wonderful that way. he knows i'm a sucker for the dog, especially when he's sleeping. and he knows getting picture messages makes me happy. if i didn't have him to go through all this crap with, i don't know what i'd do (but it would probably involve a lot more pleasurable yet self-destructive behavior, and a lot more feeling sorry for myself). but you know what? even with the shit i'm going through lately, i really do have it pretty good.