Life in Oregon

Sky
scene: Amber is outside taking pictures
Mom: "What are you taking pictures of?"
Amber: "The sun."
Mom: "You can see the sun?"
Amber: "Well no, but it’s kinda bright out don’t you think?"

It was bright, see how you can see the differences in the clouds? Usually it’s just all over grey. Okay so this may not be a real sun break, but whether my mom believes me or not, I did have one this morning driving home from Bj’s. Seriously people, I could have put my sunglasses on for like five minuets in a row, of course I don’t carry my sunglasses in the winter because that would be a waste of space, but still. So I thought this might be a good time to post a forward from Sciarrino about natives of the Pacific Northwest according to Jeff Foxworthy. Thanks again Sciarrino this was so funny.

1. You know the state flower (Mildew)
our state flower is actually the Oregon Grape, it’s like holly we had it in our yard at our old house.

2. You feel guilty throwing aluminum cans or paper in the trash.
Yes! So true! Note to travelers Bj and I found the best places to recycle on our roadtrip were national parks. Also I should take a picture of our recycling can, it’s much larger than our garbage can.

3. Use the statement "sun break" and know what it means.
Like I said…

4. You know more than 10 ways to order coffee.
not me personally, but many people I know.

5 You know more people who own boats than air conditioners.
Boats come in a lot more handy, that’s for sure!

6. You feel overdressed wearing a suit to a nice restaurant.
heheheh

7. You stand on a deserted corner in the rain waiting for the "Walk" Signal.
Of course.

8. You consider that if it has no snow or has not recently erupted, it is not a real mountain.
This is so funny. When I was a counselor in Maine my girls told me how they went on mountain hikes and I thought that was pretty impressive until I saw the hills they were talking about. I had my mom  send me pictures from a recent hike, and I was like, see these snow covered things? Real mountains. Oh ya.

9. You can taste the difference between Starbucks, Seattle’s Best, and Veneto’s.
I don’t know what Veneto’s is.

10. You know the difference between Chinook, Coho and Sockeye salmon.
I’m not really a fish person, but mom I bet you could do this.

11. You know how to pronounce Sequim, Puyallup, Issaquah, Oregon, Yakima and Willamette.
"Can you tell me where Will-a-met University is?" Classic.

12. You consider swimming an indoor sport.
isn’t it?

13. You can tell the difference between Japanese, Chinese and Thai food.
Is this just a west coast thing? Because they are totally different types of food.

14. In winter, you go to work in the dark and come home in the dark – while only working eight-hour days.
Luckily I work at home, but this was true for crew practice for me.

15. You never go camping without waterproof matches and a poncho.
Actually I have been camping without waterproof matches and it was a nightmare.

16. You are not fazed by "Today’s forecast: showers followed by rain," and "Tomorrow’s forecast: rain followed by showers."
This is the actual forecast right now.

17. You have no concept of humidity without precipitation.
And boy was I in for a shock when I went to the east coast one summer, "What is sticking all over me!??!"

18. You know that Boring is a town in Oregon and not just a state of mind.
That’s where I spent Christmas baby! My mom’s family lives there.

19. You can point to at least two volcanoes, even if you cannot see through the cloud cover.
Yes I can.

20. You notice, "The mountain is out" when it is a pretty day and you can actually see it.
Guilty, I’ve said this.

21. You put on your shorts when the temperature gets above 50, but still wear your hiking boots and parka.
If you want a good laugh you should see the quad at OSU on the first sunny day of spring, it’s skin everywhere, but it’s cold!

22. You switch to your sandals when it gets about 60, but keep the socks on.
Bill….

23. You have actually used your mountain bike on a mountain.
Yup.

24. You think people who use umbrellas are either wimps or tourists.
It’s true, they hardly get used, I have two in my trunk I haven’t used yet this winter.

25. You buy new sunglasses every year, because you cannot find the old ones after such a long time.
That’s only happened to me twice.

26. You measure distance in hours.
Portland = an hour, Seattle = about four

27. You often switch from "heat" to "a/c" in the same day.
I can’t help it I get cold.

28. You design your kid’s Halloween costume to fit under a raincoat.
I don’t have kids but our costumes where always muddy on the bottom after trick-or-treating.

29. You know all the important seasons: Almost Winter, Winter, Still Raining (Spring), Road Construction (Summer), Deer &Elk season (Fall).
Ha ha, road construction season so true!

30. You actually understood these jokes and will probably forward them!
Done, and done! I hope someone else finds these amusing.

In other sorta Oregon related news one of my favorite college professors has written another book about art for children called "Cave Paintings to Picasso: The Inside Scoop on 50 Art Masterpiecs" You can read about it here. I so freaked out when I realized I could take a class from Sayre, and it was my first upper level class in college, I was the only freshman in it. It was called the History of Design and it was so awesome. I would love to take another class from him.

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8 Comments

  1. Did Jeff Foxworthy actually create these jokes?
    I live 7 miles outside Portland and it takes me an hour to get in?!?!?

  2. ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! gotta share this one with my mom and sis! and hey, I thought everyone measured distances in hours!

  3. #1 way you can tell someone is “not from around here”. they refer to this area as “the pacific northwest” rather than the northwest…and sound like total dorks!! aka erin elyea :o)

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