Another Time Warp

Well, shit. 10 months just flew by!

It's been a busy year. Multiple times in the past 10 months I've had the thought "God, I really should update my blog," but time compounds and becomes an even more stressful thought than it was before, since I don't know how the hell I'll cover everything that's happened since the last post. I've decided my best move is a quick recap of each month since my last post (a la this post I did back in 2022)

January

Looking at my photos from January, the most exciting thing was that I bought a new dresser (riveting, I know). Charlie had been bugging me that he wanted to make our bedroom cozier and less "just a sad, empty room with a bed in it." My first thought was that we needed to get rid of the oversized dresser we'd bought a few years ago, which didn't really fit in our bedroom. There's a store in southwest Portland called Form and Function that sells furniture that's vintage and imported from the Nordics. They had this really pretty vintage tallboy dresser that they purchased in Denmark and had shipped over to the US and then refinished.

We got busy on other house projects after that though, so the bedroom still needs some work.

February

I like to travel in February. Portland is at its most depressing at that time and I need the boost to get me over the last hurdles of the northwest winter. We do a yearly winter trip with a group of friends around this time every year and this past year we went to Lincoln City on the Oregon coast. I actually prefer going to the coast in the winter as it's (in my opinion) the ideal vibe.

1 week later, I went to see my friends Joshua and Jeremy in Palm Springs. We sat around, swam in their pool, grilled out, and watched movies. It was lovely. I took 0.0 pictures, but trust and believe that the desert in February rules. Right when I got back from California, I found out my grandmother's husband had passed away and I immediately flew out to North Carolina to help my mother deal with all of that. It wasn't a sad thing for me. He was an asshole.

March

In March I took on the demolition of our 1 and only bathroom and began a several-month-long remodel. I learned a lot during that time and did a lot of using the bathroom in a bucket 🫠. I was really into sharing the progress on Instagram at the time and you can watch a compilation of those videos over on YouTube.

Towards the end of the month we went with a group of folks to Puerto Vallarta. The majority of the group spent their time at all the gay clubs and staying up til 5 AM. Charlie and I stayed up until 10 AM and went to this fucking awesome bakery every morning. We're boring and old.

April

Bathroom progress continued all throughout April, but it wasn't finished until May. Charlie and I bought electric bicycles this past April and rode them all over town throughout the summer. We also went to see Ichiko Aoba when she came through town. That concert probably takes the crown as my favorite concert this year.

May

The bathroom was completed in early May. Taking a shower inside my home (as well as pooping) was an emotional experience. Remodeling a bathroom when you only have one is not for the faint of heart, but we somehow made it through. As I mentioned earlier, I did everything except for installing the shower valve (thanks Connor!), the tilework, and the drywall work. If you're thinking of doing a bathroom remodel in Portland, I have contractors to recommend!

Here are a few before photos:

And then a few "after" photos (really these are at like... 95% completion):

I mentioned this above, but in case you missed it: I was really into sharing the progress on Instagram at the time and you can watch a compilation of those videos over on YouTube.

We had a big ass party when we finished everything and invited about 70 people over to our tiny ass house. It was a great time. I only took one photo:

June

In June we attended the first No Kings Protest. It was wild to see so many people and cool to be a part of history. I turned 34 in June and hosted a Cafe Joseph for my birthday as well. Cafe Joseph is this thing I like to do a few times per year when I turn the house into a "cafe" and serve baked goods and coffee to friends. It's fun. I make a little printed menu with branded cups as seen in the photo below. This past Cafe Joseph had a hiccup when my blueberry muffins didn't turn out, so I had to have Charlie go out and buy a bunch of New Seasons Market muffins at 7 AM. The lavender latte I made (with lavender from our yard) was dope though.

July

In July, I went to San Francisco on a long weekend solo trip. I love San Francisco. I will die on the hill that it's the best city in the United States and doesn't remotely deserve the hate that it gets. I did a lot of wandering around and imagining myself living in all of the old Victorian houses.

August

August was quiet. Work was particularly busy that month and I don't remember doing anything particularly eventful. August is when I start to feel ready for fall and cooler weather, which came fairly early this year. We did go to the Swan Island Dahlia Farm with the gang. That was a nice day.

September

Charlie and I play/captain in a queer kickball league and our fall season started in September. It's a good group. We have our tournament next week and we only won a single game this season but I'm SO PROUD of my team. They're a fun group.

Charlie and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary on September 17th. The past few years we've gone on international trips to celebrate, but with Charlie running low on PTO this year we just took a quick trip to San Francisco for a long weekend to celebrate as we'd never been there together. We had dinner at Chez Panisse, which was DELICIOUS and worth the pilgrimage just for that meal alone.

October

That brings us to October! We've been settling into the house for the fall and winter. I took the air conditioners out of the windows yesterday, so summer has officially left us and we're staring down the barrel of the long winter ahead. Luckily, I have some things planned in the coming weeks that I'm looking forward to. Watch this space.

I'll leave this off with a photo of Charlie from today's No Kings Protest. You may have heard that Portland is a hellhole that is on fire. You have been lied to. It's as lovely and wonderful as it's always been.

Until next time!

• joseph