The Daily Discoveries of Gustavo Valentine

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Friday, October 31, 2008

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!


Have a spoooktacular day and night all you gob goblins!

Lawd, I Miss Ya


Miss you MIke, miss you Jenna!


Miss you Nicky!


Miss you Bob-a-Lob-a!

and don't forget Mamop who stayed out of pictures like all mamas seem too....I love you all with my giant heart!

Thursday, October 30, 2008

The P Patch


Nothing like a day at the pumpkin patch to bring a family together. This year I was strong enough to lift my own pumpkins and pull my own wagon.


Everyone likes to have a turn pulling.


And being pulled. This is The Nature of Life. This is the behind the scenes technique of how Uncle Mike makes his Jenna blogs.


Pulling + Pushing = Flow


Bobby likes to search high and low for the most ugly and misshapen pumpkin that already has a strong personality.


And then we take them home and Grandpa carves them up. This is The Cycle.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Good Times, Great Oldies


Got to see good ole Himal while visiting Bainbridge. He's still the same great pal to me, he even seems a little older somehow, maybe because he goes to school now and has a bunch of other kids to talk to.


Good ole Leo. That's a 100% natural smile.


The ole Rodgriquez homestead. They've made many many improvements to the house and yard since we left because that's the kind of people they are, always doing stuff, making stuff, crafting stuff out of the natural materials around them. (see what I mean at: www.friendlyproduct.com , also for an eco-friendly way to do some Xmas shopping)


We talked and visited and caught up and then went outside to run around with their two old dogs and their new puppy. We did our usual fun thing of walking up to the top of the big hill and then racing back down.


And Himal on his bike always beats me in my boots.


See you guys soon.....right???

Monday, October 27, 2008

Home Away From Home

We've been on Bainbridge Island all week, our old island, to visit with Mamop and Bobby and to see Uncle Mike who brought Jenna to Meet The Parents.



We picked them up at the ferry and got to showing Jenna around the island.



First stop: The Bay Hay and Feed Store. You've got to get your Bay Hay sweatshirt first so you can fit right in. They don't take kindly to people who don't fit right in around here! I got myself another pair of rain boots since my feet won't stop growing on account of all the milk and food I drink and eat. Mamop measured me on the measuring wall as soon as she saw me and sure enough I've grown 2 full inches since I moved away to Portland. My mom says she's going to sign me up ASAP for basketball class so I can still have a future even if the government continues to try to destroy it.

By the way, HAVE YOU VOTED YET???

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Green Green Green

Monday, October 20, 2008

Pubby Time


When Auntie Cari and them were here we walked down to the pub where in Portland even Ondine and I are allowed.


The guys played some pool and I did my new favorite thing which is watching pool.


I love to see the balls go in the pockets and then race to the side to watch them roll down to their line up. It's pub magical. I made a lot of new older guy friends because when Brad and Dad's game was done I continued to hang out at the pool table where I became the mascot to some pool sharps who took me under their wing and were sad to see me go.


It was a super fun night. We all had beers, only mine was orange. We all had french fries and burgers.


And then we all walked home, except me who got a shoulder ride and Ondine who got a stroller ride. But it was that all around good nighttime walking feeling just the same.


Mom doesn't get many sisters through these parts which is a giant shame.


Here's to my Kiwi family! We all miss you already. Portland misses you. We will have to see you in blog world for now......

Saturday, October 18, 2008

deCaussin


Ondine is here! Ondine is here! My little baby cousin moved to New Zealand and she came back all grown up into a little girl.


Cari and Brad and Ondine drove all the way up here to spend time with us and make us feel like they really don't live in another country very far away. I gave Cari a thorough doctor's exam since she was getting tired from all her traveling. Look at the bug I pulled out of her ear with my tweezers!


We took them all over Portland and did a lot of sneaky things to make them want to live here one day. I think it worked.


The spectacular autumn weather didn't hurt either.


We know they have a life and important practical reasons for living in New Zealand so we're not going to bug them too much more, but the seeds are planted and maybe in a few years down the line those seeds will be full grown flowers that remind them of this life and bring them back.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Be-Ba


This is my Uncle Bob, Mariah's dad, who I call Be-Ba on account of I already call Grandpa Bob or Bobby. He came a couple days later to drive Mariah to Eugene and Salem for more college tours. He's a doctor and he has a real sweet gentle way of talking and this is called a bed side manner.


When they came back from their road trip they brought me my own road, a new race track, with stickers and stop lights and motels and restaurants just like the real road. My pal Stewart was over when they brought it so he got to help me put it together. It's a good thing I know how to share well and am not overly possessive.


So, I am keeping my little fingers crossed that my Mariah will choose University of Portland which is 12 minutes from our house and I can see her for the next four years of my life. She is patient and kind and knows a lot about spelling and the long brown hair that falls delicately over her big brown eyes is something that will never be forgotten by my mind.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

and they call the wind...

MARIAH.

This is Mariah, my mom's little cousin. All the women in my mom's family are very pretty but I mean, come on, look at her. She's perfectly dreamy. She is a senior in high school and she came to stay at our house to look at all the colleges in Oregon.


I went on a college tour with her. This is one of the big old beautiful buildings at the Lewis and Clark University. I was pretending like it was my first day on the big campus.


The ladder of success.


If this was my school, this is where I would cut class, in the old-fashioned powder room. They'd never find me!


And this is the best part of college I think, the cafeteria with tons of all you can eat free food. I sat around and tried to be like all the rest of the pimply cynical co-eds.


"Aww, I hate mid-terms!!!"

Saturday, October 11, 2008

snot funny



There is a chill in the air, very Octobery all around. We really love it, except the colds that come, the snot that pours. This one I've got now, the first since I've been here, was a doozy with a real bad sore throat where it felt like murder every time I swallowed. And I had a fever and I kept falling asleep on my mom's chest. I also had my very first headache which I didn't even know what it was until I told my parents that my forehead hurt and then they understood. Now I'm better except for the snot which if you look closely in this picture does some pretty exciting things!

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

More Floor Art...


Back by popular demand.


These are some new pieces. Reinventing my style.


When I get a piece to the way I like it, I call in my parents to show them and when I unveil it I wave my hand like a showgirl and I say, "And so it begins!" No one knows why this is what I always say!


The weather here has turned blustery and the rain has started so it's real good I have these room projects of mine. Think about it for yourself because the cold is coming...(unless you're in Los Angeles)

Sunday, October 05, 2008

hey batter batter hey batter

Saturday, October 04, 2008

Sew Cool


This is the Portland Garment Factory, our friend Britt's new business venture. We went there to help her grand open it. It's a place where you can take your fashion idea and turn it into a for real line of clothing to sell in a boutique or something. I have a secret love of fashion and me and Mom sometimes watch the runway shows on style.com and I tell her which dresses I like and which ones I don't and me and mom have the same taste mostly. I love to watch those tall girls walk.


And please don't worry Bobby because I can watch your old hockey videos with you next time I see you.