(6988,1,'2012-08-14 00:52:45','2012-08-13 22:52:45','My little brother N. married K. on Saturday at the First Congregational Church in Walla Walla. So now he\'s a married man and he has a Mrs. This makes him the first kid in our family to get married. Not that he\'s a kid or that little. Nope. In fact, he\'s 28 years old and 6\'2.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"IMG_8263 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776811840/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7776811840_14bd27eaf2_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8263\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>This was a really wonderful day and all things considered this was also a pretty easy wedding. At least from the point of view of the groom\'s family.\r\n<a title=\"N, C and me at the church by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776734850/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8421/7776734850_090c142bd8_z.jpg\" alt=\"N, C and me at the church\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nSure we hosted the rehearsal dinner at our family cabin and that took a lot of planning, sweat equity and hard work but when the actual wedding rolled around it was pretty smooth sailing.\r\n<a title=\"K\'s hair by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776948534/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8305/7776948534_db2c985274_z.jpg\" alt=\"K\'s hair\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776944014/\" title=\"K\'s hair by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7116/7776944014_b7bced7f46_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"K\'s hair\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776953028/\" title=\"K\'s nails by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8447/7776953028_ce9e272651_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"K\'s nails\"></a>\r\nThe bride invited my mom, my sister and me to get our hair done for the wedding with the bridesmaids. This was great fun and meant that I didn\'t have to worry about what I\'d do with my fairly short hair. We showed up had a cup of coffee, ate some fruit and I drank a mimosa.\r\n<a title=\"Fruit by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776928610/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7776928610_b88648d206_z.jpg\" alt=\"Fruit\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Drinks by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776924618/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8289/7776924618_3c2b235998_z.jpg\" alt=\"Drinks\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"IMG_8240 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776892752/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7776892752_7707b91db9_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8240\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776910976/\" title=\"Make-up by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8448/7776910976_60857944be_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Make-up\"></a>\r\n<a title=\"Make-up for the wedding by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776872270/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8430/7776872270_3516181d9c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Make-up for the wedding\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Lip gloss by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776877218/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/7776877218_084b54ddd0_z.jpg\" alt=\"Lip gloss\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"The salon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776860224/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7138/7776860224_3439d6af63_z.jpg\" alt=\"The salon\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Hair and veil by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776856076/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8446/7776856076_df148cfc3f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hair and veil\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Hair and veil by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776831840/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/7776831840_e2ce7214c5_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hair and veil\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Hair and veil by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776844404/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7776844404_8e15918965_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hair and veil\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThere was one funny-awkward moment when the stylist asked me what color the bridesmaids dresses were. Um, I don\'t know. Why? Well because I wasn\'t actually a bridesmaid. It\'s just that the stylist didn\'t know this and it took me a minute to catch onto the fact that she didn\'t know that I wasn\'t a bridesmaid. So I lean over to ask a bridesmaid what color the dress is. Answer: maroon with a grey sash. The stylist looks at me with big eyes and says: it\'s pretty brave of you to not have even tried on your dress before the wedding. I hope it fits. That would be pretty brave (and/or crazy) of me but as the sister of the groom I was simply doing a reading and luckily this does not require a matching dress. Needless to say, I straightened things out pretty quickly and the stylist thought I was a whole lot less crazy than she had just minutes before.\r\n<a title=\"My hair by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776919382/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7106/7776919382_2d4cdb69c4_z.jpg\" alt=\"My hair\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"IMG_8229 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776915206/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7776915206_566513f7cb_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8229\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nFrom the salon, I stopped by Coffee Perk for an iced coffee and here my sister C. and I practiced our readings for the wedding. She read a selection from Shakespeare\'s play <em>As You Like It</em> and I read e.e. cummings \"i carry your heart.\" We stopped by Macy\'s so that my sister could buy a pair of earrings to wear and then I ended up buying a pair too. Mine were originally $29 and I got them on sale for $9. Not bad. Not bad. Only I didn\'t buy mine to wear at the wedding. I just bought mine because I liked them.\r\n<a title=\"Me all dressed up by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776765948/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8426/7776765948_e6d45e44c4_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me all dressed up\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"IMG_8270 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776782178/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8437/7776782178_6a0f37a457_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8270\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nAt home, C. helped me wiggle into my dress with my hair all done up and I helped her.  I didn\'t expect to have this problem given the fact that my hair is so short but I did. Oh and I got lots of complements on my hair. So that was nice. Needless to say, I don\'t think I\'ll ever be able to recreate it at home.\r\n<a title=\"Mom and N by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776729102/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7246/7776729102_e1321bb20c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mom and N\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Mom, Dad and N by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776720346/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8302/7776720346_a3cf9f5235_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mom, Dad and N\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nAbout 1pm we headed down to the church for photos. Again, this was really easy for me and involved me sitting around waiting until I was called for photos. I probably should have tucked my kindle into my clutch but I didn\'t think about that ahead of time.\r\n<a title=\"dAd by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776691652/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7776691652_e39428be32_z.jpg\" alt=\"dAd\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Dad\'s upgrade by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776672992/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7776672992_c7426a8b5b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Dad\'s upgrade\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Dad\'s upgrade by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776660678/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8441/7776660678_6091faac3c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Dad\'s upgrade\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nMy poor little brother had a harder go of things. He took photo after photo both inside the church and outside the church in the 100+ degree day. By 2pm even the back of his vest was sweaty and I felt really bad for him and really glad for me. I was very happy not to be wearing a full tux.\r\n<a title=\"Eating candy by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776601262/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7776601262_1eb9855b06_z.jpg\" alt=\"Eating candy\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe service started at 4pm. There were probably 130+ people at the church. It was a really wonderful service. There were some <em>allergies</em> on the part of my brother... or maybe they were tears. Either way, it was wonderful to see N. &amp; K. so happy and so in love.\r\n<a title=\"Cousins by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776591502/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7128/7776591502_94ff7ca916_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cousins\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nAfter the ceremony N. &amp; K. escaped to sign the marriage license and then headed to Laht Neppur for a beer (or two). I tagged along because I am that kind of a girl. It was great fun. The bar is pretty everyman. There are picnic tables inside the bar, everyone drinks beer and people throw peanut shells on the floor. It was a really wonderful contrast of high and low to see N. &amp; K. all dressed up in the bar drinking.\r\n<a title=\"Walking to Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776583850/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8303/7776583850_c7f42ed721_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Walking to Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776559078/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8148/7776559078_80f80395e6_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Walking to Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776567184/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7776567184_fd7e4e5e80_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"At Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776509626/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8298/7776509626_87432fc8d6_z.jpg\" alt=\"At Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"N and the bouquet by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776437360/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8440/7776437360_a82fe1a1ee_z.jpg\" alt=\"N and the bouquet\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"The floor by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776394754/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7134/7776394754_cce778e647_z.jpg\" alt=\"The floor\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nFrom there we walked down the street to the Red Monkey in the late afternoon heat. We had a cloyingly sweet shot made by K.\'s favorite bartender. K. spent a couple of minutes in the walk in cooler with strict directions not to let her dress touch the floor. The Red Monkey was just a detour on the way to the Marcus Whitman Hotel where the actual reception was taking place.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"Walking to Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776358876/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8300/7776358876_598076a921_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Walking to Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776316278/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8435/7776316278_8270e1a3b3_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776310216/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7117/7776310216_e2875f2c4a_z.jpg\" alt=\"Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"K at the bar in Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776299216/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7776299216_cd66db6e8c_z.jpg\" alt=\"K at the bar in Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776286800/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8304/7776286800_90e3fd3b72_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shots\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776246876/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7776246876_927fff7f1d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shots\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776240268/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7127/7776240268_ed3b983f7e_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shots\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776233932/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8445/7776233932_e7e2e1cd84_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shots\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"K with her bartender by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776227186/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/7776227186_059a2e5a6c_z.jpg\" alt=\"K with her bartender\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"In Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776273074/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7776273074_33f0eba686_z.jpg\" alt=\"In Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe Marc as it\'s fondly called is the nicest hotel in town and the only one with a ballroom. That makes it a staple on the wedding circuit in town. While this may make it sound common and pedestrian what it really means is that the hotel knows how to host a good reception. The food was amazing, the drink service was top notch and when the waiters cleared tables they did it professionally and with very little distraction.\r\n<a title=\"At the reception by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776214264/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7280/7776214264_13a792ae77_z.jpg\" alt=\"At the reception\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"N and F At the reception by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776180680/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8439/7776180680_80214a0e4f_z.jpg\" alt=\"N and F At the reception\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"N and friend by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776161368/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7776161368_274f2bcb15_z.jpg\" alt=\"N and friend\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Cheers! by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776133594/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8422/7776133594_0bb85acb15_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cheers!\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe night ended with a lot of dancing. I think that I can safely say, a good time was had by all.\r\n<a title=\"Cake fight by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776103492/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8443/7776103492_0d5fea3d29_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cake fight\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Cakee by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776041962/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8433/7776041962_702c5513f7_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cakee\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Cake by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776048990/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7137/7776048990_bebd08db08_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cake\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"N and K the first dance by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7775975402/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8439/7775975402_e8c2291404_z.jpg\" alt=\"N and K the first dance\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Friends by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7775933514/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8444/7775933514_8c72fa5e81_z.jpg\" alt=\"Friends\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>','A Wedding in Walla Walla  ','','inherit','open','open','','6980-revision-8','','','2012-08-14 00:52:45','2012-08-13 22:52:45','',6980,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/14/6980-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(6989,1,'2012-08-14 00:52:51','2012-08-13 22:52:51','My little brother N. married K. on Saturday at the First Congregational Church in Walla Walla. So now he\'s a married man and he has a Mrs. This makes him the first kid in our family to get married. Not that he\'s a kid or that little. Nope. In fact, he\'s 28 years old and 6\'2.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"IMG_8263 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776811840/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7776811840_14bd27eaf2_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8263\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>This was a really wonderful day and all things considered this was also a pretty easy wedding. At least from the point of view of the groom\'s family.\r\n<a title=\"N, C and me at the church by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776734850/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8421/7776734850_090c142bd8_z.jpg\" alt=\"N, C and me at the church\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nSure we hosted the rehearsal dinner at our family cabin and that took a lot of planning, sweat equity and hard work but when the actual wedding rolled around it was pretty smooth sailing.\r\n<a title=\"K\'s hair by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776948534/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8305/7776948534_db2c985274_z.jpg\" alt=\"K\'s hair\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776944014/\" title=\"K\'s hair by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7116/7776944014_b7bced7f46_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"K\'s hair\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776953028/\" title=\"K\'s nails by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8447/7776953028_ce9e272651_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"K\'s nails\"></a>\r\nThe bride invited my mom, my sister and me to get our hair done for the wedding with the bridesmaids. This was great fun and meant that I didn\'t have to worry about what I\'d do with my fairly short hair. We showed up had a cup of coffee, ate some fruit and I drank a mimosa.\r\n<a title=\"Fruit by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776928610/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7776928610_b88648d206_z.jpg\" alt=\"Fruit\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Drinks by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776924618/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8289/7776924618_3c2b235998_z.jpg\" alt=\"Drinks\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"IMG_8240 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776892752/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7776892752_7707b91db9_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8240\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776910976/\" title=\"Make-up by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8448/7776910976_60857944be_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Make-up\"></a>\r\n<a title=\"Make-up for the wedding by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776872270/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8430/7776872270_3516181d9c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Make-up for the wedding\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Lip gloss by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776877218/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/7776877218_084b54ddd0_z.jpg\" alt=\"Lip gloss\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"The salon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776860224/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7138/7776860224_3439d6af63_z.jpg\" alt=\"The salon\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Hair and veil by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776856076/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8446/7776856076_df148cfc3f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hair and veil\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Hair and veil by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776831840/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/7776831840_e2ce7214c5_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hair and veil\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Hair and veil by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776844404/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7776844404_8e15918965_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hair and veil\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThere was one funny-awkward moment when the stylist asked me what color the bridesmaids dresses were. Um, I don\'t know. Why? Well because I wasn\'t actually a bridesmaid. It\'s just that the stylist didn\'t know this and it took me a minute to catch onto the fact that she didn\'t know that I wasn\'t a bridesmaid. So I lean over to ask a bridesmaid what color the dress is. Answer: maroon with a grey sash. The stylist looks at me with big eyes and says: it\'s pretty brave of you to not have even tried on your dress before the wedding. I hope it fits. That would be pretty brave (and/or crazy) of me but as the sister of the groom I was simply doing a reading and luckily this does not require a matching dress. Needless to say, I straightened things out pretty quickly and the stylist thought I was a whole lot less crazy than she had just minutes before.\r\n<a title=\"My hair by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776919382/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7106/7776919382_2d4cdb69c4_z.jpg\" alt=\"My hair\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"IMG_8229 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776915206/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7776915206_566513f7cb_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8229\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nFrom the salon, I stopped by Coffee Perk for an iced coffee and here my sister C. and I practiced our readings for the wedding. She read a selection from Shakespeare\'s play <em>As You Like It</em> and I read e.e. cummings \"i carry your heart.\" We stopped by Macy\'s so that my sister could buy a pair of earrings to wear and then I ended up buying a pair too. Mine were originally $29 and I got them on sale for $9. Not bad. Not bad. Only I didn\'t buy mine to wear at the wedding. I just bought mine because I liked them.\r\n<a title=\"Me all dressed up by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776765948/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8426/7776765948_e6d45e44c4_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me all dressed up\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"IMG_8270 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776782178/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8437/7776782178_6a0f37a457_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8270\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nAt home, C. helped me wiggle into my dress with my hair all done up and I helped her.  I didn\'t expect to have this problem given the fact that my hair is so short but I did. Oh and I got lots of complements on my hair. So that was nice. Needless to say, I don\'t think I\'ll ever be able to recreate it at home.\r\n<a title=\"Mom and N by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776729102/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7246/7776729102_e1321bb20c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mom and N\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Mom, Dad and N by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776720346/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8302/7776720346_a3cf9f5235_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mom, Dad and N\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nAbout 1pm we headed down to the church for photos. Again, this was really easy for me and involved me sitting around waiting until I was called for photos. I probably should have tucked my kindle into my clutch but I didn\'t think about that ahead of time.\r\n<a title=\"dAd by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776691652/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7776691652_e39428be32_z.jpg\" alt=\"dAd\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Dad\'s upgrade by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776672992/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7776672992_c7426a8b5b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Dad\'s upgrade\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Dad\'s upgrade by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776660678/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8441/7776660678_6091faac3c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Dad\'s upgrade\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nMy poor little brother had a harder go of things. He took photo after photo both inside the church and outside the church in the 100+ degree day. By 2pm even the back of his vest was sweaty and I felt really bad for him and really glad for me. I was very happy not to be wearing a full tux.\r\n<a title=\"Eating candy by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776601262/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7776601262_1eb9855b06_z.jpg\" alt=\"Eating candy\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe service started at 4pm. There were probably 130+ people at the church. It was a really wonderful service. There were some <em>allergies</em> on the part of my brother... or maybe they were tears. Either way, it was wonderful to see N. &amp; K. so happy and so in love.\r\n<a title=\"Cousins by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776591502/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7128/7776591502_94ff7ca916_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cousins\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nAfter the ceremony N. &amp; K. escaped to sign the marriage license and then headed to Laht Neppur for a beer (or two). I tagged along because I am that kind of a girl. It was great fun. The bar is pretty everyman. There are picnic tables inside the bar, everyone drinks beer and people throw peanut shells on the floor. It was a really wonderful contrast of high and low to see N. &amp; K. all dressed up in the bar drinking.\r\n<a title=\"Walking to Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776583850/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8303/7776583850_c7f42ed721_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Walking to Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776559078/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8148/7776559078_80f80395e6_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Walking to Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776567184/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7776567184_fd7e4e5e80_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"At Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776509626/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8298/7776509626_87432fc8d6_z.jpg\" alt=\"At Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"N and the bouquet by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776437360/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8440/7776437360_a82fe1a1ee_z.jpg\" alt=\"N and the bouquet\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"The floor by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776394754/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7134/7776394754_cce778e647_z.jpg\" alt=\"The floor\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nFrom there we walked down the street to the Red Monkey in the late afternoon heat. We had a cloyingly sweet shot made by K.\'s favorite bartender. K. spent a couple of minutes in the walk in cooler with strict directions not to let her dress touch the floor. The Red Monkey was just a detour on the way to the Marcus Whitman Hotel where the actual reception was taking place.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"Walking to Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776358876/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8300/7776358876_598076a921_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Walking to Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776316278/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8435/7776316278_8270e1a3b3_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776310216/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7117/7776310216_e2875f2c4a_z.jpg\" alt=\"Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"K at the bar in Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776299216/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7776299216_cd66db6e8c_z.jpg\" alt=\"K at the bar in Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776286800/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8304/7776286800_90e3fd3b72_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shots\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776246876/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7776246876_927fff7f1d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shots\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776240268/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7127/7776240268_ed3b983f7e_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shots\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776233932/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8445/7776233932_e7e2e1cd84_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shots\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"K with her bartender by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776227186/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/7776227186_059a2e5a6c_z.jpg\" alt=\"K with her bartender\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"In Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776273074/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7776273074_33f0eba686_z.jpg\" alt=\"In Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe Marc as it\'s fondly called is the nicest hotel in town and the only one with a ballroom. That makes it a staple on the wedding circuit in town. While this may make it sound common and pedestrian what it really means is that the hotel knows how to host a good reception. The food was amazing, the drink service was top notch and when the waiters cleared tables they did it professionally and with very little distraction.\r\n<a title=\"At the reception by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776214264/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7280/7776214264_13a792ae77_z.jpg\" alt=\"At the reception\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"N and F At the reception by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776180680/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8439/7776180680_80214a0e4f_z.jpg\" alt=\"N and F At the reception\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"N and friend by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776161368/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7776161368_274f2bcb15_z.jpg\" alt=\"N and friend\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Cheers! by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776133594/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8422/7776133594_0bb85acb15_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cheers!\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe night ended with a lot of dancing. I think that I can safely say, a good time was had by all.\r\n<a title=\"Cake fight by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776103492/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8443/7776103492_0d5fea3d29_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cake fight\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Cakee by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776041962/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8433/7776041962_702c5513f7_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cakee\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Cake by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776048990/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7137/7776048990_bebd08db08_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cake\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"N and K the first dance by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7775975402/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8439/7775975402_e8c2291404_z.jpg\" alt=\"N and K the first dance\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Friends by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7775933514/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8444/7775933514_8c72fa5e81_z.jpg\" alt=\"Friends\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>','A Wedding in Walla Walla  ','','inherit','open','open','','6980-revision-9','','','2012-08-14 00:52:51','2012-08-13 22:52:51','',6980,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/14/6980-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(6990,1,'2012-08-14 01:01:13','2012-08-13 23:01:13','My little brother N. married K. on Saturday at the First Congregational Church in Walla Walla. So now he\'s a married man and he has a Mrs. This makes him the first kid in our family to get married. Not that he\'s a kid or that little. Nope. In fact, he\'s 28 years old and 6\'2.\n\n<a title=\"IMG_8263 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776811840/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7776811840_14bd27eaf2_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8263\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>This was a really wonderful day and all things considered this was also a pretty easy wedding. At least from the point of view of the groom\'s family.\n<a title=\"N, C and me at the church by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776734850/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8421/7776734850_090c142bd8_z.jpg\" alt=\"N, C and me at the church\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nSure we hosted the rehearsal dinner at our family cabin and that took a lot of planning, sweat equity and hard work but when the actual wedding rolled around it was pretty smooth sailing. Then again, maybe that\'s always the case when you\'re not actually in the wedding. <!--more-->\n<a title=\"K\'s hair by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776948534/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8305/7776948534_db2c985274_z.jpg\" alt=\"K\'s hair\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"K\'s hair by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776944014/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7116/7776944014_b7bced7f46_z.jpg\" alt=\"K\'s hair\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"K\'s nails by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776953028/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8447/7776953028_ce9e272651_z.jpg\" alt=\"K\'s nails\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nThe bride invited my mom, my sister and me to get our hair done for the wedding with the bridesmaids. This was great fun and meant that I didn\'t have to worry about what I\'d do with my fairly short hair. We showed up had a cup of coffee, ate some fruit and I drank a mimosa.\n<a title=\"Fruit by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776928610/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7776928610_b88648d206_z.jpg\" alt=\"Fruit\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Drinks by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776924618/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8289/7776924618_3c2b235998_z.jpg\" alt=\"Drinks\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"IMG_8240 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776892752/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7776892752_7707b91db9_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8240\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Make-up by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776910976/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8448/7776910976_60857944be_z.jpg\" alt=\"Make-up\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Make-up for the wedding by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776872270/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8430/7776872270_3516181d9c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Make-up for the wedding\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Lip gloss by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776877218/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/7776877218_084b54ddd0_z.jpg\" alt=\"Lip gloss\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"The salon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776860224/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7138/7776860224_3439d6af63_z.jpg\" alt=\"The salon\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Hair and veil by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776856076/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8446/7776856076_df148cfc3f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hair and veil\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Hair and veil by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776831840/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/7776831840_e2ce7214c5_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hair and veil\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Hair and veil by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776844404/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7776844404_8e15918965_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hair and veil\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nThere was one funny-awkward moment when the stylist asked me what color the bridesmaids dresses were. Um, I don\'t know. Why? Well because I wasn\'t actually a bridesmaid. It\'s just that the stylist didn\'t know this and it took me a minute to catch onto the fact that she didn\'t know that I wasn\'t a bridesmaid. So I lean over to ask a bridesmaid what color the dress is. Answer: maroon with a grey sash. The stylist looks at me with big eyes and says: it\'s pretty brave of you to not have even tried on your dress before the wedding. I hope it fits. That would be pretty brave (and/or crazy) of me but as the sister of the groom I was simply doing a reading and luckily this does not require a matching dress. Needless to say, I straightened things out pretty quickly and the stylist thought I was a whole lot less crazy than she had just minutes before.\n<a title=\"My hair by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776919382/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7106/7776919382_2d4cdb69c4_z.jpg\" alt=\"My hair\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"IMG_8229 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776915206/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7776915206_566513f7cb_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8229\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nFrom the salon, I stopped by Coffee Perk for an iced coffee and here my sister C. and I practiced our readings for the wedding. She read a selection from Shakespeare\'s play <em>As You Like It</em> and I read e.e. cummings \"i carry your heart.\" We stopped by Macy\'s so that my sister could buy a pair of earrings to wear and then I ended up buying a pair too. Mine were originally $29 and I got them on sale for $9. Not bad. Not bad. Only I didn\'t buy mine to wear at the wedding. I just bought mine because I liked them.\n<a title=\"Me all dressed up by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776765948/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8426/7776765948_e6d45e44c4_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me all dressed up\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"IMG_8270 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776782178/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8437/7776782178_6a0f37a457_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8270\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nAt home, C. helped me wiggle into my dress with my hair all done up and I helped her.  I didn\'t expect to have this problem given the fact that my hair is so short but I did. Oh and I got lots of complements on my hair. So that was nice. Needless to say, I don\'t think I\'ll ever be able to recreate it at home.\n<a title=\"Mom and N by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776729102/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7246/7776729102_e1321bb20c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mom and N\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Mom, Dad and N by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776720346/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8302/7776720346_a3cf9f5235_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mom, Dad and N\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nAbout 1pm we headed down to the church for photos. Again, this was really easy for me and involved me sitting around waiting until I was called for photos. I probably should have tucked my kindle into my clutch but I didn\'t think about that ahead of time.\n<a title=\"dAd by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776691652/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7776691652_e39428be32_z.jpg\" alt=\"dAd\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Dad\'s upgrade by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776672992/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7776672992_c7426a8b5b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Dad\'s upgrade\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Dad\'s upgrade by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776660678/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8441/7776660678_6091faac3c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Dad\'s upgrade\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nMy poor little brother had a harder go of things. He took photo after photo both inside the church and outside the church in the 100+ degree day. By 2pm even the back of his vest was sweaty and I felt really bad for him and really glad for me. I was very happy not to be wearing a full tux.\n<a title=\"Eating candy by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776601262/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7776601262_1eb9855b06_z.jpg\" alt=\"Eating candy\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nThe service started at 4pm. There were probably 130+ people at the church. It was a really wonderful service. There were some <em>allergies</em> on the part of my brother... or maybe they were tears. Either way, it was wonderful to see N. &amp; K. so happy and so in love.\n<a title=\"Cousins by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776591502/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7128/7776591502_94ff7ca916_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cousins\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nAfter the ceremony N. &amp; K. escaped to sign the marriage license and then headed to Laht Neppur for a beer (or two). I tagged along because I am that kind of a girl. It was great fun. The bar is pretty everyman. There are picnic tables inside the bar, everyone drinks beer and people throw peanut shells on the floor. It was a really wonderful contrast of high and low to see N. &amp; K. all dressed up in the bar drinking.\n<a title=\"Walking to Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776583850/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8303/7776583850_c7f42ed721_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Walking to Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776559078/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8148/7776559078_80f80395e6_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Walking to Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776567184/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7776567184_fd7e4e5e80_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"At Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776509626/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8298/7776509626_87432fc8d6_z.jpg\" alt=\"At Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"N and the bouquet by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776437360/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8440/7776437360_a82fe1a1ee_z.jpg\" alt=\"N and the bouquet\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"The floor by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776394754/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7134/7776394754_cce778e647_z.jpg\" alt=\"The floor\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nFrom there we walked down the street to the Red Monkey in the late afternoon heat. We had a cloyingly sweet shot made by K.\'s favorite bartender. Even though the shot was sweet-sweet, it was the perfect match to the smooth but bitter-ish beer we\'d just had. They were his and her drinks. Before we left, K. spent a couple of minutes in the walk in cooler with strict directions not to let her dress touch the floor. The Red Monkey was just a detour on the way to the Marcus Whitman Hotel where the actual reception was taking place.\n\n<a title=\"Walking to Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776358876/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8300/7776358876_598076a921_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Walking to Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776316278/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8435/7776316278_8270e1a3b3_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776310216/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7117/7776310216_e2875f2c4a_z.jpg\" alt=\"Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"K at the bar in Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776299216/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7776299216_cd66db6e8c_z.jpg\" alt=\"K at the bar in Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776286800/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8304/7776286800_90e3fd3b72_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shots\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776246876/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7776246876_927fff7f1d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shots\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776240268/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7127/7776240268_ed3b983f7e_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shots\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776233932/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8445/7776233932_e7e2e1cd84_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shots\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"K with her bartender by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776227186/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/7776227186_059a2e5a6c_z.jpg\" alt=\"K with her bartender\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"In Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776273074/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7776273074_33f0eba686_z.jpg\" alt=\"In Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nThe Marc as it\'s fondly called is the nicest hotel in town and the only one with a ballroom. That makes it a staple on the wedding circuit in town. While this may make it sound common and pedestrian what it really means is that the hotel knows how to host a good reception. The food was amazing, the drink service was top notch and when the waiters cleared tables they did it professionally and with very little distraction.\n<a title=\"At the reception by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776214264/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7280/7776214264_13a792ae77_z.jpg\" alt=\"At the reception\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"N and F At the reception by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776180680/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8439/7776180680_80214a0e4f_z.jpg\" alt=\"N and F At the reception\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"N and friend by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776161368/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7776161368_274f2bcb15_z.jpg\" alt=\"N and friend\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Cheers! by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776133594/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8422/7776133594_0bb85acb15_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cheers!\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nThe night ended with a lot of dancing. I think that I can safely say, a good time was had by all.\n<a title=\"Cake fight by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776103492/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8443/7776103492_0d5fea3d29_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cake fight\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Cakee by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776041962/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8433/7776041962_702c5513f7_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cakee\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Cake by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776048990/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7137/7776048990_bebd08db08_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cake\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"N and K the first dance by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7775975402/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8439/7775975402_e8c2291404_z.jpg\" alt=\"N and K the first dance\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Friends by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7775933514/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8444/7775933514_8c72fa5e81_z.jpg\" alt=\"Friends\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>','A Wedding in Walla Walla  ','','inherit','open','open','','6980-revision-10','','','2012-08-14 01:01:13','2012-08-13 23:01:13','',6980,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/14/6980-revision-10/',0,'revision','',0),(6991,1,'2012-08-14 01:01:41','2012-08-13 23:01:41','My little brother N. married K. on Saturday at the First Congregational Church in Walla Walla. So now he\'s a married man and he has a Mrs. This makes him the first kid in our family to get married. Not that he\'s a kid or that little. Nope. In fact, he\'s 28 years old and 6\'2.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"IMG_8263 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776811840/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7776811840_14bd27eaf2_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8263\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>This was a really wonderful day and all things considered this was also a pretty easy wedding. At least from the point of view of the groom\'s family.\r\n<a title=\"N, C and me at the church by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776734850/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8421/7776734850_090c142bd8_z.jpg\" alt=\"N, C and me at the church\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nSure we hosted the rehearsal dinner at our family cabin and that took a lot of planning, sweat equity and hard work but when the actual wedding rolled around it was pretty smooth sailing. Then again, maybe that\'s always the case when you\'re not actually in the wedding. <!--more-->\r\n<a title=\"K\'s hair by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776948534/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8305/7776948534_db2c985274_z.jpg\" alt=\"K\'s hair\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"K\'s hair by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776944014/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7116/7776944014_b7bced7f46_z.jpg\" alt=\"K\'s hair\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"K\'s nails by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776953028/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8447/7776953028_ce9e272651_z.jpg\" alt=\"K\'s nails\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe bride invited my mom, my sister and me to get our hair done for the wedding with the bridesmaids. This was great fun and meant that I didn\'t have to worry about what I\'d do with my fairly short hair. We showed up had a cup of coffee, ate some fruit and I drank a mimosa.\r\n<a title=\"Fruit by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776928610/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7776928610_b88648d206_z.jpg\" alt=\"Fruit\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Drinks by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776924618/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8289/7776924618_3c2b235998_z.jpg\" alt=\"Drinks\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"IMG_8240 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776892752/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7776892752_7707b91db9_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8240\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Make-up by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776910976/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8448/7776910976_60857944be_z.jpg\" alt=\"Make-up\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Make-up for the wedding by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776872270/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8430/7776872270_3516181d9c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Make-up for the wedding\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Lip gloss by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776877218/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/7776877218_084b54ddd0_z.jpg\" alt=\"Lip gloss\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"The salon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776860224/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7138/7776860224_3439d6af63_z.jpg\" alt=\"The salon\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Hair and veil by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776856076/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8446/7776856076_df148cfc3f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hair and veil\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Hair and veil by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776831840/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/7776831840_e2ce7214c5_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hair and veil\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Hair and veil by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776844404/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7776844404_8e15918965_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hair and veil\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThere was one funny-awkward moment when the stylist asked me what color the bridesmaids dresses were. Um, I don\'t know. Why? Well because I wasn\'t actually a bridesmaid. It\'s just that the stylist didn\'t know this and it took me a minute to catch onto the fact that she didn\'t know that I wasn\'t a bridesmaid. So I lean over to ask a bridesmaid what color the dress is. Answer: maroon with a grey sash. The stylist looks at me with big eyes and says: it\'s pretty brave of you to not have even tried on your dress before the wedding. I hope it fits. That would be pretty brave (and/or crazy) of me but as the sister of the groom I was simply doing a reading and luckily this does not require a matching dress. Needless to say, I straightened things out pretty quickly and the stylist thought I was a whole lot less crazy than she had just minutes before.\r\n<a title=\"My hair by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776919382/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7106/7776919382_2d4cdb69c4_z.jpg\" alt=\"My hair\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"IMG_8229 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776915206/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7776915206_566513f7cb_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8229\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nFrom the salon, I stopped by Coffee Perk for an iced coffee and here my sister C. and I practiced our readings for the wedding. She read a selection from Shakespeare\'s play <em>As You Like It</em> and I read e.e. cummings \"i carry your heart.\" We stopped by Macy\'s so that my sister could buy a pair of earrings to wear and then I ended up buying a pair too. Mine were originally $29 and I got them on sale for $9. Not bad. Not bad. Only I didn\'t buy mine to wear at the wedding. I just bought mine because I liked them.\r\n<a title=\"Me all dressed up by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776765948/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8426/7776765948_e6d45e44c4_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me all dressed up\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"IMG_8270 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776782178/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8437/7776782178_6a0f37a457_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8270\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nAt home, C. helped me wiggle into my dress with my hair all done up and I helped her.  I didn\'t expect to have this problem given the fact that my hair is so short but I did. Oh and I got lots of complements on my hair. So that was nice. Needless to say, I don\'t think I\'ll ever be able to recreate it at home.\r\n<a title=\"Mom and N by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776729102/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7246/7776729102_e1321bb20c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mom and N\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Mom, Dad and N by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776720346/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8302/7776720346_a3cf9f5235_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mom, Dad and N\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nAbout 1pm we headed down to the church for photos. Again, this was really easy for me and involved me sitting around waiting until I was called for photos. I probably should have tucked my kindle into my clutch but I didn\'t think about that ahead of time.\r\n<a title=\"dAd by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776691652/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7776691652_e39428be32_z.jpg\" alt=\"dAd\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Dad\'s upgrade by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776672992/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7776672992_c7426a8b5b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Dad\'s upgrade\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Dad\'s upgrade by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776660678/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8441/7776660678_6091faac3c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Dad\'s upgrade\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nMy poor little brother had a harder go of things. He took photo after photo both inside the church and outside the church in the 100+ degree day. By 2pm even the back of his vest was sweaty and I felt really bad for him and really glad for me. I was very happy not to be wearing a full tux.\r\n<a title=\"Eating candy by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776601262/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7776601262_1eb9855b06_z.jpg\" alt=\"Eating candy\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe service started at 4pm. There were probably 130+ people at the church. It was a really wonderful service. There were some <em>allergies</em> on the part of my brother... or maybe they were tears. Either way, it was wonderful to see N. &amp; K. so happy and so in love.\r\n<a title=\"Cousins by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776591502/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7128/7776591502_94ff7ca916_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cousins\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nAfter the ceremony N. &amp; K. escaped to sign the marriage license and then headed to Laht Neppur for a beer (or two). I tagged along because I am that kind of a girl. It was great fun. The bar is pretty everyman. There are picnic tables inside the bar, everyone drinks beer and people throw peanut shells on the floor. It was a really wonderful contrast of high and low to see N. &amp; K. all dressed up in the bar drinking.\r\n<a title=\"Walking to Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776583850/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8303/7776583850_c7f42ed721_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Walking to Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776559078/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8148/7776559078_80f80395e6_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Walking to Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776567184/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7776567184_fd7e4e5e80_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"At Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776509626/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8298/7776509626_87432fc8d6_z.jpg\" alt=\"At Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"N and the bouquet by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776437360/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8440/7776437360_a82fe1a1ee_z.jpg\" alt=\"N and the bouquet\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"The floor by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776394754/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7134/7776394754_cce778e647_z.jpg\" alt=\"The floor\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nFrom there we walked down the street to the Red Monkey in the late afternoon heat. We had a cloyingly sweet shot made by K.\'s favorite bartender. Even though the shot was sweet-sweet, it was the perfect match to the smooth but bitter-ish beer we\'d just had. They were his and her drinks. Before we left, K. spent a couple of minutes in the walk in cooler with strict directions not to let her dress touch the floor. The Red Monkey was just a detour on the way to the Marcus Whitman Hotel where the actual reception was taking place.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"Walking to Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776358876/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8300/7776358876_598076a921_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Walking to Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776316278/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8435/7776316278_8270e1a3b3_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776310216/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7117/7776310216_e2875f2c4a_z.jpg\" alt=\"Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"K at the bar in Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776299216/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7776299216_cd66db6e8c_z.jpg\" alt=\"K at the bar in Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776286800/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8304/7776286800_90e3fd3b72_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shots\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776246876/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7776246876_927fff7f1d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shots\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776240268/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7127/7776240268_ed3b983f7e_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shots\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776233932/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8445/7776233932_e7e2e1cd84_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shots\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"K with her bartender by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776227186/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/7776227186_059a2e5a6c_z.jpg\" alt=\"K with her bartender\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"In Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776273074/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7776273074_33f0eba686_z.jpg\" alt=\"In Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe Marc as it\'s fondly called is the nicest hotel in town and the only one with a ballroom. That makes it a staple on the wedding circuit in town. While this may make it sound common and pedestrian what it really means is that the hotel knows how to host a good reception. The food was amazing, the drink service was top notch and when the waiters cleared tables they did it professionally and with very little distraction.\r\n<a title=\"At the reception by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776214264/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7280/7776214264_13a792ae77_z.jpg\" alt=\"At the reception\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"N and F At the reception by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776180680/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8439/7776180680_80214a0e4f_z.jpg\" alt=\"N and F At the reception\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"N and friend by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776161368/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7776161368_274f2bcb15_z.jpg\" alt=\"N and friend\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Cheers! by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776133594/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8422/7776133594_0bb85acb15_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cheers!\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe night ended with a lot of dancing. I think that I can safely say, a good time was had by all.\r\n<a title=\"Cake fight by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776103492/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8443/7776103492_0d5fea3d29_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cake fight\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Cakee by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776041962/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8433/7776041962_702c5513f7_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cakee\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Cake by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776048990/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7137/7776048990_bebd08db08_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cake\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"N and K the first dance by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7775975402/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8439/7775975402_e8c2291404_z.jpg\" alt=\"N and K the first dance\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Friends by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7775933514/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8444/7775933514_8c72fa5e81_z.jpg\" alt=\"Friends\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>','A Wedding in Walla Walla  ','','inherit','open','open','','6980-revision-11','','','2012-08-14 01:01:41','2012-08-13 23:01:41','',6980,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/14/6980-revision-11/',0,'revision','',0),(6992,1,'2012-08-14 01:01:48','2012-08-13 23:01:48','My little brother N. married K. on Saturday at the First Congregational Church in Walla Walla. So now he\'s a married man and he has a Mrs. This makes him the first kid in our family to get married. Not that he\'s a kid or that little. Nope. In fact, he\'s 28 years old and 6\'2.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"IMG_8263 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776811840/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7776811840_14bd27eaf2_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8263\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>This was a really wonderful day and all things considered this was also a pretty easy wedding. At least from the point of view of the groom\'s family.\r\n<a title=\"N, C and me at the church by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776734850/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8421/7776734850_090c142bd8_z.jpg\" alt=\"N, C and me at the church\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nSure we hosted the rehearsal dinner at our family cabin and that took a lot of planning, sweat equity and hard work but when the actual wedding rolled around it was pretty smooth sailing. Then again, maybe that\'s always the case when you\'re not actually in the wedding. <!--more-->\r\n<a title=\"K\'s hair by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776948534/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8305/7776948534_db2c985274_z.jpg\" alt=\"K\'s hair\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"K\'s hair by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776944014/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7116/7776944014_b7bced7f46_z.jpg\" alt=\"K\'s hair\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"K\'s nails by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776953028/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8447/7776953028_ce9e272651_z.jpg\" alt=\"K\'s nails\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe bride invited my mom, my sister and me to get our hair done for the wedding with the bridesmaids. This was great fun and meant that I didn\'t have to worry about what I\'d do with my fairly short hair. We showed up had a cup of coffee, ate some fruit and I drank a mimosa.\r\n<a title=\"Fruit by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776928610/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7776928610_b88648d206_z.jpg\" alt=\"Fruit\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Drinks by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776924618/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8289/7776924618_3c2b235998_z.jpg\" alt=\"Drinks\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"IMG_8240 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776892752/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7776892752_7707b91db9_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8240\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Make-up by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776910976/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8448/7776910976_60857944be_z.jpg\" alt=\"Make-up\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Make-up for the wedding by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776872270/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8430/7776872270_3516181d9c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Make-up for the wedding\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Lip gloss by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776877218/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/7776877218_084b54ddd0_z.jpg\" alt=\"Lip gloss\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"The salon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776860224/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7138/7776860224_3439d6af63_z.jpg\" alt=\"The salon\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Hair and veil by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776856076/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8446/7776856076_df148cfc3f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hair and veil\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Hair and veil by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776831840/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/7776831840_e2ce7214c5_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hair and veil\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Hair and veil by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776844404/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7776844404_8e15918965_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hair and veil\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThere was one funny-awkward moment when the stylist asked me what color the bridesmaids dresses were. Um, I don\'t know. Why? Well because I wasn\'t actually a bridesmaid. It\'s just that the stylist didn\'t know this and it took me a minute to catch onto the fact that she didn\'t know that I wasn\'t a bridesmaid. So I lean over to ask a bridesmaid what color the dress is. Answer: maroon with a grey sash. The stylist looks at me with big eyes and says: it\'s pretty brave of you to not have even tried on your dress before the wedding. I hope it fits. That would be pretty brave (and/or crazy) of me but as the sister of the groom I was simply doing a reading and luckily this does not require a matching dress. Needless to say, I straightened things out pretty quickly and the stylist thought I was a whole lot less crazy than she had just minutes before.\r\n<a title=\"My hair by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776919382/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7106/7776919382_2d4cdb69c4_z.jpg\" alt=\"My hair\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"IMG_8229 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776915206/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7776915206_566513f7cb_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8229\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nFrom the salon, I stopped by Coffee Perk for an iced coffee and here my sister C. and I practiced our readings for the wedding. She read a selection from Shakespeare\'s play <em>As You Like It</em> and I read e.e. cummings \"i carry your heart.\" We stopped by Macy\'s so that my sister could buy a pair of earrings to wear and then I ended up buying a pair too. Mine were originally $29 and I got them on sale for $9. Not bad. Not bad. Only I didn\'t buy mine to wear at the wedding. I just bought mine because I liked them.\r\n<a title=\"Me all dressed up by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776765948/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8426/7776765948_e6d45e44c4_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me all dressed up\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"IMG_8270 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776782178/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8437/7776782178_6a0f37a457_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8270\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nAt home, C. helped me wiggle into my dress with my hair all done up and I helped her.  I didn\'t expect to have this problem given the fact that my hair is so short but I did. Oh and I got lots of complements on my hair. So that was nice. Needless to say, I don\'t think I\'ll ever be able to recreate it at home.\r\n<a title=\"Mom and N by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776729102/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7246/7776729102_e1321bb20c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mom and N\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Mom, Dad and N by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776720346/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8302/7776720346_a3cf9f5235_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mom, Dad and N\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nAbout 1pm we headed down to the church for photos. Again, this was really easy for me and involved me sitting around waiting until I was called for photos. I probably should have tucked my kindle into my clutch but I didn\'t think about that ahead of time.\r\n<a title=\"dAd by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776691652/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7776691652_e39428be32_z.jpg\" alt=\"dAd\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Dad\'s upgrade by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776672992/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7776672992_c7426a8b5b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Dad\'s upgrade\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Dad\'s upgrade by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776660678/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8441/7776660678_6091faac3c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Dad\'s upgrade\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nMy poor little brother had a harder go of things. He took photo after photo both inside the church and outside the church in the 100+ degree day. By 2pm even the back of his vest was sweaty and I felt really bad for him and really glad for me. I was very happy not to be wearing a full tux.\r\n<a title=\"Eating candy by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776601262/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7776601262_1eb9855b06_z.jpg\" alt=\"Eating candy\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe service started at 4pm. There were probably 130+ people at the church. It was a really wonderful service. There were some <em>allergies</em> on the part of my brother... or maybe they were tears. Either way, it was wonderful to see N. &amp; K. so happy and so in love.\r\n<a title=\"Cousins by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776591502/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7128/7776591502_94ff7ca916_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cousins\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nAfter the ceremony N. &amp; K. escaped to sign the marriage license and then headed to Laht Neppur for a beer (or two). I tagged along because I am that kind of a girl. It was great fun. The bar is pretty everyman. There are picnic tables inside the bar, everyone drinks beer and people throw peanut shells on the floor. It was a really wonderful contrast of high and low to see N. &amp; K. all dressed up in the bar drinking.\r\n<a title=\"Walking to Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776583850/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8303/7776583850_c7f42ed721_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Walking to Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776559078/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8148/7776559078_80f80395e6_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Walking to Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776567184/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7776567184_fd7e4e5e80_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"At Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776509626/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8298/7776509626_87432fc8d6_z.jpg\" alt=\"At Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"N and the bouquet by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776437360/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8440/7776437360_a82fe1a1ee_z.jpg\" alt=\"N and the bouquet\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"The floor by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776394754/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7134/7776394754_cce778e647_z.jpg\" alt=\"The floor\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nFrom there we walked down the street to the Red Monkey in the late afternoon heat. We had a cloyingly sweet shot made by K.\'s favorite bartender. Even though the shot was sweet-sweet, it was the perfect match to the smooth but bitter-ish beer we\'d just had. They were his and her drinks. Before we left, K. spent a couple of minutes in the walk in cooler with strict directions not to let her dress touch the floor. The Red Monkey was just a detour on the way to the Marcus Whitman Hotel where the actual reception was taking place.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"Walking to Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776358876/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8300/7776358876_598076a921_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Walking to Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776316278/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8435/7776316278_8270e1a3b3_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776310216/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7117/7776310216_e2875f2c4a_z.jpg\" alt=\"Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"K at the bar in Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776299216/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7776299216_cd66db6e8c_z.jpg\" alt=\"K at the bar in Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776286800/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8304/7776286800_90e3fd3b72_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shots\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776246876/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7776246876_927fff7f1d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shots\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776240268/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7127/7776240268_ed3b983f7e_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shots\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776233932/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8445/7776233932_e7e2e1cd84_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shots\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"K with her bartender by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776227186/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/7776227186_059a2e5a6c_z.jpg\" alt=\"K with her bartender\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"In Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776273074/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7776273074_33f0eba686_z.jpg\" alt=\"In Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe Marc as it\'s fondly called is the nicest hotel in town and the only one with a ballroom. That makes it a staple on the wedding circuit in town. While this may make it sound common and pedestrian what it really means is that the hotel knows how to host a good reception. The food was amazing, the drink service was top notch and when the waiters cleared tables they did it professionally and with very little distraction.\r\n<a title=\"At the reception by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776214264/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7280/7776214264_13a792ae77_z.jpg\" alt=\"At the reception\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"N and F At the reception by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776180680/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8439/7776180680_80214a0e4f_z.jpg\" alt=\"N and F At the reception\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"N and friend by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776161368/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7776161368_274f2bcb15_z.jpg\" alt=\"N and friend\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Cheers! by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776133594/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8422/7776133594_0bb85acb15_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cheers!\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe night ended with a lot of dancing. I think that I can safely say, a good time was had by all.\r\n<a title=\"Cake fight by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776103492/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8443/7776103492_0d5fea3d29_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cake fight\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Cakee by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776041962/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8433/7776041962_702c5513f7_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cakee\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Cake by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776048990/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7137/7776048990_bebd08db08_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cake\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"N and K the first dance by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7775975402/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8439/7775975402_e8c2291404_z.jpg\" alt=\"N and K the first dance\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Friends by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7775933514/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8444/7775933514_8c72fa5e81_z.jpg\" alt=\"Friends\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>','A Wedding in Walla Walla  ','','inherit','open','open','','6980-revision-12','','','2012-08-14 01:01:48','2012-08-13 23:01:48','',6980,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/14/6980-revision-12/',0,'revision','',0),(6993,1,'2012-08-14 01:05:12','2012-08-13 23:05:12','My little brother N. married K. on Saturday at the First Congregational Church in Walla Walla. So now he\'s a married man and he has a Mrs. This makes him the first kid in our family to get married. Not that he\'s a kid or that little. Nope. In fact, he\'s 28 years old and 6\'2.\n\n<a title=\"IMG_8263 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776811840/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7776811840_14bd27eaf2_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8263\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>This was a really wonderful day and all things considered this was also a pretty easy wedding. At least from the point of view of the groom\'s family.\n<a title=\"N, C and me at the church by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776734850/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8421/7776734850_090c142bd8_z.jpg\" alt=\"N, C and me at the church\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nSure we hosted the rehearsal dinner at our family cabin and that took a lot of planning, sweat equity and hard work but when the actual wedding rolled around it was pretty smooth sailing. Then again, maybe that\'s always the case when you\'re not actually in the wedding. <!--more-->\n<a title=\"K\'s hair by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776948534/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8305/7776948534_db2c985274_z.jpg\" alt=\"K\'s hair\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"K\'s hair by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776944014/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7116/7776944014_b7bced7f46_z.jpg\" alt=\"K\'s hair\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"K\'s nails by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776953028/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8447/7776953028_ce9e272651_z.jpg\" alt=\"K\'s nails\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nThe bride invited my mom, my sister and me to get our hair done for the wedding with the bridesmaids. This was great fun and meant that I didn\'t have to worry about what I\'d do with my fairly short hair. We showed up had a cup of coffee, ate some fruit and I drank a mimosa.\n<a title=\"Fruit by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776928610/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7776928610_b88648d206_z.jpg\" alt=\"Fruit\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Drinks by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776924618/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8289/7776924618_3c2b235998_z.jpg\" alt=\"Drinks\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"IMG_8240 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776892752/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7776892752_7707b91db9_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8240\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Make-up by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776910976/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8448/7776910976_60857944be_z.jpg\" alt=\"Make-up\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Make-up for the wedding by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776872270/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8430/7776872270_3516181d9c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Make-up for the wedding\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Lip gloss by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776877218/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/7776877218_084b54ddd0_z.jpg\" alt=\"Lip gloss\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"The salon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776860224/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7138/7776860224_3439d6af63_z.jpg\" alt=\"The salon\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Hair and veil by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776856076/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8446/7776856076_df148cfc3f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hair and veil\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Hair and veil by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776831840/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/7776831840_e2ce7214c5_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hair and veil\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Hair and veil by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776844404/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7776844404_8e15918965_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hair and veil\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nThere was one funny-awkward moment when the stylist asked me what color the bridesmaids dresses were. Um, I don\'t know. Why? Well because I wasn\'t actually a bridesmaid. It\'s just that the stylist didn\'t know this and it took me a minute to catch onto the fact that she didn\'t know that I wasn\'t a bridesmaid. So I lean over to ask a bridesmaid what color the dress is. Answer: maroon with a grey sash. The stylist looks at me with big eyes and says: it\'s pretty brave of you to not have even tried on your dress before the wedding. I hope it fits. That would be pretty brave (and/or crazy) of me but as the sister of the groom I was simply doing a reading and luckily this does not require a matching dress. Needless to say, I straightened things out pretty quickly and the stylist thought I was a whole lot less crazy than she had just minutes before.\n<a title=\"My hair by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776919382/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7106/7776919382_2d4cdb69c4_z.jpg\" alt=\"My hair\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"IMG_8229 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776915206/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7776915206_566513f7cb_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8229\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nFrom the salon, I stopped by Coffee Perk for an iced coffee and here my sister C. and I practiced our readings for the wedding. She read a selection from Shakespeare\'s play <em>As You Like It</em> and I read e.e. cummings \"i carry your heart.\" We stopped by Macy\'s so that my sister could buy a pair of earrings to wear and then I ended up buying a pair too. Mine were originally $29 and I got them on sale for $9. Not bad. Not bad. Only I didn\'t buy mine to wear at the wedding. I just bought mine because I liked them.\n<a title=\"Me all dressed up by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776765948/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8426/7776765948_e6d45e44c4_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me all dressed up\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"IMG_8270 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776782178/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8437/7776782178_6a0f37a457_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8270\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nAt home, C. helped me wiggle into my dress with my hair all done up and I helped her.  I didn\'t expect to have this problem given the fact that my hair is so short but I did. Oh and I got lots of complements on my hair. So that was nice. Needless to say, I don\'t think I\'ll ever be able to recreate it at home.\n<a title=\"Mom and N by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776729102/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7246/7776729102_e1321bb20c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mom and N\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Mom, Dad and N by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776720346/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8302/7776720346_a3cf9f5235_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mom, Dad and N\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nAbout 1pm we headed down to the church for photos. Again, this was really easy for me and involved me sitting around waiting until I was called for photos. I probably should have tucked my kindle into my clutch but I didn\'t think about that ahead of time.\n<a title=\"dAd by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776691652/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7776691652_e39428be32_z.jpg\" alt=\"dAd\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Dad\'s upgrade by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776672992/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7776672992_c7426a8b5b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Dad\'s upgrade\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Dad\'s upgrade by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776660678/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8441/7776660678_6091faac3c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Dad\'s upgrade\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nMy poor little brother had a harder go of things. He took photo after photo both inside the church and outside the church in the 100+ degree day. By 2pm even the back of his vest was sweaty and I felt really bad for him and really glad for me. I was very happy not to be wearing a full tux.\n<a title=\"Eating candy by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776601262/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7776601262_1eb9855b06_z.jpg\" alt=\"Eating candy\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nThe service started at 4pm. There were probably 130+ people at the church. It was a really wonderful service. There were some <em>allergies</em> on the part of my brother... or maybe they were tears. Either way, it was wonderful to see N. &amp; K. so happy and so in love.\n<a title=\"Cousins by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776591502/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7128/7776591502_94ff7ca916_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cousins\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nAfter the ceremony N. &amp; K. escaped to sign the marriage license and then headed to Laht Neppur for a beer (or two). I tagged along because I am that kind of a girl. It was great fun. The bar is pretty everyman. There are picnic tables inside the bar, everyone drinks beer and people throw peanut shells on the floor. It was a really wonderful contrast of high and low to see N. &amp; K. all dressed up in the bar drinking.\n<a title=\"Walking to Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776583850/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8303/7776583850_c7f42ed721_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Walking to Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776559078/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8148/7776559078_80f80395e6_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Walking to Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776567184/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7776567184_fd7e4e5e80_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"At Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776509626/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8298/7776509626_87432fc8d6_z.jpg\" alt=\"At Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"N and the bouquet by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776437360/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8440/7776437360_a82fe1a1ee_z.jpg\" alt=\"N and the bouquet\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"The floor by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776394754/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7134/7776394754_cce778e647_z.jpg\" alt=\"The floor\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nFrom there we walked down the street to the Red Monkey in the late afternoon heat. We had a cloyingly sweet shot made by K.\'s favorite bartender. Even though the shot was sweet-sweet, it was the perfect match to the smooth but bitter-ish beer we\'d just had. They were his and her drinks. Before we left, K. spent a couple of minutes in the walk in cooler with strict directions not to let her dress touch the floor. The Red Monkey was just a detour on the way to the Marcus Whitman Hotel where the actual reception was taking place.\n\n<a title=\"Walking to Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776358876/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8300/7776358876_598076a921_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Walking to Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776316278/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8435/7776316278_8270e1a3b3_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776310216/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7117/7776310216_e2875f2c4a_z.jpg\" alt=\"Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"K at the bar in Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776299216/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7776299216_cd66db6e8c_z.jpg\" alt=\"K at the bar in Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776286800/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8304/7776286800_90e3fd3b72_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shots\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776246876/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7776246876_927fff7f1d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shots\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776240268/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7127/7776240268_ed3b983f7e_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shots\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776233932/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8445/7776233932_e7e2e1cd84_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shots\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"K with her bartender by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776227186/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/7776227186_059a2e5a6c_z.jpg\" alt=\"K with her bartender\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"In Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776273074/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7776273074_33f0eba686_z.jpg\" alt=\"In Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nThe Marc as it\'s fondly called is the nicest hotel in town and the only one with a ballroom. That makes it a staple on the wedding circuit in town. While this may make it sound common and pedestrian what it really means is that the hotel knows how to host a good reception. The food was amazing, the drink service was top notch and when the waiters cleared tables they did it professionally and with very little distraction.\n<a title=\"At the reception by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776214264/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7280/7776214264_13a792ae77_z.jpg\" alt=\"At the reception\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"N and F At the reception by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776180680/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8439/7776180680_80214a0e4f_z.jpg\" alt=\"N and F At the reception\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"N and friend by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776161368/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7776161368_274f2bcb15_z.jpg\" alt=\"N and friend\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Cheers! by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776133594/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8422/7776133594_0bb85acb15_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cheers!\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nThe night ended with a lot of dancing. I think that I can safely say, a good time was had by all.\n<a title=\"Cake fight by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776103492/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8443/7776103492_0d5fea3d29_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cake fight\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Cakee by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776041962/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8433/7776041962_702c5513f7_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cakee\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Cake by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776048990/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7137/7776048990_bebd08db08_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cake\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"N and K the first dance by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7775975402/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8439/7775975402_e8c2291404_z.jpg\" alt=\"N and K the first dance\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Friends by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7775933514/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8444/7775933514_8c72fa5e81_z.jpg\" alt=\"Friends\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>','A Wedding in Walla Walla  ','','inherit','open','open','','6980-autosave','','','2012-08-14 01:05:12','2012-08-13 23:05:12','',6980,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/14/6980-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6994,1,'2012-08-14 17:59:20','2012-08-14 15:59:20','My dAd has a bottle of homemade rakiya that he drinks sometimes. I brought it home for him a couple of Christmases ago. I think he might just drink it to show off. The rakiya is pretty strong.\r\n\r\ndAd got out his bottle when R. was here visiting.\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781894188/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7133/7781894188_f0d44ec947_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781888848/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8448/7781888848_8ace10423e_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781883204/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7125/7781883204_cdef0533c7_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nI also think that he likes watching other people drink it. He knows what\'s coming and he likes seeing the surprise in their eyes when their tongue first registers the alcohol content and taste of the liquor.\r\n\r\nIt\'s funny because I often think this is what Bulgarians like about watching Americans drink rakiya the first time too. It\'s an initiation of sorts. <!--more-->\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781877634/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8424/7781877634_2c52285655_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781872218/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8441/7781872218_6f87ba9312_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe best part about this whole thing is that R. is not new to homemade plum brandy. She lived in Hungary and drank palinka. When we traveled in Serbia and Montenegro she drank slivovitz. In Albania and Macedonia she also had the local equivalent. Heck, she\'s been to Bulgaria twice and consumed plenty of rakiya there.\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781867288/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8283/7781867288_934c3d1fdf_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781862190/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7123/7781862190_b8a2726425_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781856658/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8446/7781856658_09cb502b1d_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781851428/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7781851428_343a046679_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781845554/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8298/7781845554_7dc5fbb2cb_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781840158/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/7781840158_56f4f09d31_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781835202/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8293/7781835202_4d1f87e6ef_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781830248/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7137/7781830248_e442c2026d_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nBut this rakiya caught her by surprise and had her spluttering and coughing. <em>Oh dear</em>. The thing is if you look through the photos fast enough it\'s almost like R. is drinking rakiya in real time. It\'s magical.\r\n\r\nThanks for this R.!! You\'re amazing.','Outtakes: R. and Rakiya','','publish','open','open','','outtakes-r-and-rakiya','','','2012-08-14 17:59:20','2012-08-14 15:59:20','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6994',0,'post','',1),(6995,1,'2012-08-14 02:17:38','2012-08-14 00:17:38','My dAd has a bottle of homemade rakiya that he drinks sometimes. I brought it home for him a couple of Christmases ago. I think he might just drink it to show off. The rakiya is pretty strong.\n\nI also think that he likes watching other people drink it. It\'s funny because I often think this is what Bulgarians like about watching Americans drink rakiya the first time too.\n\nThe best part about this whole thing is that R. is not new to homemade plum brandy. She lived in Hungary and drank palinka. When we traveled in Serbia and Montenegro she drank slivovitz. In Albania and Macedonia she also had the local equivalent. Heck, she\'s been to Bulgaria twice and consumed plenty of rakiya there.\n\nBut this rakiya caught her by surprise and had her spluttering and coughing. Oh dear.','Outtakes: R. and Rakiya','','inherit','open','open','','6994-revision','','','2012-08-14 02:17:38','2012-08-14 00:17:38','',6994,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/14/6994-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6996,1,'2012-08-14 17:47:18','2012-08-14 15:47:18','My dAd has a bottle of homemade rakiya that he drinks sometimes. I brought it home for him a couple of Christmases ago. I think he might just drink it to show off. The rakiya is pretty strong.\n\ndAd got out his bottle when R. was here visiting. \n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781894188/\" title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7133/7781894188_f0d44ec947_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781888848/\" title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8448/7781888848_8ace10423e_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781883204/\" title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7125/7781883204_cdef0533c7_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\"></a>\nI also think that he likes watching other people drink it. It\'s funny because I often think this is what Bulgarians like about watching Americans drink rakiya the first time too.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781877634/\" title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8424/7781877634_2c52285655_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781872218/\" title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8441/7781872218_6f87ba9312_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\"></a>\nThe best part about this whole thing is that R. is not new to homemade plum brandy. She lived in Hungary and drank palinka. When we traveled in Serbia and Montenegro she drank slivovitz. In Albania and Macedonia she also had the local equivalent. Heck, she\'s been to Bulgaria twice and consumed plenty of rakiya there.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781867288/\" title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8283/7781867288_934c3d1fdf_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781862190/\" title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7123/7781862190_b8a2726425_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781856658/\" title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8446/7781856658_09cb502b1d_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\"></a>\nBut this rakiya caught her by surprise and had her spluttering and coughing. Oh dear.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781851428/\" title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7781851428_343a046679_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781845554/\" title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8298/7781845554_7dc5fbb2cb_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\"></a>\nThe thing is if you look through the photos fast enough it\'s almost like R. is drinking rakiya in real time. It\'s magical. \n\nThanks for this R.!! ','Outtakes: R. and Rakiya','','inherit','open','open','','6994-revision-2','','','2012-08-14 17:47:18','2012-08-14 15:47:18','',6994,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/14/6994-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6997,1,'2012-08-14 17:48:17','2012-08-14 15:48:17','My dAd has a bottle of homemade rakiya that he drinks sometimes. I brought it home for him a couple of Christmases ago. I think he might just drink it to show off. The rakiya is pretty strong.\n\ndAd got out his bottle when R. was here visiting. \n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781894188/\" title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7133/7781894188_f0d44ec947_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781888848/\" title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8448/7781888848_8ace10423e_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781883204/\" title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7125/7781883204_cdef0533c7_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\"></a>\nI also think that he likes watching other people drink it. It\'s funny because I often think this is what Bulgarians like about watching Americans drink rakiya the first time too.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781877634/\" title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8424/7781877634_2c52285655_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781872218/\" title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8441/7781872218_6f87ba9312_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\"></a>\nThe best part about this whole thing is that R. is not new to homemade plum brandy. She lived in Hungary and drank palinka. When we traveled in Serbia and Montenegro she drank slivovitz. In Albania and Macedonia she also had the local equivalent. Heck, she\'s been to Bulgaria twice and consumed plenty of rakiya there.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781867288/\" title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8283/7781867288_934c3d1fdf_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781862190/\" title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7123/7781862190_b8a2726425_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781856658/\" title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8446/7781856658_09cb502b1d_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\"></a>\nBut this rakiya caught her by surprise and had her spluttering and coughing. Oh dear.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781851428/\" title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7781851428_343a046679_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781845554/\" title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8298/7781845554_7dc5fbb2cb_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781840158/\" title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/7781840158_56f4f09d31_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781835202/\" title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8293/7781835202_4d1f87e6ef_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781830248/\" title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7137/7781830248_e442c2026d_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\"></a>\nThe thing is if you look through the photos fast enough it\'s almost like R. is drinking rakiya in real time. It\'s magical. \n\nThanks for this R.!! ','Outtakes: R. and Rakiya','','inherit','open','open','','6994-revision-3','','','2012-08-14 17:48:17','2012-08-14 15:48:17','',6994,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/14/6994-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6998,1,'2012-08-14 17:50:19','2012-08-14 15:50:19','My dAd has a bottle of homemade rakiya that he drinks sometimes. I brought it home for him a couple of Christmases ago. I think he might just drink it to show off. The rakiya is pretty strong.\r\n\r\ndAd got out his bottle when R. was here visiting.\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781894188/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7133/7781894188_f0d44ec947_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781888848/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8448/7781888848_8ace10423e_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781883204/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7125/7781883204_cdef0533c7_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nI also think that he likes watching other people drink it. It\'s funny because I often think this is what Bulgarians like about watching Americans drink rakiya the first time too.\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781877634/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8424/7781877634_2c52285655_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781872218/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8441/7781872218_6f87ba9312_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe best part about this whole thing is that R. is not new to homemade plum brandy. She lived in Hungary and drank palinka. When we traveled in Serbia and Montenegro she drank slivovitz. In Albania and Macedonia she also had the local equivalent. Heck, she\'s been to Bulgaria twice and consumed plenty of rakiya there.\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781867288/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8283/7781867288_934c3d1fdf_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781862190/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7123/7781862190_b8a2726425_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781856658/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8446/7781856658_09cb502b1d_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781851428/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7781851428_343a046679_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781845554/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8298/7781845554_7dc5fbb2cb_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781840158/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/7781840158_56f4f09d31_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781835202/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8293/7781835202_4d1f87e6ef_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781830248/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7137/7781830248_e442c2026d_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nBut this rakiya caught her by surprise and had her spluttering and coughing. <em>Oh dear</em>. The thing is if you look through the photos fast enough it\'s almost like R. is drinking rakiya in real time. It\'s magical.\r\n\r\nThanks for this R.!! You\'re amazing.','Outtakes: R. and Rakiya','','inherit','open','open','','6994-revision-4','','','2012-08-14 17:50:19','2012-08-14 15:50:19','',6994,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/14/6994-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(6999,1,'2012-08-14 17:58:22','2012-08-14 15:58:22','My dAd has a bottle of homemade rakiya that he drinks sometimes. I brought it home for him a couple of Christmases ago. I think he might just drink it to show off. The rakiya is pretty strong.\r\n\r\ndAd got out his bottle when R. was here visiting.\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781894188/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7133/7781894188_f0d44ec947_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781888848/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8448/7781888848_8ace10423e_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781883204/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7125/7781883204_cdef0533c7_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nI also think that he likes watching other people drink it. He knows what\'s coming and he likes seeing the surprise in their eyes when their tongue first registers the alcohol content and taste of the liquor.\r\n\r\nIt\'s funny because I often think this is what Bulgarians like about watching Americans drink rakiya the first time too. It\'s an initiation of sorts. <!--more-->\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781877634/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8424/7781877634_2c52285655_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781872218/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8441/7781872218_6f87ba9312_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe best part about this whole thing is that R. is not new to homemade plum brandy. She lived in Hungary and drank palinka. When we traveled in Serbia and Montenegro she drank slivovitz. In Albania and Macedonia she also had the local equivalent. Heck, she\'s been to Bulgaria twice and consumed plenty of rakiya there.\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781867288/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8283/7781867288_934c3d1fdf_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781862190/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7123/7781862190_b8a2726425_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781856658/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8446/7781856658_09cb502b1d_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781851428/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7781851428_343a046679_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781845554/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8298/7781845554_7dc5fbb2cb_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781840158/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/7781840158_56f4f09d31_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781835202/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8293/7781835202_4d1f87e6ef_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"R.  homemade rakiya by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7781830248/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7137/7781830248_e442c2026d_z.jpg\" alt=\"R.  homemade rakiya\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nBut this rakiya caught her by surprise and had her spluttering and coughing. <em>Oh dear</em>. The thing is if you look through the photos fast enough it\'s almost like R. is drinking rakiya in real time. It\'s magical.\r\n\r\nThanks for this R.!! You\'re amazing.','Outtakes: R. and Rakiya','','inherit','open','open','','6994-revision-5','','','2012-08-14 17:58:22','2012-08-14 15:58:22','',6994,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/14/6994-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(7000,1,'2012-08-14 21:37:55','0000-00-00 00:00:00','','I adore Mexican food ','','draft','open','open','','','','','2012-08-14 21:37:55','2012-08-14 19:37:55','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=7000',0,'post','',0),(7001,1,'2012-08-14 21:37:29','2012-08-14 19:37:29','','I adore Mexican food ','','inherit','open','open','','7000-revision','','','2012-08-14 21:37:29','2012-08-14 19:37:29','',7000,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/14/7000-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(7003,1,'2012-08-17 07:44:46','2012-08-17 05:44:46','Living in Bulgaria, I dream of Mexican food. I miss Mexican food living in Sofia. Nothing is as good as the Mexican food I grew up eating in Walla Walla.\n\nA huge part of this is due to the fact that where I grew up, Mexicans make Mexican food.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799932454/\" title=\"Tacos at La Monarca by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7799932454_08dcd7b2d7_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Tacos at La Monarca\"></a>\nThere\'s a lot to choose from when it comes to Mexican food. One day last week I ended up eating Mexican for both lunch and dinner. Yes, that\'s two meals in one day. And I loved it.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799926222/\" title=\"Tacos at La Monarca by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7134/7799926222_ab52814223_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Tacos at La Monarca\"></a>\nI started out at a local taco truck. I had the Walla Walla sweet onion beef burrito. It was huge. It was also delicious. I ate the whole thing although I probably would have been better served eating the Walla sweet onion tacos. Two would have been the perfect amount of food.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799922962/\" title=\"IMG_8192 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8301/7799922962_e3198e1dbb_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"IMG_8192\"></a>\nWe went to my dAd\'s favorite taco truck La Monarca--the butterfly. Yum. Yum.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799920282/\" title=\"IMG_8193 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8302/7799920282_3bf4fc3838_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"IMG_8193\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799917780/\" title=\"IMG_8194 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7123/7799917780_2790df5f71_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"IMG_8194\"></a>\nThen for dinner I ended up at a local restaurant and a family favorite--El Sombrero. The second time around, I ordered vegetable enchiladas and chowed down on chips and salsa. Oh and I also managed to order a large margarita. I just didn\'t realize how big the large was when I ordered it and then convinced my family (and extended family) to jump on board as well. <em>Oh well</em>.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799976396/\" title=\"El Sombrero by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/7799976396_e1f70f27a1_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"El Sombrero\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799972790/\" title=\"El Sombrero by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7799972790_37213a864b_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"El Sombrero\"></a>\nThese things happen sometimes and it was wonderful.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799949520/\" title=\"El Sombrero by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8427/7799949520_b07604da3a_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"El Sombrero\"></a>','I dream of Mexican Food','','inherit','open','open','','7002-revision','','','2012-08-17 07:44:46','2012-08-17 05:44:46','',7002,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/17/7002-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(7004,1,'2012-08-17 07:45:04','2012-08-17 05:45:04','Living in Bulgaria, I dream of Mexican food. I miss Mexican food living in Sofia. Nothing is as good as the Mexican food I grew up eating in Walla Walla.\r\n\r\nA huge part of this is due to the fact that where I grew up, Mexicans make Mexican food.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799932454/\" title=\"Tacos at La Monarca by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7799932454_08dcd7b2d7_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Tacos at La Monarca\"></a>\r\nThere\'s a lot to choose from when it comes to Mexican food. One day last week I ended up eating Mexican for both lunch and dinner. Yes, that\'s two meals in one day. And I loved it.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799926222/\" title=\"Tacos at La Monarca by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7134/7799926222_ab52814223_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Tacos at La Monarca\"></a>\r\nI started out at a local taco truck. I had the Walla Walla sweet onion beef burrito. It was huge. It was also delicious. I ate the whole thing although I probably would have been better served eating the Walla sweet onion tacos. Two would have been the perfect amount of food.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799922962/\" title=\"IMG_8192 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8301/7799922962_e3198e1dbb_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"IMG_8192\"></a>\r\nWe went to my dAd\'s favorite taco truck La Monarca--the butterfly. Yum. Yum.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799920282/\" title=\"IMG_8193 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8302/7799920282_3bf4fc3838_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"IMG_8193\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799917780/\" title=\"IMG_8194 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7123/7799917780_2790df5f71_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"IMG_8194\"></a>\r\nThen for dinner I ended up at a local restaurant and a family favorite--El Sombrero. The second time around, I ordered vegetable enchiladas and chowed down on chips and salsa. Oh and I also managed to order a large margarita. I just didn\'t realize how big the large was when I ordered it and then convinced my family (and extended family) to jump on board as well. <em>Oh well</em>.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799976396/\" title=\"El Sombrero by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/7799976396_e1f70f27a1_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"El Sombrero\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799972790/\" title=\"El Sombrero by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7799972790_37213a864b_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"El Sombrero\"></a>\r\nThese things happen sometimes and it was wonderful.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799949520/\" title=\"El Sombrero by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8427/7799949520_b07604da3a_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"El Sombrero\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799962040/\" title=\"El Sombrero by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7130/7799962040_0b39663a4c_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"El Sombrero\"></a>','I dream of Mexican Food','','inherit','open','open','','7002-revision-2','','','2012-08-17 07:45:04','2012-08-17 05:45:04','',7002,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/17/7002-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(7005,1,'2012-08-17 07:45:07','2012-08-17 05:45:07','Living in Bulgaria, I dream of Mexican food. I miss Mexican food living in Sofia. Nothing is as good as the Mexican food I grew up eating in Walla Walla.\r\n\r\nA huge part of this is due to the fact that where I grew up, Mexicans make Mexican food.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799932454/\" title=\"Tacos at La Monarca by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7799932454_08dcd7b2d7_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Tacos at La Monarca\"></a>\r\nThere\'s a lot to choose from when it comes to Mexican food. One day last week I ended up eating Mexican for both lunch and dinner. Yes, that\'s two meals in one day. And I loved it.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799926222/\" title=\"Tacos at La Monarca by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7134/7799926222_ab52814223_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Tacos at La Monarca\"></a>\r\nI started out at a local taco truck. I had the Walla Walla sweet onion beef burrito. It was huge. It was also delicious. I ate the whole thing although I probably would have been better served eating the Walla sweet onion tacos. Two would have been the perfect amount of food.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799922962/\" title=\"IMG_8192 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8301/7799922962_e3198e1dbb_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"IMG_8192\"></a>\r\nWe went to my dAd\'s favorite taco truck La Monarca--the butterfly. Yum. Yum.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799920282/\" title=\"IMG_8193 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8302/7799920282_3bf4fc3838_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"IMG_8193\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799917780/\" title=\"IMG_8194 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7123/7799917780_2790df5f71_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"IMG_8194\"></a>\r\nThen for dinner I ended up at a local restaurant and a family favorite--El Sombrero. The second time around, I ordered vegetable enchiladas and chowed down on chips and salsa. Oh and I also managed to order a large margarita. I just didn\'t realize how big the large was when I ordered it and then convinced my family (and extended family) to jump on board as well. <em>Oh well</em>.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799976396/\" title=\"El Sombrero by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/7799976396_e1f70f27a1_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"El Sombrero\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799972790/\" title=\"El Sombrero by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7799972790_37213a864b_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"El Sombrero\"></a>\r\nThese things happen sometimes and it was wonderful.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799949520/\" title=\"El Sombrero by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8427/7799949520_b07604da3a_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"El Sombrero\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799962040/\" title=\"El Sombrero by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7130/7799962040_0b39663a4c_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"El Sombrero\"></a>','I dream of Mexican Food','','inherit','open','open','','7002-revision-3','','','2012-08-17 07:45:07','2012-08-17 05:45:07','',7002,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/17/7002-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(7006,1,'2012-08-17 07:47:49','2012-08-17 05:47:49','Living in Bulgaria, I dream of Mexican food. I miss Mexican food living in Sofia. Nothing is as good as the Mexican food I grew up eating in Walla Walla.\r\n\r\nA huge part of this is due to the fact that where I grew up, Mexicans make Mexican food.\r\n<a title=\"Tacos at La Monarca by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799932454/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7799932454_08dcd7b2d7_z.jpg\" alt=\"Tacos at La Monarca\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThere\'s a lot to choose from when it comes to Mexican food. One day last week I ended up eating Mexican for both lunch and dinner. Yes, that\'s two meals in one day. And I loved it.<!--more-->\r\n<a title=\"Tacos at La Monarca by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799926222/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7134/7799926222_ab52814223_z.jpg\" alt=\"Tacos at La Monarca\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nI started out at a local taco truck. I had the Walla Walla sweet onion beef burrito. It was huge. It was also delicious. I ate the whole thing although I probably would have been better served eating the Walla sweet onion tacos. Two would have been the perfect amount of food.\r\n<a title=\"IMG_8192 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799922962/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8301/7799922962_e3198e1dbb_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8192\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nWe went to my dAd\'s favorite taco truck La Monarca--the butterfly. Yum. Yum.\r\n<a title=\"IMG_8193 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799920282/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8302/7799920282_3bf4fc3838_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8193\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"IMG_8194 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799917780/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7123/7799917780_2790df5f71_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8194\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThen for dinner I ended up at a local restaurant and a family favorite--El Sombrero. The second time around, I ordered vegetable enchiladas and chowed down on chips and salsa. Oh and I also managed to order a large margarita. I just didn\'t realize how big the large was when I ordered it and then convinced my family (and extended family) to jump on board as well. <em>Oh well</em>.\r\n<a title=\"El Sombrero by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799976396/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/7799976396_e1f70f27a1_z.jpg\" alt=\"El Sombrero\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"El Sombrero by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799972790/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7799972790_37213a864b_z.jpg\" alt=\"El Sombrero\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThese things happen sometimes and it was wonderful. Oh and if you are wondering, I took a lot more photos of the drinks and by the time the food arrived I\'d given up on photo taking and had committed myself to eating my second meal of Mexican food of the day.\r\n<a title=\"El Sombrero by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799949520/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8427/7799949520_b07604da3a_z.jpg\" alt=\"El Sombrero\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"El Sombrero by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799962040/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7130/7799962040_0b39663a4c_z.jpg\" alt=\"El Sombrero\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>','I dream of Mexican Food','','inherit','open','open','','7002-revision-4','','','2012-08-17 07:47:49','2012-08-17 05:47:49','',7002,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/17/7002-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(7122,1,'2012-09-03 06:32:45','2012-09-03 04:32:45','Today is my first day back at school.\r\n\r\n<em>Hello</em>, ACS!\r\n\r\nI\'ve been looking forward to getting back into my classroom, making some plans and getting organized, catching up with my colleagues and writing letters of recommendation for some of my favorite students (and I am going to be busy with 18+ letters to write. That\'s slightly more than half of the 11th graders I taught last year).\r\n\r\nSo I\'m sad to say that I find myself kind of bummed out about school in general. The fact is, I just read this article about <a href=\"http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=142863\" target=\"_blank\">the fact that Bulgaria  is threatened by a shortage of teachers</a>.\r\n\r\nI\'ve know for a long time about the poor state of education in Bulgaria but here\'s the breakdown in numbers according to the article (and my commentary in parenthetical asides):\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>The average age of teachers in Bulgaria is 50. (That means that these teachers are 30+ years older than their students.)</li>\r\n	<li>The (maybe) average salary is 650 leva (or 325 Euro) a month but the average salary is very likely less than this. (How can anyone afford to live on this?! Answer: you can\'t. So Bulgarian teachers take a second job. How can you be a good teacher with 2+ jobs? Answer: I think it\'s difficult at best. )</li>\r\n	<li>There is a shortage of teachers in the sciences. (Um, <em>oh no</em>!)</li>\r\n	<li>There are practically no male teachers. (This means there are basically no male role models for young men and women.)</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nPhew. That\'s depressing.\r\n\r\nThen I wondered if my school ACS is included in this survey. It\'s interesting because in the English department at ACS we\'ve got a 50/50 split male and female teachers and I would guess our average age is probably 35-37 and this is the oldest average it\'s been in a while. Then thinking about our school as a whole, there are certainly more female teachers than male teachers but not overwhelmingly so.  If our numbers are included in this, what would the numbers look like without us?\r\n\r\nOnly I didn\'t spend too much time thinking about this because there are clearly bigger issues to worry about and it boils down to this: the Ministry of Education doesn\'t get it. What are they doing?!?\r\n\r\nI think this becomes especially clear when the Ministry of Education dismisses out of hand the problem regarding the shortage of teachers. The article explains the Ministry believes that they have \"no reasons for alarm over the number of teachers in the country on grounds the number of students is also going down.\"\r\n\r\nOh, it\'s <em>almost</em> laughable.\r\n\r\nThe only thing is, I pretty sure they are serious and this makes me sad. It also makes me wonder this big, hard question: <em>how can anyone get an education in a country like this?</em>\r\n\r\nI\'m afraid that they can\'t. And that makes me sad.\r\n\r\nSo here I am. I\'m left doing the only thing I can do. I shake my head and go to school. I find myself glad that I\'m working at the American College of Sofia and sad for everyone else. And for the record, I hate this feeling.','The Education Divide','','publish','open','open','','the-education-divide','','','2012-09-03 06:32:45','2012-09-03 04:32:45','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=7122',0,'post','',21),(7008,1,'2012-08-17 17:16:13','2012-08-17 15:16:13','It doesn\'t get much better than this. My dAd grilled hamburgers one night this week. We sat outside and ate them by the pool.\r\n\r\nMy dAd said this is summer: a hamburger with homegrown vine ripened tomatoes and thick cut Walla Walla sweet onions. I can\'t help but agree. (Then he wrote a <a href=\"http://wallawallalocal.wordpress.com/2012/08/16/its-finally-summer-in-the-valley-of-the-two-wallas/\" target=\"_blank\">blog post about it</a> and yes, now I am copying him. Only my pictures are better).\r\n<a title=\"dAd making burgers by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801868900/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/7801868900_98368157a1_z.jpg\" alt=\"dAd making burgers\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nNow the thing about Walla Walla sweet onions is that they are a special breed of onion.\r\n\r\nNo, really, I am not kidding.\r\n\r\nThey grow really big. In many cases they are bigger than a softball (or a large apple). On top of this, they are sweet. Well, as sweet as an onion can be. Really what this means is that they aren\'t bitter and they don\'t make you cry when you cut or slice them. Farmers around town claim that what makes these onions special is both  the variety <em>and</em> the soil.\r\n\r\nOn a hamburger what this means is that you can have a number of big crunchy slices on your burger without being overwhelmed by the traditional white, yellow or red onion flavor. What you get is a hint of onion and a lot of crunch.<!--more-->\r\n<a title=\"My burger by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801864904/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/7801864904_f6520c303d_z.jpg\" alt=\"My burger\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nAs a total side note, I used to work at a fruit and berry stand in high school and one day a customer told me that he loved to eat Walla Walla sweets on sandwiches. Just to be polite, I asked him what his favorite sandwich for these onions was.\r\n\r\nHe told me: peanut butter and mayonnaise on rye bread with 1/2 -3/4 of a inch thick slice of Walla Walla sweet onions. The teenager in my turned my nose up at it then (and she still does). The customer must have seen the look on my face. He said: I know, I know. It doesn\'t sound good but it tastes great.\r\n\r\nYears later, I\'m still unconvinced. I\'ve never tried it but I\'ve always figured why waste perfectly good onion on peanut butter when you can put the onion on a hamburger?!\r\n\r\nOf course, no restaurant made hamburger ever tastes as good as the hamburger you make at home (with 100% ground beef) and eat in your own backyard. I might even go as far as to say that the only thing that makes a backyard hamburger better is if it\'s your dAd who\'s made the burger.\r\n\r\nDads are magic like that. Or at least my dAd is.\r\n<a title=\"My dAd\'s burger by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801861478/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7252/7801861478_db1bea0234_z.jpg\" alt=\"My dAd\'s burger\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nWhen we made our burgers, the backyard smelled of grill, the water in the pool looked bluer and more inviting than normal, the beer tasted that much better (which maybe isn\'t hard to do with Milwaukee\'s Best) and my hamburger was perfectly juicy. The kind of perfect that comes from the meat, the tomato, the melted cheese and the softening of the condiments--in my case--yellow mustard and a little mayo.\r\n<a title=\"Milwaukee\'s Best beer by the pool by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801857878/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8295/7801857878_ab1026bc61_z.jpg\" alt=\"Milwaukee\'s Best beer by the pool\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nAh, summer.\r\n\r\nThen my dAd said: I hate that the days are getting shorter. It means we\'re on the downhill side of summer.\r\n\r\nGesh, dAd, way to ruin a moment.','Late summer hamburgers in the backyard','','publish','open','open','','late-summer-hamburgers-in-the-backyard','','','2012-08-17 17:16:13','2012-08-17 15:16:13','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=7008',0,'post','',2),(7009,1,'2012-08-17 17:11:59','2012-08-17 15:11:59','It doesn\'t get much better than this. My dAd grilled hamburgers one night this week. We sat outside and ate them by the pool.\n\nMy dAd said this is summer: a hamburger with homegrown vine ripened tomatoes and thick cut Walla Walla sweet onions. I can\'t help but agree. (Then he wrote a <a href=\"http://wallawallalocal.wordpress.com/2012/08/16/its-finally-summer-in-the-valley-of-the-two-wallas/\" target=\"_blank\">blog post about it</a> and yes, now I am copying him. Only my pictures are better).\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801868900/\" title=\"dAd making burgers by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/7801868900_98368157a1_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"dAd making burgers\"></a>\nNow the thing about Walla Walla sweet onions is that they are a special breed of onion. They grow really big. In many cases they are bigger than a softball (or a large apple). On top of this, they are sweet. Well, as sweet as an onion can be. Really what this means is that they aren\'t bitter and they don\'t make you cry when you cut or slice them. Farmers around town claim that what makes these onions special is both  the variety <em>and</em> the soil.\n\nOn a hamburger what this means is that you can have a number of big crunchy slices on your burger without being overwhelmed by the traditional white, yellow or red onion flavor. What you get is a hint of onion and a lot of crunch.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801864904/\" title=\"My burger by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/7801864904_f6520c303d_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"My burger\"></a>\nAs a total side note, I used to work at a fruit and berry stand in high school and one day a customer told me that he loved to eat Walla Walla sweets on sandwiches. Just to be polite, I asked him what his favorite sandwich for these onions was. He told me: peanut butter and mayonnaise on rye bread with 1/2 -3/4 of a inch thick slice of Walla Walla sweet onions. The teenager in my turned my nose up at it then (and she still does). The customer must have seen the look on my face. He said: I know, I know. It doesn\'t sound good but it tastes great. I am still unconvinced. I\'ve never tried it but I\'ve always figured why waste perfectly good onion on peanut butter when you can put the onion on a hamburger?!\n\nOf course, no restaurant made hamburger ever tastes as good as the hamburger you make at home (with 100% ground beef).\n\nWhen we made our burgers, the backyard smelled of grill, the water in the pool looked bluer and more inviting than normal, the beer tasted that much better (which maybe isn\'t hard to do with Milwaukee\'s Best) and my hamburger was perfectly juicy. The kind of perfect that comes from the meat, the tomato, the melted cheese and the softening of the condiments--in my case--yellow mustard and a little mayo.\n\nAh, summer.\n\nThen my dAd said: I hate that the days are getting shorter. It means we\'re on the downhill side of summer.\n\nGesh, dAd, way to ruin a moment.','Late summer hamburgers in the backyard','','inherit','open','open','','7008-revision','','','2012-08-17 17:11:59','2012-08-17 15:11:59','',7008,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/17/7008-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(7010,1,'2012-08-17 17:12:26','2012-08-17 15:12:26','It doesn\'t get much better than this. My dAd grilled hamburgers one night this week. We sat outside and ate them by the pool.\r\n\r\nMy dAd said this is summer: a hamburger with homegrown vine ripened tomatoes and thick cut Walla Walla sweet onions. I can\'t help but agree. (Then he wrote a <a href=\"http://wallawallalocal.wordpress.com/2012/08/16/its-finally-summer-in-the-valley-of-the-two-wallas/\" target=\"_blank\">blog post about it</a> and yes, now I am copying him. Only my pictures are better).\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801868900/\" title=\"dAd making burgers by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/7801868900_98368157a1_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"dAd making burgers\"></a>\r\nNow the thing about Walla Walla sweet onions is that they are a special breed of onion. They grow really big. In many cases they are bigger than a softball (or a large apple). On top of this, they are sweet. Well, as sweet as an onion can be. Really what this means is that they aren\'t bitter and they don\'t make you cry when you cut or slice them. Farmers around town claim that what makes these onions special is both  the variety <em>and</em> the soil.\r\n\r\nOn a hamburger what this means is that you can have a number of big crunchy slices on your burger without being overwhelmed by the traditional white, yellow or red onion flavor. What you get is a hint of onion and a lot of crunch.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801864904/\" title=\"My burger by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/7801864904_f6520c303d_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"My burger\"></a>\r\nAs a total side note, I used to work at a fruit and berry stand in high school and one day a customer told me that he loved to eat Walla Walla sweets on sandwiches. Just to be polite, I asked him what his favorite sandwich for these onions was. He told me: peanut butter and mayonnaise on rye bread with 1/2 -3/4 of a inch thick slice of Walla Walla sweet onions. The teenager in my turned my nose up at it then (and she still does). The customer must have seen the look on my face. He said: I know, I know. It doesn\'t sound good but it tastes great. I am still unconvinced. I\'ve never tried it but I\'ve always figured why waste perfectly good onion on peanut butter when you can put the onion on a hamburger?!\r\n\r\nOf course, no restaurant made hamburger ever tastes as good as the hamburger you make at home (with 100% ground beef).\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801861478/\" title=\"My dAd\'s burger by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7252/7801861478_db1bea0234_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"My dAd\'s burger\"></a>\r\nWhen we made our burgers, the backyard smelled of grill, the water in the pool looked bluer and more inviting than normal, the beer tasted that much better (which maybe isn\'t hard to do with Milwaukee\'s Best) and my hamburger was perfectly juicy. The kind of perfect that comes from the meat, the tomato, the melted cheese and the softening of the condiments--in my case--yellow mustard and a little mayo.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801857878/\" title=\"Milwaukee\'s Best beer by the pool by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8295/7801857878_ab1026bc61_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Milwaukee\'s Best beer by the pool\"></a>\r\nAh, summer.\r\n\r\nThen my dAd said: I hate that the days are getting shorter. It means we\'re on the downhill side of summer.\r\n\r\nGesh, dAd, way to ruin a moment.','Late summer hamburgers in the backyard','','inherit','open','open','','7008-revision-2','','','2012-08-17 17:12:26','2012-08-17 15:12:26','',7008,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/17/7008-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(7011,1,'2012-08-17 17:15:32','2012-08-17 15:15:32','It doesn\'t get much better than this. My dAd grilled hamburgers one night this week. We sat outside and ate them by the pool.\n\nMy dAd said this is summer: a hamburger with homegrown vine ripened tomatoes and thick cut Walla Walla sweet onions. I can\'t help but agree. (Then he wrote a <a href=\"http://wallawallalocal.wordpress.com/2012/08/16/its-finally-summer-in-the-valley-of-the-two-wallas/\" target=\"_blank\">blog post about it</a> and yes, now I am copying him. Only my pictures are better).\n<a title=\"dAd making burgers by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801868900/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/7801868900_98368157a1_z.jpg\" alt=\"dAd making burgers\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nNow the thing about Walla Walla sweet onions is that they are a special breed of onion.\n\nNo, really, I am not kidding.\n\nThey grow really big. In many cases they are bigger than a softball (or a large apple). On top of this, they are sweet. Well, as sweet as an onion can be. Really what this means is that they aren\'t bitter and they don\'t make you cry when you cut or slice them. Farmers around town claim that what makes these onions special is both  the variety <em>and</em> the soil.\n\nOn a hamburger what this means is that you can have a number of big crunchy slices on your burger without being overwhelmed by the traditional white, yellow or red onion flavor. What you get is a hint of onion and a lot of crunch.\n<a title=\"My burger by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801864904/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/7801864904_f6520c303d_z.jpg\" alt=\"My burger\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nAs a total side note, I used to work at a fruit and berry stand in high school and one day a customer told me that he loved to eat Walla Walla sweets on sandwiches. Just to be polite, I asked him what his favorite sandwich for these onions was.\n\nHe told me: peanut butter and mayonnaise on rye bread with 1/2 -3/4 of a inch thick slice of Walla Walla sweet onions. The teenager in my turned my nose up at it then (and she still does). The customer must have seen the look on my face. He said: I know, I know. It doesn\'t sound good but it tastes great.\n\nYears later, I\'m still unconvinced. I\'ve never tried it but I\'ve always figured why waste perfectly good onion on peanut butter when you can put the onion on a hamburger?!\n\nOf course, no restaurant made hamburger ever tastes as good as the hamburger you make at home (with 100% ground beef) and eat in your own backyard. I might even go as far as to say that the only thing that makes a backyard hamburger better is if it\'s your dAd who\'s made the burger.\n\nDads are magic like that. Or at least my dAd is.\n<a title=\"My dAd\'s burger by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801861478/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7252/7801861478_db1bea0234_z.jpg\" alt=\"My dAd\'s burger\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nWhen we made our burgers, the backyard smelled of grill, the water in the pool looked bluer and more inviting than normal, the beer tasted that much better (which maybe isn\'t hard to do with Milwaukee\'s Best) and my hamburger was perfectly juicy. The kind of perfect that comes from the meat, the tomato, the melted cheese and the softening of the condiments--in my case--yellow mustard and a little mayo.\n<a title=\"Milwaukee\'s Best beer by the pool by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801857878/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8295/7801857878_ab1026bc61_z.jpg\" alt=\"Milwaukee\'s Best beer by the pool\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nAh, summer.\n\nThen my dAd said: I hate that the days are getting shorter. It means we\'re on the downhill side of summer.\n\nGesh, dAd, way to ruin a moment.','Late summer hamburgers in the backyard','','inherit','open','open','','7008-revision-3','','','2012-08-17 17:15:32','2012-08-17 15:15:32','',7008,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/17/7008-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(7012,1,'2012-08-17 17:17:17','2012-08-17 15:17:17','It doesn\'t get much better than this. My dAd grilled hamburgers one night this week. We sat outside and ate them by the pool.\n\nMy dAd said this is summer: a hamburger with homegrown vine ripened tomatoes and thick cut Walla Walla sweet onions. I can\'t help but agree. (Then he wrote a <a href=\"http://wallawallalocal.wordpress.com/2012/08/16/its-finally-summer-in-the-valley-of-the-two-wallas/\" target=\"_blank\">blog post about it</a> and yes, now I am copying him. Only my pictures are better).\n<a title=\"dAd making burgers by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801868900/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/7801868900_98368157a1_z.jpg\" alt=\"dAd making burgers\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nNow the thing about Walla Walla sweet onions is that they are a special breed of onion.\n\nNo, really, I am not kidding.\n\nThey grow really big. In many cases they are bigger than a softball (or a large apple). On top of this, they are sweet. Well, as sweet as an onion can be. Really what this means is that they aren\'t bitter and they don\'t make you cry when you cut or slice them. Farmers around town claim that what makes these onions special is both  the variety <em>and</em> the soil.\n\nOn a hamburger what this means is that you can have a number of big crunchy slices on your burger without being overwhelmed by the traditional white, yellow or red onion flavor. What you get is a hint of onion and a lot of crunch.<!--more-->\n<a title=\"My burger by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801864904/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/7801864904_f6520c303d_z.jpg\" alt=\"My burger\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nAs a total side note, I used to work at a fruit and berry stand in high school and one day a customer told me that he loved to eat Walla Walla sweets on sandwiches. Just to be polite, I asked him what his favorite sandwich for these onions was.\n\nHe told me: peanut butter and mayonnaise on rye bread with 1/2 -3/4 of a inch thick slice of Walla Walla sweet onions. The teenager in my turned my nose up at it then (and she still does). The customer must have seen the look on my face. He said: I know, I know. It doesn\'t sound good but it tastes great.\n\nYears later, I\'m still unconvinced. I\'ve never tried it but I\'ve always figured why waste perfectly good onion on peanut butter when you can put the onion on a hamburger?!\n\nOf course, no restaurant made hamburger ever tastes as good as the hamburger you make at home (with 100% ground beef) and eat in your own backyard. I might even go as far as to say that the only thing that makes a backyard hamburger better is if it\'s your dAd who\'s made the burger.\n\nDads are magic like that. Or at least my dAd is.\n<a title=\"My dAd\'s burger by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801861478/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7252/7801861478_db1bea0234_z.jpg\" alt=\"My dAd\'s burger\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nWhen we made our burgers, the backyard smelled of grill, the water in the pool looked bluer and more inviting than normal, the beer tasted that much better (which maybe isn\'t hard to do with Milwaukee\'s Best) and my hamburger was perfectly juicy. The kind of perfect that comes from the meat, the tomato, the melted cheese and the softening of the condiments--in my case--yellow mustard and a little mayo.\n<a title=\"Milwaukee\'s Best beer by the pool by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801857878/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8295/7801857878_ab1026bc61_z.jpg\" alt=\"Milwaukee\'s Best beer by the pool\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nAh, summer.\n\nThen my dAd said: I hate that the days are getting shorter. It means we\'re on the downhill side of summer.\n\nGesh, dAd, way to ruin a moment.','Late summer hamburgers in the backyard','','inherit','open','open','','7008-autosave','','','2012-08-17 17:17:17','2012-08-17 15:17:17','',7008,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/17/7008-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(7013,1,'2012-08-17 23:23:58','2012-08-17 21:23:58','Earlier this week, I got a call from my dAd.\r\n\r\nHe said: get dressed and come pick raspberries with me at the community garden.\r\n\r\nMe: Um, <em>okay</em>.\r\n\r\nI love raspberries and I love picking berries. You name it, I\'ll pick it.\r\n\r\nStrawberries.<em> Yes, please</em>.\r\n\r\nBlackberries? <em>Okay, who cares that the bushes are super thorny</em>.\r\n\r\nRaspberries. <em>Alright</em>.\r\n\r\nBlueberries. <em>Of course , these are the easiest berry to pick</em>.\r\n\r\nBlackcaps (or wild black raspberries as non-locals might call them)?! <em>There\'s no need to ask me twice. </em>Blackcaps are small and seedy but incredibly flavorful. The juice will easily stain your fingers and your tongue. They are hard work to pick but worth it.\r\n\r\nCompared to blackcaps, raspberries are a dream to pick especially when the raspberries are being cultivated by humans rather than just growing wild.\r\n<a title=\"Picking berries in the Community Garden by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801913928/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8286/7801913928_77a12b47cd_z.jpg\" alt=\"Picking berries in the Community Garden\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nMy MoM and dAd are supporters of all things local. So it should come as no surprise that they also support our local community garden.  My parents own a small business in town--an antique store--and know just how important it is to support other small businesses, people\'s dreams and the development of the community as a whole because ultimately what goes around comes around.\r\n\r\nIn this case, fresh raspberries.\r\n\r\n<!--more-->\r\n<a title=\"Community Garden raspberries by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801910116/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8302/7801910116_b1693f2a25_z.jpg\" alt=\"Community Garden raspberries\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Raspberries by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801901550/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8286/7801901550_f5336eb077_z.jpg\" alt=\"Raspberries\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nAcross the street from the antique store, there\'s a community garden. Whitman College owns the land and a number of years ago--five maybe--turned it into a garden space. My uncle has a little plot of land there and my dAd helps him keep it up.\r\n<a title=\"The Community Garden by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801897672/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8446/7801897672_fa0fe4134d_z.jpg\" alt=\"The Community Garden\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Sunflower in the Community Garden by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801917914/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7801917914_dc38449cae_z.jpg\" alt=\"Sunflower in the Community Garden\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nNow for those of you unfamiliar with the idea of a community garden here are the basics. You join the garden and pay a small yearly fee to belong. You\'re given a piece of land and you can grow what ever you\'d like on this plot. What you grow is yours. Thus land that would otherwise be untended and growing weeds--in other words and eyesore--is growing vegetables, flowers and sometimes even fruit. Moreover, you get to meet new people who live in your neighborhood and make new friends based on your common interest--gardening.\r\n<a title=\"Community Garden and red peppers by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801881500/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8291/7801881500_b35b0c83e9_z.jpg\" alt=\"Community Garden and red peppers\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nAnyhow, my dAd is on the community garden email list and received an email that said: the raspberries need to be picked. Please pick them. These raspberries grow along one of the garden fences and don\'t actually belong to anyone. Thus they belong to the community garden members as a whole.\r\n\r\nSo I hurried down to meet my dAd at the community garden to pick raspberries in cool(er) morning air. Then I picked cherry tomatoes both red and yellow ones while my dAd harvested and cut back a chard plant.\r\n<a title=\"Community Garden and me by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801877316/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8289/7801877316_fbd8bc3740_z.jpg\" alt=\"Community Garden and me\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Me in the garden by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801922150/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8291/7801922150_564ebb0585_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me in the garden\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nAt the end we took some photos of me and some flowers and I admired a sign about the history of the land that the community garden stands on. The Walla Walla Creamery is the creamery that my father\'s family ran and later renamed Shady Lawn Creamery. The creamery is no more but my dAd\'s antique store stands in the same building that housed the creamery for 100 years. It\'s pretty amazing that this building has been in our family for something like four generations and that my brother, sister and I are the fifth generation to grow-up and live in Walla Walla.\r\n<a title=\"About the land that is the Community Garden by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801926396/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7801926396_067927022e_z.jpg\" alt=\"About the land that is the Community Garden\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>','Morning in a community garden ','','publish','open','open','','morning-in-a-community-garden','','','2012-08-17 18:36:45','2012-08-17 16:36:45','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=7013',0,'post','',8),(7014,1,'2012-08-17 18:23:31','2012-08-17 16:23:31','Earlier this week, I got a call from my dAd. He said: get dressed and come pick raspberries with me.\n\nUm, okay.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801913928/\" title=\"Picking berries in the Community Garden by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8286/7801913928_77a12b47cd_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Picking berries in the Community Garden\"></a>\nMy MoM and dAd are supporters of all things local. They own a small business in town--an antique store--and know just how important it is to support small businesses, people\'s dreams and the development of the community as a whole because what goes around comes around.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801910116/\" title=\"Community Garden raspberries by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8302/7801910116_b1693f2a25_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Community Garden raspberries\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801901550/\" title=\"Raspberries by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8286/7801901550_f5336eb077_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Raspberries\"></a>\nAcross the street from the antique store, there\'s a community garden. Whitman College owns the land and a number of years ago--five maybe--turned it into a garden space. My uncle has a little plot of land there and my dAd helps him keep it up.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801897672/\" title=\"The Community Garden by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8446/7801897672_fa0fe4134d_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"The Community Garden\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801917914/\" title=\"Sunflower in the Community Garden by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7801917914_dc38449cae_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Sunflower in the Community Garden\"></a>\nNow for those of you unfamiliar with the idea of a community garden here are the basics. You join the garden and pay a small yearly fee to belong. You\'re given a piece of land and you can grow what ever you\'d like on this plot. What you grow is yours. Thus land that would otherwise be untended and growing weeds--in other words and eyesore--is growing vegetables, flowers and sometimes even fruit. Moreover, you get to meet new people who live in your neighborhood and make new friends based on your common interest--gardening.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801881500/\" title=\"Community Garden and red peppers by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8291/7801881500_b35b0c83e9_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Community Garden and red peppers\"></a>\nAnyhow, my dAd is on the community garden email list and received an email that said: the raspberries need to be picked. Please pick them. These raspberries grow along one of the garden fences and don\'t actually belong to anyone. Thus they belong to the community garden members as a whole.\n\nSo I hurried down to meet my dAd at the community garden to pick raspberries in cool(er) morning air. Then I picked cherry tomatoes both red and yellow ones while my dAd harvested and cut back a chard plant.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801877316/\" title=\"Community Garden and me by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8289/7801877316_fbd8bc3740_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Community Garden and me\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801922150/\" title=\"Me in the garden by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8291/7801922150_564ebb0585_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Me in the garden\"></a>\nAt the end we took some photos of me and some flowers and I admired a sign about the history of the land that the community garden stands on. The Walla Walla Creamery is the creamery that my father\'s family ran and later renamed Shady Lawn Creamery. The creamery is no more but my dAd\'s antique store stands in the same building that housed the creamery for 100 years. It\'s pretty amazing that this building has been in our family for something like four generations and that my brother, sister and I are the fifth generation to grow-up and live in Walla Walla.','Morning in a community garden ','','inherit','open','open','','7013-revision','','','2012-08-17 18:23:31','2012-08-17 16:23:31','',7013,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/17/7013-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(7015,1,'2012-08-17 18:23:57','2012-08-17 16:23:57','Earlier this week, I got a call from my dAd. He said: get dressed and come pick raspberries with me.\r\n\r\nUm, okay.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801913928/\" title=\"Picking berries in the Community Garden by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8286/7801913928_77a12b47cd_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Picking berries in the Community Garden\"></a>\r\nMy MoM and dAd are supporters of all things local. They own a small business in town--an antique store--and know just how important it is to support small businesses, people\'s dreams and the development of the community as a whole because what goes around comes around.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801910116/\" title=\"Community Garden raspberries by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8302/7801910116_b1693f2a25_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Community Garden raspberries\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801901550/\" title=\"Raspberries by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8286/7801901550_f5336eb077_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Raspberries\"></a>\r\nAcross the street from the antique store, there\'s a community garden. Whitman College owns the land and a number of years ago--five maybe--turned it into a garden space. My uncle has a little plot of land there and my dAd helps him keep it up.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801897672/\" title=\"The Community Garden by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8446/7801897672_fa0fe4134d_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"The Community Garden\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801917914/\" title=\"Sunflower in the Community Garden by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7801917914_dc38449cae_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Sunflower in the Community Garden\"></a>\r\nNow for those of you unfamiliar with the idea of a community garden here are the basics. You join the garden and pay a small yearly fee to belong. You\'re given a piece of land and you can grow what ever you\'d like on this plot. What you grow is yours. Thus land that would otherwise be untended and growing weeds--in other words and eyesore--is growing vegetables, flowers and sometimes even fruit. Moreover, you get to meet new people who live in your neighborhood and make new friends based on your common interest--gardening.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801881500/\" title=\"Community Garden and red peppers by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8291/7801881500_b35b0c83e9_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Community Garden and red peppers\"></a>\r\nAnyhow, my dAd is on the community garden email list and received an email that said: the raspberries need to be picked. Please pick them. These raspberries grow along one of the garden fences and don\'t actually belong to anyone. Thus they belong to the community garden members as a whole.\r\n\r\nSo I hurried down to meet my dAd at the community garden to pick raspberries in cool(er) morning air. Then I picked cherry tomatoes both red and yellow ones while my dAd harvested and cut back a chard plant.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801877316/\" title=\"Community Garden and me by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8289/7801877316_fbd8bc3740_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Community Garden and me\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801922150/\" title=\"Me in the garden by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8291/7801922150_564ebb0585_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Me in the garden\"></a>\r\nAt the end we took some photos of me and some flowers and I admired a sign about the history of the land that the community garden stands on. The Walla Walla Creamery is the creamery that my father\'s family ran and later renamed Shady Lawn Creamery. The creamery is no more but my dAd\'s antique store stands in the same building that housed the creamery for 100 years. It\'s pretty amazing that this building has been in our family for something like four generations and that my brother, sister and I are the fifth generation to grow-up and live in Walla Walla.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801926396/\" title=\"About the land that is the Community Garden by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7801926396_067927022e_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"About the land that is the Community Garden\"></a>','Morning in a community garden ','','inherit','open','open','','7013-revision-2','','','2012-08-17 18:23:57','2012-08-17 16:23:57','',7013,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/17/7013-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(7016,1,'2012-08-17 18:35:00','2012-08-17 16:35:00','Earlier this week, I got a call from my dAd.\n\nHe said: get dressed and come pick raspberries with me at the community garden.\n\nMe: Um, <em>okay</em>.\n\nI love raspberries and I love picking berries. You name it, I\'ll pick it. Strawberries.<em> Yes, please</em>. Blackberries? <em>Okay, who cares that the bushes are super thorny</em>. Raspberries. <em>Alright</em>. Blueberries. <em>Of course , these are the easiest berry to pick</em>. Blackcaps (or wild black raspberries as non-locals might call them)?! <em>There\'s no need to ask me twice. </em>Blackcaps are small and seedy but incredibly flavorful. The juice will easily stain your fingers and your tongue. They are hard work to pick but worth it.\n\nCompared to blackcaps, raspberries are a dream to pick especially when the raspberries are being cultivated by humans rather than just growing wild.\n<a title=\"Picking berries in the Community Garden by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801913928/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8286/7801913928_77a12b47cd_z.jpg\" alt=\"Picking berries in the Community Garden\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nMy MoM and dAd are supporters of all things local. So it should come as no surprise that they also support our local community garden.  My parents own a small business in town--an antique store--and know just how important it is to support other small businesses, people\'s dreams and the development of the community as a whole because ultimately what goes around comes around. In this case, fresh raspberries.\n\n<!--more-->\n<a title=\"Community Garden raspberries by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801910116/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8302/7801910116_b1693f2a25_z.jpg\" alt=\"Community Garden raspberries\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Raspberries by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801901550/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8286/7801901550_f5336eb077_z.jpg\" alt=\"Raspberries\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nAcross the street from the antique store, there\'s a community garden. Whitman College owns the land and a number of years ago--five maybe--turned it into a garden space. My uncle has a little plot of land there and my dAd helps him keep it up.\n<a title=\"The Community Garden by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801897672/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8446/7801897672_fa0fe4134d_z.jpg\" alt=\"The Community Garden\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Sunflower in the Community Garden by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801917914/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7801917914_dc38449cae_z.jpg\" alt=\"Sunflower in the Community Garden\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nNow for those of you unfamiliar with the idea of a community garden here are the basics. You join the garden and pay a small yearly fee to belong. You\'re given a piece of land and you can grow what ever you\'d like on this plot. What you grow is yours. Thus land that would otherwise be untended and growing weeds--in other words and eyesore--is growing vegetables, flowers and sometimes even fruit. Moreover, you get to meet new people who live in your neighborhood and make new friends based on your common interest--gardening.\n<a title=\"Community Garden and red peppers by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801881500/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8291/7801881500_b35b0c83e9_z.jpg\" alt=\"Community Garden and red peppers\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nAnyhow, my dAd is on the community garden email list and received an email that said: the raspberries need to be picked. Please pick them. These raspberries grow along one of the garden fences and don\'t actually belong to anyone. Thus they belong to the community garden members as a whole.\n\nSo I hurried down to meet my dAd at the community garden to pick raspberries in cool(er) morning air. Then I picked cherry tomatoes both red and yellow ones while my dAd harvested and cut back a chard plant.\n<a title=\"Community Garden and me by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801877316/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8289/7801877316_fbd8bc3740_z.jpg\" alt=\"Community Garden and me\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Me in the garden by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801922150/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8291/7801922150_564ebb0585_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me in the garden\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nAt the end we took some photos of me and some flowers and I admired a sign about the history of the land that the community garden stands on. The Walla Walla Creamery is the creamery that my father\'s family ran and later renamed Shady Lawn Creamery. The creamery is no more but my dAd\'s antique store stands in the same building that housed the creamery for 100 years. It\'s pretty amazing that this building has been in our family for something like four generations and that my brother, sister and I are the fifth generation to grow-up and live in Walla Walla.\n<a title=\"About the land that is the Community Garden by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801926396/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7801926396_067927022e_z.jpg\" alt=\"About the land that is the Community Garden\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>','Morning in a community garden ','','inherit','open','open','','7013-revision-3','','','2012-08-17 18:35:00','2012-08-17 16:35:00','',7013,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/17/7013-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(7017,1,'2012-08-17 18:36:00','2012-08-17 16:36:00','Earlier this week, I got a call from my dAd.\n\nHe said: get dressed and come pick raspberries with me at the community garden.\n\nMe: Um, <em>okay</em>.\n\nI love raspberries and I love picking berries. You name it, I\'ll pick it.\n\nStrawberries.<em> Yes, please</em>.\n\nBlackberries? <em>Okay, who cares that the bushes are super thorny</em>.\n\nRaspberries. <em>Alright</em>.\n\nBlueberries. <em>Of course , these are the easiest berry to pick</em>.\n\nBlackcaps (or wild black raspberries as non-locals might call them)?! <em>There\'s no need to ask me twice. </em>Blackcaps are small and seedy but incredibly flavorful. The juice will easily stain your fingers and your tongue. They are hard work to pick but worth it.\n\nCompared to blackcaps, raspberries are a dream to pick especially when the raspberries are being cultivated by humans rather than just growing wild.\n<a title=\"Picking berries in the Community Garden by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801913928/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8286/7801913928_77a12b47cd_z.jpg\" alt=\"Picking berries in the Community Garden\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nMy MoM and dAd are supporters of all things local. So it should come as no surprise that they also support our local community garden.  My parents own a small business in town--an antique store--and know just how important it is to support other small businesses, people\'s dreams and the development of the community as a whole because ultimately what goes around comes around.\n\nIn this case, fresh raspberries.\n\n<!--more-->\n<a title=\"Community Garden raspberries by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801910116/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8302/7801910116_b1693f2a25_z.jpg\" alt=\"Community Garden raspberries\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Raspberries by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801901550/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8286/7801901550_f5336eb077_z.jpg\" alt=\"Raspberries\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nAcross the street from the antique store, there\'s a community garden. Whitman College owns the land and a number of years ago--five maybe--turned it into a garden space. My uncle has a little plot of land there and my dAd helps him keep it up.\n<a title=\"The Community Garden by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801897672/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8446/7801897672_fa0fe4134d_z.jpg\" alt=\"The Community Garden\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Sunflower in the Community Garden by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801917914/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7801917914_dc38449cae_z.jpg\" alt=\"Sunflower in the Community Garden\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nNow for those of you unfamiliar with the idea of a community garden here are the basics. You join the garden and pay a small yearly fee to belong. You\'re given a piece of land and you can grow what ever you\'d like on this plot. What you grow is yours. Thus land that would otherwise be untended and growing weeds--in other words and eyesore--is growing vegetables, flowers and sometimes even fruit. Moreover, you get to meet new people who live in your neighborhood and make new friends based on your common interest--gardening.\n<a title=\"Community Garden and red peppers by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801881500/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8291/7801881500_b35b0c83e9_z.jpg\" alt=\"Community Garden and red peppers\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nAnyhow, my dAd is on the community garden email list and received an email that said: the raspberries need to be picked. Please pick them. These raspberries grow along one of the garden fences and don\'t actually belong to anyone. Thus they belong to the community garden members as a whole.\n\nSo I hurried down to meet my dAd at the community garden to pick raspberries in cool(er) morning air. Then I picked cherry tomatoes both red and yellow ones while my dAd harvested and cut back a chard plant.\n<a title=\"Community Garden and me by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801877316/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8289/7801877316_fbd8bc3740_z.jpg\" alt=\"Community Garden and me\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Me in the garden by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801922150/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8291/7801922150_564ebb0585_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me in the garden\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nAt the end we took some photos of me and some flowers and I admired a sign about the history of the land that the community garden stands on. The Walla Walla Creamery is the creamery that my father\'s family ran and later renamed Shady Lawn Creamery. The creamery is no more but my dAd\'s antique store stands in the same building that housed the creamery for 100 years. It\'s pretty amazing that this building has been in our family for something like four generations and that my brother, sister and I are the fifth generation to grow-up and live in Walla Walla.\n<a title=\"About the land that is the Community Garden by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7801926396/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7801926396_067927022e_z.jpg\" alt=\"About the land that is the Community Garden\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>','Morning in a community garden ','','inherit','open','open','','7013-revision-4','','','2012-08-17 18:36:00','2012-08-17 16:36:00','',7013,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/17/7013-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(7018,1,'2012-08-18 18:39:38','2012-08-18 16:39:38','It wont surprise you at all to learn that there are a lot of differences between life in Walla Walla and in Sofia. We\'ve got <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/17/i-dream-of-mexican-food/\" target=\"_blank\">great Mexican food</a> and plenty of micro brew beer.\r\n\r\nThen there are the big differences.\r\n\r\nStray dogs. Sidewalks. Public transportation. The langauge. Prices. Drivers.\r\n\r\nHowever, on this trip it\'s the little things that I\'ve been noticing.  Here\'s a short list:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Iced americanos and iced lates actually have enough ice in them to make the drink cold. It turns out there are times I\'d like a little more ice in my drinks, Bulgaria.</li>\r\n	<li>I keep thinking that quarters are worth .50 cents when they are in fact only .25 cents and I need two of them to say pay for said iced drink when the total is $2.65. Oh Bulgaria, you\'re ruining me. Really, why do quarters and Bulgarian .50 cent coins have to be the same size and color?!</li>\r\n	<li>Every time I try to lock the front door of our house the key will only turn once. These days I think it should turn twice to double lock. Then I have to remind myself that we don\'t have locks like this in Walla Walla.</li>\r\n	<li>I have a mini-heart attack every time I get a bill or a see a total on the cash register. Then I remind myself I\'m in the States. That seems to make it better. (Okay, this <em>might</em> not be a little thing. Oh well.)</li>\r\n	<li>I love that in Walla Walla you pick up your grocery cart inside the grocery store and can return it to a bay of shopping carts in the middle of the parking lot. There\'s no fumbling around for a coin to check out the grocery cart.</li>\r\n	<li>The car I\'m driving is from 1988 and the doors don\'t lock any more. In Walla Walla, I am totally unconcerned by this. Heck it saves me time.  But for the record, the left turn signal is broken and this does concern me more. Luckily I don\'t have to make a lot of left hand turns and I can still make it work manually.</li>\r\n	<li>Parking spots. They seem to magically appear whenever I need one in downtown Walla Walla. The same cannot be said for Sofia but that\'s okay because I don\'t drive in Sofia.</li>\r\n	<li>A small box of tampons starts at 16 while the large box can have an upwards of 40, 60 or 80 tampons. The Bulgarian part of me wonders: <em>80?!</em> And the American part of me thinks: that\'s convenient.</li>\r\n	<li>Even on a weeknight in a basically empty restaurant, the bill appeared as soon as I finished my last bite of food and before the dishes were cleared off the table. Hey, server-girl, what are you in a rush for? It\'s not like people are waiting for my table. It\'s a Monday night. In Walla Walla.</li>\r\n	<li>Baby spinach and it\'s larger cousin rainbow chard. Why, oh why, can\'t I find you in Sofia?!</li>\r\n	<li>Some goes for maple bars and apple fritters. Then again, maybe it\'s better for me that these don\'t exist in Sofia.</li>\r\n	<li>This said, I was at a bakery recently and my heart skipped a beat:<em> banitsa</em>. Then I realized it was a row of slightly smooshed ham and cheese croissants and not banitsa at all.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&nbsp;','Differences: Walla Walla and Sofia ','','publish','open','open','','differences-walla-walla-and-sofia','','','2012-08-18 18:39:38','2012-08-18 16:39:38','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=7018',0,'post','',5),(7019,1,'2012-08-18 18:36:25','2012-08-18 16:36:25','It wont surprise you at all to learn that there are a lot of differences between life in Walla Walla and in Sofia. We\'ve got <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/17/i-dream-of-mexican-food/\" target=\"_blank\">great Mexican food</a> and plenty of micro brew beer.\n\nThen there are the big differences.\n\nStray dogs. Sidewalks. Public transportation. The langauge. Prices. Drivers.\n\nHowever, on this trip it\'s the little things that I\'ve been noticing.  Here\'s a short list:\n<ul>\n	<li>Iced americanos and iced lates actually have enough ice in them to make the drink cold. It turns out there are times I\'d like a little more ice in my drinks, Bulgaria.</li>\n	<li>I keep thinking that quarters are worth .50 cents when they are in fact only .25 cents and I need two of them to say pay for said iced drink when the total is $2.65. Oh Bulgaria, you\'re ruining me. Really, why do quarters and Bulgarian .50 cent coins have to be the same size and color?!</li>\n	<li>Every time I try to lock the front door of our house the key will only turn once. These days I think it should turn twice to double lock. Then I have to remind myself that we don\'t have locks like this in Walla Walla.</li>\n	<li>I have a mini-heart attack every time I get a bill or a see a total on the cash register. Then I remind myself I\'m in the States. That seems to make it better. (Okay, this <em>might</em> not be a little thing. Oh well.)</li>\n	<li>I love that in Walla Walla you pick up your grocery cart inside the grocery store and can return it to a bay of shopping carts in the middle of the parking lot. There\'s no fumbling around for a coin to check out the grocery cart.</li>\n	<li>The car I\'m driving is from 1988 and the doors don\'t lock any more. In Walla Walla, I am totally unconcerned by this. Heck it saves me time.  But for the record, the left turn signal is broken and this does concern me more. Luckily I don\'t have to make a lot of left hand turns and I can still make it work manually.</li>\n	<li>Parking spots. They seem to magically appear whenever I need one in downtown Walla Walla. The same cannot be said for Sofia but that\'s okay because I don\'t drive in Sofia.</li>\n	<li>A small box of tampons starts at 16 while the large box can have an upwards of 40, 60 or 80 tampons. The Bulgarian part of me wonders: <em>80?!</em> And the American part of me thinks: that\'s convenient.</li>\n	<li>Even on a weeknight in a basically empty restaurant, the bill appeared as soon as I finished my last bite of food and before the dishes were cleared off the table. Hey, server-girl, what are you in a rush for? It\'s not like people are waiting for my table.</li>\n	<li>Baby spinach and it\'s larger cousin rainbow chard. Why, oh why, can\'t I find you in Sofia?!</li>\n	<li>Some goes for maple bars and apple fritters. Then again, maybe it\'s better for me that these don\'t exist in Sofia.</li>\n	<li>This said, I was at a bakery recently and my heart skipped a beat:<em> banitsa</em>. Then I realized it was a row of slightly smooshed ham and cheese croissants.</li>\n</ul>\n&nbsp;','Differences: Walla Walla and Sofia ','','inherit','open','open','','7018-revision','','','2012-08-18 18:36:25','2012-08-18 16:36:25','',7018,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/18/7018-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(7020,1,'2012-08-18 18:37:25','2012-08-18 16:37:25','It wont surprise you at all to learn that there are a lot of differences between life in Walla Walla and in Sofia. We\'ve got <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/17/i-dream-of-mexican-food/\" target=\"_blank\">great Mexican food</a> and plenty of micro brew beer.\n\nThen there are the big differences.\n\nStray dogs. Sidewalks. Public transportation. The langauge. Prices. Drivers.\n\nHowever, on this trip it\'s the little things that I\'ve been noticing.  Here\'s a short list:\n<ul>\n	<li>Iced americanos and iced lates actually have enough ice in them to make the drink cold. It turns out there are times I\'d like a little more ice in my drinks, Bulgaria.</li>\n	<li>I keep thinking that quarters are worth .50 cents when they are in fact only .25 cents and I need two of them to say pay for said iced drink when the total is $2.65. Oh Bulgaria, you\'re ruining me. Really, why do quarters and Bulgarian .50 cent coins have to be the same size and color?!</li>\n	<li>Every time I try to lock the front door of our house the key will only turn once. These days I think it should turn twice to double lock. Then I have to remind myself that we don\'t have locks like this in Walla Walla.</li>\n	<li>I have a mini-heart attack every time I get a bill or a see a total on the cash register. Then I remind myself I\'m in the States. That seems to make it better. (Okay, this <em>might</em> not be a little thing. Oh well.)</li>\n	<li>I love that in Walla Walla you pick up your grocery cart inside the grocery store and can return it to a bay of shopping carts in the middle of the parking lot. There\'s no fumbling around for a coin to check out the grocery cart.</li>\n	<li>The car I\'m driving is from 1988 and the doors don\'t lock any more. In Walla Walla, I am totally unconcerned by this. Heck it saves me time.  But for the record, the left turn signal is broken and this does concern me more. Luckily I don\'t have to make a lot of left hand turns and I can still make it work manually.</li>\n	<li>Parking spots. They seem to magically appear whenever I need one in downtown Walla Walla. The same cannot be said for Sofia but that\'s okay because I don\'t drive in Sofia.</li>\n	<li>A small box of tampons starts at 16 while the large box can have an upwards of 40, 60 or 80 tampons. The Bulgarian part of me wonders: <em>80?!</em> And the American part of me thinks: that\'s convenient.</li>\n	<li>Even on a weeknight in a basically empty restaurant, the bill appeared as soon as I finished my last bite of food and before the dishes were cleared off the table. Hey, server-girl, what are you in a rush for? It\'s not like people are waiting for my table. It\'s a Monday night. In Walla Walla.</li>\n	<li>Baby spinach and it\'s larger cousin rainbow chard. Why, oh why, can\'t I find you in Sofia?!</li>\n	<li>Some goes for maple bars and apple fritters. Then again, maybe it\'s better for me that these don\'t exist in Sofia.</li>\n	<li>This said, I was at a bakery recently and my heart skipped a beat:<em> banitsa</em>. Then I realized it was a row of slightly smooshed ham and cheese croissants.</li>\n</ul>\n&nbsp;','Differences: Walla Walla and Sofia ','','inherit','open','open','','7018-revision-2','','','2012-08-18 18:37:25','2012-08-18 16:37:25','',7018,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/18/7018-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(7021,1,'2012-08-21 21:57:28','2012-08-21 19:57:28','Growing up in Walla Walla, I did a lot of babysitting. Mostly for people in my neighborhood. I had a number of regular families and I was more or less steadily employed on Friday and Saturday nights and once in a while during the week but my parents weren\'t too keen on that. You know, because those were school nights and I had homework to do.\r\n\r\nBabysitting was a pretty good gig as far as jobs go. First you get to play with kids--you can run around and chase them, you can build things with legos, you can play with dolls, you can play hide and seek, you can read books to them, and if you\'re lucky maybe you can even get the kids to sing songs. Sure, you might also have too change dippers, deal with crying kids and scraped knees, feed them dinner, brush their teeth and put them to bed but all in all I thought it was always more fun than less fun so I was happy to babysit.\r\n<a title=\"Baby Sitting by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7833207478/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8302/7833207478_90bf434a03_z.jpg\" alt=\"Baby Sitting\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nI also didn\'t mind picking up toys or putting dishes away after dinner. Parents like this and I liked babysitting and being paid for it.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, I haven\'t thought about this in ages and I am not sure that I would have but this past weekend my MoM got a call to see if she could babysit. I\'m apparently no longer on the babysitting circuit. Then again, I do live in Bulgaria.\r\n\r\nMy MoM said yes because Baby A. is her favorite little baby. Well at least until she gets some grandbabies but that doesn\'t seem to be happening anytime too soon.\r\n<a title=\"Baby Sitting by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7833197936/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8303/7833197936_c99d5d510d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Baby Sitting\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nBaby A. came over about 6pm. She went swimming. She likes that a lot.<em> A lot</em>. <!--more-->She played with a bucket of toys endlessly. (Yes, my MoM has a bucket of toys especially for Baby A. to play with when she comes over. <em>Lucky girl</em>.) She climbed the stairs again and again (and so did my MoM). For the record going up was easier than going down (for Baby A., not my MoM.) She ate dinner with us. She likes grapes better than green beans. (<em>Me too</em>.)\r\n<a title=\"Baby Sitting by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7833203102/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8284/7833203102_19e3bc545c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Baby Sitting\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nShe played a little bit more. She drank some water out of a cup without a lid. Then her playing began to slow down. We went inside, read some books and then MoM put her down to sleep. She cried a little bit but it wasn\'t heartfelt.\r\n<a title=\"Baby Sitting by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7833184110/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8424/7833184110_aeed2dee99_z.jpg\" alt=\"Baby Sitting\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThen dAd called the house phone from his cellphone in the basement, you know, to let me know that the Big Foot hunting program was on tv.<em> Gesh dAd</em>. There\'s a baby trying to sleep upstairs and right on cue, she started crying again.\r\n\r\nIt\'s official. It\'s hard work raising parents.','Babysitting on a Friday Night ','','publish','open','open','','babysitting-on-a-friday-night','','','2012-08-21 21:57:28','2012-08-21 19:57:28','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=7021',0,'post','',3),(7022,1,'2012-08-18 18:57:57','2012-08-18 16:57:57','Growing up in Walla Walla, I did a lot of babysitting. Mostly for people in my neighborhood. I had a number of regular families and I was more or less steadily employed on Friday and Saturday nights and once in a while during the week but my parents weren\'t too keen on that. You know, because those were school nights and I had homework to do.\n\nBabysitting was a pretty good gig as far as jobs go. First you get to play with kids--you can run around and chase them, you can build things with legos, you can play with dolls, you can play hide and seek, read books to them, and if you\'re lucky maybe you can even get the kids to sing songs. Sure, might also have too change dippers, deal with crying kids and scraped knees, feed them dinner, brush their teeth and put them to bed but all in all I thought it was always more fun than less fun so I was happy to babysit.\n\nI also didn\'t mind picking up toys or putting dishes away after dinner. Parents like this and I liked babysitting and being paid for it.\n\nAnyhow, I haven\'t thought about this in ages and I am not sure that I would have but last night my MoM got a call to see if she could babysit.','Babysitting on a Friday Night ','','inherit','open','open','','7021-revision','','','2012-08-18 18:57:57','2012-08-18 16:57:57','',7021,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/18/7021-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(7023,1,'2012-08-18 19:40:29','2012-08-18 17:40:29','Growing up in Walla Walla, I did a lot of babysitting. Mostly for people in my neighborhood. I had a number of regular families and I was more or less steadily employed on Friday and Saturday nights and once in a while during the week but my parents weren\'t too keen on that. You know, because those were school nights and I had homework to do.\n\nBabysitting was a pretty good gig as far as jobs go. First you get to play with kids--you can run around and chase them, you can build things with legos, you can play with dolls, you can play hide and seek, read books to them, and if you\'re lucky maybe you can even get the kids to sing songs. Sure, might also have too change dippers, deal with crying kids and scraped knees, feed them dinner, brush their teeth and put them to bed but all in all I thought it was always more fun than less fun so I was happy to babysit.\n\nI also didn\'t mind picking up toys or putting dishes away after dinner. Parents like this and I liked babysitting and being paid for it.\n\nAnyhow, I haven\'t thought about this in ages and I am not sure that I would have but last night my MoM got a call to see if she could babysit. I am apparently no longer on the babysitting circuit. Then again, I do live in Bulgaria\n\nMy MoM said yes because Baby A. is her favorite little baby. Well at least until she gets some grandbabies but that doesn\'t seem to be happening anytime too soon.\n\nBaby A. came over about 6pm. She went swimming. She likes that a lot.<em> A lot</em>. She played with a bucket of toys endlessly. (Yes, my MoM has a bucket of toys especially for Baby A. to play with when she comes over.) She climbed the stairs again and again. For the record going up was easier than going down. She ate dinner. She likes grapes better than green beans. (Me too.)\n\nShe played a little bit more. She drank some water out of a cup without a lid. Then her playing began to slow down. We went inside, read some books and then MoM put her down to sleep. She cried a little bit but it wasn\'t heartfelt.\n\nThen dAd called the house phone from his cellphone in the basement, you know, to let me know that the Big Foot hunting program was on tv. Gesh dAd.','Babysitting on a Friday Night ','','inherit','open','open','','7021-revision-2','','','2012-08-18 19:40:29','2012-08-18 17:40:29','',7021,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/18/7021-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(7024,1,'2012-08-21 21:47:41','2012-08-21 19:47:41','Growing up in Walla Walla, I did a lot of babysitting. Mostly for people in my neighborhood. I had a number of regular families and I was more or less steadily employed on Friday and Saturday nights and once in a while during the week but my parents weren\'t too keen on that. You know, because those were school nights and I had homework to do.\n\nBabysitting was a pretty good gig as far as jobs go. First you get to play with kids--you can run around and chase them, you can build things with legos, you can play with dolls, you can play hide and seek, read books to them, and if you\'re lucky maybe you can even get the kids to sing songs. Sure, might also have too change dippers, deal with crying kids and scraped knees, feed them dinner, brush their teeth and put them to bed but all in all I thought it was always more fun than less fun so I was happy to babysit.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7833207478/\" title=\"Baby Sitting by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8302/7833207478_90bf434a03_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Baby Sitting\"></a>\nI also didn\'t mind picking up toys or putting dishes away after dinner. Parents like this and I liked babysitting and being paid for it.\n\nAnyhow, I haven\'t thought about this in ages and I am not sure that I would have but last night my MoM got a call to see if she could babysit. I am apparently no longer on the babysitting circuit. Then again, I do live in Bulgaria.\n\nMy MoM said yes because Baby A. is her favorite little baby. Well at least until she gets some grandbabies but that doesn\'t seem to be happening anytime too soon.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7833197936/\" title=\"Baby Sitting by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8303/7833197936_c99d5d510d_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Baby Sitting\"></a>\nBaby A. came over about 6pm. She went swimming. She likes that a lot.<em> A lot</em>. She played with a bucket of toys endlessly. (Yes, my MoM has a bucket of toys especially for Baby A. to play with when she comes over.) She climbed the stairs again and again. For the record going up was easier than going down. She ate dinner. She likes grapes better than green beans. (Me too.)\n\nShe played a little bit more. She drank some water out of a cup without a lid. Then her playing began to slow down. We went inside, read some books and then MoM put her down to sleep. She cried a little bit but it wasn\'t heartfelt.\n\nThen dAd called the house phone from his cellphone in the basement, you know, to let me know that the Big Foot hunting program was on tv. Gesh dAd. There\'s a baby trying to sleep upstairs and right on cue she started crying again.','Babysitting on a Friday Night ','','inherit','open','open','','7021-revision-3','','','2012-08-21 21:47:41','2012-08-21 19:47:41','',7021,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/21/7021-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(7025,1,'2012-08-21 21:48:41','2012-08-21 19:48:41','Growing up in Walla Walla, I did a lot of babysitting. Mostly for people in my neighborhood. I had a number of regular families and I was more or less steadily employed on Friday and Saturday nights and once in a while during the week but my parents weren\'t too keen on that. You know, because those were school nights and I had homework to do.\n\nBabysitting was a pretty good gig as far as jobs go. First you get to play with kids--you can run around and chase them, you can build things with legos, you can play with dolls, you can play hide and seek, read books to them, and if you\'re lucky maybe you can even get the kids to sing songs. Sure, might also have too change dippers, deal with crying kids and scraped knees, feed them dinner, brush their teeth and put them to bed but all in all I thought it was always more fun than less fun so I was happy to babysit.\n<a title=\"Baby Sitting by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7833207478/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8302/7833207478_90bf434a03_z.jpg\" alt=\"Baby Sitting\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nI also didn\'t mind picking up toys or putting dishes away after dinner. Parents like this and I liked babysitting and being paid for it.\n\nAnyhow, I haven\'t thought about this in ages and I am not sure that I would have but last night my MoM got a call to see if she could babysit. I am apparently no longer on the babysitting circuit. Then again, I do live in Bulgaria.\n\nMy MoM said yes because Baby A. is her favorite little baby. Well at least until she gets some grandbabies but that doesn\'t seem to be happening anytime too soon.\n<a title=\"Baby Sitting by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7833197936/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8303/7833197936_c99d5d510d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Baby Sitting\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nBaby A. came over about 6pm. She went swimming. She likes that a lot.<em> A lot</em>. <!--more-->She played with a bucket of toys endlessly. (Yes, my MoM has a bucket of toys especially for Baby A. to play with when she comes over.) She climbed the stairs again and again. For the record going up was easier than going down. She ate dinner. She likes grapes better than green beans. (Me too.)\n<a title=\"Baby Sitting by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7833203102/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8284/7833203102_19e3bc545c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Baby Sitting\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nShe played a little bit more. She drank some water out of a cup without a lid. Then her playing began to slow down. We went inside, read some books and then MoM put her down to sleep. She cried a little bit but it wasn\'t heartfelt.\n<a title=\"Baby Sitting by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7833184110/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8424/7833184110_aeed2dee99_z.jpg\" alt=\"Baby Sitting\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nThen dAd called the house phone from his cellphone in the basement, you know, to let me know that the Big Foot hunting program was on tv. Gesh dAd. There\'s a baby trying to sleep upstairs and right on cue she started crying again.','Babysitting on a Friday Night ','','inherit','open','open','','7021-revision-4','','','2012-08-21 21:48:41','2012-08-21 19:48:41','',7021,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/21/7021-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(7026,1,'2012-08-22 20:37:17','2012-08-22 18:37:17','I spent a long weekend in the mountains with my parents at our family cabin. The cabin is about 30 minutes, not more, outside of Walla Walla. In fact, it\'s a mile into Oregon on a gravel road. There\'s no cell phone coverage and ours is the only cabin on the lane with electricity.\r\n<a title=\"Family Cabin by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7839541998/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7839541998_16a9745c77_z.jpg\" alt=\"Family Cabin\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nMy great-grandfather built the main cabin and a much smaller sleeping cabin in the 1920\'s out of wood that was left over from a project at the family creamery. They picked the land for the cabin based on the fact that my great-grandmother had spent her teenage summers on Mill Creek with her aunt on an adjacent piece of land.  When they built the cabin there was no bridge and one had to ford the creek in his car.\r\n\r\nThese days there\' s a bridge. I guess we\'re getting soft.\r\n\r\n<!--more-->\r\n<a title=\"Family Cabin by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7839553720/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8423/7839553720_1ec10be1f8_z.jpg\" alt=\"Family Cabin\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nIt hasn\'t always been so, my great-grandmother told stories of sitting on the cabin side of the creek as a teenager with her cousins and laughing when men from town would get suck on a large rock that one couldn\'t see from the car but that would bottom the car out in the creek. Locals knew about this rock and knew where to drive to avoid it.\r\n\r\n<em>Everyone else</em>? Well, they got stuck and then were forced to get out of their cars and into the creek in order to push it off the rocks while my great-grandmother and her friends giggled. Teenagers never change, do they? Even in her 90s when she\'d tell this story there was still a hint of the impish-trickster and teenage amusement in her voice and a sparkle in her eyes in recounting these events.\r\n\r\nA sparkle that I often see in my own dAd as well. He spent a couple of afternoons sitting, napping and reading in a lounge chair claiming that he was actually doing \"research\" for: S.E.A.R.C.H. You know: The Sasquatch Educational Anthropological Research  Camp Headquarters. It\'s apparently <em>very</em> important to sit still in a comfy chair while waiting for Sasquatch.\r\n<a title=\"Family Cabin by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7839559050/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7130/7839559050_d663d9a84d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Family Cabin\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nAnyhow, today the cabin is more or less as it was when it was built. There are still screen windows, we heat the cabin with wood and the point of  going up to camp is to escape the heat and relax. The only thing is that a nearly 100 years later, the cabin is no longer as young as it used to be. It needs a new foundation and some serious TLC so that it can last another 100 years. It\'ll be a big project but this way our kids will also be able to tell stories about they hi-jinks they got into at the cabin as well.\r\n<a title=\"Little Sleeping Cabin by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7839565100/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8305/7839565100_4cb8d9671d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Little Sleeping Cabin\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nOn our trip, the weather was great. It was warm during the day and at night it cooled down enough to put on a sweatshirt and sit around a campfire. By bed time it was cold. The kind of cold that when you\'re changing into your pjs you hurry because you\'ve got the shivers. This of course is the perfect weather for curling up under a stack of blankets and dozing off to sleep.\r\n<a title=\"Inside the sleeping cabin by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7839547716/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7248/7839547716_dc4311f8c6_z.jpg\" alt=\"Inside the sleeping cabin\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nIt\'s easy-peasy to sleep in the mountains because it gets really, really dark and the only thing that you can hear is the babbling creek. Oh the coffee grinder in the mornings. This is a very important sound to listen for. This way you know when it\'s safe to get up. Nobody wants to get out of bed before the coffee is made and you know that when the coffee is brewing a fire is also going in the main cabin. That\'s the best time to get up.\r\n\r\nAnd for the record, my MoM makes a great cup of coffee and an excellent fire. Thanks!','Cabin Camping ','','publish','open','open','','cabin-camping','','','2012-08-22 20:37:17','2012-08-22 18:37:17','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=7026',0,'post','',6),(7027,1,'2012-08-21 22:48:38','2012-08-21 20:48:38','I spent a long weekend in the mountia','Cabin Camping ','','inherit','open','open','','7026-revision','','','2012-08-21 22:48:38','2012-08-21 20:48:38','',7026,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/21/7026-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(7028,1,'2012-08-22 18:18:16','2012-08-22 16:18:16','I spent a long weekend in the mountains with my parents at our family cabin. The cabin is about 30 minutes, not more, outside of Walla Walla. In fact, it\'s a mile into Oregon on a gravel road. There\'s no cell phone coverage and ours is the only cabin on the lane with electricity.\n\nMy great-grandfather built the main cabin and a much smaller sleeping cabin in the 1920\'s out of wood that was left over from a project at the family creamery. They picked the land for the cabin based on the fact that my great-grandmother had spent her teenage summers on Mill Creek with her aunt on an adjacent piece of land.  When they built the cabin there was no bridge and one had to ford the creek in his car.\n\nIn fact, my great-grandmother told stories of sitting on the cabin side of the creek as a teenager with her cousins and laughing when men from town would get suck on a large rock that one couldn\'t see from the car but that would bottom the car out in the creek. Locals knew about this rock and knew where to drive to avoid it. <em>Everyone else</em>? Well, they got stuck and then were forced to get out of their cars and into the creek in order to push it off the rocks while my great-grandmother and her friends giggled. Teenagers never change, do they? Even in her 90s when she\'d tell this story there was still a hint of the impish-trickster and teenage amusement in her voice and a sparkle in her eyes in recounting these events.\n\nAnyhow, today the cabin is more or less as it was when it was built. There are still screen windows, we heat the cabin with wood and the point of  going up to camp is to escape the heat and relax. The only thing is that a nearly 100 years later, the cabin is no longer as young as it used to be. It needs a new foundation and some serious TLC so that it can last another 100 years. It\'ll be a big project but this way our kids will also be able to tell stories about they hi-jinks they got into at the cabin as well.','Cabin Camping ','','inherit','open','open','','7026-revision-2','','','2012-08-22 18:18:16','2012-08-22 16:18:16','',7026,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/22/7026-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(7029,1,'2012-08-22 18:22:32','2012-08-22 16:22:32','I spent a long weekend in the mountains with my parents at our family cabin. The cabin is about 30 minutes, not more, outside of Walla Walla. In fact, it\'s a mile into Oregon on a gravel road. There\'s no cell phone coverage and ours is the only cabin on the lane with electricity.\n\nMy great-grandfather built the main cabin and a much smaller sleeping cabin in the 1920\'s out of wood that was left over from a project at the family creamery. They picked the land for the cabin based on the fact that my great-grandmother had spent her teenage summers on Mill Creek with her aunt on an adjacent piece of land.  When they built the cabin there was no bridge and one had to ford the creek in his car.\n\nIn fact, my great-grandmother told stories of sitting on the cabin side of the creek as a teenager with her cousins and laughing when men from town would get suck on a large rock that one couldn\'t see from the car but that would bottom the car out in the creek. Locals knew about this rock and knew where to drive to avoid it. <em>Everyone else</em>? Well, they got stuck and then were forced to get out of their cars and into the creek in order to push it off the rocks while my great-grandmother and her friends giggled. Teenagers never change, do they? Even in her 90s when she\'d tell this story there was still a hint of the impish-trickster and teenage amusement in her voice and a sparkle in her eyes in recounting these events.\n\nAnyhow, today the cabin is more or less as it was when it was built. There are still screen windows, we heat the cabin with wood and the point of  going up to camp is to escape the heat and relax. The only thing is that a nearly 100 years later, the cabin is no longer as young as it used to be. It needs a new foundation and some serious TLC so that it can last another 100 years. It\'ll be a big project but this way our kids will also be able to tell stories about they hi-jinks they got into at the cabin as well.','Cabin Camping ','','inherit','open','open','','7026-revision-3','','','2012-08-22 18:22:32','2012-08-22 16:22:32','',7026,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/22/7026-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(7030,1,'2012-08-22 20:22:30','2012-08-22 18:22:30','I spent a long weekend in the mountains with my parents at our family cabin. The cabin is about 30 minutes, not more, outside of Walla Walla. In fact, it\'s a mile into Oregon on a gravel road. There\'s no cell phone coverage and ours is the only cabin on the lane with electricity.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7839541998/\" title=\"Family Cabin by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7839541998_16a9745c77_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Family Cabin\"></a>\nMy great-grandfather built the main cabin and a much smaller sleeping cabin in the 1920\'s out of wood that was left over from a project at the family creamery. They picked the land for the cabin based on the fact that my great-grandmother had spent her teenage summers on Mill Creek with her aunt on an adjacent piece of land.  When they built the cabin there was no bridge and one had to ford the creek in his car.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7839553720/\" title=\"Family Cabin by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8423/7839553720_1ec10be1f8_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Family Cabin\"></a>\nIn fact, my great-grandmother told stories of sitting on the cabin side of the creek as a teenager with her cousins and laughing when men from town would get suck on a large rock that one couldn\'t see from the car but that would bottom the car out in the creek. Locals knew about this rock and knew where to drive to avoid it. <em>Everyone else</em>? Well, they got stuck and then were forced to get out of their cars and into the creek in order to push it off the rocks while my great-grandmother and her friends giggled. Teenagers never change, do they? Even in her 90s when she\'d tell this story there was still a hint of the impish-trickster and teenage amusement in her voice and a sparkle in her eyes in recounting these events.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7839559050/\" title=\"Family Cabin by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7130/7839559050_d663d9a84d_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Family Cabin\"></a>\nAnyhow, today the cabin is more or less as it was when it was built. There are still screen windows, we heat the cabin with wood and the point of  going up to camp is to escape the heat and relax. The only thing is that a nearly 100 years later, the cabin is no longer as young as it used to be. It needs a new foundation and some serious TLC so that it can last another 100 years. It\'ll be a big project but this way our kids will also be able to tell stories about they hi-jinks they got into at the cabin as well.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7839565100/\" title=\"Little Sleeping Cabin by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8305/7839565100_4cb8d9671d_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Little Sleeping Cabin\"></a>\nOn our trip, the weather was great. It was warm during the day and at night it cooled down enough to put on a sweatshirt and sit around a campfire. By bed time it was cold. The kind of cold that when you\'re changing into your pjs you hurry because you\'ve got the shivers. This of course is the perfect weather for curling up under a stack of blankets and dozing off to sleep. \n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7839547716/\" title=\"Inside the sleeping cabin by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7248/7839547716_dc4311f8c6_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Inside the sleeping cabin\"></a>\nIt\'s easy-peasy to sleep in the mountains because it gets really, really dark and the only thing that you can hear is the babbling creek. Oh the coffee grinder in the mornings. This is a very important sound to listen for. This way you know that not to get ','Cabin Camping ','','inherit','open','open','','7026-revision-4','','','2012-08-22 20:22:30','2012-08-22 18:22:30','',7026,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/22/7026-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(7031,1,'2012-08-22 20:23:30','2012-08-22 18:23:30','I spent a long weekend in the mountains with my parents at our family cabin. The cabin is about 30 minutes, not more, outside of Walla Walla. In fact, it\'s a mile into Oregon on a gravel road. There\'s no cell phone coverage and ours is the only cabin on the lane with electricity.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7839541998/\" title=\"Family Cabin by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7839541998_16a9745c77_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Family Cabin\"></a>\nMy great-grandfather built the main cabin and a much smaller sleeping cabin in the 1920\'s out of wood that was left over from a project at the family creamery. They picked the land for the cabin based on the fact that my great-grandmother had spent her teenage summers on Mill Creek with her aunt on an adjacent piece of land.  When they built the cabin there was no bridge and one had to ford the creek in his car.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7839553720/\" title=\"Family Cabin by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8423/7839553720_1ec10be1f8_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Family Cabin\"></a>\nIn fact, my great-grandmother told stories of sitting on the cabin side of the creek as a teenager with her cousins and laughing when men from town would get suck on a large rock that one couldn\'t see from the car but that would bottom the car out in the creek. Locals knew about this rock and knew where to drive to avoid it. <em>Everyone else</em>? Well, they got stuck and then were forced to get out of their cars and into the creek in order to push it off the rocks while my great-grandmother and her friends giggled. Teenagers never change, do they? Even in her 90s when she\'d tell this story there was still a hint of the impish-trickster and teenage amusement in her voice and a sparkle in her eyes in recounting these events.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7839559050/\" title=\"Family Cabin by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7130/7839559050_d663d9a84d_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Family Cabin\"></a>\nAnyhow, today the cabin is more or less as it was when it was built. There are still screen windows, we heat the cabin with wood and the point of  going up to camp is to escape the heat and relax. The only thing is that a nearly 100 years later, the cabin is no longer as young as it used to be. It needs a new foundation and some serious TLC so that it can last another 100 years. It\'ll be a big project but this way our kids will also be able to tell stories about they hi-jinks they got into at the cabin as well.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7839565100/\" title=\"Little Sleeping Cabin by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8305/7839565100_4cb8d9671d_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Little Sleeping Cabin\"></a>\nOn our trip, the weather was great. It was warm during the day and at night it cooled down enough to put on a sweatshirt and sit around a campfire. By bed time it was cold. The kind of cold that when you\'re changing into your pjs you hurry because you\'ve got the shivers. This of course is the perfect weather for curling up under a stack of blankets and dozing off to sleep. \n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7839547716/\" title=\"Inside the sleeping cabin by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7248/7839547716_dc4311f8c6_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Inside the sleeping cabin\"></a>\nIt\'s easy-peasy to sleep in the mountains because it gets really, really dark and the only thing that you can hear is the babbling creek. Oh the coffee grinder in the mornings. This is a very important sound to listen for. This way you know when it\'s safe to get up. Nobody wants to get out of bed before the coffee is made and you know that when the coffee is brewing a fire is also going in the main cabin.  ','Cabin Camping ','','inherit','open','open','','7026-revision-5','','','2012-08-22 20:23:30','2012-08-22 18:23:30','',7026,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/22/7026-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(7032,1,'2012-08-23 07:28:08','2012-08-23 05:28:08','My dAd makes good pancakes. He always has. We didn\'t eat them a lot growing up but man-oh-man when dAd made breakfast you knew it was going to be good.\r\n\r\nThings haven\'t changed much. How lucky is that?!\r\n<a title=\"Pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842765598/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8423/7842765598_26a7721e03_z.jpg\" alt=\"Pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nMy dAd still makes a killer blueberry pancake and my MoM still loves bacon. That means only good things for me.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The first morning we spent at <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/22/cabin-camping/\" target=\"_blank\">The Cabin</a> he made blueberry pancakes for me, bacon for my MoM and a fried egg just because he can. Of course all of these things taste better when someone else is making them and they all taste better in the mountains.</p>\r\n<a title=\"Syrup by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842761144/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7109/7842761144_718f5359d6_z.jpg\" alt=\"Syrup\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nWhile drinking his pre-breakfast-making coffee, he announces that he\'s going to make a potato pancakes. There\'s a long pause while my MoM and I think about this. I say: really, <em>latkes</em>? He looks at me and says: um, potato chip pancakes. My MoM lets out a groan. My dAd smiles and shakes his head.\r\n\r\nIt\'s a joke. <em>Maybe</em>.<!--more-->\r\n<a title=\"Making Bacon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842759046/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8442/7842759046_3d0dbf6f07_z.jpg\" alt=\"Making Bacon\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Bacon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842756530/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7842756530_8e56fc28b0_z.jpg\" alt=\"Bacon\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nIt\'s a joke because 1.) my dAd is kind of a character and 2.) he recently got in a little trouble with my MoM for buying too many bags of potato chips for my brother\'s rehearsal dinner. We had about a 1/2 a bag a person which was maybe, just maybe, more potato chips than we needed but then again you don\'t want to run out of chips at the rehearsal dinner. Needless to say, we\'ve got a lot of leftover potato chips.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, my dAd sets about making breakfast.\r\n<a title=\"Potato chip pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842753696/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8305/7842753696_5bf6303206_z.jpg\" alt=\"Potato chip pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nI set about roasting a marshmallow or two on the fire my MoM has made to warm up the room. For the record, my MoM rolls her eyes at this as well. Still, there\'s nothing like a pre-breakfast marshmallow to really make your morning. (PS I am not the only one to think this way. Enter <a href=\"http://http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/foodwine/2018886297_groc23smorespancakes.html\" target=\"_blank\">recipe for S\'mores Pancakes</a>. Apparently great minds think alike.)\r\n<a title=\"eggs by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842736476/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8443/7842736476_21b30ce888_z.jpg\" alt=\"eggs\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nIn the meantime, my dAd fries up the bacon. He mixes up the pancake batter. He gets the eggs out and while my MoM is changing her clothes in the other room, me looks at me and says: get the potato chips.\r\n\r\nAnd who am I, to say no to him?\r\n<a title=\"Potato chip pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842750676/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7108/7842750676_1fccfdb44d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Potato chip pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nSo I get out the potato chips. We don\'t have any plain chips but I find some sour cream and onion so I crunch these up and dAd adds them to a little bowl of whole-wheat pancake batter. We\'re nothing if not healthy. MoM comes back in the room to find us frying up potato chip pancakes in bacon grease.\r\n<a title=\"Potato chip pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842748154/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7842748154_d85feae516_z.jpg\" alt=\"Potato chip pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Potato chip pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842745196/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8284/7842745196_808f14b77d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Potato chip pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe interesting part? She sighs, rolls her eyes and then eats her own potato chip pancake. These pancakes were good, too good in fact. She says: one taste of these  and these are the kind of pancakes that grandchildren will beg their grandfather to make and he\'ll make them when mom\'s not around. The worst part is, I know she\'s right. 110% right.\r\n<a title=\"Blueberry pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842742266/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8442/7842742266_837c7b3f76_z.jpg\" alt=\"Blueberry pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nFrom potato chip pancakes, we moved on to the more traditional blueberry pancake. With a side of bacon, an egg and a glass of orange juice. Yum. Yum. I am so lucky.\r\n\r\nBut it turns out I don\'t even know the half of it. My dAd has an additional surprise up his sleeve.\r\n<a title=\"dAd made breakfast by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842731516/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8426/7842731516_dbe5d010e7_z.jpg\" alt=\"dAd made breakfast\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nYep. What really brought a smile to my face were the pancake shapes from my childhood. Mickey Mouse and the ever popular penny pancakes. Growing up in our house my dAd made us penny pancakes. These are perfect for conveying syrup to your mouth. The Mickey Mouse  pancake was a crowd pleaser. Really, how it could not be? Look at these pictures.  <a title=\"dAd made pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842728032/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7114/7842728032_7e81ec63a8_z.jpg\" alt=\"dAd made pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842725092/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7122/7842725092_db7acc2dea_z.jpg\" alt=\"pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842721774/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7257/7842721774_e76c212dbe_z.jpg\" alt=\"pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nAs if being at this cabin surrounded by this beautiful nature isn\'t enough, this breakfast reminded me just how lucky I am to have parents like these.','dAd-made Pancakes','','publish','open','open','','dad-made-pancakes','','','2012-08-23 07:32:45','2012-08-23 05:32:45','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=7032',0,'post','',8),(7033,1,'2012-08-23 06:44:13','2012-08-23 04:44:13','My dAd makes good pancakes. He always has. We didn\'t eat them a lot growing up but man-oh-man when dAd made breakfast you knew it was going to be good.\n\nThings haven\'t changed much. How lucky is that?!\n\nMy dAd still makes a killer blueberry pancake and my MoM still loves bacon. That means only good things for me.\n\nThe first morning we spent at T<a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/22/cabin-camping/\" target=\"_blank\">he Cabin</a> he made blueberry pancakes for me, bacon for my MoM and a fried egg just because. Of course all of these things taste better when someone else is making them and they all taste better in the mountains.\n\nWhile drinking his pre-breakfast-making coffee, he announces that he\'s going to make a potato pancakes. There\'s a long pause while my MoM and I think about this. I say: really, <em>latkes</em>? He looks at me and says: um, potato chip pancakes. My MoM lets out a groan. My dAd smiles and shakes his head. It\'s a joke.\n\nIt\'s a joke because 1.) my dAd is kind of a character and 2.) he recently got in a little trouble with my MoM for buying too many bags of potato chips for my brother\'s rehearsal dinner. We had about a 1/2 a bag a person which was maybe, just maybe, more potato chips than we needed but then again you don\'t want to run out of chips at the rehearsal dinner. Needless to say, we\'ve got a lot of leftover potato chips.\n\nAnyhow, my dAd sets about making breakfast.\n\nI set about roasting a marshmallow or two on the fire my MoM has made to warm up the room. There\'s nothing like a pre-breakfast marshmallow to really make your morning..\n\nIn the meantime, my dAd fries up the bacon. He mixes up the pancake batter. He gets the eggs out and while my MoM is changing her clothes in the other room, me looks at me and says: get the potato chips.\n\nAnd who am I, to say no to him?\n\nSo I get out the potato chips. We don\'t have any plain chips but I find some sour cream and onion so I crunch these up and dAd adds them to a little bowl of whole-wheat pancake batter. We\'re nothing if not healthy. MoM comes back in the room to find us frying up potato chip pancakes in bacon grease.\n\nThe interesting part? She sighs, rolls her eyes and then eats her own potato chip pancake. These pancakes were good, too good in fact. She says: one taste of these  and these are the kind of pancakes that grandchildren will beg their grandfather to make and he\'ll make them when mom\'s not around. The worst part is, I know she\'s right. 110% right.\n\nFrom potato chip pancakes, we moved on to the more traditional blueberry pancake. Yum. Yum.\n\nBut what really brought a smile to my face were the pancake shapes from my childhood. Mickey Mouse and the ever popular penny pancakes. The penny pancakes are perfect for conveying syrup to your mouth and and Mickey Mouse, well, that speaks for itself.\n\nAs if being at this cabin surrounded by this beautiful nature isn\'t enough, I am reminded just how lucky I am to have parents like these.','dAd-made Pancakes','','inherit','open','open','','7032-revision','','','2012-08-23 06:44:13','2012-08-23 04:44:13','',7032,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/23/7032-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(7102,1,'2012-08-31 03:38:41','2012-08-31 01:38:41','It\'s 4:30 in the morning in Sofia and I\'m up. For the record, I\'d rather not be up but I am.\r\n\r\nI open my eyes for the first time this morning about 2:30am. By 3am it was clear that I needed a drink of water. From here it was a slippery slope. Back in bed I counted slowly trying to clear my mind. I read a book for a little bit. I practiced some calming yoga breathing. At 4 am when my stomach started rumbling and I couldn\'t think about anything else I began to contemplate getting out of bed.\r\n\r\nNow here I am. Drinking water, eating yogurt and listening to stray dogs bark in what is either the very early morning or the middle of the night. I think that this is one of those glass half-empty/glass half-full things and right now I am not sure which side I come down on.\r\n\r\nInterestingly it\'s pretty cool right now. The temperature on the pharmacy across the way reads 15 c. So I\'m wearing a sweatshirt and wondering how quickly fall is going to find us in Sofia. I hope not to quickly. I\'d like a couple of warm end of summer weeks before school really gets under way. I hope that\'s not wishful thinking.\r\n\r\nI\'d also like to fall back asleep so that I\'m not crazy-jet-lag girl tomorrow but at this point that does seem to be wishful thinking. Luckily, I\'ve got my kindle to keep me company.','Why, hello, jet lag! ','','publish','open','open','','why-hello-jet-lag','','','2012-08-31 03:38:41','2012-08-31 01:38:41','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=7102',0,'post','',0),(7035,1,'2012-08-27 20:14:48','2012-08-27 18:14:48','For those of you who don\'t know, nature is pretty amazing. Not a little amazing. I am talking capitol letter Amazing.\r\n\r\nThis year marks the second (or maybe third) year since the 1920\'s that salmon have returned to our little creek--Mill Creek to spawn.\r\n<a title=\"Me looking for Salmon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7874131978/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8300/7874131978_8341593a0a_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me looking for Salmon\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://wallawallalocal.wordpress.com/2011/11/03/return-of-the-spring-chinook-salmon-to-mill-creek-oregon/\" target=\"_blank\">My dAd wrote about it last year on his blog</a>. He took pictures. He told me about about it via skype. He was wow-ed by it. When he saw it last year, it was the first time in his life--his whole life--not just his adult life---that he\'d seen salmon in the creek.\r\n<a title=\"dAd in Mill Creek taking photos by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7874125600/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8422/7874125600_e7bf8378ee_z.jpg\" alt=\"dAd in Mill Creek taking photos\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nI didn\'t get it. Sure I knew it was interesting. I thought it was pretty great that the salmon could make it back to our little creek. There\'s a lot standing in the way of a single salmon returning to spawn in our creek. Or is it the salmon\'s creek? I mean it was <em>born</em> in the creek.<!--more-->\r\n<a title=\"Salmon in Mill Creek, OR by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7874133826/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8433/7874133826_ae863abe7a_z.jpg\" alt=\"Salmon in Mill Creek, OR\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Salmon in Mill Creek, OR by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7874135160/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8283/7874135160_e0d9e409f5_z.jpg\" alt=\"Salmon in Mill Creek, OR\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Salmon in Mill Creek, OR by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7874137472/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8293/7874137472_e35df25e08_z.jpg\" alt=\"Salmon in Mill Creek, OR\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThere\'s man (who fishes, who builds damns and who pollutes among other things), there\'s the distance and there\'s climate change. Everything seems stacked against these fish.  Still, they manage to get back home to spawn and die.\r\n\r\nMy dAd was busy telling me how great it was to see the salmon in our creek but I didn\'t get it.\r\n\r\nNope, I didn\'t get it until I saw it.\r\n<a title=\"Salmon in Mill Creek, OR by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7874147390/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7247/7874147390_69d8d759b0_z.jpg\" alt=\"Salmon in Mill Creek, OR\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Salmon in Mill Creek, OR by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7874145782/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8292/7874145782_93e6bcb593_z.jpg\" alt=\"Salmon in Mill Creek, OR\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Salmon in Mill Creek, OR by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7874143952/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/7874143952_3a1ecaf582_z.jpg\" alt=\"Salmon in Mill Creek, OR\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Salmon in Mill Creek, OR by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7874142724/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8288/7874142724_75f6442f9f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Salmon in Mill Creek, OR\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Salmon in Mill Creek, OR by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7874143952/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/7874143952_3a1ecaf582_z.jpg\" alt=\"Salmon in Mill Creek, OR\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Salmon in Mill Creek, OR by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7874142724/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8288/7874142724_75f6442f9f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Salmon in Mill Creek, OR\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Salmon in Mill Creek, OR by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7874141584/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8294/7874141584_dc794efff5_z.jpg\" alt=\"Salmon in Mill Creek, OR\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Salmon in Mill Creek, OR by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7874139632/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8304/7874139632_2d92bfbfaa_z.jpg\" alt=\"Salmon in Mill Creek, OR\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Salmon in Mill Creek, OR by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7874138326/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8304/7874138326_a3987d25c2_z.jpg\" alt=\"Salmon in Mill Creek, OR\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThen I couldn\'t do anything other than sit on a big rock and watch the salmon in the creek. They are big. Probably 24\" or more in length and they where they were spawning the creek was so shallow that the backs of the salmon were sticking out of the water.\r\n\r\nWhen you see this you think: <em>What?!</em> How on earth did these salmon make it back here?!\r\n<a title=\"Salmon in Mill Creek, OR by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7874121752/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8285/7874121752_04d4abd220_z.jpg\" alt=\"Salmon in Mill Creek, OR\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n\r\nHeck, how did they even know how to get back here? This question is impossibly hard. They just know. \r\n\r\nSo then you move on to watching them flipping around in the creek which is many places is not much more than ankle deep. They turn up the rocks and create a good place to lay their eggs and spawn. Later they swim back and flip around again. This time to cover up the (hopefully) fertilized eggs in order to protect them. These are big fish in a little creek and if you look closely you can see that the fish are also turning white.\r\n<a title=\"Salmon in Mill Creek, OR by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7874124782/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7256/7874124782_3946ff0284_z.jpg\" alt=\"Salmon in Mill Creek, OR\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nYou can see in pictures that one salmon had a white tail and the other a white stripe down the middle of its back. This is because the fish are process of dying and they are no longer producing pigment. Once they have spawned they die because they\'ve done what they needed to do.\r\n\r\nIt\'s hard work being a salmon.\r\n<a title=\"Mill Creek by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7874129134/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8288/7874129134_2014257b92_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mill Creek\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe whole thing is pretty amazing. \r\n\r\nAs are my dAd\'s photos. A big thanks to my dAd for getting all the way out in the middle of the (cold) creek to take these photos and for sharing these with me because all I could do was sit on a rock and be amazed by the fact that against all odds we have salmon in our little creek.','Salmon and Nature ','','publish','open','open','','salmon-and-nature','','','2012-08-27 20:14:48','2012-08-27 18:14:48','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=7035',0,'post','',3),(7036,1,'2012-08-23 07:13:51','2012-08-23 05:13:51','For those of you who don\'t know, nature is pretty amazing. Not a little amazing. I am talking capitol letter Amazing.\n\nThis year marks the second year since the 1930\'s that salmon have returned to our little creek--Mill Creek to spawn.\n\nMy dAd wrote about it last year on his blog. He took pictures. He told me about about it via skype. He was wow-ed by it. When he saw it last year, it was the first time in his life--his whole life--not just his adult life---that he\'d seen salmon in the creek.\n\nI didn\'t get it. Sure I knew it was interesting. I thought it was pretty great that the salmon could make it back to our little creek. There\'s a lot standing in the way of a single salmon returning to spawn in our creek. The creek it was born in. There\'s man (who fishes, who builds damns and who pollutes among other things), there\'s the distance and there\'s climate change. Everything seems stacked against these fish.  Still, they managed to get back home.\n\nI didn\'t get it.\n\nNope, I didn\'t get it until I saw it.','Salmon and Nature ','','inherit','open','open','','7035-revision','','','2012-08-23 07:13:51','2012-08-23 05:13:51','',7035,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/23/7035-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(7037,1,'2012-08-23 07:19:26','2012-08-23 05:19:26','My dAd makes good pancakes. He always has. We didn\'t eat them a lot growing up but man-oh-man when dAd made breakfast you knew it was going to be good.\n\nThings haven\'t changed much. How lucky is that?!\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842765598/\" title=\"Pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8423/7842765598_26a7721e03_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Pancakes\"></a>\nMy dAd still makes a killer blueberry pancake and my MoM still loves bacon. That means only good things for me.\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The first morning we spent at <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/22/cabin-camping/\" target=\"_blank\">The Cabin</a> he made blueberry pancakes for made, bacon for my MoM and a fried egg just because he can. Of course all of these things taste better when someone else is making them and they all taste better in the mountains.</p>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842761144/\" title=\"Syrup by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7109/7842761144_718f5359d6_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Syrup\"></a>\nWhile drinking his pre-breakfast-making coffee, he announces that he\'s going to make a potato pancakes. There\'s a long pause while my MoM and I think about this. I say: really, <em>latkes</em>? He looks at me and says: um, potato chip pancakes. My MoM lets out a groan. My dAd smiles and shakes his head. It\'s a joke.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842759046/\" title=\"Making Bacon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8442/7842759046_3d0dbf6f07_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Making Bacon\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842756530/\" title=\"Bacon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7842756530_8e56fc28b0_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Bacon\"></a>\nIt\'s a joke because 1.) my dAd is kind of a character and 2.) he recently got in a little trouble with my MoM for buying too many bags of potato chips for my brother\'s rehearsal dinner. We had about a 1/2 a bag a person which was maybe, just maybe, more potato chips than we needed but then again you don\'t want to run out of chips at the rehearsal dinner. Needless to say, we\'ve got a lot of leftover potato chips.\n\nAnyhow, my dAd sets about making breakfast.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842753696/\" title=\"Potato chip pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8305/7842753696_5bf6303206_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Potato chip pancakes\"></a>\nI set about roasting a marshmallow or two on the fire my MoM has made to warm up the room. There\'s nothing like a pre-breakfast marshmallow to really make your morning. (PS I am not the only one to think this way. Enter <a href=\"http://http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/foodwine/2018886297_groc23smorespancakes.html\" target=\"_blank\">recipe for S\'mores Pancakes</a>. Apparently great minds think alike.)\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842736476/\" title=\"eggs by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8443/7842736476_21b30ce888_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"eggs\"></a>\nIn the meantime, my dAd fries up the bacon. He mixes up the pancake batter. He gets the eggs out and while my MoM is changing her clothes in the other room, me looks at me and says: get the potato chips.\n\nAnd who am I, to say no to him?\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842750676/\" title=\"Potato chip pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7108/7842750676_1fccfdb44d_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Potato chip pancakes\"></a>\nSo I get out the potato chips. We don\'t have any plain chips but I find some sour cream and onion so I crunch these up and dAd adds them to a little bowl of whole-wheat pancake batter. We\'re nothing if not healthy. MoM comes back in the room to find us frying up potato chip pancakes in bacon grease.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842748154/\" title=\"Potato chip pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7842748154_d85feae516_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Potato chip pancakes\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842745196/\" title=\"Potato chip pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8284/7842745196_808f14b77d_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Potato chip pancakes\"></a>\nThe interesting part? She sighs, rolls her eyes and then eats her own potato chip pancake. These pancakes were good, too good in fact. She says: one taste of these  and these are the kind of pancakes that grandchildren will beg their grandfather to make and he\'ll make them when mom\'s not around. The worst part is, I know she\'s right. 110% right.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842742266/\" title=\"Blueberry pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8442/7842742266_837c7b3f76_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Blueberry pancakes\"></a>\nFrom potato chip pancakes, we moved on to the more traditional blueberry pancake. Yum. Yum.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842731516/\" title=\"dAd made breakfast by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8426/7842731516_dbe5d010e7_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"dAd made breakfast\"></a>\nBut what really brought a smile to my face were the pancake shapes from my childhood. Mickey Mouse and the ever popular penny pancakes. The penny pancakes are perfect for conveying syrup to your mouth and and Mickey Mouse, well, that speaks for itself.\n\nAs if being at this cabin surrounded by this beautiful nature isn\'t enough, I am reminded just how lucky I am to have parents like these.','dAd-made Pancakes','','inherit','open','open','','7032-revision-2','','','2012-08-23 07:19:26','2012-08-23 05:19:26','',7032,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/23/7032-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(7038,1,'2012-08-23 07:20:04','2012-08-23 05:20:04','My dAd makes good pancakes. He always has. We didn\'t eat them a lot growing up but man-oh-man when dAd made breakfast you knew it was going to be good.\r\n\r\nThings haven\'t changed much. How lucky is that?!\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842765598/\" title=\"Pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8423/7842765598_26a7721e03_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Pancakes\"></a>\r\nMy dAd still makes a killer blueberry pancake and my MoM still loves bacon. That means only good things for me.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The first morning we spent at <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/22/cabin-camping/\" target=\"_blank\">The Cabin</a> he made blueberry pancakes for made, bacon for my MoM and a fried egg just because he can. Of course all of these things taste better when someone else is making them and they all taste better in the mountains.</p>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842761144/\" title=\"Syrup by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7109/7842761144_718f5359d6_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Syrup\"></a>\r\nWhile drinking his pre-breakfast-making coffee, he announces that he\'s going to make a potato pancakes. There\'s a long pause while my MoM and I think about this. I say: really, <em>latkes</em>? He looks at me and says: um, potato chip pancakes. My MoM lets out a groan. My dAd smiles and shakes his head. It\'s a joke.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842759046/\" title=\"Making Bacon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8442/7842759046_3d0dbf6f07_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Making Bacon\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842756530/\" title=\"Bacon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7842756530_8e56fc28b0_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Bacon\"></a>\r\nIt\'s a joke because 1.) my dAd is kind of a character and 2.) he recently got in a little trouble with my MoM for buying too many bags of potato chips for my brother\'s rehearsal dinner. We had about a 1/2 a bag a person which was maybe, just maybe, more potato chips than we needed but then again you don\'t want to run out of chips at the rehearsal dinner. Needless to say, we\'ve got a lot of leftover potato chips.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, my dAd sets about making breakfast.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842753696/\" title=\"Potato chip pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8305/7842753696_5bf6303206_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Potato chip pancakes\"></a>\r\nI set about roasting a marshmallow or two on the fire my MoM has made to warm up the room. There\'s nothing like a pre-breakfast marshmallow to really make your morning. (PS I am not the only one to think this way. Enter <a href=\"http://http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/foodwine/2018886297_groc23smorespancakes.html\" target=\"_blank\">recipe for S\'mores Pancakes</a>. Apparently great minds think alike.)\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842736476/\" title=\"eggs by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8443/7842736476_21b30ce888_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"eggs\"></a>\r\nIn the meantime, my dAd fries up the bacon. He mixes up the pancake batter. He gets the eggs out and while my MoM is changing her clothes in the other room, me looks at me and says: get the potato chips.\r\n\r\nAnd who am I, to say no to him?\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842750676/\" title=\"Potato chip pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7108/7842750676_1fccfdb44d_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Potato chip pancakes\"></a>\r\nSo I get out the potato chips. We don\'t have any plain chips but I find some sour cream and onion so I crunch these up and dAd adds them to a little bowl of whole-wheat pancake batter. We\'re nothing if not healthy. MoM comes back in the room to find us frying up potato chip pancakes in bacon grease.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842748154/\" title=\"Potato chip pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7842748154_d85feae516_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Potato chip pancakes\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842745196/\" title=\"Potato chip pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8284/7842745196_808f14b77d_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Potato chip pancakes\"></a>\r\nThe interesting part? She sighs, rolls her eyes and then eats her own potato chip pancake. These pancakes were good, too good in fact. She says: one taste of these  and these are the kind of pancakes that grandchildren will beg their grandfather to make and he\'ll make them when mom\'s not around. The worst part is, I know she\'s right. 110% right.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842742266/\" title=\"Blueberry pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8442/7842742266_837c7b3f76_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Blueberry pancakes\"></a>\r\nFrom potato chip pancakes, we moved on to the more traditional blueberry pancake. Yum. Yum.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842731516/\" title=\"dAd made breakfast by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8426/7842731516_dbe5d010e7_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"dAd made breakfast\"></a>\r\nBut what really brought a smile to my face were the pancake shapes from my childhood. Mickey Mouse and the ever popular penny pancakes. The penny pancakes are perfect for conveying syrup to your mouth and and Mickey Mouse, well, that speaks for itself.<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842728032/\" title=\"dAd made pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7114/7842728032_7e81ec63a8_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"dAd made pancakes\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842725092/\" title=\"pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7122/7842725092_db7acc2dea_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"pancakes\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842721774/\" title=\"pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7257/7842721774_e76c212dbe_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"pancakes\"></a>\r\nAs if being at this cabin surrounded by this beautiful nature isn\'t enough, I am reminded just how lucky I am to have parents like these.','dAd-made Pancakes','','inherit','open','open','','7032-revision-3','','','2012-08-23 07:20:04','2012-08-23 05:20:04','',7032,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/23/7032-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(7039,1,'2012-08-23 07:28:07','2012-08-23 05:28:07','My dAd makes good pancakes. He always has. We didn\'t eat them a lot growing up but man-oh-man when dAd made breakfast you knew it was going to be good.\n\nThings haven\'t changed much. How lucky is that?!\n<a title=\"Pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842765598/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8423/7842765598_26a7721e03_z.jpg\" alt=\"Pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nMy dAd still makes a killer blueberry pancake and my MoM still loves bacon. That means only good things for me.\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The first morning we spent at <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/22/cabin-camping/\" target=\"_blank\">The Cabin</a> he made blueberry pancakes for made, bacon for my MoM and a fried egg just because he can. Of course all of these things taste better when someone else is making them and they all taste better in the mountains.</p>\n<a title=\"Syrup by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842761144/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7109/7842761144_718f5359d6_z.jpg\" alt=\"Syrup\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nWhile drinking his pre-breakfast-making coffee, he announces that he\'s going to make a potato pancakes. There\'s a long pause while my MoM and I think about this. I say: really, <em>latkes</em>? He looks at me and says: um, potato chip pancakes. My MoM lets out a groan. My dAd smiles and shakes his head.\n\nIt\'s a joke. <em>Maybe</em>.<!--more-->\n<a title=\"Making Bacon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842759046/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8442/7842759046_3d0dbf6f07_z.jpg\" alt=\"Making Bacon\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Bacon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842756530/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7842756530_8e56fc28b0_z.jpg\" alt=\"Bacon\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nIt\'s a joke because 1.) my dAd is kind of a character and 2.) he recently got in a little trouble with my MoM for buying too many bags of potato chips for my brother\'s rehearsal dinner. We had about a 1/2 a bag a person which was maybe, just maybe, more potato chips than we needed but then again you don\'t want to run out of chips at the rehearsal dinner. Needless to say, we\'ve got a lot of leftover potato chips.\n\nAnyhow, my dAd sets about making breakfast.\n<a title=\"Potato chip pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842753696/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8305/7842753696_5bf6303206_z.jpg\" alt=\"Potato chip pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nI set about roasting a marshmallow or two on the fire my MoM has made to warm up the room. For the record, my MoM rolls her eyes at this as well. Still, there\'s nothing like a pre-breakfast marshmallow to really make your morning. (PS I am not the only one to think this way. Enter <a href=\"http://http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/foodwine/2018886297_groc23smorespancakes.html\" target=\"_blank\">recipe for S\'mores Pancakes</a>. Apparently great minds think alike.)\n<a title=\"eggs by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842736476/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8443/7842736476_21b30ce888_z.jpg\" alt=\"eggs\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nIn the meantime, my dAd fries up the bacon. He mixes up the pancake batter. He gets the eggs out and while my MoM is changing her clothes in the other room, me looks at me and says: get the potato chips.\n\nAnd who am I, to say no to him?\n<a title=\"Potato chip pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842750676/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7108/7842750676_1fccfdb44d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Potato chip pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nSo I get out the potato chips. We don\'t have any plain chips but I find some sour cream and onion so I crunch these up and dAd adds them to a little bowl of whole-wheat pancake batter. We\'re nothing if not healthy. MoM comes back in the room to find us frying up potato chip pancakes in bacon grease.\n<a title=\"Potato chip pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842748154/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7842748154_d85feae516_z.jpg\" alt=\"Potato chip pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Potato chip pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842745196/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8284/7842745196_808f14b77d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Potato chip pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nThe interesting part? She sighs, rolls her eyes and then eats her own potato chip pancake. These pancakes were good, too good in fact. She says: one taste of these  and these are the kind of pancakes that grandchildren will beg their grandfather to make and he\'ll make them when mom\'s not around. The worst part is, I know she\'s right. 110% right.\n<a title=\"Blueberry pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842742266/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8442/7842742266_837c7b3f76_z.jpg\" alt=\"Blueberry pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nFrom potato chip pancakes, we moved on to the more traditional blueberry pancake. With a side of bacon, an egg and a glass of orange juice. Yum. Yum. I am so lucky.\n\nBut it turns out I don\'t even know the half of it. My dAd has an additional surprise up his sleeve.\n<a title=\"dAd made breakfast by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842731516/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8426/7842731516_dbe5d010e7_z.jpg\" alt=\"dAd made breakfast\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nYep. What really brought a smile to my face were the pancake shapes from my childhood. Mickey Mouse and the ever popular penny pancakes. Growing up in our house my dAd made us penny pancakes. These are perfect for conveying syrup to your mouth. The Mickey Mouse  pancake was a crowd please and, well, that speaks for itself.<a title=\"dAd made pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842728032/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7114/7842728032_7e81ec63a8_z.jpg\" alt=\"dAd made pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842725092/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7122/7842725092_db7acc2dea_z.jpg\" alt=\"pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842721774/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7257/7842721774_e76c212dbe_z.jpg\" alt=\"pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nAs if being at this cabin surrounded by this beautiful nature isn\'t enough, this breakfast reminded me just how lucky I am to have parents like these.','dAd-made Pancakes','','inherit','open','open','','7032-revision-4','','','2012-08-23 07:28:07','2012-08-23 05:28:07','',7032,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/23/7032-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(7040,1,'2012-08-23 07:15:44','2012-08-23 05:15:44','For those of you who don\'t know, nature is pretty amazing. Not a little amazing. I am talking capitol letter Amazing.\n\nThis year marks the second year since the 1930\'s that salmon have returned to our little creek--Mill Creek to spawn.\n\nMy dAd wrote about it last year on his blog. He took pictures. He told me about about it via skype. He was wow-ed by it. When he saw it last year, it was the first time in his life--his whole life--not just his adult life---that he\'d seen salmon in the creek.\n\nI didn\'t get it. Sure I knew it was interesting. I thought it was pretty great that the salmon could make it back to our little creek. There\'s a lot standing in the way of a single salmon returning to spawn in our creek. The creek it was born in. There\'s man (who fishes, who builds damns and who pollutes among other things), there\'s the distance and there\'s climate change. Everything seems stacked against these fish.  Still, they managed to get back home.\n\nMy dAd was busy telling me how great it was to see the salmon in our creek but I didn\'t get it.\n\nNope, I didn\'t get it until I saw it.','Salmon and Nature ','','inherit','open','open','','7035-revision-2','','','2012-08-23 07:15:44','2012-08-23 05:15:44','',7035,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/23/7035-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(7041,1,'2012-08-23 07:29:12','2012-08-23 05:29:12','My dAd makes good pancakes. He always has. We didn\'t eat them a lot growing up but man-oh-man when dAd made breakfast you knew it was going to be good.\n\nThings haven\'t changed much. How lucky is that?!\n<a title=\"Pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842765598/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8423/7842765598_26a7721e03_z.jpg\" alt=\"Pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nMy dAd still makes a killer blueberry pancake and my MoM still loves bacon. That means only good things for me.\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The first morning we spent at <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/22/cabin-camping/\" target=\"_blank\">The Cabin</a> he made blueberry pancakes for made, bacon for my MoM and a fried egg just because he can. Of course all of these things taste better when someone else is making them and they all taste better in the mountains.</p>\n<a title=\"Syrup by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842761144/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7109/7842761144_718f5359d6_z.jpg\" alt=\"Syrup\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nWhile drinking his pre-breakfast-making coffee, he announces that he\'s going to make a potato pancakes. There\'s a long pause while my MoM and I think about this. I say: really, <em>latkes</em>? He looks at me and says: um, potato chip pancakes. My MoM lets out a groan. My dAd smiles and shakes his head.\n\nIt\'s a joke. <em>Maybe</em>.<!--more-->\n<a title=\"Making Bacon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842759046/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8442/7842759046_3d0dbf6f07_z.jpg\" alt=\"Making Bacon\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Bacon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842756530/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7842756530_8e56fc28b0_z.jpg\" alt=\"Bacon\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nIt\'s a joke because 1.) my dAd is kind of a character and 2.) he recently got in a little trouble with my MoM for buying too many bags of potato chips for my brother\'s rehearsal dinner. We had about a 1/2 a bag a person which was maybe, just maybe, more potato chips than we needed but then again you don\'t want to run out of chips at the rehearsal dinner. Needless to say, we\'ve got a lot of leftover potato chips.\n\nAnyhow, my dAd sets about making breakfast.\n<a title=\"Potato chip pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842753696/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8305/7842753696_5bf6303206_z.jpg\" alt=\"Potato chip pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nI set about roasting a marshmallow or two on the fire my MoM has made to warm up the room. For the record, my MoM rolls her eyes at this as well. Still, there\'s nothing like a pre-breakfast marshmallow to really make your morning. (PS I am not the only one to think this way. Enter <a href=\"http://http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/foodwine/2018886297_groc23smorespancakes.html\" target=\"_blank\">recipe for S\'mores Pancakes</a>. Apparently great minds think alike.)\n<a title=\"eggs by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842736476/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8443/7842736476_21b30ce888_z.jpg\" alt=\"eggs\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nIn the meantime, my dAd fries up the bacon. He mixes up the pancake batter. He gets the eggs out and while my MoM is changing her clothes in the other room, me looks at me and says: get the potato chips.\n\nAnd who am I, to say no to him?\n<a title=\"Potato chip pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842750676/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7108/7842750676_1fccfdb44d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Potato chip pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nSo I get out the potato chips. We don\'t have any plain chips but I find some sour cream and onion so I crunch these up and dAd adds them to a little bowl of whole-wheat pancake batter. We\'re nothing if not healthy. MoM comes back in the room to find us frying up potato chip pancakes in bacon grease.\n<a title=\"Potato chip pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842748154/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7842748154_d85feae516_z.jpg\" alt=\"Potato chip pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Potato chip pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842745196/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8284/7842745196_808f14b77d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Potato chip pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nThe interesting part? She sighs, rolls her eyes and then eats her own potato chip pancake. These pancakes were good, too good in fact. She says: one taste of these  and these are the kind of pancakes that grandchildren will beg their grandfather to make and he\'ll make them when mom\'s not around. The worst part is, I know she\'s right. 110% right.\n<a title=\"Blueberry pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842742266/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8442/7842742266_837c7b3f76_z.jpg\" alt=\"Blueberry pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nFrom potato chip pancakes, we moved on to the more traditional blueberry pancake. With a side of bacon, an egg and a glass of orange juice. Yum. Yum. I am so lucky.\n\nBut it turns out I don\'t even know the half of it. My dAd has an additional surprise up his sleeve.\n<a title=\"dAd made breakfast by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842731516/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8426/7842731516_dbe5d010e7_z.jpg\" alt=\"dAd made breakfast\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nYep. What really brought a smile to my face were the pancake shapes from my childhood. Mickey Mouse and the ever popular penny pancakes. Growing up in our house my dAd made us penny pancakes. These are perfect for conveying syrup to your mouth. The Mickey Mouse  pancake was a crowd please and, well, that speaks for itself.<a title=\"dAd made pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842728032/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7114/7842728032_7e81ec63a8_z.jpg\" alt=\"dAd made pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842725092/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7122/7842725092_db7acc2dea_z.jpg\" alt=\"pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842721774/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7257/7842721774_e76c212dbe_z.jpg\" alt=\"pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nAs if being at this cabin surrounded by this beautiful nature isn\'t enough, this breakfast reminded me just how lucky I am to have parents like these.','dAd-made Pancakes','','inherit','open','open','','7032-autosave','','','2012-08-23 07:29:12','2012-08-23 05:29:12','',7032,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/23/7032-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(7042,1,'2012-08-23 07:28:08','2012-08-23 05:28:08','My dAd makes good pancakes. He always has. We didn\'t eat them a lot growing up but man-oh-man when dAd made breakfast you knew it was going to be good.\r\n\r\nThings haven\'t changed much. How lucky is that?!\r\n<a title=\"Pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842765598/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8423/7842765598_26a7721e03_z.jpg\" alt=\"Pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nMy dAd still makes a killer blueberry pancake and my MoM still loves bacon. That means only good things for me.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The first morning we spent at <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/22/cabin-camping/\" target=\"_blank\">The Cabin</a> he made blueberry pancakes for made, bacon for my MoM and a fried egg just because he can. Of course all of these things taste better when someone else is making them and they all taste better in the mountains.</p>\r\n<a title=\"Syrup by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842761144/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7109/7842761144_718f5359d6_z.jpg\" alt=\"Syrup\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nWhile drinking his pre-breakfast-making coffee, he announces that he\'s going to make a potato pancakes. There\'s a long pause while my MoM and I think about this. I say: really, <em>latkes</em>? He looks at me and says: um, potato chip pancakes. My MoM lets out a groan. My dAd smiles and shakes his head.\r\n\r\nIt\'s a joke. <em>Maybe</em>.<!--more-->\r\n<a title=\"Making Bacon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842759046/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8442/7842759046_3d0dbf6f07_z.jpg\" alt=\"Making Bacon\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Bacon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842756530/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7842756530_8e56fc28b0_z.jpg\" alt=\"Bacon\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nIt\'s a joke because 1.) my dAd is kind of a character and 2.) he recently got in a little trouble with my MoM for buying too many bags of potato chips for my brother\'s rehearsal dinner. We had about a 1/2 a bag a person which was maybe, just maybe, more potato chips than we needed but then again you don\'t want to run out of chips at the rehearsal dinner. Needless to say, we\'ve got a lot of leftover potato chips.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, my dAd sets about making breakfast.\r\n<a title=\"Potato chip pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842753696/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8305/7842753696_5bf6303206_z.jpg\" alt=\"Potato chip pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nI set about roasting a marshmallow or two on the fire my MoM has made to warm up the room. For the record, my MoM rolls her eyes at this as well. Still, there\'s nothing like a pre-breakfast marshmallow to really make your morning. (PS I am not the only one to think this way. Enter <a href=\"http://http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/foodwine/2018886297_groc23smorespancakes.html\" target=\"_blank\">recipe for S\'mores Pancakes</a>. Apparently great minds think alike.)\r\n<a title=\"eggs by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842736476/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8443/7842736476_21b30ce888_z.jpg\" alt=\"eggs\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nIn the meantime, my dAd fries up the bacon. He mixes up the pancake batter. He gets the eggs out and while my MoM is changing her clothes in the other room, me looks at me and says: get the potato chips.\r\n\r\nAnd who am I, to say no to him?\r\n<a title=\"Potato chip pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842750676/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7108/7842750676_1fccfdb44d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Potato chip pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nSo I get out the potato chips. We don\'t have any plain chips but I find some sour cream and onion so I crunch these up and dAd adds them to a little bowl of whole-wheat pancake batter. We\'re nothing if not healthy. MoM comes back in the room to find us frying up potato chip pancakes in bacon grease.\r\n<a title=\"Potato chip pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842748154/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7842748154_d85feae516_z.jpg\" alt=\"Potato chip pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Potato chip pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842745196/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8284/7842745196_808f14b77d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Potato chip pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe interesting part? She sighs, rolls her eyes and then eats her own potato chip pancake. These pancakes were good, too good in fact. She says: one taste of these  and these are the kind of pancakes that grandchildren will beg their grandfather to make and he\'ll make them when mom\'s not around. The worst part is, I know she\'s right. 110% right.\r\n<a title=\"Blueberry pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842742266/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8442/7842742266_837c7b3f76_z.jpg\" alt=\"Blueberry pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nFrom potato chip pancakes, we moved on to the more traditional blueberry pancake. With a side of bacon, an egg and a glass of orange juice. Yum. Yum. I am so lucky.\r\n\r\nBut it turns out I don\'t even know the half of it. My dAd has an additional surprise up his sleeve.\r\n<a title=\"dAd made breakfast by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842731516/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8426/7842731516_dbe5d010e7_z.jpg\" alt=\"dAd made breakfast\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nYep. What really brought a smile to my face were the pancake shapes from my childhood. Mickey Mouse and the ever popular penny pancakes. Growing up in our house my dAd made us penny pancakes. These are perfect for conveying syrup to your mouth. The Mickey Mouse  pancake was a crowd please and, well, that speaks for itself.<a title=\"dAd made pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842728032/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7114/7842728032_7e81ec63a8_z.jpg\" alt=\"dAd made pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842725092/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7122/7842725092_db7acc2dea_z.jpg\" alt=\"pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842721774/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7257/7842721774_e76c212dbe_z.jpg\" alt=\"pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nAs if being at this cabin surrounded by this beautiful nature isn\'t enough, this breakfast reminded me just how lucky I am to have parents like these.','dAd-made Pancakes','','inherit','open','open','','7032-revision-5','','','2012-08-23 07:28:08','2012-08-23 05:28:08','',7032,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/23/7032-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(7043,1,'2012-08-23 07:29:15','2012-08-23 05:29:15','My dAd makes good pancakes. He always has. We didn\'t eat them a lot growing up but man-oh-man when dAd made breakfast you knew it was going to be good.\r\n\r\nThings haven\'t changed much. How lucky is that?!\r\n<a title=\"Pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842765598/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8423/7842765598_26a7721e03_z.jpg\" alt=\"Pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nMy dAd still makes a killer blueberry pancake and my MoM still loves bacon. That means only good things for me.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The first morning we spent at <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/22/cabin-camping/\" target=\"_blank\">The Cabin</a> he made blueberry pancakes for me, bacon for my MoM and a fried egg just because he can. Of course all of these things taste better when someone else is making them and they all taste better in the mountains.</p>\r\n<a title=\"Syrup by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842761144/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7109/7842761144_718f5359d6_z.jpg\" alt=\"Syrup\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nWhile drinking his pre-breakfast-making coffee, he announces that he\'s going to make a potato pancakes. There\'s a long pause while my MoM and I think about this. I say: really, <em>latkes</em>? He looks at me and says: um, potato chip pancakes. My MoM lets out a groan. My dAd smiles and shakes his head.\r\n\r\nIt\'s a joke. <em>Maybe</em>.<!--more-->\r\n<a title=\"Making Bacon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842759046/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8442/7842759046_3d0dbf6f07_z.jpg\" alt=\"Making Bacon\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Bacon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842756530/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7842756530_8e56fc28b0_z.jpg\" alt=\"Bacon\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nIt\'s a joke because 1.) my dAd is kind of a character and 2.) he recently got in a little trouble with my MoM for buying too many bags of potato chips for my brother\'s rehearsal dinner. We had about a 1/2 a bag a person which was maybe, just maybe, more potato chips than we needed but then again you don\'t want to run out of chips at the rehearsal dinner. Needless to say, we\'ve got a lot of leftover potato chips.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, my dAd sets about making breakfast.\r\n<a title=\"Potato chip pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842753696/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8305/7842753696_5bf6303206_z.jpg\" alt=\"Potato chip pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nI set about roasting a marshmallow or two on the fire my MoM has made to warm up the room. For the record, my MoM rolls her eyes at this as well. Still, there\'s nothing like a pre-breakfast marshmallow to really make your morning. (PS I am not the only one to think this way. Enter <a href=\"http://http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/foodwine/2018886297_groc23smorespancakes.html\" target=\"_blank\">recipe for S\'mores Pancakes</a>. Apparently great minds think alike.)\r\n<a title=\"eggs by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842736476/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8443/7842736476_21b30ce888_z.jpg\" alt=\"eggs\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nIn the meantime, my dAd fries up the bacon. He mixes up the pancake batter. He gets the eggs out and while my MoM is changing her clothes in the other room, me looks at me and says: get the potato chips.\r\n\r\nAnd who am I, to say no to him?\r\n<a title=\"Potato chip pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842750676/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7108/7842750676_1fccfdb44d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Potato chip pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nSo I get out the potato chips. We don\'t have any plain chips but I find some sour cream and onion so I crunch these up and dAd adds them to a little bowl of whole-wheat pancake batter. We\'re nothing if not healthy. MoM comes back in the room to find us frying up potato chip pancakes in bacon grease.\r\n<a title=\"Potato chip pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842748154/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7842748154_d85feae516_z.jpg\" alt=\"Potato chip pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Potato chip pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842745196/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8284/7842745196_808f14b77d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Potato chip pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe interesting part? She sighs, rolls her eyes and then eats her own potato chip pancake. These pancakes were good, too good in fact. She says: one taste of these  and these are the kind of pancakes that grandchildren will beg their grandfather to make and he\'ll make them when mom\'s not around. The worst part is, I know she\'s right. 110% right.\r\n<a title=\"Blueberry pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842742266/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8442/7842742266_837c7b3f76_z.jpg\" alt=\"Blueberry pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nFrom potato chip pancakes, we moved on to the more traditional blueberry pancake. With a side of bacon, an egg and a glass of orange juice. Yum. Yum. I am so lucky.\r\n\r\nBut it turns out I don\'t even know the half of it. My dAd has an additional surprise up his sleeve.\r\n<a title=\"dAd made breakfast by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842731516/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8426/7842731516_dbe5d010e7_z.jpg\" alt=\"dAd made breakfast\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nYep. What really brought a smile to my face were the pancake shapes from my childhood. Mickey Mouse and the ever popular penny pancakes. Growing up in our house my dAd made us penny pancakes. These are perfect for conveying syrup to your mouth. The Mickey Mouse  pancake was a crowd please and, well, that speaks for itself.<a title=\"dAd made pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842728032/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7114/7842728032_7e81ec63a8_z.jpg\" alt=\"dAd made pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842725092/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7122/7842725092_db7acc2dea_z.jpg\" alt=\"pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"pancakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7842721774/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7257/7842721774_e76c212dbe_z.jpg\" alt=\"pancakes\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nAs if being at this cabin surrounded by this beautiful nature isn\'t enough, this breakfast reminded me just how lucky I am to have parents like these.','dAd-made Pancakes','','inherit','open','open','','7032-revision-6','','','2012-08-23 07:29:15','2012-08-23 05:29:15','',7032,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/23/7032-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(7044,1,'2012-08-23 07:29:17','2012-08-23 05:29:17','For those of you who don\'t know, nature is pretty amazing. Not a little amazing. I am talking capitol letter Amazing.\n\nThis year marks the second year since the 1930\'s that salmon have returned to our little creek--Mill Creek to spawn.\n\nMy dAd wrote about it last year on his blog. He took pictures. He told me about about it via skype. He was wow-ed by it. When he saw it last year, it was the first time in his life--his whole life--not just his adult life---that he\'d seen salmon in the creek.\n\nI didn\'t get it. Sure I knew it was interesting. I thought it was pretty great that the salmon could make it back to our little creek. There\'s a lot standing in the way of a single salmon returning to spawn in our creek. The creek it was born in. There\'s man (who fishes, who builds damns and who pollutes among other things), there\'s the distance and there\'s climate change. Everything seems stacked against these fish.  Still, they managed to get back home.\n\nMy dAd was busy telling me how great it was to see the salmon in our creek but I didn\'t get it.\n\nNope, I didn\'t get it until I saw it.','Salmon and Nature ','','inherit','open','open','','7035-revision-3','','','2012-08-23 07:29:17','2012-08-23 05:29:17','',7035,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/23/7035-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(7045,1,'2012-08-23 17:44:13','2012-08-23 15:44:13','Each time I come home to visit my MoM draws up a list of cool things that I should do or try while I am in town. We went to lunch yesterday at a new-to-me restaurant the Green Spoon on Main Street. This wasn\'t on her list but I\'d been wanting to try it out.\r\n<a title=\"The Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7844986038/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8427/7844986038_7c9ee32c88_z.jpg\" alt=\"The Green Spoon\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThe list is important. It reminds me want I want to do while I am visiting and things I want to sample. I think that my MoM likes to show me just how hip, cool and live-able Walla Walla is. It\'s like she\'s saying to me without saying it directly to me: this isn\'t the Walla Walla you grew up in.\r\n\r\nShe\'s right of course. (Then again she is a mom.)<!--more-->\r\n<a title=\"Mom at the Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7845002752/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8298/7845002752_f2336c3c7b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mom at the Green Spoon\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThis is not the Walla Walla I grew up in. My Walla Walla was a little down and out. It was a farming town with lots of shuttered doors on Main Street and beat up pick-up trucks. For a while when I was in high school, we didn\'t even have a movie theater in town. The closest one was an hour away. So my friends and I went bowling and we watched movies on VHS in our respective parents\' basements or living rooms. It was fine. It was high school.\r\n<a title=\"Me at the Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7844998102/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8423/7844998102_1a3a285b6b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me at the Green Spoon\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThe big turn is that as luck would have it, wine grapes like the same growing conditions that wheat does. Long hot days and cooler nights and ten-plus years ago the wine industry started growing in Walla Walla. In the beginning locals were skeptical. After all we grow wheat, peas, barley and grass seed not grapes.\r\n<a title=\"Lunch menu at Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7845029254/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8427/7845029254_ec91e3a897_z.jpg\" alt=\"Lunch menu at Green Spoon\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a><a title=\"Green Spoon Menu by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7845033690/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8294/7845033690_12cc926ec8_z.jpg\" alt=\"Green Spoon Menu\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nToday, 100+ wineries later, it looks like you can actually grow grapes in Walla Walla and this shift in the culture(and thinking) of the place has changed the city.  There are basically no shuttered doors on Main Street. There are a slew of new shops, bakeries and restaurants--not to mention wine tasting rooms. Heck, there\'s even a gourmet grocery store but I don\'t know who shops there--nobody I\'ve talked to seems to admit to it.\r\n<a title=\"BLAT at the Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7844989700/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8433/7844989700_ddef59abc1_z.jpg\" alt=\"BLAT at the Green Spoon\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThe food at the Green Spoon was great. I had a salad with organic greens, walnuts, blue cheese and raspberry dressing and grilled tofu. My mom had the BLAT--the bacon, lettuce, avocado and tomato sandwich on polenta bread. The food was fresh, well made an most importantly tasty.\r\n<a title=\"Salad at the Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7844993810/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7844993810_80e77befed_z.jpg\" alt=\"Salad at the Green Spoon\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThe service on the other hand was just okay. Actually for service in the States it was pretty horrible. I wont detail it incident by incident because no one needs to read that.  I summarize, the service was slow and inconsistent. Moreover, I think that the poor service had more to do with the fact that we were sitting out front of the restaurant and that we were on the later side for lunch in Walla Walla rather than the fact that the restaurant actually has poor service.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, it didn\'t matter much to us. We were happy to sit out front, sip rose and to talk. Don\'t get me wrong though, we were also happy to order our food and to eat lunch.\r\n<a title=\"Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7845007112/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8294/7845007112_107eb14fbc_z.jpg\" alt=\"Green Spoon\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nSo if you\'re ever in town, check it out. <a href=\"http://www.greenspoonw2.com/\" target=\"_blank\">The Green Spoon at 13th East Main Street</a>. Oh and at dinner time if you bring your own bottle of Walla Walla wine there\'s only a $1 cork fee. Not bad. Not bad at all.','The Green Spoon in Walla Walla ','','publish','open','open','','the-green-spoon-in-walla-walla','','','2012-08-23 17:44:13','2012-08-23 15:44:13','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=7045',0,'post','',0),(7046,1,'2012-08-23 17:15:58','2012-08-23 15:15:58','Each time I come home to visit my MoM draws up a list of cool things that I should do or try while I am in town. We went to lunch yesterday at a new-to-me restaurant the Green Spoon on Main Street. This wasn\'t on her list but I\'d been wanting to try it out.\n\nThe list is important. It reminds me want I want to do while I am visiting and things I want to sample. I think that my MoM likes to show me just how hip, cool and live-able Walla Walla is. It\'s like she\'s saying to me without saying it directly to me: this isn\'t the Walla Walla you grew up in.\n\nShe\'s right of course. (Then again she is a mom.)\n\nThis is not the Walla Walla I grew up in. My Walla Walla was a little down and out. It was a farming town with lots of shuttered doors on Main Street and beat up pick-up trucks. For a while when I was in high school, we didn\'t even have a movie theater in town. The closest one was an hour away. So my friends and I went bowling and we watched movies on VHS in our respective parents\' basements or living rooms. It was fine. It was high school.\n\nThe big turn is that as luck would have it, wine grapes like the same growing conditions that wheat does. Long hot days and cooler nights and ten-plus years ago the wine industry started growing in Walla Walla. In the beginning locals were skeptical. After all we grow wheat, peas, barley and grass seed not grapes.\n\nToday, 100+ wineries later, it looks like you can actually grow grapes in Walla Walla and this shift in the culture(and thinking) of the place has changed the city.  There are basically no shuttered doors on Main Street. There are a slew of new shops, bakeries and restaurants--not to mention wine tasting rooms. Heck, there\'s even a gourmet grocery store but I don\'t know who shops there--nobody I\'ve talked to seems to admit to it.\n\nThe food at the Green Spoon was great. I had a salad with organic greens, walnuts, blue cheese and raspberry dressing and grilled tofu. My mom had the BLAT--the bacon, lettuce, avocado and tomato sandwich on polenta bread. The food was fresh, well made an most importantly tasty.\n\nThe service on the other hand was just okay. Actually for service in the States it was pretty horrible. I wont detail it incident by incident because no one needs to read that.  I summarize, the service was slow and inconsistent. Moreover, I think that the poor service had more to do with the fact that we were sitting out front of the restaurant and on the later side for lunch in Walla Walla than','The Green Spoon in Walla Walla ','','inherit','open','open','','7045-revision','','','2012-08-23 17:15:58','2012-08-23 15:15:58','',7045,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/23/7045-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(7047,1,'2012-08-23 17:35:22','2012-08-23 15:35:22','Each time I come home to visit my MoM draws up a list of cool things that I should do or try while I am in town. We went to lunch yesterday at a new-to-me restaurant the Green Spoon on Main Street. This wasn\'t on her list but I\'d been wanting to try it out.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7844986038/\" title=\"The Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8427/7844986038_7c9ee32c88_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"The Green Spoon\"></a>\nThe list is important. It reminds me want I want to do while I am visiting and things I want to sample. I think that my MoM likes to show me just how hip, cool and live-able Walla Walla is. It\'s like she\'s saying to me without saying it directly to me: this isn\'t the Walla Walla you grew up in.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7845002752/\" title=\"Mom at the Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8298/7845002752_f2336c3c7b_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Mom at the Green Spoon\"></a>\nShe\'s right of course. (Then again she is a mom.)\n\nThis is not the Walla Walla I grew up in. My Walla Walla was a little down and out. It was a farming town with lots of shuttered doors on Main Street and beat up pick-up trucks. For a while when I was in high school, we didn\'t even have a movie theater in town. The closest one was an hour away. So my friends and I went bowling and we watched movies on VHS in our respective parents\' basements or living rooms. It was fine. It was high school.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7844998102/\" title=\"Me at the Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8423/7844998102_1a3a285b6b_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Me at the Green Spoon\"></a>\nThe big turn is that as luck would have it, wine grapes like the same growing conditions that wheat does. Long hot days and cooler nights and ten-plus years ago the wine industry started growing in Walla Walla. In the beginning locals were skeptical. After all we grow wheat, peas, barley and grass seed not grapes.\n\nToday, 100+ wineries later, it looks like you can actually grow grapes in Walla Walla and this shift in the culture(and thinking) of the place has changed the city.  There are basically no shuttered doors on Main Street. There are a slew of new shops, bakeries and restaurants--not to mention wine tasting rooms. Heck, there\'s even a gourmet grocery store but I don\'t know who shops there--nobody I\'ve talked to seems to admit to it.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7844989700/\" title=\"BLAT at the Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8433/7844989700_ddef59abc1_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"BLAT at the Green Spoon\"></a>\nThe food at the Green Spoon was great. I had a salad with organic greens, walnuts, blue cheese and raspberry dressing and grilled tofu. My mom had the BLAT--the bacon, lettuce, avocado and tomato sandwich on polenta bread. The food was fresh, well made an most importantly tasty.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7844993810/\" title=\"Salad at the Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7844993810_80e77befed_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Salad at the Green Spoon\"></a>\nThe service on the other hand was just okay. Actually for service in the States it was pretty horrible. I wont detail it incident by incident because no one needs to read that.  I summarize, the service was slow and inconsistent. Moreover, I think that the poor service had more to do with the fact that we were sitting out front of the restaurant and that we were on the later side for lunch in Walla Walla rather than the fact that the restaurant actually has poor service.\n\nAnyhow, it didn\'t matter much to us. We were happy to sit out front, sip rose and to talk. Don\'t get me wrong though, we were also happy to order our food and to eat lunch.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7845007112/\" title=\"Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8294/7845007112_107eb14fbc_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Green Spoon\"></a>\nSo if you\'re ever in town, check it out. <a href=\"http://www.greenspoonw2.com/\" target=\"_blank\">The Green Spoon at 13th East Main Street</a>. Oh and at dinner time if you bring your own bottle of Walla Walla wine there\'s only a $1 cork fee. Not bad. Not bad at all.','The Green Spoon in Walla Walla ','','inherit','open','open','','7045-revision-2','','','2012-08-23 17:35:22','2012-08-23 15:35:22','',7045,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/23/7045-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(7048,1,'2012-08-23 17:42:22','2012-08-23 15:42:22','Each time I come home to visit my MoM draws up a list of cool things that I should do or try while I am in town. We went to lunch yesterday at a new-to-me restaurant the Green Spoon on Main Street. This wasn\'t on her list but I\'d been wanting to try it out.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7844986038/\" title=\"The Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8427/7844986038_7c9ee32c88_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"The Green Spoon\"></a>\nThe list is important. It reminds me want I want to do while I am visiting and things I want to sample. I think that my MoM likes to show me just how hip, cool and live-able Walla Walla is. It\'s like she\'s saying to me without saying it directly to me: this isn\'t the Walla Walla you grew up in.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7845002752/\" title=\"Mom at the Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8298/7845002752_f2336c3c7b_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Mom at the Green Spoon\"></a>\nShe\'s right of course. (Then again she is a mom.)\n\nThis is not the Walla Walla I grew up in. My Walla Walla was a little down and out. It was a farming town with lots of shuttered doors on Main Street and beat up pick-up trucks. For a while when I was in high school, we didn\'t even have a movie theater in town. The closest one was an hour away. So my friends and I went bowling and we watched movies on VHS in our respective parents\' basements or living rooms. It was fine. It was high school.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7844998102/\" title=\"Me at the Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8423/7844998102_1a3a285b6b_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Me at the Green Spoon\"></a>\nThe big turn is that as luck would have it, wine grapes like the same growing conditions that wheat does. Long hot days and cooler nights and ten-plus years ago the wine industry started growing in Walla Walla. In the beginning locals were skeptical. After all we grow wheat, peas, barley and grass seed not grapes.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7845029254/\" title=\"Lunch menu at Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8427/7845029254_ec91e3a897_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Lunch menu at Green Spoon\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7845033690/\" title=\"Green Spoon Menu by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8294/7845033690_12cc926ec8_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Green Spoon Menu\"></a>\nToday, 100+ wineries later, it looks like you can actually grow grapes in Walla Walla and this shift in the culture(and thinking) of the place has changed the city.  There are basically no shuttered doors on Main Street. There are a slew of new shops, bakeries and restaurants--not to mention wine tasting rooms. Heck, there\'s even a gourmet grocery store but I don\'t know who shops there--nobody I\'ve talked to seems to admit to it.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7844989700/\" title=\"BLAT at the Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8433/7844989700_ddef59abc1_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"BLAT at the Green Spoon\"></a>\nThe food at the Green Spoon was great. I had a salad with organic greens, walnuts, blue cheese and raspberry dressing and grilled tofu. My mom had the BLAT--the bacon, lettuce, avocado and tomato sandwich on polenta bread. The food was fresh, well made an most importantly tasty.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7844993810/\" title=\"Salad at the Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7844993810_80e77befed_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Salad at the Green Spoon\"></a>\nThe service on the other hand was just okay. Actually for service in the States it was pretty horrible. I wont detail it incident by incident because no one needs to read that.  I summarize, the service was slow and inconsistent. Moreover, I think that the poor service had more to do with the fact that we were sitting out front of the restaurant and that we were on the later side for lunch in Walla Walla rather than the fact that the restaurant actually has poor service.\n\nAnyhow, it didn\'t matter much to us. We were happy to sit out front, sip rose and to talk. Don\'t get me wrong though, we were also happy to order our food and to eat lunch.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7845007112/\" title=\"Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8294/7845007112_107eb14fbc_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Green Spoon\"></a>\nSo if you\'re ever in town, check it out. <a href=\"http://www.greenspoonw2.com/\" target=\"_blank\">The Green Spoon at 13th East Main Street</a>. Oh and at dinner time if you bring your own bottle of Walla Walla wine there\'s only a $1 cork fee. Not bad. Not bad at all.','The Green Spoon in Walla Walla ','','inherit','open','open','','7045-revision-3','','','2012-08-23 17:42:22','2012-08-23 15:42:22','',7045,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/23/7045-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(7049,1,'2012-08-23 17:42:46','2012-08-23 15:42:46','Each time I come home to visit my MoM draws up a list of cool things that I should do or try while I am in town. We went to lunch yesterday at a new-to-me restaurant the Green Spoon on Main Street. This wasn\'t on her list but I\'d been wanting to try it out.\r\n<a title=\"The Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7844986038/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8427/7844986038_7c9ee32c88_z.jpg\" alt=\"The Green Spoon\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThe list is important. It reminds me want I want to do while I am visiting and things I want to sample. I think that my MoM likes to show me just how hip, cool and live-able Walla Walla is. It\'s like she\'s saying to me without saying it directly to me: this isn\'t the Walla Walla you grew up in.\r\n\r\nShe\'s right of course. (Then again she is a mom.)\r\n<a title=\"Mom at the Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7845002752/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8298/7845002752_f2336c3c7b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mom at the Green Spoon\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThis is not the Walla Walla I grew up in. My Walla Walla was a little down and out. It was a farming town with lots of shuttered doors on Main Street and beat up pick-up trucks. For a while when I was in high school, we didn\'t even have a movie theater in town. The closest one was an hour away. So my friends and I went bowling and we watched movies on VHS in our respective parents\' basements or living rooms. It was fine. It was high school.\r\n<a title=\"Me at the Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7844998102/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8423/7844998102_1a3a285b6b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me at the Green Spoon\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThe big turn is that as luck would have it, wine grapes like the same growing conditions that wheat does. Long hot days and cooler nights and ten-plus years ago the wine industry started growing in Walla Walla. In the beginning locals were skeptical. After all we grow wheat, peas, barley and grass seed not grapes.\r\n<a title=\"Lunch menu at Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7845029254/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8427/7845029254_ec91e3a897_z.jpg\" alt=\"Lunch menu at Green Spoon\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a><a title=\"Green Spoon Menu by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7845033690/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8294/7845033690_12cc926ec8_z.jpg\" alt=\"Green Spoon Menu\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nToday, 100+ wineries later, it looks like you can actually grow grapes in Walla Walla and this shift in the culture(and thinking) of the place has changed the city.  There are basically no shuttered doors on Main Street. There are a slew of new shops, bakeries and restaurants--not to mention wine tasting rooms. Heck, there\'s even a gourmet grocery store but I don\'t know who shops there--nobody I\'ve talked to seems to admit to it.\r\n<a title=\"BLAT at the Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7844989700/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8433/7844989700_ddef59abc1_z.jpg\" alt=\"BLAT at the Green Spoon\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThe food at the Green Spoon was great. I had a salad with organic greens, walnuts, blue cheese and raspberry dressing and grilled tofu. My mom had the BLAT--the bacon, lettuce, avocado and tomato sandwich on polenta bread. The food was fresh, well made an most importantly tasty.\r\n<a title=\"Salad at the Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7844993810/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7844993810_80e77befed_z.jpg\" alt=\"Salad at the Green Spoon\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThe service on the other hand was just okay. Actually for service in the States it was pretty horrible. I wont detail it incident by incident because no one needs to read that.  I summarize, the service was slow and inconsistent. Moreover, I think that the poor service had more to do with the fact that we were sitting out front of the restaurant and that we were on the later side for lunch in Walla Walla rather than the fact that the restaurant actually has poor service.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, it didn\'t matter much to us. We were happy to sit out front, sip rose and to talk. Don\'t get me wrong though, we were also happy to order our food and to eat lunch.\r\n<a title=\"Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7845007112/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8294/7845007112_107eb14fbc_z.jpg\" alt=\"Green Spoon\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nSo if you\'re ever in town, check it out. <a href=\"http://www.greenspoonw2.com/\" target=\"_blank\">The Green Spoon at 13th East Main Street</a>. Oh and at dinner time if you bring your own bottle of Walla Walla wine there\'s only a $1 cork fee. Not bad. Not bad at all.','The Green Spoon in Walla Walla ','','inherit','open','open','','7045-revision-4','','','2012-08-23 17:42:46','2012-08-23 15:42:46','',7045,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/23/7045-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(7050,1,'2012-08-23 17:43:27','2012-08-23 15:43:27','Each time I come home to visit my MoM draws up a list of cool things that I should do or try while I am in town. We went to lunch yesterday at a new-to-me restaurant the Green Spoon on Main Street. This wasn\'t on her list but I\'d been wanting to try it out.\r\n<a title=\"The Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7844986038/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8427/7844986038_7c9ee32c88_z.jpg\" alt=\"The Green Spoon\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThe list is important. It reminds me want I want to do while I am visiting and things I want to sample. I think that my MoM likes to show me just how hip, cool and live-able Walla Walla is. It\'s like she\'s saying to me without saying it directly to me: this isn\'t the Walla Walla you grew up in.\r\n\r\nShe\'s right of course. (Then again she is a mom.)\r\n<a title=\"Mom at the Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7845002752/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8298/7845002752_f2336c3c7b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mom at the Green Spoon\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThis is not the Walla Walla I grew up in. My Walla Walla was a little down and out. It was a farming town with lots of shuttered doors on Main Street and beat up pick-up trucks. For a while when I was in high school, we didn\'t even have a movie theater in town. The closest one was an hour away. So my friends and I went bowling and we watched movies on VHS in our respective parents\' basements or living rooms. It was fine. It was high school.\r\n<a title=\"Me at the Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7844998102/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8423/7844998102_1a3a285b6b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me at the Green Spoon\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThe big turn is that as luck would have it, wine grapes like the same growing conditions that wheat does. Long hot days and cooler nights and ten-plus years ago the wine industry started growing in Walla Walla. In the beginning locals were skeptical. After all we grow wheat, peas, barley and grass seed not grapes.\r\n<a title=\"Lunch menu at Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7845029254/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8427/7845029254_ec91e3a897_z.jpg\" alt=\"Lunch menu at Green Spoon\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a><a title=\"Green Spoon Menu by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7845033690/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8294/7845033690_12cc926ec8_z.jpg\" alt=\"Green Spoon Menu\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nToday, 100+ wineries later, it looks like you can actually grow grapes in Walla Walla and this shift in the culture(and thinking) of the place has changed the city.  There are basically no shuttered doors on Main Street. There are a slew of new shops, bakeries and restaurants--not to mention wine tasting rooms. Heck, there\'s even a gourmet grocery store but I don\'t know who shops there--nobody I\'ve talked to seems to admit to it.\r\n<a title=\"BLAT at the Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7844989700/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8433/7844989700_ddef59abc1_z.jpg\" alt=\"BLAT at the Green Spoon\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThe food at the Green Spoon was great. I had a salad with organic greens, walnuts, blue cheese and raspberry dressing and grilled tofu. My mom had the BLAT--the bacon, lettuce, avocado and tomato sandwich on polenta bread. The food was fresh, well made an most importantly tasty.\r\n<a title=\"Salad at the Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7844993810/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7844993810_80e77befed_z.jpg\" alt=\"Salad at the Green Spoon\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThe service on the other hand was just okay. Actually for service in the States it was pretty horrible. I wont detail it incident by incident because no one needs to read that.  I summarize, the service was slow and inconsistent. Moreover, I think that the poor service had more to do with the fact that we were sitting out front of the restaurant and that we were on the later side for lunch in Walla Walla rather than the fact that the restaurant actually has poor service.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, it didn\'t matter much to us. We were happy to sit out front, sip rose and to talk. Don\'t get me wrong though, we were also happy to order our food and to eat lunch.\r\n<a title=\"Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7845007112/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8294/7845007112_107eb14fbc_z.jpg\" alt=\"Green Spoon\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nSo if you\'re ever in town, check it out. <a href=\"http://www.greenspoonw2.com/\" target=\"_blank\">The Green Spoon at 13th East Main Street</a>. Oh and at dinner time if you bring your own bottle of Walla Walla wine there\'s only a $1 cork fee. Not bad. Not bad at all.','The Green Spoon in Walla Walla ','','inherit','open','open','','7045-revision-5','','','2012-08-23 17:43:27','2012-08-23 15:43:27','',7045,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/23/7045-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(7051,1,'2012-08-23 17:45:16','2012-08-23 15:45:16','Each time I come home to visit my MoM draws up a list of cool things that I should do or try while I am in town. We went to lunch yesterday at a new-to-me restaurant the Green Spoon on Main Street. This wasn\'t on her list but I\'d been wanting to try it out.\n<a title=\"The Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7844986038/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8427/7844986038_7c9ee32c88_z.jpg\" alt=\"The Green Spoon\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nThe list is important. It reminds me want I want to do while I am visiting and things I want to sample. I think that my MoM likes to show me just how hip, cool and live-able Walla Walla is. It\'s like she\'s saying to me without saying it directly to me: this isn\'t the Walla Walla you grew up in.\n\nShe\'s right of course. (Then again she is a mom.)<!--more-->\n<a title=\"Mom at the Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7845002752/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8298/7845002752_f2336c3c7b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mom at the Green Spoon\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\n\nThis is not the Walla Walla I grew up in. My Walla Walla was a little down and out. It was a farming town with lots of shuttered doors on Main Street and beat up pick-up trucks. For a while when I was in high school, we didn\'t even have a movie theater in town. The closest one was an hour away. So my friends and I went bowling and we watched movies on VHS in our respective parents\' basements or living rooms. It was fine. It was high school.\n<a title=\"Me at the Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7844998102/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8423/7844998102_1a3a285b6b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me at the Green Spoon\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nThe big turn is that as luck would have it, wine grapes like the same growing conditions that wheat does. Long hot days and cooler nights and ten-plus years ago the wine industry started growing in Walla Walla. In the beginning locals were skeptical. After all we grow wheat, peas, barley and grass seed not grapes.\n<a title=\"Lunch menu at Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7845029254/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8427/7845029254_ec91e3a897_z.jpg\" alt=\"Lunch menu at Green Spoon\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a><a title=\"Green Spoon Menu by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7845033690/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8294/7845033690_12cc926ec8_z.jpg\" alt=\"Green Spoon Menu\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nToday, 100+ wineries later, it looks like you can actually grow grapes in Walla Walla and this shift in the culture(and thinking) of the place has changed the city.  There are basically no shuttered doors on Main Street. There are a slew of new shops, bakeries and restaurants--not to mention wine tasting rooms. Heck, there\'s even a gourmet grocery store but I don\'t know who shops there--nobody I\'ve talked to seems to admit to it.\n<a title=\"BLAT at the Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7844989700/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8433/7844989700_ddef59abc1_z.jpg\" alt=\"BLAT at the Green Spoon\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nThe food at the Green Spoon was great. I had a salad with organic greens, walnuts, blue cheese and raspberry dressing and grilled tofu. My mom had the BLAT--the bacon, lettuce, avocado and tomato sandwich on polenta bread. The food was fresh, well made an most importantly tasty.\n<a title=\"Salad at the Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7844993810/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7844993810_80e77befed_z.jpg\" alt=\"Salad at the Green Spoon\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nThe service on the other hand was just okay. Actually for service in the States it was pretty horrible. I wont detail it incident by incident because no one needs to read that.  I summarize, the service was slow and inconsistent. Moreover, I think that the poor service had more to do with the fact that we were sitting out front of the restaurant and that we were on the later side for lunch in Walla Walla rather than the fact that the restaurant actually has poor service.\n\nAnyhow, it didn\'t matter much to us. We were happy to sit out front, sip rose and to talk. Don\'t get me wrong though, we were also happy to order our food and to eat lunch.\n<a title=\"Green Spoon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7845007112/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8294/7845007112_107eb14fbc_z.jpg\" alt=\"Green Spoon\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nSo if you\'re ever in town, check it out. <a href=\"http://www.greenspoonw2.com/\" target=\"_blank\">The Green Spoon at 13th East Main Street</a>. Oh and at dinner time if you bring your own bottle of Walla Walla wine there\'s only a $1 cork fee. Not bad. Not bad at all.','The Green Spoon in Walla Walla ','','inherit','open','open','','7045-autosave','','','2012-08-23 17:45:16','2012-08-23 15:45:16','',7045,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/23/7045-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(7052,1,'2012-08-24 02:18:57','2012-08-24 00:18:57','What a lovely day. The weather had cooled down. I stopped by my dAd\'s antique store before running some errands.\r\n\r\nHe has a garden area at the shop. The garden opens in the last spring and stays open until it gets too cold to keep the door open.\r\n<a title=\"The Garden at Shady Lawn Antiques by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7847704348/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8302/7847704348_10bd9cd173_z.jpg\" alt=\"The Garden at Shady Lawn Antiques\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nToday I was charmed by how the flowers are growing out of the cracks of the sidewalk. My MoM says that she never waters the sidewalk flowers only the ones in planter. It must be magic.\r\n\r\n<!--more--> <a title=\"Untitled by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7847717074/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8286/7847717074_8144febb5d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Untitled\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"The Garden at Shady Lawn Antiques by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7847713782/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8433/7847713782_932f4e5051_z.jpg\" alt=\"The Garden at Shady Lawn Antiques\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nYou wouldn\'t know it today but the alley where the garden is housed used to be the first drive-through in Walla Walla. The creamery, which these days is an antique store, made ice cream among other things and we sold it at a window in the alley. We also delivered milk to people\'s homes. Pretty cool.\r\n<a title=\"The Garden at Shady Lawn Antiques by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7847710474/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7136/7847710474_082b7a588d_z.jpg\" alt=\"The Garden at Shady Lawn Antiques\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>','Late Thursday afternoon at the Antique Store ','','publish','open','open','','late-thursday-afternoon-at-the-antique-store','','','2012-08-24 02:18:57','2012-08-24 00:18:57','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=7052',0,'post','',0),(7053,1,'2012-08-24 02:15:38','2012-08-24 00:15:38','What a lovely day. The weather had cooled down. I stopped by my dAd\'s antique store before running some errands.\n\nHe has a garden area at the shop. The garden opens in the last spring and stays open until it gets too cold to keep the door open.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7847704348/\" title=\"The Garden at Shady Lawn Antiques by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8302/7847704348_10bd9cd173_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"The Garden at Shady Lawn Antiques\"></a>\nToday I was charmed by how the flowers are growing out of the cracks of the sidewalk. My MoM says that she never waters the sidewalk flowers only the ones in planter.\n\nYou wouldn\'t know it today but the alley where the garden is housed used to be the first drive-through in Walla Walla. The creamery, which these days is an antique store, made ice cream among other things and we sold it at a window in the alley. We also delivered milk to people\'s homes. Pretty cool.','Late Thursday afternoon at the Antique Store ','','inherit','open','open','','7052-revision','','','2012-08-24 02:15:38','2012-08-24 00:15:38','',7052,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/24/7052-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(7054,1,'2012-08-24 02:16:38','2012-08-24 00:16:38','What a lovely day. The weather had cooled down. I stopped by my dAd\'s antique store before running some errands.\n\nHe has a garden area at the shop. The garden opens in the last spring and stays open until it gets too cold to keep the door open.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7847704348/\" title=\"The Garden at Shady Lawn Antiques by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8302/7847704348_10bd9cd173_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"The Garden at Shady Lawn Antiques\"></a>\nToday I was charmed by how the flowers are growing out of the cracks of the sidewalk. My MoM says that she never waters the sidewalk flowers only the ones in planter.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7847717074/\" title=\"Untitled by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8286/7847717074_8144febb5d_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Untitled\"></a>\nYou wouldn\'t know it today but the alley where the garden is housed used to be the first drive-through in Walla Walla. The creamery, which these days is an antique store, made ice cream among other things and we sold it at a window in the alley. We also delivered milk to people\'s homes. Pretty cool.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7847710474/\" title=\"The Garden at Shady Lawn Antiques by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7136/7847710474_082b7a588d_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"The Garden at Shady Lawn Antiques\"></a>','Late Thursday afternoon at the Antique Store ','','inherit','open','open','','7052-revision-2','','','2012-08-24 02:16:38','2012-08-24 00:16:38','',7052,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/24/7052-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(7055,1,'2012-08-24 02:18:38','2012-08-24 00:18:38','What a lovely day. The weather had cooled down. I stopped by my dAd\'s antique store before running some errands.\n\nHe has a garden area at the shop. The garden opens in the last spring and stays open until it gets too cold to keep the door open.\n<a title=\"The Garden at Shady Lawn Antiques by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7847704348/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8302/7847704348_10bd9cd173_z.jpg\" alt=\"The Garden at Shady Lawn Antiques\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nToday I was charmed by how the flowers are growing out of the cracks of the sidewalk. My MoM says that she never waters the sidewalk flowers only the ones in planter.\n\n<!--more--> <a title=\"Untitled by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7847717074/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8286/7847717074_8144febb5d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Untitled\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\n<a title=\"The Garden at Shady Lawn Antiques by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7847713782/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8433/7847713782_932f4e5051_z.jpg\" alt=\"The Garden at Shady Lawn Antiques\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nYou wouldn\'t know it today but the alley where the garden is housed used to be the first drive-through in Walla Walla. The creamery, which these days is an antique store, made ice cream among other things and we sold it at a window in the alley. We also delivered milk to people\'s homes. Pretty cool.\n<a title=\"The Garden at Shady Lawn Antiques by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7847710474/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7136/7847710474_082b7a588d_z.jpg\" alt=\"The Garden at Shady Lawn Antiques\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>','Late Thursday afternoon at the Antique Store ','','inherit','open','open','','7052-revision-3','','','2012-08-24 02:18:38','2012-08-24 00:18:38','',7052,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/24/7052-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(7056,1,'2012-08-25 20:53:03','2012-08-25 18:53:03','I\'ve never spent much time thinking about what my parents do on their own time when I\'m not in Walla Walla. Turns out that my parents go out to dinner with friend pretty regularly. It\'s kind of their thing. They eat bar food, drink beer and have a grand old time.\r\n\r\nWho knew?! **\r\n<a title=\"Me at Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858397730/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8297/7858397730_637425e857_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me at Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Me at Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858374134/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8305/7858374134_14771d3a9d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me at Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"At Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858391210/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7858391210_d8e3edb890_z.jpg\" alt=\"At Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nWell I\'ve tagged along with them recently. These things happen when all of your high school friends move away, your brother is on his honeymoon and your little sister has to go back to work because she\'s actually a grown up.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, at least I am in the lucky position to have parents who like to have fun (and who seem to be able to have fun just about anywhere). Here\'s what I mean. One day we can be fooling around at our family cabin making ridiculous pancakes and the next day we can be in town grilling burgers. Likewise, my parents seem to be totally happy and comfortable drinking a beer, snacking on peanuts and throwing peanut shells on the floor while waiting to eat a pizza or scooting next door to a hip-local tasting room and splitting a bottle (or two) of wine with friends.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nI find this 1.) really cool and 2.) a little enviable as not everyone can move seamlessly between these different environments.\r\n\r\nSo on Thursday afternoon, I found out that there were plans in the works to go out for a beer after work. Well, after my dAd is done working--you know, because I am on summer vacation and I haven\'t had to work at all in two months. We settled on the bar and my dAd picked my MoM and me up when he was done at the antique store.\r\n<a title=\"At Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858461364/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8300/7858461364_bb0790c64b_z.jpg\" alt=\"At Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Me at Laht Neppur with the owner by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858449516/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7251/7858449516_e8a26b6b67_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me at Laht Neppur with the owner\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>We meet our friends D. &amp; L. as well as their daughter T., at Laht Neppur. This bar makes excellent micro-brew beer and the atmosphere is backyard-bbq-party-cool. To be more specific, the kind of party that you want to go to rather than host. In theory it\'s the kind of party that you want to host as well but in practice it\'s really not the kind of party that you want to clean up after. Then again, I guess that if I could make beer as good as the beer at Laht Neppur I\'d want to host the party too.\r\n<a title=\"At Laht Neppur pizza by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858416792/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8442/7858416792_cf280f7403_z.jpg\" alt=\"At Laht Neppur pizza\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nWe drank pitchers of the oatmeal porter. It\'s creamy and rich. Some people might try to tell you that it\'s a winter beer but I\'d tell those people, no way. It would be a shame to wait until fall to enjoy a beer like this.\r\n\r\nWe washed our beer down with two different pizzas. The vegetarian with sausage and ham. Yes, I realize that means it\'s no longer vegetarian. In practice what it means is that you get a lot of veggies on your meat pizza. It\'s just a better deal to order the veggie pizza and add the meat than to order the meat pizza and add the veggies. My parents are so clever.\r\n\r\nWe also got the bbq pulled pork pizza with Walla Walla sweet onions and fresh tomatoes. This pizza was a-mazing but it\'s a limited time only pizza (I think this is driven by the growing season of the sweet onions) and the only way you know it\'s on sale is a small-ish yellow sign posted on the wall of the bar.  You\'ve either got to be a good reader or in the know to order this pizza.\r\n<a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858355842/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7858355842_656e1f60ff_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nAfter dinner we paid the bill and left the bar. We were all headed home until D. &amp; L. stopped to listen to the live music pouring out of Charles Smith\'s tasting room and said: how about a glass of wine? There were nodding heads all around so we walked down the street to the tasting room.\r\n<a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858088804/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7128/7858088804_ca0ff2a705_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThere was an after-hours event happening with live blues-jazz music and a southern style bbq wagon (imagine a taco truck selling bbq).  We went to the bar and decided that buying a bottle of wine was going to be a better deal than buying individual glasses of wine. We found a large table to share with another couple.\r\n<a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858326066/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7858326066_398042cffb_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858282600/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7116/7858282600_0bf604a8a2_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nI\'d never been to the Charles Smith tasting room. I\'ve wanted to go but there are so many other wineries in town it\'s hard enough to re-visit the tasting rooms you know and love let alone try new ones. I was impressed. The tasting room is functional and cool but without trying too hard. I enjoyed the wine, the music and the conversation.\r\n<a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858247812/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8285/7858247812_bd9e7333c9_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe Boom Boom Syrah hit the spot on a fairly hot evening Walla Walla but the  Charles Smith cabernet sauvignon wasn\'t bad either.<a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858160886/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8436/7858160886_a6660e1896_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858154768/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7250/7858154768_481d341a98_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858148340/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8427/7858148340_591a5492fe_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe one funny thing about hanging out with parents is that by 9pm I was at home, by 9:30 I was curled up in bed with my book and by 10pm I was fast asleep. In comparison, if was out in Sofia with friends more likely not I wouldn\'t have even left my apartment by 9pm and I wouldn\'t be home until much, much later. Maybe, just maybe, my parents are on to something. <em>Go figure</em>.\r\n<a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858207410/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8295/7858207410_7b2ebcafe9_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858116172/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8440/7858116172_f617961ec1_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n**Footnote: I read the introduction to my parents as a little blog sneak preview and they told me that they don\'t go out \"pretty regularly.\" That maybe they go out twice a month with friends. Okay, but I think that they forget that they also have people over to the house pretty regularly as well.','Out on the Town with my Parents ','','publish','open','open','','out-on-the-town-with-my-parents','','','2012-08-25 20:53:03','2012-08-25 18:53:03','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=7056',0,'post','',0),(7057,1,'2012-08-24 05:42:27','2012-08-24 03:42:27','I\'ve never spent much time thinking about what my parents do on their own time when I\'m not in Walla Walla. Turns out that my parents go out to dinner with friends.','Out on the Town with my Parents ','','inherit','open','open','','7056-revision','','','2012-08-24 05:42:27','2012-08-24 03:42:27','',7056,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/24/7056-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(7058,1,'2012-08-24 05:44:11','2012-08-24 03:44:11','I\'ve never spent much time thinking about what my parents do on their own time when I\'m not in Walla Walla. Turns out that my parents go out to dinner with friend pretty regularly. It\'s kind of their thing. They eat bar food, drink beer and have a grand old time.\n\n&nbsp;','Out on the Town with my Parents ','','inherit','open','open','','7056-revision-2','','','2012-08-24 05:44:11','2012-08-24 03:44:11','',7056,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/24/7056-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(7060,1,'2012-08-25 17:33:23','2012-08-25 15:33:23','I\'ve never spent much time thinking about what my parents do on their own time when I\'m not in Walla Walla. Turns out that my parents go out to dinner with friend pretty regularly. It\'s kind of their thing. They eat bar food, drink beer and have a grand old time.\n\nWho knew?!\n\nWell I\'ve tagged along with them recently. These things happen when all of your high school friends move away, your brother is on his honeymoon and your little sister has to go back to work because she\'s actually a grown up.\n\nAnyhow, at least I am in the lucky position to have parents who like to have fun (and who seem to be able to have fun just about anywhere). Here\'s what I mean. They seem to be totally happy and comfortable drinking a beer, snacking on peanuts and throwing peanut shells on the floor while waiting to eat a pizza','Out on the Town with my Parents ','','inherit','open','open','','7056-revision-3','','','2012-08-25 17:33:23','2012-08-25 15:33:23','',7056,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/25/7056-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(7061,1,'2012-08-25 18:25:25','2012-08-25 16:25:25','I\'ve never spent much time thinking about what my parents do on their own time when I\'m not in Walla Walla. Turns out that my parents go out to dinner with friend pretty regularly. It\'s kind of their thing. They eat bar food, drink beer and have a grand old time.\n\nWho knew?! **\n\nWell I\'ve tagged along with them recently. These things happen when all of your high school friends move away, your brother is on his honeymoon and your little sister has to go back to work because she\'s actually a grown up.\n\nAnyhow, at least I am in the lucky position to have parents who like to have fun (and who seem to be able to have fun just about anywhere). Here\'s what I mean. One day we can be fooling around at our family cabin making ridiculous pancakes and the next day we can be in town grilling burgers. Likewise, my parents seem to be totally happy and comfortable drinking a beer, snacking on peanuts and throwing peanut shells on the floor while waiting to eat a pizza or scooting next door to a hip-local tasting room and splitting a bottle (or two) of wine with friends.\n\nI find this 1.) really cool and 2.) a little enviable as not everyone can move seamlessly between these different environments.\n\nSo on Thursday afternoon, I found out that there were plans in the works to go out for a beer after work. Well, after my dAd is done working--you know, because I am on summer vacation and I haven\'t had to work at all in two months. We settled on the bar and my dAd picked my MoM and me up when he was done at the antique store.\n\nWe meet our friends D. &amp; L. as well as their daughter T., at Laht Neppur. This bar makes excellent micro-brew beer and the atmosphere is backyard-bbq-party-cool. To be more specific, the kind of party that you want to go to rather than host. In theory it\'s the kind of party that you want to host as well but in practice it\'s really not the kind of party that you want to clean up after. Then again, I guess that if I could make beer as good as the beer at Laht Neppur I\'d want to host the party too.\n\nWe drank pitchers of the oatmeal porter. It\'s creamy and rich. Some people might try to tell you that it\'s a winter beer but I\'d tell those people, no way. It would be a shame to wait until fall to enjoy a beer like this.\n\nWe washed our beer down with two different pizzas. The vegetarian with sausage and ham. Yes, I realize that means it\'s no longer vegetarian. In practice what it means is that you get a lot of veggies on your meat pizza. It\'s just a better deal to order the veggie pizza and add the meat than to order the meat pizza and add the veggies. My parents are so clever.\n\nWe also got the bbq pulled pork pizza with Walla Walla sweet onions and fresh tomatoes. This pizza was a-mazing but it\'s a limited time only pizza (I think this is driven by the growing season of the sweet onions) and the only way you know it\'s on sale is a small-ish yellow sign posted on the wall of the bar.  You\'ve either got to be a good reader or in the know to order this pizza.\n\nAfter dinner we paid the bill and left the bar. We were all headed home until D. &amp; L. stopped to listen to the live music pouring out of Charles Smith\'s tasting room and said: how about a glass of wine? There were nodding heads all around so we walked down the street to the tasting room.\n\nThere was an after-hours event happening with live blues-jazz music and a southern style bbq wagon (imagine a taco truck selling bbq).  We went to the bar and decided that buying a bottle of wine was going to be a better deal than buying individual glasses of wine. We found a large table to share with another couple.\n\nI\'d never been to the Charles Smith tasting room. I\'ve wanted to go but there are so many other wineries in town it\'s hard enough to re-visit the tasting rooms you know and love let alone try new ones. I was impressed. The tasting room is functional and cool but without trying too hard. I enjoyed the wine, the music and the conversation.\n\nThe Boom Boom Syrah hit the spot on a fairly hot evening Walla Walla but the  Charles Smith cabernet sauvignon wasn\'t bad either.\n\nThe one funny thing about hanging out with parents is that by 9pm I was at home, by 9:30 I was curled up in bed with my book and by 10pm I was fast asleep. In comparison, if was out in Sofia with friends more likely not I wouldn\'t have even left my apartment by 9pm and I wouldn\'t be home until much, much later. Maybe, just maybe, my parents are on to something. <em>Go figure</em>.\n\n**Footnote: I read the introduction to my parents as a little blog sneak preview and they told me that they don\'t go out \"pretty regularly.\" That maybe they go out twice a month with friends. Okay, but I think that they forget that they also have people over to the house pretty regularly as well.','Out on the Town with my Parents ','','inherit','open','open','','7056-revision-4','','','2012-08-25 18:25:25','2012-08-25 16:25:25','',7056,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/25/7056-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(7062,1,'2012-08-25 18:46:17','2012-08-25 16:46:17','I\'ve never spent much time thinking about what my parents do on their own time when I\'m not in Walla Walla. Turns out that my parents go out to dinner with friend pretty regularly. It\'s kind of their thing. They eat bar food, drink beer and have a grand old time.\n\nWho knew?! **\n\nWell I\'ve tagged along with them recently. These things happen when all of your high school friends move away, your brother is on his honeymoon and your little sister has to go back to work because she\'s actually a grown up.\n\nAnyhow, at least I am in the lucky position to have parents who like to have fun (and who seem to be able to have fun just about anywhere). Here\'s what I mean. One day we can be fooling around at our family cabin making ridiculous pancakes and the next day we can be in town grilling burgers. Likewise, my parents seem to be totally happy and comfortable drinking a beer, snacking on peanuts and throwing peanut shells on the floor while waiting to eat a pizza or scooting next door to a hip-local tasting room and splitting a bottle (or two) of wine with friends.\n\nI find this 1.) really cool and 2.) a little enviable as not everyone can move seamlessly between these different environments.\n\nSo on Thursday afternoon, I found out that there were plans in the works to go out for a beer after work. Well, after my dAd is done working--you know, because I am on summer vacation and I haven\'t had to work at all in two months. We settled on the bar and my dAd picked my MoM and me up when he was done at the antique store.\n\nWe meet our friends D. &amp; L. as well as their daughter T., at Laht Neppur. This bar makes excellent micro-brew beer and the atmosphere is backyard-bbq-party-cool. To be more specific, the kind of party that you want to go to rather than host. In theory it\'s the kind of party that you want to host as well but in practice it\'s really not the kind of party that you want to clean up after. Then again, I guess that if I could make beer as good as the beer at Laht Neppur I\'d want to host the party too.\n\nWe drank pitchers of the oatmeal porter. It\'s creamy and rich. Some people might try to tell you that it\'s a winter beer but I\'d tell those people, no way. It would be a shame to wait until fall to enjoy a beer like this.\n\nWe washed our beer down with two different pizzas. The vegetarian with sausage and ham. Yes, I realize that means it\'s no longer vegetarian. In practice what it means is that you get a lot of veggies on your meat pizza. It\'s just a better deal to order the veggie pizza and add the meat than to order the meat pizza and add the veggies. My parents are so clever.\n\nWe also got the bbq pulled pork pizza with Walla Walla sweet onions and fresh tomatoes. This pizza was a-mazing but it\'s a limited time only pizza (I think this is driven by the growing season of the sweet onions) and the only way you know it\'s on sale is a small-ish yellow sign posted on the wall of the bar.  You\'ve either got to be a good reader or in the know to order this pizza.\n\nAfter dinner we paid the bill and left the bar. We were all headed home until D. &amp; L. stopped to listen to the live music pouring out of Charles Smith\'s tasting room and said: how about a glass of wine? There were nodding heads all around so we walked down the street to the tasting room.\n\nThere was an after-hours event happening with live blues-jazz music and a southern style bbq wagon (imagine a taco truck selling bbq).  We went to the bar and decided that buying a bottle of wine was going to be a better deal than buying individual glasses of wine. We found a large table to share with another couple.\n\nI\'d never been to the Charles Smith tasting room. I\'ve wanted to go but there are so many other wineries in town it\'s hard enough to re-visit the tasting rooms you know and love let alone try new ones. I was impressed. The tasting room is functional and cool but without trying too hard. I enjoyed the wine, the music and the conversation.\n\nThe Boom Boom Syrah hit the spot on a fairly hot evening Walla Walla but the  Charles Smith cabernet sauvignon wasn\'t bad either.\n\nThe one funny thing about hanging out with parents is that by 9pm I was at home, by 9:30 I was curled up in bed with my book and by 10pm I was fast asleep. In comparison, if was out in Sofia with friends more likely not I wouldn\'t have even left my apartment by 9pm and I wouldn\'t be home until much, much later. Maybe, just maybe, my parents are on to something. <em>Go figure</em>.\n\n**Footnote: I read the introduction to my parents as a little blog sneak preview and they told me that they don\'t go out \"pretty regularly.\" That maybe they go out twice a month with friends. Okay, but I think that they forget that they also have people over to the house pretty regularly as well.','Out on the Town with my Parents ','','inherit','open','open','','7056-revision-5','','','2012-08-25 18:46:17','2012-08-25 16:46:17','',7056,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/25/7056-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(7063,1,'2012-08-25 20:49:56','2012-08-25 18:49:56','I\'ve never spent much time thinking about what my parents do on their own time when I\'m not in Walla Walla. Turns out that my parents go out to dinner with friend pretty regularly. It\'s kind of their thing. They eat bar food, drink beer and have a grand old time.\n\nWho knew?! **\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858397730/\" title=\"Me at Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8297/7858397730_637425e857_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Me at Laht Neppur\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858374134/\" title=\"Me at Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8305/7858374134_14771d3a9d_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Me at Laht Neppur\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858391210/\" title=\"At Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7858391210_d8e3edb890_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"At Laht Neppur\"></a>\nWell I\'ve tagged along with them recently. These things happen when all of your high school friends move away, your brother is on his honeymoon and your little sister has to go back to work because she\'s actually a grown up.\n\nAnyhow, at least I am in the lucky position to have parents who like to have fun (and who seem to be able to have fun just about anywhere). Here\'s what I mean. One day we can be fooling around at our family cabin making ridiculous pancakes and the next day we can be in town grilling burgers. Likewise, my parents seem to be totally happy and comfortable drinking a beer, snacking on peanuts and throwing peanut shells on the floor while waiting to eat a pizza or scooting next door to a hip-local tasting room and splitting a bottle (or two) of wine with friends.\n\nI find this 1.) really cool and 2.) a little enviable as not everyone can move seamlessly between these different environments.\n\nSo on Thursday afternoon, I found out that there were plans in the works to go out for a beer after work. Well, after my dAd is done working--you know, because I am on summer vacation and I haven\'t had to work at all in two months. We settled on the bar and my dAd picked my MoM and me up when he was done at the antique store.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858461364/\" title=\"At Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8300/7858461364_bb0790c64b_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"At Laht Neppur\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858449516/\" title=\"Me at Laht Neppur with the owner by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7251/7858449516_e8a26b6b67_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Me at Laht Neppur with the owner\"></a>We meet our friends D. &amp; L. as well as their daughter T., at Laht Neppur. This bar makes excellent micro-brew beer and the atmosphere is backyard-bbq-party-cool. To be more specific, the kind of party that you want to go to rather than host. In theory it\'s the kind of party that you want to host as well but in practice it\'s really not the kind of party that you want to clean up after. Then again, I guess that if I could make beer as good as the beer at Laht Neppur I\'d want to host the party too.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858416792/\" title=\"At Laht Neppur pizza by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8442/7858416792_cf280f7403_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"At Laht Neppur pizza\"></a>\nWe drank pitchers of the oatmeal porter. It\'s creamy and rich. Some people might try to tell you that it\'s a winter beer but I\'d tell those people, no way. It would be a shame to wait until fall to enjoy a beer like this.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858416792/\" title=\"At Laht Neppur pizza by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8442/7858416792_cf280f7403_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"At Laht Neppur pizza\"></a>\nWe washed our beer down with two different pizzas. The vegetarian with sausage and ham. Yes, I realize that means it\'s no longer vegetarian. In practice what it means is that you get a lot of veggies on your meat pizza. It\'s just a better deal to order the veggie pizza and add the meat than to order the meat pizza and add the veggies. My parents are so clever.\n\nWe also got the bbq pulled pork pizza with Walla Walla sweet onions and fresh tomatoes. This pizza was a-mazing but it\'s a limited time only pizza (I think this is driven by the growing season of the sweet onions) and the only way you know it\'s on sale is a small-ish yellow sign posted on the wall of the bar.  You\'ve either got to be a good reader or in the know to order this pizza.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858355842/\" title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7858355842_656e1f60ff_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\"></a>\nAfter dinner we paid the bill and left the bar. We were all headed home until D. &amp; L. stopped to listen to the live music pouring out of Charles Smith\'s tasting room and said: how about a glass of wine? There were nodding heads all around so we walked down the street to the tasting room.\n\nThere was an after-hours event happening with live blues-jazz music and a southern style bbq wagon (imagine a taco truck selling bbq).  We went to the bar and decided that buying a bottle of wine was going to be a better deal than buying individual glasses of wine. We found a large table to share with another couple.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858326066/\" title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7858326066_398042cffb_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858282600/\" title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7116/7858282600_0bf604a8a2_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\"></a>\nI\'d never been to the Charles Smith tasting room. I\'ve wanted to go but there are so many other wineries in town it\'s hard enough to re-visit the tasting rooms you know and love let alone try new ones. I was impressed. The tasting room is functional and cool but without trying too hard. I enjoyed the wine, the music and the conversation.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858247812/\" title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8285/7858247812_bd9e7333c9_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\"></a>\nThe Boom Boom Syrah hit the spot on a fairly hot evening Walla Walla but the  Charles Smith cabernet sauvignon wasn\'t bad either.<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858160886/\" title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8436/7858160886_a6660e1896_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858154768/\" title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7250/7858154768_481d341a98_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858148340/\" title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8427/7858148340_591a5492fe_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\"></a>\n\nThe one funny thing about hanging out with parents is that by 9pm I was at home, by 9:30 I was curled up in bed with my book and by 10pm I was fast asleep. In comparison, if was out in Sofia with friends more likely not I wouldn\'t have even left my apartment by 9pm and I wouldn\'t be home until much, much later. Maybe, just maybe, my parents are on to something. <em>Go figure</em>.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858116172/\" title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8440/7858116172_f617961ec1_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\"></a>\n**Footnote: I read the introduction to my parents as a little blog sneak preview and they told me that they don\'t go out \"pretty regularly.\" That maybe they go out twice a month with friends. Okay, but I think that they forget that they also have people over to the house pretty regularly as well.','Out on the Town with my Parents ','','inherit','open','open','','7056-revision-6','','','2012-08-25 20:49:56','2012-08-25 18:49:56','',7056,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/25/7056-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(7064,1,'2012-08-25 20:50:14','2012-08-25 18:50:14','I\'ve never spent much time thinking about what my parents do on their own time when I\'m not in Walla Walla. Turns out that my parents go out to dinner with friend pretty regularly. It\'s kind of their thing. They eat bar food, drink beer and have a grand old time.\r\n\r\nWho knew?! **\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858397730/\" title=\"Me at Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8297/7858397730_637425e857_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Me at Laht Neppur\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858374134/\" title=\"Me at Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8305/7858374134_14771d3a9d_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Me at Laht Neppur\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858391210/\" title=\"At Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7858391210_d8e3edb890_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"At Laht Neppur\"></a>\r\nWell I\'ve tagged along with them recently. These things happen when all of your high school friends move away, your brother is on his honeymoon and your little sister has to go back to work because she\'s actually a grown up.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, at least I am in the lucky position to have parents who like to have fun (and who seem to be able to have fun just about anywhere). Here\'s what I mean. One day we can be fooling around at our family cabin making ridiculous pancakes and the next day we can be in town grilling burgers. Likewise, my parents seem to be totally happy and comfortable drinking a beer, snacking on peanuts and throwing peanut shells on the floor while waiting to eat a pizza or scooting next door to a hip-local tasting room and splitting a bottle (or two) of wine with friends.\r\n\r\nI find this 1.) really cool and 2.) a little enviable as not everyone can move seamlessly between these different environments.\r\n\r\nSo on Thursday afternoon, I found out that there were plans in the works to go out for a beer after work. Well, after my dAd is done working--you know, because I am on summer vacation and I haven\'t had to work at all in two months. We settled on the bar and my dAd picked my MoM and me up when he was done at the antique store.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858461364/\" title=\"At Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8300/7858461364_bb0790c64b_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"At Laht Neppur\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858449516/\" title=\"Me at Laht Neppur with the owner by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7251/7858449516_e8a26b6b67_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Me at Laht Neppur with the owner\"></a>We meet our friends D. &amp; L. as well as their daughter T., at Laht Neppur. This bar makes excellent micro-brew beer and the atmosphere is backyard-bbq-party-cool. To be more specific, the kind of party that you want to go to rather than host. In theory it\'s the kind of party that you want to host as well but in practice it\'s really not the kind of party that you want to clean up after. Then again, I guess that if I could make beer as good as the beer at Laht Neppur I\'d want to host the party too.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858416792/\" title=\"At Laht Neppur pizza by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8442/7858416792_cf280f7403_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"At Laht Neppur pizza\"></a>\r\nWe drank pitchers of the oatmeal porter. It\'s creamy and rich. Some people might try to tell you that it\'s a winter beer but I\'d tell those people, no way. It would be a shame to wait until fall to enjoy a beer like this.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858416792/\" title=\"At Laht Neppur pizza by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8442/7858416792_cf280f7403_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"At Laht Neppur pizza\"></a>\r\nWe washed our beer down with two different pizzas. The vegetarian with sausage and ham. Yes, I realize that means it\'s no longer vegetarian. In practice what it means is that you get a lot of veggies on your meat pizza. It\'s just a better deal to order the veggie pizza and add the meat than to order the meat pizza and add the veggies. My parents are so clever.\r\n\r\nWe also got the bbq pulled pork pizza with Walla Walla sweet onions and fresh tomatoes. This pizza was a-mazing but it\'s a limited time only pizza (I think this is driven by the growing season of the sweet onions) and the only way you know it\'s on sale is a small-ish yellow sign posted on the wall of the bar.  You\'ve either got to be a good reader or in the know to order this pizza.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858355842/\" title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7858355842_656e1f60ff_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\"></a>\r\nAfter dinner we paid the bill and left the bar. We were all headed home until D. &amp; L. stopped to listen to the live music pouring out of Charles Smith\'s tasting room and said: how about a glass of wine? There were nodding heads all around so we walked down the street to the tasting room.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858088804/\" title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7128/7858088804_ca0ff2a705_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\"></a>\r\nThere was an after-hours event happening with live blues-jazz music and a southern style bbq wagon (imagine a taco truck selling bbq).  We went to the bar and decided that buying a bottle of wine was going to be a better deal than buying individual glasses of wine. We found a large table to share with another couple.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858326066/\" title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7858326066_398042cffb_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858282600/\" title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7116/7858282600_0bf604a8a2_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\"></a>\r\nI\'d never been to the Charles Smith tasting room. I\'ve wanted to go but there are so many other wineries in town it\'s hard enough to re-visit the tasting rooms you know and love let alone try new ones. I was impressed. The tasting room is functional and cool but without trying too hard. I enjoyed the wine, the music and the conversation.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858247812/\" title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8285/7858247812_bd9e7333c9_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\"></a>\r\nThe Boom Boom Syrah hit the spot on a fairly hot evening Walla Walla but the  Charles Smith cabernet sauvignon wasn\'t bad either.<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858160886/\" title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8436/7858160886_a6660e1896_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858154768/\" title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7250/7858154768_481d341a98_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858148340/\" title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8427/7858148340_591a5492fe_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\"></a>\r\n\r\nThe one funny thing about hanging out with parents is that by 9pm I was at home, by 9:30 I was curled up in bed with my book and by 10pm I was fast asleep. In comparison, if was out in Sofia with friends more likely not I wouldn\'t have even left my apartment by 9pm and I wouldn\'t be home until much, much later. Maybe, just maybe, my parents are on to something. <em>Go figure</em>.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858116172/\" title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8440/7858116172_f617961ec1_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\"></a>\r\n**Footnote: I read the introduction to my parents as a little blog sneak preview and they told me that they don\'t go out \"pretty regularly.\" That maybe they go out twice a month with friends. Okay, but I think that they forget that they also have people over to the house pretty regularly as well.','Out on the Town with my Parents ','','inherit','open','open','','7056-revision-7','','','2012-08-25 20:50:14','2012-08-25 18:50:14','',7056,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/25/7056-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(7065,1,'2012-08-25 20:50:15','2012-08-25 18:50:15','I\'ve never spent much time thinking about what my parents do on their own time when I\'m not in Walla Walla. Turns out that my parents go out to dinner with friend pretty regularly. It\'s kind of their thing. They eat bar food, drink beer and have a grand old time.\r\n\r\nWho knew?! **\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858397730/\" title=\"Me at Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8297/7858397730_637425e857_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Me at Laht Neppur\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858374134/\" title=\"Me at Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8305/7858374134_14771d3a9d_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Me at Laht Neppur\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858391210/\" title=\"At Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7858391210_d8e3edb890_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"At Laht Neppur\"></a>\r\nWell I\'ve tagged along with them recently. These things happen when all of your high school friends move away, your brother is on his honeymoon and your little sister has to go back to work because she\'s actually a grown up.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, at least I am in the lucky position to have parents who like to have fun (and who seem to be able to have fun just about anywhere). Here\'s what I mean. One day we can be fooling around at our family cabin making ridiculous pancakes and the next day we can be in town grilling burgers. Likewise, my parents seem to be totally happy and comfortable drinking a beer, snacking on peanuts and throwing peanut shells on the floor while waiting to eat a pizza or scooting next door to a hip-local tasting room and splitting a bottle (or two) of wine with friends.\r\n\r\nI find this 1.) really cool and 2.) a little enviable as not everyone can move seamlessly between these different environments.\r\n\r\nSo on Thursday afternoon, I found out that there were plans in the works to go out for a beer after work. Well, after my dAd is done working--you know, because I am on summer vacation and I haven\'t had to work at all in two months. We settled on the bar and my dAd picked my MoM and me up when he was done at the antique store.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858461364/\" title=\"At Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8300/7858461364_bb0790c64b_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"At Laht Neppur\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858449516/\" title=\"Me at Laht Neppur with the owner by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7251/7858449516_e8a26b6b67_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Me at Laht Neppur with the owner\"></a>We meet our friends D. &amp; L. as well as their daughter T., at Laht Neppur. This bar makes excellent micro-brew beer and the atmosphere is backyard-bbq-party-cool. To be more specific, the kind of party that you want to go to rather than host. In theory it\'s the kind of party that you want to host as well but in practice it\'s really not the kind of party that you want to clean up after. Then again, I guess that if I could make beer as good as the beer at Laht Neppur I\'d want to host the party too.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858416792/\" title=\"At Laht Neppur pizza by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8442/7858416792_cf280f7403_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"At Laht Neppur pizza\"></a>\r\nWe drank pitchers of the oatmeal porter. It\'s creamy and rich. Some people might try to tell you that it\'s a winter beer but I\'d tell those people, no way. It would be a shame to wait until fall to enjoy a beer like this.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858416792/\" title=\"At Laht Neppur pizza by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8442/7858416792_cf280f7403_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"At Laht Neppur pizza\"></a>\r\nWe washed our beer down with two different pizzas. The vegetarian with sausage and ham. Yes, I realize that means it\'s no longer vegetarian. In practice what it means is that you get a lot of veggies on your meat pizza. It\'s just a better deal to order the veggie pizza and add the meat than to order the meat pizza and add the veggies. My parents are so clever.\r\n\r\nWe also got the bbq pulled pork pizza with Walla Walla sweet onions and fresh tomatoes. This pizza was a-mazing but it\'s a limited time only pizza (I think this is driven by the growing season of the sweet onions) and the only way you know it\'s on sale is a small-ish yellow sign posted on the wall of the bar.  You\'ve either got to be a good reader or in the know to order this pizza.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858355842/\" title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7858355842_656e1f60ff_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\"></a>\r\nAfter dinner we paid the bill and left the bar. We were all headed home until D. &amp; L. stopped to listen to the live music pouring out of Charles Smith\'s tasting room and said: how about a glass of wine? There were nodding heads all around so we walked down the street to the tasting room.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858088804/\" title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7128/7858088804_ca0ff2a705_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\"></a>\r\nThere was an after-hours event happening with live blues-jazz music and a southern style bbq wagon (imagine a taco truck selling bbq).  We went to the bar and decided that buying a bottle of wine was going to be a better deal than buying individual glasses of wine. We found a large table to share with another couple.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858326066/\" title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7858326066_398042cffb_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858282600/\" title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7116/7858282600_0bf604a8a2_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\"></a>\r\nI\'d never been to the Charles Smith tasting room. I\'ve wanted to go but there are so many other wineries in town it\'s hard enough to re-visit the tasting rooms you know and love let alone try new ones. I was impressed. The tasting room is functional and cool but without trying too hard. I enjoyed the wine, the music and the conversation.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858247812/\" title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8285/7858247812_bd9e7333c9_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\"></a>\r\nThe Boom Boom Syrah hit the spot on a fairly hot evening Walla Walla but the  Charles Smith cabernet sauvignon wasn\'t bad either.<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858160886/\" title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8436/7858160886_a6660e1896_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858154768/\" title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7250/7858154768_481d341a98_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858148340/\" title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8427/7858148340_591a5492fe_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\"></a>\r\n\r\nThe one funny thing about hanging out with parents is that by 9pm I was at home, by 9:30 I was curled up in bed with my book and by 10pm I was fast asleep. In comparison, if was out in Sofia with friends more likely not I wouldn\'t have even left my apartment by 9pm and I wouldn\'t be home until much, much later. Maybe, just maybe, my parents are on to something. <em>Go figure</em>.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858116172/\" title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8440/7858116172_f617961ec1_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\"></a>\r\n**Footnote: I read the introduction to my parents as a little blog sneak preview and they told me that they don\'t go out \"pretty regularly.\" That maybe they go out twice a month with friends. Okay, but I think that they forget that they also have people over to the house pretty regularly as well.','Out on the Town with my Parents ','','inherit','open','open','','7056-revision-8','','','2012-08-25 20:50:15','2012-08-25 18:50:15','',7056,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/25/7056-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(7066,1,'2012-08-25 20:52:07','2012-08-25 18:52:07','I\'ve never spent much time thinking about what my parents do on their own time when I\'m not in Walla Walla. Turns out that my parents go out to dinner with friend pretty regularly. It\'s kind of their thing. They eat bar food, drink beer and have a grand old time.\r\n\r\nWho knew?! **\r\n<a title=\"Me at Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858397730/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8297/7858397730_637425e857_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me at Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Me at Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858374134/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8305/7858374134_14771d3a9d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me at Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"At Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858391210/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7858391210_d8e3edb890_z.jpg\" alt=\"At Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nWell I\'ve tagged along with them recently. These things happen when all of your high school friends move away, your brother is on his honeymoon and your little sister has to go back to work because she\'s actually a grown up.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, at least I am in the lucky position to have parents who like to have fun (and who seem to be able to have fun just about anywhere). Here\'s what I mean. One day we can be fooling around at our family cabin making ridiculous pancakes and the next day we can be in town grilling burgers. Likewise, my parents seem to be totally happy and comfortable drinking a beer, snacking on peanuts and throwing peanut shells on the floor while waiting to eat a pizza or scooting next door to a hip-local tasting room and splitting a bottle (or two) of wine with friends.\r\n\r\nI find this 1.) really cool and 2.) a little enviable as not everyone can move seamlessly between these different environments.\r\n\r\nSo on Thursday afternoon, I found out that there were plans in the works to go out for a beer after work. Well, after my dAd is done working--you know, because I am on summer vacation and I haven\'t had to work at all in two months. We settled on the bar and my dAd picked my MoM and me up when he was done at the antique store.\r\n<a title=\"At Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858461364/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8300/7858461364_bb0790c64b_z.jpg\" alt=\"At Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Me at Laht Neppur with the owner by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858449516/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7251/7858449516_e8a26b6b67_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me at Laht Neppur with the owner\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>We meet our friends D. &amp; L. as well as their daughter T., at Laht Neppur. This bar makes excellent micro-brew beer and the atmosphere is backyard-bbq-party-cool. To be more specific, the kind of party that you want to go to rather than host. In theory it\'s the kind of party that you want to host as well but in practice it\'s really not the kind of party that you want to clean up after. Then again, I guess that if I could make beer as good as the beer at Laht Neppur I\'d want to host the party too.\r\n<a title=\"At Laht Neppur pizza by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858416792/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8442/7858416792_cf280f7403_z.jpg\" alt=\"At Laht Neppur pizza\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nWe drank pitchers of the oatmeal porter. It\'s creamy and rich. Some people might try to tell you that it\'s a winter beer but I\'d tell those people, no way. It would be a shame to wait until fall to enjoy a beer like this.\r\n\r\nWe washed our beer down with two different pizzas. The vegetarian with sausage and ham. Yes, I realize that means it\'s no longer vegetarian. In practice what it means is that you get a lot of veggies on your meat pizza. It\'s just a better deal to order the veggie pizza and add the meat than to order the meat pizza and add the veggies. My parents are so clever.\r\n\r\nWe also got the bbq pulled pork pizza with Walla Walla sweet onions and fresh tomatoes. This pizza was a-mazing but it\'s a limited time only pizza (I think this is driven by the growing season of the sweet onions) and the only way you know it\'s on sale is a small-ish yellow sign posted on the wall of the bar.  You\'ve either got to be a good reader or in the know to order this pizza.\r\n<a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858355842/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7858355842_656e1f60ff_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nAfter dinner we paid the bill and left the bar. We were all headed home until D. &amp; L. stopped to listen to the live music pouring out of Charles Smith\'s tasting room and said: how about a glass of wine? There were nodding heads all around so we walked down the street to the tasting room.\r\n<a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858088804/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7128/7858088804_ca0ff2a705_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThere was an after-hours event happening with live blues-jazz music and a southern style bbq wagon (imagine a taco truck selling bbq).  We went to the bar and decided that buying a bottle of wine was going to be a better deal than buying individual glasses of wine. We found a large table to share with another couple.\r\n<a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858326066/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7858326066_398042cffb_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858282600/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7116/7858282600_0bf604a8a2_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nI\'d never been to the Charles Smith tasting room. I\'ve wanted to go but there are so many other wineries in town it\'s hard enough to re-visit the tasting rooms you know and love let alone try new ones. I was impressed. The tasting room is functional and cool but without trying too hard. I enjoyed the wine, the music and the conversation.\r\n<a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858247812/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8285/7858247812_bd9e7333c9_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe Boom Boom Syrah hit the spot on a fairly hot evening Walla Walla but the  Charles Smith cabernet sauvignon wasn\'t bad either.<a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858160886/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8436/7858160886_a6660e1896_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858154768/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7250/7858154768_481d341a98_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858148340/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8427/7858148340_591a5492fe_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe one funny thing about hanging out with parents is that by 9pm I was at home, by 9:30 I was curled up in bed with my book and by 10pm I was fast asleep. In comparison, if was out in Sofia with friends more likely not I wouldn\'t have even left my apartment by 9pm and I wouldn\'t be home until much, much later. Maybe, just maybe, my parents are on to something. <em>Go figure</em>.\r\n<a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858207410/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8295/7858207410_7b2ebcafe9_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858116172/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8440/7858116172_f617961ec1_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n**Footnote: I read the introduction to my parents as a little blog sneak preview and they told me that they don\'t go out \"pretty regularly.\" That maybe they go out twice a month with friends. Okay, but I think that they forget that they also have people over to the house pretty regularly as well.','Out on the Town with my Parents ','','inherit','open','open','','7056-revision-9','','','2012-08-25 20:52:07','2012-08-25 18:52:07','',7056,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/25/7056-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(7067,1,'2012-08-25 20:52:08','2012-08-25 18:52:08','I\'ve never spent much time thinking about what my parents do on their own time when I\'m not in Walla Walla. Turns out that my parents go out to dinner with friend pretty regularly. It\'s kind of their thing. They eat bar food, drink beer and have a grand old time.\r\n\r\nWho knew?! **\r\n<a title=\"Me at Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858397730/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8297/7858397730_637425e857_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me at Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Me at Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858374134/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8305/7858374134_14771d3a9d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me at Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"At Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858391210/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7858391210_d8e3edb890_z.jpg\" alt=\"At Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nWell I\'ve tagged along with them recently. These things happen when all of your high school friends move away, your brother is on his honeymoon and your little sister has to go back to work because she\'s actually a grown up.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, at least I am in the lucky position to have parents who like to have fun (and who seem to be able to have fun just about anywhere). Here\'s what I mean. One day we can be fooling around at our family cabin making ridiculous pancakes and the next day we can be in town grilling burgers. Likewise, my parents seem to be totally happy and comfortable drinking a beer, snacking on peanuts and throwing peanut shells on the floor while waiting to eat a pizza or scooting next door to a hip-local tasting room and splitting a bottle (or two) of wine with friends.\r\n\r\nI find this 1.) really cool and 2.) a little enviable as not everyone can move seamlessly between these different environments.\r\n\r\nSo on Thursday afternoon, I found out that there were plans in the works to go out for a beer after work. Well, after my dAd is done working--you know, because I am on summer vacation and I haven\'t had to work at all in two months. We settled on the bar and my dAd picked my MoM and me up when he was done at the antique store.\r\n<a title=\"At Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858461364/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8300/7858461364_bb0790c64b_z.jpg\" alt=\"At Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Me at Laht Neppur with the owner by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858449516/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7251/7858449516_e8a26b6b67_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me at Laht Neppur with the owner\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>We meet our friends D. &amp; L. as well as their daughter T., at Laht Neppur. This bar makes excellent micro-brew beer and the atmosphere is backyard-bbq-party-cool. To be more specific, the kind of party that you want to go to rather than host. In theory it\'s the kind of party that you want to host as well but in practice it\'s really not the kind of party that you want to clean up after. Then again, I guess that if I could make beer as good as the beer at Laht Neppur I\'d want to host the party too.\r\n<a title=\"At Laht Neppur pizza by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858416792/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8442/7858416792_cf280f7403_z.jpg\" alt=\"At Laht Neppur pizza\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nWe drank pitchers of the oatmeal porter. It\'s creamy and rich. Some people might try to tell you that it\'s a winter beer but I\'d tell those people, no way. It would be a shame to wait until fall to enjoy a beer like this.\r\n\r\nWe washed our beer down with two different pizzas. The vegetarian with sausage and ham. Yes, I realize that means it\'s no longer vegetarian. In practice what it means is that you get a lot of veggies on your meat pizza. It\'s just a better deal to order the veggie pizza and add the meat than to order the meat pizza and add the veggies. My parents are so clever.\r\n\r\nWe also got the bbq pulled pork pizza with Walla Walla sweet onions and fresh tomatoes. This pizza was a-mazing but it\'s a limited time only pizza (I think this is driven by the growing season of the sweet onions) and the only way you know it\'s on sale is a small-ish yellow sign posted on the wall of the bar.  You\'ve either got to be a good reader or in the know to order this pizza.\r\n<a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858355842/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7858355842_656e1f60ff_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nAfter dinner we paid the bill and left the bar. We were all headed home until D. &amp; L. stopped to listen to the live music pouring out of Charles Smith\'s tasting room and said: how about a glass of wine? There were nodding heads all around so we walked down the street to the tasting room.\r\n<a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858088804/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7128/7858088804_ca0ff2a705_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThere was an after-hours event happening with live blues-jazz music and a southern style bbq wagon (imagine a taco truck selling bbq).  We went to the bar and decided that buying a bottle of wine was going to be a better deal than buying individual glasses of wine. We found a large table to share with another couple.\r\n<a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858326066/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7858326066_398042cffb_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858282600/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7116/7858282600_0bf604a8a2_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nI\'d never been to the Charles Smith tasting room. I\'ve wanted to go but there are so many other wineries in town it\'s hard enough to re-visit the tasting rooms you know and love let alone try new ones. I was impressed. The tasting room is functional and cool but without trying too hard. I enjoyed the wine, the music and the conversation.\r\n<a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858247812/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8285/7858247812_bd9e7333c9_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe Boom Boom Syrah hit the spot on a fairly hot evening Walla Walla but the  Charles Smith cabernet sauvignon wasn\'t bad either.<a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858160886/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8436/7858160886_a6660e1896_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858154768/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7250/7858154768_481d341a98_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858148340/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8427/7858148340_591a5492fe_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe one funny thing about hanging out with parents is that by 9pm I was at home, by 9:30 I was curled up in bed with my book and by 10pm I was fast asleep. In comparison, if was out in Sofia with friends more likely not I wouldn\'t have even left my apartment by 9pm and I wouldn\'t be home until much, much later. Maybe, just maybe, my parents are on to something. <em>Go figure</em>.\r\n<a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858207410/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8295/7858207410_7b2ebcafe9_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858116172/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8440/7858116172_f617961ec1_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n**Footnote: I read the introduction to my parents as a little blog sneak preview and they told me that they don\'t go out \"pretty regularly.\" That maybe they go out twice a month with friends. Okay, but I think that they forget that they also have people over to the house pretty regularly as well.','Out on the Town with my Parents ','','inherit','open','open','','7056-revision-10','','','2012-08-25 20:52:08','2012-08-25 18:52:08','',7056,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/25/7056-revision-10/',0,'revision','',0),(7068,1,'2012-08-25 20:54:06','2012-08-25 18:54:06','I\'ve never spent much time thinking about what my parents do on their own time when I\'m not in Walla Walla. Turns out that my parents go out to dinner with friend pretty regularly. It\'s kind of their thing. They eat bar food, drink beer and have a grand old time.\n\nWho knew?! **\n<a title=\"Me at Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858397730/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8297/7858397730_637425e857_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me at Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Me at Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858374134/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8305/7858374134_14771d3a9d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me at Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"At Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858391210/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7858391210_d8e3edb890_z.jpg\" alt=\"At Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nWell I\'ve tagged along with them recently. These things happen when all of your high school friends move away, your brother is on his honeymoon and your little sister has to go back to work because she\'s actually a grown up.\n\nAnyhow, at least I am in the lucky position to have parents who like to have fun (and who seem to be able to have fun just about anywhere). Here\'s what I mean. One day we can be fooling around at our family cabin making ridiculous pancakes and the next day we can be in town grilling burgers. Likewise, my parents seem to be totally happy and comfortable drinking a beer, snacking on peanuts and throwing peanut shells on the floor while waiting to eat a pizza or scooting next door to a hip-local tasting room and splitting a bottle (or two) of wine with friends.<!--more-->\n\nI find this 1.) really cool and 2.) a little enviable as not everyone can move seamlessly between these different environments.\n\nSo on Thursday afternoon, I found out that there were plans in the works to go out for a beer after work. Well, after my dAd is done working--you know, because I am on summer vacation and I haven\'t had to work at all in two months. We settled on the bar and my dAd picked my MoM and me up when he was done at the antique store.\n<a title=\"At Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858461364/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8300/7858461364_bb0790c64b_z.jpg\" alt=\"At Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Me at Laht Neppur with the owner by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858449516/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7251/7858449516_e8a26b6b67_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me at Laht Neppur with the owner\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>We meet our friends D. &amp; L. as well as their daughter T., at Laht Neppur. This bar makes excellent micro-brew beer and the atmosphere is backyard-bbq-party-cool. To be more specific, the kind of party that you want to go to rather than host. In theory it\'s the kind of party that you want to host as well but in practice it\'s really not the kind of party that you want to clean up after. Then again, I guess that if I could make beer as good as the beer at Laht Neppur I\'d want to host the party too.\n<a title=\"At Laht Neppur pizza by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858416792/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8442/7858416792_cf280f7403_z.jpg\" alt=\"At Laht Neppur pizza\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nWe drank pitchers of the oatmeal porter. It\'s creamy and rich. Some people might try to tell you that it\'s a winter beer but I\'d tell those people, no way. It would be a shame to wait until fall to enjoy a beer like this.\n\nWe washed our beer down with two different pizzas. The vegetarian with sausage and ham. Yes, I realize that means it\'s no longer vegetarian. In practice what it means is that you get a lot of veggies on your meat pizza. It\'s just a better deal to order the veggie pizza and add the meat than to order the meat pizza and add the veggies. My parents are so clever.\n\nWe also got the bbq pulled pork pizza with Walla Walla sweet onions and fresh tomatoes. This pizza was a-mazing but it\'s a limited time only pizza (I think this is driven by the growing season of the sweet onions) and the only way you know it\'s on sale is a small-ish yellow sign posted on the wall of the bar.  You\'ve either got to be a good reader or in the know to order this pizza.\n<a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858355842/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7858355842_656e1f60ff_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nAfter dinner we paid the bill and left the bar. We were all headed home until D. &amp; L. stopped to listen to the live music pouring out of Charles Smith\'s tasting room and said: how about a glass of wine? There were nodding heads all around so we walked down the street to the tasting room.\n<a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858088804/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7128/7858088804_ca0ff2a705_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nThere was an after-hours event happening with live blues-jazz music and a southern style bbq wagon (imagine a taco truck selling bbq).  We went to the bar and decided that buying a bottle of wine was going to be a better deal than buying individual glasses of wine. We found a large table to share with another couple.\n<a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858326066/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7858326066_398042cffb_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858282600/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7116/7858282600_0bf604a8a2_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nI\'d never been to the Charles Smith tasting room. I\'ve wanted to go but there are so many other wineries in town it\'s hard enough to re-visit the tasting rooms you know and love let alone try new ones. I was impressed. The tasting room is functional and cool but without trying too hard. I enjoyed the wine, the music and the conversation.\n<a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858247812/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8285/7858247812_bd9e7333c9_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nThe Boom Boom Syrah hit the spot on a fairly hot evening Walla Walla but the  Charles Smith cabernet sauvignon wasn\'t bad either.<a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858160886/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8436/7858160886_a6660e1896_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858154768/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7250/7858154768_481d341a98_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858148340/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8427/7858148340_591a5492fe_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n\nThe one funny thing about hanging out with parents is that by 9pm I was at home, by 9:30 I was curled up in bed with my book and by 10pm I was fast asleep. In comparison, if was out in Sofia with friends more likely not I wouldn\'t have even left my apartment by 9pm and I wouldn\'t be home until much, much later. Maybe, just maybe, my parents are on to something. <em>Go figure</em>.\n<a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858207410/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8295/7858207410_7b2ebcafe9_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Charles Smith Wines by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858116172/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8440/7858116172_f617961ec1_z.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Smith Wines\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n**Footnote: I read the introduction to my parents as a little blog sneak preview and they told me that they don\'t go out \"pretty regularly.\" That maybe they go out twice a month with friends. Okay, but I think that they forget that they also have people over to the house pretty regularly as well.','Out on the Town with my Parents ','','inherit','open','open','','7056-autosave','','','2012-08-25 20:54:06','2012-08-25 18:54:06','',7056,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/25/7056-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(7069,1,'2012-08-26 20:35:02','2012-08-26 18:35:02','This weekend I took a little trip to Pendleton, Oregon with my parents as well as<a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/14/a-wedding-in-walla-walla/\" target=\"_blank\"> my bother N. and his wife K.</a> Pendleton is about an hour drive from Walla Walla along country roads. It\'s an even longer drive if you get behind a big semi truck that can get up to speed on the hills and then sit for a while on the highway due to road construction/maintenance.\r\n\r\nNo matter.\r\n\r\nWe were driving to Pendleton for a whiskey tasting and release party.\r\n\r\nPretty cool, Pendleton. Pretty cool.\r\n<a title=\"Hamely\'s Wheat Whiskey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7865632764/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8283/7865632764_5d231171ab_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hamely\'s Wheat Whiskey\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Me at Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858076078/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8284/7858076078_da94d5981f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me at Hamley\'s whisky release\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nHamley\'s has just made and released their own whiskey but what makes this whiskey different is that it is made from wheat rather then rye. Why wheat? Well, farmers around Pendleton (and between Pendleton and Walla Walla) grow wheat. Wheat is our grain. Thus whiskey from wheat. Here\'s a really brief piece from <a href=\"http://union-bulletin.com/news/2012/aug/20/hamley-reveals-regions-wheat-new-bottling/#\" target=\"_blank\">the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin newspaper on the whiskey</a>.\r\n\r\nIt seemed interesting and new and just intriguing enough to drive to Pendleton on a Friday night.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nIn my mind, Pendleton is the land of cowboys. There\'s a huge (and very old) rodeo each fall in Pendleton called the <a href=\"http://pendletonroundup.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Pendleton Round Up</a>. The city is crawling with people decked out in the following \"uniform:\" cowboy boots, big belt buckles, plaid shirts and cowboy hats. Streets are closed, country bands set-up outside, bars open their doors (although you\'re not allowed to drink outside on streets) and everyone has a hell of a time dancing and drinking. Oh and actual rodeo tickets are pretty hard to come by--just in case you are wondering you can buy season tickets to the rodeo just like any other sport in America.\r\n\r\nAnd if Pendleton is home of the cowboy then Hamley\'s clothes, outfits and feeds cowboys and has in some way, shape or fashion since 1883.<a href=\"http://www.hamleyco.com/aboutHistory.htm\" target=\"_blank\"> Check out this crazy-great timeline</a>. Hamley\'s is a Pendleton institution. The current owners have worked to rebuild the cache of the name and the brand.\r\n\r\nHamley\'s Whiskey is clearly their newest addition. And what an addition it is.\r\n<a title=\"Drinking Hamely\'s Wheat Whiskey neat by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7865642260/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7111/7865642260_12de779d45_z.jpg\" alt=\"Drinking Hamely\'s Wheat Whiskey neat\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThe party was held in the garden space in front of their steakhouse and next to their clothing and horse tack shop--where they make by hand leather saddles. There was a band, there were drinks and there was bbq.  The night was warm but not too hot. We had a great time--then again we seem to always have a great time no matter what we\'re doing. (I have such a great family.)\r\n<a title=\"Me and my brother at Hamely\'s by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7865675974/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7865675974_ca555b714b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me and my brother at Hamely\'s\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nAnyhow, back to the whiskey. There were free samples of the new whiskey and there were cocktails made with the whiskey.\r\n\r\nObviously with wheat flavoring the whiskey rather than the traditional rye, the taste was different and I think that the color was a little lighter although this whiskey had also been aged in barrels. In terms of taste, the whiskey had a lighter flavor and was very smooth. The basic idea and essence of whiskey was there but this Hamley\'s whiskey didn\'t seem to linger on the tongue as long as some of the other whiskeys I\'ve tried.\r\n\r\nAll in all, I liked it.\r\n\r\nI think lots of people turn to whiskey in the fall and winter as it\'s a drink that warms you up and after the whiskey has aged in oak barrels, it\'s smokey and seems like the perfect drink to enjoy in front of a fire curled up under a blanket. This said, the Hamley\'s whiskey is smokey and warming but not as heavy as other whiskeys. Even in the middle of summer, I was happy to sip this whiskey neat as well as to drink it in a cocktail.\r\n<a title=\"The tall dark and Hamely by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7865654074/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7135/7865654074_8bcbb47691_z.jpg\" alt=\"The tall dark and Hamely\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Drinking a whiskey cocktail (the tall dark and Hamely) at the Whiskey Release Party by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7865661658/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8440/7865661658_891ee94403_z.jpg\" alt=\"Drinking a whiskey cocktail (the tall dark and Hamely) at the Whiskey Release Party\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThe cocktail that I tried was: the tall, dark and Hamley. I ordered it for two reasons: 1.) it didn\'t sound like it was going to be too sweet and I hate with a burning passion cocktails that are sweet and 2.) I liked the name. Tall, dark and Hamley.... tall, dark and handsome.  It was everything I\'d hoped for.\r\n<a title=\"Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858061558/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7858061558_9d27de214e_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hamley\'s whisky release\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe bbq was also top notch. At the event you could choose from beef, pork, chicken, lamb and turkey. I went with the lamb. I might not have chosen the lamb but my dAd asked if he could have a taste of the lamb before picking and the sample of lamb was all that I needed to know that the lamb was the way to go. I thought it was done perfectly--it was cooked well and not at all dry. That seems to be a hard balance to find for lamb. The chili wasn\'t bad either it was just that the lamb was so much better.\r\n<a title=\"Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858048598/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7858048598_aee2356b27_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hamley\'s whisky release\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe night ended with all of us sitting around, talking and occasionally singing along to popular country songs.\r\n<a title=\"K and T at Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7857971704/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7266/7857971704_a7131e5c0e_z.jpg\" alt=\"K and T at Hamley\'s whisky release\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nI apparently surprised my dAd by knowing all of the worlds to \"Friends in Low Places\" by Garth Brooks because he then started taking tons of pictures of my brother and me singing and I heard him say: she knows all the words.\r\n<a title=\"My brother and me Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7857989280/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8433/7857989280_559583ba1d_z.jpg\" alt=\"My brother and me Hamley\'s whisky release\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"My brother and me Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7857983170/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8439/7857983170_a2b577ef93_z.jpg\" alt=\"My brother and me Hamley\'s whisky release\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"My brother and me Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7857977168/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8285/7857977168_dbe4728a8f_z.jpg\" alt=\"My brother and me Hamley\'s whisky release\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nReally, dAd, what kind of girl would I be if I didn\'t know the words?!  This is a country classic. Sure I live in the city but I grew up in the country. So for better or worse this Garth Brooks song is a part of me.  It\'s also a bar favorite given the fact it\'s all about drinking, women and friends.\r\n<a title=\"Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858040432/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7858040432_9a0daf8915_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hamley\'s whisky release\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThen we took some family pictures. My dAd, who is among the silliest, goofiest people I know, wanted me to let everyone know that he was our D.D. (you know, designated driver) and that over the course of the whole night he had one sip of whiskey and a single beer with dinner but that he\'s still game for the ZZ Top baseball hat and sun glasses look. Yep, my dAd doesn\'t need to drink a thing to have fun.\r\n<a title=\"dAd and me at Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858006184/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7113/7858006184_9a068c0ef5_z.jpg\" alt=\"dAd and me at Hamley\'s whisky release\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858022468/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/7858022468_ca8cde320c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hamley\'s whisky release\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858011644/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7858011644_1145da5fe4_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hamley\'s whisky release\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7857931180/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8443/7857931180_32bca4b513_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hamley\'s whisky release\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThanks for driving us to Pendleton, dAd!\r\n\r\nAnd three cheers of Hamley\'s whiskey. If you ever want to visit Hamley\'s 30 Southeast Court Avenue Pendleton, OR 97801 (541) 278-1100. Enjoy.\r\n\r\nOh and there are plenty of <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/\" target=\"_blank\">outtakes and silly photos of our night on flickr</a> if you didn\'t get enough in this post  like this one of me kissing the red cow that comes along with the tall, dark and Hamley.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"The tall dark and Hamely drink comes with a red cow by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7865699168/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8300/7865699168_1267f0f262_z.jpg\" alt=\"The tall dark and Hamely drink comes with a red cow\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>','Hamley\'s Whiskey Tasting in Pendleton ','','publish','open','open','','hamleys-whiskey-tasting-in-pendleton','','','2012-08-26 20:43:31','2012-08-26 18:43:31','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=7069',0,'post','',0),(7070,1,'2012-08-26 18:33:15','2012-08-26 16:33:15','This weekend I took a little trip to Pendleton, Oregon with my parents as well as my bother N. and his wife K. Pendleton is about an hour drive from Walla Walla along country roads. It\'s an even longer drive if you get behind a big semi truck that can get up to speed on the hills and then sit on the highway due to road construction/maintenance.\n\nNo matter. We were driving to Pendleton for a whiskey tasting and release party. Pretty cool, Pendleton. Pretty cool.\n\nHamley\'s has just made and released their own whiskey but what makes this whiskey different is that it is made from wheat rather then rye. Why wheat? Well, farmers around Pendleton (and between Pendleton and Walla Walla) grow wheat. Wheat is our grain. Thus whiskey from wheat. Here\'s a really brief piece from <a href=\"http://union-bulletin.com/news/2012/aug/20/hamley-reveals-regions-wheat-new-bottling/#\" target=\"_blank\">the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin newspaper on the whiskey</a>.\n\nIn my mind, Pendleton is the land of cowboys. There\'s a huge (and very old) rodeo each fall in Pendleton called the <a href=\"http://pendletonroundup.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Pendleton Round Up</a>. The city is crawling with people decked out in the following \"uniform:\" cowboy boots, big belt buckles, plaid shirts and cowboy hats. Streets are closed, country bands set-up outside, bars open their doors (although you\'re not allowed to drink outside on streets) and everyone has a hell of a time dancing and drinking. Oh and actual rodeo tickets are pretty hard to come by--just in case you are wondering you can buy season tickets to the rodeo just like any other sport in America.\n\nAnd if Pendleton is home of the cowboy then Hamely\'s clothes, outfits and feeds cowboys and has in some way, shape or fashion since 1883.<a href=\"http://www.hamleyco.com/aboutHistory.htm\" target=\"_blank\"> Check out this crazy-great timeline</a>. Hamely\'s is a Pendleton institution.','Hamely\'s Whiskey Tasting in Pendleton ','','inherit','open','open','','7069-revision','','','2012-08-26 18:33:15','2012-08-26 16:33:15','',7069,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/26/7069-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(7071,1,'2012-08-26 18:46:11','2012-08-26 16:46:11','This weekend I took a little trip to Pendleton, Oregon with my parents as well as my bother N. and his wife K. Pendleton is about an hour drive from Walla Walla along country roads. It\'s an even longer drive if you get behind a big semi truck that can get up to speed on the hills and then sit on the highway due to road construction/maintenance.\n\nNo matter. We were driving to Pendleton for a whiskey tasting and release party. Pretty cool, Pendleton. Pretty cool.\n\nHamley\'s has just made and released their own whiskey but what makes this whiskey different is that it is made from wheat rather then rye. Why wheat? Well, farmers around Pendleton (and between Pendleton and Walla Walla) grow wheat. Wheat is our grain. Thus whiskey from wheat. Here\'s a really brief piece from <a href=\"http://union-bulletin.com/news/2012/aug/20/hamley-reveals-regions-wheat-new-bottling/#\" target=\"_blank\">the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin newspaper on the whiskey</a>.\n\nIn my mind, Pendleton is the land of cowboys. There\'s a huge (and very old) rodeo each fall in Pendleton called the <a href=\"http://pendletonroundup.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Pendleton Round Up</a>. The city is crawling with people decked out in the following \"uniform:\" cowboy boots, big belt buckles, plaid shirts and cowboy hats. Streets are closed, country bands set-up outside, bars open their doors (although you\'re not allowed to drink outside on streets) and everyone has a hell of a time dancing and drinking. Oh and actual rodeo tickets are pretty hard to come by--just in case you are wondering you can buy season tickets to the rodeo just like any other sport in America.\n\nAnd if Pendleton is home of the cowboy then Hamely\'s clothes, outfits and feeds cowboys and has in some way, shape or fashion since 1883.<a href=\"http://www.hamleyco.com/aboutHistory.htm\" target=\"_blank\"> Check out this crazy-great timeline</a>. Hamely\'s is a Pendleton institution. The current owners have worked to rebuild the cache of the name and the brand.\n\nHamely\'s Whiskey is clearly their newest addition.\n\nThe party was held in the garden space in front of their Steakhouse. There was a band, there were drinks and there was bbq.','Hamely\'s Whiskey Tasting in Pendleton ','','inherit','open','open','','7069-revision-2','','','2012-08-26 18:46:11','2012-08-26 16:46:11','',7069,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/26/7069-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(7072,1,'2012-08-26 18:48:03','2012-08-26 16:48:03','This weekend I took a little trip to Pendleton, Oregon with my parents as well as my bother N. and his wife K. Pendleton is about an hour drive from Walla Walla along country roads. It\'s an even longer drive if you get behind a big semi truck that can get up to speed on the hills and then sit on the highway due to road construction/maintenance.\n\nNo matter. We were driving to Pendleton for a whiskey tasting and release party. Pretty cool, Pendleton. Pretty cool.\n\nHamley\'s has just made and released their own whiskey but what makes this whiskey different is that it is made from wheat rather then rye. Why wheat? Well, farmers around Pendleton (and between Pendleton and Walla Walla) grow wheat. Wheat is our grain. Thus whiskey from wheat. Here\'s a really brief piece from <a href=\"http://union-bulletin.com/news/2012/aug/20/hamley-reveals-regions-wheat-new-bottling/#\" target=\"_blank\">the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin newspaper on the whiskey</a>.\n\nIn my mind, Pendleton is the land of cowboys. There\'s a huge (and very old) rodeo each fall in Pendleton called the <a href=\"http://pendletonroundup.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Pendleton Round Up</a>. The city is crawling with people decked out in the following \"uniform:\" cowboy boots, big belt buckles, plaid shirts and cowboy hats. Streets are closed, country bands set-up outside, bars open their doors (although you\'re not allowed to drink outside on streets) and everyone has a hell of a time dancing and drinking. Oh and actual rodeo tickets are pretty hard to come by--just in case you are wondering you can buy season tickets to the rodeo just like any other sport in America.\n\nAnd if Pendleton is home of the cowboy then Hamely\'s clothes, outfits and feeds cowboys and has in some way, shape or fashion since 1883.<a href=\"http://www.hamleyco.com/aboutHistory.htm\" target=\"_blank\"> Check out this crazy-great timeline</a>. Hamely\'s is a Pendleton institution. The current owners have worked to rebuild the cache of the name and the brand.\n\nHamely\'s Whiskey is clearly their newest addition.\n\nThe party was held in the garden space in front of their Steakhouse. There was a band, there were drinks and there was bbq.  The night was warm but not too hot.\n\nWe had a great time.','Hamely\'s Whiskey Tasting in Pendleton ','','inherit','open','open','','7069-revision-3','','','2012-08-26 18:48:03','2012-08-26 16:48:03','',7069,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/26/7069-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(7073,1,'2012-08-26 19:33:40','2012-08-26 17:33:40','This weekend I took a little trip to Pendleton, Oregon with my parents as well as my bother N. and his wife K. Pendleton is about an hour drive from Walla Walla along country roads. It\'s an even longer drive if you get behind a big semi truck that can get up to speed on the hills and then sit on the highway due to road construction/maintenance.\n\nNo matter. We were driving to Pendleton for a whiskey tasting and release party. Pretty cool, Pendleton. Pretty cool.\n\nHamley\'s has just made and released their own whiskey but what makes this whiskey different is that it is made from wheat rather then rye. Why wheat? Well, farmers around Pendleton (and between Pendleton and Walla Walla) grow wheat. Wheat is our grain. Thus whiskey from wheat. Here\'s a really brief piece from <a href=\"http://union-bulletin.com/news/2012/aug/20/hamley-reveals-regions-wheat-new-bottling/#\" target=\"_blank\">the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin newspaper on the whiskey</a>.\n\nIn my mind, Pendleton is the land of cowboys. There\'s a huge (and very old) rodeo each fall in Pendleton called the <a href=\"http://pendletonroundup.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Pendleton Round Up</a>. The city is crawling with people decked out in the following \"uniform:\" cowboy boots, big belt buckles, plaid shirts and cowboy hats. Streets are closed, country bands set-up outside, bars open their doors (although you\'re not allowed to drink outside on streets) and everyone has a hell of a time dancing and drinking. Oh and actual rodeo tickets are pretty hard to come by--just in case you are wondering you can buy season tickets to the rodeo just like any other sport in America.\n\nAnd if Pendleton is home of the cowboy then Hamely\'s clothes, outfits and feeds cowboys and has in some way, shape or fashion since 1883.<a href=\"http://www.hamleyco.com/aboutHistory.htm\" target=\"_blank\"> Check out this crazy-great timeline</a>. Hamely\'s is a Pendleton institution. The current owners have worked to rebuild the cache of the name and the brand.\n\nHamely\'s Whiskey is clearly their newest addition.\n\nThe party was held in the garden space in front of their Steakhouse. There was a band, there were drinks and there was bbq.  The night was warm but not too hot.\n\nWe had a great time--then again we seem to always have a great time no matter what we\'re doing.\n\nAnyhow, there were free samples of the new whiskey and there were cocktails made with the whiskey. Obviously with wheat flavoring the whiskey rather than the traditional rye, the taste was different and I think that the color was a little lighter. In terms of taste, the whiskey was lighter in flavor and very smooth. The basic idea and essence of whiskey was there but this Hamely\'s whiskey didn\'t seem to linger on the tongue as long as some of the other whiskeys I\'ve tried. All in all, I liked it.\n\nI think lots of people turn to whiskey in the fall and winter as it\'s a drink that warms you up and after the whiskey has aged in oak barrels, it\'s smokey and seems like the perfect drink to enjoy in front of a fire curled up under a blanket. This said, thhe Hamely\'s whisk','Hamely\'s Whiskey Tasting in Pendleton ','','inherit','open','open','','7069-revision-4','','','2012-08-26 19:33:40','2012-08-26 17:33:40','',7069,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/26/7069-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(7074,1,'2012-08-26 19:51:36','2012-08-26 17:51:36','This weekend I took a little trip to Pendleton, Oregon with my parents as well as my bother N. and his wife K. Pendleton is about an hour drive from Walla Walla along country roads. It\'s an even longer drive if you get behind a big semi truck that can get up to speed on the hills and then sit on the highway due to road construction/maintenance.\n\nNo matter. We were driving to Pendleton for a whiskey tasting and release party. Pretty cool, Pendleton. Pretty cool.\n\nHamley\'s has just made and released their own whiskey but what makes this whiskey different is that it is made from wheat rather then rye. Why wheat? Well, farmers around Pendleton (and between Pendleton and Walla Walla) grow wheat. Wheat is our grain. Thus whiskey from wheat. Here\'s a really brief piece from <a href=\"http://union-bulletin.com/news/2012/aug/20/hamley-reveals-regions-wheat-new-bottling/#\" target=\"_blank\">the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin newspaper on the whiskey</a>.\n\nIn my mind, Pendleton is the land of cowboys. There\'s a huge (and very old) rodeo each fall in Pendleton called the <a href=\"http://pendletonroundup.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Pendleton Round Up</a>. The city is crawling with people decked out in the following \"uniform:\" cowboy boots, big belt buckles, plaid shirts and cowboy hats. Streets are closed, country bands set-up outside, bars open their doors (although you\'re not allowed to drink outside on streets) and everyone has a hell of a time dancing and drinking. Oh and actual rodeo tickets are pretty hard to come by--just in case you are wondering you can buy season tickets to the rodeo just like any other sport in America.\n\nAnd if Pendleton is home of the cowboy then Hamely\'s clothes, outfits and feeds cowboys and has in some way, shape or fashion since 1883.<a href=\"http://www.hamleyco.com/aboutHistory.htm\" target=\"_blank\"> Check out this crazy-great timeline</a>. Hamely\'s is a Pendleton institution. The current owners have worked to rebuild the cache of the name and the brand.\n\nHamely\'s Whiskey is clearly their newest addition.\n\nThe party was held in the garden space in front of their Steakhouse. There was a band, there were drinks and there was bbq.  The night was warm but not too hot.\n\nWe had a great time--then again we seem to always have a great time no matter what we\'re doing.\n\nAnyhow, there were free samples of the new whiskey and there were cocktails made with the whiskey. Obviously with wheat flavoring the whiskey rather than the traditional rye, the taste was different and I think that the color was a little lighter. In terms of taste, the whiskey was lighter in flavor and very smooth. The basic idea and essence of whiskey was there but this Hamely\'s whiskey didn\'t seem to linger on the tongue as long as some of the other whiskeys I\'ve tried. All in all, I liked it.\n\nI think lots of people turn to whiskey in the fall and winter as it\'s a drink that warms you up and after the whiskey has aged in oak barrels, it\'s smokey and seems like the perfect drink to enjoy in front of a fire curled up under a blanket. This said, the Hamely\'s whiskey is smokey and warming but not as heavy as other whiskeys. I was happy to sip this whiskey straight as well as to drink it in a cocktail.\n\nThe bbq was top notch. At the event you could choose from beef, pork, chicken, lamb and turkey. I went with the lamb. I might not have chosen the lamb but my dAd asked if he could have a taste of the lamb before picking and the sample of lamb was all that I needed to know that the lamb was the way to go. I thought it was done perfectly--it was cooked well and not at all dry. That seems to be a hard balance to find for lamb. The chili wasn\'t bad either it was just that the lamb was so much better.\n\nThe night ended with all of us sitting around, talking and occasionally singing along to popular country songs.\n\nI apparently surprised my dAd by knowing all of the worlds to \"Friends in Low Places\" by Garth Brooks because he then started taking tons of pictures of my brother and me singing and I heard him say: she knows all the words. Really, dAd, what kind of girl would I be if I didn\'t know the words. This is a country classic. Sure I live in the city but I grew up in the country.\n\nThen we took some family pictures. My dAd, who is among the silliest, goofiest people I know, wanted me to let everyone know that he was our D.D. (you know, designated driver) and that over the course of the whole night he had one sip of whiskey and a single beer with dinner but that he\'s still game for the ZZ Top baseball hat and sun glasses look. Yep, my dAd doesn\'t need to drink a thing to have fun.\n\nThanks for driving us to Pendleton!','Hamely\'s Whiskey Tasting in Pendleton ','','inherit','open','open','','7069-revision-5','','','2012-08-26 19:51:36','2012-08-26 17:51:36','',7069,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/26/7069-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(7075,1,'2012-08-26 20:10:12','2012-08-26 18:10:12','This weekend I took a little trip to Pendleton, Oregon with my parents as well as my bother N. and his wife K. Pendleton is about an hour drive from Walla Walla along country roads. It\'s an even longer drive if you get behind a big semi truck that can get up to speed on the hills and then sit on the highway due to road construction/maintenance.\n\nNo matter. We were driving to Pendleton for a whiskey tasting and release party. Pretty cool, Pendleton. Pretty cool.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7865632764/\" title=\"Hamely\'s Wheat Whiskey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8283/7865632764_5d231171ab_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Hamely\'s Wheat Whiskey\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858076078/\" title=\"Me at Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8284/7858076078_da94d5981f_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Me at Hamley\'s whisky release\"></a>\nHamley\'s has just made and released their own whiskey but what makes this whiskey different is that it is made from wheat rather then rye. Why wheat? Well, farmers around Pendleton (and between Pendleton and Walla Walla) grow wheat. Wheat is our grain. Thus whiskey from wheat. Here\'s a really brief piece from <a href=\"http://union-bulletin.com/news/2012/aug/20/hamley-reveals-regions-wheat-new-bottling/#\" target=\"_blank\">the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin newspaper on the whiskey</a>.\n\nIt seemed interesting and new and just intreage  enough to drive to Pendleton for on a Friday night.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7865642260/\" title=\"Drinking Hamely\'s Wheat Whiskey neat by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7111/7865642260_12de779d45_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Drinking Hamely\'s Wheat Whiskey neat\"></a>\nIn my mind, Pendleton is the land of cowboys. There\'s a huge (and very old) rodeo each fall in Pendleton called the <a href=\"http://pendletonroundup.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Pendleton Round Up</a>. The city is crawling with people decked out in the following \"uniform:\" cowboy boots, big belt buckles, plaid shirts and cowboy hats. Streets are closed, country bands set-up outside, bars open their doors (although you\'re not allowed to drink outside on streets) and everyone has a hell of a time dancing and drinking. Oh and actual rodeo tickets are pretty hard to come by--just in case you are wondering you can buy season tickets to the rodeo just like any other sport in America.\n\nAnd if Pendleton is home of the cowboy then Hamely\'s clothes, outfits and feeds cowboys and has in some way, shape or fashion since 1883.<a href=\"http://www.hamleyco.com/aboutHistory.htm\" target=\"_blank\"> Check out this crazy-great timeline</a>. Hamely\'s is a Pendleton institution. The current owners have worked to rebuild the cache of the name and the brand.\n\nHamely\'s Whiskey is clearly their newest addition.\n\nThe party was held in the garden space in front of their Steakhouse. There was a band, there were drinks and there was bbq.  The night was warm but not too hot.\n\nWe had a great time--then again we seem to always have a great time no matter what we\'re doing.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7865675974/\" title=\"Me and my brother at Hamely\'s by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7865675974_ca555b714b_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Me and my brother at Hamely\'s\"></a>\nAnyhow, there were free samples of the new whiskey and there were cocktails made with the whiskey. Obviously with wheat flavoring the whiskey rather than the traditional rye, the taste was different and I think that the color was a little lighter. In terms of taste, the whiskey was lighter in flavor and very smooth. The basic idea and essence of whiskey was there but this Hamely\'s whiskey didn\'t seem to linger on the tongue as long as some of the other whiskeys I\'ve tried. All in all, I liked it.\n\nI think lots of people turn to whiskey in the fall and winter as it\'s a drink that warms you up and after the whiskey has aged in oak barrels, it\'s smokey and seems like the perfect drink to enjoy in front of a fire curled up under a blanket. This said, the Hamely\'s whiskey is smokey and warming but not as heavy as other whiskeys. I was happy to sip this whiskey straight as well as to drink it in a cocktail.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7865654074/\" title=\"The tall dark and Hamely by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7135/7865654074_8bcbb47691_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"The tall dark and Hamely\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7865661658/\" title=\"Drinking a whiskey cocktail (the tall dark and Hamely) at the Whiskey Release Party by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8440/7865661658_891ee94403_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Drinking a whiskey cocktail (the tall dark and Hamely) at the Whiskey Release Party\"></a>\nThe cocktail that I tried was: the tall, dark and Hamley. \n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858061558/\" title=\"Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7858061558_9d27de214e_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Hamley\'s whisky release\"></a>\nThe bbq was top notch. At the event you could choose from beef, pork, chicken, lamb and turkey. I went with the lamb. I might not have chosen the lamb but my dAd asked if he could have a taste of the lamb before picking and the sample of lamb was all that I needed to know that the lamb was the way to go. I thought it was done perfectly--it was cooked well and not at all dry. That seems to be a hard balance to find for lamb. The chili wasn\'t bad either it was just that the lamb was so much better.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858048598/\" title=\"Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7858048598_aee2356b27_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Hamley\'s whisky release\"></a>\nThe night ended with all of us sitting around, talking and occasionally singing along to popular country songs.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7857971704/\" title=\"K and T at Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7266/7857971704_a7131e5c0e_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"K and T at Hamley\'s whisky release\"></a>\nI apparently surprised my dAd by knowing all of the worlds to \"Friends in Low Places\" by Garth Brooks because he then started taking tons of pictures of my brother and me singing and I heard him say: she knows all the words. \n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7857989280/\" title=\"My brother and me Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8433/7857989280_559583ba1d_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"My brother and me Hamley\'s whisky release\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7857983170/\" title=\"My brother and me Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8439/7857983170_a2b577ef93_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"My brother and me Hamley\'s whisky release\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7857977168/\" title=\"My brother and me Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8285/7857977168_dbe4728a8f_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"My brother and me Hamley\'s whisky release\"></a>\nReally, dAd, what kind of girl would I be if I didn\'t know the words. This is a country classic. Sure I live in the city but I grew up in the country.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858040432/\" title=\"Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7858040432_9a0daf8915_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Hamley\'s whisky release\"></a>\nThen we took some family pictures. My dAd, who is among the silliest, goofiest people I know, wanted me to let everyone know that he was our D.D. (you know, designated driver) and that over the course of the whole night he had one sip of whiskey and a single beer with dinner but that he\'s still game for the ZZ Top baseball hat and sun glasses look. Yep, my dAd doesn\'t need to drink a thing to have fun.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858006184/\" title=\"dAd and me at Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7113/7858006184_9a068c0ef5_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"dAd and me at Hamley\'s whisky release\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858022468/\" title=\"Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/7858022468_ca8cde320c_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Hamley\'s whisky release\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858011644/\" title=\"Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7858011644_1145da5fe4_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Hamley\'s whisky release\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7857931180/\" title=\"Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8443/7857931180_32bca4b513_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Hamley\'s whisky release\"></a>\nThanks for driving us to Pendleton! And three cheers of Hamely\'s whiskey. Oh and there are some outtakes of our night on flickr if ou \n\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7865699168/\" title=\"The tall dark and Hamely drink comes with a red cow by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8300/7865699168_1267f0f262_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"The tall dark and Hamely drink comes with a red cow\"></a>','Hamely\'s Whiskey Tasting in Pendleton ','','inherit','open','open','','7069-revision-6','','','2012-08-26 20:10:12','2012-08-26 18:10:12','',7069,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/26/7069-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(7076,1,'2012-08-26 20:10:54','2012-08-26 18:10:54','This weekend I took a little trip to Pendleton, Oregon with my parents as well as my bother N. and his wife K. Pendleton is about an hour drive from Walla Walla along country roads. It\'s an even longer drive if you get behind a big semi truck that can get up to speed on the hills and then sit on the highway due to road construction/maintenance.\r\n\r\nNo matter. We were driving to Pendleton for a whiskey tasting and release party. Pretty cool, Pendleton. Pretty cool.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7865632764/\" title=\"Hamely\'s Wheat Whiskey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8283/7865632764_5d231171ab_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Hamely\'s Wheat Whiskey\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858076078/\" title=\"Me at Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8284/7858076078_da94d5981f_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Me at Hamley\'s whisky release\"></a>\r\nHamley\'s has just made and released their own whiskey but what makes this whiskey different is that it is made from wheat rather then rye. Why wheat? Well, farmers around Pendleton (and between Pendleton and Walla Walla) grow wheat. Wheat is our grain. Thus whiskey from wheat. Here\'s a really brief piece from <a href=\"http://union-bulletin.com/news/2012/aug/20/hamley-reveals-regions-wheat-new-bottling/#\" target=\"_blank\">the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin newspaper on the whiskey</a>.\r\n\r\nIt seemed interesting and new and just intreage  enough to drive to Pendleton for on a Friday night.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7865642260/\" title=\"Drinking Hamely\'s Wheat Whiskey neat by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7111/7865642260_12de779d45_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Drinking Hamely\'s Wheat Whiskey neat\"></a>\r\nIn my mind, Pendleton is the land of cowboys. There\'s a huge (and very old) rodeo each fall in Pendleton called the <a href=\"http://pendletonroundup.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Pendleton Round Up</a>. The city is crawling with people decked out in the following \"uniform:\" cowboy boots, big belt buckles, plaid shirts and cowboy hats. Streets are closed, country bands set-up outside, bars open their doors (although you\'re not allowed to drink outside on streets) and everyone has a hell of a time dancing and drinking. Oh and actual rodeo tickets are pretty hard to come by--just in case you are wondering you can buy season tickets to the rodeo just like any other sport in America.\r\n\r\nAnd if Pendleton is home of the cowboy then Hamely\'s clothes, outfits and feeds cowboys and has in some way, shape or fashion since 1883.<a href=\"http://www.hamleyco.com/aboutHistory.htm\" target=\"_blank\"> Check out this crazy-great timeline</a>. Hamely\'s is a Pendleton institution. The current owners have worked to rebuild the cache of the name and the brand.\r\n\r\nHamely\'s Whiskey is clearly their newest addition.\r\n\r\nThe party was held in the garden space in front of their Steakhouse. There was a band, there were drinks and there was bbq.  The night was warm but not too hot.\r\n\r\nWe had a great time--then again we seem to always have a great time no matter what we\'re doing.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7865675974/\" title=\"Me and my brother at Hamely\'s by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7865675974_ca555b714b_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Me and my brother at Hamely\'s\"></a>\r\nAnyhow, there were free samples of the new whiskey and there were cocktails made with the whiskey. Obviously with wheat flavoring the whiskey rather than the traditional rye, the taste was different and I think that the color was a little lighter. In terms of taste, the whiskey was lighter in flavor and very smooth. The basic idea and essence of whiskey was there but this Hamely\'s whiskey didn\'t seem to linger on the tongue as long as some of the other whiskeys I\'ve tried. All in all, I liked it.\r\n\r\nI think lots of people turn to whiskey in the fall and winter as it\'s a drink that warms you up and after the whiskey has aged in oak barrels, it\'s smokey and seems like the perfect drink to enjoy in front of a fire curled up under a blanket. This said, the Hamely\'s whiskey is smokey and warming but not as heavy as other whiskeys. I was happy to sip this whiskey straight as well as to drink it in a cocktail.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7865654074/\" title=\"The tall dark and Hamely by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7135/7865654074_8bcbb47691_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"The tall dark and Hamely\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7865661658/\" title=\"Drinking a whiskey cocktail (the tall dark and Hamely) at the Whiskey Release Party by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8440/7865661658_891ee94403_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Drinking a whiskey cocktail (the tall dark and Hamely) at the Whiskey Release Party\"></a>\r\nThe cocktail that I tried was: the tall, dark and Hamley. \r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858061558/\" title=\"Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7858061558_9d27de214e_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Hamley\'s whisky release\"></a>\r\nThe bbq was top notch. At the event you could choose from beef, pork, chicken, lamb and turkey. I went with the lamb. I might not have chosen the lamb but my dAd asked if he could have a taste of the lamb before picking and the sample of lamb was all that I needed to know that the lamb was the way to go. I thought it was done perfectly--it was cooked well and not at all dry. That seems to be a hard balance to find for lamb. The chili wasn\'t bad either it was just that the lamb was so much better.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858048598/\" title=\"Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7858048598_aee2356b27_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Hamley\'s whisky release\"></a>\r\nThe night ended with all of us sitting around, talking and occasionally singing along to popular country songs.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7857971704/\" title=\"K and T at Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7266/7857971704_a7131e5c0e_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"K and T at Hamley\'s whisky release\"></a>\r\nI apparently surprised my dAd by knowing all of the worlds to \"Friends in Low Places\" by Garth Brooks because he then started taking tons of pictures of my brother and me singing and I heard him say: she knows all the words. \r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7857989280/\" title=\"My brother and me Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8433/7857989280_559583ba1d_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"My brother and me Hamley\'s whisky release\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7857983170/\" title=\"My brother and me Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8439/7857983170_a2b577ef93_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"My brother and me Hamley\'s whisky release\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7857977168/\" title=\"My brother and me Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8285/7857977168_dbe4728a8f_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"My brother and me Hamley\'s whisky release\"></a>\r\nReally, dAd, what kind of girl would I be if I didn\'t know the words. This is a country classic. Sure I live in the city but I grew up in the country.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858040432/\" title=\"Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7858040432_9a0daf8915_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Hamley\'s whisky release\"></a>\r\nThen we took some family pictures. My dAd, who is among the silliest, goofiest people I know, wanted me to let everyone know that he was our D.D. (you know, designated driver) and that over the course of the whole night he had one sip of whiskey and a single beer with dinner but that he\'s still game for the ZZ Top baseball hat and sun glasses look. Yep, my dAd doesn\'t need to drink a thing to have fun.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858006184/\" title=\"dAd and me at Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7113/7858006184_9a068c0ef5_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"dAd and me at Hamley\'s whisky release\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858022468/\" title=\"Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/7858022468_ca8cde320c_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Hamley\'s whisky release\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858011644/\" title=\"Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7858011644_1145da5fe4_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Hamley\'s whisky release\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7857931180/\" title=\"Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8443/7857931180_32bca4b513_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Hamley\'s whisky release\"></a>\r\nThanks for driving us to Pendleton! And three cheers of Hamely\'s whiskey. Oh and there are some outtakes of our night on flickr if you didn\'t get enough in this post like this one of me kissing the red cow that comes along with the tall, dark and Hamely. \r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7865699168/\" title=\"The tall dark and Hamely drink comes with a red cow by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8300/7865699168_1267f0f262_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"The tall dark and Hamely drink comes with a red cow\"></a>','Hamely\'s Whiskey Tasting in Pendleton ','','inherit','open','open','','7069-revision-7','','','2012-08-26 20:10:54','2012-08-26 18:10:54','',7069,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/26/7069-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(7077,1,'2012-08-26 20:11:00','2012-08-26 18:11:00','This weekend I took a little trip to Pendleton, Oregon with my parents as well as my bother N. and his wife K. Pendleton is about an hour drive from Walla Walla along country roads. It\'s an even longer drive if you get behind a big semi truck that can get up to speed on the hills and then sit on the highway due to road construction/maintenance.\r\n\r\nNo matter. We were driving to Pendleton for a whiskey tasting and release party. Pretty cool, Pendleton. Pretty cool.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7865632764/\" title=\"Hamely\'s Wheat Whiskey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8283/7865632764_5d231171ab_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Hamely\'s Wheat Whiskey\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858076078/\" title=\"Me at Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8284/7858076078_da94d5981f_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Me at Hamley\'s whisky release\"></a>\r\nHamley\'s has just made and released their own whiskey but what makes this whiskey different is that it is made from wheat rather then rye. Why wheat? Well, farmers around Pendleton (and between Pendleton and Walla Walla) grow wheat. Wheat is our grain. Thus whiskey from wheat. Here\'s a really brief piece from <a href=\"http://union-bulletin.com/news/2012/aug/20/hamley-reveals-regions-wheat-new-bottling/#\" target=\"_blank\">the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin newspaper on the whiskey</a>.\r\n\r\nIt seemed interesting and new and just intreage  enough to drive to Pendleton for on a Friday night.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7865642260/\" title=\"Drinking Hamely\'s Wheat Whiskey neat by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7111/7865642260_12de779d45_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Drinking Hamely\'s Wheat Whiskey neat\"></a>\r\nIn my mind, Pendleton is the land of cowboys. There\'s a huge (and very old) rodeo each fall in Pendleton called the <a href=\"http://pendletonroundup.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Pendleton Round Up</a>. The city is crawling with people decked out in the following \"uniform:\" cowboy boots, big belt buckles, plaid shirts and cowboy hats. Streets are closed, country bands set-up outside, bars open their doors (although you\'re not allowed to drink outside on streets) and everyone has a hell of a time dancing and drinking. Oh and actual rodeo tickets are pretty hard to come by--just in case you are wondering you can buy season tickets to the rodeo just like any other sport in America.\r\n\r\nAnd if Pendleton is home of the cowboy then Hamely\'s clothes, outfits and feeds cowboys and has in some way, shape or fashion since 1883.<a href=\"http://www.hamleyco.com/aboutHistory.htm\" target=\"_blank\"> Check out this crazy-great timeline</a>. Hamely\'s is a Pendleton institution. The current owners have worked to rebuild the cache of the name and the brand.\r\n\r\nHamely\'s Whiskey is clearly their newest addition.\r\n\r\nThe party was held in the garden space in front of their Steakhouse. There was a band, there were drinks and there was bbq.  The night was warm but not too hot.\r\n\r\nWe had a great time--then again we seem to always have a great time no matter what we\'re doing.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7865675974/\" title=\"Me and my brother at Hamely\'s by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7865675974_ca555b714b_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Me and my brother at Hamely\'s\"></a>\r\nAnyhow, there were free samples of the new whiskey and there were cocktails made with the whiskey. Obviously with wheat flavoring the whiskey rather than the traditional rye, the taste was different and I think that the color was a little lighter. In terms of taste, the whiskey was lighter in flavor and very smooth. The basic idea and essence of whiskey was there but this Hamely\'s whiskey didn\'t seem to linger on the tongue as long as some of the other whiskeys I\'ve tried. All in all, I liked it.\r\n\r\nI think lots of people turn to whiskey in the fall and winter as it\'s a drink that warms you up and after the whiskey has aged in oak barrels, it\'s smokey and seems like the perfect drink to enjoy in front of a fire curled up under a blanket. This said, the Hamely\'s whiskey is smokey and warming but not as heavy as other whiskeys. I was happy to sip this whiskey straight as well as to drink it in a cocktail.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7865654074/\" title=\"The tall dark and Hamely by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7135/7865654074_8bcbb47691_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"The tall dark and Hamely\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7865661658/\" title=\"Drinking a whiskey cocktail (the tall dark and Hamely) at the Whiskey Release Party by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8440/7865661658_891ee94403_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Drinking a whiskey cocktail (the tall dark and Hamely) at the Whiskey Release Party\"></a>\r\nThe cocktail that I tried was: the tall, dark and Hamley. \r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858061558/\" title=\"Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7858061558_9d27de214e_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Hamley\'s whisky release\"></a>\r\nThe bbq was top notch. At the event you could choose from beef, pork, chicken, lamb and turkey. I went with the lamb. I might not have chosen the lamb but my dAd asked if he could have a taste of the lamb before picking and the sample of lamb was all that I needed to know that the lamb was the way to go. I thought it was done perfectly--it was cooked well and not at all dry. That seems to be a hard balance to find for lamb. The chili wasn\'t bad either it was just that the lamb was so much better.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858048598/\" title=\"Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7858048598_aee2356b27_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Hamley\'s whisky release\"></a>\r\nThe night ended with all of us sitting around, talking and occasionally singing along to popular country songs.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7857971704/\" title=\"K and T at Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7266/7857971704_a7131e5c0e_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"K and T at Hamley\'s whisky release\"></a>\r\nI apparently surprised my dAd by knowing all of the worlds to \"Friends in Low Places\" by Garth Brooks because he then started taking tons of pictures of my brother and me singing and I heard him say: she knows all the words. \r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7857989280/\" title=\"My brother and me Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8433/7857989280_559583ba1d_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"My brother and me Hamley\'s whisky release\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7857983170/\" title=\"My brother and me Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8439/7857983170_a2b577ef93_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"My brother and me Hamley\'s whisky release\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7857977168/\" title=\"My brother and me Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8285/7857977168_dbe4728a8f_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"My brother and me Hamley\'s whisky release\"></a>\r\nReally, dAd, what kind of girl would I be if I didn\'t know the words. This is a country classic. Sure I live in the city but I grew up in the country.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858040432/\" title=\"Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7858040432_9a0daf8915_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Hamley\'s whisky release\"></a>\r\nThen we took some family pictures. My dAd, who is among the silliest, goofiest people I know, wanted me to let everyone know that he was our D.D. (you know, designated driver) and that over the course of the whole night he had one sip of whiskey and a single beer with dinner but that he\'s still game for the ZZ Top baseball hat and sun glasses look. Yep, my dAd doesn\'t need to drink a thing to have fun.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858006184/\" title=\"dAd and me at Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7113/7858006184_9a068c0ef5_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"dAd and me at Hamley\'s whisky release\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858022468/\" title=\"Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/7858022468_ca8cde320c_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Hamley\'s whisky release\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858011644/\" title=\"Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7858011644_1145da5fe4_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Hamley\'s whisky release\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7857931180/\" title=\"Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8443/7857931180_32bca4b513_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Hamley\'s whisky release\"></a>\r\nThanks for driving us to Pendleton! And three cheers of Hamely\'s whiskey. Oh and there are some outtakes of our night on flickr if you didn\'t get enough in this post like this one of me kissing the red cow that comes along with the tall, dark and Hamely. \r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7865699168/\" title=\"The tall dark and Hamely drink comes with a red cow by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8300/7865699168_1267f0f262_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"The tall dark and Hamely drink comes with a red cow\"></a>','Hamely\'s Whiskey Tasting in Pendleton ','','inherit','open','open','','7069-revision-8','','','2012-08-26 20:11:00','2012-08-26 18:11:00','',7069,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/26/7069-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(7078,1,'2012-08-26 20:35:02','2012-08-26 18:35:02','This weekend I took a little trip to Pendleton, Oregon with my parents as well as<a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/14/a-wedding-in-walla-walla/\" target=\"_blank\"> my bother N. and his wife K.</a> Pendleton is about an hour drive from Walla Walla along country roads. It\'s an even longer drive if you get behind a big semi truck that can get up to speed on the hills and then sit for a while on the highway due to road construction/maintenance.\r\n\r\nNo matter.\r\n\r\nWe were driving to Pendleton for a whiskey tasting and release party.\r\n\r\nPretty cool, Pendleton. Pretty cool.\r\n<a title=\"Hamely\'s Wheat Whiskey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7865632764/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8283/7865632764_5d231171ab_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hamely\'s Wheat Whiskey\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Me at Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858076078/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8284/7858076078_da94d5981f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me at Hamley\'s whisky release\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nHamley\'s has just made and released their own whiskey but what makes this whiskey different is that it is made from wheat rather then rye. Why wheat? Well, farmers around Pendleton (and between Pendleton and Walla Walla) grow wheat. Wheat is our grain. Thus whiskey from wheat. Here\'s a really brief piece from <a href=\"http://union-bulletin.com/news/2012/aug/20/hamley-reveals-regions-wheat-new-bottling/#\" target=\"_blank\">the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin newspaper on the whiskey</a>.\r\n\r\nIt seemed interesting and new and just intriguing enough to drive to Pendleton on a Friday night.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nIn my mind, Pendleton is the land of cowboys. There\'s a huge (and very old) rodeo each fall in Pendleton called the <a href=\"http://pendletonroundup.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Pendleton Round Up</a>. The city is crawling with people decked out in the following \"uniform:\" cowboy boots, big belt buckles, plaid shirts and cowboy hats. Streets are closed, country bands set-up outside, bars open their doors (although you\'re not allowed to drink outside on streets) and everyone has a hell of a time dancing and drinking. Oh and actual rodeo tickets are pretty hard to come by--just in case you are wondering you can buy season tickets to the rodeo just like any other sport in America.\r\n\r\nAnd if Pendleton is home of the cowboy then Hamely\'s clothes, outfits and feeds cowboys and has in some way, shape or fashion since 1883.<a href=\"http://www.hamleyco.com/aboutHistory.htm\" target=\"_blank\"> Check out this crazy-great timeline</a>. Hamely\'s is a Pendleton institution. The current owners have worked to rebuild the cache of the name and the brand.\r\n\r\nHamely\'s Whiskey is clearly their newest addition. And what an addition it is.\r\n<a title=\"Drinking Hamely\'s Wheat Whiskey neat by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7865642260/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7111/7865642260_12de779d45_z.jpg\" alt=\"Drinking Hamely\'s Wheat Whiskey neat\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThe party was held in the garden space in front of their steakhouse and next to their clothing and horse tack shop--where they make by hand leather saddles. There was a band, there were drinks and there was bbq.  The night was warm but not too hot. We had a great time--then again we seem to always have a great time no matter what we\'re doing. (I have such a great family.)\r\n<a title=\"Me and my brother at Hamely\'s by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7865675974/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7865675974_ca555b714b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me and my brother at Hamely\'s\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nAnyhow, back to the whiskey. There were free samples of the new whiskey and there were cocktails made with the whiskey.\r\n\r\nObviously with wheat flavoring the whiskey rather than the traditional rye, the taste was different and I think that the color was a little lighter although this whiskey had also been aged in barrels. In terms of taste, the whiskey had a lighter flavor and was very smooth. The basic idea and essence of whiskey was there but this Hamely\'s whiskey didn\'t seem to linger on the tongue as long as some of the other whiskeys I\'ve tried.\r\n\r\nAll in all, I liked it.\r\n\r\nI think lots of people turn to whiskey in the fall and winter as it\'s a drink that warms you up and after the whiskey has aged in oak barrels, it\'s smokey and seems like the perfect drink to enjoy in front of a fire curled up under a blanket. This said, the Hamely\'s whiskey is smokey and warming but not as heavy as other whiskeys. Even in the middle of summer, I was happy to sip this whiskey neat as well as to drink it in a cocktail.\r\n<a title=\"The tall dark and Hamely by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7865654074/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7135/7865654074_8bcbb47691_z.jpg\" alt=\"The tall dark and Hamely\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Drinking a whiskey cocktail (the tall dark and Hamely) at the Whiskey Release Party by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7865661658/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8440/7865661658_891ee94403_z.jpg\" alt=\"Drinking a whiskey cocktail (the tall dark and Hamely) at the Whiskey Release Party\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThe cocktail that I tried was: the tall, dark and Hamley. I ordered it for two reasons: 1.) it didn\'t sound like it was going to be too sweet and I hate with a burning passion cocktails that are sweet and 2.) I liked the name. Tall, dark and Hamley.... tall, dark and handsome.  It was everything I\'d hoped for.\r\n<a title=\"Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858061558/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7858061558_9d27de214e_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hamley\'s whisky release\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe bbq was also top notch. At the event you could choose from beef, pork, chicken, lamb and turkey. I went with the lamb. I might not have chosen the lamb but my dAd asked if he could have a taste of the lamb before picking and the sample of lamb was all that I needed to know that the lamb was the way to go. I thought it was done perfectly--it was cooked well and not at all dry. That seems to be a hard balance to find for lamb. The chili wasn\'t bad either it was just that the lamb was so much better.\r\n<a title=\"Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858048598/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7858048598_aee2356b27_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hamley\'s whisky release\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe night ended with all of us sitting around, talking and occasionally singing along to popular country songs.\r\n<a title=\"K and T at Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7857971704/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7266/7857971704_a7131e5c0e_z.jpg\" alt=\"K and T at Hamley\'s whisky release\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nI apparently surprised my dAd by knowing all of the worlds to \"Friends in Low Places\" by Garth Brooks because he then started taking tons of pictures of my brother and me singing and I heard him say: she knows all the words.\r\n<a title=\"My brother and me Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7857989280/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8433/7857989280_559583ba1d_z.jpg\" alt=\"My brother and me Hamley\'s whisky release\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"My brother and me Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7857983170/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8439/7857983170_a2b577ef93_z.jpg\" alt=\"My brother and me Hamley\'s whisky release\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"My brother and me Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7857977168/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8285/7857977168_dbe4728a8f_z.jpg\" alt=\"My brother and me Hamley\'s whisky release\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nReally, dAd, what kind of girl would I be if I didn\'t know the words?!  This is a country classic. Sure I live in the city but I grew up in the country. So for better or worse this Garth Brooks song is a part of me.  It\'s also a bar favorite given the fact it\'s all about drinking, women and friends.\r\n<a title=\"Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858040432/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7858040432_9a0daf8915_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hamley\'s whisky release\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThen we took some family pictures. My dAd, who is among the silliest, goofiest people I know, wanted me to let everyone know that he was our D.D. (you know, designated driver) and that over the course of the whole night he had one sip of whiskey and a single beer with dinner but that he\'s still game for the ZZ Top baseball hat and sun glasses look. Yep, my dAd doesn\'t need to drink a thing to have fun.\r\n<a title=\"dAd and me at Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858006184/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7113/7858006184_9a068c0ef5_z.jpg\" alt=\"dAd and me at Hamley\'s whisky release\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858022468/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/7858022468_ca8cde320c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hamley\'s whisky release\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858011644/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7858011644_1145da5fe4_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hamley\'s whisky release\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7857931180/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8443/7857931180_32bca4b513_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hamley\'s whisky release\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThanks for driving us to Pendleton, dAd!\r\n\r\nAnd three cheers of Hamely\'s whiskey. If you ever want to visit Hamely\'s30 Southeast Court Avenue Pendleton, OR 97801 (541) 278-1100. Enjoy.\r\n\r\nOh and there are plenty of <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/\" target=\"_blank\">outtakes and silly photos of our night on flickr</a> if you didn\'t get enough in this post  like this one of me kissing the red cow that comes along with the tall, dark and Hamely.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"The tall dark and Hamely drink comes with a red cow by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7865699168/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8300/7865699168_1267f0f262_z.jpg\" alt=\"The tall dark and Hamely drink comes with a red cow\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>','Hamely\'s Whiskey Tasting in Pendleton ','','inherit','open','open','','7069-revision-9','','','2012-08-26 20:35:02','2012-08-26 18:35:02','',7069,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/26/7069-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(7079,1,'2012-08-26 20:43:33','2012-08-26 18:43:33','This weekend I took a little trip to Pendleton, Oregon with my parents as well as<a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/14/a-wedding-in-walla-walla/\" target=\"_blank\"> my bother N. and his wife K.</a> Pendleton is about an hour drive from Walla Walla along country roads. It\'s an even longer drive if you get behind a big semi truck that can get up to speed on the hills and then sit for a while on the highway due to road construction/maintenance.\r\n\r\nNo matter.\r\n\r\nWe were driving to Pendleton for a whiskey tasting and release party.\r\n\r\nPretty cool, Pendleton. Pretty cool.\r\n<a title=\"Hamely\'s Wheat Whiskey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7865632764/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8283/7865632764_5d231171ab_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hamely\'s Wheat Whiskey\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Me at Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858076078/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8284/7858076078_da94d5981f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me at Hamley\'s whisky release\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nHamley\'s has just made and released their own whiskey but what makes this whiskey different is that it is made from wheat rather then rye. Why wheat? Well, farmers around Pendleton (and between Pendleton and Walla Walla) grow wheat. Wheat is our grain. Thus whiskey from wheat. Here\'s a really brief piece from <a href=\"http://union-bulletin.com/news/2012/aug/20/hamley-reveals-regions-wheat-new-bottling/#\" target=\"_blank\">the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin newspaper on the whiskey</a>.\r\n\r\nIt seemed interesting and new and just intriguing enough to drive to Pendleton on a Friday night.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nIn my mind, Pendleton is the land of cowboys. There\'s a huge (and very old) rodeo each fall in Pendleton called the <a href=\"http://pendletonroundup.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Pendleton Round Up</a>. The city is crawling with people decked out in the following \"uniform:\" cowboy boots, big belt buckles, plaid shirts and cowboy hats. Streets are closed, country bands set-up outside, bars open their doors (although you\'re not allowed to drink outside on streets) and everyone has a hell of a time dancing and drinking. Oh and actual rodeo tickets are pretty hard to come by--just in case you are wondering you can buy season tickets to the rodeo just like any other sport in America.\r\n\r\nAnd if Pendleton is home of the cowboy then Hamley\'s clothes, outfits and feeds cowboys and has in some way, shape or fashion since 1883.<a href=\"http://www.hamleyco.com/aboutHistory.htm\" target=\"_blank\"> Check out this crazy-great timeline</a>. Hamley\'s is a Pendleton institution. The current owners have worked to rebuild the cache of the name and the brand.\r\n\r\nHamley\'s Whiskey is clearly their newest addition. And what an addition it is.\r\n<a title=\"Drinking Hamely\'s Wheat Whiskey neat by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7865642260/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7111/7865642260_12de779d45_z.jpg\" alt=\"Drinking Hamely\'s Wheat Whiskey neat\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThe party was held in the garden space in front of their steakhouse and next to their clothing and horse tack shop--where they make by hand leather saddles. There was a band, there were drinks and there was bbq.  The night was warm but not too hot. We had a great time--then again we seem to always have a great time no matter what we\'re doing. (I have such a great family.)\r\n<a title=\"Me and my brother at Hamely\'s by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7865675974/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7865675974_ca555b714b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me and my brother at Hamely\'s\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nAnyhow, back to the whiskey. There were free samples of the new whiskey and there were cocktails made with the whiskey.\r\n\r\nObviously with wheat flavoring the whiskey rather than the traditional rye, the taste was different and I think that the color was a little lighter although this whiskey had also been aged in barrels. In terms of taste, the whiskey had a lighter flavor and was very smooth. The basic idea and essence of whiskey was there but this Hamley\'s whiskey didn\'t seem to linger on the tongue as long as some of the other whiskeys I\'ve tried.\r\n\r\nAll in all, I liked it.\r\n\r\nI think lots of people turn to whiskey in the fall and winter as it\'s a drink that warms you up and after the whiskey has aged in oak barrels, it\'s smokey and seems like the perfect drink to enjoy in front of a fire curled up under a blanket. This said, the Hamley\'s whiskey is smokey and warming but not as heavy as other whiskeys. Even in the middle of summer, I was happy to sip this whiskey neat as well as to drink it in a cocktail.\r\n<a title=\"The tall dark and Hamely by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7865654074/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7135/7865654074_8bcbb47691_z.jpg\" alt=\"The tall dark and Hamely\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Drinking a whiskey cocktail (the tall dark and Hamely) at the Whiskey Release Party by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7865661658/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8440/7865661658_891ee94403_z.jpg\" alt=\"Drinking a whiskey cocktail (the tall dark and Hamely) at the Whiskey Release Party\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThe cocktail that I tried was: the tall, dark and Hamley. I ordered it for two reasons: 1.) it didn\'t sound like it was going to be too sweet and I hate with a burning passion cocktails that are sweet and 2.) I liked the name. Tall, dark and Hamley.... tall, dark and handsome.  It was everything I\'d hoped for.\r\n<a title=\"Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858061558/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7858061558_9d27de214e_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hamley\'s whisky release\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe bbq was also top notch. At the event you could choose from beef, pork, chicken, lamb and turkey. I went with the lamb. I might not have chosen the lamb but my dAd asked if he could have a taste of the lamb before picking and the sample of lamb was all that I needed to know that the lamb was the way to go. I thought it was done perfectly--it was cooked well and not at all dry. That seems to be a hard balance to find for lamb. The chili wasn\'t bad either it was just that the lamb was so much better.\r\n<a title=\"Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858048598/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7858048598_aee2356b27_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hamley\'s whisky release\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe night ended with all of us sitting around, talking and occasionally singing along to popular country songs.\r\n<a title=\"K and T at Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7857971704/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7266/7857971704_a7131e5c0e_z.jpg\" alt=\"K and T at Hamley\'s whisky release\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nI apparently surprised my dAd by knowing all of the worlds to \"Friends in Low Places\" by Garth Brooks because he then started taking tons of pictures of my brother and me singing and I heard him say: she knows all the words.\r\n<a title=\"My brother and me Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7857989280/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8433/7857989280_559583ba1d_z.jpg\" alt=\"My brother and me Hamley\'s whisky release\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"My brother and me Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7857983170/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8439/7857983170_a2b577ef93_z.jpg\" alt=\"My brother and me Hamley\'s whisky release\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"My brother and me Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7857977168/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8285/7857977168_dbe4728a8f_z.jpg\" alt=\"My brother and me Hamley\'s whisky release\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nReally, dAd, what kind of girl would I be if I didn\'t know the words?!  This is a country classic. Sure I live in the city but I grew up in the country. So for better or worse this Garth Brooks song is a part of me.  It\'s also a bar favorite given the fact it\'s all about drinking, women and friends.\r\n<a title=\"Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858040432/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7858040432_9a0daf8915_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hamley\'s whisky release\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThen we took some family pictures. My dAd, who is among the silliest, goofiest people I know, wanted me to let everyone know that he was our D.D. (you know, designated driver) and that over the course of the whole night he had one sip of whiskey and a single beer with dinner but that he\'s still game for the ZZ Top baseball hat and sun glasses look. Yep, my dAd doesn\'t need to drink a thing to have fun.\r\n<a title=\"dAd and me at Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858006184/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7113/7858006184_9a068c0ef5_z.jpg\" alt=\"dAd and me at Hamley\'s whisky release\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858022468/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/7858022468_ca8cde320c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hamley\'s whisky release\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7858011644/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7858011644_1145da5fe4_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hamley\'s whisky release\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Hamley\'s whisky release by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7857931180/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8443/7857931180_32bca4b513_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hamley\'s whisky release\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThanks for driving us to Pendleton, dAd!\r\n\r\nAnd three cheers of Hamley\'s whiskey. If you ever want to visit Hamley\'s 30 Southeast Court Avenue Pendleton, OR 97801 (541) 278-1100. Enjoy.\r\n\r\nOh and there are plenty of <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/\" target=\"_blank\">outtakes and silly photos of our night on flickr</a> if you didn\'t get enough in this post  like this one of me kissing the red cow that comes along with the tall, dark and Hamley.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"The tall dark and Hamely drink comes with a red cow by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7865699168/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8300/7865699168_1267f0f262_z.jpg\" alt=\"The tall dark and Hamely drink comes with a red cow\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>','Hamley\'s Whiskey Tasting in Pendleton ','','inherit','open','open','','7069-autosave','','','2012-08-26 20:43:33','2012-08-26 18:43:33','',7069,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/26/7069-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),