Day 11: Sunnyside

My brother's house in Sunnyside:

I wouldn't say that my brother is disorganized.  I would, however, call him a bit messy.  It's just that his mess has a particular logic, that really only he understands.  I'm somewhat similar, as those of you that know me might remember.  But he does like to organize his things when he gets a chance.  And when all of your close family comes to visit, so that one person can babysit his kids, while another person does some cleaning, and another cooks, he can actually get a few things done.

Like start building some shelves in his bedroom.  They're actually pretty cool, including the semi hidden cabinet in the back corner.

He wants to put a picture up there, or perhaps paint something there, and add a latch, so it just looks like a wall panel.  I won't ask what he plans on stashing there, though.  It was fun to give him a hand with the molding, and a reminder of how much he and I do think and act alike.  Even though we really haven't hung out at all for more than a decade, there's a certain easy rhythm to doing projects with him.

And of course, all projects should be celebrated with a beer.  Fremont's Bonfire Ale, in fact.  I'm really on a dark beer kick right now.  Everyone else is going crazy for hops and IPAs, and I'm just looking for a porter or stout that doesn't rely on too much Black Patent malt.

I know I already posted a few of these from the bike section of the trip, but I am no where close to getting sick of the sunsets from his back porch.

You can even see, centered right there on the horizon, Mt. Ranier.  Already snow-capped (it may stay snow-capped all year, for all I know) and looming over the valley.

We did homemade chile relleno for an early birthday dinner for Mom.  Not nearly as hard as I thought it would be, its like making stuffed peppers in a specific way, or lasagna with peppers as the noodles.  The filling was onions, garlic, carrots, celery, queso fresca, and a jalapeno.  The sauce was salsa fresca with extra cilantro, and we topped it with more cheese, pecans and raisins--the Matt's El Rancho way.  Serve with rice and beans.  And all the chips and salsa you can eat.  It seems every time I visit Carl up here, I might be trying to recreate some sort of food from our childhood you can't quite get any other way in the Northwest.