There really is gold in them thar hills...

This past week was our annual camping and gold mining trip to the beautiful Wallowa Mountains in northeastern Oregon. Our friend Mike's family has maintained claims on Eagle Creek for decades, and my partner Ed and I have been spending a week or two camping and mining with him for about 15 years. There's always a gaggle of great friends, lots of incredible wine, fantastic gourmet food and beautiful scenery. I've posted photos from this year on my flickr page.

With no cell phone or Blackberry coverage, each year presents a real opportunity for all participants to "get away." I suppose it's appropriate that Ed and I travel in the Get-Away Van. With the successful independent and corporate businesspeople in our group of campers, the vacation usually becomes an informal business incubator and therapy session as well.

The greatest pleasure of the trip for me is taking along the stack of magazines and books that have been gathering dust on my nightstand. This year I got to read four books during the week.

Having spent time around Florence, Italy on several previous vacations, the book The Monster of Florence, by Douglas Preston, was an interesting - and perhaps a bit gruesome - account of a serial killer case that baffled authorities in the region for many years. It presents a fascinating tale of how the Italian legal and investigative work and don't work. Continuing on the Italian theme, I read The Lady in the Palazzo: At Home in Umbria by Marlena de Blasi. Her graphic descriptions of Umbria took me back to 1999 when Ed, myself and eight friends rented a villa outside of Perugia for a month. The book was a great follow-up to her previous volumes 1000 Days in Venice and 1000 Days in Tuscany.

Several travel books always seem to be a major part of any of my traveling "libraries" and this trip was no exception. I found myself laughing out loud throughout J. Maarten Troost's latest book Lost on Planet China: The Strange and True Story of One Man's Attempt to Understand the World's Most Mystifying Nation, or How He Became Comfortable Eating Live Squid. I had similar reactions to his previous efforts The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific and Getting Stoned with Savages: A Trip Through the Islands of Fiji and Vanuatu - reads on earlier trips.

Popular mysteries or thrillers are usually part of the vacation mix as well. This time it was Executive Privilege, by Portland author Phillip Margolin. The book was enjoyable, face-paced (big print) and somewhat predictable - a really good vacation read. Margolin, an attorney, is someone I've met several times. We kept getting introduced to each other when he shared office space with my former business lawyer.

I did get a little off track there with my book mentions. Getting back to the gold mining - we did find gold. We always do on these adventures. However, we're not getting rich. I think I'll be keeping my day job.

© Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Buona sera from Segromigno in Monte

There hasn't been much on the bLog-oMotives front lately because we've been in Italy for the past week. Home base is a beautiful house in Segromigno in Monte outside of Lucca in Tuscany. Last night we got back from three days in Venice - and I'm the third member of our four-person travel group that has come down with some kind of flu-ish bug. I'm glad we're going to be hanging out at Casa Mennone the next few days and seeing just how much of nothing we can accomplish. Hopefully we will get out to explore a bit more in the coming week. Now we're enjoying reading, home-cooked meals, great wine and napping in the sun.

I've posted some of our photos from the past week on my Flickr page.

Arrivederci!

© 2007 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

An artsy message for door-to-door salespeople

I detest door-to-door salespeople. Well, not necessarily the people themselves. Not all of them. In fact, I kind of feel sorry for these individuals facing greater rejection than a graphic designer trying to get more than their foot in the door at a design firm in a major metropolitan area. What a horrible job. Still, for me, such an interruption at my front door is an invasion of my very private personal space.

No, I will not put vinyl windows on the 1929 Portland bungalow my partner and I are constantly improving. The same goes for vinyl siding. If you would just look around, you might notice that I don't have a lawn than needs any maintenance. I will not be allowing someone in my home to do an "inventory" of our existing security system to determine if their product is better. I don't want to talk politics on my front porch with anyone. I will not be buying steaks out of the back of a pickup truck.

If God, or Jesus, showed up to talk religion at my doorstep I would be interested in a discussion. However, those "selling" religion door-to-door annoy the hell out of me - especially when the church they are representing is somewhat vocal in opinions about my "lifestyle." I'll admit, I do get a bit of pleasure in seeing the looks on the faces of such proselytizers when I tell them, "I'm sorry; my husband and I wouldn't be interested." Funny, they seldom return to our house. We must get crossed of the great master list somewhere.

I do not make contributions to representatives of any nonprofits who come knocking on my door. I have my personal causes and they get more than enough of my time, energy and money. I'm certainly not handing over any money to someone at my door for a cause I know nothing about. The "representative" of a major environmental organization once came a-knockin' at our door. He immediately launched into his spiel. I had to interrupt his well-practiced performance twice to tell him I wasn't interested. He looked at me with shock and asked, "You mean you don't care about the environment?"

OK, that was enough. I was already annoyed - now I was also pissed off. I literally shut the door in his face, walked to my PowerBook to look up the cause and I reported the twit to the national organization. The next day I got a very nice email apologizing for their former representative's behavior.

Neighborhood kids are a different story - these are small people we actually know - selling candy, wrapping paper, magazine subscriptions, sponsorships for walks and runs, and more. Their art, sports and field trip programs actually need and deserve our support. I'm sure every parent on the street has trained their kids to always hit up Jeff and Ed first.

Every since we moved from the "salesperson barricade' of a secure downtown loft building I have looked for a decent "No Solicitors" sign to hang next to our door. Most were not created by graphic designers - and certainly not for the personal taste of a graphic designer looking to purchase such a product.

I've considered creating one of my own, in some tasteful typeface - certainly something other than Comic Sans or Papyrus - on a frosted glass panel; framed in copper or a rusted patina metal. Right, like I've had the time recently to design and create such a thing.

Thursday night we were at the home of our friends Shawn Jones and Greg Coyle (and their daughter Lily - there might be hell to pay if I didn't mention her!) for their weekly Thursday evening poolside "happy hour." Shawn informed me that while on a recent road trip to California they had discovered my "placeholder" birthday gift. (My "real" birthday gift, recognizing my May birthdate, has yet to be presented - among our friends we have something like a year to get such things accomplished.) Knowing my feelings about all I've ranted about in this blog entry, they found a rusted, artistic, wrought iron "Go Away" sign (photo above) for me at a store in Red Bluff, CA. It even has swirls on it - a design element that reoccurs in much of our garden art and home decor.

I love it! Now I need to figure out how to mount it to the outside of the house so someone doesn't steal the thing. Then we'll see how it works in making life a bit more peaceful at our aubergine front door.

© 2007 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

A great weekend in the Bay Area & Napa Valley

This past week my partner Ed and I treated ourselves to a long weekend and jetted down to Benicia, CA to spend a few days with my sister and her husband, AJ. The get-together was to celebrate Ed's April birthday, my May birthday, Sue's June 50th birthday, and Sue and AJ's recent wedding.

We always enjoy our visits to Benicia. We usually fly into Sacramento, and drive the 45-50 minutes to my sister's home, rather than flying into San Francisco and dealing with greater traffic. Benicia is a great small town, with lots of art galleries, excellent restaurants and artist studios. It's also just a short drive to the Napa and Sonoma wine areas.

On Friday evening, Sue and AJ took us out to dinner at the Pear Street Bistro in the nearby city of Pinole. They had previously eaten at the establishment after seeing it reviewed on an episode of the Check, Please! Bay Area television show. After having a very positive experience, Sue and AJ thought we would enjoy a meal at the restaurant - and they were right.

On Saturday the four of us had planned on spending the day in Napa, coming home for naps and then Ed was going to prepare a seven-course Italian feast for us all. Unfortunately, AJ got called into work at the last moment. Sue, Ed and I didn't let that stop us from heading up to Napa. Our first stop was for an incredible lunch on the grounds of the V. Sattui Winery in St. Helena. The Italian deli at the winery has over 200 different cheese, excellent cured meats, fresh bread and lots of other goodies. Lunch at a picnic table under a 200-year-old oak tree was a fun way to start our day.

After our meal, Sue suggested we stop by the Wine Country Inn to check things out. She and AJ got married on the grounds of the beautiful bed and breakfast this past April. While she and I were enjoying the view of the vineyards from the deck of the main building, Ed was pawing through the Inn's recipe files to see if he could find some items to make at a later date. We had a nice walk around the grounds and then it was time to head off to our primary destination.

My sister is a huge fan of the sparkling wines of the Schramsberg Vineyards. She's been to the winery, originally established by German immigrant Jacob Schram in 1862, on several occasions and always has a supply of their wines ready to be served at her home. We were on the schedule for a tour of the wine caves, carved from mountainside by Chinese laborers, and a tasting that afternoon.

If you didn't know where you were going you would probably drive right by the private road up to Schramsberg - and then the road is currently under construction making it a bit of a challenge to get up to the appointment- only winery. Rounding the final corner you immediately get a beautiful view of the Victorian home Jacob and Annie Schram had built by a ship builder (without the use of a single nail) in 1880. Being a gardener, I had an immediate appreciation for the grounds of the winery with its lush vegetation; pond with lily pads, frogs and koi; and the sculptures in the gardens.

In the visitors center we met Tom, who would be our guide for the tour of the winery and caves. He was soon giving us a fascinating Schramsberg history lesson, including the fact that Schramsberg sparkling wines have been served 72 times at the White House - most recently for the white tie dinner in honor of the state visit of Queen Elizabeth. Although I have visited many wineries, including others making sparkling wines, our guide's presentation on the classic méthode champenoise was very engaging and interesting. It's hard to believe that the earthquake-proof caves currently house 2.5 million bottles of sparkling Schramsberg (The large photo above is one of the walls of bottles of aging sparkling wine). The tour of the cool caves was especially enjoyable with the heat outdoors. The lessons in proper opening of a sparkling wine, and the proper serving temperature, were fun and educational.

The tastings, conducted by candlelight in the caves, were great. We were each given four good-sized flutes of the excellent selections of various Chardonnay-based Blanc de Blancs and Pinot Noir-based Reserve, Blanc de Noirs and Brut Rosé. Each was exceptional, and I now join my sister as a major fan of the Schramsberg Vineyards. Our experience at Schramsberg is one of the best I've had at any winery I've ever visited.

After the heat, the wine, and the long afternoon we decided it best to head back to Benicia for our naps before Ed needed to start preparing his seven course meal. When we arrived at the house, AJ had returned from work and he presented Ed a special gift bottle of Far Niente Cabernet Sauvignon to be served with dinner - which had been delivered via FedEx earlier that morning.

We had a wonderful evening. Our meal began with an antipasti of Pizzeti con carciofi, salami and a selection of olives. The primi piatti was a Ribollita followed by Linguini al pesto. An amazing Chicken Parmigiana was our secondi, with a contorni of Spinachi con pinole e uva passa. The insalata mista prepared us for the final course. Our dolce was goat cheese turnovers with honey and pistachios - served with a properly chilled Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs 2001.

I do think it was the first time I had ever completed a dinner at 1:00 a.m.

(A few more photos of this trip are posted here)

© 2007 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

HOW Forum HOWies create HOWie wowie poster

The HOW Design Forum is one of my favorite online communities. I've been a participant for several incarnations of the cyber forum to date. Those who participate in the daily design networking activities are commonly known as "HOWies." If the name conjurs up a sense of some off-the-wall cult members, it's not far from the truth - the forum is kind of a design cult that sucks you in and will not let you be free to take care of your necessary daily work tasks.

Over the years the online community activity has occasionally strayed into the "real" world. HOWies have congregated at the annual HOW Design Conference (with special custom HOWie attendee I.D. badges), and in more casual gatherings around the country, to form real friendships. In a step beyond the normal forum avatar identitifications, The HOW Forum Member Picture Show A-Rama gave real faces to many of the regular visitors. There's even a HOWie group on Facebook, and a gaggle of HOWies can be found of Flickr and elsewhere on Internet social networking and design-related sites.

The forum participants have also moved beyond socializing to collaborating on design projects. In recent years there have been a series of HOWiezine projects, each with a different theme. Participants are responsible for designing, producing and submitting their zine pages, which are then compiled and distributed in complete magazine form by hard-working little HOWie elves. I'm usually too involved in writing or design projects to play with the other kids. However, I did participate in a HOWie cookbook project a couple years ago.

Late last year the HOWie poster project idea hit the pages of the forum. Through months of forum posts a theme was selected, forum visitors were able to sign up to participate, rough concepts were presented and all aspects of the project could be followed by all participants. HOWie poster diva (and that is meant in the best possible context) Jas Wabbington (Screen name: WabbingtonDesign) led the troops through the process and deserves a huge "thank you" for her efforts in herding 37 designers on one project. She also art directed and illustrated the poster in which HOWie participants show "Our True Colors" as color chips growing on a beautiful tree. HOWie poster project manager "jroz" deserves a tip of the HOWie hat, too. As does HOWie "mathias' for coming up with the initial concept. Ryan at Direct Edge Media deserves a "toot!" for the great printing job.

My HOWie poster arrived in the mail yesterday. The end result of the fun collaborative effort will find a special place on my studio wall - when the organizing of 30 years of design files/books is completed and I can actually find a wall.

© 2007 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

A "toot-o-rrific" gift...

I'm a collector. To the point that my partner Ed tells me I'm not allowed to buy "things" any longer. Still, my collections are such that, once in a while, I find something I "must" have and I can sneak it into our home decor without him even noticing. To say that our home decorating style is eclectic is an understatement. Once, after a stint at housesitting while we were in Italy, my mother referred to our home as "sensory overload."

I collect cowboy memorabilia, primarily advertising related salt & pepper shakers and cookie jars, specialty tea pots and books (and more books - especially design books!). I have a collection of metal advertising signs and a couple hundred advertising character collectibles. Having over 600 rocking horse Christmas tree ornaments has led to other rocking horse items appearing in our home. We've also got a collection of art pieces from our trips around the world - and works created by, or given to us, by friends. Friends,family, clients and design industry pals have always been very helpful in contributing to my collectible addictions.

And then there are toy trains. I've always been fascinated by trains. That's one reason why LogoMotives has always been such an appropriate name for my business.

About a month ago I had an appointment with my chiropractor, known to our friends as Dr. Pain, in Portland's Pearl District. I parked my truck about half a block from his office, stepped over to the sidewalk and stopped in my tracks (so to speak). There, in the window of an antique shop called The Cultured Pearl was an incredible toy locomotive, with coal tender, sitting on a white bench as the store's window display. To me it was stunning. With about one minute until my appointment, I had to jolt myself out of my window-shopping stupor to get to Dr. Pain's office.

Returning to my truck, after my adjustment, I found my fascination with the two-foot long toy train had not diminished. I peeked at the price tag and knew immediately that there was no way I could justify such a frivilous impulse purchase. When I got home I gave Ed a call, told him what I'd seen and said I wished I had been able to just buy the thing without even thinking about it.

A couple weeks later I drove by the antique shop again. The white bench was still in the window. The train was gone. Oh, well...

Yesterday was one of Ed's family's combined birthday/holiday celebrations. We were celebrating Ed's birthday last month, his sister's birthday this next week, my birthday the following week, and Mother's Day. It is tradition to open the gifts in the order of the event - so, my cards and gift were the last to be presented. A large gift bag, filled with colorful shredded paper was in front of me. I know now that I should have suspected what was in the bag - but I'm usually oblivious about such things. I lifted off the top layer of the packaging paper and uncovered the black steel coal tender of "my" train. I really was stunned. Ed explained that he, his parents, his grandparents, his sister and her husband (plus his kids), and several other friends had all combined resources to get me the locomotive as my birthday gift. In fact, he'd gone to the store the first day I'd seen the thing in the window and purchased it. The owner of the shop had explained the train was an American-made piece that he had then found on a buying trip to Prague.

I'm still stunned - and amazed - today. Thank you so much Ed, Lily, Raymond, Neva, Harold, Tammy, Rich, Ricky, Maddy, Lisa, Bev, Mary, and Kate. It's an incredible gift and I break into a big smile each time I take a look at my new toy.

© 2007 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

DiPrima Dolci has got it covered

After being on vacation for over two weeks, my partner and I returned to a huge tub of snail mail. I was sorting through the stack of magazines and catalogs when I came across a pleasant surprise. There was a great photo of our friend Pat DiPrima-LeConche, owner of the North Portland neighborhood hotspot DiPrima Dolci Italian Bakery (1936 N. Killingsworth St.), on the cover of the well-designed Portland State Magazine - referencing the article We Mean Business: Helping new entrepreneurs get started. Ed, a PSU alum, gets the magazine from the university three times a year.

DiPrima Dolci, which I referred to as one of my home studio conference rooms in my first book, was a pioneer in the ongoing business and culinary renaissance of Killingsworth Street. These days it's a community institution and meeting place. (Pat and her husband Robin have become great friends of ours over the past few years. She even made our wedding cake - and they attended the event - when we got married back in 2004.) However, the early days of starting the successful business were not necessarily easy.

"Opening a bakery isn't a piece of cake, let me tell you," Diprima-LeConche is quoted as saying in the article. "The (PSU) Business Outreach Program was so much more helpful than the Small Business Administration."

She adds that she "literally would not have a business today without their help."

The work of the PSU Business Outreach Program (BOP) is the focus of the magazine piece, and DiPrima Dolci is just one of their hundreds of success stories. BOP director Gary Brown and his students helped the trained baker write her business plan, fill out loan applications, and develop her marketing and advertising plans.

For over a decade the BOP has helped more than 400 businesses get a proper start, with 52 percent of those ventures being minority owned and 50 percent being owned by women. In addition, over 1000 students have received real-world business consulting experience while participating in the educational program. Years ago I spoke about graphic design as a business tool to one of the classes.

In the article, BOP director Gary Brown is quoted as saying, "Most small business owners have a dream. What most of them find is that translating that dream into a successful reality is harder than they think it's going to be. That's where this program comes in."

Anyone in the process of starting a new business, or in the planning stages of such a venture, should research similar programs in their local area. Universities and community colleges across the country have programs designed to assist entrepreneurs with startups. When I was in college, back in the late 1970's at the University of Oregon, advertising and marketing classes adopted new and existing business as class projects. The businesses and the students benefited a great deal in the process.

Although Diprima-LeConche's experience with the SBA was less than ideal, I do know many business owners who have been given great advice, and directed to additional valuable resources, through the agency. Small Business Development Centers, Women's Business Centers and the organization SCORE are also possible sources of advice, information and handholding for the novice business owner.

I do want to acknowledge writer Jeff Kuechle, and photographers Steve Dipaola and Randall Lee, for their work on the excellent Portland State Magazine article. And now I think it's time for me to head over to DiPrima Dolci for an espresso drink and cannoli.

© 2007 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

A reading list for poolside enjoyment - Part deux

Last year when I returned from two weeks in St. Croix I posted the list of books I'd read by the pool. This year, before I even left for the annual trip, people were already asking what I planned on ready. To be honest, the stack of books for this trip came together at the last minute with trips to Powell's and Borders the day before we left for the Caribbean.

For the most part, the reading list for 2007 was made up of books about food, about wine, about travel, or about food, wine and travel. Although I didn't leave the beachfront house for an initial period of seven days, I was not quite the reading maniac this year. Part of my vacation, with PowerBook as carry-on luggage, was spent finishing my own upcoming book, Identity Crisis! Somehow I ended up coming home with several books that had not even been cracked open.

Just prior to the trip, my friend Mary suggested that I read A Thousand Days in Venice, by Marlena De Blasi. Venice is one of my favorite places in the world. We plan on visiting the city again this fall. The author's writing took me there - I could smell the food, flowers and stinky canal water; I had been to many of the locations mentioned, and I'd walked the streets the author traveled. In her second book De Blasi and her husband move to a small village in Tuscany. A Thousand Days in Tuscany transports the reader there. As I usually stay in similar villages in Umbria, near the border of Tuscany, I could relate to many of the events and experiences described in the book - and look forward to being there again this year.

Our friend Carol (who has been our housecleaning person for over 12 years) recommended that I read Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia, by Elizabeth Gilbert, even though she considered it a bit of a "chick book." She thought I would find the writing about food, travel, culture and spirituality interesting. It was a great book about the author's stays in each of the geographic locations. The reader can almost gain the 30+ pounds the writer put on while eating her way through Italy by reading of her experiences. Still, I'm not sure I can forgive GIlbert for not personally liking Venice. Having only been to Bombay (now Mumbai) in India, I found the writer's search for spirituality on a remote ashram a great contrast to my own experiences. I've always wanted to visit Bali and surrounding islands. Gilbert provided an excellent introduction to the culture of the island. Although I did occasionally want to yell "Snap out of it!" at the author, for being whiny about her life, I did enjoy the book and her search for solutions to the personal issues she was facing.

Two years ago, while in St. Croix, I read J. Maarten Troost's hilarious book The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific, about living on Tarawa, a remote South Pacific island in the Republic of Kiribati, for two years. This year I packed, and thoroughly enjoyed, his follow-up book, Getting Stoned with Savages: A Trip Through the Islands of Fiji and Vanuatu. In this segment of his life, Troost and his wife, Sylvia, move from Washington, D.C., to Vanuatu, a nation made up of 83 islands in the South Pacific. "Getting stoned" refers to the altered state and pleasure he gets from drinking kava with the locals (I've had it before and the "high" is a bit bizarre.). The adventures, and misadventures, of the couple make a great read.

I interrupted the travel and food literary itinerary long enough to finally read Caffeine for the Creative Mind: 250 Exercises to Wake Up Your Brain, by Stefan Mumaw and Wendy Lee Oldfield. Yes, I actually took a graphic design book on vacation with me. A few years ago, in San Diego, Wendy interviewed me for the book at the HOW Design Conference. I was honored to be included in the book as one of a dozen industry professional profiles surrounded by great creative exercises. It was great to finally have the opportunity to read the book without the static of my normal work life. Every designer should get themselves a copy.

Many years ago I read a very rough draft of my friend Don Horn's book, Crumbs of Love: And That's All You're Ever Going To Get. He gave me a copy of the published book just after the first of the year. It's an amazing story of his early life, growing up in an incredibly dysfunctional family. The travel in the book is in the form of long-distance road trips, the food is far from gourmet and the accommodations are certainly not luxurious. I'm so proud of him for getting the book completed and out there for others to read. My partner Ed, and out travel companions Lisa and Bev, were all stunned and fascinated by the book.

I've always loved great writing and the New York Times restaurant reviews of critic Ruth Reichl were always a feast of words. Her book, Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise, was the most enjoyable I read on my vacation this year. In addition to be an excellent writer, Reichl is a fantastic storyteller. I'm looking forward to a visit to Powell's to pick up her other books.

At a movie in January I saw the previews for a film called The Namesake and it caused me to seek out the book on which the film is based. Jhumpa Lahiri, who won the Pulitzer Prize for her book Interpreter of Maladies, is the author of the novel The Namesake. It's an incredible look into the cultural conflicts within one family, with one root of the family tree in India and another in the United States. As in many of the books I read while in the Caribbean, food and travel play a large role in the story. Lahiri's writing is so fine, I'm no longer sure I want to see the movie. I think any film adaptation may ruin the experience I had reading the book.

Shortly before leaving for our trip, Ed and I had a wonderful evening with our friends Bob and Norma. The conversation usually turns to books when we get together as Bob is an accomplished writer in his own right, having published his holiday story collection Mardi Gras at the Monastery And Other Stories, and the historical non-fiction books Fire Mission!: The Siege at Mortain and Enemy North, South, East, West. When Norma asked what I was currently reading, I explained that I was in the middle of the excellent Thomas Jefferson on Wine by John Hailman. She replied that I simply must read what she was currently enjoying - Wine and War: The French, the Nazis, and the Battle for France's Greatest Treasure by Donald and Petie Kladstrup. I took the book on the trip and it is an amazing history lesson on war, wine and French life.

Another book I read while in the Caribbean two years ago was Running with Scissors: A Memoir by Augusten Burroughs. In fact, the film was one of six or seven movies we watched while in St. Croix this year. The oddest, and funniest, book I read on this trip was Burroughs' novel Sellevision. Take somewhat sick and twisted characters like those in Scissors and put them all together working at a cable shopping network and just about anything can happen. Sellevision would make a fun film.

Now I am reading the book I began prior to our 13+ hours on planes coming back to Portland. Barack Obama is the most fascinating politician today and his book, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, details his thoughts on improving our country. If the election were held today, I'm not sure Obama would get my vote. However, I am enjoying learning more about him and I look forward to what will be a very interesting presidential campaign over the next year.

As I mentioned, several books didn't even get opened during our travels. I have not yet read Arthur & George by Julian Barnes, The Noodle Maker by Ma Jian, and Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky. Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany by Bill Buford, My Life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prud'Homme, and Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals never even made it off my nightstand and into my luggage.

Oh well, there will be other vacations...

© 2007 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Il bel far niente - the island way

We're halfway into our two week vacation on the island of St. Croix. It's been six days since I've even found the need to leave "the compound" on the beachfront. You know immediately that you are staying at a nice house when it is referred to by others as "the compound." It's private and gated. It has a beautiful pool and the ocean view is incredible. In addition to my partner Ed, and our travel companions, the only other humans I've seen have been the pool boy, the Terminex man, and Carl (an abbreviation of a much longer local name that is impossible to pronounce) the gardener.

The gardener first came by yesterday to remove large palm fronds and numerous coconuts from the grounds; debris from the wild weather of the day before. He explained to us that it had just been a "big wind" rather than a "storm." Carl also mentioned that he would line up all the fallen coconuts for us and he then explained how we needed to place one sharp end of a pickaxe in the ground and bring the coconuts down on the other point of the tool to break the husk off the coconut. Our friend Lisa told him she would check the tool supply to see if we had a pickaxe.

This morning Carl was back, while we were all still in bed, cutting the large area of lawn with a weed-eater. The noise woke Ed and I. Soon we were up and around. Carl came through the gate yelling "good morning" with his thick Caribbean accent. Ed went out to greet him and was handed a number of religious tracts. Carl explained that we could read them later if we wished and he was asking for no money. (The exchange seemed oddly appropriate as we had just watched the movie Jesus Camp the night before. Oh, that Rev. Ted Haggard is a wild and crazy guy!)

What excited me was seeing that Carl was dragging a pickaxe. He quickly went to work husking our collection of coconuts. You know you are truly in vacation mode when someone husking your coconuts is the most exciting event of the day.

With a hammer and a screwdriver, Lisa then cracked the coconuts and salvaged all the milk for tropical cocktails. We had fresh coconut meat with our coffee as a pre-breakfast snack. Lisa and Bev then went for their morning walk. Ed was is the gourmet kitchen preparing a crustless Florentine quiche. I was on the beach doing my daily harvest of multi-colored beach glass for the jewelry I hope to design. (Hey, it's only been over 30 years since I've designed any jewelry pieces.)

This is how we've learned to vacation over the years - and we usually take two or three incredible trips annually. I've never experienced more pleasure than when we are really doing a great deal of nothing.

In the book I am currently reading, Eat, Pray, Love (Carol, our long-time cleaning lady, recommended it due to all the travel and food content - even though it is kind of a "chick" book), the author Elizabeth Gilbert writes that Americans don't know how to vacation and do nothing. In discussing this with an Italian, by the name of Luca Spaghetti, he explains that in Italy people do not have this problem as they "are the masters of il bel far niente" - the beauty of doing nothing.

Gilbert writes, "The beauty of doing nothing is the goal of all your work (for the Italians), the final accomplishment for which you are most highly congratulated. The more exquisitely and delightfully you can do nothing, the higher your life's achievement."

Ed, our friends, and I seem to have mastered this art form. I remember that years ago Ed was telling his mother about the fact we had rented a 300-year-old Italian villa with eight friends and we were going to be gone for a month. Her immediate response was, "But what about work?"

Ed's answer was, "That's why I work, Mom."

And so we really do enjoy our vacations. We don't need to visit every tourist site. With numerous great cooks among our friends we seldom need to go out for a meal. None of us must be doing something all the time.

Several years ago we traveled to Italy with a woman who needed to be doing something from sunrise to late in the evening. No tourist site went unvisited. No hilltown left unexplored. She had two days of her trip scheduled for a visit to Rome. I asked what she intended to do while in the city and she took a sheet of notebook paper out of her backpack. On both sides of the paper was a list of all the sites she planned to visit - in two days! My first thought was: I'm sure glad I'm not going to Rome with her. A second realization made me kind of sad - I finally understood that her crazed schedule of events was due to the fact she had no intention of ever coming back to Italy. See it once, say you've been and then there's no need to ever return. We haven't traveled with this individual since.

Today Ed and I went skinnydipping in the pool, waving to the occupants of the seaplane flying a little too low over the neighborhood to check out the houses. Cranky phone lines and a dial-up connection make the desire to go online less than when at home. Each morning Ed performs his duty as "Crab Rescue 911" - saving the crustaceans that have fallen into the pool during the night. Our breakfast discussion was menu planning for future meals. Ed went online to see that it will be raining through the weekend at home in Portland. Naps were had by all. We played dominoes at the table on the patio. Ed spent some time as a chemist, making up a tropical cocktail concoction. We all read from the library of books brought with us - most on the topics of food, travel, or both. (I think I've read seven books so far this trip) An amazing dinner of pan-fried fresh sole (with my homemade tartar sauce), fries made from locally grown white sweet potatoes, Cowboy Jeffie's cole slaw (I'll post the recipe in the future) and assorted beverages is currently being prepared. After dinner we may watch a movie. Tomorrow it will start all over again. What we don't accomplish on this adventure may get done on our next visit to the island.

For some, it might be somewhat exhausting finding the beauty in doing nothing. For others it could easily become a way of life.

© 2007 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Why do I say "I like to travel?"

I'm writing this entry from a beautiful house located on the beach of the Caribbean island of St. Croix. Each February my partner and I, along with our travel companions Lisa and Bev, make the journey from Portland to St. Croix - to stay for two weeks or more at the house owned by Bev's sister and brother-in-law. We arrived mid-day on Valentine's Day and I feel as if I am just now recovering from the trip to get here. It's been three days of great meals, tropical cocktails, early-to-bed evenings and daily multiple naps poolside or in our bedroom overlooking the ocean.

When asked about my passions, I usually include "travel" on my list of pleasures. The journey earlier this week made me realize, it's not the travel I enjoy - it's the being at the final destination. I don't enjoy getting to the airport a couple hours early for any flight. I detest the lines to check bags, to get through security, to have boarding passes checked to gain admittance to the jetway, and then waiting to get on the plane for the pleasure of sitting in a seat too crowded for my 6" 1" height.

The inconsistencies of airline security from airport to airport bug the hell out of me. Some want you to remove your shoes before going through the screening equipment. Others want shoes removed afterwards to then be put on the conveyer belt to be x-rayed. This past trip included a debate about the tahini and almond butter being transported in the carry-on of one of the women in our group. Were they solids or liquids? In the end the TSA powers-that-be determined that almond butter was a solid and permissable as carry-on item. However, tahini appeared to be a liquid and, as the jar contained more than three ounces, required confiscation. In reality the contriband tahini was more of a solid than the almond butter.

Portlander's are lucky to have a beautiful, efficient, well-organized airport. The facilities in other cities are not quite as nice.

Unfortunately, many of our flights seem to require going through Miami International Airport. There's a reason it's called "MIA." A traveler could get lost in the rat maze of corridors and never be seen or heard from again. It's got to be one of the most poorly organized airports I've even had to visit. In all my years of journeys through Miami, I don't think a flight has ever left the gate initially posted on the departures monitors, and the luggage for arriving flights has never been delivered to the announced baggage claim carousel. Departing passengers are never told that the security checkpoint for one gate is closed and lugging your bags halfway across the terminal to another gate will be necessary if you wish to make your flight. All require additional trekking through the rat maze. Someone must be watching from above in a scientific study of the impact of messing with the minds and patience of exhausted travelers.

While wandering through yet another part of the maze I came upon the sign above: "It's all about design." The remainder of the text reads: "These stimulating works of art celebrate the elements and principles of design through line, color, shape, value, space, texture, form, balance, rhythm, movement, harmony, contrast and unity. The result is a sophistication of masterpieces that are pleasing to the eye."

I realize I was tired after over nine hours of airplane travel the day before, another hour of tracking down our bags from the furthest carousel in the airport to the first we passed by, yet another hour waiting for the shuttle to our Miami hotel, and only three hours of sleep before heading back to the airport for two additional legs of plane trips - but all evidence of art of art or design was MIA. The only things in sight were the three waiting area seats in front of the poorly designed sign. It was a cruel trick to play on a travel-weary and cranky designer.

© 2007 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

In memoriam: Walt Nixon

This weekend my partner Ed and I learned of the death of our good friend Walt Nixon. We first met Walt, his wife Sharon and their teenage son Walter, when we all were living in the same Pearl District loft building in the early 90's. The loft building, commonly referred to as "the dorm for adults," provided the residents an incredible living experience, and valuable friendships that continued after the building went condo and all moved on to other homes - in Portland and throughout the U.S.

While living in the building, the community of friends supported the Nixon family through the cancer illness, and eventual death, of Walter. In 2005, everyone again came together to offer support to Sharon and Walt as Sharon battled breast cancer. The day after their 30th wedding anniversary Sharon lost her battle with the disease. The close knit group of friends rallied around Walt in his time of renewed grief. Today we are offering each other solace in dealing with Walt's own death.

Walt was a brilliant and talented man. He was an accomplished web designer/developer and an amazing amateur photographer. His photos can be viewed on his personal site: The Photography of Walt Nixon (Update 06.22.09: Unfortunately Walt's personal photography site was not maintained and I have not come across an archive of all of his incredible photos. However, I have found some images posted on his Flickr page). In addition, Walt was a wonderful friend and will be missed greatly by all who knew him.

In accordance to the wishes of Sharon and Walt, their ashes were combined with those of their son and scattered in a beautiful and beloved location overlooking their adopted home of Portland.

Photo: Sharon & Walt Nixon at our wedding ceremony in 2004

© 2007 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

'The ditch between white trashand trailer trash is called hope'

"My momma always used to say, 'The ditch between white trash and trailer trash is called hope.'"

So reads a line from the book Crumbs of Love: And That's All You're Ever Going To Get, by Donnie (the pseudonym of my friend and long-time Portland client Don Horn). I want to congratulate Horn for writing and publishing his memoir, which publisher iUniverse describes as "an unforgettable story of love, betrayal, and one father’s need to always be in control."

Don Horn, a playwright and theatrical producer, has been a friend and client since I met him opening night of his first play nearly 17 years ago. Over those years I've designed over 100 logos for his triangle productions! theatre company, in addition to posters, ads, playbills, T-shirts, an occasional prop and more. I even designed a paper doll book called Dressin' With Divine for the company. A decade ago, he trusted me enough to allow me the opportunity to spend a summer directing the play Party!, with its cast of a gaggle of nude men (including Peter Paige who went on to fame as Emmett on Queer as Folk.). He has always been a great friend and for about six years we've had a Thursday morning theraputic "koffee klatch" with several others. Horn also played host for the wedding of my partner and I at his theater in 2004.

Years ago I read the rough draft of Horn's memoir. The man has led an incredibly fascinating life. I really look forward to reading the book in its final form.

Crumbs of Love is available in book form from Amazon and from iUniverse as an Adobe eBook download.

© 2007 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

An evening at Jimmy Mak's with Jacqui Naylor

It was great to escape from the house last night - after a week of dealing with a flu bug while finalizing the manuscript of my new book - to spend an evening with friends at the "new and improved" Jimmy Mak's club listening to San Francisco based jazz vocalist Jacqui Naylor. My partner, Ed, and I first met Jacqui at the Sayulita, Mexico wedding of our mutual friends Shawn and Greg. When Jacqui was a child, Shawn was one of her babysitters. Jacqui sang at the wedding, with partner-in-crime Art Khu on guitar, and I fell in love with her music. I mentioned to Ed that I had to get a copy of her CD Shelter as soon as we got back to Portland. Later, at the wedding reception, I felt someone trying to put something in my pocket and turned around to find Jacqui attempting to put a copy of the CD in my pants. She smiled and said "A little bird told me you might like this." I was hooked on Jacqui. I often work on design projects with her incredible voice in the background.

When Jacqui comes to Portland, Shawn and Greg always get a group together to attend the show. Last night - the first time in the new "big city" venue - we joined them, along with Greg's mother Marcia, Shawn's sister Karen, and our friends Scott and Erika, for a wonderful evening of friends, food, music and a drink or two. Jacqui performed some old favorites and selections from her new CD, The Color Five. She was better than ever. It was also great to get the chance to visit with her for a bit, and say "hi" to Art. Unfortunately, the night ended way too early for us.

Jacqui has upcoming tour dates at several Blue Note jazz clubs in Japan, and at locations around the U.S. If you can't catch Jacqui in person, get yourself one of her CDs - or touch base with her on MySpace (where she and I bumped into each other a few months ago).

© 2006 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Marriage Matters.They're committed. So are we.

We the undersigned will not stop until every American family is treated fairly, with dignity and equality under the law.

Rocky Anderson, Mayor • City of Salt Lake City, UT • Dr. Randall Bailey, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Hebrew Bible • Interdenominational Theological Center • Julian Bond • Rev. John Boonstra, Executive Minister • Washington Association of Churches • Kate Brown, Majority Leader • Oregon State Senate • Christopher Cabaldon, Mayor • City of West Sacramento, CA • Christine Chavez • Granddaughter of Cesar Chavez • Former Political Director, United Farm Workers • Elizabeth Clark, Executive Director • National Association of Social Workers • Rev. Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, Avalon Foundation • Professor in the Humanities • University of Pennsylvania • Melissa Etheridge and Tammy Lynn Michaels • Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes, Jr., Senior Minister • The Riverside Church in the City of New York • Joe Fox, Capital District Area Labor Federation • AFL-CIO • Joe Fox, Vice President • NY State SEIU • Kim Gandy, President • National Organization for Women • Tim Gill, President • Gill Foundation • Mary Kay Henry, International Executive Vice President • SIEU • James C. Hormel • Former US Ambassador • Dolores Huerta • Co-Founder, United Farm Workers • President, Dolores Huerta Foundation for Community Organizing • Alice Huffman, President • California State Conference of NAACP • Norman Lear • Karen K. Narasaki, Executive Director • Asian American Justice Center • Ralph G. Neas, President and CEO • People For the American Way • Gavin Newsom, Mayor • City of San Francisco • Greg Nickels, Mayor • City of Seattle, WA • Tom Potter, Mayor • City of Portland, OR • Bruce Raynor, President • UNITED HERE! • Jesse Rios, Vice President • Labor Council for Latin American Advancement • Denis Rivera, President • 1199/SEIU Healthcare Workers East • Dr. Jack Rogers, Moderator • 213th General Assembly of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) • Anthony Romero, President • ACLU • Rev. Joan Salmon Campbell • Former Head Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) • Founder, The Spiritual Spa and Holistic Healing Center • Bishop John Selders, Organizing Pastor • Amistad United Church of Christ • Chris Shelton, Vice President • Communications Workers of America District 1 • Ron Sims, Executive • Martin Luther King Jr. County, Washington • Rev. William Sinkford, President • Unitarian Universalist Association • Phyllis Snyder, President • National Council of Jewish Women • The Rev. John H. Thomas, General Minister and President • United Church of Christ • Urvashi Vaid and Kate Clinton • Antonio R. Villaraigosa, Mayor • City of Los Angeles • Randi Weingarten • President, United Federation of Teachers • Vice President, American Federation of Teachers • Nancy Wohlforth, International Secretary-Treasurer • Office and Professional Employees International Labor Union (OPEIU) • Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, President • Union for Reformed Judaism

"For better or for worse." This week, that statement has special resonance. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation was instrumental in gaining visibility for a groundbreaking advertisement (above) that appeared in 50 newspapers across the country including the New York Times. The "Marriage Matters" ad was signed by more than 60 civil, religious, LGBT and human rights leaders who support marriage equality, and it featured same-sex couples who have been together for as long as 53 years.

On March 7, 2004 my partner Ed Cunningham and I were married in front an incredible gathering of friends and family. Our marriage was later struck down by the courts. However, in our minds, and the eyes of many more than just those attending our ceremony and reception, our marriage ceremony (and relationship of 16.5 years) was (and is) no less valid or important than that of any other couple in this country. We thank those who continue to show support to us personally, and to many other gay and lesbian couples throughout the United States. We are committed to continue to work for equal - not "special" - rights and protections for all people in this country.

For more information about the continuing issue of marriage for same-sex couples visit the web site of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

High on Hollyweed:30-year-old college art project is put to music

Many friends and acquaintances of mine are "creative types" - designers. artists, architects, writers, musicians and others - who are always working on some interesting projects. The other day I got a press release from writer, and former Portland resident, David Batterson about his latest effort. I know Batterson from his work writing articles and text for businesses and organizations. However, he's also a song writer.

Batterson and former deejay Mark Giles have completed a new song - "Hollyweed USA" - celebrating a popular stunt that happened 30 years ago, when the landmark Hollywood sign was changed to read "HOLLYWEED." Batterson wrote the lyrics to the song and Giles composed the music. Giles also sings on the demo of the copyrighted song. The musical tribute has not yet been recorded by a record label, but has been distributed to college, indie and "pirate" radio stations in the U.S. and overseas.

Student Daniel Finegood was the person who envisioned the stunt and - on January 1, 1976 - carried it out with some friends. It received worldwide publicity at that time, and earned Finegood an 'A" for his college art project. The artistic deed was in recognition of the new California marijuana law being implemented on that day. Finegood documents the event on the site Hollyweed.net.

Batterson and Giles have also written the songs "Unless We Have A Song" and "Rattling The Dishes," and are working on more songs.

Update: Danny Finegood lost his battle with cancer on January 22, 2007.

© 2006 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

They got me!

I don't remember ever having a surprise birthday party. Well, I did Saturday night - a week after my 50th birthday and it was a great surprise (that or I'm just oblivious to what is going on around me!).

Dinner and an overnight stay had been planned with our friend Mike Smith at his beautiful home on the grounds of Joy Creek Nursery (the nursery's "lavender path" is pictured). We've always referred to his place as "our country house." Ed and I arrived at the nursery for what I thought was going to be a quiet dinner with Mike, and our friends Chuck Palahniuk and Mike Keefe. I was out wandering the gardens when Mike came out of the house, to find Ed and ask if there was some confusion about a main course as he had not prepared one. Ed mentioned he hadn't brought one either. Mike responded that he had a leg of lamb as a backup (OK, I really am oblivious). Back in the house, Ed took a phone call and walked into the kitchen with a silly grin. At that point, I asked "What is going on?" and I was told my friend Ron Pitt was not feeling well and couldn't join us. OK, I didn't know that Ron was planning on joining us, and I'm not that oblivious. It was then I realized something was going on - just not what was involved.

Then I saw a familiar vehicle pull in the nursery's retail parking lot - the car of my friend (and long-time client) Lisa Horne. I knew I'd been had. She was soon followed by our next door neighbor Stacey Elkins - bearing tiramisu made by my friend Pat Di Prima of Di Prima Dolci. Then my friends Lisa Francolini, Bev Wells, Anne Kilkenny, Jon Naviaux, Craig Ellis, Chuck, Mike, Debby Higgins and the nursery's neighbors Pierce and Erin showed up. Most of these friends have also been traveling companions to Italy, the Caribbean, or for our annual gold-mining adventure to the Wallowas. I'd been had - big time!

With this group it's always about the food and wine. The evening started off with a great assortment of "poo poos" and Armance B. Brut and Domaine Barmes-Buecher Cremant D'Alsace The incredible meal to come was what I had asked Lisa Francolini (who is also my acupuncturist) to prepare for a birthday dinner I was supposedly having at her house the next evening: her incredible spinach soup, what has become her signature chop salad, chicken parmesan (which would have made her grandmother proud) and fresh asparagus picked that afternoon from the Joy Creek garden. With my dinner I drank a Chablis Grand Cru "Bougros" while the red wine drinkers imbided on a Dona Paula Mendoza Los Cardos Malbec. Then it was time for the dessert buffet of a banana cake, a German chocolate cake, the tiramisu, Craig's homemade biscotti and Anne's special lemon offering "for the digestion" (which needs to be said in an Italian accent). It was an incredible meal, with amazing friends.

Of course, after all that bubbly and the great wine I had no problem at all in dropping my pants to share my 50th birthday tattoo. I even discovered that Erin and I share the same tattoo artist.

It was a wonderful evening in my extendo-birthday schedule. Thanks to everyone for making the surprise dinner so much fun. Two more b-day dinners are still to come this week...

Photo courtesy of Joy Creek Nursery

© 2006 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives.

Via planes, trains & automobiles -a gaggle of designers descends on Seattle

I'm sitting in my high-rise hotel room in Seattle, staring out beyond the bay to the snow-covered Olympic Mountains, getting prepared for a fun and incredible weekend. Chinese President Hu has left the Queen City and, in the spring sunshine, the city has settled back to a dull roar. That will soon change. Cat Morley - of Katz-i Design, Creative Latitude, Proscodi, NO!SPEC and Designers Who Blog fame - has flown into Washington from Thailand to visit family. I first "met" Cat on the About.com Graphic Design Forum in late 1998 and we seemed to bond immediately. Others in the profession also connected with Cat in a big way on the About.com, at the HOW Design Forum, and elsewhere in cyberspace.

So, this weekend, a gaggle of designers will descend on Seattle to finally meet Cat - and each other - in person. From Florida comes Dawn Burgess, owner of Advertising by Design. (I recently met Dawn while on a trip to Orlando). Neil Tortorella - another Creative Latitude founder, principle of Tortorella Design and writer of the blog Inside the Marketing Mind - will be jetting in from Ohio. Creative Latitude editor Derald Schultz, of the Atlanta-based firm Mediarail Design, will also be joining the gang. Alina Hagen, another of the Creative Latitude crew, will be arriving from Los Angeles. Driving up from Eugene, OR will be my friend Danita Reynolds of Creative Expertise. Illustrator extraordinaire Von R. Glitschka of Glitschka Studios, and founder of Bad Design Kills and the 3 Thumbs Up Award will be joining us all - via Amtrak - from Salem, OR. (If possible, catch Von's presentation at the Art Institute of Seattle next week).

Others joining in on the fun will be About.com forum members artist Celia Martin from Walla Walla, WA and Mount Vernon, WA resident Dana Chrysler. HOWies (those frequenting the HOW Design Forum) participating from the Seattle area will include my old friend Jason Holland, Curt Hanks of Archie McPhee, designer/copywriter Maria G, Sarah Beals, and Jonathan Spier of Brown Sugar Design.

It's going to be a great weekend of getting to know each other, sharing design ideas, playing tourists and having too much fun. I'll post photos, and some tales of our adventures, later.

© 2006 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Tagged! - I'm "it" and you may be the next tocome up with four thingie-dingies

My copywriter friend Happy Little Atom "tagged" me so here goes:

Four jobs I've had:
1. Graphic designer for the advertising department of the University of Oregon's daily college newspaper: Lots of fun, not really a lot of work - but a great way for a college kid to get some "real world" job experience before going out into the big bad world. The best part of the job was the Friday afternoon beer gardens downstairs in the same building. The gang from this office, and some other friends, are responsible for me getting up on a bar in Eugene and dancing in my underwear to win the "Best Butt Contest." Many years after leaving the UO I was hired to design the 100th anniversary flag for the paper (below) - based on its original identity.

2. Art Director for a group of publications produced by the Multnomah County Medical Society: The MCMS had been a client for a couple years when i was asked to come "in-house" and create the publications and design department. It was great experience in publication design and production. My boss was the best I've ever had and she is responsible for inspiring the Designer User's Manual and the "Creative Freedom Pass."

3. Art Director of an ad agency: I was the "art department." Working in the agency was an incredible opportunity to be involved in the concepting, copywriting, design and production of all forms of advertising for clients selling everything from kitty litter to Subarus.

4. Creative Director of a clothing manufacturing firm: Too much fun. Coordinated national print advertising, planned and directed fashion shows, designed graphics for clothing, traveled to industry trade shows and shopped for models on the streets of Seattle. When others on the staff had enough of me they'd just close the cyclone fence gate on my office and lock me in. During "Fashion Week" (yes, Seattle had one back then) I put the company's clothing on the bike messengers in town and it got written up in Business Week magazine.

Four movies I can watch over and over:
1. LA Story
2. Princess Bride
3. Rear Window
4. Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid

Four places I have lived:
1. Salem, OR
2. Eugene, OR
3. Seattle, WA
4. Portland, OR

Four TV shows I love(d):
1. The West Wing
2. Six Feet Under
3. Queer as Folk
4. This Old House

Four places I've vacationed:
1. The Big Island of Hawaii
2. A villa in the Umbria region of Italy
3. Palapa on the beach in the Yucatan
4. Friend's beachfront house in St. Croix

Four of my favorite dishes
1. Grilled Salmon
2. Fish Tacos with mango salsa and guacamole
3. A big ol' steak with grilled mushrooms and horseradish - plus a baked potato with all the goods.
4. German Chocolate Cake

Four sites I visit daily:
1. HOW Design Forum
2. Creative Latitude
3. Designers Who Blog
4. ORblogs

Four places I would rather be right now
1. Caribbean
2. Italy - especially the small hill towns
3. Manzanita (on the Oregon Coast)
4. On any sunny beach reading books and having a drink

Four people I am tagging:
1. Cat
2. Jason
3. Karen
4. Cal

Tag! You're it!

© 2006 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Merry Christmas - and happy (insert your holiday here) - to one and all.

It's Christmas Eve day and the stockings are hung by the fireplace with care - and that's about all that got accomplished this season. The holiday cards are not all done and most are still scattered on the dining room table awaiting personal notes, addressing or stamps. Not a single gift has been wrapped - in fact, there is still a bit of shopping to be done. No gifts have been shipped to individuals in other cities yet. Thankfully, Uncle Amazon (and other online vendors) were very helpful in getting some packages delivered. We never did get the lights up on the outside of the house, but I did manage to get some in the big windows in the living room and dining room. I never found the old rolled-up red vinyl to turn the white pillars on the porch into over-sized candy canes. I did manage to get my collection of rustic holiday village buildings set up around the living room.

The big shock to family and friends is that we didn't put up a tree this year. Actually, we haven't had one the past two years either. Last year we were in San Francisco having Christmas with my sister. Two years ago we were leaving right after Christmas to spend New Year's with our friends who were living in Puerto Vallarta. Trees were an inconvenience in those years. This holiday it just seemed like a chore that would take too much time and energy. After all, hunting down and killing a tree, and then determining which of the 600+ rocking horse ornaments would make the cut for display, is a lot of work

Last weekend we were on the incredible boat of friends Anne & Jon, watching the Christmas Boat Parade, and I mentioned we didn't put up a tree. Anne seemed a bit stunned. A couple days later she stopped by with a fabulous bottle of champagne and a large gift bag. From the bag she pulled a little nine-inch tall tree, in a green and red basket, all decorated with miniature garland, tiny ornaments and tiny gingerbread men. She said we had to have a tree. It suddenly felt much more like Christmas around our house.

We certainly aren't "bah, hum bugging" Christmas this year. We've just had a lot going in recent months, personally and on the professional front. We've gone to several great holiday parties in both Portland and Seattle. The 50+ Christmas CDs are on constant "rotate" on the stereo system. I had a wonderful, and hilarious, Christmas breakfast yesterday with my weekly "koffee klatch" gang of Don, Ron, Steve and Myra. Tess, the seven (and a half!) year-old daughter of our friends Tim and Kristin, is in the kitchen right now making cookies with Ed (The warm snickerdoodles are fan-frickin'-tastic!). Christmas Eve will be quiet - Ed and I will enjoy crab cakes and champagne in front of the roaring fireplace of gas-logs that we bought the house as a Christmas gift last month. Tomorrow his entire family will arrive for a big Christmas dinner and later in the evening we will have another celebration with our friends Shawn and Greg, their daughter Lily and the rest of their family. On Monday my college fraternity buddy Greg, and his kids, - visiting from San Diego - will come over for breakfast. Monday night is our annual ham and latke Hanukkah-fest, and Boxing Day, dinner with friends Mary, Kate, Lisa, Bev and whomever else may stop by. Over the weekend there will be the calls to, and from, friends around the country

So, maybe this Christmas is not the perfect Martha Stewart holiday celebration, but we will have the opportunity to spend some wonderful time with those most important to us - and for us that's what the holidays are all about. That, and reflecting on the wonderful holiday times we spent in the past with the four dear friends - Sharon Nixon, Brad Hall, David Coyle and Glo Raineri - we lost to various illnesses in the past nine months. They, and their families, are in our thoughts this holiday season - as are our friends Carol (whose aunt passed away last week following a fall) and Marc (whose brother lost his battle with cancer this week).

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, a joyous Solstice and best wishes for whatever holiday you may be celebrating at this time! (People need to get over the overly PC stuff - there's enough room for the holiday celebrations of all beliefs.) Thanks to all the design professionals and friends, from around the world, who have sent cards, e-cards and wonderful holiday messages.

Hugs, Jeff (and Ed, too!)