Flowers & Presents & Wine - OH MY!

It was a good night!

Peacock Lane

Peacock Lane is about 10 blocks for HoY. It is "the place" to go to look at Christmas lights. When we were looking for a house there was a really great one dead center of Peacock Lane and in the advertisement for the house there was emphasis on Christmas Decorating. Luckily it was a bit over my price range and we did not even look at it. Last night was really warm. It had rained during the afternoon and the sun came out right before it went behind the west hills. The cow and I needed to go to Zupan's (grocery store) so we walked down and looked at lights. Most of the homes are tastefully done. There were horse drawn carriages, leaving from the packed parking lot of Walgreens, cashing in on the consumption season.

Tamil

She is brown
She is caramel
She has lime green eyes
She has whiskers
Multi-colored whiskers
She is furry
She likes to eat
She plays with sweet tarts in the wrappers
She uses people as a scratching post
She is named after an indigenous group in Sri Lanka
She stages insurgencies
She sleeps with her head on your leg like a pillow
She has two toy balls – one is pink one is orange
She has two toy mice – one is pink one is orange
She destroys furniture
She meows softly when she wants tuna
She meows ferociously when she wants outside
She likes to drink from the bathroom sink
She sits in window sills
She hides under the deck
She tries to escape under the fence
She eats plants and grass
She barks at squirrels
She puts her paw over her face when she is really asleep
She snores sometimes
She gets really low to the ground when she sees a bird
She drops food from her mouth
She likes to rub her nose on your finger
She will often lick your finger before she rubs her nose
She gives love to your shoes
She likes to watch the fire in the fireplace
She gets locked in the closet every once in awhile
She likes to have a massage along her shoulder blades
She has a heart shaped nose
She loves to be outside
She is beautiful

End of Year Letter

I sat down and poured my heart into an end of the year letter. I asked the cow to proof read and he did. I was working hard to get it to fit on one page - two sided (I know sometimes I write too much - sorry). I wanted to get them printed and in the mail.
I just received a phone call from my mother asking me if I forgot to send the 2nd page to the letter. My blood pressure instantly shot up and I grabbed one of the remaining copies to find a glaring error. At the very bottom I was trying to include a message about 2006 - inviting people to come visit the fair city of Portland. The printer apparently refused to print just one more line and my invitation to all.
I apologize for the error...and thanks mom for pointing it out.
KP said that at least it wasn't my nipple!

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

The cow and I woke up this morning to sunshine. We went grocery shopping and by the time we got home it had started to rain ICE and then turned into SNOW. We are glad we are home, and the cow is hoping he will not have to go to work tomorrow. We poured ourselves a Brandy and sat in front of the fire listening to music and reading the paper.
My favorite song....Baby, It's Cold Outside!
I really can't stay - Baby it's cold outside
I've got to go away - Baby it's cold outside
This evening has been - Been hoping that you'd drop in So very nice - I'll hold your hands, they're just like ice My mother will start to worry - Beautiful, what's your hurry
My father will be pacing the floor - Listen to the fireplace roar
So really I'd better scurry - Beautiful, please don't hurry well Maybe just a half a drink more - Put some music on while I pour
The neighbors might think - Baby, it's bad out there
Say, what's in this drink - No cabs to be had out there
I wish I knew how - Your eyes are like starlight now
To break this spell - I'll take your hat, your hair looks swell
I ought to say no, no, no, sir - Mind if I move a little closer
At least I'm gonna say that I tried - What's the sense in hurting my pride
I really can't stay - Baby don't hold out Ahh, but it's cold outside
C'mon baby
I simply must go - Baby, it's cold outside
The answer is no - Ooh baby, it's cold outside
This welcome has been - I'm lucky that you dropped in
So nice and warm -- Look out the window at that storm
My sister will be suspicious - Man, your lips look so delicious
My brother will be there at the door - Waves upon a tropical shore
My maiden aunt's mind is vicious - Gosh your lips look delicious
Well maybe just a half a drink more - Never such a blizzard before
I've got to go home - Oh, baby, you'll freeze out there
Say, lend me your comb - It's up to your knees out there
You've really been grand - Your eyes are like starlight now
But don't you see - How can you do this thing to me
There's bound to be talk tomorrow - Making my life long sorrow
At least there will be plenty implied - If you caught pneumonia and died
I really can't stay - Get over that old out Ahh, but it's cold outside
Baby it's cold outside
Brr its cold….It's cold out there
Cant you stay awhile longer baby
Well…..I really shouldn't...alright
Make it worth your while baby
Ahh, do that again….

I got asked on a date!

At work on Friday I received an e-mail from the cow asking me out on a date. The e-mail read: Aalto Lounge - :6:30? I replied: Would love to!
I arrived before him and ordered myself a Sidecar. He arrived just a few minutes after me and I told him how exciting it was to be asked out. He ordered a dirty Martini. He gave me absolutely no information on the reason behind the date. He just wanted to meet me at this time, at this location. We chatted about our day and the fact that vacation was only a week away when he said, "You know I think I have something in my backpack for you."
He pulled out a package all wrapped with bows and handed it to me. I asked if I could open it. When I heard yes I jumped right in.
I am so excited it is a NEW, TINY, Fit in my POCKET, Digital Camera. He gave it to me early so I could figure it out before we head to Montreal on Christmas Day.

LOST

Many of us have lost a glove or scarf on the street. Maybe we left our favorite lipstick in a restaurant but have you ever created a sign, went back to the location, hung the sign, and then sat by your phone waiting for a call?
If you really want to know...call and see if this person found their VW key. It is really good!

Ugly Ass Trees!

Meyer & Frank had these ugly ass trees for sale. Guess how much....go ahead guess.

Art Inside

Last week sometime I wrote about outside art in Portland. Above are a few examples of inside art in Portland. This is 1st Thursday in the Pearl. The first picture was taken at Everett Street Automotive. This is a car repair shop that was so clean you could have done surgery inside. They had VERY large pieces of art hanging from the ceiling. They also had a local pottery artist set up who was selling sets of dishes and single items. They were very cool but also pretty darn big. The pottery girl was also getting people to sign up for pottery classes that she does out of her home.
The two collages are actually in the bathroom of a restaurant. I don't know if they were created by the restaurant owner or random people but the collages literally covered every wall in the women's bathroom.
The next picture is a coffee shop called Backspace. It is one block from where the cow works - he pops in there for a cup of coffee quite often. Backspace hangs art from local artists for one month. The items on display in this picture are tiny. Most of them are about 1" by 1". They were intricate and amazing. Most of them were paintings and I couldn't figure out how someone paints on such a tiny surface.
The last picture is of a box office where there was a film noir series running. Inside art and warm too!

Top=Hood

After a long day of climbing through the snow, the cow and I headed up to the Timberline. Literally, the timber LINE is right below the lodge. It is a grand ole lodge built in 1936 during FDR's WPA (Works Progress Administration) program. The lodge is on the National Historic Registry and sits at 6,600 feet while Mt. Hood rises to 11,235 ft as the backdrop. The best World Cup National Teams train at Timberline in the summer. The resort has the longest ski season in North America. It has summer snow and closes around Labor Day for maintenance and then reopens for almost a whole year.
The cow and I sat at the bar enjoying our drinks and a great view.

Bottom=Lake

Saturday was beautiful so the cow and I strapped on our snow shoes and took a hike around Trillium lake. You might recognize the name of the lake because somewhere on this blog is a picture of what the lake looks like during the summer. During the winter it is white and quiet. It takes about an hour and 15 minutes to get to the sno-park from Portland. The vista points were truly amazing - the winter wonderland that the area has to offer. The trail was up and down, through a meadow and around the lake. We didn't realize we had been gone for so long until we returned to the car- 5 miles and three hours later. There are cabins you can hike into and it actually looked like they were being used. We dined on wraps, apples, and cookies on the shore of the lake. It was actually very comical. We had found a picnic table covered in snow. The cow plopped down on top of it while I fell between the top and the bench, low and behold there was a big hole under it with no snow. It took me a minute before I figured out how to get out. I had to ask for help or I would have been stuck there until the snow melted.
When we left the sno-park we headed up to Timberline Lodge for a cocktail. Stay tuned....more pictures and commentary of the Lodge.

Pix - NorthEast

This is a continuation of Thursday night so if you have not read the "Baraka" chapter - read that first.
So, we left Baraka and I mentioned that we should go by the NEW Pix Patissere in the NE. The cow was a bit tired but joined the fun when he realized he could have a grappa. When we got there it was packed. It was probably around 10:30 or so. It is much larger than the Pix on SE Division but it is still very tiny with a total of 20 tables. Each table seats two very small individuals. We figured out what we wanted from the case and then had a seat. Like I said it was very busy but I was not giving up. Guy took our order and when he brought back our drinks the cow and I thought that he might not know the potency of grappa because, as you can see in the picture, the guy gave us equal pours mine with the fruit wedge is a lillet blanc. We enjoyed our sweets and watched the crowd. The back wall of Pix is adorned with a few mirrors but if you look closely at the picture some of the frames are simply that....a hole has been cut into the wall and a frame placed around it. The hole is where you can stick your head through and watch the chocolates and desserts being made.
When the cow and I finally arrived home I was looking for the receipts and noticed my credit card was missing. Yes, I left it at Pix. When I went back the following day I found the graffiti on the wall wishing the New PIX on NE Williams success.