Alberta Arts

Thursday nights are going out nights in ole PDX. People go out in mass. I have NO pictures of all of these people because my camera died. The cow and I actually drove, there were cobwebs on the car-I tried to take a picture that is when I realized I was screwed when it comes to photo journaling for the evening, to the NE/SE to enjoy a beautiful evening of people watching. We first headed to Noble Rot had a couple of glasses of wine and the onion tart (delicious). While reading their menu they were announcing that Thomas Keller and Jeffrey Cerciello will be visiting the restaurant on August 14 - of course the event was full and they were taking names for the waiting list.
Next stop Alberta street, known for the famed Alberta Arts Last Thursday Event. We went to pick up a small piece of art that we had purchased the month before. We went to EveryDayWine where the art was waiting for us packaged like a Present. Walking down Alberta is so fascinating because the people are so fun to watch. Last night seemed to be Stilt-Walkers Night! There were about 4 girls 1 guy dressed the best I can describe it is like a goat? The girls had on really short white shorts (els stop slobbering) and then their stilts were covered with this light gray hair looking stuff and the bottom of the stilt looked like a hoof. They would squat down at your level and then rise into the sky. It was kind of eerie. I think I had a nightmare about it.
The best part of the evening was when we were walking along to find food and I saw this young boy (maybe 9) holding a sign. I read the sign, hand written on an unfolded box, and kept walking. Once I realized that the sign said, "Stop, Watch Jeremy's shoestring levitate!" I stopped in midstride and turned and looked at Jeremy and he said in a calm cool voice, "It's amazing!" I thought I was going to bust-a-gut laughing. He was so serious. After eating dinner and walking back to the car I was still laughing. In my head I could see and hear him saying, "It's amazing." My only regret of the evening...you guessed it....not watching Jeremy's shoestrings levitate.

10-15 Minutes

Within 10-15 minutes Tam had her own PDXantics. She has decided that it is fun to try and get my attention. All of these photos were taken within a very short time period. I was sitting at the computer trying to finish a letter to a school district based on the question "Why do you want to work for the _______ School District?" Tam felt I needed some distractions so she decided she needed a drink of water from the bathroom sink. Notice she has her feet in the sink to get a better gulp. A few minutes later she wanted outside on our HUGE veranda. Normally she sits out near the railings and watches the stupid dogs down below that chase the leaves. But NO, she decided to jump up on the table, this is very nerve racking because it is close to the top of the railing. and when I came out with my camera she knew she was in trouble and started to run. The last picture is in the kitchen. Here is what she does. In the kitchen, jump up, MEOW really loud (GoS and els know what I mean) and then she waits until I get up to turn the water on. Notice she is not drinking just staring at me. I think (anthropomorphic) she has accomplished what she set out to do - get my mind off a really boring subject.
Thanks T

I don't really like the color purple....

For those of you who do not know about my life of leisure let me explain. I have the opportunity to leave the house whenever I want (but I don't), I can go meet friends whenever I want (but I don't have any here), or I can take my camera and feel like I am doing something (the blog). So, when the cow asked if I wanted to hit a farmers market during lunch I jumped on it and took my camera with me. The cow has described a coffee shop that he has frequented that is part of the Everett Street Autoworks. Literally the auto shop has blocked off one of their bays and the tiny Baker's Brewed Awakening was produced. The cow said iced americano's are excellent and service is worth going to because the workers are exceptional. PDX has a great farmers market series. You can go on Saturday, Wednesday or Thursday. They seem to have more variety than the markets in Sac because most vendors carry highly different products. The cow and I set out for the market but didn't seem to find it so we had lunch from the "Fuego" burrito cart on the hill leading to PSU. My adventurer had to go back to work so I decided to walk on home with my camera and I found the market we were looking for. It was busy - see picture. I am in love with berries. I buy and eat them every chance I get. Today it was a purchase of Marion berries. The young man who sold them to me said, "go ahead mam, try as many as you want." Obviously, he did not know who he was talking to. The photo of the lavender should come with a scratch and sniff because you don't understand the wonderful smell it releases. The greens at the market, anything from arugula and spinach to chard and dill, ARE GREEN - I LOVE GREEN. I love the way it looks, smells and tastes.
OK-the bikes! I don't really know the story...but give me a sec I am going to go find something- OK can't find anything about the bike art because my tech person stepped out for a cup of coffee. Here is my story about the bikes. The are all kids bikes. The largest pile was started back in May because when the cow and I were here looking for a place there was only a few on that bike rack. Now the second picture is about 10 steps from the first one and seems to be getting larger by the day. Don't know why, but thought is was cool.
Now the yellow line has a really great explanation. It is ART. Brad Atkins covers Francis Alys was an art walk which took Brad walking through the streets of the Pearl with a paint can with a hole jabbed in it. As he walked paint splattered on the sidewalk and as far as I can tell he was trying to get a reaction from people. But what he really got was a bunch of art students following him. The original by Ayls seemed a bit more interesting because Francis seems a bit more interesting (Francis Aÿls gave art students everywhere a shot of inspiration by taking a different drug every day for a week then walking it off). So the yellow paint dribble can be followed through the Pearl and is quite fun at times.
Last but not least are the Marion berry martini's - they speak for themselves! WE have grown to love Vault!
Now back to the title...I don't really like the color purple (or pink) but I like the products that are purple.

I know these blogs have been long. I am going to start breaking them up so I can give detailed information on a couple of subjects

Pillows, Flowers and T

If you remember anything about our old house it was that Tam had many places to jump up and look out the window. Well you could say she is not having to jump too much here. Remember we have arranged our place to use every space efficiently and Tam has felt the need to find new locations to hide. Here she is hiding under the table, where I have pillows stored, because she got yelled out for eating my beautiful birthday flowers that klg (I like writing it klg because it looks like keg and I think she drinks that much but usually it is Gin or Vodka tonics) sent me. If you click on the picture you get a close up of how beautiful the cat and flowers really are!
It is going to be 95 degrees today- the weather man calls it a real scorcher- but I think others might disagree!

Rant - This is a rant....

Yes, this is a rant and if you are going to send me negative comments about my rant DON"T!

I was wondering what it would be like to be naturally skinny/thin/twiggish (if you know what I mean about twiggish you are part of my generation). I have seen my weight increase as I increase in age and no matter what I claim I am going to do about it I just keep eating and drinking because it is soooo goood. But what I would really like to experience is all out skinniness. Knowing that I could eat anything and everything and continue to be skinny would be fabulous. I know all of you who are naturally thin never once thought what it would be like to have legs like tree trunks or a rear with some ripples but man there is not a week that goes by that I do not wish I was naturally thin. My rant could go on for days but those of you who understand the desire get what i have said in this short rant.
You are probably wondering what got me started on this rant - I had a birthday recently and made the mistake of getting on the scale. Low and behold another pound heavier.
No pics of the pounds I don't want to scare anyone off!

Seattle Antics

I was whisked away for a weekend in Seattle via Amtrak. This mode of transportation works well because the train station is literally two blocks from our place. We jumped on the Amtrak Express at 6:15 on Friday and headed North - little did we know Amtrak in the Northwest is not known for being on time. After a few hours, a bottle of wine, and some great snacks (tuna/apple/spicy spread wrap) we arrived in our hotel happy to see a bed. We awoke early and headed out for coffee. Our goal was no chain = no starbucks; since Seattle is the coffee capital of the US. We found a place called Cafe Ladro and I had the best cup of coffee I have ever tasted. I want to add I really like the european cappucinos with all of the lovely froth and swirls but I can't even explain how great the coffee pictured tasted. Some of you will say that coffee should not be bastardized with any condiments but this was out of this world. We walked over to Pikes market and the flowers were the big draw for me. A huge bouquet was only $5.00. I wanted to buy them because they smelled so great and were so vivid. Apparently for every other tourist it was the flying fish because I did not see one fish fly due to all of the heads in my way. We then cruised into a cheese shop which I did not want to leave. CHEESE is the food of gods. After leaving Pikes we walked over to Belltown and had a great breakfast/lunch at Macrina. The sun was warm on our arms as we headed to the Needle. I always thought of the needle kind of like the Eiffel tower, but it does not loom over the city like the Tower in Paris and I don't think it is as loved as the tower. We decided we wanted to see a waterfront but on our map we could not see a waterfront promenade (this was weird to us based on the water all around). After we made our way around water for about an hour we gave up looking for the ellusive promenade and headed back to the Needle because we heard there was a HUGE event going on there called the "Bite of Seattle." Food/Wine/Music we had to go. Unfortunately it was a rock concert with Carnival Food. We did find the Washington Wine Tasting room and spent some time there before we headed to "The Apartment" and "Bada." Walking was kind of like San Francisco but not as pedestrian friendly. My love (the cow) had made birthday reservations for us at "94 Stewart" which turned out to be lovely. Mother and daughter decided to open a restaurant and offer locally grown and locally caught seafood. It was very fabulous - marion berry crisp and peanut butter craziness pictured.

Pics of our place

Wanted to give you all an idea of what kind of concrete/steel structure in which we reside! 1st-out our front window, 2nd-our balconey (3rd floor you can see all of our plants), 3rd-front of building from the river. Just a few pics for gos/ky.

Walking by the river

Bright, sunny, and warm morning yesterday so I strapped on my tennis shoes and headed down to the river front park to enjoy the sunshine. All I have to do is walk out the front door of the building cross two streets and I am at the river. When I started to cross Naito (major street that runs along the river front) I noticed a little old man about 5 ft tall standing on the other side looking at a map. I thought if I am a true Portlander I would help him out. He had a newspaper article in his had and a map and wanted to know where the smokestacks were. The picture we were looking at from the paper indicated that we were in the correct spot but for the life of me I did not know what he was saying after he said smokestack-he mumbled. After talking to him he revealed that he has been alone for over 15 years, he had polio as a child, he can't hear very well in one ear, he is afraid of heights and of swimming. We walked around the USS Oregons smokestacks which were strapped to a flat bed truck and the huge anchor which was taller than me and probably weighed a little bit more than me. Once Richard Olson was satisfied that he found what he was looking for he ask if I would come to his house/apartment and meet some of his friends; he also wanted some help back to Broadway because he wasn't quite sure how he got to the corner of Naito and 12th. I walked and talked with Richard for almost an hour and he seemed completely engaged. He gave me his address and a phone number for his building so I could come by and have juice with him and meet his friends.
After my power-walk on the riverfront I noticed all of the wild blackberries growing along the river. I decided that a berry picked by your own hands must taste better and man oh man was I ever right. Picked a bowl full of berries (without a scratch) and bought some creme fraiche mixed in a little honey and moscato and WOW!

A move to remember

As the day begins and my life of leisure leaves me with decisions on whether to go for a bike ride by the river or a walk through a trendy neighborhood, I decide to share the dilemma with all of you. I have had GREAT days and gloomy days since I've moved to my new urban neighborhood-The Pearl (every good pearl starts with an annoying grain of sand). The cow would say I have had anxiety attacks, panic attacks and just plain old sand between my toes annoying my calluoused feet. If I think too long about what the cow and I left behind I do get a little sad, but then the cow comes home and says, "hey, lets go hit one of the happy hours before dinner." Needless to say the name fits, I am happy in NO time and it is not because I am intoxicated it just means that we have the ability to walk out our door into beautiful weather (78 degrees) and find one of the many restaurants offering great food and drinks at a substantially discounted price (yes, we are still cheap). I know if I think about the move logically (not about the 6ft couch and the 3ft stairway) it was a choice that had to be made, but every once in awhile it would be nice to have great friends in which to share in our new adventure.

Trying to set-up

As the cow makes dinner and dictates how to get this blog going I realize how technologically incompetent I am. One item I feel very comfortable discussing is FOOD! I think tonights dinner consists of Romaine, apple, blue cheese salad, fresh bread from the bakery, and Tuna linguine with anchovie pistou (sp?). I wish everyone could smell it...maybe some of you would think it was gross - it is quite strong; especially in this 750sq. ft. box we are living in. I shouldn't diss the box it is actually a very nice neighborhood. The sun is shining through the floor to ceiling windows, the flowers/plants that klg sent for my birthday are smiling and the west hills are gleaming proudly.