Peace, Selfless, Wish

Lately, I guess you could say I have been looking down a bit. You notice small things when you look down. The cow always finds money when he looks down. Once he found $10.00 bucks, he bent down and got it and I did not even notice.
Rocks - they were very small rocks - but they spoke to me. Possibly on a day when I needed to be spoken to the most. The cow was out of town for work and I was strolling around watching for rocks and listening carefully to what they had to say.
Peace- I do not believe I can transform the world into a peaceful place tomorrow but I do believe I can strive for a personal peaceful environment.
Selfless- having no concern for self ...unselfish. We could all work on this one!
Wish- I have many wishes: Peace in the world, unselfish acts committed by more and more people and sunshine and warmth for tomorrow.
What are your wishes?

Perspective!

Another great day for the blooms, I wanted to give you a bit of perspective. When I say these flowers are tiny - I really mean tiny. Take a gander at the size of those white ones. Amazing!

Sun so bright it could pierce your eyes!

A beautiful day and a great drive. A couple of stops for sake and vino and wonderful vistas of Mt. St.Helens, Mt Hood and Mt. Adams.

Lovejoy Columns

While walking through the Pearl a few nights ago, the cow wanted to find "The Lovejoy Columns." Two of the columns have been erected near the Elizabeth Lofts. With my limited knowledge of the columns, I do know that the art displayed is very fragile. The pillars use to be protected by the ramp inwhich they held but now you can see the exposed rebar does not hold up anything. Read more about these interesting artifacts!

V-Day Sweets

On Valentines Evening my sweet and I were busy signing papers during what was suppose to be our special dinner together. The cow brought home this wonderful, darling cake for two from the Bakery Bar. It was a four layer chocolate cake with raspberry filling and a frosting covered with pistachios. He also gave me caramel-chocolates from Sahagun. This person just opened a chocolate shop in the NW and has had rave reviews. My sweetie also got me body lotion and goodies that smells so good - like cloves. The last treat were "Passion Drops" on the back of the box it says...."Passion drops is a holistic therapy that acts on individual biological functions and balances the mind and emotions in me & women." He is such a sweetie!

2934 NO MORE

I hope none of you actually put our address in your little black book in INK...because we are moving again.

HoY was posted on the rmls on Monday 2/13/06 at approximately 3:00pm. Our realtor had an open house for "other" realtors on Tuesday 2/14/06. By 8:00pm on Valentines eve the cow and I were trying to decide which offer to accept - there were four offers.
The first one presented by the realtor was a FULL PRICE OFFER. There was an escalation clause that read" purchaser willing to pay 1,000 dollars more than highest acceptable offer."
The second offer presented was also a FULL PRICE OFFER. There was an escalation clause that read "this offer shall be increased to an amount of 1,100 dollars more than the net amount of any other competing offer - however, buyer reserves the right to accept or reject all proposed escalations.
The third offer was written for 362,000 dollars (12,000 dollars over the asking price).

Are you sitting down....the last offer was written for 370,000 dollars (20,000 dollars over the asking price). So - 2934 NO MO!

Fife

This is a long time coming. As you have probably noticed I took a siesta from blogging. There was a gap of about a week where I did not seem to be able to sit still long enough to write. I wanted to inform you of this great place in the NE called Fife. The building is rustic and artsy at the same time. There is a large sculpture and a water mass but the parking lot is what caught my eye. There are only 10 small spaces and a huge bike lock up. Each space in the lot is adorned with a sign similar to the one above. I have been searching trying to find the meaning behind them but haven't yet. Another one of life's little perplexities.
The food dude of Portland has reviewed Fife and gave it a 3 out of 4 stars. We only partook in dessert and although it was tasty I don't have the right to comment on the food overall. We did watch the chef/owner, Marco Shaw, pouring his staff in the kitchen a drink after their hot, hard work (I totally respect that).
There was also a very good interview with the chef/owner which made him out to be a quite humble person. I will go back and try it out for dinner soon...

HoY and seL

It is official!
HoY is on the market and our new place in Sellwood is under construction.
Today HoY got a fancy sign out front with some flyers that will probably all be gone by tomorrow. The place also got a lock box and HoY is showing it's true colors on the rmls - #6010574
seL is short for Southeast Linn. This will be the cow, sh and tam's new street. The lot use to be a trolley spot, hence the reason it is called Trolley Barn. When you click on that link our place will be the one on the left. I can just see Tam sitting in the top windows now. seL could also be short for sellwood. Until I come up with something better I have chrisented the new place seL. Maybe I should chrisented it "the last place I will ever live" in the United States.
There is a pang of sadness as I do a bit of research on the Trolley Barn area. Apparently, DR Horten said they would keep three bays of the original Trolley Barn building and incorporate the brick structure into the site. You guessed it - they broke their promise. There is a small part of a facade from the original building that remains but not much. Read and see pictures of the Sellwood Trolley Barn.

Hey Lady!

As I was walking down the street I heard this tiny little voice. It said, "Hey, lady! Stop! Look at me - I have been working really hard to get out of this ugly brown stuff. I have been beaten down by the rain, but I just keep on striving to make you smile. But, you have to STOP and notice me." Well, I couldn't refuse such a quiet request.
When I finally did stop and notice this lovely little flower, I realized how unique the inside was with the bright orange pistel (is that what it is called GoS?) but the blooms were the most amazing. A brilliant purple with tiny little stripes. The flower stood no more than 3 inches high. A remarkable feet of nature.
Then as a strolled a bit further there was an entire chorus of ...."Hey, Lady! Stop! Look at us!
These lovely little darlings are popping up everywhere. The sun came out for a few days and they are climbing towards it.
It makes me smile just thinking of their beauty and hard work.

Surprise

Saturday night I took the cow out for an evening on the town. It was a surprise agenda and he was so good he did not even asked where, what, or why...he simply needed to know how to dress. We ventured off about 6:45.
Once we were parked on the North Park Blocks, I held up my hand and told him to pick between finger number one, two or three. The cow picked number three - which equated to Vino Paradiso. We sat and each enjoyed a flight of Prosecco with a small plate of cheese samples. My favorite was the Point Reyes Blue - Yum. This location was chosen because on our first visit to Portland we enjoyed a quiet evening with friends here and did not get kicked out.
The cow then had the option of number one or two. He chose number one. This location was Powell's Books. We walked in and I told him to pick any book his little heart desires. If you live with an avid reader I hope you know the struggle of trying to find the right book for them. This location was chosen....well I think that is obvious.
It was now close to 8:30 and number two would have to wait. I had made dinner reservations at Fratelli - an Italian kitchen. I chose this location because the chef was previously employed at French Laundry - a restaurant that we have both pined to enjoy but have not made that leap to shell out the cash and now a plane ticket to experience.
The place is small, warm and cozy. We ordered a bottle of wine and took a look at the Valentines menu. We both went with the Valentines 2006 option. It goes something like this: Primi-A valentine trio: bound aspargus with shaved parmesan, creamy seared truffle risotto, and fresh pear, fennel and mint salad. Secondi-Coriander rubbed tuna with fresh watercress and Dungeness crab. Dolci- Honey blossom ice cream profiteroles with a warm and spiced chocolate sauce. It was absolutely delicious and just the right portions.
After dinner it was off to number two (Apothek) for a digestif. I chose this location because the cow likes the music and the minimalist ambiance.
It was super fun thinking of the destinations and I knew that no matter what he chose first or last it would all work out.

Rivers

After my jaunt to Lewis and Clark I had an appoinment that led me to this place. It is a restaurant in the SW appropriately named Rivers. As you can see the Willamette river is right outside the window. Since we have had so much rain that river is moving. The little island you see in the middle is usually quite large but right now you couldn't even qualify it as a spit!
I was the only one in the entire place, I found a paper and ordered a glass of wine and simply enjoyed the45-minutes of peace and quiet.

Lewis and Clark or Clark Lewis

I headed down to Lewis & Clark college to discuss my future with an advisor. He basically said there is nothing Lewis & Clark can do for someone like me!
Just kidding. The grounds at L&C are beautiful. There is river access and the old stately buildings make you feel like you are on the campus of Georgetown. I was a bit amazed at the cost of being educated at L&C. It is 595.00 per unit. So, do the math - 3 units (the equivalent of one class) will cost you 1785.00. When I was adding in my head, I realized that a Master's in education curriculum and instruction at 36 unts would cost 21,420. Thinking about the HUGE salary increase I would recieve as a teacher for gaining all of this excess knowledge - it added up to a very bad decision. By the way, I was joking about the HUGE salary increase.

Breaking News!

Portland sloshes through wettest January in 3 decades

And don't think it's over: Rain clouds the forecasts for a week
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
AIMEE GREEN
Portland closes the books today on the wettest January in more than three decades, with double the normal rainfall and more on the way.
As of Monday afternoon, nearly 10 inches had fallen this month at Portland International Airport, the most since January 1970, when 11.81 inches fell. Forecasters expect up to another inch or more of rain in the Portland area today, as another strong storm arrives.

Right this moment, the sun is shining through the windows in my room at school. I will be leaving for an appointment soon and by the time I reach my car it will be raining. This is where the cow and his hypothesizing about the weather comes in. Don't let him fool you folks. He has told so many people- it is not so bad. I will agree that the rain is not torrential BUT it is CONSTANT and the news proves it. The wettest January on record for 30 years.