White Christmas

As we were having lunch the cow looked up and said, "It's snowing!" It was really coming down for quite some time. Actually, it is still coming down as I look out the window and type.

Presents!

December 25th - 6:30am! I was so excited to give the cow his presents that I was awake! WIDE AWAKE. I tried as hard as I could to stay quiet but I couldn't contain myself.

I placed all his presents under the tree (see above) and waited for him to get up.

He had many surprises; an immersion blender, a cool felt hat from a haberdasher and a pizza stone. Okay, I know the pizza stone and blender are for me also. The rewards of having a husband that can cook!

I received a beautiful Tiffany Bracelet. Many of you know the story of my love for this mesh bracelet - when are HoY was robbed the bracelet went with the bad guys. The cow replaced the bracelet and I will wear it always!

I also go a RUMBA! I am obsessed with floors so this is his way of saying relax!

Festivities in Portland

There was so much going on in Portland that we roamed the plaza and listened to Tuba Christmas and watched the crazy Star Wars people in front of Macy's. I think they were the bell ringers for the Salvation Army!

Crab Three Ways

Dinner was heavenly! After the cow worked his fingers to the bone cracken crab we had a delicious meal of crab bisque, crab cakes and crab panini's. It was absolutely exquite! When do I get to have this again?

Blue skies and buildings

What a spectacular skyline? The cow and I made our way through the city of Vancouver over the Thanksgiving holiday. We were thankful for being able to travel to such an incredible city. We stayed two blocks from Yaletown and found Rodney's for Mussels and Oysters at the bar the first hour after we arrived. Yaletown is a happening place but we then made our way down to the Gas lamp district - old town area being kicked into high gear with development.
The days were sunny and cold but it allowed for great vistas of buildings and the mountains that are super close. We love the denseness of this city. It is packed with international people, great food and gorgeous architecture.
There are only two negatives to this town.....the Canadian dollar is valued higher than the US dollar and the taxes on alcohol will bankrupt an honest drunk.

Public Art Interpretation

What do you think?

Library or Colosseum?

The Vancouver Public library is awe inspiring. Bright and bold on the inside and ageless perfection on the outside. The is a building not to miss when you are in the city. The library is eight floors and the remainder of the building is retail space, offices and a pub. You find yourself lingering on the outside waiting for the perfect picture when you realize every picture of this building is amazing.

Keeping the local economy going...

Wow! I never knew a walk through the neighborhood could result in so much economic growth. It is beautiful in Portland this fine November weekend. The cow and I rode our bikes to Trader Joes and loaded up on staples. We then walked down to the local grocer and picked up a couple of items that TJ's does not carry. We hit the hardware store so we can finish the cool panels our neighbor gave us. We then strolled into the liquor store for scotch and tequilla as well as purchasing a great piece of art at Tilde. We rounded out our afternoon stroll at BOTH of the wine stores - we got a bit sauced and purchased several bottles. We then had to figure out how to get everything home without hurting ourselves or falling down. Great Day in the ole NorthWest. Right now I can smell garlic roasting for the pizza the cow will be making in less than an hour. I am so hungry right now I could it my arm.

Walk, Wine, Eat

The great outdoors. The cow and I got a late start but headed to Silver Falls for a walk in the woods on a beautiful afternoon. The hike through 10 lush waterfalls is about 7 miles and traverses up and down but really anyone with a good pair of tennis shoes could complete this beautiful walk. We stopped off in Silverton and had a glass of wines, flew home showered and changed and ended up in the NW at Basta for dinner. Great day and evening.

Oregon's Bounty

Everything we ate on Saturday night was from the Farmer's Market. It was a gorgeous autumn day so we rode our Bike's down to PSU and filled our bags with various local goodies. As you can see there was quite the variety: pears, potatoes, tomatoes (like candy), corn, tomatillos, fresh pasella chiles and a fire roasted "hot mix" of chiles.

The cow created what I think are the two best pizza's he has ever made: an oregon pear with blue cheese and a fresh corn, roasted peppers, goat cheese beauty.

The entire time he was creating these masterpieces he was slurping on a super hoppy beer that is only available when the hops are fresh from the vine- Whatever that beer had in it, I will be buying six pack after six pack to keep him making glorious tasting food.

Pretending to be on vacation

The cow and I roamed around on Saturday like a couple of tourists. I know the pictures are pitiful - these are the only once I remembered to take. I was having such a good time living in the moment I did not feel the need to photograph much.

We slept in, drank coffee and read the newspaper. We tried a pilates routine that works your core muscle (aka-stomach)...the cow hates this. We then showered and went downtown. We shopped at Anthropologie and Nau and went to an art opening of Matthew Picton New Works in the pearl - geography/cartography with a spin. The streetcar took us up to North 45 where we had Stout Mussels (stout, garlic, thyme and bitter cocoa), frites, beer and wine. We walked around NW23rd and then decided it was time to move to the eastside. We attempted to go to the new brewery- Green Dragon but it was packed so we walked across the street to the Morrison Hotel. The bartender whipped up a mean sidecar and they had an amazing list of beers.

Our last stop was a romantic evening at Navarre. We had not dined here before and was very satisfied with the Spanish style small plates and atmosphere of being in Madrid.

Sippping on a Sunny Sunday

Ahhhh....to be there again. One of our favorite pastimes on a lazy Sunday is to drink vino. The most recent being in and around Carlton - the best place to be. The last picture is of the new wine and cheese shop (Horseradish) which offers a wide variety of tasting options. I loved it and I am ready to return. It's like oz, I want to be able to click my heels and be transported.

Super Saturday in September

Where did the sunshine go? September was beautiful and dry in PDX. We had bright blue skies, the sun was bright and warm.and the cow and I ventured out every chance we got.
This day - we packed up our bike bags with leftovers from the kitchen rode down to the river and let the day float by (like the big white clouds). He fell asleep for awhile and I watched people roam around. Picnic days are over now we have had intermittent showers for the last few days. I will say the trees are looking pretty beautiful with red, yellow and purple being the dominant colors.

Home Improvement

The cow has had this list of home improvements that has been driving him crazy. I am notorious for getting us outside every chance I get; therefore, ignoring home improvement. Fortunately, Sunday was a rainy day and the cow powered through some of the chores that have been bugging him.

He hung curtains! No easy task I should point out. The living room has about 14 foot ceilings and 10 foot windows (maybe higher) but we only have a 6 or 8 foot ladder. Once up - the curtain make the room cozy. I like it.

A couple of weeks ago he also purchased a larger screen television. Now don't go crazy. It is not monster big - just a 27" so that his old eyes can actually see the screen.

I have entered.....

That is right folks, I am back at work. Updates to follow.

3rd Annual Great American Distillers

The cow and I rode our bikes to the Gerding theater for the distillers festival on Saturday evening. The building is the old armory that has been completely re-fabricated for the theater. It was a really great venue for this event because it allowed people to roam through different sections of the theater/armory.
There was every type of booze you could imagine - the cow and I were in hog heaven. I think my favorite is the pepper infused vodka's like "Hot Monkey" from Rogue and the cow always enjoys a good grappa. We then strolled around the block to this new bar named Teardrop. They are a couple of guys from San Francisco who are making their own mixers; such as, tonic, bitters, soda, etc. I had a fabulous Aviation Gin and homemade tonic.