Tanner Springs Park

Tanner Springs Park opened this week with much fanfare, hoopla, and press. It is across from our building and it was not designed for recreation it was designed for contemplation. I am sounding so much like a Portlander. Two years ago when Portland Parks and Recreation (or Contemplation) started seeking designs for Tanner Springs Park, it gave designers two guidelines: Evoke the feel of a wetland, and make the park a destination for contemplation. The winning bid was German - landscape architect Herbert Dreiseitl. There is definately something missing from this park. Dogs are not allowed. There are signs posted asking dog owners to refrain from entering with an explanation discussing the fragile wetland filtration system. Dogs can walk around the exterior but no paw is to enter the park itself. I thought Portlanders, like many of my readers, would be up-in-arms about this matter but I have seen no defiance and no extreme articles denouncing this prohibition. Yes, there are three of the same picture because I like it so much.

Flexibility in Portland

As a follow-up from our day of bidding on a house - we are in limbo. We sent an offer over to the sellers and they accepted our price but we had stipulated that a soil sample be taken because MOST of the homes here were heated with oil and there are oil tanks still in use, so our relator told us we would write in soil sample and if any issues come back we can ask the seller to fix the problem. Sellers really didn't like this because they said they had the oil tank decommissioned when they bought the house. Only issue is there could still be soil issues. I will let you know what happens with that!

Flexcar! This is a great car-sharing program that is in Portland, D.C., and Seattle, etc. . An individual (like me) or a company (like Intel) can become members - therefore I do not need to pay for insurance and the car and the company does not have to manage a fleet. The flexcars are parked all over the city in designated parking spots. You make an appointment on-line for a car (you can request a certain car in certain location) and how long you will be using it. Your flexcar card gives you access into the car when you waive the barcode over the back window. The keys are in the glove box and there is a pin number and key pad you must enter before the car will start - once in with the key in hand you are ready to go. The monthly fee that you pay to flexcar to be a member includes insurance, gas, and maintenance. Yes- you read that right - there is a gas card inside (I was thinking that there is probably many of these cars broken into for that prize). Many companies use this option and it seems to work well unless you make a reservation for a car and you go to pick it up and the idiot before you did not get it back in time.

The yellow sign gives a warning for bikers while riding on the streetcar line! Yikes - looks painful!

We are CRAZY!

Our door is open and we welcome all of you to comment on the speed of our decision making skills. Not only have we quit our jobs in California, sold a house we really adored moved to a high rise in Portland, OR but now we are bidding on a house built in 1906 in a cool, hip, up-and-coming (PDXers love this term) neighborhood. Address 2934 Yamhill (mls 5057763) will give you a few more pictures and some details about the house. At about 6:00 pm we decided it was time to make a quick decision and bid on a house that has been on the market for 1 day. Just like us - we move fast - stealth!

The neighborhood is exactly what we were looking for! It is near Mt. Tabor and between SE Belmont and SE Hawthorne (Come on read all this stuff that will be close to the pad if we get this place!) We would be able to walk to food, theater, groceries and our beloved wine bar - also only 5 or so blocks is my all time favorite place so far - Bar Pastiche. Wish us luck. I will keep you informed.

Gorge is Gorgeous!

The Columbia River Gorge which borders Oregon and Washington is beautiful. It is less than an hours drive to the first picture which is a vista point that overlooks the Gorge called Portland Womens Forum. If you look closely at the first picture you see a structure which is called the Vista House - construction began in 1916. The structure itself is 3 storys with a balcony for 360 degree viewing. It has a copper ceiling and fabulous glasswork for windows. From the inside with the sun shining through the windows they look milky but on the outside they are dark and opaque. We drove historic columbia river highway which is a loop that follows highway 84. The historic highway has trails for hiking and many spectacular waterfalls. We walked a short distance to Latourell Falls where you could walk down a small path and see an excellent small fall with rocks and rubble below. There was a foot bridge that crossed the stream. Our second stop was Horsetail falls (pic above). There was also a .5 mile climb straight up to what they called upperfalls wich was spectacular with a cave cut out so you could literally stand under the falls. About 20 miles ahead is the town of Hood River, where the hood river meets up with the columbia. This is the windsurfing capital of the world and now kite-boarding. It is quite interesting to see surfers of anysort on a river instead of the ocean. After a beer/wine we headed home to have dinner at our favorite pasta house - justa pasta!

4:10 Friday Afternoon

What to do? Voile' meet the cow for happy hour. I decided that the pictures I took would be for specific purposes. I didn't know what that purpose was or how I would find it but there was intent in my story. The clock is just to prove I was thinking about this blog before setting out on my adventure (as always). You will notice missing from the collage is actual pictures of my betrothed (I know the definition doesn't fit but I like the word - I am reading a novel set in the 14th century - can you tell?) and I drinking but there is a reason for that. As I was walking along the North Park Blocks I saw the Federal Building and across from it is this cool home store called Hive-it has a bit of everything very european and spanish/scandanvian designs. Both the Fed building and the store reminded me of GoS. Only a couple of steps from Hive, parked in front of this tiny little bistro, Cafe Allora, was this lovely red bike. Yes, I am thought of El S- knowing a els a comment would be made about the bike, comments like make, model, male or female rider? The cow and I ended up on NW23 having a pizza at a place both els and GoS have been to, Pizzacato. As I was walking home I realized another red bike, all of these were signs to say hey to els and GoS-thinkin' about you!

These boots are made for walkin'

Well, I guess I got your attention with the title. Can't you here Nancy Sinatra singin and the music in the background. I love that song! Went out yesterday with my boots ready to find a house in a great neighborhood. I actually saw 5 homes that all had potential in some way. The house with the most outward potential was in the SE on 55 just below Mt. Tabor we will call it Cape Cod style. As you can see it sits up on a small hill and it faces west and it has large windows. The inside had a huge living room and dining room with awesome original builtins. Then my boots and I made it into the bathroom. It was PINK! Some of you know how much I despise Pink! I don't even know why I hate PINK! There must be some hidden dark secret of Pink bunny rabbits chasing me as a child (that is for Chris - if he is reading this). Back to the pink bathroom, not only the toilet was pink by the bathtub and the sink and the best part was the accent color was BLACK, of course, so the pink would stand out more. The kitchen had potential also. It was large but there was NO update. Still the old sink and no dishwasher (oh my) and the best was the floor (see picture). But this place had a beautiful front room and huge bedrooms upstairs. After looking at all the homes I realized how much I loved my former home. It really was quite charming! Enough of that!
Once home I changed from my boots to my flip-flops because it was HOT here yesterday - 98 degrees. It was also 1st Thursday in the Pearl - people come out of the woodwork to look at art, eat in the fufu restaurants and most importantly BE SEEN! I have wanted to take pictures of the way people are dressed but I am not stealth enough yet. I did get a shot of the two young ladies above shopping for art (or something else?) - they are so classy. About three blocks from my home in THE PINNACLE - there is a park named Jameson Square - The Pearl. It has this water feature that simulates the tides and has a nice little waterfall. It is estimated that about 25 children live in the area known as "the Pearl" but if you take a look at the picture there are way more than 25 children enjoying the park. It is literally like this EVERYDAY. You can't see the grass because there is so many people. And it is not like there is a park problem in Portland but MANY people drive from far and wide to have a day at this particular park.
Art and People are everywhere on 1st Thursday. They block off a street and you can buy paintings, photography, jewelry, designer/hand sewn clothing, etc. We opted to have a drink and discuss the houses that I had seen and stroll back home through the streets of art. A most enjoyable evening! Hope yours was too!

Dogs ????

If you can't quite telll what the first picture is click on it. It is a dog water bowl in the North Park blocks. It keeps bubbling water going for the canine all hours of the day. Dog bowls are everywhere in this city. They get placed outside the door of retail and restaurants (some of the nicest restaurants are dog friendly). Every dog in the city is invited to drink. This next part will offend many but take it from a "cat person" point of view. I don't understand the fascination with dogs. They require a lot of work, like children. You have to take them out to go to the bathroom, sometimes in the middle of the night. You must walk them and they drool, that's disgusting. But what I really don't get about dogs, is often times not the dogs fault it is the owners. Dogs bark. That is just what they do...so why do owners always tell their dogs to stop barking. It is natural, kind of like humans breathing. I do not even attempt to tell my cat to stop meowing or purring - even when she is yelling at me at 3:00 am because she wants the sink faucet on (to be honest the cow always get up). What I am trying to say here is - get a cat and relax!

Wednesday Walk

I spent yesterday working on my portfolio in hopes of someone wanting to interview me, le t me just say no one is beating my door down, and I decided today to go out. I did want to pick up a few items from the ole storage unit so walked a couple of blocks. One thing everyone needs to ask themselves is "WHY DO I HAVE THIS STUFF?" Trust me - get rid of it, you don't need it, it is going to cost you money in the long run. After the work was done, I headed down to the Farmers Market to purchase lettuce in hopes of having a salad at dinner. I also picked up peaches that are so juicy you have to eat them next to a sink and blackberries. Tonight we feast! What is great about the market are the people. It is so fun to eavesdrop on conversations and watch what people buy. I liked the music today - very folksy!
Wanted to do a bit of shopping and the cow told me there was an entire mall near Pioneer Square. There was a ton of people out in the square just having lunch and enjoying the warm weather. I didn't believe him about the mall but right there taking up 4 blocks (you would never know from the street) is a four story mall called Pioneer Place. You can move from block to block under or above ground. I got a bit turned around inside. I don't like large stores - like the Greatland Target - it scares me and I get frustrated when I can't find stuff (yes I know you are all thinking ME get frustrated - it happens so rarely). When I came out of the mall I realized there was a vespa/scooter dealer across the street from Tiffany's - only in Portland.

Oh, I almost forgot! For dinner last night the cow made panini's with carmelized onions, goat cheese, and fig jam spread - OH MY - Food of the Gods!

Hair!

The most fussed at and the most annoying when getting ready in the morning is hair. If your hair is curly you want it to be straight (this is my problem), if straight you want it to be curly and if your hair is thin well that's obvious and if your hair is thick it catches all the sweat and is heavy, and if you have curly hair that you make straight and it is extremely thick well you got issues. I was contemplating the hair issue because I was thinking of the cow. He shaves his head and it makes life so easy. NO-I am not thinking of doing the same but no matter if you are male or female there will always be "hair days."

Beer-Mountain-Burnt

This is going to be short and sweet. Portland Microbrew Fest on Friday night. A bit busy but we rode our bikes and parked with the rest of the masses and had several tastes of beer from around the world. On Sunday we brought out the inflatable kayaks and headed towards Mt. Hood. About an hour and 1/2 away we arrived at Trillian Lake with a spectacular view of the mountain (yes, I took that picture it is not from the Internet). It was an amazing day. So amazing we stayed out a bit too long on the pristine waters and both of us came home sunburnt and feeling like little kids (you remember when your mom told you to go outside and play and you did - all day long - until the sun went down and you were so grimy that the shower floor turned brown when you stepped in). All in all, another great weekend for the cow and SH.