a great day

My foot hurt less today and for that I'm thankful.  I slept about 10 hours, 4 of which I had my boot on (to help keep my foot in an appropriate stretch).  I woke up a bit sore, but NOTHING compared to last night.  I made an appointment for eye brow wax, I didn't want to be roaming Portland with two caterpillars above my eyes.  I set out from the hotel with plenty of time to get to the appointment.  I wanted to take things slow today.

The wax was quick and successful and I was off for more exploring.  I LOVE Portland.  It is such a great city.  It's clean, vibrant and has lots of green space.  When I worked in Portland (many, many years ago), I never appreciated all the great things there are to do.  After long days of working I would board the bus back to Forest Grove.  The commute was long.and I never spent much time exploring Portland.   Oh how I was MAX was around back then.  Things were quite different in 1986.  Now you can go from the airport to Hillsboro all on the best transit system ever.  And I love the free downtown zone.  And with my foot making me gimpy I have used the transit system quite a bit the past few days. 

After my wax, I headed towards the Pearl District and walked around.  I was intrigued by all the urban housing - so many great apartments and lofts.  And all the parks and green space.  My dream has been to retire to Seattle in a waterfront loft.  I am rethinking that.  Portland may fit the bill nicely!  I found a great spot for a small lunch.  Everett Street Bistro.  The Hungarian mushroom soup was quite tasty!  I then continued to meander around the   Pearl District and up to Nob Hill.  These areas were very different back in the mid 80's, so I took delight in the architecture, the people, the businesses.  I enjoyed my day immensely.

To help celebrate Jim's birthday tomorrow, I stopped at the Dollar Store to buy a balloon and a silly birthday hat and a table top birthday display.  I am going to make him wear the hat tomorrow to Pine State Biscuits.  That's his favorite biscuit place and he has been itching to go back.  He has meetings starting at 8:30 so we'll have to go early but it will be so much fun!

Tonight we are heading to Nostrana for dinner.  We met head Chef Cathy Whims when she taught us some cooking techniques at the Tom Douglas Culinary Camp in Seattle this summer.  She was kind and gracious and makes some mean fried squash blossoms.  Her restaurant is Italian and she has received numerous awards, most notably the James Beard Foundation Best NW Chef in 2009 and 2010.  We are eager to dine there.

And I talked to Jake today too.  I just love him.  He is a great guy and hearing his voice and chatting about things was icing on the cake to a great day.

a good day

Today was a good day.  I slept in until 8:30.  Had a nice lunch with Sarah and my grandmother.  Then saw Toy Story 3. Wow, what an emotional movie.  I cried at the beginning and at the end.  And afterwards.  What the heck?  I was not anticipating the movie have that much of an effect on me.   Growth, change, moving on.  The themes in the movie were so relatable to my life now.  So what do I do?  I cry.  Thank goodness for sunglasses.  At least I left the movie theater hidden behind dark shades.

The afternoon was filled with menial home tasks.  I felt some sense of accomplishment.  No dinner was planned so Jim and I went out to Black Cypress.  Very delicious meal tonight.  We started with a flatbread appetizer with roasted asparagus, egg, cheese and lettuce.  Sounds strange I know, but it was delicious!  For the entrees Jim had shish kabobs with couscous that had the perfect touch of mint, lemon, almond and red onion.  I had a seafood stew - but it really wasn't a stew at all.  And it was divine.   Clams, white fish and shrimp simmered in a delicious, light white wine broth with some carrots, celery, onion and seasonings.  We hadn't been there in a while.  Glad we went tonight.

Now it's time for put the feet up, have a glass of wine evening.   Grateful for today.  It was a good one.

the week ahead

Tomorrow morning I leave for Puerto Vallarta.   It's a girls week at Kathy's time share.  I've got my kindle, my camera and a carry on suitcase filled with a few clothes, swimsuits and workout gear.  My kindle has 7 new books on it, all of which I'm eager to read.  I just picked up an Oprah magazine at the grocery store and pack of gum.  I can't wait to get going.  We all went in 2007 and said we'd make it an annual trip.  3 years later we are finally going again. 


I will miss Jake and Kristin's 20th birthday.  This will be the first time and it's feels strange.  Granted, I wouldn't have seen Kristin anyway this year on her birthday because she's in college on the other side of the state.  Jake has two finals on his birthday and then one the following day.  Wednesday night Jim and Sarah have plans to spoil Jake.  There are some presents on the dining table for him to open.  I already mailed Kristin's presents.  I will call both of them and tell them how Happy Birthday and how much I love them.  I am really proud of them.  

Sarah has an AP test on Thursday and the opening night of her play is on Friday.  It runs 2 weekends though, so I will catch the closing night.  She is such a go getter and I know she'll be the star of the play, even if she doesn't have the lead roll.

I will miss Jim too.  He's really a good guy.  I was having a bikini wax today and the wax lady (don't know what the technical term is) was talking about how bad the men in her life have been.  It was weird because I just couldn't relate.  I am lucky.  Jim is a good guy and I love him.

I've finished packing, now it's time for bed.  4:45 is going to come awfully early.