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.