Beethoven - Finished, at Last.................

Roger has been working on his latest painting for the last month and last night he finished it just in time for his presentation at his painting class today.

It has evolved somewhat painfully because he changed the format several times.  The one thing that remained constant was the portrait of Beethoven which started the painting.  He painted it with amazing detail and it seems to "glow" with life.

Absolutely Nothing...............

Nothing................... Some weeks are that way...... just every day "stuff" and no excitement although Roger may disagree.  He had a test on Tuesday that required him to fast for almost a day and a half so he wasn't very happy about that.  I'm having my test a week from now so we're labeling February as "butt month".

We celebrated Valentine's Day with a special lunch at Serrato and had fun visiting a nearby Dollar Tree.  It was my first time and it was really fun.  I spent $10 and came home with some great stuff.

Roger has been extra busy working on a large painting that needs to be finished for tomorrow's class so he has been painting non-stop for the last couple of days.  Meanwhile, I decided to work on some new recipes so we've been eating really well. 

Next week is already planned with a meeting with my tax man, a session at the glass studio with Gina, dinner at Iorio with Roger and lunches with Ann and Rae so things are "looking up".............

We're enjoying sunshine and warmer temperatures so.......... life is good..........

Movie "Quartet"

For those of you over the age of 65 and love music, this will be a great movie.  The story is about a group of retired musicians who live together in a retirement home in the U.K.  Ann joined me for the movie and after I went next door to the Ringside Fish House for a razor clam po' boy.  Until moving to Oregon, I had no idea there was such a thing as a razor clam.  I've discovered that they are huge and tough (maybe a few of you remember when we enjoyed abalone dinners and Max pounded the abalone with a baseball bat to tenderize them) so they are sliced and pounded before being breaded and cooked.

Portland Bottle & Bottega Art Uncorked

What could be better than getting a painting lesson and enjoying a glass of wine?  This afternoon I went to the restaurant Hoyt 23 where about twenty of us had an opportunity to make a painting.  Of course, for me this was just for fun and the canvas will hit the recycle bin shortly.  I haven't touched a paint brush for years (it shows) but it was fun just "slopping" the paint on the canvas and pretending to be an artist.  The young couple who own the business have only lived in Portland since October so they are still in a start-up mode.  They are both delightful and I'm hoping their business will be a success.

To see their scheduled parties go to:
bottleandbottega.com/portland/

Another week....................

It has been an eventful week starting with an afternoon theater production last Sunday with Gina to see "The Road To Mecca" and a visit to "The Tao of Tea" next to the theater.  I regret that I didn't have my camera to show you the unique teapots they used to serve the tea.  The inspiration for the tea house began in Nepal and they serve tea from many parts of the world.  The menu of snacks and meals is exotic and unique.
www.taooftea.com

We're "thinking Spring" with sunshine and no rain so it has been a good week to enjoy the outdoors.  Gina and I spent some time at the glass studio Thursday and then we went to Zells for one of their fabulous breakfasts.

Tonight Allison and I had an early dinner at "EastBurn" before going to the Triangle Theater to see the play "25 Questions for a Jewish Mother".  It was really funny so we had a great evening.

Tomorrow is time for a hair cut and some errands while Roger continues work on his latest class project.  We have canvas, paint, sculpture tools and art supplies everywhere so the office and guest room have turned into work shops.  The painting is still in draft form but Roger says that he already can see the finished product in his mind.  The project is to create a "memory" of a famous person by painting things that represent that person's life.  He chose Beethovan.

This 'n That For The Week.............

Tuesday was an enjoyable day with time spent at the Wells Glass Studio.  Wednesday night Ann and I went to Allium in West Linn (about a 30 minute drive) to celebrate her birthday.  The dinner was fabulous and it was even more special when about ten of her family surprised her by coming into the restaurant and singing "happy birthday" and giving her flowers.  Thursday Roger had a PT scan and last night we enjoyed dinner at the Gilt Club on Broadway in downtown Portland.  Today Roger is busy working on a new painting and Bella and I had time to do some errands.  The sun was out all day with temps in the low 50s so there were people everywhere enjoying the great weather.

Tomorrow afternoon Gina and I are going to the Profile Theater, with plans to visit a tea shop afterwards.  Then it will be time to enjoy the last half of the Super Bowl so it should be a great day.  I've promised biscuits and gravy for breakfast and the rest of the day Roger can work on his painting.  It features a portrait of Beethoven with other objects in a musical theme.

Roger is enrolled in a multi-media sculpture class so he has been very busy gathering up unusual eclectic objects for his sculptures.  Next week we'll visit Lowes to pick up concrete tools and other paraphernalia for his next project.