Thanks to all of you who have sent cards and e-mails wishing me a Happy Birthday. You've helped to make this day very special.
It's the beginning of "birthday week". You celebrate yours in just one day? Well, I believe that I can stretch it out for at least a weekend and even better - a week so this noon Merry treated me to lunch at one of Portland's newer restaurants in the Pearl called "1001". We were able to get there using the streetcar but today it was crazy. There's a convention of City Planners from all over the U.S. and it was standing room only. The lunch was very elegant and delicious so it's a place that we'll want to return to.
Tonight Pat and I decided that it was time to visit the Uptown Billiard's Club for their Happy Hour 5 course menu for $10 per person (yes, really). Tonight they served each course with a pepper in the recipe (including dessert). We enjoyed:
- Chile Relleno
- Jerk Spiced Shrimp
- Pan Seared Sturgeon
- Braised Lamb Pepper Pot
- Roasted Poblano Chocolate Mousse
We decided to add five wines from Spain and Italy to the dinner so our final bill came to $20 each. The servings are small but we still couldn't eat everything. To make a perfect evening I was able to park right in front of the restaurant.
This place has become a "regular" so if you visit me in Portland you'll get a chance to enjoy this wonderful dining experience.
It has been a lovely day in Portland with temperatures that were supposed to get to the low 90s. Now at 8 p.m. the windows are open and there's a soft warm breeze. Tomorrow we're told to expect rain and a high temperature of 73 so we'll see how that goes.
After spending an enjoyable weekend in the Corvallis area Bella and I are back in Portland. This morning started with some sprinkles to clean the dust off the trees and by noon the sun was shining so it turned out to be a lovely day. I'm still busy working on eBay but starting tomorrow I'll have to shut it down in preparation for the trip to Paris on Sep. 6th. This Saturday is my birthday so Roger and I are going to see Fiddler on The Roof at the Keller Theater so we'll walk because it is only five blocks from my condo.
It has been a busy week cleaning and preparing the new merchandise for eBay so little Bella has been house bound while I've been working. I got an early start this morning so at noon Bella and I got dressed up and we took a walk down to the river for lunch. We had a table overlooking the Marina and while I ate a shrimp salad, Bella filled up on attention from the people passing by the table. It seems that everyone who talks to me either has a Maltese or used to have one so we get to exchange funny stories. Needless to say, all Maltese owners think that they are the best breed to have for a pet. After lunch we took another walk and picked up some Stumptown coffee beans.
In a short while I'm taking the streetcar down to an art gallery where Allison volunteers her time - then at 5 pm when they close we're heading for the Pearl for an early dinner. We have tickets to a live recording session at the Gerding Theater tonight and part of the performance will be by Pink Martini (one of our favorites).
Little Bella had another haircut with her bath today so she's looking adorable. While she was being groomed I shopped at Trader Joes so she and I will be eating well tonight. After running other errands it was time for my 6 month's checkup at the dental office followed by Bella and I stopping at Jake's Crawfish for lunch. Today's Blue Plate Special ($7.99) was fresh grilled Coho Salmon.
Now I'm busy polishing sterling and getting ready for some eBay work. The weather is absolutely perfect - in the low 80s and skies filled with lovely puffy little white clouds.
OK, today is grandma "bragging day". Ashley now has a B.A., B.S., and EMT II License - so she's on her way to a successful career. Good luck, sweet girl on your MCATs next Tuesday. There's no doubt in my mind that you will ACE it.
It was a fabulous weekend in the Bay Area, every day filled with something wonderful. Now I'm back in Portland and ready to go to work so starting tomorrow, I'll be polishing sterling and getting ready to sell my new treasures. Bella had a wonderful time with Alicia but, fortunately, she was still excited to have me back home. We're having another "heat wave" so tomorrow may be in the mid 90s. Fortunately, the trees that surround my condo keep most of the heat out so I'm enjoying the summer weather.
There aren't many days that start out perfectly and end the same way so today was very special. Anne and I have had a wonderful time catching up with each other's activities during the past year and we're like teenagers laughing and and chattering non-stop. We did marathon shopping in Danville, Pleasanton, Lafayette and Walnut Creek and we found some darling things for Anne, all on sale. (Well, OK, I forgot to mention that I also found a few things - totally unplanned - yes, really). We returned to Anne's place about 8 p.m. so I got busy and repacked my antique purchases, dividing them between my checked and carry-on baggage so I'm ready to get back to Portland tomorrow.The perfect ending to the day is that now we're watching "Out of Africa", my absolutely favorite movie so we'll be up for awhile longer. It has been a wonderful weekend seeing friends and family, enjoying Jessica's and Ryan's wedding, buying beautiful antiques in S.F. and spending time with a special friend. How lucky I am............
It was another great day in San Francisco. (I'm writing this in orange so you'll know the color of my rental car). Tonight two men stopped me as I was leaving a parking space to tell me that they loved the color. Who would have guessed??The morning started with brunch at Lori and Marks. Mia recently returned from a six week mission to Paraguay and it was interesting listening to her stories and seeing pictures from her experiences working in a small village and building brick cooking stoves for those who needed them. She stayed with a family who live without plumbing and other things that we consider to be "basic necessities" and she loved being there to help.Mia fixed tortillas (different from those in Mexico) and Mark made homemade sausage to add to our scrambled eggs. Lori baked Mexican Wedding Cakes so the brunch was a great experience.I left early to get to the auction in time to start my bidding. I sat near the front and I decided to be aggressive in my bids and I ended up buying everything that I wanted for prices lower than I expected.Everything is in boxes so before I leave for home, I'll repack them and carry them on the plane to keep them safe.After the auction I drove to Walnut Creek to spend two nights with my dear friend, Anne. She had a bottle of Malbec waiting so after enjoying a glass we went downtown for dinner at a darling Italian Restaurant, Massimo. We had a great "girl talk" dinner and now we're back at her place relaxing and still catching up on the past couple of years since we've been together. Tomorrow is a marathon shopping day so we'll get to bed early so we can hit the stores early in the morning.
Some days it seems that a chain of events causes everything to go askew. The day started out nicely and my friend Merry got me to the airport before 1:00 p.m. The flight was scheduled to leave at 2:50 but once I arrived in the boarding area I learned that the plane would be delayed until 3:30. I flew into the Oakland airport and I had one piece of checked luggage so I patiently waited - waited - waited for it to come down the belt. At 5 minutes after 6 p.m. a sign displayed that all luggage had been off loaded so, just as I turned to report that my luggage was lost, my bag suddenly appeared on the belt. In Oakland rental cars are off-site so I found a bus (with about 30 other travelers) and we headed for the rental offices. There were only three people in line but they still managed to use up almost 45 minutes of time before it was my turn. By the time I got outside, there was only one car in mid-size left and it is a gaudy bright orange Mustang. The color is horrible - in fact I've never seen one like it anywhere. Well, a car is a car so I was on my way to the Bay Bridge toll booths. But - not for awhile because I ended up in stop and go traffic for almost one hour before I get to the booth. The average speed on the bridge was about 30 mph so when I finally reached the Lutz's place it was after 8 p.m.I've learned a valuable lesson and that is to not fly to San Francisco late on a Friday. August is the peak of tourist season so the City is inundated with tourists and vehicles.
Keeping up with new technology is not easy for me but I am determined to keep learning as long as I possibly can. I recently got a new cell phone with Verizon. It unfolds to reveal a full keyboard and it's really fun to use.
This morning I drove to the Beaverton Toyota dealership where one of their service technicians set up my phone with the Bluetooth in the RAV 4. In about two minutes I now have a phone that can ring inside my purse and I can connect using a button on my steering wheel. It's a speaker phone so it doesn't cause any distraction and I can talk while I'm driving. I practiced by having Roger telephone me and it works beautifully.
Now I've signed up with yahoo.com and I have a separate e-mail address for the phone. It is: goldturtleantiques@yahoo.com. My phone number is 503 320-5558. I haven't tested the e-mail connection yet so I hope that it will also work. It will be fun to practice while I'm in San Francisco this coming weekend.
Yesterday morning I woke up to the sound of voices and then I realized that it was the annual bicycle event that raises money for cardio health. The bicycle route starts nearby and all the riders come down 1st Avenue and turn onto Lincoln. Parts of all the bridges are closed to accommodate the riders and the streets are closed to automobile traffic. The last of the bicycles came by about 10 a.m. so it was lucky that I didn't have to take the car out yesterday. The Oregonian estimates that there were about 18,000 people participating and it was fun to see people of every age. Some smaller children had to peddle at top speed just to stay up with their parents and there were unicycles, bicycles built for as many as four people and other unusual wheeled vehicles.
The September issue of Bon Appetit Magazine features four of the 170 food carts that are in the downtown area. I can walk to many of them - in fact, on 4th Avenue there are about 15 and that's only three blocks from my condo. Some people hesitate eating from the carts but once you try their food it's hard to stay away. Most are owned by immigrants new to the U.S. and they cook family recipes from the country where they originated. There is an amazing selection so it is a great way to try something new and different. Plus - - you can eat on a budget because they don't have as much overhead as a regular restaurant.
The weather has drastically changed to overcast skies and temperatures around the 70s. It is perfect for taking a walk so when I get back from having a pedicure, Bella and I will head down to the river for awhile.
Yesterday we went downtown to run some errands and we ended up at the Verizon Wireless Store. I emerged with a fold out phone that does almost everything except the dishes so now I have an extra camera, phone and e-mail service. Now all I have to do is learn how to use it.
MY NEW CELL PHONE NUMBER IS: (503) 320-5558
Today we visited a delightful artist whose business name is "Judee Moonbeam Studios". She lives and works here in Portland and I met her about 1.5 years ago at an artist's fair.
Check out her web site at:
http://www.judeemoonbeam.com/how_to_order.html
She designs art in the form of handbags, hats, scarves and clothing and visiting her studio is really exciting. I own many of her scarves and several handbags and I get complements each time that I use them.
This morning Roger and I made an early start to check out a couple of estate sales. Did I buy anything for business? Well, no............ but we still managed to bring back some stuff for ourselves. We bought 11 classical CDs at 25 cents each so we're listening to them while reading this afternoon. It's really kind of crazy because I look in my cupboards and think that I should get rid of some things - then I bring home someone else's stuff.
After lunch we took the streetcar to Powell's Book Store to look for some history books that Roger is interested in. Bella got to go along so it was a nice get-a-way for her. It is gradually cooling but only a few degrees each day. By Wednesday it's supposed to be in the mid 70s (my favorite weather).
