The last Friday of each month is a birthday celebration for that month so last night we enjoyed cocktails and snacks at the Siver's Center party room to celebrate July birthdays. Roger furnished a beautifully decorated cake that was large enough to feed 40 people.
It took him almost three days of planning, shopping for ingredients, calculating a recipe large enough for two 12 inch cake pans, baking and finally decorating it. Watching the work involved gave me a new appreciation for the beautiful pastries that we see at bakeries without recognizing the talent and time that it takes to produce them.
Everyone was impressed with his decorating talent and, best of all, the chocolate cake was delicious!
Where do the days go? Oh, well - it doesn't matter - we're in good health and summer (mid 80s) has finally become permanent so we're enjoying each day.
In the downtown section, Portland has thirteen bridges - all heavily used.
The first bridge shown in the top photo is Burnside which opens on each side. The one in the foreground of the second photo is Morrison and the one in the background with flags is the Hawthorne. The Hawthorne opens differently - with the center going straight up. The reason for the flags is a celebration of its 100th Anniversary which is being celebrated during the coming two weeks. It's the oldest bridge in Portland. At night, for the anniversary celebration, it's lit with LED lights that travel in the direction of the traffic on each lane and the lights are reflected through the flags. In a week, they will be putting sod in the center of the bridge for a picnic for 2,500 Portlanders. We'll need tickets so we're working on getting some.
Meanwhile, we just finished a Beer Fest and now there's a gourmet food event coming up this weekend. There's always something to do and the best thing is that we can walk to them all (if we're not too lazy).
Good news - Ashley has airline tickets in August to visit for four days so Roger and I are already planning activities and menus.
The day started with a walk to the Streetcar, then a one block walk to the MAX train which took me to Pioneer Plaza on the corner where Macys is located.
I continue to be astounded at the wonderful public transportation that Portland offers. Oasis Training Center is located on the 4th floor of the Macy's building and that's where I taught a class on buying and selling on eBay. Today I had four students that were smart and excited about learning a new skill. I found it interesting, though, that two of them were taking the class so they could go home and teach their husbands. Hey, guys - why not come to the class yourself ??
We had a great session and it's always fun when I'm teaching enthusiastic people. After class I decided to splurge and have lunch at the "Nines" Hotel next door. It was a huge mistake - this place is obviously catering to tourists or conventioneers so my "special" lunch turned out to be a very bad experience. (A note to my Portland readers - don't even think of going there to eat).
After a disappointing lunch it only seemed right that I would check out the sale at Chicos before taking the MAX home so my afternoon ended very well.
We're enjoying temperate weather with high fog in the morning and bright sunshine in the afternoon so it has been a cool and pleasant summer so far.
Many years ago our friend, Rosanna, introduced us to this "new Italian thing called Pesto". I can remember seeing green pasta for the first time and tasting and loving the delicious flavor. Basil is finally in season here so this morning I picked up two big bunches with some fresh harvested garlic to make my first batch of this season. This recipe is fabulous!
1 cup fresh washed basil leaves, packed
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan (I used the dry grated Jack from Vella Creamery in Sonoma that I order by mail)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts (lightly toasted in the oven or in a small fry pan)
3 cloves garlic, minced
Sea salt and pepper to taste
Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. Add garlic, pulse a few times more. Slowly add olive oil in a constant stream while the processor is on. Scrape sides with a rubber spatula. Add grated cheese, pulse again. Add salt/pepper.
OK - now a confession - I added more nuts and cheese and a little less olive oil and it tastes great!
Monday and Wednesday nights were spent at O'Gallerie Auction House where I managed to spend lots of money. Roger went with me Monday and Mari went with me last night so I had good company. When I go alone, it's very boring because there's generally a long wait between items that I'm bidding for. The rest of the week will be busy with polishing, cataloging, researching and listing the items for sale on the Internet so I'm pretty much tied to the computer.
After a long morning of work, Bella and I decided that we girls needed a break so we walked down to the river for a burger and fries. In the first photo Bella is waiting for the streetcar and the second is at the outdoor cafe. As you can see by the length of her tongue, it's pretty warm outside today so she had her own glass of water to drink while I ate lunch.
Roger was busy shopping for tires for his car so he missed out on the walk.
We're really enjoying the summer weather so the sliding doors are open and we have lots of fresh air circulating.
Our menu for next week has lots of barbecued foods planned. Besides the best kabob in Portland, Roger cooks corn on the cob that is fabulous - crispy and carmelized - I could just eat that for the meal............
After being accustomed to rather stable weather in California, I continue to be amazed at how diverse it can be here. July 4th was hazy and about 70 degrees. By Wednesday and Thursday it turned to 100 and now we're back to hazy and about 75. It's always a challenge deciding how to dress each morning.
We've been in front of the TV almost every morning watching the World Cup matches and Sunday we enjoyed the final game; watching two powerful teams compete. Roger was rooting for Netherlands and I for Spain. Pioneer Square here in downtown was filled with fans watching the action on a huge screen and we were sorry that we didn't know about it as we would have loved to join them.
There's nothing exciting to report - we're just enjoying the warmer weather and being able to walk outside more.
Bella got her summer haircut so she looks like a puppy again.
The Farmer's Market has exceptional produce this time of the year so my bag was so heavy that I may take a cart next week.
The next three nights I'll be at O'Gallerie bidding on more sterling. They have a huge amount of beautiful things this month.
'till later................................................
You're an accomplished woman, now, dearest Ashley, but memories will always include the precious time when you were a child.
Have a fabulous and special day celebrating the birth of our nation and the exciting day that you entered our lives.
Enjoy every minute..................
The last Friday of each month is a birthday celebration for that month so last night we enjoyed cocktails and snacks at the Siver's Center party room to celebrate July birthdays. Roger furnished a beautifully decorated cake that was large enough to feed 40 people.
