A thought for today

"You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough."
Mae West

The Wedding Couple, Kira and Dennis and COUSINS..........

Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Bohanon.

The couple is adorable and the wedding was perfect !!





























































This is a group photo of the Friedli cousins; Kim from Chico, Dean from Las Vegas, Kathleen (the mother of the Bride) who lives in Murphys, Lori from Sacramento and Mike from Stockton. They had a great time reminiscing.

Wedding Weekend.............

Saturday was a special event - My niece's daughter, Kira Bennett, got married to Dennis Bohanon in Angels Camp at a beautiful Country Club. It was an afternoon outdoor ceremony followed by a formal dinner on the patio that overlooks the golf course.

Lori, Pam and Mike were invited so I had a great day seeing my children and reconnecting with members of the Friedli family.

Allison is going to Japan !! Janice is going to California !!

Tonight Allison and I enjoyed a fabulous dinner at Iorio to celebrate my birthday (a little late) and Allison's trip to Japan starting next week. She'll be there for three weeks and I'm looking forward to seeing lots of photos and learning more about the culture as she travels. She has a great advantage of going with her friend who has family in Japan so Allison will be enjoying a more personal view of the country and its customs.

My trip to California tomorrow isn't as exotic but it will be personally rewarding because I'll get to see Lori, Pam and Mike and also spend time with the Friedli relatives as we celebrate the wedding of my niece's daughter. The wedding is in Angels Camp at a Country Club so we'll spend the night and enjoy the party.

Today I decorated the condo for Fall and everything is in order for the Smith's return tomorrow. They will stop by for the night on their way back to Chico.

Roger went grocery shopping so he's ready to eat "Roger food" while I'm gone (that's interpreted as "healthy" food versus what I like to eat).

So - get ready kids - your mom's on her way and ready to have some fun.....

Summer is BACK in Portland !!

• Windows open
• Tomato plant still growing
• Sunshine and blue sky
  
• Lazy, slow walks
• Heating up the barbecue
  
• Another lovely day........................................
  

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

I'm only about a half way through this book but I must tell you about this fascinating book narrated by "Death". He has moments of pity but he has his job to do and he does it well - often with a wry humor. The story is serious. It is 1939 in Nazi Germany. As a book review states "Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.".

Please don't think that this is a morbid or macabre story. It's a story that could have been real during this sad time in history and the book is extremely well written.

Lazy.................

• 70 degrees
• light rain to clean the air and foliage
• fireplace
• candles
• cuddles with Bella and Iraj
  
• good food and drink

Perfect...................................................

What a CUTE Couple !!

On The Road Again.................

We bid farewell to the Smiths this afternoon. They are headed for Port Angeles where they'll stay the night and tomorrow they head for Victoria where they'll spend the week celebrating their wedding anniversary.

Happy Trails...................

Shopping and Happy Hour With The Smiths

Steve and Vicki drove in late last evening for a short visit on their way to Victoria. After breakfast, they decided to do some shopping with the eventual goal of going to Jake's Crawfish Restaurant for Happy Hour. Steve had his heart set on Crawfish, but when he saw the menu, he sort of went crazy. Well, actually we all went wild by ordering an oyster shooter, hot wings, deep fried calamari, pot stickers, corn dogs with bacon and cheese, chips with a spinach dip, a cheese burger, steamed clams and - finally a dish of crawfish.

Yes, it was a lot of food but we managed to make it through almost everything. Now we've waddled back home and - no - there won't be any dinner prepared tonight.......

Spotted Today In Portland............

Homeless man with fuschia hair, talking on a cell phone. Cool..................... - well for Portland, anyway. Here, "homeless" is a lifestyle.

A Thought.............

To be seventy years young is sometimes far more cheerful and hopeful than to be forty years old.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Pink Martini Tonight in Portland

We enjoyed a busy weekend, culminating in a performance by Pink Martini and the Portland Oregon Symphony tonight. The music was terrific and the theater was really rocking.

Memories...............

Ten years doesn't seem that long, does it? Yet, for me it's somewhat like a dream because my life was so different then. Today I've taken a short trip down memory lane by looking at a scrapbook of one of the most enjoyable cruises that Gary and I enjoyed - with the most dramatic ending...............

Ed and Liz joined us in Barcelona on September 1st, 2001 where we boarded the Golden Princess for a 14 day cruise. We toured ports through Spain, France, Italy, Greece and Turkey.

The cruise was ending on Thursday, September 13th in Istanbul where we were scheduled to return to San Francisco.

On September 11th, the unthinkable occurred. We had returned to our stateroom after touring Ephesus and we were talking on the balcony when our neighbors shouted out that we should turn on CNN. It was close to 5 p.m. in Turkey so the first plane had already hit one tower, but to our shock, we saw the second plane hit. When I try to recall my feelings all I remember is not being able to think.............. it just didn't seem real. We soon learned just how "real" it was because the ship immediately lost all communications and the Captain began making emergency announcements. Since we were scheduled to continue to Istanbul, the Captain assured us that protection had already been provided and the ship left the Port.

When we arrived in Istanbul, the first thing we saw was guards standing every 100 feet or so on the dock with machine guns. We were told that scuba divers would be under and around the ship full-time so, even though we were in a foreign country, we felt reassured.

We were allowed to remain on the ship for two extra days because airplanes couldn't fly or land in the U.S. On the 15th, we were put on a chartered flight to Shannon, Ireland where we landed for fuel. At that time the pilot still wasn't sure that we could land in the U.S. but while on the ground, he made an announcement that the U.S. agreed to accept our flight. We were the first International airline to land at JFK after the tragedy. While landing, we looked out the window of the plane and saw only one runway lit. Everything else was dark. There were about 500 people on the plane but the Customs people hurried us through and then drove us to a hotel for the night. We got to bed about 2 p.m. and were up at 8 a.m. when they transported us back to JFK.

It took the full day for us to get our tickets, go through security, (they checked every single little thing in all of our luggage) and get on a plane. As we left early that evening, all we could see was the smoke that still came from the ruins. Even then, it just didn't seem to be real.........................

Chris Botti and a Birthday Dinner

Wow, I love birthdays. Tonight we were treated to dinner at the Heathman Hotel (thanks Teresa and Mike) and afterwards we went to an Oregon Symphony event featuring Chris Botti. Our seats were only four rows from the front so we could see everything on the stage. Delicious food - beautiful music - a perfect Saturday night out.

Nummmmmmmmmmmmmm

Farmer's Market in the Fall is the best with an amazing variety of fresh produce still available. We came home with cherries, corn on the cob, tomatoes (of course), several varieties of berries, peaches and zucchini for a new corn bread recipe that I'll bake tomorrow

After doing our shopping, Roger enjoyed a fresh made crepe with strawberries and blueberries and I returned to my favorite Italian sausage sandwich place. Sweet Italian grilled sausage with grilled sweet peppers and onions, a Pearl bakery roll and a choice of mustard. Who could ask for anything better???

Movie Day For The "Girls"

This afternoon Cheryl and I went downtown to the Living Room Theater to see the movie "Sarah's Key" The movie was made from the book, written by Tatiana de Rosnay, and the story features the capture of a French Jewish family in Paris during WWII and a modern day writer who writes about their story. It's a well made and touching movie.

After the movie, it was "happy hour time" at Jake's Crawfish so we enjoyed drinks and an inexpensive and delicious early dinner.

Now I'm back home, cooking dinner for my honey.

We're having an unusual week of temperatures in the low 90s so no one is complaining about cold or rain................ Now we're complaining about the heat..............

Book & Movie - THE HELP

Read the book and see the movie. It's a moving portrayal of life in the South in the 50s and 60s.

Art In The Pearl - Annual Arts Festival

The holiday weekend started with a dinner party here to get acquainted with Gary, Ann's new friend. We cooked too much food, ate too much - but had a fabulous evening.

Yesterday Bella and I took a walk down to the river where I read for awhile and had a delicious lunch at one of my favorite restaurants.

Every year on Labor Day weekend, artists display their wares in a park setting, covering about three city blocks under huge trees in the Pearl.

It's a wonderful community event, featuring paintings, photography, glass, clay, metal, jewelry and fabric art (including the $169 silk scarf that I was lusting over......but didn't buy....).

Tomorrow Allison and I plan to see the movie "The Help" and have lunch downtown and in the evening the complex is hosting a jazz cocktail hour.

So far, it has been a perfect weekend.