New Year Welcome

The Smiths surprised us in early December with a pot of amaryllis bulbs that just started to open this morning. They will be a beautiful reminder of a new year starting fresh and young.

Happy New Year !

Guess What ???

Echinacea Tea, DayQuill, NightQuill, Chicken soup, boxes of tissues...................

Yes, Roger has the "bug" so now we'll see if I'm tough enough to stay well. So far............. so good...............

Merry Christmas !

After four fun filled days, the house is quiet (and messy, but I'll worry about that tomorrow) and now we can reflect on a unique and happy Christmas. Our celebration included different religions and cultures but we were all able to share the love of this important Christian occasion. Masih and Helia are at the airport, ready to return to San Francisco, Bella is sad (she mopes at least one day after company departs) and we, admittedly, are tired from all the activities.

We are thankful for family and friends and we hope for a New Year filled with good health and new surprises and experiences.

A Lovely Christmas Eve..............

It has been a wonderful day with great food and company.

Roger made three different kabob for dinner (all delicious).

Sina was our "Santa". He's the younger brother of Soroush, a college friend of Roger's. Saroush's mother and brother are new to the U.S. so we included them in our celebration. Sina really added joy to the evening because of his excitement of being the person to deliver the gifts.

The last photo is of Helia, Brian, Rachael and Carolyn.

We had a great afternoon and evening and now we're "crashing" so we can rest up for tomorrow's Christmas celebration.

Enjoying the Multnomah Waterfalls

Helia is Roger's daughter and she and her friend, Masih, are visiting us from San Ramon for the Christmas holiday. Yesterday, after taking them to lunch at a favorite Iranian restaurant, we took them for a drive through the Columbia Gorge to show them the waterfalls. Since both of them are more familiar with S.F. they have been surprised at how small Portland is while still having similar cultural opportunities.

Reflection on 2011

Today was a quiet day so I decided to set up my 2012 calendar. In doing so, I copied some things from my current calendar; birthdays, special celebrations, holidays, etc. I was surprised to see that this year's calendar was really full of activities and happy events. We celebrated many birthdays, two very special weddings, several trips to California to connect with friends and family and some personal get-a-ways. Now, we look forward to a new year, hopefully filled with more wonderful experiences.

Pre-Christmas Week.............

It has been a lovely week sprinkled with a little Christmas gift shopping, hosting a lunch for four friends on Thursday and attending the City Club luncheon meeting today that featured singing by the Portland Gay Men's Chorus. Today was Roger's last day of school so he's feeling free and frisky, knowing he doesn't have homework for the next few weeks!

We're looking forward to enjoying the coming week while preparing for house guests and dinner for some of Roger's family next Saturday. He's already planning the menu so we're looking forward to some authentic Iranian kabab and other good food.

We continue to enjoy weather with no rain for the past several weeks so, even though it's cold, we're enjoying the dry and sunny weather.

Condo Association Christmas Party

Tonight we went to the Christmas party hosted by our three condo complexes. It was held in our large party room at Siver's Center with a five piece band, beautiful decorations and a potluck dinner. Lots of food, lots of fun and the music was great !

Christmas Dinner Cruise On the Willamatte

This evening we went down to the river and boarded the Portland Spirit to enjoy a dinner cruise. Tonight was special in that many boat / yacht owners decorate their vessels for Christmas and they parade them up and down the river between 7 and 9 p.m. It was nice seeing them from inside a warm boat as we are having freezing overnight temperatures. The boat was decorated for Christmas with live music and good food so it turned out to be a very enjoyable evening.

What Girls Do On a Saturday.............

Allison and I started the day by going to an estate sale in Lake Oswego (that's a ritzy suburb of Portland). It was amazing. We've not ever seen a house so packed with "stuff" so we thoroughly enjoyed leisurely walking through and looking at some very beautiful things (and purchasing a few.)

Our next stop was a local restaurant where we enjoyed "Joe's Special" a favorite dish of us both with good memories of San Francisco. On our way back into Portland we encountered a Shriner's parade of men on motorcycles. There had to be at least a thousand so we drove and drove until we finally got outside the parade route. (We call this a "scenic tour" - meaning that we're lost but enjoying the experience). Our next stop was a boutique that features local artists; such as blown glass, jewelry, fabric art, cast concrete yard items, ceramic bird houses and much more. (Yes, we bought more there, too.)

The weather has been clear - but very cold with freezing temps so it was good to get back home this afternoon.

Now it's time to relax, enjoy some Christmas music, the fireplace and a good book.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Through all the years there are only a few ornaments that bring back memories or are special. Many of them I gave to Ashley, but I couldn't let go of my most favorite, the little green turtle shown in the top photo.

The condo is bright and cheerful and it looks like Christmas so that's a good thing..............