The End of Fall Term at PSU

There's no question that age is an advantage when taking college classes at Portland State.  No tuition - no tests - no final exam - plus it's only a short walk from my condo and I have the opportunity of receiving the gift of knowledge.    Today was my last day of Ancient Art History and tomorrow I'll attend the last class for the History of Palestine and Israel.  This has been a rewarding experience and I'm looking forward to taking another class for the winter term.  The only problem now is choosing from hundreds of possibilities.

Pok Pok and Farewell to the girls.............

Lori and Pam have made a tradition of having one "date night" whenever they visit Portland and they always head for the same restaurant named "Pok Pok".  They feature food from Thailand, China, Burma and other Asian countries.  They usually start out with a visit to the Whiskey Lounge across the street where they order "Ike's Vietnamese Fish Sauce Wings" for an appetizer.  Lori says they are the best tasting wings in the whole world.

Roger and I didn't mind being left alone because we got to finish all the leftover Thanksgiving food.  We ended up with potato leek soup made with fresh turkey broth and turkey pot pie with cranberry sauce, of course.

This morning we had to shuffle schedules in order to get Roger to class before 11 and Lori and Pam to the airport for a 12:15 flight.  I acted as chauffeur so now it's time for me to go to my Ancient Greek Art History class.  

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend but now it's time to get back to our regular schedule, get rid of the fall decorations and think about Christmas.

A Few of our favorite things..............

Our "personal chef", Lori, offered to fix our Saturday dinner so Lori and Pam found beautiful lamb shanks from a lamb grower at the Farmer's Market, along with porcini mushrooms that are now in season.  In the afternoon we went to Pasta Works on Hawthorne where they make fresh pasta daily, and cut it to the size that you want.  They sell a variety of specialty foods and we love shopping there.




















The remainder of the day we all settled in to do our favorite leisure activity.  While Lori headed for the kitchen to get started on dinner.  Pam and I settled down in our favorite chairs with a book and Roger worked on an art class project.

Another lazy day in Portland..................................

Black Friday.................

Yes, we girls couldn't resist going downtown for some shopping (no, not at midnight - more like noon today).  Of course, we couldn't shop without eating first at Kenny & Zukes (Pam's favorite cafe).  Then, she went to Pearl Bakery, Whole Foods and Powell's Book Store and Lori and I headed to Macys to check out the bargains.  Three large sacks full later Lori and I picked up the MAX to come home.  Unfortunately, it was raining buckets of water so - no photos today - just picture two drowned rats trudging home in the dark and very glad to be home.

I Can't Believe I Ate The Whole Thing............

It has been a busy day - lots of cooking - lots of eating - lots of dishes.................

Pam and Lori are on clean-up detail so that's a good thing.

Now it's time to relax in front of the fire with another glass of wine and think about all the things that we are thankful for. 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Naughty & Nice for "Our House" Charity Event

Last night Ann, a new friend Marilyn, and I enjoyed a crazy and fun evening at a huge and beautiful private home.  It was a fund raiser for a Portland charity, "Our House".  About seventy dinners and events are hosted by members of the organization each year and they are successful in raising a huge amount of money to fight Aids. 

We enjoyed cocktails and appetizers at the professional sized upstairs bar with two handsome bartenders who fixed anything we liked.


Dinner was served downstairs in a small theater, so while eating an elegant three course meal, we were entertained by cabaret singers.  Why is it called "naughty and nice"?  Well, some of the songs had a little "twist" so, along with enjoying some great music, we also shared a lot of laughs.

More of Roger's Art..............

Your eyes are not deceiving you.  That's Roger all bundled up in his long Johns with bags on his shoes, sitting on the back balcony and working on a plaster sculpture.  He's taking two art classes this term and, between them, he is learning a large variety of art techniques. 

 The picture at the left is another class assignment.  The drawing is made entirely out of different sized dots (no lines, just dots).

Thanksgiving Preview

The turkey is in the refrigerator and today at the Farmer's Market I found wonderful fresh vegetables and fruit for the side dishes.  It's raining this weekend but people were busy shopping at the park and there was music and excitement.

I think that we all love this time of the year - feasting and enjoying the loving comfort of family and friends.

To add to the festivities, the University of Oregon drum marching band was circling the market so that added to the festivities.

Bella and her fur pillow.......

I had to laugh this morning when I found Bella curled up on top of one of my fur pillows in front of the fireplace.  Several years ago I had an old fur coat cut into squares to make some pillows for winter and Bella has discovered that they feel really good on a cold morning.

Skyfall and OBA

Cheryl and I decided to check out the new James Bond movie, "Skyfall" and afterwards we took the streetcar to Oba for an early dinner.  A great way to enjoy a Friday afternoon.  The movie was entertaining so we recommend it !  Oba, as usual served a fabulous dinner.  We chose the three course special with a choice of two appetizers, soup or salad and a choice of three entrees.  We both ordered steak and we have enough in the 'fridge for another meal.

Remembering Summer................

Vicki just sent a photo of Roger and me that she took when they visited in September.  We drove to Seaside for a day at the coast and we were lucky to find comfortable weather.  Now that it's close to freezing at night and daytime temperatures are much colder, it's nice to remember our beautiful summer and sharing our time with friends.  Thanks, Vicki !

$7.99 per pound for TURKEY.............

In today's Oregonian we were cautioned to hurry up and order our fresh turkey from Farmer's Market vendors.  They are sold frozen for $7.99 per pound and every year they run out before Thanksgiving because they are so popular.  I guess that I'm really older than I thought since I can still remember a turkey for 49 cents per pound and, in those days, they didn't have hormones and "fillers" and chemicals in them, either.

Hurry up and get that turkey.......... only 16 days to go....................

Seattle - - King Tut - - Space Needle

Yesterday, Allison and I shared a wonderful experience, starting with an early morning drive to Seattle (about a three hour drive).  Neither of us had previously visited the Space Needle so we had lunch reservations before our 2 p.m. tour of the Egyptian exhibit of artifacts, mostly from the tomb of Tutankhamun.













We had a window table overlooking a portion of downtown Seattle and the view was incredible with Mount St. Helens in the background.  After lunch we walked next door to see the exhibit and it was far more wonderful than either of us anticipated.  The arrangement was perfectly planned starting with carved lifelike figures and ending with items found in the burial chambers.  The gold work, jewelry and masks were amazingly intricate and beautiful.  There were several beds in the burial room in Egypt and the one on display, made of carved wood, had woven rushes that are still intact after over 3,000 years. 

On the way home we stopped in Longview WA to have dinner at the Monticello Hotel, an old hotel that has the charm of the early 1920s. 

It was a long and tiring day but truly a memorable and exciting experience !

Belated Birthday Greetings, Vicki

Wishing you a wonderful year with exciting surprises.  Happy Birthday!!

Another Fishing Friend............

Tonight, Ann treated us to dinner by cooking the Ling Cod that she caught on a fishing trip this past August.

The dinner was elegant and delicious.  Allison, Roger and I were the lucky dinner guests.

Thanks, Ann !!