A Productive Week..................

The last window was installed on Monday so when my friends Allison and Rae invited me to "happy hour" I was eager to get away from the chaos and dust.  Rae suggested "Chart House", a restaurant I wasn't familiar with so it was a wonderful surprise to find that it's up in the hills outside of downtown with a fabulous view.  Even better is the happy hour food that we shared and enjoyed.





Tuesday, we started to move furniture back into our new sitting room so now we have a room that we can relax in while we're cooking in the kitchen.  Part of the redecorating includes new bar stools so Wednesday evening Roger started the task of putting them together.  I've never seen so many screws and bolts but he did a great job.

Meanwhile, Alicia and I put all the rooms back in order so we're finally back to "normal".  Roger is still working on his studio so his goal tonight is to get everything in order.  (I don't expect to see him in bed until at least 2 a.m.).

Today I had another skin cancer surgery on my hand and this one really knocked me back but I'm sure the pain will be lighter by tomorrow.  As I left the parking lot at the medical center I was amused to see a black car in the parking lot that had three messages written on the back windows.  It appears that the car buyer is very upset with his purchase because here is one of his messages.  (Royal Moore is a Toyota Dealer in Hillsboro, Oregon.  I wonder if he knows about this guy's "advertisement"?)

Fresh Caught Oregon Coast Salmon

Allison joined us for dinner last night for Oregon salmon recently caught by her brother-in-law.  It was a great opportunity to catch up on some "girl talk" and thanks to Allison for sharing the delicious fish.

This afternoon I'm going to introduce her to our new favorite cafe "Steakadelphia".  Since she hales from Pittsburgh Pa, she's really looking forward to having a Philly Steak Sandwich something she considers "soul food".

I'm Backkkkkkkkk

Well, sort of.  I'm typing this on Roger's computer.  Mine is still dismantled but by next week Wednesday or so, the new sitting room should be ready for occupancy.  Done so far is new carpet, new heat and air, dry wall repair and painting.  Tomorrow the base boards get installed and Monday the last slider will be put in.  It has been quite a journey and one that won't be over until sometime in November when the wood trim gets painted on all three new sliders.

Last week was a much needed and pleasant break when I flew to Sacramento and borrowed Lori's car to visit friends and family.  The most important event was the marriage of Pam and Lori on Saturday, October 19th.  Weddings are always a happy event but this one was more so.  The girls have been together for almost 20 years and now they can have a legally recognized relationship.  The wedding was small but filled with lots of laughter.  I'm only posting a couple of pictures for now but the smiles on our faces tell the story........
 









Portland continues to have 70 degree weather so we're having a wonderful time going for walks and enjoying the beautiful fall colors.  Roger is in school this afternoon so Bella and I took the streetcar down to River Front for lunch.  Afterwards I had fun practicing with my new digital SLR camera.  I'm still in the amateur stage so my hope is to get better and better photos as I go along.

Today has been busy for Bella so she's very tired.  This is her yawning on the way home.

 

Speri Wine Dinner at Mucca Osteria

Oh, what a night.  Ann and I just returned from a three hour dinner at one of Portland's fabulous Italian restaurants that tonight featured the wines from the Speri family in Italy.  We enjoyed five courses of delicious food accompanied by a different Speri wine with each course.  Luca and Ann enjoyed talking about wine making and it was very interesting hearing how each wine is made from a single vineyard.  Everything is done by hand and the wines are fabulous (we loved them all).  This was definitely a decadent experience and one that we'll long remember.

The dinner started with seared sea scallops, roasted quail and homemade egg Pappardelle with wild boar ragu.  The entree was braised beef blade roast and dessert was flourless port infused chocolate cake.

Crazy Week #1 Continues..............

Things that I've learned so far this week:

1.  Don't upgrade Internet Explorer when prompted to because the prompt is actually a fake website that loads a virus (who thinks of these things?).  I finally had to subscribe to a web site that helps me clean bugs from my system.  I also installed Google Chrome and now I can blog again plus I don't get those annoying pop-up ads!

2.  Don't be in a hurry when remodeling - slow down and realize that there's a progression when it comes to scheduling sub-contractors.  Right now, I'm waiting for the dry wall person to do his job, then tile needs to be found and installed where the living room heat pump was removed, then the painter comes in, the third slider will be installed and then the painter comes in again to paint all the wood on the sliders.  My biggest concern is that I've forgotten something or someone - but I'll soon figure all that out!

3.  It's time to regain control of my "stuff" - mostly by getting rid of some.  Goodwill is going to love me this month.

4.  I really CAN live without a desktop computer and all of my office clutter - well, most of the time.

5.  Be thankful that I can take a rest and travel to California next week to visit friends and family and attend Lori and Pam's wedding next Saturday.

Roger's new studio is a disaster zone because he's waiting for his son, Brian, to complete building some storage units for his painting supplies and canvas.  I'm crossing my fingers that maybe when I get back from California he'll have everything in place.  (It doesn't hurt to dream!)

Crazy Week #1

Why #1?  Because there are more on the way.  The "office" is being converted to a sitting room.  The guest room will soon be a studio - two new sliders are installed & every room is torn up.  To complicate things my desk top computer is disconnected & my laptop has a virus so if I continue blogging I have to use my phone.

This week I'm getting bids for drywall & painting & new carpet will be installed Tuesday.  All this must be done before the sitting room slider is installed so I have to be very organized!

In one week I'll be in California so that will slow down the process.  This will be my last blog for awhile but let's stay in touch via email .......