Freakout Setting In

I'm finally starting to freak out about our trip. Well, not about the trip, exactly, but about the amount of stuff that has to get done between now and when I leave (one week from today). I've been contemplating taking a weekend trip to San Francisco, driving down Saturday for a bike race on Sunday and then driving back Monday, but I'm thinking that the timing just isn't right - I'd only have one day in which to get all the pre-trip stuff done both at home and at work, and I just don't think it's possible! (It would be if I didn't need sleep, but there you are.) We've been talking about going to this bike race for a few years - perhaps we can finally make it next year.

Other trip-related items:

1. I'm now in touch with my former coworker's friends in Munich, who appear to be happily spending an evening with us for dinner and the true "beer garden experience." My aunt said she'd try to contact her friend in Berlin to see if he'll be around when we're there, too, which would be great. Nothing like chatting with locals when traveling.
2. Our railpass packet arrived yesterday, though I haven't even had a chance to glance through it. I've got to take a moment this afternoon to make sure everything is in order, and then tuck it away in the money belt until we need it.
3. I handed over the keys to the house-sitter yesterday as well. She'll move in the afternoon of the day I leave. She's a regular Dr. Doolittle, and even our anti-social cat fell in love with her the last time she house-sat for us. We adore her, and are often sorry that she only spends this much time at our house when we're not around!

If I do pass on the San Francisco thing, I'll probably start thinking about packing this weekend - you know, that Type A thing about making lists and piles and making something that could take an hour last three days? Yeah, that's me. And that'll be my weekend. Hey, it's called "Labor Day," so I ought to at least feel like I'm working, right??

Sister Kate's Blog

Chris' sister has started her very own blog - it's dedicated to chronicling her first year as a teacher. I think she hits her two-week mark tomorrow, so there's plenty of opportunity for you to go back and read from the very beginning.

State Time Trial Championship

Wow, these are really delayed... This actually happened the first weekend of August. My main excuse for not posting them sooner is that I didn't develop the film until last week. My second excuse is that most of the pictures I took suck. So really, I'm sparing you. You should thank me.

You're welcome.


This isn't a great picture, but it's a really interesting bike. Yes, underneath that white rocketship is a recumbent bike. And this guy always gets the fastest times at the Time Trials - every year. (You can see other recumbents lining up in front of him.) The funny thing about this was that the fellow on the far side of the picture holding the clipboard took one look at the clearly shirtless Rocket Man and said, "Are you wearing anything in there?" To which Rocket Man chuckled and nodded. I imagine it gets pretty toasty in there, though.


Someone's water bottle, left at the Start/Finish line.

Housefire: On a One-Week Delay

I actually got this film developed last week, right after the fire, but hadn't had time to scan and post the shots until now. So, these are all from the morning after the night before, when the fire had flared up again and the troops were all back.


When I walked down the block, this is what I saw. It was amazing, since all we'd seen the night before was flames in the roof. We figured it had to be bad on the other side of the house - and it was, as you can see.


There was a firetruck ladder stretched over the street and parking lot, and these two firefighters were on the end of it pouring that foam stuff into small holes in the roof.


Then they decided the hole wasn't big enough, and started cutting away the roof with a chainsaw.


In these pictures you can see how they fought the remnants of the fire from two angles - the two guys were still on the roof, and then two other guys starting breaking out what was left of the windows and spraying foam in from underneath.



This was when they'd cut a large enough hole in the roof to really get at the morning flare-up.


Once again, big thanks to the firefighters. If you know a firefighter, thank 'em for what they do.

Good Parenting

As I pulled up to my workplace this morning, the garbage truck was right behind me. I stepped out of the car and was grabbing my purse when I heard the garbage man say, "So, I guess you're not a Republican, huh?" I smiled (because he was smiling) and said, "How did you guess?"

(The joke here is visual, and since I don't have a picture it's kind of like a visual gag on the radio. In other words, it doesn't work. So I'll explain it. Meaning it will no longer be funny, but at least you'll understand it. See, I have a few lefty bumper stickers on my car - the most prominent one says, "He is not my President." Funny, huh? Funny joke? Okay, nevermind. Read on.)

He then went on to explain that the back of my car looks just like his daughter's backpack. And then he said something that was a pleasant surprise. He said, "I'm a Republican - I'm not a Bush fan, but I'm a Republican. But I've always taught my daughter to think for herself. If she comes to me and says, 'Bush is stupid,' that's not good enough - but she thinks about this stuff more than I do now, and I'm really proud of her for that. If I find new bumper stickers I bring them home to her."

I just thought that was the coolest thing. More people thinking for themselves can only be a good thing for the future of the country.

Spam Comment Blocker

My apologies to anyone who's annoyed with the recent addition of word verification before you can leave a comment on this blog; I've deleted a few bits of spam from the comments section, and I frankly just didn't want to mess with it anymore - especially since I hear these things have a tendency to spiral out of control, and I really don't need another time-sucker in my life (I have plenty already). You can still leave comments, if you're a real person, you just have to jump through one last hoop. So, again, my apologies.

All Booked

I really thought booking hotels for this trip would be harder than it was - after hearing that September was one of the high seasons, I figured my email inquiries would be mostly met with apologies and no vacant rooms. But I got tons of offers, including offers from the hotels I was hoping would be available. So, after a few more emails this morning, we're all booked!

Airline tickets? Check.
Rail passes? Check.
Train reservations on first day? Check.
Hotel reservations? Check.

Wa-hoo!

All that remains are the rest of the train trips, which will be easy to handle once we're there - if we even need to do anything at all, since we'll have the rail passes. It's all so exciting...

Chris is starting to get frantic (or at least the Chris version of frantic, which is decidedly more calm than most people), as he leaves for Berlin in less than a week. He's also got to bring two pieces of luggage - his trade show bag, which he'll likely ship back to the States after the show ends, and his vacation bag. What'll probably happen is that he'll throw a bunch of stuff in a bag at what feels to me like the last minute, I'll plan my packing strategy for three days before I even put a single thing into a bag, and he'll end up being better packed. This has happened enough times already that you'd think I'd learn from him and just follow his lead, but there's still a part of me that's convinced it's all dumb luck, and luck has to run out at some point. Hell, I'm also just too paranoid to do it any other way! I'll admit it!

(I feel much better now, thanks.)

We also have our favorite cat-sitter coming to the house on Tuesday to be reacquainted with the house and the feline family, so that'll be another big item checked off. It's all going swimmingly.

And speaking of swimming, I've been hearing horrid stories of massive flooding in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and other nearby countries. I've heard that it's not bad in Munich or Salzburg, the two cities in the flooded region we're planning to visit, but it's bad enough in other areas - people have died. What's particularly sad to me is that in Portugal they're dealing with devastating forest fires and not enough water, and in Bavaria they have too much water. I wish there was a way to equalize these things.

BootsnAll Kicks Ass

May I glow a bit more about the kind folks at Portland's own BootsnAll? I swear, I've emailed and called them with the same stupid questions about a Railpass for our trip next month, and not only do they keep answering them (nicely, even!), they've encouraged me to contact them again if I have more questions. Crazy nice, I tell you.

Any-hoo, they can relax a bit now, as I just got off the phone with "Eurail Expert" Dave, having just completed the purchase of our passes. I shouldn't need to call them again until the next time I leave the country...

Seriously, if you're in the market for a Eurail Pass, or just have questions about them, they're fantastically helpful and courteous and knowledgable. Just don't tell 'em I said to bug 'em too much.

All Travelers Are Explorers At Heart

As I've said before, I think it's possible to do what others might call "travel" a little closer to home. If you're looking at a place with new eyes, the place just might seem new. And what is travel if not visiting new places? But even if I'm returning to a place I know well, there has to be an element of discovery - of exploration - to each trip I make.

Toward that end, I give you this website. It's a catalog of the activities and events around Lewis & Clark's Voyage of Discovery and the anniversary of their journey. Take a look around you and get reacquainted with your surroundings in a whole new way.

Fire Aftermath

I wandered down the street when I got home from work yesterday to see what the house looked like, and found that it had already been boarded up and there was a fence around the whole thing.



The fire-damaged cars are still parked in front of the house, inside the fence, and the fence is surrounded by yellow tape that I'd never known existed until yesterday - instead of "Police Line," it says, "Fire Line - Do Not Cross."



Still no word (that I'm aware of) on the cause of the fire. I'm still really curious.

The Roof is On Fire

Chris woke me up at 12:30 this morning with the words, "The house next door is on fire." I don't remember the last time I woke up so quickly.

We ended up standing in our driveway for the next two hours watching the fire get worse and then better as the firefighters cracked new holes in the roof. It was really amazing to see - thankfully, the residents in the only lived-in apartment got out safely, and the only injury was to a firefighter who cut his lip when one of the windows broke. Still, the tri-plex looks to be a total loss. Even the cars parked in front of the house were burned about 2-3 feet up the hoods.

I took a bunch of pictures last night (not using the flash, since I figured the firefighters had enough to deal with without me blinding them every few seconds), and when the fire kicked up again. I talked with a couple of firefighters who said they left at around 5am, only to be called back at 6:30 when it was apparent the fire was being stubborn. It's an older structure, and apparently had gone through a couple remodels which gave it multiple ceilings - making beating the fire down more difficult than it would've been otherwise.

Big kudos to the firefighters from the Lake Oswego & Tualatin Valley departments - I thanked the folks I talked to this morning for being there. Anyway, it was fascinating to watch, and a little too close to home. Literally.


Left: This is what it looked like when we first got outside; lots of smoke, and little bits of flame poking through small holes in the roof. At this point it had probably been burning since midnight. You can kind of see at the right-hand edge of the top of the roof that there's a firefighter up there cutting a hole in the roof. Right: As soon as the hole(s) in the roof opened up, the fire just leapt into the air. Most of the fire (and therefore firefighting personnel) was on the other side of the house from where we were standing, so all we saw for most of the time was these jets of water from the fire engines shooting over the top of the roof.


Left: More flames, as the fire kept brewing up and then being beaten back down. Right: A whole team of firefighters ended up standing in our driveway at the back of the house for awhile - possibly taking a break in between their "shifts" - whatever the reason, my neighbors and I felt more secure just having them close.


The fire kicked up again around 6:30am, and I walked down to the other side of the house around 8. The firefighters in these pictures are shooting that fire-retardant foam stuff into the roof and windows.



More fire-retardant foam being shot into the roof, after cutting larger and larger holes with a chainsaw. One of the fire investigators is in the bottom picture - they were taking all kinds of pictures this morning. I'll be really curious to know how it started.


Big, big thanks to the Lake Oswego & Tualatin Valley fire departments. Firefighters are people you don't know you're thankful for until something like this happens... And frankly, you probably wish you never even think about them. The guys I talked to this morning were really nice, and I'm very glad they're as enthusiastic about doing their job as they are.

There's a story about the fire here, along with video.

Coldplay videos from Seattle show

Yes, another Coldplay post... These are some soundless videos taken at the Seattle show the day before the one I saw. Just in case you're interested...

National Geographic Traveler

I've subscribed to this magazine for awhile now, and talked about its virtues before. I'm prompted to mention it again, however, because of something I saw in the latest issue - they've revamped their website (permanent link on the left). One of my favorite things about it so far (I'm sure I'll find more to love, I just haven't played with it much yet) is the photography section. They'll post a new photo every week that's free to download and makes a perfect computer background. Nice little gift, thank you!

Coldplay in Clark County

Coldplay at the Clark County Amphitheater
August 17, 2005

It’s increasingly evident to me that I’m getting old. Not in the “if it’s too loud, you’re too old” sense, as I crank the stereo as much as anyone. No, this time I’m talking about the “I’m going to a concert, which means I must get completely dolled up” sense. When I got home yesterday after work I fully had the intention of doing the whole “dolled up” thing, like I did when in my youth I frequented those hair-band concerts, but instead I opted for comfort. If that’s not a sign of getting old, I don’t know what is.

Yesterday was a day of other firsts as well – Chris & I had never seen Coldplay (arguably my favorite band) in concert, nor had we seen a show at the Clark County Amphitheater. We didn’t know what to expect of either, though our hopes were pretty high for both. One not only did not disappoint, but so far exceeded hopes that I was giddy. The other set itself up to be sublime, only to have everything come crashing in at the end. I’ll leave it to you to figure out which was which.

As we anticipated, traffic getting out of Oregon and into Washington was a royal pain. To be fair, it was rush hour, but it took forever. We parked the car and walked toward the unassuming Amphitheater with the rest of the lemmings. I mean concertgoers. I say the Amphitheater is unassuming because it’s hardly noticeable from the highway, or, frankly, from the parking lots. I’m used to giant structures like the Rose Garden in Portland or the Tacoma Dome in (ahem) Tacoma, and was unprepared for how very nearly invisible the Amphitheater is. Sure, it’s not as big as either of the two stadiums I mentioned, but it’s pretty big for being so hard to see.

We made a beeline for the bathrooms, and here I found one of the more amazing things I’ve ever encountered at a place where large numbers of people gather – a women’s bathroom with no waiting line. Seriously. None. Not one. It was like a toilet assembly line – every time a door opened, the woman who had literally just walked into the place marched into the barely vacated stall and shut the door again. I’ve never seen anything quite so remarkable in my life. (Guys, you won’t appreciate the marvel that is a women’s toilet without a line, but tell the women in your life and watch their jaws drop. Ladies, you know what I’m talking about, huh? I thought so.)

We headed for our seats at around 7:30pm, knowing the opening band, Black Mountain from Vancouver BC, was taking the stage at 7:45pm. (I’d never heard of them, but having been in an opening band once upon a time, I like to try to respect the opening band and get there early enough to at least give them a chance.)

Our seats were so much better than I thought they’d be. Chris wasn’t surprised at the proximity of the stage, as he’d counted the number of rows back we were (20) and did the visual math. Thing is, I suck at visual math, and so it wasn’t until we sat down that I realized we would be able to see expressions on musicians’ faces. Yeah, I was a little schoolgirl-ish in my response to that.

Black Mountain was fine, if a bit left-of-center from Coldplay (apparently one of the Coldplay guys likes them, which is how they got the gig – more power to ‘em). We made another bathroom break in between bands, caught up with some friends we knew were at the show, and sat back down again to await the magic.

Let me just reiterate here that I am, in fact, old. I have plenty of concert-going experience under my belt, and consider myself something of a concert-going pro. The problem with this cocksure attitude is that I haven’t been to many big rock shows in the last five years – it’s been mostly smaller clubs. So I was totally taken aback by the abundance of digital cameras around me. My experience taught me that no cameras are ever allowed into concerts, and if you want to try to sneak one in it had better be well-concealed and only unearthed once the lights go down and the security personnel can’t get at you. These brazen folks had them held aloft, snapping shots of the naked stage in full view of the security folks – who didn’t bat an eyelash. I was puzzled (especially because the large signs outside the Amphitheater list cameras as one of the things you can’t bring in – mixed messages are bad things). (The photos I've posted here are from this kind concertgoer, from the Seattle show the day before - which looked remarkably similar - except for one picture, which is noted below and from this person, from the Clark County show.)

When the lights finally went down again and Coldplay took the stage, it was nonstop amazing music for the next 1¾ hours. They are a tech-savvy band, and have a large video screen behind them that not only shows the occasional pre-shot video but also shows live shots of them at that very moment – there are video cameras stationed at various spots around the stage. The images are sometimes heavily processed, and always colorful.


The show opened with this 'countdown' screen, allowing the band members to be shadows as they entered the stage.


Here are two samples of the screen later on - sometimes it was one big picture (left), other times it was one picture repeated several times (right).

I don’t know if singer Chris Martin has someone who feeds him local information about the places they play, but during the second song, “Politik,” he ad-libbed the following lyrics (the red text is the new stuff):

Give me strength, give me believers
Give me the Ducks, give me the Beavers
Give me love, and on an on,
Give me Portland Oregon

Needless to say, the crowd loved it.

He was very chatty during the show, at one point saying, “I’m not sure where we are – should we say we’re in Portland or Vancouver or Clark County or what? Wherever we are, thanks for coming here to see us play!” At another point, directing comments to the general admission folks seated on the lawn at the back, he said that there had been a recent poll in England in which Coldplay was voted the best band to view from far away. He said it was because they weren’t handsome fellows, though he said “we sing like fucking angels.” Yes, indeed.


Left: Buckland, Martin & Berryman onstage; Right: Closeup of Martin & Berryman

The setlist from the night:

Square One
Politik
Yellow
Got Put a Smile Upon Your Face
Speed of Sound
Low
A Rush of Blood to the Head
Everything’s Not Lost
White Shadows
The Scientist
'Til Kingdom Come
Ring of Fire
Don’t Panic
Clocks
Talk

Encore:
Swallowed in the Sea
In My Place
Fix You

Two shots of Martin on guitar - I love the one on the right.

At the end of “Yellow,” the band’s first big hit, large yellow balloons filled with yellow confetti were released from the rafters and bounced through the crowd like beach balls. When the song ended and many of the balloons remained intact, Martin said, “You can burst them now.” They apparently didn’t want to go to the next song with the damned things still floating around. The few that ended up onstage were popped enthusiastically by the neck of Chris’ guitar. Guitarist Jon Buckland attempted to pop one in the same way, but it slipped out from under the guitar’s neck like a grape and back out over the audience.


The yellow balloons as they bounced down the audience toward the stage. (photo from here)

“Til Kingdom Come” is the “hidden track” on the newest CD, “X&Y,” and was originally written for what was to be Johnny Cash’s next American Recordings CD with Rick Rubin. As Johnny died before he got to record the song, Coldplay reclaimed it as their own. Martin has said in interviews about the song that there’s no way they could just sing the song without telling the Johnny Cash story, because there are lyrics in it that they could never get away with – namely the “wheels just keep on turning/The drummer begins to drum” bit. I think he might be exaggerating, but I can hear Cash singing the song easily. It would have fit well. They segued from a near-Cash song into the real thing with their rendition of “Ring of Fire,” which came off quite well – better than I would have expected.

The setup the band uses for this pair of songs is cozy. A small keyboard is set up at the very front of the stage, and the drummer Will Champion comes up to play it. Buckland stands just to his right, Martin (playing an acoustic guitar) stands just to his left, and the bass player Guy Berryman actually sits down on the floor just behind where Champion is sitting, only getting up for the harmonica bits. (“Don’t Panic” is in the same cozy setup, though Martin hands over acoustic duties to Berryman.) It’s a sweet intimate setting, perfectly showcasing how well these four guys seem to get along. There are several points during the show when Martin calls out to Buckland on the other side of the stage, or gestures to him in some kind of inside joke. At times, the camaraderie is so evident it’s like you’re watching a band rehearse.


The intimate acoustic setting (Martin isn't visible here, he's on the other side of Berryman who's playing harmonica).

It’s not often that a band does every song I’m there to hear, and this was no exception – though they played nearly every major label song I adore (there are plenty of unreleased gems, but they didn’t play a single thing that wasn’t on a major label release – with the exception of “Ring of Fire,” of course). Martin has said in interviews that the band thinks “Fix You” is the best song they’ve ever written, and it’s a great show-closer. It’s the only time (to my knowledge) that all four band members sing at the same time, and it’s a glorious sound. Truly a wonderful note on which to end a wonderful evening.


Left: During "Fix You," the screen showed each band member as they did their four-part harmony; Right: Martin applauding the audience

Oh, but it doesn’t quite end there, does it? No, no – as far as you’re concerned, we’re still in our seats at the Amphitheater, watching the haze from the fog machine drift away from the stage. Ordinarily, that’d be a fine place to be, and a perfectly acceptable way to end a concert review. But this, my friends, was not an ordinary evening.

We walked – quickly – back to our car and then dove into a line of cars which we thought was just waiting for an opening in the long line of departing vehicles. We thought there would be a wait, to be sure, but maybe something along the lines of 20-25 minutes at the most. We proceeded to wait in that parking area – no more than twenty feet from our original parking space – for very nearly two hours. We watched as a fire truck, an ambulance and then a tow truck arrived, but never knew where they were going. We still have no earthly idea what the giant holdup was, but we could have watched the entire concert over again in the time that we sat in the parking lot. I have never been, nor do I ever plan to be, one of those people who leaves a show early to beat the traffic – but in the future, if I see another show at the Clark County Amphitheater, I’ll be taking advantage of that bus they advertise on their website. Now I know why they’re pushing it so hard…

Still, the nasty (man, that doesn’t even come close to describing it, really) traffic as we tried to leave didn’t diminish how great Coldplay was live. I’m looking forward to the next time they come to town, and you can bet I’ll be bringing my camera.



Thanks to a kind friend who agreed to edit this. You think it's long now? You should've seen it before...

21 August Update: You can find more pictures from the Clark County show here. I also forgot to mention the final nail in the "I'm an old concertgoer" coffin - during "Fix You" I turned around to see that only a few people were holding lighters aloft... Most people were holding their open CELL PHONES with the lit screens toward the stage.

Just a Quickie

I'm about to head out the door, so this is just a quick note on future items (what did you think I meant by "quickie??"). Chris & I saw Coldplay last night at the Clark County Amphitheater, and I'm working on a review which I hope to post soon. We're also meeting my former co-worker, the Germany expert, tonight for din-din. So hopefully I'll also be making some hotel reservations. There are many, many things to do, and not enough time to do them all. Isn't that just the way?

Itinerary Building

Chris & I talked about it a bit on Monday night, and now have a better idea of what our itinerary might look like for our trip next month. When I'd originally plotted it out, I hadn't realized that Oktoberfest begins on September 17 - the day I had us arriving in Munich. I've since rearranged things so that we'll be out of Munich long before the festivities start.

The cities we'll be sleeping in are Berlin, Munich and Prague (though not in that order). We're meeting a former co-worker for dinner tomorrow night - she's lived in Germany and still goes there regularly, so we'll be picking her brain for information. She may even be able to connect us with friends she has in Munich and Berlin, which would be fun - it's almost always better to see a city through the eyes of a local.

I'm looking forward to seeing Prague again after a 13 year absence, and am especially excited to see the Bone Church outside Kutná Hora (reminiscent of the Capuchin Crypt in Rome, which I loved). Chris isn't terribly interested in the morbid art of the place, so I've agreed to go to a German football match with him if he'll go to the Bone Church with me. Not a bad trade (especially since I'd love to see a football match!)...

Roadside America

I found this site linked on a Boots N'All post, and though I haven't hunted much yet, it looks fabulous and funky. A good combination, don't you think?

More Food Experimentation

As promised, here are the last pictures of Sister Kate's visit. She ended the week as she'd spent most of the rest of it - experimenting with food! We took her to Uwajimaya mid-week, and she stocked up on all kinds of goodies. While I spend most of my time in the candy/snacks aisle, Kate laid waste to the beverages aisle. I made her promise to drink the weirdest things before she left, as I wasn't interested in the "white gourd drink." (Incidentally, the only thing she didn't get to was the lychee drink, which is fine with me - I like lychee.) The last thing she polished off was this gem - "basil seed drink with honey." It looked like fish eggs, and tasted (she said) like bananas. Why? Well, a glance at the ingredient list revealed the answer - banana flavoring. Apparently basil seeds and honey don't lend enough flavor on their own. Shocking.


Here's the basil seed drink. Looks appetizing, eh?

Kate flew out on Saturday afternoon, so we made her last taste of Oregon the donuts at our beloved farmer's market stand. As you can see, she liked the chocolate one.


Chocolate donut rapture

And on a non-food-related note, we had a blast at the Twilight Criterium in downtown Portland's Park Blocks on Friday night. For the second year in a row, the crowds at the start/finish line were large and loud - a nice change for the riders, who often ride in anonymity at local races. We camped out for most of both races that night at the first turn. It was crazy fast, and thankfully only saw one spill. As you can see, the riders are a blur - which is exactly how they appeared as the flew by.


Riders at the Twilight Criterium

Post-Visit

I like having company. I love sharing my home, and my little corner of the world, with people. I also like getting back to my good-old ordinary routine when company leaves. There's that little part of me that enjoys going around the house after company's gone and putting everything back in its place ("just so"), doing chores neglected during the visit, and just generally relaxing. Which we did on Saturday after dropping Sister Kate off at the airport. We relaxed... By painting two rooms in our house.

In hindsight, there are many reasons we shouldn't have plowed ahead with the plan to paint rooms (not the least of which is that it was 95+ degrees out all weekend and we don't have air conditioning, so getting that much-needed "cross-ventilation" was stiflingly hot), but we did it anyway. The end result is lovely, we're both very happy with it - and we've also learned some things we'd do differently next time. Of course, the last time I had a paintbrush in my hand prior to this weekend was probably over a year ago - so "next time" might not be anytime soon. I hope we remember all of our precious lessons learned.

(The silliest part of it all is that we painted the guest room and the guest bathroom - after the guest had left. And these are, arguably, two of the least-used rooms in the house. They're beautiful, though...)

Next on the agenda is some serious trip-planning for next month's holiday. It's looming - much closer than I'm comfortable with for not having anything planned yet - and I haven't even had time to get freaked out about the lack of arrangements. I'm sure this week's down-time will allow me ample time to catch up, though (on both planning and freaking out).

I think I have a couple more photos from the last few days of Kate's visit, which I'll try to post later. She started her first post-college "real" job today, and will soon be teaching music to America's youth (or at least some of them). I wish her the best of luck, especially in light of the near-mutiny by the kindergartners during her internship... Seriously, she'll be fantastic at it - she's enthusiastic about both music and kids, and has tons of ideas for introducing her students to all kinds of world music. The idea that there are nations beyond our borders is a concept that is best taught early and often, so I'm thrilled that she'll be doing her part to make the world seem smaller to as many kids as she can.

Finally, we won't be going anywhere near Siena on this trip, but a friend sent me this link and it brought back fabulous memories. Siena is dreamy. If you've been, you know what I mean, and you probably just sighed deeply, didn't you?

Eating Her Way Through Portland

Chris' sister Kate has been enjoying the culinary offerings in our fine city. Last summer when she was here with the folks, we introduced them to bubble tea at Bubble Bubble - and she made a special request for a return visit. She got her wish on Tuesday.


Kate enjoying a Taro Milk Tea from the SE location

Then on Wednesday, after a crazy morning buying the Grand Ave. Goodwill nearly out of their stuffed animal supply, she had a hankering for a PB&J sandwich from the Pearl Bakery (Chris had recommended them highly). So, we ate lunch at the Pearl, dessert at nearby Mio Gelato, and then spent an hour (and lots of cash) at Powell's. It was a good day.



Top row: sign inside the Pearl & my country pate panino
Bottom row: Kate's fizzy espresso drink "Bibicaffe," and our gelato desserts (mine's the small one)

Family Summer Visit

Chris' sister Kate is visiting us this week - she graduated from college this spring, and begins her first post-school job next month, so Chris invited her out to stay with us. She arrived yesterday morning, and yesterday was pretty low-key. We have a few things we'd like to do while she's here, but mostly it's about relaxing and - frankly - eating! She's made a few requests about restaurants she wants to try, or foods she wants to eat that she can't get at home. It's all stuff we love, too, so we're happy to oblige.


Last night Chris made what has become this summer's dessert favorite - peach tart tatin. It's beautiful and covered in a dark caramel that complements the sweet and tangy peaches perfectly.


For dinner, Chris made pizzas on the grill, and the evening was so lovely we ate on the deck. As you can see here, Kate enjoyed her dinner...

Summerloaf 2005

This past Saturday was the Portland Farmer's Market's annual Summerloaf bread festival. We try to go every year - the city's exceptional bakeries are out in force, and there are talks going on throughout the market about various aspects of baking. Of particular interest this year to Chris - still on a quest for the perfect pizza - was a morning talk by Brian Spangler, the maestro behind Apizza Scholls on Hawthorne.


Brian Spangler demonstrating his pizza-making techniques (Pearl Bakery's Tim Healea serving as microphone stand)

He did do a really interesting talk - I'm not the cook, so I'm sure there was more of it that was of use to Chris, but even I picked up a couple new tidbits. And the sample pizzas he passed around were a fine way to end the little seminar.

In Memoriam: Peter Jennings

I woke up at 7 to discover that Peter Jennings died last night after a brief struggle against lung cancer. In the short half-hour since I heard the news, these are the things that have gone through my mind.

Peter Jennings was my first exposure to the news. I remember watching the evening news with my entire family gathered around the television. Whenever I wrote a paper for school (in the days before the Internet), I would think, "I'll bet Peter Jennings' children have a much easier time of it, since their father's like a walking encyclopedia!" His voice was so reassuring, so calming, so authoritative.

As I watched the coverage this morning I was surprised when tears sprang into my eyes. Even in my not-very-awake state I called a family friend who worked very closely with Peter at ABC News to send my condolences. My mother, who watched Peter's evening newscasts nearly every night, is on a rafting trip in Alaska right now, away from any news sources. I know she'll be saddened to hear when she returns next week.

Watching someone on the news every night, you begin to feel that they are in your living room every night. They become part of your family. So I'm feeling this family loss today.


Peter Jennings, 1938-2005 (photo from abcnews.go.com)