It's Good to Have Neighbors

We have had here, in the past, two neighbors with diabetes (one moved last year), both of whom became well-known to the local paramedics over the years when they needed help. It's been awhile since I remember seeing the paramedics on our street, so when one of my neighbors called yesterday to ask if her husband's car (he's the diabetic) was still in the driveway, I knew pretty quickly that something was wrong. He was supposed to have picked her up at work 15 minutes before, and he's never late. When I confirmed that yes, his car was in the driveway, Chris and I ran over to see if he was okay.

We found him slumped over the wheel of the car, car door still open. He was breathing, but not responsive, and we called 911. They arrived quickly and they already knew him by name. They got him to come around and they didn't even need to take him to the hospital, which was great; and his wife arrived just after the paramedics left. It was a little freaky, but it turned out well - and I'm glad Chris was there, too. Our neighbor's wife was so calm throughout the whole thing - I'm sure she's dealt with this before, but still. She didn't panic (or at least didn't sound panicked), even when she was en route, courtesy of a coworker, and stuck in traffic.

So now all is well again in our little corner of the world, and I'm everso glad Chris and I were home to help out. It's nice to have a space that's all your own, to be sure, but it's times like that when I remember how nice it is to have neighbors who look out for one another.

When Baking is a Tourist Attraction

St. Honore
Originally uploaded by andiamotutti.

The lesson I learned from this visit to Portland's St. Honore bakery is that any time I've got my camera out it's an opportunity to take pictures. I don't have to be at a lovely garden (though I had been at a lovely garden mere minutes before sitting down for lunch) or on holiday, I just have to have the camera on my person and not give a whit about what people think. (It's the last part that's the tricky bit.) The good news for this excursion was that we found seats at the bar right in front of St. Honore's fabulous oven, so I just set the camera on the counter next to my plate and left it on, snapping pictures in between bites.

It just makes me wonder how many wonderful photographic opportunities I'm missing when I don't have my camera with me.

The Oregon Sun

I'm sitting here in my home office, furiously scribbling away about destinations all over the world, and yet I couldn't be happier to be where I am right now. After several days of rainy and rather gloomy (albeit typical Springtime) weather, the sun is streaming gloriously through my office window, I've got windows open all over the house and can hear the chatter of my gardening neighbors, and I've even kicked off my slippers and cast aside my cozy sweatshirt. It's not even May and I'm walking around my house barefoot and without long sleeves on, people! That's cause for celebration!

I hope it's lovely where you are.

Four Years

Happy Fourth Anniversary, Chris.

A Visit to Portland's Japanese Garden

Portland Japanese Garden
Originally uploaded by andiamotutti.

After saying I wanted to visit the Portland Classical Chinese Garden soon, we ended up making our way elsewhere over the weekend instead. During a lovely window of nice weather on Saturday we climbed up to the Portland Japanese Garden and spent just under an hour wandering around. I, of course, had my camera in tow - which was nice, as I haven't really had a chance to get it out and just play for awhile. As you'll see from the best shots I got that day, I have an odd fondness for those wee pagodas covered in moss. It would be nice to go back later in the year when more things are in bloom. The last time we visited that garden was probably easily seven or eight years ago, so it'd be nice to make a repeat trip without so much time in between.

BootsnAll Treasure Hunt

Let me say at the outset that if you're me or part of my immediate family, you're not eligible to play, so stop reading now lest you be disappointed.

Okay, now that they're all gone, check this out:

Every week for the month of May registered Hunters will have the opportunity to win awesome travel prizes, like hostel booking vouchers and travel books. The grand prizes, though, are what have got us all excited. We're giving away US$2000 towards a round-the-world ticket, an adventure trip in Turkey, Eurail passes and a whole lot more.

Sound good? It is good. Here's where to register.

And go ahead and spread the word - tell your friends about the BootsnAll Treasure Hunt - just make sure they're not related to me, that's all.

Portland's Horse Project

Horse Project
Originally uploaded by andiamotutti.

Well, this is a little blast from the past for me. Last year, when I was still reading blogs that didn't have anything to do with work, one of the blogs I read was called Ride My Handlebars. It was a delightful blog (I'm sure it still is) - and the thing I remember most about it was a whole series of entries about The Horse Project.

If you're familiar with Portland, you've seen those little metal rings on some sidewalks and you've wondered, what on earth are those for? The answer is simple - it's to tie up your car so it doesn't get away. (Kidding.) Honestly, it's quite possible those rings were put on the earth for the exact purpose for which they're currently being used. See, there are these wonderful people who go around and attach toy plastic horses to these metal rings all over town. I'd seen pictures of them on Ride My Handlebars, but had never seen one with my own eyes - until last week.

One of my coworkers stood at the front door of the house which is our office and said, "Did you see the horse tied up outside?" Now, this house is on a busy street, so I thought he was sounding a wee bit crazy - until I stepped to the window and saw it across the street. I think I squealed. It happened to be that brilliantly sunny day we had recently, so I ran outside with my camera to get a few shots of it. I'm pleased to report that when I was last in the office two days ago, it was still there. It was lying in the gutter covered with leaves, so I picked it up and put it back upright on the curb, but it was still there.

Anyway, if you want to learn a little more about the fantastic people who are injecting Portland with a little whimsy, go to The Horse Project part of their website.

A (Late) Easter Bunny Funny

This was introduced to us at a dinner party over the weekend, and though Easter has now come and gone for the year, I can't resist posting it here. If I wait until next year, I'll forget, and it's too amusing to rely on my stupid memory...


Thanks to Lynn for sharing.

Mocking "My Humps"

I'm not a Will Farrell fan, but the scene in the preview for his new ice skating movie where he's on a treadmill singing Fergie's "My Humps" makes me giggle. Alanis Morissette, however, has upped the ante significantly with her rendition of the song.



You go, girl. Thanks to William Bragg for the pointer.

(Oh, and you may have noticed some changes to the look of things around here; I just finally got around to upgrading the template with the new Blogger. Even though I don't totally love it, I'm probably too lazy to mess with it too much again.)

The Two-Minute Haggadah

Last night Chris & I went to the pre-Passover Seder celebration of a friend, which she called "Passover Lite." Even though we didn't read from this fabulous Two-Minute Haggadah, I wanted to share it with all y'all - especially the gentiles among you - as it's not only a speedy way to understand the whole Passover thing, it's also freaking hysterical. Here's just an excerpt:

Four questions:
1. What's up with the matzoh?
2. What's the deal with horseradish?
3. What's with the dipping of the herbs?
4. What's this whole slouching at the table business?

Answers:
1. When we left Egypt, we were in a hurry. There was no time for making decent bread.
2. Life was bitter, like horseradish.
3. It's called symbolism.
4. Free people get to slouch.

But really, you should read the whole thing. I mean, it'll take you all of two minutes (barring several minutes set aside for convulsive laughter, that is), so surely you can spare the time.

Happy Pesach to all, and to all a Good Night.