Catch You On The Flip Side

I am going to be absent from this little space, my cyberspace home, for the next week or so as we transition from our West Coast home to our East Coast home, and I will be back in full as soon as possible.

2009 Faery Festival

This past weekend, amidst packing and tying up some loose ends, we went to the Faery Festival


There were some happy crown wearers

and some unhappy ones...

What a dreamy place it was. Norah and Harvey made fairy wings, they planted fairy gardens, we watched men on sticks walk around in circles and we
sat
in
the
green green
grass.

Little Hands for Little Cups

We had tea and dumplings Chinese Gardens today, a rainy, bluish kind of Saturday. The general consensus upon driving up to the place was that it was going to be a bust--the gardens are small and are located on a rather dismal street in small Portland Chinatown. But once we got got inside, we realized how wrong we were. The smell of new flowers--gardenias, maybe lotus blossoms (do those smell?)--swirled through my nose and I was hooked, and so were the kids. Entranced is probably a better word for what me and Brian felt, and energized is certainly the word that would describe the kids' behavior. The rain made the experience even more calming. We watched together the little circles made bigger as the rain drops landed on the pools of water inside the gardens, we caught rain in our mouths, and we forgot for the moments we were there about the bluer moments we have had on the outside.

Columbia River in November

The weather has been bright, clear and chilly here for the past couple of weeks. We have been sadly squandering much of it away inside because I have been tired, tired, tired. But we have managed to get outside to enjoy it on a couple of occasions. On this particular Sunday morning, we watched planes take off, Harvey's new favorite pass-time, by the Portland airport. Following that, we went to a beach by the Columbia River. The kids ran around, drew pictures in the sand, and Harvey stared silently again out at the water. Beautiful, calm morning.

A Sprightly Kind of Play

My favorite place to take the kids in the afternoon is the top of Mount Tabor-- a park on the east end of town. It is a short uphill walk from the parking area to the green space where we plant ourselves for a couple of hours at a time. There is nothing particularly spectacular about the spot (although there is statue of a bronze Harvey)--the views are pretty but not breathtaking--but there is some kind of magic up there. I am sure of it. The worlds that Norah imagines on top of this mountain leave me with no words. She is pictured here with two leaves--birds for her. Her birds flew and ate and danced and flew some more with Harvey in tow all the while. A true wonder to behold. If only my own imagination was still that alive...

Making Me Happy

when I am very very tired.

Berry Picking

WOW! What a day! After waking up late (thanks for takin' care of the kids, Brode) and having my coffee brought to me (thanks again Brodie), Norah, Harvey and I headed off to a farm on Sauvie Island to gather some fruit. Sauvie Island, just fifteen minutes from downtown Portland, is filled with farms where residents of the area go to pick their own fruit.

There was something so good about getting my kids closer to their food source, closer to the land that feeds them. Deeply satisfying. Upon arrival, I popped Norah and Harvey into one of the wagons provided by the farm and we headed to the far end of the property where all of the berries grow. I was most excited about taking home some local berries and figured if we couldn't make it to the veggies because of a meltdown that we would at least come home with some fruity treats. Boy did we! We went deep into the raspberry bushes (as instructed) and came upon berry after yummy sweet-smelling berry. Norah had an outrageously good time picking them and Harvey had that same good time eating them.
After leaving the raspberries, we wagoned over to the blueberries. Had I ever truly taken the time to think about the labor involved in picking fruit, I would have enjoyed every berry I ever ate that much more. I planted myself in front of one blueberry bush and hadn't cleaned it of its fruit by the end of the 45 minutes I spent there. Now, granted, I am an inexperienced picker and I was also chasing down two toddlers but still!

The berries were such a hit with my kiddos that we even had time to pick some zucchini for dinner! Ah, yes, this is our kind of place.

Getting Dirty

and settling in. That is pretty much all we have been doing the past couple of weeks. This past weekend, we soaked up the last of Dada by running around in fountains, planting vegetables in our small garden, and catching up with my brother and his soon-to-be roommate Jesse around mealtimes.

Our existence in this new town has been a solitary one so far (with the exception of visiting family). Because we have no real "roots" here, I am scanning the Internet for things to do in the area, to get to know where we are. Today, the kids and I went to the zoo. Zoos normally depress me--all of those sad, lethargic animals trapped in small spaces, but this one was on the good end of bad. You actually feel like you are hiking through it--tall pine trees and chirping birds surround you. On the whole, it was a nice experience and we are sure to go back. Tomorrow, we are headed to Sauvie Island for some raspberry and blueberry picking.

I desperately want to feel rooted here, tied to a place, in it for the long haul. I know it will come with time, with a new job, and with a new home that is truly ours, For too long now, we have been in a state of upheaval. Now it is time for settling down.

Settling In

So, here we are. All moved in, almost all unpacked, and... and... and, well, what now? No really, what now?


Well, we went to the kiddie fountain at the park yesterday and rediscovered Harvey's love of water. He ran through them with a fierceness that I have never witnessed in him before. Watching him made me wonder if he was somehow expressing his anxst at all of the changes that have taken place in his life as of late.


Norah is reacting to those changes as well, but in a very different. Hanging close to us at parks and agonizing when I leave the house even for a moment. We are getting through it and we will fall in love with our new city. For now, we are taking it moment to moment.

The West

Our long trek across the country has come to an end. Yellowstone was the definitive highlight of the trip. Bison, Elk, waterfalls, swimmable hot springs, non-swimmable hot springs, all around awe-inspiring beauty.















In South Dakota, we got to take a good look at the absurd with the carving of presidential heads into rock at Mt. Rushmore and the very salt of the earth tourists that it attracts.












What may stand out the most though are images from Small Town, USA across the country. Images like this








and this









and this




What a place we live in. What a beautiful place.

Blogging Vacation

Will be back once we get to the west side.

Our Portland Home (for now)

After searching for days on craigslist, making endless phone calls to potential landlords, and generally not meeting any of the needs of my children, I managed to find us a place to live in Portland. We are going to be residing in a section of town known as Irvington. It is here that we are going to be best set-up to meet a community of others--there are lots of baby strollers, two parks, and many stores within walking distance of our new dogs. Even better, my brother is likely going to be living just a short bike ride away. All of my dreams are coming true--except for the fact that we are going to have no friends in this new land AND Brian is going to be spending the next 3-4 months on the road. Now THAT is going to be hard on everyone involved, but we have a job and are grateful for that in this economy.

We are going to be living in a part of Portland known as Irvington--evidently the heart of Music Together in Portland. I am hoping that we will meet as many friends in Portland through the MT program as we did in Montclair. Irvington is as close to Montclair as you can get on the West Coast. Th shops are quaint, there are not a lot of franchised businesses, and it is relatively urban as well. In fact, it is more urban than Montclair. Our backyard will be roughly half the size of the yard we have here, but this will be all the more reason from me to get out of the house and head to the park where hopefully some other nice mother will take pity on my lonely soul and invite me into her group of friends.

Brian and I were originally considering renting a place in the West Hills--still in Portland proper but much less citified. The place we almost rented had a kitchen constructed out of juniper and was virtually in a forest! however, at the last minute, we decided against it. Because he is going to be traveling so much, we worried that we would feel too isolated. I have this vision of all four of us living on acres of land, growing our own food, and truly living a sustainable life. BUT... now is just not the time.

Instead we will enjoy our little backyard in the big city...

Portland, Oregon

wow.

What a truly amazing city. Brian and I arrived last Monday and stayed for a week, looking at houses, discovering the city, discovering the state, talking with residents of Portland, and generally enjoying our time together. Although I must say, 7 days was entirely too long to spend away from Norah and Harvey. And I think my mom would agree. Harvey had a hard time the first four days and Norah had a hard time the last three so, essentially, my mom had a hard time the entire seven days.

I have not spent a great deal of time in the kitchen lately as I have been preparing to go out of town or going out of town. We ate at some fantastic restaurants in Portland. The Tin Shed is in the Alberta district. We stumbled upon this one with Brodie and Marla on their first night there. The menu is seasonal and rotating and simply delicious. The Farm is more upscale and not necessarily better but also delicious. We had a civilized dinner there with wine, roasted hazelnuts for appetizers, and pastas for dinner.

Knitting wise, I finished my mystery socks. I finished Brian's stocking. I have begun finishing Shack's cardigan and I have started Norah's sundress. I LOVE love LOVE Blue Sky Alpaca's cotton. Love it. Pictures of all of these to follow.