September 2013

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Sunday afternoon, and it is rainy-drizzly and quite fall-like. I’m wearing a long-sleeved shirt and cozy cardigan with shorts, eking out summer as long as I possibly can. This was yesterday, celebrating the last of summer weather and the 100th Anniversary of Franklin High School. We’ve been a hop, skip, and a jump away for more than fifteen years but had never set foot in the building until then. Howdy-do Quakers! How beautiful and bright eyed are the girls at the window? And the trucks! Well, you know how much I love them. There was also a 1956 Cadillac like Elvis drove, but it will get its own post a little later. A real beauty!

We rode our bikes along the Springwater Corridor out to Gresham (24 miles round trip – toot, toot!), leisurely pedaling, hellooo-ing fellow riders and walkers, talking to the cute black bunny who did not give a whit about us, parking a time or two to glean the last of the ripe blackberries growing along the path (they were fabulous, Martha!), and, of course, taking plenty of snaps, as the hubster calls them. We stopped for a treat on Main Street, a scrumptious peanut butter chocolate and perfectly tart lemon cupcake at Bella Cupcake. If you are ever out that way, I highly recommend them!

Sayonara Summer 2013, you were mighty fine…

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Lobster Mushrooms with Chorizo and Parmesan Foam

Pulpo

Churros with Hot Chocolate Dipping Sauce

Isn’t it wonderful to have friends?

Last night, I rode my bicycle downtown to meet the hubster for dinner, and, quite likely, our last warm evening ride of the year. We went to Ataula, our new favorite tapas place, which, as it happens, is exactly where our old favorite place used to be, so there was no real need to lament the change, even though I did a little when I saw the space in the midst of renovations.

It is fantastic, with a very knowledgeable and friendly staff, and especially the chef, who personally made sure I got a bathroom key and came to our table while we were eating the lobster mushrooms (from Mt. Hood!) and chorizo with parmesan foam. We were the first to taste it besides him, and he wanted to make sure it was all that.  It really was! And come on, a place with churros and hot chocolate dipping sauce? The height of splendor, peeps, the height! Plus, there was pink bubbly wine and that smile. Jeepers. I am one lucky gal.

More luck in the form of timing. We rode to Chapman just in time to watch the Swifts! It was amazing and awe inspiring. Nature, I am in love with you!

Our route home took us down the Esplanade, where a multitude of like minded runners, walkers, and cyclists in shirtsleeves basked in the warm evening glow, of the moon and buzzing fluorescents. There were photographers with tripods, film makers, one man deep in conversation with Vera, and the awesome hush of reverence that this glorious city inspires. Portland, you are a gem.

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Heroine

Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.

Nora Ephron

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At six this morning, I awoke to dark skies; and later, while outside hanging laundry, a flock of southbound geese skimmed the neighborhood treetops. Change is coming, velvety green grass and skies plum full of drowsy clouds – gunmetal, granite, pearl, with their slow drips, drops, and drizzles. Rain. I love rain, the gleam of light on wet pavement, the gumbo of saturated earth, the sweet tang of sodden leaves. Fall. Winter. Spring. But the all-day dark that chills and creeps under my spirit cloak to weigh me d-o-w-n, that is harder to bear. So I grasp summer with both hands, and we shimmy and spin, skirts fluttering in the golden slant of sun beams. There is raucous laughter, much singing, and the hush of reverence all at once, everything at once: light, whispering wind, parched grass, and lovers holding hands. The last of the blooming flowers, a girl on a scooter, a boy screaming, and me, watching. I am alive. Leaves are falling into fall, summer’s fingertips slipping through mine.

So one last hike before another, I hope: Wahkeena Falls with Bert and Lori (Hi friends!). That’s the biggest slug I’ve ever seen. Then there were the ladies I regret not asking for a picture. A pair of old friends and cute and fit as can be, aged eighty-nine and ninety-two, hiking the trail. I hope that when I am old, I will be as sweet and generous and bright-eyed and have a friend who will hike with me to the falls. Oh! and that fourth picture down, of water with a white stripe? A giant salmon swimming upstream! There were many! The wonder of creation and I witnessed it with my own eyes.

Oh my goodness, how life is good, great, excellent – every single day!

 

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Follow

Follow your inner moonlight; don’t hide the madness.

Allen Ginsberg

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