Portland 2022, the last five days

I think I got in a hurry to finish my blog post on my phone last week, and I'm realizing I missed some pictures and videos I want to remember from Wednesday.  First off, I took a picture of my view from the breakfast table that morning.  I was sitting at the table in front of the wet bar.  When they did the kitchen remodel last year, a wall and pocket door were removed, the ceiling was taken out and skylights were added.  Sometime I might post some pictures to show the old and new.  

When Brennan came home from school he and Dick played Sorry and a made-up version of Uno.  At some point Dick realized that Lillie Mae was lying under the table at his feet.  And then she even started playing footsie with him!  This was huge, because she had been extremely leery of him since day one!  She would growl at him, would not come inside if he was standing at the door calling her.  We could only assume that he reminded her of someone who had mistreated her in the first six weeks of her life before she and her siblings were rescued.  So this was the beginning, and she totally warmed up to him the rest of the week.

Dick grilled chicken breasts for our dinner with the kids that evening while Jeremy and Mike were at the rehearsal and dinner.  

After  dinner Dick and I sat on the porch and were entertained by Brennan and his spinner toy.

Of course we had some fun at the piano too!

Thursday was Megan's wedding day.  As I said at the end of my last post, Megan has been a friend of Jeremy and Mike and also Tom ever since they all lived in Florida.  Jeremy, Megan, and Tom all worked in the furniture and design industry.  She ended up taking a job in Portland, Tom in Virginia, and eventually Jeremy took one in Portland.   

Here's a picture from July 2010 when I first met Megan at Lisa's house in Florida.  She doesn't read my blog, so she won't kill me, lol!

All dressed up for the wedding.  Tom, Tasha, and Mike on the left, and Jeremy on the right.  Megan wanted Jeremy to officiate the wedding, so he got his credentials online.  I joked, "So you're finally a minister!"  

Beautiful Megan and Jordan.  Thankfully they were able to have everything indoors, even the photo shoot.  It was a very cool, rainy day.  

We picked Brennan up from school that afternoon and because of traffic, it took longer to get home than I had expected.  I was very conscious of the time because Sophie's 200-meter dash at Regionals was coming up soon.  We were planning to watch her events on Dick's iPad so I could video them with my phone.  But as I was getting anxious about missing it, I logged in to the meet on my phone JUST IN TIME!!  They were announcing the names in the last heat of the 100-meter dash!  So I watched it on my phone in the car and wasn't able to video it, but I did video her 400 and 200.  She came in first in all three events, which of course qualified her for States in all three.  

We played games with Brennan while we kept track of things on the iPad.  He was excited about her too and kept thinking he heard people yelling "Sophie" when it wasn't even her event.  

This was her 400 meter dash.  We really didn't think she would be coming in first on this one, but just watch her pull ahead at the very end!  I was so emotional watching it.

Last was her 200 meter dash.  Again she came in first!  These events were not as far apart at this event because there often were only two heats per event instead of seven or eight.  So she was so exhausted.  And she had been sick last week.

As I write this we are PRAYING for Sophie.  She has gotten even sicker this week and is at home today missing an important AP final.  Tomorrow is the States meet!  If you read this, please pray for her!

Back to Portland.  As I said, Thursday was cool and rainy.  But after Brennan was tucked into bed and Dick and I were sitting in the living room, I saw an amazing sunset through the windows.  I rushed out to get a picture of it, then turned around and got another gorgeous picture of their street.  

Friday was a slow, lazy day.  Rainy again, so Dick drove Brennan to school.  I hated not being able to walk him more often, but I am just not Portland enough to enjoy walking in rain, lol!  I made a delicious breakfast casserole which we ate closer to lunch time.  

Later in the afternoon Dick and I drove Tasha to pick up her tux for the prom.  It was nice to have some special time with her.  Brennan tends to take up all the attention with his non-stop talking and questions. 

I did a lot of laundry that day.  Here are a couple of lazy pictures I took in the evening.  

One person who was not lazy was Tom.  He made a scrumptious lasagna and garlic bread dinner.   They had a seasoning that topped it off - Truffle Parmesan Black Garlic.  

On Saturday morning I made a pan of Fruity Baked Oatmeal, another big hit.  Brennan helped me put all the ingredients into the bowl and he was so proud of our accomplishment!

Later in the morning we all stuffed ourselves into Jeremy's SUV.  Seven of us.  There are seven seatbelts, but Tasha, Brennan (and booster seat!), and I in that back seat were a tight squeeze!!   After some shopping at Nordstrom Rack and Home Goods we went across the parking lot for lunch at Red Robin.  

We had a long wait, but the food was SO good that it was worth it.  I never thought of getting a picture of us or the food.  Brennan was in high gear with his never-ending talking and repeated questions.  Tom, who had just spent time with his brother's family of five boys before coming to Portland, said at one point, "When I get home I'm going to just sit in my chair and stare at the wall in silence for at least five hours."  LOL!

Back at home, while Brennan was allowed some time on his tablet,  some of us sat down for the first of many rounds of Blokus.  As we played I was also taking pictures from my seat - Jeremy's artwork on the wall in front of me, his artwork on the wall behind me, and the light fixture and skylight above me.  I know Jeremy painted and made the frames for the artwork, but I don't think he made the light fixture, haha!  Although I'm sure he could. 

Tasha's prom was that evening.  Wearing a tux was totally her choice.  She would not have felt at all comfortable in a gown.  I love that Jeremy and Mike are allowing her the freedom to be comfortable in her own skin.  She reminds me of our Miki as a teen.  I'm afraid I was not as accepting of her tom-boyish appearance and interests and was always trying to make her into a girly-girl.  I regret the pressure I put on her.  Thankfully we can now joke about her permed hair and wool plaid skirts and ruffled dresses.  

Jeremy helped Tasha to style her hair!  

Then we went outside for a photo shoot.  Thankfully it had stopped raining over that time.  She was a good sport as Jeremy moved her from one spot to another to another and got a LOT of pictures.  This one is my favorite.

Some family pics too.  

Their friend Mark came over that evening and we played many rounds of Blokus.  So much teasing and so many laughs!  We had leftover lasagna and garlic bread as we played.  

Mike and Jeremy left later to pick up Tasha from the prom, and then later yet to take Tom to the airport.   It was so fun to spend time with him all week.  

He had slept in Tasha's room and she slept in Brennan's room (two bunk beds in his room.)  When she got home from prom she realized she could sleep in her own room again.  I heard a big sigh of happiness when she lay down in her own bed later on, haha!  She's such an easy-going good sport. 

Sunday was Mother's Day and it was our last day.  And it was the best day!  

Jeremy and I did a Costco run and also returned Tasha's tux.  

Back at home meal prep began.  Homemade pasta, which Jeremy started first of all on the counter top, then in the mixer.  Next was the pesto, made with their own basil.  Tasha was gladly helping with all of it.  

When they had asked what I wanted to do on Mother's Day I had two requests:  a family walk in their beautiful neighborhood and hearing Jeremy sing. 

Sometime in the afternoon Mike announced that it looked like there would be a break in the rain for the next thirty minutes, so this was our chance for a walk.   It was not sunny, but it was not raining!!  I got SO many beautiful pictures!!

I was so amused by this house!!  "Sports car hoarders" is what Jeremy calls them, hahaha!  There were actually more along the side street!

After our walk, the dough was made into fettuccine noodles.

Brennan also got the hair cut he had been begging for!  

Mike picked flowers from their gardens and arranged them in vases.  What a lovely collection!!  

He also picked lettuces from their gardens and made them into a delicious salad.  All three of them were busy getting the meal together.  Jeremy quickly cooked the noodles and stirred the pesto into it as well as the cherry tomatoes Mike had seared.   Tasha made chocolate covered strawberries for our dessert.  

When we finally sat down to dinner, it was like eating a gourmet restaurant meal! (Except for that sewing machine at the end of the table, haha!  More leather straps to be sewn for that bench.)

I didn't even get a picture of the appetizer - air fried asparagus, seasoned to perfection.   In addition to the pasta and salad we had air-fried red beet fries.  They were a hit too!  And last of all were the chocolate covered strawberries served with some of the frozen berry fluff I had made easier in the week.  

Brennan had three helpings of pasta and at least two of salad!  We all agreed that it was the best meal of the entire week and one to be repeated!

After dinner I got my other wish - hearing Jeremy sing.  We really had no time to practice, and I hated that I was wearing my orange sneakers from our neighborhood walk, and I had major page-turning issues, but so what?  I have the precious memory and a video to listen to again and again!

Throughout the day Dick and I had been packing up.  We were leaving on a red-eye at 11:00 pm.  We felt sad to be leaving.  But of course eager to go home too.  No matter where we are, we are always missing someone.  

Dick got a beautiful picture of a rainbow before we left!  And I took one last picture of their lovely street.  Jeremy and Mike took us to the airport and Mike got a picture of us with Jeremy before we walked in.  Those smiles were hiding tears.  

So our night of sleep was four hours on a plane.  Needless to say, we did not sleep well at all.  I was so annoyed that someone's alarm on their phone started ringing and apparently the person was sleeping through it, so it kept ringing and ringing.  Ugh!!!  

I felt REALLY ROUGH when we got off the plane in Detroit .  Of course time had marched ahead three hours, so it was daylight when we arrived.  We would be having a very long layover, so we took our good old time getting to our next gate.  We were really hungry and got a good breakfast at PF Changs.   Again we took our good old time and each had two cups of coffee.  

After breakfast I had the chance, in a very empty rest room. to freshen up.  I'd brought my toothbrush, etc along.  I felt more human after that.  Then we settled down for a long, long wait.  There were no flights listed for the gate across from ours, so we made ourselves at home there.  What I really wanted to do was prop my feet up and sleep.  I checked if that row of seats was fastened to the floor and it wasn't.  I asked Dick if he thought I'd get in trouble if I would pull it front so I could prop up my feet.  But I couldn't get him to cooperate with me, hahaha!!  So propping them on my back pack had to do.

Sometime after 1:00 we boarded our flight to State College, which was just a little over an hour long.  I think I slept a bit on that flight.  

It was a gorgeous sunny day here in State College when we arrived.  Apparently we will have warm sunny weather all week.  Wish I could send some to Portland!  But at least they have their beautiful flowers.

After we got home Dick mowed our lawn then went over to Anthony and Lori's to work on replacing a mower blade.  Destiny and Elizer came here.  I made a quick pot of chicken corn noodle soup then we went for groceries at Walmart.  Elizer was SO precious.  He gave me so many hugs and kisses.  I can't believe I didn't get one picture of him!

Dick and I were hitting the sack by 10:00 pm.  I had a quick video call with Jeremy and family before I crawled into bed.  I'm pretty sure I did not wake up one time until my alarm rang at 6:15 am!  

And now I can cross "Blog" off my list and move on to music prep for church.  

Portland 2022, the first five days

There is not much opportunity to blog this week, but I will at least attempt to start here on my phone - which I always find to be very frustrating.

Before we left for the airport Saturday afternoon I said goodbye to my tulips  not sure what they will look like when we return on Monday. 

We flew from State College to Detroit and had a short layover before we headed for Portland. That flight is at least four hours long, so I was feeling a bit sleepy at some points. There was cloud cover the whole way, so I was not able to get pictures even though I did have a window seat.   But it was really cool that it just kept staying  daylight no matter how late it became, because we kept going across time zones. As we got close to the Portland airport we got the greatest view of Mount Hood.

Jeremy and the kids met us at the airport and we were at their house soon.  We had pork carnitas around the dining room table.  Their friend Christy was here along with her dog, a sibling of Jeremy and Mike’s new dog Lillie Mae  

We had so much fun playing a new game, BlockUs, after dinner.  

All those fun things, and I didn’t take one picture of anybody!!!  I did, however, take pictures of some rooms - the new wet bar that Jeremy installed, the guest room, and the living room with the new rug. 

 

We stayed up so late talking.  I probably didn’t fall asleep before 1:00 am, which at home would have been 4:00 am!

On Sunday morning Brennan could hardly wait for me to sit with him so we could do “funny faces” with Snapchat filters. 

While we sat there Lillie Mae was checking me out and suddenly decided I was alright, lol!

I loved sitting on the back porch and taking in the beauty. We enjoyed a slow, relaxing morning. 

After a late brunch we all loaded into their SUV. Our first stop was a tuxedo rental store. While the rest of them were doing business I had fun pulling things out of a dollar bin for Brennan to try on. 

From there we went to Oregon Zoo. What a wonderful afternoon we had!!  The weather was warm and sunny, but not humid. The walkways were nice, the habitats and animals really interesting. 

Part way through we stopped for a delicious lunch.  Later we sat for a long time watching the elephants.  They had at least five big ones. 

The best part was the train ride at the end.  I didn’t even get a picture of it. 

At home Tasha and I got busy making apple pies and the guys grilled hamburgers. Their friend Mark joined us for dinner and the evening. All that, and the only picture I took was this one at the fire on the porch. 

On Monday morning Dick and I walked Brennan to school. It was a brisk, beautiful morning.  The dogwood trees and azaleas are vibrantly blooming everywhere!!

Mike works as director of special services at a preschool, so he was gone most of the day Monday. Jeremy can work remotely and was busy with phone calls, emails, etc.  I started sewing leather straps for Jeremy’s other bench. You can see the one bench he already had completed. 

It was fun to FaceTime with Destiny. They were having a cookout in their backyard and invited their next-door neighbor and her two little girls.

After Jeremy and I picked Tasha up from school, we took her for a haircut. She was very happy with it and we thought she looked adorable. Dick played a lot with Brennan. 

In the evening their friend Tom arrived from Richmond Virginia. They had all been friends in Florida and have stayed good friends. He is here for their friend Megan’s wedding.  Below you can see the picture I took of Jeremy, Mike, and Tom in 2008.  We got good laughs out of that!

I made meatloaf, which was requested by Tasha, and roasted sweet potatoes and veggies for dinner that evening.  I don’t think there were any leftovers!

On Tuesday I put a pork roast in the crockpot and later made it into pulled pork. Of course I made sure we got coleslaw for our pulled pork sandwiches and they were a great hit. Jeremy had seen a picture of a salad made with red beets and Gorgonzola cheese, so I made that also. I forgot to take any pictures, so Jeremy took pictures of the very empty dishes to prove how delicious everything was, lol!  He also got a picture of the old cook!

We enjoyed sitting by the fire on the back porch for quite a long time that evening. 

Wednesday was a gorgeous day right from the beginning. I got more pictures on our walk to school with Brennan. 

There was a landscaper here all day Wednesday. By the time he left, Jeremy and Like were at the wedding rehearsal, so I went outside to take pictures to send to them. 

As you can see, seven-month-old Lillie Mae is everyone’s big baby!  She is such a sweetheart. 

This is Thursday now, a cool rainy day. The day of Megan’s wedding.  Megan has been a friend of Jeremy and Mike since at least 2010 when they lived in Florida. She actually got a job and moved here to Portland before they did. She’s the one who baked our scrumptious 50th anniversary carrot cake in October.  I wish this were a sunny day for her, but thankfully the wedding and reception will be indoors.  But she was planning for outdoor pictures.