[sharonpdx]

wanted.

there were no friday 5's this week.  in truth, it was not the right week for it.  lists of things that made me happy will return this friday, but for now, this quote from tonight's chat with Kynthia, which I have written down and now intend to post on the inside of my medicine cabinet, because that is where the most important quotes go.

we ... like being wanted.  i think the trick is about learning that the important thing is to be wanted where we fit the best.  like playing our part and not trying to do someone else's.  like dumbledore.

it strikes me that this may be one of my most vague posts ever [in other words, irritatingly confusing to those who haven't talked to me in the past few days].  forgive me. 

[and if you liked the Harry Potter reference, raise your hand.]

{friday 5's: the july 20th edition}

wow, this whole friday thing really snuck up on me.  it's been a strange week.   but, I can still find 5 things that made me happy!

1.  the somewhat sneaky, self-satisfied smile on doug's face as he walked up to the table tif & i were sharing at Brazen Bean last Saturday night and watched the light dawn on me as I realized, "hey - that guy not only looks like the guy who is supposedly still in Massachusetts right now, but actually is that guy."  a very, very nice surprise. 

2. high tea at the Heathman Hotel with Heidi's daughter, Francesca, last Saturday was a real treat for me - and a great way for the two of us to celebrate her eighth birthday.

 

3. the movie Pan's Labyrinth is really, really good.  to enjoy it like i did, watch it with someone you like a whole lot, while eating greek yogurt & fruit parfaits. 

4. Kynthia.  She just made me happy this week, on several occasions.  Plus, she remembered Alan Rickman's name, after I racked my brain for it for hours. 

5. the new Harry Potter film, The Order of the Phoenix: my favorite HP film so far.  seen with good friends and smuggled-in Junior Mints. 

speaking of Pottermania: tonight, Tif & I will be at this: http://powellsbooks.com/potterparty/.  happy friday.

{friday 5's for friday the 13th}

TGIF!  all I can say about this week is: it was a long one.  and a hot one.   so, because no one likes to stand around and wait in the heat, i'll just jump right in.  welcome to the not-very-spooky Friday-the-thirteenth edition of Friday 5's, where I list 5 things that made me happy this week. 

#13. girls-only brunch at Mother's Bistro last Sunday: Emmy, Heidi, Sharon, Holly & Tif.  For some reason, most of us look like we had a really late Saturday night...  but, Em looks well rested.  Maybe that's because she fell asleep on her couch at 1o'oclock p.m.  I know.  I was there, hanging out with her, when she did it.

#13.  Seeing Dusty & DJ's film "Vacation in Italy" at the Pazzo Short Shorts short film screening Sunday night.  My immediate reply to the invite was, "I want to support DJ.  But 9 p.m. is late for a Sunday."  Tif convinced me to go ["we'll only stay an hour, I swear..."] and I'm so glad she did - it was a treat to get to see DJ's work.

Here's the film.  It's 6 minutes long.  It's awesome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8HO-TDzTWk

And here's Dusty & DJ .

#13. i had so much fun with Tif at the Tea Zone, a tea shop on NW 11th & Glisan - they show free movies every Tuesday, and their theme this month is vampires; too cool!  This Tuesday's movie was Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Hee hee.  Oh my goodness... we had a blast quoting lines along with the actors, and the herbal tea-of-the-day, Organic Rooibis Africana, was fantastic over ice. 

The most fun, though, was discovering there were actors in this movie we had no idea had starred in it ... including Hillary Swank as Kristy Swanson's ditzy friend; David Arquette as Luke Perry's friend-turned-vampire Benny,  and Ben Affleck (as basketball player #10) ... oh, wait, and the other most fun part?  debating which line Hillary Swank regrets the most.  My vote: "Get out of my facial."

#13.  getting pedicures with Emmy... champagne, pink polish, & two hours of gossip.  fabulous.

#13.  still pretty psyched about my 13 mile bike ride last Saturday... took the Springwater Corridor down to Sellwood for a class on bike maintenance... I really enjoyed it, and I completed it without injuring myself!  [have you seen that bruise on my leg from my first ride?  even strangers comment on it; one girl called it "gnarly."  haven't heard that word in years.]

yup, that's 5.  happy friday.

{friday 5's for ... monday 7.9?}

last friday, I did something novel.  I did... nothing.  after dinner & drinks with my dear friend Ashleigh, I did not go meet my friends for the "running with the bulls" craziness downtown, I did not go meet my other friends at the Waterfront Blues Festival, I simply skipped everything, bought a decaf americano and sat in the sunshine on the porch of my new favorite place, Vivace, reading my new favorite book, The Queen's Fool.   it was bliss.

it goes without saying, then, that I did not post my Friday 5's, either.  ooops.  truly, i was just too tired to do them justice - and then the weekend got away with me.  so, i bring to you today the Friday 5's for July 6th... five things that made me happy last week:

#1.  My mom's weekend visit was truly one of the best weekends I've ever spent in Portland.  The highlights, according to me:  stumbling on a random music festival in a random parking lot on Hawthorne street after breakfast and picking up some cute skirts this random girl was selling...  touring the Rembrandt exhibit at the Portland Art Museum... perusing the estate jewelry at Margulis Jewelers [we were on a hunt for a ring Mom had seen in the local newspaper - turns out it was at Zells!]... introducing her to my good friend tiffanie over fondue... and strolling along the waterfront, french press coffees in hand, after brunch on Sunday morning.

and, everywhere we went, Mom was just amazed at the hydrangeas! 

 

Tif & Mom & I at the Melting Pot;  Mom enjoying Sunday brunch at Papa Hadyn

 

#2.  Emmy & Johnathan's 4th of July BBQ was a blast!  my entire goal for the day was to get some sun and drink some beer ... done and done!  didn't expect to see any fireworks, but it turns out we had a good view of one of the shows right from their backyard.  hung out late into the night, eventually lighting a fire and toasting s'mores until well past a smart bedtime for a work night... but, who puts July 4th on a weekday, anyway?

some images from the day:

 

#3.  summer has come to Portland!  loving the fact that, even though it can climb to the 90's during the day, it still starts to cool off around 4:30 and can even get downright chilly in the evenings... i was told the summers were Portland's best kept secret, and so far, so good!

#4. accomplishing some great stuff on the training template I'm designing at work... although the entire day spent trying to figure out how to record a macro to insert an autoshape [which apparently, cannot be done] was not fun at all.

#5.  friday's "night of nothing" sure made a happy ending to a happy [yet strange, what with the holiday in the middle of it] week.

{progress!}

after my second knitting class [having spent the entire first one learning to cast on, knitting eight rows, and then taking it entirely apart], this is my progress so far...

it's definitely not perfect, but i think when it is done, i'm going to have a soft spot for this, my first scarf.

i am surprised at how much i enjoy this... i find it meditative and quiet, which is quite unlike me, actually.  [part of this may be that i have discovered i can't talk and knit at the same time or i twist the stitches...]   

{i like this photo}

this photo.  i like it.

taken by Jess, at Doug Fir, in April.

yup, i like this photo.