[sharonpdx]

friday 5's: reasons to celebrate

5 reasons to celebrate this week:

1.  my dad & sister, and the dogs, moved back into their home on Wednesday afternoon after 48 hours of evacuation.  their home was spared - sooty, but spared.  we are incredibly lucky. 

[not so for so many, many others, though.  please continue to keep the residents of Southern California in your thoughts.]

2.  the Red Sox are in the World Series [which you already know, because your very use of the intarwebs facilitating your reading of this post means you, in all likelihood, do not live under a rock] and, as if that weren't exciting enough for Doug: he and his brother are going to Denver tomorrow to see Games 3 and 4!  and they've got really sweet seats.

3.  Doug's birthday celebration Wednesday night was a blast!  the two of us went to andina for dinner, and then met up with friends at New Old Lompoc to toast another year of Doug [and watch Game 1, of course]. 

 

 

 

4.  my mom arrives in Portland in less than an hour!  she's spending the weekend here before a work-related meeting at OHSU on Monday.  [i'm so dragging her  to Ikea.]  in honor of her visit, my i'm entertaining for the first time in my new apartment tonight. looking forward to introducing my mom to my pdx friends over pasta & wine.

5.  the weather here's been gorgeous for the past few days and is predicted to remain that way through the weekend.  the air is crisp, the sun is out, the trees are all shades of red and orange and yellow, and the leaves sound crunchy when you step on them.  autumn is the best time of year.

have a fantastic weekend.   

out.

as i celebrate my new home, i also fear for the one in which my parents and sister have lived for nearly a decade now. 

dad & erica and the dogs have evacuated to a friend's condo further [but not much further] west of their home, which is sort-of-but-not-really under mandatory evacuation orders now.  they're safe, and mom's in san francisco at a conference, i'm sure as worried as i am, from afar

i called erica earlier today to see how she was holding up.  i knew from talking to my dad a few hours earlier that they'd had the cars packed since the early morning and were just waiting and watching the news, and i wanted to to check that they'd thought to pack some photos of Grandma.  she was, as she answered, on her way upstairs "to go through and pack some of the family photos."  that's my girl. 

my family is safe.  the dogs are safe.  but the fires are burning hundreds of thousands of acres and have destroyed dozens of homes in the San Diego area alone.  as happy as i am to be in my new place, i won't be satisfied until my family is back home, too.

the best site for updates that i've found:  http://www.cbs8.com/

the evacuation area as of 3:45 p.m. today [ my parent's home is in the bottom left corner of the red part].

in.

 

spent the weekend unpacking & settling in to the new place; for the record, unpacking is so much more fun than packing.  the kitchen is completely unpacked and functional, and i even have my first houseplant, courtesy of doug.  i'm in need of some furniture [my trip to Rerun on with Erica & Ashleigh didn't produce any good refinishing projects, alas] - a bookshelf, a small table for the entry way, a dresser - but tonight after kickboxing i'll be able to cook dinner, watch some first-season episodes of Buffy, and knit on the couch.  which means i'm pretty much set.

good thing, too: Mom arrives on Friday night for a weekend visit.

took a break from the unpacking Saturday night to join my new friends Ziggy & Ben [met them through the kayaking lessons] and their friends at the Rose City Rollers derby finals - so fun!  as expected, the Break Neck Betties went home champions.  and the half-time entertainment was nearly as fun as the bout itself: the Infinite Carnival Allure was a treat for the eyes, and the Last Regiment Syncopated Drum Corps was so cool, i'm already stalking their website to see where they'll be playing next.

check out better photos of the derby action,  the carnival, and the drum corps here:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/type2b/sets/72157602592640254/

the other hours of the weekend were spent getting to know my new neighborhood.  i learned that the Nancy's cottage cheese sold at Wild Oats:  disgusting.  and Wild Oats itself is way too overpriced to be my primary grocery store.  but the Fred Meyer [Kroger] grocery store on Hawthorne?  it's like a grocery store, hardware store, & a Target all rolled into one. 

and Crema coffee house & bakery?  quickly becoming my home away from home.  plus, their drip coffee is Stumptown, french press brewed.  score.

packing is not fun.

so, here's something that is.

[thank you, xkcd web comic.]

friday 5's: best & worst

the five worst things about moving:

1. finding boxes.
2. packing oddly shaped things like a crock pot, or a mixer.
3. realizing i kept a huge box of phone cords and other such junk for an entire year instead of getting rid of it like i told myself i would when i moved in.
4. the guilt of having anyone do any sort of "work" for me - in this case, heavy lifting.
5. that totally overwhelming feeling of "i'm so not going to get all this done before the movers come."

the five best things about moving:

1. getting brutal about stuff to keep vs. stuff to donate or toss.  less baggage = good.
2. discovering a brand-new, unopened set of queen sheets in storage.  very handy considering i plan to buy a queen bed soon.
3. deciding to hire movers to assuage some of the guilt issues and get the move done in one shot.
4. lauren offering to spend the move day with me, helping out.
5. the fun of setting up "home" in a whole new space.

and doesn't this look like a great space to set up in?

thanks for all of your finger-crossing!  i signed the rental agreement on this apartment in Southeast Portland on Wednesday afternoon - it's actually the same one i referenced having fallen in love with in my last post.  i had assumed she'd already rented it by that point, so you can imagine how thrilled i was to learn i was wrong, and that they wanted to rent it to me.

check out more photos here:  http://flickr.com/photos/sreynolds/sets/72157602371776019/

i'm so excited about all the windows, and the space, and the hardwood floors.  i can't wait to get houseplants, and a living room rug.  the neighborhood is fantastic, too.  i move in a week. 

guess it's time to start packing.

i'm not sure i'm cut out for this...

this being apartment hunting.

i'm seeking an apartment that's not in the basement ... this one worked out for my first year here, and frankly i felt lucky to get it at all last september.  yet, strange as it sounds, i like the rain and would like to be able to see it fall outside my windows.  natural light is good for the soul; by that standard, i live in a dungeon. 

it's not the best time to be in the market for a 1-bedroom apartment in portland.  an apartment gets listed on craigslist and within an hour, the landlord's received 10 inquiries - and most seem to operate on a first-to-inquire, first-considered approach.  alas.  i've called or sent emails on a few dozen properties, toured a few, and even fallen in love with one, but nothing's panned out yet.  so, i hit refresh on the craigslist screen again.

i'm not pressed for time - my lease isn't technically up until mid-Nov.  but i'm eager to get to higher ground.  so, if you're the finger-crossing type, maybe cross 'em for me? 

friday 5's for 10/5

yesterday, my friend Lauren had the day off for the Jewish holidays of Shimini Atzeret and Simchat Torah.  i scheduled the day off, too, for nothing more than the mental health benefits of a day spent with a friend.

today, i received this email from Lauren:

Since I don't have a blog to write this, I'll just email you. 

My top five from our day off:

1) YUMMY breakfast and coffee at Cup & Saucer.

2) Dar Williams connection discovered and the corollary to that: SINGING Dar together in the car.

3) Watching Arrested Development at my house. Resting my eyes while you crack up to the best show EVER!

4) Finally going to the Chinese Gardens.

5) Finding the best parking both times downtown.

    5a) Spending a GREAT random day off with the best Sharon I know!!!!

can't beat that.  it really was a great day off.