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Archive for the ‘Eating out’ Category

Please Vote for Portland & Retail Therapy with Mia

Monday, December 17th, 2007

HGTV has a new program called Change the World. Start at Home. Here is some info from their website.

Change the World. Start at Home is a new community revitalization and environmental cause effort launched by HGTV in partnership with Rebuilding Together, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Natural Resources Defense Council. The campaign focuses on revitalizing communities across the country and helping consumers make smart choices for the environment within their homes and daily lives.

Starting November 8th, HGTV and its partners are inviting people across the country to help communities in need become thriving and abundant once again. By visiting hgtv.com/changetheworld, you can vote on communities and projects you feel are most deserving of a makeover. One project in each community will focus on environmentally-friendly improvements while another will focus on a historic place that helps preserve the fabric of the community.

One of the programs in Portland that would benefit from this program is the school that M & M attend.

The Sunnyside Environmental School has been in operation since 1995 and uses an academically challenging educational model intended to foster a sense of community, responsibility and creativity. The teachers focus their lessons on environmental awareness by creating a hands-on learning experience through the Sunnyside Environmental School Garden. This garden allows students, teachers, parents and community members to practice sustainability, environmental responsibility, creativity and community awareness. Since the inception of the environmental program, Sunnyside has tripled its enrollment. Because of this rapid growth, the Garden Classroom has very limited space for students. HGTV and its partners can help create an “Outdoor Garden Classroom” and maintain a high level of environmental awareness for these concerned students.

So, I am asking all of my friends out there to go HERE and vote for Portland. You can vote once a day through December 21. Thank you, thank you!

On a lighter note, today I took Mia to Nordstrom for some retail therapy to celebrate her birthday. We had so much fun. The sales clerks gave her a bag full of goodies for her birthday. They helped us select clothes to try on. Mia said. “I felt so special having people do nice things for me.” Shouldn’t a little girl feel special on her birthday?

We selected a sweater and scarf that matched the skirt her Aunt Lisa sent her. It looked so cute, she wore it home.

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She also picked out this very trendy cap in wool plaid.

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She also scored a really cute pair of shoes which I didn’t get to photograph. They are canvas mary janes with polka dots and flowers – so cute. In general, I was appalled at the selection of clothing for an 8 year old. So much of it looked like something a street walker might wear, but in a child’s size. I expected more from Nordie’s.

We met up with the rest of the family at the Japanese restaurant with the uncomfortable name, Bush Garden. Mr C suggested that we not get the Bush Roll. We had wonderful sushi and sashimi. I had some Pearl Sake, made here in Portland. Here is Miles enjoying a Shirley Temple.

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And now, I am wrapped in a blanket on the sofa with my laptop. I have a serious case of the sniffles and a scratchy throat. My first cold of the season. Hope that it is short lived.

A Really Nice Thursday

Thursday, December 6th, 2007

You have to love a day that includes museum viewing and lunching with friends and some creative time in the studio.

Today, my STASH group met at the Contemporary Craft Museum to check out the current exhibit and to do some shopping. I bought this funky little creche. It is hand carved, painted and embellished with flocking.

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We then had lunch at the Park Kitchen, a few blocks from the museum. It has a very unusual menu. I had clams braised in cider with apples, onions and greens. It was so delicious.

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Here we are, back row: Reva, Moi, Linda. Front row: Terry, Beth, Gale.

I loved this painting of dogs enjoying some fancy drinks.

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We shared two delicious desserts. Pear Frangipane tart and a Chocolate Ginger concoction.

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When I got home this afternoon, I laundered my cotton Christmas fabric and worked on the dupioni silk runner. It is all quilted and waiting for binding. These things could become addictive. I have really enjoyed the mindless piecing.

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Here is a close-up. I have enough of the stripe to use for binding, but I am not sure if that is what I want. What do you think?

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Tomorrow, we are going out to hunt down a Christmas tree. After school, M & M are coming to help me decorate the tree and to spend the night. Warning – cute pictures will be posted in the next couple of days.

Sneak Peeks

Wednesday, October 24th, 2007

We are in the balmy San Francisco “Riviera”. We couldn’t believe the 80+ temperatures that greeted us when we arrived. But, I am happy to shed my Portland rain gear, polar fleece and socks. I am still wearing my Keen sandals.

We left yesterday and stayed over in Yreka, CA last night. Here is sneak peek #1, Mt. Shasta, glowing in the morning sun today.

I love driving across the By Bridge. (Hey, Debra, I yelled and waved as we drove by Hercules!)

And then you get that sneak peek at the San Francisco skyline and the Golden Gare Bridge in he distance.

After getting settled and doing a little walking around Union Square and a walk through Needless Markup (Neiman Marcus), we headed over to Lisa and Rena’s shop/gallery. Here is a sneak peek at Rare Device. Lisa painted the mural that is above the door. She also made the mobile that you can get a sneak peek of through the door.

This is such a delightful store, just chocked full of eye candy and goodies. Lisa had to slap my hand because I kept messing up the displays as I looked through all the good stuff. Today, a stylist and photographer from Lucky Magazine came and rearranged stuff for a photo shoot. The store will be featured in the January issue.

We all went out to dinner at a fabulous new Italian Restaurant in Lisa’s neighborhood. I am not going to tell you what I had to eat. Suffice it to say that I must do a lot of walking tomorrow.

I survive long drives in the car by doing hand work, when I am not the designated driver. I am doing embroidery work on my 12X12 piece. And here is a sneak peek at that.

Tomorrow, we are helping Lisa by picking up wine and munchies for the opening party, tomorrow night. I am looking forward to meeting all of her friends. I’ll try to get some photos of the festivities.

Birthday Blessings

Saturday, October 13th, 2007

Yesterday was a lovely day. Not perfect, weather-wise, but a nice day to head out to the Hood River Fruit Loop for some apple and pear picking.

Before we left, the UPS guy brought me a package from one of my fave blogger friends, Dee. it contained not one, but two birthday cards, one silly and one sublime. She made me this beautiful table topper which she calls Very Gerrie Lime! Look how gorgeous it looks with my lime green bowl filled with fall gourds.

I love that leaf fabric.

Thank you, Dee!!

Then, Steph and M & M picked me up and we headed out to Hood River, the fruit mecca of Oregon. At the STASH meeting, Beth gave me a coupon for free apples and pears at the Mt. View Orchard so we had a destination and a purpose.
Here are M & M in the van on the way.

The scenery was beautiful.

Here are some pics from the orchard – all clickable to see larger.

During our lunch, this brown lab took a liking to Steph.

I bought one of these big sunflowers to hang on my fence for the birds.

Here are some of the Red Delicious Apples and Red D’Anjou Pears that I got for free. We picked 44 pounds of apples and pears which only cost us 25 cents a pound – what a bargain!

Last night Mr C took me to one of my fave restaurants, Caprials. I had grilled Romaine salad, grilled tuna on a butternut squash cakes and pound cake with pears — all yummy. I had to use some of my extra WW points, but it was worth it.

Today, I have been getting ready for my class with Wendy Huhn. I had to get some laser color prints made. I hope to have some fun images to share as I go through the next few days. I also am still uploading cds to my IPod. I got a thing for playing the Nano in my car. I love having all my music at my finger tips. Now, I have to figure out how to get it to work with our stereo system. I will have to go to Radio Shack and get a cable then I will be in business.

A Little Drinking, A Little Eating, A Whole Lot of Fun

Wednesday, September 5th, 2007

After a drive through sporadic rain, we arrived in Woodlinville, WA, yesterday afternoon. Woodlinville is kind of bucolic spot in the midst of the suburbs of Seattle. It is north of Redmond. There are wineries here, but no vineyards. They are all over on the other side of the state where is is warmer.

After checking in, we visited a couple of wineries, Chateau St. Michelle and Columbia Winery. We tasted some ok wine. The syrahs were the best.

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We had dinner at a little bistro in the village of Woodlinville. The Willows Lodge is a first rate place to stay. It is ranked 12th best hotel in the country by Travel & Leisure magazine. We have a mid ranked room. It is quite luxurious, with a jetted tub, walk in shower room, patio outside, king bed with luxurious linens. We slept very well. The hotel gave us a nice bottle of wine for our anniversary.

This morning we went for a nice long walk along the Sammamish river Trail, which is adjacent to the Lodge.

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This is my favorite photo from the end of our walk.

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This is the logo of the Willow Lodge, which you see every place. I really like it.

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After our walk, we took a little drive and ended up in Bothell, where we had a nice lunch in a little cafe. Then we drove down to Redmond, hoping to see Bill Gates so that I could tell him how much I hate everything Microsoft. I did see this sign. Thought it was quite funny!

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We came back to the room so that Mr C could rest his bum leg. Of course, he fell asleep. I woke him up to take the last tour of the day at the Red Hook brewery, which is on the other side of the Lodge.

For a $1, we got a little glass, 5 ale tastes and a tour. The best bargain of our trip!!

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One of the draws at the Willows Lodge is the gastronomic delight, The Herb Farm restaurant. Unfortunately for us, it was not open while we are here. Here is one of the photos I took of the real herb garden, however.

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So, we had dinner at the other restaurant, The Barking Frog. We had the tasting menu which was 5 courses, accompanied by a wine taste. It was really fabulous. Here is a synopsis of our menu

  • Mixed Berry Grey Goose Shooter
  • Roasted chanterelles & hericot Verts Salad – sparkling rose
  • Heirloom Tomato Croque madame – Washington sangiovese
  • Grilled Pesto Prawn, Sweet Corn & Polenta Tamale – Rose
  • Intermezzo – Peach & Champagne sorbet
  • Oregonzola Crusted Kobe Beef Ribeye, Maine Lobster Bread Pudding – claret
  • Blackberry Clafoutis, Sweet Corn & Cocoa Nib Gelato – Muscat

It was all delicious. Each course was quite petite and lovely. I felt as if I was a judge on Top Chef.

I took lots of pictures of dandelions on our walk this morning.

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My friend, Diane Hock, had organized a challenge group. We are 12 artists, creating 12 X 12 challenge pieces. Our first theme is dandelion. You can keep track of us here.

As usual, you can see all my photos of this trip on my Flickr site.