47/52: A Long Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving is a time for family and our family sure does know how to have a good time!

Wednesday night is kinda like Christmas Eve to me.  Family gathers together to cook, celebrate, listen to music and give thanks.  Brian prepared a wonderful Italian dinner and we all had a wonderful evening together.

Our Thanksgiving Day is typically laid back with the parade and football on TV, everyone devouring the Black Friday ads in the newspaper and preparing to feast.  We were treated to an Oregon Ducks Men's basketball game in the evening which was a perfect way to wrap up a great day. 

Friday was spent out in Oregon Wine Country and a visit to 4 wonderful wineries for some unique tastings.  This year the weather was amazing and we all enjoyed a wonderful drive through Yamhill County under white puffy clouds and sunshine.

I can't believe that Thanksgiving has come and gone.  The weekend flew by.  The parents are gone.  Brian went home Saturday and Uncle Steve leaves Thursday.  Our house is full of Christmas now...lights and trees and a different kind of holiday feeling.

Enjoy!
Stacy

26/52: The end of June through the 4th of July

We had a pretty cool long weekend for it actually not being a long weekend (I had to work Monday)!

It was a beautiful weekend in Seattle.  Time to catch up with friends, BBQ in the backyard, enjoy a crisp Rose on the patio and take an afternoon walk to Lincoln Park.

Back to Portland on Sunday and a short workday on Monday before spending some down time at Rebecca Lane for the 4th.  A walk through the neighborhood in the morning, coffee on the patio, Bloody Mary's in the afternoon and a wonderful spread of food to fill out the day.

How was your 4th?

Enjoy!
Stacy

22/52: Girl's Week(end)

We had an extended Girl's Weekend this past week with Brian having to fly to the east coast for work.  I spent the weekend with Chick in Portland, celebrating the last of the birthday meals then heading into the weekend with gardening and lunching.

Last Thursday night, Chick treated me to a great and exotic Thai meal at Pok Pok NW.  We slurped down some refreshing cocktails and dined on Ike's famous Thai wings followed by a pork belly/shoulder curry and a spicy Thai herbal salad with coconut milk dressing.  I love the NW Portland location and I can see myself dropping by for a cool cocktail and a double order of wings again very soon!

Summer is here, even if the solstice doesn't start for another 3 weeks.  Portland has had some amazing weather and we took advantage of a cooler Saturday to shop several nurseries for plants and then spent a few hours on the patio at Cafe Murrayhill enjoying and amazing lunch and a bottle of wine.

Sunday we spent several hours making the backyard beautiful, including planting a gorgeous pink hydrangea.

Enjoy!
Stacy

15/52: After the Storm

Friday was a big whopper of a storm in Portland.  High winds brought trees down across the city and plunged thousands into darkness (no power at my office all day and no power at home for 15 hours). We made it north to Seattle in the evening where the storm was not as powerful and Saturdays skies were mostly clear.  It was the calm after the storm.

We met an adorable puppy named Sparky on Sunday.  The newest member of our good friend's family.  It reminded me how much I miss Sammy...and all on the heels of learning Thursday that our Portland kitty Keikei has diabetes and is not feeling well.  Hard times are ahead for her and for our family as we adjust to her diagnosis.

The winds of change are blowing.

Enjoy!
Stacy

6/52: Change of Plans for Super Bowl Weekend

Old Man Winter is at it again, folks!  He totally derailed my weekend plans and instead of my weekly train ride to Seattle Friday afternoon, I stayed home waiting for the snow and ice storm that never really materialized. 

Brian ended up taking a bus down and we spend most of Saturday editing his Series 65 class that he spent last week filming.  It is a long process, but fun working on it together.

Sunday was Super Bowl Sunday and it was the first time in three years that I didn't really care who was playing or where I was watching.

2016 - Cabo San Lucas, Mexico (best Super Bowl location watching, ever)

2015 - Seahawks lose at the last second to New England.  Boo hiss!

2014 - Seahawks win Super Bowl beating Denver Broncos.

The game is always entertaining.  The commercials were marginal (is it just me or have the Super Bowl commercials gone downhill), but Lady Gaga was AMAZING!

We had quite the spread of food and a big bowl of taco soup when the game was over.

My Pop, watching from Springfield, OR BEFORE he cut up his Patriots shirt at halftime.  Congratulations!  They came back and won in OT.  Amazing!  I guess it's time for a new shirt!

Enjoy!
Stacy

12/52: Final Four Wrap Up

We had an awesome week at Rebecca Lane with my Pop, Brian, Uncle Steve, Chick and a weekend guest, Chick's childhood friend, Terry.

One of the highlights of the week is the traditional March Madness Box from my Aunt Judy in Ohio.  She picks up various fun items, packs them in a box and sends it to us in time for the tournament.  Even though she is miles and miles away, it feels like she is right with us.

We had some incredible food over the weekend....

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Mini Apple Pies





















Corned Beef Hash and Poached Eggs

Some of the games went our way and some didn't.  We screamed, cried, whooped and hollered for 4 days straight.

MADNESS!!!!

Enjoy!
Stacy

33/52: Greenway Concert

Chick and I went to the annual Greenway Concert in the Park last Thursday night.  It was a warm evening and a beautiful setting for some local bluegrass music.

The Greenway "greenbelt" is one of the many little hidden jewels in our town of Beaverton.  Chick and I have walked the greenbelt for years.  They put in a disc golf course a few years ago and the Tualatin Valley Park and Recreation Center hosts a concert/community event summer.

This year's concert was by The Blackberry Bushes, a Seattle based Alternative-Folk-String band.  They have an innovative acoustic sound which draws from the deep roots of American traditional music to create a rich patchwork that threads with artists like Gillian Welch, Sean Hayes and Crooked Still. 

They really entertained the crowd and it was an enjoyable evening in the park.

Enjoy!
Stacy

I was not able to upload the bit of video I took last night, but this session recorded in the beautiful forest around Humbolt, CA is gorgeous!

28/52: Yard Work Party

We had the help of Brian last weekend at Rebecca Lane and spent Saturday & Sunday trimming trees and bushes, raking beds, picking weeds and laying bark.

Here are the before and after pictures!

The mound of bark!

 

4 rhododendrons to deadhead!

The front after bark is laid.  We spent 4 hours prepping, trimming and cleaning beds and got the front yard finished by 2:30 on Saturday.

With one final push on Sunday, we finished the backyard just before 1PM.

 




































This morning...everything except my eyelashes hurts (muscles that I didn't know existed).  We accomplished a lot....more than the three of us thought we would.  Now we can sit back and enjoy our work.

Enjoy!
Stacy

12/52

Here is what we experienced the 12th week of the year!

MARCH MADNESS 2014

• Pop spent 7 days at Rebecca Lane

• We watched 4 straight days of basketball; that's 12+ hours each day and 48 games watched!

• We ate some awesome food including a St. Patrick's Day Corned Beef Feed, Aloha Friday with Kalua Pork and Teriyaki Chicken Wings and a Bloody Mary Bar on Sunday

Cheers!

Stacy