Portland, Oregon: Dave and I have been so busy since the kids left! We are getting so many tasks checked-off our to-do list, we may actually get this house on the market one day soon. Every day is a beehive of activity. Workers coming and going, boxes being packed, and me just generally trying to get organized.
And prepare a meal or two every day.
We all had such a great trip to Sunriver, just south of Bend, Oregon, last week. I keep smiling remembering the bike rides, the canoe float, and the grandkids catching trout. Before they left for the airport, I fried-up Leo’s 10-inch/six ounce Rainbow trout for breakfast.
Leo and Lucy ate every morsel of this fish. Leo even ate the eyeballs.
The deer have been visiting daily to chomp on the wild blackberries at the edge of our meadow. The bushes are loaded, but we never eat them because they grow over the septic system. The grandchildren can spend hours watching deer eat berries. Who knew?
The deer aren’t the only ones enjoying fine dining. Our grocer had gorgeous rock fish this week, so I made tacos using the spice mixture from the chicken taco recipe on this site.
Another hungry critter visited us as we enjoyed our tacos:
Can never know for sure if this is the same mama Great Horned Owl, training yet another baby… or another owl… or maybe one of her babies… that spend the summer in the forest behind our home. We don’t care. All we care about is when she is here, we don’t have to worry about pesky squirrels trying to get into our attic.
We have had the trees trimmed and the windows washed (and then it promptly rained – it is after all August… in Oregon). Our handyman was here for hours today.
But the most exciting event occurred in Los Angeles – the first day of school. Lucy started Kindergarten and Leo started 2nd grade.
Leo is too cool for school! After school, we FaceTimed with the kids. Lucy was simply ecstatic and literally rolling around on the sofa – gushing with excitement as she told us about her class and her teacher. Very dramatic, this one. She told us which of her friends (from pre-school or ballet) are in her class and then said she loved homework. Leo rolled his eyes.
Some tech notes: I think the team have finished moving everything from my old site to this one. There are still a few things I need to work on (i.e. learn), so I must ask again for continued patience. The font, size, and weight have been changed, so this old blog should be much easier to read.
Until my next update (tomorrow… I am making the chicken salad from Gourmet Magazine 1987), I remain, your faithful correspondent.
Much better font color! Is Leo really tall or is Lucy really short?
Leo is normal height for a 2nd grader. Lucy is really little.