Post-PDX post-Thanksgiving
I took the train to Portland for Thanksgiving weekend. Managed to proofread Chunga on the way down, but the ride was uneventful otherwise. Thanksgiving was at my cousin's house in Beaverton for the third year, and it was as fun as always to get together with my aunt's family and drink too much wine.
Friday was Civil War day -- the University of Oregon vs. Oregon State University football game. Before that I braved REI to do some shopping research as I think about getting a rainproof coat that I can use on my Olympic Peninsula hikes. Then a bunch of us hiked to Pittock Mansion up in the West Hills, which was a good climb. I actually don't think I'd ever been there before, although I vaguely thought I had. The Civil War was a close game for the first time in a few years, and Oregon won by one point on a touchdown with 30 seconds left in the game. After our traditional turkey noodle soup dinner, I watched Man of Steel with my eldest nephew on his laptop.
Saturday night I got together with Dan and Lynn Steffan, which has become a new Thanksgiving-weekend tradition. They took me to a couple of their favorite local bars, and I got to see Dan's cover for the next issue of Raucous Caucus. Many good tales were told and much gossip shared, and I caught a taxi back to the Pearl District at 2 in the morning.
My parents had departed for California on Saturday, and my brother and his wife left for Corvallis before I got up on Sunday. But my sister came over to the condo and we worked on a puzzle, with a break for sushi at a nearby kaiten place. A nice, quiet, rainy, blustery day. The Turkey Train (a special train for the holiday) was late getting out of Portland, but made up almost all the lateness on the way. I slept quite a bit in my damaged state, but also finished reading William Morris' fantasy novel, The Water of the Wondrous Isles. Stay tuned for a review of that, coming Real Soon Now.
Amazingly I didn't go to Powell's City of Books the whole time, although that was mostly because I'd just been there a couple of weeks ago.
My parents eating lunch with their great granddaughter
Friday was Civil War day -- the University of Oregon vs. Oregon State University football game. Before that I braved REI to do some shopping research as I think about getting a rainproof coat that I can use on my Olympic Peninsula hikes. Then a bunch of us hiked to Pittock Mansion up in the West Hills, which was a good climb. I actually don't think I'd ever been there before, although I vaguely thought I had. The Civil War was a close game for the first time in a few years, and Oregon won by one point on a touchdown with 30 seconds left in the game. After our traditional turkey noodle soup dinner, I watched Man of Steel with my eldest nephew on his laptop.
Saturday night I got together with Dan and Lynn Steffan, which has become a new Thanksgiving-weekend tradition. They took me to a couple of their favorite local bars, and I got to see Dan's cover for the next issue of Raucous Caucus. Many good tales were told and much gossip shared, and I caught a taxi back to the Pearl District at 2 in the morning.
My parents had departed for California on Saturday, and my brother and his wife left for Corvallis before I got up on Sunday. But my sister came over to the condo and we worked on a puzzle, with a break for sushi at a nearby kaiten place. A nice, quiet, rainy, blustery day. The Turkey Train (a special train for the holiday) was late getting out of Portland, but made up almost all the lateness on the way. I slept quite a bit in my damaged state, but also finished reading William Morris' fantasy novel, The Water of the Wondrous Isles. Stay tuned for a review of that, coming Real Soon Now.
Amazingly I didn't go to Powell's City of Books the whole time, although that was mostly because I'd just been there a couple of weeks ago.
My parents eating lunch with their great granddaughter