Taste of the Nation

Well, since we made the move I have been looking for fun ways to volunteer and get a feel for all that is Portland. What a better way than to give my time to a worthy cause aimed at fighting hunger. This annual event pulls together the creme de la creme of Portland restaurants, wineries, breweries, bakeries etc..
Going into the event, I knew I would get at least an hour to peruse the many booths and stuff myself to the gills, so off I went.
A week before the event, I attended the volunteer orientation and met a great girl named Jen. We hit off right away and it turns out she writes a food blog. She also invited me to a weekly dinner she and her "sister" put together at different restaurants. (That is a whole other post). Before we left the orientation, we knew we wanted to work together at the event since we were both scheduled for "recycling duty". And yes, it was as fun as it sounds.

On the night of the event, we arrived wearing comfortable shoes and prepared to dive into some trash. After losing the prime recycling station (we thought) to some other chicks, we were placed in the back hall away from everything. Let's just say we were very bummed at first but once the event took off, we realized we had it made. The station we thought we wanted turned into a mad house and it looks like the girls wanted to pull their hair out (ha ha). We (on the other hand) were not very busy and took turns walking around and got to eat to our hearts content throughout the night. A few of my favorites from the night, were the "octopus ceviche", coffee-crusted seared ahi, passion panna cotta, honey ice cream sandwiches, pinot noir granita with marionberry (just to name a few).

For a full rundown on our experience and the food, visit Jen's blog. HERE

Here is a picture of me and Jen hanging out with the recycling bins.


Here is one of the booths and the magnificent display of their fresh produce.


I would have liked to take a lot more pictures but I was very busy eating and drinking. Sorry!
I highly recommend you all attend (or volunteer at) the Taste of the Nation event in your city!!!

Multnomah Falls

The sun made a rare appearance this past weekend giving us a glimpse of what everyone means by "the summers are beautiful here in Portland." It seems my friend Natalie from Bermuda brought this great weather with her. With good weather about, we took the opportunity to go visit the Multnomah Falls. Located a mere 30 min east of Portland, these incredible falls are quite breathtaking. Falling over 600 feet, it is hard to get them in one camera frame.


Lavi enjoyed hiking up the mountainside next to the waterfall. She was not a fan when we got misted from the falls themselves.

The further away from the falls, the happier she was.

Thanks Natalie for helping us explore more things outside of Portland!!


And of course we can't leave out Num nuts. Here he is soaking in some sun!

Beautiful clear day

The sky was unbelievably clear this past Sunday, so my neighbors took me to the top of Council Crest. From the top, we could see hundreds of miles. We had an excellent view of Mt. Hood, which is about 50 miles away. We do get good views of Mt. Hood at other times as well.


We were very fortunate to also see Mount St. Helens and Mount Rainier. Absolutely beautiful. You can see Portland at the bottom.


Matt and I are very lucky to have great, friendly neighbors. Here are Doug, Morgan and Susan. Doug and Susan live directly across the street from us and Morgan lives next to them.

Our new home in Portland

We are finally here trying to get everything set up and organized. We are enjoying the amount of space we have after our little apartment. Namir LOVES the basement. He can often be found with cobwebs and dirt all over him after he does some exploring. The dog on the other hand is not a fan of the basement. At first we did not want her to go down there because it is unfinished so we used a gate at the steps. But we did not have to worry about it, she won't even go near it. She would much rather run around in the backyard - even in the rain! She now has a big yard with grass and trees and lots of sticks! We are waiting for the fence to be completely enclosed so we can leave her out there for longer periods of time. My desk in the office faces out the back window so I will be able to watch her (from inside!) We did get her a raincoat and she does not mind wearing it.


We owe a big thanks to Mimi (my mom, Maxine) for coming out here and helping us get situated. She was a huge help making this whole move not so daunting. Here she is with the gang. (Notice Merlin's new cage - he is a very happy bird)!


We also could not have done the move with out Mike and his folks (Joe and Connie) who helped us move everything in. It is not yet a week and we are still getting settled and waiting for Matt's truck to arrive. We had it shipped separately and are slowly finding out that we packed several necessities in it (like the corkscrew - how are we suppose to start enjoying these Oregon wines without a corkscrew? (note - we went to the store and bought a new one the next day)).

Here is one last photo of Lavi on her new bed (great deal at Costco) next to me in the office. The whole house is hardwood floors and her boney little body doesn't like it very much.


More later.

Portland!

Well, the time has come and we are moving to Portland, Oregon in early February. We just got back from a short visit to find a place to live. With much fate involved, we found a lovely home near downtown. Although a little on the cold side, the weather was not as bad as expected. We will have to relearn how to bundle up.

Here is Matt in downtown Portland. You may not be able to see it but there is a rare glimpse of the moon on this unusually clear day.


I took some time to meet the local critters. A friendly beaver and stellar sea lion.



And look - the Pacific Ocean is only 82 miles away!


Upon our return, we broke the news to the pets. Namir was indifferent but Lavi was a little distraught. She is either going to have to put on some more weight or get used to wearing a fleece sweater!! Here she is with a new hat!