I’m coming to the end of my time in Portland, and while I’m a little bit antsy to get back into regular life (after what seems like months of irregular life), I’m also pained to leave this city I love so much. Earlier today, I drove around the neighborhood where we lived when I was [...]
Last night, cousins Amy and Jean hosted their annual Latke Party. Unfortunately, travel and the stomach flu kept a number of the expected guests away. Their absence didn’t keep the rest of from enjoying stacks of white and sweet potato pancakes, topped with sour cream and (my homemade) applesauce. Before dinner, Amy lit the Hanukkah [...]
In the past, when I’ve gone home to Portland, I’ve had the opportunity to while away hour upon hour, gazing at the internet on my trusty laptop, thanks to my parents’ abundant wireless connection. However, in November, my parents moved to a new house and set themselves up with an internet system that works perfectly [...]
Sunday afternoon, my cousin Melissa called from Los Angeles to check in. Within the first couple minutes of our conversation, she said, “You know, I used to feel so in touch with your life because of your blog. But you hardly update anymore.” What she said is true, I’m not writing here as much as [...]
Yesterday, I hosted Thanksgiving for the second time in my life. The first was several years ago, when all my Philly family decamped for the Columbia River Gorge. This year, needing to take Scott and his mom into the equation, we planned for a small dinner at our place on Thanksgiving, with a larger family [...]
During my childhood, there was a stretch of several years when, during the fall, my mom, sister and I would drive out to Sauvie Island. We’d park in the grassy lot at the Bybee-Howell house and pick up windfall apples from the antique apple orchard there. We weren’t allowed to pick any off the trees, [...]
My sister blew through town earlier in the week, bringing with her a handful of new songs, John Elliot, Mudge the accupuncturist and lots of chaos. She rolled in a minute or two after 4:30 pm on Sunday afternoon, pulling her ‘new’ Subaru station wagon into the parking garage just as I was leaving to [...]
We got Bonnie the third day of my junior year of high school. I remember vividly, because my parents had gotten me my very first car the week before and I drove out to the Troutdale Humane Society to meet up with them and help pick out the new dog. We agreed on a tiny [...]
Saturday afternoon, I got a call from my mom’s cousin Amy. She was at Rittenhouse Square with Derek and Sabrina and was wondering if I wanted to join them. I was sitting at the dining room table when the phone rang, eating a turkey sandwich and reading the weekend newspaper. I quickly finished my sandwich, [...]
Last Friday, my parents celebrated their 38th wedding anniversary. It’s an impressive feat, especially given the fact that they had known each other just six weeks on the day they got married. My dad was 21 and my mom had just turned 23 six days before. After the wedding, they drove from San Francisco to [...]
