Wednesday, November 29
In the evening we went to see Priscilla at the Darkside. We liked it very much, at least at first. The period cars were great as were all the clothes. So was the portrait of Elvis, both in the script and by the actor, Jacob Elbow, who did a great job of reproducing some of Elvis’s voice mannerisms. It was a fascinating story too. It’s all from Priscilla Presley’s book, which E has read and liked a lot. Some of the scenes were filmed in Graceland, which gave them a special kind of eerie realism. But man did that movie go on and on and on. It’s about two hours long, but the second hour seemed like three all by itself. When we discussed it afterward, we found out that we had both wanted to bail at about the ninety minute mark.
Earlier in the day we did a short hike in nearby Chip Ross Park. We went clockwise around the main loop and got four thousand steps and twenty-two floors as recorded by phone and watch. Now we don’t really trust those devices, especially about floors climbed. The counts are sometimes infuriatingly low. Today’s count seems maybe a little high. But we’ll take it. And we will remember to take this route again if we ever feel the need to get our floor count up.
Thursday, November 30
Another busy Thursday for E. First we had tertulia with J and R at Bodhi’s. Next she had to go up to Lake Oswego–about 65 miles away–for a 1:15 appointment. The doctor’s office is conveniently located just west of the Bridgeport Village shops and not far east of the La Provence bakery/restaurant. E managed to squeeze in a visit to both of those. Then it was back home in time for Laughter Yoga at 4:00, followed by a Lemon Meringue Pie Society meeting at 5:30.
M managed to get to the store–about three fourths of a mile away–and buy pickling vegetables. He also got some of the pickling done. (He does refrigerator pickles, which are easy.) He then raked up some late falling leaves from the side yard and spread them around in the flower beds. On a sudden impulse he got up on the roof and swept away the tangle of leaves and branches that had been slowly increasing in size over the last four years. He also continues to work on his memoirs, averaging a couple of paragraphs per day.
Friday, December 1
Bought a Christmas tree. Maybe sometime we’ll get around to decorating it.
Saturday, December 2
It’s a lot warmer around here these days–highs in the 50’s–but also a lot wetter. It’s cloudy all the time with showers passing through at frequent intervals. Between showers, M raked apple tree leaves. With all the clouds it gets dark awful early. Today we went out to dinner at the Dizzy Hen. We got there around 5:20 and by then the light was mostly gone. Dinner was delicious. E loved the leek and persimmon pie.
Later on we watched A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, which stars Tom Hanks as Fred Rodgers. In case you haven’t seen it, we’ll just mention that it is based on the true story of a magazine writer who was assigned to write a piece about Mr. Rodgers for Esquire in 1998. We liked the film very much.
Sunday, December 3
We thawed out some magdalenas for breakfast this morning, real Spanish ones from La Tienda. My, they’re good. Our new mantra–borrowed from a Spanish friend–is “Las magdalenas son mi salvación.”
After breakfast we did grocery shopping. This chore had to be done today as we will be spending most of tomorrow in Lake Oswego, where E is scheduled for surgery to straighten out her deviated septum. An important item on the shopping list was a tub of Tillamook Peanut Butter Chocolate ice cream, which will be required for successful recovery from the procedure.
As our reward for completing the grocery shopping, we went downtown intending to have a coffee at Tried and True and possibly do some Xmas shopping at a couple of nearby clothing stores. That worked out well.
Monday, December 4
E’s surgery went fine. Now comes the recovery, which is not much fun for this sort of procedure.
Tuesday, December 5
We got some packages today, including our favorite sort of Texas grapefruit. That should be of some assistance with E’s recovery.
Our weather continues to be rainy, but only normally rainy. It’s been worse up Seattle way. This weather pattern–the Pineapple Express–comes from the direction of Hawaii and brings warmer temperatures as well as lots of rain.
Wednesday, December 7
E’s recovery continues. Some cardamom buns have been delivered to assist us. We’ve managed to decorate the tree and M is thinking of putting up some outside lights if there’s ever a pause in the rain.
Cuisine reviews appreciated as always, even though interrupted by Eve’s surgery – which surely is the highlight (lowlight!) of this installment, Xmas lighting notwithstanding.
May all this, and the rain, give way to healing noses, sunshine, and Andi’s birthday cake.
Meanwhile, stay off that roof!
Dear Eve, Best wishes during your recovery -I’m glad your surgery went well. All the “remedies” sound wonderful! With Micheal’s TLC you should get well soon. The stories of your activities are heart warming and interesting. I love being able to know how you both are spending your time. The photos are a real treat too. Take care.