Food Trucks

If you've ever been to Portland, Oregon and driven at all around the city, then you've seen FOOD TRUCKS or what Portlandians call "carts". They are everywhere. And these little grab-and-go food supplies lend themselves to an overwhelming diversity of foods. We have everything anyone could imagine...and maybe more.

And if you know me, you know I like to bake and experiment with ...almost everything. So, I've been thinking about trying my hand at a food cart. Yep, my brother used to have a restaurant before he retired. And together, we've been talking about starting a little family venture. So, if in the next few months you start seeing posts about testing out recipes, you'll have an idea of what we're going to be doing.

So, keep your eyes open for some fancy food and maybe even a few fails as we test our ideas and our food.

Running in Portland Oregon

Saturday morning I woke up with that sugar hangover from the night before and thought I'd run off a few of those candy bars I snacked on over the last couple of days.

Here's a view of my November 1, 2014 run...

And this is only one of the parks in the center of the city.

There are lots of others to visit, like Forest Park, Mt. Tabor and Normandale just to name a few.

But there's also Washington Park, Macleay, Eastmoreland and more.

There's also Cathedral, Lents and Gabriel parks but today I'm simply posting pictures from a run I took through Laurelhurst Park.

OPENING NIGHT - Dr. Horrible - September 4th

My son will be performing at the Funhouse Lounge  at 2432 SE 11th in Portland, Oregon, this month, singing and acting and we'll be sitting in the audience...laughing and enjoying the show.

Performances are:

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog -  Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays, Sept. 4th, 5th,   6th, 11th, 12th, 13th,  18th, 19th, 20th, 25th, 26th, and 27th  7:00pm
Late Shows Sept 20th & 27th 9pm
Funhouse Lounge, 2432 SE 11th Ave. , Portland, OR 97214

Tickets Start at only $12
VIP Tickets are available and include VIP lanyard, buttons and autographed picture of the cast

Also you have the opportunity to buy the role of "The Mayor" That's right buy your way into the cast. Only one per show.

The Columbia River Gorge

 When you're driving up I84 from Portland toward The Dalles you will pass a bevy of waterfalls. Some you can even see right from the road. But if you pull off to the side of the road and hike for a little ways, you will find some more unbelievable falls and some breathtakingly beautiful views.

And if you want to walk just a little ways at Multnomah Falls, (yes that's a Native American word) you can see the falls drop from one level to the next.

This was how we spent Saturday afternoon, hiking the falls and taking in the views.

What did you do?

August 2-4 Willamette Writers Conference

The Pacific Northwest is known for creative people, we have Portlandia, Grimm and Leverage all right here in little 'ole Portland, Oregon not to mention tons of independent productions taking place all over the city. So, I guess it comes as no surprise that we have a lot of writers living in this beautiful part of the country.

And with writers comes writers' conferences and one that is well known in these parts is Willamette Writers.  Their big event is coming August 2-4 to the Portland Airport Sheraton Hotel.

There will be writers, agents and editors galore. So, if you're a writer or even a wannabe, you might want to make plans now to attend this conference. So, hop on over to the website and check it out here.

Bridge City has a New Name for One of its own

The Bridge of the People.  Love the name, love the look, can't wait until it's open.

There's a new "multimodal" bridge in Potland. The Tilikum Crossing, Bridge of the People. It's a name that comes from the original residents of the Willamette Valley and it's a great name for a bridge that soars above the Willamette river. “Tilikum” means people, tribe and relative.

The bridge will host transit, bicyclists and pedestrians, but no cars. If needed, emergency vehicles can use the bridge.

On the west side, the bridge will connect with the new Southwest Porter Street. The east side will run near the OMSI. 

The 7.3-mile Portland-to-Milwaukie light-rail line will run on the bridge.

The new transit line is scheduled to open Sept. 12, 2015. 

The Red Door of Doom

Sometimes when I go for a jog, I see a door and I have to stop and sometimes I even need to snap a photo.

This red door made me wonder. . .

Who lives behind that red door...

Is it a sign of something . . .

I don't know. . .

But I thought it was pretty enough to make me stop and snap a photo

Portland Oregon so many Places to See

I love running on Burnside. You can always find beautiful sights to see.

As I approached this entryway, I thought "that's too pretty not to take a picture."

So, I did. . . or maybe a few.

It looked like a little tunnel of trees and bushes...

Sort of like entering a doorway into another world...

A dress made from an old man's shirt

Okay, I'm not a model and I don't do this dress justice but it is so cool to wear something that was destined for the landfills. At Camp Hollyhock they repurpose old clothing and make it "seam" like new again ;D

All it takes is a little embellishing and some tea...or so I'm told. Anyway, if you are in Portland, you have to check out this shop over in Sellwood. It is so "green" and if you want a way to celebrate St. Paddy's day - this is definitely the way to do it by buying green and getting some great clothing at the same time.

I love these clothes so much that I've blogged about Camp Hollyhock before but I just might do it again.

And, okay, maybe I should have belted the dress - but this is it without any help from me.

But it is "sew" comfortable and I love the idea of wearing repurposed clothing.

How 'bout you?

Fat Tuesday

Happy Fat Tuesday!

Mardi gras is French for Fat Tuesday, which is the last night of partying before Lent begins (which is a time of fasting and religious practice) on Ash Wednesday.  

New Orleans is the most famous city for Mardi gras because they go all-out with the celebrations.

If you're interested in celebrating in Portland, Oregon you can find a list of events here. 

And if you're interested in making your own Mardi Gras mask, check this site out.

Run Like Hell Portland - 2012

Run Like Hell is a Halloween themed run that benefits The ALS Association of Oregon. My hubby and I signed up for the 10k (or 6.2 mile run) my sis and a friend signed up for the 5k. It is one of the funnest runs because people come out dressed in full Halloween garb. These year it was a Super Heroes theme. There were a ton of Bat Mans, plenty of Wonder Women and I saw quite a few Incredibles. But there were lots of other great costumes...including Santa Claus - now, that's a true Super Hero to kids.

This run isn't so much a race. Everyone is in a good mood--not so competitive as some runs. We all start snapping photos of each other and it's easy to make friends. I met another Poison Ivy - and we chatted about how we made our costumes ('cuz I'm too cheap to go buy one ;)

She had a great wig! No way could I run with a wig on. But then some people ran in full Big Bird costumes and kudos to them. It's not easy to run . . . let alone run with a furry-feather suit on.

Sonic and Tales made an appearance- true super heroes to gaming guys and gals. Just take a peek at some of these fun get-ups Portland had going on - in the streets of downtown Portland.

So, I hope y'all get a chance to Run Like Hell!

My Run

We were running through the forest.

In Forest Park. Portland's Forest Park is the largest wooded city park in the United States. With a 40-mile loop, there's a trail for every level: from walkers to runners. And there's something for everyone to see.


It wasn't a fast run but maybe if I show you a few photos, you might understand.

When you're running with a crew, you have to take a little more time and just enjoy the journey.

Not all the girls run at the same pace but it was a beautiful trail - although it had leaves all over the path, which made us slow down even more (slippery - so we had a good excuse).

Still, it was a beautiful morning on the Leif Eriksen trail.

Went to Willamette Writer's meeting

On Tuesday, March 1st, I went to the Old Church to listen to screenwriter Randall Jahnson talk about why he moved away from L.A. to Portland.

He says P.O. is the perfect place to reinvent yourself as a screenwriter. And he should know. The author of "Slaughter Alley," "The Doors" and "The Mask of Zorro" talked about his early days and aging in tinseltown.

He talked a lot about Portland, which he didn't need to sell me on, heck, I live here and love it too. But he also spoke about the new "digital culture" and making friends with Code Monkeys.

At first, I thought it wasn't so nice to be referring to people as "monkeys" but then I talked to my son, who writes code. He explained to me that it's not an offensive term at all. Programmers call themselves "code monkeys". I had no idea.

So, I learned a few things.

Randall said, "I was drawn to Portland's creativity and quirkiness."

Aren't we all?

The city is rife with the arts. And, one perfect example is Willamette Writers. They host these wonderful writers and have them share their words of wisdom with all us wannabe writers for $5 to $10 per month. So, the price is 'write' and the bargain is even better. So, if you're in Portland on the first Tuesday of the month, you might want to check out what's going on at the Old Church.

All Willamette Writer guest speaker meetings are held at the Old Church, SW 11th and Clay (1422 SW 11th). Doors open at 6:30 pm; the speaker or panel starts at 7 pm. Meetings are free to members of Willamette Writers and students; guests of WW members are $5. Non-members pay $10 to attend meetings. Refreshments are served.

Voodoo

In Portland we have a special place to go get a pastry and I'm sure you'll always remember the unique experience that is the Pacific Northwest. These donuts are so good some people say it's magic or at least that the bakers had to use a little voodoo to create these amazing concoctions.

They say "the magic is in the hole" but I'll leave that up to you. So visit Voodoo Doughnuts whenever you visit Portland.

Here's one picture to show you that Portlanders don't stick to what's "normal" at least when it comes to pastries.

I mean a maple bar and bacon might go well together but ... I don't know about this.

My brother said it tasted pretty good though. Maybe one day I'll be so daring and try this snack.

WANNA FIGHT?

Well, if you're a writer you should want to - or at least have a lot of conflict. That's what makes a story interesting.

Tuesday night I went to Willamette Writer's mini-seminar at the Old Church in downtown Portland to listen to Elizabeth Engstrom talk about the structure of a good story. She said that we want to live vicariously when we read. Most of us have calm lives but that's not what we want to experience when we read. So, as writers, we need to provide some excitement for the reader. Let them live through our characters. And they have to connect with them too.

So, we need to create a world of conflict and then amplify it even more. Now, I'm off to my WIP to ratchet up the conflict. I have to tell myself I wanna fight.

Tuesday - Tour

How 'bout taking a trip around the city?

Portland beneath the bridges and standing on top

When I Was Elena

I went to a lecture hosted by Willamette Writers to hear one of their guest speakers at the Old Church in Portland, Oregon. I wanted to hear Elena Urbani-Hiltebrand talk about her Memoir When I Was Elana.

She was a brave girl even at 22. The year was 1991, when she left college to go in the Peace corps and spend two years in rural Guatemala, armed only with her dog, and a fluency in Spanish, she managed to make a difference in the world--something so many of us would love to do but rarely have the courage to do. She saved children in her village by hiding them when army troops came to steal them away from their families. It was a rough time when children were taken and forced to join fighting units of revolutionary guerrillas.

She spoke of her time in Guatemala and why she wanted to write the story of the women she met while she was there. She also talked about her writing process and why she chose to write in multiple voices.

I thought she was fascinating and an inspirational young woman.

Earth-Friendly Friday

Recycling is up, garbage is down - at least in Portland, Oregon.

The city uses blue and green roll carts that are used to collect unsorted recyclables. Now, with this one simple change, which makes recycling easier, Portlanders are recycling and composting more. For example, since last year recycling and yard debris material increased by 14 percent which is the equivalent of 10,000 tons or 20,000 pounds. Not bad for one year.

This one change helped residential garbage decrease by almost nine percent or 9,000 tons - which is 18,000 pounds of garbage that isn't going into the landfills.

Overall, the city says that Portland's households and businesses are recycling and composting 67 percent of the waste that they generate. The goal is to stop growth in the waste stream and raise recycling to 75% by 2015. This is one way to reach that goal.

Plus, if you're looking for some green gifts, check out this site: www.ecometro.com.

COME BY THE HILLS - CELTIC THUNDER

CELTIC THUNDER IS COMING to the Rose Garden

November 12th at 8:00 p.m. (If you're interested, check it out here.)

GLOOM AND DOOM - In the Same Sentence as POWELL'S BOOKS???

Here's an article in the New York Times that talks all gloom and doom but I couldn't help but love it anyway--why? Because it talks about Powell's Books, which just happens to be one of my favorite hangouts and Portland too. Plus it plugs Intel and Nike. And, okay, Nike is in a suburb of Portland but close enough.