party in the backyard

Hello everyone

I had a very nice weekend in town. Friday morning I weeded my garden and watched some Sopranos before driving up to North Portland to have lunch with Stephanie. We used to work together at Lewis & Clark. I arrived at her house and we spent some time chatting and catching up. Her son, Liam, just turned one last month. When he woke up from his nap we left for lunch. We decided to walk to the Mississippi neighborhood near her house where there are lots of shops and restaurants. We ate lunch at a great Italian place. It was al fresco which was very nice as the weather was strange and a bit humid. We topped off our lunch with some scoops of gelato. It was incredibly yummy and Liam loved it too. We walked back to Stephanie's house and she gave me an alternate route home to miss the afternoon commuter traffic. It was so great to see her. It's amazing how fast those babies grow!!

That night I stayed in and watched a movie "A Very Long Engagement". It was a combination love story/All Quiet on the Western Front horrors of WWI trench warfare. It was lovely and horrible all at once.

Saturday morning I went over to Gina's house. We walked up to Mt Tabor Park and played some tennis. I use the word "tennis" in the loosest possible sense as neither one us have any formal training. We just think it's fun and it's a great workout chasing after that little ball. Afterwards we went home and I started getting ready for the bbq that Camille and I were hosting later that afternoon. Gina and Elaine and Dave came early bringing food and chairs. We had a great time and tons of food. We grilled up veggies and beer brats and burgers. People played croquet in the backyard and told ridiculous stories and made me laugh. I had lots of fun and it was so great to have everyone over finally.

Sunday Gina & Camille & I left early to go to Sauvie Island. It's a small island in the Columbia River just 10 minutes west of Portland. We drove to the beach and laid in the warm, warm sun. When we'd get too hot we'd take our floating rafts down to the water and cool off in the river. It was really wonderful to read my book on the beach and float around on the water. On the way back we stopped at a market and bought fresh veggies. Camille and I ate burgers from the grill for dinner and then I watched "Million Dollar Baby" which somehow made me care about boxing. It was a very good movie.

So that was my weekend. I'll post some pictures from the bbq in the next few days. Please let me know how your weekend was and what you've been up to!

xoxo,
carolyn