my last weekend in Portland until September 10th!

Hello everyone!

I had a pretty mellow weekend here. I'm enjoying the time to read and watch movies and take the dog on long walks since starting this coming weekend I will be all over the place until the weekend after Labor Day...something like 7 states in one month. Whoa! Friday morning Elaine, Gina and Dave left for Montana with a two day side trip to Canada first. I'm staying at their house and watching the kitten (Hobbes) and the dog (Riley). I spent Friday reading my book on the porch, reading my book in the back yard in the sun, watching Netflix, doing the crossword, reading my book on the sofa, talking on the phone with my sister and collaging photos on their computer. That evening Riley and I took a long walk up to Mt Tabor. It was perfect summer weather. I made myself dinner when I got back. I cooked up the first zucchini from my garden with some fresh basil and garlic....yummmm!

Saturday I finished my book (I know this much is true by Wally Lamb). It was excellent! I moved on to another book and soaked up some sun in the backyard. In the afternoon I met Camille at our house and we took the bus to the Brewers Festival which was being held downtown in Waterfront Park. We met up with Jess and later Camille friend Ryan from Idaho and later Lincoln joined us too. We stood in line to buy our mugs and beer tokens then hit the booths. First beer of the day... Mai Bock by Sprecher! A Wisconsin beer at the Oregon Brewers Festival! We staked out a place in the shade right along the river and would go in shifts to get more beers, food or go to the bathroom. We sat near a guy with a drum and some families with babies and we all had a great time. The crowd would let out a cheer when a keg was tapped out and replaced with a new one. It was funny how the cheers got more and more boisterous as the evening went on. I had a great time but by the time it closed at 9 I was ready to head home and also needed to let the dog out. Camille, Ryan and Lincoln went out for karaoke and I took the bus home. I watched some Netflix and read my book before going to bed.

Sunday I read the paper on the porch and then went to Goodwill to buy some tank tops and pile of books. I was so happy with my finds and they were so cheap. Later I walked Riley over to my house and chatted with Camille. I cooked up some more zucchini for dinner and watched a documentary called "Born into Brothels" about children that grow up in the red-light districts in Calcutta. It was an incredible and horrifying movie. The woman was really able to make a difference for a few of the children. It would be really interesting (and horrifying) to follow up on all the children years from now. I read my book before going to sleep.

So that was my weekend! I'll be meeting Elaine in Spokane on Thursday morning and we'll drive the 3 hours to her family's place in Montana. I'm so excited for 4 days in Montana on a lake. It should be wonderful! Please let me know how you are and what you've been doing!

xoxo,
carolyn