my first campfire of the year

Hello everyone!

I had a really wonderful weekend! I left work Friday and drove straight to Trout Lake on Mt Adams. I went to Wampler's house and then we drove over to Amanda & Damon's cabin in the woods. It was Damon's birthday on Thursday & Amanda's on Saturday so they decided to have a Friday pig roast. We arrived and parts of the pig were still cooking over a large bed of coals. Other parts of the pig were done and ready for eating! The pig was alive and kicking just the day before so it was very fresh! Both Amanda & Jimmy had made homemade bbq sauces to go with the pork on yummy yummy sandwiches. Just as it was getting dark Elaine & Dave arrived from Portland. The last of the pig was taken off grate above the coals and the fire built up. People were playing horseshoes & a game called nails. People drinking beers shouldn't be encouraged to toss hammers and catch them! Inside the cabin we lit the candles on the cake and brought it down to the campfire and sang to the birthday couple. The cake was decorated with pigs on it!

We sat around the fire and the guys started playing music. Dave and Jimmy on guitar and Wampler on accordion. It was amazingly mild out and dry dry dry! We really lucked out on the weather. The guys played a bunch of music and people sang along and drank beers and talked. There was a keg packed in the last bit of snow lingering in the area. Everyone ate and drank and gathered around the big fire. Lots of people kept showing up. There is a new batch of Americorps kids working at the Service Academy in Trout Lake so there's a constant influx of new young people in town. Lincoln and Alicia arrived from Portland so Lincoln joined in the music with his mandolin.

The party was tons of fun. Elaine and I sat under the trees strung with lights and talked with Tom for a long time. He recommended some good hiking and camping spots on the Mt Adams for me. He's moving to Bellingham in the fall to go to school so I look forward to getting together with him up there when I visit my sister. It started feeling late so Elaine & Dave and I snuck out and went back to Wampler's house to sleep. Sleeping was rather problematic. Elaine and Dave took the floor as the room upstairs had been promised to Lincoln and Alicia but they ended up staying at the Inn and Wampler stayed at the cabin. So they slept on the floor for nothing. I had the sofa but also woke up uncomfortable and hothothot. There seemed to be no oxygen in the house which made for terrible sleep. I should have just got up and opened the door.

We woke up in the morning to realize no one else had come back to Wampler's. We had plans for frisbee golf on the Trout Lake course but it was raining and Elaine & I were both without waterproof shoes so we nixed that idea. Instead we opted to make a quick getaway back to Portland where we could "lay on things, soft things that work." Then we realized that Dave's guitar needed to be recovered before we could leave town. He had left it at the cabin because Lincoln was playing it around the campfire when we left. We eventually tracked it down at the Inn and then hit the road down the mountain. We crossed the Columbia River into Oregon and stopped in the town of Hood River for some much needed breakfast. The rest of the drive home was exceptionally rainy and I wondered what happened to the weatherman's forecast of a sunny Saturday.

Back in Portland I went to Elaine's to get my pictures off my camera and then went home. I read my book for a long time. I'm reading Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell and it's unlike any other book I've ever read. I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for an interesting, unusual read. I napped very briefly then woke up and watched some Netflix, made some dinner, listened to a bunch of music, read my book more then went to bed early.

Sunday I woke up and showered then went to Elaine's to change the music on my mp3 player. They were getting ready for round of frisbee golf at Dabney but I opted not to go. I talked on the phone with Greta for a while. She is planning a trip out here in early June with Valentine! Yeah! After getting off the phone I went home and read the paper and made lunch then met Elaine and Dave around 12:30.

We drove to the Laurelhurst Theatre, one of the venues in town hosting the Longbaugh Film Festival. Tom Olsen, the husband of a long time friend of Elaine's had directed a movie that was playing in the festival. It was a documentary about gangs in Portland and one particular leader in the Crips gang. It was called Killingsworth, the name of a street in North & Northeast Portland where gang activity was the most widespread. When the DA began using the RICO act to bring down the gangs it really deflated their strength. Most gang activity now is in the suburbs and is driven by Latino, Asian & Russian gangs. I must say I'm glad I missed the heyday of Portland gangs in the 80's & early 90's as it was pretty ugly. The film was also had a really interesting part about African-American communities in Portland. Many families moved here from the South for jobs during WWII when Portland was a shipbuilding hub for the war effort. There were several African-American communities such as Vanport and Columbia Villa. Vanport, built on a flood plain, was destroyed by a devastating flood caused by a dike break. Another community was destroyed by the construction of the Memorial Coliseum and another by the construction of I5. I found that historical section of the film really fascinating. Tom, the director, was in the audience and stayed afterwards for a little Q&A which was really interesting.

We left the theatre, stopped at Music Millennium up the street so I could buy a copy of the new Flaming Lips cd and then drove back to Elaine & Dave's house. Elaine ran to the grocery store and Dave & I picked up the house. Elaine returned and we began prepping food for dinner. Steaks, baked potatoes & a big salad along with a whole slew of grilled veggies: sweet onions, asparagus, peppers and zucchini all dressed with salt, pepper, fresh garlic, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. We hung out on the porch and grilled out and drank beers. Dave & I sorted the cards to prepare for our after dinner card game. Erin and Terry arrived and we all sat down to dinner. The meal was fantastic and so much like summer! Steak and pinot noir is a magical combination!

After dinner we played a great round of Shanghai Rummy and Erin destroyed us all handily in the final rounds. Down & out twice in a row! Unheard of! It was tons of fun. Definitely a great way to spend a Sunday evening! I headed home and read my book for a while before going to bed early.

So that was my weekend! Please let me know how you are and what you're up to. I hope all is well!

xoxoxoxo,
carolyn