cinco de mayo, sisters and sushi

Hello everyone!

I had a really great weekend which started with me getting off work early Friday afternoon. The college was having a Cinco de Mayo celebration so I bought my lunch in the courtyard (carne asada tacos with beans, rice & pico de gallo) then sat in the bright sun and watched the mexican folk dancers then the impressive Aztec dancers with their persistent drumbeat. I left shortly after lunch and went to Elaine's house where I helped her finish prepping the enchiladas for dinner. We then went in their backyard to bask in the sunshine and blooming flowers. Dave had gathered everyone's frisbee golf discs and stacked them up on a chair. Yeah for putting practice! 50 discs! The most I got in on any single attempt was 20 discs (40%). Elaine got up to 26 and Dave had 36! John came over and Gina got off work so they joined us for putting practice. We also played a game of WHORES, a slight variation of HORSE. Gina busted out the bucket of margaritas from the freezer and drinks were served with limes. good stuff!

Some more friends came by after they got off work including Jamie & Blythe with their new puppy Zoe. Elaine & Gina's cousin Justin came over with his girlfriend Elizabeth and their young dog Ares so it was a regular dog party around there. Fresh pico de gallo & guacamole was served as appetizers and promptly wolfed down by everyone. Not much later dinner was served: chicken enchiladas, spanish rice & refried beans. It was a phenomenal meal and the crowd loved it. Yeah to the Hilberts! I watched a few more rounds of putting practice in the backyard as the light is hanging on around here until around 9pm. I talked on the porch with some people and then decided to head home.

I got some stuff ready for Sara & Jeremy who were driving down for the weekend. Jeremy lives in Vancouver, BC and Sara in Bellingham, WA. They rolled into town at the freaky hour of 4 am. I hung out with them a little bit though I felt a bit delirious since I'd been asleep for almost 5 hours. I got them settled then went back to bed.

I tried to let Sara sleep in as late as possible but by 11 I felt compelled to make some noise to wake her up and start our days. Jeremy and I had coffee and chatted and we got ready for our day. They decided they wanted to go frisbee golfing so we drove the few blocks to Elaine & Gina's and borrowed some discs and bags for the afternoon. We drove out to Dabney where there was surprisingly few golfers out. It was a cloudy day but with no wind and it was the perfect temperature for golfing. Jeremy threw one disc into the blackberry nightmare along hole 3. We bit the thicket with sticks (it was taller than us) and Jeremy destroyed his poor legs in the stinging nettles & thorns. Sadly the disc was lost. We had a great time throwing into trees and laughing while cursing. We played all 18 holes. From Dabney we decided to drive up the road just a bit to so Jeremy could see some of the waterfalls. We went to Latourell Falls, Wahkeena Falls & Multnomah Falls before hightailing it back to Portland for dinner at the Elaine & Gina's.

The hummus was being dished up just as we arrived. We enjoyed the last of the New Glarus beers (Raspberry Tart & the Cherry Belgian Red)mmmmmmmmm! Elaine started grilling up veggies while we hung out on the porch and talked. After all the veggies were done (onions, zucchini, peppers tossed with garlic, olive oil & balsamic) the beautiful steaks were thrown on the grill. The ribeyes were grilled to perfection then dinner was served with the baked potatoes & caesar salad already on the table. It was a wonderful feast and the table was full! We ate and talked and drank a fantastic bottle of Pinot Noir that Brian had brought over especially for the dinner. We all rolled away from the dinner table full and happy. We cleaned up the kitchen then hung out on the porch for a bit.

Elaine, Sara & Jeremy and I went down to on of our local bars for some beers. We talked about sailing and summer trips. I'm very excited about things to come! Sometime after one sleepiness set in and we decided to call it a night.

Sunday morning we woke to gray, drizzly skies. We had some coffee then Camille, Sara, Jeremy and I went to Old Wives' Tales for breakfast. We got the almond cream cheese crepes as an appetizer and I had the salmon cakes for breakfast. So so good! Camille went home to do homework and we headed over to Hawthorne. Sara wanted to find some good smelly stuff at Escentials. We then walked down the street to Mulligan's for an afternoon beer. We decided to go downtown from there. We walked along the waterfront but the weather turned worse and worse. The cold and the rain forced us back to the car. We drove up to Elaine's house who gave them some frisbees to start them on their new frisbee golf hobby. We all hung out on the porch for a bit then went back home to get Sara & Jeremy packed up. I did make them stop at Burgerville for Tillamook cheeseburgers and fresh strawberry shakes. They hit the road with promises of another Portland visit this summer while I have plans to go up one in July and once in September. yeah!!!!!

I went back to Elaine's house and the two of us with Gina & John went to Ichidai for a freaky good sushi dinner. I'd been craving sushi so I was in heaven. The tuna was melty gorgeousness and the salmon toro was as wonderful as always. It was a great meal and the perfect end to my weekend. I went back to their house and edited some pictures and burned some cds before going home for the night.

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

xoxoxo,
carolyn