Spring Break on the Coast 2012

As Spring Break approached, I really felt the calling of the beach. We haven't had a beach trip in such a long time, and I needed a "fix"! So, I booked a couple of nights on the Oregon Coast. Originally, the idea was for the whole family to go. But, available dates precluded Larry because of work, and Sarah decided she had far too much schoolwork that needed to be finished. That left Emily and me. Off we went!

Our room was at the Looking Glass Inn in the Taft Historical District in the south part of Lincoln City.

  

I had no idea where this was when I booked the room, but it ended up being a pretty cool location. Turns out it's on Siletz Bay, right where the bay meets the Pacific Ocean. Although it rained on us during the entire drive over, it stopped shortly after we checked in, so we took advantage of the rare break in what would become an incessant storm, and took a walk on the beach.

It was delightful! Walking along the bay, we picked up rocks, many with lovely patterns, and enjoyed seeing the harbor seals that peeked at us from the waves.



We marveled in the union of the bay and ocean waters.



Suddenly, there we were, alongside huge ocean waves, having left the relatively calm bay behind. The beach changed markedly; here, there were fewer rocks and more logs and driftwood strewn about.

 

Despite being prepared with our rubber boots, we managed to find a wave that was quicker than we were and walked back to the room squishing water inside our shoes.

Once cleaned up and with boots left to dry, we made our way across the street to Mo's for dinner - another benefit of our convenient location. By now, mind you, the rain had come back in full force, and with the wind whipping, it was harder than we expected just to make our way to the restaurant. The storm continued unabated the entire weekend, and, in fact, left us without power the next evening.  The sideways rain was so powerful it was a challenge just to stand. That night, we opted to stay in with games and a movie, and ordered pizza delivery. A smart decision! (For us; perhaps not for the delivery guy! We did tip him well...) Galucci's makes good pizza! We slept both nights with the sound of wind gusting  - up to 50 mph! - all around us.

We are Oregonians, though, and rain doesn't keep us from doing much. Shopping was high on the agenda, as Emily needed some clothes, and we hadn't been very successful finding time to shop at home. Lincoln City is home to Tanger Outlets, so we had plenty to choose from. Emily was able to find clothes at a number of stores; we came home with several bags full! We visited a kite shop, too, where I found some new flags for our house, as well as a gift for Larry for Father's Day.
 
Whale watching was high on our list of things to do - we even remembered to bring our binoculars -  but the weather just wasn't cooperative. Days one and two were just too stormy. It would have been impossible to see them amidst all the blowing foam from waves in the storm. Day three loomed calmer, and thus, looked more promising as we left town, but the whales had not ventured back in close to shore after being run out to deeper waters by the storm. We'll have to try another time, perhaps at summer's end.

Two other activities deserve their own posts, so I'll blog separately about our trip to the Oregon Coast Aquarium and our Emily's glass-making experience. Suffice it to say both were wonderful experiences, and good way to spend a rainy day.

Our drive home was calmer than the trip over, as the weather decided to be kinder to us.  We discovered a covered bridge on the way, and stopped to check it out.

    

It was a most picturesque spot, and made me wish we'd had a picnic lunch to enjoy creekside. Maybe next time - in drier weather!

Late March snowstorm

March is always a month of unpredictable, fickle weather, but this year, it's really kept us on our toes. We had snow March 1st - unusual, but not unheard of - and thought that was it for the season's end. Then, just as the trees started to bud out, and the long-asleep bulbs started to push their little heads above the soil, we were surprised again. On March 22nd, quite late by Portland standards, we got enough snow to delay school by two hours.

The front yard was blanketed with white, and at 7am, a few hardy souls were brave enough to attempt to make it down our steep hill in their cars. I was not ready for that adventure quite yet...

 

Busy as ever with work, I hadn't yet gotten around to changing the St. Patrick's Day flag - guess I really couldn't decide whether the new one should depict Winter or Spring... On this particular morning, the decision was made for me: two inches of snow had accumulated on top of the flag/pole!



Out back on the deck, where its perch wasn't quite so precarious, the evidence of 3 inches was apparent. So glad school was delayed. If the school buses couldn't make it up the hill to us, chances are I wouldn't make it down!



Views from the upper back deck were breathtaking, as bare limbs were coated in frost and snow, and the boughs of the evergreens held the snow lovingly for optimum display.

        

But, alas, it was not to last. It warmed up quickly and by 8:00, the snow was already melting a bit and dripping from the eaves, making strange impressions in the snow that Xeda had to check out. Out of character for her, really, since she never has any interest in venturing outdoors. Guess even she realized this was an unusual occurrence!

 

By the time school was out and we were back home again, the neighborhood was its normal green self, with no evidence of all the excitement, save a few sad remnants of hastily built snowmen in occasional front yards. No snowman for our sleepyhead family. Guess the memories will have to do!

Scholastic Art Awards 2012

Well, Sarah has done it again. Once more, she had work featured this year in the Scholastic Art Awards student art competition. Her Gold Key winning pieces were displayed at PNCA during the month of February. Viewing the work in this room full of fabulously creative art by talented middle and high school students was impressive, to say the least.

We attended the Artists Opening Reception on February 2nd and enjoyed seeing her work shown alongside the other students' from the Portland metropolitan area. The awards ceremony itself was held at the Newmark Theater in downtown Portland in February 22nd. It was so inspiring to be in the presence of such talent!

Sarah won Gold Keys for two pieces:

"Self-Portrait in the Style of Alice Neel"
 
She's also entered this in a scholarship competition through the Portland Women's Club in April. Fingers crossed.

"Untitled" book arts sculpture (since then renamed "Unreadable").
 
She's entered this in an exhibit at the Walters Cultural Arts Center in Hillsboro in May. Fingers crossed again...

Sarah was also part of a group whose paper dress won a Gold Key. Although her name wasn't on the submission (and, thus, the Gold Key was not presented to her), I think she deserves credit for her part in the project. It's shown here on a very manly mannequin. :-) Enlarged, you may notice that the skirt is made from old sheet music.

This class project culminated in a multidisciplinary show wherein the dresses were modeled by class members via a runway fashion show. Dance department students coached the models in their runway walks and filmmaking students captured it on video. Click on the link below to view the entire show.

ACMA 2011 Paper Couture Fashion Show

Photography students captured each look as still photos which were then compiled into a 2012 calendar. Sarah's group's dress made the cover!
 

Scholastic also awarded Sarah's pastel, "Sofa", an Honorable Mention.

We're so proud of Sarah's work and are hopeful that the strength of her portfolio will help her in her search for college admissions!


Update 3/30/12:
Sarah received word that "Unreadable" was accepted into the Questioning Functionality 3 art exhibit at the Walters Cultural Arts Center in Hillsboro. It will open in May. This will be her first non-student exhibit - so exciting! Way to go, Sarah!

Christmas 2011

This year, I promised myself I would get a head start getting everything ready for Christmas. Just before December arrived, I got out the boxes of decorations and opened the first one. Ugh! Mouse droppings, shredded paper cum nesting material, and eaten-away fabric and ribbon. I cleaned up what could be sterilized, tossed what couldn't, and was totally unmotivated to open any more boxes. Christmas preparations were put on hold until I recovered.

In the meantime, the busy Conchords performance season arrived. Our shows were fairly compressed this year, and we found ourselves singing 2-3 times per week. It looked like finding a time to schedule a trip to the Christmas tree farm to cut down a tree was next to impossible, so Larry, Sarah, and Emily went without me - and found a beauty. School, work, and performance schedules continued to play havoc with preparations, so the tree sat in a bucket of water in front of the house awaiting decoration.

I was lucky enough to be working a lot, but eventually managed to get over my rodent aversion and snagged a couple of days here and there to decorate. Luckily, no more vermin evidence was found, and I managed to get the living room mantle decorated with its collection of nutcrackers and snowmen. Greenery from the backyard and berries from a neighbor's front yard completed the look.

  

Santas stood proudly on the family room mantle.

    

Swags of greenery finished the look on the front of the house and the stairway. Xeda had to check out the newly festooned banister, and expressed her approval.

      

A few other areas received a festive touch, as well.

 

Finally, two weeks after it was cut, we finally got the tree into the house and, with carols playing and a fire blazing, hung ornaments with great care. It was a lovely way to spend time with my family on my birthday.

A week later, Christmas day arrived with gifts aplenty. 

  

 

Clothes seemed to have been on everyone's list.

     

Emily's big gift was an iPod.

Larry received an oft-mentioned movie.

Doctor Who gifts were a hit.

 

A storage bin doubled as a good hiding place - but is sure to be filled up soon.

 

There were gifts in Xeda's stocking, but in true kitty fashion, she liked the empty boxes best!

Exhausted from our gift exchange, we laid low most of the afternoon and watched Christmas movies. Later that night, Joan, Liza, and Annie Overholser joined us for Christmas dinner. It was great to have them here and to be able to return the hospitality they show us every Thanksgiving. Emily set a beautiful table, complete with napkins "folded" to look like candles.

 

Appetizers were Sweety Peps (little marinated sweet peppers stuffed with goat cheese), and crackers and cream cheese with cherry balsamic sauce.

 

Dinner was pork roast with cranberry-ginger glaze, wild rice with caramelized onions and cranberries, wrapped green beans, corn casserole, salad and rolls. Pretty yummy! 

   

Dessert was red velvet cake (left over from my birthday), and an assortment of Christmas cookies and chocolates, followed by a rousing game of Passadoodle, eliciting many belly laughs.

A lovely day replete with family, friends, food, and fond memories in the making.