Our first (lazy) days in Portland
So here we are in our strange little cave, surrounded by the glories of the big city.
(Big city dwellers, stop laughing now, dammit. Portland is big. She is a fierce and feisty corgi next to your fussy whippets and poodles. Heart the size of a mountain, this corgi has.)
Chopper’s in front of me on our foam pad bed watching tennis (Agassi!) on the telly while I’m typing on my tiny Visor, foldable Stowaway keyboard atop a banker box on the floor. We’ve got a cooler across the room for vodka, beer, wine, juice (in that order of priority), and open cans of food for the cat. Poor Cat has hairball issues and is on a special diet these days.
Next door (cave part two), Platelicker’s sprawled on the cool cement just beyond my mini-office: one table, one chair, one file cabinet, computer, scanner, printer, and the most important purchase since our arrival: a hotplate for emergency tea.
What’s this? We moved from an island to a basement?
No worries. It’s just temporary. In a month or so, we’ll have our old house back (and our own kitchen at long last!), but in the interim we’re staying with friends, just a short hop away and still in our old neighborhood.
And what a neighborhood!
New restaurants, new shops, even a new weekly farmers market, and all within walking distance! We are ready for some serious exploration and re-discovery. I mean, dude, there’s a cheese shop that’s goat and sheep central, and damn that espresso across the street hit the happy caffeine spot.
Not that we’re leaving the island behind for good, mind you. See, time up there was always at a premium; frantic bits of freedom jammed between long hours at work and long hours of caregiving, and so we’ve got quite the backlog of adventures (and photos) to blog. And, on top of that, we’ll be back for visits. Can’t keep these two barflies away from the pub forever, you know.
(Brief pause for a wave hello to the boys at the pub.)
Meanwhile, we’re taking it easy these first days, getting our bearings, organizing our small collection of unpacked belongings, reconnecting with old friends.
Oh, and lounging. We are all about the lounging. In fact, our goal (after this exhausting and quite annoyingly busy summer) is to perfect the fine art of productive lounging.
Cooler full of tasty beverages just five feet away from the bed and me with a keyboard? I think we’re off to a good start.
August 30th, 2006 at 3:00 am
Sounds like you are enjoying your basement. Have fun with your new surroundings.
August 30th, 2006 at 7:00 am
Welcome home!
August 30th, 2006 at 10:34 am
Wallow, sister. You’ve deserved it.
August 30th, 2006 at 5:24 pm
There’s something romantic in the notion of Portland to me.
But then I’m from England, a country too small with too many people.
Oh well!
Enjoy the drinks.
August 30th, 2006 at 10:19 pm
Welcome back to the mad, mad city! No place like home, eh? I hope you enjoy the settling in process.
August 30th, 2006 at 11:57 pm
Happy late summer lounging, y’all!
August 31st, 2006 at 3:46 pm
*waves across the river*
Ummm, errr, I owe you a dinner invitation since the partyThatGotCrazy has come and gone…call me a slacker and beat me with a wet noodle… *sigh*
August 31st, 2006 at 5:55 pm
Happy BlogDay 2006! Thank you for mentioning Global Voices :D
M
August 31st, 2006 at 10:38 pm
Thanks, Gracianne! We are enjoying it. There’s something nice about a brief respite in a confined space. I know that sounds a little odd, but the lack of belongings, and the proximity of everything (er, well, save for the bathroom and the kitchen) is rather nice. We like having the pets close in, at least!
Thanks Kevin! It’s almost home!
CC, oh yes. We wallow in our lounging, we do. Just spend the last three hours watching Agassi’s round 2 match. Me happy. Me loves rooting for the sexy bald codger. :-)
Scott: Portland more romantic than England? Say not so! England has been my dream vacation ever since I was a wee tot watching too much BBC.
Thanks, Tea! I’m loving the mad, mad city so far. (And so far we’ve avoided all rush hour traffic. That helps.)
Thanks Kimberly. We aim to keep lounging as long as we are able, but I should note that it is productive lounging. As in, creative planning & working, but all from our loungy little cave.
Kitchenmage! Did we miss the shindig? Aiieee! I meant to email you, but I’m a space cadet of the third degree. We will most definitely have to plan a river/dinner excursion of some sort soon.
You’re Welcome, Melissa! It’s odd — my BlogDay post went up and then vanished into “private” mode for over an hour and I’ve no idea why. It’s back now. (Phew!) I’m looking forward to exploring many of your great global blog links. What a great site that is!