Oregon and Back
Back from the beautiful Northwest. Oregon is blue skies and pine trees and mountains. And then the craggy coastline, all crashing waves and sea lions and coastal touritst towns. Had my fortune told by Zoltar and bought the kids salt water taffy. Spent a morning raspberry picking which hurtled me back to berry picking in 1967 here on L.I. Forget how serene and spiritual, for lack of a better word, berry picking can be. Didn't even mind the bugs! Jogi and Michael have what amounts to a small estate in Abany, OR; bout an hour outside Portland. Fruit trees everywhere and a huge lake where I saw a beaver swimming, a passel of racoons foraging in the early morning, and a blue heron flapping across the water, showing off its huge wing span. The food I ate was all incredibly fresh and delicious. Had brunch at a farm that served an omelet full of vegetables that I swear had been pulled right out the ground prior to being put into my eggs. LOVED Portland. Had to get used to the lack of people though, at first it looked like it had been deserted. Just used to the teeming sidewalks of NYC I guess. Incredibly friendly people smiling and saying hello right and left. Made me uncomfortable at first. But soon I was saying hello and smiling right back. Portland would be an excellent place to live. If BFI falls off the dock and drowns his drunken self, I will move the kids there! Mass transit is FREE in the city proper, which blew me away. There are trains, trolleys, and buses. As the city is small enough to walk around in in about 30 minutes these seemed very luxurious to me, all that mass transit. There is even a sky tram! Saw the Chinese Tea Garden, where Jogi and I had tea. It smelled incredibly sweet, frangipangi and gardenias. It was built by architects from China, a meticulous recreation of an ancient teahouse. Also went to the Fine Arts Museum and saw a Rembrandt show curiously devoid of Rembrandts. Adored the Dutch still lifes (lives?). Didn't know a still life could be a pronoucement on life. Found out that a half-eaten meal in a painting could represent life’s uncertainty or serve as a call for moderation. Perused Renoirs, Monets, Pissaros and other works of art I had never seen before. Jogi bought me an abalone shell bracelet, and one for herself. We wore our matching bracelets to an Italian restaurant called Pinocchio's. Cocktails and pasta and chocolate orange gelato. It was so much fun hanging out with Johanna. I miss that girl's company. She and Michael were excellent hosts. Their home is beautiful and gracious. Every morning we had breakfast outside facing the lake. Michael's home baked bread and Jogi's own strawberry jam. Paradise. I even made jam, raspberry jam, and it was delicious. Lots of shopping. Scored a gray silk Calvin Klein skirt from "Nordstrom's Off the Rack" for an incredible 25 bucks. Went antiquing in Albany and saw Jogi and Michael's antigue stall. Loved the freaky mannequin dressed in aprons as the flight attendant uniform she started out in had been bought by someone. In one store Jogi brought a tea towel with a singing piece of toast dressed to the nines. Went to a farmer's market in the hippie town of Corvallis. Saw people taking turns orating in a park in a roped off area marked "Community Forum." Bought a lavendar wand from a lavendar farm stall and Jogi and Michael and I scarfed a bag of fresh made, gourmet potatoe chips. Mountains at the ends of streets. Had incredibly good indian food for very little money. Who knew turnips in sweet yogurt sauce could be a transcendent experience? I am still jet lagged and will write more about everything later. Kids and I together again and I'm glad. Really missed them.
Question and Answer on the Mountain
You ask for what reason I stay on the green mountain,
I smile, but do not answer, my heart is at leisure.
Peach blossom is carried far off by flowing water,
Apart, I have heaven and earth in the human world.
Li Bai
Back from the beautiful Northwest. Oregon is blue skies and pine trees and mountains. And then the craggy coastline, all crashing waves and sea lions and coastal touritst towns. Had my fortune told by Zoltar and bought the kids salt water taffy. Spent a morning raspberry picking which hurtled me back to berry picking in 1967 here on L.I. Forget how serene and spiritual, for lack of a better word, berry picking can be. Didn't even mind the bugs! Jogi and Michael have what amounts to a small estate in Abany, OR; bout an hour outside Portland. Fruit trees everywhere and a huge lake where I saw a beaver swimming, a passel of racoons foraging in the early morning, and a blue heron flapping across the water, showing off its huge wing span. The food I ate was all incredibly fresh and delicious. Had brunch at a farm that served an omelet full of vegetables that I swear had been pulled right out the ground prior to being put into my eggs. LOVED Portland. Had to get used to the lack of people though, at first it looked like it had been deserted. Just used to the teeming sidewalks of NYC I guess. Incredibly friendly people smiling and saying hello right and left. Made me uncomfortable at first. But soon I was saying hello and smiling right back. Portland would be an excellent place to live. If BFI falls off the dock and drowns his drunken self, I will move the kids there! Mass transit is FREE in the city proper, which blew me away. There are trains, trolleys, and buses. As the city is small enough to walk around in in about 30 minutes these seemed very luxurious to me, all that mass transit. There is even a sky tram! Saw the Chinese Tea Garden, where Jogi and I had tea. It smelled incredibly sweet, frangipangi and gardenias. It was built by architects from China, a meticulous recreation of an ancient teahouse. Also went to the Fine Arts Museum and saw a Rembrandt show curiously devoid of Rembrandts. Adored the Dutch still lifes (lives?). Didn't know a still life could be a pronoucement on life. Found out that a half-eaten meal in a painting could represent life’s uncertainty or serve as a call for moderation. Perused Renoirs, Monets, Pissaros and other works of art I had never seen before. Jogi bought me an abalone shell bracelet, and one for herself. We wore our matching bracelets to an Italian restaurant called Pinocchio's. Cocktails and pasta and chocolate orange gelato. It was so much fun hanging out with Johanna. I miss that girl's company. She and Michael were excellent hosts. Their home is beautiful and gracious. Every morning we had breakfast outside facing the lake. Michael's home baked bread and Jogi's own strawberry jam. Paradise. I even made jam, raspberry jam, and it was delicious. Lots of shopping. Scored a gray silk Calvin Klein skirt from "Nordstrom's Off the Rack" for an incredible 25 bucks. Went antiquing in Albany and saw Jogi and Michael's antigue stall. Loved the freaky mannequin dressed in aprons as the flight attendant uniform she started out in had been bought by someone. In one store Jogi brought a tea towel with a singing piece of toast dressed to the nines. Went to a farmer's market in the hippie town of Corvallis. Saw people taking turns orating in a park in a roped off area marked "Community Forum." Bought a lavendar wand from a lavendar farm stall and Jogi and Michael and I scarfed a bag of fresh made, gourmet potatoe chips. Mountains at the ends of streets. Had incredibly good indian food for very little money. Who knew turnips in sweet yogurt sauce could be a transcendent experience? I am still jet lagged and will write more about everything later. Kids and I together again and I'm glad. Really missed them.
Question and Answer on the Mountain
You ask for what reason I stay on the green mountain,
I smile, but do not answer, my heart is at leisure.
Peach blossom is carried far off by flowing water,
Apart, I have heaven and earth in the human world.
Li Bai
posted by MJ at 11:55 AM
2 Comments:
beautiful post. welcome home.
Thank you Fourth Person! Good to be back.
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