Showing posts with label Portland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Portland. Show all posts

Monday, September 2, 2013

Labor(less) Day

Well, for me it was mostly labor-less. I studied for about four and a half hours in total, but it was a nice relief to have the day off of work.

To keep with tradition, we would have gone to the Oregon coast today as we have done on each of the last two Labor days, but the weather forecast wasn't very promising. We decided to take a shorter trip down to Portland instead. Here are a few pictures of our adventure!

I love the view of Portland as we approach from the west!

Brunch Box food cart at 5th and Stark
Great burger selection: you can even get a burger where the bun is replaced by two grilled cheese sandwiches!

Here was my selection: sans cheese, but with bacon!
And what's a trip to (weird) Portland without stopping by Voodoo doughnuts?

Note the Portlanders' motto, memorialized on the side of this building
The line today was a bit longer than usual for us; we waited a good 30-40 minutes.
Oh, the choices!
Our choices! We thought that putting Oreos on a doughnut was such a good idea that we got two!
"Good things come in pink boxes."
Luke and Logan walking back through the Saturday's market area.
We then headed south to the Keller fountains by my office for a little water fun in the warm weather (as a side note, the weather ended up being really pleasant, and maybe even a little too warm; could have gone to the beach!).

Logan in the fountains.
Luke exploring a little.
Both boys had a great time!
When we got home, we made popcorn and watched a movie together.

The girls
The boys











It was a nice day spent with family. But I don't quite feel ready to go back to work yet!

msh

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Pooleli

"Pooleli" is Estonian for "unfinished" but the  root part of this word "pool" means "half." I don't love leaving things halfway done, but such was the case with the shed today. Here are some pictures of the project progress so far.

Before, with evidence of the paint samples
After covering nail holes with putty
Trim painted
Tape around trim; this step took the longest cause we had to wait a couple hours for trim to dry and then be very deliberate and meticulous with the tape
Edges and grooves painted brown
Rolled the rest of the shed
Rolling the rest of the paint on the shed was by far the quickest and easiest part, but as you can see, we're still not done. I think everything needs a second coat. Plus you'll notice the trim along the top (and the underside of the overhangs) are unpainted, except for where we inadvertently painted it brown! Suzanna also told me that she saw our tape didn't hold up so well and the brown bled through onto the trim! And, um, there's a reason I kept taking photos from this viewpoint. The back and other side are still totally unpainted (minus the trim, which I did do all at once).

So, we're halfway. Sorta. Pooleli. I would have liked to spend more time on it, but we had a date night planned! Suzanna and I met up with a few other couples in the ward to go to a local production of Les Miserables in downtown Portland at the Newmark Theater on Broadway. Our home teacher played Javert, and he was awesome! I overheard some kids at intermission talking to their mom about who they thought was the best singer. One of the little girls said, "the serious one" to which the mom replied, "Javert" in a low authoritative voice, as though she was imitating him. We were also of the common opinion (biased as they may be) that Javert was the star of the show and really delivered an incredible performance!

Before the show, though, we went to Elephants in the Park (why didn't I take any pictures!?) at Directors Park just a couple blocks from the theater and got some tasty grub. Suzanna had a Tuscan chicken sandwich on focaccia bread, and I had the Park Burger, which was just a standard classic burger, but oh, so tasty. The weather was beautiful and cool as we sat outside under a big glass awning, watching the kids (not ours!) playing in the big fountain and a ballroom club of seniors preparing to dance their Saturday night away!

From Elephants in the Park, we headed over to a Ben and Jerry's (yes!) scoop shop where we loaded up on ice cream. Well, at least, I loaded up on ice cream! I got a double scoop of Americone Dream and Double Fudge Brownie on a huge cookies 'n cream dipped waffle cone (amazing!). Suzanna got her own double scoop on a normal sugar cone, but the other three couples each only got one ice cream! Some shared and some went without. We felt a little funny being the only ones getting two ice cream cones, but it was special occasion, and we've been really diligent at eating better for the last month or so.

Andersons, Spences, Shattucks, Holdaways
Here's a picture of us outside the theater. Forgive the silly expression on my face and the awkward way Suzanna and I are standing. My mouth was full of ice cream, so I was reluctant to smile. I was still holding the remnants of my monster ice cream cone in my right hand (behind Suzanna's back), and I had also just spilled some on the front of my shirt, so I didn't want to get too close to Suzanna for fear of getting in on her, too! I was very sad to throw the last little bit of my ice cream cone in the garbage because we had to go inside to take our seats. Oh ice cream cone, I barely knew you.

"Javert" and Mrs. Javert; I didn't know Javert was married and wear adidas!
After the show was over, we waited around for a few minutes until Javert (Gordon) came out to say hello. I really liked his chops, but he promised that they'd be off before church tomorrow! He is here with his wife (with whom I share a birthday!), who I am sure was very glad that this was closing night and would now be getting her husband back on nights and weekends. We really like the Thomas family and hope they stick around for a while.

Hopefully I'll get back to the shed on Monday, but we'll see how the weather holds up.

msh

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

200 Market


When I go in to Portland to work, this is where I go. It's officially called 200 Market, but the locals also refer to it as 'The Black Box.' Not much happening with it architecturally, but it's got a nice view of the surrounding area in downtown Portland.


The Keller fountains are just across from my building and make a nice place to play in the warm summer weather. We need to pay it a visit before it cools down in a couple months.


This is the view from my director's office window on the 10th floor of the Black Box, looking to the north west. That tall building is the Wells Fargo tower and is the tallest building in Portland. I guess they passed an ordinance limiting the height of future construction projects so that the view of the Willamette is not further impeded for those living in the west hills of Portland.

Portland is a pretty place, for sure. I enjoy the occasional opportunity to walk through downtown when I have to come in to the office to work.

msh