Westmoreland Asays

On Tuesday nights Mike's Drive In (a local dive, 0.6 miles from our house) has specials on food and treats. We've been there a couple of times already--it's hard to turn down .$0.49 cones and $0.99 sundaes. It had been raining hard all day, but after dinner Meg noticed the sun had broken through, and she suggested we walk over to Mike's for dessert. We all made sure to grab our umbrellas (we each have our own) before we left, which was wise as it began raining hard and hailing as soon as we embarked. I had Ian in the backpack, so I wasn't sure what he though of it--he was quiet and still the whole time. Aaron remarked several times about how we were setting a new record; I'm not sure if he meant the amount of rain that was falling, or that he had to walk through it, or that it would live long in his memory. Eddie didn't finish his cone, so I had to down it for him--that's the real reason I haven't lost any weight since we moved here, despite my more ...

My older brother goes to school at nearby OHSU and sometimes camps at our house overnight, since it is like a two hour drive from where he lives.. Friday was such a night, so Meg suggested we go to a movie at the local Moreland Theater while my brother supervised the sleeping kids. The theater is typical older venues: one screen, very large auditorium, creaky old seats, cheaper admission, and independent owners. They. were showing Date Night , which we both found funny and relevant. Of course we walked the 10 minutes to and from the theater. We both feel safe walking the neighborhood at night, although we encountered an opossum and crossed the street to avoid any conflict.

The thing I missed most about our house in Beaverton was its proximity to two parks--both just a few minutes walk away. Our place in Salem was about .75 miles from a park, but you had to cross a very busy road to get there. Now we have three neighborhood parks within walking distance: Sellwood, Westmoreland, and Johnson Creek. I've taken the boys to all three now, and it's nice they each have something different to offer. Sellwood Park seems like the best of the bunch, which is nice because it is the closest, just two blocks from our house. On a side note, Ian likes being outside so much, he will often scream when we bring him inside--no matter if he's been outside for hours or if he sneaks out onto the front porch for just a few seconds when the older boys leave the door ajar.

Last night I took Ian for a walk in the stroller (while Meg cut the boys hair). We walked down the main strip in Sellwood (13th), which was bustling with people and noise and lights and music--loads of fun and no angry drunks. Today after church all four of us boys took a walk through the neighborhood. We ended up being gone for about three hours, although much of it was spent exploring virgin territory (another neighborhood park), and it was a beautiful day. At the park the boys discovered a beach within the park (Johnson Creek), so they of course spent most of the time chucking rocks into the creek. Eddie had to do his business, so fortunately there was plenty of plants for privacy coverage. Update : I should have noted that I did all of this walking in my geta , which a friend presented to me when I left Japan back in 1996. I've never really worn them much until now, but they feel good, add a few inches to my height, and generate lots of comments from my fellow Sellwoodians.

I don't recall ever thinking that the 2.5 miles I biked to the farm I worked on during the summers of my youth was ever much fun; it was simply the way it was. Starting time came early in the morning, and by quitting time in the evening, my physical stamina was drained. Riding my bike home was both a relief--as I didn't have to harvest any more iris--and yet one more physical difficulty to overcome before I could relax for the day. I never felt contempt for my co-workers who had cars to drive, but on the rare occasion my dad permitted my brothers and me to drive his truck to work, it felt like angels gently pulling us along on our own puffy clouds to the gates of heaven. Today, I couldn't dream of a better way to commute to work than by bicycle. The most physical aspect of my position at work is walking to the restroom, so I welcome any sort of activity that gets me out of my chair. Fortunately my office has a locker room and showers and lets me store my bike inside the bu...

I took Edward and Aaron to a Blazer's game tonight. Aaron earned a voucher for a free ticket from his school for reading, so I was more than happy to accompany him. We did the same thing last November, but Edward bailed on us at the last minute . Today, though, he was excited to go with us, even though he knew that Brandon Roy, Greg Oden, and the Vanilla Gorilla were injured and would not be playing. We walked two blocks to the bus stop and got a ride straight to the Rose Garden. Aaron sat next to me, while Eddie changed seats several times--at one point I thought he was gone, but he had just stealthily changed seats again (outside the bus, he made sure to hold my hand and stay close). Even though our seats were the cheapest in the house, I thought we still had a good view of the game. I like sitting in the upper section, though, because that's where the hard-core fans sit; the lower bowl seems like a place to show off your social status and money. But that won't stop me f...