Westmoreland Asays

Dr. Watson We enjoyed dry and mild temperatures for Halloween again this year. Trick-or-treating in Westmoreland/Sellwood still remains a great experience; Meg and I have determined, however, that next year we should stick to the northern part of the neighborhood because the houses there don't see the same amount of traffic as does the central region. We met some neighbors who hadn't seen a single trick-or-treater and others who prepared special treats for the kids that did visit them. Bad Ninja Edward, Ian, Meg, and I stuck together for the majority of the night, while Aaron toured the neighborhood with his friend Francesco. Edward and Ian performed as well as I've ever seen them, although Edward recommends wearing comfortable shoes as opposed to ones that match your costume. Some kind of Storm/Clone Trooper I ended up with almost as much candy as did the kids because they are so well parented and like to share and know that I like candy more than anybody e...

I'm a bit of a hoarder. But not like you think. Yes, I still have some of the baseball cards I collected from my youth boxed up in the garage, and yes I still have a few articles of clothing I wore in high school (they still fit, too, suckers). Letting go of physical items that might have some use in the future can create minor tension in my life. I have a similar tendency with information. To wit: my favorite time to visit the Oregon coast is in early fall, when the crowds of people return to their schools and offices, the winds calm to near nothingness, and the temperatures hover around perfectly-mild . I don't like telling people this, though, because I want to hog all of this to myself, or at least to my immediate family. So forget everything I just said and continue on to read about our latest Adventures in Testosterone. Meg had reserved a yurt at Nehalem Bay--north of the Tillamook but south of the Seaside--six months ago, knowing the kids would have a Friday free f...

Nearly 20 years ago while in Japan I thought I had lived through my last typhoon. Storms of this nature just don't find their way this far inland. Or so I thought . After a week where it felt like the rain was falling at all hours of the day, the sun came out with perhaps one last gift before the seasons shift back to the wet-and-grey of fall and winter. So hop in the mini-van we did, driving a few miles to the north and west to visit one of the many farms on Sauvie Island , and enjoyed a pleasant drive through quaint country. I'm not sure how much these farms rely upon the highly seasonal uptake in visitors--those like us hoping to get lost in their corn mazes and finding the great pumpkin and purchasing products grown within their borders--to pay the bills and feed the animals, but the city folk seem to enjoy walking through what is becoming more and more scarce within the urban growth boundary. We spent no more than three hours on the farm--including the time we dined ...