Portland

"I am anticipating being able to fall into more of a routine so that I will be able to blog on a more regular basis."

Ha! So much for that theory :)

Anyway, I am now in Portland with today left to go before I head back home tomorrow. I am very much looking forward to shuffling back to Buffalo. While Portland is a nice place, I don't think that I would like to live here.

There are a lot of appealing things about the city - but a lot of things I don't like, too. It's very clean here. There are city workers pushing trash cans and brooms all over. The public transportation here is great. It's very easy to get around the city and I like using the system. But that being said, if you need to drive anywhere the rail/bus system doesn't go, driving isn't so fun. At least not for me. A lot of people use foot power around here. At home, that isn't the case - I'm terrified that I'm going to hit someone because I'm not used to keeping an eye out for so many pedestrians.

People like to ride bicycles in Portland. I would venture to say that there must be one biker for every four or five cars on the road. That's a lot! And I think that it's kind of neat seeing them all using hand signals when turning. We've all learned how to use them, but that would be the day I would see a bicyclist using hand signals back home.

It's very green here. But that's it. Just green. And not many variations of green. My eyes are very tired (or bored?) of green - even tho' it's my favorite color. Maybe it's just the time of year that I'm here, but there doesn't seem to be much other color around. It's kind of boring.

The city itself is obviously a growing, thriving place. There is tons of construction going on all over. The look of the city is pretty - lots of little stores line the streets. It seems that there is a specialty store for everything here along with a million places to eat - lots with little tables set out on patios or on the sidewalk. Again, it looks pretty, but for me not very practical. I am not a big fan of little specialty stores. Whenever I've gone into one, I feel like I am intruding on someone's private property and feel very uncomfortable. Not to mention the fact that if I needed to get five different items, I would have to go to five different places (at least). And who knows how far away they would be from one another. Maybe it's because of what I'm used to, but I prefer one-stop shopping. In and out, no one to bother me - all done in one shot. That's the way I like to shop.

And for Portland to be touted as such a green city to be in, I am very surprised at the number of smokers here. There are a lot.

I've done the tourist stops and without a car, there isn't much left to do. Except shop, if I were so inclined. I don't like to shop.

I did get to see Buffalo beat Portland in their match in the 2008 World Championships. Buffalo played great. I hope they were good enough to make it to the finals. I'm pretty sure that their match against Portland will be the last show I'll see tho'.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

I know that rain is good for the flowers and the trees, but I need a break already. It seems like it's been raining almost everyday for the past month. I know we've had days in between that were rain-free, but I need a nice stretch of good weather to get the things done outside that I need to. I'd also like some dry days left over to relax and enjoy some good mosquito-free time. That's not too much to ask, is it?

What's been weird too, is the kind of rain we've been getting. We've had a lot of hard fast rains. I also don't remember ever having thunder/lightening storms in such abundance and so close together. And crazy clouds. I'm going to have to make a point of keeping my camera handy to get pictures of them.

I'm betting the weather forecasters love this kind of weather :)

Chives

I have to believe that chives are one of the most obnoxious plants in the plant kingdom. Round-Up doesn't kill 'em. They are a pain in the you-know-what to dig out. And if you do manage to dig deep enough to get to the bulb, it inevitably had babies. Millions of babies. So many baby bulbs that it is virtually impossible to pick out each and every one, which ensures that no one can ever totally get rid of the damn things.

The people who owned my house before me must have liked chives and planted them somewhere. Over the years they spread and are just about everywhere. Fortunately, in the lawn they are only noticeable in the early spring. Then they stick up like alien antennas all over. When I cut the grass the first time of the year, I end up smelling like onions until I shower. I don't like onions.

It's keeping them out of the garden and flower beds that is going to be the bane of my existence.

Ugh.

Purging

In a quest to create more room/living space and become more organized, I am in the process of cleaning out a lot of the things that I don't really use or need. It is amazing how much stuff a person can collect over the years - and I really don't consider myself a packrat. I guess I am more of one than I thought.

While it is fun looking at old things I haven't looked at in five years, it makes me wonder why I kept them if I wasn't going to use or look at them. Maybe just for the fact that it would be fun to look at after years of not seeing them? I'm not sure, but a lot of stuff is hitting the recycle bin and the donation boxes. I just know that once some things are gone for good, I will have thought of a great use for them :)

In my effort to leave no stone unturned, I came across a small time capsule that I put together in February of 2000 - February 17th, to be exact. I marked it not to be opened until February of 2010. I had forgotten about it until I found it... I only remember one of the items in there. I guess I'll have to wait almost two more years to see what else is in there!

More Changes

The past bunch of weeks have been tumultuous to say the least. Not in a bad way, but chaotic nonetheless. After spending at least a decade in the same routine, things in my life have and are changing in ways I never would have imagined. And for the most part, it's good. Along with more adventures, I am anticipating being able to fall into more of a routine so that I will be able to blog on a more regular basis. My problem wasn't that I didn't have anything to blog about - the problem was that I didn't have the time to blog!

Some stuff that's been going on:

• One of my chickens is missing. I'm trying to be optimistic and I am hoping that she just decided to start a nest somewhere on the property. Best-case scenario: she is hatching baby chicks somewhere (The chickens have taken to not using the nesting box and instead, laying eggs in random places around the property. Weed-whacking the other day, I came across of pile of twelve eggs in a pile amongst the tall grass!) I thought I lost another hen Saturday, but she showed up today. A bit on the bedraggled side, but still in one piece and happy to rejoin the rest of the group. I'm keeping the gang confined for a while. If there is a rogue fox or something roaming around, I don't want to lose any more chickens.

• I learned that I'm too old to play kickball. I was at a cookout a couple of weeks ago and played the first game of kickball I've played in probably 25 years. It was a lot of fun, but I really wasn't a very good player (and that is being kind). I also pulled a muscle, and I'm still sore :(

• I am a huge Indian Jones fan. I was very disappointed in the last movie. Out of the first three movies, Temple of Doom was my least favorite. Temple of Doom was a million times better than the Crystal Skull. I have no idea what they were thinking when they wrote that one.
  

• MRE's (Meals Ready to Eat) are a lot of fun! Randy had a bunch and neither of us ever had eaten one before, so we decided to open up a couple and give them a try. I was amazed at how much food they can fit in that small bag. I had the veggie burger meal and Randy had the beef stew. That veggie burger was the best veggie burger I've ever had. Randy said his beef stew was really good too. I forget what belonged to what meal - we kind of mixed and matched - but between the two, there was also a huge chocolate chip stuffed brownie, a couple of really big molasses cookies, a bag of M&M's, a really large amount of dried cranberries, two giant wheat crackers, ice tea mix, a milkshake type drink mix, coffee, creamer, sugar, tabasco sauce, a ton of napkins and a spoon. There might have been something else too, but I can't remember for sure... And of course the heater pack to warm up the meal. I'd be willing to bet that one of the meals could last me a whole day. We had a lot of fun going through everything and it's nice to know that in case of an emergency, we will get to eat good :)

• I don't like the idea of shooting guns on my property. It's so loud and I worry about someone or something getting hurt. That being said, I had a lot of fun target shooting at my sister's house. Don't ask me what guns I was shooting, but there were at least four different kinds. I definitely like some better than others. I can't say I was very good, but I did hit the tin can a couple of times!

• Today we had popcorn-sized hail raining down in the afternoon. I have never seen that before in this area. It was pretty neat to watch, but I thought my truck was going to have marks from it all because it was coming down so hard. Fortunately, my truck was fine. Unfortunately, my garden took a beating :(
  

I am excited to be settling into a new routine and looking forward to a really fun and productive summer. Changes can be good.