Author Archives: Nicole

Summer in the City: Storm Large at the Classical Chinese Gardens

We can place this event in the BV (Before Vacation) category. It feels like weeks ago that my friend LeeAnn and I took a quick trip downtown to take in our first concert at the Portland Classical Chinese Gardens.

Apparently these Chinese Garden summer concerts have been happening forever, but I was completely unaware of their existence until LeeAnn told me that Storm Large was going to be performing. I’ve been a fan of Storm Large since I saw her talk at a TEDx Portland event a few years ago. She was so eloquent and inspiring and, of course, her voice is amazing.

The Chinese gardens are an unusual place for a concert series. While the setup is quite intimate, the layout is a little awkward. LeeAnn and I weren’t able to get there very early so we missed out on some of the prime seats – although I get the feeling the season ticket holders filled those pretty quickly anyway.

A couple of things I’d do differently if I attended a future event at this venue – bring cash (the bar doesn’t take credit cards), bring a blanket or other soft thing to sit on (I lost some feeling in my tush after sitting on a concrete fence for two hours), pack the bug spray (lots of standing water) and get there early. Thankfully I packed an adult beverage for LeeAnn and I to share so we were able to bypass the no cash problem. I’m not sure if that was completely above board but it saved us paying $8 for a glass of mediocre wine and was a more refreshing option on a warm, humid night.

Still, despite arriving a little later than we’d hoped, we were able to find a spot with a good view of the stage.

And of the tea house behind us.

I can honestly say that Storm Large lived up to every expectation. She was funny, genuine and incredibly entertaining. She also acknowledged the weirdness of the venue, spending a lot of her time climbing the railing in front of the Gazebo/stage to get closer to the audience. I’m glad she didn’t fall in – but it would have made a good story.

It occurred to LeeAnn and I that we were amongst the youngest people attending this concert – something that you don’t experience very often when you start to approach 40. It made for some interesting (sometimes awkward) audience interactions. I wonder how many of the season ticket holders knew who Storm Large was before this concert.

Still, the venue was beautiful, the talent was amazing and the home-made cocktail added just the right amount of flavor.

And as the sun started to go down, it became a little more magical.

Highlights included of the night included a stalkerish version of Hopelessly Devoted to You (do yourself a favor and watch this live recording) and an equally stalker-friendly song, I Want You by Elvis Costello. The concert was three weeks ago and they were the ones that stuck with me which is perhaps a little concerning… 🙂

And when Storm ended on this song, it was the icing on the cake. (If you’re at work, best put on some headphones)

Such a fun night thanks to a wonderful entertainer. I’d brave the mosquitos again in a second.

Back. Relaxed. Rested… Well, In Theory

I’m back.

Yes, the family and I, with my Aussie parents in tow, just recently returned from the Oregon vacation to end all Oregon vacations. We saw ancient Lava flows, floated on the crisp blue waters of a crater lake, explored marble caves (in the middle of nowhere) and hugged a few giant redwoods. We gathered junior ranger badges, maps, amazing beach rocks and (unintentionally) sand. We stayed in modern condos, rustic cabins, ancient chalets and a house with a great location that took us on a 1960’s decor time warp.

And, of course, now I have about a quadrillion photos to edit. It’s the curse of the photographer. I’ll be back with more blog posts soon that share our adventures.

I’ll also share a few things that happened in the week before we left, including two fun photo shoots and a very special concert experience (it was a busy week).

Tomorrow I head back to work and prepare for the start of school next week. While I don’t feel rested, I do feel as though I had a great vacation. Now if only I could find a way to take some vacation to recover from my vacation.

Back with more of this soon…

Summer in Oregon: Lavender Daze Festival

A couple of weekends ago I dragged my family of boys to the Hood River Lavender Daze festival.

It’s easy to be festivaled-out by the middle of Summer here in Portland. By the time we reach August it feel like we’ve already had a street fair in every major neighborhood and festivals celebrating everything from Beer to Blues to Tulips. And just when you think there can’t be anything more to be festive about, you’ll see an advertisement for the Portland Pirate Festival or the Naked Bike Ride.

Not that we’ve attended many festivals this year. The age of my children and my husband’s aversion to crowds means we spend more time being festive in our own backyard than in some hot tent-covered gathering of like-minded individuals. While I might make it to the Zombie Walk one day (probably not), for now I’m mostly content enjoying our own little corner of the city…with one exception.

The Lavender Festival had been on my radar for a while and, this year, I was determined to make it happen. So we set off on a beautiful, sunny, hot Saturday morning to take a road trip through the Gorge to Hood River.

I can quite honestly say that the Lavender Festival is the most relaxed Summer event that I’ve attended in a while. It helps that as soon as you exit the car, you are hit in the face with the most amazing scent of Lavender. The flower is known for it’s relaxing properties and, if I didn’t fully believe it before, I do now. I have never felt more calm and collected after an hour long drive. It’s like I couldn’t even hear the children bickering. anymore Or maybe they weren’t fighting at all. That’s the answer – fill my house and car with Lavender and the fighting will stop. I think I’m onto something.

Did I mention that it was sunny? VERY sunny. Which meant a lot of very bright photographs. Not that I was deterred. I took three or four (or 50).

One day I’ll go back and take a photo of this scene without the people, and the tents and the cars.

We quickly grabbed some lunch after we arrived – amazing wood fired pizza. I started with the cherry and sausage and we all shared the blueberry and lavender pizza for dessert. When in Rome…

Apparently bees REALLY like lavender. It took a lot of courage for the boys to walk (gently) through the lavender fields. Thankfully, no stings.

But lots of direct overhead sunlight.

After lunch I managed to avoid buying anything while we checked out some of the vendors. The boys picked up some free “divination rocks” – cast-off pieces of blown glass courtesy of a very talented glass artist. Then I talked them out of needing a “Lavender Wand” after explaining that it was decorative and not magical. P.S. We’d just come off a week of Magic camp.

Then it was time for some more frolicking through fields of flowers.

Until Samuel declared it was too hot and we took a time out in the shade.

And then picked a bunch to take home.

After about two hours of lavender overload, we headed home – stopping on the way to buy some fruit and enjoy an apple cider slushie (for the kids) and some harder cider (for the adults).

This is also where we took a few crazy photos by the red wall.

And then we headed home. The car smelled incredible and both boys fell asleep. Coincidence? I don’t think so.

Wordless Wednesday: The Red Wall Where Things Got a Little Crazy

 

Thomas took this one – a little blurry but I love it.

He took this one too.

and then things started going in a strange direction.

Kei took this one – thanks, Kei?

Summer in the City: Mississippi Street Fair

Attending the Mississippi Street fair is somewhat of a tradition in our family. I was a little disappointed when we missed it last year – although we were in Australia so that helped ease the pain a little. The year before we took our Japanese visitors and found it to be the perfect opportunity to immerse them in a slice of real Portland – even if this version of real Portland was a lot more crowded and noisy (and just a little more crazy) than the average day. I can’t find our post from 2010 so we may have missed that year as well, but I did find our 2009 visit and let’s just say that I was not prepared to look at photos of my teeny tiny little babies on a Monday morning. I may have to go curl up in a ball somewhere to get over the realization that “Super Why” is about to turn 8!

This year I decided to take the boys to the street fair while Kei stayed at home to work on the yard. Pretty sure I got the better end of that deal. We arrived at 10am to beat the crowds and I’m glad we did because it started to get insane when we left at about 12:30, although we missed a lot of the live music which was a shame. Still, the boys had a great time and were incredibly patient with me as I insisted on visiting every single booth. I love this age because they still like to hang out with their mother and yet don’t need a stroller or other sort of containment device to ensure they stay close (most of the time, anyway).

Here are a few highlights from the day.

Starting strong with a few Mexican wrestlers running down the street because… well I have no idea why.

The ninja nesting dolls that caused me to say “no, we are not buying them” about 20 times over the course of a couple of hours.

An impromptu art opportunity courtesy of OMSI.

I get so excited when my kids use color – it’s a rare occurrence.

Shave ice! (and the last piece of evidence before Thomas lost his cap).

An alien. Note to self: must visit the Pecularium sometime.

This painting was a favorite.

And I wanted that suitcase but have no idea where I would put it.

I definitely DID NOT want to take these home.

A sidewalk shave – comes with free whiskey

So, I feel like I have to explain this next photo. I really liked the look of these hand-painted flasks and I thought Kei would like the Sake one so I took a picture. And then I got home to review my photos and realized that I also took a photo of a really cool rooster with a slightly offensive message. My apologies.

Quick stop to climb some fake trees (notice that the cap has gone).

And a honey stick because they hadn’t had quite enough sugar yet.

We ran into a friend – and bigfoot.

This guy was blowing bubbles off his balcony. Great way to get into the spirit.

And, just before we decided the crowds were getting too much for us, we enjoyed a little music. I love that there’s always at least one person who dances like nobody’s watching. I tried to encourage my kids to dance but they were having none of it.

And that wraps another fun year at the Mississippi street fair.