Category Archives: Portland

December 12th – A Personal Best

This may be the first time EVER that I have had all of my Christmas shopping done, wrapped and even shipped, a full two weeks before the big day. Even the teacher and colleague gifts are out the door.

I feel fantastic!

And it’s a good thing too because some very special guests arrive next Sunday and I want to free up as much as time as possible so I can enjoy spending some time with this guy.

(Photo stolen from my sister-in-law’s Facebook page – thanks Emma)

Expect to see many more photos of Mr. Charlie Benjamin over the next few weeks – although he’ll be wearing a heavy sweater and sitting in semi-darkness. I really miss Australia at this time of the year. Sigh!

I have been so focused on getting everything ready for Christmas that, of course, I haven’t had time to take/edit/post photos. All I have to offer are a few snaps taken with my iPhone but I am determined to pick up the camera more frequently now that I have a little room to breathe.

In the meantime, enjoy this glimpse of our life right now – both the ups (Christmas lights and hot chocolate) and the not-so-ups (scraping car windshields).


 

Finally, wishing a very Happy Birthday to my husband who turned the big 4-0 on Sunday. I have known him since he was 26 (!) and can honestly say that he is still the best man I know. I am a very lucky woman.

My House Smells Like Pine Tree

We designated Saturday our Christmas shopping day. We had to. It was clear that Christmas was in full swing – even Happy the Elf had made his first appearance in our house – so we could put it off no longer.

First hurdle – locate the Christmas Tree lot. We had one in mind that we visited last year but sometimes Portland streets all start to look the same and we had a little trouble remembering it’s exact location. Finally, a gmail search led us in the right direction (LOVE undeleted emails from 12 months ago) and we soon found ourselves surrounded by Noble Firs – my tree of choice.

Samuel wanted me to take a photo of him with no hands – that kid can be a little weird.

I have hands now!

We finally chose our 6 foot tree – a process that I was WAY more into than anyone else. Me: “How about this one Kei?”
Kei: “Whatever – that’s fine”
Me: “Will you at least LOOK at it? This is a big decision”

And, while Kei tied it to the top of the van… (I guess he’s useful for something, just not choosing the tree)

…I counted the number of blown bulbs on the Xmas lights while simultaneously trying to stop my children from running into traffic (I’m great at multitasking).

When we got home, it was time for lunch and Samuel’s nap. And, because we all had to be awake before we could decorate the tree, I endured at least two hours of Thomas asking if we can decorate the tree yet. He was incredibly excited (and more than a little annoying).

Finally, we put on some Christmas tunes and hung some lights. And when I say “we”, I mean “I” because Kei had not quite awakened from his nap on the couch. I know, I know, we were supposed to wait but the whining got to me. I can only take so much!

The kids hung the first ornaments…

And then “helped” with the rest while I worked hard to protect the most delicate pieces. Thankfully, no ornament casualties this year.

And then we took a few family pics in very bad lighting (it’s the only kind of lighting we have at this time of the year in Portland after 4pm).

Thomas took the next one – not bad!

and this one too

And this one of Samuel and, uh, my chest.

The tree is trimmed, the elf is sitting on the shelf and the Amazon orders are shipping. It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas…

By Popular Demand: A Little Product Placement

(Warning: this post is a little out there. Blame it on the holiday spirit.)

Most of the planet knows that Starbucks recently had a buy one, get one free promotion on their holiday drinks. Never ones to miss a freeload opportunity, my team at work took a rare few moments to walk down the street and make the most of said promotion (only an even number of people allowed).

I don’t quite know how this next series of photos happened. One moment I was taking random photos in the terrible Starbucks store lighting, and the next moment Lisa turned into a product model. I think she has a future on the home shopping network – and I hear they have way better lighting.

Madeline made a guest appearance…

…but Lisa was REALLY into it.

And then I took a picture of her with an autumn leaf that was twice the size of her head.

The end.

Don’t Call it Fall

After living here for eight years, I still refuse to use the word “Fall” to describe this season. It just doesn’t seem like an important enough word for the beautiful soft light that bathes the city and the the amazing colors dripping from the trees.

If I sound a little too upbeat about this season that precedes the impending doom of Winter, it’s because the sun is shining today. It’s amazing what a little sunshine can do to lift the spirits and almost make us forget that we have three months of overcast skies in our immediate future.

Of course I’d much rather be outdoors taking photographs than working, but I’ll have to make do with sharing a few quick photos that I managed to capture on a late afternoon autumn day a couple of weeks ago – before the time changed and we were plunged into darkness at 4:30pm. (It’s not all roses here).

Still, Autumn in Portland is beautiful. I’m going to try and enjoy it while it lasts.

Autumn Fun Continues: Portland Nursery Apple Tasting

Last weekend we took part in a popular Autumn tradition – apple tasting at the Portland Nursery. Of course we didn’t realize just how popular it was until we found ourselves standing in line for 30 minutes just to get to the “tasting” part.

It was definitely worth it, though. I had no idea that apples and pears had so many wonderful flavors and, after tasting more than 100 of them, let’s just say that I was glad that we took notes along the way. We left with a big bag of Comice Pears and Honey Crisp Apples – the sweet crunch appealed to all of us and they can apparently be stored for up to 5 months, although I doubt they’ll last that long in our house.

I was only able to grab a few pics here and there because it was very important to maintain a decent tasting speed to keep the line moving.

 

Batman was there of course (best $20 spent on a Halloween costume, ever!)

After the tasting we spent a little time checking out the Scarecrow contest (my favorite below), listening to a couple of numbers from Boy and Bean, a band that took me back to the 30s (in the best way possible) and, of course, some running around the Nursery.

 

It was a fun, and healthy, way to send a sunny October day. I think we’ll add Apple Tasting to our list of annual Autumn traditions.

The First Annual Ishida Halloween Awards

Halloween is over for another year and there is now a big bowl of candy mocking me from the corner of the kitchen. While I do my best to resist the sugar rush, I’ll present you with a few highlights from last night courtesy of the First Annual Ishida Halloween Awards. There are no prizes, only special recognition… Oh, and the awards are limited to the things I was able to capture on camera. Sadly the low light and my very high heels prevented me from capturing everything… Now – on to the esteemed winners!

Most popular costume
Batman, for sure. Followed by Superman, Ironman and basically any other superhero you can imagine. I like that Thomas distinguished himself as the 60s TV show batman rather than the popular “Dark Knight”.

Cutest Superfriends

Best Halloween Investment (Ever!)
After three years the striped tights are still going strong – although the witch’s skirt is getting a little tight. Next year I’ll either have to lose weight or prepare a new costume. How’s that for some motivation to get fit?

Most Creative Pre-Trick or Treat Potluck Dish
Kei’s idea, my implementation. I’m pretty proud of myself.

Best neighborhood Halloween decorations.

Also impressive after the sun went down.

Most Difficult Photograph of the Evening
But with the most adorable photo subjects.

Best Costume
A homemade Angry Bird – no contest. Also takes the prize for least convenient and most treacherous, but definitely worth it.

Most Creative Porch Pumpkins

Our potluck hosts also put in a great effort.

Happiest Sugar-Filled Superheroes, Princesses, Turtles and Dolphins.

Hope you had a Happy Halloween. Now, I must go and take care of some candy. I’ll let you determine exactly what that means. 🙂