Beauty For Ashes

I told you I would post more about my trip as I process it. 

This week is Thanksgiving week and I am going to be baking a lot with my kids so I thought I would reminisce about my food experiences in NYC.

We went to a number of cool restaurants that offered many new experiences.  I would have to say my number one favorite was Max Brenner.  6 of us were seated upstairs in a dimmly lit room, handed monstrous menues with all sorts of drinks, food and desserts.  I sat numbly looking at all the different things I could order and found myself wanting to skip the dinner portion of the meal entirely and head straight for the dessert.  Good sense prevailed and I scanned the menu for a real meal.

I was feeling a little daring and spontaneous so I decided to order a drink first off.  I didn’t dare look at any of my friends as I ordered because I didn’t really want to see the surprise and wonder….I don’t drink normally but, as I stated before, I was feeling a little daring.  Being cold and a little grumpy played into my choice too.  ”I’d like a White Chocolate Martini please.”   

Oh.My.Gosh.  When they brought me my drink I thought I had died and gone to heaven.  I am not an experienced alcohol consumer, generally speaking, I don’t enjoy wine and because of my upbringing, I tend to get a guilt complex if I even look at an alcoholic beverage so me ordering a white chocolate martini was extremely unusual.  However, I felt no guilt over my drink.  It was fantastic!

After they brought my martini, which I tried very hard not to guzzle, they brought our meals.  My pulled pork crepe and salad was equally delicious and brought back memories of a little crepe restaurant in France.  It was very tasty.

By the time we were done with our meals, I think everyone at our table was feeling better and had found their humor bone again. 

Dessert was spectacular!  Each of us ordered a different dessert and they all looked amazing.  Because, I am not a chocolate lover, white chocolate is where I tend to gravitate.  I chose the white chocolate soup and disappointment was not on the menu in any way.  It was so smooth and yummy. 

This trip, we also experienced a Bobby Flay restaurant, Bar Americain.  Again the food was terrific.  I ordered their salmon topped with wild mushrooms and I wasn’t disappointed.  The Salmon was very moist, cooked to perfection.  I enjoyed it very much.

We also stopped in to eat cheese cake at Junior’s.  I will never again eat a Costco cheesecake.  Junior’s was perfect.  The cheesecake was extremely smooth and lacked that twang that you get with most other cheesecakes. 

Finally, we got to eat soup at the Original Soup Man (The Soup Nazi for those who watched Sienfeld).  I went for the giant sized clam chowder.  (it was very cold out) I was not disappointed.  It was some of the best I’ve had.  It had some pretty complex flavors which was a change from the bacon laden taste of many I get here in the Northwest.

NYC is known for it’s restaurants for a reason.  We never went hungary.

I feel a need to apologize for going on and on about a drink but truely, that was an entirely new experience for me and when I think of NYC, I think white chocolate martini.

Well, I went, I’m home and my brain is filled to overflowing.  It was an amazing trip in many different ways.  I have much to tell and many stories to share as well as pictures.  I won’t share it all now but I will try to spread it out over a few blogs.

This trip has put me in the mood for Christmas.  I haven’t felt this way in nearly 4 years I think.  What got me in the mood you ask?  Well it started with seeing the opening show of the 75th anniversary of the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes.  It was terrific and unexpectedly so for me.  I was looking forward to the show but now I’m a fan.  The decoration, music, dancing and story line was splendid and I left the theatre ready to hang decorations, bake and wrap presents. 
 
This is a photo of some of the crystals hanging from the chandelier in Radio
City Music Hall.

I have to tell you though, I feel thrilled that I am still alive because after having just 3 1/2 hours of sleep the night before, I did fall asleep a time or two.  Once, I fell asleep hard enough that my head snapped back, scared me, I yanked my body forward and was just sure I yanked hard enough I was going to flip right over the seat in front of me.  That is not a great way to wake up from a nap.

Aside from the sleepy eyes though,  the show amazed me.  They actually had camels walk across the stage and oh, the beautiful nativity story they told was out of this world.  It was terrific.

It was cold and blustery and I was in NYC.  I stood out like a total Northwesterner in my Keen shoes and bright lime green Columbia Ski jacket with my huge, fuzzy, puple scarf but that’s okay, I still loved the cold weather, I stayed generally warm and my feet never did hurt. 

Macy’s was the cherry on top for me when it came to Christmas spirit.  Macy’s was decorated beautifully and the crystal ball that is dropped in Times Square was on display.  Oh, my that was a treat.  I always thought the thing was just awfully ugly on TV but up close, it is magnificent!  Nothing like it to get you ready to sing Christmas Carols.

Here are some pictures of our trip.  I have so many other stories to tell but I will wait.
Central Park
 
The Girls near Rockefeller Center

Let’s see, where to start.  Last weekend we spent the weekend in Seaside helping my MIL put together a garage sale/arts and crafts bazaar for this weekend.  She has a number of artisans showing their things and I hope it will go spectacularly well for her.  I have to admit that I had my reservations but after helping here put together her displays, I was very impressed.   We talked with her on Friday night and she seemed very pleased with her results so far.  I am happy for her and for all intents and purposes, the time spent helping I think has further helped with healing in our relationship.  I think we are not quick to take one another for granted in who we are, very nice.

I am madly scrambling to get myself and my family ready for our respective trips this next weekend.  T and the kids are heading to Vegas to visit with family and attend the airplane show at Nellis Airforce Base.  It’s their 70th anniversary show and it should be pretty spectacular. 

NY is my destination.  I, with 4 other of my friends are heading to visit Summer in NJ but will be spending significant time in NY City.  I am excited and very nervous all at the same time.  NYC has never been on my list of must see places but, in doing all the research, I have changed my mind.  I.Can’t.Wait.  We leave on Wednesday for Portland and fly out on Thursday morning. 

I am now on to my second project in my metalcraft class.  It is due on Thursday, I won’t be here so I am scrambling a bit.  I am making a ring and the design is taken off of a sanddollar.  I am excited to see how it will turn out.  Pictures will come as soon as I finish it. 

Here are some pictures of my kids and a friend taken in Seaside, Oregon as well as some photos of my kids yesterday as they rode in a helicopter for the first time. 

We sent the kids to be with Grandma and Grandpa and went on a road trip to celebrate our anniversary this weekend. 

We decided to go explore with no particular destination in mind ahead of time.  The general direction we headed was Yamhill’s winecountry and then over to the coast somewhere.  Our purpose was actually two fold.  One was to just be together and the other was to revisit some of our old stomping grounds where we met and spent time in college and as newly weds. 

Boy have things changed.  Yamhill county has gone from a beautifully forested/farm country to winecountry.  The winaries were everywhere and came in all sizes.  We stopped at Lenne winary and visited with the owner.  He totally educated us on everything from the soil, grapes to the dynamics of different wines.  It was interesting and quite fun to experience.

Saturday we drove to Tillamook and enjoyed lunch at the Blue Heron French Cheese making facility.  We really enjoyed ourselves as we savored our turkey sandwiches and cheese platter.  The facility is really cute and if you ever get the chance to stop, it is a fun liitle place

Salishan Lodge was our final stop on Saturday.  What a beautiful place.  Our room was lovely with a view of the golf course.  The grounds were beautiful and our dinner was sooooo good.  Actually, neither one of us was hungry when we arrived so we scheduled dinner at 8:30 and decided to go for a nice long walk down to the beach.  Abbie ran around and chased a stick and we sat with our feet buried in the sand, watching the sun sink and the huge waves crash onto the beach. 

The following morning, yesterday I think, we woke up and decided to take the nature trail hike to wake us up.  It was so fun and quite a little jaunt.  What a great way to start a morning.

We picked up the kids in Newport after walking through a couple of lovely art galleries in Depoe Bay and Newport and wandered on home.

 Now here I sit thinking there is so much more to share about our little trip but I’m tired of typing.  It was a wonderful anniversary made up of three days that were packed with a weeks full of stuff.

Okay, so the top picture is of me.  T took it at our family reunion last weekend.  I thought it was fun and rarely do I have a picture taken of me that looks good.  I, like my Mom usually have my mouth hanging open funny when someone hits the button.

The second picture is of everyone who attended our family reunion last weekend.  We had a fun time and it was, as it always is, great to see these people.  We have been getting together for a campout every summer for 29 years.  That is so hard to believe on two different levels.  The first is simply that I can’t possibly be old enough to remember when those started but strangely I do.  The second is that it is so rare and we are so blessed as a family to be able to hold to this yearly tradition of easy going, fun loving, camping together.

We went to a camp up on the Coast Range near St. Helens.  The camp itself was rustic and had lots of potential to be very lovely.  We all had a nice time and enjoyed catching up with one another.  It was a bit coolish after being in Central Oregon with 90 degree weather, give or take 10 degree’s on any given day so we didn’t swim (darn) or anything. 

One of the highlights for our entire family was the bon fire that was built on Saturday night.  We all went around the large circle and talked about our favorite campout memories.  It was so funny and wistful to sit and listen to all the things that different people remembered.  Many things have happened and it was terrific to be reminded of them. 

Lots of memories centered around water which really is no surprise since we have camped around lakes and the ocean most of the time these have been going on.  It made me giggle to realize that my brother, Dad and I have a bit of a reputation for playing rough in the water.  So many of the cousins who are my age told about different times we would dump them off innertubes behind the ski boat or push them off a dock etc.  Many of the stories surprised me by being about things that I didn’t remember happening.  One of cousin’s favorite memory was my Dad taking her fishing.  Another was of one of my cousins going on a wild ride on a waver runner with me…apparently I scared her to death.  Other memories included difficult times, yet there was always something good that came out of it.  I love that even through the hard stuff, we are able to laugh and enjoy each other’s company.  It was a refreshing time.

I am looking forward to next years reunion.  It should be a great time.

or should I say, “Oh, My Gosh!  It’s crazy already”. 

This is the last week of school.  I am very excited to have my kids home for the summer.  We’ve got grand plans but….and this is the oh my gosh part…..that will have to wait until after Grandma and Granpa come.  In the mean time, I have 3 pages of things we need to get done between now and next Friday.  Thankfully, I am sane enough, barely, to prioritize them and I think the list, as long as it is, is doable. 

We are planning to head to Portland to celebrate M’s 9th birthday.  Her best friend moved to PDX and M is missing her so bad that we thought it would be fun to pick M’s friend up for the weekend and go do all the fun Portlandy things we haven’t gotten to do in years.  M wants to go to the zoo for sure and from there we aren’t sure what we will do.  We have many things to choose from.  It’s going to be so fun. 

 We will come home on Sunday and then Monday, M’s actual bday, will be celebrated with Grandparents from Nevada and here.  It should be interesting and if the truth be told, after the last time the Nevada Grandma visited, I am a bit nervous and defensive.  I am determined to make it a pleasant time for all, so there. 

For now, I will leave you with some pictures of M singing in her final choir concert and both M & C testing for their orange belt in Taekwando.  Enjoy.

Until next time.

I have no idea if this will work but it was kindof fun to see where I’ve been.  I know that 2% is certainly not enough for me.  I would like to see Australia, New Zealand, as much of Africa as I can get in for starters. 

I had to think of a title so “Halloween” it is though this post probably has nothing to do with today’s holiday.

We spent the weekend in Seaside and the weather was simply stunning.  It is so funny to me that the Oregon Coast, Western Oregon and even Eastern Oregon gets such a bad rap for being constantly cloudy and rainy.  I rarely head to the coast and experience foul weather.  Shhhh!  It’s our little secret, okay?  Oregon simply doesn’t get as much rain as it reputation would say.  Most people don’t have webbed feet or moss growing in their armpits.  I digress…

Anyway, our weekend was nice.  We did a lot of relaxing.  Our kids played on the beach and in the dunes.  They even played hide and seek with their Grandma F. in the dunes which they thought was the coolest thing in the world.  Relationships continue to mend and T and I are both grateful.

T took lots of naps as he prepares to begin his new management position.  He is very excited though a little worried that he won’t do a good job.  Stunning, I know!  I keep telling him he is brilliant, capable but most importantly, he cares very much for people around him.  That makes a terrific manager from everything I’ve seen in the many jobs I’ve had, all of which I have been managed at some point or other.

I had the pleasure of beginning and finishing a good book.  I have had a couple of people recomend “The Red Tent” to me so I picked it up.  It was very an interesting take on the the Biblical character of Dinah.  I enjoyed it because of it’s look at the lives of women and how we intertwine and influence one another.  In addition, I enjoyed it because it fueled my every smoldering fire to understand what happened historically.  I love finding out about ancient Biblical tradition.  I didn’t particullary care for the fact that the author really streched to the breaking point in my opinion what the Bible does say about Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, Leah, Rachel and all their sons and daughters.  It was creatively done and should provoke some interesting and fun conversations.

We came home yesterday, carved pumpkins, started decorating for Thanksgiving and looked around at my home with delight at our progress on our home impovement project and discouragement at the disaster around me.  It looks like a mischievious pixie got loose in our home while we were gone and just threw things in the air with shear abanondon and delight.  Eeeks, I have a lot of work ahead of me to get it put back together.

 Hope your week is great!

You’ve got to check out my sister-in-laws blog.  Brown Dog

 She is chronicalling my family’s trip through Europe.  I have hesitated to give out the link but she is so funny and has a great American view of the adventure my parents and her and her husband are on.  She also has some beautiufl pictures of some of the things they have seen and done.  They are officially over half way through their little adventure and she does a great job of giving blurbs about what they have seen and done.

 Hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

My parents, brother and sister-in-law are on a plane to London right now.  They are spending an entire month touring Europe.  The time they have spent preparing for this trip has been really fun and intense to watch.  Everyone is very excited about going with the exception of my Mom who would rather tour the U.S. and is intensely intimidated by going to places where they don’t speak english.  I feel for her, my sweet mommy, who is, as I just stated, sweet but also a bit fearful.  I am proud of her for going.  I think she will fall in love with some of the places she is going to see.  Hopefully she will meet kind people who make her trip colorful and joyous. 

Having them leave for a month on a grand adventure has made me think about travel.  I LOVE to travel.  It doesn’t matter where I am going to, I look forward to the adventure, the down time with my family and meeting new people and seeing new things.  France is the only place in Europe I have spent any time in.  I was there for a month in highschool, a time when I didn’t truely appreciate what I was doing and was to lazy to learn the language.  I love seeing Paris and the French country side.  Now that I am an adult, I have many friends who regularly travel to far off lands and bring home there colorful tales. 

Europe holds a special intrigue for me right now.  Probably because my family is going to explore it.  It also holds a special interest for my daughter.  She wants to see Paris and the Eiffel Tower.  She has my waderlust sensibilities and could definately become my traveling partner in a few years.  The idea of traveling Europe floats my boat most because of the architecture and art history.  The idea that there are more than a dozen building throughout Europe that are older than the U.S. is amazing to me.  If only there walls could talk…oh, my what stories they would pour out. 

I can’t wait to hear from my family via email.  I am really looking forward to hearing all of there stories and looking at there fantastic pictures.

Watch out world.  When my kids are a little older, I think we may try to to tackle the entire thing!