Au-revoir Portland...

Well, my last night here in Portland is here.  Mahesh, Sara and I went out for dinner at a local Italian restaurant called Jopa. It's less than a block away from my apartment. I make this entry with a heavy heart, I am never ready to say so long to my son. Now that I have spent the last seven weeks with him, it's going to be twice as hard not seeing him almost daily. I am looking forward to going to Vancouver and getting to spend time with my Canada family. Though, I am also anxious to get home to Oklahoma. Being away from the familiar does begin to wear on a person.
My time here at Glencullen has been very relaxing, I have been able to paint and also spend time discovering the myriad of fabulous eye absorbing locations. Portland is an easy city to navigate, the downtown area is not as frustrating as San-Francisco or Vancouver. Parking is usually readily available and there is no end of charming, eclectic shops to frequent.
I will miss my son the most, my heart aches every time I think of leaving him. 

"Vancouver, Vancouver, this is it!"

Those were the last words heard from David. A. Johnston an American volcanologist. He was killed by the eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980.  In 1980 when Mahesh, my son was only five his little sister three, I took them to see the devastation caused by the volcano's eruption. Today thirty years later Mahesh and I went back to Mt. St. Helens, this time we were up close and personal. We were at the observatory named after Johnston, it has been erected where Johnston was stationed those thirty years ago. The volcano was majestic before it "blew" it's top and now there is something painful about the volcano, there is a part of it missing forever, though the magma keeps building up and a dome is trying to push up, the majesty of pre-eruption will not be regained. The reminders of the awesome fury of the eruption were visible everywhere. Huge tree trunks left snapped in half dotted the adjoining mountain terrain. I was so tempted to bring a small piece of the felled trees with me but my son would not allow me to fall off the "wagon".. I am after all a recovering rockoholic! Too many pieces of rocks or pieces of wood have found their way back home in earlier travels, but no more.  I made a promise a long time ago to leave those treasures in their homeland and not transport them to Oklahoma. I kept my promise, though today it was the hardest thing I have ever done!
Today I was able to walk a lot without pain, I am so grateful for the prolotherapy. I hope more people will educate themselves about this least invasive procedure.
I had such a wonderful day with Mahesh, we ate the soggy tomato and cheese sandwiches with Coke and potato chips and enjoyed deep philosophical discussions.  It was a memorable day!

Mt. St. Helens!

I am waiting for Mahesh, my son, we are going to go to Mt St. Helens today for the entire day. He was only five years old when the volcano erupted back in May 1980. I took them to Toutle River to see the devastation caused by the eruptions. He has been fascinated by volcanos since then! He has wanted to go back and see Mt. St Helens since then; I am glad we will be able to spend the entire day together. I have already prepared sandwiches and Coke is cooling in the cooler. I always made tomato and cheese sandwiches on our road trips, by the time it was time to eat them they were soggy-- both my children have grown to love their mother's soggy tomato and cheese!
I will write more about our adventure together at the end of the day.
The past couple of weeks have been eventful, I went to the Beaverton farmer's market last Saturday with a friend. I was amazed at the size of this farmer's market, it stretched for blocks and the fruit was all too tempting. I had to keep reminding myself that there is only one of me and there is only so much fruit a human being can consume-- nevertheless, I still bought more than needed; though I didn't waste any.
I have also found a charming tearoom in Beaverton, the proprietress is French, so the tea service and food has a very continental flair. The name of this eclectic antique store/tearoom is Tea Thyme and Lavender if you happen to be in this neck of the woods.
While my son and his wife were gone to the coast last weekend for their anniversary, I prepared an entire meal as an anniversary present for their return. It was enjoyable to cook and get to taste some of my own cooking. I don't usually make the time anymore to prepare elaborate meals.
I have also been following up with prolotherapy on a weekly basis and I am happy to report that my knees continue to improve.  I am so glad my son found Dr. David, he practices in St. John here in Oregon.
I will write more at the end of my day. Until then. 

July in Portland.

Sunny warm days are finally here in Portland.  Though, I have enjoyed the cooler weather, I was ready for hot summer days.  Judi and Mike my hosts have a pool and today I was able to swim and laze while looking up at towering cedars. The sky definitely looks a cooler hue of blue here in the northwest.
My daughter Reina came to visit us over July 4th weekend. It was a whirlwind weekend, we went to the Oregon coast to scatter Murphy's ashes (Reina's beloved cat). A few years ago we had done the same type of ceremony for Snuffy our cocker spaniel. It was fitting that Snuffy and Murphy be together on the west coast, since they both grew up together. while Reina was here it rained and was mostly overcast. I think she was happy with that since in Oklahoma it had been hot. It was great fun to have Reina here, though her visit was all too short.
Tomorrow, I go in for another prolotherapy session. The pain in both my knees has returned, my research shows that it will take time before healing can take place. I am happy that I don't need to take any pain medication; at the same time I am a bit disappointed that my recovery is slow.
After Reina left, I returned to my painting and was able to finish two more paintings. One is a sunset and another one is of raindrops--wonder why that is on my mind so much!
As I was laying by the pool this evening, I was looking up at the trees swaying in the gentle breeze, it felt as though the trees were sharing a good laugh with the wind. The leaves were glistening in the sunlight, moving gracefully back and forth and I came to the conclusion that all was well in my world!