Of course, I am very glad to be home. I can't wait to sleep in my own bed tonight!
I arrived at my friend A's home in Beaverton, OR, around 5pm. This was after battling the Portland rush-hour, Friday afternoon, just before a holiday traffic. Fun stuff. It was kind of odd because there was absolutely NO traffic until I crossed the Columbia River from Washington into Oregon. I white-knuckled it a bit coming through Tacoma, however, as it was still icy from the wintry blast we've been enduring for almost a week now.
Friday night A made a delicious dinner of crab and spinach salad with cheese and crackers. That night we stayed in and chatted till nearly midnight.
Saturday morning A got up and put in a pan of homemade rolls to bake for breakfast. We had a feast! Rolls and scrambled eggs, fresh coffee, the whole bit! It was so delicious. After we stuffed ourselves silly, we walked up to A's local post office, which was about a mile away. Grace did awesomely on that long walk. She got a bit grumpy right at the end, but in general, she hung onto my hand and gazed around at everything. It was a little bit cold; the temperature never got much above freezing the whole time I was in Beaverton.
After our walk, we came back home, had lunch and warmed up. Then it was off for some shopping. First we went to the local booksale sponsored by the Friends of the Beaverton Library. Of course, I bought a ton of books -- but for only $5!! You can never have too many books. Then we stopped in at Uwajimaya, a fantastic Asian market. The Beaverton location isn't quite as cool as the original Seattle store (which I WILL get to before we move!), but it's still a blast to go to. I managed to get a spider roll (sushi with soft-shelled crab; the way it's rolled, the legs, which look like spider legs, stick out of the top of the roll) for only $6, where they're normally closer to $10 here. They're also my favorite flavor of sushi, at least at the moment.
We also went into Trader Joe's, another of my favorite stores. I have never been in a Trader Joe's that insanely busy. Maybe everyone was having a dinner party that night, I don't know. But it was PACKED. The poor cashiers were going as fast as their arms could scan products, and people were still standing in insanely long lines. I got some whole bean coffee from there -- almost a pound for $5 and $6! I bought a can of their Wintry Blend, arabica beans with spices like cinnamon and cloves and peppercorns added to enhance the flavor. We made some this morning; it is SO good!!
Sunday morning A made more homemade rolls, but this time I also made oatmeal. Then we bundled up again, and drove to the Tualitin Hills Nature Park, where we walked one of the paved trails. Grace made it almost to the end of the trail before I had to put her in my backpack. While on our way back, we met a Russian grandmother who gently informed me that Grace's pant legs weren't covering her poor little legs. I'm glad she said something; I didn't realize her legs were exposed, and it was just about freezing at the time. We got into a long discussion with the Russian grandmother, which was so interesting. She told us about teaching her grandchildren how to speak Russian, that her daughter and son-in-law work for Intel, that it's much warmer in Oregon in the winter than it is in Russia! It was interesting getting her perspective on things. At one point, she was talking about Russian being spoken by most of the Eastern bloc, and she mentioned the Soviet Union winning WWII. Well, they did -- they were part of the Allies during the war. But when you've grown up during the Cold War, you tend to forget that before the Cold War started, the USSR was our ally during WWII.
After our walk, we came home to warm up, and I made my special toasted cheese sandwiches for lunch. Apparently I am the toasted-cheese sandwich expert! Anyhow, it was then time to head to Portland proper. I had asked A if there were cross-stitch stores in the area, since I know there aren't any near where I live. She found one in the southeast part of the city. I went in to the store and immediately began to salivate! There wasn't a whole lot of cross-stitch in this store; it was mainly needlepoint. But there were enough patterns to keep me busy for at least 20 minutes. I showed considerable restraint and left the store only $30 poorer.
After that, we decided to take a bit of a drive, and Gracie finally got a nap! A showed me all around Portland and Beaverton and other little cities around that area. Then it was time for more shopping! We went to the Norm Thompson outlet because A thought I could get a pair of shoes there, but instead I found a new swimsuit! A swimsuit I absolutely LOVE! A swimsuit that has enough support for my bosom! A swimsuit I look AMAZING in! How often do you hear a woman say that?? You can see my new suit here; I got the suit in Eggplant, and of course, in the DD model. Technically I wear a DDD, but it's close enough!! Much better than the shelf bra featured in most swimsuits. Plus I paid half of what this suit is listed for on the website. Go me!!
That night we went to dinner at an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet (mmmm Chinese food), and made the required trip to Powell's Books. The Beaverton location is enormous, although I am sure the Portland store absolutely dwarfs it. A took Gracie to the children's section, leaving me to my own devices. We won't talk about how much money I spent in there, and how many books I got.
This morning A's friend E came over, and the three of us plus Grace made another trip to the Tualitin Hills Nature Park. We took a different trail this time, and again Grace walked to the end of the trail before I had to pack her back home. This means that I walked nearly six miles this weekend, and about two of those miles with an extra 30 pounds on my back. No wonder my hips are killing me!!
On our way to lunch, A was driving along when I shouted, "Look! A wide shoe store!!" A nearly took the corner on two wheels to get into the parking lot! She told me I had ten minutes, and she'd keep the baby company. So E and I went in to this store, where I found a pair of shoes. absolutely adorable and EXTREMELY comfortable, in a size 7.5WW. Yes, folks, I wear a double wide shoe. And yes, they are insanely hard to find. They're also insanely expensive, but I just HAD to have shoes that were actually the proper size instead of wearing a size 8.5 or even 9 just to get the width.
Then it was off to this awesome delicatessen, where the three of us ladies split two ginormous reubens (one traditional and one with turkey added), and they were absolutely AMAZING. For dessert we split a rum ball and a slice of mandarin orange chocolate cake. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!!
FINALLY around 4pm today I was able to leave Beaverton. I had such a great time that I am thinking of going there next month for my birthday (just after the next holiday weekend), if my sister can't make it out here. It was just an amazing weekend!