Just got back from a meeting (what - a meeting how unlike me) and noticed a
mud hen in the creek/marsh building a new nest. Because of the rain today, I think their existing nest might have been washed out. However for a new nest, he/she picked a location smack dab in the middle of the creek to build. It's interested to watch, he/she moved the babies to the location first and now has spent the last hour swimming around, grabbing one reed at time and swimming back to put it on the nest.
I say "he/she" because last time I watched one of them build a nest, it was pre-birth and the mom was sitting on the nest and the dad was bringing reeds over. This time there is just one of them and my binoculars aren't that powerful.
Of course looking for a photo of them lead me to the
toledo mud hens and then I got started thinking about Klinger on M*A*S*H . I love just surfing and seeing where the web takes me, or my mind for that matter.
Had lunch at Stanford's before seeing the matinee of the
Oregon Ballet Theatre, the fall program opened last night at the
Keller. Marley, Abby and Stasha were all frilly in pink, black, white and lots of tulle.
The program was in 3 parts called
"Movement as Metaphor"
CONCERTO BAROCCO - Johann Sebastian Bach / George Balanchine. Stark and pretty with the soloists dancing the parts of the two violins and the corps de ballet represented the orchestra)
ORPHEUS PORTRAIT - Franz Liszt / Kent Stowell. It ended with Eurydice on the river Styx, great effects with a long flowing ribbon, wind and lighting.
SWAN LAKE, ACT III - Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky / Christopher Stowell. The last act with the Black Swan and all the courtiers/entertainers from Spain, Naples, Russia and Hungary gathered in a lavishly decorated castle hall to see Prince Siegfried pick a bride.
Went out to
The Alibi in North Portland with Rock and Stacey last night. God I love torturing people! Table hopped my way around the club encouraging people to sing. Who knows maybe I'll make a great assistant to Rock when he's a KJ (yes - that mean karaoke jockey).
Had on my black fringed vest which a lovely guy who borrowed for his rendition of ABBA's Dancing Queen. The place is a Tiki bar with cheesy drinks and the waitresses wear lei's and skirts. Of course nothing can top the bar at the local Denny's for the quintessential karaoke cheese factor. That will be comedy when Rock gets a gig with them.
I've definitely come into my own the past few years. I really don't have time for stress and drama so I've continued to make edits until I've become relatively free of both. While I might still have some (hell no one's that lucky) I try and keep them to a minimum.
Really dig living in PDX. Portland is great with a cool music scene, the country's biggest book store, weather and green grass. We've got an airport that's close, metro-rail and trolley cars through downtown along with a lot of smart people. Hesitate to pump it up too much or we might find ourselves with a lot of new settlers in the area. While I have enjoyed the move at the risk of sounding clique - happiness isn't a destination. If you think a place is going to make you happy, you're only part right. It's most important to find it within your self first and then the people/places/things fall in to order.
A few years back I spend some time searching for a destination after realizing I was having a hard time seeing "the bright side". I finally decided that the person who was responsible for making that change was only going to be me. In making that change I decided to be more selfish (it's truly the root of happiness) and make sure I was taken care of up and beyond anything else in my life. That way whatever was going to make happy was then in place and the people that I was surrounded by where going to appreciate me for who I am not what I might be trying to be.
Ok while I might be ranting a bit I find this to be true - if you make an oath that you are going to do all the things in your life for you, that you're going to get your head straight or find the job you want or something else it will work itself out and more. Sure, you still have have your bad days and good days but the roller coaster going to be so many highs and lows anymore. You know being in the middle it's the same distance up or down.
Chris and Betsy came up to visit last weekend. We had fun going to the U2 concert w/ Tom O'Neil. The weather up here's been amazing, it was 83 yesterday and all kinds of green. I love it when Spring is here. I promise I won't go off on a daffodil tangent like last year though.
I've been doing a little traveling for work, got to hit San Fran a few times, Miami and Las Vegas. I dig San Francisco, it's a neat town. But crazy crazy with the rent and prices. Nice place to visit.
John's graduating this summer, so we are going to take some time off and visit back East. His parents are in SC and the rest of the family in Ohio. We are doing great. He's such an amazing person, we are so much alike, or more to the point we compliment each other well and communication like I've next experienced. We kick it about, do stuff locally and play parents to our 3 cats. You should see me it's funny..here lil' kitty kitty come play with me. Ok, I'm not quite the creepy lady at the end of the street with a ton of cats. I got a man to set the balance straight.
Our new fun traditional is Dim Sum for brunch on Sundays and then we go for a walk in the Chinese or Japanese Gardens locally. They are so calm and relaxing. The Chinese one is newer, it was build downtown with all the materials from our Chinese sister city, it's got a tea house and everything.
The Japanese Garden's are located in the Rose Gardens in Washington Park. John was taking a classes on Eastern Civilization last semester and when up there for the full day's events. Good boy that he is, he brought me back a present, lil' harmony bells. The park has a theater in the round and I hear they put on plays in the summer outside. It's all in Washington Park including the zoo, we got a membership over the winter, they light the place up and you can ride the train through it at night time.
