The Best of the Free Design: Kites are Fun

So, I recommend going to your local library and picking up 3 CDs based solely on the cover artwork.  I've found that about 2/3 of the time I'm glad I did.  My last library-diving adventure brought me to this lovely album.  The first sentence in the The Best of the Free Design insert states the The Free Design "were responsible for creating some of the most heavenly music ever recorded".  Reason enough to check it out.  The music and lyrics are sugary sweet and the soft pop feel is enhanced by the knowledge that you're listening to a real, live 60s-70s family band.  

Favorite tracks: 2. I Found Love, 13. Howdjadoo (Fly Me Down)

extended vacation

Things have not quite settled down to normal since Dean and I got back from South Carolina last week. South Carolina?! you may ask. Yes, despite our lack of connections and deep suspicions about the south (many of which turned out to be true, gated communities are still called "plantations". Creepy.) we ventured to Hilton Head, SC, Savannah, GA and the surrounding areas. Totally worth the red-eye plane trip. We owe most of the amazing-ness of our vacation to Anne's parents who let us stay with them at Berkeley Hall (golf course, kayaking, fitness center all complementary) and who fed us overly-well.

On Friday, my parents flew out and stayed with us for the weekend. I feel guilty for letting my mom annoy me as much as she does. Annabelle and I have come to the conclusion that in order to repair our relationships with our mothers, we need to start treating like normal human beings instead of like...mom. In other words, more gossiping, less eye-rolling. Dean and I did our best to keep them busy during their trip. We went hiking at Tryon Creek State Park, explored Sellwood, went to a Beavers baseball game

the fourth

I'm beginning to think we need to buy an outdoor grill. I mean it's the Fourth of July weekend and while it's wonderful that it marks our country's independence, its true meaning for many Americans is "barbecue time". Oh well, I really am trying to downsize the number of possessions I own rather than acquiring new ones. And since I haven't done a day of work since graduating in May (I'm not including the days of unpaid work that it takes to just find a job), acquiring things hasn't really been in my range of possibilities. It does sound, however like there are some paychecks on the horizon. I'm pretty sure that I'll be beginning my time as a hostess at Bugatti's on Monday and I'm going to start my training for on-call child and adolescent treatment work soon. I also had an interview at the Planned Parenthood for a front desk type of job that might actually be really good for me. I won't go into all the gushy details in case I don't get it.

We had a nice (and very hot) Fourth in Portland. I decided to suprise Dean with a picnic brunch at the Hoyt Arboretum in the morning before the temperature got too out of hand. In the evening, we went with a few of his friends to the Waterfront Blues Festival to enjoy some over-priced beer and music. We watched the fireworks from the Hawthorne Bridge and went back to Cory's for pizza.

Yesterday, Dean and I visited an apartment complex that we were thinking of trying to get into but decided it wasn't for us. I am beginning to believe the we are better off just staying where we are right now. We'll continue the search next week and see what we come up with.

And now I'm off to get some last minute errands taken care of before we head up to the Hood Canal (in Washington) to visit some family friends of mine and do some camping. Weee!

Portland

The move is complete, things are settling down, and I'm beginning the process of feeling at home in the new state/city/apartment/living arrangement. Here are a few pictures of the apartment, which is the perfect size for two! So far, Portland has proved itself to be an exciting place to live with lots of fun things to offer (farmers' markets, rowdy soccer game, great happy hours, a nearby Bikrams yoga studio, and more coffee shops than really should be able to coexist). And it's so green! I can drive nearly to downtown and still not feel like I'm in a city because from the highway all I can see are trees and more trees. This is half heavenly and half very disorienting, since I'm used to brown, brown desert or Minnesota farmland.
Dean and I are cat-sitting this weekend and for someone who claims not to like cats, he is spending a lot of time following her around the house and trying to get her to sit with him on the couch.