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Subject: Postcard from Portland
Dear Family and Friends,
Merry Month of May Greetings! April was quite a hectic month for us. But
as much as all the packing, shlepping, and unpacking is big news, I've
got a little tidbit that's even more moving to unveil first. Liz and I
are expecting a baby in early November!!! I'll post the sonograms we
have (not that you can really see very much) as soon as I can get them
scanned. The still photos of the fetus do not convey the full picture.
We were actually able to see the heart beating during last month's
checkup! Liz and I are excited to the extreme about starting a family
and look forward to keeping you all updated on our progress. Liz is
barely showing (pun intended), but all that will soon change ;-)
Most of April was spent getting ready for and executing the move into
our new home. Due to the fact that our house was completed ahead of
schedule - combined with the timing of trips we had already planned and
were not going to cancel - we decided to have the movers pack us as well
as move us. This allowed us to move in April rather than wait until this
month. Not only was this less expensive (since we didn't have to pay
another month's rent), it was far less stressful. I took April 10th off
from work in order to be at our new home for hookup of our new phone,
delivery of new furniture we had purchased, and installation of the
window treatments we had selected. Liz and I both took the following day
(Friday) off to be home while the packers put all of our possessions
into boxes in preparation for moving on Saturday. This is the fourth
time I've had the luxury of not doing my own packing, but I am still
amazed by the rapid transmogrification of a fully furnished home into an
empty shell. All of Saturday was spent moving. By the time the dust had
cleared, boxes and furniture were all delivered, the movers were
physically exhausted, and Liz and I were mentally exhausted.
Prior to the move we had met Joe and Lea, who own the home situated
behind us. Their house is part of a different tract (not a DMH
development), and was already finished before ground was broken on our
home. They had offered to feed us the first night we were in our new
home and we gladly accepted their invitation. They are a retired couple
who moved here from California. Lea had been a cardiac nurse, so she and
Liz have a medical career bond. Joe worked 10 years for the Police Dept.
before joining the Fire Department to fight forrest fires. Then he
decided to go to Law School and now practices law part-time! We had a
wonderful pasta supper and delighted in their company. The interior
decorating Lea has done on their place is worthy of a visit from Robin
Leach! We are fortunate to have such good neighbors. They've already
volunteered their services as baby sitters!
On Sunday (4/13) Liz and I picked her Mom up at PDX airport. After a
refueling stop (breakfast, that is), we arrived back home and quickly
put her to work :-). That evening we were treated to dinner by Patricia
Tryon, a 'net' friend to whom I've given UNIX advice and so wanted to
repay the kindness. Not having to cook dinner was a welcome relief! We
spent the next three days unpacking (Liz and I both took Monday and
Tuesday off from work), and pretty much completed the downstairs, the
guest bedroom and bathroom, and much of the master bedroom. Liz had
packed for our upcoming week in Florida prior to the move, so there was
no urgency in unpacking the 17 wardrobe boxes (of which 3.5 were mine
:-o ).
On Wednesday we bade a farewell to Liz's Mom with hugs and kisses and
thanks for all the help she had so generously provided.
After a short (3 day) work week, we embarked on our next great
adventure. We arose Saturday at 2!@#$ing:30 am in order to be ready for
the van pick us up at 4 and get us to the airport in time for our early
flight and our coast-to-coast sardine sojourn. We arrived in West Palm
Beach around 6pm (EDT), picked up our rental car, and drove to Boca
Raton to begin our Passover visit with the Herring/Woldoff/Pregel/Frank
clan.
Almost as soon as we arrived at Shelly & Mitch's we went out to dinner
at a local Chinese restaurant (where else?). I'll digress with an old
joke that explains the parenthetical comment...
A Chinese and a Jewish scholar are discussing their calendars.
The Chinese scholar notes that their calendar is over 3,000
years old. The Jewish scholar replies that their calendar is
over 5,000 years old. The Chinese scholar looks perplexed and
asks, "Where did you people eat for the first 2,000 years?"
We enjoyed a fabulous feast and returned to my Mother's condo, where we
immediately conked out from too many hours and miles, and too much good
food. On Monday we joined Shelly, Mitch, Missy and Richard for a brisk
walk - our preferred form of exercise. This was repeated nearly every
day during our stay. My Mother went to her yoga class, as is her want,
and Eric dozed by the pool (one of his favorite recreations ;-). During
the afternoon Liz and I did a little shopping at Town Center, one of the
finer local malls in Boca Raton. That night we all joined the Frank
contingent at their club for what was euphemistically referred to as a
barbecue. We had all dined at the club last year, but it had since
undergone an extensive remodeling and was even more grand than we had
remembered. The Boca/West Palm lifestyle is as much of a contrast to
Portland as is their weather. While they did, in fact, have burgers and
hot dogs, they also had steak and chicken as well as a sumptuous buffet
with all manner of delectables. The real treat, however, was having so
much of our family all gathered together and being able to catch up on
events of the past year. Everyone was, of course, delighted to hear of
our own coming attraction.
The next morning we joined my Mother for her yoga class. It was a very
relaxing hour and a half, and quite a departure from our normal exercise
routine. My Mother indicated the instructor had taken it easy since he
knew Liz is pregnant.
That evening we all gathered in the 'function' room at my Mother's condo
for the first Seder. Nearly all of us have made our own Exodus from
Philadelphia and New York, so we relish this yearly opportunity to
reaffirm not only our identity as part of the Jewish community, but our
family ties as well. An added incentive to convene is my Mother's
baking... she did her typical superb job with the chocolate macaroon
drops and mandelbrot... mmmmmm. The evening was capped with an a
cappella performance by Dara, who entertained us all with a rendition of
"All That Jazz". Her poise and professionalism belie the fact that she's
a sixteen year old!
On Wednesday we had a smaller second Seder (sans Franks) at Shelly and
Mitch's house. We were joined by two good friends of theirs, Mike and
Ellie. We enjoyed a relaxed dinner preceded by a somewhat briefer
service. Missy and Richard left for the airport immediately thereafter
since Missy had to be at work early the following day :-(
On Thursday, Liz and I drove to Sawgrass Mill, home of the largest
outlet mall in the United States. For Liz, this was truly a religious
experience ;-) We spent nearly the entire day there. Liz found several
bargains, including the "perfect" dress to wear to an upcoming wedding.
It had been marked down from over $180 to a little over $80 - and then
discounted 75% further, resulting in a sale price of around $21. She was
totally stoked! Liz came home laden with several bags while I arrived
empty-handed. After freshening up, we all went out to Shelly and Mitch's
club for dinner. The buffet had everything imaginable (well, nearly -
there was no lutefisk ;-). Dinner was punctuated by percussion and
streaks of light from an incredible thunderstorm which resulted in
tornadoes further to the north. It was quite a show.
Liz and I had reserved the following day to bask at the beach. The
previous week had been sunny and hot, with the mercury climbing past 90
on two days. But Friday turned out to be overcast and chilly (more akin
to Portland than Florida). We were not deterred and did manage to get a
bit of a tan in spite of the clouds.
The next afternoon we drove back to West Palm Beach airport and headed
home, provisioned with mandelbrot as well as turkey and brisket
sandwiches - courtesy of my Mom :-) The first leg of the flight was a
bit of a white-knuckler as we flew through a storm front. In fact, when
I spoke with my Mom later that week, she indicated that the golf course
lightening warning system was sounding sirens nearly all afternoon.
We restocked the frig the day after we returned (Sunday), but did little
else. It was nice to have a day to decompress before returning to our
lives as productive citizens and taxpayers.
On the Monday after our return we had a Primestar satellite dish
installed - just in time for Liz's favorite Fox TV show. The local cable
provider (TCI) has not yet hooked up our tract, so we opted for a much
better alternative. We can now see major networks broadcast from either
coast. It's nice to have a choice of viewing late shows three hours
earlier. The reception is crystal clear and the sound is awesome!
Our plans for May include finishing the remaining unpacking and going to
the wedding of Jan Greene in Chicago. Jan is a close friend of Liz and
was her bridesmaid at our wedding.
I've finally found time to post the 48 pictures of our house which I got
back from Kodak a couple of weeks ago. Most of them were taken just
after the walk through, so they'll give you a much better idea of what
the house looks like. There are no exterior shots in this batch. I'll
take more photos of the outside after the front yard has been
landscaped. Check 'em out!
May your month be merry and flower filled! Until June...
with love,
Sandy & Liz
_________________________________________________________________
climatic summary for portland oregon
national weather service portland oregon
312 am pdt thu may 01 1997
...temperature...
high yesterday... 58
low yesterday... 46
mean temp........ 52 departure from normal... -2
normal high for today... 64
normal low for today... 44
record high for today... 83 set in 1947
record low for today... 29 set in 1954
...degree day data...
heating
yesterday... 13 departure... 2
month....... 413 departure... -7
season...... 4095 departure... -87
cooling
yesterday... 0 departure... 0
month....... 0 departure... 0
season...... 0 departure... 0
...precipitation...
yesterday............. 0.10
total for the month... 3.73
normal month to date.. 2.39
total for the year.... 19.95 total since oct 1... 48.41
normal year to date... 15.15 normal from oct 1... 29.29
...wind data in mph...
average wind speed yesterday... 13.7
fastest 2-min wind yesterday... 28 from 280 degrees
peak wind gust yesterday....... 33 from 270 degrees
...astronomical data...
sunrise today...558 am pdt
sunset today...816 pm pdt
sunrise tomorrow...557 am pdt
sunset tomorrow...818 pm pdt
--
Sandy & Liz Herring Tigard, Oregon Peck of Pickled Pisces
webfeet@herring.org bigfish@sns-access.com http://www.herring.org/
And that's the news from Portland
where everything is green, rolling stones gather moss,
and the rainfall is always above average.
Most Recent Update: Thursday, 14-Oct-2004 17:16:34 PDT
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