We've made it to the end of February and are still suffering through gross winter weather. Yesterday we received a foot of new snow. Brett is spending a week in Boston, so I'm on dog duty in snowy Mt. Hood. These photos are a little fuzzy as they were taken with my phone . . . Brett took the real camera to Boston.
Our Honolulu friends Scott & Jennifer came to town last weekend for a visit and we all had a great time! We spent a gloriously sunny and dry Saturday on a hike in the hills near my parents' house and then as it snowed on Sunday, we went x-country skiing at Pocket Creek on Mt. Hood. We had great weather, food, and company. Couldn't ask for more!
A recap on the restaurants we hit while they were in town: The Brasserie in Hood River. This is owned by my high school pal, Mike Caldwell. Sorry Mike, but I was less than impressed. The service was the worst problem and I see this a lot in Hood River. Very young, untrained, and unskilled servers. When we got to the restaurant, they asked us to wait at the bar (which is about 2 feet from the entrance). We shuffled over to the bar where all the servers subsequently ignored us. When we actually had to ask for a drink, they told us that our table would be ready soon and therefore we might as well wait . . . . what planet do these people come from?????? We were seated soon thereafter, but this unpleasant experience continued as the "girl" from whom we ordered wine knew absolutely nothing - even about their highlighted bottles. She then brought us a bottle different from that which we ordered, flippantly saying that they must be out of the "highlighted" bottle and that this must be the replacement. When we asked about the cost difference, she stated that she would charge us the same amount as the bottle we ordered . . . . to which Scott replied "even if this new bottle sells for less?" She just gave us a stupid grin and continued on with her empty thoughts. The food was not impressive either. I had a sole which was soaked in a white sauce and can't even remember the rest of the food. For desert we ordered the tiramisu, which was basically a bowl of cream - no lady fingers to be found. The upshot is . . . don't bother stopping by the Brasserie until I share my complaints with Mike and make some much needed suggestions.
On to the Bluehour in Portland. We drove into Portland on Sunday for dinner at one of Portland's only "hip" restaurants. We were very disappointed to learn that they were out of 25% of their menu items, including OYSTERS!!!! Very sad. The waiter suggested that this was because folks had celebrated late valentines that weekend . . . to which I replied, "did your chef ever consider planning???" We enjoyed a great tuna tartar appetizer and excellent caesar salads. I was a little disappointed with my lamb (mostly fat), but everyone else enjoyed their entrees.
Theatre: We've had the opportunity to see two great plays this month: the ART's production of Uncle Vanya with William Hurt, and Portland Center Stage's (PCS) production of The Pillowman. Both were excellent. We stayed after Uncle Vanya for a chat session with the actors which was fun. This interpretation of the play was set on the plains in Canada and was remarkable similar to my life . . . living with family in an isolated place . . . fun, fun, fun! The original play deals a lot more with issues of class in Russia, whereas I'm not sure the same existed in Canada, so that aspect was difficult to pull off. But the depressing aspect of lives not lived and expectations not met was well infused throughout all the characters. The Pillowman: PCS sent out tons of warnings about this play stating that it contained violence and disturbing themes. I'm embarrassed for PCS that they felt that they had to send out MULTIPLE warnings about this play. I think this says a lot about a community which likes to consider itself progressive. The play is about stories and the greyness that exists between art and life, not child murder. I thought they did a great job with it and would actually see it again. I see they are now offering tickets at a discount and our theatre was only 50% full. Very poor support for a very good play. This poor response from the theater going community really limits the ability of theatre companies to bring progressive and new theatre to Portland. BORING!
Brett and I were in Boston for two weeks in January and had a fabulous time. It was very difficult to come back to Oregon, leaving our friends once again. I'm headed out again in a couple of weeks and am looking forward to it!
Our January began though with a fabulous New Year's Eve on the coast at a friend's place in Rockaway. We had incredible weather on New Year's Eve which allowed us a long walk on the beach, wine and cheese snacks on the deck IN THE SUN!, and a big bonfire on the beach complete with croquet and champagne. We had a great time and thank Sue & Chuck for being so patient with the puppy who wanted to eat the croquet balls. Photos to come . . . .
