First Portland Winter

We survived the winter! It was not nearly as bad as I expected this year. Apparently this is not the norm though, so we'll see what we get in future winters. We did our best to prepare ourselves, mostly by convincing ourselves that just because the sun set early didn’t mean the day was over. The biggest game-changer- Not immediately swapping into cozy clothes after work so we'd be ready to head back out with ease.. 

We kept biking, even when rain seemed inevitable. Some of our usual long cross-town grocery hauls turned into quicker trips to closer stores, but we still got out there. One particularly memorable ride was up to Council Crest, Portland’s highest spot. The trek up? Warm, sunny and lovely. The way down? A full-on downpour. We made it to get my tire fixed, though, and rewarded ourselves with some delicious No Name Pho—a perfectly warm treat after an unexpected soaking. Dylan reports No Name Pho is closest authenticity to Vietnam and I'll attest that it was delicious.

Overall, this winter hasn’t been too too cold and rainy. And the snow? A lovely bonus! It gave our streets such a sweet little magical touch. 

Dylan salting our steps

Cleveland Ave

Before we moved here, I didn't know how much we would actually make it over to ski, but we have actually gotten way more ski days in that I expected! Dylan has taken full advantage of his in-between-grad-school-and-work sweet spot, getting out on the slopes as much as possible. We’ve had some unbeatable bluebird days—and at least one record-breaking fall day (like 5 falls in 10 minutes. It was a struggle). 

Cutting down our own Christmas tree was a festive outing made even better with a side of apple cider. It definitely brought that warmth to our home with even the collies enjoying the twinkle. Watching it slowly loose its pretty crisp needles was a bit disheartening though, so next year, we may choose a living tree that can be replanted. 

In early December, we celebrated Dylan's graduation from Psych NP school in Mobile, AL! He completed his program with flying colors. We had a great time with both of our parents in Mobile and then got some time in Jacksonville with some friend visiting. 

Since we'd been back for this time, we stayed on the West during Christmas and had a big feast just for the two of us-- beef Wellington and all. I think it was the day after Christmas that actually snowed in town! Christmas day was actually a tough one with an attempted ski day-- we thought it would be fun to bring the dogs with us this time to frolic in the snow before we skied, but then I was worried about the boys sitting in the car all along while we skied. And then I think it was weird ski conditions too even. Chad and Kaila came for a visit that was 50/50 awesome. haha I won't go into too much details, but they got skunked with a car thief followed by skunked at the mountain. But the next day made up for it with a very Portland bike ride to Powell's Books and tasty thai at Thai Peacock.

Roller Derby has been an entertaining new cultural experience. A new friend from the gym's wife was into it and they brought into the wonderful world of derby. They had an emo night that took me straight back to high school, complete with stick-straight hair, eyeliner, and those classic angled-from-above selfies. 

There were several weeks where were especially enjoying some sunshine and frolicking about like it's summer already, but I keep hearing about this "false spring," so I'll report back if I've been fooled. Biking down to Sellwood with a friend for a "vintage smut" book club was quite the entertainment, having us questioning who in the world this 1950s book would've actually appealed to (I don't think women). Dylan and I have been getting some more long rides in all around the river, up to St, Johns and just all over.

And of course, we still enjoyed some lovely trips to the coast. The boys always especially enjoy the freedom of those beaches. Dylan got more surfing in, but didn't have the best of luck with waves. It was so much easier on the coast when he could just pop out and check the conditions, but it has still been fun getting our little beach trips in to Cape Meares, Short Beach, Pacific City, and Cape Lookout.

If you missed my "stories" from this day, I had started to think I was a bad dog mom since I had so many majestic shots of Hobie and not of Toulouse but then I looked down and realized this was why...

While Hobie is being the independent man he is and posing in striking spots, Toulouse is right by my side.

Film snapshot by our old neighbor at sunset in front of Pelican's one day.