Noko, House Mother in Everyday Ramblings

Sorry. No pictures of the girls yet. It is crazy in Portland this weekend. The New York Times posted one of their 36 Hours features set here in our fair city late last week and the first new bridge across the river in 40 years opened officially and oh all the public transportation in the city was free and it was gorgeous. Hot. And did I mention there is performance art going on all over the place?

Apparently the woman that wrote the piece then had a little too much to drink and tweeted that she actually hates Portland. Fine with me. My oldest sister told me she hated Portland as does her daughter, Miss E.’s mother, who I don’t believe has ever actually spent the night here. The girls are having a blast. Apparently the objection is that it is more a town than a city.

Yeah, it is clear to everyone we are like a second cousin to the big girl cities like Seattle and San Francisco that get all the really great art and tech but what we have here is this weird open charm.

And quite visible flaws. And really really awesome trees.

The romantic bench with the view of the city in the video is straight up from the track and I walk by there at least a couple of times a week. It is rare there actually is a view because of the mostly ever-present cloud cover but that is another story. Oh and there is usually someone urinating, or buying drugs up there on a regular day because there is a view turnout on the two-lane road that curves up top.

I was able to catch up on all the posts I follow here in the last 24 hours because I have spent hours hanging out as a lifeline for the girls on their adventure. It appears that the genesis of the trip idea was that Miss G. wanted to take Miss E. someplace special for her birthday dinner. That place just happened to be in Portland. :)

They did make it to the trendy restaurant in question last night. Their navigational skills are excellent but the fact that both of them were in short shorts and not much else probably helped with direction getting. And they made it back to my place before 9 PM. I think there may have been a flash of the dark goddess Kali in my eyes when the subject of a very clear time to be back was brought up. Whew, I fretted most about that.

They went to the Farmer’s Market and Powell’s and the Mississippi District and are now over in SE Portland, Hawthorne. They are getting a good introduction to the hippest areas. Now all that is left is for them to make it back here in time for us to make it to the train station before their train departs.

Wish us all excellent logistics.

Although I have met Miss G. before it has always been in passing. We did a bit of wayfinding yesterday and so I was able to spend a little time with them. I have to say that I like her. As a person. That is saying something about a 15-year-old girl. Good good influence on Miss E. She is open hearted and smart and very grounded. And of course like practically everyone else, infatuated with Miss E. who is also smart, and charming but is still going through a judgmental phase.

It is fun to be able to compare and contrast them for this ever so brief window of time. I figure in 10 years Miss E. can take me out to breakfast and tell me what they really did this weekend…. But my guess is that while they are being a world unto themselves they are telling me basically the truth.

I’ll entertain that thought for the time being as I find it comforting.

Last updated September 13, 2015