Time for tea

Since I hardly buy new toys, I do a lot of research online before actually purchasing anything.
And this tin tea set proved to be a winner. It was wonderful to see Anjali playing with it the minute we opened it, and continues to do so. The first 'meal' was a salad with cookies and salad dressing poured from the tea pot! Its so nice to be served to :-)

Our Picasso

Anjali's schools' art focus has certainly rubbed off on her. Thank goodness for these IKEA bibs. I can clean up without losing my mind.

Cinco De Mayo Celebration

Cinco de Mayo in Portland has a 24 year tradition and this year I finally made it, and was so glad I did. The festivities reminded me of the school fairs we used to have in Sri Lanka, complete with a horror house! We went because of Anjali's excitement about Mariachi and it was great for her to see so many in person. This might become an annual tradition. She went on her first thrill ride as well!

Conditioning Hike

I love how that sounds... as if we are really gearing for some super challenging adventure hike!
But really this was a big one so far for the year - 5.5 miles with 1700 feet elevation gain (with Anjali on Ranjeewa's back), that is quite something. We hiked from Multnomah falls to Wahkeena falls passing about 6 more waterfalls along the way. Everything was so lusciously green. My legs are still recovering... almost all up hill and then almost all down hill. It was just a perfect weekend. Don't you love my new found collage skills ?

Spring is Here!

Spring in Portland is extremely fleeting. It can fluctuate from 50-70F from day to day. But yesterday was one of those perfect days and we went out to Virginia Lake on Sauvie Island. Its an idyllic wildlife refuge. We saw snakes, birds, tree flogs, dead mice (but no bald eagles). We let Anjali walk the 2.5 miles, and she did quite well. Watching the boats on the channel between the Willamet and Colombia rivers was equally pleasant. Really excited about the oncoming outdoor season.

Why we love Portland - 19

You see a lot of bumper stickers that say "Keep Portland Weird", but I feel like it should be "Keep Portland Unique" instead. Here's an example:

Back in the 1920s and later, folks in Portland would tie their horses to these curbstone rings. And now Portlanders are keeping the tradition by tying these plastic toy horses. You see them everywhere, even in our neighborhood where it had been a horse racing track long time ago. Its amusing to see some horses with heads chopped off (especially with people like me trying to parallel park) next to the curb. And neighbors faithfully replace these horses.

Obama Mama Part III

This past week I was (sadly) getting a little lukewarm about Barack!
Especially with the bitterness comment. But a dose of the Colbert Report and this has helped me recover!!!




We stumbled upon this as Anjali has been asking about Mariachi music. She loves it! Its by an independent group named "Amigos de Obama" (Friends of Obama).