Monday, June 15: Turns out we have a couple cherry trees on the property.
Tuesday, June 16: The house is starting to look a bit more like a home. Mr. Karen got the marble lamp setup and the sun hung on the wall.
Wednesday, June 17: Caught a small bird sitting on top of the owl figure that’s meant to scare off birds.
Thursday, June 18: Drove down to Portland to spend some time with a friend going through some challenges. Traffic was way worse than I anticipated, so I arrived at the hotel way later than I’d intended, but at least there was a pretty sunrise I glimpsed through the trees bordering the hotel parking lot.
Friday, June 19: The fire alarm went off in my friend’s apartment (fortunately it turned out there was no fire), so we sat across the street in the park, where her tiny dog nestled between us on a bench.
Saturday, June 20: There was a nature preserve not too far from my hotel, so I took a stroll there on my own before getting into the rest of the day, which included chatting and ice cream and such.
Sunday, June 21: Last day in Portland. My friend was feeling well enough to take a walk down the block for frozen yogurt. Our path back took us through a park that had twinkling stars in the trees. So charming. Fortunately the traffic heading back north was way better than it had been on my way down so I got home at a fairly reasonable hour.
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July 9th, 2026 at 4:46 pm
Glad your friend in Portland is doing better. Tess is home now from Portland for a summer visit. Such an interesting city! The Japanese gardens are worth a visit next time you’re there.
July 20th, 2026 at 8:07 am
Hey Denise, yes I like Portland. Went to the Japanese gardens there years ago on a vacation … probably time to revisit 🙂 Nephew and his partner just bought a house in Portland so that’s another reason to visit though they are so busy might be hard to find a time to see them.