more exploration

this week was all about exploring more of our new neighborhood and city.

wednesday night we had dinner with two very sweet girls we met via craigslist. after having pizza, they took us to a cool wine bar. we spent a few hours getting acquainted with two strangers and relished in how easy it was to get to know people. side note: we'd been worried about making friends because stumbling upon those connections isn't always easy. we're fine once we get together with people and begin to talk, but it's the initial drawing together of people we've been having a hard time with. however, we keep the faith and know we'll meet exactly the people we're supposed to meet.

case in point, we met a really nice guy (gary) in the fitness center here in the building and talked with him for quite awhile about art since he's a practicing artist with a nearby studio. then on saturday we attended a farmers' market with gary's wife, michelle. the market was absolutely incredible and one of many (there are markets on most days of the week in different parts of the city), which we're thrilled about. after having lunch with michelle on 23rd avenue, we walked over to gary's art studio to see his digs and get a better idea of what that particular space has to offer. now having seen gary's studio, we've begun talking about getting mn a studio space so her art will have a separate place and she'll have plenty of room to create her masterpieces.

we're loving being immersed in our adventure and awake each day wondering what thrills the day will bring. we're sending a big thank you to all who have been supportive of us in this adventure and all the other adventures of our lives. we love y'all.

here are some pictures of downtown portland - enjoy :)

the portland theater


union station


one of many water fountains around the city


beautiful flower stand

free is good!

settling into our new place has been an easy task - it feels like home already. we're so thankful to have found such a beautiful apartment in such a fantastic city.

while lucky's job hunt continues, i've begun reassembling my paintings (we had to remove the canvases from the stretcher bars when we drove across the country). in our spare time, we've continued our neighborhood exploration and have attended as many free events as we can find :)

speaking of, below are pictures from one of the concerts we attended in the washington park rose garden. we took FULL advantage of those since they were free! one night we heard funk, another night we heard jazz, and we heard the symphony on a third night. so cool!

as always, we're sending lots of love and hugs across the miles.





the rose garden is absolutely gorgeous!!!








our groovy, new (well, secondhand) furniture


kandinsky on her new perch

homeless no longer

yahoo!!! we are getting settled in our new home and we absolutely love it. the apt is flooded with sunlight during the day and the city lights dance against the night sky. totally amazing. we've tried to take some photos of the full moon, but they didn't turn out as spectacular as they looked in person. we'll post them anyway.

we've also been exploring the neighborhood quite a bit. friday around noon we went to the "bite of oregon" where different restaurants from around the state sell their eats. from 11-2 they had free admission - as opposed to $7 - so we took advantage of it. we were disappointed in the food but had a blast people watching.

friday night we walked to washington park to see a free concert by a jazz musician who relocated from new orleans. tonight we're going back to hear the symphony. the park has free concerts every night during the month of august. it's a great outdoor amphitheater where kids run wild and their parents dance around in front of the stage. big fun.

last night we walked around for awhile and watched some of the baseball game. the stadium is kind of open on one side - well, there's a gate, but... - so people can stand outside and watch the game. we're really good at finding the free activities - most of the time they're more fun anyway.

kandinsky (our kitty) has gotten over her fear of the enormity of the apartment and has started coming out more. the first three days we were here she stayed under the covers and hibernated. she's loving the big windows and the hardwood floors. she sends her love and so do we.

tomorrow, tomorrow, we love ya, tomorrow

tomorrow is the big day - moving day!!!! we're absolutely ecstatic!!!! the past few days have been a whirlwind of craigslist purchases: platform bed, coffee table, chest of drawers, dining table and chairs...so we rented a van for our big move. needless to say, our little 200 square foot hotel room is PACKED full o' stuff. see???



the next few days will be exhausting, but amazing - we'll finally get to unpack the boxes we packed two months ago. plus, we're having our sofa, chairs and bed delivered on tuesday - hooray!!!

anyway, we may not be able to add another blog post for about a week as internet is being set up on saturday - so look for an update then!

as always, thanks for your love and support. sending lots of love and hugs across the miles...the girlz

jesus on a circus wheel and our new digs

the past weekend was a very exciting one for us - this is lucky, by the way. on sunday, we headed to seattle to meet up with our third musketeer, vivi. we had great chinese food, explored pike place market, watched the guys throwing fish, made a wish on the pig, people-watched by the sound - all while taking in the beautiful and unusual sights only seattle can offer. it's an amazing city and if you ever get a chance, you should definitely spend some time there.

we returned to portland monday evening and were able to show vi the new apartment tuesday morning - yes we took pictures this time so y'all can see it in all its glory. it was good for us to see it empty so we could better envision our future furnishings in the space.

speaking of new furnishings, this week is going to be filled with lots of shopping. we're planning to look at mattresses, beds, clothing storage, dining room tables and chairs, living room furniture, lamps... basically anything one would need for a new apartment after moving across the country in a honda civic.

shopping update, we bought a mattress today - one thing we can check off the list. now we're perusing craigslist for a sofa, chairs and anything else we need.

things are still going great for us. nothing new to report on the job front for me - i'm applying to anything i think fits my abilities and knowing the perfect job is going to reveal itself at just the right time. minnesota is going to start painting once we get in the apartment and she's ecstatic about doing so. she'll be showing her work at the first and last thursday art events - in a nutshell, artisans sell their crafts along certain streets in different parts of the city.

we hope all is going well with everyone and encourage y'all to continue to add comments to the blog - we love reading others' thoughts. take care and much love from the pac nw.

musketeers


famous landmark


so colorful


very clever


hangin out


drum roll, please...our new pad
the living room


dining room


kitchen


bedroom


view from living room window