Joie de Vivre
"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" ~Mary OliverArchive for June, 2008
139. Weekend Wrap-Up
What a BEAUTIFUL weekend! I drove home from Portland/Vancouver on Friday night with the roof down on the bug the entire way. It was a lovely drive and the fresh air felt wonderful! :) My meetings in Vancouver went well on Friday and then Janel, Gabbie and I hung out for the afternoon and went out for dinner before I drove home.
On Saturday, G3 and I watched some Euro Cup soccer at The Pumphouse — Russia v. Netherlands. He was very excited since Russia won 3:1. I’m excited about Spain! (The semi-final games will be Spain v. Russia and Germany v. Turkey.)
We saw a great movie at The Egyptian on Saturday night — Mongol, directed by Sergei Bodrov. The script is okay, not great, but the cinematography and score are SPECTACULAR! The story recounts the early life and legend of Genghis Khan (born in 1162), and was nominated for an Academy Award. This is definitely one worth seeing on the big screen.
I finished three books this last week — My French Whore by Gene Wilder (yes, THAT Gene Wilder), Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones (shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize), and Flower Children by Maxine Swann. I loved them all!
138. Breakfast in bed followed by a farmers market, a bistro & gelato.
My alarm sounded at 6:30 this morning. At 6:45 there was a knock on my door, accompanied by the morning paper and a tray of hot french-press coffee, a croissant, a hard-boiled egg and fresh fruit. (Normally, I am rudely awakened by Boo purring at a thousand decibels, her wet nose inside my ear (literally), so this was a treat!) I curled back up in bed for the next hour and enjoyed my breakfast and a leisurely morning before my 9am meeting.
My first meeting lasted until 1:00, then a lunch meeting until 3:30, then another meeting until 5:30, and then since the weather was so beautiful, I put the roof down for my drive back to the hotel. I sat in the courtyard for a bit and caught up on some emails and phone calls and then walked to the Pearl District for dinner, where I stumbled upon a Farmers Market — and you all know how much I love Farmers Markets!
Then…I saw an unoccupied sidewalk table at Everett Street Bistro which was calling my name. I sat and enjoyed a glass of Italian wine and the Bistro Burger (piedmontese ground sirloin, grilled & topped with lemon aioli, avocado, bacon, lettuce & caramelized shallots, served with pommes frites). I could only eat half of it and it was fabulous! After dinner, I explored a little more of the area and then stumbled upon Mio Gelato where I savored a small cup of the freshest pear sorbet. (Heaven in a cup!) At 9:30 I met up with the guys for a drink in our courtyard and now I’m back in my room, legs sufficiently stretched, tummy happy, drawing a bath, listening to a little Cat Powers on the iPod.
Two more meetings tomorrow, then dinner with Janel and baby Gabbie in Vancouver, followed by a leisurely drive home.
137. What’s not to xoxo about PDX?
It is 11pm and I am curled up in a lovely hotel room in Portland, surrounded by six fluffy pillows, wrapped in a big furry blanket, listening to Jackson Browne Solo Acoustic on my iPod, drinking a glass of Tempranillo. It was a wonderful day! I left home early this morning, grabbed a cappuccino, and drove down to Portland for three days of business meetings. I am staying at Hotel Modera, a new four-week old boutique hotel in downtown. (I found a great deal on hotels.com.)
Hotel Modera offers 174 non smoking guestrooms and suites. The rooms are indulged with the softest linen, down blankets and a magnificent throw draping over a luxurious pillow top mattress. The rooms all have large picture windows with an operable window with views of the city or our private courtyard. The courtyard features a living wall with local foliage that has been planted vertically across a 63’x13’ wall and seating areas around fire pits. Our spacious desk includes outlets that are easily accessible for laptops with a comfortable leather desk chair. Tarocco bath products are formulated from Italy with olive oil and Sicilian Red Oranges which are rich in Vitamin C and other powerful antioxidants. Luxurious micro fiber cotton robes and plush bath towels are in all guestrooms.
Amenities include free wireless, free passes to 24 Hour Fitness, iPod docking stereo/alarm clock, LCD TVs with HD premium channels, free newspaper delivered to your door, mini refrigerator, made to order amenity basket, in room safe to accommodate a full size laptop.
I checked into my room early, grabbed some lunch at Zupan’s Markets and visited my first two Portland branch offices. My meetings went great. Everyone was convivial as always. (This is the nicest company.) I finished working a little before 5, came back to the hotel and sat in their lovely courtyard for awhile next to one of the fire pits. (It was a beautiful sunny evening, although the fire still felt nice.) I didn’t get much reading done, because this is where I met Donovan and Jason, two guys who own a software company in the Silicone Valley. They are also here on business and had just got into town. We drank wine and talked about books and politics for a couple hours. They were hilarious! Both of them have their masters from Stanford and I think between the two of them, have read every book imaginable. They walked over to Powell’s Books with me and we spent an hour or so browsing. (I finally found a used copy of Monsignor Quixote by Graham Greene. It is out of print and I have been looking for this book forever!) We stopped at Mayas Taqueria (“fresh home cooked Mexican food”) on our way back and had dinner at a sidewalk table. (Their tacos al pastor were wonderful and they had a fantastic selection of cervesa!)
We parted ways after dinner. The guys were going to try out a few of the cocktail bars I told them about (Teardrop, Sapphire, Pour) and I am going to sleep. (I sat on the steps at Pioneer Courthouse Square on my way back for a little bit. It was beautiful. The plaza is presently filled with thousands of wildflowers for the Festival of Flowers — picture above.)
Time to brush my teeth and turn off the lights. I have an early meeting tomorrow and then plan on visiting the Portland Art Museum tomorrow evening. Sweet dreams!
Hotel Modera
515 SW Clay
Portland, OR 97201
503.484.1084
Mayas Tacqueria
1000 SW Morrison St
Portland, OR 97205
503.226.1946
136. Two Week Wrap-up
Hi everyone! What a beautiful weekend! (Thank goodness after all the crummy weather we’ve had!) The top was down on the bug; I enjoyed some time at the park reading; G3 and I watched the Russia v. Greece soccer game; Tina and I caught up for several hours over coffee at Honey Bear Bakery; and I fixed dinner for Dad, Mom, Grandma & Grandpa for Father’s Day. Then, the icing on the sunny cake…watching the lovely sun set over Lake Washington tonight.
For dinner, I tried a new recipe from ‘The Herbal Kitchen’ cookbook (a favorite): Braised Pork Shoulder with pears & thyme, served with polenta and sautéed baby bok choy. It was a smashing success. Here’s the recipe…
Braised Pork Shoulder with pears and thyme
from ‘The Herbal Kitchen’ cookbook by Jerry Traunfeld
Serves 10
5 pounds boneless pork shoulder blade, cut into 10 rectangular pieces
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup olive oil
2 medium onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cups white wine
2 cups chicken broth
4 pears, such as Bosc or Bartlett, ripe but not soft, peeled, cored and cut into ½-inch dice
1 small bunch (1 ounce) thyme sprigs
4 bay laurel leaves, fresh or dry
½ vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped thyme
½ cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsely
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- Sprinkle all sides of the pork generously with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large heavey pot (at least 8 quart), such as a Dutch oven, over medium-high heat. Use tongs to carefully lower in as much of the pork as will fit in a single layer and cook until the meat turns a deep caramel brown on the underside, about 3 minutes. Turn the pieces and brown the other side, then lift them out and put them on a platter. Brown the remaining meat in the same way.
- Turn the heat under the pot to medium-low. Pour most of the fat from the pan, leaving just a thin layer. Add the onions and garlic and stir them around for several minutes until they wilt down. Pour in the wine and broth and scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to disolve the browned layer. Stir in the pears, and then put the pieces of pork back in the pot. Tie the thyme sprigs, bay leaves, and vanilla bean together with kitchen twine to make a large bouquet garni and tuck it in between the pieces of meat. Cover the pot tightly, turn the heat to very low, and cook at a very gentle simmer until the meat is very tender, about 2 hours.
- Lift the pork from the pan to a large warm platter and cover it loosely with aluminum foil to keep it warm. Discard the bouquet garni. Add the chopped thyme to the braising sauce that remains in the pot, increase the heat, and boil the sauce until it thickens enough to coat a spoon. Stir in the parsley and lemon juice. Taste a spoonful and, if you think it needs it, add more salt or pepper. Return the pork to the pot and toss it gently in the sauce. Keep it warm until you are ready to serve.
Last week was a busy one. Virgo Night was Monday, Book Club was Tuesday (Heather and I stayed up talking until 2am!), I curled up on the couch after working late on Wednesday and watched a touching documentary, Promises (directed by BZ Goldberg), and then had dinner with Bruce on Thursday. The week before was the week for movies…
On Tuesday, G3 and I fixed a mango & chicken curry salad and watched Arranged (directed by Diane Crespo and Stefan Schaefer). The film was shot in New York in 17 days and it is a wonderful independent film. It focuses on two young female teachers — Rochel is an Orthodox Jew and Nasira is Muslim — who work together in a multi-ethnic school in Brooklyn. They form a friendship and together they experience what it means to adhere to religious and cultural convictions while pursuing their own happiness.
On Wednesday, Mitch and I had dinner at the new Palomino in Bellevue and went to see Sex In The City afterwards. (For the record, I didn’t drag him, he wanted to see it. Thanks M!) The movie is a little long, but I enjoyed it nonetheless and I thought Jennifer Hudson was a fabulous addition. I can’t believe it’s already been four years since the series finale. I miss how us girls used to get together each week to watch the show.
On Thursday night, I finally watched Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Un Long Dimanche de Fiancailles (A Very Long Engagement) starring Audrey Tautou. I’ve had this on my list forever and I loved it! The film has a dreamlike, whimsical aura, but also still effectively captures the atrocities of war. Marion Cotillard and Jodie Foster also appear in the film. Their performances were both wonderful and Foster’s French dialogue is impressive!
All in all it’s been busy. I am still loving my new job and I’m finally finding a little balance between work and play again. Now if I could just get busy writing in my blog a little more often…
