He did it! E did it! He made his first basket ever! Tall House, Double Cup and I were beyond ourselves - nearly crying - all while trying not to be obvious about it. E was quite happy with himself. He really needed to have some success at basketball practice. You can see in the video how dribbling is a challenge. I didn't get the basket on video but it is a moment I'll never forget. I felt true joy - and I don't even care about basketball- imagine how I'll feel when he wins the Newbery Award!
My partner in crime, wine and parenting, Tall House Double Cup, possesses something I don't - an entrepreneurial spirit. Part of that spirit is channeled through his outside-of-work project - Safe Sax. Safe Sax was one of twelve Portland designers recently chosen for the Mercury fashion show last Sunday night. He had a fabu model - absolutely perfect - pictured right.
There was one or two other accessory designers also in the show. Most of the designers seemed 
well versed in showing off their work. Here are a couple more pictures of my favorites in the show.
Marfie and I took the kidlets to the tulip festival in Woodburn today. E and Moo tiptoed through the tulips while Sam the Man got a bundled ride from Marfie. 
The colors were so fantastic - I loved the orange best. E decided he liked pink and purple since those were Moo's favorite. E loves to be with Moo - he mugs so hard to make her laugh - just like Tall House, Double Cup does with me. And Moo is an adoring audience! What a great day.
E and I dyed eggs - though we waiting until the day before Easter - his afterschool time is packed right now with swimming twice a week and basketball once a week so we slipped in our crafty time as we found it.
I had a baking catastrophe while making our special Bananas Foster puffy pancake - I forgot I had just taken the pan out of a 400 degree oven and grasped the handle with my bare hand. I ended up at the emergency room with second degree burns and a very weepy attitude. As we were waiting to see the doctor, E told me, "I didn't really like that pancake very much." So my efforts were a bit wasted. No more puffy baked pancakes at our house. I am handing the griddle back to Tall House, Double Cup.
I was in too much pain to insist E wear his special Easter outfit so he got to dress himself for the family party - not very springy - but he really liked his choice.
E and I went to the garden shoppe (I just love to use the word shoppe) and picked out plants for two pots on our deck. I've given up on hanging baskets - but two pots seems more manageable. 
We picked out lots of purples, pinks and whites with a bit of yellow thrown in. I added chives to the mix for a bit of whimsy. I'll check in with monthly pictures on the blog to see how the pots fill in.
alyssum
Depression sets in. Dishcloth cotton? How could I possibly be this yarn? I was sure I was merino wool. I've got to start changing myself immediately. Dishcloth cotton. as if.
My latest baby project is a onesie romper - which I've never knit before. I found a super lovely soft yarn - ultra girlie. The gauge is quite fine so the project is taking some time. I love how the colors are melting into each other.
Atacama, 100% alpaca, color #501 - there isn't an official catchy color name so I'll make up my own - Rose Festival
We put the crib up in E's room - well, actually it's about to become E and Em's room. E had said he was fine with it - and then we started moving things around and cleaning. He flitted about on the edges of the room while we worked and dropped little comments like, "I don't think my sleepy toys are going to like this" and "my sleepy toys might kick against the wall all night if their bed is moved." I started to worry a bit but Tall House, Double Cup and I stayed positive and cheerful. 
y the time everything was arranged (and it's not ideal - the room is only 10x10 or so and has some window/bookcase challenges - but we'll survive) he came around and liked the idea of his bed moving and his sleepy toys taking over the crib. I don't know where those toys are going when Em finally moves into the crib - that's a challenge for a non-pregnant mind.
E and I are growing peas this year. Around the country, most people plant peas on St. Patrick's Day. In Portland we are lucky enough to have the kind of weather that lets us do it on President's Day.
We celebrate St. Patrick's Day pretty low key this year. A bike ride, trip to the park, and a check on our peas. They are looking lovely! Hopefully, I'll get E to try eating them.
We headed out for a long afternoon bike ride/walk around the neighborhood. When we bought E his bike last summer, he mistakenly heard it was called a "super puffy" instead of "Super Huffy" and so he took on the character of Super Puffy when he rides and does his "tricks". I've linked to a little video of him showing off his skills below.
E has been wanting to try sushi (or shoe-she as he calls it). A friend at his school told him there were "three desserts" at sushi - which was the main motivation. We went to Sushiland and sat by the sushi train. 
I think the process made the best impression - not the food. He rejected the scrambled egg sushi and shrimp tempura. He said yes to the edamame and a pre-packaged cream bun - what a healthy dinner.
We walked over to Mio Gelato and sat on the sidewalk tables - watching Portand walk by - lots of people coming home from work, tourists, and people getting ready for a night out. It was 70 degrees in March and the Pearl District was so alive with spring. Tall House, Double Cup put it perfectly in between his rice pudding gelato bites - "I love Portland."
I still have a bit over two months to go but I am feeling very driven to get everything ready. I think we are going to put the crib up soon so E can get used to the idea of sharing a room.
The blankie is soft and silky - made with Moda Dea Metro. I thought the red, pink, and orange would pull out the girlie colors in the bedding but it's off just a bit. It will jazz up my volvo instead.
we went to see the new black bears exhibit at the Oregon Zoo last weekend. i am in love with our zoo - love. I feel absolutely no cynicism or dissatisfaction with the institution at all - and I can't say that about anything else except the public library. just writing that makes me think of a recent conversation i had with Tall House, Double Cup after some self-reflection regarding my work habits:
thdc: really? you think? (dripping with irony)
little blooms are popping up all over our yard. Spring often starts in mid-February in Portland but the snow in January set us back a few weeks. I can't complain since my MN/WI friends are still buried in snow.
this pretty camilla makes a huge mess in about two weeks when all the petals drop
light pink lenten rose that always blooms first each year. i like how they look like ladies in sunbonnets.
I took E to his first Oregon Symphony kids concert. He's really into Little Einsteins and wants to be a conductor like Leo. He was pretty shy when we got to the hall and was nervous about going to check out the musicians warming up on stage. 
Highlights - I loved the piece by Grieg from Peer Gyant and we both loved the John William's March from Superman. The low low point was a deadly Tubby the Tuba piece by George Kleinsinger. He seemed pretty happy that we had attended. I don't know exactly what we got out of it but we will probably try again next season.
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