Not me, yet, unless you count checking off two more places for my Downtown Puyallup Coffee Crawl. Rainier Valley Coffee provided an excellent mocha while my doughnut at Happy Donuts was a disappointment. I’m not fond of them to start with but thought the bear claw might be tasty. After waiting in a long line, we finally achieved our passport stamp; surprisingly, my bear claw had apples in it and little to no cinnamon. Although I like apples (I’m a lifelong Washingtonian after all), the bear claw was rather anemic and needed much more spice. My friend and I will hit a few more spots this week; we’re leaving the “uninteresting” one for last: a juice/smoothie bar. I will only rant a little about putting spinach, kale, turmeric, cayenne, protein powder, nasty tasting vitamins, etc. in a smoothie, as well as using unpasteurized juice. I’m a big believer in pasteurization!
Thanks to the now cleaner air (temporary, unfortunately), Younger Daughter and I trekked to a local park with a trail where Anders could bike on his balance bike. “I’m riding my bike!” He also responded when a woman said “Hi” to him, “I’m not saying hi.” Ouch, have I mentioned that he’s three?
Ian, now the proud possessor of four teeth, traveled in style and smiled at the passersby. As usual, many people commented on his eyes, “He has such beautiful blue eyes!”
In the meantime, Older Daughter drove the boys to a friend’s son’s birthday party in Oregon; they also made the time to visit Lloyd Center for the last time to say goodbye. The mall is closing and in its unique Portland way, there were impromptu poetry readings, people selling random items, others making off with plants, bikers pedaling through the ghost mall, people doing Beyblade battles and random parades. Closure is important, isn’t it?
Many will deeply miss the center ice rink; I shed a few tears over this elderly couple doing their last skate.
The Lloyd Center event reminded me of when John and I traveled to Seattle for the last days of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. John was eager to participate whereas I was indifferent. However, I found much to enjoy in the activities and the people watching.
I loved seeing the kids get into the spirit of decorating the viaduct before it was torn down.
True words, about more than just the tearing down of a highway or the closing of a mall.
John staged this creative photo of us waving goodbye, much better than a full face selfie.
Speaking of selfies, here is a photo of my glasses before I had the new and outrageously expensive new lenses put in.
After picking up the revamped glasses and trying to adjust to them, I’ve realized that they’re messed up. John noticed first, “Why are they sitting so high up?” I’d been struggling with them, especially reading, but assumed it was because it was a slightly different prescription. Tomorrow they’ll go back to the optometrist where they’d better not give me any trouble about them being WRONG. I didn’t dot the glasses where my pupil was, nor did I drill the holes for the lenses and the nose piece. And it’s not simply that they look funny, they’re progressive bifocals which means that where I’m looking is out of whack. I’ve reverted to my back up pair which are so much more comfortable; I can see and read without any problems!
My first birthday card arrived yesterday from a close friend; I smiled but also grimaced. She’s been texting me from Alaska, where she used to live and still has many friends; she shared this photo of fresh red salmon, which we call sockeye here.
Look at that color! Knowing me as well as he does, John said, “You want the fish, but I bet you’re also drooling over the shirt.” 🙂
I’m fairly sure that I’ll be adding to my tee-shirt collection while I’m over in Ireland.
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