Project 365: December 26th through December 31st

December 26th High tea at the Tea Zone with Katy and Suzanne

My version of "tea" is their drink called A Streetcar Named Desire which is hibiscus juice with a splash of cran and vodka and my gingerbread man.


December 27th - A gorgeous cyclamen Rachel and Ben brought us when they came over for dinner.


December 28th - Having dinner at Kell's together.


Driving through Peacock Lane.


Wandering through The Grotto.


December 29th - Last day of Mental Health First Aide Intervention training for the hotline.


December 30th - Tannenbaum Madness on Alberta Street.


Stopping for sushi at Zilla Sake House.


Zoo Lights at the Portland Zoo.


December 31st - Making blood orange sauce.



And that's the end to another beautiful year.

Project 365: December 12th through December 18th

December 12th: The tall black wave candleholders we just got at the Z Gallery for a steal Black Friday shopping with free shipping and handling too!


December 13th: Post lunch with Julia we noticed these feathered friends in their habitat by Beaverton Central.


December 14th: Getting prepared for the cold or plotting jihad...you decide...


December 15th: Indeed...working through Christmas cards...


December 16th: An amazing desert creation by Wenders: ricotta cheese with cut up strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, hazelnuts and agave nectar which we scooped up with chocolate biscotti...


December 17th: We went out to a family farm to claim our Christmas tree and met a few new friends. Really fickle friends since they realized I had nothing to offer them so they wanted nothing to do with me...


The tree farm was gorgeous - all they had was nobles and they were all HUGE.


December 18th: Sugar Plum Potluck which we host annually to celebrate sugar, friends, great conversations and all that good stuff in between.

Project 365: December 5th through December 11th

December 5th: Early morning fog in Beaverton.


December 6th: The Hawthorne Bridge on a clear cold morning...


December 7th: My new camera arrived finally thanks to Cyber Monday purchasing. Macha helps me set in up and gives me my first photo op.


December 8th: A frozen afternoon in the garden...


December 9th: I was given a plaque for doing over 300 hours at the hotline during the Christmas party.


December 10th: Brandt's 40th Birthday party at his brother's gorgeous home.


December 10th: A cute gent outside Crush called me hot...so I rewarded him by bending him over a pole to get good lighting so I could take a camera phone pic of his jacket. He totally cooperated which is good because his jacket ruled.


December 11th: The annual goat party at Melissa and Mathias' home which we always look forward to.

Project 365: November 28th through December 4th

November 28th: Running to Lloyd Center to get stuff for the costume contest Saturday.


November 28th: And another stop by John's Market where Patrick quickly discovers they have just about every beer on the planet.


November 29th: And finishing up the costume contest bags...


November 29th: Grabbing My Favorite Muffin for Lunch to do to bring to meet up with Ms Heidi


November 30th: The hallway of the building the hotline is in waiting for the elevator.


December 1st: KRAMPUS! Isn't he adorable?! I met Arun for dinner at Chez Machin forsome French cuisine and talk about both our events.


December 2nd: Finishing up posters for the event...


December 3rd: A very poor and dark camera phone shot of the Krampus costume designed by Sean and Shashonna -I seriously nearly cried when I saw the costume..it was THAT good.


December 4th: FRAMED! I picked up the art work for Patrick on the left like two years ago at the Halloween Bazaar and a year before that a coworker gifted him the lovely watercolor. I gave Patrick frames a few months ago which were perfect...except neither had mats but I FINALLY grabbed some on super sale at Fred Meyer so I got them both for like $5 total which is just amazing!

Project 365: November 21st through November 27th

November 21st: My livingroom...I wanted to show off my new amaryllis which I could not resist getting due to the awesome vase with pretty black rocks it came with. It will make a beautiful coffee table centerpiece this holiday season.


November 22nd: Autumn in Portland...and there is the Steel Bridge.


November 23rd: The night before Thanksgiving. I made my Dutch Apple pie (shown here) and lemon meringue while Patrick made his twin pumpkin pies.


November 24th: And our epic cook fest began with Heidi and Rob bringing over their pumpkin soup and a lovely bottle of Sangiovese. Here you see our cooking lists and the basket full of root veggies all set to start peeling and cutting.


And the spread...from left to right we made Green Beans with Bacon and Stone Ground Mustard Vinaigrette; Homemade Jellied Cranberry Sauce; Roasted Turkey; Mashed Rutabaga; Mashed Potatoes; Roasted Onions with Balsamic Glaze; Homestyle Dinner Rolls (from Scratch); Pepper, Onion and Cranberry Stuffing (two bowls - one cooked in turkey and one out); Spiced Sweet Potatoes and Yams Roasted with Orange and Pecans; Mashed Hubbard Squash; Roasted Carrots and Parsnips with Cumin; and Deep Fried Turkey (which for the record is quite tasty).


November 25th: The opening of Beaverton Civic Theater's presentation of Happy Hollandaise! What a fun evening - the play-write and Beaverton's Mayor were both in attendance. I also discovered a former co worker was one of the stars! It was lovely to catch up with the Mayor and Aaron!


November 26th: Dinner at Urban Fondue with my beautiful friend Katy. While allowing our dinners to settle we opted for The Wild Elderberry Martinis. They were amazing...


November 27th: Me and my friend Jenna ran over to the Love Craft Bar for their craft bazaar. I saw quite a few friends which was lovely. I also bought some wonderful essential oils for my hair and got a hand massage from my friend M. I did not even realize how tense my hands were until that goddess worked her usual magic.

Project 365: November 14th through 20th

November 14th: I bought this watercolor in Seattle - it looks perfect on my dining room wall.


November 15th: Helping my friend Eva paint...her kitty loves me.


November 16th: Hanging out at the hotline writing out my grocery list for Thanksgiving.


November 17th: Picking up my fliers from the printer...finally....


November 18th: Me and Patrick at OMSI for the Bodyworlds and the Brain exhibit.


November 19th: Meeting with Hutch at the Bossanova to finalize my event plans.


November 20th: Mmmm my favorite - crumpets and jam...