Life, As of Late

 Since moving to a more central and walkable part of Portland we have become full-on pedestrians. We still have our bicycles, but have preferred to walk. It's much easier, more peaceful and allows us to soak up the energy of the City, which is pretty terrific. June has been a busy month, Mike survived another school term and we survived the Portland Rose Festival, in fact we enjoyed it more than ever this year. The Starlight Parade was a particularly fun event we stumbled upon while out getting ice cream.

The weather has been so nice, we find ourselves getting out a lot and enjoying the insane number of restaurants and bars that now surround us. We're also getting our loft situated and plan to make more meals at home now that we have come up with some great storage solutions, but mostly we've been walking and walking and walking. We took a few days off to enjoy a week-long summer vacation before Mike heads back to school for summer term, and spent most of it simply exploring on foot of course. It's been a good spring and great summer with so many events occurring within walking distance.

Life, As of Late

Life, as of late, has been a bit random...as seen by the collection of photos from the last month. Springtime in Portland just can't be beat.

All Cats Go to Heaven

20 years ago I casually adopted a black cat with golden eyes and named her Cleopatra. She grew up with me and was there for it all. Last week she stopped eating and 5 days later passed away in my arms. I thought since we share so much of our lives here, it would be wrong not to mention such a significant event in our lives. She did appear several times on the blog - here, here and here.

Her presence is so do dearly missed. She was such a talkative cat and literally said good morning to us every day.  As she aged Cleo definitely became more and more demanding, but also more and more rewarding. She turned many non-cat people into cat people. She was sweet, mischievous, obedient and loved showers in the kitchen sink. Farewell my sweet kitty, I will forever remember you.

Anne

Life, As of Late

{unpacking}*

*my dad labeled our furniture to help mike learn vietnamese and they survived the severe man-handling of the movers!

{setting up the essentials first}

{still haven't hung anything up - loving the blank white walls and wonderful light we get}

{outdoor space}

{exploring the new hood}

{insanely yummy birthday dinner at this insanely yummy southern restaurant}

{best birthday gift ever}

{post dinner sweet fix at one of our favorite spots in the city}

{this ship reminds us of our incredible cruise at one of the wonders of the world}

{springtime trees before the leaves fill-in completely}

{mornings on the willamette river}

{start of our day}

{end of our day}