I forgot to celebrate the end of my first year in Portland. I am now officially two months into Year Two of my 5-year projected stay. Of course, the upcoming birth of grandchild #2 may change that schedule a bit. Ohhhh the delights of babies.
So, how am I doing?
Four Signs that I am becoming an Oregonian:
#1 I bought a pair of wellies. Yep, you just need 'em if you are going to spend time outdoors, especially if gardening or walking with a grandson who adores jumping in puddles.
#2 I grab a jacket with hood whenever I go out. Mary gave me a jacket that I love (don't even THINK of trying to get it back from me, sister dear). So much better than the wool jacket I previously used - see below.
Although it is deliciously warm, this wool jacket gets damp in the rain and you know that wet wool smell? Not great. The new jacket, well the loaned/borrowed/I'm-sure-it's-now-mine jacket is warm AND water resistant. Much better for Portland. I walk around like a true Oregonian, popping the hood up when it starts to mist, pushing it away when it stops. So handy and it means I don't need an umbrella. My hands stay free. Lovely.
Okay, what about my bright neon yellow jacket from my time in Africa? Yes, it has a hood and is water resistant but it also overwhelmingly hideous. I have to be desperate to grab it. However, if I need to be spotted in a large crowd, it is waiting in the wings.
#3 I am now a pro on the bus. I will take it downtown early tomorrow morning to transfer to MAX, the light rail system, that will take me out to the airport to catch my plane to California. Oh so very urban!
#4 I am a kinder, gentler driver. However, given that I will be back in California tomorrow, I also know old habits die hard.
Four Challenges in my Transition to Life in Oregon
#1 I'm not quite there yet with Oregonians who welcome the weather. What is outside my window right now? Hmm, what a surprise - gray skies, mist, trees rapidly losing their leaves and water dripping from the roof. Yes, it does have a certain "let's-go-sit-in-front-of-the-fire-and-read"ambience but almost every day? However, on the positive side, when the sun breaks through it is really appreciated, much more so than when I lived in California.
#3 I am still adjusting to different conditions in the garden. Gardening in PG had its plusses and minuses. Technically just about anything will grow given its mild weather but I had to contend with deer that ate everything in sight including the tags that identified new plants as deer resistant. In addition the summer fog and hint of salt in the sea air meant that some plants didn't grow as well as they did a bit inland. I didn't even think of growing tomatoes but plants in big pots on my fenced deck (fie on you, deer!) grew prolifically. I had bulbs in the spring, herbs and bright flowers all summer and something green the rest of the year.
Here in Portland I share a small garden with my duplex neighbors. Just as the house is divided right down the middle into two identical units, so is the garden. My half is mostly paved; they have the back lawn and raised beds so I have returned to gardening in pots. I added them slowly, started with one on the front porch to greet neighbors, added a few along the back driveway to hold bulbs I brought from California (yes, I left lots of stuff stored in the attic in PG but dug up the bulbs to bring with me). In spring I filled two pots with primroses and in summer I filled three pots with herbs and two with strawberries (a Wesley favorite). They all thrived in the warm summer weather.
But now I have a problem - winter. The local paper warns that herbs in pots need to be moved into the ground. If not, the roots may freeze. Problem - the raised beds are in the neighbor's half of the yard. Could I use them? Probably. However I also appreciate that we carefully respect each other's space. I'd rather not invade their's. But what to do? I don't want to give up the herbs. I love picking them as needed. It seems that I have 2 choices - set up a indoor garden under a grow light in my basement or put them in the natural light in my kitchen. I chose the kitchen. I know, perhaps quite dumb given how small my unit is.
The plant on the chair is another problem child. My landlady left it with me while she and her husband went to India for a year. She loves it and I promised to keep care of it but it can't winter outside. The pot with the rosemary is the tall plant to the right in the photo.
The remaining herbs are on the other side of the table - ach, you can't see them - here is a close-up:
Parsley and thyme are in one, oregano, chives and another type of thyme are in the other. I wonder how much time will pass before I grow tired of tripping over them and move them down to the basement and install a grow light?
I didn't think the bulbs would be a problem - they like the cold - but, oh my goodness, look.
They are already growing! I know they won't bloom at this point but what is going to happen next March? Not much, I suspect. Drat. Those were precious bulbs. I know, I know, I can start over and find ground space for them somewhere along the driveway but it is not the same. I have nursed these bulbs through 5 seasons.
And, finally, the primroses - they will have to tough it out. I don't have any more room inside and I never seem to have luck with primroses anyway. You're on your own.
#4 Have not yet added Portland expressions to my vocabulary. They just don't trip off my tongue. The two big ones are "spendy" and "PDX". The first means expensive, as in "That restaurant is spendy." The second means Portland. I'm not sure how the airport designation got turned into a reference to the city as a whole but that's just the way it is.
I will be away for the next 10 days - home for Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday of the year. Have a lovely Turkey Day, everyone, here in PDX or wherever you are.
See I CAN start using those words.
So, how am I doing?
Four Signs that I am becoming an Oregonian:
#1 I bought a pair of wellies. Yep, you just need 'em if you are going to spend time outdoors, especially if gardening or walking with a grandson who adores jumping in puddles.
Okay, this is the best I could do leaning over to snap the photo with my phone camera.
Anna, of the wonderful African photos, where are you????
The wellies, just inside my back door, ready for action in the great Northwest.
#2 I grab a jacket with hood whenever I go out. Mary gave me a jacket that I love (don't even THINK of trying to get it back from me, sister dear). So much better than the wool jacket I previously used - see below.
Although it is deliciously warm, this wool jacket gets damp in the rain and you know that wet wool smell? Not great. The new jacket, well the loaned/borrowed/I'm-sure-it's-now-mine jacket is warm AND water resistant. Much better for Portland. I walk around like a true Oregonian, popping the hood up when it starts to mist, pushing it away when it stops. So handy and it means I don't need an umbrella. My hands stay free. Lovely.
Okay, what about my bright neon yellow jacket from my time in Africa? Yes, it has a hood and is water resistant but it also overwhelmingly hideous. I have to be desperate to grab it. However, if I need to be spotted in a large crowd, it is waiting in the wings.
#3 I am now a pro on the bus. I will take it downtown early tomorrow morning to transfer to MAX, the light rail system, that will take me out to the airport to catch my plane to California. Oh so very urban!
#4 I am a kinder, gentler driver. However, given that I will be back in California tomorrow, I also know old habits die hard.
Four Challenges in my Transition to Life in Oregon
#1 I'm not quite there yet with Oregonians who welcome the weather. What is outside my window right now? Hmm, what a surprise - gray skies, mist, trees rapidly losing their leaves and water dripping from the roof. Yes, it does have a certain "let's-go-sit-in-front-of-the-fire-and-read"ambience but almost every day? However, on the positive side, when the sun breaks through it is really appreciated, much more so than when I lived in California.
#2 I have now voted twice so understand the mail-in process. No in-person voting here; all voting is done by mail. It is certainly easier and, perhaps, by giving voters more time, voting is more thoughtful but I do miss that tingle of citizen-pride that I experience whenever I enter a polling booth. Such a precious right. This was especially true at my last California election when I accompanied Francia who was voting for the first time as an American citizen. I made sure everyone in the room knew we had a new citizen among us and she became the recipient of many smiles and nods of approval. She beamed and wore her I Voted sticker with pride. I miss those stickers.
#3 I am still adjusting to different conditions in the garden. Gardening in PG had its plusses and minuses. Technically just about anything will grow given its mild weather but I had to contend with deer that ate everything in sight including the tags that identified new plants as deer resistant. In addition the summer fog and hint of salt in the sea air meant that some plants didn't grow as well as they did a bit inland. I didn't even think of growing tomatoes but plants in big pots on my fenced deck (fie on you, deer!) grew prolifically. I had bulbs in the spring, herbs and bright flowers all summer and something green the rest of the year.
Here in Portland I share a small garden with my duplex neighbors. Just as the house is divided right down the middle into two identical units, so is the garden. My half is mostly paved; they have the back lawn and raised beds so I have returned to gardening in pots. I added them slowly, started with one on the front porch to greet neighbors, added a few along the back driveway to hold bulbs I brought from California (yes, I left lots of stuff stored in the attic in PG but dug up the bulbs to bring with me). In spring I filled two pots with primroses and in summer I filled three pots with herbs and two with strawberries (a Wesley favorite). They all thrived in the warm summer weather.
But now I have a problem - winter. The local paper warns that herbs in pots need to be moved into the ground. If not, the roots may freeze. Problem - the raised beds are in the neighbor's half of the yard. Could I use them? Probably. However I also appreciate that we carefully respect each other's space. I'd rather not invade their's. But what to do? I don't want to give up the herbs. I love picking them as needed. It seems that I have 2 choices - set up a indoor garden under a grow light in my basement or put them in the natural light in my kitchen. I chose the kitchen. I know, perhaps quite dumb given how small my unit is.
The plant on the chair is another problem child. My landlady left it with me while she and her husband went to India for a year. She loves it and I promised to keep care of it but it can't winter outside. The pot with the rosemary is the tall plant to the right in the photo.
The remaining herbs are on the other side of the table - ach, you can't see them - here is a close-up:
Parsley and thyme are in one, oregano, chives and another type of thyme are in the other. I wonder how much time will pass before I grow tired of tripping over them and move them down to the basement and install a grow light?
I didn't think the bulbs would be a problem - they like the cold - but, oh my goodness, look.
They are already growing! I know they won't bloom at this point but what is going to happen next March? Not much, I suspect. Drat. Those were precious bulbs. I know, I know, I can start over and find ground space for them somewhere along the driveway but it is not the same. I have nursed these bulbs through 5 seasons.
And, finally, the primroses - they will have to tough it out. I don't have any more room inside and I never seem to have luck with primroses anyway. You're on your own.
#4 Have not yet added Portland expressions to my vocabulary. They just don't trip off my tongue. The two big ones are "spendy" and "PDX". The first means expensive, as in "That restaurant is spendy." The second means Portland. I'm not sure how the airport designation got turned into a reference to the city as a whole but that's just the way it is.
I will be away for the next 10 days - home for Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday of the year. Have a lovely Turkey Day, everyone, here in PDX or wherever you are.
See I CAN start using those words.
As you enjoy your increasing Oregonian spirit, please do not release your affection for California. Though we are all thrilled you are getting such important time with grandchildren (and all your dear relatives in Portland), eventually, we want you to want to come back!!
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