I know that Christmas has come and gone, but I never finished my Christmas posts!  Plus, I’ll sheepishly admit I just got around to taking down our Christmas decorations today–at least I got them down before my birthday, right?

Anyway, I’ll carry on with our Portland trip.  I had really been hoping for some snow while we were up there, and the weather indulged!  We had gone to the Portland Art Museum, and while waiting for our party to reconvene, I looked out and noticed it was snowing!  Yes, indeed, I did a happy dance right there in the museum entrance–right after I ran outside into the snowflakes and twirled around a little.  It was a beautiful scene, but then we decided to pack up and head home before the roads got too messy.  It was a good thing we did, because later we watched as people unsuccessfully tried to get up the hill that Brandon’s family live on.  It snowed a good few inches by nightfall, and it was absolutely beautiful. The next morning a lot of it had melted away, but it was fun while it lasted.

**on a sidenote, we saw the China Design Now exhibition there which we really enjoyed. I notice that it just ended today, so sorry my endorsement is a little late. However, if it comes to a city near you I highly recommend it! Very interesting variety of content, and great design items, with some architecture stuff.**

The kitties had their first “experience” with snow…they actually seemed a little interested.

the rest of our thanksgiving was lovely and low-key. friday we did indeed go to powell’s books, where i did a little damage, but not TOO much. i have come to conclude that powell’s is pretty much the greatest bookstore ever. after that we went back home to hang out and relax and have a quiet evening in. on saturday we visited, did some measurements for a potential remodel of brandon’s parents’ kitchen/living room/dining room area, watched some of the civil war game (oregon vs. oregon state) up until we had to leave to go see a play that we had purchased tickets for the previous day. brandon’s parents stumbled upon the theater and waited for us there while we were in powell’s–they thought we would be interested in the building and they were correct! it is a leed platinum building, an old armory converted into a theater. the play, coincidentally, was about r. buckminster fuller (aka bucky fuller). it was monologue style, sort of telling the story of his own life and his way of thinking and it was absolutely fascinating–i highly recommend it to anyone in the portland area. it was captivating, had a clever use of media, and i have definitely spent some time thinking back on what was said and how it impacts me and my own thinking.



also in portland, pinky and chewy (they were kept separate from our cats while we were there)




the ride home went even more smoothly than the ride there–less traffic and less feline distress…stuart seemed more settled this time, and the cats slept on my lap most of the ride home…

happy thanksgiving everyone! today was part two of our roadtrip to portland, with a safe arrival here in oregon. we started yesterday afternoon, leaving san francisco at 4. actually, let me revise that statement. we left our apartment at 4…we left san francisco at about 5:30, so yes, that means it took us 1.5 hours to drive a distance that would have taken me about 30-45 minutes to walk. we decided to sedate the kitties which turned out to be a wise choice, especially since our trip ended up taking us about double what it should have. the cats were unhappy in their carriers, then they calmed down, then they freaked out, then i put them in one carrier and they calmed down for a bit, but once we actually started moving they were REALLY unhappy. i was trying to follow the vet’s recommendation/safe route by keeping them in their carriers (in case we got into a car accident, there would be a much lower risk of losing them) but that didn’t last. first stuart made me panic because he started panting and his paws were clammy (who knew that happened in cats) and then ben busted out of his carrier–while i was holding it shut.

brandon and i decided to just go with it (and we needed to calm stuart down) so we just let them out. i was in the backseat with them, and brandon was driving. at first they meowed a bit and wandered around to check things out (i was wondering when those so-called sedatives were supposed to kick in–we were well past the 1-2 hour mark the vet said it took for them to kick in…our cats must be in that population that “fights” the effect), and then after about 20 minutes they decided they weren’t dying, stu’s paws cooled down and he wasn’t panting anymore, and they settled in for the rest of the ride to redding. ben slept most of the way, while stu was a little more restless, but he was calm.

after our night in redding, we packed up the car again and headed out early this morning. we relied on the leftover effects from yesterday’s sedative (the vet said it works for a day, and that seemed to be the case). they were very well behaved, with the exception of one panicked meowing/car exploration outburst by ben for about 10 minutes (i was mostly afraid he was getting sick), but other than that they were great. ben slept in the carrier (he wanted to be in there as long as the door wasn’t shut) for 99% of the drive, while stu rotated from the rear window to my lap to my feet to the other carrier about every 15-30 minutes…

beautiful mt. shasta during sunrise

at one point stu decided to join ben…in the small carrier. ben was thrilled, as you can see

the fog had settled into the valley, making it look almost like a lake

stu checking things out

typical positions



the backseat arrangement

after arriving in portland, we settled in and had a wonderful thanksgiving meal. i hope everyone was able to take a moment and reflect on that they are thankful for as we enter this holiday season, and that you had a wonderful day, whatever you were doing.

tomorrow i think we’re heading to powell’s bookstore…i can’t wait!