Acrocats

Checking out the South Congress food trailer court

Rain clouds!  We actually got rained on Saturday after about 100 days of drought and more than 80 days of triple digit temperatures. Yea!

In LA, everyone's a screenwriter/actor; in Austin, everyone's in a band

Tom and I spent a cool (that is, below 100 degrees!) Saturday afternoon under the oak trees in Guero's  outside music venue while about 80,000 other people were at Zilker Park for the Austin City Limits music festival.  We were there to hear Too Blue, a blues band whose members are school teachers and a civil engineer by day.  My co-worker John Beeler is sitting next to Tom; he took off when the UT game started.

Co-workers Pam and Amy.  Pam is dating the bass player/civil engineer in the band.

Millie's favorite things

Cat food never tastes so good as when Millie claws the bag open to help herself.  She's done that since kittenhood, if we let her.

Millie doesn't like water, but she likes to hang out in the bathtub when it's empty

Otis and Jade at the downtown Portland Public Library, September 1, 2011

Fox in motion

I hope you can now access the video.  I changed the setting from "private" to "unlisted," which means only people who have the link can view the video.

And while I was in Portland . . .

Jay's house came down.  The house was standing when Tom left for work last Thursday morning.  By his lunch break, the house was rubble.  And by quitting time, everything but the steam shovel was gone, gone, gone!  Jay's business, ironically, was Wolfguard.  Okay, so maybe it wasn't a wolf that blew the house down . . . .

Raven's Roost

The Raven's Roost is a very interesting restaurant/antique store.   I'm guessing that the booth and table where we ate could be purchased.  Probably the dishes too.  Eating here is like walking into a furniture/antique shop and being able to sit down at any of the tables for sale and order breakfast or lunch.  The RR also features live music.  Austin, take note!

The red leather jacket is one of Anjanette's earlier Raven's Roost finds.  

Fox threw down a piece of plum she'd been gnawing on just before the photo was taken.  You can see part of the RR behind me.

More train time

I took Otis to Vita, a vegan restaurant near LaWanda's house, for dinner  Friday.  He wasn't at all interested in his vegan burrito, even though he usually likes beans and chili.  Instead, the booth top was the perfect train track for Thomas and Percy.  Check out the bicycle gear decor next to Otis.  Portland is definitely a cyclist's dream town.  Lots of bike lanes and rules to protect cyclists on the road.

Yum! Thanks, LaWanda!

One has not done Portland until one tries at least one Voodoo doughnut.  There's even a Voodoo Doughnut truck, kind of like an ice cream truck, that makes the rounds.

So may choices!

Okay, if you're going to devour a doughnut, it might as well be one slathered in Oreo cookies!  Not pictured is the doughnut covered in M&Ms.

An afternoon at Portland's Director Park

Right in downtown Portland is Director Park, a delightful  place to hang out, read in the sunshine (at least on this day), catch lunch at the outdoor cafe, play in the fountain . . . .

Riding the rails

Trains are Otis' very favorite thing in the world.  Thomas the Tank Engine and Percy (another engine) traveled everywhere with us.  We took the light rail into downtown Portland for a day at the library and Director Park.

Fox's first train ride: Thursday, September 1, 2011.  She was quite a hit with the band members sitting across the way.  One passenger wondered why they don't make striped jammies with feet for grownups too.

Cause and effect

Otis loved getting behind the wheel of the rental car.

But I should have checked that everything was off when we got out!  Turns out the lights were left on.  Luckily, LaWanda had jumper cables.

Otis at the OMSI

Otis and I spent Monday afternoon at the Oregon Museum of  Science and Industry.  He was fascinated by the  ball hovering above a stream of air.

Skyler at work

One of the first things I did in Portland was go with Skyler to Angel Ink in Oregon City to watch him touch up a tattoo he'd done a few weeks before.  I'd never seen him tattoo anyone before.  This client wanted a medicine wheel in honor of her Native American heritage.

Jade is on the move

Jade started crawling at about 4 1/2 months.  Here, she's after a rattle Anjanette made for her from a bread bag with seeds inside.

Happy 11, Emma!

Wow!  This is the year you're #1 twice!