Out with the girls on New Year's Eve afternoon

Click here for a trip to City Daily Photo, transporting you around the world every day.



Julie from Minnesota, Donna from Alabama, and I from Mississippi met at Brasserie Montmartre in downtown Portland for a tasty, time-consuming-cause-we-wanted-it-to-be lunch. Good food. Good friends. Talking. Laughing. Enjoying. Then, we walked a few blocks to the Living Room Theater and bought our tickets for "Old Goats." With time to spare, we browsed at nearby Powell's Books before returning to the theater to watch what turned out to be a highly entertaining movie.

Part 3, our last fun day together, Sunday, August 28, 2011

On the drive to find somewhere to eat lunch, probably in Depoe Bay, Oregon, south of Lincoln City on Highway 101, we came to this scenic outlook. I just had to stop, which was OK with my passengers. Hooray for the view!


A good-looking rig drove through the parking lot.


And a beauty parked facing the ocean. A red 1960s Chevy El Camino. I don't know the year, but I know it's close to whatever year the one was the my dearly departed husband had when we married. Now, 28 years later, I can't remember the year, but I can remember vividly that he taught me to drive a stick shift in it. What a trip that was! Me, uncoordinated to say the least, and a heavy duty clutch he'd decided to install. I did learn, though, and when they came of age, I taught both of our sons to drive a stick shift Honda. Thanks, LeRoy, honey. I love you and miss you, still.


Looks like everyone found a perfect spot for watching.


We stopped at Tidal Raves in Depoe Bay for lunch. Here's part of the view from the parking lot.


And here's part of the view from the restaurant itself.


Fish and "Chips," as it is printed on the Menu at Tidal Raves Seafood Grill consists of mahi mahi in crisp beer batter served with housemade slaw. I don't know why they don't go into detail about the "chips," cause they beat the you-know-what outta that slaw. The fish was flaky and tasty, just right. I enjoyed a glass of sweet ice tea, too. Seems like Milton got a cup of clam chowder and a cup of spinach oyster bisque, an order which sort of shocked our waiter. He understood, though, when Milton said he wanted to taste both of them, so why not. Kay got the spinach oyster bisque, I think. Howard and Vanessa split an oyster po'boy, I think, and maybe some spinach oyster bisque.

Where we were seated, on a raised level above the tables at the windows, provided a splendid view of the ocean while we enjoyed our light lunch. Then we set the GPS for the Elk Cove Winery in Gaston, Oregon.

A bit about the rest of Saturday and on to Sunday, August 21.

About Saturday after we left Cars in the Park, somewhat tired and definitely thirsty, we walked over to Director Park and Violetta where I had a cold glass of lemonade, Milton had a margarita and Kay had some sangria. From past knowledge, I knew that mine would be good, but Milton and Kay took a chance; turned out their drinks were just wet and cold. Anyway, still tired and somewhat hot due to lots of great sunshine in downtown Portland, I suggested that we ride the MAX out to the end of the line and back, then get sandwiches from Subway and take them on home to eat. Well, we made it about 30 minutes on the MAX out towards Hillsboro, got off and rode back so that after we got our sandwiches at Subway and rode the bus home, we walked into the apartment just in time to catch the Saints' game. Unfortunately, Houston beat them 27-14. Rats. But the evening turned out to be just fine because Leland and Kailey came to visit! It was fun being with the two of them and Milton and Kay. Lots of fun. I am blessed.

Here are the photos I took as we waited in line at the Screen Door for Sunday morning brunch, as I watched the kitchen from our table, and as our food appeared on the table. Mighty good food, I might add. Mighty good Southern food. We knew that would be the case because we also ate brunch there in May, 2007, on Kay and Milton's first visit to Portland. That knowledge, plus people-watching, made the 20-30 minute wait fly right by.


Busy, busy kitchen.


My breakfast of scrambled eggs, grits, biscuits and potatoes. Oh, and you can see what's left of my first-ever Bloody Mary--spicy goodness. That big glass of iced tea helped cool me off. I couldn't finish all of that delicious food, but every bite I did eat was so fine.


Milton's scramble with toast and grits and a side order of bacon. I cannot remember which scramble he got, though, but he enjoyed it.


Kay's fried chicken with biscuit and gravy and potatoes. She ate all she could, then Milton ate some of it.


Speaking of fried chicken, it's also served atop a waffle. Very popular brunch dish at the Screen Door.

Now for a few more photos.
The Screen Door's sign--I like that yellow and blue. And the part of the line of folks already there when we walked up--about 80 ahead of us.



Flowers we saw on our walk home.


These roses are on the sidewalk to my building's front door.


Once back inside the apartment, we settled in for an afternoon of getting the laundry done and watching NASCAR. Kay and I ended up washing and drying four loads between us. We sort of watched the race, not too excited about it though because that dadgum Kyle Busch won. Anyway, I managed to talk Milton and Kay into letting me make some tuna salad for supper, and then we watched "Secretariat" on NetFlix. A nice afternoon and evening.

Vacation, Day 5, 10/25/2009, Part 1

Now that's what I call an eye-catchin' billboard! It's for Ro'Chez Restaurant, located in Ridgeland, a small city north of Jackson, Mississippi. I didn't get to go there, but I love this vintage car--a '50's Ford, I think. My brother H says they've not been there to eat yet, but some friends of theirs have and said it was good.

I saw it on my way to lunch at Pan Asia, another Ridgeland. I met three of my librarian buddies--Nancey, Sherry and Cheryl--and enjoyed good food and fine company. We four, along with our other librarian buddy Anne, successfully endured the National Board Certification process for school librarians several years ago. I know without a doubt that I couldn't have done it without their help and support; the process reminded me of being in labor for six months! We ended up what the National Board people call Accomplished Library Media Specialists--I shortened it to ALMS, as a sort of pun because we also ended up getting a substantial yearly stipend from the state of Mississippi--get it, alms for the poor, we teachers in Mississippi being among the lowest paid in the country.

After spending several super hours with the ALMS gals, I drove around Jackson a bit, looking here and there to see what had changed, what had stayed the same. I stopped now and then to take photos to share with you.

I found this about the neighborhood I photographed first. Fondren District is a culture center in Jackson and is one of Jackson's most sought after districts, featuring an array of antiques stores, galleries, and lots of entertainment options in the numerous pubs and restaurants.

First, in Fondren, I took a few photos of the refurbished Duling School, part of Fondren Place, which includes various businesses including The Auditorium, a restaurant that my brother and his wife have enjoyed a time or two. Here's some info I found about Duling School: The Lorena Duling School in Jackson was built in 1927 and served as the neighborhood elementary school for the developing community of Fondren. The school was designed by architect Claude H. Lindsley in the popular Tudor Revival style. Lindsley would go on to design Jackson's Central High School and Standard Life Building. The Duling School was used for educational purposes until 2005, at which time it was vacated.


This new building takes up what used to be a vacant lot just west of the school building. You can tell that I took this shot through the windshield--see the blue band along the top of the photo?


The same building, the back corner from the parking lot behind the building. Found this on the Internet, "The building will house BankPlus and have other office spaces, some retailers, and a restaurant. There are also loft apartments and rooftop decks." I imagine some of those are in this particular part of the development. In fact, I see a sign about the ATM near the dark brick section.

Monday, June 30, 2008 ... Dining at Nostrana

Leland, my 29-year-old son, tosses pizza dough at Nostrana Saturday evening.




Our friend Danielle heads back to California tomorrow. We've certainly enjoyed having her with us as she completed her field work towards her occupational therapy degree. She herself enjoyed very much getting reacquainted with Portland and friends here. She'd lived here for several years before going to school in Oakland.

To say thanks to us for being her hostesses, she wanted to take us out to dinner last night. We decided to go to Nostrana over at SE 14th and Morrison--that's where Lindsay tends bar and Leland cooks, sometimes pizza, sometimes other stations in the kitchen. When we walked in and toward the bar where we wanted to sit, Leland saw us, smiling and waving. I thought to myself that he must be working the wood-burning oven so just maybe I could get a photo of him tossing the pizza dough--hooray! The three of us didn't opt for pizza, though, since we'd had one delivered from a nearby pizzeria earlier in the week.

After a delightful appetizer I shared with Mama about which I cannot remember the name or the ingredients other than paper-thin slices of a delicate mushroom and wild greens, my pasta dish arrived.

I found the details at Nostrana's Web site: House-made fettuccine with chive oil, true and snow morels and fava beans. Fantastic! As I ate my third or fourth bite, I remarked, "This tastes like summer time!" I happily devoured the entire dish.

Danielle started with the Summer Minestrone with Arborio rice and basil pesto, chilled, followed by the Warm carpaccio of Highland Oak Beef Tenderloin with cremini mushrooms, shaved Parmigiano and arugula. She kept saying, "This is so good!"


Mama got sand dabs, but I was too busy eating by the time that Lindsay got the backbone out of each fish. Like Danielle and me, Mama repeatedly said that it was delicious.

For our shared dessert, Lindsay thought we'd enjoy the Warm Chester blackberry jam crostada with mascarpone. We had a scoop of vanilla ice cream instead of the mascarpone. Yummy, yummy.

Mama and I are so blessed to be here with these two young men who love to cook, aren't we?

Finally, we wish Danielle and her mom a safe drive home--Pat is flying up Monday to make the return trip with her which I find comforting since the forest fires are so bad in California. Let's all remember the firefighters in our prayers, as well as those who live in the endangered areas.

ABC Wednesday - V is for Veritable Quandary

It's true. There's a long-lived restaurant in Portland where, without a doubt, the food and service always go beyond one's expectations. Please visit the VQ Web site for all sorts of interesting facts, menus, etc.


I took these two photos on January 16, 2007, just as I started my walk across the Hawthorne Bridge in the snow. Regular mornings, rain or shine, when I go by the restaurant between 7-8 a.m., deliveries for the day are already underway.



Here's a clearer shot that I took ten days ago. The restaurant sits just west of the Willamette River at 1220 SW 1st Avenue. On the Fourth of July, the patio is a perfect spot to eat dinner before you walk up onto the Hawthorne Bridge to watch the fireworks on the river.


Now, let me tell you a veritable non-quandary to keep in mind if you ever get to dine at Portland's Veritable Quandary--for dessert, you ought to order the Chocolate Nocello Souffle. I can't pronounce that middle word, but I can tell you that this dessert is most certainly served in chocolate heaven.

From Merriam-Webster online:
veritable: being in fact the thing named and not false, unreal, or imaginary
quandary: a state of perplexity or doubt

A Snake Even I Could Love

No, I'm not one bit fond of snakes. Neither is my 81-year-old Mama--that's her in the background walking beside our almost 14-year-old miniature dachshund Duncan. I am glad this colorful serpent caught my eye, wrapped around the railing of an apartment house near our building. We enjoyed our walk home after dining outdoors at a nearby restaurant.