A Fine Portland Tradition

Every fourth of July week-end they have a Blues Festival here in Portland down on the waterfront. It is such a cool event. First off, it benefits the food bank, so there is a suggested minimal cash donation and donation of canned food. That makes the festival accessible to everyone and makes it clear that it is a charity event. Secondly, they always bring a diverse group of well-known acts, both local and national. There are several stages set up so that you can wander from one to another and there is always something going on musically. Finally, the setting and the crowd just can't be beat. The location is on a large sloping lawn that overlooks the Willamette River and several of Portland's beautiful bridges. The crowd is diverse and laid-back, much more to my liking than the usual upwardly-mobile crowds you might find at one of the other outdoor concerts like at the zoo.

When I first moved to Portland, I always made it to the Blues Fest, but it has been hard to make it down for several years. Now that the greatest babysitter ever is home, we have the chance to do things like this again, so yesterday the Other Momma and I went down for a day that featured women in blues. Our favorite performer was Ruthie Foster. She is a very dynamic performer with a great voice and a diverse repertoire of music. We also enjoyed Phoebe Snow (onstage in the above photo), who has a big booming blues voice and I think has been around forever. I remember playing her music on my college radio show back in the mid 80's. We also wandered around looking at cool blues stuff, had some yummy food, and I bought a funky guitar hat to keep out the sun. All in all, it was a very relaxing day spent celebrating a little bit of our own personal freedom.

(On a separate note, the Other Momma and I were THRILLED tonight when Deanna chose Jesse. I think we would have taken it pretty hard had it gone the other way :) ).

We Survived the Fourth...

...without bodily injury. It was a good day, but I swear I'm a wuss when it comes to large exploding things, and our neighborhood was chock full of such things all day long. It started out when the kids and I were coming home from the grocery store (the girl in the bike trailer and the boy on his own bike with training wheels!). We were going to head down our alley when all of a sudden some rocket thing came cruising over the neighbors garage and exploded in the alley at about eye level for the Boy Child. Luckily we were still 50 ft away or so, but it could have been ugly if we had been right there. Needless to say this freaked out the Boy Child and he wanted to go all the way around the block the long way to go home. I was finally able to talk him into going the short way around the block (not through the alley) and of course we ran into our guilty-looking neighbor. They are the greatest family ever, but they sure do love them some explosives. Since the Girl was in the trailer, I didn't really realize how much it affected her, but she was certainly freaked out by the loud noise.

Later on in the evening when the fireworks started picking up, the Girl Child was very agitated by the loud noises and the Boy was curious about the bright lights, but not too enthusiastic about the noises. After we got the Girl down for bed (fortunately she was very tired), we gave the Boy some ear plugs and went back out to see if we could see the biggest firework show west of the Mississippi (across the river from us in Vancouver, WA). There were plenty of little shows in the neighborhood while we waited for the big show. The Boy gradually got into it until he was telling everyone every time a good when went off. Then some other neighbors across the street started with their fireworks. At first it seemed like they kept having little mishaps, but then they appeared to get into a rhythm and we were enjoying their fireworks. But then they started firing off these mega rockets and I started getting nervous that if one of them fell over, we could be hit. I sat between the Boy and the rockets just in case, and he sat there mesmerized as the rockets exploded right over our heads.

Then another neighbor came by and casually tossed one of these exploding things to entertain the Boy Child and of course the thing bounced wrong on the sidewalk and came back at us. I grabbed my boy and leaned away from the explosion and we were fine. I'm probably so friggin' overprotective, but I also can't believe how casual some people are about fireworks. There are chemical and physical laws at play here people! Yes, you can probably guess that I'm not the crazy chemistry teacher who explodes things right and left "just for fun". I have my repertoire of demonstrations that are good and are comparable to those done by the other chemistry teachers in the building, but I always practice them beforehand to ensure that I can do it safely. Maybe that's why I get freaked out a little on the fourth when all these amateur chemists go running around playing with natural laws. But most of the time things go well and now I can breathe easy about the explosions until next year.

(Oh, and how about that Dara Torres! 41 years old and going back to the Olympics in swimming of all sports. At first I thought she was on "my team", but after a little googling this morning, realized that she isn't, but that's okay, she's still an inspiration to us old ladies!)

Dakota Days

(This post has now been sitting in draft form for several months. I read that Wynton Marsalis will be playing tomorrow in Portland, so I think I'll finally get around to publishing).

The other day a friend of mine sent me an article about the owner of a jazz club and restaurant where I used to work. My friend still works there. Reading the article brought me back to an amazing time in my life. I had worked in about 7 restaurant kitchens before I landed a job at the Dakota. Previously, I had enjoyed the fast pace of the work and had developed social connections after work at the bar, but the Dakota was just different. While it wasn't without it's own version of raving lunatics, the core group of workers had a tremendous amount of heart and it just felt like a family to me from the beginning. The food that we cooked was exciting and different. Since we only used local ingredients, I remember that the staple fish was "walleye" (we did salmon and trout too), but the chef always came up with a way to cook it that was unique. This was also the first kitchen I worked in that had more girl cooks than boy cooks. When all 4 of us women were on the line, the wait staff affectionately called us the "bitch line" and celebrated the fact that it would probably be a calm night.

To top it off, the music was just amazing. I was never really into jazz before, but when I first heard the sounds of McCoy-Tyner, Ahmad Jamal, Betty Carter, Freddie Hubbard, Max Roach, Marcus Roberts, Branford Marsalis, and so many others emanating into the kitchen, I was instantly hooked. One night my trumpet-playing cook friend got to play back and forth with Wynton Marsalis on his trumpet when he showed up late after a show (like an idiot, I had already gone home). There's something so classy, yet edgy and frenzied about a lot of live jazz. As a young person who at the time liked to live life on the edge, but was looking for something with more meaning and artistry, this music and this job were magical.

But no job is the perfect place. Even though most of the big name acts played there at a discount because they liked the owner and the atmosphere so much, there were constant money problems. I was there the night that the IRS came in and shut the place down. It was creepy. When business started back up a few months later, I was working somewhere else, but couldn't resist returning to the Dakota. The feeling was a little different after the turmoil of the closing, but most of us were glad to go back. Still, I only worked there for a couple more months before deciding to relocate back west. (Earlier in the year I had quit drinking and didn't think I could make it through a Minnesota winter without "going back on the sauce" as one of my dear Dakota friends would have said. I have never regretted this decision because I don't think I would be living this life if I had not, but it was very hard to leave behind a place where I had so many good memories).

Even after moving west to Oregon, I stayed connected to my Dakota friends. A few of them moved to Portland for awhile before moving on to other things. The last time we were in the Twin Cities (2 years ago), we had lunch at the Dakota in its new location and I got to see Lowell (legendary quirky owner), one of my waiter friends, and one of the managers from long ago. I can tell that the magic is still there, but have heard that it has also changed quite a bit. It probably wouldn't feel quite so homey to me now, but heck, I'm not 26 anymore either. For that particular time in my life, the Dakota was the perfect place to feel accepted and accomplished, and to be part of something incredible on certain nights each week.

Summer Heat

We are experiencing our first little heat wave for the summer (100 degrees yesterday and close to that today) and boy is it quiet out there! Generally we see lots of people out in their yards this time of year, but when the kids and I just walked to the library, it was like a dead zone. Earlier we went to see the movie "Wall-E" to get out of the heat. The Girl Child had a hard time lasting through it, but a couple of water bottles and some popcorn distracted her enough so that the Boy Child and I could focus on the movie. It was good, somewhat frighteningly true, but it was well-done.

This summer is starting out a lot better than last summer, but I know that I need to keep doing things so I don't have another slump like I did last year. Having The Greatest Babysitter Ever come over during the week has been SO helpful! The kids love her, and being around her when she is interacting with them has solidified for me that they are in the best hands. We are using the time when she comes to work on house projects and sometimes just to go out. It's a freedom we don't generally have during the year, so we're trying to make the most of it. I also ran for the first time in a couple years yesterday. Ironically, since I don't ride my bike much during the summer, I generally lose fitness during the summer, and just lose out on the psychological benefits of exercise as well. Hopefully I can keep up a regular exercise routine this summer to help ward off the summertime blahs. Finally, I used to read a ton during the summer, but last year I don't think I finished a single book. I'm starting out with one I like (Midnight at the Dragon Cafe), so hopefully I'll get back into reading. I've been pretty good about not watching too many movies after I went overboard in the winter, but then last week I put a hold on some movies and all 7 of them came in at once(!), so I'll have to try not to get obsessive about movies again. Ha!

As I type, it's starting to rain out there, so maybe our heat wave is on the way out. We may even get a thunderstorm out of this and that could be more easy entertainment for the kids. Woohoo!

Bikeways Experiment

Today the city did an experiment with "bikeways". Basically they shut down 6 miles worth of city streets for 6 hours and let people walk, bike, jog, stroll, etc. In addition they had a large number of festivities at 4-5 of the parks located on the course. Since we live in one of the neighborhoods where this was occurring, we knew about it early enough, but I didn't really pay attention to it until I had to go shopping this morning before the Other Momma left for work. I know I probably sound all gungho as a cyclist and all, but when it comes to grocery shopping, I have pretty much always taken my car. With the way gas prices are going, I have thought about using my bike more often, but it took a day like today to encourage me to do it. So I packed up the Girl Child in the bike trailer and hit the bikeways course. It took us directly to the grocery store, we shopped for about 10 minutes, put the groceries in back, then continued on the course for another couple of miles. It was such a good feeling being out there riding in regular neighborhoods with a whole bunch of other regular people. And the Girl loved it too.

When we got home and told the Boy Child about the course, he was ready to head off on his bike. Originally I had my misgivings. He rides this bike with training wheels and I worry about him being out there with all these other people. He can tend to drift in his attention and can also be impulsive. But he really wanted to do it, so we packed up and rode off to one of the parks to play and enjoy the festivities. Later we joined the course and road for a couple of miles. The Boy did really well with keeping his bike in line, following directions, and just continuing onward. It was a long way to go for him and he definitely got tired. But he was so darn proud. They say that if this year's bikeways event was successful, they may do 4 or so next summer. I hope so. This was one great way to enjoy our local neighborhoods in a safe manner.

(P.S. Today is the 5-year anniversary of the commitment ceremony party that we celebrated on approximately our 10 year anniversary. Get that? That makes 15 years. I must say that the Other Momma and I were kind of ambivalent about it because we don't really know what day to celebrate, but my parents called to wish a happy anniversary, which I thought was really sweet. The party was certainly as meaningful in feeling as any wedding would ever be. Later this summer will be my parents' 50th anniversary).

Turning Some Corners

This morning the Other Momma headed off on another 3-day work week-end, so knowing that I would be alone with the kids, I planned to take them to either the zoo or the science museum. They chose the science museum. I also decided that we would bus it, since I'm generally pro "leave your car at home if you can", although when it comes to comfort with the kids, I frequently just jump in the car. I must admit that this type of outing on my own with the kids pretty much terrifies me. I am freaked out that The Girl is going to dart in front of traffic and/or that the Boy is going to startle some other kid/parent with his unusual behavior. I worry that other parents are going to look at me funny, that I'm going to be seen as a micro manager or as too permissive. Let's face it, I generally do not feel comfortable taking my kids out in public by myself, unless it's something that is a routine, like going to C*stco.

But today turned out to be different. I was still kind of freaked out about street safety, but we got on the bus just fine, got off where we were supposed to, and stuck the Girl in the stroller for the walk to the science museum. Other than a few summer camps going on, the crowds were really light. We went in to look at the dinosaur exhibit, which the Boy had already seen. They had these fake movable dinotrons that terrified the Girl, so we went to some play areas in the corner to distract her. In one of them there were a bunch of wooden bone pieces (maybe 50 or so?) that when put together correctly made a large stegosaurus. The Boy wanted to build it, so I told him that maybe if he could get some other kids to help him, they could do it. He found one boy that helped while I held on to the "spine" piece. Then my son actually directed this other kid and worked with him cooperatively while some other kids found the legs and attached them. By this time there were 6-7 kids involved and they all found pieces and worked together to get this thing assembled. The Boy never acted inappropriately and was delighted that this project came together. I sat there on the outside with some other parents observing and feeding the Girl to keep her from dashing off to some other part of the museum. I can't describe how amazing it was to just watch him be comfortable and "normal" and how wonderful it was to feel confident that he was fine on his own. Even though we have been seeing a lot of challenging behaviors at home, I can see how much improvement is occurring in his ability to deal with the outside world, just in time for school next year too. We are definitely turning some corners these days, but it's not just the Boy who's changing, I think I am too.