Anniversary Dinner Takeout

Restaurants in Multnomah County are only open for takeout, so takeout it was for our anniversary this year. We chose Hatyai and had a delicious meal.

The unboxing:

All the delicious flavors!

Our anniversary portrait this year is a closeup.

Normally we would see a superhero movie, and it probably would have been Black Widow, the first female-led superhero movie of the long trail of anniversary superhero movies starring guys. But it was not to be. So we watched Batman Begins which I need to see again because I am watching all of the Christopher Nolan films.

Battleground Lake

Matt and I took a drive to check out Battleground Lake, which a coworker had recommended as a potential summer swimming hole.

After a pleasant drive we found a small little lake with some nice hiking trails.

We walked around the inner hiking path and then longer the longer path that doesn’t have lakeside views.

The lake didn’t seem to have a lot of places to hang out when not swimming, but did seem like a fun place to swim, once swimming season happens. Until then, these birds reign supreme.

It was a fun excursion and I look forward to coming back when it’s swimming weather.

Wedding of Kelle and Jim

We attended a sweet, small ceremony for Kelle and Jim in a place not far from our house. (Bonus!) We also got to help decorate.

I enjoy finding my current-day counterpart. I don’t think I would have been this styling, but I for sure would have tucked myself away with a good book. (I never caught what book he was reading.)

After the ceremony, we got to hear the happy couple make some music together.

The Roseway Theater

Thanks to passes from excellent Youth Services Librarian Danielle, Matt and I got a free trip to the Roseway Theater. It was our first time visiting.

I really enjoyed this single-screen theater. It felt very much like people had wandered in from the neighborhood.

And holy cow the stained glass! There was this, with the theater name.

And then four panels featuring movie studios.

I recommend checking out the Roseway Theater yourself.

Weird Al at Edgefield

“Weird Al is going to be in town next week,” I said to Matt while perusing the entertainment section of the newspaper.

“I know, we’re going,” said Matt.

“What?”

It wasn’t properly listed on the calendars, so it wasn’t on my radar, but I did dimly recall a text message chain in the colder months of the year making plans to go.

So my first Edgefield concert was Weird Al.

The line was long when we got there.

So long that I got to spend a lot of time contemplating what these structures were. Here’s what a website listing about the Poor Farm says:

By 1914, the Poor Farm was a success on paper. It housed 302 residents and managed a herd of Holstein dairy cows, 100 Duroc hogs (that ate the leftovers from the dining room), 420 Plymouth Rock hens, and 225 chickens. The crops, vegetables, fruit, hay, grain, eggs, and twenty-seven acres of potatoes were shared with the county jail (which provided some trustees to work in the fields), a hospital, and a juvenile home.

oregonencyclopedia.org

My first read was that it was maybe a jail, but upon re-reading I see the food was shared with those locations, not that they were located there. So I have no idea.

Update! I emailed the McMenamins Historian and Caitlin Popp wrote back saying:

Caitlin here from the McMenamins History Department! The structure that you were looking at on the Edgefield property was a minimum security jail. It was opened in the 1960s, was still open when McMenamins took over the property and didn’t close until 2006. Currently it is storage as well as artist studios.

So my initial thought was right! Also, how interesting that there was a jail operating for a time when McMenamins was running their hotel.

Back to the concert.

We secured our seats. When you get to the concert after work, you get to sit behind a tree. Also note that that man in the blue shirt is probably on the quest for the Passport. That’s a shirt from Centrailia they give you for getting that stamp. I’ve got the same one.

Waiting for the concert.

There wasn’t an opening act listed, but the 40-piece orchestra played three pieces, which was a nice treat.

We got “Word Crimes” early on.

Also early on, I was thrilled when Weird Al sang “One More Minute” which is from the 1985 album Dare to be Stupid and which, with it’s 50s styling, is my favorite Weird Al song.

The distance, the twilight and the tree got in the way of my usual slightly blurry, ultra-zoomed concert photos. This was my best shot. It was interesting that they had the orchestra, plus the drummer behind a wall, which I assume is for acoustic purposes. Someone has that job!

The crowd was the most multigenerational I’ve seen at a concert—everyone from grandparents to small children. He has been making music long enough to have reached multiple generations and I enjoyed seeing when different people had their peak Weird Al moment. Mine was in 1985, but there were a ton of people there who were all in on Amish Paradise from 1996.

Observation: people just wear whatever to a Weird Al concert. I saw two people in cosplay, and a few in Weird Al t-shirts, but most people looked like, they were wearing whatever they had put on that morning.

Another observation: Weird Al Yankovic can sing! I forget, because mostly he’s brilliant with lyrics and I’m paying attention to that, but this concert highlighted the man’s range.

This was a fun first experience at Edgefield.

Harry Potter Celebration at the Kennedy School

For Harry Potter’s birthday, the Kennedy School had a celebration. We attended in the afternoon, which was good as there weren’t many people around.

We pose with our houses.

And then someone else took our picture.

Here was another photo backdrop.

They had merchants in Diagon’s Alley and a photo scavenger hunt, plus a bunch of riddles posted. There was a prize for the photo hunt. By the time we were done they had given out all 1000 prizes. Which was fine by me and a good testament to what a successful event it had been.

While Matt thought about riddles, I busied myself looking at this photo taken on the steps of the Kennedy school.

I particularly liked this scowling girl, and her cheery companion with the white bow.