Author: stenaros

More Budget-Season Zentangles

When looking at these close up, it’s easier to see that I’m not really a fan of filling in spaces. I get distracted and the pen goes outside the lines as in the stairstep one, or I don’t completely fill up the black space, like the one on the right.

It’s not so visible in real-size though.

When in doubt, use tipple! That’s the tiny circles on the top on this one.

It reminds me of that Mr. Rogers (I think) segment where they filled the jar with marbles and then sand and then water to show that when you think something is full, it’s not. (Quick googling to see if I could find the segment has told me that this has become a priority metaphor. Which, fine.)

Third Rail’s Recent Tragic Events

Friend Danielle gifted me a membership to Third Rail Repertory Theatre. It’s part of their Rail it Forward program where during the third year of your membership, you can gift someone a membership. Kind of genius, as it gets people in.

So far, I’ve gone to a Sunday Salon, which happen on Sunday mornings at 10, and is a reading of a play with a talkback. They also have National Theater Live performances, and then full productions. Recent tragic events was the first full production I attended.

As noted by the 20 in the logo, this is Third Rail’s 20th anniversary. This play was one from their first season, and it was interesting to see it in the mid 2020s, but for different reasons than it would have been in 2005: It takes place on 9/11.

It’s basically the worst first date, but with much hilarity underscoring the horror of the moment. It’s for sure a play for Joyce Carol Oates fans to see, as she is much appreciated. (And might make an appearance.)

Altogether, my first full production at Third Rail has me wanting more.

Plus, this is the most genius theater survey document I’ve ever seen. You tear the squares that apply to you! No writing utensils required.

Birthday Dinner at Don’s Favorite Foods

We journeyed to Beaverton for my prix fixe birthday dinner. Don’s Favorite Foods did not disappoint.

It’s a very small space (6 tables?), with an open kitchen, and Don brings out most of the courses himself. The space is also done up like a 70s Long Island Basement with wood paneling and very familiar decorations (at least if you were born in the 70s).

Don sets a menus for the month, and offers a regular and vegetarian version. We ordered both menus and traded halfway through. This is a picture of the glazed pork belly with radicchio and apples (Matt) and the roasted cauliflower with currents, capers, and saffron. That was our first course after the antipasti, which included a sesame popover (so good!)

We also had linguine and clams (lemon) (clams are Don’s favorite things, according to our menu); roasted beef ribeye, salsa verde, braised potato (Kabocha squash risotto, red onion agrodolce, and roasted radicchio); Meyer lemon granita for a palette cleanser; and then chocolate olive oil cake with ricotta and candied orange for dessert.

I wouldn’t mind going back.

Postcard from Botswana

A thing you will need to know: Kelly’s birthday is August 6

This handsome fella arrived on November 6, all the way from South Africa!

Friend Kelly visited Botswana and South Africa. She sent her hello from the first place she found postcards: the airport in Gaborone. Her next quest was to find stamps and a mailbox, which she said would be in Cape Town.

Where has this postcard been for so many months?

Perhaps it’s because she put the stamp on upside down?

I can’t read the postmark other than the year.

Kelly had a great time in Botswana and South Africa. By the time I got the postcard, I had seen all her pictures.

Cousins’ Lunch

I accompanied my mother to the annual cousins’ lunch. The cousins took up three tables, and had a lot of conversation. Then we played a simple card game led by Delores and her husband. I do enjoy the Whitmores and their card games.

I took the picture of the group, and grabbed a few shots as they were getting set up.

I tried to get them away from that window, but there were too many cousins.

So we can see some of them.

Zentangle with a Sinking Chop

I enjoy how this one turned out, right down to the point where my initials fall off the page.

Note that the top and bottom one are both the same tangle, I just was much looser with the tracing inside the triangles on the bottom one.

I’m having trouble with that paper folding one, hence all the Bronx Cheer surrounding it.

The Librarians at the Tomorrow Theater

I accompanied current and retired librarians to a showing of the documentary the Librarians. That was a fun group to watch the movie with.

The documentary follows different librarians as their states and well-funded interest groups attempt to control what community members can access.

There are some people I was surprised agreed to be interviewed, and there was an interesting turn with the lady with the red hair. Overall, it was rough to watch librarians lose their jobs, get called pedophiles, and face community censure, but there was some hope to cling to in the end. Recommended!

Afterward, there was a Q&A session, and the MCL library director was one of the speakers.

Zentangle Season and Transporting Ballots

It’s budget meeting season at work, which means time for me to do some Zentangling while the meetings happen.

It had been some time since I tangled, and I had to remind myself how to do a few of the tangles.

It was also Election Day!

I transported ballots from the Northwest Library again. This was the last election at this location of the Northwest Library. They are opening a new larger location in January on NW Pettygrove.

It was fun to watch the ballots come in for the last 15 minutes people could turn them in. There were more than 10 ballots that appeared in the book return. Apparently turnout was very low overall (we only had a parks bond renewal to approve or reject—the easiest ballot I’ve ever cast), but it didn’t feel like that while I was waiting for the polls to close.

We only had to drive to the Elections office on Belmont (rather than the Yeon building, like the 2024 election) so I didn’t make a ton of overtime, but the money is just the cherry on top. I would transport ballots for free.