Tag: friends

Pearl District Tree Lighting with Low Bar Chorale

I didn’t know the that Pearl District had a tree lighting until the Low Bar Chorale advertised in their newsletter that they were performing. Being a fan of both the Low Bar Chorale and free things, I invited the singing friends, and Jeff, Kelly, and Laurie attended with me.

We had a fun time singing along to Low Bar Chorale winter standards including “Hazy Shade of Winter” (Bangles version) and “December” which sounds remarkably like Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September” but with a few changed lyrics.

There were some fun little munchkins who skipped around the square at intervals. And the turnout was good.

Before the lighting:

And after!

It was a chilly, fun sing-along. And Kelly was relieved that “All I Want for Christmas Is You” was not among the song selections.

30-Year Reunion Day 2

Welcome to the post with a ton of different photo sizes.

This is not the reunion, this is the branch of the Boise Public Library! that is in the Hillcrest Shopping Center. I would have loved this to be my branch library while living in Boise, but it didn’t exist then. I love the floors as they remind me of the bathroom floors in my elementary school.

Before the second evening’s reunion, we had a get together at April’s house. In this tiny picture you can see Nicole, Dana, Angela, me, April, and Sara. Somehow we missed getting Cindy into the picture. It was very fun to sit outside in the heat and catch up. Also, April put out a lot of photos and memorabilia for us to look at. And Sara brought her yearbooks, which high-school her had turned into scrapbooks, which we all thought was very smart.

The second evening event was at the Sockeye Alehouse. It was supposed to be at a different location, but that location had some problems, and the Sockeye Alehouse could accommodate our group at the last minute. Because of the venue change, we were in a tiny space, and it was very hot, and I have no pictures. But there were people at this event who were not at the previous evening’s event, so I enjoyed catching up with them.

Afterward, Sara, Cindy and I went for ice cream. We may have actually gone to Leku Ona (referenced in the previous post) this night for late-night snacks, not Friday night. Regardless, I know that we got ice cream at The STIL.

Overall, a great reunion weekend.

30-Year Reunion Day 1

The hardworking (and little-thanked) reunion committee planned a concert at the Gene Harris Bandshell for our first night of reunion. Here is the Borah High School class of 1993, as captured by one of the many spouses taking pictures at this moment.

I wish I had thought to take a picture of the spouses taking a picture of us. That was amusing.

Dan Costello and his band played some hits from our youth, and then we had live-band karaoke.

Cindy, Sara, and I got to the park on time, and that was too early, so we had a drink at Leku Ona. We were hungry after the reunion so we ended up back there and had some delicious late-night Basque snacks.

Also at the reunion: Cindy and I singing “Talk Dirty to Me” That’s Dan cluing his much younger band into the chord changes.

And before we left, a quick three-from McKinley photo with me, Cindy, and Sarah Post. I hadn’t seen Sarah since the 10-year reunion, so it was great to catch up.

The Leighwood House Highlights

Does your house have a stumpary? The Leighwood House does.

I love this open plan with the exposed beams and built-ins that help to define where the kitchen is. When it rains, you can hear the rain on the roof.

An old-fashioned plug

The never-remodeled kitchen. (Sara and Shawn are only the second owners.) It’s a good kitchen layout. Not too big, not too small.

A built-in spot for a clock, or maybe originally for a phone?

And the two friends that hang out there, Callie and Leo.

Wine Tasting at Fieldbrook Winery

Sara, Shawn and I drove through the snow (yes snow, you can see it on the roof of the winery) for a tasting and a nosh.

We had a red wine flight and a delicious meat and cheese platter.

Then Sara and I did some senior photo posing. We used this photo to lure friend Cindy to our upcoming 30-year high school reunion.

Arcata, California, Where it’s Just as Cold and Rainy as in Portland, Oregon

I escaped to “sunny” California (to be fair, I don’t think the sunny moniker applies to Northern California) to see Sara and Shawn and shake off some of the endless Portland rain. Or at least experience some warmer temperatures. Unfortunately, I found the same weather I left behind. And my first morning it snowed!

Sara and Shawn Swing By

Sara and Shawn arrived in Portland last night, and we had a good dinner at Swift and Union. (We were perhaps going to have a fancy dinner elsewhere, but the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day is a bad time for fancy restaurants. A lot of them were closed for the week.)

The next day Shawn dropped Sara off at our place and drove home. We both worked until lunch, and then had a good lunch at Broder and I drove her to the airport.

It was a fun quick trip!

Apparently, I Haven’t Missed the Deadline

I hurried over to the post office thinking I had missed the deadline for delivery by Christmas and there wouldn’t be much of a line.

However, the line was out the door. Apparently I missed the first-class deadline, but not the priority mail one. I decided to wait, since I was already there, and the line moved quickly. My presents are on their way to their recipients! Nearly all Christmas prep is done!