Wilsonville, and the Portland are in general, don’t tend to get much snow. Once or twice a year we get a bit of a storm, everything shuts down, and I get the chance to smell the beautifully cold air of the snow from the comfort of my own neighborhood.
This year was no different – As the middle of January came around, we got a storm, and everything (except my office, for some reason…) shut down. I ended up working from home, and so was able to appreciate the impressive sheet of ice that covered the world around me. It wasn’t as intense as that one ice storm back in… 2021, maybe…? but it was definitely a good chance to strap on my crampons and go out for a winter adventure!
Pancakes included, obviously. Along with a bite of gloriously home-made ramen, and a cup of coffee from a lovely little cafe nearby that also braved the storm!
It started at Pine States Biscuits. Because obviously I love Pine State, and need my biscuits and chicken.
I’m at a crossroads, in life. 2024 rolling around has kicked off some major changes – things I’ll get to in detail, here in this blog, when the time comes. Suffice it to say that I’m excited, terrified, manic, and crashing. It’s a lot, and it’s made getting out of the house to go on trips rather challenging.
When that happens, we do our best. I try to be gentle with myself, and reward small achievements. Like, for example, getting out of Wilsonville and going into Portland for a simple walk in the park.
Forest Park is… unique, among parks. The Wildwood Trail, the one that I picked, is 29.5 miles long. I’ve mentioned it in this blog before, but not for quite some time… and, of course, I wasn’t aiming to hike the entire trail. No – instead, today I was aiming for a much more modest (yet still quite respectable) 9 miles.
I parked, I walked. It rained a bit, and I put my hood up. I planned on stopping for a snack… but then the Sun started setting earlier than I’d expected (thanks, rain) so I pressed onward. The Sun set, my ring glowed creepily on my hand, and I made it back to the car.
I had a solo picnic in the passenger seat.
It was lovely – the rain pattering off the soft-top roof, the car lights passing by… it was excellent.
I got pizza for myself. I grabbed a few language books from Powell’s books, in preparation for the changes coming, and relaxed. I drove home, proud that I’d gotten out of the house and finished an adventure… no matter how small.
A few years back, I started up a rotation for Thanksgiving – Massachusetts, Arizona, Friends, repeat. 2020 was “Massachusetts”, in a virtual sense… 2021 was a flight down to Arizona for a lovely high-desert turkey dinner, and then 2022 found me driving down to Sacramento for a dinner that couldn’t be beat. This year, I flew out East for an equally unbeatable meal… combined well with a week of family and friends!
It’s hard to summarize an entire week in a blog, without rambling on too long or simplifying it to the point of missed joy… but I’ll try, keeping it short and sweet so as to not steal time and energy from the other posts and photos that deserve posting and attention.
So let’s see…
I flew out early – taking the full week to visit with everyone in Medway. I worked remotely, with many thanks to my sister for loaning me her work from home setup while she was in the office. It was lovely – and I definitely understand why so many people are so protective of their freedom to work remotely. On top of the joy of just relaxing and working all under the same roof… My friend Bri flew out to join us! This was her first year joining us, and it was awesome to be able to bring her along and share some of the Eigner family Thanksgiving fun with her!
I got to meet up with friends! Dillon and Liz, getting to have a lovely mid-workday lunch, and see their awesome new home, along with hitting my first climbing gym ever with Daniel and Bri! Turns out, the grades there are surprisingly similar to those in Portland… which is neat, since a few years back they were radically different. Advantage of a more interconnected world, maybe?
My Mom, Bri, Hannah, and I had a spa night! It was excellent, and led to some… slightly horrifying… group photos. No regrets, and they’ll make excellent Halloween decorations for next year.
Thanksgiving itself was in Amherst, at my Aunt and Uncle’s house. I got to spend some excellent time with my cousin and her kids, and even let him fly the drone around a bit! Amazing food, excellent times… It really was a gift to be able to see everyone in person and spend time just relaxing and catching up.
Second Thanksgiving in Medway was, also unsurprisingly, glorious! My sister cooked up a storm, with assistance of course, making a stellar second meal along with dangerously decadent desserts.
We took a hike to the Stoney Brook, the Audubon society camp where I spent summers for ages and ages. It’s just as lovely as I remember it being, and was a great walk (literally) down memory lane.
I brought the drone along! As mentioned, my cousin’s son has a blast flying it around… and it did a pretty good job of getting a few aerial photos of everyone!
