Fun in Philly, NYC & even Eugene!

(Pardon the formatting. This long post was difficult and Blogger isn't cooperating)

The stage was set. The stone terrace was lit by a chandelier hung from an overhead branch, the band was under cover, as the weather was dark and looked like rain. The girlfriends arrived with amazing food and drinks were starting to flow. What a fabulous party to celebrate three fabulous friends. Terri, Chris and Mary threw an amazing bash and I was fortunate enough to be able to fly to Philadelphia to attend.




















Clare and Dennis


















Chris, Mimi, Gere, Sid, Dennis and Clare






















Chris, one of the birthday girls, and one of the traveling Philly girls who I've gone away with every fall for 16 years.


















The birthday girl, Terri, and Jack


















Clare, Cary and Mary




















Tim and Ray





















Jillian, Terri and Jason




















Gere, Don and Lorena


















Friends for over 20 years. Here is our original group, who still meet every other month for fun and frolic. Anne, Gere, Kathy, Maria, Amy, Chris, Clare, Mary, Karen, Terri, Sid, Mimi and Lorena. You're the best, and still as beautiful as ever!

























We went outside for some serious dancing, and the rain started to fall. Whatever... it worked for Woodstock, it would work for us.



























We whooped it up when the birthday girls performed with the band.





















Donna and Jack






















Chrissy,the best dancer I know!




















Mimi & Clem


















Cortney, and Pat




















Sid and Mark


















Ter & Jack. Wet and wild!




















The birthday girl and her fans.




The next day...

Wawa for coffee. (couldn't miss a photo-op with Tastykakes)

A little shopping and lounging - and another photo-op at the Brandywine picnic park, home of the little perkins childrens' birthday extravaganza.























Look how beautiful the terrace was the day after!

















Ter's gorgeous living room


















Pizza at Elizabeth's
Terri and Clare





















And our drive into the city...


















Lunch with offspring! Dana on left.



















A D-List sighting....




















Man, she's short, and her hair is huge!


















Offspring #2 - Erica joins us for lunch and a visit. (I spent most of the time on the phone with Real Estate - it was at this cafe that we finally struck a deal for A & R~)



















Mary notices something intriguing at Times Square






















The Schoenfeld, where we saw A Steady Rain, with Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman.



















Afterwards, we decided to watch them come out. Can you see Hugh in the center?


















That's a little better. A madhouse. We also saw James Gandolfino and Daniel Craig before saying goodbye. I hopped in a taxi and went to Betsy's condo and the Philly girls went home.



Betsy's place in NYC is adorable!

































Here's Laura, my BFF (since 1964)


















French pastry and the biggest cappucino I've ever seen...



















Lunch at Fannelli Cafe - the best burger ever!


















Lots of yarn shopping. Not just yarn. Lots and lots of shopping for everything under the sun. We Sparta girls know how to shop!


















Out for breakfast in Chelsea. Simply a wonderful weekend with my oldest and dearest friends, from the midwest and the east coast...



But it felt good to come home too. Norris and I headed out to the Ducks game early the next morning, and they pulled off a win, in the rain, and surrounded by 57,000 of their fans.
























What a perfect end to my summer... and now it's back to school for Cam, who's arriving home today from Wisconsin. Whit is still at home, but loving his new position and all the co-workers in Portland, and we are on track for a great fall. I even bought a couple of Christmas presents.

Chase Update

He's out of the hospital, recuperating at his Grandma's house, and doing very well. He will have one more surgery (to stitch his head back together - there's some bone plates waiting in a freezer somewhere...) and he just has to be protected from any damage to his head - so he's wearing a helmet and being watched carefully. But he's playing the piano, his vocabulary is as big as ever, and he's expected to make a full recovery and return to USD in January. Whew.

He's always been an incredible kid, but this recovery takes him off the charts! As his friend said, "If it wouldn't have been Chase, we would have worried." That says it all.

Long Rainy Weekend

The holiday weekend started with a quick trip to the Farmer's Market to meet some clients and grab a few signatures to finalize their house purchase. The important signatures were done under an umbrella, due to the drizzle, and then the skies really opened up. We finished our shopping, and got totally drenched, but grabbed fresh radishes, artichokes, homemade dill pickles, peach strudel bread and thai salad rolls. Sounds like I'm pregnant! Nah, just got some food for the football munching platter and bread for breakfast.


Normally I'd be stocking up on tomatoes, but my tomatoes are actually enough for the time being, which is a miracle. (Two years ago I nursed a tomato plant all summer and the yield was one measley tomato - this year I have heirloom, plum, cherry, red, yellow and black!) And my basil is huge - Whit has requested some containers of pesto, so that's on tap for the upcoming week before I head east to Philadelphia and New York.



















Speaking of Whit, he's here for the weekend - we watched a lot of college football together, and then we went to the sports pub at the MAC for more football and friends. He went off to a friend's aunt's wedding, where he was eagerly anticipating mountains of authentic Thai food. Today we'll organize moving trucks and make room for temporary storage of his things, as he has yet to rent a place in Portland with his buddies. I'd be happy if he'd just move back into his old room.



Whit's really enjoying his work in the field of economics. (We're so happy he's employed, not to mention liking his job and getting moved back to Portland!) His work focuses on economic implications of various projects in American cities. Yesterday we picked his brain a little bit about his plans for a Masters Degree. The best Masters programs in Public Policy are under consideration, and he is probably only going to live in Portland for a few years before he heads east.

Cam returns from Europe on Wednesday, and I leave on Friday. This house seems to have a big revolving door, and thank goodness for Norris, who takes care of all the critters and supports our habits. He is really a gem :-)

Housing Sales On A Roll

The number of pending home sales continues to rise.

Bernie Madoff's Beach House up for auction

Want a peek inside?

Egads

The test scores are in for Portland Public Schools.

Go Bridlemile!