Day 349: Gluten Free French Toast, A Cat Nap & Une Film Français

Sunday, August 31

I got up rested and made myself French toast for breakfast, made an egg mix of organic, free range brown eggs, ground cinnamon and Grand Marnier; I then dipped Ener-G brand Seattle brown loaf bread slices (which is the best gluten-free bread for French toast, as well as toasted cheese sandwiches) in the egg mix and cooked it up in a buttery frying pan.  I served this up with sliced organic Gala apples topped with Rivers Edge Chévre, known as The Little Goat Dairy by The River, in Logsden, Oregon.  I poured myself a small glass of organic orange juice and enjoyed my quiet morning.

After I ate, I worked on revising my third chapter for my writer’s group.  It took me about an hour and a half to do the revisions.

I read for about an hour and then curled up on sofa with my cats and took a nap.  It was dark and kind of gloomy out.  Occasionally, the sun would break through the sky to make an appearance.  It rained hard for about an hour and then was clear again.  And it was cool out. 

My body was reacting to the weeks of late nights and early alarms, and lack of proper sleep.  I welcomed the rest, I gave in to it and fell dreamily asleep surrounded by my soft, snuggly cats.  I was feeling a little congested and got a little anxious about it, as I had been clear for almost two months.  The last thing I wanted was a return to those weird non-allergic rhinitis symptoms.  

When I woke up, three hours had passed.  That was crazy.  I checked my voicemail messages and hurried to get dressed to meet Kerry downtown to watch a French film at the Living Room Theater, next to the Ace Hotel and Clyde Common.  The Living Room Theater has been on my list of things to do, as I love art house films.  This venue reminded me of a place I used to love to go to in Dupont Circle in Washington, DC.  We bought tickets for a French romantic comedy starring Audrey Tatou, from Amelie and The Davinci Code.  It was called Priceless, a charming story about a young woman who only dates wealthy men to ensure she’ll be taken care of.  She glitters the screen with her gorgeous haute couture.  She meets a handsome young man at the hotel bar, where she’s staying on her birthday, and she mistakes him for a rich guest.  He actually works for the hotel.  They drink a bunch of cocktails and end up in the hotel master suite, which she thinks is his room.  In the morning, she is gone.  A year later, she returns with the same older gentleman and runs into the hotel worker again.  It’s a great comic play on mistaken identity and then the old story of girl will only date rich not poor men.  The best part comes when the young man plays her game and becomes a boy toy to a wealthy much older woman.  It’s a fun story and, at times, is quite sad.  But there’s a redeeming moment when Audrey Tatou’s character wakes up and realizes what’s really important.  It’s fun, it’s light, it’s very French.

 

After the movie, we made a refreshing and bold move.  We didn’t go to one of our typical foodie spots.  We headed over to Henry’s and sat at the bar.  I was starving.  It was happy hour.  So, I ordered a medium rare cheeseburger without the bun and a chopped salad with mango and avocado.  They have an extensive beer list – probably the largest in town.  No gluten-free beer, of course.  So, I ordered a pear cider.Kerry and I caught up, as it’s been about two weeks since we’ve hung out.  We talked about what we’ve been up to, and then our smug married friends (not saying our married friends are all smug, we’re talking about very specific married friends who happen to be smug), and then our latest bad behavior.  I told her about my drinking and facebooking episode a few weeks ago, which was, of course, funny.   By 11:15 I was ready to go home.

It was so cold out, it felt like we were being robbed of a decent summer, of a decent Labor Day weekend.  It really felt like early spring or late winter out.   It was really annoying.

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Day 341: A Day of Preparing for Magic in the Vineyard

Saturday, August 23 

I couldn’t sleep in on this Saturday.  I had to get up and work.  It was going to be a very long day.  I made myself two scrambled eggs with a little cheese, two sausage links, and two pieces of Seattle brown loaf toast.  Pairs of everything.  Even two small glasses of orange juice.  It was all organic, fresh, gluten-free and brunch-worthy.

It was already hot and sunny by 10:00 a.m.  I had a put two potential outfits together for the vineyard dinner, a pants outfit and then a dress.  I liked having options.

I packed up my car with what seemed like a lot of stuff and headed out to run a few more errands before heading up to the winery.  Once I got there, I played florist.  I pulled out the little pepper plants and green-white hydrangea and placed them in round glass bowls filled with small river stones.  They looked pretty but I feared the hydrangea wouldn’t make it through the hot day.I got into the vineyard and decorated the tables with the pale green-tea colored ceramic pears I had found, along with hurricane lamps filled with larger river rocks and cream-colored pillar candles, and then placed the flower arrangements down the line.  We had nine tables lined up with celadon table cloths and a pearlescent runner – a perfect vineyard table.  We placed the menus on the silver chargers.  The table looked magnificent.

 

Somehow the day had flown by as we busily prepared for the dinner.  I was sweating like crazy.  The chefs came up to get ready for the passed hors d’oeuvres.  I ran back down to the winery to grab a bathroom to clean up and get dressed.  I went with the strapless gray dress and cute pink jacket.  By the time I was dressed, it was too early and too hot for the jacket.  It was show time!  I love the opportunity to make magic for dinner guests.  Tonight, in the middle of the vineyard, it would be nothing short of magic. 

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Day 338: Oregon’s Buddhist Teas, Gluten Gut, Kinder-Nightmares of Jaws & The Beach Volleyball Workout

Wednesday, August 20

This morning I was a little sluggish.  It was gray outside, overcast,  with more rain in the forecast.  It was cool out, a nice break between 100+ temperatures at the end of last week and the forecasted high 80′s low 90′s forecasted for the end of this week.

I had an especially busy day at work and got caught up on a lot of projects.  It rained all morning.  I had Amy’s Kitchen green tamale with black beans for lunch, a new favorite.  I’ve been drinking Diet Coke lately, which I’m not too pleased about.  I’m a water drinker, but I think water has been boring me, or something.  Perhaps I should pick up some Vitamin Water for a healthier change.  I’m not really a juice drinker because of all of the sugars and calories. 

I do drink hot tea, which, I enjoyed a Tazo tea this morning.  I have been drinking just Yogi tea for a long while, as I love the quality, that it’s organic, and the health benefits.  Today, I had the Ōm Tazo tea.  It was delightful.  It’s a blend of high-grown organic Darjeeling green and black teas with natural flavors of cucumber and peach.  No wonder I love this! 

The package reads (and I transcribe this without permission):
The word Ōm is frequently seen on prayer wheels, stones and flags as you walk through the Himalayas.  To merely say it releases a vibration of peace.  Imagine what happens when you drink it.

Oregon packages great teas, what can I say!  Tazo is based in Portland and Yogi is based in Eugene.

Once again, I was the last to leave work at 6:45 p.m.  I locked up and listened to my 80′s New Wave CD.  I’ve been loving the Roxy Music song “More Than This” and have reminisced on how much I love Bryan Ferry.  Perhaps I should just go ahead and get a friggin’ I-Pod.  I am probably the last person on the planet who still listens to CDs.  Yup, I even travel with my Disk Man.  What can I say?  I like tradition.  And antiques, apparently. 

When I got home, I changed and walked over to the gym.  I ran for 30 minutes, which felt really good. Here’s a crazy thing.  When I was at my yoga class on Sunday, I caught a profile glimpse of my body in the mirror and my belly was still uber swollen from gluten contamination a week ago.  Gluten Gut.  It was crazy.  It disgusted me, as I’m used to having a flat, strong stomach.  Well, this evening, I caught a glimpse of my body in the mirror at the gym, and my stomach was flat again.  I lifted up my shirt just a little, I was the only person in the gym, which is usually the case, which I really, really love, and sure enough my stomach looked normal again.  There was the usual little pooch, which I affectionately call my Buddha Belly.  But, all in all, it was healthy again.  I sighed with relief and then cranked the speed up on the treadmill.

For dinner I made an organic, gluten-free brown-rice super thin-crusted pizza with fresh ingredients, including wet mozz, minced garlic, a little tomato sauce, which I topped off with fresh basil when I pulled it out of oven.  I poured a glass of refreshing limeade and then made a small crab salad with organic, fresh ingredients – white cabbage, butterleaf and radiccho lettuces, red onion, green onion, cilantro and lime topped with a lite Caesar dressing by Annie’s.  I was satisfied with my dinner.

After, I enjoyed a cup of Yogi Indian Spice tea with a Pamela’s brand gluten-free shortbread, chocolate chip and pecan cookie.  My Yogi tea fortune on the tea tag read:  Share your strengths, not your weaknesses.

I watched Jaws 2 this evening, as one of the local channels is doing a week of Jaws movies.  I can’t help it.  It’s been years since I’ve seen these movies.  And, it has to be said, the first one was by far the scariest.  The music , the suspense and even the shark put all other sequels to shame.  In Jaws 2, the shark looked so fake that I wasn’t even scared.  I laughed.  That’s right.  I laughed at the fake man-eating great white killer shark.  Still, if I had to jump in the ocean tomorrow I’d crap my suit.  I’m just sayin’…

I lit some sweetgrass incense to relax.  I just love the wonderful scents that I have.  I watched the women’s beach volleyball in Beijing.  I sware.  I said the same thing after the Athens Games.  I’ve got to start playing beach volleyball.  They have the best bodies!  Super abs.  That’s what I want.  Misty May-Treanor and Kerry Walsh, the American women volleyball pair, are my idols!  I am going to do 150 crunches tonight before bed.  No.  Make that 200.  I can do that.  I’m training for beach volleyball.  It’s summer.  It’s the Olympics.  I just need to find a beach that’s not as far as the coast.  And a tall partner.  And time.  If only I had more time…

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Day 274: Afternoon at the Zoo, Pigtails on the Driving Range & A Writer’s Woes

Monday, June 16

The weather has been amazing with blue, sunny skies and warm temps.  I was in a great mood.  I went to work for a few hours in the morning, to get through some imminent deadlines.  Then I enjoyed lunch with a few of my co-workers before finishing up my day in the office before heading out to the zoo to help my co-worker pour our wines for our distributor’s northwest wines tasting for the local trade.  There was a pretty good turnout and I saw several colleagues – it was nice to catch up with familiar faces in the Portland food and wine world.  It would have been even more nice if I could have seen some of the animals at the zoo.  There were a bunch of wild rugrats running all over the place on my way out, all on their final leg, soon to tucker out, and I decided that was animal enough for me.

After, I scooted on home to change, put my hair in pigtails, and get to the Tualatin Island Greens golf center.  I bought a new glove and a medium bucket of balls.  I went through my drills, confident in my consistency.  Only my second time out since September, I was pleased with the level of improvement in my swing since my great lessons last summer and fall.  I challenged myself to reach a pin about 85-90 yards ahead.  All five of my shots ended up within 2-5 yards of the pin.  I don’t have a driver, but I use my 3 wood for my long tee shots.   I consistently hit five balls straight down the fareway for about 275 yards  (where each ball eventually rolled and ended).  I was pretty psyched – and all because I was consistent.  My challenge on the course has often been figuring out the right club and knowing how long and consistent I’d need to hit that club.  I finally felt like I’m getting a better feel for each club and for my ability to successfully hit each club.  It’s a pretty cool discovery.

I then drove to Safeway in King City to pick up some groceries.  I was in the mood for a taco salad – for it, I bought fresh tomatoes from Canada (no salmonella scare there – these maters had been cleared); butterleaf lettuce with radicchio; pitted black olives; a colorful medley of organic peppers; organic tortilla chips and a can of organic black beans.  I bought a nice cilantro and garlic chipotle salsa that I knew would make for a nice ‘dressing’.  I already had a Mexican blend of cheeses at home.

I also bought local organic raspberries that looked amazing; white nectarines; gluten-free waffles; lite orange juice; organic pickles to take with me to work for lunch; and a couple of Amy’s frozen gluten-free bowls.  I love grocery shopping, so I get a sense of great accomplishment when I write up my shopping lists and cross them off as I pick out the items on the list.  I get a recycled sense of accomplishment when I type it out, too.  I know, I really need to find a new hobby.

I unloaded the groceries and immediately made my taco salad.  It was more than satisfying.  It was everything I needed to end my perfectly happy day.  Good flavors, sustenance, just the right portion, and just the right balance of crunchy and soft and supple.  The butterleaf was the perfect lettuce to use.  I had a small glass of orange juice to go with it.

An hour or so after dinner I did about 150 crunches.  I finished with a cup of Yogi Chamomile tea and relaxed. 

I didn’t get any writing done – I wanted to work on my book edits and some of the northwest themed poetry I’ve been writing.  I had been thinking a lot about food for some of my poems, with nettles and fiddlehead ferns topping my list of poetic vegetation.  But writing, more than anything else in my life, can’t be forced.  I need to figure out how to better balance my day to fit in my job, exercise, golf, cooking and yes, when able, writing.  It’s a challenge to dedicate the time I need for my writing.  I try not to let this get me down and, instead, aim to be proactive with the time I do get.  It’s always all about striking a balance.  Which is normally exhausting just thinking about it.  I fantasize about having more time, all of the time.  And cash.  I’m just sayin.

 

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Day 262: Reclaiming My Health, Dating Mad Proper Style & Celebrating Redwings Victory!

Wednesday, June 4

Thank God.  I got a good night’s sleep – 9.5 hours worth.  I still decided to work from home because I needed to get this sinus infection out of my system.

I immediately flushed out my sinuses with my neti pot and then I took 15 drop of Wellness supplement.  The antibiotic seemed to be working.  And my temperature was back to normal.

I ate a gluten-free raisin bagel with whipped cream cheese, a cage-free, organic egg scrambled with a trio of Italian cheeses, and a glass of light, organic orange juice.  I had a cup of hot Matcha green tea with orange blossom honey.  It’s like I have a regimen for reclaiming my health!

I opened my laptop and got to work, checking email and following up on requests, general communication, scheduling appointments, etc.

Meantime, I had the television on in the background.  The Tyra Banks show came on and featured a young, good-looking lifestyle coach from New York City, Jared Matthew Weiss, who’s company Mad Proper was created to help people reach their full potential.  The topic of the show was ‘get off your butt’, and Weiss gave women all kinds of helpful tips to a number of life situations.  This was a repeat program that was originally aired back in January.

Weiss addressed a woman who complained there were no single men in her hometown.  He told her that there were single men in her town, but she was holding herself back.  He explained you have to figure out for yourself what’s holding you back from meeting someone?  It’s usually something within.  He then gave some useful tips for women to meet men, beginning with his 3-step program.  He said when you see someone you find attractive (at a bookstore, in the grocery store, etc.) you should first find out if they are single, then find out if they like you, then ask them out.  Then, he demonstrated how you do this in a role reversal roleplay with Tyra.

Hottie Weiss (pretending to be Tyra):  Hey there.  I was wondering if you are single?
Lucky Tyra (pretending to be Weiss):   Uh, yeah??
Hottie Weiss:  Cool.  Because I think you’re really cute.  My name is Tyra.
Lucky Tyra:  Oh, hey.  I’m Jared.  You know, you’re pretty attractive, yourself.
Hottie Weiss:  Cool.  Well, maybe we could go grab a cup of coffee sometime.
Lucky Tyra:  Let’s skip the coffee and go right to dinner… (or something to that effect)

But the point was he told women out there to get over their fears or old-fashioned ideals and ask a guy out!  In fact, Weiss challenged all the single women in the audience to ask out three men every month.  That doesn’t seem too difficult…I think. 

I saw the cutest guy at Powell’s on Sunday and I just didn’t have the confidence to say or do anything.  I just stared at him while he was seated in the home improvement section, flipping through a book, looking so cute in his army green cadet/military style cap.  My first thought was, wow, that guy can fix things.  Then I told myself the dude must be married.  He’s too cute and he’s in the home improvement section.  Taken already. 

But I did exactly what Weiss said we need to stop doing!  Stop assuming the guy out there is married, or must have a girlfriend because he’s so cute, or wouldn’t be interested in you because you’re  too short.  Go introduce yourself!  I wish I had seen this episode before seeing this cutie in Powell’s.  The challenge for me will be to see if I can actually take Weiss’s advice and approach a cute guy in this kind of situation.  Not my comfort zone.  I am traditional, old school, I like to be courted.  But, whatever.  I can change.

Then the day seemed to fly by.  At 5:00 p.m. I tuned into the Stanley Cup game.  It was an exciting game.  Meantime, I was on the phone with my mom who for the past two days had been in and out of the basement closet with my dad and our dog, Cricket, during tornado warnings in the mid-Atlantic.   Crazy!

I made a Glutino brand gluten-free personal sized pizza with spinach, feta, ricotta and mozzarella.  I drizzed some olive oil on it before baking it on the top rack.  It wasn’t very good.  I think I needed to let it bake a little longer.

The Red Wings ended up winning the game and, thus, won the Stanley Cup.  

 

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Day 252: A Rainy Day In, Chores, Writing, TV Movies & Classic Soft Rock

Sunday, May 25

Three day weekends are wonderful but sometimes spin me a little.  Especially when you work on Saturday.  When you’re not used to working 6 days a week, you get a little thrown.  At least, I do.

Of course the one nice day of the weekend was the day I had to work.  I’m a little bitter about that, but such is life, really.  Not to say that life is all disappointments, but, mostly so – the trick is to learn to try to still be glad in the midst of so many disappointments.  Then, when the good moments and things emerge from the pools of disappointments, well, we are supposed to appreciate them all the more.  Still, it sucks that I was stuck indoors on Saturday.

Anyway.  I wasn’t motivated to leave the house today.  I kept my pajamas on all day.  And sometimes you really need days like that.  It was dark, cloudy, rainy and crappy out.  So, I cooked a brown organic egg over easy and placed it over a gluten-free biscuit with a large piece of fresh, organic basil.  I had a glass of organic orange juice. 

I stripped the bed and sorted my laundy, put the first load in, then went back downstairs to make a cup of Elixir Buddha creativity tea.  I lit some candles, put in a Peter Gabriel CD and got to work on some writing.  I was asked by a colleague to write a story about Celiac disease and wine.  I found a couple of reports that suggested glutinous agents are used in the clarification process, and some barrels are hinged with a flour-water paste that contains gluten.  The debate is whether or not the levels of gluten from these processes put those with Celiac disease at risk.  Most of the studies suggest the levels are so low that it wouldn’t impart any real risk.  In general, those suffering from Celiac disease should get in the habit of calling food and beverage producers to ask the important questions.  I, myself, haven’t reacted to wine yet.  But it’s always good to be aware of the potential  cross contaminations.

After I finished writing my first draft, I went upstairs to check the laundry and to make my bed.  I then turned on the television and the movie The Cider House Rules had just started.  It’s a moving adaption of John Irving’s novel about a compassionate young man, Homer Wells (Tobey Maguire), raised in an orphanage and trained to be a doctor there by Dr. Wilbur Larch (Michael Caine), decides to leave to see the world.  Anyway, it’s a wonderful story, Tobey Maguire is delightful and I more than once got teary-eyed.

While I finished folding laundry and getting through all of the loads, I worked on some poetry and organized some other writing.  After some gluten-free lasagna, the 1996 made-for-tv movie In Cold Blood , based on Truman Capote’s incredible narrative non-fiction masterpiece, came on.  It starred Anthony Edwards as Dick Hickock, Erik Roberts as Perry Smith, and Sam Neill as Agent Alvin Dewey.  It didn’t compare to the 1960′s classic original starring Robert Blake.  And, as far as I’m concerned, Capote, which earned Philip Seymour Hoffman an Oscar, is the most riveting take on this historical massacre.

When the movie was over, an infomercial came on for a 1970′s/1980′s classic soft rock collection.  I started making lists of some of the songs I liked and created a new playlist.  Some of the songs were cheesy, some were serious classics, but in general, most of them brought back memories.  Titles included:  Show Me the Way (Peter Frampton); Waiting for a Girl Like You (Foreigner); These Dreams (Heart); Into the Night (Benny Mardones); A Horse with No Name (America); Longer (Dan Fogelberg); How Long (Ace); I Go Crazy (Paul Davis); Somebody’s Baby (Jackson Browne), and so on.  I knew many of the songs but not the artists – go figure!  I made a note to forward this list to my sister and my cousin, Kathryn.  Many of these songs made me think of our childhood together.

It was already after midnight when a PBS progam came on about travelling through Scotland.  I was mesmerized.  It’s now on my list of places to visit.  A highlight was a story about a woman who takes a small paddle boat out to an island on some loch and plays her fiddle for the seals, overjoyed when familiar heads emerge from the water’s surface showing glossy, big eyes and whiskers.  This inspired me – I thought about writing a story about an old widow on the Oregon coast during the 1950′s who lost her husband in the Great War, and played her fiddle for the sealions at Coos Bay.  I’ll have to develop that one.

This quiet weekend in inspired a lot of writing, so, something good emerged from a disappointing day of unpleasant weather.

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Day 247: Taking Care; Staying Focused and Mindful; & Feeling Gratitude

Tuesday, May 20

I woke up to a cool, rainy morning.  My windows were open and the room was refreshing.  I did not sleep very well last night – part of the blame was that I couldn’t get comfortable, the other part my “allergies”.  So, I allowed myself ample time to wake up.  My sinuses were still killing me, my eyes were swollen, red and itchy. 

I kept progressing with some major projects in the queue for work.  I have been really pleased with the design work I’ve been coming up with, and thus have enjoyed the process.  The day flew by with very focused work.

I am pleased with my diet, as well.  I had a gluten-free cereal blend for breakfast, including Perky’s Nutty Flax and Enjoy Life’s Cinnamon Crunch Granola topped with fresh, organic strawberries and Silk Light Vanilla soy milk.    I had a cup of Yogi Detox tea mid-morning, as I read in a naturopath’s newsletter the need for spring cleansing and detoxification.  For lunch I enjoyed a can of Pacific Food’s Organic Savory Chicken & Wild Rice Soup and a bottle Vitamin Water.  For a snack, I had an organic local apple spread with Kettle brand crunchy peanut butter.  Finally, for dinner I had the second half of my Amy’s rice crust pizza with fresh organic buffalo mozzerella, yellow tomato and basil.  I also had a small organic Romaine salad with red cabbage, grape tomatos, sweet yellow pepper, pumpkin seeds.  I drank about 7 glasses of water and finished my evening with a cup of Yogi’s Bedtime tea.

Focus is my mantra.  I am making a concerted effort to improve my diet, to follow it carefully and to forego dining out, if needed to insure gluten-free relief.

My belly remains slightly swollen.  I have the dermatitis herpetiformis, the associated rash with Celiac disease.  It’s on my belly, on my shoulders, on my forearms and hands, and on the inside of my knees.  Luckily, it’s not too bad.  I’m not depressed, and I haven’t really had anxiety, other than that which comes with financial stress.  The incline of the price of gas doesn’t help – there was one station in the region that climbed up to $3.99 a gallon.  This is very troubling to me.  I’m going to start seeking coupons online and I’d really like to garden this summer to save some money, as well.

After work I went to the gym and got on the exercise bike for 40 minutes.  I hadn’t had a cardio workout in a few days, so this was really nice.  It felt good to get the bloodflow going.

I tried to organize my writing – I am trying to send off some prose and poetry for publication.  My hope is to make some extra cash and build my resume of published work.  I feel really good about the quality of my latest work.

In the spirit of doing nice things for myself, I decided to take a shower this evening.  Okay, that might sound weird.  But I never take showers at night.  And that’s not good.  It’s vital to rinse of the dirt and oils from the day.  I remember Rinpoche this spring mentioned this was very important when practicing Tibetan Buddhism.  It’s a meditative, respectful way to end your day, to cleanse your body and spirit.  I was having significant congesion, runny nose, sinus pressure and itchy, swollen eyes.  The evening shower really helped to clear me.

After drying off, I applied a comforting Derma-E moisturizing, antiseptic cream with tea tree oil and vitamin E to my body, especially where my rash has been.  It was very soothing.  I applied an herbal, organic facial mask and sat on the sofa with a heated lavendar-rosemary-sage shoulder wrap, an aromatherapy, heat-massaging pillow.   This was good.  This was very, very good.  I breathed in slowly, meditatively, mindfully.

I watched the evening news to see the results for today’s elections.  For the primaries, Obama took Oregon, Clinton took Kentucky.  Obama is a couple hundred electorial pledged delegates’ votes ahead, marking a milestone.  I am disappointed for Hillary, and for American women, but it ain’t over just yet.  Either way, this is by far the most exciting political election I have ever experienced!  History is in the making and change is certainly on the cusp.

Another interesting election was for Mayor of Portland - popular and young candidate, Sam Adams, easily took that win.  It was a grassroots campaign.  He’s smart, innovative, progressive and committed to making Portland an even better city.  Needless to say, it’s been an engaging political night in Oregon. 

By the time I finished this blog, I was breathing clear, calm and relaxed, truly ready for restorative sleep.  And thus I must feel gratitude.

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Day 244: From Loyly to BBQ – The Start to a Promising Summer

Saturday, May 17

If this weekend was any indication of what my summer is going to be like, it’s going to be a great one!

I woke up and stretched and loved every drop of sunlight coming through the blinds.  I opened all the blinds and kept the windows open while I balanced my checkbook.  I went to charge my camera’s battery and when I went to return it into the camera, it got jammed.  So, I couldn’t operate my camera and I’ll now need to go to a repair shop to remove the battery.

I was running behind for my appointment at Löyly.  I had been wanting to go to this place since I first heard about it a couple of years ago.  Löyly is a sauna modeled after the sauna culture in Scandinavia.  I arrived at the southeast Portland facility, located off of Clinton and SE 21st, in a gorgeous sustainable wooded building and upgraded my massage to The Reviver package, which included a 3-hour stay at the facility, a 30 minute massage, a rejuvenating mask, cleansing tea, single serving salt scrub and sparkling Voss water. 

I went to my locker, undressed, grabbed a robe, spa shoes, and two towels.  I took a warm shower and then put on my robe and went to relax in the tea lounge and enjoyed a relaxing cup.  I flipped through some magazines while my friend Kerry was getting her massage.  The tea room was open with minimalist decor and lovely fresh flowers and votive candles. 

I had my 30 minute massage with Kim, a kind young woman with a gift for deep-tissue/Swedish blend therapy.  It was amazing.  I could feel the tension melt away.  I had been so wound up, and I couldn’t even remember when I had had my last massage.  She had a bowl of steaming aromatherapy in sage and rosemary below that added to the indulgent relaxation.

After my massage, I drank some Voss sparkling water and then went into the sauna.  It was glorious.  I closed my eyes and meditated while my skin opened up, expelled toxins that had been loosened from my massage, and felt my skin slowly moisten with sweat and soften.  I sat there, meditatively, for about ten minutes.

I got out and continued to drink more water.  After a nice conversation with Kerry, I went into the steam room which was infused with an invigorating sage-lemongrass aromatherapy.  Again, my skin responded to the healing, cleansing steam.  I closed my eyes and meditated through this experience. 

After a ten minute steam, I drank more water and then went into the locker room to apply my Dr. Hauschka rejuvenating mask.  It smelled wonderful.  I returned to the tea room and sipped on another cup of delicious cleansing tea.

I loved just sitting back and relaxing, not being rushed, taking my time.  I loved the minimalist decor, the pale wooden benches, the sunlight entering from the high windows, the soothing sense of time lapsed, of being in the moment.  I could feel wellness brimming within.

I finally returned to the locker room and took a warm shower with th salt scrub.  I got the sage mint scrub which swell divine and sloughed off dead skins sells with superb exfoliation, then melted into the skin like butter as it hydrated and rinsed off.  It was amazing.

I washed my hair and then dried off, got dress, dried my hair, put on some make-up and headed toward the Pearl for a lunch appointment.  As I drove in the sunny gorgeous day, I decided I would return to Löyly for 2-3 times a month.  It’s a steal for only $20 if you just want to use the facility without a package or massage. 

The Löyly experience reminded me of how civilized Portland is – it’s more European than any other American city I have been to!  This sauna reminded me of how Eurpeans live.  Then, this city has amazing cafes and restaurants dedicated to local, seasonal, sustainable provisions.  Its boutiques are full of local designers, the downtown isn’t just lines of typical USA chains.  It’s truly a special place.

I met the agent/editor who has been helping me get ready for publication.  After a great conversation and a nice lunch, and a couple of glasses of wine, we agreed that we’d like to work together.  I have so much confidence in this person and I think she believes in me and my abilities as a writer.  I pretty much laid my cards on the table and told her my intentions – that if she liked my novel and felt it was something she would love to work on and promote, that I’d love to work with her.  I am so delighted and grateful to have such a great contact here in Portland, rather than have to fish through a ton of agents in NYC, where my queries end up in the slush pile of about a few hundred inquiries coming in each day.  I was psyched about my writing future.  It’s all coming together beautifully, not effortlessly, but as it should.

After my lunch meeting, I was so elated that I went into Anthropologie, my favorite non-Portland-based-boutique (yes, it’s a chain).  I bought a pair of green seersucker pants, three cute Bohemian sleeveless shirts that were on sale (made with incredibly soft cotton blends)  and a great summer hat.

I went to Whole Foods to pick up salad fixings, gluten-free Andouille sausage, gazpacho, wine and cherries for a barbecue at Shirley’s house.  I went straight to her place, changed shirts, and we headed over to Fred Meyer for more provisions.  I bought two bags of chips – Kettle Chips in Salt & Pepper and Terra Chips in Red, Stripes & Blue with a natural BBQ flavor.  We got back to her place, poured some rose and began prepping the food.  I made an organic mixed mache salad with red grape tomatoes, red, yellow and organge sweet peppers, red onion, pumpkin seeds, a trio of shredded cheeses (Asiago, Parmesan and Fontina) dressed with Annie’s Natural’s Lemon & Chive dressing.   

Shirley’s friend Julia, a massage therapist, came over first.  The three of us ate a bowl of gazpacho while we sipped on Elk Cove’s Pinot Noir Rose.  Her neighbors came over next.  We got the grill going and had bean salads, cole slaw, pickles and veggies out.  I had a sausage, that was delightfully spicy, with mustard and a bottle of Green’s Amber Ale, which I had picked up at Whole Foods.  It’s my favorite gluten-free beer. 

The food was good, the company was great.  Shirley has an amazing back yard.  Tiki torches were lit, a string of white lights lined her fence, a cluster of grape lights hung by her shed – it was the perfect summer yard!  Kerry and Claudia soon came over.  We had grilled asparagus and I had another helping of the mixed green salad I had made. 

By now it was dark out, more candles were lit and we emptied the bowl of sweet cherries and chocolate.  Shirley soon started the fire pit and we moved around it.  She brought out marshmallows, Hershey’s chocolate bars and graham crackers.  I was designated the role of marshmallow roaster.  I had just the marshmallow-chocolate option, but passed along the S’mores for the group.  Julia’s friend, Alita, another aesthetician, with her boyfriend, a guy who owns a very cool shoe store off of Broadway, along with Shirley’s neighbor, Thomas.

It was two in the morning when I finally left!  There were still a few stragglers.  I had such a great evening, such an amazing day.  It was a transition.  While there are likely more cold and rainy days ahead in Portland before summer really starts – it’s a well-known fact that summer doesn’t really start here until July 5, I was still happy with this amazing weekend, feeling as if I had been on vacation for two days!  I was relaxed and happy.  This summer is full of promise!

 

 

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