Dear Friends: Many of you have asked about my sketchbooks, so I thought I’d try something different and dedicate this chronicle to the watercolors I did this summer of ’24. It’s been a glorious season in Portland, one of the best I remember, although that impression might be influenced by memories of the terrible winter of ’24, when a January storm brought down hundreds of trees and left 200,000 homes without power for days.
But let’s forget about winter!  During the spring Michael and I made a short visit to Ecuador to feel out our future in Cañar.  We left there on June 29 to be back in Portland for the summer. The (weird) map below shows our route to Guayaquil (why is the Pacific Ocean heading into the mountains?), with the same detour around the same broken bridge down, as it was on our way up.

We spent the night at our usual hotel in Guayaquil, took our usual American Airlines flight through Miami to arrive at PDX at 2:00 AM on July 1 – no taxis, no Urbers, no Lyfts, but a friendly pirate offered to take us home for $60. (Reminder: do not arrive in PDX in the middle of the night. It is not Guayaquil!).

Ah, Hello Portland! July brought a “historic” heatwave that saw me spending a lot of time in the hammock in the garden, reading books – “real” ones – not on an iPad or Kindle. So why does the world need bookstores? Louis Menand asks in the August 26 New Yorker. “One is the obvious benefit of being able to fondle the product. Printed books have, inescapably, a tactile dimension. They want to be held.”

Michael ate a lot of ice cream at Stacatto Gelato, a favorite place on 28th Street. Here, one hot day, he’s trying to finish a cone before it melts.

We frequently dined al fresco at the carts, everything from southern BBQ to Cuban fare. And I kept trying to sketch my favorite subject (though he didn’t always look like himself).

We enjoyed celebrating Beethoven’s 200th anniversary with friends at our favorite chamber music concerts.

And had lots of beers in pubs before movies.

Son Scott and grandson Zane came for a visit from San Francisco, and we took a big walk in the Columbia Gorge.

Saw six waterfalls! Later I met Michael for yellow curry with tofu at Paddee, our local Thai place.

In August visitors came from Whidby Island on Amtrak. When Amtrak canceled their return train they traveled home by bus (watercolor in progress).

In late August, we had dinner with friends and a walk in the new natural area by their house. On the way home, a huge harvest moon rising on the horizon reminded us that this wonderful summer would soon end.

But Fall is nice too!  We plan to be here until November 1 and then return to Cañar. By the way, we will be renting our house again for six months (Nov-May). Let me know if you’d like to help put the word out to your friends and networks. I’ll have an info sheet with photos that you can forward.

Until next time, dear friends, when we’ll get back to the Cañar Book Club! Meanwhile, stay in touch and let me know what you’ve been reading!