The Somewhat Daily Quote

Today I've decided that I'm adding a new feature to the blog. It shall be called:

The Somewhat Daily Quote

What is this intriguing new feature, you ask? Well, as the name suggests, it's a somewhat daily quote. Or, said another way - it's a quote of the day that may not actually occur every day. That's because I generally like to underpromise and overdeliver. But, warning that I may not even do that.

Now, why this intriguing new feature, you ask? Well, there are a couple of reasons. The idea first came to me recently when Jeff and I were talking about how amazed we are at Ian's daily language progressions. As I commented about in a recent post, he is constantly saying new things and some of it happens to be pretty darn amusing. Dare I say - quote-worthy for a blog? Or, at least hopefully it is to those (read: family) who may actually enjoy hearing that Ian said "I have to go potty" for the first time today versus the rest of the world who might just roll their eyes. (Which he didn't actually say today, by the way. I just made that up. It doesn't hurt to dream, though.)

And then the second reason I've decided to implement this intriguing new feature is that I figure it will make excellent filler. So, for all those days when I can't think of one damn thing to write about, I just don't feel like writing or I don't have the time - I can just make up some quote, throw it up on the site and call it a day. And, since today happens to fall into one of the above categories (I won't say which one), it is this particular day that I have chosen as Official Launch Day for The Somewhat Daily Quote.

For the record though, I was just kidding about the making it up thing. I would never do that. Well, maybe I should never say never. But I promise that I will make every effort for it to be a real and close to actual quote that was heard on that day or a day very close to that day. Oh, but I should also mention that it doesn't necessarily have to be an Ian quote. Like, if I'm driving down the street with the window down and some lady shouts out something interesting at me, I might select that as The Somewhat Daily Quote. Also, there will always be attributions. And let's see if there are any other rules I want to make up right here on the spot....Nope, I think that's good for now. I'll post any rule adjustments if I think of any at a later time.

Oh, and one last thing: If I were operating a really fancy blog here, then I would have The Somewhat Daily Quote as a separate tab from the main somewhat daily content. But since I clearly am not operating a really fancy blog, just know that it will all be mushed together in this same main area for you to differentiate on your own.

And now, without further ado, I proudly present...my first official entry for The Somewhat Daily Quote.

The Somewhat Daily Quote for today:

Mommy, I like the raining. I like the treeeess and the carrrsss and the rainnnn and the trucks and the trains and the bridges and the raining.

Followed directly (in a singing voice) by...

Happy Birthday to me. Happy Birthday to me. Happy Birthdayyyy!!! Ba-rack Oooo-bamaaaa! Happy Birthday to youuuu.

(Repeat song again.)

-Ian Burpo, Age 2, while sitting in the car at a stoplight, headed to the library in the middle of a downpour.

Until I write again.

Scenes from November

Today we are expecting a total of three to five inches of rain - our first real winter storm coming off the Pacific. Undoubtedly, there will be several more right behind it over the next few months. Still, as I drove around SW Portland this morning I couldn't help but notice how pretty everything looked - with the last vibrant leaves of fall hanging onto rain soaked trees. So, I took a few snapshots on my way home from picking up Ian at preschool.

Rain and fog surround the West Hills

Trees in and around Gabriel Park

Street leading up to Ian's future elementary school



Driving down our street



Looking out our living room window

Until I write again.

Housebound

I have a confession to make: Ian didn't leave the house today. Granted, it's not even 4pm here yet, but I can, with some amount of certainty, say that Ian will not be going outside today. And given that it's always my goal to take him out on at least one outing a day, means that today I failed. Now the part about this that concerns me isn't necessarily that he did not leave the house on this one particular day, but more that it might be a sign of things to come.

You see, all summer long as Ian and I were out and about - going to the zoo, going to the fountain at Jamison Square, going to the park, going to the pool, etc., etc. - I kept having this thought in the back of my mind that would creep out every now and then: What will you do when winter comes? How are you going to occupy your two-year-old then? I mean, let's face it - there are just some days when this kid makes the Energizer Bunny look like a couch potato.

I did not mean for this to happen on this particular day (not to mention so soon after winter started). Really, I didn't. But I did suspect that today might be a little "off" because we changed our schedule a bit. And you know how I like schedule changes. So, this morning Jeff watched him while I went downtown for a "meet and greet" with an agency to talk about opportunities to work with them on a freelance basis. It was about 10:30 a.m. when I got home and, as usual, it was raining. Just one of those days where we woke up to the sound of rain pouring down the downspout outside our bedroom window and it hasn't really stopped all day. Not even for a schizophrenic sun break.

The whole way home I had been thinking, "Okay what are we going to do today that's inside?" (Though, in the back of my mind what I was really thinking is: Here we go, that winter creativity is now officially being tested!) OMSI? Ugh. It will be packed because it's Veterans Day and every school kid in town will be there. Children's Museum? Another ugh. Same thing. The Forestry Center? Mmmm....sounds kinda boring. Open play gym at the rec center? (Which is what we normally do after Tuesday sports class anyway, which by the way, was canceled today because of the holiday.) Well, it's wet outside and I don't really feel like driving over there. Plus, Ian seems to be developing yet another case of the sniffles, so perhaps it's not a good idea to have him around a lot of kids.

Once Jeff left for work, I started checking email and taking care of things around the house while still pondering this yet-to-be-determined grandiose event we were eventually going to undertake today. Meanwhile, unlike the typical craziness that ensues if we aren't out doing something by mid-morning, he actually seemed to be quite content playing with his trains, cooking up some gourmet meals and other activities. And before I knew it - it was lunchtime! So of course we couldn't go out at that point because we needed to make lunch. Maybe afterwards we'd do something, I thought. You know, before afternoon "rest time". But lunch was finished and I just kept looking outside. And it looked dark. And chilly. And wet. And the bottom line was that I just didn't feel like dealing with it all. Plus, Ian still looked as though he was surviving just fine playing inside the house. So, that's what he did until it was time to go upstairs.

In other words, what I'm really trying to say is that it could be a long winter.

Until I write again.
PS - Even Zach looked depressed about the weather today. And he's usually pretty upbeat.

Raindrops keep falling on my head

Yes, it's true. It rains a lot in Portland. They say if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere. Oh wait, maybe that's New York. Well anyway, they say that here, too. Only in Portland that line refers to the long, wet and gloomy winters.

Seemingly like clockwork, the rain starts somewhere around November 1 (this year it was on Halloween) and ends sometime in June. At least that's what happened last winter. Our first winter here - which as you know if you read yesterday's post - started right at the beginning of the rainy season. But overall, I have to say I was pretty unphased. Maybe that's what they call the Honeymoon Phase? I don't know. But either way, I was so completely not bothered by the rain that winter. However, the first summer was a different story. And that's when I learned, it's all about expectations.

You see, while we expected a fair amount of rain in the winter, we had also heard from everyone and their dog something like the following: "Oh, but the summers in Portland! Oh, you just wait! There is nothing more glorious than Portland in the summertime! It makes up for every day of rain!" So, I waited. And guess what? IT NEVER CAME!!! In fact, I specifically remember waking up one morning in late July and it was drizzling outside for about the fifth day in a row and I was really pissed off. I had waited very patiently and where was my beautiful summer???? If it was there, I couldn't see it. Oh beautiful, perfect summer - come out, come out wherever you areeeeeeeeee......

So "summer" eventually faded back into winter and it rained. And rained. And rained. Though, here is where I have to mention that when I think of Portland winters - besides rain, there is also one other word that comes to mind: schizophrenic. That's right. The sky over Oregon appears to have a severe case of mental illness. Allow me to explain by describing a typical day - say, oh, yesterday, for example. Wake up. Overcast and pouring rain outside. Get ready to take Ian to school. Look out window. Suddenly rain is nowhere to be seen, replaced by beautiful sunshine.

Me: "Oh, I guess they were wrong. It must be done raining. Guess I won't need my umbrella after all."

Sky: "Silly girl."

By the time I dropped Ian off 10 minutes later, out of nowhere the sunshine had disappeared and it was replaced by darkness that more resembled midnight than 8:30am. And before I knew it, it was pouring rain again. (Sometimes this can happen like five times in one day, by the way.)

Me, umbrella-less: "When will I learn?"

Sky: "Apparently never because we go through this every time."

Me: "Shut up, I'm not talking to you."

Sky: "And who are you calling schizophrenic?"

Anyway, I made it fairly easily through last winter too until it got to about the May timeframe. And suddenly I had that feeling that I'd heard Portlanders talk about. It's when you just reach that point in the year where you can feel yourself becoming slightly bitter, and you start to think that moving to the Sahara Desert sounds like a good idea about now. That feeling typically happens sometime between the last week of April and mid-May. Then, last year the rain just kept going into June. And not only was it still raining, but it was still chilly too (which apparently is not normal). And that just wasn't fun. June-uary is what all the weather guys on TV started calling it. They thought it was funny. I didn't.

But then, just as we had been promised our first year, July 4 hit and just like that the weather transformed itself. The sun came out and pretty much didn't stop shining until, well, about a week ago. And the temperature was somewhere close to perfect - often in the 80s with no humidity. Let me say that one again because it's important: No humidity.

But now it's November and just like that time when I put Catalina out on the front porch and encouraged her to go find a new home, the rain has returned. It's still a beautiful place, though. Even in the rain. In fact, it's really all that wet stuff that contributes to much of the amazing beauty of the Northwest. And truth be told, I'm somewhat of a fan of the chilly, rainy day. Just not 50 in a row. Guess I'd better get out my umbrella.

Until I write again.