You never call, you never write....

Wow time flies! I've been lazy, but also busy. Have you missed me?

Travis seems to be feeling more comfortable with life in and around the house. I know it is pretty daunting to have moved across the country to start over again, especially without friends or much of a support network. I am looking forward to him starting school so that he can have a peer group that will give him a view of the area that doesn't share my own biases. It would be good for him to hear other people's take on Portland and the surrounding areas. I have my life experiences here, but I am not an expert, and sometimes I can be a bit of a shut-in homebody.

He and I rode the 'Max' light-rail line right to his college campus. It was a trial run for the real thing, after we return from our August Alaskan adventures he starts classes at Pacific University.

Last weekend we had a small get-together with a few of my friends. Derek was also entertaining and out-of-town visitor. Pizza, chips, home-made punch, and my famous chili dip. To round out the evening, I served my gourmet blackberry swirl cheesecake. Good stuff! The evening climaxed with the 8 of us sitting around the living room table playing the 'pop culture' edition of Trivial pursuit. Not entirely sure how much I like the set. I missed a good deal of pop culture in the late 80s through the early 90s since I was working so much. The game seemed to take hours upon hours. We even were playing the abbreviated method, the one where you get a pie piece for any correctly answered question. All in all, however, it was a good party.

To all of my friends, thank you for welcoming Travis into the circle of friends. He is going to be around for a good long time, so it makes me feel good knowing that you like him as much as I do.

I think the next big party will likely be Thanksgiving. Travis asked me to cook this year so that he could experience my traditions and cuisine. I know he'd also really like to help out on some of the cooking. It will be fun! Stay tuned for deep fried turkey, and probably booze-cake.

Alaska! We are slowly gearing up for the Alaska trip. It will be good to be back 'home'. I miss my family, and all the insanity that ensues when we are all sharing the same airspace. I am really looking forward to showing Travis around all the places I got into trouble when I was younger. Travis isn't too keen on flying, but the drive up would have been a tad expensive these days considering that gas is hovering around the price of platinum. We'll drive that road someday, though. I really want to be able to drive it at a normal pace.

Should have much more to write once we get back from Alaska, should have some good pictures too. Stay tuned!