Portland or Bust

Hello my friends.  As you all know I took a trip yesterday to see my girlfriends.  And I believe that they are your friends too aren't they?  Oh how fun it would have been if all of us blogging friends could have lunch together and just chat and laugh and not want to leave each other.

I got up at 4:30 a.m. and left home by 5:15.  After driving for a little more than 6 hours through some of the most beautiful scenery in the world along the Columbia Gorge I arrived in Gresham, which is a suburb of Portland and where we ladies were meeting for lunch.  I was early so I wandered through a couple of antique stores and a yarn shop, "Little Lamb and Ewe" which is closing in September unless the owner can sell.  She has to retire and take care of her mother with Altzheimers.  It's a sweet little shop that I like to visit when I can and I really hope it can stay open.  There was a knitting group going on and the buzz of voices was a sweet song to my ears.

Of course we girls brought a little something for each other.  This is what the table looked like before we opened our goodies.

And here we, are toasting Meredith and all of our blog friends.  Here's to you, ladies!  From right to left, Taci, Teresa, Gracie and yours truly.  You can find these lovely ladies blogs on my sidebar.

Teresa and Taci with their gifts.  Gracie brought us each a pattern book and a dishcloth, wasn't that sweet?  I gave a metal flower pot with a ball of cotton yarn, a wooden bug, magnets and a crocheted bookmark.  Taci gave us some beautiful cotton yarn in patriotic hues so we have time to make something for the 4th of July.  Teresa brought me a pair of beautiful tortoise shell knitting needles from her collection and some cotton yarn.  How generous and lovely all of the gifts are but these ladies are the best gift of all.  They all seem to like me!!!!  How absolutely amazing is that?  They are my soul sisters and I wish I could see them more often.

Here are Gracie and I showing off our gifts. My book from Gracie is all about babies.  That's my lunch in the bowl.  Farfalle pasta, alfredo sauce, mushrooms, chicken and asparagus.  Yum!  SO yummy.

Here is my beautiful yarn from Taci and just look at the amazing tortoise shell knitting needles from Teresa!  I love these ladies.  On the table you can see the Country Living magazine I brought for Teresa.  As I was reading it, I came across an article all about Jadeite.  Well.  I knew I had to pass it on to her.  I'm sure you all know how she collects Jadeite.  

A close up of my gift to Gracie.  I loved these little bugs. :-)

Here is my pattern book and just a few of the cute things in it.

Sweetness!

Does this say Piper to you?

Porcupines on a blanket!

Awwww!

Squeezably soft.

To warm little feet.

I see many hours happily making these little baby things.  

Becky had to work and wasn't at lunch.  She texted me and offered to meet me for dinner at Elmer's, a restaurant right next door to my hotel.  I love Elmer's.  They have them all over the Portland area and have really good food.  We both ate breakfast for dinner.

Here's Becky with her gift from me.  Like the girls except a different bug!  You can find Becky's blog on my sidebar also.

And here I am with my gift from Becky.  It's a solar light for the sitting area at the lake.  I've already set it outside to absorb some rays from the sun and hopefully it will begin to shine tomorrow night.

In between lunch with the girls and dinner with Becky, I made a trip to IKEA.  I had a list of a few things I wanted and found them all plus a few other things...and I only spent $34.00!  I really like IKEA and wish we had one closer than Portland.  I was pretty proud of myself for braving the Portland rush hour traffic to get there, but it was only one exit away from my hotel on the freeway.

I stayed at the Pony Soldier Best Western and it was very nice.  A big room with two Queen size beds just for me!  I watched a little television and knitted just a bit, but after my early morning I didn't last very long.  By 11:00 I was sound asleep.  After a nice complimentary breakfast of a waffle, sausage, fruit and juice I was on my way home by 7:30.  There was an accident that closed the interstate at one point and we were all diverted on a 40 mile detour.  I thought I was making great time on my drive until then.  It was a narrow 2 lane country road with semi trucks and lots of cars going single file at about 35 to 45 mph.  I ended up at home about an hour later than I should have.  But no worries.  I'm back at the lake with my Chloe and all is well...or as well as it can be with Dennis still in Nebraska.  :-)  I'm so grateful for the beautiful trip and the safety that God provided for me as I drove the 13 hours in two days.

So, I think my travels are over for the summer.  At least planned travels.  We never know for sure what life will bring do we?  And now, once again, I've gone on and on too long.  I absolutely love my time with these ladies.  I do so wish I lived closer to them.  Maybe someday when we retire.  I slso hope to have the opportunity to meet with more of you someday.  Until then, know that I think each one of you is special and a real blessing to me.

"Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to HIm, and He will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6

Blessings,

Betsy