Labored Days

Hello from Portland!! Anybody out there? Sometimes it is odd to be typing a blog wondering if it will be read by someone. I'm not the first to mention that feeling of inadequacy. Some of you have read Gary Underwood's approach to that phenomena. But who cares, right? Blogging is therapeutic.

Lee & I have these moments where we can't believe that we moved to the far side of the country. How does one just get up and move 2500 miles away from everything they know and are comfortable with? Perhaps that's why we did it. Even we are not totally sure of all the reasons that we did move. Sure we had some quite specific motivations for leaving Akron (as some of you may know) but we face that question here often with only a vague answer that we can give. Everyone wants to know - why Portland? Our token answer is that we thought that it was cool. At which point the natives give us a quizzical look and ask if we have been here through the winter yet. I guess that is there way of saying that they don't see Portland as somewhere they would move if they had the choice. Of course, everyone probably thinks there is somewhere better. The typical 'grass is always greener somewhere else' mentality.

On to the less thought provoking .... the last few days have been quite busy with work & house projects. We have been painting again. BIG SURPISE!! This time it has been the hallway. It is now "clay pebble" which is a greenish-gray tone. Again a big improvement upon white. We have also added a new project to our growing list of must-do's. Our utility room sink has a stopped drain which is more stubborn than any chemical known to man. It has also fought and defeated an auger. Not sure what the deal is but we are running out of clean underwear as we haven't been able to do laundry because the washer drains into this sink. I may be breaking out the big guns and replacing the whole sink and drain piping this weekend. Wish me luck. I welcome any encouragement or words of advice you may have on the skills of plumbing and home improvement. I know some of you who may actually read this are gifted with those sorts of things.

Love to hear from you. Please email us (becks@oregopia.com) or call anytime. Don't forget - it is still a local call for our Akron friends. Hint! Hint!