April 21-26, 2015 - A Schedule, Grandparenting and Portland Waterfront

Greetings All,

We continued with our grandparent duties for the balance of the week. It only took me two weeks to get into a schedule of sorts, bread making, early dinner preparation and laundry, around that of Paul's.  My sciatica started acting up so much so that walking had become painful, so Grandpa was taking Paul on his walks and to the park. Sadly, the weather took a turn and now it was rainy and cool. We were stuck inside entertaining Paul with his toys, books and craft stuff. Our skills as grandparents certainly were put to the test to keep up with Paul. On Thursday we failed. While prepping dinner in the kitchen I thought Fred was playing with Paul in the living room and Fred thought Paul was with me. It was very quiet and I asked Fred what they were doing. It turned out Paul had gone off to entertain himself in the bathroom. Toilet rolls are fun and entertaining as you can see from the picture on the left.

He gave us a lovely little innocent smile that you just can not be mad at, in fact we had a difficult time not laughing. Grandpa re-rolled the paper and put it out of his reach. The balance of our week was routine. Saturday's swim class was entertaining and not just the babies. There was a new mom and dad at the lesson with dad in the pool with the baby. Mom being concerned as to what was going on and not being in control, constantly ran around the pool to the areas dad was. There were a number of times she almost jumped into the pool when the little one was put under the water. Understandable for a parent and she commented to me she was very panicky as she caught me smiling at her.

Sunday afternoon all of us headed to the Portland waterfront.
The history of Portland began in 1843 on the Willamette River in what was called Oregon County. In 1845 the name Portland was chosen and the city was incorporated on February 8,1851. Portland was a major port in the Pacific Northwest for much of the 19th century until  the 1890's when a direct railway was built from Seattle and points east. The waterfront was busy with homeless people, walkers, cyclists and a small craft market with food carts. There were also a number river boats and a museum on the water. As well there is a war memorial as pictured below on the left. The Blue Star Memorial, a tribute to Armed forces that have defended the USA. While there a women commented to me that her grandfather worked on the building of the ship whose mast is part of the memorial. My comment was well that is something to be proud of in your heritage. As we walked away Fred said to me that would be some feat as the ship in question was built in the early 1800's and she looked much younger than us. We had a good chuckle and I think that as I was wearing a jacket with a Canadian Flag she must have thought we were some gullible Canucks. We enjoyed a stroll for about an hour and a half before heading back home.

More to come so stay tuned.

Sandy & Fred

April 19 - 20, 2015 - Japanese Garden & Cooper Mountain Nature Trail

Greetings All,

Sunday after Paul's nap we headed off to Portland Japanese Gardens. Designed in 1963 by Professor Takuma Tono, it encompasses 5.5 acres with five separate grade styles, and included an authentic Japanese Tea House, meandering streams, intimate walkways and a spectacular view of Mt Hood. Japanese gardens have an ancient history influenced by Shinto, Buddhist and Taoist philosophies. Three primary elements are used in every Japanese garden design, stone, the bones of the landscape, water, the life-giving force and plants, the tapestry of the four seasons. Other important elements include stone lanterns, water basins, arbors and bridges.

The picture above was taken outside the Pavilion that hosts exhibits and events. It was very busy

but there was a tranquility that transcends the gardens. Being spread out over 5.5 acres also helped as you do not see as many people as you explore the garden. The picture on the left is a flowering bush near the Flat Garden (hira niwa), designed using a sea of raked sand. There are two islands of plantings depicting a saké cup and a gourd-shaped bottle, signifying pleasure and a wish for the visitor's happiness. We spent a few hours exploring and taking pictures. The gardens were not stroller friendly so Paul was either carried or walked. We stopped after the garden's for a quick snack before heading down to a nearby playground so Paul could let off some steam.

The kids have a great advantage as working scientists, they do not have set working hours and while this does require some evening work at times they can take off and take advantage off good weather. Monday the weather was sunny and very warm a good day for a hike. After lunch we all headed out to Cooper Mountain Nature Trail a 10 minute drive away from home.
The park opened in 2009 and is located on the south side of a 774 ft mountain which is a former volcano in the Tualatin Vallery. The parks natural areas consists of groves of oak trees, wetlands, prairie, forest and ponds. There was a good trail through the park and its many areas. The picture on the right is of Christopher and Paul in his new hiking seat. This hike was a trial run and Paul loves being up high and able to look all around and see the world from a new perspective. We spent a good two hours on the various trails in the park before heading off for some ice-cream then back home.

The last picture is of a miniature iris taken in the park.

We have had a amazing couple of days with the kids exploring new sites.

Stay tuned more memory making times to come.


Sandy & Fred

April 13 - 18, 2015 - A Week of Grandparenting

Greetings all.

Our week of having Paul all to ourselves started early in the day. He was up around 6:30am and Mom and Dad did the first duties of the day while Fred and I come on the scene around 7:00. Mom and Dad headed off to work just before 8:00 am and we said our good byes at the window. I do not eat as soon as I get up so once the parents had left I was now ready to eat. Breakfast for me consists of a breakfast biscuit or cookie with tea which Paul shared with me. We then had play time, snack time and before we knew it it was his lunch time, a very early 10:30 am, but then again he has been up since 6:30. Shortly after his lunch he had a nap which could range from 40 minutes to 2 hours. Once nap time was over and a snack eaten we usually headed off somewhere for some fresh air. The picture on the upper right is of a dogwood tree we passed on our walks. The daycare Paul attends also teaches the kids sign language and Spanish. Paul was very good at signing "All Done" and "More". We visited the park and Paul loved the slide.

Meaghan and I (Sandy) had taken him to the park on the weekend  so he knew what to expect. Grandpa places him at the top and we are in stitches in no time at all. Each time at the bottom of the slide he turns around looks at Grandpa and signs "more" as seen in the picture on the right.
Each day with Paul brought new revelations and how smart the little guy is. He is strong willed and definitely knows what he wants or doesn't want. He also has a good range of foods he likes, from Indian curries, to veggies that kids usually do not like. The only thing he doesn't seem to like is fruit, unless it is pureed.

I had tried a few things with him, such as giving him 1/2 a grape and taking the other half to eat saying "Mmmmm". Eventually, he handed back the grape and said "Mmmmm" back but no dice on eating the grape.

April 14 is Grandpa's 64th birthday and we celebrated with a special double fudge chocolate cake and cream icing supplied by the kids as a treat. The cake is delicious but Paul does not seem to care for the chocolate part but loved the cream icing.

The balance of our week was spent entertaining Paul and Paul entertaining us. On one of our park visits we walked down a path and discovered a little hen house with chickens, roosters and turkeys in the back yard . We were amazed that in the city such small farming is allowed but it seems to be very prevalent around Aloha as we hear roosters crowing each morning at the kids place. Check out my Facebook wall for more pictures.

Saturday we are treated to dinner in Portland by Christopher and Meaghan at one of their favourite restaurant.They have made babysitting arrangements and we have a wonderful evening out.

Each day brought new revelations and I am for the first time in a very long time going to sleep early sleeping through the night and waking up early. Something to be said for having a schedule and a little one to keep you busy. Saturday had us back to the kids routine with shopping, a swim lesson and other duties they need to get done on their short weekend.

Bye for now,
Sandy & Fred

April 9 - 12, 2015 - Portland Bound, Family and Exploring Oregon

Greetings All,

On April 9 we were finally headed to Portland by way of Vancouver for our much awaited trip to visit our kids and grandson. For this trip we upgraded our status to option plus with Air Transat which came with a lot of little extras. A dedicated check-in desk, priority boarding, free drinks and snacks, a comfort pack for the flight and free head phones. Soon after takeoff we got a small bottle of champagne which we thought was our free drink, but no, every time they came around with the drink/snack trolley it was free. We found this out after trying to pay for our drinks. It turns out the upgrade was better than we realised. The picture in the upper left is somewhere over the Rockies. The flight was non eventful and arriving in Vancouver on time, only to find another surprise. Things had changed considerably, we were checking in for our Air Canada flight to Portland only to find out that we now had to pay a fee for each bag that we checked in. Last year we flew Air Canada London to Portland and did not see our bags in Vancouver. Well once over the shock and rip off we were finally on the final part of our journey to Portland. Christopher picked us up at Portland airport and once home headed to bed as it had been a long day.

April 10th we got reunited with Paul and present him with all the gifts we have brought him. He had had a rough night as he was teething again with lower molars. Christopher took the day off so he can show us Paul's routine while Meaghan went to work. Our little man had quite the routine which, was posted on the fridge. He has a man size  appettite and seems to be constantly eating but that was really only because I had forgotten what it was like to have a little 14 month old around. While Paul had not had much sleep he was full of beans and very happy.
Saturday we were up and out early to do the weekly grocery shop as the afternoon was Paul's swim lesson which both Fred and I attended. Paul was like a fish in the water. We were amazed

at the things they do with the babies in the water. Paul was one of the most advanced in the class and this was not just a proud Grandma speaking but was also noted by the class teacher. The picture on the right is him motoring himself along.


April 12th we were up early and headed out right after breakfast to explore the Columbia River Gorge. Our last visit was March 2014, the winter so we wanted to return hopefully stopping and

visiting more sites. The picture on the left is of Multnomah Falls. Last year when we were here the bridge was damaged so we could not walk across it and take pictures. It is now repaired and we ventured across it for some photo opportunities.
There were numerous waterfalls along the parkway and we stopped at a couple more for photos. At Horsetail Falls we came across an interesting fact. The viewing platform for the falls was built in 1984-1986 from recycled brick from the dismantled Rocky Butte Jail. We next headed off for lunch down into the valley to a Micro Brewery and Pub, Pfriem. As we were not driving, Fred enjoyed a flight of 6 of their beers. Wit, IPA, Saison, Ryepa, Pilsner, Belgian Strong Dark. They were a healthy size, 4 oz each. Fred found it hard to choose between IPA and the Belgian Strong as to which was the best. There was a park by the river which we took Paul to so that he could stretch his legs and

left off some steam before we headed back home via Mount Hood. The picture on the right is of Paul and Grandpa resting by the river. From here we now headed off to Hood Mountain. Almost all the seasons in one day. There was still plenty of snow and skiers on the mountain as you can see from the
picture on the left. Paul was not impressed with the cold wet white stuff.

We have had a long fulfilling day with the
kids and were looking forward to our first full week with our grandson all to ourselves
while the kids were at work. An added bonus for me was I got to cook for all of us, something I enjoy.

So long for now,
Sandy & Fred

March 25 - 31, 2015 - Cheltenham & Market Towns

Greetings all,

It has been some time since my last post, as we have had a rather uneventful few months outside of Christmas. On March 25 we headed off to Cheltenham to dog sit for John and Adrienne as they were taking a short break to Lisbon. We took the back roads down with me as a navigator. This route kept us off the highway, passing through small towns, villages and the country side. We stopped in Ludlow, a market town, and had a great lunch at The Rose and Crown, a former 13th century coach house. Ludlow is a very picturesque town. As we had left our cameras in the car while we walked around we decided to stop by on our return to Liverpool to take pictures.

Spring has really sprung in the south west compared to the north as you can see from the picture on the left of the daffodils. This was taken in the park right across the street from  John and Adrienne's home. On the 26th we headed off to Tewkesbury as I wanted to get
pictures of the wooden knight and horse on the roundabout into the town. Traffic was heavy but Fred did manage to find a spot to pull over so I could get out and get my pictures. We then headed into the town as I wanted to check out a store in which we had shopped at Christmas time. As the weather was rather cool I purchased a couple of sweaters for myself. I could not find what I wanted for our Grandson Paul in the shop. From Tewkesbury we decided to head off to Ledbury in Herefordshire a short 30 minute drive away.

Ledbury is a borough whose origins date to around 690 AD. As a town it was created on a bishops manor. The picture on the left is of the Market Place, a structure built in 1617.  We stopped and enjoyed some refreshment in a pub then shopped for some local beers and ciders as well as picking up a single malt scotch that has chocolate undertones. We then headed back to Cheltenham to start our dog sitting duties as J&A were heading off early to  the airport on the 27th.

After J&A were safely on their way we decided to head to Burton-on-the-Water after lunch. It is a small town in the Cotswolds. Again I am in search of a store I remembered from a trip here a number of years ago, looking for larger placemats. Unfortunately, they didn't have any of the size I wanted. We walked around the town taking some photos and then relaxed in a pub to enjoy some refreshment before heading back to tend to the dogs.

The weather was unkind to us as it turned cold, wet and very windy. We relaxed around the house with the boys for the next couple of days but did head out on Sunday for lunch at the Plough Inn in the tiny village of Cold Aston.

The picture on the left is rather unique as it warns of an amphibian crossing. Not sure if it is for frogs or toads as it was by a river that was rather fast flowing at this time of year. We enjoyed an excellent meal at the pub which really was a Sunday Roast dinner. Fred enjoyed a Gloucester Old Spot pork dinner and I had half a chicken. The portions were huge and I had enough chicken left to make sandwiches for our evening meal. The pub itself is one of the most picturesque in the area and would be a wonderful spot in the summer as there was plenty of outdoor seating.

Monday the weather was still cool and wet in the morning but did clear up so we took the boys for a walk and I was able to take more pictures of the spring flowers. We had them out for a couple of hours and I got some great shots which you can see on my Facebook wall. We had dinner duty for all of us as J&A were due to return home from their mini break. Beef and chicken kabobs with rice was the meal and Fred braved the rain to barbeque. Dessert was an apple tartin with whipped cream.

On Tuesday we headed off early as we wanted to stop in Ludlow on the way home for photos and lunch.

Ludlow is a market town located in Shropshire with the oldest part of the town founded in the late 11th century after the Norman conquest. There are nearly 500 grade listed buildings in the town which include medieval and tudor style half timbered buildings. The one pictured on the right is of the Feathers hotel. We also took time to visit the Parish Church of St Laurence, which has its origins in the 11th century. It was rebuilt and enlarged in 1199-1120 and became the parish church in 1120. It is the largest church in Shropshire The picture below and to the left is of a the ornate carvings on the bottom of seats in the choir.

We visited the Crown and Rose again for lunch and had a large meal so that we didn't have to cook once we got home. Fred had the sausage and mash which was served inside a Yorkshire pudding. The meal was huge but he managed to consume the lot. I had a very tasty burger made from local rare-breed beef. We also purchased some sausage from an award winning butcher. We did not explore all there was to see as the weather was cold and many things were closed as it is not yet the tourist season. The castle in town looks worth a visit at a future day.

The balance of our trip was uneventful and the weather held off with just the occasional rain showers.

Ta ra for now. Stay tuned for our next big trip April 9th to Aloha, Oregon to visit our Grandson Paul and the kids.

Sandy & Fred

Nov 10 - 11, 2014 - London - Blood Swept Land and Seas of Red and Paddington Bear Trail

Greetings All,

We were up at 6:30 am and out early after our breakfast to get to The Tower of London for the poppy display before the crowds. We walked to the Tower of London from our hotel (about 1.25 miles) arriving at 8:15 am. Even at that time the crowds were starting to form, but nothing like masses on Sunday. We were able to easily access the walkway to walk around the Moat and the front of the Tower. The picture on the left is from the bastion window and is The Weeping Window. It is the artist representation of a pool of blood running into the moat. The next picture on the right represents the wave of blood spilling over from

the moat and is at the front gate. We then headed over to the Tower Hill Memorial which commemorates those from the Merchant Navy and the fishing fleets who died during both world wars and have "no grave but the sea". Here we saw the wreaths that had been laid and small wooden crosses attached to the bronze columns. We located the memorial to Thomas Dawson, Fred's first cousin 3 times removed who was lost on the torpedoing of the MV Sitala in October 1940. It was a very emotional morning for me as thoughts went to my Mom who was very involved with the Legion and very much involved in the planning of Remembrance Day Services.

We now headed off to the search out the Paddington Bears and cover some of the trail. Out first stop was Horse Guard's but we saw no Bear and our second stop was The Canada Gate in Green Park again no bear. Mystified, I looked at the map Fred had printed out and discovered that not all of the bears were in place. Some were to be installed after November 11th and some still later in the month. It just shows that one should carefully read all instructions. Like I ever do as Fred frequently tells me. We continued now through Green Park and stopped at the Canadian Memorial to take pictures. On our last visit here a couple of years ago the water in the memorial was not running. Funds for the maintenance of the memorial were provided by Conrad Black, but due to his jail term they were no longer forthcoming.

The memorial is now operational and a number of wreaths had been laid around it. The Canadian Veterans, The Chamber of Commerace  as well as some personal ones. There was signage about staying off the memorial but an idiot father was letting his kids play on it. Most disrespectful with dirty looks given and comments made by a few people he finally got the message.

We continued our walk in search of the bears and walked along Piccadilly to Leicester Square, China Town, Regent Street and then Oxford Street. We stopped for lunch at a pub off Wigmore Street called the Pontefract Castle before heading to Marks and Spencer in search of s stag's head cushion I had ordered but which, the store had cancelled as it was unavailable. My thoughts being if any store had it, it would be the large store in London. We were successful thanks to Fred's alert eyes. We now decided to head back to the hotel as we had been walking for just over six hours. We took the tube back and while waiting for the train to arrive we were approached by a lady who had noticed our Canadian poppies and thanked us for wearing them. She is an expat who has lived in London a number of years and is always delighted to see fellow Canadians. We had a very short chat before our train arrived. Once back at the hotel we decided to rest for a while before heading back out. We must be getting old as we both fell asleep. Fred laid down and immediately crashes while I took a bit longer. A short nap for me I am refreshed but Fred was still out like a light.  We headed out late in the afternoon in search of the bear that was at London Bridge Station, however, he was very elusive. We walked around for about a hour before giving up but now know the area quite well and made a few new discoveries of historical sites. We stopped to purchase some wine for the room and headed back to the hotel. We headed out for supper to a pizza pasta bar but end up returning to the hotel as the bar was a self serve place and we had no desire to do buffet style eating and we were still tired and sore from our earlier walking.

November 11, we were awake early. After breakfast we had some time to kill before getting our train back to Liverpool, so we headed to St Paul's Cathedral to find Paddington bear. The location of the hotel was perfect, near South Bank and Tate Modern to be able to walk over the Millennium Bridge to St Paul's Cathedral and the Bear In The Wood. We continued our walk and decide to see if we could find the ever elusive bear at London Bridge Station. London Bridge had a long line of buses crossing it we guessed due to morning rush hour. People were getting off the buses as it was faster to walk than wait for the bus to get to the stop. We finally came across our elusive

Wonders of The World (Peru) bear. Fred said no Paddington Bear was going to defeat us. We had discovered a total of 12 bears out of the fifty around London making us an Apprentice Adventurer according to the Trail map. But it has been fun and we did revisit some old familiar places as well as seeing some new ones on this visit. We came specifically for the poppies and we have really enjoyed this mini break.

Check out my Facebook page for more pictures and Fred's Flickr site which he still has to post to.

Cheers,
Sandy & Fred

November 9, 2014 - London

Greetings All,

We took a mini break to London specifically to visit the Tower of London and the Poppies that were commemorating the British and Commonwealth Soldiers who sacrificed their lives in WWI. We were up and out early on Sunday to catch our 8:40 am train arriving in London around 11:40 am. Departing Euston it was a short ride on the tube to London Bridge station which, was then a ten minute walk to our hotel. We checked in, left our bags at reception as our room was not ready for us and then headed off to explore by 12:30 pm.

We headed off to explore a new area and to check out a market, The Ropewalk, that Fred's brother had told us about. As it was Sunday we were not sure if it would be open but it gave us an opportunity to see some new sites. The market was a variety of street foods and we enjoyed a grilled steak sandwich which was delicious. With full tummies we continued our exploring, walking over to the Tower of London and the masses of people were incredible. We managed to get some pictures as for the most part people were polite; taking their pictures and then making room for others.

The crowd was just too much so we decided that we would return early on Monday morning to beat the crowd and to hopefully get better pictures without the crowd. The display is the artistic design of Paul Cummins and is titled "Blood Swept Land and Seas of Red" and it is taken from the first line of a poem written by an unknown soldier in WWI. The first poppy was planted on July 14, 2014 and the last one on November 11, 2014. There are a total of 888,246 poppies each representing a life lost.

The Paddington Trail opened in London on November 4 and runs through to December 30. It is a trail of Paddington Bear statues around the city depicting places and events that are in the Paddington Bear books. We came across our first bear in the Borough Market "Taste of Peru" as pictured on the right. As it was now late in the afternoon we stopped for some refreshment at The George Inn, a pub that dates back to 1677. The weather had been amazing and we sat outside on the patio enjoying our drinks. Thanks to the time change it now gets dark around 5:00 pm so we headed back to the hotel. Along the way we came across yet another work of art, by the artist Alex Chinneck, A Pound of Flesh for 50P. It is a house made of 8,000 wax bricks that will melt over 30 days (picture below). It is part of The Merge Festival of contemporary artists in the Bankside area.

Once back at the hotel we decided to have our dinner there rather then venture out again. We enjoyed a pre-dinner glass of wine that was recommended by maitre d' come bartender called The Chocolate Block. It is a South African wine, a blend of several grapes and was a rich full bodied red. We had a lovely dinner enjoying the special that the hotel had on offer. Fred had a salmon fishcake with lemon vinaigrette and pan fried cajun haddock for his mains, while I had a stuffed chicken breast and a dessert. While we were eating a Chinese family came in, mom, dad, kid and grandma. The demands they made on the maitre d' were unbelievable. They ordered 2 mains and two side dishes, 2 glasses of wine for the three adults and a complete kids meal. They then asked for extra plates and wine glasses and proceeded to split the meals and wine up between the three adults. I really don't know why people continue to amaze or shock me given our work and travel experiences but they do. When we left I asked the maitre d' if he would write his name down on a piece of paper for me. He promptly asked if anything was wrong and I told him there was nothing wrong, that he was a saint and when we get our usual survey about our stay I wanted to recognise him.
We headed up to our room to sort pictures and then to bed at a decent time as we wanted to be at the Tower of London very early before the crowds arrived.

Cheers,

Sandy & Fred