6655 SW Wilson Avenue

Saturday, February 7, 2009

My Little Elf

Ready to go to the park.

Today I decided to try out the green fleece that Amanda gave us. (Thanks!)

The hood on this jacket fits better than any of the others. It also makes Markus look kind of like an elf.

The Whole Elf

Me and My Elf

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

First Visit to the Japanese Garden

Markus and I at the Japanese Garden (Self-portrait)

We had a rough morning with Markus fussing constantly and wanting to eat all the time. By noon I was dying to get out of the house. Mainly I needed to go to the library and return some books.

It was such a nice day though, that I decided to see if the library had any of the Cultural Passes available for one of the gardens. I got lucky and they had one for the Japanese Garden, so we got into the garden for free.

One of the many fountains in the garden.

I had forgotten that the garden is on the shady side of the mountain in the aftenoon and that it's really better to go in the morning. So we didn't see much of the beautiful warm sun.

I didn't take very many pictures - the garden is really prettier when there are colorful leaves and flowers. Or when it's sunnier, or just after a rain when everything is wet.

Rock Garden

There weren't too many people in the garden. A few tourists and a few regulars. I felt bad for the tourists coming at the wrong time of year. I especially felt bad for the girls who brought a baby in a stroller. They couldn't walk through 3/4 of the park because they couldn't go over rocks or stairs.

Since there wasn't much catching my eye to take photos of, and there wasn't really anyone to take my picture, I practiced taking my own.

Here's another self portrait ...

... and a third one.

Mt. Hood behind the Portland Skyline

A nice sunny spot to feed Markus.

He slept through most of our visit to the garden. However, towards the end he woke up hungry (as usual).

My view while Markus was eating.

So much nicer than my living room!

One of the many lanterns.

Usually the lanterns are some of my favorite features in the garden. Maybe it was the lack of color in the foliage, or maybe the lighting and lack of contrast, but they just weren't pulling me in today.