Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Portland, Part II


After the fitting, Natalie took me and the doctors to her studio- I was so surprised- I wasn't expecting to get to see it and I wasn't expecting it to be so small. It's just one (unheated?) room with a few bike stands, some tools, a couple of huge windows, and a place for her doggie.

Natalie showed me how she sands the joints on a frame and running my fingers of the joint I can tell you it was like buttah. I don't know why I was so taken back by it, but seeing the actual hand crafting really touched me. Each bike is really just perfectly molded, every millimeter with the cyclist in mind.
So after Natalie, I went for a long walk. I was intending to head to the bookstore, but I had made a date with my new friend, Steve, to go see Twilight. (Excellent movie btw.) So I slowly made my way 4 miles or so home, stopping for lunch, stopping to take pictures and enjoy the Portland lifestyle.

Always what strikes me is how people add art to ordinary details of life- a few broken pieces of mirror made into a porch hanging, a mosaic through a crack of the sidewalk, random signs of inspiration here and there.

I love Portland because this was my breakfast on Saturday morning. I stayed at my friend Shelly's house, but she was out of town, so in essence I was staying with two people I've never met before, Steve and Selene. I met Steve at about 1 AM when I arrived to the house (yay me for not getting lost through two buses). He was instantly a friend- he offered to drive me to my appointment the next day or whatever else I needed while I was there.

Oh, and got much kitty love- watch this til the end, that's the good part.
After a short chat, I went to bed and the next morning, Steve made breakfast. How divine to be taken care of like that- I liked that he grew the sprouts himself, I liked that he had picked the blueberries himself. I liked that when I said I take only agave in my coffee it wasn't this foreign request, of course they had some in the cabinet. That's Portland.

So Sunday was my marathon day. After a nice afternoon on Saturday, I got to meditate, I got to snuggle by the fire with the kitty, I took a little nap, I was ready for my walking. I set out to walk to the bookstore, and then to a cute little section of town for some shopping. It was a perfect 45 degrees, I bundled up with my scarf and gloves and started walking. In about 4 miles I hit my favorite Thai restaurant, bummed that the bike shop next door was closed. Had a bite to eat and then went to Powell's. I wanted to sit there for a really long time, but after doing a bit of writing, I headed out to shop. I had never been to the 23rd street area of Portland before- it's kind of high-end quaint shopping, where really the stores are best for window shopping.
I hung out for a bit, got to pet lots of dogs, bought the most awesome vintage red dress, and then started my walk back. And after having walked 11 miles, I was back to where I started, tired but happy.
Steve played his baby grand piano, I played Shelly's clarinet. We talked a lot. A lot lot. Selene came home and sort of just curled up by us, we all just shared our day.
Later that night I had a healing session with Selene, she's a Reiki practitioner. We discussed some of what I was going through- physical, emotional, whatever, it was all fair game. I found the session of energy work to be so cathartic- I really did feel the glow of the healing light, I really know some change took place in my body and mind, and I am so grateful for it.

Every time I go to Portland, wonderful things happen there. This trip was no exception. I got what I needed, I was a friend to someone else, I miss it already.

Yeah, I miss it already.

3 comments:

daniel said...

Anyone else find the sign about letting go (scarcity) being chained to the fence ironic? (maybe it's just me)

Jenni said...

I guess it's ironic it's chained and that the property is fenced. Interesting slant...

Unknown said...

So glad my house was so alive for you while I was away. Hope to see you soon! xo