My Little Adventure

One of the things I wanted to do while in Braga was visit a linen factory that I had read about so yesterday afternoon I hopped in a taxi (keep in mind that I speak about 3 words of Portugese and the driver spoke no English). I gave him what I thought was the address but it turns out was not a complete address. We headed out of town and up a hill (he was talking to his dispatcher trying to figure out where we were going). He stopped 3 times to ask for directions, including ringing a woman's doorbell and telling me this was it but it was really just somone's house. We finally found the place and I convinced the driver to stay while I bought some beautiful hand woven linens and watched a woman do some weaving.

Still in Portugal

After two days of sitting listening to talks we went on a field trip yesterday to the Duoro (the port wine making area of Portugal). The stripes on the hills are terraces and grape vines.

A boat ride on the Duoro river.

Then a stop to do some wine tasting.

And we finally arrived at dinner. After dinner we watched a performance of Capoeira (a Brazilian martial art/dance).

And just to prove that I have actually been attending the conference...

Gray's Favorite Song

I meant to post this the other day with the other pictures of Gray painting and forgot. This is the first time that I heard him sing this the whole way through all by himself. (Care Bear, maybe we should get the boys together for a concert some day.)

In Portugal

I arrived in Braga, Portugal today. I am here for a week to attend a conference of the International Color Vision Society. The conference doesn't start until tomorrow afternoon so I had the chance to walk around the city center today.
There are amazing tiles everywhere that look like the ones all over our new house


And tile mosaics...


The oldest cathedral in Portugal, the SE...






And lovely little sidewalk cafes


Now I just have to convince myself to actually attend the conference...

Commissioned Art

So we moved into this house which has a fireplace in the living room with a giant space above it meant to hold a painting. The only thing we don't have is any art that will come close to filling the space. Rather than rushing out and buying something we might not love I decided to use a local artist to paint something to fill the space until we find the perfect picture.





And the final result...

Fourth of July

On the morning on the 4th we headed off to the Tulsa Zoo. What was a drizzle when we left the house was a true downpour by the time we got there. No matter, being recent Seattle transplants we decided to brave it (after buying zoo ponchos). Several soaking but fun hours later we had seen the whole zoo (including animals like the cheetahs who stay hidden on hot days) and there were no crowds.



We didn't go see any fireworks that night (since Gray's bedtime is 7:30 and it didn't seem worth it to break that schedule). So instead we taped the 4th from the Capitol which had performaces by Sesame Street puppets and a fireworks show. When we all got up the next morning we watched it together. It may not have been thrilling but it was a very nice 4th indeed.

May Fest

Our first weekend in Tulsa we went to a street fair called May Fest. They had art for sale, lots of great food (including deep fried pickles with tartar sauce - much better than it sounds), and a couple of stages with live music. It wasn't actually all country but Gray is dancing to the music while we were watching a square dancing demonstration.

Under the Heading of "Where have we moved to?"

This sign is in front of an abandoned gas station on the road to the Tulsa Zoo.

Father's Day

We had a very relaxing Father's Day this year. We had breakfast at Brookside By Day (our new favorite breakfast place in Tulsa). We spent a good chunk of the afternoon playing at Brookside Park which has slides, swings and sprinklers and is thus Gray's favorite new place in Tulsa.

Just a cute picture

Riding the train at the Tulsa Zoo.

Joe Joe and Kyla's Wedding

At the end of May we headed back to Seattle for a few days and Robert was best man in our friends wedding at Salish lodge, Snoqualimie Falls.

Moving Week

On Monday the 4th the packers came and spent the entire day packing everything in our house (I had no idea that we had a lot of stuff). On Tuesday they loaded everything, including the two cars, onto the truck and drove off. Gray and I spent the week seeing friends and visiting our favorite places. We drove down to Portland to visit my old friend Rachel and her family. Gray loved playing with her three boys and baby Emilee. Then on Sunday we flew down to Tulsa and were met at airport by Robert, my mom and George.

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

Sorry for the long delay in posting. I am going to try and catch up as quickly as possible.

On the first Sunday in May we went up to the Skagit Valley Tulip festival with Tom and Yaya for one last time. It was a beautiful day, we made it while the tulips were in full bloom, and of course we stopped for ice cream at the Snowgoose Farm Stand.