happy birthday to me!

It was my birthday on Friday, and I had a wonderful day with Steve and the kids -- good food, a family hike, sweet cards. My big present was a new iPhone, with a fancy camera, so we had fun trying that out throughout the day (starting first thing!).

 

wide-angle

creepy wide-angle
 

Steve made challah French toast with berries for breakfast.

In the afternoon, it was warm and sunny, and we went for a hike in Forest Park with the whole family -- from Firelane 1 to the Nature Trail, down to the Lief, and then up the Chestnut trail back to Wildwood. Best of all, the first trilliums of the season have popped up!

 

And then Steve picked up Israeli food from Shalom Y'all for dinner, and I baked an apple cake for dessert.

There were sweet cards and flowers and presents, and phone calls (with song!) from mom and dad Raab and Carl and Danica.

Reese's pb cups from Seb.

A pencil sketch by Liesl.

Elgin Park

We strolled around Elgin Park on Thursday morning before driving home. The skies had cleared and we could see all the snow-capped mountains in the distance, surrounding metro Vancouver. The Nicomekl River flows by an old farmhouse. It's really scenic and peaceful, definitely worth a return visit.

Jasper in Canada

Jasper came along with us, my loyal companion on morning runs and afternoon walks. He got to jump into the bay off Crescent Beach and swim a little. 

He quickly learned that Popo was the soft touch and was her devoted shadow in the kitchen. Grandpa... not so much.

 

sewing projects

Liesl has inherited her great-aunt Dianna's sewing machine -- it was unused at aunt Jean's, and then transported from Edmonton to Vancouver by May and Ken, ready for our arrival. Popo showed her how to sew a simple seam and they practiced on some extra fabric, and then Liesl got to sew a couple of projects. First, a pillow/stuffie with a case.

And then we went to Fabricland to see the world of fabrics and patterns and accessories. It was a lot of fun for Liesl and mom to chat about possibilities and projects. And then we came home and they collaborated on a present for me -- a little bag!

Amusingly (for me), Mom got so interested in working on the sewing project with Liesl that she forgot the rice that was cooking on the stove, and it burned so badly that it was inedible, and the pan was probably ruined. (Dad soaked it and boiled it and baking soda-ed it, and the black stuff remained.) Mom is so regular and reliable with cooking that I was astonished -- good for me to remember that even the pros make mistakes. :)

spring break in Canada

Liesl and I drove up on Sunday afternoon to spend a few days visiting mom and dad in White Rock. Jasper was very patient on the drive (exhausted from our morning run with Anja!) but was happy to arrive and stretch his legs. Popo was so happy to see us that she baked not one, not two, but three desserts! 

 

On Monday morning we headed into downtown Vancouver, to the Chinatown Storytelling center in old Chinatown. It's a tiny place that gives an overview of the Chinese experience in Vancouver -- gold miners, railroad workers, the Exclusion act, WWII service, the rise of Chinatown after immigration laws were changed. It is the Mah family story, starting with my grandfather Mah, and so it was good to be there and see the photos and documents with Liesl.

After that we had dimsum and then headed home -- mom and I in the car, dad and Liesl on the train and double-decker bus. They got to sit in the very front on the second story of the bus, and it was apparently exciting (L ducked under every overpass). We had naps and Jasper got a walk, and then dad showed Liesl how to play a hand of contract bridge (with open hands).

masks off

Masks became optional in public spaces and in public schools this week, for the first time in Oregon since the pandemic began. Two years! Both Seb and Liesl opted to not wear masks inside their classrooms, but both reported that they were in the minority by substantial margins. In Liesl's class, only 5-6 students out of 25 took masks off. In Seb's school, he said that less than 20% of students weren't wearing masks, and in one class he was the only one unmasked. I asked if they knew why their friends were keeping masks on (because I'm pretty sure they're all vaccinated), and they mentioned vague anxieties, parental preferences, upcoming travel plans, and discomfort with their looks (especially middle school girls). Fascinating little sociological experiment we have going on.

LYS at the Thorns

Liesl's LYS team attended a preseason match of the Portland Thorns. We had a box, which was a novel experience, and let the girls hang out and move around and generally cause a ruckus. It was pretty fun, despite ending in a 0-0 tie.

dance performances

Live, in-person contemporary ballet performances have returned this year, and we decided to see two in quick succession. Last Friday, we saw Alonzo King's Lines Ballet, a contemporary company based in San Francisco. They performed four selections from various works, and then a new piece after intermission. We loved being out and at the Newmark Theatre, and both agreed that the third excerpt was outstanding in every respect. It was my feeling that the men were either stronger dancers or given better choreography than the women, because they were outstanding, and the women often seemed awkward or unnecessarily contrived. But it was definitely worthwhile.

Tonight, we went to see a performance by Portland's own Northwest Dance Project. Liesl came with us, her first time at contemporary ballet instead of classical story ballet! There were three works, by three different choreographers, all quite different in tone and music. The second one, by Ihsan Rustem, was elegiac and powerful. But we didn't recognize any of the dancers, which felt odd, because we used to know all of them really well, and had watched some of them mature and develop on stage. But they have all moved on, or retired, and it made us feel a little sad and disconnected from the performance. Still - once again it was lovely to be out and watching dancers perform in person.