1. We have found a house we like but we haven’t yet worked out a deal with the people living there. They have a price in mind. We have a price in mind. The two prices are not the same, and unlike the fine merchants of the Rabat medina, these people don’t seem to want to haggle. I had thought maybe we’d pay a little extra and they’d accept a little less and we could work it out. It’s early days yet though. I’ll let you know.

And I really want to tell you all about the house. Original hardwoods! Enormous garden! Funky retro/vintage bathrooms! Only one block and a half from the twins’ potential new school! Only 4 blocks to our nearest Powells!  But I won’t, because what if we don’t get it, and you are stuck with all that in your head for no reason? But if it does work out, trust me, you will get sick of that house. People in email or phone contact with me are already sick of this house.

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2. How long does it take you to visit all your favorite restaurants when you’re back in town but on a budget? We’re taking our time. Oh sure, we hit Vincente’s our first night back in town, but that was because all we’d had to eat all day was a few bites of cold apple pie and some tiny bags of pretzels. That is, we didn’t eat the actual bags, although I think Elliot was tempted. Teenage boy, you know.

One night, Donn and I had a date. All the children were gone. We wandered all over Hawthorne, stopping in Powells, in Fred Meyer’s. We had planned Thai but then we walked past a new Indian place, and it smelled so good that we ate there instead. So we still haven’t made it to our favorite Thai place. We also celebrated our wedding anniversary last week—20 years. We debated going to our favorite “celebration/once-a-year” place, Wildwood, and decided we should. We can’t remember exactly how many anniversaries we’ve celebrated there, but we think the first time was our 8th anniversary.  And even though one website didn’t even include it on its list of Portland’s Top 20 Restaurants, we still had a great time and the experience was very good. I am physically incapable of writing mushy stuff about my husband for public view, so you’ll just have to assume that in our family, sarcasm is our love-language (also food), so if I’m snide about him you can get that warm feeling deep down. It’s almost as good as another by-the-numbers romcom.

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3. Friends had a baby. It’s fun to hold him. He makes snuffly, newborn noises. We take Thai food and come to visit; later in the afternoon we go with him (in a carrier) and his big brothers to pick blueberries. I have never seen bushes as laden as these; blueberries hang like clusters of grapes. We accidentally pick about 12 pounds and bring them all to the house where we’re staying. Some go in the freezer; many more go immediately into open mouths. Obviously we need to go again. We are stocking up for winter.