What a wild and crazy month September was this year! It started in hot, muggy Tennessee and ended in cool (no humidity!) Portland. We had a very enjoyable drive west with Kaipo and Tilly, got into Portland a day earlier than expected, spent a week in two lovely Airbnbs, and we are now almost finished getting settled our new apartment. Brett spent this past weekend getting all the pictures hung around the apartment, and everything else has found its place. We made one final trip to IKEA yesterday for a few odds and ends (shelving and a coat rack) but we’re done!
Our Portland apartment is 147 square feet smaller than our apartment was in Tennessee, and yet the space seems more efficient in some ways even though it has less storage space. The Tennessee apartment, we realize now, had a lot of wasted space, open areas that we couldn’t really use but gave a feeling of spaciousness. The kitchen here is the opposite of the huge kitchen we had in Tennessee; it’s small but cozy and efficient, and I’m getting used to working in a smaller space again (and washing dishes again too). We have a dedicated dining area though, something there was no room for in our last apartment. Overall we’re very satisfied and happy with this apartment. Our biggest challenge still awaits though: the outside space. We’ve got a few ideas but that’s all for now.
Both Brett and I feel right at home again in Portland (with our time in Tennessee almost like it was just a long dream). We’ve had just one day of rain so far, but overall it’s been sunny and cool, perfect fall weather. The fall color has been gorgeous, but it’s also kind of a mess because leaves are falling off trees everywhere and sidewalks, streets, and yards are coated with them. We enjoy walking and looking at everything in our neighborhood, and the “cultivated wildness” in so many of the yards and gardens. Yards seem overgrown and blowsy but in an intentional sort of way – so very different from Tennessee. Space is not wasted on lawns for many homes either although we somehow have a small lawn in front of our apartment (the dogs love it). We couldn’t have asked for a nice neighborhood either – Trader Joe’s two blocks away and the perfect coffee shop less than a block away.
I’ve started driving again, something I refused to do in Tennessee, and love being in a place again where I know exactly where I am, and which direction is north, south, east or west. I like knowing where I’m going and my memory of where everything is and how to get there remains strong. We’re walking a lot again but until the apartment gets completely set up we haven’t wandered too far.
I have just a few goals for October:
Work on our claim being settled with the moving company so we can buy a new dresser. Hopefully this won’t take too long as our bedroom remains a mess with the broken dresser taking up a lot of space. We heard though it could take as long as six months 😱 but probably more like two or three 😠. Maybe we’ll get lucky though.
Find a dog groomer and a good boarding solution for Kaipo and Tilly (they won’t be going to Boston with us at Christmas).
Continue to walk every day and increase our distance bit by bit.
Toward the end of this month we’re heading out to the coast to camp for a few days, and I can’t tell you how much we’re looking forward to that. We have all our supplies and are ready! We have our fingers crossed though that it won’t rain the entire time we’re there. Otherwise we’re just happy to finally be here and are enjoying the cooler weather. October in Portland is beautiful!
A fraction of the leftover cardboard and paper from the move
We started moving into our apartment last Friday, and have been working on it ever since, trying to find a place for everything and making it all feel like home. It has been an exercise in persistence and positivity at times but we’re getting closer to the finish line.
The living room on Monday afternoon. All the clutter is about to drive me nuts! Thankfully, the rug makes me very happy every time I see it.
Does it feel like home? Yes, even though we’re still dealing with a few issues. The many boxes and other packing materials finally gone makes a huge difference. I offered them all for free on Buy Nothing and Craigslist, but got no replies so Brett took some to the recycling center yesterday and the rest will go today.
We honestly believed the movers back in Tennessee had done a great job, and for the most part they did, but there were some glaring and maddening issues we have had to deal with here. They mis-packed and damaged our beautiful, two year-old dresser to the point it’s unusable 🤬🤬🤬. We watched them pack our (expensive) artificial plant and a new mop and a new broom into a large box, the last one they packed and carried out. When we opened the box here though there was just a broom inside 🤬🤬! We were afraid our ceramic garden stool was also missing, but it finally showed up in the last box. What didn’t show up was our air fryer 🤬! Our stepladder also never showed up either, but the movers who delivered our stuff said it wasn’t there when they loaded the truck. We have filed a claim with the moving company over the dresser and missing items, but we are so disappointed and angry with it all, especially since we moved so little and this company came recommended and was highly-rated. I also hate having to buy stuff again, like a new air fryer, and we won’t be able to replace the broken dresser for another month or so.
WenYu and I after check out at IKEA. We found everything we needed (and then some), treated ourselves to a frozen yogurt cone before we left, and had a good time!
The living room was somewhat easy to set up, as was our bedroom (except for the dresser), because there are only so many ways the furniture would fit. The rug for the living room arrived Monday and it’s absolutely perfect. The dining table and chairs will be delivered sometime next week. WenYu and I shopped at IKEA when she was here and bought some needed things for storage (as well as frozen Swedish meatballs, mashed potatoes, gravy, and lingonberry jam).
And then there’s the kitchen. At first look there seemed to be more than enough room for everything, and there was . . . but just for the dishes it turned out. Pots, pans, small appliances, and food? No room. We ended up buying a large stainless steel shelf to create an “open air” pantry and a standing pot rack to store the cookware. We are using the butcher block worktable we brought with us as an actual worktable this time because there is so little counter space left over. We eventually got everything arranged and put away and even though the kitchen is small it’s easy to work in.
The pantry shelves will be a work in progress for a while. I found the affordable bamboo boards at IKEA and three of them fit perfectly on each shelf so will get a few more next time we go. The stand for the pots and pans is perfect!
The outside area of our apartment is a bit of a mess but not too bad overall. Since we’re in the back the lawn team hasn’t given as much care to the area and there are several things that need to be tidied up. It seems the previous tenant was not a garden person, and there will be some work for us this winter getting the garden beds ready for spring planting next year. We bought a barbecue grill and it’s set up and ready to go.
Frankly, I never want to see a moving box, dunnage (packing paper), or bubble wrap for the rest of my life! Even with our small amount of stuff we ended up with what seemed like a ton of it paper and cardboard to deal with. Brett has firmly stated he never wants to move again. He loved the driving part of this journey but never wants to go through the frustration and expense of the rest of it. And I agree.
Portland places and things, from our neighborhood library to the Airbnb neighborhood to windfall apples from a tree on the street.
We are Oregonians again!
We’re still in the process of moving and getting settled but we’ve seen our apartment and love it – it’s in a great location for us. It’s an older apartment but in good shape and even though the square footage is less than we had in Tennessee we actually have more space for our stuff and more storage than we did in our last apartment. For example, we have room now for a dining room table and chairs, something there was no room for in our Tennessee apartment. The apartment is located in the back of the property and we have our own little piece of lawn and garden beds that we want to start working on soon so we can grow vegetables and flowers next year. Our stuff is scheduled to arrive on Friday morning! After all this travel, and living in temporary housing, we’re looking forward to being settled in our own place again.
The drive west was great. We had blue skies the whole way, but it was also quite hot most of the way too. The first four nights we stayed in Columbia, MO; Lincoln, NE; Laramie, WY; and Ogden, UT. We were supposed to spend a last night in Ontario, in Oregon, but arrived there a little after 2:00 pm, looked at each other and said let’s just go on to Portland. We cancelled our reservation at the hotel and set off, arriving in Portland at 7:30 in the evening. We started out in one (very lovely) Portland Airbnb until yesterday when we moved into another, and we’ll be here until Friday morning.
Both our Portland Airbnbs were perfection.
Brett drove the entire way and did a great job. Gas prices increased as we headed west, with it less than 4$/gallon in Missouri and nearly $5/gallon once we arrived in Oregon. We’re both very grateful that we’ll be living in a very walkable neighborhood, have a Trader Joe’s, a coffee place, and other stores in walking distance, and that the city has very good public transportation because it looks like we’re going to have to have many no-drive days in Portland – the cheapest price for gas is $4.86/gallon, at Costco. Both Kaipo and Tilly were well-behaved during our travels: Kaipo slept most of the time but Tilly enjoyed looking out of the window now and again, especially if she spotted cows in a field. Boy, did they get her excited! They both seem to have already fallen in love with Portland, especially with the number of squirrels and other dogs they encounter on their walks.
The moving crew back in Tennessee was very professional, and by early afternoon our stuff was packed and on the truck and the apartment was empty. Brett and I decided to stay after the movers left the apartment to finish cleaning and got most of it done, but I messed up my back again 🤬 so Brett went back on his own on Saturday to sweep and mop out the place and turn in our keys. Thankfully the day of rest did wonders for my back and I felt fine when we departed Sunday morning and had no problems on the trip. We got good news from the moving company during our trip west too: our shipment weighed less than expected and our total cost for the move would be $1345 less than estimated!
The new living room rug!
WenYu is in town now for her best friend’s wedding (WenYu is the officiant), and we’re going out with her tomorrow morning for dim sum. We’ll be going back again with friends on Sunday morning, but in my book there’s no such thing as too much dim sum. We still have errands to run for things like a barbecue grill and TV, but otherwise we’re pretty much set. I ordered a rug from Wayfair that will arrive next week and we also ordered a new dining table and chairs as well that should arrive next week as well.
We left Portland 14 years ago to move to Hawaii, and it’s fun and interesting now to see what’s stayed the same and what has changed. The streets seem narrower than before but we’re adjusting. The tap water still tastes great, the air is cool and fresh, and we love the diversity and the way people dress here compared to how it was in Tennessee. We’ve already visited our local library and checked out books, and shopped at our former Trader Joe’s (the one two blocks from our apartment) – it’s huge in comparison to the one I worked at in Franklin. I also shopped at our former Costco, and the one we shopped at in Tennessee would only take up about 1/6 of the one here – talk about HUGE! We’ve had amazing pie from the wonderful Lauretta Jean’s pie house, and discovered the perfect coffee shop just a couple of blocks from our apartment. I’ve also visited the neighborhood Goodwill store and got us outfitted with dishes and cookware for our camping trip next month (including a mint condition cast iron frying pan). It wouldn’t be Portland though without some rain, which showed up our first weekend here, but we actually sort of liked it (for now). The Airbnbs we have stayed/are staying in have been very lovely (glamorous even) and very comfortable. We have loved walking through the different neighborhoods again and just drinking in Portland. After being parked in a chair in Tennessee to avoid the humidity and allergens it has felt so good to be out and about again. We’ll be getting our Oregon drivers’ licenses next week, and after that new plates for the car.
Our goals next week are to have the apartment mostly put together, to find a new barbecue grill so we can start cooking outside occasionally, and also get a new television. We accomplished the big thing we set out to do and are so happy to be back!
Pretty rock formations could be seen as we entered Wyoming from Nebraska yesterday.
I’m a little bit late today with this post but we just landed in Ogden, Utah, for tonight’s stay. We’re across the street from the hotel where we had originally had a reservation, but yesterday evening Brett was getting the directions and noticed in the fine print, “no pets allowed at this hotel.” Oops! I quickly cancelled and got this nicer room at a much better rate!
Although there was occasionally something special to look at, the above photos summarize what we saw on today’s drive in Wyoming: a big blue sky and wide open land (and trucks) but a lot of sand and scrub.
Today we accomplished the much dreaded drive across Wyoming but it went well. It was 44 degrees when we left Laramie in the morning, and the landscape started out looking much greener than we remembered from past trips across – we were hopeful. The hope didn’t last long though and we were soon back into the dull dreary landscapes we remembered from past journeys. After living in Hawaii and Tennessee for the past six years, and only spending time otherwise in the northeast, it was really something to again experience how big and open the space and the sky are in the west.
Just as we remembered, within five miles after crossing the Utah border the scenery changed and it became more green with some stunning mountain views around each corner (I was not able to get any pictures – sorry). We also picked up I-84 soon after we crossed the border into Utah – it’s the highway that will bring us right into Portland, and that felt good.
We got two great pieces of news today: our moving shipment weight turned out to be almost a thousand pounds less than the estimate and the total price for the move will now be $1345 less than our quote! Our leasing agent/landlord in Portland also sent us photos of our new apartment, and wanted us know she had had a new stove and refrigerator installed for us. Yeah! I think we’re going to like this place – it looks cozy.
We are very distressed by the news and pictures we’re seeing from Kauai – it was hit very hard by the hurricane and the damage is beyond significant. Poipu, close to where we lived on the south side, was hit the hardest but the north side was severely damaged as well. It’s going to take a long time to get things back in order.
Tomorrow we will head north in Utah to Idaho and go across the souther part of that state to Ontario, which sits on the eastern border in Oregon. The scenery will be different from today but frankly just as dreary for the most part, although maybe a bit more green in Idaho. Friday we will have a shorter drive west across Oregon and should arrive in Portland in the early afternoon. For now, we’re grateful that the drive has gone better than expected – we’re having a very good time!
Are we ready to go? Yes, yes, and yes . . . after a wild week of having to change everything about getting ourselves to Oregon.
By the end of last week we had heard absolutely nothing from the car transport company we thought we had made arrangements with, so we sat down and did some figuring and ended up cancelling anything that might have existed, which was going to end up costing us at least $600 but probably more over what we had originally been quoted. This meant we were going to have to drive ourselves to Portland, and we had two very crazy days of cancelling all the old plans, deciding on a route west, and making new reservations. But, we finally got everything arranged and settled and we should have a somewhat easy trip to Oregon. We’re still going to stay at the Drury Inn here on Friday and Saturday nights so we can finish cleaning the apartment on Saturday, then early Sunday morning we’ll take off. The whole trip will be six days long because we didn’t want to push ourselves. Brett’s new cooler will come in handy – we’ll carry food along for lunches and some dinners, and all the hotels we’re staying at along the way have a free hot breakfast. We were refunded just about everything from our first plan, and may be actually coming out a little ahead instead. The dogs will be very happy that they’re not going on a plane, and they are good car travelers too. Brett and I both love road trips but this one will be somewhat familiar as we’ve driven most of it a couple of times in the past. The only part I’m dreading are the two days we drive across Nebraska and southern Wyoming but it’s got to be done.
We’re almost done packing – we both filled our suitcases yesterday with clothes we won’t need for the drive, and almost all of the household goods that we’re responsible for packing are in their boxes and ready to go. The refrigerator is almost empty as is the freezer, with just enough food to get us through Thursday morning. We’ll pick up one last meal at Culver’s for dinner that evening and also get something simple to eat on Friday morning before the movers arrive. I have to say I’m very pleased with how organized we’ve been this time with the packing and such, and so far it’s all been easy and relaxed (for a change). We don’t have a date yet for our household goods delivery, but have been told it will be no later than the 22nd but more like the 11th or 12th. Fingers are crossed!
We accomplished all our goals in August, but set none for September other than to get ourselves moved and settled into the new apartment. We’re looking forward to seeing old friends again and getting reacquainted with Portland: walks in the neighborhood, visits to the library, coffee together at our local coffee shop, eating at our favorite restaurants, dim sum for Sunday breakfast once in a while. WenYu will be in Oregon in September for her best friend’s wedding (she’s the officiant) and will be staying with us for a couple of days before going home. We’ve already reserved a yurt out at the coast for three nights in October and plan on visiting all of our favorite beach towns then, rain or shine.
It’s almost hard to believe, but my next post will be written in Portland – see you on the other side!
In less than two weeks Brett and I will officially say goodbye to Tennessee and be on our way to Oregon. We have spent just over four years here (we arrived on August 7, 2022), thinking we’d only be around for two when we first arrived. We added on the extra years as our daughter-in-law’s time the Japanese Consulate kept getting extended, and with our son still in Japan we knew she could not manage on her own with our grandchildren attending schools in two different directions with two totally different time schedules. With our son’s return to the U.S. earlier this year we are free to pick up our lives again and we’re finally moving on. The only thing keeping us here right now it the final date of our lease.
Our time in Tennessee has been bittersweet. We absolutely loved having so much time with our DIL and grandchildren, and loved being able to help M out with her sometimes crazy schedule. We were able to watch the kids grow and change, share in their successes and many other events, and just generally have a great time all around with them. We also ended up getting to see our son more than we expected as he visited as often as he could. In return, M & M were very generous with us, covering our childcare expenses as well as paying for my two summer trips to Japan. Their time apart however was very difficult for their family and we are thrilled they are now able to be together more frequently. M has one more year to finish at the Nashville Consulate, and will be making twice monthly weekend trips to New Jersey, then will move there to be with her family for good at the beginning of summer next year. The extra year here will put her in a good position to potentially be hired at the Japanese consulate in New York City, or with several other businesses in New York.
Tilly’s first hike in Percy Warner Park – she was the little engine that could that day.
We thought we had come too late for fall color, but it was spectacular during our trip to North Carolina.
During our time in Tennessee, we were able to get together a few times with fellow blogger Tamara and her husband, always a good time. Brett and I also had fun discovering places in Nashville and the surrounding area: Cheekwood Gardens, Parnassus Books, hikes in Percy Warner and Marcella Vivrette Smith parks, a drive down the Natchez Trace, and more. We spent a beautiful fall weekend in western North Carolina, visiting Biltmore in Asheville with all their Christmas finery up, and I finally got to see where Brett’s family came from and where he vacationed when he was young. After a difficult time with the cheap furniture we initially bought (for a two-year stay), we gradually changed over to some better quality pieces that we love and intend to keep. Both of us have read a lot of good books over the years and had fun creating our little book collection. We signed up for and enjoyed good food from Too Good to Go (I’ve already got my Portland favorites loaded!) and made a few trips to McKay’s to look for used books – what a place! We were gifted with tickets for an incredible taiko drum show and a very funny traditional Japanese comedy show by the Japanese Consulate. I worked at our local Trader Joe’s for nearly a year, the best and most fun job I have ever had, but had to leave when my back gave out from all the heavy lifting. We also celebrated Christmas together with our entire family every year in our (cramped) apartments, but WenYu has picked up the torch for future holiday gatherings at her (big) house in Massachusetts. I tried Nashville hot chicken, which was not for me, but loved finding good biscuits and gravy and having a meat & three now and again. We never made it to the Parthenon, or the Grand Old Opry at the Ryman Auditorium or the Country Music Hall of Fame, but neither of us is a fan of country music so we’re okay with that. We did stop at a Buccee’s once in west Tennessee to use the bathrooms, but once was enough. We also never went to Dollywood – our amusement park days are over – although we heard it was very nice and the food was good.
Mr. Guy and Mrs. Chuffington plotting their next scheme.
Our two wonderful little dogs, Kaipo and Tilly, joined us during our time here, joyous occasions both times. They have changed everything in the best ways, and we can’t image our life without them.
Tennessee is a very beautiful state. We visited many parts of it during our time here and have been amazed and impressed by the natural beauty that abounds, and with the history of the state as well, especially the Civil War years. Top of our list is Smoky Mountains National Park, but we also enjoyed being able to spend a day at the Shiloh battlefield to take in the history there. We’ve visited almost all the Civil War sights in Franklin, been west to Memphis (where we were married), visited Hot Springs, Mammoth Caves, and Shenandoah national parks, and took a waterfall tour in the eastern part of the state. We quickly grew tired however of visiting former plantation homes (they’re all over the place here) and there are so many roadside historical signs that we eventually gave up trying to read them all.
We always walked by this mysterious green lamp at our first apartment complex – no one there seemed to know the reason why it was there.
We have spent all four of our Tennessee years in Franklin, in Williamson County, just south of Nashville. We enjoyed drives through some of the countryside but mostly the overall landscape of the area just never did much for us – it’s rural but is filled with lots of mostly giant houses and housing developments. I realized during our time here how much I missed having green around all the time, whether that was the fir trees of the Pacific Northwest or the tropical landscape of Hawaii. Deciduous trees just didn’t do much for me, even the big, old ones, although they were beautiful when the colors changed. When the leaves all fell off though I got depressed. Autumn color here has been hit or miss each year (although we definitely hit it right when we went to North Carolina), and we enjoyed hunting for hedge apples/Osage oranges to put out in the apartment each fall. We walked regularly at our first apartment because it had a great path and was surrounded by old forest, pine trees, and plenty of wildlife which kept it interesting. Walking at our current location has been the opposite: there are not a lot of trees around, or at least nothing but recent plantings – forests in the area have been cut down and the land flattened for the many housing developments, business parks, strip malls, hotels, and apartment buildings that keep popping up everywhere.
We’ve never lived in any place like the franchise paradise that exists here in Franklin and Brentwood, where every brand of hotel/motel is available within a five-mile radius along with every brand of chain restaurant or store. After four years I can still get easily lost because everything looks the same to me, and I can’t figure out east from west, or north from south (so grateful Brett has an incredible sense of direction and that our car has GPS). The county is full of absolutely massive homes and apartment complexes, which include the two we’ve lived in. Driving by many of the houses in the area, I have often wondered, who are these people that need so much space? The churches have also been mind-boggling for me. Most have absolutely HUGE sanctuaries for hundreds and hundreds of people, and there are several intersections with a church on each corner with each having a massive parking lot and attached school/academy. Williamson is the wealthiest county in Tennessee, and has the best public schools in the state (which is why our DIL wanted to live here), but we have paid more to live here, especially through the local sales tax which is nearly 10%. Tennessee may have no state income tax, but as we discovered, a whole lot of other ways to collect money from you.
Politically, Tennessee and Williamson County have been very difficult places for Brett and I to live. I won’t say much about that except that I’ve never lived where the state legislature has done nothing in four years to help anyone in the state except for millionaires/billionaires, fanatic Trump fans, and themselves. Most memorable to me during our time here was the legislature voting to make it legal for teachers to be armed in public schools – YIKES! Thankfully, not one school district in the state took them up on that proposal. August was also traditionally a sales tax-free month for groceries but the legislature voted to take that away this year. They also gave Elon Musk permission to build a tunnel from the state capitol building in downtown Nashville to the airport with only Teslas allowed to be driven in the tunnel. The tunnel idea has since been abandoned, most likely for geological reasons, and no idea where the money went. It’s not that there are no Democrats or liberals in the state or legislature either – there are actually plenty – but the entire state of Tennessee has been gerrymandered to the point that they are unable to ever earn a majority or get anything through the legislature. Our voting district was recently gerrymandered to contain half of Memphis – the district now stretches from the southwest corner to our county in central Tennessee, covering a distance of nearly 300 miles! All this has been depressing to say the least. We have looked for the good while we’ve been here and found it now and again, but more often than not the good has been overwhelmed by the not-so-good and the downright bad.
I have also been in constant battle with Tennessee weather since the day we arrived. Summers are miserably hot and humid (my nemesis), winters cold and dreary, and spring and fall only seem to last a couple of weeks in between. And then there have been the allergens. I have never suffered from hay fever until we arrived here but suffer here I have, and in a big way. I ended up just avoiding going outside as much as possible. I will not miss the climate here in any shape or form.
Brett and I left Tennessee the first time back in November of 1979 when Brett finished instructor duty at NAS Memphis (in Millington, just north of Memphis). As we headed west to our next duty station and crossed the Mississippi River we vowed to never return – we had had our fill of Tennessee.
But we came back, for a very good reason this time, and have no regrets about doing that. We are saying goodbye to Tennessee once again but we mean it this time when we say we’re not coming back. It’s just not for us.
P.S. The state of Tennessee may not be for us, but it gave us all the best: Dolly Parton. May she rest in peace, on her bed of soft cotton.
Change, no matter how welcome, can feel impossible, especially if you’re older. However, in the last few months I have experienced five significant changes, both mental and physical. None of them were planned or expected, although a couple of them had been hoped for or works in progress. They all either just arrived unannounced or happened gradually over time without my noticing right away. The best part? All of them are for the good.
I eat less without trying. Some days I manage on just 1,000 calories, but usually I take in anywhere from 1,200 to 1,500 calories a day. Less than 10 years ago getting my daily calorie total down to this level was an absolute struggle but it just sort of gradually happened this time. I’m still working on getting more protein into my intake but that’s coming along. I honestly rarely think about my weight these days as well; my body is what it is and my clothes fit just fine.
I stopped drinking coffee. This has been the most surprising change because I’d enjoyed coffee since I was five years old (!), and my coffee cups were practically enshrined. One day back in May though I finished a morning cup of coffee and out of the blue told Brett I was done with it and wanted to start drinking green tea instead. Since that day I haven’t had or wanted coffee at all and have been thoroughly enjoying two cups of organic green tea every morning instead. I’m sleeping so soundly these days! We’ve already taken our coffee machine to Goodwill; Brett just makes himself a couple of cups a day using a pour through.
I stopped drinking alcohol. This was another surprise. In June I told Brett one day to just skip putting the gin in my cocktail – tonic and lime would be enough for me going forward. And it has been. It turns out the ritual of sitting and relaxing in the early evening with a drink is more important than actually having alcohol in it. I think the alcohol over the past year may have been what added to my surprise weight gain (along with a decrease in my activity level).
I finally gave up social media. Well, I still look at Instagram once a day, and still post there, but that’s all I use (or want) these days. I gave up Facebook over four years ago and haven’t missed it, and a little over two weeks ago I stopped looking at Threads – cold turkey – because I realized I was addicted to it. It was the first thing I looked at in the morning, I checked in all day long, and then was staying up way, way too late every night with it, fixated on the screen and not wanting to miss anything. When I woke up I went right back to the same effort the next day. I’ve deleted the app, and now get out my Kindle first thing in the morning and read for an hour or so (I had been skipping reading so I could be on Threads). The only thing I miss about it is a friend’s always pithy or funny comments.
I lost my desire to spend. This is a place I never thought I would fully arrive at but finally did this past summer. I’m not miserly or in some crazy frugal stage but these days because I do spend, but I think very, very carefully about where the money’s going and I can literally talk myself out of buying anything. After we rented the apartment in Portland I got a bit excited about buying things for it, but those feelings didn’t last long – I want to wait and see what we actually might need. This is a very big change for me, but I’ve really settled in to our simple life these days and we seem to have everything we need.
I’ve tried to understand why all these changes happened. Why now? What caused them, I wonder? Maybe after these past few years either my mind and body were finally ready to shake things up, whether I wanted to or not, but who knows? Maybe I’m just ready to go back to Portland a different person than when we left. All of these changes have been for the better, and I’m feeling better these days too, both physically and mentally, so I’m just going to “join the dance” and appreciate being a different me.
Brett and I will celebrate our 50th anniversary at the end of March 2029, and we’ve been talking for the last few years about wanting to do something extra special together to celebrate the occasion. We had thought for a while that a luxury train journey across Canada might be the ticket but ultimately decided we wanted to try something we had never done together before as well as visit a new-to-us destination or destinations.
We received a pamphlet from Viking Cruises about a month ago and for some reason, instead of tossing it straight into the recycling bag, both of us flipped through it. I raised the question (sort of as a joke): Is this maybe something we could do? Take a Viking cruise?Are we ready for something like this? We ended up talking about the idea for a while and surprisingly decided it just might be what we were looking for. We looked at all the many cruises Viking offers, both river and ocean, and while several of the ocean cruises appealed to us only a couple of river cruises did.
A cruise would be a first for us: Brett served his time on the water during his naval career and up to now has had no desire to get on another ship for any reason. I took a two-week cruise to Japan from San Francisco when I was 18, and that one trip has been enough for me. Until now we’ve never considered any sort of cruise-related travel.
. . . or a river?
But, it turned out we both feel ready now to try one. We both think Viking will be a good fit for our interests, and that one of their cruises and what it offers will make a worthy big goal for us. After some deliberation we decided Viking’s eight-day Venice, the Adriatic + Greece cruise is the one we’re going to take. We’ve both wanted to visit Venice, and also Greece, and the addition of stops in Croatia and Montenegro are exciting too. We plan to add days on to the front and end of the cruise to spend more time in Athens and Venice.
photo credit: Viking Cruises
Once we decided on the cruise for our anniversary, the decision to rent in Portland versus out at the coast was made for us, and we’re very happy to be returning. Staying in Portland means we’ll be able to save more and still enjoy all the Pacific Northwest has to offer. We’ll also be more easily able to travel back east to see our kids and grandkids every year. The payment schedule for the cruise will give us deadlines to meet, and the cruise adventure will help us to stay focused on being active and healthy.
We plan to use Military Cruise Deals to book the cruise as they offer extra discounts and other benefits with Viking on top of their sale pricing. We are going to book for March or early April of 2028, a full year before our actual 50th anniversary, to start of a year of celebration for 50 wonderful years together. We will be doing other fun and exciting things throughout the year, and will end with a big finish in 2029. Although nothing is settled yet, it looks like our family will gather on Kaua’i where Brett and I will renew our vows on our anniversary. From Hawaii, Brett and I would like to fly to Japan for a last visit before returning to Oregon and getting ourselves ready to move south to California, but we’ll have to see how the money is holding out at that point and if we have the energy to continue on.
We love having a Big Goal again! We are already motivated, excited, committed, and making plans. Once we get settled in Portland we can work on choosing the actual dates for the cruise and such. For now our focus will remain on our move to Portland and getting settled there.
P.S. If you’ve ever taken a Viking cruise, ocean or river, we’d love to hear your thoughts!
Our current apartment lease ends on Labor Day, but we’re picking up a rental car on the second of September, our car leaves for Oregon the next day, and the movers will be here the fourth and the fifth to pack us out. We’ll move over to a nearby hotel with Kaipo and Tilly the afternoon of September 4, and clean the apartment and turn in our mail room key on September 6 (management charges everyone an additional $100 to clean the apartment after a tenant leaves even though we’re all still expected to have it clean for the cleaners. Grrrr.). Anyway, Labor Day will be our last full day in Tennessee and our nonstop flight to Portland leaves the next afternoon!
The dogs are doing well with their carriers and will now more easily go inside to get a treat. Kaipo still somewhat fights it but he seems to have figured out he’s not going to die in there so hopefully transporting the two of them to Portland will go easier. Tilly easily goes into her crate (and Kaipo’s too) – she eats her snack inside now and is ready to redecorate the place.
We’ve rented an apartment in Portland! It’s located in our old neighborhood (that we loved), one of the most walkable in Portland, in a vintage mid-century modern complex located just a couple of blocks away from Trader Joe’s! The neighborhood has a fantastic library branch, plenty of good coffee shops and great restaurants, and a food cart pod in what used to be a bank parking lot when we lived there. We’ll have a bit less floor space than our current apartment and won’t have a dishwasher, washer and dryer (but there are community laundry rooms for the tenants), or other fancy appliances like we do now but the place reminds us a lot of our last apartment in Hawaii that we loved. It has hardwood floors and a beautifully tiled bathroom, and we’ll also have our own little bit of lawn in front as well as some garden space to grow some things. Best of all (for me) is that we can have a grill again! I can’t tell you how much we have missed being able to cook outside these past few years. Overall, we’ll be living more simply than we do here, but in a nice, walkable location that fits our needs.
Our daughter-in-law gave us the boxes and packing material from her move at the beginning of July, so almost every day last month we packed one box and now we’re nearly done – the rest of the stuff in the apartment will be pretty much left for the movers. The apartment is looking bare – there is not much decor out and the few items we didn’t plan to take with us have either been taken to Goodwill or sold. We took all the books over to McKays week before last and got more for them than expected. It felt sad to let them go but I don’t think we’ll have room for them going forward. Moving day, after all this, will hopefully be an easy, relaxed experience for a change.
Our daughter-in-law made us a beautiful little book filled with photos of our time together here. We will see her once more before we leave, but our son, grandson, and sweet granddaughter K are all now up and settled in New Jersey. I get so many feelings when I look through the book and see the changes in all of us over the years. While it’s been difficult at times to be here both Brett and I remain grateful for the time we got to spend with our son’s family, especially after all the years apart while they lived in Japan. We’ll see them again at Christmas, thank goodness.
Last but not least: stay tuned next week to learn why we decided to live in Portland!!
Here’s how we did with our July goals:
Get boxes and start packing! Almost done.
Make a firm and final decision about whether to sell the books or not. They went to McKays last week.
Read at least three more books. Done!I read Yesteryear, Lucy Foley’s The Midnight Feast and John Updike’s The Widows of Eastwick, his last published book. I didn’t enjoy the last book and didn’t finish it, a first for me.I’m back to using my Kindle again. I also read the latest in the Thursday Murder Club series, The Impossible Fortune.
Here are our goals for August:
Get Kaipo and Tilly’s health certificates for travel
Finish up all the food (throwing away as little as possible)
Start cleaning the apartment
Pack our suitcases!
Our plan of buying healthy prepared foods went well in July and did not ruin our budget so we did the same this month; in fact, we did better and ended up spending well under our budget for the month. Hmmmm. We got a few pasta dishes, pizzas, fish, macaroni and cheese, Mexican dishes (chili rellenos and burritos), several Asian entrees, chili, chips, & cheese, and everything to make French jamon beurre sandwiches (with gruyere cheese). We bought side dishes, those yummy TJ hash brown patties, and vegetables to go with the main dishes. What we spent also included a few packages of cookies, a cherry-almond Kringle, loads of dog treats, toilet paper, facial serum, two cases of Diet Coke and two lightweight quilted puffer vests I found at Costco! I need to think about this month’s shopping some more because I think we could end up spending a whole lot less every month for food in Oregon than we have been in Tennessee (and there’s zero sales tax in Oregon).
Brett and I have been having fun coming up with all things we want to do once we’re back in Oregon again, both in Portland and the coast. In no particular order:
Getting together with old friends
Lots of walking with the pups, weather permitting
Dim sum on Sunday morning at the Hong Kong Cafe
Camping! Instead of buying a tent we intend to use yurts and cabins at the state parks. All we have to get are some sleeping bags.
Going to thrift stores and yard sales around town and looking for free piles (I once found a KitchenAid mixer in one!)
Walking to a local coffee shop two to three times a week to drink and chat
Farmers’ markets! There are so many good ones in Portland.
Shopping at WinCo Foods and New Seasons again (as well as Trader Joe’s and Costco)
Using our wonderful local (and refreshed!) Multnomah County library branch. I’ve already put some books on hold!
Getting back into ‘real’ recycling
Checking out and shopping at ethnic markets around town
Eating all the Hood strawberries (the absolute BEST strawberries ever) and other berries we can in the summer (well, in 2027 and on)
Visiting lots of food carts.
Breakfast at the Waffle Window, or a hot dog for lunch from Otto’s in Portland
Getting salt water taffy in Manzanita and cheese and ice cream in Tillamook
Checking out the new donut shops and ice cream shops around town (but skipping Voodoo Donuts – ugh)
Visiting the downtown Portland Muji store, and the Uniqlo store when it opens
Picking fruit (peaches and berries especially) on Sauvie Island in the summer
Picking wild blackberries and making jam
Going to the annual pottery show at the Portland convention center
Visiting the Rose Garden, the Japanese Garden, and the Chinese Garden
Finding new small eateries and restaurants
Spending a night in Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood (in the summer)
