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March 30, 2006

The season for fresh and luscious berries is upon us!

Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 08:50 PM | Comments (1)

March 27, 2006

Book review

I read T.C. Boyle's Drop City this weekend. I liked it, and would give it a solid B or even B+ grade.

It's social commentary, and in a lot of ways it reminded me of A. S. Byatt's Possession.

Drop City is very American, and Possession is very British. But they are both about the late '60s / early '70s counter culture movement, both are disturbing in similar ways, both skewer the revolutionaries a bit and say interesting things about gender.

Both books have similar failings, as well. As fun as each was to read, and as excited I got about the strong language and the possibility that the book would become transcendant, Drop City and Possession both wind up a little too perfectly and don't really leave the reader any better, smarter, or more enlightened than before she picked up the book. Still, it's fun to be entertained. As far as that goes, Drop City had fewer -- if any -- slow points.

Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 07:14 PM | Comments (0)

March 25, 2006

"In a few days, you're gonna get a call and they'll ask us how we did on a scale of one to 10. And if it's a nine, you're not satisfied," the heavyset Russian said as he smiled and handed us a thank you card. "So say '10,' huh? Have a nice day."

Then he was off, leaving Ben and me in possession of our first-ever washer and dryer.

Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 05:16 PM | Comments (3)

March 24, 2006

Books

These are the books I have bought, and the reasons why:

* The Odyssey, Homer, translated by Stanley Lombardo -- I read a review of a work of new poems in the New York Times Book Review this weekend. It sounded intriguing at the time, but now I couldn't remember what it was called. So I went to the poetry aisle, hoping it would jump out at me. There, I noticed a translation of the Odyssey that wasn't by Robert Fitzgerald. I was so surprised that I had to pick it up. The verse was muscular, sparese, modern. I couldn't resist.

* Pattern Recognition, William Gibson -- I've been embroiled in thoughts about postmodernism, hipsterism and the power of symbols. And then I learn that William Gibson has written an adventure book on the subject, and it's gotten favorable reviews in the Economist and the Washington Post. This is the man who invented the word "cyberspace" and wrote some dense futuristic computer novels. Now he's being compared to Pyncheon.

* Getting Things Done, David Allen -- I'm not normally one who goes in for self-help books, but this one has been praised many times by people I respect, including strangers on the internet and a journalism superstar.

* Drop City, T. C. Boyle -- A former colleague raved about this book and offered to lend it to me. I declined because she keeps her books pristine and I was afraid I'd damage it. Later, I read another book she'd recommended and realized she had really good insights into literature.

* Three by Three Illustration Annual, number two -- I wanted something visually interesting and the cover on this on this one, a man sculpted of playing cards, drew me in immediately. Still, I spent 20 or more minutes comparing the drawings and graphics in several books of illustration before I decided that this one spoke to me more.

I hope that I enjoy them.

Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 08:47 PM | Comments (0)

March 20, 2006

Satisfaction

Over the past week, I have brought into my home copies of the New York Times, the Columbian, the Wall Street Journal and the Oregonian. There is paper everywhere now, and I have to round it up because tomorrow is recycling day.

There is something deeply satisfying about breaking away from the screens and the noise and reading a newspaper. Newspapers make me marvel about the language, teach me about my community, introduce me to history and art and the world, and reveal to me new ways of seeing. Getting ink on my fingers in a quiet bed is infinitely more satisfying than reading the same thing online.

Other things I revel in: cats, conferences, peanut butter, music, Ben, Vita Cafe, full-bodied coffee, sunshine and exercise on the first day of spring.

Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 09:17 PM | Comments (0)

March 17, 2006

Pictures!

Check out my green socks, green skirt, green sweater and green shirt. You can also see the mustard colored walls, the wood floor, Ben's umbrella, the CD wall hangings I sewed, Amy's block art, the edge of a book case, a tan heated kitty mat, a new area rug, the plug for the computers, and some nice white trim. I really like my new place. And St. Patricks Day.

For less flattering Courtney, check out the chocolate disk my family sent me for my birthday a few weeks ago, when we still lived in Woodland. I totally devoured it.

Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 07:30 PM | Comments (1)

March 15, 2006

eating

We've been going kind of crazy at the health food and natural food stores in the neighborhood.

A couple of days ago, Ben bought organic peanut butter made of nothing but peanuts and salt. There's oil floating on the top of the jar when you open it, because there's no hydrogenation going on. You have to stir it then keep it in the fridge. It is the creamiest, most beautiful, yummiest peanut butter I have ever had. It is a revelation to eat.

Last night, I bought butter and feta.

The butter was imported from Italy, and was made with milk from the cows of the Reggiana region (think Parmigiano Reggiano). It is 84 percent fat, unsalted, uncolored, unflavored pure butter. It's amazing how something so bland can melt so well and be so satisfying.

The feta was made from raw unpasteruized organic goat's milk. It was amazingly salty. I'm not usually crazy about feta -- and I didn't eat much of this stuff -- but I couldn't help but be impressed by its unapologetic feta-ness.

One of the dangers of our new neighborhood is the temptation to buy expensive foods I'd never normally eat, simply for their purity and novelty.

Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 09:04 PM | Comments (0)

March 13, 2006

A history lesson

Portland, like most cities in the U.S., was shaped for many years by overtly racist policies. Until the state constitution was amended in 1926, it was illegal for "free negro(s) or mulatto(s)" to live in Oregon. The punishment: biannual lashings until they left, though the law was inconsistently enforced. Even after the constitution was amended to legalize the state's black residents, it was not until the 21st century that some of the racist language in the document was removed by a voters' initiative. Guess how I voted.

In the 1930s, when Portland's black population began to grow, a cabal of white real estate agents began adding whites-only clauses to deeds when homes were sold in predominantly white neighborhoods. Though not official policy, the city inevitably became segregated by race.

Chinatown, just off downtown Portland, is a shadow of the bustling community it once was. Many of the area's more recent Asian immigrants live in Southeast Portland, while established families have spread throughout the city.

For many years, North Portland was one of the few areas available for black homeowners. In the 1950s, local politics allowed black populations to expand into Northeast.

Ben and I now live in Northeast Portland, and it's unsettling to realize that we're part of a wave of young -- mostly, but not exclusively, white -- professionals that is gentrifying our neighborhood.

Last weekend, after moving in, I headed to the local Safeway. There, I saw a strange racio-socio-economic stew. Black professionals and older black people seemed to share a common bond, striking up conversations with each other as they checked the expiration dates on the milk. Multiracial couples -- white, hispanic, black, name your mix -- walked hand in hand down the junk food aisle. Most of the white people in the door looked poor. Dirt poor. Like junkies who could not find anywhere else to live.

Then I went to the three environmentally friendly, organically oriented health food stores in the area. The shoppers were mostly white, mostly middle class. There were a few middle class black shoppers. One black junkie. The magazine racks had publications about yoga, home repair, home decoration, home remodeling, getting pregnant, raising young children, Buddhism, organic living, granola, and the latest in alternative music.

I walked around the block this Saturday afternoon, when the sky was clear. At every third house there seemed to be freshly dug soil, whirring drills, banging hammers. Some of the sounds came from young home owners, fixing up the nicest houses they could afford. Some of the sounds came from speculators who expect a big turnaround in a neighborhood that promises to be the next big thing.

Alberta Street, nearby, has many of the hallmarks of the best Portland streets. Boutiques. Galleries. Independent fashion houses. Vegetarian and vegan and dinner and brunch and every other dining option you could imagine. It also has soul food, or the more generic "southern food," which seems to mean the same thing in this city. That's something you don't find everywhere in town.

Our new neighborhood also has churches. More churches than in sacriligious Southeast. They appear to be racially mixed, with lots of people of every color going to even the most predominantly black. The blacker the churches, the better that everyone dresses. I love the teenagers in their pressed slacks and the old ladies with hats that match their purses and their dresses.

I really like where I live, but I don't know what to make of it all.

Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 05:52 PM | Comments (1)

March 07, 2006

We have moved. More later.

Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 06:33 PM | Comments (0)

March 05, 2006

moving

Ben and Austin and I spent all day yesterday loading cars and trucks with furniture and boxes, packing the straggling household items we found here or there, and laughing at the cats' reactions to it all.

Today we unload. We still have to squeeze our beds into the U-Haul. Then we'll drive to Portland and start nesting in our new environment.

Having Austin here has been an amazing help. I think I'd be worn down and broken if he wasn't so willing and strong. Instead, I'm excited and sore.

Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 07:02 AM | Comments (0)

March 03, 2006

Pillow fight!

Austin is in town this week. I picked him up at the airport. Then he, Ben and I grabbed dinner before the evening's grand event: Pillow fight!

I read about it online, and rounded up pillows for the three of us. We got to Pioneer Courthouse Square about half an hour late, but it was OK. The battle was in full swing.

More than 200 feather-coated people of all ages -- some in strange costumes, others in hipster gear, pajamas, suits and work clothes -- were wacking one other with different levels of aggression and enthusiasm.

I was the pillow fight fairy -- prancing around with my flowing green skirt and lightly tapping people as I danced through the crowd. Austin was more aggressive, eventually winning surrender from a karate fighter in a wig. Ben entered the fray briefly, but prefered to experience the whole event as an observer rather than a participant.

None of us brought cameras, but I've found pictures here, here and here.

It was awesome. Friggin' awesome.

Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 09:48 PM | Comments (1)

March 02, 2006

overwhelmed

Ben and I are moving back to Portland this weekend. Boxes are everywhere, but we still have more to pack.

Mister is still at the vet, but we hope to get him back tonight. He's been on an iv drip.

I am gradually adjusting to my new job. The pace is very different -- I'm writing fewer stories, but trying to inject depth into each one. The community is very different -- urban and suburban and populous, instead of a few isolated small towns. The language of high tech business is very different than the language of paper and aluminum mills, and I'm learning to unravel a dictionary's worth of new jargon.

My brother Austin is flying into town Friday night, and we'll be putting him to work with heavy lifting. As his reward for helping with the move and staying at the new place until the cable gets hooked up, Austin will have unfettered access to our new apartment and the glorious city of Portland for a week. We'll also shelter him and feed him.

Once we move, Ben's going to return his mom's car, which she kindly let him borrow for the last two weeks. Instead of buying a new car to replace the one totalled in January by a light-running red bus, he's going to enter the world of carless commuters.

All this change and chaos is pretty overwhelming.

Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 06:58 AM | Comments (1)