|
|
|
|
Blogs by Paul Cuenco
Predicament: Dave and Annette's Housewarming 2012
9/16/2012 3:15:26 PM
I was looking for Dave’s place for I was invited by Bob, that Dave has a house warming party. The place is somewhere in Oregon City and I thought I knew where they were located. There house might be by the ledge off downtown where the Willamette River runs through it. I worked there in the beginning of my career when I first moved to Oregon. The downtown was on the flatlands by the river while houses and other businesses were on top, by the ledge. That was why I thought that Dave’s house was among those perch on it. There was also a waterfall which was not so high, traversing the river but that was a mile away from downtown. I knew that it existed but I never saw them until such time as just recently when I drove along the highway that snakes along the river.
And so I thought. I stopped right 2 miles before the downtown, on the other side of town from the falls. I made an exit from the freeway and headed by the highway that has no houses from the main city to the next available place of habitation. That is about 3 ˝ miles! I thought I missed the road to which I should have turned so I returned back 3 ˝ miles. After some exploring, I discovered that I was right the first time around. There were some lefts and rights I had to take until I reached a loop up the hill, from which houses line the street as if promenading like gorgeous ladies bedeck with wildly flowing gowns and sparkling jewelry. They were indeed well maintained, with their front yard that can accommodate a house or two and who knows how much backyard they have.
Dave is Russian Orthodox, a religion I vaguely knew. When he got married to Annette, they had an elaborate wedding, quite different from the Catholic tradition. Their marriage seemed spontaneous. Their priest (I don’t know what to call him), talked to them and the congregation like it was an ordinary conversation which was unlike the Catholics wherein the priest was more formal during the ceremony. The church, I was told, encourages their congregation to stand up, that was why there were a few seats relative to the congregation. And mind you, Dave and Annette’s wedding was overcrowding the church. They had their candles and the ring exchanges. But there was also a crystal glass wrapped in cloth in which the glass was broken. After the ceremony, there was a reception held on the next building. I saw Dave like a serious professor while Annette was smiling broadly and very friendly. I thought that Annette was the happiest bride on earth that day.
After a few back and forth on the street, I found the house and as I was about to ring them from the front door, I saw Dave standing right by the door. I was welcomed in and he pointed where the food and alcohol was and where the “gang” was. He walked me to the kitchen where I saw unfamiliar faces. I was looking for Bob and the rest where I have always seen them at Greater Trumps. But when I went to the back porch, I saw them sitting and smoking their pipes. Bob for one apologized for not bringing in his cigar. When he was leaving his home, he forgot it and took instead his pipe and tobacco. Bob pointed out what was in the ravine facing us. He mentioned that there was a garden “down there” but he had not yet ventured into it.
Later, a small group of us ventured down the hill. It was a big lot but half the acreage is downhill, not too steep but nonetheless, steep. We first pass a picnic area then swung right to face a covered above-ground pool. I saw an outhouse which they say Dave uses as his office; and the garden. Then we stepped on a wooden stage from which we can survey the woods and the steeper parts of the property. Instead going deeper, down we headed back to the porch and there told stories of this and that. And as we exchange experiences, I wondered at the beautiful trees that grow out of Dave’s backyard.
Those trees are abundant, overgrown and lusciously green. Dave and Annette just moved into the property and had not yet have that chance to clear whatever was overgrown. Dave had surmised that when the rain comes to Portland, he would be in the same spot I was, smoking his pipe underneath the shade while wondering how beautiful the rain is. He would sip his liqueur as he would imagine that he and Annette probably will exchange their vows, again. There were many possibilities of picnicking and trekking down that hill. The pool, cleaned and unwrapped of its covering, will be where they and their friends will wallow. And their garden will still be a study in organized disarray.
How wonderful this home will be, full of promises for the future! I hope that this home will be a place a place where people will always be welcomed, a place where gracious living will predominate.
Post a Comment new!
More Blogs by Paul Cuenco
• Predicament: Dave and Annette's Housewarming 2012 - Sunday, September 16, 2012
• Predicament: Portland Sands and its vicinity - Sunday, September 02, 2012
• Predicament: Mississippi Street Fair, Portland, Oregon - Saturday, August 25, 2012
• Predicament: Astoria, Oregon - Friday, August 17, 2012
• New Book for Father's Day! - Saturday, June 23, 2012
• Predicament: Saving Money - Wednesday, May 23, 2012
• Predicament: Old Haunts - Sunday, May 13, 2012
• Predicament: Courteous Portland Traffic - Wednesday, May 02, 2012
• Sorry - Wednesday, April 11, 2012
• Predicament: A Day at the Beach - Thursday, April 05, 2012
• Predicament: Dinner at a Deserted Restaurant - Tuesday, April 03, 2012
• Predicament: My Stroke and Writing - Monday, April 02, 2012
• Predicament: The World of the Bay Area - Sunday, April 01, 2012
• Predicament: A Competitor Indeed - Saturday, March 31, 2012
• Predicament: Democracy! - Friday, March 30, 2012
• Predicament: The Garden Party - Thursday, March 29, 2012
• Predicament: Gift-Giving - Wednesday, March 28, 2012
• Predicament: Suicide - Tuesday, March 27, 2012
• Predicament: Water, Water Everywhere - Monday, March 26, 2012
• Predicament: The Floods Of Manila - Sunday, March 25, 2012
• Predicament: Tita Dimple's recollection of Papa Trining - Saturday, March 24, 2012
• Predicament: The Future Should Be Brighter - Friday, March 23, 2012
• Predicament: Death of a Writer - Thursday, March 22, 2012
• Predicament: The Season Re-liveth - Wednesday, March 21, 2012
• Predicament: Time Had Forgotten About - Tuesday, March 20, 2012
• Predicament: Closing Time - Monday, March 19, 2012
• Predicament: Hasan Baharin - Sunday, March 18, 2012
• Predicament: A Pimple of my Nose - Saturday, March 17, 2012
• Predicament: What is Mike Cooking? - Friday, March 16, 2012
• Predicament: Papa Eriong - Thursday, March 15, 2012
• Predicament: Kind Words - Wednesday, March 14, 2012
• Predicament: Music and Whit 2 - Tuesday, March 13, 2012
• Predicament: Music and Whit 1 - Monday, March 12, 2012
• Predicament: What You Want to Be - Sunday, March 11, 2012
• Predicament: Father and Son - Saturday, March 10, 2012
• Liza's Life Plan - Friday, March 09, 2012
• The Colleague - Thursday, March 08, 2012
• Oh Taylor! - Wednesday, March 07, 2012
• Dena - Tuesday, March 06, 2012
• Losing My Job, Again - Monday, March 05, 2012
• A Plane to Nowhere - Sunday, March 04, 2012
• A Slave No More - Saturday, March 03, 2012
• Cirque du Soleil - Friday, March 02, 2012
• Mendocino - Thursday, March 01, 2012
• Th Coming Storm - Wednesday, February 29, 2012
• Becoming Old - Tuesday, February 28, 2012
• Ordinary Lives - Monday, February 27, 2012
• Books I Read - Sunday, February 26, 2012
• Discrimination - Saturday, February 25, 2012
• Quintessential Jokes - Friday, February 24, 2012
• The Catholic Experience - Thursday, February 23, 2012
• Promises, promises - Wednesday, February 22, 2012
• Sleepy - Tuesday, February 21, 2012
• Art for Art's Sake - Monday, February 20, 2012
• Mike's Ash Wednesday - Sunday, February 19, 2012
• Holy - Saturday, February 18, 2012
• Summer Home - Friday, February 17, 2012
• Pickpocketed - Thursday, February 16, 2012
• A Penny for a Drink - Wednesday, February 15, 2012
• My Roman Holiday - Tuesday, February 14, 2012
• Luck and Popularity - Monday, February 13, 2012
• It's Valentine's - Sunday, February 12, 2012
• Bosses - Saturday, February 11, 2012
• Education and Options - Saturday, February 11, 2012
• Windy Portland - Thursday, February 09, 2012
• My Job at Costco - Wednesday, February 08, 2012
• Compassion - Tuesday, February 07, 2012
• The Day Paul had Two Parties and other things - Monday, February 06, 2012
• When I Die - Sunday, February 05, 2012
• Sleeping and Dreaming - Saturday, February 04, 2012
• The Loneliness of a Country Road - Friday, February 03, 2012
• Jordan - Thursday, February 02, 2012
• Taxes Galore - Wednesday, February 01, 2012
• It's almost Valentines - Monday, January 30, 2012
• Habits We Indulge Ourselves In - Sunday, January 29, 2012
• To Cruise or not to Cruise - Saturday, January 28, 2012
• Blah, Blah, Blah - Friday, January 27, 2012
• Rain - Thursday, January 26, 2012
• Charlie* and Dad - Wednesday, January 25, 2012
• Writing and Being A Writer - Tuesday, January 24, 2012
• True Snow - Monday, January 23, 2012
• Reinvention - Sunday, January 22, 2012
• What I Miss - Saturday, January 21, 2012
• A Gift for Valentine - Thursday, January 19, 2012
• Venerable Mr. Wu - Wednesday, January 18, 2012
• The Snow Storm That Wasn't - Tuesday, January 17, 2012
• The Russians - Monday, January 16, 2012
• The Older Generation - Sunday, January 15, 2012
• What is the other half doing today? - Saturday, January 14, 2012
• Mike's Bird dog Stories - Friday, January 13, 2012
• Dying - Thursday, January 12, 2012
• This Modern Life - Wednesday, January 11, 2012
• Jabberwocky - Tuesday, January 10, 2012
• Marriages and Such - Monday, January 09, 2012
• Poetry in America - Sunday, January 08, 2012
• Old Friendships - Saturday, January 07, 2012
• Clark and a whole of other things - Friday, January 06, 2012
• Being (almost) Late - Thursday, January 05, 2012
• At my Starbucks - Wednesday, January 04, 2012
• The Sandusky Affair - Tuesday, January 03, 2012
• Happy Reading 1 - Monday, January 02, 2012
• New Year 2012 - Monday, January 02, 2012
• A Day with my Nieces - Sunday, January 01, 2012
• To Live and Enjoy Life - Thursday, December 29, 2011
• Goodbye Uncle Paul - Wednesday, December 28, 2011
• It's Hector - Tuesday, December 27, 2011
• Going Home - Thursday, December 22, 2011
• A Night in Copenhagen - Wednesday, December 21, 2011
• Trivia Night - Tuesday, December 20, 2011
• Paul's Novels - Monday, December 19, 2011
• Europe - Sunday, December 18, 2011
• Kimmy, my good friend - Friday, December 16, 2011
• The Sad State of my Affairs - Thursday, December 15, 2011
• Once There was a Mansion - Wednesday, December 14, 2011
• Lauren's Happy Uncle's Day - Tuesday, December 13, 2011
• Santa Claus - Monday, December 12, 2011
• Mike, the Francophile - Sunday, December 11, 2011
• The car that never died, I hope - Saturday, December 10, 2011
• My Christmas Lights - Friday, December 09, 2011
• Small Memories - Wednesday, December 07, 2011
• Owning a Business, Bar - Tuesday, December 06, 2011
• What A Wonderful Day - Monday, December 05, 2011
• My Typical Sunday - Sunday, December 04, 2011
• Steve Jobs book - Saturday, December 03, 2011
• Moving on to Spirit Mountain - Friday, December 02, 2011
|
|
Bookmarks
