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I became a member of the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden which is a lovely peaceful place about 5 miles from me in SE Portland. I usually visit once a year at rhododendron time (I posted pictures in 2015, and I took the Presence After Trauma book cover photo there) but I've been stopping by more often this year. Usually on Monday when it's free, but I'm going to be down that way on Tuesdays for a few weeks, so I'm going to make a practice of stopping by. It's all of $25 for a year, and it supports a garden that's important to me.
The reason I'm biking down to southeast on Tuesdays is that I'm picking up a friend's CSA/farm share while she's away. The mix of vegetables isn't great for me overall, but I'm supporting the friend and indirectly supporting the farm share, since she might not have joined for the summer if she had to pay for several weeks she couldn't use. It's interesting to participate for a bit, and to confirm that I'm better off with my weekly trips to the farmer's market, where I can choose amounts and types of vegetables.
I just paid $25 to the Irvington Home Tour to see a neighbor's house. It's been under construction for something like 9 months, so I wanted to see how it turned out. I could have knocked on their door and asked for a tour, but felt awkward. This was easier. And the tour proceeds support local projects and charities. The house was nice! Sadly they were burning scented candles everywhere so I made a hurried pass through the house. I did pause to talk to one of the owners, who revealed they are starting a construction project to build an apartment in the basement in a couple of weeks. *sigh* Good to have the heads-up, anyway.
I could bike over to see the other houses on the tour, but the scented candles really damped my enthusiasm, and I already went on a bike ride yesterday, and this morning, and will be biking again this evening. I went on the Home Tour my first spring here, and abruptly realized that what I think of as a big house is a mere cottage. That was also a cold, wet spring and it ended up being much more walking than I expected, so I lost my enthusiasm for the whole thing. It's a fairly nice day today, so I *could* go see a couple more houses...
ETA: I decided to use my energy on my own garden instead. It needed even more weeding than I thought once I got up close. And the perfume wafting off the people walking by confirmed my decision. A few of them chatted to me as I worked in the front garden, so I got a bit of the connection with the neighborhood that I was hoping for. /ETA
I want to be part of the weaving together of things that matter, that make life better and more beautiful.
The reason I'm biking down to southeast on Tuesdays is that I'm picking up a friend's CSA/farm share while she's away. The mix of vegetables isn't great for me overall, but I'm supporting the friend and indirectly supporting the farm share, since she might not have joined for the summer if she had to pay for several weeks she couldn't use. It's interesting to participate for a bit, and to confirm that I'm better off with my weekly trips to the farmer's market, where I can choose amounts and types of vegetables.
I just paid $25 to the Irvington Home Tour to see a neighbor's house. It's been under construction for something like 9 months, so I wanted to see how it turned out. I could have knocked on their door and asked for a tour, but felt awkward. This was easier. And the tour proceeds support local projects and charities. The house was nice! Sadly they were burning scented candles everywhere so I made a hurried pass through the house. I did pause to talk to one of the owners, who revealed they are starting a construction project to build an apartment in the basement in a couple of weeks. *sigh* Good to have the heads-up, anyway.
I could bike over to see the other houses on the tour, but the scented candles really damped my enthusiasm, and I already went on a bike ride yesterday, and this morning, and will be biking again this evening. I went on the Home Tour my first spring here, and abruptly realized that what I think of as a big house is a mere cottage. That was also a cold, wet spring and it ended up being much more walking than I expected, so I lost my enthusiasm for the whole thing. It's a fairly nice day today, so I *could* go see a couple more houses...
ETA: I decided to use my energy on my own garden instead. It needed even more weeding than I thought once I got up close. And the perfume wafting off the people walking by confirmed my decision. A few of them chatted to me as I worked in the front garden, so I got a bit of the connection with the neighborhood that I was hoping for. /ETA
I want to be part of the weaving together of things that matter, that make life better and more beautiful.
