back in Portland

Ben and I flew down to LA Thursday night, and the whole family, Dylan included, returned to Portland late Sunday afternoon.

Saturday was my mother-in-law's 99th birthday party. She's an amazing artist, and it's always a treat to spend time in the house where she lived for 50 years, since just about every square inch of surface has some bizarre painting, ceramic, or 'construction'.

All her neighbors were invited, and as much family as could be assembled were there - about 70 people. Naturally, there were scattered downpours, so the outside time was limited. There was plenty of food and drink, and two astonishingly-large cakes.

For the singing of Happy Birthday, someone had made a huge clay sheet-cake, into which the requisite number of little candles had been inserted. It was lit with a blow-torch and the smoke detectors went nuts - you can imagine the general hilarity.

Since I didn't know 80% of the attendees, I was happy to sit at the piano and play popular songs of the 30's and 40's, my favorite pasttime.

There was only one incident that cast a cloud on the proceedings, and, depending on what happens over the next couple of days, it may become a major topic in this blog, but I hope not.

Enjoy Life, and especially enjoy others whose lives are inspirational.